Balavenkatesh Kanna, M.D., MPH, FACP, CPPS, FACHE, Appointed As Chief Executive Officer of University Hospital & Vice President of Hospital Affairs
By Office of the President | Feb 5, 2026
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Balavenkatesh Kanna, MD, MPH, FACP, FACHE, as Chief Executive Officer of University Hospital at Downstate (UHD)/ Vice President
of Hospital Affairs, effective March 6, 2026.
Dr. Kanna is a nationally respected physician executive with more than two decades of leadership experience across academic medicine, safety-net health systems, and large, complex urban medical centers in New York City. He currently serves as Medical Center Director of the James J. Peters Bronx Veterans Affairs Medical Center, a large urban high-complexity, tertiary-care academic health system serving Veterans in the Bronx, Northern Queens, and Westchester counties.
Before joining the Veterans Health Administration, Dr. Kanna held multiple senior executive roles at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln Medical Center, one of the nation’s busiest safety-net hospitals. His service included Chief Operating Officer, Associate Chief Medical Officer, and Chief Patient Safety Officer. Over many years, he held leadership roles at this 362-bed level 1 trauma hospital, with an operating budget exceeding $600 million and about 500,000 patient visits annually.
In these various leadership roles, Dr. Kanna has led comprehensive cultural and operational turnarounds in large urban health organizations. His leadership has resulted in expanded patient access, strengthened quality, safety, and regulatory performance, restored fiscal and staffing balance, and developed innovative programs in care delivery coordination, precision medicine, medical research, and cancer care. He oversaw significant operational redesign efforts, infrastructure modernization initiatives, enterprise electronic medical record implementation, and systemwide patient safety programs, while guiding NYC H+H/Lincoln through the COVID-19 pandemic in the South Bronx.
Dr. Kanna also brings a strong background in academic leadership. He served for 16 years on the Council for the Affiliate Dean of NYC H+H/Lincoln at Weill Cornell Medical College, while concurrently holding C-suite leadership roles. He strengthened academic affiliations with peer institutions across New York City, supporting growth in training programs, research funding, and scholarly output. His work supported graduate medical education, faculty development, and translational research. He has directed major research initiatives, chaired Institutional Review Boards, and authored or co-authored numerous scholarly publications on health disparities, quality improvement, and population health.
Dr. Kanna earned the Doctor of Medicine from Coimbatore Medical College, Bharathiyar University in India, trained in Internal Medicine at the New York City Health +Hospitals/Lincoln, and the 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.
As CEO of UHD, Dr. Kanna will advance our mission of clinical excellence and implement the recommendations of the Downstate Community Advisory Board to modernize and revitalize UHD. This includes expanding and modernizing UHD’s Emergency Department, improving finances, and constructing a new hospital ambulatory care center with a state-of-the-art ambulatory surgery center.
He will also lead efforts to strengthen our culture of safety and accountability, support faculty and staff, expand access to high-quality care, and deepen engagement with the diverse community we serve. With his experience leading complex safety-net institutions, Dr. Kanna is uniquely positioned to guide UHD through this critical period of transformation.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Kanna to the Downstate community.
With this announcement, please also join me in thanking Dr. Patricia A. Winston for her distinguished service over several years as Interim CEO and COO. She has been a joy to work with, and I am pleased with UHD’s progress under her steady leadership.
Tags: Faculty / Staff