Dr. Scott Chudnoff spent time reflecting on his time as Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) at MMC.

As someone who spent his career focused on direct patient care, Dr. Scott Chudnoff’s transition to running OB/GYN departments came from advice given by friends: make change or be okay with how things are. Clearly okay was not good enough. Dr. Chudnoff realized how impactful organizational decisions were in determining patient care and wellbeing. 

With decades of experience in the field, Dr. Chudnoff assumed the role as chair three years ago, and since has helped develop and expand the services provided at Maimonides Health. His goal for OB/GYN – treating women’s health in a comprehensive and individualized manner – may not seem as unique as it is. Dr. Chudnoff is taking on this challenge every day to make health care better for women across Brooklyn. 

Maimonides Health is home to one of the most comprehensive approaches to women’s health and obstetrics and gynecological services for all women, from adolescence to menopausal years. The OB/GYN center at Maimonides specializes in maternal-fetal medicine, gynecological imaging and diagnostic services, and other services such as family planning and post-natal care. 

Often, women are treated by their symptoms, which can often be masked, causing physicians to miss underlying issues, especially for those patients visiting specialists in succession, rather than the team approach. Under the leadership of Dr. Chudnoff, that has changed. 

Dr. Chudnoff said, “we can walk a patient to the specialty they need to see, because we know that warm handoffs have a much greater likelihood of fulfilling a subsequent appointment than when someone is just given a referral.” 

Last year, Chudnoff recalls a case where a woman’s back pain was treated, but with later scans and testing, ovarian cancer was discovered. At a visit with her doctor that the patient’s sister happened to join, the doctor asked if either had been genetically tested for a gene mutation that causes a higher risk of diagnosed cancer. Neither had. The sister was walked over that afternoon to the genetics lab (rather than schedule and wait for an appointment), got tested, and was found to be a carrier of the mutation. She was subsequently found to have an early stage of the same cancer. 

This type of care has developed through coordinated efforts and dedication among departments, something Dr. Chudnoff is proud of. “Each department looks at symptoms through their own specialty lens,” he said. 

When seen through a comprehensive lens, it was clear that she was not just a patient with back pain, but rather a patient who needed further evaluation. With a comprehensive approach, he expects that more patients will receive, not only better treatment, but feel comfort in knowing their health is being reviewed at a macro level. 

These approaches have also shifted how the OB/GYN team runs its neonatal ward. Always running 24 hours a day, the neonatal ward has two full time physicians on staff for a full 24 hours. While it is typical to have a physician on call for the late hours, Dr. Chudnoff reiterates the importance of having care teams to support newborns around the clock. “Having physicians support the neonatal care team outside of what you’d consider standard hours, has helped provide peace of mind for new parents, while having extra resources for consults and medical guidance.” Each year, over 6,500 babies are born at Maimonides. 

Training in cultural and religious understanding supports another care goal for the department. “We’re proud to serve a culturally diverse community at Maimonides and continue to support trainings and tactics that help care providers understand different cultural sensitivities and religious laws,” he added. “Maimonides’ deep relationships with local Rabbis has made us intimately aware and respectful of family purity laws and other issues that are so important to the Orthodox communities we serve.”

To make a provider visit more comfortable and accessible, Dr. Chudnoff has helped foster new initiatives, which include finding hospitals gowns that provide more coverage, and lockers for storage if needed during the Sabbath. Unlike most New York hospitals, Maimonides is rare in its running of a full kosher kitchen. 

“For me, coming back to Brooklyn is coming home; especially to Maimonides, the hospital where I was born,” said Dr. Chudnoff. “Every day we continue to make strides in our goal of making women’s healthcare more comprehensive and accessible.”

Prior to joining Maimonides, Dr. Chudnoff was the Chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Stamford Health in Stamford, Conn. Previously, he served as the Director of Gynecology at Montefiore Medical Center and is also a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University Irving College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. Dr. Chudnoff is a Brooklyn native and received his BA in Biology at Yeshiva University, his MD in Medicine at Rutgers Medical School and his Master of Clinical Science at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed his residency and fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery at Montefiore Medical Center.