Jamaica Hospital Medical Center is one of the busiest trauma centers in New York City and the five boroughs, and the only trauma center providing care for a large community in South Queens.  We are proud to be designated as a Level 1 Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons, the highest designation level.  This means that our trauma center is prepared to provide emergent life-saving care to the most seriously injured patients 24 hours a day.

In the spring of 2020, while our community began to recover from the first surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, we noticed a disturbing trend, more and more patients were coming to Jamaica Hospital for firearm-related injuries.

We recognized the importance of expanding our efforts beyond patients’ medical needs to potentially impact other determinants of gun violence in our community.  By taking a true public health approach to gun violence, we can make a meaningful change in not only our patients’ lives but for all of Queens, as we work as a community to end gun violence.

With that, we are proud to announce Jamaica Hospital’s V.E.T.O program, for Violence Elimination and Trauma Outreach.

As our clinical group of trauma physicians and nurses focus on healing injuries, our team of social workers and case managers will focus on addressing non-medical determinants of health for gun violence survivors by providing violence intervention services and guidance to hospital and community resources.  We are fostering relationships with community organizations to provide additional support for gun violence survivors and their families and working to raise awareness on the epidemic of gun violence.

In November of 2020, Flushing Hospital Medical Center announced plans to expand and modernize the entire fifth floor of the hospital which includes the Labor, Delivery and Recovery (LDR) suites, Mother/Baby Unit, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and Newborn Nursery.

The renovation project, named New Beginnings,  aims to provide modern amenities in beautifully designed spaces, offering the ultimate mother/baby birthing experience and accommodations for families.

Today, the hospital is delighted to share that an important phase of the project is now completed; three mother/baby rooms have been fully renovated and are currently in use.

The Mother/Baby Unit at Flushing Hospital offers modernistic, private rooms to patients. Each room is designed to provide a relaxing environment for mothers and babies to bond while receiving advanced postpartum care. New design enhancements and amenities include private ADA compliant bathrooms with showers, sleeper beds to accommodate a designated support person’s overnight stay as well as an electronic information board and bedside tablet for mothers.

We invite you to take a virtual tour here: https://virte.ch/tours/1056flu/draft2/

Other renovations for the New Beginnings project are underway. Plans include completing the remodel for the remaining mother/ baby rooms, expanding the current LDR suites from eight to eleven and converting the existing triage space from one large, semi-private area to four private rooms.   Flushing Hospital is also increasing the number of recovery rooms on the unit from three to four and adding one more delivery room.

Additional expansion plans include installing an enhanced air circulation system which will give all rooms the capability to provide negative pressure. This feature is extremely important for patient safety, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Congratulations to Jamaica Hospital’s C.A.R.E (Compassion Advocacy Respect and Engagement) award recipients.

The hospital’s Person-Centered Care Department created the C.A.R.E award program 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.

We congratulate the following employees, and thank them for their contributions to making Jamaica Hospital a high-reliability hospital that focuses on patient-centered care:

Andrea Azarcon

Katrina Bencio RN

Marva Gibbs-Joe

Travis Homes

Dr. Maria Del Carmen Valdes Bracamontes

Oksana Galibova CNM

Leyya Pootoolal RN

Michele Popowytsch RN

Hibbert Orayne

Roman Yagudayev RN

Yolanda Zhanay RN

Julie Mariano RN

Jerome Montano RN

Paola Guevara RN

Dr. Zoran Lasic

Laylo Rashidova RN

Tanisha Placide RN

Ping Ren RN

Merle Pike RN

Dr. James Kolodny

On Wednesday, April 28^th the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of Minority Health hosted a webinar entitled “The Road to Equity: Examining Structural Racism Virtual Forum”. A  team from the MediSys Health Network participated in the event presenting on the topic “Integrating Equity Solutions Across Health Programs and Health Systems”.

This portion of the webinar focused on increasing understanding of the impact CMS programs and policies have on health and health care disparities in minority and underserved communities. The session also reviewed innovative ways health care systems and organizations can reduce disparities among those they serve.

