NYC Health + Hospitals Expands Laboratory Partnership with Northwell Health
Northwell Health will Manage NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island Hospital Lab and Blood Bank.
Jun 22, 2016
The NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest municipal health care system in the U.S. that serves 1.2 million New Yorkers every year, today announce an agreement to extend its joint laboratory venture with Northwell Health. Effective this week, Northwell Health will take on management responsibilities for the NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island clinical laboratory operations, which includes its blood bank functions.
“The transformation NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island is underway with a newly appointed hospital leadership team. We are now working with our partners at Northwell Health to reverse the past problems of the clinical lab,” said newly appointed hospital CEO Anthony Rajkumar. “Our #1 priority is to deliver safe, high quality and affordable care to the thousands of families in the Coney Island community who rely on our essential services.”
“We are taking serious action to remediate any deficiencies in the lab and pleased to have the assistance and expertise of our partners at Northwell Health,” added Rajkumar. “I am confident that we will put in place a proactive plan to meet and exceed all regulatory standards and build a highly efficient, safe and successful lab.”
“Over the past month, the leadership of Northwell Health Laboratories has been providing onsite assistance to Coney Island Hospital, as it works to address laboratory-service needs in blood banking and transfusion medicine, said Dr. James Crawford, Executive Director of Laboratory Services for Northwell Health. “We are now entering into a management agreement with Health + Hospitals that will further strengthen our relationship, specifically as it relates to both the blood bank, transfusion medicine and general laboratory operations at Coney Island Hospital.”
NYC Health + Hospitals and Northwell Health three years ago formed an alliance to create an integrated approach to delivery of laboratory services in the Greater NY Metropolitan area through a shared reference lab – the Clinical Laboratory of New York – operating in part out of Queens, that will support laboratory services of both health care organizations. Since then, the Clinical Laboratory of New York has been providing all the reference lab tests for both health care systems.
Under the new management agreement announced today, Northwell Health will directly support the clinical laboratory operations and management of lab technicians and staff training at Coney Island Hospital.
As part of an ongoing transformation plan, NYC Health + Hospitals appointed new leadership at Coney Island Hospitals over the past few months, including a new hospital CEO, COO, chief nurse officer, chief medical officer and new directors for the lab and blood bank.
This partnership with Northwell will lead to no job losses or changes in unionized labor force and the Coney Island Hospital lab and blood bank operations remain open.
Contact: Press Office, 212-788-3339
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the nation with a network of 11 hospitals including six regional trauma centers, community-based health centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, and a correctional health services unit. The system includes a home care agency and a health plan, MetroPlusHealth. The health system provides essential services to 1.2 million New Yorkers every year in more than 70 locations across the five boroughs. Its diverse workforce of more than 42,000 employees are uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. Visit nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected: https://www.facebook.com/NYCHealthSystem/ or Twitter @NYCHealthSystem.