Celebrating Women Making History at NYP:
11 Women Changing Health Care for the Better

Medical director of the Intestinal Transplant Program at the Center for Liver Disease and Abdominal Organ Transplantation at NewYork-Presbyterian and professor of pediatrics and medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Contributions I’m most proud of:
I work hard every day to improve the health outcomes of children undergoing liver and intestinal transplants. I care for these children for weeks and months and am proud of the role I play in our truly multidisciplinary approach to treating the sickest children with organ failure and providing outstanding care to our patients. The outcomes of liver and intestinal transplant recipients in our center are among the best in the country. I also provide educational and clinical support to liver transplant programs in underserved areas of the world, giving a second chance to children who otherwise would succumb to organ failure. I am proud of promoting diversity in the workforce and being a role model for underrepresented minorities and inspiring them to achieve their goals.

What drives my passion for my work:
Growing up in poverty and with hardships in Cuba taught me that hard work, patience, and determination are the ingredients to accomplishing my goals. Those early life struggles are the foundation of my character, work ethic, and academic accomplishments. Caring for medically complex children who have organ failure, undergo organ transplant, and go on to thrive with successful outcomes allows me to see the history of my life in each patient: from struggle to success. My biggest passion is to provide outstanding, state-of-the-art care for children at all socioeconomic levels and to treat every child like my own.

Pediatric hematologist/oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital and assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine

Contributions I’m most proud of:
I have worked in Brooklyn all my professional life, caring for children with blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia and thalassemia. Sickle cell anemia is a chronic illness that primarily affects the African American community. The burden on families is devastating. I am proud of the personalized and compassionate care I give my patients, most of whom I have known their entire lives. It is a privilege to help them navigate their illness while they enjoy life, school, proms, and graduations. It has been exciting to share with them advances in care, new promising therapies, and opportunities to participate in clinical trials. I am proud of creating a space that patients consider their home — where they feel welcome, where there is always a person to listen, offer comfort and assurance that they come first.

What drives my passion for my work:
I was raised in the spirit of service and the belief that we are here for a purpose beyond our personal benefit. I have always been moved by the challenges that people face, like poverty and illness. It is especially hard to see children suffer. To be blessed in the many ways that we are, I strongly believe we have a responsibility to ensure that others are helped as well. Medicine has offered me this opportunity. It has provided me intellectual stimulation, the company of wonderful colleagues who share my dream of comforting others, and the opportunity to help children and families afflicted with chronic illness, to help relieve pain. There is truly nothing in the world better than seeing a child get better and have a smile on their face!

Executive director of the Dalio Center for Health Justice at NewYork-Presbyterian and assistant professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Contributions I’m most proud of:
The Dalio Center for Health Justice began as an idea in the fall of 2020 – we knew where we wanted to go but needed to build the road to get there. I’m so proud of the work that we have accomplished over the past year-and-a-half and the team that has enabled us to do it. Whether it was helping to improve the collection of race and ethnicity data across our system or the launch of a national vaccine campaign, our work has been broad, but meaningful. Although we have so much more that we need to do, we have laid a strong foundation that will support our work for years to come.

What drives my passion for my work:
I absolutely love what I do. My entire career, I’ve been passionate about helping people – at first it was primarily at the bedside, as a practicing hospitalist, and now it’s by helping to advance our goals toward eliminating health inequity. I can’t help but see the widening gaps in health equity across the country and feel compelled to act. Now, I’m able to dedicate my day to thinking about how to make health and health care better; it’s a privilege to do this work.

Neurologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, medical director of the Weill Cornell Medicine Headache Program, and assistant professor of clinical neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine

Contributions I’m most proud of:
I’m proud of creating a headache program where we use the latest technologies to offer a comprehensive approach to treating patients with a variety of headache disorders. My focus on migraine in women, including during pregnancy, is particularly meaningful, as 20% of women live with migraines. It is fulfilling to see how our tailored treatments can pave the way for patients to be in control of their pain so they can live their fullest lives. I’m also pleased to have partnered with women leaders at NewYork-Presbyterian, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to create the Women in Neurology group. We’re committed to developing mentorship to promote women’s careers, and to equity in the workplace and work-life balance for women in neurology, from trainees to those in their advanced careers.

