Maimonides Health and Downstate Health (the clinical enterprise of Downstate Health Sciences University, Downstate University Hospital (UHD), and University Physicians of Brooklyn) have launched a hematology-oncology partnership that will leverage the strengths of both organizations to expand access to cancer care in Central Brooklyn.
This partnership will allow patients at the University Hospital of Downstate to access a broader range of specialists from the Maimonides Cancer Center while leveraging Downstate’s academic and research capabilities to benefit more patients in the borough. The combined program will be the most extensive hematology-oncology practice in Brooklyn, and will begin seeing patients immediately, emphasizing innovative, individualized treatment plans, diagnostic services, and early detection.
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, the only academic medical center in the borough of 2.7 million people, plays a critical role in medical research and medical, nursing, and health professions education as well as care delivery; Maimonides, the borough’s largest independent health system, is a key teaching affiliate and clinical site of SUNY Downstate, with advanced clinical specialty programs.
This crucial partnership between Maimonides Health and SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University seeks to level the playing field for underserved communities, particularly in the Central Brooklyn neighborhoods of East Flatbush, Farragut, and Rugby—where access to quality healthcare can be challenging based on socioeconomic, insurance, poverty, and other factors impacting households. According to a 2018 NYC Community Health Profile for East Flatbush, 19 percent of East Flatbush residents live in poverty, compared with 20 percent of New York City’s residents; 15 percent of adults in East Flatbush are uninsured, and 9 percent reported going without needed medical care in the prior 12 months. In 2020, there were 25 times more Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) residents in the East Flatbush, Farragut, and Rugby neighborhoods than any other race or ethnicity. The five largest ethnic groups in East Flatbush, Farragut, and Rugby communities are Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (84.2 percent).
Under this new hematology-oncology collaboration, clinical services and medical education will be provided at both acute care locations. Kevin Becker, MD, who currently serves as the Hematology-Oncology Division Chief at Maimonides Medical Center and Medical Director of the Maimonides Cancer Center, was named Chief of the newly formed joint Maimonides-SUNY Downstate College of Medicine’s Division of Hematology-Oncology.
This agreement builds on previous collaborations in Neurology and Pathology, where Maimonides and Downstate have also established combined regional programs over the past six years. It serves as another step in the growing partnership between the two organizations that are critical in meeting the healthcare needs of Brooklyn residents while focusing on some of the borough’s most underserved communities.
