Eric C. Rackow, MD, President, Announces Appointment to Take Effect August 1, 2004
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As the CMO, Dr. Cohen will serve as a member of the NYUHC senior leadership team, with administrative responsibility for monitoring and ensuring the safety and quality of patient care and the quality of professional medical services within the Hospitals Center. He will also promote the interrelated endeavors of patient care, education, and research; provide overall direction for the Hospital's care management programs; and provide direction and assistance to clinical departments and hospital administrators in evaluating and implementing new clinical programs or changes to existing programs.
Dr. Cohen will work with and support the Medical Board in fulfilling its governance role regarding patient care, including overseeing the credentialing of all medical staff. He will serve as liaison with the Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs and Vice Dean for Academic Affairs at NYU School of Medicine to ensure appropriate coordination between clinical and academic activities.
Since 1998, Dr. Cohen has served as Chief Medical Officer at Missouri Baptist Medical Center (MBMC), which is part of BJC Healthcare in St. Louis, Missouri. BJC is a 13-hospital healthcare delivery system which serves as the academic hospitals center of Washington University School of Medicine. He is also the Chairman of the Board of the BJC Center for Healthcare Quality and Effectiveness.
During his tenure at MBMC and BJC, Dr. Cohen was the senior physician executive responsible for providing leadership and direction for improving clinical outcomes, patient safety, and medical resource utilization. In addition, he directed MBMC's strategic planning efforts, care management and performance improvement programs, admission/registration services, and the clinical research office. Under Dr. Cohen's leadership, MBMC improved its performance in a wide array of areas, most especially, patient care. His expertise will be of great benefit to our hospitals.
From 1994-1998, Dr. Cohen was Chief of the Department of Surgery at Grace Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, and Professor of Surgery at Wayne State University. He has also held senior clinical and academic appointments at several other hospitals and universities in the United States and Canada.
Dr. Cohen earned his medical degree at the University of Glasgow, Scotland and his masters in health services administration at the University of Michigan. He completed his residency in general surgery at Glasgow Teaching Hospitals and his Research Fellowship in surgery at Harvard University (Beth Israel Hospital). He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and the American College of Physician Executives.
Dr. Cohen is the author of numerous articles, reviews, and chapters. In 2002, MBMC was awarded the Inaugural Quest for Quality Prize by the American Hospital Association. In 2003, Dr. Cohen received the Physician Executive 5th Annual Award of Excellence from the American College of Physician Executives.
We are fortunate to have Dr. Cohen as a member of our team, and I know that all of our faculty and staff will enjoy working with him. Please join me in welcoming him to NYU Medical Center.