Category Archives: Medisys Health Network

Dr. Luigi Tullo Receives Award from the United Hospital Fund

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On Monday, May 6th, Dr. Luigi Tullo received a United Hospital Fund “Tribute to Excellence in Health Care” award.  This award is presented to healthcare professionals recognized as Quality Improvement Champions across the New York Metropolitan area.

According to the United Hospital Fund, nominations were awarded to individuals who exemplified “extraordinary personal leadership to improve quality care, patient safety, and patient experience of care”.

Through Dr. Tullo’s leadership, the Outpatient Antibiotics Stewardship Initiative (OASI) at Jamaica Hospital has developed measures to improve how antibiotics are prescribed by doctors and how patients are using them. As part of this initiative, the hospital has implemented tools to assist physicians in their electronic medical records and has used teaching aids from the CDC’s “Get Smart” public education campaign to inform patients.

The Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship Initiative has significantly improved provider prescribing practices and patient understanding of antibiotics misuse. Through this initiative, the OASI program achieved a total decrease in antibiotic prescriptions by 35.4% and a decrease in inappropriate prescriptions being given by 67.4%. Jamaica Hospital is closer to achieving its goal of reducing future antibiotic resistance in our community

It is with great pride that we recognize Dr. Luigi Tullo for his outstanding personal leadership to improve the quality of care provided to our community.

The Jamaica Hospital Volunteer Awards Ceremony and Dinner

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In April, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center celebrated National Volunteer Week by hosting its annual Volunteer Awards Ceremony and Dinner.

The theme for this year’s celebration was “Volunteers – Every Moment Making a Difference,” chosen to highlight the many hours of service dedicated by the hospital’s volunteers.

Volunteers have provided 43,600 hours of service over the last year to departments throughout Jamaica Hospital. Their high level of commitment is greatly appreciated by patients and staff alike. This sentiment was expressed by the hospital’s Executive Vice President and COO William Lynch in a powerful message of thanks. He was later joined by Arlette Cunningham, Assistant Director of the Volunteer Department, to present awards.

Over ten volunteers were selected to receive awards of distinction, including Frances Hicks, who received Jamaica Hospital’s first ever Honoring Our Patients’ Expectations (HOPE) award- specially created to recognize volunteers who exhibit a profound commitment to the hospital. Frances was lauded for devoting nine years as an Ambulatory Surgery Patient Navigator Volunteer and helping to provide a supportive environment to chemotherapy patients.

Jamaica Hospital’s 6-South nursing unit also received special recognition and was presented with this year’s Team award for providing support to the Breastfeeding Volunteer Counselor Program. This program recruits, educates and trains volunteers aspiring to become lactation consultants.

Overall, Jamaica Hospital’s Volunteer Awards Ceremony and Dinner was a success. Many deserving individuals and teams were highlighted for their devotion to the hospital and the community.

Jamaica Hospital thanks all volunteers for their continued dedication and service to our patients and community.

The MediSys Health Network Announces Collaboration With Planetree International

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Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and Flushing Hospital Medical Center are proud to be two of only 12 hospitals chosen to participate in a 24-month collaborative program that will help the MediSys Health Network reach its goal of delivering the highest level of patient-centered care.

The program, which is being funded by the NYS Health Foundation, will allow both hospitals the opportunity to work with Planetree, an international, non-profit organization that facilitates patient-centered care in a healing environment.

According to the program, over the next two years, Planetree will partner with Jamaica and Flushing Hospital by offering a full spectrum of services to help them develop a path to providing person-centered care. Planetree will be assisting the MediSys hospitals by providing assessments to better understand our organization’s culture from all perspectives and offering coaching and training to help us develop, implement and maintain a range of person-centered care strategies. At the end of the 24-month collaborative, both hospitals hope to achieve Planetree Bronze Designation.

It has been proven that hospitals that are dedicated to patient-centered care have experienced many benefits, including:

  • Higher Quality of Care
  • Improved Patient Outcomes
  • Lower Readmission Rates
  • Shorter Lengths of Stay
  • Higher Patient Experience Scores
  • Increased Employee Satisfaction & Retention
  • Improved Reputation

Planetree’s mission to “inspire caregivers to make patients true partners in their care, meeting their human needs and improving outcomes” is in perfect alignment with the goals of the MediSys Health Network as it has been our main focus over the last several years to improve the patient experience.  “We are very excited to have the opportunity to work with Planetree. We hope that this collaboration will inspire a network-wide culture change to patient-centered care excellence” states Emilia Escamilla-Rebaza, RN, Director of Person-Centered Services.

Please stay tuned for more information about the Planetree collaborative.

MediSys Celebrates National Doctors’ Day

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In 1991, President George H.W. Bush signed a proclamation that recognized physicians for the work that they do. This day, now known as National Doctors’ Day, is celebrated on March 30th and was created to thank physicians for their tireless contributions to our well-being as a society.

This year, the MediSys Health Network celebrated this national observance by hosting a special breakfast to honor our doctors. On Wednesday, March 27th, doctors at Jamaica Hospital were treated to a feast and the following day, Flushing Hospital doctors received a morning meal in their honor. Both events were hosted by Bruce Flanz; President and CEO, Dr. Sabiha Raoof; Chief Medical Officer, and many other hospital administrators who all showed their appreciation to our physicians. In addition to being treated to a delicious breakfast, every doctor at both hospitals received a gift for their hard work and dedication.

The MediSys Health Network is grateful to the hundreds of physicians who work in many different areas and contribute to the wellness of the men, women, and children in our communities.

Veterans Honored at Flag Raising Ceremony at MediSys Clocktower

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On Friday, March 22nd, a special flag raising ceremony was held at MediSys Clocktower in honor of the men and women who served bravely in the Vietnam War.

Senator Joseph Addabbo, who generously donated the flag, conducted the ceremony outside the Clocktower Building. The event was attended by Assemblyman Mike Miller, Councilmember Robert Holden, Deputy Inspector Courtney B. Nilan of the 102 Precinct, Police Officers from the 102 Precinct, Frank Gulliscio, District Manager of Community Board 6, as well as many local veterans who were grateful to be honored.

At the top of the Clocktower Building, which has been designated as a historical landmark, is a flagpole that sits at one of the highest points in the area. Since the medical center moved into the building over 20 years ago, Jamaica Hospital has been proud to have the American flag fly high above it.

The responsibility to raise the flag each time has been that of the center’s manager, Patrick Rudden. As he has done for many years, Mr. Rudden once again climbed to the top of the MediSys Clocktower Building to raise the flag to a delighted crowd’s applause.

Thanks to everyone who made this flag raising event such a special occasion.

The MediSys Health Network Welcomed Dr. Cara James to Recent Grand Rounds

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On March 21, The MediSys Health Network had the honor of welcoming a very special guest conduct a grand rounds presentation for staff at Jamaica and Flushing Hospital.

Dr. Cara James, Director of Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) Office of Minority Health as well as the co-chair of the CMS Rural Health Council shared a very valuable presentation entitled “Achieving Health Equity through Increased Understanding, Sustainable Solutions, and Collective Action.” The purpose of the presentation was to educate the audience that healthcare disparities can occur due to many different factors including race, ethnicity, age, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or disability.

Understanding and addressing these disparities is very important for the MediSys Health Network, as Jamaica and Flushing Hospital serve a very diverse patient population. According to Dr. Sabiha Raoof, Chief Medical Officer of the MediSys Health Network, “Dr. James’ presentation helped our staff understand what healthcare disparities are, what their causes are, and what kind of education and training we can provide for our staff to begin our health equity and disparity reduction journey.”

There were over 100 attendees for the grand rounds presentation at Jamaica Hospital and an additional crowd who viewed it from Flushing Hospital via a live webcast. The audience was genuinely interested in the topic and asked many questions. Dr. James was even gracious enough to stay after her presentation to participate in a “brain storming” session with hospital leadership.

Everyone involved greatly appreciated Dr. James’ presentation and we look forward to her coming back in the future.

The MediSys Health Network Celebrates National Nutrition Month.

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March was National Nutrition Month and Registered Dieticians across the MedISys Health Network participated in various educational activities for patients, employees and members of the community.

Patients and residents at Jamaica Hospital and Trump Pavilion received nutrition tips on their food trays every Tuesday and word searches to keep the mind healthy on Fridays. On March 13th the Nutrition Services Department celebrated Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day by hosting a health fair in the main lobby.

During the day, dietitians were on hand to distribute delicious snacks while providing nutrition education to hospital employees and visitors. Throughout the month there were cafeteria lunch specials and cooking demonstrations to promote healthy eating habits. Jamaica Hospital celebrated the conclusion of National Nutrition Month with an annual fitness event led by a certified personal trainer. The staff had the opportunity to get active and receive tips on their spring fitness routine while sampling healthy snacks.

At Flushing Hospital, outpatient dietitian, Laura Wang presented the importance of reading nutrition labels at two senior centers. She also hosted a healthy snack workshop at a local elementary school.

The inpatient dietitians all held nutrition-related events on their individual floors such as a “Dress Up Your Salad” presentation and a “MyPlate” presentation for the pediatric floor.  On National Registered Dietitian Day members of the Flushing Hospital team enjoyed a lunch and presentation on a multidisciplinary approach to treating patients with diabetes. Lastly, every week throughout the month employees were treated to Nutrition Tip Tuesdays.

The MediSys Health Network appreciates the very important service provided our Registered Dieticians and our entire Food Service Departments. Their efforts not only during the month of March but throughout the year, help improve the health of our employees, patients and community.

Hurricane Maria Relief Team Update

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Since arriving in Puerto Rico last week, the MediSys Health Network twenty-person team has been divided into two smaller groups, each with different assignments.
Team 1 is a 12 person team and is being led by Nick Caputo. This team had been stationed through the weekend at Manati Field Medical Station where they have treated hundreds of patients each day.

Team 2 is an eight-person team and is being led by James Villavicencio. The team has been working with Americares and sent initially to a school on the outskirts of Aguada. On Saturday they were moved to a clinic in Arenas Utuado which is about 1.5 hours from San Juan. The team saw 62 extremely grateful patients in a four hour period.
Both teams have been reporting that their members are in good spirits and are all doing well. They feel happy to be able to contribute to the relief effort. We congratulate our employees who volunteered to take part in this deployment and we will continue to provide updates in the days to come.

 

     

MediSys Team Deployed to Puerto Rico to Provide Relief

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The MediSys Health Network has deployed a team of medical personnel to Puerto Rico to help provide much-needed healthcare services to the areas devastated by Hurricane Maria. We are the first two Queens-based hospitals to send staff to the island.

The 20-member volunteer team of largely bi-lingual employees, including physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, emergency medical technicians, paramedics and administrators were deployed on the morning of Tuesday, October 24th.

Before departing, the entire team met at Jamaica Hospital, where MediSys Health Network President and CEO, Bruce J. Flanz  offered his support and appreciation to the group. The team was then escorted to JFK International Airport via a Port Authority bus, before boarding an 11:00 a.m. flight to Puerto Rico.  We are happy to announce that all 20 members arrived safely in Puerto Rico by mid afternoon.

The MediSys Health network has a long history of providing disaster relief to those in need. Some of our past relief efforts include:

  • Hurricane Andrew – Homestead, Florida, 1992
  • Northern Country Ice Storms – Watertown, NY, 1998
  • World Trade Center Attacks (9/11) – New York, NY, 2011
  • Hurricane Katrina –Louisiana & Mississippi, 2005
  • Hurricane Sandy – Far Rockaway, New York, 2012

To fund this effort, the Network’s Board of Trustees, medical staff and employees set a fundraising goal of $100,000. To date, roughly half of that goal has been achieved.  Staff can still make a donation to support our efforts one of two ways. You can make a secure online donation by going to either hospital’s website and clicking on the “Hurricane Relief Efforts” banner. You can also go to the Public Affairs Department and make a donation in person. Payments are accepted by check, cash, or credit card. All checks should be made out to “The MediSys Health Network.”

We will continue to monitor the team’s activities and report back to our employees. Please look out for future updates.

There Is Still Time To Get Your Flu Vaccine

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78619578 flu vaccineThe Occupational Health department is offering the flu vaccination free of charge to employees, volunteers, students, contract personnel and independent licensed practitioners who are affiliated with the MediSys Health Network.

Flu vaccination protocols for health care workers have become a widely discussed topic over the past few years. Several state and federal agencies have issued guidelines and will be closely monitoring their implementation. There is now mandatory reporting for New York State Department of health and CDC/CMS. The Joint Commission expects that 90% of hospital personnel will receive the flu vaccine every year.

Employees from all hospital departments, both at the main campus as well as the off-campus locations, are expected to participate in the organization-wide Flu Vaccination campaign. Any staff member who decides against the vaccination must sign a refusal form. If the vaccine is given by an outside agency or by a private physician, written proof must be submitted to the Office of Occupational Health. Any person who has an allergy to egg protein will be given a vaccine that is egg-protein free.

For those who have opted not to receive the flu vaccine, we remind them that un-vaccinated personnel will be required to wear surgical masks while in areas where patients are present from November 10th throughout the period when influenza remains prevalent in our region. Employees who decide not to receive the vaccine and who have not signed the opt-out form will be locked out of Kronos after December 1st. For further information regarding the flu vaccination program at Jamaica Hospital please contact the Occupational Health Department at 718-206-6812.