It is hard to believe that almost exactly one year ago the MediSys Health Network admitted our first of thousands of COVID-19 patients.  Since then, our team at Jamaica and Flushing Hospitals have accomplished so much to treat a community at the epicenter of a global pandemic.

MediSys President and CEO, Bruce Flanz,  was recently asked by NY1 News Anchor Dean Meminger to publicly reflect on the events over the past 12 months, the obstacles that we had to overcome, and what we learned from the experience.

During the interview, Mr. Flanz discussed the dramatic rise in patient volume and our keys to meeting the many challenges we faced, which he attributed to the hard work and dedication of our employees.

To see the full interview, watch below:

The Healthcare Association of New York (HANYS) board of trustees recently announced its 2021 officers and executive committee members and MediSys President and CEO, Bruce Flanz was named chairman. In his new role, Mr. Flanz will work with HANYS leadership to ensure every New Yorker has access to affordable, high-quality care.

Mr. Flanz joined the HANYS board in 2014 and has been a member of its executive committee since 2017, holding many board officer roles including treasurer and secretary. In addition, he was also selected to chair the HANYS Chief Operating Officer forum as well as their Emergency Preparedness Task Force. In 2006, HANYS presented Mr. Flanz with its Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to improving healthcare.

In their press release announcing his appointment, HANYS stated, “During his 46-year career, Bruce Flanz has demonstrated leadership, commitment to community, and dedication to providing healthcare to all who need it. He has been instrumental in establishing MediSys as a leader in its market — and beyond.  HANYS went on to state, “Flanz is perhaps best known for his contributions in the area of emergency preparedness. He was instrumental in relief efforts during Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the ice storm of 1998 in Northern New York, the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in Manhattan, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and in Puerto Rico for Hurricane Maria in 2017.”

Upon learning of his selection, Mr. Flanz stated, “It is an honor to have been chosen to chair the board of trustees for the Healthcare Association of New York.  They share the same values as we do at the MediSys Health Network and I will do my best to support their efforts to advance the health of individuals and communities by providing leadership, representation and service to healthcare providers.”

Jamaica Hospital 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 accidents from occurring. These actions may include keeping our facilities safe, correcting a medication order, preventing a patient from falling or reporting a significant change in a patient’s status.

Please join us in congratulating the following  employees on their  Good Catch:

Lisette Solomon- RN, Labor & Delivery

Ji Ho Jung- Radiologic Technologist

By identifying a problem before it became a patient safety issue, our nominees have helped Jamaica Hospital to provide patients with excellent 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.

The MediSys Health Network is pleased to announce that it has launched its Staff Wellness Station program at Flushing and Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. The initiative was created by the Department of Psychiatry to support the mental health and overall well-being of all employees.

The goal of the Wellness Station program is to offer a personal and sensory-based experience to help team members relax and feel comfortable enough to express their thoughts and feelings about their experiences during these difficult times.

Each wellness station is staffed by community wellness coordinators, who are also creative arts therapists. These individuals utilize several stress-reducing modalities and offer a variety of relaxation tools and inspirational materials to help employees unwind. Some of the tools and materials used include: Tibetan singing bowls, essential oils, coloring sheets and affirmative cards with words of encouragement printed on them. There are also printed informational handouts and referral resources for those who want more assistance.

The wellness stations are open five days a week and employees are encouraged to visit them routinely so that they can achieve the best results.

Jamaica Hospital – Private Dining RoomMonday 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM and Tuesday – Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Community Wellness Coordinator Karen Codd

Flushing Hospital – 3 North 1
Hours 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM – Monday – Friday
Community Wellness Coordinator Deb Brass

The Staff Wellness Stations are based at these locations and will be open during the following times of the day. Everyone is welcome to stop by for any length of time that they wish, within the hours of operation.

Jamaica Hospital 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 accidents from occurring. These actions may include keeping our facilities safe, correcting a medication order, preventing a patient from falling or reporting a significant change in a patient’s status.

Please join us in congratulating the following  employees on their  Good Catch:

Edny Florissant- Director of Engineering & Plant Operations

Charles Phoenix- Plumber

Timothy Kelly -Plant Supervisor

Joanne Durrant-  PCA

William Mitchell- R.T.(R)(CT)(ARRT)

By identifying a problem before it became a patient safety issue, our nominees have helped Jamaica Hospital to provide patients with excellent 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.

Each week, HANYS highlights the many ways their member hospitals and health systems are transforming healthcare. Their “Member Spotlight” showcases care providers’ efforts to deliver quality healthcare to patients and communities.

Recently, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center(JHMC) was highlighted for our commitment to investing in groundbreaking initiatives to improve care quality, health outcomes, patient experience, and, in this case, ensuring a healthy start for newborns.

Breast milk is proven to significantly improve childhood nutrition and development, decrease certain childhood infections and save millions in treatment costs for acute illnesses down the line.

For those reasons and more, JHMC created its Volunteer Milk Depot in partnership with the New York Milk Bank in 2017.  This service provides a safe place where lactating women in the community can donate their excess breast milk to mothers who are unable to breastfeed.

Volunteer human milk depots increase access to donors and help lower operational costs of producing pasteurized donor milk.  This makes donor breastmilk more affordable and accessible to all mothers and babies in need.

