News from the University Hospital at Downstate
January/February 2025

A Message from Patricia A. Winston, DNP, MS, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE 
Interim CEO of University Hospital at Downstate

Downstate Receives Grant from Mother Cabrini Health Foundation

University Hospital at Downstate (UHD) is excited to announce a two-year, $320K award from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, which will support the Social Work Department’s efforts to address social determinants of health through community referrals. Susan Fraser-McCleary, RN, LMSW, Assistant Vice President, Care Coordination, and Felicia Thompson, LMSW, MPA, Director of Social Work, developed the proposal with assistance from Lori Bruno, MPH, Assistant Vice President of Planning.

The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of New Yorkers by supporting vulnerable communities, eliminating barriers to care, and bridging gaps in health services. Named after an advocate for immigrants, children, and underserved populations, the foundation funds initiatives across New York State that provide direct healthcare services and address the social determinants of health. For more information, visit https://www.cabrinihealth.org/

Ambulatory Care: On the Move - Updates from Ambulatory Services

New Services:

Podiatry Services – 253 Empire Boulevard - Tuesday AM/PM – January 14, 2025 - Susan Braun, DPM

Laser, Aesthetic, and Body Institute at Downstate Health (Dermatology) – 253 Empire Boulevard - Wednesday AM/PM – January 3, 2025 (Not covered by insurance)

Infusion, 5^th Floor of the Hospital:

Infusion Suite and appointment availability:

Patient access has an internal authorization team

Services encouraged to use Infusion Suite – Hem/ONC, Gastroenterology, Dermatology, Neurology, Infectious Disease, Rheumatology, Transplant, & OB/GYN

To inquire: Contact Hesham Shaaban, Abram Alebiosu, and Dr. Lavonia Francis: Ambulatory Care/Patient Access ext. 8451 or via email.

New PCPs and Providers:

Hannah Brook, M.D. – Family Medicine (Accepting New Patients)

Marylin Pierre Louis, M.D. – Family Medicine (Accepting New Patients)

Yahnique Richards, NP – Pediatrics
(Accepting New Patients)

Charmaine Whitton, WHNP – Obstetrics and Gynecology (Accepting New Patients)

Monique Brewster, CNM – Obstetrics & Gynecology (Accepting New Patients)

Extended Hours:

Women’s Health (GYN only) – Monday & Thursday 11am-7pm Saturday 3^rd week of the month 08:30am – 1:00pm

Ambulatory Care Departments with Immediate Access and Internal Referrals

Adult Nutrition - Referral ID: Adult Nutrition, Suite I

Coumadin - Referral ID: Coumadin, Suite C

Diabetes Education - Referral ID: Diabetes & Education

Epilepsy - Referral ID:  Epilepsy, Suite C

Gynecology - Referral ID: Gynecology, Suite G

Obstetrics - Referral ID: Obstetrics, Suite G

Hepatology - Referral ID: Hepatology, Suite C

General Pediatrics - Referral ID: General Pediatrics Res, Suite D

Pediatric Asthma - Referral ID: Pediatric Asthma, NS 41

Pediatric Neurology - Referral ID: Pediatric Neurology, Suite C

Pediatric Adolescents - Referral ID: Pediatric Adolescent, Suite AA

STAR Program Receives Grant for Back to Brooklyn Program

Our Special Treatment and Research (STAR) Program has been awarded $500,000 over 2 years from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation (MCHF) to establish Back to Brooklyn, a community-based medical home for formerly incarcerated persons in Brooklyn. Since 2017, STAR has provided linkage to care, support, and education services exclusively for Brooklyn reentrants living with HIV from New York State (NYS) corrections facilities through funding from the NYS Department of Health’s AIDS Institute. The MCHF funding will dramatically expand the scope of services to Brooklyn reentrants from both NYS and NYC correctional facilities affected by HIV and other chronic health and behavioral health conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, depression, and substance use disorders.

People returning home from prison or jail face multiple and competing needs, and the system of care is currently failing to provide adequate support, contributing to recidivism and exacerbating poverty. Despite high rates of chronic disease, mental illness, and substance use, medical and mental health issues are often neglected and, when not adequately addressed, interfere with successful reentry. Close to 5,000 persons each year return to Brooklyn following time served in prison or jail, and yet there is currently no community-based medical home for the formerly incarcerated in the region. Forty-two percent (42%) of people in NYS prisons come from a handful of neighborhoods throughout New York City. In Brooklyn, the highest numbers of incarcerated people are from the Central Brooklyn (CB) neighborhoods served by Downstate: Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, East New York, and Brownsville.

For more than 30 years, the STAR Program has provided comprehensive and integrated primary care, specialty care, mental health care, and substance use treatment for persons living with, at risk for, or affected by HIV.  Reentrants, like persons living with HIV/AIDS, are disproportionately affected by societal stigma, discrimination, and poverty and benefit from an “enhanced patient-centered medical home” that is grounded in patient empowerment and provides co-located medical care, behavioral health, comprehensive case management, and social and peer-delivered services.  Back to Brooklyn is based on an evidence-based model of care developed by the Transitions Clinic Network (www.transitionsclinic.org), established in San Francisco in 2006. Central to the TCN model are community health workers (CHWs) with lived experience of incarceration. CHWs engage and support patients returning from incarceration and serve as liaisons to navigate health and social services. The shared history between CHWs and patients helps build a trusting relationship, which leads to better health outcomes for patients.

Back to Brooklyn aims to increase access and retention in care for reentrants with chronic medical and behavioral health conditions and to improve the social determinants of health and health-related quality of life for reentrants served. Jessica Yager, M.D., MPH, STAR Program Medical Director, and long-time advocate for improving healthcare systems for previously incarcerated individuals, will serve as the program's director.