Barbara Hiney, RN, PHPN
Executive Vice President of Metropolitan Jewish Hospice and Metropolitan Jewish 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 Metropolitan Jewish Hospice and Metropolitan Jewish Palliative Care (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 Jacob Perlow 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 Jacob Perlow 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. Portenoy, an internationally recognized expert in palliative care and pain management, is founder and Chairman of the Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care (DPMPC) of Beth Israel Medical Center and Professor of Neurology and Anesthesiology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. As Chief Medical Officer, he oversees the work of the full-time and part-time physician staff of Continuum Hospice Care, helps develop programs that support quality improvement and professional education, and is conducting innovative research that will help transform hospice across the country.
Dr. Portenoy is Chairman of the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; Director of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; past President of the American Pain Society and former Secretary of the International Association for the Study of Pain; and Trustee of both the American Pain Foundation and the National Hospice Foundation. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management and serves on the editorial boards of numerous other medical journals. He has edited or written 17 books and more than 400 research papers and chapters in the fields of pain and palliative care.
Dr. Bernard Lee
Associate Chief Medical Officer
As Associate Chief Medical Officer of Metropolitan Jewish Hospice (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 Metropolitan Jewish Hospice (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.
