It is estimated that 40% of New Yorkers living with mental illnesses do not seek treatment because of the stigma attached.  Creative arts therapists at Jamaica and Flushing Hospital Medical Center brought light to this issue by hosting the “Drawing Bridges to Wellness” exhibit in March, in honor of Creative Arts Therapy Week.

The exhibit was held in each hospital’s main lobby and showcased over 70 pieces of art that illustrated the musings of patients and therapists participating in Jamaica and Flushing Hospital’s mental health programs.  The artists utilized a variety of mediums such as clay, oil paints, pastels and model magic to express their thoughts and chronicle their journeys to wellness.

Drawing Bridges to Wellness provided the community with a beautiful gallery to explore and served as a platform to raise awareness of mental health issues and destigmatize mental illness.   Many of the art pieces presented echoed the message that people should not feel ashamed about seeking help for mental health disorders.

The Department of Psychiatry further bolstered their efforts to raise awareness by showcasing the exhibit at the Queens Museum, after completing its run at Jamaica and Flushing Hospital. The artwork was displayed in the museum’s New York City building for thousands of guests to see.

Jamaica and Flushing Hospital have provided creative arts therapy to patients for close to 20 years.  This form of therapy encourages self- exploration and has a profoundly positive effect on mental and emotional well-being. Patients often begin therapy feeling unhappy, conflicted or isolated but by creating art they are able to engage with therapists and begin their journeys to wellness. Both hospitals are encouraging communities to take advantage of creative arts and other programs designed to treat mental health disorders.

In an effort to improve the overall wellness of our surrounding community and employees, Flushing Hospital Medical Center has partnered with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation’s, Shape Up NYC, to offer free core strengthening and circulation classes to everyone.

Jordan, a trained specialist in fitness who knows how to make exercise enjoyable for everyone leads the class.

According to Shape Up NYC, “this class includes core strengthening and circulation techniques to improve balance and improve intestinal health, dynamic and static stretching, calisthenics and plyometric bodyweight strengthening, Cardiovascular exercises, core-focused breathing postures to slow the mind and for a stronger body, and meditation.”

Class began on March 5th and will take place every Tuesday at 5:00 pm at the 5^th Fl. Auditorium/Conference Room A, corner of 45^th Avenue and Burling Street. Employees are encouraged to attend.

You can sign up at the time of attendance and please bring your own mat.

March 10^th through the 16^th has been designated as National Patient Safety Awareness Week. In recognition of this observance, both Jamaica and Flushing Hospital had a full week of fun and educational activities planned. There was even a contest to see which department could decorate their doorways best with colorful hand cutouts.

To kick off the week both hospitals held an event in their lobbies on the first day. The event included interactive activities to test everyone’s safety knowledge by playing various games where participants had the opportunity to answer questions and to win prizes.

Throughout the week, employees were asked to take the “Hand Hygiene Pledge” and to demonstrate proper donning and doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE) which can eliminate the transmission of infectious disease.

The week culminated with a Hand Hygiene display contest. Departments were asked to decorate their area to demonstrate their commitment to hand hygiene. Many departments participated and winners were named. At Jamaica Hospital Medical Center the Human Resources department was selected as the winner and the OB/GYN department at Flushing Hospital Medical Center.

The theme of this year’s Patient Safety Awareness week was “See, Say, Do & Thank You”, which asked patients to not only notice and identify good safety practices but also do something by thanking those individuals when these practices are witnessed.

One of the most important factors in improving patient safety is practicing proper hand hygiene and both hospitals’ hand hygiene compliance rates are above national averages. Flushing Hospital had a 95% compliance rate and Jamaica Hospital boasted a 100% compliance rate.

Congratulations to all involved in making the hospitals a safe environment for our patients.

Join us in congratulating Dr. Roseline Jerome, Attending Anesthesiologist; Angel Riu, Pharmacist and  Dr. Alan Roth, Chairman Family Medicine on their Good Catch!

Every month, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center recognizes employees for their contributions to patient safety.

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 the potential harm of patients. These actions may include correcting a medication order, preventing a patient fall or reporting a significant change in patient status.

By identifying problems before they became patient safety issues, our nominees have helped Jamaica Hospital to improve our quality in patient 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.

To report a Good Catch, email Letha Walters, PI Director at lwalter1@jhmc.org,  or call her at ext. 8409 and leave a message.

A recent article published in the New York Times reported that one of the most frequent causes of death among older adults is complications from a fall.  The article revealed that “Every 19 minutes in this country an older person dies from a fall.”

On a local level, data collected by Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s Emergency Department supported these findings.  It was found that of the hospital’s 770 fall-related trauma cases recorded between January and November 2018; senior citizens accounted for 68% of incidents.

In an effort to address this critical issue, Jamaica Hospital’s Trauma Division launched a series of Fall Prevention Workshops in surrounding communities with the highest concentration of falls.

The workshops were held at senior centers and covered a wide range of topics from identifying fall risk factors to home safety strategies.   By utilizing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries falls risk self-assessment survey, Jamaica Hospital was able to identify seniors that were at a moderate to high risk of falling and make recommendations.  Program participants were also encouraged to speak with their physicians about better managing their risk of falling.

Jamaica Hospital’s Fall Prevention Workshops were well received by the community.  In total,  over 20 senior centers and 700 older adults participated in the program.  The Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) highlighted the program as part of its Community Benefit Spotlight.   The hospital was recognized for facilitating this much-needed initiative and fostering a relationship with the community that will greatly benefit its senior population.

Click here to read more about HANYS’ Community Benefit Spotlight.https://www.hanys.org/community_benefit/?a=vs&s=Jamaica_Hospital_Medical_Center_prevents_falls

On Tuesday, March 5^th, two dozen members of the MediSys Health Network leadership traveled to Albany to participate in The Healthcare Association of New York State’s (HANYS) Advocacy Day to urge state lawmakers to reject this year’s proposed budget cuts to health care.

Members of the MediSys group were joined by over 1,000 other healthcare workers from across the state for a rally at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center and marched through Albany’s streets to have their voices heard in opposition to the potential cuts that could include:

• Cuts directed toward hospitals totaling $657 million for the upcoming state fiscal year and $1.3 billion dollars over the next two years.
• Cuts to nursing homes that would total over $400 million during the 2019-2020 fiscal year and more than $800 million in the next two years.

In addition, Bruce J. Flanz, President and CEO of MediSys as well as a handful of hospital delegates met with local elected officials to discuss the devastating effects the proposed cuts would have on Jamaica and Flushing Hospital.

The MediSys Health Network and HANYS are encouraging employees to join the fight.  Please contact your local state legislators to tell them why they have to oppose these cuts.

On a daily basis New Yorkers, especially low-income residents, face challenging financial and social issues. These factors can negatively impact their lives in many ways, most notably their physical and mental health. Lack of access to adequate housing, food, or safe and secure employment can impede their ability to seek and receive appropriate healthcare services for themselves and their families.  Jamaica Hospital Medical Center is working to remove these barriers by offering free legal services to its patients.

Every week an attorney from LegalHealth, a division of the New York Legal Assistance Group, comes to Jamaica Hospital’s Ambulatory Care Center to provide legal counsel to hospital patients on issues relating to government benefits, housing, workplace conditions, and immigration and credit problems. LegalHealth also assists patients and families develop advanced planning directives, wills and legal matters affecting families.

It is well established that unmet social needs have a direct correlation with poor health.  Social factors, such as food insecurity have been closely linked to a higher risk of chronic conditions. Studies show that those who lose their jobs are 83% more likely to develop stress-related health conditions such as heart disease and stroke.

Jamaica Hospital made the commitment to fund the LegalHealth clinic knowing that addressing these issues will ultimately improve the health of its patients and potentially reduce unnecessary emergency room visits and hospital admissions.  According to Dr. Alan Roth, Chairman of Family Medicine at Jamaica Hospital, “By understanding these social determinants that our patients encounter on a daily basis and providing a resource to have them addressed, Jamaica Hospital and LegalHealth can remove many of the obstacles that prevent our community from improving and maintaining healthier lives.”

LegalHealth is also providing ongoing training to Jamaica Hospital’s providers to equip them with the necessary tools to help them identify any social, financial or other problems patients are experiencing which can be addressed with legal support.

The Legal Health clinic opened at Jamaica Hospital in January 2019 and is on site weekly.

Patients who utilize LegalHealth services are assured of complete confidentiality and services are completely free to Jamaica Hospital patients.

Every month, employees at Jamaica Hospital who go above and beyond to help coworkers, patients and visitors are nominated for the G.E.M award.

G.E.M stands for Going the Extra Mile and recipients are recognized for their hard work, team spirit, kindness, and professionalism.

This month’s G.E.M recipients are Jose Castro, Transportation Coordinator, and Seydou Ndiaye Security Department Captain.

Congratulations to you both. Keep up the excellent work in helping us to serve our community.

The opioid epidemic continues to plague New York City communities.  According to the City’s Department of Health, there were 694 confirmed overdose deaths from January to June 2018, and a fatal drug overdose reported every six hours.

More New Yorkers die as a result of a drug overdose than homicides, suicides and motor vehicle accidents combined.

Jamaica Hospital Medical Center which operates one of the City’s busiest emergency departments has experienced firsthand the detriment the epidemic has caused.  Last year, the hospital’s emergency department treated over 200 patients for opioid drug overdoses.

“Over the years, we have seen the numbers continue to increase significantly. This epidemic has profoundly affected many individuals and families. Opioid addiction has impacted all genders, ages, ethnicities and those of all socioeconomic backgrounds,” explained Dr. Geoffrey Doughlin, Chairman of Emergency Medicine.  “No group is untouched.”

“At Jamaica Hospital our goal is to improve the health of our community in all aspects. We are committed to doing all that we can to combat the opioid crisis,” shared Dr. Shi-Wen Lee, Vice Chairman of Emergency Medicine.  In addition to providing life-saving treatments in the emergency department, the hospital is the first in Queens to participate in New York City’s Relay program.

The Relay program, which launched in 2017 under HealingNYC, targets survivors of opioid overdoses who are at high risk for a future, fatal overdose.  According to New York City’s Department of Health, “In the hours after someone survives an opioid overdose, a trained Relay “Wellness Advocate” meets with the survivor in the hospital emergency department to offer overdose risk reduction counseling, overdose rescue training, and an overdose prevention kit containing naloxone. Participating hospitals can contact Relay at any hour of the day or night, on every day of the year, and a Wellness Advocate aims to arrive within the hour. Wellness Advocates stay in contact with overdose survivors for up to 90 days and connect them to appropriate services”

“Jamaica Hospital is proud to work in collaboration with Relay. We have made over 50 patient referrals since the program’s inception at our facility in August 2018,” said Joshua Sclair, Emergency Medicine Administrator.  The hospital’s participation in the initiative offers the community resources that can potentially reduce the number of overdose deaths and provide access to supportive services.

Any person in need of treatment for their addiction can come to the emergency department at Jamaica Hospital and receive help. The hospital has designated detoxification beds and staff that are specially trained to help patients with their treatment.