During the first year of operation, Jamaica Hospital’s milk depot received milk deposits from 11 different donors.  That equates to approximately 6,300 ounces of breast milk.  In 2019, there were 12 donors.  All donors were approved after undergoing a rigorous screening process.

Jamaica Hospital’s milk depot is located in the breastfeeding area of the WIC Department. It is staffed by volunteers who oversee operations and ensure donations are shipped out to the “parent” milk bank to be processed and pasteurized.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, donate or benefit from the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s Volunteer Milk Depot, please contact Ivis L. Penalver, BA, IBCLC, WIC Program Assistant Director at [email protected] or 718-206-8607.

This has been an unprecedented year; however, one of the things that remains the same is the generosity of the employees at Flushing Hospital Medical Center.

The hospital’s Food and Nutrition Department teamed up with a local precinct to collect toys for children currently living in shelters throughout  Queens.  In just a few weeks, almost 150 toys were received from employees.

Additionally, in honor of Radiologic Technologist Week and Pharmacy Week, each department hosted a food drive to benefit food pantries in the community.

“Many people have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Food pantries in the Tri-state area have been experiencing long lines and a shortage of items. We felt having a food drive would be a great way to give back and also show that our Radiology and Pharmacy Departments care about the community. Partnering in the effort, we were able to double food items collected.” stated Shazaad Games, Radiology Supervisor at Flushing Hospital Medical Center.

All donations were sent to the South Asian Council for Social Services as well as a local community center in Flushing that distributes food to close to 1000 families.

Thank you to all of the employees who donated toys and food.  May you and your families have a wonderful holiday season.

Jamaica Hospital 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 accidents from occurring. These actions may include correcting a medication order, preventing a patient from falling or reporting a significant change in a patient’s status.

Please join us in congratulating the following  employees on their  Good Catch:

Irina Khayumova RN  – 2 North-Mother Baby

Shiv Kumarie Santram- 4 South Clinical Nurse Manager

Fernando Salud- Environmental Services

Nicoleth Bullen- Ambulatory Surgery

Atia Batla, RN- 4 South Telemetry

Esmeralda Vidad RN -CNM for Operations

Giovana Gavilano-  Manager, Person-Centered Services

Zoraida Ruiz- Ophthalmology Department

By identifying a problem before it became a patient safety issue, our nominees have helped Jamaica Hospital to provide patients with excellent 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.

Healthgrades, a leading resource that connects consumers, physicians and health systems, recently recognized Jamaica and Flushing Hospital Medical Center as top-performing hospitals.

Both facilities were presented with Healthgrades 2021 Specialty Excellence Awards™ and received recognition as one of America’s Best 100 Hospitals™ within their nominated categories. These honors are reserved for hospitals that consistently deliver superior patient outcomes in one or more of 16 key service areas.

Each year, Healthgrades evaluates the performance of nearly 4,500 hospitals; however, only the top 5% or 10% within each specialty area are recognized as Healthgrades Specialty Excellence Award™ recipients or identified as an America’s Best 100 Hospitals™ nominee.

The MediSys Health Network received a total of seven awards. Jamaica hospital was presented with five awards in the following categories:

• America’s 100 Best Hospitals -Stroke Care Excellence
• Cranial Neurosurgery Excellence
• Neurosciences Excellence
• America’s 100 Best Hospitals -Coronary Intervention Excellence
• Pulmonary Care Excellence

Flushing Hospital received two awards for:

• America’s 100 Best Hospitals -General Surgery Excellence
• Pulmonary Care Excellence

According to Healthgrades, patients are paying attention more than ever to the clinical performance of hospitals, and are constantly seeking information as to where they can get the best care. “The Healthgrades analysis shows that not all hospitals perform equally, so it is important that consumers do their homework when selecting a hospital,” said Healthgrades’ chief strategy officer Evan Marks. “Those hospitals that have achieved the Healthgrades distinction have demonstrated a commitment to exceptional clinical quality care over an extended period of time.”

Jamaica and Flushing Hospital have demonstrated that they are healthcare institutions patients can rely on for delivering the highest quality care. Both hospitals have received numerous awards and recognitions based on clinical excellence as well as their commitment to safety and a positive patient experience.

Congratulations to Flushing Hospital’s C.A.R.E (Compassion Advocacy Respect and Engagement) award recipient Barbara Hill-Boyd.

The C.A.R.E award program was created by the hospital’s Person-Centered Care Department to recognize employees who received positive remarks (written and verbal) from patients or their loved ones after being provided with excellent and compassionate care.

Criteria for the award require that recipients exemplify G.R.A.C.E:

G- Gracious: Having a courteous and kind demeanor.

R- Respect: Treating others the way they want to be treated.

A- Assisting: Anticipating needs and concerns (example wayfinding).

C- Communication: Talking to patients and family members according to their health literacy.

E- Empathy: Using the patient’s perspective, making the patient feel understood, ensuring that their feelings are validated.

Barbara was also nominated based on her 31 years of dedication, compassion, and advocacy for patients and their loved ones.

We thank Barbara for her contributions to making Flushing Hospital a high-reliability hospital that focuses on patient-centered care: