Downstate Welcomes Dr. Balavenkatesh Kanna as CEO of University Hospital
By Office of the President | Feb 17, 2026
I am pleased to share that Balavenkatesh Kanna, M.D., MPH, FACP, CPPS, FACHE, will join Downstate as Chief Executive Officer of University Hospital (UHD) and Vice President of Hospital Affairs, effective March 6. This appointment represents an important step forward for our hospital and for the communities we serve.
Dr. Kanna has more than 20 years of executive leadership experience in academic medicine and large urban safety-net systems. He currently serves as Medical Center Director of the James J. Peters Bronx Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where he leads a high-complexity tertiary-care academic health system serving Veterans across the Bronx, Northern Queens, and Westchester County.
Throughout his career, Dr. Kanna has led institutions through meaningful operational and cultural transformation. At NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln Medical Center, he served in multiple senior leadership roles, including Chief Operating Officer, Associate Chief Medical Officer, and Chief Patient Safety Officer. He strengthened quality and regulatory performance, improved financial and operational stability, expanded access to care, and advanced patient safety initiatives. He guided the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic in the South Bronx while maintaining a clear focus on accountability, coordination, and community-based care.
For 16 years, Dr. Kanna was on the Council for the Affiliate Dean at Weill Cornell Medical College, while concurrently holding executive roles at Lincoln. He supported graduate medical education, faculty development, and research growth, and he has authored scholarly work focused on health disparities, quality improvement, and population health.
Dr. Kanna will lead the continued UHD’s modernization and revitalization. He will implement the recommendations of the Downstate Community Advisory Board, including expanding and modernizing our Emergency Department, improving financial performance, and developing a new ambulatory care center with a state-of-the-art ambulatory surgery center. Equally important, he will strengthen our culture of safety, reinforce accountability, support our faculty and staff, and deepen our engagement with the communities of Central Brooklyn.
He earned his medical degree from Coimbatore Medical College in India, completed his Internal Medicine training at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, and received a Master of Public Health from the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American College of Healthcare Executives, and the New York Academy of Medicine.
I also want to recognize Patricia A. Winston, DNP, MS, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE, for her exceptional leadership, having once again stepped forward to serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer. Organizations call on leaders they trust in pivotal moments, and her return reflects my confidence in her judgment and integrity.
As her second stint in this leadership capacity, Dr. Winston brought stability, operational focus, and strategic clarity. She aligned teams, reinforced accountability, and ensured continuity across clinical and administrative functions. Thank you, Dr. Winston; we look forward to your success in teaching in the College of Nursing. I am personally grateful for her counsel, her partnership, and her commitment to Downstate.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Kanna to our community and in thanking Dr. Winston for her dedicated service to UHD.