James A. Block, M.D., is president of J.A. Block Health Associates, a consulting firm working with the Emily Davie and Joseph S. Kornfeld Foundation, the Commonwealth Foundation, and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, among others. Dr. Block is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Johns Hopkins Health System and the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of University Hospitals of Cleveland, Case Western Reserve University and President of Rochester Area Hospital Corporation. Dr. Block also served as Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Clinical Associate Professor of Preventive, Family and Rehabilitative Medicine, and Adjunct Professor of Health Policy Management both at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health and the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Dr. Block has been a consultant for the National Palliative Care Research Center since 2005.