Mitchell H. Katz, MD
NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
November 20, 2025
NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS EMPLOYEE AND FACILITY RECOGNITIONS
U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT RANKS NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS’ POST-ACUTE CARE FACILITIES AS ‘HIGH-PERFORMING’ FOR LONG-TERM CARE AND SHORT-TERM REHABILITATION
NYC Health + Hospitals’ five nursing homes have been ranked as “high-performing” in the U.S. News & World Report 2026 Best Nursing Homes list for both the Long-Term Care and Short-Term Rehabilitation. For the 2026 edition, U.S. News evaluated nearly 15,000 nursing homes on patient and resident outcomes, such as hospital readmission rates, staffing levels, and health inspection results. Only 1,064 (7%) nursing homes earned the “high-performing” ratings in both categories nationwide, and 71 in New York State. U.S. News’ annual evaluation of nursing homes is highly selective, recognizing fewer than 19% of the evaluated U.S. nursing homes as “Best Nursing Homes” as part of the 2026 ratings. This designation is reserved only for facilities that satisfy U.S. News’ rigorous, proprietary assessment criteria demonstrating a consistent and superior commitment to quality patient and resident care.
NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS APPOINTS SEWIT TECKIE, MD, MBA VICE PRESIDENT OF ENTERPRISE CLINICAL OPERATIONS
NYC Health + Hospitals appointed Sewit Teckie, MD, MBA Vice President to lead the Office of Enterprise Clinical Operations. She previously served as the System Chief of Clinical Affairs, and System Chief of Radiation Oncology before that. The Office of Enterprise Clinical Operations oversees the health system’s clinical affairs and operations. The office’s priorities include expanding shared clinical services to improve patient access to specialists, building a sustainable physician and provider workforce, growing its undergraduate and graduate medical education programs, and supporting the clinical services offered by the system. Dr. Teckie’s appointment is effective as of November 8, 2025.
The Office of Enterprise Clinical Operations covers five main areas: Affiliations and Provider Staffing, Credentialing and Medical Staff Offices, Medical Education, Shared Clinical Services, and Specialty Services. Its Affiliations relationships provide approximately 6,000 full-time medical staff across the health System through agreements with the Physician Affiliate Group of New York (PAGNY), the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, and the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center. The Medical Staff division is responsible for credentialing and privileging of all health System providers. Its Office of Graduate Medical Education oversees nearly 350 training programs for over 2,900 residents and fellows, one of the largest programs in the nation. Shared Services supports regional or multi-site clinical initiatives, such as Telestroke and Urology plans. The division is also responsible for the health System’s Specialty Services, including Oncology business plans and new initiatives; Genetics care in the prenatal, oncology, and pediatrics settings; Lung Cancer Screening; the Institute of Medical Simulation and Learning (IMSAL), which provides clinical scenario training for providers with patients played by actors; and Women’s Health, which oversees initiatives including the Maternal Home to provide wraparound support for pregnant and postpartum women and the new NYC Baby Boxes.
Dr. Teckie is a practicing radiation oncologist who joined the health System as System Chief of Radiation Oncology in February 2022, responsible for planning and implementation of cancer programs throughout NYC Health + Hospitals. Over the past three years, she supported major technological and clinical oncology upgrades at Elmhurst, Queens, Kings County, and Lincoln hospitals. She also co-led the Suspected Cancer Initiative to improve patient access to cancer workup, as well as multiple IT initiatives to improve workflows and patient management. Her clinical practice is at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County focused on head-and-neck cancers and brain tumors. Dr. Teckie served as Interim Director of Radiation Oncology at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst from February to October 2025.
LEAPFROG GIVES NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS/QUEENS AN “A” GRADE AND SOUTH BROOKLYN HEALTH A “B” GRADE FOR PATIENT SAFETY
NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens received an “A” and NYC Health +Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health a “B” Hospital Safety Grade for Fall 2025 from The Leapfrog Group. Queens Hospital received an “A” in Spring 2025, making Queens Hospital one of only two hospitals in the borough of Queens to receive an “A” in both grading periods in 2025. According to The Leapfrog Group, nine hospitals in New York City received an “A” grade in Fall 2025. An “A” grade from The Leapfrog Group reflects strong performance on evidence-based safety measures that target preventable harm — including infection prevention, surgical and ICU safety practices, medication safety, staffing, and other process and outcome measures. Queens Hospital ranks in the upper tier on these Leapfrog safety measures citywide. Key factors that contributed to this recognition include Queens Hospital’s strong infection prevention programs, rigorous surgical and ICU safety protocols, robust medication safety systems, adequate and well-trained staffing, and a sustained focus on data driven quality improvement and safety culture.
NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health’s “B” grade reflects a commitment to patient satisfaction while simultaneously reducing hospital-acquired infections.
NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS/QUEENS NURSE LINDA BULONE RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS 2025 ALLIANCE CRP RISE AWARD FOR ADVANCING CANCER RESEARCH
Linda Bulone, RN, OCN, CCRC, Research Nurse Manager at the Queens Cancer Center at NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, received the 2025 Alliance Clinical Research Professionals Research Integrity Service Excellence (CRP RISE) Award from the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. Bulone joined NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens in 2004 and has become a singular force for cancer prevention, education, and trial enrollment across southeast Queens. Her efforts helped increase clinical trial participation at the Queens Cancer Center from roughly 1% to 16%, expanded early screening efforts, and supported reductions in late-stage diagnoses. Thanks to Bulone’s efforts, more than 1,500 cancer patients at Queens Hospital have enrolled in clinical trials over the past two decades. She is widely known for taking time with patients to explain informed consent in plain language and for addressing community concerns directly — including historical reasons for mistrust in medical research, particularly in Black and other marginalized communities — building trust through transparency, respect, and consistent follow up.
TWO NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS/NORTH CENTRAL BRONX MIDWIVES ACHIEVE RARE FELLOWSHIP HONOR
Two NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx midwives, Denise Wharton, CNM, MSN, and Melissa Creighton, DNP, CNM, have been inducted as Fellows of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) Class of 2025, one of the profession’s highest honors.
The ACNM Fellowship is a rare and prestigious recognition awarded to midwives who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, clinical excellence, outstanding scholarship, and sustained contributions to advancing midwifery and improving maternal and newborn care. This distinction places Wharton and Creighton among an elite group of practitioners who have made transformative impacts on the profession. Both midwives continue their work serving birthing families at North Central Bronx Hospital.
POLITICSNY AND AMNY METRO’S ‘2025 POWER PLAYERS IN HEALTH CARE’ RECOGNIZES NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS LEADERSHIP
NYC Health + Hospitals announced that Dr. Mitchell Katz, President and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals; Dr. Eric Wei, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue; Christopher Mastromano, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi and North Central Bronx; Danielle DiBari Chief Pharmacy Officer; José A. Pagán, Chair of the Board of Directors; Michelle Lewis, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health; Natalie Cineas, Chief Nursing Executive; and Svetlana Lipyanskaya, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health were recognized by PoliticsNY and amNY Metro’s ‘2025 Power Players in Health Care.’ The list celebrates health care leaders working tirelessly to uplift all New Yorkers and help them lead longer, healthier lives. The recognition list is part of a monthly series by PoliticsNY and amNY Metro on New York’s ‘Power Players,’ including business executives, educators, government affairs experts, and nonprofit directors.
HEALTH CARE SYSTEM AND FACILITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
MAYOR ADAMS ANNOUNCES B-HEARD WILL BE FULLY OPERATED BY NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division (B-HEARD) — the City’s health-led response to 911 mental health calls — that will shift the focus even further towards a health-first response by streamlining management to be fully operated and managed by NYC Health + Hospitals in the coming months. As part of the transition, the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) emergency medical technicians (EMTs) previously assigned to B-HEARD will be reassigned to other emergency response units as part of the City’s efforts to improve ambulance response times in cases of emergencies. After the transition, B-HEARD will continue to send out response teams to nonviolent 911 mental health calls with medical and mental health professionals. The new model is expected to take effect in the spring of 2026.
Launched in 2021, B-HEARD was created as an interagency collaboration between the FDNY and NYC Health + Hospitals with oversight from the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health (OCMH). During its initial years of operation, B-HEARD partnered EMTs and mental health clinicians to respond as a team to 911 mental health calls without violence or weapons as the primary concern.
