Northern Westchester Hospital

May 25, 2023

Plus: Mount Sinai residents at H+H/Elmhurst end strike by winning pay parity with Manhattan counterparts Meet 5 more of Crain's Notable Health Care Leaders for 2023 More The city's Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division continues to reach just a small portion of redirected 911 calls, 16%, according to data released by the city on Wednesday. The goal of the program, known as B-Heard, is to deploy mental health professionals from the New York City Fire Department and mental health workers from New York City Health + Hospitals to scenes where an individual is experiencing a mental health crisis, instead of police. Of the more than 13,000 mental health calls made to 911, just over 2,000 received a B-Heard response during July and December 2022. However, not every mental health 911 call is eligible for a B-Heard response. According to the city, typically the program does not respond to calls that require immediate transport to a hospital, calls where people present imminent harm to themselves or others, or calls where EMS workers do not have enough information to assess harm risk. To that end, the teams reached 53% of eligible calls. Both figures represent a downward trend  from the last time the city shared data about the program's reach. During the year prior, New Yorkers made 11,000 mental health 911 calls, 22% of which were routed to B-Heard. Teams from the pilot program, which launched in June 2021, were deployed to 73% of eligible calls for the period between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022. The most recent data, which speaks to the third and fourth quarters of 2022, shows that 39% and 42% of people per quarter, respectively, who were assisted by B-Heard teams were helped on-site with de-escalation, counseling services or a referral to community-based care. Meanwhile, 12% and then 7% of people were transported to a community-based health care or social service location, while 49% and 51% were taken to the hospital. Fewer people were taken to the hospital in these quarters than in the first year of operation, while a greater number of New Yorkers were assisted on-site. B-Heard launched in Harlem before expanding into parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. Since the program began, teams have consistently responded to an increasing number of quarterly calls, with one exception in the first quarter of fiscal 2023, as the pilot expands to new neighborhoods. In B-Heard’s first year of operation, the teams logged an average response time of 15 minutes and 30 seconds, almost two minutes slower than their average response time in the program’s first six months. The city has since removed the response time metric from its data reports. Laquisha Grant, the acting deputy executive director of mental health access at the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health, told Crain’s the new data is evidence that the program is reaching more New Yorkers in more neighborhoods. The agencies that coordinate the program–it’s a joint effort between the office of community mental health, New York City Health + Hospitals, the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the New York City Police Department and the New York City Fire Department–aim to make B-HEARD an option for as many New Yorkers as possible as the pilot grows, she said, even though mental health resources are strained. In April Mayor Eric Adams announced the fiscal 2024 budget would include $27 million in additional funding to expand the B-Heard program, but some representatives from the city agencies that coordinate the pilot were unclear  in City Council hearings last week on how that money would be used to grow the pilot. The funding represents 68% of the city's $40 million earmarked to address mental health in the city. According to the Fire Department’s council committee hearing report, the fiscal 2024 funding for the program includes “an additional $26.9 million” and “a baseline addition of $24.5 million in the outyears to support increasing the program’s coverage to 25 precincts.” The funding will also add 64 positions to support the program’s expansion to south Brooklyn and western Queens, the report said. B-HEARD it is set to grow to cover the rest of the Bronx and other high-need neighborhoods. —Jacqueline Neber More than 30 patients sue New York-Presbyterian, Weill Cornell and Northwell in sexual abuse cases More than 30 patients filed lawsuits Tuesday against New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center and Northwell Health, alleging that they did not address sexual abuse by Dr. Darius Paduch, a urologist who practiced at both health systems. In 31 civil lawsuits filed in New York County Supreme Court, patients alleged that the health systems failed to investigate Paduch and protect his patients from sexual abuse, despite receiving multiple complaints of misconduct from patients and employees. Some patients claim that Paduch made them watch pornography during medical visits, forcibly touched them or convinced them that masturbation was medically necessary to perform an exam. New York-Presbyterian received at least six complaints against Paduch between 2011 and 2021, according to court documents. In addition to complaints made to the hospital, another patient filed a complaint to the New York state Department of Health in 2016 alleging similar misconduct, according to documents shared with Crain’s. “It's not even that a singular complaint was ignored here,” said Mallory Allen, a sexual abuse attorney from Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala who is representing the plaintiffs in these cases. “I mean, there were complaints made every year or every couple years for his entire tenure.” In total, there are 37 ongoing civil lawsuits involving allegations of sexual abuse by Paduch. The first lawsuit alleging sexual assault by Paduch was filed in December of last year and five additional cases were filed in February. In April, Paduch was also charged by the Department of Justice of sexually abusing patients, including minors, during urological exams. Most of the civil lawsuits involving abuse by Paduch were filed under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which temporarily suspended the statute of limitations for adult survivors of sexual abuse. Additional lawsuits filed under this act must be filed by November 23 of this year, Allen added. Since the first case of sexual abuse by Paduch was filed in December, Allen said that her office has spoken to at least 70 patients who say they have been sexually abused by Paduch. “Our clients are very much looking forward to transparency here,” Allen said. “They want to find out what the hospitals did in response to these complaints.” A representative from Weill Cornell Medicine said in a statement that “Cornell’s Office of General Counsel has engaged outside counsel to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the behavior of former WCM faculty member Dr. Paduch and the circumstances surrounding the allegations.” The spokesperson added that Weill Cornell Medicine cannot comment further on pending litigation. “We are deeply disturbed by these allegations and take them very seriously,” said Barbara Osborn, a representative for Northwell Health. Osborn said that Paduch no longer works at Northwell and that the institution will cooperate with authorities as they conduct an investigation. —Amanda D’Ambrosio Mount Sinai residents at H+H/Elmhurst end strike by winning pay parity with Manhattan counterparts About 165 resident physicians working at New York City Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst reached a tentative agreement with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, ending a three-day strike. The tentative agreement includes an 18% wage increase over three years and represents pay parity with the Mount Sinai residents working on the Mount Sinai Hospital campus, according to the Committee of Interns and Residents union. The Elmhurst residents went on strike to protest receiving lower pay–up $7,000 less annually, per the union–than their non-union Mount Sinai Hospital counterparts on the Upper East Side. The increase is retroactive to November 2022; the agreement also includes a $2,000 ratification bonus, an enforceable agreement to negotiate on hazard pay, a meal allowance that is on par with Mount Sinai Hospital residents, and the creation of a transportation committee, according to a union release. The contract will expire on June 30, 2025. “Mount Sinai will now have to think twice about leaving Elmhurst behind and perpetuating these disparities for union doctors in the future,” Dr. Sarah Hafuth, an Elmhurst resident, said. “I also know that we are part of a larger ongoing fight for justice in our lives and in health care—and we plan on continuing that fight.” The residents first voted to authorize the strike at the beginning of this month and the strike is the city’s first among doctors since 1990. While documents from Mount Sinai say that management met with residents 14 times over the last 10 months for bargaining leading up to the strike, CIR claimed Mount Sinai bargained in bad faith. Today, the residents said the hospital bargained in good faith to achieve the tentative agreement. Mount Sinai representative Lucia Lee said that the Icahn School of Medicine reached the agreement with the support of the New York City Health + Hospitals Corporation. While the H+H/Elmhurst residents were on strike, residents working at Mount Sinai Morningside/West, also employed by the school, announced they voted to authorize a strike, but a date has not yet been announced. —J.N. Meet 5 more of Crain's Notable Health Care Leaders for 2023 This year, Crain's chose 84 honorees to join its list of Notable Leaders in Health Care because of their work to address urgent needs within the city's health care system. These leaders work across various health care settings ranging from hospitals to community services organizations. These five leaders are innovating the health care landscape in New York. Read the full list of leaders  here . Oliver Kharraz, CEO, founder, Zocdoc Chief Executive Officer Oliver Kharraz strives to make Zocdoc the country’s