2025 Power 100: Dr. Cherise Hamblin

A woman with shoulder-length curly dark hair wears a white blouse.

Photo I Courtesy of UMass Memorial Medical Center Dr. Cherise Hamblin, medical director of UMass Memorial Medical Center doula program

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By Mica Kanner-Mascolo

Dr. Cherise Hamblin Title Medical director; founder Company UMass Memorial Medical Center doula program, in Worcester; Patients R Waiting, in Pennsylvania Employees 20,812 at UMass Memorial Residence Worcester Colleges Franklin & Marshall College, Northwestern University Read all the 2025 Power 100 profiles here
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As maternal morbidity rates continue to rise throughout the state, Hamblin has become one of the region’s most ardent advocates for the interrelated causes of addressing Black maternal health and diversifying healthcare professionals. Hamblin spends about half of her time providing direct care as an OB/GYN and attending physician at UMass Memorial while the other half is devoted to developing novel ways to enhance care for patients and the greater community.

Since MassHealth announced in December 2023 it would cover doula care, Hamblin and UMMC’s doula program have assembled to meet this heightened access, including creating new materials detailing services.

As the founder of Patients R Waiting, whose mission is to eliminate health disparities by increasing diversity in medicine, Hamblin brought the Pipeline Dreams program to UMass Chan Medical School in January, providing 29 high school students with 12 weeks of exposure to healthcare careers. The program was managed by the school’s Collaborative in Health Equity, where Hamblin serves as a director.

Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.