Montefi ore CEO and president,
Dr. Sayfer, announces retirement
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
A highly respected hospital
executive, responsible for
the transformative change in
the way medical care is delivered,
announced his plans to
retire.
Montefi ore president and
CEO Dr. Steven Safyer, who
has led the hospital system
through a tremendous expansion
over the past decade, announced
his planned departure
from the sprawling health
care network.
While the board of trustees
selects his replacement he
stated he will continue in his
CEO role until a successor is
found.
In a letter to Montefi ore colleagues,
Safyer stated that it
has been an honor to dedicate
his life’s work to an organization
that has given so much to
so many.
“My entire professional life
has been at Montefi ore and
Einstein,” stated Safyer, who
has been with Montefi ore for
four decades.
“Much has changed over
the years, but there has been
one constant throughout…I
have worked with the very best
physicians, scientists, nurses,
social workers, managers, and
care, support and facilities
staff at every level of this organization,”
said Safyer.
After receiving medical
school training at Albert Einstein
College of Medicine,
which was absorbed by Montefi
ore under his tenure, Safyer
progressively worked his way
up through progressive leadership
positions, according to the
letter, to become president and
CEO in 2008. He replaced Spencer
‘Spike’ Foreman.
“Since I became CEO,
healthcare has undergone
enormous changes,” said Safyer.
“We have met these challenges
by embracing new opportunities
and expanding
into four counties.”
This has tripled the size
of Montefi ore over the past 11
years, expanding not only in
the Bronx and but also into
Westchester, Rockland and Orange
counties.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 14 ULY 19-25, 2019 BTR
“What he has done with
Montefi ore is absolutely incredible,”
said Kenneth Raske,
president of the Greater New
York Hospital Association.
Raske said that Safyer was
able to balance clinical excellence
with health outreach.
Safyer led Montefi ore to
achieve nationally clinical excellence
in several medical areas,
including transplants, he
said.
Additionally, Montefi ore
under his leadership has limited
hospital stays by providing
comprehensive follow-up
care, said Raske.
“I would stay, nationally,
Montefi ore is a star institution
both clinically and in population
health,” said Raske. “(Safyer)
has recruited outstanding
staff and built a strong
team. As a manager, one of the
things you take great pride in
your legacy, and his legacy is
superb.”
Raske believes that the
doctor’s successor will have
a strong platform on which to
work.
Dr. Steven Safyer, president and CEO of Montefi ore, has announced his
intention to retire and is being hailed by colleagues as a leader who
brought about “transformative” change. Photo courtesy of Montefi ore
Dr. Gordon Tomaselli, chief
academic offi cer of Montefi ore
Medicine, said that he’s known
Safyer since they were in medical
school together (both graduated
in 1982) and that the outgoing
CEO is someone who’s
been a part of the fabric of Einstein
and Montefi ore for decades,
working his way up.
“He fostered the formal integration
of the Albert Einstein
College of Medicine and
Montefi ore,” said Tomaselli. “
In the end, I think it has been
mutually benefi cial to both organizations.”
Tomaselli said that social
justice drives Safyer, and that
he is focused on populationbased
care and disease prevention,
as well as the broadest
reach of care to as many people
as possible with peerless precision
and fi nancial sustainability.
Montefi ore, under Safyer’s
leadership, grew into a $7 billion
organization, said Tomaselli,
adding “For the college
and the health system, he has
been a transformative leader.”