NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MetroPlus Health Plan announced today that Dr. Talya Schwartz, President and CEO of MetroPlusHealth, has again been named one of City & State’s “Health Power 100” – the annual list of the most influential leaders in health care. City & State, the premier multimedia news organization dedicated to covering New York’s local and state politics and policy, released its list just yesterday. Among those cited for the second year in a row is also Dr. Mitchell Katz, President and CEO, NYC Health + Hospitals, parent company of MetroPlusHealth.
“It is with considerable pride that the Board and I salute both Dr. Schwartz and Dr. Katz as they are recognized again for their extraordinary efforts to improve the health and lives of all New Yorkers, ,” said MetroPlusHealth Board Chair Sally Hernandez-Piñero. “Their efforts are made all the more crucial throughout this past pandemic year. We are delighted to see their hard work and dedication commemorated once more by City & State.”
“It is an honor to be recognized by City & State for the work we do on behalf of our more than 600,000 members, many of whom are among the most vulnerable New Yorkers,” said Dr. Talya Schwartz. “To be included in a list that embraces so many incredibly accomplished health care leaders, men and women who have made such significant contributions to our field, not just this past year but during the course of their distinguished careers, is particularly humbling.”
In publishing its new list, City & State emphasized that, since late January of 2020, health care became New York City and State’s single most pressing issue, as COVID-19 brought devastation to the northeast. Since the first case was documented in early March in New York and New York City became the epicenter of the global pandemic, COVID-19 has ended the lives of more than 32,000 New Yorkers and upended everyday life in so many ways. “This year,” the publication said in announcing its list of honorees, “City & State’s Health Power 100 highlights the individuals – public officials, health care executives, advocates and activists, academics and labor leaders – who are navigating the crisis and finding a path forward.”
City & State pays tribute to Doctors Katz and Schwartz for their extraordinary achievements during this past year:
“Dr. Mitchell Katz leads the largest public health system in the nation, calling his staff ‘heroes’ as they have been on the front lines of the coronavirus fight – in treating patients and in leading the city’s contact tracing efforts. A man of science and optimism, Katz expressed confidence that New Yorkers would embrace the COVID-19 vaccine when given ‘enough time,’ after an estimate of 30% of hospital and nursing home employees was expected to decline the vaccine.”
“As COVID-19 swept across New York City, Dr. Talya Schwartz has kept her eye on the most vulnerable, including the homeless. Schwartz, who is a key part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s effort to deliver health care to every New Yorker, spearheaded MetroPlusHealth’s new outreach program with an emphasis on providing housing, food, social services and medical care. ‘We plan on conducting this critical member outreach throughout the COVID-19 crisis – and beyond,’ Schwartz said last summer.”
A complete list of the 2021 Health Power 100 can be found here.
About MetroPlusHealth
Since 1985, MetroPlus Health Plan has built a reputation for providing access to affordable, quality health care to residents across New York City. A wholly-owned subsidiary of NYC Health + Hospitals, the nation’s largest public health system, MetroPlusHealth is the plan of choice for over 600,000 New Yorkers and has a five-star rating based on the State’s 2020 Consumer’s Guide to Medicaid and Child Health Plus Managed Care Plans in New York City. The health plan’s robust network of primary care doctors and specialists includes many independent community providers. Culturally sensitive, and fluent in more than 40 languages, MetroPlusHealth’s staff is as diverse as the great city it serves. For more information about MetroPlusHealth plans, benefits, and services, visit www.metroplus.org and join the conversation at facebook.com/MetroPlusHealth/and twitter.com/ @metroplushealth.
