AMNY METRO AND POLITICSNY’S 2023 POWER PLAYERS IN HEALTH CARE RECOGNIZES NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS LEADERSHIP

(New York, NY – December 1, 2023)– NYC Health + Hospitals today announced that nine leaders from across the health system and MetroPlusHealth have been named to the PoliticsNY and amNY Metro 2023 Power Players in Health Care list, recognized as pioneering individuals and political heavyweights whose unwavering commitment to excellence is leading New York’s health care industry into a future defined by innovation, compassion, and improved health outcomes for all. The list includes NYC Health + Hospitals Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Machelle Allen, MD; NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue CEO William Hicks; NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD; NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi and North Central Bronx CEO Christopher Mastromano; NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County CEO Sheldon McLeod; MetroPlusHealth Chief Growth Officer Roger Milliner; NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and Queens Chief Medical Officer Jasmin Moshirpur, MD; Chair of the Board José Pagán, PhD; and MetroPlusHealth President and CEO Talia Schwartz, MD. The 2023 Power Players in Health Care list is part of a monthly series by PoliticsNY and amNY Metro on New York’s Power Players, including business executives, educators, government affairs experts, and nonprofit directors.

Machelle Allen, MD is Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals. Dr. Allen completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi, worked as an attending physician at Harlem and Bellevue hospitals, and served as the Associate Medical Director at Bellevue until 2013, when she transitioned to system deputy Chief Medical Officer. She was selected to be system Chief Medical Officer in 2017.

William Hicks leads NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, the oldest public hospital in America. For 287 years, Bellevue has been on the front lines of public health challenges such as smallpox, AIDS, Ebola, and COVID-19. Hicks has overseen Bellevue’s national recognitions for adult and pediatric trauma, stroke care, cardiology, diabetes, rehabilitation, psychiatry and special pathogens. Bellevue provided direct care for patients with COVID-19, operated a vaccine center, and testing site that conducted more than 230,000 tests.

Mitchell Katz, MD is President and Chief Executive Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals. 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 frontline clinical staff, and build financial stability. Previously, he served as the Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Before he came to Los Angeles, Dr. Katz served as director and health officer of the San Francisco Department of Health for 13 years. He is a graduate of Yale College and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Katz also practices as a primary care physician.

Christopher Mastromano is the CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi and North Central Bronx Hospitals, member facilities of the largest public health system in the country. He oversees a budget of over $950 million and a staff of more than 4,000. Under his leadership, both facilities were merged into a single-hospital-two-campus model. Mr. Mastromano and his wife Lynn, a registered nurse, reside in Glen Cove and enjoy ballroom dancing.

Sheldon McLeod has served as the CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County since January 2018. He has held leadership positions at NYC Health + Hospitals, including serving as Chief Operating Officer at both Kings County and North Central Bronx Hospitals, and Chief Transformation Officer at Jacobi Medical Center. McLeod held positions at Montefiore Medical Center, NYC Department of Health, St. Luke’s/Roosevelt, and Primary Care Development Corporation. He serves on the board of America’s Essential Hospitals.

Roger Milliner, Chief Growth Officer of MetroPlusHealth, is a native of Brooklyn, New York, and began his career at MetroPlus Health Plan (formerly known as the Metropolitan Health Plan) in February 1990 as a marketing representative. Milliner oversees three departments, manages a staff of 350+ employees, and has helped increase membership by 930% to its current membership of over 700,000 members. His involvement with several regulatory agencies as a health care executive has helped to shape many current health care policies and government-sponsored programs within the State of New York. He works diligently to foster relationships with community leaders, city agencies, and civic and community-based organizations to promote health care options to NYC residents and to provide recognition of the MetroPlus name in the community. Milliner received his Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration from St. Joseph’s College. Additionally, he obtained a Certified Health Care Insurance Executive (CHIE) from AHIP.

Jasmin Moshirpur, MD is the Chief Medical Officer for NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and Queens. In addition, she is a professor of obstetrics and gynecology and dean for the Elmhurst and Queens programs at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She received her MD from the Shiraz University School of Medicine in Iran and completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Mount Sinai Medical Center. She is board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology.

José A. Pagán, PhD is the Chair of the Board of Directors of NYC Health + Hospitals and professor and chair of the Department of Public Health Policy and Management in the School of Global Public Health at New York University. Pagán is a health economist who has led research, implementation, and evaluation projects on the redesign of health care delivery and payment systems.

Talya Schwartz, MD is President and CEO of MetroPlusHealth and has served in that role since 2019. During her tenure, MetroPlusHealth has seen a 35% growth in membership, a five-star rating from NYS’s Consumer Guide, and a 4-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. She spearheaded MetroPlusHealth’s transformation by insourcing its behavioral health services, overhauled its website and portals, modernized legacy technology, and expanded virtual visits to its 750k+ members. Her commitment to addressing the social determinants of health among New York City’s most vulnerable communities is the pinnacle of her leadership. She is a mother of two daughters.

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About MetroPlusHealth

Since 1985, MetroPlusHealth has helped the people of New York City get quality health care at little to no cost. MetroPlusHealth is the plan of choice for over 700,000 New Yorkers, and its commercial and government-sponsored plans meet the needs of individuals, families, and workforces. The MetroPlusHealth staff speaks more than 40 languages and is as diverse as the great City it serves. MetroPlusHealth is part of NYC Health + Hospitals, the nation’s largest public health system. For more information, visit metroplus.org. Join the conversation on social media at @metroplushealth.

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 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn