Jonathan M. Giftos, MD, ISMMS ‘12 is the Clinical Director of Substance Use Treatment for the NYC Health & Hospitals/Division of Correctional Health Services at Rikers Island. He is also the Medical Director of the opioid treatment program (OTP) that serves patients in the NYC jail system. Prior to these roles, he served as the Director of Clinical Education for CHS.
Why Mount Sinai
Dr. Giftos was originally drawn to medical school at ISMMS because of its progressive faculty, dynamic curriculum and commitment to community health. He also appreciated the opportunity to rotate through a variety of clinical settings to learn how care was delivered to different patient populations.
Helping the Marginalized
Dr. Giftos believes the most challenging issue facing his field is stigma. His patients struggle with poverty, unstable housing, drug use and addiction. Many have been incarcerated multiple times, and most have had negative past experiences with the healthcare system. For too long, our society has not sufficiently valued the lives of these patients. He believes the medical field is slowly learning that problems like poverty, unstable housing or addiction require new and creative public health solutions. Approaches to complex social problems that dehumanize people and policies that push people into the shadows will never lead to healing, health or safety. It is his hope that we will see a substantive move toward a more compassionate, fair, and restorative criminal justice system, and that our healthcare system will create more welcoming spaces for those it has historically pushed away.
Dr. Giftos encourages students to listen as their patients talk about their lives, about what matters to them, about whom and what supports them. Also listen to learn about the many challenges -- personal and systemic -- that threaten their health and safety. This careful listening will make students better doctors in the exam room, and it will inform important advocacy efforts that can accompany and enrich the clinical work.
Proudest Accomplishment
In 2017, in the middle of the opioid overdose crisis, Dr. Giftos led a team that dramatically expanded a program providing methadone and buprenorphine to incarcerated patients with opioid use disorder. Now all patients entering the jail-system are eligible to receive these life-saving medications. This program remains a national model for caring for patients with opioid use disorder in correctional settings.
Importance of Student Scholarships
Dr. Giftos emphasizes the importance scholarships have to recruit and retain the very best applicants from a variety of backgrounds, and the financial support enables graduates to make career choices that are not unduly influenced by student loan debt. He was a fortunate recipient of several generous scholarships and grants that reduced his debt, and they enabled him to take professional risks that might have otherwise been more difficult.