New York: NYC Health + Hospitals’ NYC Care program received in a ceremony on Nov 29, the 2022 Bernard J. Tyson National Award for Excellence in Pursuit of Healthcare Equity from the Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanente. Named for the late Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO Bernard J. Tyson, a champion for healthcare equity, the award recognizes healthcare organizations that achieve a measurable, sustained reduction in one or more healthcare disparities. Launched in 2019, NYC Care has enrolled more than 100,000 members, who made 264,976 primary care visits and 227,481 specialty visits by February 2022. After six months of enrollment, 53% of enrollees with diabetes had improved hemoglobin A1C, and 40% of enrollees with hypertension had improved blood pressure. NYC Care’s Executive Director, Dr. Jonathan Jiménez, gave remarks on behalf of the program, and was joined by NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD, and NYC Health + Hospitals Senior Vice President for Ambulatory Care and Population Health Dr. Ted Long. The Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, Houston, was also recognized as a co-awardee.
“It is my honor to accept this award on behalf of the program and our dedicated team, who have worked tirelessly to reduce inequities in care across the city,” said Dr. Jonathan Jiménez, Executive Director of NYC Care from NYC Health + Hospitals. “I would like to thank The Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanente teams for the recognition of our efforts and for allowing us to share our accomplishments. NYC Care is a first-of-its-kind healthcare access program because of its comprehensiveness and scale. We will continue to honor Tyson’s legacy and hope to inspire other health systems to take similar action.”
