City & State Names NYC Health Plus Hospitals and MetroPlus Executives to the 2020 Health Power 100 List

NEW YORK, Jan. 23 -- The New York Health and Hospitals issued the following news release:

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- President and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals Mitchell Katz, MD ranked 7th; President and CEO of MetroPlus Health Plan Talya Schwartz, MD ranked 27th; and SVP for NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services Patricia "Patsy" Yang, DrPH, ranked 99th

- The executives were recognized for their contributions to the public health system's transformation

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President and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals Mitchell Katz, MD, President and CEO of MetroPlus Health Plan Talya Schwartz, MD, and Senior Vice President for NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services (CHS) Patricia "Patsy" Yang, DrPH have been named in City & State's "2020 Health Power 100" list. Dr. Katz ranked seventh for his work expanding access to primary care services while making the health system more financially stable. Schwartz was ranked 27th and was recognized for her leadership at the City's public health plan, which is playing a key role in Mayor Bill de Blasio's effort to expand coverage to some 600,000 New Yorkers who lack health insurance. Yang, who ranked 99th on this year's list, was recognized for her work to transform the delivery of health care services in the City's jails. City & State's "2020 Health Power 100" program honors individuals in healthcare who are deemed by their peers and the outlet's senior editors to be the most influential individuals in the industry, in terms of leadership and impact.

"Honors like City & State's "2020 Health Power 100" are a reflection of the tremendous work NYC Health + Hospitals' doctors, nurses, pharmacists, social workers and staff do every day to keep New Yorkers healthy," said President and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals Mitchell Katz, MD. "They are the people who make my job and the crucial care we provide to New Yorkers possible."

"It is a great honor to be recognized by City & State for my work in expanding health coverage to uninsured New Yorkers," said President and CEO of MetroPlus Health Plan Talya Schwartz, MD. "To be recognized along such exceptionally accomplished health advocates - including two of my colleagues from NYC Health + Hospitals - only adds to my gratitude of being named to this list."

"It is an honor for Correctional Health Services to be recognized by City & State's '2020 Health Power 100,'" said Senior Vice President of NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services Patsy Yang, DrPH. "Since the transition to NYC Health + Hospitals, CHS has significantly transformed patient care provided in the NYC jail system, and we look forward to building upon these accomplishments to continue to meet the health care needs of our patients and best position them as they re-enter their communities."

"Mitchell Katz has a profound understanding of the lives of New Yorkers in need and how they interact with the health care system, and he translates that into advocacy and action. Dr. Katz is an effective and innovative manager of the NYC Health + Hospitals system," said Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard N. Gottfried. "I congratulate him on this recognition and look forward to continuing to work with him."

"I want to congratulate Dr. Mitchell Katz for being honored as one of City and State's inaugural Health Power 100," said State Senator Gustavo Rivera, Chair of the Senate Health Committee. "Dr. Katz has brought new energy to NYC Health + Hospitals and its mission to be a public health system that serves New Yorkers, especially the most vulnerable among us, with the utmost care. By increasing access to primary care services, launching forward-thinking health initiatives, and financially stabilizing the system, Dr. Katz has built a strong foundation so that NYC Health + Hospitals continues to improve the health and well-being of all New Yorkers for generations to come."

Dr. Katz was appointed President and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals in January 2018. During this time, Dr. Katz has focused on advancing the transformation of the public health care system with numerous new initiatives to expand access to primary care services, reduce administrative costs, invest in more front-line clinical staff, and build financial stability. Fiscal year end 2019 results showed the health system was able to close 65 percent of its $1.8B structural gap through additional revenue, savings, managed care negotiations, and getting New Yorkers enrolled into insurance. In August 2019, NYC Care, a healthcare access program for New Yorkers who are not eligible for or cannot afford health insurance, launched in the Bronx under Dr. Katz's stewardship.

Previously, Dr. Katz was the Director of the Los Angeles County Health Agency, an agency that combines the Departments of Health Services, Public Health, and Mental Health into a single entity so as to provide more integrated care and programming within Los Angeles. Before he came to Los Angeles, Dr. Katz was the Director and Health Officer of the San Francisco Department of Health for 13 years. He is well-known for funding needle exchange, creating Healthy San Francisco, outlawing the sale of tobacco at pharmacies, and winning ballot measures for rebuilding Laguna Honda Hospital and San Francisco General Hospital. He is a graduate of Yale College and Harvard Medical School. He completed an internal medicine residency at UCSF Medical School and was an RWJ Clinical Scholar.

Dr. Talya Schwartz was appointed President and CEO of MetroPlus Health Plan in May of 2019. Prior to her appointment, Dr. Schwartz has served as the Chief Medical Officer at MetroPlus, leading the Medical Management division. Under her leadership MetroPlus ranked among the top plans in the State for quality. She transformed the care management program into a holistic, field-based program that now also addresses social determinants of health with special focus on housing for its homeless population. Dr. Schwartz joined MetroPlus from the private sector. She has been a founding member of a behavioral health technology startup company and prior to that served in various leadership roles in regional and national health plans.

Dr. Patsy Yang is NYC Health + Hospitals' Senior Vice President for Correctional Health Services, a division that provides medical, mental health, substance use, dental health, and reentry support services to individuals in the City's jails. The Division is also an essential partner in the City's work to reform the criminal justice system. Dr. Yang previously served as Director of Health Policy in the Office of the NYC Mayor, and as Executive Deputy Commissioner of Health and Chief Operating Officer for the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She also served as First Deputy Commissioner of Health and Acting Commissioner of Health for Westchester County, New York. Earlier service with NYC Health + Hospitals included Associate Executive Director at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and at NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan. Dr. Yang holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University, a Master of Public Health degree, and a Doctor of Public Health with Distinction degree from Columbia University.

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About NYC Health + Hospitals

NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city's five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system's trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan--all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 42,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible.

About NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services

NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services operates one of the nation's largest local correctional health care systems. CHS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. CHS provides medical and mental health care, substance use treatment, dental care, social work services, and reentry support services, to patients from pre-arraignment through discharge. CHS is an essential partner in New York City's criminal justice reform efforts and we recognize both our opportunity and obligation to cushion the impact of incarceration while addressing health needs to better prepare our patients to leave jail and not return. In 2016, Correctional Health Services became the direct provider of health care in the City's jails, as part of NYC Health + Hospitals.

About MetroPlus Health Plan

Since 1985, MetroPlus Health Plan has built a reputation for providing access to affordable, quality health care to residents of Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. A wholly-owned subsidiary of NYC Health + Hospitals, the nation's largest public health system, MetroPlus is the plan of choice for over half a million New Yorkers. The health plan's robust network of primary care doctors and specialists includes many independent community providers. Culturally sensitive, and fluent in more than 40 languages, MetroPlus staff is as diverse as the great city it serves.