"Four years ago through the Bezos Family Foundation, we invested in NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn to help support the families of Sunset Park and bring them access to higher-quality care. Today, in the midst of a pandemic that has accentuated the need for more comprehensive health supports, our family wishes to deepen our personal commitment to the community and to NYU Langone Health's efforts in Brooklyn," says Mike Bezos.

"I cannot thank the Bezos Family strongly enough for their visionary dedication to our communities and for their continued belief in NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn," says Robert I. Grossman, MD, dean and CEO, NYU Langone Health. "Our work in Brooklyn in particular has been shaped in a profound way by the family's partnership and by our shared belief and heartfelt conviction that absolutely everyone deserves the highest-quality care and support that helps improve their lives and well-being."

The Challenge
Healthcare leaders and systems across the country have long struggled to identify approaches to embrace two critical dimensions of health improvement: delivering the highest-quality healthcare to all, while also addressing the context of health—the community in which everyday life is lived. Siloed efforts that address these two domains separately have inevitably fallen short of effecting lasting change. This challenge is particularly evident in poor and underserved communities where access to great medical care is often lacking and where health and well-being are further affected by a confluence of social and environmental inequities. There is an unparalleled opportunity at this time to meet this challenge.

The Solution
The $166 million philanthropic pledge made by the Bezos Family will allow NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn and the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone to build on their achievements—and the strengths of these diverse communities—and create a dynamic model for community-wide health improvement in Sunset Park that will address social determinants of health and key drivers of health inequities. Along with the Bezos Family, a broad and deep network of community partners, and other key stakeholders, NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn will continue to create a comprehensive health system that not only tackles community and clinical needs, but also develop an interwoven network of care and support.

The Bezos's have entrusted NYU Langone with this initiative because of the investments and progress the institution has made in Brooklyn. Through its full asset merger with Lutheran Medical Center in 2016 to create NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, NYU Langone Health continues to carry forward a rich history of partnership in Sunset Park and greater Brooklyn. NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn provides excellent care for the diverse immigrant population of southwest Brooklyn, strengthened by its partnership network with key social service agencies and community-based providers, and both are fundamental to its plans for the future.

"Mike and I have seen firsthand their deep commitment to improving all aspects of healthcare delivery and health equity," says Jackie Bezos. "The investment that NYU Langone has made to ensure that the vibrant Sunset Park community has access to world-class healthcare has inspired our family to do even more to support Brooklyn."

The Bezos Family also was motivated by NYU Langone's dedication to community-engaged research and academic rigor as well as its commitment to share the approach and the knowledge it gains with other health systems and communities to aid the collective effort in building more equitable, seamless care.

"High-quality care needs to be woven into the environments where health happens—including in our schools and communities," says Mike Bezos. "Through its strong partner network and collaborative model, NYU Langone is all in on serving the greater Brooklyn area, and so are we."

About NYU Langone Health:  
NYU Langone Health is a world-class, patient-centered, integrated academic medical center, known for its excellence in clinical care, research, and education. Included in its 360+ locations throughout the New York area are 6 inpatient locations: Tisch Hospital, its acute-care facility; Kimmel Pavilion, its state-of-the-art healthcare facility; NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital, a dedicated inpatient orthopedic hospital with all musculoskeletal specialties ranked top 10 in the country; Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone, a comprehensive pediatric hospital supporting a full array of children's health services; NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, a full-service teaching hospital and level 1 trauma center located in Sunset Park, Brooklyn; and NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island, a 591-bed hospital and level 1 trauma center located in Mineola, Long Island. Also part of NYU Langone Health is the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute–designated Comprehensive Cancer Center; the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, one of the largest Federally Qualified Health Center networks in the nation that provides high-quality primary and preventive outpatient care to adults and children regardless of their ability to pay or health insurance status; NYU Grossman School of Medicine, which since 1841 has trained thousands of physicians and scientists who have helped to shape the course of medical history, and now offers full-tuition scholarships; and NYU Long Island School of Medicine, on the campus of NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island, which also offers full-tuition scholarships and an accelerated three-year curriculum devoted to training primary care physicians.

Source: PR Newswire