Jamaica Hospital Medical Center has partnered with the American Diabetes Association to bring a nutrition pilot program called “What Can I Eat?” to our community. This four week nutrition program is an interactive, group discussion class which reviews healthy food choices for diabetics.

Participants will be empowered to make healthy decisions at home, while grocery shopping, eating out, family occasions and all while staying on a budget. The class is open to adults with Type 2 Diabetes; however, loved ones are encouraged to join as well.

After a successful run in July and continued interest, the class is being offered again.

A participant from the last session reported “It was very informative, and I learned a lot. The class put me on a path to better health.”

Facilitators, Elena Toumaras, RD, CDN and Lindsay Chetelat, RD, CDN, will be offering the classes on Mondays and Wednesdays at the Family Medicine Center Conference Room (133-03 Jamaica Avenue) starting September 14th from 5:00-6:30 pm.

Anyone who is interested may attend an informational session to be held at the Family Medicine Center on Friday September 11th from 12:00-3:00 pm. You will learn more about the program and will also be able to register.

Space is limited so reserve your space ASAP! You can contact Elena at 718-206-7056 or [email protected]

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On Tuesday June 23^rd NYPD Commissioner William Bratton met with Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s President and CEO, Bruce J. Flanz to express his personal gratitude as well as the appreciation of the entire police department for the excellent level of care that the hospital provides to members of the NYPD in times of distress and injury.

Mr. Bratton presented Mr. Flanz with a beautiful plaque, which will be displayed prominently at the hospital, as well as a personal letter recognizing the tremendous skill of the doctors, nurses and support staff of our facility. The Commissioner commended the hospital’s dedication to trauma care and noted how it is highly regarded by everyone within the ranks of the NYPD.

Accompanying Mr Flanz at this meeting held in the Commissioner’s office at 1 Police Plaza were John Arline, Dr. Angelo Canedo, Dr. Geoffrey Doughlin, Dr. Kenneth Fretwell, Charles Neacy, and Dr. Andrew Rubin.

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Dr. Giglio, Flushing Hospital’s New Chairman of Emergency Medicine

Flushing Hospital Medical Center is happy to announce the addition of James F. Giglio, MD as the new Chairman of Emergency Medicine.  Dr. Giglio joined Flushing Hospital on April 27, after serving 17 years as the Chief of Emergency Medicine for New York Presybertian Hospital’s Columbia and Allen campuses.

Dr. Giglio brings many years of Emergency Room experience and is very excited to be in his new role of serving one of the most culturally rich and ethnically diverse communities in the entire nation.  Flushing Hospital treats over 40,000 patients in its Emergency Department every year. Many of those patients have roots from around the world and they bring their languages and customs with them when they come to Flushing Hospital’s ER. Dr. Giglio believes that is the job of the ER doctors to understand and respect everyone’s beliefs and traditions and to treat each patient as an individual.

Dr. Giglio’s philosophy comes from years of experience working in the emergency room. In that time, he has seen a dramatic change in how care is delivered. “In the past, ER doctors had a singular role – to save lives, and the long ER waits and impersonalized care that was associated with this way of providing treatment was accepted,” states Dr. Giglio, who added, “That way of thinking needs to be flipped upside down.  I believe that just as important as providing life-saving care is doing it in a compassionate and respectful manner, where every person who visits our ER feels like they are our only patient.”

What made Flushing Hospital the right fit for Dr. Giglio is both share a desire to improve the health of the community. Many of the people who come to Flushing Hospital don’t have a primary care physician and need assistance finding the best resources to maintain and improve their health.   Flushing Hospital has added many services and initiatives to educate the community and provide them with the tools to live a healthier lifestyle.  “Improving the wellness of our community is one of our highest priorities for Flushing Hospital and those efforts should start in the ER” states Dr. Giglio

While compassion and individualized care are priorities for everyone in Flushing Hospital’s ER, running an efficient department that provides well-coordinated care with the hospital’s entire network of services is equally important. To ensure that every aspect of patient care is addressed, Dr. Giglio plans to take a very “hands-on” approach to running the Emergency Department.  Dr. Giglio states, “I can’t wait to get to know the community, take care of the emergency care needs, and offer them help to better manage their health so together we can build a healthier Flushing.”

Jamaica Hospital Medical Center is excited to announce the launch of a new program called Seniors Coaching Seniors. Seniors Coaching Seniors is a UHF grant funded program that helps connect volunteers and recently discharged patients aged 65 years and over.  These volunteer coaches provide telephone support and guide their peers through their doctor’s recommendations.  All coaches are trained by the Department of Care Transitions Clinical Team, including a registered nurse and licensed social worker.

We encourage all staff to spread the word to eligible patients. Let them know a Volunteer Coach will be reaching out to them after discharge to assist them. We’re also looking for volunteers age 65 and over to participate in the program.

For more information please contact:

Lisa Sigismondi, LCSW

718-206-8501 [email protected]

or

Winnie Wong, RN

718-206-8591 [email protected]

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Flushing Hospital Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines^®–Target: Stroke Honor Roll-Elite Quality Achievement Award at the association’s International Stroke Conference 2015. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment and success ensuring that stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized and research-based guidelines.

The hospital is one of 559 hospitals to be recognized. To receive the Target: Stroke Honor Roll-Elite award, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke. Flushing Hospital has also met specific scientific guidelines as a Primary Stroke Center, featuring a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department.

These quality measures are designed to help hospital teams provide the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients.

