The Indian Panorama

Tag: Mitchell Katz

  • 43 SOCIAL WORKERS HONORED FOR THEIR COMMITMENT TO THEIR PATIENTS

    43 SOCIAL WORKERS HONORED FOR THEIR COMMITMENT TO THEIR PATIENTS

    • Social workers are an integral part of NYC Health + Hospitals
    • There are more than 1,000 social workers employed throughout the health system
    • The honorees were nominated by their colleagues and were chosen by their facility’s individual social work recognition committee

    NEW YORK (TIP): NYC Health + Hospitals, on April 12,  announced 43 social workers from across health system who were honored for their commitment and dedication to their patients. There are more 1,000 social workers employed at the health system performing a variety of roles, including managers, therapists, researchers, discharge planners, and policymakers. In these positions they work closely with family caregivers, friends, neighbors and community-based agencies to help patients resume their life within the community. This year over 400 nominations were submitted from across the system, and the 43 honorees were selected from this pool by their facility’s individual social work recognition committee. The honorees were recognized for their dedication to their patients and their passion for the mission of NYC Health + Hospitals.

    “People who come to our hospitals need more social work,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “Not only are they dealing with illness, they are often living in substandard housing, managing family crises and challenges, or struggling with substance abuse. These realities make the job much harder, but also more important. Our communities need social workers in so many ways that medicine alone can’t fix. We couldn’t do what we do without our social workers.”

    “We extend our deepest gratitude to our social workers who are on the front lines of our work every day,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Deputy Chief Medical Officer and System Chief of Behavioral Health Omar Fattal, MD, MPH. “As a psychiatrist, I have firsthand experience of the power of social work and the indispensable role they play in patient care. Thank you to all the social workers working tirelessly in our system every day, and congratulations to all the award winners.”

    “Every day, in hundreds of ways large and small, our social workers are all making changes in people’s lives that give them help, hope, opportunity,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Director of Social Work Kara Simpson, LCSW-R. “I could not be more honored to celebrate them.”

    Social work is one of the fastest growing professions in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There are almost 720,000 professional social workers in the country, and that number is expected to surpass 800,000 by 2030.

    The 2024 social work honorees include:

    Hospitals

    Adina Safdeye and Casey Linder

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue

    Jennifer Gurtman and Mae Siegel

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst

    Megan Wall and Romona Jennings

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem

    Daniel Griffin and Victoria Lopez

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi

    Andrea Zvonkovic and Ebone Cruel

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County

    Daniella Jacobs and Lissette Vasquez-Restituyo

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln

    Lujuanda Rush and Tiffany Slotkin

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan

    Donna Delgado and Lisa Hamlett

    NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx

    Dolly Thomas and Shiza Iqbal

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens

    Georgia Tsamasiros and Jolene Lespes

    NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health

    Mindel Boduch and Rachel Lipman

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull

    Post-Acute Care 

    Merary Guzman and Stephanie Kloskowski

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Carter

    Janelle Hartman and Theodore Morrison

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler

    Freda Morales

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur

    Bibi Saffee-Razak

    NYC Health + Hospitals/McKinney

    Deirdre Figueroa

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Sea View

    Gotham Health

    Hazel Ordanez and Nancy Hernandez

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham, Belvis

    Morella Bynoe

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham, Cumberland

    Evette Vazquez and Nakima Edwards

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham, East New York

    Shanda Oliver and Shun Ru Xiao

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham, Gouverneur

    Aisse Magassa

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham, Morrisania

    Denise Lucero

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham, Roosevelt

    Lynnsue Jolley

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham, Sydenham

     Community Care

    Miguel Valdez and Donna Alleyne

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Community Care

    Correctional Health Services

    Meaghan Lammers and Jerry Mims

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services

    Central Office Programs

    Shlomit Levy

    NYC Health + Hospitals Central Office

    About NYC Health + Hospitals

    NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

     

  • NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS SHARES ITS 2023 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

    NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS SHARES ITS 2023 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

    Highlights include opening the new $923 million Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital on the campus of NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health; answering the need for asylum seeker care and services; and investing in loan repayment for behavioral health staff

    NEW YORK, NY (TIP): NYC Health + Hospitals, on December 21, shared an overview of its accomplishments for the year. Highlights include being recognized for the delivery of high-quality care to patients, new state of the art facilities, answering the need for asylum seeker care and services, and investing in the NYC Health + Hospitals’ workforce.

    “NYC Health + Hospitals has so much to be proud of this year, and I want to thank our staff across the health system for the hard work they do every day to serve our patients and New Yorkers,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “We joined our sister agencies in the response to the asylum seeker crisis. In the face of a neighborhood power outage, we safely evacuated all of our patients from NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull and brought them back when it was safe. We opened a beautiful new hospital, the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital at NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health. And we made deep investments in our staff, with a salary increase for our nurses and loan repayment for some of our behavioral health staff.”

