Doctors across the health system are nominated by their Chief Medical Officer for the recognition

NEW YORK (TIP):  NYC Health + Hospitals , on May 7, celebrated its Doctors’ Day and recognized 26 doctors  for their outstanding patient care. This year, for the first time, NYC Health + Hospitals is honoring three physicians at their new Gotham Health Centers of Excellence, which provide Long COVID services, as well as primary care services. The doctors were nominated by their facility’s Chief Medical Officer to qualify for the achievement. This year’s honorees include pediatricians, primary care doctors, emergency department physicians, an oncologist, a pathologist, a neurologist, an HIV specialist, an optometrist, and others. They come from a diverse array of nations such as Ukraine, Nigeria, China, Burma, Nepal, Bangladesh, Cyprus, Haiti, India, and Pakistan. Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Machelle Allen joined staff at The View at Battery Park to recognize outstanding doctors in the nation’s largest municipal health system. Biographies of the 26 doctors recognized in this year’s event are available here.

Honorees include the following:

Dr. Sara Rostanski has led the Department of Neurology’s stroke program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue since 2018. Under her leadership, the program developed a neuro-ICU for complex stroke patients as well as an advanced outpatient clinic – two of the advances that have made Bellevue the only NYC Health + Hospitals facility, and one of the few public hospitals in the country, certified by The Joint Commission as a comprehensive stroke center.

“My goal was to build a world-class stroke center at Bellevue,” said Dr. Rostanski. “Flash forward six years, and after a lot of hard work with a dedicated multidisciplinary team and a tremendously supportive hospital administration, we obtained The Joint Commission certification. It was a validation of the high-quality stroke care we provide at Bellevue for patients throughout the health system.”

Dr. Cheryl Smith has been one of New York City’s most dedicated HIV doctors for more than 30 years – not only serving the medical needs of those with HIV but advocating for critical social supports and helping lead the state’s education and prevention efforts. Since 2014, she has brought that expertise to NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Sydenham. At Sydenham, she has about 150 HIV patients and virtually all are on antiretroviral therapy that keeps viral loads undetectable for most. Since 2008, Dr. Smith has also been an associate medical director at the New York State Department of Health’s AIDS Institute, where she founded and directs a program that uses digital technology to improve education and communication about HIV and epidemics.

“[Caring for patients with HIV] was just something that my heart gravitated to,” said Dr. Smith. Now that patients mostly have their viral loads suppressed, her focus the focus of care has largely shifted from patients’ physical health to the hardships they face beyond their disease, like housing. “The psycho-social determinants of health are tremendously important in every disease but they are particularly and critically important with HIV.”

Dr. Boris Mashalov helped develop an adolescent clinic in his role as an attending physician at NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx. It addresses issues like sexual health including pregnancy, mental health, and weight management. Among his proudest accomplishments is the successful implementation of the Adolescent Immunization Project, which resulted in 90 percent of North Central Bronx adolescent patients being fully immunized— roughly double the national average of 45 percent.

“The whole vision of our adolescent clinic at the beginning is to make it like a home — a safe harbor,” said Dr. Mashalov. “Many of our adolescent patients might not share with their parents when they’re in trouble, so we want to be a place where you always can come to us. If you’re available and you’re there for them, they start trusting you.”

Here is the full list of NYC Health + Hospitals Doctors’ Day 2024 Award recipients:

BRONX

NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Belvis

Winifred O. Egbuna, MD

Attending Physician

NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Morrisania

Teresa Polito, MD

Attending Physician, Pediatrics

NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Tremont

Wilmer J. Petite, MD

Attending Physician, Cardiology

NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi

Robert Faillace, MD

Chief of Medicine

NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln

Muhammad Waseem, MBBS, MS, CHSE-A, FAAP, FACEP, FAHA, FSSH

Attending Physician, Pediatric Emergency Medicine

NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx

Boris M. Mashalov, MD

Attending Physician, Pediatrics

BROOKLYN

NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Broadway

Abimbola Oduguwa, MD

Attending Physician, Pediatrics

NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Cumberland

Julia Mai, OD, FAAO

Optometrist

NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, East New York

Maqsoodur Rahman, MD

Attending Physician

NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County

Selwena R. Brewster, MD, MBA

Associate Chief Medical Officer

NYC Health + Hospitals/McKinney

Lisel M. Hope, MD, MPH, FACE

Attending Physician

NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health

Eleonora Akker, DO, FACP

Director of Medical Education

Program Director of Transitional Year

Associate Program Director of Internal Medicine Residency

NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull

Gail T. Prado, MD

Attending Physician, Pathology

MANHATTAN

NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue

Sara K. Rostanski, MD

Associate Chief of Neurology

NYC Health + Hospitals/Carter

Prem C. Srivastava, MD

Attending Physician

NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler

Nazma A. Hossain, MD

Attending Physician

NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Gouverneur

Fontine Zhang, MD

Attending Physician 

NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Sydenham

Cheryl A. Smith, MD

Attending Physician

NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur

Polina Gilchyonok, MD

Chief of Service, Subacute Rehabilitation

NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem

Umesh Paudel, MD

Chief, Division of Neonatology

NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan

Mahrukh Bamji, MD

Chair of Pediatrics

QUEENS

NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Roosevelt

Ei Khine Moe, MD

Primary Care Physician

NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst

Barbara M. Dilos, DO

Director of Anesthesia

NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens

William X. Li, MD, M.Sc

Director of Radiation Oncology

CITYWIDE

NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services

Jean Liautaud, MD, CCHP

Assistant Chief of Service, Medicine

NYC Health + Hospitals/Simulation Center

Zachary A. Blankenship, MD

Clinical Education Director

About NYC Health + Hospitals

NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.