Over the life of the program — between its launch in 2021 through June 2025 — B-HEARD teams have responded to nearly 35,000 mental health 911 calls. Of the patients who received a mental health assessment by a NYC Health + Hospitals clinician,
43 percent were served in the community instead of being transported to a hospital emergency department. B-HEARD teams work to understand each individual’s needs, de-escalate situations, and, whenever possible, connect with family members and the individual’s existing clinicians to determine the best path forward. The program achieved an overwhelming patient-satisfaction rate with 96 percent of survey respondents reporting B-HEARD helped them and 94 percent agreeing that the B-HEARD response was more appropriate for their needs than the traditional emergency response they had previously received.
Each B-HEARD response reflects New York City’s commitment to responding to the mental health crisis with the most appropriate care and reducing unnecessary use of a hospital’s emergency department and of police resources.
FOR THE FIRST TIME, NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS REACHES 70% OF PATIENTS IN PRIMARY CARE WITH CONTROLLED TYPE 2 DIABETES
NYC Health + Hospitals announced that, for the first time, 70% of its primary care patients have their type 2 diabetes controlled, a testament to the high standard of care for managing diabetes at the health System. Poorly controlled diabetes can cause blindness, kidney disease, and lower extremity amputations in adults. Most diabetes-related deaths are due to cardiovascular disease as diabetes doubles the risk of heart attack or stroke. Several programs at the health care System engage patients with diabetes, provide intensive personalized support, and connect them to additional resources as needed. In the last year, two key primary care programs, the Collaborative Drug Therapy Management Program, served over 9,000 patients and completed over 35,000 visits, and the Treat to Target Program served nearly 24,000 patients and completed over 63,000 visits. Type 2 diabetes control, measured as an A1C level below 8.0%, is a critical population health measure to track the quality of diabetes care. Today’s announcement builds on the news last month that the American Heart Association awarded twenty-three of the health care system’s primary care sites with the 2025 Target: Type 2 Diabetes Gold award, the highest possible award, for having met high thresholds for diabetes control.
Nearly one million New Yorkers have diabetes, and approximately 20% are undiagnosed. New Yorkers with obesity are twice as likely to have diabetes compared to adults without obesity.
Adults living in high-poverty neighborhoods are also at least twice as likely to report having diabetes compared to adults living in low-poverty neighborhoods. The average medical expenditure for people with diagnosed diabetes is about $19,736 per year, with about $12,022 being attributed to diabetes directly.
NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS/GOTHAM HEALTH LAUNCHES RADIOLOGY SERVICES ACROSS NEW YORK CITY
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health introduced comprehensive radiology services at multiple locations across all five boroughs, including Gotham Health sites at Belvis, Morrisania, Tremont, East New York, Broadway, Cumberland, Gouverneur, Sydenham, Roosevelt, and Vanderbilt. This initiative expands access to advanced diagnostic imaging, including MRI, CT scans, ultrasounds, X-rays, mammography, and DEXA bone density scans, by bringing these services directly into the community. By strategically situating these services in underserved communities, Gotham Health is reducing barriers to care, improving wait-times, and providing early detection and treatment of medical conditions. Gotham Health anticipates a 20% increase in patient visits annually, reaching an estimated 42,500 visits through these enhanced radiology offerings, substantially boosting community access to vital diagnostic resources.
FOR DIABETES AWARENESS MONTH, TWO PATIENTS SHARES HOW THE LIFESTYLE MEDICINE PROGRAM IMPROVED THEIR DIABETES
As part of Diabetes Awareness Month, NYC Health + Hospitals shared the story of two patients who improved their diabetes through the Lifestyle Medicine Program.
Lilibeth Ramos went to the emergency department at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi one day for pain in her leg. She had tests taken, went home with pain medication, and returned to Primary Care for a follow-up appointment. “That’s when I learned I had type 2 diabetes,” said Ramos. At 39 years old, Ramos had not seen a doctor since high school. After 7 months in the Lifestyle Medicine Program, Ramos’ A1C went from 10.6 to 5.8 with a combination of lifestyle changes and one diabetes pill. Today, her A1C is 5.4 – in the normal range – without additional medication.
Sandra Peters had been living with type 2 diabetes for over a decade when one day she began feeling very ill, unable to eat, and she kept vomiting. A trip to the emergency department at Jacobi Hospital revealed she had sepsis and kidney failure, and she went on dialysis. The scare motivated her to try the hospital’s new Lifestyle Medicine Program, but after years of diets and medication for her diabetes, she was skeptical the program had anything to teach her. Peters learned new ways to season her food, relying on garlic and cilantro for flavor instead of mayonnaise. She focused on foods that made her feel full, and she realized that fast food had lost its appeal.
Despite chronic pain in her knee and back, she began walking more and can now walk up to an hour in a day. In 7 months of the Lifestyle Medicine Program, Peters’ A1C improved from 8.0 to 7.0, and today is down to 5.8 without additional medications.
Ramos and Peters are two of the over 1,400 patients who have participated in NYC Health + Hospitals’ Lifestyle Medicine Program in the last year. The interdisciplinary program is a several-month program to support patients in making evidence-based lifestyle changes, including a healthful plant-based diet, increased physical activity, improved sleep habits, stress management, avoidance of substance use, and stronger social connections. Adults living with prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or health concerns related to excess weight are eligible to enroll. The program is available at seven sites and can serve thousands of patients each year. The care team includes physicians, nurse practitioners, a certified nurse midwife (Woodhull location), registered dietitians, health coaches, program coordinators, community health workers, and a fitness instructor, and some of the sites also offer a psychologist. Current patients of NYC Health + Hospitals can get a referral to the program from their provider, and people who are not yet patients of NYC Health + Hospitals can see if they qualify to enroll in the program by contacting 347-507-3695.
NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS PROVIDES UPDATE ON TELEHEALTH ABORTION CARE, WHICH OFFERS MEDICATION BY MAIL TO ELIGIBLE PATIENTS IN NEW YORK CITY
NYC Health + Hospitals recognized the second anniversary of telehealth abortion care through its Virtual ExpressCare service. In the past year, the service has provided over 3,100 virtual visits, mailed over 1,000 medication abortion kits, and referred an additional 1,300 patients for in-person care. The average wait-time for a virtual visit is less than 5 minutes.
Over 85% of the patients identify as people of color. The service has a 90% patient satisfaction rate and a Net Promoter
Score of 73. The service allows patients in NYC seeking abortion care to speak to a New York State-licensed health care professional on demand by video or phone for an assessment, counseling and access to medication if eligible. The telehealth service is available 7 days a week, 9am – 9pm, and will provide patients with access to safe and legal abortion care. The NYC Health + Hospitals Virtual ExpressCare service is available in over 200 languages.
NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS CELEBRATES PERFORMING NEARLY 17,000 LUNG CANCER SCREENINGS SYSTEMWIDE OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS
In recognition of Lung Cancer Awareness Month, NYC Health + Hospitals announced the public health care System had performed nearly 17,000 lung cancer screenings since the launch of its Lung Cancer Screening Program in September 2022. 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 colorectal cancers combined. Patients are screened for lung cancer with a low-dose computerized tomography (CT) scan, a diagnostic imaging tool that uses x-rays to create cross sectional images of the lungs. The early detection of lung cancer, which is often asymptomatic in early stages, has proven to dramatically increase survival. NYC Health + Hospitals offers lung cancer screening for patients who are between the ages of 50 and 80, have a history of heavy smoking, are currently using tobacco, or stopped smoking within the past 15 years, and have no signs or symptoms of underlying lung cancer. Lung cancer screenings are now available to eligible patients at all NYC Health + Hospitals acute care facilities.
Patients who screen positive for lung cancer are paired with a clinical navigator who ensures they receive care specific to their needs, including follow-up appointments and connections to tobacco cessation resources. Patients can access the latest technologies in robotic and navigational bronchoscopy to help biopsy and diagnose lung cancer, as well as minimally invasive surgical lung resection for early stage lung cancer.
Additionally, they have access to cutting-edge oncology treatments, including targeted therapy and eligibility for certain clinical trials to explore advanced treatment options.
NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS COMPLETES $30.5 MILLION UPGRADE TO HIGH TECH HOSPITAL BEDS
NYC Health + Hospitals announced the successful roll out of new hospital beds across the System that include features to improve the patient experience, enhance patient quality outcomes and support nursing staff. The $30.5 million upgrade replaced over 2,000 beds over a period of 11 months across the health care
System. The hospitals’ Medical-Surgical units now have Hillrom Centrella smart beds, which prevent falls with alarms, audio messages, and icons projected on the floor about the bed’s safety settings, and are projected to reduce the risk of falls. The hospitals’ Intensive Care Units now have Hillrom Progressa beds, which can adjust into a seated position to help patients get out of bed and reduce strain on the nursing staff. Vibration and rotation therapy settings can loosen fluid in a patient’s lungs while they lay in bed. Both types of beds have features to reduce the risk of bed sores for immobile patients, including support turning the patient and a mattress that circulates air pressure, heat, and moisture. NYC Health + Hospitals has partnered with Hillrom to strategically source and standardize the beds throughout the health system and facilitate easier IT integration with the Nurse Call System, which is also being upgraded across the health care system and will pave the way for integration with Epic.
NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS AND SODEXO COMPLETE UPGRADES TO LINEN MANAGEMENT MACHINES, SAVING $3.06 MILLION ANNUALLY
NYC Health + Hospitals and Sodexo announced a completed upgrade to the linen management machines, saving $3.06 million annually. The five-year project placed 193 alEx Linen Centers across the health care System’s 11 hospitals to reduce excess linen use.
The machines monitor inventory by weight, only allow authorized users, and send restocking alerts automatically when supplies are low. In the first phase of the project, linen machines in each hospital’s emergency department reduced linen use by 55%, from 7.73 pounds to 4.25 pounds per Emergency Department visit. Today’s announcement marks the expansion of the machines into the nursing departments across the health care System to streamline linen use across inpatient care. The health care System uses nearly 15 million pounds of linen each year.
NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS/ELMHURST EXPANDS PEDIATRIC CARE TO INCLUDE HEMATOLOGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE CARE
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst today announced an expansion to its pediatric specialty care. Mary Boyle, MD joins Elmhurst Hospital as an Attending Physician and specialist in treating pediatric infectious diseases, and Kristina Emeghebo, MD will serve as an Attending Physician and specialist in pediatric hematology. Both physicians are experts in the fields and will enhance the quality and depth of care provided by Elmhurst Hospital’s Department of Pediatrics.
Dr. Emeghebo, who will also practice at NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, specializes in diagnosing, treating, managing and monitoring blood disorders in infants, children and young adults. At Elmhurst Hospital she will work closely with parents and families to manage chronic conditions and develop long-term care plans for children living with blood conditions. Her practice will include managing anemias, bleeding disorders such as hemophilia, platelet function disorders, clotting disorders, and immune-related conditions. She also plans to develop community-based education and screening programs for blood disorders as well psychosocial support for patient families.
Dr. Boyle’s practice will focus on treating pediatric patients with complex infections that require specialized care, including tuberculosis, HIV, MRSA, bone and joint infections, congenital infections, and travel and tropical infections such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya, typhoid, and schistosomiasis. She will also provide guidance on infection prevention and on how to protect immunocompromised children.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and Queens received approximately $125,000 in grants to support pilot programs to address pressing health challenges faced by local communities. The winning projects cover sickle cell disease, postpartum mental health, postpartum hypertension, Long COVID, and healthcare access for immigrants over age 65. Each project received up to $25,000. The grants are provided through the NYC Partnership, a collaboration between the Arnhold Institute for Global Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Global Health Institute at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst. Funding for these grants is being provided by the Arnhold Institute.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst announced the completion of a major renovation to one of its busiest radiology rooms. The renovation is part of the hospital’s ongoing efforts to modernize imaging facilities and improve patient flow and patient care. The $450,000 renovation includes the installation of a new state-of-the-art GE X-ray machine capable of producing higher-quality images and performing fluoroscopy procedures.
Expected to serve more than 15,000 patients per year, the renovated space will expand the diagnostic capabilities for both emergency and inpatient services. The renovation is part of a multi-phase initiative to upgrade the hospital’s radiology suites, ensuring that the community has access to the most advanced diagnostic tools available in a safe, comfortable environment.
NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS/BELLEVUE AND CHILDREN OF BELLEVUE SELECTED AS LOWE’S HOMETOWNS PROJECT
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and Children of Bellevue announced that the hospital was selected as a Lowe’s Hometowns project, one of 100 community-nominated, large-scale renovations that will revitalize nonprofit and community spaces serving as hubs and heartbeats for hometowns. As a part of Lowe’s commitment to deliver 10 million square feet of impact in communities nationwide, Children of Bellevue and Bellevue Hospital received a $210,000 grant to renovate two crucial areas. The Pediatric inpatient unit will receive a welcoming family and teen center alongside a dedicated space for families and staff to meet, featuring updated furniture, child-safe storage, and essential amenities. Additionally, the hospital’s Saul Farber Auditorium will be revitalized with ADA-compliant and modern seating, enhancing its usability for educational and community events and ultimately benefiting thousands each year. To help complete the project, Bellevue Hospital hosted Lowe’s Red Vest associates for a volunteer work day at the hospital.
The volunteers worked on a gardening project in the hospital’s First Avenue Garden, and joined staff for a mural painting project, featuring artwork created by local artist Misha Tyutyunik. The finished mural will be displayed in the Pediatrics inpatient unit.
NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS/WOODHULL HOSTS SECOND ANNUAL HEALTHCARE CAREER DAY FOR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS
NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull proudly hosted its Second Annual Healthcare Career Day, welcoming high school seniors from across New York City for a day of learning, inspiration, and discovery. The event, coordinated by Woodhull’s Volunteer Services Department, provided students with a unique opportunity to explore both clinical and non-clinical career pathways in healthcare, including nursing, administration, surgery, behavioral health, facilities, and trades. Over 120 students met with professionals across hospital departments, participated in hands-on demonstrations, and gained valuable insights into the education and skills required to build rewarding healthcare careers. The day was designed to help young people envision a future in the healthcare industry — one grounded in compassion, community, and purpose.
NYC CARE UPDATE
NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS’ NYC CARE PROGRAM LAUNCHES ‘LIGHT THE WAY’ TRUCK TO PROMOTE HEALTH CARE ACCESS
NYC Health + Hospitals’ NYC Care program announced the launch of the Light the Way Truck, which will make over 30 stops at events and busy areas across the City to hand out flyers and NYC Care giveaways. The team will encourage New Yorkers to enroll in NYC Care and spread the word to their friends and family, while helping New Yorkers become more familiar with nearby NYC Health + Hospitals and Gotham Health facilities where they can access care through the program. Over 12 days, the truck will travel to neighborhoods across the five boroughs, including Chinatown, Tompkinsville, Elmhurst, Midwood, and Longwood. The truck will build on the program’s extensive marketing currently underway, which includes subway, bus, digital, TV, radio, and newspaper ads. The new video ad for the campaign is available here, and New Yorkers are encouraged to help spread the word about the campaign through a new social media toolkit, accessible here.
NYC Care has more than 139,000 active members and has provided over one million primary care appointments. In fiscal year 2025 alone, NYC Care members completed 62,936 women’s health, 54,132 eye specialist, 39,667 behavioral health, 25,642 dermatology, 23,258 cardiology, and 19,725 cancer care appointments.
A study published in 2024 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that new NYC Care members had the same health care engagement and chronic disease control as new Medicaid enrollees- demonstrating the health equity achieved through the program. NYC Care’s community-based organization partners have reached over 1.4 million New Yorkers, scheduled over 62,000 enrollment appointments, and facilitated over 19,000 direct enrollments. From inaugurating a new durable medical equipment benefit to developing a multi-lingual video series about the program and deploying regular public awareness campaigns, NYC Care continues to champion health care for all New Yorkers.