“We are pleased to recognize Flushing Hospital Medical Center for their commitment to stroke care,” said Deepak L. Bhatt, M.D., M.P.H., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines steering committee and Executive Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Programs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Studies have shown that hospitals that consistently follow Get With The Guidelines quality improvement measures can reduce length of stay and 30-day readmission rates and reduce disparities in care.”

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MediSys Hollis, one of Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s family health care facilities was recently awarded Level Three National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) – Patient Centered Medical Home 2011 status.

All nine of the MediSys’ Family Health Centers at Jamaica Hospital and the Ambulatory Care Center at Flushing Hospital have now achieved this status.

NCQA’s Patient Centered Medical Home 2011 (PCMH) is an innovative program for improving patient-centered primary care delivery. The objectives of the program include:

• Establishing long-term partnerships between clinicians and patients, instead of a series of hurried and sporadic visits.
• Clinician led teams who coordinate prevention and chronic condition care for patients.
• The promotion of shared decisions by medical teams, which will enable patients to make informed choices and get better results.

This model of quality assurance was created with a key focus on providing stellar primary healthcare and patient satisfaction.  MediSys Health Network’s ability to secure this designation for its outpatient care centers at Jamaica Hospital and Flushing Hospital is a reflection of the networks dedication to ensuring that patients receive the highest level of care at all times.

Congratulations to the Engineering Department at Jamaica Hospital, recipient of the 2015 ecoMediSys Initiative award.

This year marks the third anniversary of MediSys Health Network’s ecoMediSys initiative.  In observance of this milestone Jamaica and Flushing Hospital Medical Center celebrated Earth Day on April 22^nd by showcasing our environmental protection efforts. The events were held in each hospital’s main lobby.

The ecoMediSys initiative was created with the goal of identifying and highlighting ecological initiatives that we have implemented. The program helps in reducing waste, increasing recycling and conserving energy.

Some of the changes we have applied include:

• The conversion to a paperless, electronic medical records (EMR) system throughout the hospital and our ambulatory care centers.  This drastically reduced the amount of paper previously used in patient charts.
• The implementation of a digital radiology system that eliminated the use of chemicals associated with conventional x-rays.
• The elimination of blood pressure machines and thermometers that contain mercury.
• The installation of energy efficient boilers and chillers, as well as a conversion from oil to gas.
• A transition to energy efficient LED lighting and the implementation of a fluorescent tube and bulb recycling program.
• An increase in our paper as well as bottle and can recycling programs.
• Shredding and recycling containers have been added throughout the campuses in both offices and patient care areas.
• The motor transport department has replaced all of it’s vehicles with higher mpg cars and vans and initiated a no-idling program for all hospital vehicles.
• The hospital also added auto-off light switches in many offices and replaced all old PCs with energy star-rated computers.

Each year a department is recognized for their efforts in making the hospital more ecologically responsible. The Third Annual ecoMedisys recognition was awarded to Mr. Hans Waldvogel and the Engineering Department at Jamaica Hospital. One of the department’s initiatives included the use of more environmentally safe cleaning and building supplies.

Earth Day showcase at Flushing Hospital

As major healthcare providers Jamaica Hospital and Flushing Hospital understand the impact of these environmental initiatives and embraces its role as a leader in any efforts to improve the well-being of the communities we serve.

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Dr. Madhu Rajanna delivers an educational and insightful presentation about PTSD in returning veterans

Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s Department of Psychiatry hosted a very important event to help health care professionals effectively treat returning combat veterans living with mental health disorders.

The hospital in conjunction with the New York State Psychiatric Association and the Queens District Branch of the American Psychiatric Association hosted the Veterans Mental Health Primary Care Training Initiative on Thursday April 2^nd. The auditorium in the D building was filled to capacity with hospital clinicians eager to learn more about the best practices to treat members of the military suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or other mental health conditions.

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of veterans suffer from combat- related mental illnesses but only 23-40% seek professional help, because mental illness is sadly and often stigmatized. The negative perceptions associated with mental illness can sometimes lead veterans to believe that they are weak or should be ashamed of seeking professional help.

In order to cope with the complications of mental illness, some veterans may self-medicate by using alcohol or narcotics and in extreme cases commit suicide instead of reaching out to a medical professional for help.

Assembly Member David I. Weprin addresses the room and commends the hospital on a job well done

Dr. Madhu Rajanna, Director of Jamaica Hospital’s Mental Health Clinic and Assistant Director of the Psychiatry Residency Training Program was the event’s main speaker. He conducted a dynamic presentation about the effective and compassionate means of communication health care professionals can utilize when gathering medical information from veterans.  This collected information can be vital in assessing the mental health of service members.  Dr. Rajanna was later followed by Assembly Member David I. Weprin who commended the department on their efforts for raising awareness on mental illnesses and congratulated the event organizers on a job well done.

Several staff members of the hospital such as Dr. Richard Pinsker, are also veterans and believe this training initiative was fundamental.  According to Dr. Pinsker, “Attitudes towards PTSD and other mental illnesses are shifting in a positive direction; many are recognizing that the emotional and mental wounds can be as detrimental to our vets as the physical ones.”

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As of Monday, March 16^th, The Jamaica MediSys Family Care Center has a new home. The center, formerly located on Sutphin Blvd has moved to a new address – 149-18 Jamaica Avenue.

The new location will offer all the same services, including internal medicine, pediatrics, and podiatry, but will also accommodate patients in 11 larger and more modern exam rooms .

The new site is centrally located in the heart of the busy Jamaica shopping district and is easily accessible by public transportation. In addition, there is a municipal parking garage conveniently located just steps away from the center.