NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health Receives $6 Million for a Collaborative Learning Center for the Practice of Medicine
The learning center will include scenario simulation space, classrooms, a medical library and educational conference space and will offer collaborative exercises, debriefing, and emergency response drills The funding is from NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Chair of the Committee on Hospitals Mercedes Narcisse, and members of the Brooklyn delegation
Aug 24, 2023
NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health today announced that it received $6 million in FY24 capital funding from NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Chair of the Committee on Hospitals Mercedes Narcisse, Council Members Inna Vernikov and Ari Kagan, and members of the Brooklyn Delegation to create a Collaborative Learning Center for the Practice of Medicine. This funding will allow South Brooklyn Health to develop a comprehensive, interdisciplinary learning center in the Health & Wellness Institute, which will provide an enhanced learning experience for our medical staff, nursing, and ancillary health care staff. The learning center will include scenario simulation space, classrooms, a medical library and educational conference space, for collaborative exercises, debriefing, and emergency response drills.
“NYC Health + Hospitals is excited to welcome more advanced experiential learning and simulation to South Brooklyn Health to support elevating clinical practice through performance,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Senior Assistant Vice President Michael Meguerdichian, MD, MPH-Ed. “Investment in education is an investment in the care for the community.”
“Investing in the continuing education of our health care workers will serve as a bridge between the classroom and real-life clinical encounters in a safe and controlled environment, with the goal of improving patient safety,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health CEO Svetlana Lipyanskaya. “Hands-on, collaborative training is key in allowing practitioners to test, refine and enhance individual and team skills before engaging patients.”
“South Brooklyn Healthis a teaching hospital with more than 170 residents and fellows in a wide range of disciplines and supports approximately 200 medical, nursing, physician assistant and other students per year,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health Chief Medical Officer Terence Brady, MD. “With the opening of a new collaborative learning center, our providers will master important competencies, such as communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and leadership as well as management skills such as physical diagnosis and surgical procedures.”
“Clinical simulations prepare nurses for real-world nursing practice,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health Chief Nursing Officer Manjinder Kaur, DNP, RN, NEA-BC. “In a simulation lab, nurses become confident dealing with high-pressure situations, master clinical pathways in a safe, supportive environment, and gain experience that builds upon their clinical knowledge and skill set.”
“South Brooklyn Health is an essential public institution to its surrounding communities and our city, responsible for serving over 875,000 residents,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “The City Council is proud to have allocated $6 million in capital funding to help create its new Collaborative Learning Center for the Practice of Medicine that will support our health care providers in their continued learning and training, so that we can secure safer and more equitable healthcare outcomes for all New Yorkers. This investment is especially impactful for its focus on maternal health and the diverse communities of South Brooklyn that require culturally competent care. I look forward to seeing how the center advances the delivery of health care in South Brooklyn to benefit patients and providers alike.”
“As Chair of the City Council’s Committee on Hospitals, I was delighted to play a major role in securing an allocation of $6 million in capital funding to NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health,” said Council Member Mercedes Narcisse. “The funding being used to establish a learning center for the practice of medicine at the Health & Wellness Institute is not just an investment in infrastructure; it’s an investment in the health education and well-being of our community and borough. Such initiatives underscore our commitment to ensuring that South Brooklyn residents have access to top-tier health resources and knowledge. Today, we take another giant leap toward a healthier, stronger, and more informed Brooklyn.”
“I was thrilled to have prioritized this FY24 allocation of $6 million in capital funding to South Brooklyn Health,” said Council Member Inna Vernikov. “This significant investment for the development of a Learning Center within the Health & Wellness Institute is a testament to our unwavering commitment to the health and education of our community. Such initiatives not only pave the way for advanced healthcare services but also create a foundation for knowledge-sharing, innovation, and comprehensive patient care. It’s a momentous step forward for my district.”
“South Brooklyn Health is a vital part of our community. The incredible work they do cannot be overstated. I am happy to have secured $400,000 to develop a comprehensive learning center for medical and nursing staff – as well as $100,000 to renovate the Hematology and Oncology practice” said Council Member Ari Kagan. “This hospital suffered tremendously during Superstorm Sandy and served tens of thousands of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am proud to always support South Brooklyn Health in providing important medical services to better serve our communities.”
“NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health is a cornerstone of our borough’s health and well-being,” said Council Member Chi Ossé. “This funding will enhance and expand its mission to reach a rising generation of healthcare professionals. We are proud to do all we can to support this vital institution.”
“Critical investment is necessary to ensure that all people who are in need healthcare receive access to excellent and equitable treatment from our Brooklyn hospitals,” said Council Member Louis, co-chair of the Brooklyn Delegation. “I applaud Speaker Adrienne Adams for dedicating much needed capital funding to support our Central and South Brooklyn communities, especially as it aims to address maternal health disparities by equipping healthcare professionals with the tools to ensure childbirth is safer for all populations, and I look forward to seeing our shared goal of better healthcare outcomes realized for all Brooklyn residents.”
“Thank you to all our elected officials who saw the good work of South Brooklyn Health and the foresight to invest in its future,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health Chair of the Community Advisory Board Rosanne DeGennaro. “The thousands of patients who rely on South Brooklyn Health for their medical services appreciate the investment that these elected officials have given for their health and wellbeing.”
One clinical area where this enhanced learning is especially important is obstetrics. Providers need to master skills to reduce the rate of maternal mortality, and address avoidable and potentially fatal complications during childbirth. In particular, keen attention should be paid to addressing the intractable maternal mortality disparity between women of color and their white counterparts. The latest studies show that black women are eight times more likely to die from complications during birth in New York City. By having a learning center where practitioners can develop the skills to address such an important public health issue, South Brooklyn Health will be amongst the safest hospitals to give birth.
Furthermore, the hospital’s catchment area has approximately 875,000 lives, which includes racially and ethnically diverse communities in South Brooklyn. According to the 2022 NYC Health + Hospitals Community Needs Assessment, over a third of the people in the catchment area speak a language other than English at home. And, over 45% of the hospital’s patients are from a racial-ethnic minority group with Hispanics representing 26%, Blacks 18%, and Asians 9%. Having a comprehensive learning center at the hospital will allow for hands-on practice and outcome review of multiple scenarios where potentials for bias may exist. Analysis of such scenarios would assist with reducing implicit bias and mitigate risk to patients of diverse backgrounds.
South Brooklyn Health recently opened its Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital, a storm-resistant 11-story hospital with an elevated and expanded emergency room, a surgical suite with eight operating rooms, 80 private rooms, 60 in-patient behavioral health rooms, and many more clinical amenities.
###
MEDIA CONTACT: Bridgette Ingraham-Roberts, (646) 937-2945, ingrahab@nychhc.org
About NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health
NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health and its 371-bed Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital and Health & Wellness Institute is one of the public health system’s 10 acute care health care campuses that offers general and acute medical care to adults and children. The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital offers modern trauma and emergency care, inpatient services for primary and acute care in general medicine, adult medicine, pediatrics, general surgery, medical and surgical sub-specialties, coronary care, intensive care, obstetrics and gynecology, midwifery, neonatology, critical care, rehabilitation medicine, psychiatry, and behavioral health. Its Health & Wellness Institute with over 40 ambulatory care practices provides patient and caregiver centered primary and specialty care to residents of South Brooklyn and the surrounding communities. The hospital has designations as a Certified Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) Center, an Advanced Primary Stroke Center, an accredited Baby-Friendly Hospital, a U.S. News & World Reporthigh performing hospital, a SAFE Center of Excellence under the Sexual Assault Reform Act, Designated AIDS Center (DACs), and Level 2 Perinatal Center.
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.