RIDGEWOOD, N.Y.—Nephrologist and Queens, N.Y., resident J. Ganesh Bhat, MD, has been appointed to the New York State Public Health Council by Gov. David A. Paterson.
The New York State Senate voted on June 3 to confirm the appointment. He will serve the Council until 2016.
Bhat has practiced nephrology for more than 25 years and is a founding member of Mattoo & Bhat Medical Associates, P.C., one of the largest non-university based nephrology practice in New York City. He is also a co-founder of Atlantic Dialysis Management Services and the Chancellor of Xavier University School of Medicine in Oranjestat, Aruba, in the Dutch Caribbean.
The New York State Public Health Council was created in 1913, and its powers and duties are stated in Section 225 of the NYS Public Health Law. Fifteen members are appointed by the governor to a six-year term. The Public Health Council’s mission is to consider any matter relating to the preservation and improvement of public health including responsibility for reviewing and approving the establishment, and transfers of ownership, of health care facilities and home care agencies.
The council is also responsible for the promulgation of regulations under the New York State Sanitary Code encompassing the areas of communicable diseases, drinking water supplies, qualifications of health personnel, maternal and child health, food service establishments, environmental diseases, and AIDS.
In announcing the appointment Governor Paterson said that he was confident that Bhat will “serve the people of our State with dedication and distinction.”
“I am indeed honored to be selected for such an appointment to the council,” said Bhat.
