William Brown has taken over the CEO role at NYC Health & Hospitals Coney Island, replacing Anthony Rajkumar who resigned Monday, the health system announced.
Brown came from Louisville, Ky.-based Baptist Health, where he oversaw its western Kentucky operations. He is tasked with aligning the 371-bed hospital with the "ongoing transformation of the entire public health system" in New York City, according to a news release.
"Bill Brown was selected for this important role because of his success in filling many of the needs we have in Brooklyn," William Foley, senior vice president of hospitals at NYC Health & Hospitals, said in a statement.
There has been a series of leadership changes at the nation's largest public health system as it has had to shed jobs to address "high costs and inefficiencies" throughout the organization coupled with dwindling government reimbursement.
Brown will draw on his experience at Baptist Health as well as VHS West Suburban Medical Center and Provena Health in Illinois, among other leadership positions throughout his 38-year healthcare career, to lead the public hospital through the changes.
Late last year, Dr. Ram Raju stepped down as head of NYC Health & Hospitals after 2½ years in the role. During his tenure, Raju faced the challenge of providing care to 1.4 million New Yorkers and a large share of the uninsured and poor population while dealing with mounting deficits. Stanley Brezenoff succeeded Raju as interim CEO.
In May, a New York Post report alleged dangerous conditions at Coney Island Hospital. Raju pushed back against the criticism and focused on the system's victories, such as implementing an electronic health record system and enhancing inmate care at Rikers Island.
