Alina Moran’s relationship with her workplace runs deep. The newly-appointed CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan entered the world at the East Harlem facility, formerly known as Metropolitan Hospital Center, 45 years ago.
“I’m always thinking about the patient,” Moran told NBC Latino. “I was a patient at this hospital so I’m really proud to be here.”
As the daughter of Puerto Rican parents, she has made it her duty to create a safe haven for the 70 percent of hospital patients who hail from Latin America. “My parents had a hard time when they came from Puerto Rico to New York with little income,” said Moran, whose parents initially raised her in the community she now looks after before relocating to the South Bronx. “I want new patients who come here, new immigrants from other countries, to know this hospital is here to serve them.”
NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan opens doors to patients regardless of income, medical insurance or legal status, making it possible for the Brown University and Baruch College alumna to see her goal through to the end with the assistance of her staff of 2,700.
After spending 17 years with the public hospital, Moran still desires to do the work up close as a CEO, making it a priority to visit patients one-on-one to make sure they’re satisfied with their service. “We’re a family here at the hospital.”