Charles Lin, M.S. | 2024 Emerging Leaders in Healthcare

Charles Lin, M.S.

I grew up in Guangzhou, China, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in preventive medicine. I earned my master’s of science in nutrition communication from Tufts University. When I worked in managed long-term care setting, I gained a deep understanding of the needs of vulnerable seniors and developed strategies tailored to their needs, which helped me tremendously in my career development.

At Longevity Health, where our mission is to optimize the quality of life in people in long-term care by focusing on their individual needs, my role is both challenging and rewarding, as it allows me to bring patient-centered care to residents in nursing homes who need it most. My ackground in nutrition and health, combined with my commitment to improving senior care, drives my passion for making a positive impact in the lives of those I serve.

Please describe a turning point in your career — an event, a eureka moment, an encounter or a salient piece of advice from someone.

When I was an outreach worker at a community center in Manhattan for a short, four-month contracted work period, I witnessed firsthand the lack of proper care and support for seniors living in public housing) projects. Their stories and struggles suggested the deep health disparity among us, and it profoundly impacted my future career. It ignited a passion within me to not just excel in my professional role but to advocate for and contribute to improving the quality of care for the most vulnerable populations. This pivotal moment propelled me into my current position. Now, my work is driven by a commitment to ensuring that residents in nursing homes receive the comprehensive care they need and deserve.

What are your top two priorities as a leader in your organization and healthcare?

Continue expanding the ISNP program footprint into all U.S. states and continue to deepen into more rural areas for those who have limited access to quality care.

If you could change one thing about U.S. healthcare, what would it be?

Improve access to comprehensive care for nursing home populations. This involves increasing funding for Medicare programs, expanding access to specialized healthcare services, and implementing policies for nursing home operators that prioritize the well-being of their residents. By focusing on bringing high-quality care, we can help bridge gaps in the healthcare system and improve outcomes for those who need it most.

Name a book or article that everyone working in healthcare should read.

“The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care” by T.R. Reid. The book illustrates differences in healthcare systems around the world and offers insights into how different countries achieve better outcomes. As someone who grew up in another country, I thinkthis book can widen our perspective and give us a new mindset of making the healthcare system better.

How do you strike the right work-life balance?

There are three main strategies I use to help me keep a work-life balance. First, understand the needs and prioritize tasks. Taking time to learn about and understand the needs of my family, my employer, and myself helps me to understand the full picture and have a solid base to make decisions on setting priorities. Second, trust and delegate. I learned to trust my staff and my colleagues, and understand what they are capable of doing, such as in leading projects and making decisions. Third, communicate with my boss. Having frequent, open conversations with my direct supervisor helps both of us to understand my work. When he understands the commitment and effort I put into my daily work, together we set realistic expectations of my work, and both of us aim to operate within the limits.

If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?

That would be my late father. My father passed away from cancer when I was in high school. He shared many life lessons during my childhood, and it was not untilmy adulthood that I had encountered those events and reflected (on) the meanings of the lessons. My career choice into medicine and health was deeply influenced by his passing. I would love to share who I am, what I have accomplished, and my goals in improving lives of others with him and let my father know how deeply he shaped my values and decisions.

If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?