Svetlana Lipyanskaya will be appointed CEO of Maimonides Hospital after the merger with NYC Health+Hospitals is approved.
File photo by Paul Frangipane
An NYC Health+Hospitals executive will take the helm at Maimonides Health after the pending merger of the systems is finalized.
Svetlana Lipyanskaya, currently CEO of NYC Health+Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, will be appointed CEO of Maimonides Health after the city’s plan to acquire Maimonides is approved, NYCH+H announced Thursday.
She will replace Maimonides’ existing president and CEO, Ken Gibbs.
“Maimonides is an integral part of Brooklyn’s healthcare landscape. It delivers exceptional quality care, including state-of-the art specialty services, to New Yorkers every day,” Lipyanskaya said in a statement. “I look forward to the opportunity to lead Maimonides as its joins NYC Health + Hospitals and together build on the great work they already do today.”
It is not yet clear where Gibbs, who has served as CEO of Maimonides Medical Center since 2016, will land.
Ken Gibbs, Maimonides’ current president and CEO. File photo by Gabriele Holtermann
“Right now, Ken is primarily focused on supporting the successful transition of Maimonides becoming a part of H + H,” said Maimonides spox Tina Lee. “No decisions have been made on his future role.”
In a statement, Gibbs said it was a “privilege to welcome Svetlana to the Maimonides family.”
“She has been a successful and effective leader at NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health and a long-time, trusted partner,” he said. “I have known her for years and, most recently, we have been working together to bring Maimonides into NYC Health + Hospitals and lay the foundation for a successful transition and launch to further serve our communities and support the outstanding Maimonides team.”
Lipyanskaya has served as CEO of South Brooklyn Health since 2020, and has overseen massive renovations to the hospital’s campus and the construction of the new Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital. She plans to “spend more time” at Maimonides in the coming months to help “understand the needs of patients, staff and the community.”
Manjinder Kaur, South Brooklyn Health’s COO and former Chief Nursing Officer, will be made CEO at South Brooklyn Health, according to NYCH+H.
Lipyanskaya (center) cuts the ribbon on the Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospital in 2023. File photo by Paul Frangipane
The terms of the merger are being finalized, per NYCH+H. Officials said last year that they expect the acquisition to be made official in April, though it must first be approved by the Attorney General. The City Council’s Committee on Hospitals is set to hold an oversight hearing about the merger on March 2.
Hospital and government officials have said the merger will bolster the financially-struggling Maimonides by giving it access to higher Medicaid reimbursement rates only available to public hospitals and to the charting and patient communication platforms Epic and MyChart. NYCH+H has said there will be “no change in patient care” at Maimonides during the merger.
Seven members of Maimonides’ Board of Trustees last year sued to stop the merger, which they say will threaten the quality of care and Maimonides’ ability to provide culturally-specific care to its largely Orthodox Jewish patients. The suit claims Maimonides ignored offers to merge with other health systems and forced Trustees to vote on the merger on short notice.
In court documents, H+H has dismissed many of the suit’s claims. The parties are scheduled to appear in court on April 14.