James R. Knickman, Founding President and CEO, Stepping Down from New York Health Foundation

Board of Directors to Conduct Search for NYHealth’s Next Leader

Contact: Stephany Fong, fong@nyhealthfoundation.org

Board of Directors to Conduct Search for NYHealth’s Next Leader

September 29, 2015 (New York) – James R. Knickman, founding President and CEO of the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth), plans to leave the Foundation during the first half of 2016, after a successor is identified. Dr. Knickman, who joined NYHealth in May 2006 as its first employee, will be returning to his academic roots to join the faculty of New York University.

A search for the Foundation’s next President and CEO is underway. Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group has been retained to assist NYHealth’s Board of Directors in the search process.

“Jim Knickman has been an incredibly effective leader in establishing and growing the New York Health Foundation into a visible, respected organization that has had tangible impacts on our State’s health system,” said Dr. Robert G. Smith, Chair of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. “New York’s success in implementing the Affordable Care Act, improving care for patients with diabetes, attracting federal funds to support community health centers and vulnerable veteran families—Jim’s fingerprints are on all of these accomplishments. As we look to the future, the Board is eager to find a new leader who will continue the Foundation’s commitment to positive, enduring, measurable impact that helps New Yorkers stay healthy and ensures that our health care system works better.”

“It has been a privilege to lead the New York Health Foundation through its first decade,” said Dr. Knickman. “I have had three great jobs in my career: first at NYU, then at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and finally here at NYHealth. I’m looking forward to one more professional experience with my return to NYU, but I’m incredibly proud of and grateful for my experience at NYHealth. I have chosen 2016 as my departure date because I believe 10 years is the right amount of time, at least for me, to lead a foundation. I look forward to helping our Board find a great new CEO.”

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The New York Health Foundation (NYHealth) is a private, statewide foundation dedicated to improving the health of all New Yorkers, especially the most vulnerable. Today, NYHealth concentrates its work in three strategic priority areas: expanding health care coverage, building healthy communities, and advancing primary care. The Foundation is committed to making grants, informing health care policy and practice, spreading effective programs to improve the health system, serving as a neutral convener of health leaders across the State, and providing technical assistance to its grantees and partners.

Statement on 2014 U.S. Census Bureau Health Insurance Data

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2015

Contact: Stephany Fong, fong@nyhealthfoundation.org

Statement on 2014 U.S. Census Bureau Health Insurance Data
by New York Health Foundation President & CEO James R. Knickman

September 16, 2015 (NEW YORK) – Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released results of the 2014 American Community Survey, which include state-by-state statistics on health insurance coverage for the first year of Obamacare enrollment. New York’s uninsured rate among the general population declined to 8.7% in 2014, from 10.7% in 2013; this translates to nearly 400,000 New Yorkers gaining coverage.

The following is a statement from James R. Knickman, President and CEO of the New York Health Foundation, on the newly-released health insurance data for New York State:

“New York State has been a leader in implementing the Affordable Care Act, and it shows. More New Yorkers have health insurance coverage and the health and financial security that comes with it.

More work faces us: we need to reach and enroll those New Yorkers who remain uninsured and, importantly, develop a viable solution to cover the hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who today are ineligible for health insurance. We look forward to continuing to work with our partners and grantees throughout the State to ensure that as many New Yorkers as possible have the affordable health insurance coverage they need and deserve.”

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