Keynoter Dr. Ashish K. Jha, Dean of Brown University School of Public Health, commends honorees for quality improvements that likely saved “hundreds of thousands of lives”
NEW YORK, NY—May 3, 2021— United Hospital Fund (UHF) today honored 73 extraordinary quality improvement leaders from 69 health care organizations across the metropolitan region at its third annual Tribute to Excellence in Health Care, recognizing their personal efforts to improve quality of care, patient safety, and the patient experience.
The Tribute provides an opportunity for external recognition of excellence. Hospital systems, long-term care facilities, home care organizations, independent practice associations, and federally qualified health centers were invited to identify one individual at each site who has demonstrated vision and accomplishment in improving quality of care. A special focus this year was leadership specifically related to either responding to COVID-19 or addressing health care disparities. Each of the honorees received the Excellence in Health Care Award at a virtual event, held in lieu of the traditional luncheon due to the ongoing pandemic.
Hundreds of health care professionals, community leaders, and supporters viewed the event, which included recorded comments from honorees capturing their diversity, dedication, and inspiration. The event chair was Cary A. Kravet, UHF board member and trustee of Northwell Health. Mr. Kravet chairs the quality committee at Northwell and the advisory board of Cohen Children’s Hospital.
Keynote remarks were delivered remotely by Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH, Dean of the School of Public Health and Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice at Brown University, who praised “the extraordinary work by the group of people that are being honored today.”
Dr. Jha commended the honorees for their efforts to improve and implement telemedicine, testing infrastructure, new treatment protocols and processes, infection control, vaccination programs, and the teamwork that was critical to support all these efforts. He noted that there is now a 50 percent lower risk of dying from COVID-19 than there was a year ago and attributed most of that extraordinary drop in mortality to quality and process improvements. “What I am absolutely crystal clear on is that the work you have done on the front lines has been central to saving hundreds of thousands of lives,” he told the honorees.
“This has been an extraordinarily challenging year for health professionals everywhere, and New York’s health care community can be justly proud of how well they have managed and indeed, prevailed, during the pandemic,” said UHF president Anthony Shih, MD. “Part of the credit goes to the quality leaders recognized today and their vital efforts to make our health care system more patient-centered, safe, and effective, efforts that were more important than ever during this crisis. UHF is honored to recognize their achievements.”
TD Bank was the generous Lead Sponsor of the Tribute, and Emmet Conlon, Head of U.S. Healthcare, and a number of TD executives attended as special guests.
Following are the 2021 honorees and their institutions. The video of the event is available for viewing here.
Honorees:
AdvantageCare Physicians
Eveth Green, FNP-BC, MBA, MSN, RN, Assistant Vice President of Nursing
BronxCare Health System
Dave A. F. Livingstone, MD, Chairman, Anesthesiology
The Brooklyn Hospital Center
Judy McLaughlin, DNP, MS, BSN, BS, RN, Senior Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive
Catholic Health
Jason M. Golbin, DO, Senior Vice President and System Chief Quality Officer
Coalition of Asian-American IPA (CAIPA)
Jonathan M. T. Chang, MD, Vice President and Kevin Guo, MD, Member
Community Healthcare Network
Diana Castillo, Center Director and Michelle I. Everett-Oxley, Center Director
Elizabeth Seton Children’s Center
Josephine Leung, MS, RN-BC, Senior Quality Informatics Specialist
Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
Christina Jones, RN, BSN, Associate Director of Nursing
Hackensack Meridian Health
Suelyn Boucree, MD, MBA, FACP, Medical Director of Quality and Chair of the CIN Quality Committee
HealthCare Partners, IPA
Dutsi Behm, MD, Internal Medicine Specialist
Hospital for Special Surgery
Jennifer O'Neill, DNP, APN, NEA-BC, Senior Vice President, Chief Nursing Officer, and Chief Operating Officer and Douglas Padgett, MD, Associate Surgeon-in-Chief
Institute for Family Health
Kwame A. Kitson, MD, Vice President for Continuous Quality Improvement
Maimonides Medical Center
Shari Suchoff, Vice President, Population Health Policy & Strategy
MediSys Health Network
Alan R. Roth, DO, Chief, Integrative Pain and Palliative Care Medicine and Chair, Department of Family Medicine, Ambulatory Care and Community Medicine
Flushing Hospital Medical Center
Alessandro Solinas, MD, Chairman, Department of Medicine
Jamaica Hospital Medical Center
Robert I. Mendelson, MD, Chair, Department of Medicine and Medical Director, TJH Medical Services, PC
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
MSK COVID Lab Testing Team
MJHS
MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care
Russell K. Portenoy, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Director, MJHS Institute for Innovation in Palliative Care
MJHS Health System
Mary Foronda, RN, Director of Infection Control and Employee Health
Isabella Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care
