NYC Health & Hospitals has appointed Kevin Lynch as its new chief information officer and senior vice president, roles he will assume in January.
That same month, Dr. Mitchell Katz will take over as president and CEO of the system.
Lynch comes to NYC Health & Hospitals from Los Angeles County, where he's been the CIO for the Department of Health Services since 2010. Earlier, he was corporate director at Jackson Health System in Miami-Dade County in Florida.
During his time working for Los Angeles County, Lynch oversaw the implementation of a countywide electronic health record system. "I am especially excited that (Lynch) will bring with him the knowledge and experience form having developed enterprisewide IT systems," Katz said in a statement.
Lynch is joining the organization during a rough patch. For the first half of fiscal 2017, NYC Health & Hospitals had a $776 million operating loss, up 85% from 2015. In October, the 11-hospital health system decided to cut hiring by half to make up for delayed funding from the disproportionate-share hospital program, which reimburses hospitals for losses from uncompensated care. Earlier in the year, the hospital system laid off nearly 400 managers.
NYC Health & Hospitals treats many of New York City's uninsured people, with 70% of patients either uninsured or Medicaid beneficiaries.
