GNYHA and the United Hospital Fund (UHF) last week hosted the 33rd Annual Symposium on Health Care Services: Research and Practice. The Symposium fosters collaboration between health services researchers and practitioners and highlights New York’s health services research community. The Symposium’s poster session featured research and findings relevant to health care administrators, clinicians, researchers, and policymakers.
Keynote speaker Jeffrey Brenner, MD, Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish Board, discussed the evolution of population health management. In addition to highlighting historical trends and innovations in the US health care system, he noted the differences between health care, mental health, and social services. Dr. Brenner shared his experience overseeing a social service agency and recommended the separation of essential and nonessential services to better meet the needs of community members. He also advocated for the creation of a health care and social services purchasing authority as one way to strengthen population health management.
In a “Fireside Chat,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Principal Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Blum discussed how CMS’s role evolved during COVID-19. During the pandemic, CMS was able to view a much “deeper, clearer picture of exactly who suffered and died at a much higher rate” and is now building health care delivery programs that will better address the health care needs of those segments of the population. CMS’s ongoing core mission also includes building health care systems that will help the industry more effectively pivot toward the next public health emergency.
GNYHA Associate Vice President Carla Nelson moderated a panel discussion on gun violence prevention that focused on the need to train care team members to perform screening, the need for more research to identify root causes, and a reframing of the gun violence problem as a public health issue rather than a political one. The New York State Department of Health (DOH)’s Calliana Thomas discussed DOH’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention, highlighting the need to “add sustainability and accountability” into prevention efforts. Kings Against Violence Initiative (KAVI) Clinical Director Ramon Gist, MD,), noted the work being done by KAVI, a Brooklyn-based organization that seeks to prevent violence through advocacy. KAVI and its partners operate intervention programs in schools and hospital-based settings. Chethan Sathya, MD, Director of Northwell Health’s Center for Gun Violence Prevention, highlighted the Center’s work, which takes a “multipronged public health center” approach that seeks to convene other hospitals and health systems to offer an industry-wide prevention response.
A recording of the Symposium will be posted on GNYHA’s website.