Assaad J. Sayah, MD

President and CEO, Cambridge Health Alliance | Commissioner of Public Health, City of Cambridge | Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School

Assaad Sayah, MD, has served as an emergency medicine physician for over three decades. He was named Cambridge Health Alliance’s CEO in January 2020. His leadership has been a critical component of CHA’s growth and success over the past decade. Before being named CEO, he served as the health system’s chief medical officer, the chief of emergency medicine, and senior vice president of primary care. In the Emergency Department, Dr. Sayah led tremendous advancements which led to enhanced efficiency, quality, volume and patient satisfaction. He has also played a key role in CHA’s commitment to the communities it serves, including his tenure as the co-chair of the Cambridge City Manager’s Opioid Working Group established in 2018 to develop recommendations for strengthening the city’s response to the opioid epidemic. Additionally, Dr. Sayah serves as the Commissioner of Public Health for the City of Cambridge and on the faculty at Harvard Medical School. His research and publications focus on Emergency Department operation and emergency medical services, including design of the EMS system, continuous quality improvement, disaster planning, and patient experience of care.