Barbara Hutchinson

President/CEO,

Chesapeake Cardiac Care

DR. BARBARA HUTCHINSON is a pioneer in preventing and treating cardiovascular disease, the number one cause of death globally. Her trailblazing blend of medical expertise, powerful insights and business acumen is helping change the quality of and access to healthcare.  

As a world-recognized physician, Dr. Hutchinson  is a triple threat to heart disease with credentials  in cardiology, sleep medicine and pharmacology. As a thought-leader, she is an influencer, speaker and advisor focused on improving the health  of women and people of color. As an award winning businessperson, she has built a strong company from the ground up and launched innovative start-ups.

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Born in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago,  her desire to become a cardiologist grew out  of curiosity about why her mother’s family was  healthy and her father’s family was not. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of the West Indies and moved to the  United States to receive a Ph.D. in cardiovascular  pharmacology from Howard University. This led  to an M.D. and fellowship in cardiology at the University of Maryland where she excelled as the first African-American medical school class  president and chief resident in internal medicine.

After co-founding Chesapeake Cardiac Care, a highly successful cardiology practice outside of  Washington, D.C., she saw the strong correlation between people with sleep apnea and heart disease. She then became one of the few double-certified doctors in the United States in both cardiology and sleep disease and added a sleep clinic to her practice. 

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Looking at additional ways to improve outcomes  in cardiovascular disease, this action-oriented  entrepreneur discovered that large numbers  of patients are readmitted to hospitals from skilled nursing facilities due to preventable cardiovascular causes. So she created a transitional care cardiac program for at-risk  patients in skilled nursing facilities that resulted in a drop from double to single digit readmission rates. 

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Next she looked at helping business owners and executives who die of heart disease because they do not seek help from cardiologists until it is too late. This insight resulted in the creation of the first independent cardiology concierge practice where individuals could receive very private and personal care that would not impact their high profile jobs.  

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Always the problem solver, she recently created an innovative global telemedicine platform  to alleviate issues of access to best-in-class  cardiologists who generally practice in large urban centers. When launched with the latest technology and her extensive network of colleagues, the platform will allow cardiologists to review records of patients anywhere in the world and educate them on how to ask the right medical questions of their doctors. 

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Dr. Hutchinson is focused on giving back to her field on a national and international scale. She  served as president and treasurer of the board of the Association of Black Cardiologists where she helped refocus the organization on its mission of  education and research and created a fundraiser that has generated $2.5 million for programs. She is on the advisory board of Delaware IDEA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence, a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC), a Diplomate of the American Board  of Internal Medicine, and was appointed to the Cardiovascular Examination Writing Committee for the American Board of Internal Medicine.  

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She serves on the board of the Heart Health Foundation, which is dedicated to saving lives through education, early detection and  prevention, particularly among at-risk and underserved communities. Known as the heart  doctor with a heart, Dr. Hutchinson is a frequent speaker, particularly for organizations serving women and African-Americans, both of whom are at higher risk of death from heart disease than other populations.  

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A highly successful businesswoman, she is on the board of the Women Presidents’ Organization, the premier global peer advisory organization connecting top women entrepreneurs who own multi-million dollar companies. She serves on the diversity and inclusion committee to ensure that leadership and membership reflect the communities that the business owners serve. 

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Improving the lives of people in her local community is also a high priority for Dr. Hutchinson. She serves on the Medical Advisory Board of the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. In addition to mentoring medical students, she is an instructor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Maryland Hospital. She served on the board of the Girls Scouts of Central Maryland where she  was community spokesperson about girls and health.  

NOTABLE AWARDS 

• Enterprising Women of the Year Award

• Smart CEO Brava Award  

• US Chamber of Commerce Blue Ribbon Award 

• Top 100 Minority Business Enterprise in the Mid Atlantic Area (2 times)  

• Caribbean American Heritage Award Winner 

• Impact Award. Association of Black Cardiologists 

• Daily Record, Top 100 Women in Maryland  (3 times) 

• Baltimore Sun, Top 50 Women to Watch in Maryland  

• Daily Record, Innovator of the Year Award  for Maryland  

ACTIVE BOARDS 

• American Academy of Cardiovascular  Sleep Medicine 

• Heart Health Foundation  

• Women Presidents’ Organization 

• Enterprising Women 

• Delaware IDEA Network of Biomedical  Research Excellence