Hetrick-Martin Institute

Jun 27, 2022

Plus: Long Island Federally Qualified Health Center gets $3.95M to combat perinatal mortality Meet more 2022 Notable LGBTQ+ Leaders who work in health care A new report has found about 1% of Maimonides and One Brooklyn Health hospitals’ annual non-clinical procurement spending goes toward contracts with minority- and women-owned enterprises. The report released Tuesday from the Brooklyn Communities Collaborative, a nonprofit that seeks to redirect spending back into communities to create better health outcomes, found that while “anchor institutions” such as hospitals and universities spend hundreds of billions of dollars annually procuring goods and services, very little of the money stays in communities through contracts with MWBEs. For Brooklyn hospitals alone, BCC estimated that procuring local vendors—which would increase local job opportunities—could recirculate $2 billion or more in revenue and more back into the local economy annually. The BCC analyzed 2021 and 2022 procurement data from Maimonides Medical Center and One Brooklyn Health’s three affiliate partner hospitals, spoke to procurement leadership and engaged with local businesses to reach its conclusions. The nonprofit found the hospitals have a combined procurement spend of $655 million per year, 1% of which goes to MWBE contracts—and even less to local community MWBE contracts. Out-of-state vendors make up nearly 65% of spending. In buying many things—from MRI machines to waiting-room furniture—hospitals work with large national vendors and have a working relationship with those vendors, said Shari Suchoff, BCC’s executive director. MWBE vendors get left out, she added. In addition, navigating the process of securing contracts with hospitals can be difficult for smaller local vendors, Suchoff said. Even the process of obtaining MWBE certification is difficult and time-consuming, which discourages vendors and leads to more missed opportunities, she said, adding hospitals might not track MWBE procurement data. Arlyce Vann, the operations manager of MWBE-certified medical supply company Ardent Medical Supply Inc., said Ardent couldn’t secure a contract with NYC Health + Hospitals’ Kings site or SUNY Downstate Medical Center, although both hospitals are about a block away in Flatbush. Vann’s sister, a Black woman, owns Ardent. Ardent has been on Nostrand Avenue in Flatbush for five years and has to “beg for scraps,” Vann said. “Businesses outside of the community get the lion’s share of contracts. We have no access.” Borough Park-based Maimonides and One Brooklyn Health in Flatbush are both safety net hospitals that serve diverse patient populations, where more than half of the hospitals’ patients are covered by Medicaid, the BCC said. Maimonides reports that more than 1 million people live in the eight districts, from Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights to Flatlands and Canarsie, that it primarily and secondarily serves. A combined 30% of these people identify as Hispanic, Latino and Black, many people are undocumented immigrants, and the districts have a higher household poverty rate and lower high school completion rate than citywide averages. Stimulating the local economy by reversing these procurement trends can lead to healthier communities, Suchoff said. “Keeping more hospital dollars local [will] provide good-paying jobs to [local] employees and help businesses thrive,” she said. “Not only will this initiative address acute social determinants of health issues—it’s looking at the long term.” The BCC report identified professional services such as advertising, building maintenance and information technology services as three sectors that show evidence of MWBE contract penetration. According to Suchoff, midsize contracts between $50,000 and $200,000 in these areas have the most potential for progress. Maimonides and One Brooklyn Health have committed to putting 10% of nonclinical procurement spend toward local MWBEs by 2030, according to the BCC report. This could generate between $35 million and $40 million more to MWBEs per year from these two hospitals alone, the report said. The BCC has begun the process of “working backwards” to identify how to get to 10% by 2030. The connection between procurement and community health is relatively new, Suchoff said. “We’ve been siloed in all of our industries, and everyone is starting to think more out of the box to deal with these issues we’re having—thinking of purchasing as an activism tool,” said Tina Lee, director of strategic communications at Maimonides. Suchoff said Kaiser Permanente in California had started the process of redirecting procurement spend with something small—buying pizza for the staff. “We recognize that we’re not going to take the entirety of hospital spending and divert it to MWBEs,” she said. “But there is potential when you look at the very large list of things that hospitals spend money on.” —Jacqueline Neber Mount Sinai and mPulse Mobile team up to address pre-diabetes in teens The Mount Sinai Health System is collaborating with MPulse Mobile, a conversational artificial intelligence company, to address risks of pre-diabetes using text messaging and other