NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi Hosts Annual Legislative Forum

Discussion Focuses on Trump Administration’s Plans for Affordable Care Act

Left to right, John Jurenko, V.P. of Government & Community Relations, NYC Health + Hospitals; Robert Nolan, NYC Health + Hospitals Board Member; Esme Sattaur-Low, Community Advisory Board Member; Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj; William Foley, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi; Sylvia Lask, CAB Member; Silvio Mazzella, CAB Member; Alvin Young, NYC Health + Hospitals, Intergovernmental Affairs; Josephine Bolus, Chairperson of NYC Health + Hospitals Board of Directors Community Relations Committee

The Community Advisory Board of NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi hosted its annual Legislative Forum on February 8. Approximately 70 people attended, including board members, staff, and the community, to hear from local elected officials regarding health care funding and the role of the public hospital system in serving the community.

Jacobi Chief Executive Officer William Foley welcomed attendees with opening remarks focused on the hospital’s many specialty programs and designated Centers of Excellence. He was followed by the Vice President for Government and Community Affairs, John Jurenko, who outlined fiscal challenges the health system faces at the federal and state levels.

Many elected officials attended the event, including New York State Senators Jeffrey Klein and Gustavo Rivera, Assembly Members Michael Benedetto and Mark Gjonaj, and New York City Council Member Andy King. Klein and Rivera spoke specifically about health policy and how recent legislative action in Albany may result in greater reimbursement of safety net hospitals. Klein also praised the progress that the Stand Up to Violence (SUV) program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi has made throughout the Bronx. Funded by the State, SUV is a unique, hospital-based gun violence interruption program that has produced impressive reductions in violence within the three precincts where it is active. Klein called NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi an excellent partner in the establishment of this successful initiative.

Assembly Members Benedetto and Gjonaj also spoke and pledged to support NYC Health + Hospitals in carrying out its mission to provide care for all regardless of race, gender, origin, sexual orientation, immigration status, or ability to pay.