On August 21^st five physicians from Jamaica Hospital’s Family Medicine Department departed on a ten-day mission to Lare, Kenya as part of a coordinated medical effort.  The medical team was led by Dr. Kamica Lewis and Dr. Maria Perfetto-Tullo and also included three third-year residents,  Dr. Andrew Flowers, Dr. Melissa Bhikham and Dr. Colleen Hautzinger.

Lare is a small community located 4 ½ hours away from Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. The town does not have a hospital, only a small clinic, a medical assistant and a few midwives who provide care to the approximately 10,000 people who live in this area. The clinic is where people come to for most of their medical needs, but for more serious cases they must be transported by car or ambulance to the nearest hospital which is over an hour away.

In the short time that Jamaica Hospital’s medical team was in Lare, they treated over 1,000 patients. Some of the medical care provided included wound care, OMT, suturing, laceration repair and management of chronic illnesses such as unstable HIV, seizure management, diabetes, hypertension and asthma. Dr. Lewis estimates that 35% of the cases they treated were ER worthy.

The opportunity to send our Family Medicine team was made possible by former Jamaica Hospital Medical Center Dental program graduate, Dr. Joseph Pantaleo, who organized the trip. Dr. Pantaleo and Dr. Lewis are both graduates of St. Francis Prep in Queens. The school is run by Franciscan Brothers. They have a sister school in Lare, Kenya and that is how this community was selected as a place to provide medical and dental care.

The team also provided educational classes to the students at the high school in Lare.  In addition to providing care to the people that they saw, they also helped to get the government of Kenya to fund the rebuilding of a medical clinic which has vastly improved the conditions for the medical providers.

Dr. Lewis finds this work very rewarding. She has participated in 12 overseas medical missions and intends to continue to increase the program. A Grand Rounds is being planned in the Fall to present the findings of the most recent trip.

In an effort to reach our goal of becoming a patient-centered, high reliability healthcare system, the MediSys Health Network has implemented several initiatives to help us as we continue to transition into a patient-centered care delivery model. One such initiative is inviting influential health care leaders to be keynote speakers at our network grand rounds.

On Friday August 2^nd MediSys welcomed a very special guest to present at  Grand Rounds,  Dennis Wagner, MPA – Director of Quality Improvement and Innovation Group Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (CMS), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The title of this program was: Choosing to Lead – Leadership Mindsets to Generate Results for Yourself and Others.

During his discussion, Mr. Wagner identified various key CMS objectives and ways that leadership can utilize each one to create a highly successful patient-centered model of care. These objectives included:

• Empowering patients
• Focusing on results
• Unleashing innovation

Mr. Wagner also spoke about having effective questions that will help all of us to invent our own pathways to change. We should be asking questions like:

• What is working?
• What is causing it to work?
• What are our objectives?
• What should we do more of, better or differently?
• We should not be asking “Why did you do that?”

Mr. Wagner ended his Grand Rounds presentation by thanking MediSys Health Network’s leadership for their commitment to building and strengthening relationships with patients, providers, quality improvement organizations and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He also thanked other attendees for doing their part to improve and transform our nation’s health care system.

The Grand Rounds presentation was given to a packed auditorium of Jamaica Hospital doctors, nurses, and administrators. The Flushing Hospital staff was able to participate via video conference as well. Everyone in attendance greatly appreciated and benefitted from Mr. Wagner’s presentation.

Dr. Richard Pinsker, Internal Medicine Residency Program Director and the Associate Chairman for Medical Education in the Department of Medicine, was recently recognized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as the Veteran of the Day in the Army National Guard.

Following the events of 9/11, Dr. Pinsker decided he wanted to do his part to support the national efforts to defend our country. In March of 2005 he was sworn in as a Lieutenant Colonel in the New York Army Reserve National Guard. He was deployed in 2007 and again in 2010 to Iraq, each time for four months in duration. Dr. Pinsker describes each tour as a very surreal and rewarding experience. He was particularly impressed by the high caliber of men and women who serve in our Armed Forces, keeping in mind that everyone who serves is a motivated volunteer. His role on both tours of duty was Senior Physician Provider charged with overseeing the care of the soldiers, local nationals, and civilian contractors on forward operating bases.

Dr. Pinsker received numerous awards for his service to our country. These include:

The Army Commendation Medal given to him twice for tours in Iraq

The Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal

Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal

Global War on Terrorism Service Medal

Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star

Army Service Ribbon

Dr. Pinsker was promoted to the rank of Colonel in 2012 and retired from the National Guard in February of 2014.  We are very proud of Dr. Pinsker and thank him for his service to our country.

Last month staff from TJH Medical, Flushing and Jamaica Hospital Medical Center participated in a health and wellness event to benefit members of Local 731, a labor union located in Astoria, Queens.

Over three hundred members of the union participated in this event and over 100 screenings were performed.

The screenings that were offered included blood pressure, dental, ophthalmology, podiatry, pulmonary function and pulse oximetry. Hospital staff also staff provided health and wellness information on hypertension, cholesterol, asthma, bariatric surgery, sleep apnea, wound care, women’s health, nutrition, drug interactions, and diabetes.

Members of Local 731 greatly appreciated all of the screenings and educational materials that MediSys Health Network provided them. According to Dr. Andrew Rubin, Director of Community Affairs for MediSys “We look forward to continuing our relationship with Local 731 and provide them with many beneficial services”.

We are very pleased to announce that the MediSys Health Network is planning to add some artwork to our facilities and we are counting on the many talented employees who work within our network to supply it.

Jamaica and Flushing Hospital Medical Center are each holding an inaugural employee art project open to all staff, their families, and volunteers. Artwork can be submitted in any of the following formats:

• Paintings
• Works on paper
• Photography

The guidelines and specifications of this art project are as follows:

• Artwork depicting any religious, political, violent, sexual or obscene content is not permitted
• Submissions must be a minimum of 8” X10” and a maximum of 24” X36”
• It is preferred that artwork is framed, (assistance will be provided if necessary)
• A maximum of three entries per person

All artwork must be submitted to the Public Affairs Department at the respective hospitals by August 5th. Please make sure that each submission is identified with a title of the artwork as well as the artist’s name, department, extension, and category.

Each submission will be judged by an independent committee of art experts. Artwork selected for display will be based on overall quality and each artist will be notified of this decision.

For more information, please call the Department of Public Affairs at 718-206-8949.

The American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA) recently awarded Tom Younghans, VP of the Trump Pavilion, its 2019 Eli Pick Facility Leadership Award.

The prestigious award is presented annually in memory of Eli Pick who served as an administrator for over 30 years at the Ballard Rehabilitation Center.  Mr. Pick was known to show extraordinary care to the residents of the center and its surrounding community.

The qualifications for receiving the  Eli Pick Facility Leadership Award is based on three years of skilled nursing facility survey data, including health, fire safety, and complaint surveys, as well as top quartile performance on designated quality measures. Fewer than 11% percent of facilities nationwide qualified and only 351 administrators in 45 states received the award.  The award is given to administrators who show the highest level of dedication, professionalism, and leadership in long term care.

“Receiving this award is an honor. This recognition belongs to the entire Trump Pavilion team. Thank you all for your ongoing commitment to serve our residents and the community in a way that is second to none,” stated Mr. Younghans.