Dr. Kamini Doobay
Amun R. Handa, Sr.
Caribbean Life, J BQ une 21-27, 2019 45
HEALTHCARE AWARDS
Sherly Demosthenes-Atkinson
Sherly Demosthenes-Atkinson
says she is “a Haitian American
woman with 20 years of healthcare
experience as a change agent with
a contemporary mindset.”
In 2017, Ms. Demosthenes-Atkinson
says she was appointed chief executive
officer of CABS Home Attendants
Service, Inc.
She said she “exemplifies CABS’
mission of social equity for all, including
quality healthcare services.”
Prior to her appointment as chief
executive officer, Demosthenes-Atkinson
says she was executive director
from 2013 to 2017.
She also served as Associate Director
of Case Management from 2006 to
2013, which gave her “a great opportunity”
to streamline and position the
CABS organization.
As a result, Demosthenes-Atkinson
says she played “a pivotal role in establishing
a transformational culture
that has led to high performance in
the homecare quality service delivery
for approximately 1,200 clients under
multiple contracts.”
Most notably, and for the first time,
under her leadership, she says CABS
was “exposed to diverse market segmentations
with various partnerships,”
such as the NYC Health + Hospital
Corporation (HHC) and SUNY
Downstate Medical Center through
the Delivery System Reform Incentive
Payment (DSRIP) Program.
Driven by her vision of continually
seeking other program opportunities
and inspired by her previous ventures,
such as DSRIP, Ms. Demosthenes-Atkinson
says CABS has acquired contracts
with external community partners
“to continue to build and lead
the CABS organization to new heights
for success throughout New York’s
Caribbean community in 2019 and
beyond.”
Sherly lives on Long Island with
her husband and their two children,
and holds a Master’s degree in Health
Administration from Hofstra University.
Dr. Kamini Doobay, who grew up
in Jamaica, Queens and whose
parents hail from Guyana, is an
emergency medicine resident at NYU
/ Bellevue.
Dr. Doobay, the founder and organizer
of NYC Coalition to Dismantle
Racism in the Health System, says
she became very involved in service,
advocacy and social justice initiatives
in her community from a very young
age.
While attending Mount Sinai Medical
School, she co-founded the school’s
chapter of Doctors for America (DFA)
and spearheaded its partnership with
East Harlem community-based organizations
“to raise awareness of and
evaluate the roll-out of the Affordable
Care Act in East Harlem.” She is now
on the state board for DFA.
With a strong passion for serving
those whose voices are so often ignored
or targeted, Dr. Doobay says she seeks
out and often creates opportunities to
work with people who are homeless,
undocumented, incarcerated, victims
of torture and refugees.
Dr. Doobay who, for the past 10
years has worked in clinical research
and care, says she spends 60 clinical
hours per week in the Emergency
Department and 15 hours per week in
activism.
She says the best piece of career
advice she has ever received is: “Stay
humble, speak up, and advocate for
righteousness.”
When asked if she had one superpower,
what would it be and why, she
responded: “Wow, great question. I
have thought about this in the past,
and I am between understanding and
speaking every language or being able
to ask questions to and converse with
great leaders who are now deceased.”
Danica Dorlette
Danica Dorlette, a Brooklyn-born
registered professional nurse,
of Haitian and Cuban heritage,
at New York Presbyterian Hospital at
Weill Cornell Medical Center, says she
thrives in “collaborative environments
where the primary goal is to provide
quality care – whether to individuals
or whole populations of people.”
She currently works on an inpatient
Hematopoetic Stem Cell Transplant
Unit, where she provides quality care
and creative solutions for oncology
patients.
Ms. Dorlette says she has collaborated
with the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, the NYC Department
of Health and Mental Hygiene, and
grass-root organizations to conduct
research, create health advocacy campaigns
and push healthcare reform.
Her recent efforts have been focused
on emergency preparedness, health
outcomes within disaster-exposed
populations and health effects of substandard
housing on NYC residents.
Ms. Dorlette, who has been working
in the health field for 10 years,
hopes to grow and further cultivate
her leadership abilities in “creating
transformative and creative interventions
to meet health challenges.”
On average, she says she works
between 40 and 50 hours a week on
her unit, with 10 additional hours
devoted to outside initiatives.
“Courage is what it takes to stand
up and speak; courage is also what it
takes to sit down and listen,” says Ms.
Dorlette about the best piece of career
advice she has ever received.
She adds that while “all power
belongs to God,” if she had one superpower,
it would be “the ability to heal,
restore, and / or regenerate others.”
Amun R. Handa, Sr., a senior
community relations marketing
outreach coordinator for the
Long Island Region of Wellcare Health
Plans, says he is of Trinidadian and
African American heritage.
Wellcare Health Plans is a Fortune
500 company that focuses primarily
on providing government-sponsored
Managed-Care Health Insurance
services to families, children, seniors
and individuals with complex medical
needs primarily through Medicaid,
Medicare Advantage and Medicare
Prescription Drug plans, as well as
individuals in the health insurance
marketplace.
Mr. Handa says he has been able
to support many Long Island public
school districts, community-based
and faith-based organizations, law
enforcements and community partnerships
programs by virtue of his
“rewarding and challenging position.”
He is the immediate past president
of the 100 Black Men of America-Long
Island Chapter, and served as a board
member and the Health and Wellness
/ Community Outreach chairman for
the black fraternal civic organization.
His professional association also
includes member of Kappa Alpha
Psi Fraternity, Inc., NAACP; Urban
League of Long Island Young Professionals
and the National Black Public
Relations Society, Cops and Kids
Long Island and Nassau County Boys
Scouts of America-Theodore Roosevelt
Council.
Handa, who puts in 60 hours per
week, has been working in the health
care industry for 10 years.
He says the best piece of career
advice he has ever received is “first
impression is last.”
If he had one superpower, Handa
says it would be to fly, stating that he
“could assist my teams in various locations
more effectively.”