Veteran health care executive Paul Rosenfeld brings an impressive and valuable breadth of experience to the position of executive director of Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, Rutland Nursing Home, and Schulman Schachne Institute as a member of the One Brooklyn Health System senior executive team. He is responsible for oversight of acute, ambulatory and long-term care and Nursing Home Operations and Initiatives. Rosenfeld joined Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center at One Brooklyn Health in January 2018.
What influenced you to pursue a career in the health care field?
After graduation from college, Mr. Rosenfeld started his career as a U.S. Public Health Service Officer, specializing in field epidemiology. In this position, he was community-based, working with individuals and families in their homes and neighborhoods. As a result of this experience, he became dedicated to making a difference in health equity in order to bring services to all in the community as well as within the formal health delivery structure.
What is the biggest challenge currently facing New York’s health care system?
The biggest issue, cited by Mr. Rosenfeld, is inadequate funding and services for preventive care. Such concerns include the social determinants of care such as housing, gun violence, availability of parks and recreation, housing, food inequity, etc. We have to get to the roots of the issues that create the breeding grounds for keeping our population healthy.
How do you describe your position to people outside of the health care industry?
I often describe my position as being like being the mayor of a town or city. In health care, we of course provide physicians, nurses and other ancillary staff, security, building maintenance and construction, financial management and food and shelter. We are community servants that are here for the welfare of those whom we serve.
What can policymakers do to ensure equitable access to quality health care?
Policymakers have to take the bold audacious move to think out of the box and realize that the factors surrounding social determinants of care are holistically as important to our health as the stethoscope, medications, ambulatory care and other modalities of medicine.
