Medicaid Redesign Team: Health Systems Redesign: Brooklyn Work Group

Contact the MRT Health System Redesign - Brooklyn Work Group

Share your thoughts with the MRT Health System Redesign - Brooklyn Work Group by emailing brooklyn@health.state.ny.us

Final Work Group Report

Work Group Mission

  • Assess the strengths and weaknesses of Brooklyn hospitals and their future viability.
  • Make specific recommendations that will lead to a high quality, financially secure and sustainable health system in Brooklyn.

Additional Information: MRT Initiative #67 (PDF, 49KB)

Charge to Chair/Work Group from State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah, M.D., M.P.H. (PDF, 156KB)

Work Group Meetings

Thursday, July 28, 2011, 11:00am – 4:00pm

Public Hearing

The Health Systems Redesign: Brooklyn Work Group, a work group of the New York State Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT), will conduct a public hearing on Thursday, July 28, in Brooklyn to solicit public comment on potential initiatives to provide a high quality, financially secure and sustainable health care system in Brooklyn.

The hearing will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Auditorium of the NYC College of Technology, 285 Jay Street, Klitgord Center, Brooklyn.

The Health Systems Redesign: Brooklyn Work Group has been asked to assess the strengths and weaknesses of Brooklyn hospitals and their future viability and make specific recommendations to Commissioner Shah that will lead to a high quality, financially secure and sustainable health system.

For the July 28 public hearing, the Work Group would like specific comments on community health status, the quality of health care delivery, and the availability of and access to health care. The Work Group is also interested in soliciting views about what models of care are currently working for the community that support quality and access and which ones are not working.

No pre-registration is required. Individuals wishing to speak will be asked to register on site. All presentations will be limited to four minutes to accommodate as many speakers as possible. The hearing will be webcast and can be viewed live at: http://www.health.ny.gov/events/webcasts/

People who are unable to attend the hearing, or who have more information to submit than time allows are invited to submit written comments to brooklyn@health.state.ny.us.

New York State Medicaid Director Jason Helgerson serves as Executive Director of the Medicaid Redesign Team. Partnership for New York City Board Member Stephen Berger serves as chair of the Health Systems Redesign: Brooklyn Work Group. Other members of the work group include Ramon Jesus Rodriguez, who has 30 years experience as a chief executive officer in the health care, human service and government sectors; Elizabeth Swain, CEO of the Community Health Care Association of New York State; William Toby, who has served for more than 30 years with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and Arthur Webb, who has close to 40 years of policy and operational experience in the health care sector. Full bios of the members are below.

The Work Group plans to develop its recommendations by November 1.

More information on this Work Group and MRT initiatives is available at: http://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/redesign/

Wednesday, September 21, 2011, 11:30am – 4:00pm

Public Meeting

Meeting Materials

This meeting of the work group will be comprised of presentations and discussions regarding the financial condition of Brooklyn hospitals, along with preliminary research findings on Brooklyn primary care and emergency room use between the work group and a series of experts. Additionally, there will be a review of a number of models for restructuring, including a discussion of governance and concepts for reinvestment in health care delivery systems.

There will be public seating available. This meeting will be a work session, and there will be no public comment period. Comments can be sent to the workgroup by emailing brooklyn@health.state.ny.us. The meeting will be webcast and can be viewed live at: http://www.health.ny.gov/events/webcasts/

Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 11:00am – 4:00pm

Public Hearing

The Health Systems Redesign: Brooklyn Work Group, a work group of the New York State Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT), will conduct a public hearing on Wednesday, October 19, in Brooklyn to solicit public comment on potential initiatives to provide a high quality, financially secure and sustainable health care system in Brooklyn.

The hearing will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Auditorium of the NYC College of Technology, 285 Jay Street, Klitgord Center, Brooklyn.

The Health Systems Redesign: Brooklyn Work Group has been asked to assess the strengths and weaknesses of Brooklyn hospitals and their future viability and make specific recommendations to Commissioner Shah that will lead to a high quality, financially secure and sustainable health system.

For the October 19 public hearing, the Work Group would like specific comments that address information presented by a panel of experts at the Work Group's last work session on September 21, which was open to the public. Topics covered were:

  • Financial condition of Brooklyn hospitals,
  • Brooklyn primary care and emergency room use,
  • Governance models to assist restructuring,
  • Freestanding Emergency Departments,
  • Health Homes and
  • Public – Private Partnerships.

People who were unable to attend the working session on September 21 and would like to become familiar with the information presented can view a slide presentation and rebroadcast of the work session at: http://www.nyhealth.gov/health_care/medicaid/redesign/brooklyn.htm

No pre-registration is required. Individuals wishing to speak will be asked to register on site. All presentations will be limited to four minutes to accommodate as many speakers as possible. The hearing will be webcast and can be viewed live at: http://www.health.ny.gov/events/webcasts/

People who are unable to attend the hearing, or who have more information to submit than time allows are invited to submit written comments to brooklyn@health.state.ny.us.

The Work Group plans to develop its recommendations by November 1.

Work Group Members

CHAIR: Stephen Berger, is Chairman of Odyssey Investment Partners (OIP), LLC, a New York investment firm that specializes in private corporate transactions. Mr. Berger's public service activities include: Chairman of New York State Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century (2005 – 2006); Chairman of New York State Governor's Task Force on Health Care Reform 2003-2005; Member of Medicaid Redesign Taskforce (MRT), 2011; New York State Commissioner of Social Services and Member of the Board of Social Welfare; Executive Director of the New York State Emergency Control Board for the City of New York; Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey from 1985-1990. Chairman of the Board, United States Railway Association, where he was the United States Government "Banker" responsible for structuring Conrail's emergence from bankruptcy; member of the Board and Chairman of the finance committee of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

  • Ramon Jesus Rodriguez has thirty years experience as a Chief Executive Officer in the health care, human service and government sectors and is often called upon to turn around institutions that are in crisis. Appointed by Governor Mario M. Cuomo, he transformed the Parole Department into the most innovative community supervision agency in the nation and then went on to manage a hospital system that was on the brink of financial collapse and succeeded in preserving a critical provider of care in the Hudson valley. He served as CEO of two HMOs, Union Settlement and founded two Medicare HMOs. His current efforts focus on organizations dedicated to care management for chronically ill elderly and special needs populations.
  • Elizabeth Swain, CEO of the Community Health Care Association of New York State (CHCANYS), was appointed to the CEO position in early 2005. Prior to her appointment to CHCANYS, she held executive and operations positions in community health centers, health plans and other health care settings.
  • William Toby most recently served on the Regulatory Reform Task Force of the federal Department of Health & Human Services, of which 95 percent of the committee's recommendations were reviewed and 50 percent of those were implemented. Mr. Toby is a 31-year veteran of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), where he also served as the national administrator from 1992-1993. In 1982, former New York Governor Hugh Carey presented Mr. Toby with a Gubernatorial Citation for his leadership role in the development of the Bedford Stuyvesant/Crown Heights Demonstration Medicare Waiver project and for assisting the state in resolving the organizational and financial problems of health care institutions in Brooklyn, notably the Jewish Hospital and Medical Center of Brooklyn. Mr. Toby lived in Brooklyn for 25 years.
  • Arthur Y. Webb has close to 40 years of policy and operational experience in the health care sector as commissioner of several state agencies, including the director of the state Health Planning Commission; experience in operating nursing homes and hospitals. Most recently Mr. Webb served as COO of the now closed St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers. Mr. Webb is a Brooklyn resident.