SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University Appoints Dominica Native Dr. Montgomery Douglas As Chairperson of Family & Community Medicine
By Department of Communications & Marketing | Feb 11, 2020
MEDIA CONTACT: John Gillespie | john.gillespie@downstate.edu | (718)270-2262
Dr. Douglas will also serve as Chief of Population Health Strategy and Innovation for One Brooklyn Health System
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (February 11, 2020) – SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University’s College of Medicine Dean F. Charles Brunicardi,
M.D., FACS, today announced the appointment of Montgomery Douglas, M.D., as the Chairperson
of the Family and Community Medicine Department, effective March 1.
Recognizing the role and relationship of primary care and family medicine to community
health, Dr. Douglas will also serve as Population Health Strategy and Innovation Chief
for One Brooklyn Health System (OBHS), the $1.4 billion “Vital Brooklyn” initiative
launched by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in January 2018. The Vital Brooklyn initiative will
address chronic social, economic, and health disparities in Central and northeastern
Brooklyn. Downstate will partner with OBHS hospitals to transform the healthcare delivery
system by building programmatic bridges to support the academic mission and vision
of the University Hospital of Brooklyn.
“We’re excited to welcome Dr. Douglas as our new Chair of Family and Community Medicine,” said Dean Brunicardi. “He will lead efforts to advance the educational, clinical, and research programs in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, which will make a significant contribution to our institution and to the broader healthcare system in Brooklyn. In addition to the partnership with One Brooklyn Health Initiative, Dr. Douglas will be a key thought leader for the establishment of population health program development, research, and innovation in healthcare delivery.”
Since 2016, Dr. Douglas has served as the Department of Family Medicine’s Chief of Service at UConn Health and Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, growing and expanding the department by creating a family medicine clinical footprint at the university for the first time in 30 years. He also served as UConn’s Dept. Chair for three years, where he helped restore the residency and faculty practice to stability.
Previously, Dr. Douglas was the Department of Family and Community Medicine Chair at New York Medical College (NYMC) in Valhalla, NY, which he expanded to four family medicine residency programs. He founded NYMC Phelps—the first new Family Medicine Residency Program in New York State since 1995, now known as the Phelps Family Medicine Residency Program and part of the Northwell Health System. He also served as the NYMC Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at NYMC for seven years, doubling the percentage of underrepresented minority students from 10 to more than 20 percent.
A native of the Caribbean island of Dominica, Dr. Douglas moved to Hartford, CT, graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Biology from the University of Hartford. Subsequently admitted to Weill Cornell University Medical College after only three years at the University of Hartford, he completed his residency in Family Medicine at the University of Rochester and Highland Hospital in upstate New York and relocated to Queens to join the then-Catholic Medical Center of Brooklyn and Queens as Assistant Program Director for its Family Practice Residency Program.
Dr. Douglas has held numerous leadership roles for more than 20 years that expanded his academic, clinical, and programmatic expertise, including serving for six years on the board of directors of the American Board of Family Medicine. Dr. Douglas’s work with underserved populations included an expansion of the NYMC Family Practice Residency Program at the former St. Mary’s Hospital of Brooklyn.
“It's a pleasure to return to the New York City area, where I've spent the majority of my professional life giving my best in clinical care to the people who need me the most,” said Dr. Douglas. “To bring both the Family and the Community Medicine approaches together to serve the population of central and northeast Brooklyn is imperative to addressing both the medical and non-medical determinants of health.”
Dr. Douglas has received numerous awards, including New York State Family Practice Educator of the Year, the Outstanding Service Award from the Caribbean American Outreach Association, and the President’s Award from the New York Academy of Family Physicians. From 1998 to 2007, Castle Connolly recognized him each year as an American Top Doctor.
Dr. Douglas has also served on numerous committees, including as Chair of the Connecticut Academy of Family Physicians Research Day Program Committee; as a member of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Task Force of the Association of Departments of Family Medicine (ADFM); and Chair of the Group on Minority Healthcare of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine.
Dr. Douglas’s articles have been published in the American Family Physician journal, The Annals of Family Medicine, the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine and the Education Column of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Messenger newsletter.
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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is the borough’s only academic medical center for health education, research, and patient care, and is a 342-bed facility serving the healthcare needs of New York City, and Brooklyn’s 2.6 million residents. University Hospital of Brooklyn (UHB) is Downstate’s teaching hospital, backed by the expertise of an outstanding medical school and the research facilities of a world-class academic center. More than 800 physicians, representing 53 specialties and subspecialties—many of them ranked as tops in their fields—comprise Downstate's staff.
A regional center for cardiac care, neonatal and high-risk infant services, pediatric dialysis, and transplantation, Downstate also houses a major learning center for children with physical ailments or neurological disorders. In addition to UHB, Downstate comprises a College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, a School of Graduate Studies, a School of Public Health, and a multifaceted biotechnology initiative, including the Downstate Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT for early-stage and more mature companies, respectively. For more information, visit www.downstate.edu or follow us on Twitter at @sunydownstate.