Ramon Tallaj

Ramon Tallaj
Born (1956-01-25) January 25, 1956
Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic
EducationUniversidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (M.D.); St. Luke’s–Roosevelt Hospital Center (Residency)
OccupationsPhysician, Healthcare administrator
Known forFounder and Chairman of the Board, (SOMOS Community Care)
TitleFounder and Chairman of the Board

Dr. Ramon Tallaj (born January 25, 1956) is a Dominican Republic–born American physician and healthcare administrator based in New York City, and a former Undersecretary of Health of the Dominican Republic. He is the Founder and Chairman of SOMOS Community Care, a nonprofit physician-led network of around 3000 providers serving over one million Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries across New York City's underserved communities.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Dr. Tallaj has been involved in community-based health care for immigrant and underserved communities in New York City, particularly through networks of independent physicians in areas including the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Upper Manhattan.[5][7] During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was appointed to New York State's Vaccine Distribution and Implementation Task Force and later served as a co-chair of New York City's COVID-19 Recovery Roundtable and Health Equity Task Force.[8][6]

Early Life and Education

Tallaj was born in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.[9] He studied medicine at the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU) School of Medicine,[10] graduating magna cum laude in 1981,[11] and subsequently completed a residency in internal medicine at St. Luke's–Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City.[12][11]

According to the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Tallaj later moved to New York City in 1991 to train at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital and established an internal medicine practice in Washington Heights in 1997.[5]

Tallaj moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic at the request of Cardinal John O'Connor, Archbishop of New York, to serve the city's Hispanic immigrant communities. He arrived around 1991, later establishing his practice in Washington Heights in 1997.[1][3]

Career

Tallaj began his U.S. medical career in the mid-1990s after completing his residency and board certification. He completed his Internal Medicine residency at St. Luke's–Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City.[11] He established a private internal medicine practice in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in 1997, where he provided clinical care primarily to Spanish-speaking and immigrant patients.[12]

The American Medical Association's physician directory lists Ramon M. Tallaj as a physician specializing in internal medicine in Bronx and New York, New York.[13] Montefiore Einstein also lists Ramon M. Tallaj, MD, as an internal medicine physician in the Bronx, with medical education from Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña.[14]

Before his work in New York, Tallaj held public-health roles in the Dominican Republic. The Carnegie Corporation of New York states that he served in government positions, including as undersecretary of public health and social service.[5]

SOMOS Community Care

In 2015, Tallaj founded SOMOS Community Care, a physician-led nonprofit network formed to support community-based medical practices and improve preventive care, chronic disease management and care coordination for Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries in New York City's underserved neighborhoods.[11] The Carnegie Corporation described SOMOS in 2020 as a network of more than 2,500 health providers serving 700,000 Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries.[12] In 2022, the New York City Mayor's Office described SOMOS as a nonprofit of about 3,000 doctors serving about 900,000 Medicaid-reliant patients citywide.[6] The organization became one of New York State's Performing Provider Systems under the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program, a state effort to reform Medicaid delivery systems and emphasize preventive services.[12][15]

SOMOS was organized as a community-based network of physicians serving many immigrant and low-income patients in New York City.[1][7] ABC News reported in 2020 that doctors working through SOMOS had spent months on the front lines of the pandemic in predominantly Black and Latino communities, and quoted Tallaj as saying that the organization had provided nearly a quarter-million COVID-19 tests by that point.[7]

SOMOS was one of the Performing Provider Systems in New York State's Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment program, commonly known as DSRIP.[11]

COVID-19 pandemic response

During the COVID-19 pandemic, SOMOS coordinated outreach and facilitating vaccination efforts across New York City.[16] Tallaj oversaw community testing locations, administered vaccines in non-clinical settings and participated in broader efforts to address disparities in pandemic response among immigrant and minority communities.[12][17]

In 2022, Tallaj was appointed co-chair of the New York City COVID-19 Recovery Roundtable and Health Equity Task Force,[18][19] an advisory group convened by city government leadership to consider long-term recovery and health equity issues following the acute phase of the pandemic.[12]

Awards

Tallaj has been recognized with awards including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and has been featured in rankings of influential healthcare leaders.[20][21][22] He also received the United Hospital Fund's Excellence in Health Care Award.[23]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ramon Tallaj, MD". VNS Health. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  2. ↑ "2021 Top 25 Innovators Dr. Ramon Tallaj - Modern Healthcare". www.modernhealthcare.com. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  3. 1 2 Hartocollis, Anemona (2015-03-30). "Pay for Performance Extends to Health Care in New York State Experiment". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  4. ↑ "Celebridades del béisbol participan en primer torneo altruista de Golf Fundación Ramón Tallaj". MLB.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Ramon Tallaj". Carnegie. Retrieved 2026-08-09.
  6. 1 2 3 "Mayor Adams Announces COVID-19 Recovery Roundtable and Health Equity Task Force". The official website of the City of New York. 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2026-08-09.
  7. 1 2 3 Rios, Pedersen, Kim, Rivas, Kristofer, Claire, Deborah, Anthony (5 August 2020). "In communities of color, one organization is helping to fill the COVID-19 testing gap". ABC News. Retrieved 2026-08-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ New York State's COVID-19 Vaccination Program (PDF) (Report). New York State. 16 October 2020. p. 24. Retrieved 2026-08-09.
  9. ↑ "Ramon Tallaj, MD". VNS Health. Retrieved 2026-08-16.
  10. ↑ "UNPHU receives the visit of the distinguished graduate Doctor Ramon Tallaj". unphu.edu.do (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-08-16.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Ramón Tallaj, M.D. – Somos". www.somoscommunitycare.org. Retrieved 2026-08-16.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ramon Tallaj, Founder and Chairman of the Board, SOMOS Community Care; Internist | USCIS". www.uscis.gov. 2024-07-18. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  13. ↑ "Ramon M Tallaj, MD | AMA Find a Doctor | Find doctors in the US by name, location, and specialty | AMA". find-doctor.ama-assn.org. Retrieved 2026-08-16.
  14. ↑ "Ramon M. Tallaj | Montefiore Einstein". doctors.montefioreeinstein.org. Retrieved 2026-08-16.
  15. ↑ "Empire Anthem 2021 - Crain's New York Business". www.crainsnewyork.com. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  16. ↑ "New York City Wants Kids 12+ To Be 'Superheroes' And Get Vaccinated - CBS New York". www.cbsnews.com. 2021-08-25. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  17. ↑ "Cien + SOMOS". Manhattan Times News. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  18. ↑ "ER visits spike as extreme heat scorches New York City". POLITICO. 2023-07-28. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  19. ↑ Jay, Erin Flynn (2023-10-02). "Millions could lose health coverage if they don't reapply for Medicaid". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  20. ↑ "Ramon Tallaj". WHHA (en-US). Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  21. ↑ "SOMOS Community Care receives Emmy nomination for 'Dr. Tallaj, The Hispanic Physician Who Faced Covid-19 In New York' | amNewYork". www.amny.com. 2022-07-01. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  22. ↑ "A documentary by Aleteia and SOMOS Community Care wins an Emmy". Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  23. ↑ Carnegie Corporation of New York. "Ramon Tallaj | Carnegie Corporation of New York". Carnegie Corporation of New York. Archived from the original on 2024-03-21. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
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