Attending Physician
NYC Health + Hospitals/McKinney

A Healer in the Purest Sense

Dr. Inna Sosina is a beloved doctor in a facility where patients need a lot of emotional support and care providers must have reserves of patience and compassion. Since 2004, she’s been an attending physician at NYC Health + Hospitals/McKinney, a nursing facility in Brooklyn that provides long-term, sub-acute rehabilitation and adult day care. The work is some of the most demanding in health care but after 15 years Dr. Sosina says she can’t imagine doing anything else.

“I chose NYC Health + Hospitals because I wanted to help people who are uninsured and unable to pay,” says Dr. Sosina. “It’s challenging because we have many patients who are very sick and have complicated social issues. But I’m proud that I stuck to my commitment to help them get their health back. For me it’s the highest reward to see my patients feeling better.”

Born in Ukraine, Dr. Sosina grew up in the last years of the Soviet era and got her first exposure to medicine from her grandmother. “She was a healer. I used to watch her gather herbs to make potions that helped people with illnesses. In the eyes of a child it was a miracle to see how medicine helped people.” Her aunt was a nurse in a local hospital and Dr. Sosina would spend her weekends there, reading to patients and talking with them about their lives. The experience sparked her interest in a medical career and taught her that a good doctor has to be a good listener.

Dr. Sosina underwent six years of medical training in Moscow before immigrating to Brooklyn with her family. She completed an internal medicine residency at Lutheran Hospital, an experience that led her to geriatric care and ultimately McKinney, where she’s now vice president of the medical and dental staff and a dedicated preceptor for doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants in training. But she’s admired most for being a loving caregiver who develops special connections with her patients and their families—a healer in the purest sense.

Meet all the Doctors’ Day Honorees ➤