Queens Annual Public Meeting

NYC Health + Hospitals
Fiscal Year 2025 Annual Public Meeting – Queens
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Report by Dr. Mitchell Katz, President and CEO

Good evening, I’m Dr. Mitch Katz and I’m a practicing primary care doctor and the President and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals. This is my eighth year here at the health care System, and I am proud and honored to lead this institution. I don’t do this alone, of course. We have thousands of employees who ensure that New Yorkers received the high-quality care they deserve. Some of those folks are in the room today.

I want to thank our Board Members who are here, the staff who organized this meeting, and the team here tonight who will ensure that your words are captured for all our leadership to hear.

I want to thank those of you in the audience and those speaking this evening. Your presence here demonstrates how much you care about New York City’s public health care system, the quality of health care in your neighborhood, and the community both inside and outside of our facilities. I appreciate your time and look forward to hearing what you have to say.

My goal has always been to expand access to care for more New Yorkers regardless of their ability to pay or immigration status, offer the highest quality of care, and advance our mission and values. This remains core to what we do every day at NYC Health + Hospitals.

Before we begin tonight’s meeting, I do want to highlight some of our achievements from this past year.

• Our nursing team has had a phenomenal year. In addition to national recognition and awards, we have hired over 3,600 new union nurses since March 2023, replacing many agency nurses.
• In 2024 we housed over 375 of our patients through our Housing for Health initiative. The initiative has now housed over 1,200 patients since launch.
• US News & World Report, included all 11 of our hospitals in its “Best Hospitals 2024–2025” list, with a special nod to NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst Hospital as a “Best Regional Hospital for Equitable Access.” Additionally, Newsweek ranked Seaview the #1 nursing home in New York City. Four of the health System’s other skilled nursing facilities ranked in the top ten, and the fifth was ranked in the top 20 out of 600 nursing homes Statewide.
• All of our hospitals have achieved at least three honors through the American Heart Association Get with the Guidelines and Mission: Lifeline quality programs.
• We continue to be a leader in LGBTQ+ care. Recently, NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan reached a milestone of performing 200 gender-affirming surgeries. Additionally, all 18 eligible NYC Health + Hospitals facilities earned the “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader” designation by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index.
• Four of our hospitals — Bellevue, Elmhurst, Lincoln and Woodhull — were ranked by US News and World Report magazine as high performing for Uncomplicated Pregnancies.
• Our ground-breaking Lifestyle Medicine Program completed its expansion this past year, opening new sites at Elmhurst Hospital; Gotham Health, Vanderbilt; and Lincoln Hospital, for a total of seven sites systemwide that together can serve 4,000 patients a year. This summer, the program launched free, monthly produce boxes delivered to patients’ homes for up to six months to make it easier to incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables into their diet.
• In 2024 we launched a comprehensive three-year blueprint to strengthen and expand our behavioral health services, funded in part by $41 million from the State. Separately, we received $5 million in philanthropic aid to support our behavioral health workforce, one of the largest donations ever received by the health system. $4 million of those funds will directly support student debt relief for behavioral health staff in exchange for a three-year commitment to our system and our Behavioral Health Loan Repayment Program (BH4NYC). The additional $1 million in funding will be used for staff retention through career advancement and workplace safety initiatives.
• We continue to provide services at our asylum seeker Arrival Center, which has welcomed more than 175,000 individuals from more than 160 countries.
• Our health insurance plan, MetroPlusHealth, continues to grow its membership roles across the five boroughs.
• NYC Health + Hospitals’ facilities and engineering teams are working hard to reduce our carbon footprint. This year we installed the first solar panels on the roof of Elmhurst Hospital. This will supplement the power that the Level 1 trauma center uses every day.
• NYC Care, our health care access program for people who are ineligible or cannot afford health insurance, celebrated its five-year anniversary with over 125,000 members enrolled in the program, over one million primary care appointments provided to its members since launch. The program also released two studies showing its members had chronic disease management comparable to Medicaid enrollees.
• We performed over 10,000 scans for lung cancer in the first two years of the Lung Cancer Screening program. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women, and more people die each year from lung cancer than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined.
• The health care System opened 20 new wellness rooms where staff can decompress during the workday and participate in wellness activities. They will address the burgeoning challenge of burnout and stress among health care workers.
• Our Arts in Medicine program continued to beautify our hospitals and create spaces for healing and reflection. Ten new murals were installed this year at our facilities, the newest one just recently at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi.
• Our 250 Community Health Workers have worked with over 25,000 patients. CHWs meet regularly with patients to identify and address barriers to health and well-being, such as housing, financial, food, and legal needs, as well as helping them schedule health care appointments and coordinate transportation.
• Finally, we launched our own podcast. Episodes covered the power of primary care, food as medicine, preparing for the next pandemic, women’s health, patients experiencing homelessness, caring for the newest New Yorkers, and the health system’s workforce wellness program Helping Healers Heal.

