New York Medical College

As a member of the Touro University System, New York Medical College (NYMC) has built upon its sterling reputation as a leading health sciences institution and continues its tradition of fostering a culture of inclusivity and bridging the gap in healthcare disparities, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. From serving as a source of reliable information, education and models for mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery to offering COVID-19 vaccination clinics and opening a student-run free clinic for underserved communities, NYMC staff, students and faculty alike joined to not only serve the community, but live by the humanistic ideals that the College has promoted since 1860.

With its three schools—the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences and the School of Health Sciences and Practice—NYMC offers an opportunity for students to treat and work with a variety of populations and pursue a wide range of residency and career options.

COMING TOGETHER AMIDST THE PANDEMIC When the New York State PAUSE executive order necessitated the NYMC campus closure, NYMC leadership quickly implemented plans to transition to remote academic instruction and ensure employees were equipped to work remotely, while maintaining essential biomedical research activities safely. When NYMC reopened in phases, a SARS-CoV-2 pooled screening surveillance program was put in place to ensure the health and safety of the NYMC community. Later NYMC was among the first approximately 50 medical practices in the Hudson Valley to receive COVID-19 vaccines for distribution. In partnership with the New York State Department of Health, a COVID-19 vaccination clinic was set up on campus distributing vaccines to more than 300 individuals. STAYING INFORMED WITH COVID-19 SYMPOSIA In the initial stages of the novel coronavirus outbreak, NYMC and Touro hosted a COVID-19 symposium in January 2020 at Touro’s Midtown Manhattan campus to educate clinical healthcare professionals, healthcare administrators, public health professionals, elected officials and the media, on the latest updates on COVID-19. Since then, these symposia—presented virtually on a regular basis—address pandemic issues from vaccine development and policy to COVID-19 therapies and antibody cocktails, public health and a myriad of medical, psychosocial and research-based insights into the COVID-19 pandemic.

KEEPING THE COMMUNITY HEALTHY

NYMC opened a Family Health Center that provides comprehensive, medical and preventive care, as well as urgent care for patients of all ages including employees and the community at large. The Center is directed by Lori Solomon, M.D. ’99, M.P.H. ’09, clinical associate professor and chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine. “The ability to be in close proximity to some of New York State’s leading physicians, allows us to give each individual that walks through our doors the attention and care they need,” says Dr. Solomon.

In May, La Casita de la Salud opened a new location at 19 Skyline Drive on the NYMC campus for the Westchester County community. La Casita de la Salud, which is Spanish for ”the little house of health,” is a student-run free clinic which has been located in East Harlem since 2005, where it works to bridge the gap in healthcare disparities by providing culturally competent care regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, nationality or ability to pay. The

Westchester location is a joint venture between NYMC’s Family Health Center and Touro Dental Health and offers free medical and dental care to uninsured adults.

CONTINUING THE LEGACY OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION Holding true to its strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, NYMC has recommitted itself to maintaining a community of belonging. A university-wide Office of Diversity and Inclusion works to enhance the diversity of the NYMC and TCDM campus community by promoting equity and inclusion in all aspects of teaching, student life, faculty recruitment, clinical practice and research, revamping curricula and mandating anti-bias and anti-racism education for students and faculty.

FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN UNVEILED After a year-long community-wide planning process, NYMC unveiled its 2021-2026 Strategic Plan, including revised mission, vision and values statements, providing a road map to address the rapidly changing healthcare fields and ever-evolving higher education landscape. More than 80 representatives from across all schools and areas of the community including faculty, administration, students, alumni and members of the Board of Trustees, served on strategic planning committees. The new plan builds off previous successes and focuses on championing diversity and inclusion, community outreach and further elevating transparency in the College’s decisionmaking process.

UNPRECEDENTED ACCREDITATION After a virtual site visit in April 2021, the Middle States Commission on Higher

Education (MSCHE) reaffirmed New York Medical College’s accreditation for the maximum eightyear period with no reporting requirements or recommendations, citing the beneficial partnership with Touro University System. Furthermore, the School of Medicine received an unprecedented 12year re-accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Education (ACGME) for its residency and fellowship programs though 2025, and a fouryear accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through 2022.

INCREASED FUNDING TO SUPPORT THE FOR CENTER FOR DISASTER MEDICINE New York State elected officials presented NYMC with $1,000,000 in increased funding for the Center of Excellence in Precision Responses to Bioterrorism and Disasters within the Center for Disaster Medicine (CDM). The funding is a major increase since an initial annual pledge from New York lawmakers of $500,000 in 2017 and $925,000 in 2019, a sum that is matched by NYMC in support of the expanding work and impact of the Center. The funding will help the Center continue training first responders in the region.

ESTABLISHED CHAIR IN BIOETHICS AND THE HOLOCAUST Joseph Popack, a member of the NYMC Board of Trustees, and Penina Popack, established the Miriam Popack Chair in Bioethics and the Holocaust, designed to ensure that medical ethics lessons from the Holocaust are taught to generations of students in in the medical, dental and other health professions. The endowed chair is envisioned to be a university system-wide resource for research and teaching throughout NYMC and Touro University System, and to be a national resource for teaching the lessons of the Holocaust to health professionals.

Jonathan Gavras, M.D.

President, Bright House, Florida Division

Jonathan Gavras was the type of student that every school dreams of educating and sending into the world. Dr. Gavras is not just generous in his financial giving, he also happens to be something far more rare: He is generous of spirit.

“I want to give them more of my time,” says Dr. Gavras, 62, who is president of the Florida division of Bright Health, an innovative insurance company. “I want to give back to the school that set me on the course of my career and success.”

Dr. Gavras feels fortunate to this day to have chosen New York Medical College (NYMC) for his education and training. Not only were the professors knowledgeable, but they were devoted to the students and passionate about graduating top physicians. Dr. Gavras, who graduated med school in 1986, still marvels over the clinical training opportunities that allowed him to do something extraordinary and unheard of as a medical student. “At my time in one of the affiliated hospitals, I helped deliver 30 babies. Delivering those babies is one of the highlights of my career and of my life. I would not have gotten that lifechanging experience anywhere else.”

He believes in showing his gratitude in pragmatic ways. Dr. Gavras, who lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with his wife, a nurse, has donated funds for the Dr. Jonathan and Debra Gavras Endowment. “A medical education is expensive, and I wasn’t an affluent kid,” says Dr. Gavras, who began his career as a pulmonologist before going on to leadership roles in several leading U.S. health companies. “I do not want to see students burdened by huge loans. I want them to concentrate on being compassionate physicians.”

Dr. Gavras also is leading the effort to raise money to build a state-of-theart thoracic medicine simulation lab and is beginning to mentor students in pulmonary medicine as well as those interested in a career in academics or healthcare economics. “My education and clinical experience at New York Medical College was tremendous,” says Dr. Gavras. “It shaped me, it taught me about the importance of compassion for patients, listening to patients, where they came from, what were their experiences. It made me a better doctor and a better human being.”