Downstate Launches Brooklyn Health Equity Index Survey

By Office of the President | Nov 18, 2025

Downstate took a significant step toward achieving fair and inclusive healthcare in Brooklyn with the launch of the Brooklyn Health Equity Index (BKHI), a new survey tool designed to understand better and address racial and cultural differences in how patients experience care.

Four years ago, the New York Health Foundation awarded Downstate a $224,952 grant to create this index and tackle healthcare disparities; which was later supplemented by a $44,000 grant from Healthfirst. A team headed by Family Medicine (FM), working in collaboration with the School of Public Health (SPH), and with support from the One Brooklyn Health System and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, met with patients and community partners to learn what matters most in their care. Those conversations highlighted key concerns, discrimination, medical mistrust, unconscious bias, and cultural sensitivity.

Feedback led to the development of a simple, practical tool that enhances quality-improvement efforts and care delivery, ensuring fair, compassionate, and patient-centered care.

Patients are invited to complete a brief 10-question survey after their hospital visit, or surgery. Their responses provide a clear picture of how they experienced their care, helping to guide and improve the patient experience. Any Brooklyn resident aged 18 or older who receives care at one of the 6 departments at Downstate where BKHI is deployed – Emergency Department (Cynthia L. Benson, DO, FACEP, MPH, MBA), Ob/Gyn (Mudar Dalloul, M.D.), General Surgery (Panagiotis Kougias, M.D., M.Sc.), STAR clinic (Jessica Yager, M.D.), Family Medicine (Enitza George, M.D., MBA, MSAI) and Transplant (Tashma Watson, Ph.D., MSN, RN, CSSM) – can take part; and each survey helps strengthen our connection to the communities we proudly serve. By listening closely to patients, and allowing their experiences to shape our work, Downstate continues to honor its mission as an academic medical center dedicated to excellence, inclusion, and equity.

The BKHI goes beyond a standard survey. It demonstrates Downstate’s commitment to making every patient feel heard, respected, and valued as we work to build a healthier and more equitable Brooklyn and keep care close. Montgomery Douglas, M.D. (Family Medicine), and Aimee Afable, Ph.D. (School of Public Health), serve as the Principal Investigators. Victor Puac-Polanco, M.D., MPH (School of Public Health), leads a component of the study that examines the construct validity of the BKHI tool. UHD chief medical officer Mohamed Nakeshbandi, M.D. serves as a co-investigator; Moyouri Bhattacharjee, MPH is the BKHI study coordinator.