You’re invited! Please join us for our always-inspiring 2019 Health Care Justice Leadership Annual Gala to celebrate our accomplishments of the past year, look ahead to our work for the coming year, and raise the resources needed for our ongoing work to foster community and labor collaboration in the fight for universal health care and health care justice in New York and across our nation. Our Gala will take place on Thursday evening, December 19th, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at District Council 37 AFSCME, Non-Profit Division, located at 420 West 45th Street in Manhattan.

We’re delighted to be honoring the following people and groups:

For governmental leadership — Mitchell Katz, MD, President and CEO of New York City Health + Hospitals (our city’s public hospital system.) NYC H+H is the crown jewel of our city’s health care system that offers culturally and linguistically competent services to all comers, regardless of ability to pay or insurance status . We are SO lucky to have it! Under Dr. Katz’ leadership, the system’s finances have been stabilized, and a strong emphasis on primary care has been developed. In addition, Dr. Katz has led the effort to establish our city’s new “NYC Care” program for the still-uninsured that aims to enroll people in coverage (if possible), and get them into regular primary care that also includes mental health and substance use treatment. Dr. Katz has also been an outspoken supporter of the New York Health Act, a universal health care bill now before our State Legislature. He is also a primary care physician at Gotham Health/Gouverneur, an H+H community health center located on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

For trade union leadership — GM Workers, United Auto Workers Region 9 and 9A, Locals 686, 774, and 1097,completed a nearly six-week strike this fall that resulted in a successful contract negotiation. It was the union’s longest strike in nearly a half century. One of the key issues in dispute concerned maintaining strong health care benefits, which was achieved.

For community leadership —

• Alice Berger, former Vice President for Healthcare Planning, Planned Parenthood of New York City from 1997-2019 where she focused on strategic advocacy to expand the agency’s services and defend reproductive rights. She has long been a leading voice calling attention to the intersection between the fights for health care for all and comprehensive reproductive health care.

• Terry Mizrahi, Professor (1980-2019), Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, City Univeristy of New York; has been on the faculty of the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College for nearly 30 years, where she founded and developed their innovative program in community organizing and social welfare policy, and also expanded it to be an official minor program at the undergraduate level. For many years, she co-led the Health Care Policy and Practice Network of the New York City Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, and has represented the Chapter to our Steering Committee since our founding in the early-mid 1990s.

Our special keynote speaker is Barbara Berney, DPH, Professor Emerita, School of Public Health, City University of New York, and Producer of “Power to Heal: Medicare and the Civil Rights Revolution”. Dr. Berney’s terrific documentary tells the story of how the implementation of Medicare 50 years ago was leveraged to desegregate hospitals across the United States in (literally) just a few week’s time. This accomplishment was the result of the civil rights movement combining forces with public health activists, hospital workers, and government civil servants. She will speak to us about lessons to be drawn from that era that inform our work ahead to bring about true universal health care in the U.S.

We invite everyone to support our Annual Gala by making as generous a contribution as you can. There are several options:

• click here to use Action Network.
• use the donate button on our website.
• mail us a check (Metro New York Health Care for All, 420 West 45th Street, New York, NY 10036.)
• give at the door.

Our requested minimum contribution is $75 for individuals, but all are welcome at whatever level you can donate. If you cannot attend in person, we will miss you but will still welcome your support.

We also ask that you approach your own organization or union for their support. Options for them include joining the Host Committee, and/or placing an announcement in the commemorative journal. Package deals are also available upon request, as are groups of tickets. Contact us directly at metrohealth@igc.org or 646-887-0305 for further information.

We thank everyone for their generous support!