The Speakers from MediSys were:

Sabiha Raoof, MD Chief Medical Officer and Patient Safety Officer, Chair of Radiology. MediSys Health Network

Trina Cornet, Esq. MPA, Vice President of Human Resources, Chief Labor and Employment Counsel, MediSys Health Network

Eugene Clark, MHA, Administrator Patient Navigation Department, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center

Stephanie Smith, RN, BSN, Director of Care Management, MediSys Health Network

Click the “Play” button to see the webinar or click Here to view on YouTube:

(The MediSys Team portion begins at 2hours and 58 minutes into the session).

Flushing and Jamaica Hospital Medical Center are proud to receive Diagnostic Imaging Center of Excellence (DICOE) designation from the American College of Radiology (ACR).

To receive this elite distinction, facilities must be accredited by the ACR in all modalities they provide, and in which the ACR offers an accreditation program. Another requirement is participation in the Dose Index Registry® and General Radiology Improvement Database, as well as Image Wisely® and Image Gently® pledges. All of which are initiatives promoted by the ACR to ensure the delivery of safe, high-quality, and effective imaging care to patients.

Furthermore, facilities must demonstrate excellence at multiple levels.  Performance is measured by the successful completion of comprehensive assessments in the following areas:

• Governance and personnel
• Facility organization and management
• Physical environment
• Equipment and IT infrastructure
• Radiation and general safety
• Quality management
• Policies and procedures
• Patient rights and medical records

Jamaica and Flushing Hospital have exceeded the standard requirements of accreditation to achieve DICOE designation.  Patients of both hospitals can be assured they are receiving the highest levels of imaging quality, safety, and care.

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 Leon Williams, PCA Operating Room, on his Good Catch.

By identifying a problem before it became a patient safety issue, our nominee has helped Jamaica Hospital provide patients with excellent care.

We thank him for being an exemplary member of our team and contributing to our goal of being a High-Reliability Hospital.

The success of Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s virtual CenteringPregnancy program has gained the attention of many in our community, including NY1 News.

Members of the hospital’s Women’s Health Department were interviewed by reporter Clodagh McGowan to learn more about the benefits offered by the program.  Viewers were allowed access to a virtual group session that included eight expecting mothers, and program facilitators demonstrated the efficacy of an online prenatal model of care.

The CenteringPregnancy program at Jamaica Hospital was introduced in 2014 as a unique way to help pregnant women become more actively involved in their prenatal care and share their experiences with other moms in a group setting.  Sessions were held onsite at the Women’s Health clinic.

The program continued to thrive since its inception; however, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 presented a new challenge.  Group participants were no longer able to meet in person due to social distancing and safety regulations.

The absence of community and physical interactions began to affect pregnant women in several ways.  Studies show that over 50% of expecting mothers admitted to feeling extremely lonely and isolated due to spending more time at home, and away from others.  These factors are believed to be contributors to a rise in prenatal depression.

Jamaica Hospital’s Women’s Health Department provided a solution to this problem by offering pregnant women a safe place where they could gather in the age of COVID and feel supported.   The department moved its CenteringPregnancy program to a virtual space on Zoom.   Here, patients of the hospital could continue to receive prenatal care and actively engage with a community of healthcare providers and fellow moms.

Jamaica Hospital’s virtual CenteringPregnancy program has been highly successful. The program has earned recognition from leading institutions and is used to demonstrate the benefits of virtual prenatal care to other medical facilities.   The NY1 story has been shared on social media by several notable leaders in healthcare including the University of North Carolina’s Gilling School of Global Public Health and Centering Healthcare Institute CEO Angie Truesdale, both commending the work of the program.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the pregnancy experience for a lot of women, and we are constantly thinking of ways to make it as positive as we can,” said Patricia Fox, Certified Midwife.  “Our team has established this unique, virtual platform so that we can provide our patients with a healthcare service that is convenient, safe, and supportive. We understand how important these things are during these unprecedented times,” shared Thalita Viruet, Practice Manager for the Women’s Health Center.

You can watch the news story here: