A recent article published in the New York Times reported that one of the most frequent causes of death among older adults is complications from a fall.  The article revealed that “Every 19 minutes in this country an older person dies from a fall.”

On a local level, data collected by Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s Emergency Department supported these findings.  It was found that of the hospital’s 770 fall-related trauma cases recorded between January and November 2018; senior citizens accounted for 68% of incidents.

In an effort to address this critical issue, Jamaica Hospital’s Trauma Division launched a series of Fall Prevention Workshops in surrounding communities with the highest concentration of falls.

The workshops were held at senior centers and covered a wide range of topics from identifying fall risk factors to home safety strategies.   By utilizing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries falls risk self-assessment survey, Jamaica Hospital was able to identify seniors that were at a moderate to high risk of falling and make recommendations.  Program participants were also encouraged to speak with their physicians about better managing their risk of falling.

Jamaica Hospital’s Fall Prevention Workshops were well received by the community.  In total,  over 20 senior centers and 700 older adults participated in the program.  The Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) highlighted the program as part of its Community Benefit Spotlight.   The hospital was recognized for facilitating this much-needed initiative and fostering a relationship with the community that will greatly benefit its senior population.

Click here to read more about HANYS’ Community Benefit Spotlight.https://www.hanys.org/community_benefit/?a=vs&s=Jamaica_Hospital_Medical_Center_prevents_falls

On Tuesday, March 5^th, two dozen members of the MediSys Health Network leadership traveled to Albany to participate in The Healthcare Association of New York State’s (HANYS) Advocacy Day to urge state lawmakers to reject this year’s proposed budget cuts to health care.

Members of the MediSys group were joined by over 1,000 other healthcare workers from across the state for a rally at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center and marched through Albany’s streets to have their voices heard in opposition to the potential cuts that could include:

• Cuts directed toward hospitals totaling $657 million for the upcoming state fiscal year and $1.3 billion dollars over the next two years.
• Cuts to nursing homes that would total over $400 million during the 2019-2020 fiscal year and more than $800 million in the next two years.

In addition, Bruce J. Flanz, President and CEO of MediSys as well as a handful of hospital delegates met with local elected officials to discuss the devastating effects the proposed cuts would have on Jamaica and Flushing Hospital.

The MediSys Health Network and HANYS are encouraging employees to join the fight.  Please contact your local state legislators to tell them why they have to oppose these cuts.

On a daily basis New Yorkers, especially low-income residents, face challenging financial and social issues. These factors can negatively impact their lives in many ways, most notably their physical and mental health. Lack of access to adequate housing, food, or safe and secure employment can impede their ability to seek and receive appropriate healthcare services for themselves and their families.  Jamaica Hospital Medical Center is working to remove these barriers by offering free legal services to its patients.

Every week an attorney from LegalHealth, a division of the New York Legal Assistance Group, comes to Jamaica Hospital’s Ambulatory Care Center to provide legal counsel to hospital patients on issues relating to government benefits, housing, workplace conditions, and immigration and credit problems. LegalHealth also assists patients and families develop advanced planning directives, wills and legal matters affecting families.

It is well established that unmet social needs have a direct correlation with poor health.  Social factors, such as food insecurity have been closely linked to a higher risk of chronic conditions. Studies show that those who lose their jobs are 83% more likely to develop stress-related health conditions such as heart disease and stroke.

Jamaica Hospital made the commitment to fund the LegalHealth clinic knowing that addressing these issues will ultimately improve the health of its patients and potentially reduce unnecessary emergency room visits and hospital admissions.  According to Dr. Alan Roth, Chairman of Family Medicine at Jamaica Hospital, “By understanding these social determinants that our patients encounter on a daily basis and providing a resource to have them addressed, Jamaica Hospital and LegalHealth can remove many of the obstacles that prevent our community from improving and maintaining healthier lives.”

LegalHealth is also providing ongoing training to Jamaica Hospital’s providers to equip them with the necessary tools to help them identify any social, financial or other problems patients are experiencing which can be addressed with legal support.

