As part of our commitment to providing compassionate care, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center (JHMC) is proud to introduce Schwartz Rounds®. This forum gives caregivers a supportive environment to discuss the human side of healthcare and the challenging emotional and psychosocial issue they face in 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”.

Schwartz Rounds is part of this vision which is now being realized in more than 500 health care organizations in the US, UK and Canada—helping more than 200,000 health professionals provide compassionate care to millions of patients. Jamaica Hospital Medical Center has joined this initiative through a generous grant from the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) which has provided funding for our participation in the program.

At JHMC, Schwartz Rounds are coordinated by Planning Committee members: Gina Basello MD, Susan Iovino, RN, DNP, Sharon Narducci RN, DNP, Janis Sharkey RN, Vivekanand Sing RN, Frances Perez, SW.  Rounds are offered quarterly 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 by 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.

Those who participate in the Schwartz rounds often have their perceptions transformed.  They come to see how blurred the line between patient and provider is when we notice how profoundly human we are. Not perfect, not complete, but complex and multifaceted even as we strive for perfection.

The first Schwartz Rounds at JHMC took place in March and the second one was held in June. At each 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.

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.

As a health care organization, the MediSys Health Network has a significant impact on the environment and has developed a committee known as ecoMediSys to encourage and monitor green initiatives for Flushing and Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. Since the implementation of the committee, both hospitals have adopted ecologically friendly practices such as recycling and using auto-off light switches in offices.

This year as part of the Network’s green initiative Jamaica Hospital Medical Center observed Earth Day by hosting an educational event in its main lobby.

This event provided an opportunity to promote environmental conservation awareness among employees and the community.  Each participating department showcased unique projects that help the hospital remain environmentally friendly.

For the past five years, on each Earth Day, the ecoMediSys committee has recognized an individual or department demonstrating a strong commitment to preserving the environment.  This year the department of Environmental Services at Jamaica Hospital was recognized for its contributions that help protect our environment, such as using environmentally safe cleaning supplies.  Leading this effort were Kary Shamlian and Oomen Chacko.

Congratulations to Environmental Services on this achievement and thank you to everyone who plays a part in keeping Jamaica and Flushing Hospital green.

In April, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center celebrated National Donate Life Month. The hospital participated in a public education campaign to raise awareness about the importance of registering to become an organ donor.

Community outreach efforts included collaborating with LiveOnNY and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz to promote the initiative and encourage New Yorkers to sign up for the organ donor registry.

To mark the end of the month-long campaign, Jamaica Hospital hosted a special flag raising ceremony to pay tribute to organ donor families and recipients. LiveOnNY President Helen Irving joined hospital leadership and staff as well as Borough President Katz and organ donation advocate Jimmy Nolan, in raising the nationally recognized Donate Life flag in honor of Michael Nolan -Jimmy’s brother.

Michael Nolan who tragically passed away a few years ago was on his way to becoming a professional baseball player when his life was taken. He was a registered organ donor and by giving the gift of life he saved the lives of six people. While the loss of their loved one has been difficult, the Nolan family takes pride in knowing that Michael’s legacy continues.

In addition to hosting the flag raising ceremony, Jamaica Hospital was selected by the Hospital Association of New York (HANYS) as one of two hospitals to participate in a video advocating organ donation.  In the video the hospital’s President and CEO Bruce J. Flanz, Chairman of Family Medicine and Palliative Care Alan Roth and Medical Director of Long Term Care Anthony DiMaria each shared their thoughts on why more New Yorkers should enroll as organ donors.

To see the full video, click here https://hanys.wistia.com/medias/b8prgr1yxt

On Wednesday, April 26^th, fourth, fifth and sixth graders from local elementary school P.S.99 presented Jamaica Hospital Medical Center with six paintings they created as part of an art project.

The theme of their artwork included mermaids, as well as scenes and landmarks that can be found around New York City.