ARTS IN MEDICINE UPDATE
MATISSE-INSPIRED SCULPTURE ON DISPLAY AT NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS/BELLEVUE
NYC Health + Hospitals’ Arts in Medicine department installed a large-scale sculpture, Ode (2025) by Austin Lee, in the atrium of NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. The work is on loan to the hospital from the Mack Art Foundation and will be viewable to the hospital’s thousands of staff, patients, and visitors for the next year. Inspired by La Danse by Henri Matisse, Ode’s bright forms, fluidity, and positive message offer a moment of play and respite. The sculpture temporarily joins the nearly 7,500 works in the health care System’s art collection, which aims to create a calming atmosphere for patients and their families and supportive, healing places for staff. Observing a work of art has proven physiological outcomes, including lowering stress, helping process emotions, fostering empathy, and encouraging greater connectedness. Nearly 900 works of art in NYC Health + Hospitals’ collection are available to view worldwide on the free Bloomberg Connects app, and the works have informational wall text and a QR code leading to additional material on the app.
Austin Lee lives and works in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Working at small and large scales, the artist saturates his work with glowing, electric hues. Humans, animals, and hybrid creatures are frequent motifs, and Lee understands his compositions and hand-painted structures as animated representations of his own feelings. He studied at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia before receiving his MFA from Yale in 2013. Since then, he has exhibited in New York, Stockholm, London, Paris, Berlin, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, among other cities.
METROPLUSHEALTH UPDATE
METROPLUSHEALTH EXPANDS STATEN ISLAND PRESENCE WITH SECOND COMMUNITY OFFICE, STRENGTHENING ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE CARE
On November 18, 2025, MetroPlusHealth expanded its presence on Staten Island with the opening of a second community office at 2656 Hylan Blvd., Staten Island, NY 10306, located in the heart of New Dorp Plaza. This investment comes at a pivotal moment: Affordable Care Act subsidies are set to expire in January, and several for-profit carriers are reducing their footprint in the borough, leaving residents with fewer affordable coverage options.
The new office further solidifies MetroPlusHealth’s commitment to delivering high-quality, people-first care and addressing barriers to access created by rising health care costs, consumer inflation, and the pending loss of ACA subsidies. Staten Island continues to face some of the City’s most pressing health challenges, including high rates of opioid abuse, limited mental health services, and elevated prevalence of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. This new location will serve as a critical resource for residents by supporting health plan selection and enrollment and connecting individuals to essential community-based services.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by local leaders, including New York City Council Member Frank Morano, Dr. Ginny Mantello, Director of Health and Wellness at the Borough President’s Office, Vanesa Limani, Staten Island Borough Director for the Office of the Mayor of New York City, Ian Yanda, Chief of Staff for Assemblyman Michael Tannousis, and John Rinaudo, Director of Case Management for Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis. Their participation underscored the significance of this expansion and MetroPlusHealth’s growing role as a trusted community partner.
Since establishing its first Staten Island office in 2017, MetroPlusHealth has experienced consistent double-digit annual growth. The new location builds on that momentum, complementing two mobile units and a specialized Medicare mobile unit that bring services directly into neighborhoods. Beyond enrollment support, MetroPlusHealth collaborates actively with local leaders on initiatives such as food and coat drives, turkey giveaways, and back-to-school supply distributions—strengthening community relationships and addressing key social determinants of health.
The new office will operate seven days a week and host regular visits from partners including the NYPD, FDNY, and Pregnancy Care Center, giving residents direct access to a broad range of support services. On-site enrollment coordinators will provide assistance with plan selection, member rewards, and OTC benefits, ensuring residents have the tools and resources to manage their health effectively.
MetroPlusHealth remains steadfast in its mission to expand access and advance health equity across New York City. This new Staten Island office reflects our commitment to lean in where others pull back—delivering care that is accessible, affordable, and rooted in community needs.
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS UPDATE
City
On November 18th, NYC Health + Hospitals provided testimony and participated in Q&A for the Committee on Hospitals hearing on The State of Nursing at the New York City Council. Dr. Natalia Cineas, Chief Nurse Executive provided testimony and participated in Q&A.
State
Of the 854 bills that passed both houses of the NYS Legislature, 532 have been acted upon by the Governor. 30 bills have been vetoed thus far, and the Governor has until the end of the calendar year to consider the remaining 322 bills. Most of the health care bills we are tracking have not been delivered to the Governor yet.
Federal
Congress passed the deal negotiated in the Senate to fully fund the federal government until January 30th.
The package contains a number of items, including an updated stopgap funding bill that would reopen the government and provide funding for the Federal government through January 30th, 2026. This includes the extension of a number of important priorities– including eliminated Medicaid DSH cuts through January 30th, a “Minibus” package of three full-year Fiscal Year 2026 bills, a vote on ACA subsidies, and bringing back federal workers laid off during the shutdown.
