For many years, Jamaica Hospital and Flushing Hospital have offered our patients the opportunity to better manage their healthcare and interact with their providers, through the MyChart patient portal.

Access to MyChart accounts has always required a patient’s physician to provide them with a special access code. Now, thanks to our partnership with Experian, our patients can create their very own MyChart account without needing an access code. For patients to create an account, they simply click the link to the MediSys MyChart website: https://mychart.medisys.org and click on the “sign up now” tab.

The new Experian verification process is much easier and will give patients quicker access to their chart, allowing them to take any number of actions, including:

• Reviewing their medications, immunizations, allergies, and medical history
• Reviewing test results online
• Reviewing health education topics and discharge instructions
• Requesting prescription refills online
• Interacting with your provider via email
• Requesting an appointment
• Linking to family’s medical records

We hope that this new method of creating an account will encourage more patients to sign-up. By offering our patients easier access to their records, we feel they will become better educated and empowered to take a more active role in their heath and the health of their family, which we feel will lead to a healthier patient population.

We encourage all of our employees to share this news with their patients. For more information about the new and improved MyChart patient portal, please contact 718-206-8809.

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:

If you are sick and need to go to the hospital, it is important to know that if admitted, your hospital is dedicated to safety, and has a proven track record of preventing further illness and injury to its patients.

Healthgrades, a trusted provider of information to millions of health care consumers across the United States, recently recognized the best-performing hospitals in the country, and both Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and Flushing Hospital Medical Center received the Patient Safety Excellence Award, an accolade that recognizes hospitals that lead in the prevention of patient safety events.

This prestigious honor highlights both hospitals performance in safeguarding patients from serious, potentially preventable complications during their hospital stay.  Jamaica and Flushing Hospitals, both part of the MediSys Health Network ranked in the top 10% in the nation for patient safety.

To determine which hospitals receive the Patient Safety Excellence Award, Healthgrades reviews the results of 14 key patient safety indicators submitted by hospitals to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Some of the safety measures surveyed include pressure ulcers, catheter-related bloodstream infections, and postoperative sepsis rates.

Jamaica and Flushing are the only two hospitals in Queens and two of only four in New York City to receive this honor. The hospitals attribute their vastly improved safety rates to robust quality improvement policies and programs that were initiated over a decade ago and that are still being followed and improved upon every day.

According to MediSys Health Network President, Bruce J. Flanz, “Patient Safety is one of the top priorities at Jamaica Hospital and Flushing Hospital. We are proud to be in a position to provide our patients with a safe and trusted environment to receive high-quality care. I would like to thank the many members of our staff who are committed to this effort.”

The American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA) recently awarded Tom Younghans, Vice President of the Trump Pavilion,  its 2018 Eli Pick Facility Leadership Award.  The award is given to administrators who show the highest level of dedication, professionalism, and leadership in long-term care.

This prestigious recognition is presented annually in memory of Eli Pick who for over 30 years was an Administrator who showed extraordinary care for the residents, their families and the community where his facility was located.

Award recipients are selected based on several key performance indicators which include their facilities’ ability to provide quality healthcare to patients.  Eligibility is determined by three years of skilled nursing facility survey data, including health, fire safety, and complaint surveys as well as top quartile performance on designated quality measures. Fewer than 11% percent of facilities nationwide qualified, and only 351 administrators in 45 states received the distinction.

Mr. Younghans stated “This recognition belongs to the entire Trump Pavilion team. Thank you all for your ongoing commitment to serve our residents and the community in a way that is second to none. I am so proud of each and every one of you.”

Through Amazon Smile, shoppers can have a portion of their purchases go toward a charity of their choice, at no cost to them.

You can support Jamaica or Flushing Hospital Medical Center while shopping by going to Smile.Amazon.Com and searching for “Jamaica Hospital” or “Flushing Hospital” under the list of charitable organizations.

On Thursday, April 19^th, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center celebrated its volunteers by hosting the Annual Volunteer Recognition Dinner and Award Ceremony to honor all of those who donate so much of their time to the hospital.

Our volunteers were joined by several department heads at this special, fun-filled event, which was held in the hospital’s “D” Building auditorium. Those in attendance were treated to a delicious meal and a wonderful program where Arlette Cunningham, Manager of Volunteer Services, recognized multiple volunteers for their many years of service.

The program also included remarks by several individuals who expressed their gratitude to all our volunteers. Among the many who personally thanked the volunteers were Bruce J. Flanz, President and CEO, Bill Lynch, Executive Vice President and COO, and Dr. Sabiha Raoof, Chief Medical Officer and Chairperson of the Radiology Department. They, as well as others who spoke, expressed how much the work performed by our volunteers improve the quality of care we provide our patients.

