Congratulations To Jamaica Hospital’s Good Catch Recipients

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:

Edny Florissant- Director of Engineering & Plant Operations

Charles Phoenix- Plumber

Timothy Kelly -Plant Supervisor

Joanne Durrant-  PCA

William Mitchell- R.T.(R)(CT)(ARRT)

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’s Milk Depot Receives HANYS Member Spotlight

Each week, HANYS highlights the many ways their member hospitals and health systems are transforming healthcare. Their “Member Spotlight” showcases care providers’ efforts to deliver quality healthcare to patients and communities.

Recently, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center(JHMC) was highlighted for our commitment to investing in groundbreaking initiatives to improve care quality, health outcomes, patient experience, and, in this case, ensuring a healthy start for newborns.

Breast milk is proven to significantly improve childhood nutrition and development, decrease certain childhood infections and save millions in treatment costs for acute illnesses down the line.

For those reasons and more, JHMC created its Volunteer Milk Depot in partnership with the New York Milk Bank in 2017.  This service provides a safe place where lactating women in the community can donate their excess breast milk to mothers who are unable to breastfeed.

Volunteer human milk depots increase access to donors and help lower operational costs of producing pasteurized donor milk.  This makes donor breastmilk more affordable and accessible to all mothers and babies in need.

During the first year of operation, Jamaica Hospital’s milk depot received milk deposits from 11 different donors.  That equates to approximately 6,300 ounces of breast milk.  In 2019, there were 12 donors.  All donors were approved after undergoing a rigorous screening process.

Jamaica Hospital’s milk depot is located in the breastfeeding area of the WIC Department. It is staffed by volunteers who oversee operations and ensure donations are shipped out to the “parent” milk bank to be processed and pasteurized.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, donate or benefit from the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s Volunteer Milk Depot, please contact Ivis L. Penalver, BA, IBCLC, WIC Program Assistant Director at ipenalve@jhmc.org or 718-206-8607.

 

Flushing Hospital Medical Center Employees Give Back To The Community

This has been an unprecedented year; however, one of the things that remains the same is the generosity of the employees at Flushing Hospital Medical Center.

The hospital’s Food and Nutrition Department teamed up with a local precinct to collect toys for children currently living in shelters throughout  Queens.  In just a few weeks, almost 150 toys were received from employees.

Additionally, in honor of Radiologic Technologist Week and Pharmacy Week, each department hosted a food drive to benefit food pantries in the community.

“Many people have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Food pantries in the Tri-state area have been experiencing long lines and a shortage of items. We felt having a food drive would be a great way to give back and also show that our Radiology and Pharmacy Departments care about the community. Partnering in the effort, we were able to double food items collected.” stated Shazaad Games, Radiology Supervisor at Flushing Hospital Medical Center.

All donations were sent to the South Asian Council for Social Services as well as a local community center in Flushing that distributes food to close to 1000 families.

Thank you to all of the employees who donated toys and food.  May you and your families have a wonderful holiday season.

Jamaica Hospital Trauma Service Highlighted By Local Media

Dr. Katherine McKenzie, Medical Director of the Trauma Program at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center recently shared her experiences over the course of the last year with a reporter at NY 1 News.

During the interview, Dr. McKenzie explained how Jamaica Hospital, like many other hospitals in New York City was confronted by two health crises in 2020.  The first is obviously COVID-19, but the other that had a major impact on Level 1 Trauma Centers such as Jamaica Hospital’s, is the drastic rise in gun violence.

Dr. McKenzie explained how she, and her fellow trauma surgeons were deployed during the height of the pandemic to treat COVID positive patients in Jamaica Hospital’s ICUs, a job that they were able to perform due to their critical care training.  As the first wave subsided and fewer patients were hospitalized due to the virus, the trauma team then refocused their attention to treat an increased amount of patients suffering from penetrating wounds, such as stabbings and gun violence. Since the late spring, the number of trauma patients with such injuries at Jamaica Hospital has nearly doubled.

During the interview, Dr. McKenzie took the reporter on a tour of the Emergency Department’s trauma bay and one of the O.R. suites dedicated to the trauma service.

Thank you to Dr. McKenzie and the entire trauma team for the valuable service they provide to our community.

To see the full segment, click here:

Congratulations To Jamaica Hospital’s Good Catch Recipients

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 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:

Irina Khayumova RN  – 2 North-Mother Baby

Shiv Kumarie Santram- 4 South Clinical Nurse Manager

Fernando Salud- Environmental Services

Nicoleth Bullen- Ambulatory Surgery

Atia Batla, RN- 4 South Telemetry

Esmeralda Vidad RN -CNM for Operations

Giovana Gavilano-  Manager, Person-Centered Services

Zoraida Ruiz- Ophthalmology Department

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.

The MediSys Health Network Receives Seven Healthgrades Awards for Specialty Care

Healthgrades, a leading resource that connects consumers, physicians and health systems, recently recognized Jamaica and Flushing Hospital Medical Center as top-performing hospitals.

Both facilities were presented with Healthgrades 2021 Specialty Excellence Awards™ and received recognition as one of America’s Best 100 Hospitals™ within their nominated categories. These honors are reserved for hospitals that consistently deliver superior patient outcomes in one or more of 16 key service areas.

Each year, Healthgrades evaluates the performance of nearly 4,500 hospitals; however, only the top 5% or 10% within each specialty area are recognized as Healthgrades Specialty Excellence Award™ recipients or identified as an America’s Best 100 Hospitals™ nominee.

