Doctor of the Year

NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County has celebrated DOCTORS’ WEEK with a series of activities to honor its physicians and promote wellness, including a day for massage therapy, yoga and meditation.On March 28th, a special breakfast awards ceremony was held to celebrate the work of 38 Attending Physicians and Residents in all of the clinical departments.

NYC Council Member Dr. Mathieu Eugene has attended the breakfast to thank hospital physicians for their special role in caring for the community.

Siona Benjamin’s Exhibition Screams India, in New York

On March 30th, there was a luncheon ceremony in which Renuka Ananthamoorthy, MD, Chief of Behavioral Health Services, was honored as “Doctor of the Year.”

She helped to lead the successful transformation of behavioral health to achieve compliance with the Department of Justice oversight which ended in January 2017, after eight years.

Ernest J. Baptiste, CEO, Kings County, stated that, “We are privileged to have some of the most skilled physicians in the country right here at Kings County.I congratulate all of the honorees as great examples of the clinical staff who show tremendous dedication and commitment to our patients and community.”

The luncheon keynote speaker was Jeffrey Gardere, PhD, a clinical psychologist who has achieved national recognition as a consultant contributing to media outlets such as CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, WCBS and WABC.

Indian American Debasish Dutta, New Chancellor of Rutgers University

Dr. Gardere gave a presentation titled, “Physician Wellness: Are You Fit to Serve?” He spoke about his Haitian-American roots growing up in Brooklyn, as well as how to overcome the challenges and stressors facing clinicians.

Additional honorees were Michael Keenaghan, MD (Teacher of the Year); Arnold Saperstein, MD, President & CEO, MetroPlus Health Plan; John Gibbons, MD, HealthFirst; Paridhi Anand, MD, HealthFirst; and Kathryn Crous, RN, Chief Information Officer, Kings County (Physician Appreciation).

By Premji