David Rosen Allocution

8/2/2019 David Rosen Allocution

1/5

DPR ALLOCUTION

Judge Rakoff, for 40 years I put every ounce of

effort I had into what has evolved into the MediSys

healthcare system - - which we me and my management

team created. I took every opportunity available to

improve the quality of care to the largely indigent

communities served by Jamaica Hospital, -- where I

was hired in 1970 fresh out of graduate school, --

and subsequently at Flushing Hospital and Brookdale

Hospital.

I tried with relentless persistence to rally

other healthcare professionals and officials to

recognize the plight of the safety net hospitals, --

and the masses of medically underserved people who

came to rely upon us and similarly situated safety net

hospitals.

Often I stood as a lone voice in the fight to

assure access to care, and eliminate disparities in

treatment for patients who deserved nothing less, in

terms of facilities and services than what was

available elsewhere in the region. Your Honor, I

-1-


2/5

harbored no false expectations about ending poverty or

resolving the myriad social issues; - but, the goal of

providing resources necessary to at least partially

balance the quality of care for the medically indigent

was viable. It was more than a goal, -- it was a

commitment, - an enduring social contract, - and I

never deviated or grew tired from the pursuit.

I am proud of the effect I have had on the public

dialogue affecting safety net hospitals and access to

care. I am proud of contributing to the creation of

the States bad debt and charity care pool in the

early 1980s. I am proud of saving Jamaica Hospital

from closure -- and creating, with others, the program

to rebuild it, and the dozen other safety net

hospitals in this region that took advantage of what we

so painstakingly created, and followed suit.

I am proud of our world class trauma center

which I strived to create; the more than one dozen

off-site healthcare clinics we built in some of the

most abandoned sections of Queens and Brooklyn; the

quality of the staff we attracted and retained; and

the substantial number of innovative programs and

-2-


3/5

services we initiated to enhance healthcare and to

stabilize devastated communities.

I did this, Your Honor, because I believed. I

believed in the people of Queens and later Brooklyn. I

believed that I could and must provide leadership at a

time when the healthcare industry was in crisis and

when few others would rise to the occasion. And I

believed that without our efforts, --at our own

facilities, and also elsewhere in the healthcare

system, many people in great need would not have been

served.

These beliefs caused me to take on the

extraordinary burden and the extra risks of

resuscitating Flushing and Brookdale hospitals at the

urgent appeals of others. With strenuous effort and

hard work we were successful in saving these

institutions.

I devoted myself to these endeavors, to the

continuous detriment of my family. By the time that I

was dismissed from MediSys, I had accrued some 40

weeks of unused vacation time, and ignored lucrative

-3-


4/5

and certainly more prestigious opportunities at other

organizations.

I am immensely proud of what was achieved over

the years, including the many facilities and

structures we built, -- over one million square feet

of finished space. We raised employment from the 900

staff members I inherited in 1970, to the over ten

thousand we employed when I was terminated. I am most

proud of those employees who advanced and prospered,

many from diverse backgrounds, and of the cadre of

high quality professionals we were able to attract. I

am also profoundly proud of my contributions to health

care policy making.

My beleaguered family has been a source of

unstinting support; they have already suffered

enormously on top of the sacrifices they made over the

years. I am also fortunate to have the support of true

friends, and many colleagues in the healthcare

industry --including former competitors and

adversaries, regulators, and others who worked in a

similar capacity. I never stopped to think about

whether others ultimately appreciated my persistent

-4-


5/5

table pounding. I was overwhelmed by the letters

written on my behalf. I hope you will consider them

the truer mark of the man that I am. I hope that you

will take into consideration the very public

commitment I have made and carried out for four

decades to people who cannot advocate for

themselves,-- and to the health care industry, which

continues to cleave into a two class system, - - much

to my chagrin at a time when my voice can no longer be

heard. I also hope you will consider my extensive

history of assisting others at all levels, - - for

encouraging and enabling others to develop

professionally and out- perform expectations.

For these reasons, I humbly ask for an

opportunity to be returned to my family, and a chance

to continue to make contributions to the public good

from a community service platform.

-5-

Documents

David Rosen Allocution