Each student was awarded a certificate of appreciation from the hospital during an event in their honor. In attendance were the school’s principal, parent coordinator, art teacher and student chaperones. Representing Jamaica Hospital were Bruce Flanz; President and CEO, William Lynch; EVP and COO, Dr. Geoffrey Doughlin; Chairperson Emergency Medicine and other leadership from the Emergency Department.

The children’s creations are currently on display outside the Pediatric Emergency Room and will definitely make this area a much brighter place.

Congratulations to the MediSys Health Network for achieving one of the highest levels of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s (HIMSS) Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model, also known as EMRAM.

The Network received a certificate of achievement and recognition from the HIMSS Analytics Healthcare Advisory Services Group for successfully completing all the requirements needed to secure a Level 6 status.

Jamaica and Flushing Hospital Medical Center are two of few hospitals in New York State to earn this high-level ranking and join an elite group of health care providers who best use information technology (IT) to provide quality health care services to patients.

HIMSS, globally renowned for transforming health and healthcare by way of information technology, works with 640 corporate members and 450 nonprofit organizations in North America to “improve the quality, cost-effectiveness, access, and value of healthcare.”

The organization created EMRAM to “score hospitals around the world” on their EMR (electronic media record) and data analysis capabilities.  There are stages in which hospitals need to satisfy strict requirements that demonstrate their ability to “harness technology to support optimized patient care.” Only 30% of healthcare institutions nationwide boast level 6 accreditation.

While earning a level 6 EMRAM status is a significant accomplishment for the MediSys Network, there are also several advantages for patients.   A level 6 designation indicates that Jamaica and Flushing Hospital have established stringent processes to provide safeguards to reduce medical errors and inefficiencies such as duplicate or unnecessary testing.

The Information Technology Department of the MediSys Health Network works diligently to keep Jamaica and Flushing Hospital at the forefront of technological innovations that improve staff functionality and patient experience.  We look forward to future projects and celebrating the department’s accomplishments as they continue to strive toward the Network’s overall goal of providing quality health care in all facets.

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:

• Jose Garcia – Environmental Services
• Michell Hololob – Creative Arts Therapist – Psychiatry

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

Recently the Medisys Health Network launched a website called “MedisysCares”.  This site highlights eight medical conditions that are commonly found in our community and include:

• Breast Cancer
• Cervical Cancer
• Colon Cancer
• Hepatitis B and C
• Human Papilloma Virus
• Lung Cancer
• Prostate Cancer
• Smoking Cessation

The objective of this website is to reduce the incidence of these diseases in our community by promoting healthy lifestyle choices and to encourage people with these health conditions to manage their healthcare through routine follow-up and compliance.

The website can be found at www.medisyscares.org

Each year the Creative Arts Therapy Division at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center hosts a series of events, which includes an art exhibition in observance of Creative Arts Therapy Week.

The purpose of these events is to demonstrate the benefits of utilizing creative arts such as painting, music and dance as a form of therapy for patients receiving treatment for mental illnesses.

Over the last few years, the hospital’s therapists have transformed the main lobby into a beautiful art gallery enjoyed by patients, guests and staff during Creative Arts Therapy Week.   The gallery typically showcases the work of patients participating in the program; however, this year, hospital employees from several departments were invited to a workshop where they created their very own works of art for the exhibition.  Each piece was vibrant and relayed messages of encouragement and positivity.

The contribution of art from hospital staff was not the only new component to this year’s exhibition, as a nod to the theme for 2017, “Seen and Heard,” live musicians including an acoustic guitarist serenaded guests while they browsed and socialized.

The Creative Arts Therapy Division’s, art exhibit was well-received by the community and hospital staff. Not only was the exhibit a success at Jamaica Hospital it also received positive acclaim at the Queens Museum, where the pieces were later placed on display.

Creative arts therapy encourages self- exploration, helps organize emotions and has a profoundly positive effect on mental well-being. Patients often begin therapy feeling unhappy, conflicted or isolated but by creating art they are able to share their feelings, engage with therapists and begin the process of recovery. It is for these reasons and others that this form of therapy has been an integral part of the Department of Psychiatry at Jamaica Hospital for nearly 20 years.