VESTAL — Mario Ortiz, dean and professor at Binghamton University’s Decker School of Nursing, has been appointed to the New York State Public Health and Health Planning Council (PHHPC). His term on the PHHPC will run through January 2023, Binghamton University said in a July 8 news release. PHHPC is the advisory and decision-making council […]
VESTAL — Mario Ortiz, dean and professor at Binghamton University’s Decker School of Nursing, has been appointed to the New York State Public Health and Health Planning Council (PHHPC).
His term on the PHHPC will run through January 2023, Binghamton University said in a July 8 news release.
PHHPC is the advisory and decision-making council for New York’s public health and health-care delivery system. Ortiz will have his first meeting with the PHHPC on July 18.
`The PHHPC consists of New York State Commissioner of Health Howard Zucker and 25 members, each nominated by the governor and confirmed by the New York State Senate.
“I am honored to be appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and to have the opportunity to contribute to improving health care for all residents of New York state,” Ortiz said in the school’s news release. “I look forward to working with my fellow council members to effect positive change in the access to and delivery of health-care across the state.”
The PHHPC is charged with adopting and amending New York state’s sanitary code and health-care facility, home-care agency, and hospice-operating regulations. The council also makes decisions concerning the establishment and transfer of ownership of health-care facilities, home-care agencies, and hospice programs.
Additionally, the PHHPC makes recommendations to the commissioner of health regarding major construction projects, service changes, and equipment acquisitions in health-care facilities and home-care agencies. The body also advises the commissioner on issues related to the preservation and improvement of public health.
Ortiz is a board-certified, community health nurse specialist and family nurse practitioner who joined Binghamton University in July 2016. He has a “strong” record of success in developing health-care programs and “nurse-led, patient-centered” medical homes and primary-care clinics, the university said. In addition, he has established partnerships with health-care providers and policymakers.
Binghamton University calls Ortiz a “respected scholar” in national and international arenas, where he focuses on nursing research and practice. He is the contributing editor of the “Health Policy” and “Leadership” columns in Nursing Science Quarterly.