By
- Paul Liotta | pliotta@siadvance.com
N.Y. — Dr. John Evanko has worked across healthcare for more than 30 years. Leaders at Richmond University Medical Center hope he can lead the hospital into its chapter
In an interview last wee, Evanko said that after taking over the hospital’s presidency in May he believes it’s on track to join a larger healthcare provider in the next few years
The trained OB-GYN said the nature of modern healthcare had made it increasingly difficult to remain as an independent hospital, a point that raised questions of his own when he joined the West Brighton institution last year
“I think even when I interviewed for my former role, I had asked that a lot. Like, how are you guys staying afloat as an independent community hospital?” Evanko said. “It’s very hard to negotiate competitive rates with insurance or payer side.”
The new head of the hospital has experience on that side of the healthcare industry. He worked in various roles at MCIC Vermont, a medical malpractice insurance provider for some of the nation’s top teaching hospitals, from 2017 until he joined a California hospital as its Chief Medical Officer in 2024
Before joining MCIC, Evanko pent most of his early career at New York‑Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center in the OB-GYN department. Controversy marred his time there, largely due to his supervision of Dr. Robert Hadden
A federal jury convicted Hadden, another OB-GYN at the Manhattan health system, in January 2023 in relation to his sexual abuse of patients during his practice from 1987 to 2012. In July that year, a judge in the Southern District of New York sentenced Hadden to 20 years in prison
“Under the guise of medical treatment, Robert Hadden sexually abused and assaulted numerous patients for approximately 25 years, exploiting them in vulnerable moments for his own sexual gratification,” former Assistant U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said following the sentencing
Evanko largely declined to comment on what transpired during his time as Hadden’s supervisor, referencing a Columbia University-commissioned report that he participated in
The report found that from 2006 to 2012 as the lead for Columbia’s general OB-GYN division chief, Evanko failed to act against Hadden after learning Hadden made inappropriate comments about a patient’s body in 2008
After an initial 2012 arrest, Evanko also signed a letter allowing Hadden to return to work with certain stipulations, including having a chaperone present during examinations, according to a ProPublica report. That report found Hadden went on to assault eight more women after his 5-week return following his 2012 arrest
Overall, Evanko said in the interview that he hoped to take the failures with Hadden and his many other career experiences to help guide Richmond University Medical Center into a new chapter
“I think everything has to be really considered carefully before making judgments or making decisions,” he said. I think it’s that you know going through that experience and seeing what was done, what wasn’t done, and even this [Columbia] report I think has made me just a more skillful you know executive at this time.”
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