Jamaica Hospital Medical Center Emergency Department (ED) physicians Anthony Almeida, Richard Tang, and Celine Thum, as well as physician assistant Melissa Saravia, recently spent a week training at the FEMA Center for Domestic Preparedness at the Department of Homeland Security in Anniston, Alabama.

The ED team members participated in the Healthcare Leadership for Mass Casualty Incidents course; a comprehensive training program designed to equip healthcare professionals with the skills needed to respond to mass casualty incidents effectively.

The course emphasizes disaster preparedness at both the facility and system levels, ensuring that leaders are ready to handle various types of emergencies that may result in multiple casualties. These incidents can range from natural disasters to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosives (CBRNE) hazards, as well as disease outbreaks leading to epidemics or pandemics.

Through a combination of lectures, discussions, and practical exercises, the Jamaica Hospital ED participants learned critical decision-making strategies.

Highlights of their week-long training experience also included learning how to develop emergency public information and risk communication messages, as well as the requirements for decontamination procedures in healthcare settings. They also gained a thorough understanding of numerous concepts associated with the disaster-planning process and the roles of various agencies in emergency management.

The week culminated in a two-day simulation at a training facility, called an Integrated Capstone Event (ICE). Here, multiple disciplines addressed a mass casualty incident where an initial call-out, scene assessment, rescue, decontamination, pre-hospital treatment, crime scene management, hospital response coordination, and other critical functions were carried out in a simulated city.

We’re pleased to share that after intense training, doctors Almeida, Tang, Thum, and PA Melissa Saravia have successfully completed the FEMA course and are proud graduates of the program.  They have gained valuable knowledge and experience that has prepared them to respond effectively to man-made and natural disasters and deliver care in extreme emergencies.  Their training highlights our ED’s dedication to healthcare disaster planning and hospital response in all-hazards disasters.

Congratulations to the MediSys Health Network’s Safety Excellence in Infection Prevention (SEIP) award winners.

The SEIP award recognizes employees who contribute to the success of infection control initiatives.

The criteria for the award are:

S: Surpasses above and beyond expected job role responsibilities as it relates to infection control.

E: Enforce actions that support infection prevention best practices.

I: I do the right thing, even when no one is looking.

P: Performs awesome acts of safety related to infection prevention.

We thank the following team members for leading by example and doing their part to reduce the risk of infection transmissions:

1. Sheraine Williams, RN, Operating Room- Jamaica Hospital

2. Donald Jones, Manager, Central Sterile Supply-Flushing Hospital

The MediSys Health Network cultivates a culture of safety by making infection control and prevention a priority.  All employees have an important part to play in preventing the spread of infections, and everyone’s contribution to safety is highly valued.

Good Catch awardees receive recognition and a certificate of excellence 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:

1. Avril Athalia Quindara, RN- Flushing Hospital
2. Kevin Lam, RPh- Flushing Hospital
3. Natisha Brooks, Care Management- Jamaica Hospital

By identifying a problem before it became a patient safety issue, our awardees have helped our hospitals provide patients with excellent care. We thank them for being exemplary team members and contributing to our goal of being a high-reliability network.

The CARE Award Program recognizes employees who receive positive written remarks from patients or their loved ones after receiving high-quality and compassionate care.

The criteria for the award are:

C: Compassion- Through listening, identifying patient vulnerabilities, and conveying empathy.

A: Advocacy-Ensure quality care is given and the safety of the patients and environment is maintained.

R: Respect-Greeting or speaking to others in a kind and respectful way.

E: Engagement-Make individuals feel that they are valued, important, and recognized.

