Timothy Lash

Timothy A. Lash is president of the Gary and Mary West Foundation, West Health Institute in San Diego and the West Health Policy Center in Washington, DC, where he is also chairperson of the organization. Lash leads the development and execution of West Health’s healthcare and successful aging portfolio and its federal, state, and local public policy agenda. He has been with the organization since 2013.

Solely funded by entrepreneurs and philanthropists Gary and Mary West, West Health is a family of nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations dedicated to lowering healthcare costs to enable older adults to successfully age in place with access to high-quality, affordable health and support services that preserve and protect their dignity, quality of life and independence.

Key initiatives spearheaded by Lash include the creation of the West Health Accelerator at Mass General Brigham, a $16.4 million, multi-year effort to help transform the care of older adults in the hospital and the West Health Accelerator at Northwestern Medicine, which integrates behavioral health services into primary care settings to promote earlier intervention and increase access to care. The West Health Accelerators are being implemented locally and regionally and will provide best practices and scalable blueprints for adoption by health systems and hospitals nationwide.

Lash is also a member of the Drug Selection and Medical Trend Committee for Civica Rx, the nation’s first nonprofit generic drug company, which was established in part with a grant from the Gary and Mary West Foundation, a founding member.

Outside of West Health, Lash sits on the executive boards of CalPACE and the advisory boards of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services and Research Development Scientific Merit Review Board. He also serves as a member of the selection committee for the Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program, a training program designed to create new leaders that can improve healthcare policy for older adults.

Prior to joining West Health, Lash held leadership roles at Johnson & Johnson and several other healthcare companies.

Lash holds an M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He earned his B.S. in biology from Union College. In his free time, Lash enjoys hiking, camping, and skiing, as well as spending time with his wife and two young daughters.