Most mornings by 8 a.m., Mason Blake Pimsler is already treating patients at Lincoln Medical Center. As an internal medicine and geriatric medicine physician, he provides primary care, preventive services and long-term treatment to patients from across the Bronx.
Mayor Eric Adams proclaimed Nov. 7, 2025, as “Dr. Mason Blake Pimsler MD Day,” recognizing the Jericho resident’s decades-long service in HIV/AIDS care, women’s health and to individuals experiencing homelessness. The designation honored both his hands-on clinical work and his involvement in building programs aimed at improving access to care for diverse and underserved communities.
“Mason is a fearless fighter,” said former New York City Mayor Adams.
Pimsler works primarily in Lincoln’s outpatient clinic, where he provides long-term care for patients managing chronic illnesses. He treats conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders and tuberculosis. Many of the people he sees, he said, are also dealing with multiple barriers that limit access to care, including domestic violence, histories of incarceration, substance use or housing instability.
“I’ve been doing safety nets, or treating the underserved population, for a while,” he said. “It was just a natural fit, like a key and lock fit because of my training and the way I was brought up.”
Before joining Lincoln in 2022, Pimsler began his career at Brookdale Family Care Center–Bristol, where he focused on long-term primary care for older adults. He also participated in the hospital’s “Brookdale @ Your Door” program, which provided in-home medical evaluations for patients who had difficulty traveling to appointments.
At Lincoln Medical Center, Pimsler said, the scale and mission of the public hospital system have allowed him to advocate more deeply for his patients. As part of NYC Health + Hospitals, he is able to connect patients not only to primary care but also to specialists, medications, imaging and social services regardless of insurance status.
“Here, I really developed within my soul more of a fire in the belly for the patients,” he said. “I advocate nonstop.”
Pimsler said he credits much of his work to a system-wide transformation under the leadership of Dr. Mitchell Katz, president and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals. He added that Katz “revamped the HHC,” creating the conditions that allow him to do the kind of work he’s most passionate about.
“He shares my philosophy,” Pimsler said. “No one is turned away; they treat everyone as God’s child.”
Since his appointment in 2018, Katz has guided initiatives to make health services more widely available, including the creation of NYC Care, a program designed to provide no-cost or low-cost care for uninsured residents. The program now serves more than 100,000 members.
“It’s amazing the services that we can give to these patients,” Pimsler said. “Ever since Dr. Katz came on board, it’s been incredible.”
Through NYC Health + Hospitals’ “Housing for Health” initiative, clinicians at Lincoln refer eligible patients to Safe Haven beds operated by the city’s Department of Homeless Services and its nonprofit partners.
Pimsler added that the system’s commitment to compassion is formalized through its ICARE values (Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence) values echoed in the internal training initiatives that promote kindness in patient care.
Pimsler’s work sits at the intersection of clinical care and advocacy. In addition to his four days of general outpatient practice, he dedicates one day a week to treating patients in shelters or temporary housing, individuals who often experience gaps in care due to unstable living conditions.
At Lincoln, which houses a comprehensive HIV/AIDS Services department, PrEP is integrated into primary and specialty care. Pimsler said he prescribes PrEP routinely and encourages high-risk patients to test regularly.
He also pushes for continued cancer screening, particularly for older women who are often excluded once they pass standard age cutoffs. Pimsler advocates for FIT tests, virtual colonoscopies and other early-detection options for patients who might otherwise be excluded from routine preventive care.
“You’re supposed to stop breast cancer screening at 75,” he said. “I fight not to do that.”
Pimsler said that beyond what the recognition meant to him personally, it opened the door to feedback from colleagues and community members alike. He is now in early talks with leaders in Staten Island to bring similar outreach programming to communities with fewer public health resources and safety-net services.
“We’re sitting down in February to see what we can do,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll make something happen.”
