29 Mid-Career Health Professionals Prepared to Become Health Care Quality Leaders
NEW YORK, NY—June 8, 2023— The 29 mid-career health professionals that made up the 13th class of the Clinical Quality Fellowship Program (CQFP) graduated today at the offices of United Hospital Fund (UHF), completing 15 months of training to prepare them for becoming the New York area’s next health care quality leaders.
The fellowship program, sponsored jointly by UHF and the Greater New York Hospital Association, supports the training and professional development of early- and mid-career doctors, nurses, and physician assistants to help them lead and champion quality improvement and patient safety efforts within their health care organizations.
Since its launch in 2009, CQFP has trained close to 300 Fellows, drawing from more than 50 hospitals and other 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.
The graduating 2022-2023 class of 29 Fellows, chosen from some 60 applicants, included 20 doctors, seven nurse professionals, and two physician assistants from 29 health care organizations. Their names and affiliations are listed below.
“CQFP is a leadership program of greater and greater importance,” said CQFP chair Rohit Bhalla, MD, senior vice president of clinical affairs and quality and chief clinical & quality officer at Stamford Health.
“The impact of the pandemic on hospitals and on health care professionals has made this program even more important,” said Joan Guzik, UHF director, Quality and Efficiency, Quality Institute. “These change agents are a very engaged and informed group who, despite the stress and strain they’ve been under during the pandemic, remained focused on what they could do to improve quality at their institutions.
The centerpiece of the fellowship is a capstone quality improvement project, created and implemented by each Fellow at their home organization. Three Fellows presented their capstone projects at the graduation ceremony:
• Erwin Wang, MD, MHA – NYU Langone/Brooklyn
“Reducing the rate of iatrogenic hypoglycemia of admitted patients at an academic teaching hospital” (a severe and potentially fatal condition that can follow administration of glucose IV solution)
• Shellyann Sharpe, MD – NYC H+H/North Centre
“Reduction of the ‘Left Without Being Seen’ Percentage in the Emergency Department”
• Jenna Blind, DNP, RN, CPHQ – NYU Langone/Long Island
“A three-pronged approach to managing oral medications in the home care setting”
The 14th class of the CQFP started their program in April. This class of 2023-2024 is made up of 28 mid-career health care professionals, including 19 physicians, seven nurse professionals, and two physician assistants from 25 health care institutions across the New York metropolitan area.
Class of 2022-2023 CQFP Fellows:
• Mina Attaalla, DO, SBH Health System
• Jenna Blind, RN, DNP, MS, NYU Langone Health/Long Island
• Johanna Cabassa, MD, NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi
• Tracey Capers, RN, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
• Lisa Casale, MD, Hackensack Meridian Health/Hackensack Meridian Health JFK Medical Center
• Desiree Chow, MD, Mount Sinai Health System/Beth Israel
• John Ciannella, MD, Stamford Hospital
• Christopher Dotoratos, MSN, RNBC, NEABC, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/ Lawrence Hospital
• Bryant Faria, MD, Northwell Health/Long Island Jewish Medical Center
• Arpit Gupta, MD, FAAP, NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan
• Rachel Jacob, RN, MS, NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens
• Andrew Jacobowitz, PA-C, MS, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center
• Manisha Jain, MD, NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln
• Donnette Kelly, RN, NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi
• Jason Lee, MD, Mount Sinai Health System/Mount Sinai West
• Jean Lesko, MD, Montefiore Health System, Inc./White Plains Hospital
• Kristina Melchert, MD, WMCHealth/Maria Fareri Children's Hospital
• Sylvan Munroe, RN, MS, MediSys Health Network, Inc./Flushing Hospital Medical Center
• Iram Nadroo, MD, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Brooklyn Methodist Hospital
• Jennifer Pavone, RN, NP, NYU Langone Health/NYU Langone Hospitals - Tisch Hospital/Kimmel Pavilion
• Debra Robbins, RN, NP, MBA, MS, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center
• Elaine Schaefer, DO, Northwell Health/South Shore University Hospital
• Shellyann Sharpe, MD, NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx
• William Vail, MD, MPH, NYC Health + Hospitals/Correction Health Service
• Erwin Wang, MD, MHA, NYU Langone Health/Brooklyn
• Jing Wang, MD, Mount Sinai Health System/The Mount Sinai Hospital
• Lili Wei, MD, NYU Langone Health/Brooklyn
• Linda Wong, MD, MPH, NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst
• Milana Zaurova, MD, NYC Health + Hospitals/Department of Quality and Safety, Central Office
About United Hospital Fund
United Hospital Fund works to build an effective and equitable health care system for every New Yorker. An independent, nonprofit organization, we are a force for improvement, analyzing public policy to inform decision-makers, finding common ground among diverse stakeholders, and developing and supporting innovative programs that improve health and health care. We work to dismantle barriers in health policy and health care delivery that prevent equitable opportunities for health. For more on our initiatives and programs please visit our website at www.uhfnyc.org and follow us on Twitter.