Loyola Princivil-Barnett, MHA, LNHA, Administrator of Record and COO, MJHS Centers for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care
Montefiore Health System
Burke Rehabilitation Hospital
Valerie Vermiglio-Kohn, RN, CRRN, MSN, MS, Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Nursing
The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore
Suzette Olubusola Oyeku, MD, MPH, Chief, Division of Academics General Pediatrics
Montefiore Medical Center
Jacqueline Myrie-Weir, RN, BSN, MPH, Senior Director of Performance Projects Network Performance Group
Montefiore Medical Center, Moses Campus
John Loehner, MD, Medical Director
Montefiore Medical Center, Wakefield Campus
Una Hopkins, DNP, MSN, BSN, FNP-BC, RN, Nurse Scientist and Director, Nursing Research and Evidence Based Practice
Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital
Dianne Gordon, EdD, MSN-ED, RN, Director of Nursing
Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital
Amrah Hasan, MD, Chief Resident/Junior Faculty Attending
Montefiore Nyack Hospital
Susanne Z. Stone, RN, MPH, CIC, CRCST, Director of Infection Prevention and Control
Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall
Sandeep Garwin, MD, MS, Medical Director of Critical Care
White Plains Hospital
Farrukh Nadeem Jafri, MD, MS-HPEd, Medical Director WPH Cares
Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Beth Israel
Young Im Lee, MD, Director, Medical Intensive Care Unit
Mount Sinai Brooklyn
Vadim Leyko, MSA, RRT, RPSGT, Associate Director of Administration for Hospital Operations/Director Respiratory Therapy
The Mount Sinai Hospital
Jorge L. Rodriguez, MPA, Senior Vice President, Ambulatory Care
Mount Sinai Morningside
Berthe Erisnor, Vice President for Ambulatory Services
Mount Sinai Queens
Ellina Babar, Director of Hospital Operations
Mount Sinai West
Andres S. Moreira, Senior Director, Patient Experience & Patient Relations
New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai
Cindy Girdusky, RN, CNOR, Vice President, Perioperative Services
Mount Sinai South Nassau
Karine Austin, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CENP, Service Line Administrator, Oncology Services and Infusion Therapy
The New Jewish Home
Jeffrey Farber, MD, MBA, President & CEO and Ruth Spinner, MD, Senior Medical Director
Northwell Health
Cohen Children's Medical Center
Dhalia Puri, MSN, RN, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Community and Population Health
Debbie Salas-Lopez, MD, MPH, FACP, Senior Vice President
Glen Cove Hospital
Lorraine Daphna, RN, Registered Nurse, Critical Care
Huntington Hospital
Corazon R. Paraso, RN, MS-FNP, CCRN, NE-BC, Advisor, Clinical Quality Improvement
Long Island Jewish Forest Hills
Michelle Parcells, MSN, BSN, RN, FNP-CCRN, ICU Registered Nurse
Long Island Jewish Medical Center
Karina Gutierrez, MSN, RN, AGPCNP-BC, CWOCN, Wound Care Specialist
North Shore University Hospital
Michael D. Montanez, Assistant Manager, Patient Care, Monoclonal Antibody Infusion Center
Peconic Bay Medical Center
Dawn Leonard, Critical Care Charge/Staff Registered Nurse
Plainview Hospital
Kwest-Ann Samuels, BSN, RN-BC, Registered Nurse (Medical Surgical)
Southside Hospital
Shehzad Khan, RN, BSN, Registered Nurse
Staten Island University Hospital
Vanessa Cabatbat, MS, RN, FNP, Rapid Response Team and Staff Nurse
Syosset Hospital
Bernie R. Alivio, BSN, RN, CCRN, CMSRN, Registered Nurse, Special Care Unit
Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Tochi Iroku-Malize, MD, MPH, MBA, FAAFP, SFHM, Chair, Department of Family Medicine
Zucker Hillside Hospital
Marie Germaine Rancy, RN, MSN, CDCES, CWCN, Clinical Professional Development Educator
NuHealth/Nassau University Medical Center
Grace Y. Ting, MD, Associate Medical Director, Department of Emergency Medicine
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst
Suzanne Bentley, MD, MPH, FACEP, Attending Physician, Emergency Medicine; Medical Director of the Elmhurst Simulation Center; and Helping Healers Heal Lead
One Brooklyn Health System
Kurt S. Kodroff, MD, MMM, Chief Quality Officer
Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation
Verna Sinclair, RN, MSN, Director of Infection Control & Staff Development
Richmond University Medical Center
Marianne LaBarbera, MD, President of the Medical Staff
SBH Health System
Susan Singh, Director of Infection Control
St. John’s Episcopal Hospital
Tessy Peter, MD, FCCP, Director, Intensive Care Unit
St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children
Judy Vigliotti, RN, Assistant Director of Nursing
SOMOS Community Care
Yomaris Peña, MD, Internal Medicine Physician
Stamford Health
Ellen M. Komar, MPA, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, Senior Vice President Patient Care Services, and Chief Nursing Officer
Visiting Nurse Service of New York
Carol Odnoha, RN, BSN, MPA, Director, Nurse-Family Partnership
Yale New Haven Health
Bridgeport Hospital
Zane K. Saul, MD, Section Chief, Infectious Diseases
Greenwich Hospital
Kisha A. Mitchell Richards, MD, FCAP, FASCP, Director, Pathology and Clinical Laboratory
Lawrence + Memorial Hospital
Shannon R. Christian, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, Administrative Director, Patient Care Services
Yale New Haven Health System
Danielle M. Zawatsky, Director, Quality Improvement & Safety
Yale New Haven Hospital/Yale New Haven Health System
Richard A. Martinello, MD, Medical Director, Infection Prevention
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.