Northwell Health has appointed Eric Cruzen, MD, MBA, to senior vice president and executive director of the Emergency Medicine service line.
As head of the service line, Dr Eric Cruzen will be responsible for operations at the 17 emergency departments within Northwell Health, the system’s extensive ambulance fleet and have medical oversight over Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care’s 51 locations.
Dr Eric Cruzen has held several leadership positions since joining the health system in 2003 as associate director of the South Shore University Hospital Emergency Department. As founding chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Lenox Health Greenwich Village in 2014, he led the development of innovative models of emergency care and oversaw quality and the delivery of critical services.
In 2021, Dr. Cruzen moved into a new role as vice president in charge of the newly-formed Integrated Solutions division of Northwell. In this role, he leads a multi-disciplinary team of software architects, data scientists and medical informaticists to create innovative solutions to complex problems in the space where technology and medicine interest. He is the primary inventor of the patented software that used real-time data during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic to assist with the urgent transfer of patients between system hospitals to help with the effective management of patient capacity.
“We are delighted that Dr. Cruzen will be assuming this leadership position within the Emergency Medicine service line,” said Jill Kalman, MD, Northwell’s senior vice president, chief medical officer and deputy physician-in-chief. “Since joining the health system almost 20 years ago, Dr. Cruzen has held several important leadership positions at various locations and has been a leader in developing important new models of emergency care. Dr. Cruzen is a leader in pioneering real time actionable data utilized by our front-line providers and our whole system that allows the highest quality and efficient care of our patients. We are confident that our Emergency Medicine service line will continue to expand under his leadership.”
Dr. Cruzen is a graduate of the integrated six-year BA/MD program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. After completing a residency in Emergency Medicine in Orlando, Florida, he worked all over the United States as a physician in the U.S. Army Reserve before joining Northwell. A graduate of the Zarb MBA program at Hofstra University, Dr. Cruzen also serves as an associate professor of Emergency Medicine at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.
In recognition of his many accomplishments, Dr. Cruzen is the recipient of many honors and prizes. In 2017, former Mayor Bill DiBlasio and the New York City Council presented a proclamation honoring Dr. Cruzen for the work he performed during the Chelsea bombing attack. In 2019, he was named Physician of the Year at Lenox Health Greenwich Village; in 2019, he was presented with the President’s Award, Northwell Health’s highest honor.
“It’s a great honor for me to assume this new role within the emergency medicine service line,” said Dr. Cruzen. “What we were able to achieve during the COVID pandemic serves to illustrate the strength and courage of our emergency medicine staff. I look forward to continuing my work with all of these dedicated professionals so that together we can advance the quality of care we provide to all the patients we serve.”