digital engagement methods in a pilot in East Harlem. A National Health and Nutrition Examination survey showed that nearly 1 in 5 teenagers suffered from prediabetes, which can lead to full type 2 diabetes if not addressed. “Many don’t know that they have it. It’s not a condition that usually has outward symptoms,” said Dr. Nita Vangeepuram, a pediatrician, clinical researcher and assistant professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “Many will go on to develop type 2 diabetes in as quickly as two years.” The program is meant to intervene and deliver key health information before that happens. Mount Sinai and mPulse hope to bring about changes in diet and health by delivering critical diabetes information and having conversations with young people who are most at risk. Text messages are the most effective medium to do that, said Allison Gage, chief engagement officer at mPulse. “SMS [Short Message Service or texting] is overall 10 times more effective in getting the attention of audiences, and teens are even more likely,” she said. “Texting is behavior science. Based on the audience we’re talking to, we work to figure out what types of behavior change techniques to use.” Mount Sinai and mPulse enlisted an advisory board that included high school and college students to help make the messages feel natural and relatable to the audience. The program will also use mPulse’s AI technology to make sure text conversations are interactive, rather than one way, which will help the information provided be more specific for the user. Researchers say intervention is key, because once it forms, type 2 diabetes is notoriously hard to treat in teens because medications don’t work as they do with the adult population. The program is intended to reach around 200 users in its pilot stage in East Harlem, where Vangeepuram practices. —James O’Donnell Long Island Federally Qualified Health Center gets $3.95M to combat perinatal mortality Long Island Federally Qualified Health Center has received a $3.95 million Perinatal and Infant Community Health Collaborative grant from the state Department of Health to combat the social determinants of health that cause high maternal mortality rates, the organization has announced. The grant, which goes into effect July 1, will span five years. The health center’s chief executive, David Nemiroff, said the funds would enable the center to hire seven staff members who will travel to patients’ homes to help them access services. It will also permit the center to hire a nurse supervisor, work with community groups on engagement initiatives, and partner with large institutions, such as Northwell Health, for programming, Nemiroff said. Department of Health data shows that Nassau County communities with a majority of Black and Hispanic residents have higher percentages of premature births and higher infant mortality rates. This grant will provide the “early and consistent perinatal care”–which revolves around increasing care access–that most makes a difference in maternal mortality rates and other perinatal health outcomes, Nemiroff said. LIFQHC is a federally qualified health center, one of about 70 in the state that receive funds and grants from the federal government to work with patients regardless of patients’ ability to pay. The center operates nine locations throughout Nassau, including family health centers in Elmont, Freeport, Hempstead, Oceanside, Roosevelt and Westbury, and school-based locations, serving 44,000 patients. Of its patients, 25% are uninsured, Nemiroff said. The center provides a sliding pay scale and other care access opportunities. The grant allows the center to follow mothers for up to two years after they give birth to continue connecting them to resources, Nemiroff said. In addition, the center runs a home health program for adults and children with more than two chronic illnesses that qualifying mothers will be able to access, he said. The center will measure the impact of the grant by tracking patients’ health outcomes and participation in engagement activities for five years, Nemiroff said. —J.N. Meet more Notable LGBTQ+ Leaders who work in health care New York has long been the site of many milestones in the LGBTQ+ movement, and today remains an epicenter of diversity and activism. According to the American LGBTQ+ Museum, the metropolitan area is home to more than three quarters of a million LGBTQ+ adults, more than any other region in the country. This year, Crain’s selected 95 individuals who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning or queer and who are outstanding professionals in their industries and communities. More than 30 members of the class, including these five, work in health care. Read about the full LGBTQ+ leaders class  here. Dr. Jorge R. Petit, President and chief executive officer, Services for the UnderServed For more than four decades, Services for the UnderServed has worked with vulnerable individuals and families in New York City, helping them escape poverty and create pathways to rich, productive lives. Over­seeing its budget and staff, Petit guides efforts to provide an array of shelter, housing and treatment support services to New Yorkers struggling with