In its most recent effort to alleviate stress among employees and promote a healing environment, the MediSys Health Network has collaborated with Studio Elsewhere, a bio-experiential technology company, and the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) to bring custom-designed Recharge Rooms to Jamaica and Flushing Hospital Medical Center.

The Recharge Rooms sponsored by GNYHA provide stress-reducing, multisensory and immersive experiences that utilize synchronized lighting, scent, and psychoacoustic sounds to simulate nature’s restorative landscapes. Here, employees can transcend to any one of 10 relaxing escapes such as watching the waves crash on a beach or enjoying a campfire by a lake, simply by voice activating each simulation.

In addition to viewing tranquil nature projections, employees can enjoy the ambiance of flickering faux candles, aromatic oil diffusers, beautiful silk-leaf plants, and comfortable lounge chairs. Each item was purposely selected to aid with relaxation and lowering elevated stress levels.

Information on ways to contact a mental health counselor if needed and resources that promote mental wellness are also available in each room.

The Recharge Room will officially open at Jamaica Hospital on Monday, July 26^th.  All MediSys employees are encouraged to visit, take a break and de-stress.

The room is located on the 2^nd floor of the A/B building, just outside the elevators.  The space can comfortably accommodate two people at a time. It is accessible 24/7 and no appointments are necessary. The suggested use time for each visit is approximately 10-15 minutes so that others can have access.

Please enjoy a sneak peek of the Recharge Room here:

The opening of the Recharge Room at Flushing Hospital has been postponed. Updates will be provided to employees as soon as they become available.

Jamaica Hospital Medical Center is one of the busiest trauma centers in New York City and the five boroughs, and the only trauma center providing care for a large community in South Queens.  We are proud to be designated as a Level 1 Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons, the highest designation level.  This means that our trauma center is prepared to provide emergent life-saving care to the most seriously injured patients 24 hours a day.

In the spring of 2020, while our community began to recover from the first surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, we noticed a disturbing trend, more and more patients were coming to Jamaica Hospital for firearm-related injuries.

We recognized the importance of expanding our efforts beyond patients’ medical needs to potentially impact other determinants of gun violence in our community.  By taking a true public health approach to gun violence, we can make a meaningful change in not only our patients’ lives but for all of Queens, as we work as a community to end gun violence.

With that, we are proud to announce Jamaica Hospital’s V.E.T.O program, for Violence Elimination and Trauma Outreach.

As our clinical group of trauma physicians and nurses focus on healing injuries, our team of social workers and case managers will focus on addressing non-medical determinants of health for gun violence survivors by providing violence intervention services and guidance to hospital and community resources.  We are fostering relationships with community organizations to provide additional support for gun violence survivors and their families and working to raise awareness on the epidemic of gun violence.

In November of 2020, Flushing Hospital Medical Center announced plans to expand and modernize the entire fifth floor of the hospital which includes the Labor, Delivery and Recovery (LDR) suites, Mother/Baby Unit, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and Newborn Nursery.

The renovation project, named New Beginnings,  aims to provide modern amenities in beautifully designed spaces, offering the ultimate mother/baby birthing experience and accommodations for families.

Today, the hospital is delighted to share that an important phase of the project is now completed; three mother/baby rooms have been fully renovated and are currently in use.

The Mother/Baby Unit at Flushing Hospital offers modernistic, private rooms to patients. Each room is designed to provide a relaxing environment for mothers and babies to bond while receiving advanced postpartum care. New design enhancements and amenities include private ADA compliant bathrooms with showers, sleeper beds to accommodate a designated support person’s overnight stay as well as an electronic information board and bedside tablet for mothers.

We invite you to take a virtual tour here: https://virte.ch/tours/1056flu/draft2/

Other renovations for the New Beginnings project are underway. Plans include completing the remodel for the remaining mother/ baby rooms, expanding the current LDR suites from eight to eleven and converting the existing triage space from one large, semi-private area to four private rooms.   Flushing Hospital is also increasing the number of recovery rooms on the unit from three to four and adding one more delivery room.

Additional expansion plans include installing an enhanced air circulation system which will give all rooms the capability to provide negative pressure. This feature is extremely important for patient safety, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Congratulations to Jamaica Hospital’s C.A.R.E (Compassion Advocacy Respect and Engagement) award recipients.

The hospital’s Person-Centered Care Department created the C.A.R.E award program to recognize employees who received positive remarks (written and verbal) from patients or their loved ones after being provided with excellent and compassionate care.