We will continue to work with the NYC Health + Hospitals Congressional Delegation to advocate for continued delay or elimination of the DSH cuts, the extension of the ACA subsidies, as well as changes to the provisions in HR1 most harmful to the system (Essential Plan/Premium Tax Credit eligibility, MCO tax elimination), as part of any longer-term spending agreement beyond January 30th.
Community Affairs
The Council of CABs met on November 5th and received a presentation on the New York State Budget Advocacy for 2026 from Michelle DiBacco, Senior AVP External and Regulatory Affairs.
She also shared a more detailed presentation with all CAB members on November 18th, outlining the New York State budget process and NYC Health + Hospitals’ priorities.
CAB Chairs from Harlem, Sydenham, Metropolitan, and Woodhull presented reports to the Community Relations Committee on November 5th as well.
The Community Affairs team hosted a Health Insurance Symposium on November 13th, which covered Medicare open enrollment, Medicaid updates, NY State of Health, New York State EPIC, and NYC Care. There were 56 attendees.
CONTRACT DEVIATIONS
Crothall is the current vendor responsible for the provision of Environmental Services Management (EVS) at NYC Health + Hospitals. Crothall was selected in July, 2020, following a competitive RFP process. On November 5, 2020, the Board authorized NYC Health + Hospitals to execute a three-year agreement with two optional one-year renewals, with Crothall to provide environmental management services for all of the System’s facilities. The need for the deviation is due to ongoing negotiations with the vendor. In order to maintain the critical services that Crothall provides, and allow for sufficient time for cost and operational due diligence to be completed, I authorized a deviation to extend the current contract through June 30, 2026 and an increase in the not-to-exceed amount to $57,000,000.
NEWS FROM AROUND THE SYSTEM
- NY1: New Yorkers encouraged to get flu and COVID vaccines
- Becker’s Hospital Review: NYC Health + Hospitals invests $30.5M in smart beds to improve patient safety
- New York Hispano: Adams Boosts Safety, Housing with New 2025 Financial Plan
- Healthcare Brew: Nonprofit helps make receiving care a little less overwhelming for Hispanic, Latino immigrants
- USA Today: Many people have seizures. Here’s why that doesn’t always mean epilepsy.
- BK Reader: NYC Rolls Out New Approach to Mental Health Emergencies
- NY1: City doctor aims to raise awareness of diabetes
- NY1: City Rolls Out “Light The Way” Truck to Inform News Yorkers About Health Care Access
- New York Post: I’m an allergist — 4 things in your home you don’t realize are making you sick
- Becker’s Hospital Review: NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health taps chief human resources officer
- Bloomberg CityLab: Mayor Eric Adams Introduces a New York Twist on Finland’s Baby Boxes
- Gothamist: Seasonal affective disorder can be really rough in NYC: How to handle the ‘winter blues’
- Sing Tao Daily: Gotham Health Center of the Municipal Hospital Authority Radiological imaging services in the five districts of the city
- PIX11: Medical center staff brings Halloween to pediatric patients
- QNS: Queens Power List honors leaders at time of change
- CBS NY: Opioid overdose deaths in NYC see significant drop
- Everyday Health: Long-Term Melatonin Use May Pose Risks to Heart Health
- Gothamist: How Staten Island’s ‘hotspotting’ program is helping curb drug overdose deaths
- Becker’s Hospital Review: NYC Health + Hospitals. Dr. Jiménez discusses the “Lights the Way” campaign
- Becker’s Hospital Review: Dr. Marie Ward of NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi discusses breakthroughs in breast cancer research and awareness
- Observer: A Collector’s Guide to Donating Art to Hospitals and Other Nonprofits
- Norwood News: Morris Park Hosts 48th Annual Bronx Columbus Day Parade
- New York Time: Manuel Trujillo, Who Helped New Yorkers Heal After 9/11, Dies at 80
- Bronx Times: Jacobi Hospital doctor shares promising news on breast cancer vaccine trials
- Norwood News: Hochul Announces $6M Investment in Community-Led Public Safety Initiatives in South & West Bronx
