NYC Health + Hospitals Releases Fourth Episode of Season 2 of The Remedy, a Podcast from the Largest Safety Net Health Care System in the United States
Season 2 Episode 4: The New Ellis Island covers the historic work of NYC Health + Hospitals’ Arrival Center, a central intake facility for all newly arriving asylum seekers The health care system’s role as a public hospital system and a major safety net health care system for New York City offers a singular voice that no other health care podcast can The Remedy is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio and other platforms
Apr 22, 2025
New York, NY — NYC Health + Hospitals today released the fourth episode of its podcast, The Remedy, featuring leaders and health care providers from the nation’s largest municipal health care system. Season 2 Episode 4: The New Ellis Island covers the historic work of NYC Health + Hospitals’ Arrival Center, a central intake facility for all newly arriving asylum seekers run by NYC Health + Hospitals’ Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center (HERRC) program. The facility has received over 180,000 people from over 160 countries since it opened in May 2023, offering critical healthcare, medical and behavioral health screenings, and case management services. Host Dr. Michael Shen speaks with Shane Hanlon, Director of the Arrival Center, and Besa Rexha, Deputy Director of the Arrival Center, to discuss their work providing critical medical, social, and behavioral health services to over 180,000 newly arriving asylum seekers seeking help in New York City. Season 2 of The Remedy will include seven episodes, focusing on frontline workers that often provide care outside the walls of public hospitals and health centers, with a new episode released every two weeks. Season 2 Episode 4: The New Ellis Island is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio and other podcast platforms.
“The Arrival Center is at the heart of the city’s response to newly arriving asylum seekers,” said The Remedy Host Dr. Michael Shen. “Walking in here was mind-blowing for me. I’ve heard about this place so much from my patients. The scale of the work – the number of patients, the number of languages spoken, the services provided – is huge.”
“The Arrival Center is more than just a first stop—it’s a lifeline for asylum-seekers,” said Arrival Center Director Shane Hanlon. “We’re incredibly proud of the holistic care we offer, from health screenings to family resources support and shelter, all tailored to meet the immediate needs of these new New Yorkers. Seeing 180,000 people individuals leave in a better position than when they arrived speaks to the heart of our work. The impact of services like TB testing, vaccinations, and school enrollment—integrated seamlessly into housing placement—is immeasurable. We ensure that every guest is welcomed with dignity and respect, and is given the support they need to restart their lives.”
“The Arrival Center has been a cornerstone of our guests’ journey towards comfort, survival, and success in a new country,” said Arrival Center Deputy Director Besa Rexha. “That all starts with meeting each individual with open arms, compassion, and dignity. Our works here reminds me of a favorite childhood quote: ‘Extending a hand can bring light to someone lost in darkness.’ This chapter of New York’s story will remain a historic and heartfelt memory for me and my team, as we had the privilege to become a light of hope for the people in our care.”
NYC Health + Hospitals’ role as a public hospital system and the major safety net health care system for New York City offers a singular voice that no other health care podcast can. It shows how the public health care system provides care for all patients, regardless of their ability to pay; offers exciting ways to support patients, including dance and music therapy and support navigating benefits; and responds to the challenges that face New York City, including homelessness, gun violence, and the asylum seeker crisis. The host and guests are all health care system employees with a special perspective on the work they do for patients.
Previous episodes of The Remedy cover the following topics:
Season 2
- Season 2 Episode 1: Community Health Workers covers these workers’ vital role in bridging the gap between medical care and social needs like housing, food, and transportation. With over 250 community health workers, NYC Health + Hospitals has built one of the largest programs in the nation. Host Dr. Michael Shen sits down with Natasha McIntosh-Whyte, a Community Health Worker Supervisor, and Nkrumah Powell, a Community Health Worker, to discuss how they help patients navigate a complex system.
- Season 2 Episode 2: How NYC Care Helps Uninsured New Yorkers highlights how the program provides health care to low-income and uninsured New Yorkers—regardless of immigration status or ability to pay. Host Dr. Michael Shen speaks with Dr. Jonathan Jiménez, Executive Director of NYC Care, and Maritza Terrones, Health Care Director at La Jornada to discuss how NYC Care started, the importance of outreach through trusted community groups like La Jornada, and the program’s incredible outcomes after five years, including improvements for New Yorkers with diabetes and hypertension.
