[August 24, 2007]

SUNY Downstate to March in ‘Grand’ Style

 University Hospital CEO Debra Carey Named a Grand Marshal at 40^th Annual West Indian-American Day Parade

On Labor Day, thousands of revelers will dance along Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway in celebration of their West Indian heritage. This year, to commemorate the 40^th anniversary of the West Indian-American Day Carnival, SUNY Downstate Medical Center not only will be a proud sponsor but will also have the honor of seeing Debra Carey, chief executive officer of its University Hospital of Brooklyn, serve as a Grand Marshal for the parade.

“It is a great honor to be chosen as a Grand Marshal for this major event, and I look forward to greeting the community,” said Ms. Carey, adding, “SUNY Downstate is located in the heart of the West Indian community and we are dedicated to providing the people who live here with the best health care possible.”

University Hospital of Brooklyn (UHB) is the teaching hospital for SUNY Downstate Medical Center – the only academic medical center serving Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Queens. Located in East Flatbush, in the very center of Brooklyn and the Caribbean community, it provides primary and family care, as well as advanced services for the borough’s sickest patients. This includes 24/7 emergency interventional cardiology backed by cardiac surgery, and one of the best performing high volume cardiac cath labs in the state. Other specialty services include the only transplant program in the three boroughs and robotic surgery for prostate cancer.

Ms. Carey selection as a Grand Marshal reflects Downstate’s strong community involvement and its long-standing support for the event.

“Supporting the parade is one way we can say ‘thank you’ to our patients and the community – while having fun at the same time,” Ms. Carey says. She has marched in every parade since being appointed Chief Executive Officer of UHB in 2005.

Debra Carey came to Downstate after serving as associate executive director and chief operating officer at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C.  She has also served in leadership positions at the University of Maryland and at the Johns Hopkins Medical System. During her tenure at Downstate, University Hospital has experienced an increase in patient volume and significantly expanded patient care services.