Flushing Hospital Medical Center recently celebrated 365 Days CAUTI free, an achievement that reflects the hospital’s commitment to patient safety and reducing the risk of hospital-acquired infections.

A CAUTI or catheter-associated urinary tract infection occurs when germs (usually bacteria) enter the urinary tract through the urinary catheter and cause infection in the bladder or kidneys. CAUTIs have been associated with increased morbidity, mortality, healthcare costs, and length of stay.

A urinary tract infection (UTI) is the most common type of healthcare-associated infection, Among UTIs acquired in the hospital, approximately 75% are associated with a urinary catheter.  Between 15-25% of hospitalized patients receive a urinary catheter during their hospital stay.  The most important risk factor for developing a catheter-associated UTI (CAUTI) is prolonged use of the urinary catheter.

Flushing Hospital has implemented an interdisciplinary evidence-based CAUTI prevention program including:

• Appropriate indwelling urinary catheter use by establishing guidelines for insertion/continuation and implementation of external urinary collection devices.
• Proper catheter insertion and maintenance bundles of care provided by nurses trained through simulated return demonstration.
• Prompt catheter removal includes a nurse-driven protocol that allows the bedside nurse to practice autonomously to remove urinary catheters based on approved guidelines.
• Standardized bladder scanning and straight catheterization protocols to prevent insertion of indwelling urinary catheters.
• Daily surveillance rounds by the Infection Preventionists to monitor adherence to bundles of care and provision of just-in-time training to the care team.
• In 2023, Infection Preventionist and Physician champion rounds were implemented to provide additional interdisciplinary collaboration and promote the removal of urinary catheters.

Achieving one year without a CAUTI is a remarkable accomplishment and speaks volumes about the effectiveness of our CAUTI prevention efforts. The success of these rounds, led by the Infection Preventionists and the Physician Champion, with the support of nurses, residents, and other healthcare team members, underscores the power of collaboration and evidence-based practices in improving patient outcomes.

We would like to especially acknowledge the following for their hard work in eliminating CAUTIs for the last year: Nursing Department, Residents, Physician champion; Dr. Akbar Khan, Infection Prevention & Control Department, Infectious Disease Physicians, Quality Department, and the Network Invasive Line Task Force.

Good Catch awardees receive recognition and a certificate of excellence based on their actions in preventing accidents from occurring. These actions may include keeping our facilities safe, correcting a medication order, preventing a patient from falling or reporting a significant change in a patient’s status.

Please join us in congratulating the following employees on their Good Catch:

1. Carmen Nicodinovicci, Vascular Tech – Jamaica Hospital
2. Diana Dutes, RN Ambulatory Surgery Unit – Jamaica Hospital
3. Dr. Yan Lin, DDS, Dental Resident- Flushing Hospital
4. Emma Kim, Dental Assistant – Flushing Hospital
5. Dennise Morel, Dental Assistant- Flushing Hospital
6. Susana Perez-Registrar-Flushing Hospital

By identifying a problem before it became a patient safety issue, our awardees have helped our hospitals provide patients with excellent care. We thank them for being exemplary team members and contributing to our goal of being a high-reliability network.

The CARE Award Program recognizes employees who receive positive written remarks from patients or their loved ones after receiving high-quality and compassionate care.

The criteria for the award are:

C: Compassion- Through listening, identifying patient vulnerabilities, and conveying empathy.

A: Advocacy-Ensure quality care is given and the safety of the patients and environment is maintained.

R: Respect-Greeting or speaking to others in a kind and respectful way.

E: Engagement-Make individuals feel valued, important, and recognized.

Please join us in congratulating:

1. Irina Khayumova, RN – Jamaica Hospital

2. Myrna Escario, RN – Jamaica Hospital

3. Lilibeth Rivas, RN – Jamaica Hospital

4. Svetlana Abdurakhmanova, RN – Jamaica Hospital

5. Margarete Hoffman, RN – Flushing Hospital

6. Portia Morris – Flushing Hospital

7. Tannisha Bridgett, RN-  Flushing Hospital

8. Mildred Zapanta, RN – Flushing Hospital

9. Jessica Bochynski, RN -Flushing Hospital

We thank our employees for their contributions to making our hospitals high-reliability facilities that focus on patient-centered care.

Congratulations to the MediSys Health Network’s Safety Excellence in Infection Prevention (SEIP) award winners.

The SEIP award recognizes employees who contribute to the success of infection control initiatives.

The criteria for the award are:

S: Surpasses above and beyond expected job role responsibilities as it relates to infection control.

E: Enforce actions that support infection prevention best practices.

I: I do the right thing, even when no one is looking.

P: Performs awesome acts of safety related to infection prevention.

