Bio
In her over two decades of service at Coney Island Hospital, Donna Leno Gordon has been a pioneer in the field of palliative care, the branch of medicine concerned with helping patients manage pain and discomfort and with easing the overwhelming emotional, psychological and spiritual distress of patients and families facing chronic or terminal illness. Under Gordon’s leadership, Coney Island Hospital has become a local and regional leader in palliative care, launching its own dedicated 19-bed unit, a relative rarity among hospitals.Combined, the palliative care programs at Coney Island Hospital have served more than 7,000 patients and their families and it receives 100 referrals each month. Gordon’s program is so successful that since 2006 she has helped implement palliative care programs at 11 other HHC hospitals. Her colleagues praise her compassion, her calm, and her unwavering commitment to making palliative care a formalized part of institutionalized medicine. “Palliative care begins with dedicated clinicians, but it’s often seen as the work of one or two caring staff members,” she says. “I wanted to design an operationally sustainable program that gives clinicians replicable models so that no matter where they are, they can ensure that patients at the end of their lives have a voice.” In addition to palliative care, Gordon is also an innovator in providing more humane, dignified care for the mentally ill. Her initiatives have reduced use of restraints and seclusion. “Donna has the reach, the scope and the heart of a champion,” says Ross Wilson, HHC’s Chief Medical Officer.
