MDNews - Long Island

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS Alan Wong, DO Mount Sinai South Nassau has named Alan Wong, DO, an experienced healthcare quality and patient safety administrator, as Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs. In his new role, Dr. Wong will be responsible for overseeing all operations related to the effective and efficient delivery of quality care. He also will facilitate medical staff interactions with hospital administration and the board of directors. In addition, he will oversee strategic planning as well as monitoring the effectiveness of management practices and productivity indicators. Prior to joining Mount Sinai South Nassau, Dr. Wong served at Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre, New York, where he was Vice President for Patient Safety, Chief Quality Officer and Chair of Internal Medicine. He maintains board certification in five medical specialties: internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, critical care, neuro-critical care, and hospice and palliative care. Dr. Wong attended medical school at the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, where he earned his Doctorate of Osteopathy as well as a Master of Business Administration. He completed residency training in internal medicine and a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care at NYU Langone Long Island Hospital, formerly Winthrop University Hospital, in Mineola, New York. Kenneth Roberts, whose 40-year career at Mather Hospital includes 36 years as President, was honored at a special ceremony at the hospital. One of the longest serving hospital presidents in New York State and only the third chief executive in Mather Hospital's more than 92-year history, Roberts retired at the end of May. Under his leadership, the community hospital grew into one of the most respected and highly ranked hospitals on Long Island. Roberts oversaw multiple hospital expansions, including the Frey Family Foundation Medical Arts Building which houses the Infusion Center and the Bariatric Center of Excellence; the Calace Pavilion, which houses the newest patient care unit, 3 North, offices for the Internal Medicine Residency Program and the LIAP Conference Center; and the Cody Surgical Pavilion where talented surgical teams perform procedures in neurosurgery. During his tenure, Mather was designated and redesignated as a Magnet hospital for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice and was reaccredited in 2018. The hospital was also designated a teaching hospital with a growing graduate medical education residency program. As well, the hospital received multiple top "A" grades for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group. When changes in the healthcare industry made the hospital's independent status increasingly untenable, Roberts headed the search for a healthcare partner that led to the affiliation with Northwell Health. Roberts' leadership and vision guided the hospital to its largest, most transformational building project in its history, a 38,000-square-foot addition that will include a new 25,000-square-foot Emergency Department and an expanded surgical center. This new building, expected to open in 2024, will be located next to the Cody Surgical Pavilion. Roberts' lasting impact was about more than bricks and mortar. More than a dozen year's ago, when patient satisfaction scores were not what he thought they should be, he undertook a cultural transformation program — the Voyage to Excellence — that engaged employees and resulted in dramatically improved scores. His tenure also was marked by his management style. Whether sitting down with employees in the cafeteria or stopping them in the hallways to chat, Roberts had a very personal style that encouraged employees to think of themselves as a family. Thanks to this culture, it is not uncommon for employees to work at Mather for 30 or 40 years or more, and to encourage their family members join them here as employees. Northwell Health has appointed Fiona Levy, MD, as Medical Director at Cohen Children's Medical Center, where she will oversee the hospital's medical staff, lead staff engagement and development, and participate in community outreach efforts for the largest provider of pediatric health services in New York State. Dr. Levy, who will also serve as Vice President for Northwell's pediatric service line, succeeds Peter Silver, MD, who was recently named Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer at the health system. Dr. Levy rejoins Cohen Children's after a stint at NYU Langone Health's Hassenfeld Children's Hospital, where she served as Executive Director of the Sala Institute for Child and Family Centered Care since 2014. She also was Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs for the Department of Pediatrics at the NYU School of Medicine. From 2011–2014, Kenneth Roberts retires after 36 years as president at Mather Hospital 1 8

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