Barbara Hiney, RN, PHPN
Executive Vice President of MJHS Hospice and MJHS Palliative Care
With an extensive background in hospice and palliative care and more than 15 years of senior level management experience, Barbara Hiney is responsible for overseeing operations and development of MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care.
Under Hiney’s leadership, MJHS has significantly expanded its hospice and palliative care services. For example, through the June 1, 2010 acquisition of MJHS Hospice from Beth Israel Medical Center—a member of the Continuum Health Partners hospital network—MJHS became the largest not-for-profit hospice and palliative care program in the state and the largest Jewish hospice and palliative care program in the region. MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care also assumed operation of the MJHS inpatient unit in conjunction with Beth Israel Medical Center’s Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care, in addition to the Mollie and Jack Zicklin Jewish Hospice Residence.
A key part of the planning process for the first dedicated hospice inpatient unit and hospice residence in Brooklyn, NY, Hiney also created the only community-based palliative care program and helped secure approval from the New York State Department of Health for MJHS to become a provider of the new pediatric palliative care waiver program.
Since Hiney joined MJHS in 2005, she and her staff also have spearheaded a number of outreach efforts, including developing culturally-sensitive services such as Halachic Pathway for Orthodox Jewish families and an end-of-life program for New York City’s growing Chinese population.
Hiney’s other achievements include bolstering Hospice and Palliative Care’s network of volunteers and bereavement counseling in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens. She also guided MJHS’s efforts to open a Nassau County office as well as submitted and secured funding for the creation of a new place of care for New Yorkers with terminal illnesses.
Prior to MJHS, Hiney spent six years as Chief Operations Officer and Vice President of Clinical Services for Hospice, Inc. where she developed a new strategic plan and implemented numerous organizational policies. Before that, Hiney was a Regional Director at Albany, NY-based Community Hospice, where she opened the only hospice program in Greene and Columbia County, including a 10-bed inpatient unit.
She holds a master’s degree in health administration, a Bachelor of Science degree from the New School for Social Research in New York and an associate’s degree in Applied Health Science Nursing from Adirondack Community Hospice. Hiney also is a licensed registered professional nurse and is board-certified in hospice and palliative care.
Russell K. Portenoy, MD,
Chief Medical Officer of MJHS Hospice
Chairman, Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care of Beth Israel Medical Center
Dr. Russell Portenoy is chairman of the Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care and the Gerald J. Friedman Chair in Pain Medicine and Palliative Care at Beth Israel Medical Center, New York. He is the Chief Medical Officer of MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care and Professor of Neurology and Anesthesiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Dr. Portenoy is past-president of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and past-president of the American Pain Society. He previously chaired the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Pain Foundation. He is a recipient of the National Leadership Award of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, has received both the Wilbert Fordyce Award for Lifetime Excellence in Clinical Investigation and the Distinguished Service Award from the American Pain Society, and was given the Founder’s Award by the American Academy of Pain Medicine.
Dr. Portenoy has been Editor‑in‑Chief of the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management for more than two decades and is editor for the palliative care section of The Oncologist. He serves on numerous other editorial boards, is co-editor of the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine, and has written, co-authored, or edited 19 other books and more than 500 papers and book chapters on topics in pain and symptom management, opioid pharmacotherapy, and palliative care.
Dr. Bernard Lee
Associate Chief Medical Officer
As Associate Chief Medical Officer of MJHS Hospice, Dr. Bernard Lee works with a large team of hospice and palliative care practitioners, including physicians, nurses and physician assistants to provide expert, end-of-life care, as well as pain and symptom management to patients throughout the Greater New York City area.
Dr. Lee also is a palliative care attending physician within Montefiore Medical Center’s palliative care inpatient unit and consult service, as well as a teaching attending at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in palliative care and family medicine. Prior to joining MJHS Hospice, he served as Senior Medical Director for Compassionate Care Hospice and as Bronx Hospice Medical Director for Continuum Hospice Care. He also worked as a family medicine attending physician at Montefiore.
Dr. Lee graduated from the United States Military Academy West Point with a bachelor of science in national security and public affairs; completed a post-baccalaureate pre-medical program at New York University; and earned a medical degree from Stony Brook School of Medicine. He is board-certified in hospice and palliative medicine, as well as family practice. He also is New York State-certified in medical acupuncture and HIV and cancer pain massage.
Rabbi Charles Rudansky
Director of Pastoral Care
Since 2005, Rabbi Charles Rudansky has been director of pastoral care at MJHS Hospice, where he oversees three other chaplains and coordinates with medical staff to meet the spiritual needs of patients. Before coming to MJHS Hospice, he worked for Cabrini Medical Center, Hospice; Continuum Hospice Care of Beth Israel; and Hospice Care Network.
Prior to specializing in hospice, Rudansky served as a hospital chaplain and as a chaplain for the U.S. Army, where he held the rank of captain. Certified as a medical chaplain from the New York Board of Rabbis, he also is certified in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) from the Health Care Chaplaincy. He received his ordination from Yeshiva University in 1989 and lives in Westchester County, where he is rabbi of Orienta Synagogue.
