Dr. Kwame Asante is regional chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation for Trinity Health of New England and medical director of Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital.
His leadership and clinical expertise includes comprehensive physical medicine and rehabilitation, concussion and acquired brain injury medicine, musculoskeletal rehabilitation, performance injuries, electro-diagnostics and peripheral nerve injury medicine.
He is one of a handful of board-certified brain injury physiatrists in Connecticut, and is president of the Brain Injury Alliance of Connecticut.
What makes you a Healthcare Hero?
I helped Mount Sinai achieve Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) accreditation, once again meeting the highest standards of rehabilitation certification in key specialty areas of brain injury, stroke and adult and adolescent rehabilitation. I helped organize the largest brain injury professional conference in Connecticut, aimed at improving care and awareness in the region.
I lead Trinity Health of New England’s Black Physician and Provider Network, dedicated to fostering a strong, supportive space for Black physicians and providers within the health system. I was a featured speaker at the second annual Black Men In White Coats Youth Summit, helping mentor future leaders into healthcare careers.
What’s your next major goal and/or challenge?
I see healthcare access as critical to the future of Connecticut and the country. My desire and aspiration as a healthcare provider has been to help patients who unfortunately encounter an illness or injury access the highest standards and experience in rehabilitation care.
My goal is to continue to help develop programs, recruit great clinicians and create strong alignment from a wide range of partners in order to bring innovation in rehabilitation and healthcare in our state.
Tell us about a challenge in your job that you were able to overcome.
One of the greatest challenges this year was the lack of awareness of the impact of the healthcare bill on care delivery and access amongst many providers and patients. I helped sponsor and organize a multidimensional symposium with hundreds of healthcare providers and community partners in the region, helping to drive understanding and awareness to the challenges and impact of the bill on healthcare access and delivery.
