Healthcare For NY’s Most Vulnerable During the Pandemic

On November 19, 2021, ILR Outreach hosted a panel of experts from the Bio-Ethics Council of New York City Health and Hospitals addressing ethical decision-making for patients, families, and doctors during the pandemic. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic first struck New York City in March 2020, it posed major ethical challenges in the largest public health system in the nation. NYC H+H cares for a population of more than 1.4 million patients annually. Most of these patients are the City’s most vulnerable: poor people of color and immigrants. The health system provides care with limited resources and does so without regard for the patients’ ability to pay. The System continues to receive national recognition for excellence.

The Moderator: John August is the Scheinman Institute Director of Healthcare and Partners Programs. Since 2013, John has worked as a consultant to the Doctors Council, the Union that represents the Attending Physicians at NYC H+H in the development of Collaboration Councils that function as standing committees of learning, engagement and performance improvement.

The Panelists:

Dr. Howard J. Finger is clinical ethics consultant at Coler Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center and at Henry J. Carter Specialty Hospital and Nursing Facility, and he is co-chairperson of the NYC Health + Hospitals Bioethics Council. 

Dr. Steven Hahn is an Internist at New York City H+H/Jacobi Medical Center in Bronx, NY, and is Professor of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine Director, Internal Medicine Residency Primary Care Track Director, Clinical Ethics Consultation Service, Jacobi Medical Center, and a member of the NYC H+H Bioethics Council

 Richard Siegel, LSW, is Director of Social Work/Discharge Planning at NYC H+H/ Metropolitan Hospital and Co-Chair of the NYC H+H Bio-Ethics Council.