NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan, the Government of the Dominican Republic Announce New Partnership Regarding Health Care of Dominican Government Employees in NYC
First Lady Raquel Arbaje de Abinader, and UN Ambassador José A. Blanco joined hospital leadership to sign the agreement at NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan
Sep 20, 2021
NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan and the Government of the Dominican Republic today announced a new partnership that will provide healthcare to employees of the Dominican government while they are working or traveling in New York City.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan will cooperate with the Dominican government to facilitate the care its employees and their families receive while in New York City. The initiative will include primary care, emergency care, behavioral health, and referrals to surgical procedures and specialty services throughout the city’s public health care system. Metropolitan Hospital will provide a particular focus on pediatric care.
“The health of the Dominican people, whether at home or abroad, has been a top priority for me and for all of our government,” said First Lady of the Dominican Republic Raquel Arbaje de Abinader. “We look forward to a close collaboration with NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan and the NYC pubic health care system to enhance healthcare for all Dominicans.”
“Our health system has been a national leader in providing care to all New Yorkers,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “With this new partnership with the Dominican Republic, NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan will strive to be a national model and champion of culturally-competent care to varied immigrant communities such as those served by NYC’s municipal hospital system.”
“We are grateful to First Lady Arbaje de Abinader for selecting our hospital to host this exciting new partnership with the government of the Dominican Republic,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan CEO Cristina Contreras. “We take great pride in being a health care provider of choice for our Dominican patients and for all of the communities we serve.”
First Lady of the Dominican Republic Raquel Arbaje de Abinader, and Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations Ambassador José A. Blanco, joined NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD, and NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan CEO Cristina Contreras for the announcement.
Based in East Harlem NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan serves a diverse patient from all five boroughs, with the majority residing in Upper Manhattan, southern Bronx and western Queens. Almost half of Metropolitan’s patients identify as Latino/Hispanic, and speak Spanish at home. The hospital has a long history of serving immigrant communities.