Oct 25, 2021
NYC Health + Hospitals today announced that Wendy Wilcox, MD, MPH, MBA, FACOG, has been appointed as the system’s Chief Women’s Health Service (WHS) Officer. In this role, Dr. Wilcox will work with the WHS clinical council to plan, organize, and develop policies related to obstetrics, gynecology, well woman care, maternal mortality, maternal morbidity, documentation and revenue capture and growth. In addition, Dr. Wilcox will work closely with the system’s primary care services provided at both the system’s acute care hospitals and the Gotham Health community care sites on matters related to family planning, abortion care, female genital mutilation, human trafficking, sexual assault, as well as the subspecialty services of urogynecology, gynecologic oncology, and reproductive endocrinology. The Chief Women’s Health Service Officer is a new role for the health system that organizes all women’s health offerings under one office. Dr. Wilcox’s clinical practice is at NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem.
“There isn’t anyone more deserving of this new role than Dr. Wilcox, who has proven her commitment and passion to women’s health throughout her accomplished career,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Machelle Allen, MD. “Under Dr. Wilcox’s stewardship, our public health system has strengthened its maternal health services, ensuring we’re fighting against the terrible disparities experienced nationally associated with maternal mortality within our Black and Brown communities.”
“I’m excited to continue to grow my role within our city’s public health system, and collaborate further with our diverse and expert women’s health teams,” said Dr. Wilcox. “Our passionate teams not only help to provide expert, high-quality, and affordable women’s health services, but we also fight to make sure each and every patient has access to the health care specific to their lives – whether it’s family planning options, mental health, preventative care, and more.”
Dr. Wilcox previously served as Departmental Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, where she established a performance improvement program to improve quality and patient safety for labor induction, management of obstetric hemorrhage, severe hypertension in pregnancy and improved OBGYN emergency response code. Most recently, Dr. Wilcox was responsible for the design and implementation of the NYC-funded NYC Health + Hospitals maternal mortality and morbidity reduction initiative, which established the Maternal Medical Home, which provides enhanced wrap around services for pregnant persons at risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Dr. Wilcox received her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Ethics from Brown University, her medical degree from SUNY Upstate Medical Center at Syracuse, a Masters degree in Public Health, Healthcare Management and Policy from Columbia University School of Public Health and a Masters in Business Administration from Wagner College. In 2018, Dr. Wilcox served as co-chair of the New York State Task Force on Maternal Mortality and Disparate Racial Outcomes.
“I am honored and thrilled to congratulate Dr. Wendy Wilcox on her appointment as NYC Health + Hospitals’ first Chief Women’s Health Service Officer,” said Council Member Carlina Rivera, Chair of the Committee on Hospitals. “Dr. Wilcox is a phenomenal doctor and champion for women’s and maternal health. This new position will finally create a dedicated system-wide office for coordinating obstetrics, gynecology, well woman care, maternal mortality and morbidity, and with Dr. Wilcox at the helm, will prove to be a critical step toward addressing prior gaps in care coordination. I commend NYC Health + Hospitals for this effort toward health equity, and look forward to continuing to work with Dr. Wilcox in her new official role.”
“Congratulations to Dr. Wendy Wilcox on her appointment as NYC Health + Hospitals’ first ever Chief Women’s Health Service Officer. With years of experience in women’s health and maternity services, Dr. Wilcox is a proven leader and tremendous choice to serve in this new position. I look forward to working with Dr. Wilcox to build on the good work NYC Health + Hospitals does to improve women’s health offerings throughout the city of New York,” said Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi.