Kovner-Behrman Health Forum
Please join us for the 26th Annual Kovner-Behrman Health Forum where we will discuss how best to address the needs of New York residents with serious mental illness who are homeless. Established in 1996 by Anthony R. Kovner, NYU Wagner Professor Emeritus of Public and Health Management, the Forum offers actionable insights to practitioners and researchers as we learn from one another to improve health outcomes.
This year we will feature leading health experts Commissioner Ann Marie T. Sullivan, M.D. of New York State Office of Mental Health, Wagner alumna Eleanor Larrier executive director and CEO of Bronx Community Health Network, Inc. (BCHN) and Dr. Yinan Lan the Homeless Health Medical Director for NYC Health + Hospitals.
Reception to follow.
About our Speakers...
Ann Marie T. Sullivan, M.D.
Commissioner, New York State Office of Mental Health
Dr. Ann Marie Sullivan is currently the Commissioner of the New York State Office of Mental Health. As Commissioner, she is responsible for a multi-faceted mental health system that serves more than 800,000 individuals each year. The Office of Mental Health (OMH) operates psychiatric centers across the State, and oversees more than 4,500 community based programs. As Commissioner, she has guided the transformation of the state hospital system in its emphasis on recovery and expansion of community based treatment, reinvesting over 100 million dollars in community services; implemented the incorporation of critical recovery services for the seriously mentally ill in the Medicaid benefit plan and expanded services for the mentally ill in the criminal justice system and in community reentry. Working closely with all mental health providers and health plans, she has been guiding the integration of physical, mental health and substance use in care and treatment, the integration of early prevention, wellness and the social determinants of health in service delivery, and the statewide implementation of critical programs such as Zero Suicide, First Episode Psychosis Teams, crisis intervention services and school- based mental health clinics.
Previously, she was the Senior Vice President for the Queens Health Network of the New York City Health and Hospitals, responsible for Elmhurst and Queens Hospital Centers, two public hospitals which serve a community of over 2 million New York City residents. She has also served as Associate Director of Psychiatry and Medical Director of Ambulatory Care at the Gouverneur Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Manhattan, NYC. Dr. Sullivan grew up in Queens, New York City. She graduated from NYU and its School of Medicine and completed her Psychiatric Residency at New York University/Bellevue Hospital in 1978. Dr. Sullivan is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and has served as the Speaker of the American Psychiatric Association’s Assembly. She is a Clinical Professor at the Mt Sinai School of Medicine, a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, and a member of the American College of Psychiatrists. Dr. Sullivan is an active advocate for her patients and her profession, and has published and lectured on best practices in community psychiatry.
Dr. Yinan Lan
Homeless Health Medical Director, NYC Health + Hospitals
Dr. Yinan Lan is a primary care physician who founded the Bellevue Safety Net clinic, an integrated and comprehensive medical clinic for homeless New Yorkers who are dealing with multiple illnesses. She currently functions as the Medical Director of Homeless Health at the NYC Health and Hospitals, where the homeless clinics are being expanded into different NYC H+H hospitals. In addition to the hospital clinics, Dr. Lan oversees the medical services of the newly launched H+H street medicine teams (SHOW mobile units), which engage and deliver medical services to unsheltered New Yorkers on the city streets. She continues to see primary care patients with a focus on the vulnerable populations at NYC H+H/Bellevue. Dr. Lan is interested in building a homeless health continuum that simplifies the delivery of homeless resources.
Eleanor Larrier (MPA 1978)
Former Executive Director and CEO, Bronx Community Health Network, Inc.
After 22 years as executive director and CEO of Bronx Community Health Network, Inc. (BCHN), Eleanor Larrier retired in the Fall of 2022. With her participatory team building collaborative, and strategic leadership, Ms. Larrier led BCHN, a Federally Health Qualified Center (FQHC) “without walls”, from five to 21 contracted FQHC community and school-based health centers to the precipice of ownership and operation of its first NYS Article 28 licensed health center. Along the way, Ms. Larrier collaborated with BCHN’s healthcare partners to implement transformative initiatives that include integrated, co-located primary and mental health care services and pharmacological consultations in the after math of 9/11, and later, screening for depression in the elderly population, a catalyst for subsequent mental health screening for adolescents and adults. BCHN also reprised the role of community health workers, demonstrating to contractors their critical contributions in the struggle to achieve the Quadruple Aim and Value Based Performance. CHWs have been successfully integrated into the patient-centered medical home teams at FQHCs in an academic medical center setting. They are also respected community health advocates with the expertise and socio-cultural credentials to effectively respond to social determinants of health needs, navigate complex systems and connect patients and community residents with much needed resources. Ms. Larrier was an active member of NYS DSRIP’s Bronx Partners for Healthy Communities, advocating successfully for greater inclusion and funding for community-based organizations and CHWs.
A graduate of Hunter College CUNY, Ms. Larrier began her career as a junior high school teacher with the NYC Board of Education. After graduating from New York University‘s Wagner School of Public Service (Health Planning, Policy and Administration), she worked as a Planning and Research Specialist at the Community Service Society of NY. Before joining BCHN, Eleanor worked NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation (H+H) as Associate Executive Director for Program Planning and Development at Elmhurst Hospital Center. She was recruited to Harlem Hospital Center to establish and lead its Program Planning and Development Department. She directed the initial planning for the construction of the Ron Brown Ambulatory Care Center, and later, its opening and operations She served consecutively, as AED for Clinical and Ancillary Services, and Ambulatory Care Services.
An educator at heart, with a passion for involving youth in extracurricular activities, Ms. Larrier founded Cultural Expressions of Dance Music and Art, a weekend and summer program that taught youth respect and appreciation for the multicultural, multi-ethnic residents in their NE Bronx neighborhoods, and afforded them opportunities to develop and showcase their performance skills and talents. Eleanor is proud and thankful to have worked with many amazing, talented, dedicated and supportive professionals throughout her career.