We thank the following team members for leading by example and doing their part to reduce the risk of infection transmissions:

1. Urszula Pisany, RN, CNL, SICU- Jamaica Hospital

2. Patrick Diomampo, 4N1 RN -Flushing Hospital

The MediSys Health Network cultivates a culture of safety by prioritizing infection control and prevention. All employees have an important part to play in preventing the spread of infections, and everyone’s contribution to safety is highly valued.

Good Catch awardees receive recognition and a certificate of excellence based on their actions in preventing accidents from occurring. These actions may include keeping our facilities safe, correcting a medication order, preventing a patient from falling, or reporting a significant change in a patient’s status.

Please join us in congratulating the following employees on their Good Catch:

1. Yvette Tapia, LPN- Flushing Hospital
2. Radiology Techs – Flushing Hospital

By identifying a problem before it became a patient safety issue, our awardees have helped our hospitals provide patients with excellent care. We thank them for being exemplary team members and contributing to our goal of being a high-reliability network.

The CARE Award Program recognizes employees who receive positive written remarks from patients or their loved ones after receiving high-quality and compassionate care.

The criteria for the award are:

C: Compassion- Through listening, identifying patient vulnerabilities, and conveying empathy.

A: Advocacy-Ensure quality care is given and the safety of the patients and environment is maintained.

R: Respect-Greeting or speaking to others in a kind and respectful way.

E: Engagement-Make individuals feel valued, important, and recognized.

Please join us in congratulating:

1. Dr. William Nugent – Jamaica Hospital

2. Dr. Danielle Defoe – Jamaica Hospital

3. SICU Team- Jamaica Hospital

4. Dr. Mrinalini Alla – Flushing Hospital

5. Dr. Candace Wong – Flushing Hospital

6. Rajnish Kaur, RN- Flushing Hospital

7. Dr. Mathew Fakhoury- Flushing Hospital

8. Dr. Yasser El-Hennawy- Flushing Hospital

We thank our employees for their contributions to making our hospitals high-reliability facilities that focus on patient-centered care.

Good Catch awardees receive recognition and a certificate of excellence based on their actions in preventing accidents from occurring. These actions may include keeping our facilities safe, correcting a medication order, preventing a patient from falling or reporting a significant change in a patient’s status.

Please join us in congratulating the following employees on their Good Catch:

1. JHMC Radiology Techs
2. Mariamma Thomas, RN,2 West, Chemical Dependency Unit (CDU) – Flushing Hospital

By identifying a problem before it became a patient safety issue, our awardees have helped our hospitals provide patients with excellent care. We thank them for being exemplary team members and contributing to our goal of being a high-reliability network.

Congratulations to the MediSys Health Network’s Safety Excellence in Infection Prevention (SEIP) award winners.

The SEIP award recognizes employees who contribute to the success of infection control initiatives.

The criteria for the award are:

S: Surpasses above and beyond expected job role responsibilities as it relates to infection control.

E: Enforce actions that support infection prevention best practices.

I: I do the right thing, even when no one is looking.

P: Performs awesome acts of safety related to infection prevention.

We thank the following team members for leading by example and doing their part to reduce the risk of infection transmissions:

1. Marirose Desa, RN- Jamaica Hospital

2. Dr. Juan Beltre -Flushing Hospital

The MediSys Health Network cultivates a culture of safety by prioritizing infection control and prevention. All employees have an important part to play in preventing the spread of infections, and everyone’s contribution to safety is highly valued.

The CARE Award Program recognizes employees who receive positive written remarks from patients or their loved ones after receiving high-quality and compassionate care.

The criteria for the award are:

C: Compassion- Through listening, identifying patient vulnerabilities, and conveying empathy.

A: Advocacy-Ensure quality care is given and the safety of the patients and environment is maintained.

R: Respect-Greeting or speaking to others in a kind and respectful way.

E: Engagement-Make individuals feel valued, important, and recognized.

Please join us in congratulating:

1. Johnathan Drepaul, Care Advocate  – Jamaica Hospital

2. Nataly Panameno, RN – Jamaica Hospital

3.  Michele Popowytsch, RN- Jamaica Hospital

4. Frank Scharf, EMT – Flushing Hospital

5. Muhthadun Rahman, EMT – Flushing Hospital

We thank our employees for their contributions to making our hospitals high-reliability facilities that focus on patient-centered care.

Good Catch awardees receive recognition and a certificate of excellence based on their actions in preventing accidents from occurring. These actions may include keeping our facilities safe, correcting a medication order, preventing a patient from falling, or reporting a significant change in a patient’s status.

Please join us in congratulating Kimberly Forbes, MD, Family Medicine & Palliative Care on her Good Catch.

By identifying a problem before it became a patient safety issue, Dr. Forbes has helped our hospitals provide patients with excellent care. We thank her for being an exemplary team member and for contributing to our goal of being a high-reliability network.