UHF and GNYHA Announce 12th Class of Clinical Quality Fellows

30 Physicians and Nurses Start Training to be Quality Improvement Experts

New York, NY January 29, 2020—United Hospital Fund (UHF) and the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) today announced the 30 practicing clinicians named to the 12th class of the Clinical Quality Fellowship Program (CQFP), who will spend the next 15 months training to become health care quality improvement leaders at their institutions. 

CQFP was created in 2009 to expand the number of medical professionals with the skills needed to lead quality improvement and patient safety efforts in their hospitals and other health care settings. The 2020-2021 class of 30 Fellows, chosen from some 60 applicants, includes 20 physicians and 10 nurses from 23 health care facilities. 

Including the current class, CQFP has enrolled more than 260 Fellows since its launch, drawing from more than 50 health care facilities across the metropolitan area. Many have gone on to assume leadership positions in their home facilities, while alumni serve as mentors to new classes of Fellows.

Each fellowship cycle includes two learning retreats, monthly webinars, dinner meetings, mentoring by expert faculty, and the development by each Fellow of a capstone project that involves planning and implementing a quality improvement initiative at their institution. 

“CQFP has consistently received excellent feedback and reviews from participants and has grown each year since its inception,” said Joan Guzik, director of Quality Improvement for UHF’s Quality Institute. “Judging by the high quality of this year’s applicants, and the high-caliber capstone projects from past years, the program is improving quality of care for patients throughout the region, helping to transform and improve our health care system.” 

“With the demand for quality and patient safety leaders continuing to grow, the CQFP is more important than ever,” said Zeynep Sumer King, vice president, regulatory and professional affairs at GNYHA. “We are excited to watch this new class of Fellows embark on a 15-month journey to become quality improvement leaders, and we thank the hospitals that sponsor, support, and help them to reach their leadership goals.”

The new class of Fellows started their training with a two-day retreat on January 23-24 that covered a broad range of safety and quality topics. 

This year’s Fellows are: 
•    Oluyemisi Ariyibi, MD, MPH, CUNY Sophie-David School of Medicine and SBH Health System
•    William Bodeker, MS, FNP-BC, CEN, CCRN, Mount Sinai Health System
•    Kimberly Cartmill, MD, NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi
•    Kelly Sessler, MPH, RN, CCRN-K, CLNC, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
•    Jodi Galesi, DNP, RN, APN-C, NE-BC, Hackensack University Medical Center
•    Surafel Tsega, MD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Mount Sinai Hospital
•    Omar Fattal, MD, MPH, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
•    Lee Donner, MD, NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln
•    Santiago Lopez, MD, North Shore University Hospital and Hofstra School of Medicine
•    Karyn Singer, MD, MPH, NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull
•    Donato Pacione, MD, NYU Langone Medical Center
•    Jennifer Rottas, MBA, BSN, RN-C, Plainview and Syosset Hospitals (Northwell Health System)
•    Poroshat Shekarloo, MD, Maimonides Medical Center
•    Janett Pike, MPA, BSN, RN, CIC, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
•    Jinel Scott, MD, MBA, NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County Hospital Center and SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
•    Julie Wan, MS, RN, NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn
•    Danielle Wheelwright, RN, MN, Mount Sinai Health System
•    Bernadette Springer, MS, FNP-BC, RN, Mount Sinai Queens
•    Allison Driansky, MD, Northwell Cohen’s Children Medical Center
•    Jana Romm, MD, NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx
•    Laura Butler, MSN, RN, Mount Sinai Hospital
•    Marwa Moussa, MD, NYU Langone Brooklyn
•    Julissa Cardona, MSN, RN, NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler
•    Anjna Ganatra, MD, NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan Hospital
•    Abdo Kabarriti, MD, NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island
•    Anya Weerasinghe, MD, NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem
•    Colleen Vessell, MD, MPH, NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services
•    Svetlana Chernyavsky, DO, Mount Sinai Beth Israel
•    David Rhee, MD, MS, NYU Langone Brooklyn
•    Jeremy Rose, MD, MPH, FRCP, Mount Sinai Beth Israel

About United Hospital Fund
United Hospital Fund works to build a more effective health care system for every New Yorker. An independent, nonprofit organization, we analyze public policy to inform decision-makers, find common ground among diverse stakeholders, and develop and support innovative programs that improve the quality, accessibility, affordability, and experience of patient care. For more on our initiatives and programs, please visit our website at www.uhfnyc.org and follow us on Twitter at @UnitedHospFund

About Greater New York Hospital Association
GNYHA is a trade association representing over 160 hospitals and health systems in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. A dynamic, constantly evolving center for health care advocacy and expertise, our core mission—helping hospitals deliver the finest patient care in the most cost-efficient way—never changes.