What drives my passion for my work:
Improving the lives of those living with painful headache conditions drives my work, along with advocating for access to high-quality care and health equity. Gaining the trust of patients through understanding, mutual respect, and goal building can translate into meaningful improvements in the lives of people with painful and disabling headache disorders. Advocating for patients by increasing public awareness and education about this common health condition is an important part of helping this population. This combination gives me immense satisfaction, and I am so grateful to be able to do this.

Chief of the Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NewYork-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Contributions I’m most proud of:
My work in improving the quality of care in women’s health has been the most rewarding and what I’m most proud of. My passion for reducing maternal mortality led me to become part of the Safe Motherhood Initiative and work with not only my local teams but also hospitals across New York state to implement standardized guidelines to reduce preventable maternal complications and deaths in the state. My experience in leading the OB-GYN teams at NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital and now at NewYork-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital provides unique insight into building high-quality, successful OB-GYN programs within a community hospital. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to share this knowledge and help other teams in rural New York hospitals improve their maternal outcomes.

What drives my passion for my work:
Creating lifelong connections with my patients, and seeing the positive changes in clinical outcomes driven by the high-quality care that my team provides, motivates and inspires me the most. Seeing my team use the skills that we practiced in simulation drills and witnessing a well-coordinated response to real clinical emergencies fuels my passion and gives meaning to my work. Watching a new mother walk out of the hospital with a healthy newborn and knowing that a serious complication was avoided or a life-threatening emergency was managed expertly by my skilled and well-prepared team makes me incredibly proud. I’m filled with joy when a patient shares their gratitude for my clinical care, be it an amazing childbirth experience or my advice that helps her lead a long and healthy life.

Chief Nursing Informatics Officer at NewYork-Presbyterian

Contributions I’m most proud of:
I came to NewYork-Presbyterian as a nurse in 1999. Since 2005, I’ve been full time in the Information Technology department. Every day I use technology and innovation to support nurses so that they can spend more time focusing on their patients. What I’m most proud of is how we are leveraging mobility through the use of smartphones equipped with apps for administrative and patient care. We’ve given a device to every nurse, and it’s really empowered them. It’s revolutionized how they care for patients, minimizing the need to go to physical workstations in between bedside visits. I’m also proud of the IT Fellows Program I helped develop in 2018 to help give leadership opportunities within IT to Black college students. Today, we’re being asked to expand the program into other departments.

What drives my passion for my work:
Keeping patients and co-workers as my guidepost drives my passion. As a leader, I’m able to propose new perspectives by lifting people up and moving them toward a common purpose. I’ve learned that I can influence positive organizational change by developing innovative solutions. In evaluating new or existing technologies, my colleagues and I ask ourselves: ‘How can we simplify things and bridge gaps in clinical workflows and administration?’ We’ve recently converted many paper processes into electronic systems, saving thousands of work hours for physicians and nurses. And now I’m teaching health care executives in the U.K. about digital leadership. What I love about NewYork-Presbyterian is that if you see an opportunity and you raise your hand, you’ll be given the chance to realize it.

Assistant chief medical officer for Community Affairs at NewYork-Presbyterian and assistant professor of pediatrics at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and of population and family health at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health

Contributions I’m most proud of:
As a pediatrician who serves adolescents in school-based clinics, our diverse community, and our hospital, I am proud of the opportunity to be their confidante and have in-depth conversations with my patients to assist them in making positive life decisions. I am also proud of promoting mental health, well-being, and healthy lifestyles with teens and their families. I’m committed to increasing minority representation in the medical field as medical director for the Lang Youth Medical Program, a six-year educational program for neighborhood students in grades seven through 12 who are interested in health careers, and as a faculty advisor for the Black and Latino Student Organization and the Latino Medical Student Association at Columbia. I am proud of being a small part of the effort to diversify the faces in medicine.

What drives my passion for my work:
My passion to inspire underserved teens stems from being an adolescent immigrant in New York City myself, with grand dreams of becoming a physician but with minimal resources to make it happen. At that pivotal age, I realized that for me, and many like me, our racial ethnicity and immigrant status boxed us into a category where statistically this goal seemed unattainable. I thrive on sharing my story and inspiring adolescents to accomplish their goals despite the odds. I do that as a physician who promotes health and gains my patients’ trust, a professor who teaches trainees how to effectively talk to adolescents, and as a faculty member who advocates for more Latinx and Black representation in the medical field.

