• Press Release

Gift from Alfred and Gail Engelberg Will Help Train Next Generation of Family Physicians

  • New York, NY
  • (May 25, 2016)

Alfred B. Engelberg and his wife, Gail May Engelberg, have made a $4 million gift to the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The newly named Alfred and Gail Engelberg Department of Family Medicine and Community Health was celebrated with a ribbon cutting reception and plaque dedication on May 24.

"Alfred and Gail are long-time advocates of family medicine and their philanthropic commitment will significantly help to fund the expansion of Mount Sinai’s residency program and help the next generation of family medicine physicians,” said Neil Calman, MD, Professor and Chair of Family Medicine and Community Health, Mount Sinai Health System. “I am very grateful for their longstanding support." The Engelbergs have contributed $5 million since they became involved with Mount Sinai.

Located at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Alfred and Gail Engelberg Department of Family Medicine and Community Health is dedicated to education, research, and patient care targeted to the concerns of medically underserved communities;  it aims to provide high-quality, affordable health care for all, especially those in disadvantaged communities. A collaboration between the Icahn School of Medicine and the Institute for Family Health, its mission is to ensure outstanding primary care educational experiences for students, residents, and other trainees in both outpatient and inpatient settings, using a family practice model.

According to Dr. Calman, who serves as President and CEO of the Institute for Family Health, the donation will specifically support the family medicine residency program, a federal initiative to provide direct payments to federally qualified health centers for the training of primary care physicians. “Our program is particularly exciting because it combines outpatient training in health centers with inpatient training at The Mount Sinai Hospital,” said Dr. Calman, who has been serving underserved populations throughout New York since 1983. “We’re delighted to be able to offer this training experience to the next generation of family physicians.”

"We are deeply grateful for the Engelbergs’ immense generosity, which will help to enhance Mount Sinai’s reputation as one of the world's leaders in family medicine,” said Kenneth L. Davis, MD,  President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. “The development of primary care is an essential part of the emerging model of population health care, and this gift will have an enormous positive effect on our ability to address the shortage of primary care physicians and serve communities across the country. ”

“Mount Sinai is the only academic medical center in Manhattan to recognize that training family physicians that are capable of providing high quality and low cost care in urban neighborhoods is essential to the health and well-being of New York City,” said Alfred Engelberg.  “We are proud to support this effort.”


About the Mount Sinai Health System

Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with more than 43,000 employees working across eight hospitals, over 400 outpatient practices, nearly 300 labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time — discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.

Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 7,300 primary and specialty care physicians; 13 joint-venture outpatient surgery centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and more than 30 affiliated community health centers. We are consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals, receiving high "Honor Roll" status, and are highly ranked: No. 1 in Geriatrics and top 20 in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Neurology/Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology/Lung Surgery, Rehabilitation, and Urology. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 12 in Ophthalmology. U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Children’s Hospitals” ranks Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital among the country’s best in several pediatric specialties.

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