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Bronx, NY City
Dr Ketki Shah, chairman of department of Psychiatry at BronxCare Health System was honored by the United Hospital Fund. The 2024 honorees were celebrated at the Tribute to Excellence in Health Care on May 6 at Cipriani 42nd Street. The event paid tribute to 67 quality improvement champions from across the New York metropolitan area in recognition of their personal leadership to improve quality of care, patient safety, and patient experience at their institutions.
UHF’s Excellence in Health Care Award honors extraordinary personal leadership to improve quality of care, patient safety, and patient experience. Honorees are selected for their vision and accomplishments by participating hospital systems, long-term care facilities, home care organizations, independent practice associations, and federally qualified health centers from across the greater New York metropolitan region.
Dr Shah is a renowned psychiatrist with added specialization in the fields of Addiction Psychiatry and Psychopharmacology. With her expertise, she became the chairwoman of the department of Psychiatry at BronxCare Health System, where she oversees the work of about 100 doctors. The program cares for more than 10,000 patients.
Dr. Ketki Shah’s path to becoming Chairman, Psychiatry is as extensive as it is impressive. Following a three-year Psychiatry Residency at BronxCare, Dr. Shah joined the BronxCare team as Attending Psychiatrist in 1988. In her initial position as Clinical Director, Day Treatment Program, Dr. Shah was instrumental in establishing it as a model program in New York State. “We were successful in preventing re-hospitalizations for many of our patients,” stated Dr. Shah. Her success led to a position as Clinical Director, Outpatient Psychiatry. Dr. Shah served in this capacity for six years prior to becoming Vice-Chairman, Psychiatry, and three years later, the Chairman of this Department.
It is in her native India that Dr. Shah has also devoted her efforts to helping the economically challenged. She has worked tirelessly to improve health care in some of the poorest areas of India, including reducing infant and maternal mortality, as well as working with the Share and Care Foundation, an organization that is directing its efforts towards transforming the lives of children, women, and families living in remote parts of India. She has also helped establish Centers for Adolescent Mental Health, a unique program that teaches livelihood skills to women, while promoting gender equality, equity, and personal safety. Its graduates are then connected to businesses that require their skills. Her family also funds and manages a school in rural India.
`Her work in both professional and humanitarian sectors has earned her various awards including Ellis Island Medal of Honor. She was also invited to speak at United Nations about women’s empowerment. She participated in The Global Women’s Peace Initiative, United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, in 2002 along with other leading women of the world.
