After serving as interim President for more than a year, Edwin “Ed” Huang, MD, was named President of Mount Auburn Hospital (MAH) in 2023. With more than two decades of clinical and executive experience, Huang joined MAH in 2012 as Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School, while serving as a trustee of MAH and the Mount Auburn Cambridge Independent Practice Association. We sat down with him to hear more about his vision for MAH.
What motivated you to become a physician?
Ever since I was young, I wanted to be a physician. I was always drawn to the human body and felt myself wanting to better understand why the body works the way it does. As I went through my rotations in medical school, I found myself fascinated with obstetrics and gynecology (Ob/Gyn) because it was—and still is—unbelievably broad. There’s preventive health, rare tertiary conditions, and normal life events that must be treated, and patients that come to us are not always doing so because they are sick.
What brought you to MAH?
More than a decade ago, my former residency director [Charlie Kawada, MD] reached out to me about the Chair of Ob/Gyn position at MAH while I was serving as the Associate Director of the Ob/Gyn Residency Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. When I came here to interview, I realized that this role presented a different type of opportunity. One of the compelling things about Mount Auburn is that we are an academic institution and simultaneously a hospital that is so ingrained in our community. I am always hearing patients say ‘this is my hospital, my family’s hospital, and the hospital we have always gone to.’ It creates a sense of intimacy between the hospital staff and the community.
Is that what makes Mount Auburn so special?
In part, yes. In my view, what makes Mount Auburn so special is the people and the culture. It represents an ethos of world-class care with a personal touch. We offer unbelievably great care, and the community trusts us to take excellent care of their families. The staff here takes pride in building this feeling into every aspect of their work.
What are you looking forward to accomplishing in your role as President?
As president, I hope to bring the perspective of one who’s worked and grown up in the system. I have seen firsthand how we do all we can to make sure that Mount Auburn is a place where patients receive as good of care, if not better, than anywhere else in Cambridge, Boston, and New England. Our patient experience is fantastic, and it’s coupled with the unrivaled talent of our staff. We need to be nimble and flexible enough to meet the needs of our community and the many challenges in the field of healthcare.
How does philanthropy play a role in the present and future of Mount Auburn?
I think of philanthropic gifts as an acknowledgement to one’s transformative care, which instills in us an honor and a responsibility to continue to model what brought it about. Gifts can help to improve the technology and infrastructure behind our high-quality care as well as help protect our community from social determinants of health and healthcare. Philanthropy allows us to be better every day, and we are so fortunate to have support from our community members who recognize the vital importance of our work.
