Editors’ Note

Dr. Steven Corwin has served as CEO since 2011 and President & CEO since 2015. Dr. Corwin joined the management team of NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center in 1986 and served in various management capacities. From 2005 to 2011, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. A cardiologist and internist, he received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Northwestern University, graduating summa cum laude and with Alpha Omega Alpha honors. He completed training in internal medicine and cardiology at what is now NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia and in 1986 was named to the faculty at what is now Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Institution Brief

Located in New York City, NewYork-Presbyterian (nyp.org) is affiliated with two of the nation’s leading medical colleges, Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. NewYork-Presbyterian provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory, and preventive care in all areas of medicine, and is committed to excellence in patient care, education, research, and community service at ten hospital campuses: NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester Division, NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian Queens.

How do you define NewYork-Presbyterian’s purpose and how is purpose engrained in NewYork-Presbyterian’s culture and values?

At NewYork-Presbyterian, we are committed to caring for every single patient who walks through our doors. Serving communities across all five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, and Hudson Valley shapes our culture, values and moral obligation to provide the highest quality of accessible care to people around the region. Our purpose is engrained in nurturing and growing our workforce to be the home of world-class medical experts, investing in vital research and cutting-edge clinical innovation and prioritizing heath justice for all.

How do you define the NewYork-Presbyterian difference and what sets the organization apart in the industry?

We are fortunate to be the only academic medical center in the nation affiliated with two world-class medical schools, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medicine. Collectively, we have cared for those in need for hundreds of years – often under the most challenging circumstances – while simultaneously advancing medicine to ensure we continue to help patients live amazing lives. Our partnership means we can offer our patients access to the most advanced, innovative treatments and expand access to the latest clinical trials while also caring for patients with everyday health concerns in their own communities and via telehealth.

We constantly use data, technology and innovation to deliver a more modern, seamless and empathetic patient experience tailored to our patients. We are dedicated to addressing the root cause of health inequities in order to develop solutions that set a new standard of patient care for all races and ethnicities.

NewYork-Presbyterian has been on the front lines of the global pandemic. What are some of the lessons learned from the pandemic and how critical is it for health systems to continue to transform and adapt to effectively address future challenges and crises?

The pandemic has forced every institution, including our own, to look from the inside out on how we can better prepare for future crises. We’ve established taskforces that continue to connect regularly, and we have changed our business model from just-in-time to just-in-case, which means adding reserves and flexibility, and changing how we train and deploy staff. We have also learned that the system as a whole is more resilient than a single hospital and we need to leverage that interconnectivity to effectively plan and prepare for any future-facing challenges.

What needs to be done to address the issue of long haul COVID and what role can health systems play in addressing this challenge?

There is evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to longer-term neurological or psychological symptoms despite initially being considered a respiratory virus. As systems and clinicians, we must arm our teams with the resources needed to help patients with long COVID navigate their recovery, and also acknowledge that the need to care for them will extend long beyond the pandemic.

NewYork-Presbyterian opened a clinic in January 2021 to provide services and support for people coping with long COVID. The clinic evaluates patients, including full workups with blood work, echocardiograms, EKGs and other screenings. It also connects them with specialists like cardiologists, psychiatrists and neurologists to treat specific symptoms and collaborate on patient care.

What do you see as the responsibility that leading health systems have to the communities they serve?

We have a profound obligation and responsibility to take care of the communities we serve and deliver quality patient experiences and outcomes. To do this, care must be made accessible. A person’s ability to access the health services they need – when, where and how they need them – has a significant impact on every aspect of their life. As the future of healthcare evolves and as the needs of patients and their communities evolve, we must continue to deliver the latest advances in care to patients and transform how healthcare is delivered, making it more convenient, accessible and equitable whether patients are seeking care for common conditions or complex ones.

At NewYork-Presbyterian, we also invest in community and population health efforts that provide a wide range of community health programs for all ages and have one of the best ambulatory care networks in the region, providing clinical services to families across all five boroughs.

Will you discuss NewYork-Presbyterian’s efforts to reduce and erase disparities by linking its neighbors with the world’s best healthcare services and supporting them to reduce social disparities of health?

The last two years we saw social, economic and health crises converge, resulting in an unfathomable impact on the lives of too many people. The pandemic has exposed long-standing health inequities and, as a system, we recognize the urgent need to continue addressing disparities due to race, socioeconomic differences, access to care and other complex factors that impact the well-being of the communities we serve.

Building on years of work committed to this issue, we launched the Dalio Center for Health Justice in 2020 to acknowledge and address the systemic inequalities that create conditions for poor health by understanding and addressing the structural factors that determine health outcomes. Through key areas of action, the Center has been successful in creating a robust equity database, addressing social determinants of health while working to expand access to care and enrich education.

We have work to do and it’s going to take time. I’m proud of the work our teams do every day to stay connected to the needs of our patient population through relationships with community-based organizations, chambers of commerce, faith-based organizations, community groups, residents and more.

Will you discuss NewYork-Presbyterian’s efforts to build a diverse and inclusive workforce?

NewYork-Presbyterian is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. Today, we provide personalized, world-class care to patients at a wide range of physical locations across the Greater New York area including 10 hospitals, more than 200 primary and specialty care clinics and medical practices, and through our comprehensive suite of telehealth services. This means that we reach and treat communities of all races, ethnicities, ages and genders, and it is imperative that our staff represent our patient population to be able to give them the best possible care. Our team is committed to setting clear hiring targets, maintaining a diverse pipeline of candidates, standardizing all job application processes and, importantly, reskilling and upskilling our current workforce so they can pursue other opportunities across the system.

What do you tell young people about the type of career that medicine offers?

The pandemic continues to elevate the medical profession, healthcare workers, and all essential workers to a level where the general public understands just how vital a role they play in our lives. A career in medicine, regardless of the circumstances of the last two years, is not easy, but it is extremely rewarding and humbling. Medical professionals are constantly curious, committed to their craft and always looking for novel solutions to reducing morbidity and mortality rates, and improving the patient experience. At NewYork-Presbyterian, we’re fortunate to have some of the brightest minds in our field building their careers with us and I look forward to seeing how they contribute to the evolution of medicine into the 21st century.