Editor’s note: Back in February, the Bellevue location of NYC H+H hosted a pathogen preparedness day with the Japan Institute for Health Security. Similar trainings happened in March as well. Maimonides began the process of inclusion in the city’s network back in 2025, while Mayor Adams was still in office, at the same time they announced plant-based meals would become the first choice for inpatients in their hospitals. Such eating is healthier and also helps patients heal faster after surgery. By encouraging healthy habits before discharge, it might help patients stay well longer as well. Staten Island’s RUMC might join the network once this transaction has completed. It appears this process is extremely long and painstaking, taking several years to accomplish, so that may become a reality in the next five years or so.
NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS AND MAIMONIDES HEALTH TRANSACTION MOVES FORWARD AFTER UNANIMOUS NEW YORK STATE HEALTH PLANNING COUNCIL VOTE
The transaction now requires additional approval under New York State law
$2.2 billion grant from Governor Hochul supports partnership and protects safety net health care in Brooklyn
Partnership will allow Maimonides Health to adopt a new, unified electronic health record, access higher Medicaid rate, and continue to provide essential specialty care while staying true to Maimonides’ unique culture and identity
(New York, NY) – In a unanimous vote, the full New York State Public Health and Health Planning Council (PHHPC) today approved the proposal for Maimonides Health to join NYC Health + Hospitals. In its powers, the Council has a broad array of advisory and decision-making responsibilities with respect to New York State’s public health and health care delivery system. The full Council vote followed a unanimous subcommittee vote in August, which included testimony in support of the transaction from several groups, including 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA), and the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS). The transaction still needs approval under New York State law before it can be finalized. The transaction is consistent with NYC Health + Hospital’s statutory purpose to provide comprehensive care and treatment for the benefit of the people of the City of New York and the State of New York.
“Today’s vote is a critical step forward towards ensuring high-quality, culturally responsive health care remains available to the residents of Brooklyn. We are gratified that the State’s independent panel of health experts recognize that this proposed transaction is appropriate and essential,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “NYC Health + Hospitals is committed to preserving Maimonides’ historic cultural identity and practices and to keeping these values intact as we move forward together. We want Maimonides to remain Maimonides.”
“We are grateful that the Public Health and Health Planning Council approved the application to allow Maimonides to join NYC Health + Hospitals, bringing us one step closer to securing the financial support we need to maintain and expand the outstanding care our communities have come to rely on,” said Ken Gibbs, President and CEO of Maimonides Health. “By joining NYC Health + Hospitals, Maimonides will receive more than $2.2 billion in grant funding over five years, including more than $500 million to adopt a state-of-the-art electronic health record system, upgrade labor and delivery spaces, and make other needed capital improvements. We hope to receive final regulatory and legal approvals this fall.”
Maimonides Health is a Brooklyn health care system with three hospitals and dozens of community-based sites. By joining the public health care system, care provided by Maimonides facilities will be reimbursed at a higher rate by Medicaid, bolstering its financial position. The transaction also allows Maimonides to adopt Epic, the state-of-the-art electronic health record platform, which will allow it to improve care coordination and its ability to collect revenue. Maimonides patients will be able to access their health records online and contact their care team digitally through the portal. Patient care will continue uninterrupted during the transition. The partnership is supported by $2.2 billion over five years from New York State to protect safety net health care in Brooklyn.
NYC Health + Hospitals, Maimonides Partnership
In October 2025, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a $2.2 billion grant through the Health Care Safety Net Transformation Program available for Maimonides Health to join NYC Health + Hospitals. The Program encourages partnerships with safety-net institutions by providing strategic capital and operating support, in addition to required regulatory flexibility, to improve the resilience and sustainability of safety-net hospitals and to expand access to high-quality care. NYC Health + Hospitals’ Board of Directors and Maimonides’ Board of Trustees have voted to pursue this partnership.
NYC Health + Hospitals has dramatically improved its financial position in recent years. Under Dr. Katz, President and CEO since January 2018, NYC Health + Hospitals has undergone several changes to improve its finances:
- NYC Health + Hospitals consolidated all of its electronic health records across the system, allowing care teams to more easily refer patients across different sites and improving data collection for the system. The health system adopted Epic as its electronic health record, and has become recognized by the platform for several years running for adopting best practices to streamline care coordination and improve the patient experience.
- NYC Health + Hospitals expanded its team of financial counselors, who help patients enroll in health insurance if they are eligible. It also improved the patient workflow to ensure that all patients were asked for their health insurance information and connected to a financial counselor if they did not have health insurance.
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, NYC Health + Hospitals’ direct patient care revenue surpassed $5.7 billion — an increase of over $2.5 billion from FY 2019. The health care system had 459,000 patients in primary care in FY 2025 — an increase of approximately 43,000 patients from FY 2018.
NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS HOSTS CLINICAL DELEGATION FROM NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL FOR WEEK-LONG SPECIAL PATHOGENS EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGE
Seven-member delegation toured facilities to learn about the public health care system’s special pathogen preparedness and treatment, observe infection prevention practices, and emergency management operations
NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County leadership with the National Taiwan University Hospital delegation in front of the historic Vincent Aderente mural in the hospital’s rotunda
(New York, NY) – NYC Health + Hospitals announced the completion of a recent week-long educational exchange with a seven-member delegation of clinical and administrative leaders from National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH). Organized by the NYC Health + Hospitals Office of Biopreparedness and Emergency Management, the visit brought the delegation to five of the public health care system’s hospitals and Central Office to learn more about the system’s coordinated approach to preparing for and responding to high-consequence infectious diseases and other health emergencies. The delegation visited facilities at every level of the National Special Pathogen System. The itinerary included NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, the Level 1 Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Region 2; NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem and NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, two of the system’s three recently designated Level 2 Special Pathogen Treatment Centers; and NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County and NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan, Level 4 frontline facilities for special pathogens, and potentially the first point of contact for a patient requiring isolation.