    A list of the health system’s accomplishments for 2023 are below:

    Delivering Award-Winning, High-Quality Care

    • Newsweek ranked Seaview the #1 Nursing Home in New York State. Three of the health system’s other skilled nursing facilities ranked in the top ten, and the fifth was ranked in the top 30 out of 600 nursing homes statewide.
    • NYC Health + Hospitals was once again recognized by the American Heart Association and American Medical Association for providing high quality care in several areas, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure, stroke, and resuscitation.
    • For the first time, nine NYC Health + Hospitals sites were recognized by Planetree International for excellence in person-centered care.
    • NYC Health + Hospitals’ Accountable Care Organization earned $8M from the federal government for reducing avoidable costs and meeting high standards of quality care for patients – $4M more than last year’s shared savings. NYC Health + Hospitals is the only health system in New York State to achieve savings for ten years in a row.
    • NYC Health + Hospitals expanded its DaVinci Surgical Robot program. To offer equitable access to all patients, the health system added nine surgical robots for a total of 12 across the system.
    • A new Lung Cancer Screening Program launched at three pilot hospital sites. To date 3,961 patients have been screened. The health system’s screening rate for patients is 24% of all those eligible, which is significantly higher than the national rate of 6%. Of those screened, 23% were Black; 25% were Hispanic; 24% were White; and 26% were Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander.

    New spaces and services

    NYC Health + Hospitals opened a new hospital. The $923 million Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital on the campus of NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health is a bright, beautiful space for patients to receive care. The 11-story building was designed to withstand the next 500-year storm. Hospital staff successfully transferred over 170 patients in an operation that began at 1am on a Sunday morning.

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services opened the first-ever reentry service center on Rikers Island, a resource hub for the hundreds of people who are released from Rikers each year as well as members of the public and staff. Correctional health is also providing free smartphones and wireless plans to clinically vulnerable patients upon their release from jail to help them remain engaged in care as they return to the community.

    • The health system launched telehealth abortion access through Virtual ExpressCare — becoming the first public health system in the nation to do so.
    • Seven new murals can be found around NYC Health + Hospitals thanks to the Arts in Medicine department’s Community Mural Project at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County; NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Sydenham; NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens; NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler; NYC Health + Hospitals/Carter; and NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Morrisania. Two more murals will arrive after the new year at NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem and NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln.
    • NYC Health + Hospitals successfully advocated for $95.1 million in city, state, and federal funding for medical equipment and structural upgrades for its facilities, including radiology equipment at NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan, substance use treatment at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi, and infrastructure improvements at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull.

    Meeting Challenges Head On

    • NYC Health + Hospitals remained at the forefront of the city’s response to the historic asylum seeker crisis, providing shelter, health care, casework, and social services to tens of thousands of asylum seekers at our humanitarian relief centers. Staff at the city’s Arrival Center registered and provided medical services to more than 85,000 asylum seekers since the facility opened in May. This year, our clinicians have completed over 30,000 visits to patients who are known to be migrants or asylum seekers.

    In response to a neighborhood power failure, NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull successfully and safely evacuated all of its patients and brought them back when it was safe.

    Finding Homes for Our Patients

    • 300 patients found permanent housing working with NYC Health + Hospitals’ Housing for Health team this year.
    • The health system broke ground on a new housing development on the NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull campus that will have 93 apartments, including 56 units of supportive housing for our patients.

    Food as Medicine

    The Lifestyle Medicine Program, launched at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue in 2019, began its citywide expansion. NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi, NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, and NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County all kicked off their Lifestyle Medicine programs this fall, with NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, and NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham/Vanderbilt to come in the spring.

    • All of the health system’s hospitals began serving plant-based meals as the primary choice for dinner, encouraging patients to eat tasty food that promotes better health outcomes.

    Investing in Behavioral Health

    • The health system opened a new Extended Care Unit at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County for patients who are discharged from psychiatric inpatient care and want continued support. Patients stay in the ECU for up to 90 days to work on rehabilitation and reintegrating into the community. The ECU at Kings County Hospital joins a successful program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue launched in 2020.
    • NYC Health + Hospitals finished converting back medical units to psychiatric units after COVID and are on track to have nearly 1,000 psychiatric beds online by the New Year.
    • NYC Health + Hospitals expanded our services for survivors of domestic violence by bringing behavioral health services to the city’s domestic violence shelter system, providing on-site services to adults and children. The initiative started in 9 shelters in 2023. The health system also opened two specialized mental health clinics for survivors at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln and NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County.

    Supporting our staff

    • NYC Health + Hospitals’ nurses had a big year: they gained pay parity with private hospitals thanks to a new NYSNA contract; celebrated with Mayor Adams at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Gouverneur for the citywide milestone of 5,000 nurses trained through the Nurse Residency Program in NYC; and were recognized with the American Association of Critical Care Nurses Beacon award (NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, and NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln), DAISY Awards for Post-Acute Care Facilities, American Nurses Credentialing Center Pathway to Excellence designation (NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, and NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health), and the Emergency Nurses Association Lantern Award (South Brooklyn Health).
    • NYC Health + Hospitals distributed $1 million in debt relief to 27 behavioral health providers in exchange for a three-year commitment to serving our health system.

    Using Creativity to Connect and Heal Our Patients

    • NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem CEO Georges Leconte let cameras follow him into his colonoscopy to destigmatize the procedure and encourage more people to get screened for colorectal cancer with help from Harlem Hospital Chief of Gastroenterology Dr. Joan Culpepper-Morgan.
    • Artist Modesto “Flako” Jimenez completed his yearlong residency with NYC Health + Hospitals’ gun violence prevention programs and the youth involved in them, leading to a new mural about Guns Down, Life Up at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, a modern adaption of Romeo and Juliet, a gallery exhibit at Materials for the Arts in Queens, a showcase at Carnegie Hall, and a short video about the collaboration.
    • NYC Care almost reaches the 125,000 members milestone. This fall, the program partnered with the Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit to engage 30,000 NYC Care members who had not yet scheduled a primary care appointment, and connected them to care.