NYC Health + Hospitals Reorganizes Leadership Staff
Three senior executives take on additional leadership roles
Jan 22, 2020
Mitchell Katz, MD, NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO, today announced the following new leadership appointments for three members of his executive cabinet. Their new roles are effective February 24.
Christopher Roker, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, will become CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan and serve as the health system’s Chief Growth Officer. Roker will replace outgoing Metropolitan CEO and Chief Growth Officer, Alina Moran, who is relocating to the West Coast after more than 20 years of service for the public health system.
Israel Rocha, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and CEO of OneCity Health, the health system’s Performance Provider Organization under the State’s DSRIP program, will leave his OneCity post and take on the additional role as CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, facilitating increased coordination across the two facilities to better serve Queens. Matt Siegler, Health System Senior Vice President of Managed Care and Patient Growth, will take on the added role as CEO of OneCity Health. Mr. Siegler’s appointment will be subject to OneCity Health board approval.
“We are extremely fortunate to be able to tap our own, highly talented senior executives to take on new leadership roles in our health system. Each of them have made vital contributions to the transformation of NYC Health + Hospitals and the significant progress we have made over the last two years,” said Dr. Mitchell Katz. “They are effective advocates for our patients and staff, have deep understanding of what it takes to deliver quality care and make our health system succeed, and have demonstrated an ability to respond to the unique needs of local communities. I am confident they will be able to seamlessly transition in their new roles and continue to strengthen our individual patient care facilities and operations.”
“I’m thrilled to join the leadership team of NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan as new CEO and be able to apply my experience serving the diverse staff and community populations in Queens to help serve and improve the health of the people of East Harlem,” said Christopher Roker. “I hope to be able to build on the amazing accomplishments Alina Moran has achieved and continue to move forward the commitments we have made to grow and preserve the important role NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan plays in this community.”
“I am truly honored and excited to join the great team at NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens as new CEO and honored to advance the great work accomplished by Chris Roker,” said Israel Rocha. “This is an exciting expansion to my work at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and will allow me to support our talented health care professionals in both hospitals, preserve and advance their individual strategic plans, and continue to provide safe quality care and an exceptional and seamless patient experience to all our patients. It is our hope that through increased collaboration, NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and Queens will offer our patients the world’s leading medicine in the borough of Queens.”
“It is a privilege to carry on Israel’s and the team’s great work as CEO for the OneCity Health PPS,” said Matt Siegler. “NYC Health + Hospitals’ ongoing transformation and the success of DSRIP in New York would not have been possible without the important work of OneCity Health and all the community-based partners who have helped improve quality while reducing avoidable hospitalizations and unnecessary health care costs. I am excited to continue to work alongside Israel and Chris and our whole team as we advance value-based care for all New Yorkers.”
Executive Bios
Christopher Roker, is an operational expert focused on building, growing, and improving the profitability, performance, and value in organizations with a leadership style that fosters teamwork and motivates staff. He has served as NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens CEO since 2016. Under his leadership, the hospital achieved an increase in patient satisfaction scores, inpatient discharges, outpatient volume and OR volume. Roker has also been credited for strengthening collaborations with physician, labor and community partners. Prior to NYC Health + Hospitals, Roker held leadership positions at The MetroHealth System in Ohio, St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan, and The Parkway Hospital Queens. Mr. Roker holds a B.A from the State University of New York at Oswego, an MBA from Pace University, Certificate – Healthcare Leadership Advancement from Cornell University, and completed Lean Six Sigma Green Belt for Healthcare.
Israel Rocha has served as CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst since July 2016, while concurrently serving as CEO for OneCity Health, a subsidiary of NYC Health + Hospitals. Mr. Rocha has been recognized for expanding health care options for underserved communities in Queens, increasing patient revenue, improving clinical quality measures, increasing patient satisfaction, and securing funding for hospital expansions and modernization. At OneCity Health, Rocha and his team earned more than $1.5 billion in quality incentive payments for improving health outcomes and patient safety metrics. He previously served as CEO of Doctors Hospital at Renaissance in Texas, and worked for 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. He holds a B.A. from Columbia University and an MPA from New York University. Mr. Rocha also serves as a Vice President of NYC Health + Hospitals and will continue in that role.
Matthew Siegler joined NYC Health + Hospitals in 2017 as Senior Vice President for Managed Care and Patient Growth, a newly created position. In this role, he has implemented NYC Health + Hospitals’ patient and revenue growth strategies, with a principal focus on managed care market share and external payer and provider relationships. He previously led key strategic and advocacy efforts across Kaiser Permanente’s commercial and government business and served in the Obama Administration on the staff of the White House Domestic Policy Council. He has also served on the staff of Congressman Henry Waxman, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, Johns Hopkins University, and Harvard College.