Amit Uppal, MD Appointed Chief Medical Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
Dr. Nate Link, who steps down after twelve years as CMO, will remain at Bellevue Hospital
Oct 23, 2024
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue today announced that Amit Uppal, MD has been appointed as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at the hospital, effective January 6, 2025. He will succeed Dr. Nate Link, who is stepping down as CMO after twelve years in the position. Bellevue Hospital is the biggest acute care facility in the nation’s largest municipal health system.
“Dr. Amit Uppal has served Bellevue with distinction in a number of leadership roles over the past fifteen years,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue CEO William Hicks. “At various times, Dr. Uppal has overseen the Medical Intensive Care Unit, Critical Care Services, and most recently the hospital’s Quality Department. He has consistently focused on improving patient outcomes, patient safety, and health care equity. We are excited to welcome him into his new role as Bellevue’s Chief Medical Officer.”
“Bellevue has been my home for my entire medical career, and there’s no other place I would rather work. I’m passionate about the work we do and the patients we serve, so I am honored to play my part in Bellevue’s future,” said Dr. Amit Uppal, Chief Quality Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. “Dr. Link is part of Bellevue’s fabric. He has guided Bellevue through the many challenges we have faced and positioned us as exactly what we want to be: a hospital that stands ready to provide the highest level of care for any patient who needs us. While there is no replacing him, I am eager to carry forward the standard he has set for us.”
“Dr. Uppal is a highly respected clinician who showed exceptional leadership of critical care during our COVID challenge,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue Chief Medical Officer Nate Link, MD. “More recently, as Chief Quality Officer, he has honed his administrative skills in the areas of Risk, Regulatory, and Performance Improvement. I look forward to Dr. Uppal’s continuing contributions as physician leader in the role of Chief Medical Officer.”
“We owe Dr. Link a tremendous debt of gratitude for his many years of service as CMO,” Mr. Hicks added. “We are grateful that Dr. Link will continue to see inpatients as a hospitalist, and will support Dr. Uppal in his new role.”
Dr. Uppal currently serves as Bellevue’s Chief Quality Officer. He has been at the hospital since he arrived as a trainee in 2008. Throughout his time at Bellevue, Dr. Uppal has focused on clinical improvement efforts such as improving early detection and management of sepsis, improving airway safety, and expanding critical care capacity. He has also played a key role when the hospital has faced emergencies such as Superstorm Sandy in 2012, the response to the Ebola outbreak in 2014, and the COVID pandemic in 2020. Under his leadership, the Quality Department has flourished and expanded its impact on hospital operations, including regulatory certifications, quality assurance, performance improvement, incident management, and staff wellness. He continues to care for patients in the ICU and is a member of the Special Pathogens Team at Bellevue. Dr. Uppal is also an Associate Professor at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and a member of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, & Sleep Medicine.
Dr. Link first joined Bellevue as a medical intern in 1983 and has remained here ever since. In the 1990s he practiced in the Primary Care Clinic and rose through the leadership ranks in the Department of Ambulatory Care. In 2001, he became the Bellevue Chief of Medicine and shifted his clinical practice to the inpatient service. In 2012, he was appointed Chief Medical Officer and has served in that role ever since – through Superstorm Sandy in 2012, the Ebola experience of 2014, and all of the COVID-19 pandemic response. Dr. Link plans to remain active at Bellevue by continuing to see inpatients on a periodic basis and providing administrative support to the new CMO. His goal is to stay active at least through Bellevue’s tricentennial celebration in 2036.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Bellevue Public Relations, 212-562-4516
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About NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue is America’s oldest public hospital, established in 1736. Affiliated with the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the 851-bed hospital is a major referral center for highly complex cases, with 6,000 employees including highly skilled, interdisciplinary clinical staff. The hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center and annually it sees about 103,000 emergency room visits, and more than 520,000 outpatient visits. Clinical centers of excellence include: Emergency Medicine and Trauma Care; Cardiovascular Services; Bariatric Surgery; Designated Regional Perinatal Center and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; Children’s Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program; and Cancer Services. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org/bellevue and follow us on Facebook and X (Twitter).
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public 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.