Long Island College Hospital
Hospital Leadership
"I have great confidence in the superb leadership team at Downstate LICH - and so can you."
John C. LaRosa, MD, FACP
John C. LaRosa, MD, FACP, is President and Professor of Medicine at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center, the only academic medical center in Brooklyn. A leader in medical education and academic medicine administration, Dr. LaRosa is an accomplished investigator who is internationally known for his research on statins and the role cholesterol, hormones, and diet play in heart disease.
Dr. LaRosa is responsible for the overall direction of SUNY Downstate, which comprises the College of Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Health Related Professions, School of Graduate Studies and the School of Public Health. He also oversees the management of the University Hospitals of Brooklyn, with sites in Central Brooklyn, Cobble Hill (Long Island College Hospital) and Bay Ridge. Dr. LaRosa has served as president of SUNY Downstate since 1999. One of his most forward-looking projects is the Advanced Biotechnology Incubator and Biotech Park. When fully built out, it will accommodate 20 to 30 companies. The project couples scientific entrepreneurship with a manufacturing component – providing an unprecedented opportunity to foster biotechnology development in Brooklyn.
A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where he received his B.S. degree in chemistry, summa cum laude, and his M.D. degree, Dr. LaRosa completed his residency at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and a fellowship at the National Heart Institute.
Immediately prior to his appointment at Downstate, Dr. LaRosa served as chancellor of Tulane University Medical Center, a major academic, medical, and research center in Louisiana. He is credited with having strengthened Tulane's academic and research enterprise and improving the management of its hospital. Prior to his tenure at Tulane, Dr. LaRosa was dean of clinical affairs and later, dean of research at George Washington University Medical Center. He has published some 200 scholarly articles, monographs, and abstracts. He chaired the first National Cholesterol Conference and the American Heart Association's Task Force on Cholesterol Issues.
Debra D. Carey, MS, is Chief Executive Officer of the University Hospitals of Brooklyn, now including three sites: the main campus in Central Brooklyn, the Long Island College Hospital site in Cobble Hill and the Bay Ridge Urgent Care and Ambulatory Care Center.
She received a BS in nutrition from Syracuse University and an MS in health policy and management from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Before coming to Downstate, Ms. Carey served as the Associate Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C. Previously, she served in several leadership positions at the University of Maryland and the Johns Hopkins Medical System. Throughout her career she has played an active role in industry associations and State Boards, ensuring high standards for practitioners of the healthcare professions.
Ms. Carey has been recognized by numerous organizations for her outstanding contributions to healthcare, among them the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Paul J. Cooper Center for Human Services and the American Cancer Society.
John Byrne, MBA, FACHE, is the Chief Operating Officer. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Baruch College of the City University of New York and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the international society of more than 40,000 healthcare executives who lead hospitals, healthcare systems and other healthcare organizations. Mr. Byrne oversees the overall day to day operation of Downstate LICH and has helped guide LICH through the particular challenges of the past several years with skill and expertise. He previously held executive positions at Beth Israel Medical Center and Beth Israel King's Highway.
David J. Wlody, MD, is Chief Medical Officer and Chief of the Department of Anesthesiology at the Downstate LICH site. He is also Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs and Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Dr. Wlody holds a medical degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine. He completed his residency in anesthesiology at St. Louis University Hospital and a fellowship in obstetric anesthesia at Washington University Medical Center – Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. His areas of responsibility include Quality and Performance Improvement and Risk Management.
Catherine Gallogly-Simon, MS, RN, NEA-BC, CCRN, is the Chief Nursing Officer. She earned her advanced nursing degrees from Long Island University and is a graduate of the Wharton Nursing Leaders program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Gallogly-Simon, who has held a variety of nursing leadership positions at Downstate LICH, oversees close to 1,000 nurses, as well the departments of social work, infection control, case management, respiratory care and the school or nursing.
Diana Sullivan, MBA, is the Chief Administrative Officer. She earned a Master of Business Administration from Long Island University. In her two decades at Downstate LICH, Ms. Sullivan has held a series of increasingly responsible positions. She now oversees the hospital's support services infrastructure, which includes housekeeping, engineering, food services, security, materials management, transport, pharmacy and EMS. Ms. Sullivan was previously employed at Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Thomas Pfeiffer is the Assistant Vice President of Finance. He earned his degree in Accounting from the City University of New York at Queens College. Spanning three decades, he has held hospital financial leadership positions in finance and financial reporting at Continuum Health Partners, St. Vincent's Midtown Medical Center, Catholic Medical Center and Brooklyn Jewish Medical Center.
Zipporah Dvash, MSHC, is Assistant Vice President of Public Affairs and Development. She earned a Master of Science in Health Communication from Boston University. Ms. Dvash's areas of responsibility include public relations, marketing, communications and fund raising. She has held prior non-profit and hospital leadership positions at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center and the Jeffrey Modell Foundation.
Natasha Burke, MPA, is the Director of Community Affairs and Volunteer Services. She earned a Master of Public Administration from Long Island University. Ms. Burke's areas of responsibility include governmental relations, outreach, community relations and volunteers. She has held prior hospital leadership positions at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center and St. Mary's Hospital in Brooklyn, and St. Vincent's Medical Center in Staten Island.