Community Health Services

Associate Administrator / Joan Sclafani

The Department of Community Health Services and Ambulatory Care was established in 1971, and is now responsible for the Ambulatory Care Center (ACC) and six Brookdale Family Care Centers (BFCCs), primary care satellite centers located in the hospital's service area.

Each Brookdale Family Care Center is divided into Adult Medical, Pediatric and Obstetric/Gynecology sections. The sections are staffed by Attendings and Resident physicians who follow defined panels of patients. Residents are supervised by board-certified Attendings who have broad experience in primary care.The emphasis in the department is on the nurturing of the primary care centers to assure patients of non-fragmented, integrated services. In addition, a full range of specialty clinics in the ACC, under the supervision of a full-time and voluntary teaching staff, offers a rich learning experience in ambulatory patient care to house staff assigned to these units. Attendings in the Community Health Services program have joint appointments in this and other clinical departments.

Through this wide diversity of programs and patients (from the nearby populations of Brownsville, East New York, Canarsie, East Flatbush and Crown Heights), house officers gain broad insight into the natural history of disease, as well as into the impact of psychosocial factors on illness.