overview formed 1969 ; 47 years ago 1969 1 preceding new york city health and hospitals corporation jurisdiction new york city headquarters 125 worth street new york ny employees 34 891 citation needed agency executives dr. ramanathan raju president & ceo 2 lilliam barrios paoli chair 2 gordon campbell vice chair 2 anthony shorris deputy mayor 2 parent agency city of new york website nychealthandhospitals.org nyc health hospitals formerly the new york city health and hospitals corporation hhc operates the public hospitals and clinics in new york city . a public benefit corporation with 6.7 billion in annual revenues hhc is the largest municipal healthcare system in the united states serving 1.4 million patients including more than 475 000 uninsured city residents . 3 hhc was created in 1969 by the new york state legislature as a public benefit corporation chapter 1016 of the laws 1969 . 1 4 it is similar to a municipal agency but has a board of directors . it operates 11 acute care hospitals five nursing homes six diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 70 community based primary care sites serving primarily the poor and working class . hhc s own metroplus health plan is one of the new york area s largest providers of government sponsored health insurance and is the plan of choice for nearly half a million new yorkers . 5 each year hhc s facilities provide about 225 000 admissions one million emergency room visits and five million clinic visits to new yorkers . hhc facilities treat nearly one fifth of all general hospital discharges and more than one third of emergency room and hospital based clinic visits in new york city . 6 the most well known hospital in the hhc system is bellevue hospital the oldest public hospital in the united states . bellevue is the designated hospital for treatment of the president of the united states and other world leaders if they become sick or injured while in new york city . 7 the president of hhc is ramanathan raju md a surgeon and former ceo of the cook county health system in illinois . 8 the organization underwent a rebranding initiative in november 2015 shortening its name from 40 characters to 19 characters as nyc health hospitals . 9 contents 1 history 2 facilities 3 accolades 3.1 awards and grants 3.2 leading medical information technology systems 4 controversies 4.1 lawsuit and allegations of abuse and neglect at hhc unit 4.2 2009 state funding cut 5 see also 6 references 7 external links history edit in 1736 hhc s oldest hospital bellevue hospital was founded as an infirmary for smallpox and other contagious diseases on the top floor of a public workhouse and jail . bellevue hospital was formally named in 1825 . at the turn of the 20th century bellevue s medical college merged with university medical college into what would later become the new york university college of medicine . in 1920 bellevue founded the children s psychiatric service the first program in the united states devoted to the study of child autism and training child psychiatrists . bellevue continues to provide through this day comprehensive pediatric services and renowned psychiatric services as well as highly regarded emergency and trauma services . bellevue remains the principal teaching hospital for its affiliated new york university school of medicine . hhc s other hospitals were founded in the late 19th century and early to mid 20th century . 6 in 1965 medicare and medicaid were created and quickly accounted for 86 percent of the income received by the municipal hospital system . patients with private insurance opted to use private hospitals and medicaid raised its eligibility . as a consequence new york city hospitals saw patient numbers and funding decline precipitously . according to a 1967 study just two years later the conditions and quality of care at public hospitals in new york city were deplorable . 7 in 1969 new york city created hhc to replace its department of hospitals operating city hospitals and other health care facilities . hhc was formed as a quasi public agency to enable it to benefit from private revenues and funding . hcc s fiscal condition nevertheless has varied periodically since its formation and it has gone through periods of instability . 6 facilities edit a nyc health and hospital police patch nyc health hospitals operates 11 hospitals across the city 10 nyc health hospitals bellevue nyc health hospitals coney island nyc health hospitals elmhurst nyc health hospitals harlem nyc health hospitals jacobi nyc health hospitals kings county nyc health hospitals lincoln nyc health hospitals metropolitan nyc health hospitals north central bronx nyc health hospitals queens nyc health hospitals woodhull community diagnostic and treatment and long term care centers nyc health hospitals belvis nyc health hospitals coler nyc health hospitals cumberland nyc health hospitals east new york nyc health hospitals gouverneur nyc health hospitals morrisania nyc health hospitals renaissance accolades edit awards and grants edit queens hospital center hhc has won a number of awards and grants in recent years for its quality of care and innovative community based programs . in 2006 a study by the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services cms ranked quality of care at hhc among the highest in new york city in the areas of heart attack heart failure and pneumonia . 11 hhc reported that of the 50 hospitals in new york city that voluntarily submitted quality data to cms hhc hospitals held seven of the top nine places and all ranked in the top 17 when judged by 10 specific measures of healthcare quality for the treatment of patients with life threatening heart and pulmonary conditions and that brooklyn s coney island hospital achieved a first place ranking among all new york city hospitals public or private . 11 on september 30 2008 the centers for disease control and prevention cdc awarded hhc a 10 million grant to be administered by the national institute for occupational safety and health niosh . the grant which will provide up to 30 million over three years is to provide health services to non responder populations in new york city affected by the world trade center attack . 12 under the grant hhc will provide medical examinations diagnostic testing referral and treatment for residents students and others in the community that were directly affected by the dust and debris from the collapse of the world trade center buildings on sept. 11 2001 . other recent grants to hhc include to expand access to neonatal care and to improve health literacy among low literacy patients . 13 14 hhc has won several other prestigious awards in recent years . in may 2014 queens hospital center became the second hhc hospital and the third hospital in new york city to receive the baby friendly certification granted by baby friendly usa part of a global initiative sponsored by the world health organization who and united nations children s fund unicef . the initiative selects hospitals and birthing centers that implement the recommended 10 steps of a comprehensive breastfeeding program . hhc s north bronx health network which includes jacobi medical center and north central bronx hospital received the hanys healthcare association of new york state pinnacle award for quality improvement and patient safety for the outstanding success of its violence reduction protocol in psychiatric services . hanys also awarded woodhull medical and mental health center the honorable mention for a community health improvement award for their artist access program . the fund for the city of new york has honored numerous hhc employees with the sloan public service award lincoln medical center received a quest for quality award for its leadership and innovation in quality improvement and safety . queens hospital center receive a citation of merit recognizing its exceptionally effective approach to reducing disparities in care through its strong ties to the community and its high level of community accountability . former hhc president alan aviles received the coveted ceo it achievement award from the healthcare information and management systems society and modern healthcare magazine for leadership in the use of information technology to advance healthcare excellence . hhc s system wide palliative care program was awarded a circle of life citation of honor the first time that such an honor was bestowed on a public hospital system . hhc s program was judged to be among the top eight of more than 100 national competitors . the national quality forum and the joint commission recognized hhc with the john m. eisenberg award for hhc in focus its special web site where the public can review how hhc facilities compare to state and national benchmarks on important quality and performance indicators . the award recognizes hhc s work to make quality and safety data transparent and its commitment to system wide performance improvement . the american hospital association awarded hhc s system wide palliative care program a circle of life citation of honor the first time that such an honor was bestowed on a public hospital system . hhc s program was judged to be among the top eight of more than 100 national competitors . the national association of public hospitals and health systems recognized kings county with a safety net award in the health information technology category for its use of healthcare it to reduce the incidence of hospital acquired infections in its surgical intensive care unit . harlem hospital center was the first hospital in new york city to receive the baby friendly certification granted by baby friendly usa part of a global initiative sponsored by the world health organization who and united nations children s fund unicef . the initiative selects hospitals and birthing centers that implement the recommended 10 steps of a comprehensive breastfeeding program . sea view hospital rehabilitation center & home earned the 2007 ernest amory codman award from the joint commission for the use of outcomes measurements as a means to achieve improvement in the quality and safety of health care . elmhurst hospital center was assigned a magnet designation by the american nurses association to recognize quality patient care and nursing as well as innovations in professional nursing practice . hhc earned the 2007 life and breath award by the american lung association for contributions to the prevention of lung disease in new york city . new york magazine in its lists of the best doctors in the city each year identifies several hhc physicians throughout the public hospital system as notable in their field . woodhull hospital in brooklyn and lincoln hospital in the bronx earned respectively the gold and silver performance awards designated jointly by the american heart association and american stroke association for applying evidence based best practices in the treatment for coronary artery disease and heart failure . 15 leading medical information technology systems edit in recent years hhc has received recognition for its advanced clinical information system which includes a comprehensive electronic health record also known as an electronic medical record . hhc public hospitals have won the nicholas e. davies award for the use of clinical information technology . 16 hhc president alan aviles received the ceo it achievement award from the healthcare information and management systems society and modern healthcare magazine for leading use of information technology to advance healthcare excellence . 17 and hhc s north bronx healthcare network was awarded hospitals and health networks most wired award four consecutive years for its use of information technology in safety quality customer service business processes and workforce training . 15 controversies edit lawsuit and allegations of abuse and neglect at hhc unit edit 125 worth street headquarters of hhc and of the new york city department of health and mental hygiene and the department of sanitation conditions at the psychiatric unit of the kings county hospital center in brooklyn one of 11 hhc hospitals remain the subject of a lawsuit and