Day in the Life of Dr. Eric Wei, CEO NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue

What happens when the person running the hospital is also the one rushing patients through its doors? Meet Dr. Eric Wei—CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and a practicing emergency physician. In this Day in the Life photo essay, we follow him from the boardroom to the trauma bay, capturing the rare balance of high‑stakes leadership and frontline medicine. Two roles. One mission. All in a day’s work.

“I am looking forward to the opportunity to build and implement a strategic 5-year vision for Bellevue Hospital; setting and achieving ambitious goals as we approach Bellevue’s 300th birthday.” -Dr. Eric Wei

CABINET MEETING

Dr. Wei was appointed CEO of Bellevue Hospital effective January 6, 2025. He has also served as Interim CEO of Lincoln Hospital, Harlem Hospital and Elmhurst Hospital. Here he leads the bi-weekly hospital cabinet meeting to discuss a range of topics relevant to Bellevue Hospital operations, staffing, events, goals and milestones among other things.

“I like to start cabinet meetings asking everyone in attendance to share “one good thing,” said Dr. Wei. “It takes everyone to a positive place and is a nice way for colleagues to share something that’s meaningful to them. This practice creates a sense of connection and sets the groundwork for a meeting grounded in psychological safety and collaborative communication.”

ROUNDING

“One of the things I love about rounding is the impromptu check-ins from staff who stop and strike up a conversation. These brief, unplanned exchanges are extremely valuable because I am all about establishing a level of psychological safety where staff feel comfortable to share what’s working and what can be improved. Staff really appreciate being asked, “what can I do to help?” -Dr. Eric Wei

During this part of rounding, Dr. Wei checks-in with the critical care unit to get a better understanding of the status of patient care and to give out snacks to on-call staff as an act of kindness and solidarity.

“Bellevue Hospital is vast. It will probably take me two years to truly feel comfortable with my knowledge of the entire building. Every day I learn something new.” -Dr. Eric Wei

PLANNING IN ACTION

*After rounding is complete a quick check of the schedule indicates a catch-up meeting is next!*

*Time to switch gears and get ready for the next activity in an action-packed day.*

*An important planning meeting—which includes a private session—and catching up with partners and colleagues from the Quality & Safety team.*

Did You Know?

Dr. Wei oversaw the creation of Helping Healers Heal (H3), the health system’s peer support program which was expanded during the Covid-19 pandemic to address health care provider trauma, burnout, and compassion fatigue. He also launched the Clinical Leadership Fellowship at NYC Health + Hospitals to develop the next generation of health care leaders–as well as a formal Arts in Medicine department to oversee the health system’s robust art collection of over 7,000 works. The Arts in Medicine department also develops arts and wellness programming for staff, patients, and visitors.

ROLE SWITCH

*Dr. Wei is also a practicing emergency medicine physician who rotated through all 11 emergency departments across our health system. He completes an ED shift at Bellevue Hospital one day per week.*

*Dr. Wei checking in with ED charge nurse, Katie Truong, getting an update on the status of patients admitted overnight during the previous shift.*

At the start of each shift, Dr. Wei completes a walk-through of the department to see patients signed out from the previous shift. He also makes sure that all equipment and resources are stocked and where they need to be.

*For non-English-speaking patients, our health system employs multiple resources which allows care providers like Dr. Wei to communicate with them.*

“I see approximately 20 – 30 patients per shift, and the reasons for admission to the ED varies—from accidents, gun shots, Level 1 traumas to critically ill patients being admitted for a range of conditions like heart attacks, stroke, behavioral health crisis, substance abuse and everything in between.” -Dr. Eric Wei

As is the case in all EDs, Dr. Wei works with a team of interdisciplinary providers – including radiology, EMTs, surgical, nursing, security and oftentimes, behavioral health and social work to deliver excellent care.

“The pace in the emergency department picks up from around 9 a.m. and stays busy through the afternoon into the evening. The shape of patient arrival curve is pretty much the same every day with Mondays being the busiest, so we have to be prepared for the patients we know are coming.” -Dr. Eric Wei

“One of the things I am most proud of is the work the inpatient process improvement (lean) team did to improve the workflow to reduce emergency department patient overflow—which in the past meant that patients would be waiting a long time for a bed. I am grateful for everyone involved who worked on implementing this project which has vastly improved Bellevue Hospital’s capacity, so patients are no longer waiting a long time for an inpatient bed.” -Dr. Eric Wei.

What is an inpatient lean team?

(Inpatient) lean teams for example, analyze and redesign patient workflows and processes to reduce delays, improve safety, and optimize resource use. Lean teams partner with clinical and operational staff to identify bottlenecks in patient flow and implement solutions that improve quality and reduce waste.

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