Criteria for the award require that recipients exemplify G.R.A.C.E:

G- Gracious: Having a courteous and kind demeanor.

R- Respect: Treating others the way they want to be treated.

A- Assisting: Anticipating needs and concerns (example wayfinding).

C- Communication: Talking to patients and family members according to their health literacy.

E- Empathy: Using the patient’s perspective, making the patient feel understood, ensuring that their feelings are validated.

We congratulate the following employees, and thank them for their contributions to making Jamaica Hospital a high-reliability hospital that focuses on patient-centered care:

Andrea Azarcon

Katrina Bencio RN

Marva Gibbs-Joe

Travis Homes

Dr. Maria Del Carmen Valdes Bracamontes

Oksana Galibova CNM

Leyya Pootoolal RN

Michele Popowytsch RN

Hibbert Orayne

Roman Yagudayev RN

Yolanda Zhanay RN

Julie Mariano RN

Jerome Montano RN

Paola Guevara RN

Dr. Zoran Lasic

Laylo Rashidova RN

Tanisha Placide RN

Ping Ren RN

Merle Pike RN

Dr. James Kolodny

On Wednesday, April 28^th the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of Minority Health hosted a webinar entitled “The Road to Equity: Examining Structural Racism Virtual Forum”. A  team from the MediSys Health Network participated in the event presenting on the topic “Integrating Equity Solutions Across Health Programs and Health Systems”.

This portion of the webinar focused on increasing understanding of the impact CMS programs and policies have on health and health care disparities in minority and underserved communities. The session also reviewed innovative ways health care systems and organizations can reduce disparities among those they serve.

The Speakers from MediSys were:

Sabiha Raoof, MD Chief Medical Officer and Patient Safety Officer, Chair of Radiology. MediSys Health Network

Trina Cornet, Esq. MPA, Vice President of Human Resources, Chief Labor and Employment Counsel, MediSys Health Network

Eugene Clark, MHA, Administrator Patient Navigation Department, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center

Stephanie Smith, RN, BSN, Director of Care Management, MediSys Health Network

Click the “Play” button to see the webinar or click Here to view on YouTube:

(The MediSys Team portion begins at 2hours and 58 minutes into the session).

Flushing and Jamaica Hospital Medical Center are proud to receive Diagnostic Imaging Center of Excellence (DICOE) designation from the American College of Radiology (ACR).

To receive this elite distinction, facilities must be accredited by the ACR in all modalities they provide, and in which the ACR offers an accreditation program. Another requirement is participation in the Dose Index Registry® and General Radiology Improvement Database, as well as Image Wisely® and Image Gently® pledges. All of which are initiatives promoted by the ACR to ensure the delivery of safe, high-quality, and effective imaging care to patients.

Furthermore, facilities must demonstrate excellence at multiple levels.  Performance is measured by the successful completion of comprehensive assessments in the following areas:

• Governance and personnel
• Facility organization and management
• Physical environment
• Equipment and IT infrastructure
• Radiation and general safety
• Quality management
• Policies and procedures
• Patient rights and medical records

Jamaica and Flushing Hospital have exceeded the standard requirements of accreditation to achieve DICOE designation.  Patients of both hospitals can be assured they are receiving the highest levels of imaging quality, safety, and care.

Jamaica Hospital employees who go above and beyond to ensure the safety of our patients are recognized and awarded a certificate of excellence for their Good Catch.

Good Catch nominees receive recognition 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 Leon Williams, PCA Operating Room, on his Good Catch.

By identifying a problem before it became a patient safety issue, our nominee has helped Jamaica Hospital provide patients with excellent care.

We thank him for being an exemplary member of our team and contributing to our goal of being a High-Reliability Hospital.

The success of Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s virtual CenteringPregnancy program has gained the attention of many in our community, including NY1 News.

Members of the hospital’s Women’s Health Department were interviewed by reporter Clodagh McGowan to learn more about the benefits offered by the program.  Viewers were allowed access to a virtual group session that included eight expecting mothers, and program facilitators demonstrated the efficacy of an online prenatal model of care.

The CenteringPregnancy program at Jamaica Hospital was introduced in 2014 as a unique way to help pregnant women become more actively involved in their prenatal care and share their experiences with other moms in a group setting.  Sessions were held onsite at the Women’s Health clinic.

The program continued to thrive since its inception; however, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 presented a new challenge.  Group participants were no longer able to meet in person due to social distancing and safety regulations.