- Season 2 Episode 3: Treating Violence covers the critical work the public health system’s Hospital Violence Interruption programs (HVIP) do to prevent violence, save lives, and heal communities. Host Dr. Michael Shen speaks with James Dobbins, Executive Director of Guns Down Life Up, Dr. Robert Gore, Attending ER Physician at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings and Founder of Kings Against Violence Initiative (KAVI), and Yahsef Johnson, KAVI Kings Hospital Program Coordinator, to discuss the work their programs do to break cycles of violence and create lasting positive change in the lives of impacted young people and their communities.
Season 1
- Season 1 Episode 1: The Power of Primary Care features three primary care doctors on how working with their patients informs their roles in leadership at NYC Health + Hospitals. The episode features Dr. Mitchell Katz, President and Chief Executive Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals and a primary care physician at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur; Dr. Andrew Wallach, Ambulatory Care Chief Medical Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals and Chief of Ambulatory Care at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue; and Dr. Michelle Soto, then-Chief of Ambulatory Care at NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health.
- Season 1 Episode 2: Food is Medicine recognizes that plant-based eating is powerful medicine – it can lower high blood pressure and bring type 2 diabetes into remission – and considers how hospitals can help their patients pursue a plant-based diet. The episode features Dr. Michelle McMacken, Executive Director of Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine, and the health care system’s Executive Chef Phil DeMaiolo.
- Season 1 Episode 3: Ready for the Next Pandemic considers how New York City’s public hospital system has consistently answered the challenge of Ebola, COVID-19, and Mpox all while staying ahead of the latest health crisis. The episode features Dr. Syra Madad, then the Senior Director of System-Wide Special Pathogens Program and now the system’s Chief Biopreparedness Officer, and Dr. Richard James Salway, then-Senior Director of Emergency Management.
- Season 1 Episode 4: Women’s Health considers how New York City’s public hospital system is expanding access to women’s health care in a time when many women across the country are facing restricted access to care. The episode features Dr. Marisa Nadas, Reproductive Health Clinical Lead, and Dr. Wendy Wilcox, Chief Women’s Health Officer. Together, they discuss how NYC Health + Hospitals is expanding telehealth and in-person reproductive health services for everyone who needs them.
- Season 1 Episode 5: Caring for the Newest New Yorkers covers how the staff at NYC Health + Hospitals are rising to the challenge of caring for the over 175,000 asylum seekers who have come to our city since spring 2022. Host Dr. Michael Shen is joined by Dr. Ted Long, Senior Vice President of Ambulatory Care and Population Health, and Dr. Natalie Davis, Associate Medical Director of Ambulatory Women’s Health Services at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, to discuss NYC Health + Hospitals’ humanitarian centers, providing access to healthcare for asylum seekers, helping migrants deal with trauma they’ve experienced on their journeys, and much more.
- Season 1 Episode 6: Caring for Homeless Patients covers how NYC Health + Hospitals serves its over 70,000 patients who are experiencing homelessness. Host Dr. Michael Shen is joined by Dr. Amanda Johnson, Assistant Vice President of Ambulatory Care and Population Health at NYC Health + Hospitals, and Leora Jontef, Assistant Vice President of Housing and Real Estate at NYC Health + Hospitals, to delve into New York City’s housing crisis, explain how safety net clinics and mobile vans are providing care to patients experiencing homelessness, and why New York City’s public health care system now has a path connecting hundreds of patients to their own homes.
- Season 1 Episode 7: Helping Healers Heal covershow NYC Health + Hospitals supports the mental health of its more than 40,000 health care workers. Host Dr. Michael Shen is joined by Dr. Eric Wei, Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals, and Jeremy Segall, the System Chief Wellness Officer, to delve into how the pressures of a healthcare job can often lead to stress, burnout, and depression, addressing the stigma around mental health, the system’s Helping Healers Heal program, using the arts to de-stress, and more.
About the Host
Michael S. Shen, MD is a primary care doctor at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull and the Medical Director of Woodhull Hospital’s Adult Primary Care and Geriatrics clinics. Dr. Shen was previously a Health Affairs Podcast Fellow where he created a 3-episode series about safety net hospitals. He is also an artist who works in watercolor, acrylic, mixed media, and digital media. His illustrative work has been published by National Geographic Books, the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics, and the Annals of Internal Medicine. Find him on Twitter @MikeShenMD.
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MEDIA CONTACT: PressOffice@nychhc.org
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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.