Director of Heart Failure and Pulmonary Hypertension at the Perkin Heart Failure Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medicine and professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine

Contributions I’m most proud of:
I established a heart failure program at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center in 1992, and moved to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in 2007, where I created a program to treat advanced heart failure and pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure that affects the lung arteries and the right side of the heart). We also initiated the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) program, a mechanical pump implanted to assist one’s heart in restoring adequate pump function. I especially enjoy having trained the next generation of physicians, many of whom are our current leaders in the field. I am proud of the opportunity I had to create a comprehensive heart failure program with a special group of colleagues that has helped so many patients with challenging heart conditions.

What drives my passion for my work:
Finding a way to offer patients with advanced, complicated heart disease a new trajectory in life and hope is an amazing challenge that drives my passion. It’s always a privilege to form special relationships with patients and families and to be given their trust. For some, we may help them return to their normal life; for others we may change what is a constant emergency to a readily manageable chronic stable condition. For every patient, we continuously look at existing and novel approaches to provide the best care. Working in this field at a time of immense discoveries and incorporating these advances into meaningful changes for a patient is incredibly rewarding.

Medical director of Women’s Health Rehabilitation at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and associate professor of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Contributions I’m most proud of:
I have created a women’s health rehabilitation program, in collaboration with my obstetric and physical therapy colleagues, that serves pregnant patients with musculoskeletal pain, such as back and pelvic pain. As the only physician provider in my department regularly caring for pregnant people, I have helped improve access to musculoskeletal care for patients in the peripartum period, meaning the weeks before and after childbirth. Within this niche area of expertise, I have focused on research studying how to prevent and treat pregnancy-related pain; presented on women’s health topics regionally, nationally, and internationally; and have authored numerous publications covering this topic. I hope to continue to provide expertise in women’s health and firmly establish the role of physical medicine and rehabilitation in the care of pregnant patients.

What drives my passion for my work:
My patients! I feel fortunate to be able to relate to the pregnant patients that I treat, help them understand the changes that are going through their body during this period, and offer strategies and solutions to help prevent and treat musculoskeletal pain and keep them functional during this time. Having time to be able to sit and educate my patients is an important piece of the puzzle, and I am grateful for that opportunity. Nothing is more satisfying than knowing that someone’s quality of life has improved for the better due to our team’s care.

Director of the Dr. James J. Rahal Jr. Division of Infectious Diseases at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens and professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine

Contributions I’m most proud of:
I began providing care for patients with HIV/AIDS in the 1980s, the earliest days of the AIDS epidemic. For over 30 years, I have led research into new treatments for people living with HIV (especially those with multidrug-resistant HIV). This work has allowed me, my colleagues, and the hospital to be able to offer cutting-edge treatments to innumerable patients and to educate those in our community and beyond. I have been invited to lecture around the world to share our work in HIV. My long-term relationships with my patients and my research and contributions to the field — which wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my family and colleagues over the years — have helped me feel like I’m part of the bigger picture of ending the AIDS epidemic.

What drives my passion for my work:
As an infectious disease specialist, I have never been as personally and professionally challenged by circumstances as in the past two years. My role models were two very strong women who were very different: my mother and grandmother. My mother was hardworking and high achieving, while my grandmother was a steady and gentle force who taught me how to laugh and be patient. It’s their strength that has motivated me through the pandemic and through my career in medicine, giving me the tools to be a teacher to young doctors, recognize the need for companionship and kindness during unprecedented times, and to keep finding the joy that allows me to be grateful for what I have and to be able to come back to work another day.

Breast surgical oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Medical Group Hudson Valley and NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and assistant professor of surgery at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Contributions I’m most proud of:
I am proud of the relationship I build with my patients and the care I provide them. I perform all types of breast surgery including lumpectomies and mastectomies. I’m often the first doctor patients see after they’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer. I discuss with them their options, we work closely together to devise a treatment plan, and I stay with them through their entire journey. The breast cancer journey can be long and difficult, and I strive to improve my patients’ well-being throughout it. This includes providing them with excellent surgical care, knowledge about new treatment options, awareness of appropriate clinical trials so they have access to the latest advances, and understanding to support their changing needs.

What drives my passion for my work:
Being a surgical oncologist is more than a career for me; it is a vocation that encompasses my interests and talents and is in line with my moral obligation to help others. I’m also driven by wanting to improve the quality of care for breast cancer patients, and my research focuses on how to reduce their post-operative pain. I am intrigued by the nuances of cancer biology, energized by advancing treatments, and excited by the prospect of curing cancer and saving lives.