most complete health care marketplace for finding and booking all types of care. Patients booking appointments on Zocdoc have an average wait time of one to three days; the average American patient’s wait time is 26 days. Since Kharraz founded Zocdoc in 2007, the company has had sustainable revenue growth, driven by the transition from a subscription to a transactional revenue model. Kharraz, who has helped unify a fragmented industry, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Leon E. Kurtz, SVP of specialty services, AdvantageCare Physicians At AdvantageCare Physicians, Leon E. Kurtz oversees the management of 10 specialty services across more than 30 medical offices throughout the city and on Long Island. His patients have access to affordable specialty care within their neighborhoods, including endoscopy units and accredited cardiology labs. Kurtz found AdvantageCare Physicians’ “whole person” care model to be an opportunity to meld quality care with financial accessibility. Since becoming senior vice president, he has expanded care delivery across 11 locations in medically underserved areas and 17 locations in primary care health professional shortage areas. Kurtz is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Gastroenterology. Edward Lai, SVP of business development, Bensonhurst Center For Rehabilitation Edward Lai strives to make sure the Bensonhurst Center for Rehabiliation remains a valued health care facility. Working with marketing and concierge teams, the senior vice president of business development focuses on strategic initiatives, operations and marketing, with the goal of achieving exceptional patient care. Lai works with organizations such as the Chinese American Social Services Center to ensure that the medical needs of the Asian community are met. He chairs Neighborhood Advisory Board 11, which covers Bensonhurst and is part of the city Department of Youth and Community Development. Lai is a member of several local advisory councils. Herrick Lipton, CEO, New Horizon Counseling Center At New Horizon Counseling Center, Herrick Lipton oversees business development and various programming, working to provide quality behavioral health care for the emotional well-being, independence and empowerment of individuals. The chief executive officer is invested in the development of behavioral health and substance use services, including an addiction recovery program, a senior-Alzheimer’s program, developmental disability services and a day treatment program. Lipton also provides necessary care in underserved areas; he launched the New Horizon Food Pantry to help Long Island’s food insecure and opened the New Horizon Crisis Center as a 24-hour resource. In addition, he mentors high school students. George Liu, Founder, president and CEO, Coalition Of Asian-American Independent Practices Association George Liu has been serving New York’s Asian-American communities for decades through the Coalition of Asian-American Independent Practices Association, which he founded. Throughout the pandemic, the association filled critical health care gaps in the Asian community by implementing mobile testing, donating personal protective equipment to hospitals and nursing homes, delivering meals to essential workers and working with the state government to provide Covid-19 vaccines for Asian-American communities. Under Liu’s leadership as its president and chief executive officer, the association has more than 500,000 patients under its care. Liu has established a food pantry and mobile eye clinics, and he hosts public health education chats. —Crain staff Loading… AT A GLANCE LIFE SCIENCE INTERNSHIPS: The New York City Economic Development Corporation announced Wednesday that its LifeSci internship program placed 675 students at 175 companies and businesses across the city. The program, which matches undergraduate and graduate students with internships at science companies and businesses, is a part of LifeSci NYC’s $1 billion initiative to create 40,000 jobs in the sector across the next decade. VACCINE MANDATE: The New York state Department of Health has begun the process to repeal vaccine requirements for health care workers at regulated medical facilities, the agency announced yesterday. The repeal announcement follows the federal government’s decision to repeal health care worker vaccine mandates at facilities certified by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services. The decision will go to the Public Health and Health Planning Council for consideration. 988 EXPANSION: LinkNYC, the city’s free public Wi-Fi network, has added a dialer for 988—the national mental health crisis hotline—on all of its kiosks, the organization announced. The dialer allows New Yorkers to access 988 services including crisis intervention, trained counselors and follow-up care at LinkNYC locations. As a part of the rollout, LinkNYC has partnered with the Latino Social Work Coalition to run a public service announcement on its kiosks about mental health awareness month and the need for services in New York City. 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]