BROOKLYN, N.Y., Nov. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Interfaith Medical Center Board of Trustees has named LaRay Brown as the hospital's new, permanent President and CEO, effective February 2016. The announcement comes after the hospital conducted an extensive nationwide search for a leader who could bring together Interfaith's diverse constituencies, and execute a strategic vision for the hospital that reflects the service needs of the community, changing market dynamics and reimbursement trends.
Ms. Brown has been with NYC Health + Hospitals (HHC), the largest municipal hospital system in the nation, for the past 28 years, and currently serves as its Senior Vice President for Corporate Planning, Community Health and Intergovernmental Relations, and a Corporate Officer. She is a nationally recognized advocate for community health and safety-net hospitals. Her role at HHC has included strategic planning; the formulation and execution of legislative initiatives, and advocacy strategies; as well as serving as the organization's liaison to elected officials, government agencies and policy organizations. She has also taken the lead in expanding the public health care delivery system's primary care footprint throughout New York City.
The announcement was made by Dr. Robert M. Waterman, Chairman of Interfaith's Board of Trustees and Pastor of Antioch Baptist Church, who said the search committee, led by IMC Board Member Dr. Ruth Browne, undertook an extensive level of community stakeholder engagement—rarely seen in hospital CEO searches—from its inception.
"After a comprehensive, nationwide search that included an unprecedented engagement and inclusion process with Interfaith's stakeholders, we are delighted to have emerged from the process with an outstanding CEO who possesses the vision, drive, credibility and expertise to lead Interfaith Medical Center through the next phase of its transformation, and ensure that IMC provides the best possible care for the people it serves," said Dr. Waterman. "Ms. Brown was a unanimous choice among Interfaith's Board of Trustees and supported by a broad range of constituents who participated in the process. We believe she will raise the bar for quality and accountability for patient care."
"I am very excited to be appointed President and CEO of Interfaith Medical Center, and look forward to working with the Board, leadership team, labor and community partners to provide the highest quality of care to the residents of Bedford Stuyvesant and neighboring communities," said Ms. Brown. "My entire career has been committed to the expansion of access to high quality, culturally responsive health care and to engaging all stakeholders to achieve this aim. I am confident that, with our collective efforts at Interfaith, we will be successful."
Ms. Brown will replace Steven Korf, Senior Managing Director and founding partner of ToneyKorf Partners LLC, a leading restructuring firm that specializes in turnarounds of healthcare institutions, who has been serving as the President and CEO of Interfaith Medical Center since March 2014 as part of the hospital's bankruptcy restructuring team.
During her tenure at HHC, Ms. Brown initiated the enterprise-wide implementation of LEAN, an improvement system that engages staff to develop strategies to streamline operations while eliminating waste in every part of the organization. Early in her career in New Jersey and at HHC, she strengthened the development of behavioral health programs, now considered best practice models. She worked with diverse stakeholders to develop a community-governed Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Staten Island, obtained FQHC designation for six of HHC's diagnostic and treatment centers, and led the restructuring and rebuilding of two long-term care facilities.
Ms. Brown has spent her entire career working with community and safety net hospitals, engaging with multiple stakeholders on policy and service delivery issues, and doing so by including community advisory and planning boards, consumer advocates, community-based organizations and unions.
Ms. Brown also served as a member of New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo's health care transition team and Medicaid Redesign Team Workgroups. She currently serves on the Board of the New York State Health Foundation and has served as the Chair of the Board for America's Essential Hospitals. Prior to her current role at HHC, Ms. Brown held various leadership positions in the New Jersey Department of Human Services.
Ms. Brown graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and received her graduate training at the University of Pennsylvania Fels Center for Government Policy. She is also the recipient of numerous awards including the Commission on the Public's Health System's Marshall C. England Memorial Public Health Award in 2010, the CHCANYS Rosemarie Forstner Award in 2011 and the 2013 Community Impact Award from Comunilife. She has been included in Modern Healthcare's Top 25 Women in Healthcare.
Since Interfaith emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2014, the hospital's leadership team and staff have made significant progress in enhancing IMC's financial prospects and stabilizing operations to prepare for permanent leadership.
IMC has strengthened its management team, improved patient quality, reduced Emergency Department wait times, successfully dealt with legacy regulatory issues, improved the hospital's financial position, and added new services to meet the health needs of the community. These include ambulance service, a new dental clinic, expanded orthopedic and general surgery services, well visits and health education seminars, a patient experience/service excellence program, and renovations of common areas.
The search was conducted by Diversified Search, one of the nation's top executive search firms.
About Interfaith Medical Center:
Interfaith Medical Center is a 287-bed Hospital dedicated to improving community access to care on site and at numerous off-campus facilities. In addition to 24-hour emergency services, outpatient programs and long-term specialty care, Interfaith offers behavioral health services, dentistry, gynecology, internal medicine, pediatrics, podiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, ophthalmology, radiology and surgery. The Hospital has residency training programs in dentistry, internal medicine, podiatry, and ophthalmology and fellowships in cardiology, pulmonary and gastroenterology.
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SOURCE Interfaith Medical Center
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