Father Bryan Carney, pastoral care staff member at Flushing Hospital Medical Center, serves as chaplain to the hospital and has become a familiar and friendly face that many in the community have come to know.

Often times when a patient and their family are given news of the status of their health, they find comfort in having Father Carney present to offer encouragement or spiritual support.  His other duties at the hospital include distributing religious materials, offering mass, spiritual counseling, offering prayer, visiting patients and families as well as notifying a families’ spiritual leader about a patient’s admission to Flushing Hospital.

Father Carney’s work at Flushing Hospital and in the community is highly regarded by hospital staff and it is for that reason we are proud to share that the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens have highlighted him and his ministry in the Catholic Appeal video.  The video follows a day in the work life of Father Carney as he interacts with patients and staff. It will be shown in all the diocesan churches throughout Brooklyn and Queens to raise awareness for the Hospital Chaplain Ministry.

Father Carney’s work at Flushing Hospital is invaluable as having him as a full-time pastoral care professional places the hospital in the unique position of being one of only a few to offer this level of service.

We congratulate Father Bryan Carney on the video and thank him for his dedication to helping Flushing Hospital provide quality services to our community.

https://youtu.be/URvvFXTELno

Fr. Bryan Carney is our Pastoral Care staff member.  His duties include a variety of services such as patient and family visits, distributing religious literature, offering mass, offering prayers, spiritual counseling, as well as notifying a family pastor, priest, rabbi, imam, or spiritual leader upon your admission or at any time during your hospital stay.

At Flushing Hospital Medical Center (FHMC), we are fortunate to have Fr. Carney as a full time Pastoral Care Professional.  His work in and around the hospital is invaluable.  That is why we were so proud to have his work highlighted in the Brooklyn Diocese Catholic Appeal Video.

The video allows Fr. Carney to talk about his ministry at FHMC, contains interviews with administrators as well as his interaction with our staff.

Take a look at the video and congratulate Fr. Bryan Carney for all the work he does with the patients at Flushing Hospital Medical Center.

https://youtu.be/URvvFXTELno

Last month, Flushing Hospital Medical Center’s Smoking Cessation Team joined with the American Cancer Society and participated in The Great American Smokeout.

The American Cancer Society encourages everyone to take part in the nationwide event which helps to make people aware of the dangers of using tobacco products as well as the tools that are available to help them quit smoking.

The Smoking Cessation Team hosted an informational table in the hospital’s lobby. Visitors and employees were given information on the best ways to quit and the reasons why quitting is beneficial to their health.

Smoking cigarettes affect many aspects of health. Tobacco smoke contains about 7000 chemicals, including low concentrations of such strong poisons as ammonia, cyanide, arsenic and formaldehyde.  It also contains 69 carcinogens – substances that are known to cause cancers in humans. Direct association has been established between smoking and cancers of the lung, mouth, nose, throat, larynx, esophagus, colon and rectum, stomach, pancreas, cervix, bladder, kidney and blood.

Flushing Hospital’s Smoking Cessation Team strongly encouraged smokers who stopped by the table to quit, so that they can avoid or minimize the negative effects smoking could have on their health. They also educated smokers about the hospital’s Freedom from Smoking Program and shared the following tips to help them quit smoking:

• Get ready: set a quit date and throw out all cigarettes and ashtrays from your home.
• Get support: tell your family, friends and doctor about quitting plan. You can also search the internet for support groups.
• Learn new behaviors: distract yourself from the urge to smoke by doing physical activities- Exercise or go for a walk.
• Get medication: combining medication like nicotine patches or Zyban with behavioral adaptation and family support quadruples your chances of success.
• Be prepared for relapse and difficult situations- most people try to quit a few times before succeeding.

If you would like to learn more about quitting smoking call the Flushing Hospital Medical Center’s Smoking Cessation Team at 718-670-3146.

Flushing Hospital Medical Center (FHMC) is proud to introduce Schwartz Rounds®. This program provides a forum and supportive environment for caregivers to discuss the human side of healthcare and the challenging emotional and psychosocial issues they face when caring for patients and families.

The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare was created more than 20 years ago by Ken Schwartz, a healthcare attorney who died of lung cancer at age 40. Writing about his experience, he explained that what made “the unbearable bearable” was the compassion shown by his doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. The Center’s vision is that “all patients receive compassionate care and all health professionals are supported in providing it”.

The Schwartz Rounds program is a result of this vision and is now implemented in close to 500 healthcare organizations in the US, UK and Canada—helping more than 200,000 health professionals to provide compassionate care to millions of patients.

