As a nationally respected and distinguished healthcare and public health leader, educator, and community advocate, Dr. Yolanda Wimberly brings a dynamic vision to her position as senior vice president and Chief Health Outcomes Officer at Grady Health System. A board-certified physician in both pediatrics and adolescent medicine, Dr. Wimberly serves as an adjunct professor of pediatrics at Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM). Her leadership and nationally respected voice in the health equity movement are born of 21 years of clinical experience. During that time, Dr. Wimberly provided expert medical care to some of the most vulnerable people in the Metro Atlanta area. Combining her leadership, research, and administrative experience, Dr. Wimberly incorporates into her work a unique and comprehensive understanding of the various facets of health equity and social determinants of health. Her educational and pedagogical acumen have impacted healthcare demonstrably, specifically in enterprising medical decision-making, fiscally-responsible cost-effectiveness, and successful incorporation of clinical best practices.
In addition to bringing this rich background and experience into her work in providing excellent quality care to patients, Dr. Wimberly is also known for her compassionate and successful nurturing of the next generation of exceptional medical professionals. As the former Senior Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education and Clinical Affairs for Grady at MSM, Dr. Wimberly led the clinical experience and educational enterprise of hundreds of medical students, residents, and faculty for 20 years. During her tenure there, she developed the strategic plan for graduate medical education at MSM and led the expansion of GME at MSM by 50%, while decreasing program citations by 75%.
As the inaugural Chief Health Outcomes Officer at Grady Health System since October 2021, Dr. Wimberly leads the initiative to integrate comprehensive health equity into all Grady Health System operations. As a roadmap for this, she developed an institutional health equity strategic plan and oversees its continual implementation. Since stepping into the role, Dr. Wimberly has chartered a Health, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Council (HEDI), consisting of members and leaders from religious, corporate, non-profit, and grassroots organizations, and representatives from local municipalities. The council serves in an advisory capacity to Grady’s Office of Health Equity. Working within the council, she has formed coalitions to identify and combat structural inequities in the Grady Health System, and thus address the impact of inequity on its employees and staff, and on the communities Grady serves.
Dr. Wimberly is a deeply committed community advocate. One of her many community initiatives is the Teen Experience and Leadership Program (TELP), which she developed and implemented. The mission of TELP is to generate teens’ interest in working in the healthcare fields. High school students spend part of their summer at Grady in a professional shadowing experience. Annually, TELP receives over 500 applicants and continues to provide teens an exciting introduction to the medical professions. For those in the community beginning their medical careers, Dr. Wimberly led efforts to develop a business of healthcare internship program at Grady for entry-level healthcare jobs. Her unwavering community advocacy further expands to the invisible in the community by championing the program that provides a mobile shower for the unhoused, serving at least 60 guests every Tuesday and Thursday.
Recognizing that significant and sustainable success in achieving health equity lies at the board level, Dr. Wimberly led the charge for the Board of Directors for Grady Health System to develop a Health Equity Committee which would provide oversight, governance, accountability, and support for Grady’s health equity mission. Nationwide, less than 5% of hospital systems have such a model at the board level. The institution of Grady’s Health Equity Committee is another indication of Dr. Wimberly as the progressive, constructive, and effectual visionary she is. Her passion for addressing health inequities is exemplified by her unyielding commitment to building synergetic collaborations with the community and making a significant, measurable impact in decreasing health inequities and improving access to quality healthcare.
Dr. Wimberly earned her Doctor of Medicine degree from Meharry Medical College and her Master of Science in Epidemiology from the University of Cincinnati. After completing her pediatric residency at Northwestern Children’s Hospital, she completed an adolescent medicine fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Highly regarded for her perceptive leadership, Dr. Wimberly serves on several boards focused on improving health outcomes and elevating health equity in the United States and around the world. Her board membership includes the board of directors for the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), Metro Atlanta YMCA, and Camp Twinlakes. In recognition of her leadership and accomplishments, Dr. Wimberly was the recipient of the Association for American Medical Colleges’ prestigious Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award, and of numerous other national awards. In 2022, Dr. Wimberly was named a Top Diversity and Inclusion Officer by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, was recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as a Top Diversity and Inclusion Officers to Watch in 2023 and consistently from 2011 through 2024, recognized as one of Atlanta’s Top Doctors by Atlanta Magazine.
