Brooklyn, NY, March 5, 2026 – Maimonides Health announced that it is a recipient of $40,000 in funding from the American Board of Internal Medicine through the Building Trust: Advancing Health Equity grant program.

The grant will support a community-engaged leadership training program for clinicians and community members across Brooklyn safety-net hospitals to lead community-driven efforts that address health inequities and improve local health outcomes, building on an existing Building Trust: Advancing Health Equity grant.

Originally launched within a single Central Brooklyn health system, the program will now expand to four anchor institutions—Maimonides Health, One Brooklyn Health, NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, and SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University—broadening its reach and strengthening long-term sustainability at a critical time for underserved communities. The project advances health equity and healthcare quality by expanding a proven leadership training model across Brooklyn’s healthcare safety net.

Sophia Kostelanetz, MD, MPH, Associate Medical Director of Maimonides’ Department of Medicine, will lead the 12-month interdisciplinary training program across the participating institutions in the borough, in close partnership with community organizations and Brooklyn’s healthcare safety-net institutions. The 60 program fellows are selected through a competitive process emphasizing demonstrated commitment to health equity, leadership, and community partnership. 

“We’re proud to embark on another phase of this program in the effort to build health equity across communities in Brooklyn, particularly those underserved by our health care system,” said Dr. Kostelanetz. “The curriculum integrates nationally recognized frameworks in narrative leadership, community organizing, calling-in practice, and restorative justice, and we have co-designed the training program in partnership with other Brooklyn community organizations and activists including People Power Health, East Brooklyn Call to Action, Brooklyn Community Collaborative, and Loretta Ross.”

“High-quality, community-engaged internal medicine is a critical investment for the future of public health in our Brooklyn community,” said Matthew A. Weissman, MD, MBA, FAAP, Chair of Medicine, Maimonides Health. “We are grateful to the American Board of Internal Medicine for their support and alignment in our mission of training future medical leaders, driving better health outcomes for underserved communities, and ensuring that all Brooklynites have access to equitable primary and preventive care.” 

“It is important to better understand how trust is built when clinicians are equipped to listen, communicate, and respond to patients in the context of their communities, needs, and priorities,” said Furman S. McDonald, MD, MPH, President and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the ABIM Foundation. “These projects hypothesize that innovative, practical approaches to training the next generation of internal medicine physicians will lead to more equitable, patient-centered care and hopefully mitigate health disparities.”