Coney Island Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y., part of NYC Health + Hospitals, has new leaders, according to a Crain's New York Business report.
In an effort to restore public confidence in the hospital, NYC Health + Hospitals CEO Ram Raju, MD, has named Anthony Rajkumar CEO and Mei Kong, MSN, RN, COO.
Mr. Rajkumar, who will leave his current post as executive director at Manhattan's Metropolitan Hospital, previously served as COO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County. Ms. Kong was the assistant vice president responsible for patient and employee safety for NYC Health + Hospitals.
"I want patient experience to be the centerpiece of this organization. We are selecting people who will give that particular aspect. If the patients are not engaged, the outcomes are not good," Dr. Raju told Crain's New York Business Wednesday.
The appointments come after three executives at Coney Island Hospital left their positions.
"There have been numerous leadership changes throughout NYC Health + Hospitals in the past year as the public healthcare system reorganizes to meet the goals of its Vision 20/20 transformation plan," NYC Health + Hospitals spokesman Ian Michaels previously said regarding the leadership shakeup. "After an extensive review of the hospital's culture it was decided that changes were necessary to improve the patient experience at the hospital. Our goal is to provide an exceptional experience to every patient and their family and we are committed to the appropriate changes to deliver on that promise."
A New York Post article claimed the leadership changes at Coney Island Hospital were related to the controversial death of 47-year-old Grisel Soto, who died at the facility Feb. 1 after nursing staff misdiagnosed her as suffering from an overdose of synthetic marijuana. The health system has disputed those claims.
Dr. Raju noted that recent leadership changes at Coney Island were not triggered by the negative publicity about patient safety.
In addition to Mr. Rajkumar and Ms. Kong, Coney Island Hospital has added various other executives in recent weeks, according to Crain's New York Business. Wehbeh Wehbeh, MD, is the new CMO; Barbara Campfield was appointed chief nursing executive; Mark William Edward Kindschuh, MD, became chairman of emergency medicine; and Janice Nini is now associate director of nursing of the emergency department.