The Legal Health clinic opened at Jamaica Hospital in January 2019 and is on site weekly.

Patients who utilize LegalHealth services are assured of complete confidentiality and services are completely free to Jamaica Hospital patients.

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 Castro, Transportation Coordinator, and Seydou Ndiaye Security Department Captain.

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

The opioid epidemic continues to plague New York City communities.  According to the City’s Department of Health, there were 694 confirmed overdose deaths from January to June 2018, and a fatal drug overdose reported every six hours.

More New Yorkers die as a result of a drug overdose than homicides, suicides and motor vehicle accidents combined.

Jamaica Hospital Medical Center which operates one of the City’s busiest emergency departments has experienced firsthand the detriment the epidemic has caused.  Last year, the hospital’s emergency department treated over 200 patients for opioid drug overdoses.

“Over the years, we have seen the numbers continue to increase significantly. This epidemic has profoundly affected many individuals and families. Opioid addiction has impacted all genders, ages, ethnicities and those of all socioeconomic backgrounds,” explained Dr. Geoffrey Doughlin, Chairman of Emergency Medicine.  “No group is untouched.”

“At Jamaica Hospital our goal is to improve the health of our community in all aspects. We are committed to doing all that we can to combat the opioid crisis,” shared Dr. Shi-Wen Lee, Vice Chairman of Emergency Medicine.  In addition to providing life-saving treatments in the emergency department, the hospital is the first in Queens to participate in New York City’s Relay program.

The Relay program, which launched in 2017 under HealingNYC, targets survivors of opioid overdoses who are at high risk for a future, fatal overdose.  According to New York City’s Department of Health, “In the hours after someone survives an opioid overdose, a trained Relay “Wellness Advocate” meets with the survivor in the hospital emergency department to offer overdose risk reduction counseling, overdose rescue training, and an overdose prevention kit containing naloxone. Participating hospitals can contact Relay at any hour of the day or night, on every day of the year, and a Wellness Advocate aims to arrive within the hour. Wellness Advocates stay in contact with overdose survivors for up to 90 days and connect them to appropriate services”

“Jamaica Hospital is proud to work in collaboration with Relay. We have made over 50 patient referrals since the program’s inception at our facility in August 2018,” said Joshua Sclair, Emergency Medicine Administrator.  The hospital’s participation in the initiative offers the community resources that can potentially reduce the number of overdose deaths and provide access to supportive services.

Any person in need of treatment for their addiction can come to the emergency department at Jamaica Hospital and receive help. The hospital has designated detoxification beds and staff that are specially trained to help patients with their treatment.

Join us in congratulating Dr. Katherine McKenzie, Attending Physician; Surgery, and
Todd Hartmann, Physical Therapist on their Good Catch!

Every month, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center recognizes employees for their contributions to patient safety.

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 the potential harm of patients. These actions may include correcting a medication order, preventing a patient fall or reporting a significant change in patient status.

By identifying problems before they became patient safety issues, our nominees have helped Jamaica Hospital to improve our quality in patient 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.

To report a Good Catch, fill out the Good Catch Form and send by interoffice mail to Letha Walters, PI Department, Axel Building 4th floor or call ext. 8409 to leave a message.

Last year, as part of the network’s Corporate Wellness program, the MediSys Health Network partnered with the Fitbit Corporation to offer employees the opportunity to purchase fitness trackers at a discounted price and improve their health as part of the network’s Corporate Wellness Program.

The response has been overwhelmingly positive to this initiative! Since the inception of the program, over 170 employees and family members took advantage of this offer and purchased Fitbit trackers. Participants had the opportunity to enroll in fitness challenges and games such as most steps taken, most stairs climbed, and most calories burned. These friendly challenges were established to motivate employees to live a healthier lifestyle through exercise.

The results of the challenges were tallied.

MediSys employees walked an amazing 99,268 miles (or the equivalent of four times around the earth). They climbed over 150,00 flights of stairs and were active for over one million minutes.

