Doctors Union and Hospital Management in New York City’s Public Hospital System Launch a Unique Collaborative Body to Improve Patient Care

Contacts: Karen Imas
Connelly, McLaughlin & Woloz
kimas@cmw-newyork.com
212-437-7373

and

Ian Michaels
NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation
Ian.Michaels@nychhc.org
 212-788-3339

Doctors Union and Hospital Management in New York City’s Public Hospital System Launch a Unique Collaborative Body to Improve Patient Care

WHEN:
Wednesday, November 4, 2015 – 6:00 – 8:00pm

WHERE:
7 Times Square, (the Times Square Tower), at Pryor Cashman on the 40th Floor.  The entrance is located on the west side of Broadway between 41st and 42nd Street.

WHO:

• Guest Speaker: Dr. Ben Chu, MD, MPH, MACP, Executive Vice President, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals
• Guest Speaker: Dr. Frank Proscia, President, Doctors Council SEIU
• Guest Speaker: Dr. Ross Wilson, Chief Medical Officer, New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation

WHAT:
Through joint efforts by Doctors Council SEIU and the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), the two entities will announce a groundbreaking forum for improvement in the patient experience and quality care through frontline doctor engagement with hospital executives in the City’s public hospital system.  November 4^th marks the launch of a three-day training between hospital management and doctors at HHC to implement a system-wide Collaboration Council – a unique approach that seeks to create a truly joint quality improvement strategy.

Dr. Ben Chu, MD, MPH, MACP, Executive Vice President, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals (and former President of HHC, as well as past chair of the American Hospital Association Board of Trustees), along with senior leadership of HHC and Doctors Council SEIU, will speak.  The speaking program is open to members of the press.

The system-wide Collaboration Council is a pioneering national model of cooperation between doctors and management in the largest public safety-net health system in the nation which treats over 1.4 million patients annually.

The joint committee, which will hold its first official meeting at the end of the training on Friday afternoon (Nov. 6), will be composed of one Doctors Council SEIU member from each of 22 facilities in the HHC system and top HHC management. The Committee’s role will be to develop a collaborative approach to improving the quality of healthcare.

The training will be conducted by the nationally recognized Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and will focus on professional development especially designed for people actively involved in health care improvement projects.
WHY:

Doctors Council SEIU, a national union that represents the doctors who work within the City’s public hospital system, are longtime advocates for improving quality patient care. One of the key goals has been and continues to be advocating and engaging with HHC to increase doctors’, other health care workers’ and patients’ and communities’ input; increasing timely access to patient care services; and improving health care outcomes and patient satisfaction.

This is the key message in the Doctors Council SEIU White Paper titled “Putting Patients First Through Doctor, Patient and Community Engagement: A Call to Action from Doctors Council SEIU to the Mayor and Leadership of HHC” which was presented to HHC in May 2014. The white paper underscores quality improvement and empowering frontline doctors and was seen by HHC as an opportunity to meaningfully and substantively engage doctors in addressing quality improvement.

 

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Doctors Council SEIU, a professional organization for doctors, is the nation’s oldest and largest union of attending physicians and dentists in the United States, with members in New York City, and in states across the country, including in Illinois. Formed in 1973, Doctors Council SEIU is a union for doctors and a voice for patients, and represents attending physicians and dentists at Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) facilities and hospitals, including doctors employed by the affiliates New York University School of Medicine, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the Physician Affiliate Group of New York (PAGNY). HHC is the largest public hospital system in the nation. Doctors Council SEIU also represents doctors in the New York City Mayoral agencies including the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) as well as doctors working at Rikers Island, the largest correctional facility in the nation. Doctors Council SEIU also represents the attending physicians, dentists and psychologists at the Cook County Health and Hospitals System (CCHHS), the public hospital system of Chicago. Affiliated with SEIU, Doctors Council SEIU is a national union representing doctors employed in the public and private sectors.

About The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC)

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is a $6.7 billion integrated healthcare delivery system, the largest municipal healthcare organization in the country, and one of the New York area’s largest providers of government-sponsored health insurance, MetroPlus Health Plan, the plan of choice for nearly half a million New Yorkers. HHC serves 1.4 million New Yorkers every year and more than 475,000 are uninsured. HHC provides medical, mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care hospitals, five skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 70 community based clinics. HHC Health and Home Care also provides in-home services for New Yorkers. HHC was the 2008 recipient of the National Quality Forum and The Joint Commission’s John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/hhc or find us on facebook.com/nycHHC or twitter.com/HHCnyc.