FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7th, 2023
Press Contact: Sunyata Altenor
E: saltenor@cirseiu.org
P: 917-574-5394

CIR Residents Showcased Equipment Procured Through Patient Care Trust Fund

Brooklyn, NY – NYC Council Member Mercedes Narcisse, who chairs the City Council’s Committee on Hospitals and represents the city’s 46th District, visited NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health today for a tour of the hospital to see new medical and simulation technology equipment obtained by South Brooklyn Health residents and fellows and their union, the Committee of Interns & Residents/SEIU (CIR/SEIU), which represents house staff throughout NYC Health + Hospitals.

Over the past several years alone, physicians-in-training in multiple specialties have secured roughly $675,000 in funding for the hospital by applying to the Patient Care Trust Fund – a resident-led foundation that offers grants to Health + Hospitals residents to advance patient care, residency training, and health equity in medically-underserved communities. 

TheToday’s tour showcased several recently awarded items that all support the hospital’s mission to provide high quality, patient-centered care with compassion, dignity and respect to the diverse communities of South Brooklyn and beyond:

• $50,000 for a GE Voluson P8 Labor & Delivery Sonogram – Obstetrics & Gynecology Residents 
• $16,500 for a LUCAS V.3 Chest Compression System – Internal Medicine Residents
• $16,000 for various primary and cosmetic dental care resources, including WaveOne Handpieces, Tissue Regeneration Kits, and an IntraSpin Blood Centrifuge – General Dentistry Residents
• $12,000 in an integrated suite of ultrasound training and direct care resources, including Butterfly Ultrasound probes and Clinical & Emergency Life Support simulators – Emergency Medicine Residents 

“Modernizing healthcare infrastructure through strategic equipment upgrades like these can significantly expand access to better, faster, and safer services for patients and in turn, aid in the reduction of entrenched barriers and disparities faced by marginalized communities,” said Dr. Marc Sukhoo-Pertab, Internal Medicine resident and member of the PCTF Board of Trustees. 

“Residents and fellows apply to PCTF with the goal of winning innovative, evidence-based resources that will leave an enduring, positive impact on the lives of our patients, colleagues, and the South Brooklyn community long after we’ve graduated from our respective programs,” Dr. Ranae Hedman, OB/GYN resident and CIR Delegate. “Public service and community advocacy are core to our profession as doctors and core to why we have chosen South Brooklyn Health and other Health + Hospital facilities for residency and fellowship. Our work in CIR’s PCTF helps us make those values a reality.”

“It is a great pleasure to serve as Chair of the New York City Council’s Committee on Hospitals and personally witness the growth of South Brooklyn Health, ” said Council Member Mercedes Narcisse. “Today, on my tour of the hospital, I was delighted to see the new innovative pieces of diagnostic equipment at work which will help allow doctors and healthcare professionals determine the best course of action and continue to help South Brooklyn Health flourish, and improve the health of the people and communities they serve.”

NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health aims to deliver advanced clinical care to residents of South Brooklyn and surrounding communities,” said NYC Health +Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health CEO Svetlana Lipyanskaya. “We are grateful to receive this critical funding from the Patient Care Trust Fund, which will allow us to further improve the quality of care provided to our patients.”  

“The Patient Care Trust Fund provides critical funding that allows us to acquire medical equipment to diagnose and treat our patients,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health CMO Terence Brady, MD. “Our CIR resident physicians and fellows are an integral component of the patient care delivery team at South Brooklyn Health, and their commitment to delivering excellent patient care is evidenced by their pursuit of these grant funds to support the hospital’s mission of providing high quality and patient-centered care.”

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About the Patient Care Trust Fund (PCTF) 

Founded in 1981 by CIR members, the Patient Care Trust Fund (PCTF) is a resident-led nonprofit foundation dedicated to improving patient care and safety in the NYC public health system. Each academic year, the PCTF provides eligible house staff with dedicated funding to support clinical research, medical equipment, training materials, community advocacy projects, and more. Through grants and member engagement, we ensure that residents in every specialty have a powerful voice to enhance residency, reduce health disparities, and advance quality care for all New Yorkers. Since 2016 alone, the PCTF has awarded house staff at every NYC Health + Hospital with over $6 million in grant funding.

About the Committee of Interns & Residents/SEIU

The Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) is the largest house staff union in the United States. A local of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), representing over 25,000 resident physicians and fellows. Our members are dedicated to improving residency training and education, advancing patient care, and expanding healthcare access for our communities.

About NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health

NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health and its future 371-bed Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital and Health & Wellness Institute is one of the public health system’s 10 acute care health care campuses that offers general and acute medical care to adults and children. The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital will offer modern trauma and emergency care, inpatient services for primary and acute care in general medicine, adult medicine, pediatrics, general surgery, medical and surgical subspecialties, coronary care, intensive care, obstetrics and gynecology, midwifery, neonatology, critical care, rehabilitation medicine, psychiatry, and behavioral health. Its Health & Wellness Institute with over 40 ambulatory care practices provides patient and caregiver centered primary and specialty care to a primary service area of approximately 875,000 NYC residents of South Brooklyn and the surrounding communities. The hospital has designations as a Certified Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) Center, an Advanced Primary Stroke Center, an accredited Baby-Friendly Hospital, a U.S. News & World Report high performing hospital, a SAFE Center of Excellence under the Sexual Assault Reform Act, Designated AIDS Center (DACs), and Level 2 Perinatal Center.