The MediSys Health Network would like to congratulate our top five “steppers”

These results affirm the MediSys Health Network’s commitment to improving the health and well-being of our employees. It also demonstrates how excited members of the MediSys were to join this program and participate in the fitness challenges.

For all those who have not yet joined the network’s Fitbit wellness program, please contact Program Administrator, Josh Sclair at [email protected] or 718-206-8918 to become a part of a challenge.

Celebrating the first baby of the New Year is always a special event at Jamaica and Flushing Hospital Medical Center.

This year, Jamaica Hospital had the honor of delivering the first baby born in Queens.

On January 1st, each hospital welcomed these two bundles of joy:

Jamaica Hospital Medical Center

Baby Girl:  Baby Girl Parasram

Weight: 5 lbs 10.8 oz

Length: 18 ”

Time: 12:55  A.M. on 1/1/19

Flushing Hospital Medical Center

Baby Boy:  Simon Thu

Weight: 7 lbs 8.5 oz

Length: 20 “

Time: 4:14 AM on 1/1/19

Congratulations to the families, we wish them a lifetime of happiness. A special thank you to the staff who assisted with these deliveries.

On Thursday evening December 6, 2018, The Queens Chamber of Commerce held their Annual Building Awards and Gala at Terrace on the Park.

For over 90 years, the Queens Chamber of Commerce has been honoring architects, builders, engineers, lenders, interior designers and owners of buildings and building projects in Queens County.

This year, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center was the recipient of an award in the healthcare category for Best Re-adaptive Use of Space. The award was in recognition of the Ferrara Family Center for Hospice Care’s construction in what was once the Traumatic Brain Injury and Rehabilitation area of the hospital’s “C” Building.

The renovated hospice unit boasts 10 private in-patient rooms as well as a family meeting area and lounge; all of which includes many upgraded features and amenities. “Every detail from room design to lighting was carefully selected with the comfort of our patients in mind,” explained Hans Kuenstler; Jamaica Hospital Director of Construction.

Jamaica Hospital is honored to receive this prestigious award from the Queens Chamber of Commerce. It is a reflection of our hospital’s commitment to providing our patients with the very best in all aspects of care.

On November 14^th, Jamaica Hospital’s Ferrara Family Center for Hospice Care hosted an art exhibit in observation of National Hospice and Palliative Care Month.

The pieces were created with the intention of providing hospice patients and their families with visual escapes to serene gardens, countrysides, beaches, and plains.

Over two dozen pieces of art were painted and donated by amateur artists from the Community Learning Center of the Clarkstown School District. The paintings took three to eight weeks to complete by students varying in ages from 18 to 92. All works of art were painted in either oil or acrylic.

“The students come from varying backgrounds in occupation, culture and family settings but all have this bond of commonality in art.  What is amazing is that they can use their love of art to help patients in need of comfort at a difficult time, at the end of life,” shared Marion Arbuco, Director of the Community Learning Center of the Clarkstown School District

There has always been a correlation between art and health care. Art can evoke positive emotions beneficial in helping patients during their healing process. It can also serve as a respite for those going through a difficult period toward the end of life.

Hospice care is a specialized kind of care provided to those who are facing the advanced stages of life-limiting illnesses.  This specialty focuses on making patients as comfortable as possible while receiving treatment and support from an integrative health care team.  At Jamaica Hospital’s Ferrara Family Center for Hospice Care, a high priority is placed on making sure that a person’s last days are spent in comfort and dignity.  Many amenities are provided to patients on the unit that promote serenity and allow them to feel more at home.

“Providing our patients and families with a sense of serenity during a difficult time is very important to our staff.  The art painted by the students from the Community Learning Center of the Clarkstown School District will help us to create a tranquil space. We are thankful to the students for dedicating their time and donating these beautiful paintings.” said Dr. Alan Roth, Chief of Palliative Care Medicine at Jamaica Hospital.

To read more about the art exhibit in the Queens Courier, please click https://qns.com/story/2018/11/15/jamaica-hospital-receives-artwork-renovated-hospice-care-center/