The MediSys Health Network received a total of seven awards. Jamaica hospital was presented with five awards in the following categories:

  • America’s 100 Best Hospitals -Stroke Care Excellence
  • Cranial Neurosurgery Excellence
  • Neurosciences Excellence
  • America’s 100 Best Hospitals -Coronary Intervention Excellence
  • Pulmonary Care Excellence

Flushing Hospital received two awards for:

  • America’s 100 Best Hospitals -General Surgery Excellence
  • Pulmonary Care Excellence

According to Healthgrades, patients are paying attention more than ever to the clinical performance of hospitals, and are constantly seeking information as to where they can get the best care. “The Healthgrades analysis shows that not all hospitals perform equally, so it is important that consumers do their homework when selecting a hospital,” said Healthgrades’ chief strategy officer Evan Marks. “Those hospitals that have achieved the Healthgrades distinction have demonstrated a commitment to exceptional clinical quality care over an extended period of time.”

Jamaica and Flushing Hospital have demonstrated that they are healthcare institutions patients can rely on for delivering the highest quality care. Both hospitals have received numerous awards and recognitions based on clinical excellence as well as their commitment to safety and a positive patient experience.

 

Congratulations To Flushing Hospital’s C.A.R.E Award Winner

Congratulations to Flushing Hospital’s C.A.R.E (Compassion Advocacy Respect and Engagement) award recipient Barbara Hill-Boyd.

The C.A.R.E award program was created by the hospital’s Person-Centered Care Department 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.

Barbara was also nominated based on her 31 years of dedication, compassion, and advocacy for patients and their loved ones.

We thank Barbara for her contributions to making Flushing Hospital a high-reliability hospital that focuses on patient-centered care:

Flushing Hospital Unveils A “New Beginning” For Mothers And Babies

Flushing Hospital Medical Center is delivering a series of brand new, state-of-the-art in-patient upgrades to benefit women and newborns.

LDR Rendering

The hospital recently unveiled its plans to expand and modernize the entire 5th floor of the hospital, including its Labor Delivery and Recovery (LDR) suites, Mother-Baby Unit, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and newborn nursery to provide the ultimate mother-baby experience.

Flushing Hospital’s project, which has been named “New Beginnings,” will feature an expansion of the hospital’s current LDR suites from eight to 11 and converting the existing triage space from one large semi-private area to four completely private rooms. In addition, the hospital is increasing the number of recovery rooms on the unit from three to five and adding one additional delivery room to accommodate more Cesarean section deliveries.

LDR Rendering

On the Mother-Baby unit, Flushing Hospital will now offer exclusively private rooms to our patients.  Each of the 28 remodeled rooms will feature many amenities including ADA compliant private bathrooms with showers, sleeper beds to accommodate a designated support person overnight visitation, and an electronic information board and bedside tablet for mom.

Flushing Hospital also relocated the newborn nursery to a more convenient location in closer proximity to the Mother-Baby unit and remodeled its neonatal intensive care unit, where premature babies or babies born with complications receive expert care.

The entire floor will also receive an enhanced air circulation system, with all rooms having the ability to provide negative pressure. This is extremely important for patient safety, especially during the COVID pandemic.

The name “New Beginnings” was given to this project not only because it marks a new beginning for Flushing Hospital, but more importantly, it also provides the families in our community an ideal environment to welcome a new addition into their world, which signifies a new beginning for them as well.

“Flushing Hospital Medical Center wanted to create an atmosphere that matches the high-quality care our team has always offered our patients” stated Dr. Hajoon Chun, Chairperson of Ob/Gyn, who added, “The completion of our New Beginnings project will ultimately provide a birthing environment that focuses on comfort and safety and we are excited to offer it to our community.”

Flushing Hospital anticipates the first two model rooms to be finished before the end of the year and will work tirelessly until each aspect of the project is completed.

Congratulations to Jamaica Hospital’s C.A.R.E Award Winners

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

The C.A.R.E award program was created by the hospital’s Person-Centered Care Department 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:

Dr. Firas Alawawdeh

Dr. Edward Epstein

Dr. Michael Goldman

Dr. Samir Sarkar

Dr. Aditya Mangla

Dr. William Frumkin

Ms. Mechelle Webb

Ms. Jorel Zulaikh

Ms. Caryn Sieunarine

Ms. Theresa Molinaro

Mr. Bernabe Rico

Ms. Gloria Gutierrez-Ortiz

Mr. Gavin Adams

Mr. Kener Ismael

Ms. Francess Macauley

Mr. Deochan Singh

Mr. Frank Block

The MediSys Health Network Receives Schneps Media Healthcare Heroes Award

On Monday, October 19th,  Schneps Media, the publisher of many local newspapers in the metropolitan area, honored healthcare heroes at an awards ceremony held at the Revel Hotel in Long Island City.

The MediSys Health Network was one of the recipients of this prestigious award which was presented in recognition of the 6,500 employees who worked bravely, tirelessly, and with great personal sacrifice to treat thousands of patients during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was decided by the MediSys Network Leadership that instead of this award being given to any one individual, it should be presented to all of the employees for their hard work and dedication.

This event was held virtually in compliance with current requirements to keep indoor gatherings to a minimum number of attendees. An acceptance video was shown to attendees which included an introduction from MediSys President and CEO Bruce J. Flanz who thanked Schneps Media for recognizing the hard work and dedication of our team. After Mr. Flanz’s remarks, employees from Jamaica Hospital and Flushing Hospital had an opportunity to share their appreciation as well.

To view the acceptance video, please click here: