— LISTEE'S SPOTLIGHT —

Dr. Nirmala Kishun is a physician and health care administrator currently serving as the senior vice president of population health at MCR Health, Inc. Driven by a strong commitment to service and a desire to make a positive impact on others, she pursued a career in medicine, earning a Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Guyana in 2005. After relocating to the United States, she took the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) boards to match into residency. At the time, the odds of matching into a residency were 1 in 70,000, and Dr. Kishun considers herself blessed to have been able to continue her work.

She joined MCR Health in 2013 as chief of medicine, rising to her current role in 2020. In addition to managing strategic planning and review across the organization. Dr. Kishun helped create the Diabetes Therapeutic Optimization Program (DTOP), an intervention program targeted at patients with blood sugar levels over 14. Over five years, the program has seen over 70% of participants reduce their blood sugar significantly, and she hopes to replicate its success in other programs designed to address health care inequality.