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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Decreasing tobacco use and promoting the benefits of breast feeding have always been very important issues that require additional community outreach and education. Therefore Jamaica and Flushing Hospital Medical Center selected to address these two issues as their prevention agenda priorities and as part of their 2013-2017 Community Service Plan (CSP).

This decision was based on the demographic needs outlined by the New York State Department of Health. Both initiatives are in line with NYS’s Prevention Agenda 2013 – 2017 and NYC’s Take Care New York 2016 and the needs of the communities served by both hospitals.

Jamaica Hospital and Flushing Hospital continues to make smoking cessation and exclusive breastfeeding the two focal points in their efforts to improve public health in service areas. The Hospitals have made significant progress with both initiatives. Currently breastfeeding services are offered to all patients in the community. Both hospitals have expanded their efforts to become designated as a “Baby-Friendly” hospital; which is a global initiative launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The hospitals have enlisted several community based organizations as partners in promoting Tobacco-Free Living and in extending their reach to as many people as possible. We have had a significant impact on reducing smoking rates among employees who smoke and counseling patients who smoke on the benefits of quitting. In addition we are taking part in the NYC Tobacco-Free Hospitals campaign.

As required by New York State, all hospitals must develop and make public our continued progress on our CSP initiatives each year. To learn more, please visit the “Community” section of the Jamaica Hospital and Flushing Hospital websites.

Through our continued hard work on both of these initiatives, it is the goal of both Jamaica Hospital and Flushing Hospital to educate our community and increase the overall health of those we serve.

March 19^th was Certified Nurses Day.  This special day is recognized worldwide and honors nurses who become board certified in their specialties.  Currently, there are approximately 150 certified nurses at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. The hospital demonstrated its appreciation for each nurse’s commitment to excellence by hosting a Certified Nurses Day celebration in the auditorium of the Old Trump Pavilion.

The auditorium was filled with nurses who chatted excitedly about their journeys in achieving their certifications.  The process to becoming a certified nurse requires  additional and rigorous career training, but proves to be very rewarding as both patients and nurses benefit from the hard work.

Executive Vice President and COO William Lynch kicked off the celebration by delivering a humorous but very heartfelt speech. He stated, “Without our nurses, nothing is possible,” he continued, “We are extremely grateful for the level of care and dedication that our nurses demonstrate.” Mr. Lynch was followed by Kathleen Scher; Vice President of Nursing, who also expressed appreciation and shared her agenda to implement new programs to support the nursing staff.

The evening ended on a fun note, as the nurses enjoyed a spread of delicious food and congratulated each other on receiving their respective certifications. A raffle was held during the celebration in which each person had the chance to win tickets to attend a national conference of their choice, tickets to attend the 1199 Nurse of Distinction Awards or a gift basket with beauty products and a spa gift card.

On March 16^th guests were greeted by an explosion of color and creativity when they arrived at the lobby of Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.  Members from the department of psychiatry transformed the lobby into an impressive art gallery to raise awareness for Creative Arts Therapy week. The name of the art exhibit was Mandalas, Explorations and other Self-Reflections. The general public and members of the press were invited to view the masterpieces, mingle and participate in interactive projects at the reception.

While the art was indeed beautiful, what made each piece special was the fact that they were anonymously submitted by patients participating in creative arts therapy at the hospital.  According to licensed creative arts therapists Michelle Hololob and Heather Grey; these patients were happy to submit their work because they wanted others to know that creative arts therapy has been a positive experience for them.

Dr. Seeth Vivek; Chairman of Psychiatry and Tony Maffia; Vice President of Psychiatry, as well as Grey and Hololob all conducted interviews with the media and educated everyone about the benefits of creative arts therapy in treating mental illnesses.

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.

The event was a success and a visual sensation.  However, the most important achievement for the psychiatry department was being able to use art as a platform to educate the public that mental illness should not be stigmatized and is nothing to be ashamed of. “There is still a stigma attached to mental illness,” said Heather Grey-as quoted in the Times Ledger. “We are using art as a platform to disseminate that stigma.”

Click here to read the full Times Ledger article:

http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2015/12/mentalart_tl_2015_03_20_q.html

To see more images visit us on Facebook.com/JamaicaHospital

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.

The prestigious team of surgeons at Flushing Hospital Medical Center is moving full speed ahead in performing surgeries with the assistance of the da Vinci surgical robot.  This specially trained group of physicians has successfully completed an impressive 100 plus procedures in just a few months.

The da Vinci was acquired late last year with the objective of providing advanced surgical services to the community.   Surgeries performed by utilizing the machine offer patients several benefits such as shorter hospital stays, minimal scarring, less bleeding and pain.

Members of the surgical team are pleased with the early success of the robotic surgery program. They are looking forward to treating more patients through robotic technology.

Flushing Hospital is planning future outreach campaigns to inform the community that several technologically advanced medical services are being provided by their neighborhood hospital and they do not have to venture far to seek treatment.

Members of the MediSys Health Network met with Members of the State Senate and Assembly

Members of the MediSys Health Network team joined the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) at their Healthcare Leadership Advocacy Day this past March 4th. Each year, members of Jamaica and Flushing Hospital Medical Center visit our State’s capital for what has proven to be a vitally important day.

Approximately 25 team members met with members of the New York State Senate and Assembly,  and participated in round table discussions regarding the need to have strong collective advocacy presence when important policy issues are at stake.The large amount of MediSys employees that attended this year’s Advocacy Day demonstrated to the legislature the MediSys Health Network’s commitment to healthcare reform.

Flushing Hospital Medical Center is excited to announce that we have entered the digital age with the launch of two official, and highly anticipated, social media accounts. We are now live on both Facebook and Twitter with the goals of providing educational information to improve our population’s health and enhance our ability to engage and communicate with the communities we serve.

We encourage all FHMC medical staff, employees and volunteers to follow our official Facebook and Twitter accounts. Your participation will keep you informed and help promote hospital news, events and community outreach efforts. We will also be posting articles on a variety of general health topics including diabetes, smoking cessation and breastfeeding. In addition, we will offer lifestyle articles including recipes and parenting tips, as well as profiles on hospital programs and activities.

All employees that wish to contribute articles or ideas on specific topics should contact us. We welcome you and look forward to your participation and feedback in the form of comments, ideas, retweets, favorites, likes and shares!

Follow us on Twitter: @FHMC_NYC
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FlushingHospital

New York State is one of the first states in the nation to encourage universal electronic prescriptions, this includes controlled substances. The law which enhances patients’ safety is currently scheduled to go into effect on March 27, 2015 but there may be delays as it is currently awaiting the governor’s signature.  Once it becomes law, all prescribers will have to send their patient’s prescriptions to be filled at pharmacies, electronically. One of the goals of “E-prescribing”   is to prevent theft of prescriptions for illicit use. Another benefit will be that it will eliminate illegible handwritten prescriptions from being filled incorrectly.

E-prescribing will help ensure that prescriptions are being written safely and will help both the prescriber and the pharmacy manage a patient’s medications. E-prescribing will also cut down on the amount of time spent calling between a pharmacy and a prescriber to verify prescriptions. It will make the filling of prescriptions easier for the patient and potentially help with compliance with taking medications. It will also help both the prescriber and the pharmacy to fill the prescription in a cost effective manner. All of these benefits ultimately will help the patient.

All prescribers need to enroll with Epic to capture their fingerprint, and install “Digipass” the numerical code app.  Licensed providers (MD, DO, NP, PA, CNM, podiatrist, dentist) need to also register with NYS on the Health Commerce System (HCS) website. If you need further assistance on registering for E-prescribing please contact, 718 206-7878.

On Tuesday, February 3, Jamaica Hospital sparkled as all former recipients of the hospital’s Going the Extra Mile program , (or G.E.M for short) gathered for a breakfast in their honor.

Approximately 50 former G.E.M honorees were in attendance for the festivities. Also in attendance were G.E.M committee co-chairs, Anthony Maffia and Sheila Garvey, as well as President & CEO Bruce J. Flanz. Each thanked the honorees for their efforts and stated how important having employees who go above and beyond are to our institution.  “The G.E.M employees are models for others. We hope more employees follow the examples they have set,” stated Mr. Maffia.

One of the past G.E.M recipients, Security Officer Robert Smith offered his perspective on the event. “As a recipient of the award, I was honored to be at the breakfast with my fellow colleagues. While we all received our awards for different circumstances, we all share the same belief that we were just doing our jobs.” Officer Smith added, “I am very proud to be part of the Jamaica Hospital family, where everyone is considered important.”

The G.E.M Program was created in July of 2013 to acknowledge and thank employees for simple acts of courtesy, team spirit, kindness and professionalism. Nominations are made by supervisory staff members who observe employees taking actions that positively impact the experience of our patients, visitors, and co-workers.  Each month at the Jamaica Hospital Department Head meeting, G.E.M recipients are awarded a certificate, pin and a gift certificate.

Since its inception, over 80 G.E.M employees have been identified. Jamaica Hospital thanks them all for their dedication.