Please join us in congratulating:

1. Dr. Stephen Howlader, Emergency Medicine- Jamaica Hospital
2. Matthew Valle, Assistant Administrator- Jamaica Hospital
3. James Villavicencio, Assistant Vice President-Jamaica Hospital
4. Dr. Morgan Chen, Emergency Medicine- Jamaica Hospital
5. Dr. Moustafa Mourad, Director-Jamaica Hospital
6. Dr. Anil Kapoor, Medicine- Flushing Hospital
7. Dr. Syed Ali, Medicine -Flushing Hospital
8. Dr. Sahar Farhan, Medicine- Flushing Hospital
9. Dr. Oscar Marcilla, Emergency Medicine – Flushing Hospital
10. Dr. Intazam Khan- Flushing Hospital

We thank our employees for their contributions to making our hospitals high-reliability facilities that focus on patient-centered care.

The Compassionate Caregiver of the Year Award recognizes extraordinary healthcare professionals who embody the characteristics of compassionate care and whose professional achievements have helped to create healing healthcare environments for patients, families, colleagues, and communities.

This year’s Compassionate Caregiver Of The Year Award was presented to Aisling Walsh, BSN, RN, CLC, from Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, and Dr. Martine Louis from Flushing Hospital Medical Center.

Congratulations to both award recipients.  

Congratulations to the MediSys Health Network’s Safety Excellence in Infection Prevention (SEIP) award winners.

The SEIP award recognizes employees who contribute to the success of infection control initiatives.

The criteria for the award are:

S: Surpasses above and beyond expected job role responsibilities as it relates to infection control.

E: Enforce actions that support infection prevention best practices.

I: I do the right thing, even when no one is looking.

P: Performs awesome acts of safety related to infection prevention.

We thank the following team members for leading by example and doing their part to reduce the risk of infection transmissions:

1. Anessa Madraymootoo, Clinical Nurse Leader, 6 South- Jamaica Hospital

2. Erick Aviles, Manager, Project, Plant Operations-Flushing Hospital

The MediSys Health Network cultivates a culture of safety by making infection control and prevention a priority.  All employees have an important part to play in preventing the spread of infections, and everyone’s contribution to safety is highly valued.

On Thursday, May 18^th, the MediSys Health Network was honored as a Healthcare Hero by Schneps Media. The network was recognized for its newly developed cancer care program.  Accepting the award were Dr. Rosa Nouvini and the rest of the cancer care team at MediSys.

Earlier this year, the MediSys Health Network announced a partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center to provide much-needed, local oncology services to the people of Queens at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.

Queens is the most culturally diverse county in the United States and many of the over one million people we serve face significant healthcare barriers. One of which is the lack of cancer care services. Currently, there are no comprehensive cancer care centers in the borough. Through the development of this partnership, the MediSys Health Network and Memorial Sloan Kettering plan to address this need and increase access to world-class cancer care.

The foundation of the MediSys cancer care program has already been established. Dr. Rosa Nouvini, an oncologist at MSK has been named Site Director for Cancer Services at Jamaica Hospital and is currently seeing patients weekly at a specially designated clinic. In addition, Dr. David G. Pfister, Chief, Head, and Neck Oncology Service and Associate Deputy Physician-in-Chief, Strategic Partnerships; will be serving as the Chief of Oncology at Jamaica Hospital. Dr. Pfister and Dr. Nouvini will be joined by a team of oncologists who will receive training in all MSK protocols and have access to their clinical trials.

Other network goals are to establish separate lung and prostate cancer screening programs and build a comprehensive cancer center on the Jamaica Hospital campus where the majority of cancer treatments will be provided locally, with the ability to transfer some cases to our partners at MSK.

The Good Catch award program recognizes MediSys Health Network employees who go above and beyond to ensure the safety of our patients.

Good Catch awardees receive recognition and a certificate of excellence 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:

1. Kener Ismael, Respiratory Therapist- Jamaica Hospital
2. Patrice Dixon, Central Transport- Jamaica Hospital
3. Tanya Ayala & Gary Haye, Care Management- Jamaica Hospital
4. Mariyamma Mathai, AHN, CDU Department- Flushing Hospital

By identifying a problem before it became a patient safety issue, our awardees have helped our hospitals provide patients with excellent care. We thank them for being exemplary members of our team and contributing to our goal of being a high-reliability network.