In recognition of Creative Arts Therapy Week, Jamaica Hospital recently held its first annual exhibition of patient created art work.

The artwork, which was created by patients in Psychiatry units 2 and 3, was displayed in the main lobby of the hospital. Working with the therapists on these units provides patients with the opportunity to express themselves through their art in a way that they normally aren’t able to communicate verbally.

Creative art therapies utilize various art forms (art, music, writing, movement/dance, and drama) to help patients gain insight and awareness into their feelings, thoughts and behaviors in a non-threatening manner. Patients who receive inpatient mental health services participate in several creative arts therapy groups each day.

The displayed artwork was viewed by hundreds of employees, visitors, and patients, many of whom had no idea the program existed.

The hospital extends a special thanks to all staff members who work with these patients on a daily basis and who continually make the program a success.

On Friday, April 5th, Jamaica Hospital’s Trauma Department hosted a trauma prevention workshop at the Howard Beach Senior Center.

The purpose of this event was to reach out to Queen’s senior population to educate them on injury prevention, fall prevention, poison prevention, pedestrian safety, and fire prevention and to help decrease the number of preventable trauma/injury related events, therefore decreasing hospital admissions from these preventable injuries.

There were over 50 members of the Howard Beach Senior Center who attended the workshop. The members were extremely engaged in the presentation and were appreciative of the speakers who gave presentations. In addition to the variety of topics that were presented, the seniors were also given brochures, safety tips, and educational materials related to injury prevention.

The event was coordinated by Mrs. Nicolle Tuccillo, MHA, RPA-C/Trauma Program Manager at Jamaica Hospital and Dr. Patricia Gentile, Administrator for Jamaica Hospital’s Trauma Department.

Jamaica Hospital has recently implemented a Care Transitions Program, a momentous effort to provide proactive medical and social interventions to patients who pose a high risk for hospital readmission. The new program, which also boasts significant financial savings for the hospital, began in 2011 and is comprised of three distinct initiatives- The Intensive Multidisciplinary Primary Care Team (IMPACT) , the Community-Based Care Team (CBCT), and the Hospital Care Transitions Team (CTT).

IMPACT was established to provide long term, managed care to super-utilizers, patients who have repeated in-hospital stays. These patients are followed by a care team made up of a nurse practitioner, a social service case manager, and a community health worker, who work together to assist patients with scheduling their doctor appointments, filling their prescriptions, securing health related services such as home care, obtaining social services, and providing them with education and other health related assistance.

In a 2011 pilot, high utilizers of medical services, who had Neighborhood Health Plan (NHP) Medicaid were chosen to participate in the IMPACT program.  A Care Transitions Team (CTT), which is comprised of a registered nurse and service coordinator who screens patients for either IMPACT or CBCT, used the hospital’s state-of-the art EPIC system to identify potential super-utilizers, patients who had several hospital admissions within a six month period, were diagnosed with one or more of the following disorders—pneumonia, congestive heart failure, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or end stage renal disease, or myocardial infarction— and met additional health and socioeconomic criteria.

At the conclusion of the year, the patients didn’t experience hospital readmissions and were satisfied with their overall care. Additionally, a reduction in the utilization of services allowed the hospital to save $400,000. Prior to the implementation of IMPACT, these superutilizers would have cost the hospital $700,000, compared to the $300,000 spent during the year-long pilot.

The Community-Based Care teams, which are currently in development, are designed to reach patients who aren’t super-utilizers but are still at risk for hospital readmission because of their health status or other biopsychosocial factors. The teams will monitor 30-40 patients each for up to 29 days. Each team will work closely with the patient’s primary care physician to ensure coordination of health care needs for thirty days post discharge. Health care interventions, such as medication reconciliation, referrals to health care services, and management of medical services, will be provided in the home and/or the community to best meet the needs of the patient.  After the completion of 30 days, patients may be referred to ongoing services in the community, to the IMPACT program, or ongoing monitoring by their primary physician.

“The idea behind our care transitions initiative is to provide interventions in the home to high risk individuals and to reduce the risk of preventable readmissions,” said Dr. Angelo Canedo, Vice President at MediSys Health Network. “Overall, our Care Transitions Program is aimed at cutting 30-day readmissions by at least 20%, which is also aligned with the government’s recent effort to decrease hospital readmissions, and to increase community based/ambulatory care.”

Under the Affordable Care Act, hospitals face financial penalties when a patient is readmitted within 30 days after their discharge. Medicare has also begun penalizing hospital for readmissions. Jamaica Hospital, which serves a population with a high risk for hospital readmissions, has a 25% hospital readmission rate, while the national average rate is 15%.

To ensure that the facility’s readmission goals are attainable, Jamaica Hospital is currently seeking a HEAL grant to develop additional care transition teams, which would allow the hospital to service more patients. Though the hospital is focusing on Medicare fee for service patients, the goal is to expand to other payers in the future.    The development of these programs is just one step the hospital has taken to prepare itself for the future landscape of the healthcare industry.  It’s though the collaboration and cooperation of all employees that these programs will be a great success.