“Our teams spent the week showing our colleagues from Taiwan exactly how this critical work is done, in the units where it happens,” said Dr. Ted Long, System Chief Medical Officer for Clinical Services and Population Health. “I am grateful to host international exchanges like this that strengthen both of our health systems and, most importantly, the patients, and communities we serve.”
“Preparedness is strongest when it is built as a connected system and strengthened through trusted partnerships,” said Syra Madad, DHSc, MSc, MCP, CHEP, Chief Biopreparedness Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals. “Global learning translates directly into stronger local protection for our patients, health care workforce, and communities.”
“Conducting meaningful, unannounced drills amidst the heavy daily workload of frontline ED staff is always a critical challenge, and seeing your practical execution offered invaluable lessons,” said Sung-Ching Pan, MD, MPH, PhD, Attending Physician in the Department of Internal Medicine at National Taiwan University Hospital and Associate Professor at the National Taiwan University College of Medicine. “Experiencing your Command Center operations reinforced that whether in New York or Taiwan, building rapid-response teams and managing isolation workflows face identical realities. We are truly grateful for this transparent, collaborative exchange and look forward to deepening our partnership.”
The program was designed to move beyond presentations and into hands-on clinical settings. At each site, NYC Health + Hospitals staff led hospital, emergency department, and command center walkthroughs and demonstrated the operational practices that underpin special pathogens readiness, including personal protective equipment fit testing and donning and doffing protocols, sterilization and high-level disinfection workflows, and the configuration and airflow design of negative pressure isolation rooms.
The week began at NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem with an overview of the facility’s infection prevention program, its health care-associated infection initiatives, and its emerging pathogen preparedness, followed by a hospital walkthrough and an infection prevention exchange with the visiting team.
“The educational exchange provided an invaluable opportunity to share knowledge, examine best practices and further strengthen our collaboration and collective preparedness,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem Chief Executive Officer Georges H. Leconte, MPA, FAB. “As we continue to build global partnerships, we enhance our ability to respond to emerging threats and advance the health and well-being of all humanity.”
The delegation traveled to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue where Justin Chan, MD, Infectious Disease Specialist and Hospital Epidemiologist, led a presentation on infection control and outbreak investigation, followed by discussion and Q&A. The visit provided an opportunity for the two academic medical institutions to exchange knowledge and share approaches to infection prevention and preparedness.
“Opportunities like this allow us to learn from one another and better understand both the similarities and differences in how we approach our work,” said Dr. Chan. “Sharing our experiences and perspectives helps strengthen how we prepare for and respond to infectious disease threats.”
At NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan, hospital leadership presented a case study tracing a recent real-world infectious disease case from discovery to recovery, including identification in the emergency department, post-admission management, and the hospital-wide infection control response. The session also covered pandemic preparedness, outbreak investigation and management, infection prevention education including in a psychiatric setting, staff PPE training and fit testing programs, negative pressure isolation room workflow, and staff health monitoring and vaccination initiatives.
“We were happy to host the delegation from National Taiwan University Hospital to share information about protecting communities from high consequence pathogens such as Ebola and measles and healthcare infections like urinary catheter infections. Public health threats know no borders,” said Julian John, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan. “When we go beyond borders to build global partnerships and share expertise and lessons learned, we advance health care excellence.”
NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem leadership, including CEO Georges Leconte, MPA, FAB (middle) with hospital clinicians and the NTUH delegation
The delegation spent a full day at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst reviewing the structure and reporting lines of the facility’s infection prevention and control program, touring the hospital, emergency department, and ambulatory areas, and visiting the facility’s command center with the emergency management team. Additional sessions addressed occupational health services, fit testing and vaccination, and central sterile processing, including sterilization, high-level disinfection, reprocessing, environmental controls, and auditing practices.
At NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, the delegation reviewed the facility’s emergency management and emergency room programs and its infection prevention and control program, concluding with a joint discussion of shared challenges and opportunities.
“We were honored to welcome the Taiwanese delegation and share our experience in infection prevention and control, special pathogens preparedness, emergency management, and emergency response,” said Dr. Rajesh Verma, Chief Medical Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County. “The visit provided an opportunity to exchange knowledge and highlight the multidisciplinary approach we have developed through the years of preparing for and responding to emerging and high-consequence infectious diseases. It was particularly helpful to us to hear their perspective and challenges they face in their country. These partnerships and shared lessons are essential to strengthening preparedness and protecting patients, staff and our community.”
The exchange concluded at NYC Health + Hospitals Central Office, where system leaders presented on the health system’s special pathogens program, biosurveillance across the system, emergency management, drills and exercises, and clinical operations. NYC Health + Hospitals leaders also shared lessons learned and best practices from the system’s COVID-19 response, and preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Finally, the biosurveillance team showcased resources for situational awareness on international pathogen threats and led in-depth conversations with the delegation on tools like the Biopreparedness Map.
The NTUH delegation with Bellevue Hospital’s Dr. Justin Chan (second from left) and Associate Director of Systemwide Biopreparedness Jake Mathewson (rear)
NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan leadership, including CEO Julian John (middle with flag), with hospital clinicians and the NTUH delegation
Banner Image: NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem leadership, including CEO Georges Leconte, MPA, FAB (middle) with hospital clinicians and the NTUH delegation