“Participating in Schwarz Rounds gives us an opportunity to focus on the caregiver.  As medical professionals, we spend so much time taking care of others, we often forget that we also need to be taken care of,” stated Catherine Ferrari, RN, Administrator for Professional Services at FHMC.

At FHMC, Schwartz Rounds are coordinated by Planning Committee members: Catherine Ferrari, RN, Administrator for Professional Services; Rubin Silvestre, RN, Chief Nursing Officer;  Maria Smilios, RN, Director of Nursing; Margaret Belony, RN, Clinical Nurse Specialist; Dr. Lucan Rodrigues, Director Palliative Care; Arlene Burke, RN, Nursing Supervisor; Patricia Boucher, RN, Nurse Manager and Denise James, RN, Director, Case Management.

Rounds are offered bi-monthly where participants from multiple clinical and administrative disciplines attend a one-hour, case-based, interactive discussion. Each session begins with a brief introductory presentation of a case that includes a panel of health care team members who cared for the patient.  This presentation focuses on the psychosocial themes in caring for this patient and family. Audience members and the panel participate in a facilitated group discussion. Those who have had interactions with the patient or have had similar experiences contribute to the discussion.

The first Schwartz Rounds at FHMC took place in October and the second one is scheduled for January 2018. At the first session, an audience of over 200 individuals attended from all areas of the hospital. The results were overwhelmingly positive with the majority of participants stating that after the “Rounds” they had a better sense of belonging to a team, a new appreciation for their colleagues of other disciplines, more compassion for patients and families, as well as, new ideas and strategies for dealing with challenging situations.

New York State ranks last in the nation in the percentage of residents registered as organ donors, and as a result, every 18 hours someone in New York dies while waiting for a life-saving organ. 

As part of an effort to bolster the number of organ donors and reduce the number of people on the organ transplant waiting list, New York has adopted October 4^th as Organ Donor Enrollment Day.

Jamaica and Flushing Hospital Medical Center joined this statewide initiative to increase the number of donors by collaborating with LiveOnNY to host donor registration events in their main lobbies.

During the course of registration, people were given informational brochures that debunked myths that would have kept them from becoming an organ donor in the past. With the help of dedicated staff and volunteers which included Flushing Hospital’s Mary Fischer and her daughter Lauren Fischer (pictured)-a double lung transplant recipient; approximately 80 new organ donors were registered.

Jamaica and Flushing Hospitals thank all who signed up and those who took information to decide at a later date.

If you have not done so already, please consider becoming an organ donor. It is truly a gift that only one person can give to another.

To find out how you can register as organ, eye and/or tissue donor please visit http://www.liveonny.org/

Flushing Hospital Medical Center (FHMC) employees hit a grand slam on Sunday, September 24, 2017, at their First Annual Softball Tournament and Family Day.

Over 28 departments from the hospital and upwards of 200 people, participated in playing ball, volunteering, cheerleading or just being a spectator.

The daylong event took place at Flushing Meadow Corona Park where employees and their families were treated to a delicious BBQ donated by Sodexo and color coordinated team shirts,  face painting and healthy snacks from Healthfirst.

“What I am witnessing here today really embodies the word team. Although we work together every day, we don’t always take the time to get to know each other,” stated Rob Arbitello, game organizer. “A great deal of work was put into this event and it was all worth it.”

FHMC administrators were on hand to cheer the teams that played and to meet employees’ family members. CEO Bruce J. Flanz brought his pup, Miley, who quickly became the event’s mascot and the big hit of the day. “We could not have organized this event without the support of Mr. Flanz, Mr. Robert Levine; Executive Vice President and COO, and all who donated their time and services,” Arbitello noted.

The winners of the Softball Tournament were the “Toe Taggers.”  They received trophies and took a well-deserved victory lap around the field.

The event brought a fun day of competition to everyone. It is the hope of the organizers that this will become a yearly event for the employees to unwind and have fun.

On Wednesday, September 13, 2017, Flushing Hospital Medical Center (FHMC) hosted its annual Celebration 2017 Dinner Gala, at Russo’s on the Bay in Howard Beach.

Each year, Celebration receives overwhelming support from the hospital’s administration and staff, as well as members of the community.

President and CEO, Bruce J. Flanz welcomed over 400 guests to the venue and offered his heartfelt gratitude to this year’s honorees, each chosen for their devotion and contributions to Flushing Hospital, its patients, and the surrounding community.

Celebration 2017 honorees included Mr. Michael Patti, President of Patti & Sons Inc; MaryAnn D’Agrosa, RN Administrative Nursing Supervisor and Dr. Yan Sun, FHMC’s Chief of Orthopedics.

Each honoree spoke with passion about the place Flushing Hospital holds in their hearts and what it means to be part of the Flushing Hospital family.

Mr. Flanz concluded the program by thanking all in attendance for their support. Following his remarks, guests spent the rest of the night enjoying dinner and the dance floor. A fine night was had by all.

Identifying critical events and enhancing the level of patient safety provided has always been a priority at Flushing Hospital Medical Center (FHMC).

The Good Catch program was created to further advance these efforts and provide employees with an opportunity to share their interventions and accomplishments.The program highlights our dedication to patient safety and helps to reduce the percentage of adverse patient outcomes.

Each month, at the FHMC Department Head Meeting, employees that have demonstrated their commitment to ensuring the safety of our patients are recognized and awarded for their efforts.

Last month’s recipients of the Good Catch Award were Anita Rojas, from the Department of Pathology and Phlebotomy, Francis Simeon and Xiao Ping You, from the Department of Nursing, Michael De Grosa and Danny Chun (not pictured) from the Pharmacy and Dr. James Giglio, Chairman of the Emergency Department.

“Patient Safety is a priority at Flushing Hospital Medical Center and our staff plays an integral role in upholding safe systems for the delivery of quality patient care,” stated Dr. Rehana Jamali, Director of the Pharmacy, Medication Safety Officer and Director of the Good Catch Program.

Employees who wish to report a Good Catch are encouraged to complete a Good Catch Reporting Form. All submissions will be sent tothe Patient Safety Officer and shared with the Good Catch Committee for consideration.

For more information about the Good Catch program, please contact Dr.Rehana Jamali at 718-670-5415.

Flushing Hospital Medical Center (FHMC), under the direction of Dr. Daniel Chen, Chairman of the Department of Mental Health, is collaborating with New York City’s ThriveNYC Program on a project to raise awareness about “Satellite Babies” and offer services to parents in Asian communities serviced by the hospital.

Satellite babies, a term coined by researchers, is used to refer to children of Chinese immigrant parents;  who have adopted the practice of sending their infants back to their country of origin to be raised by members of their extended family (i.e. grandparents and other relatives). These children then return to the United States when they are school-aged so that they can receive an education.

Some of the reasons for this practice are presumed to be:

• Preferring the parenting styles of relatives in China
• Benefits of being raised by family and not a childcare environment
• Lack of legal status

After reunification with their biological parents, educators and health professionals are finding that the children are experiencing speech and learning delays, often the result of language barriers.

The children exhibit feelings of being abandoned, missing their original caretakers, jealousy, resentment and sibling rivalry.  These deep feelings often cause the child to become frustrated, irritable and rebellious.

Parents of satellite babies can often become stressed, physically exhausted and overwhelmed. They can also feel hurt by their child’s rejection and the low level of attachment they have with their child due to the distance and missed bonding opportunity.

To help parents during this difficult time, Flushing Hospital provides seminars that offer educational and coping tools which include:

• Organizing outdoor and parent-child activities to build communication within the core family and create closer relationships
• Attending further workshops on the topic
• Keeping a journal (parent and child)
• Learning to understand each other’s emotions of anger or resentment
• Learning to express your emotions in a positive way
• Learn about feelings by telling a story or through writing or drawing

Not all mental health professionals are as well-equipped in educating and counseling on the topic of Satellite Babies as those at Flushing Hospital. The collaboration with ThriveNYC has given the hospital’s mental health professionals a unique opportunity to help those families in the community who are affected.

On Sunday, May 21st, 2017, Flushing Hospital Medical Center participated in the Association of Chinese American Physicians’ (ACAP) 22^nd Annual Scientific Seminar, Convention and Gala.

The morning’s events began at the Sheraton LaGuardia East, located in the heart of downtown Flushing.  The purpose of the event was to introduce new clinical paradigms, novel early detection technologies and therapeutic options for the prevention and management of a wide range of medical issues. The well-attended seminars tackled the topics of pain management, endocrinology, hepatology, cardiology and neurology.

Flushing Hospital  provided an educational table displaying informational brochures, written in both English and Mandarin, on some of the services provided at the hospital including:

• Radiology
• Pulmonology
• Pre-Natal Care
• Ambulatory Care
• Emergency Medicine
• Pre-hospital Care Services
• Bariatric Surgery
• Robotic Surgery
• Hospice

The gala was hosted later on that evening at the Mudan Banquet Hall, where more than 300 guests dined on gourmet Asian Cuisines.

Among this year’s honorees was Flushing Hospital’s very own Executive VP and Chief Operating Officer, Robert Levine, who received the ACAP Professional Achievement Award and Catherine Ferrari, RN, Administrator for Professional Services, who received ACAP Community Service Award.

Flushing Hospital Medical Center values its partnership with Association of Chinese American Physicians and looks forward to future collaborations.