Brooklyn, New York, — Two health care leaders from Maimonides Health were honored with Excellence in Health Care Awards for Quality Improvement Champions from the United Health Fund (UHF). Sameh Samy, MBBCh, MSA, CPHQ, CSSBB, Chief Quality Officer and Vice President of Quality Management at Maimonides Medical Center, and Charmaine Rose, MBA-Healthcare, BSN, RN, CPHQ, Vice President of Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement at Maimonides Midwood Community Hospital (MMCH), were among 63 honorees from 32 organizations across the New York metropolitan region to receive the award this year.
The annual award was established by UHF in 2019 to recognize and honor extraordinary leadership in the areas of health care quality improvement, patient safety, and patient experience. Each honoree was selected by a senior executive at their respective organization. Health care leaders, physicians, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, and other patient care professionals were among the honorees, from institutions including hospital systems, long-term care facilities, home care organizations, independent practice associations, and more.
Sameh Samy has been working in quality improvement at Maimonides for over 25 years, and has held the position of Chief Quality Officer since 2021, leading the hospital-wide Quality Improvement Committee and advancing the Medical Center’s strategic objectives for quality and safety. He was selected for his leadership in creating a new interdisciplinary committee at Maimonides, which implemented measures and improved processes that significantly reduced avoidable patient safety events. He was also a principal in Maimonides’ institutional plan to address health equity and disparities, defining the institution’s approach to become a leader in this area.
“Receiving this prestigious award is a great honor,” said Samy. “This is truly a glorious moment for my whole team and a significant milestone in my professional career. I am also extremely appreciative to Maimonides senior leadership, who supported me over the years and allowed me to attain this great achievement.”
Charmaine Rose became a Director of Quality and Process Improvement program at MMCH in February 2021, and has recently been promoted to Vice President of Quality and Performance Improvement. She was selected for her leadership in revolutionizing MMCH’s quality program. Her direction in these areas has resulted in several significant improvements in patient safety measures, including reduction in hospital-acquired infections by 50% in just one year and reception of a Joint Commission Disease Specific Certification for the stroke program that she oversaw the update of. After the hospital, formerly New York Community Hospital, became part of Maimonides Health, she worked diligently on an interdisciplinary effort to raise its LEAPFROG grade from F to C in just under one year. Her collaborative, interpersonal approach has strengthened MMCH’s culture of safety and transparency and emphasized this mission as team effort, highlighted by her recognition program for the frontline staff who go above and beyond in improving quality metrics in their department.
“It’s an honor to receive this award and for my team and I to be recognized for our efforts among such an accomplished group of peers in this field,” said Rose. “I would like to thank MMCH leadership and the MMCH staff who help every day to make this vision of patient safety a reality.”
The awards were presented at the Tribute to Excellence in Health Care, held on May 8 at Cipriani 42nd Street and attended by around 500 members of the New York metropolitan area health care community. Keynote remarks were delivered by Dr. Michelle Morse, MPH, Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Commissioner for the Center for Health Equity and Community Wellness at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Since the award’s inception in 2019, at least one Quality Improvement Champion has been named each year from Maimonides Health. Maimonides is proud to partner with UHF in our commitment to ensuring all New Yorkers have access to quality health care.
For more the complete list of honorees and for more information about the award, visit https://uhfnyc.org/about/awards/excellence-in-health-care/2023-honorees/.
About Maimonides Health
Maimonides Health is Brooklyn’s largest healthcare system, serving over 300,000 patients each year through the system’s 3 hospitals, 1,800 physicians and more than 80 community-based practices and outpatient centers. The system is anchored by Maimonides Medical Center, one of the nation’s largest independent teaching hospitals and home to centers of excellence in numerous specialties; Maimonides Midwood Community Hospital (formerly New York Community Hospital), a 130-bed adult medical-surgical hospital; and Maimonides Children’s Hospital, Brooklyn’s only children’s hospital and only pediatric trauma center. Maimonides’ clinical programs rank among the best in the country for patient outcomes, including its Heart and Vascular Institute, Neurosciences Institute, Bone and Joint Center, and Cancer Center. Maimonides is an affiliate of Northwell Health and a major clinical training site for SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. For additional information, please visit www.maimo.org