homelessness, substance abuse and intellectual and developmental disabilities. In his role at S:US, Petit, a psychiatrist, is planning a comprehensive diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging initiative to be implemented across the organization as well as its board. Joe Pressley, Chief executive officer, Hetrick-Martin Institute The Hetrick-Martin Institute provides LGBTQ youth—a majority of them people of color—with an array of services they need to flourish. As CEO of the organization, Pressley is responsible for leadership, planning, community interfaces, advocacy, development and board relations. He recently reimagined HMI’s annual gala to make it more diverse and inclusive, and he engaged in a five-month listening tour with staff and youth program members to learn about their challenges and experiences. Pressley formerly was as a mayoral appointee to the New York City HIV/AIDS Planning Council. He is a founding and current board member of the New Pride Agenda. Christine Quinn, President and chief executive officer, Win Quinn was inducted into the City Limits Hall of Fame, which called her one of New York’s most important community leaders. She now is chief executive at Win, a provider of shelter and supportive services for homeless families in the city, but her current career comes after a storied—and far more public—one. She previously was City Council speaker, and she was a 2013 mayoral candidate. A champion of the Equal Benefits Bill in 2006, Quinn was instrumental five years later in the passage of New York’s Marriage Equality Act. She is executive committee chair of the state Democratic Party. Ronald Richter, Chief Executive Officer, JCCA JCCA, formerly known as the Jewish Child Care Association, is a nonprofit that works to meet the welfare and mental health needs of children and families in the New York metropolitan area. As chief executive, Richter has expanded its academic enrichment and family-support services. An early literacy program piloted under his direction led to the creation of a division focused on educational and vocational programming for youth across the agency. He facilitated the development of a comprehensive race-equity initiative to dismantle barriers facing the agency’s clients, staff and communities. In an earlier role at New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services, he led initiatives to help LGBTQ youth. Greg Rider, Director of corporate compliance, EmblemHealth family of companies Rider directs corporate compliance governance for the EmblemHealth family of companies, including nonprofit health insurer EmblemHealth and primary and specialty care practice AdvantageCare Physicians. He oversees standards of conduct, policies and procedures, compliance training and communications, as well as the compliance and ethics hotline. As founder and leader of EmblemHealth’s employee resource group for members and friends of the LGBTQ community, he brings in speakers from public and private community organizations for Pride Day and National Coming Out Day. Rider created the LGBTQ+ Healthcare Coalition with external community health organizations. He is a member of the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus.—Crain staff AT A GLANCE SUPREME COURT: The Supreme Court voted Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade, meaning people no longer have a federal right to have an abortion. The court voted 5-3-1. Justices Kagan, Breyer and Sotomayor issued a joint dissent of the decision. New York is one of the states where abortion rights are protected, and lawmakers and nonprofits have been trying to increase access–read about their efforts here. UNION EFFORTS: Postdoctoral researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai chose Sinai Postdoctoral Organizing Committee-United Auto Workers as their union and bargaining representative, they announced Friday. The union will represent more than 500 workers and is only the second postdoc union ever established at a private institution, according to a release. The postdocs began attempting to unionize earlier this month, citing financial hardships , housing instability and issues balancing research responsibilities with child care. OPWDD FORUMS: The Office for People with Developmental Disabilities has announced the dates and locations for more forums to gather feedback on its recently-released 5.07 improvement plan. Forums will be held on July 7 and 8 in Queens, Long Island and Staten Island. A Manhattan forum will take place on August 2. Register for a forum here. WHO'S NEWS: The "Who's News" portion of "At a Glance" is available online at  this link  and in the Health Pulse newsletter. "Who's News" is a daily update of career transitions in the local health care industry. For more information on submitting a listing, reach out to Debora Stein:  [email protected] . CONTACT US: Have a tip about news happening in the local health care industry? Want to provide feedback about our coverage? Contact the Health Pulse team at [email protected] JUNE 24, 2022: A previous version of this article misstated that Regeneron's new  manufacturing facility will cost $1.8 million. It will cost $1.8 billion. Read the corrected article here.