The absence of community and physical interactions began to affect pregnant women in several ways.  Studies show that over 50% of expecting mothers admitted to feeling extremely lonely and isolated due to spending more time at home, and away from others.  These factors are believed to be contributors to a rise in prenatal depression.

Jamaica Hospital’s Women’s Health Department provided a solution to this problem by offering pregnant women a safe place where they could gather in the age of COVID and feel supported.   The department moved its CenteringPregnancy program to a virtual space on Zoom.   Here, patients of the hospital could continue to receive prenatal care and actively engage with a community of healthcare providers and fellow moms.

Jamaica Hospital’s virtual CenteringPregnancy program has been highly successful. The program has earned recognition from leading institutions and is used to demonstrate the benefits of virtual prenatal care to other medical facilities.   The NY1 story has been shared on social media by several notable leaders in healthcare including the University of North Carolina’s Gilling School of Global Public Health and Centering Healthcare Institute CEO Angie Truesdale, both commending the work of the program.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the pregnancy experience for a lot of women, and we are constantly thinking of ways to make it as positive as we can,” said Patricia Fox, Certified Midwife.  “Our team has established this unique, virtual platform so that we can provide our patients with a healthcare service that is convenient, safe, and supportive. We understand how important these things are during these unprecedented times,” shared Thalita Viruet, Practice Manager for the Women’s Health Center.

You can watch the news story here:

Jamaica Hospital employees who go above and beyond to ensure the safety of our patients are recognized and awarded a certificate of excellence for their Good Catch.

Good Catch nominees receive recognition 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:

Paola Pava- RN

Sharleen Storey- Director of Admission Rehab Services

Dorothy Zak-Psychologist

By identifying a problem before it became a patient safety issue, our nominees have helped Jamaica Hospital to provide patients with excellent care.

To our Good Catch recipients, thank you for being exemplary members of our team and contributing to our goal of being a High-Reliability Hospital.

Jamaica Hospital Medical Center neurosurgeons were the first ever in Queens to perform a life-saving cerebrovascular operation. The surgical team led by Dr. Mohsen Nouri and Dr. Amrit Chiluwal successfully completed what is known as a cerebral artery bypass, an extremely delicate and complex procedure used to treat patients experiencing a narrowing or blockage of an artery that supplies blood to the brain.

The goal of the operation is to restore adequate blood supply by using a small artery from another part of the body (usually the scalp, neck or a vein in the leg) and connecting it to a vessel inside the brain to reroute blood flow around the blocked or damaged cerebral artery. This procedure is very similar to a cardiac bypass surgery where blocked heart arteries are bypassed.

Patients who typically undergo a cerebral artery bypass are those who have suffered from a stroke, a brain aneurysm or brain tumor. To determine if a patient is a candidate for this procedure, neurosurgeons at Jamaica Hospital rely on advanced nuclear medicine testing such as CT perfusion to show which areas of the brain are adequately supplied with blood and brain SPECT to evaluate blood flow, as well as other diagnostic imaging techniques. These tests are conducted in the hospital’s radiology department and cardiovascular interventional suite which are equipped with innovative radiological imaging technologies.  Once it is determined that a patient is a candidate, the cerebral artery bypass procedure is performed in one of the hospital’s operating rooms.

In addition to possessing the latest diagnostic and surgical technologies, Jamaica Hospital is also one of only a few hospitals in the region (and the only hospital in Queens) to have endovascular and cerebrovascular trained neurosurgeons capable of performing this advanced surgical intervention. “A cerebral artery bypass is one of the most technically challenging procedures a neurosurgeon can perform. This type of surgery requires great precision. It is only used to treat a very select group of patients, ideally those who are at a high risk for having a recurrent stroke or other complications that may result from the blockage of a cranial artery,” explained Dr. Mohsen Nouri.

“Thanks to the exceptional neurosurgical team that Jamaica Hospital has assembled, our department can offer patients in our community a highly valuable service.  Very few hospitals in our borough can provide this level of care to stroke patients, and others who may qualify for a cerebral artery bypass,” stated Dr. Amrit Chiluwal.  “Our team consists of physicians who are highly trained and experienced. We have also successfully treated patients diagnosed with arteriovenous malformations, traumatic brain injuries and other similar conditions.”

Jamaica Hospital is a designated Primary Stroke Care Center as well as a Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center and has received numerous awards in recognition of its achievements in stroke and neurosurgical care. Jamaica hospital is the recipient of the 2021 Healthgrades America’s 100 Best Stroke Care award, Cranial Neurosurgery Excellence award and the Neurosciences Excellence award.