Last year, volunteers contributed over 40,700 hours of service to Jamaica Hospital. That valuable work was performed in departments across the hospital by 125 individuals, ranging from young adults to seniors. In addition to all the men and women who were recognized for their volunteer services was one non-human. Frankie, Jamaica Hospital’s pet therapy canine, provides therapy services to our patients was also recognized.

Overall, Jamaica Hospital’s Annual Volunteer Recognition Dinner and Award Ceremony was enjoyed by all.

Thank you again to all of Jamaica Hospital’s volunteers.

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:

Natalya Dorum-Nursing

Thelma Facey -Environmental Services

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

Jamaica Hospital Medical Center has recently been designated a Diagnostic Imaging Center of Excellence™ (DICOE) by the American College of Radiology (ACR).

This designation signifies that Jamaica Hospital has achieved the pinnacle of medical imaging care and implements the highest-quality imaging and diagnostic practices in many areas including, MRI, CT scan, nuclear medicine, mammography and ultrasound for both OB/GYN and breast care.

To achieve this distinction, Jamaica Hospital had to undergo a rigorous on-site inspection where all aspects of the Radiology Department’s operations were reviewed, including an inspection of the department’s equipment and technology as well as a review of its policies and procedures. Also included in the survey process was a roundtable discussion with staff that focused on how issues of communication and patient satisfaction are addressed.

In addition, the Radiology Department is now required to participate in the General Radiology Improvement Database (GRID) and the Dose Index Registry (DOI). The purpose of collecting and submitting data to these agencies is to “benchmark” our results against other facilities across the country.

Lastly, Jamaica Hospital radiologists and technologists also agreed to take a pledge to “Image Wisely” and “Image Gently,” which means they promise to use the least possible dosage to obtain the best images possible.

Jamaica Hospital, along with Flushing Hospital, are the only two Queens-based hospitals, and two of only a handful of hospitals in New York City to achieve this honor.

According to Radiology Chairperson, Sabiha Raoof, MD, “We are very proud to have achieved the Center of Excellence Designation, which demonstrates our hard work and exemplifies our high standards of offering the highest level of imaging quality, safety and care.”

Congratulations to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for receiving a certificate of excellence from the Quality Improvement Network for Contraceptive Access (QINCA) for providing our patients with access to contraception options in a post-partum setting.

Currently, 60% of all pregnancies in New York City are unintended. In response to these numbers, the QINCA program was implemented by the New York City Department of Health (DOH) with the purpose of increasing patient access to contraceptive counseling and reducing the number of unintended pregnancies across the city by working with hospitals to provide contraceptive, family planning and primary care services to communities.

This is the second time Jamaica Hospital has received the Certificate of Excellence in recognition of our efforts in this area. In 2016, the hospital participated in phase 1 of the QINCA initiative, which aimed to provide similar contraceptive education, information and support in an outpatient setting. Jamaica was selected as one of only ten hospitals throughout New York City to participate in the initiative with services being provided at the hospital’s Women’s Health Center and Family Medicine Center.

Based on our success in phase 1 of the QINCA program, Jamaica was one of nine hospitals invited to participate in phase 2, where the same efforts were applied in an inpatient environment. According to phase 2, which began in early 2017, Jamaica Hospital physicians and nurses would educate expectant mothers during the prenatal process about their contraception options and offer them a choice of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs).

These birth control methods are highly effective in preventing pregnancy, last for an extended period of time, and once inserted, work without user action. LARCs include intrauterine devices (IUDs) and contraceptive implants like Nexplanon. Women interested in receiving these forms of contraception were provided them immediately after giving birth.

To receive the certificate of excellence for phase 2 of the QINCA program, the multidisciplinary Jamaica Hospital team had to display a commitment to providing optimal conditions for contraceptive access. They also had to participate in regular webinar-based and in person training with the DOH.  In addition, the hospital was required to share data with the group and was subject to multiple site visits by the DOH.

Jamaica Hospital received its official certificate of excellence at a ceremony held on Friday, March 2, at the NYC DOH offices.   According to Dr. Tamara Magloire, Director of Ambulatory for Ob/Gyn, “We are very proud to have achieved this goal. We feel it is our responsibility to educate and support women in our community about the various forms of contraception available to them. By working with QINCA, we are able to offer women a method of contraception that is best suited for them.”

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 recipient is Georgia Martin, Social Worker, Social Work Department.

Congratulations and keep up the excellent work in helping us to serve our community.