QUEENS NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS

I would be remiss if I didn’t specifically highlight our Queens’ facilities accomplishments. NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and Queens and Gotham Health sites have contributed to our extraordinary year, too.

At NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst

As I mentioned, the hospital was named a US News & World Report Best Regional Hospital, High Performing in six Specialties and High Distinction in Maternal Care

• Elmhurst Hospital became the first American hospital to form an alliance with EHL Hospitality Group to enhance Patient Experience.
• The hospital launched an Elmhurst Suicide Prevention in Youth program.
• Last year Elmhurst Hospital participated in and hosted 281 Community Events.
• CEO Dr. Helen Arteaga Landaverde received the prestigious Joan H. Tisch Community Health Award for embodying the mission of the public health system to deliver equitable health care to all New Yorkers, and for exemplifying the values of compassion, integrity, and respect for all.
• In 2024, the hospital completed key capital projects, including:
  • New Fluoroscopy Room
  • New Cardiac Cath Lab Equipment
  • New Sterilizers and Infusion Pumps throughout the hospital
  • Opening a Pride Navigation Office, the first step to expanding its Pride Health Services program

NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens has had a phenomenal year, too.

• It added two new clinical programs, including a Weight Management and a Primary Care clinic for Behavioral Health patients.
• The hospital also launched a Weight Management and Healthy Lifestyles Program, which addresses critical health challenges such as obesity and diabetes.
• The hospital’s Emergency Department received the Emergency Nurses Association’s (ENA) Lantern Award, recognizing exceptional and innovative performance in leadership, practice, education, evidence-based practice and innovation.
• The Peri-Operative and Perinatal Services Registered Nurses received the prestigious designation as a Center of Excellence in Surgical Safety. Queens Hospital is the first hospital in the Borough of Queens to achieve this recognition.
• It was awarded a Certificate of Recognition from the American Heart Association for controlling diabetes in its patients.
• In the spirit of the DAISY Award which was created for extraordinary nurses, the Touching Unique Lives In Practice (TULIP) Award was established to recognize support staff. Queens Hospital is the first hospital in our health System to receive the prestigious TULIP Award.
• The hospital held successful screening days, including for lung, breast, and prostate cancers.
• The hospital completed a significant energy efficiency upgrade aimed at optimizing energy use and decarbonizing building operations, ultimately creating a healthier environment for patients and staff.
• The American Hospital Association recognized the hospital with an Achievement Award entitled “Get with The Guidelines- Resuscitation BRONZE”.
• It received “Leader” designation status in the 2024 Healthcare Equality Index Survey. The Index promotes LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and affirming practices in healthcare facilities.
• Queens Hospital was awarded “Silver Certification for Excellence in Person-Centered Care” from Planetree International. The award looks at how health care professionals’ partner with patients and families to identify and satisfy the full range of patient needs and preferences.
• It received recognition for Excellence in Patient Safety according to Healthgrades’. Queens Hospital was only 1 of 5 New York City hospitals to receive this Patient Safety recognition. Healthgrades measures hospital performance based on patient outcomes.
• Queens Hospital achieved a 5-year designation as a National Infant Safe Sleep Hospital.

And finally, our NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health sites have also seen improvements and upgrades for patients.

• NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Queens and Roosevelt received awards from the American Heart Association’s Million Hearts program for exceeding metrics for Hypertension, Type 2 Diabetes, and Cholesterol.
• Queens sites last year were awarded $6M in capital funding from local elected officials for improvement to sites that will lead to better health outcomes for patients.

It takes all of us to make NYC Health + Hospitals succeed. And we could not do it without all of you – our patients and patient advocates, community-based organizations, elected officials, and other members of the communities we serve. Thank you for being here tonight and for your support of our essential public health care System.

Now let’s proceed to the main purpose of tonight’s meeting – to hear from you, members of our community. Your input is so important to the future success of NYC Health + Hospitals. We are ready to listen.

I will now turn to our General Counsel to outline the proceeding for tonight’s meeting.