Jamaica Hospital Medical Center recently celebrated the major milestone of becoming the first hospital in Queens to offer a milk depot to the community.

To mark the momentous occasion, the hospital hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Staff involved in the coordination of the project as well as representatives from the New York Milk Bank and other community organizations were in attendance.

During the opening remarks, Roseanne Motti; Operations Manager for the New York Milk Bank,  applauded members of Jamaica Hospital’s staff for their determination to bring the project to fruition and offer women and babies in the community a much-needed service.

The event’s guest of honor, Conny Suriel, was recognized for being the milk depot’s first donor.  Upon accepting a beautiful bouquet of roses, Conny shared with guests why giving back was so important to her. “I’m a donor because I am honoring the memory of my baby.”  Although Conny’s daughter passed away, she felt that it was important to give other babies a chance to survive by becoming a donor.

Jamaica Hospital’s milk depot is vital because it serves as a safe location where women in the community who choose to donate their excess breast milk can make a deposit.  After the milk is collected, it is sent to the New York Milk Bank for testing and pasteurization.   Once processed, the milk is distributed to help mothers who are unable to breastfeed their premature babies or infants with weakened immune systems.

For babies who are born premature, breast milk not only serves as nutrition but also as medicine. It helps to reduce the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a life-threatening disease that can damage or destroy the intestinal tracts of preemies.

Jamaica Hospital’s milk depot is now open to the public and welcomes donors approved by the New York Milk Bank to donate their excess breast milk.

If you are interested in becoming a donor, please contact the New York Milk Bank at 212-956-6455.  A representative will help you with the process, which includes a health screening and a blood test.  Further information is also provided on their website, www. NYMilkBank.org.

To learn more about depositing milk at Jamaica Hospital’s milk depot, located on the 3rd floor of the Axel building, in the WIC department, please call 718-206-8607 or visit, www. JamaicaHospital.org.

The hurricane relief effort in Puerto Rico continues with both of the MediSys Health Network teams being kept very busy. Team 1 is working on the ship, the USS Comfort, where they are providing urgent care to hundreds of patients on a daily basis. Team 2 has been with working with Americares to staff pop-up clinics in small remote towns on the western portion of the island. They have also been seeing hundreds of patients on a daily basis.

Both team leaders have been reporting that they have been working twelve to fourteen hour days without any days off. The members of the teams are in good health and spirits. We are very proud of our team members who are working so hard to help with this effort in Puerto Rico. We will continue to keep everyone updated on the team’s progress.

The MediSys Health Network, comprised of Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and Flushing Hospital Medical Center deployed a team of medical personnel to Puerto Rico to help provide much-needed healthcare services to the areas devastated by Hurricane Maria.

Both facilities are the first Queens-based hospitals to send their staff to the island.

The 20-member volunteer team of largely bi-lingual employees, including physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, emergency medical technicians, paramedics and administrators were deployed on the morning of Tuesday, October 24^th.

As reported, much of Puerto Rico’s infrastructure has been decimated and most of the island’s healthcare facilities have been compromised. The MediSys team will deliver urgent medical care in an extremely difficult situation by supplementing staffing for the ongoing Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) missions or providing assistance to Federal Medical Shelters (FMS).

When details of the hurricane destruction emerged, Over 100 individuals offered to provide assistance.  Additionally, the Network’s Board of Trustees, medical staff and employees set a fundraising goal of $100,000 to support relief efforts. To date, half of that goal has been achieved.

The MediSys Health network has a long history of providing disaster relief to those in need. Some past relief efforts of the MediSys Health Network include:

• Hurricane Andrew – Homestead, Florida, 1992
• Northern Country Ice Storms – Watertown, NY, 1998
• World Trade Center Attacks (9/11) – New York, NY, 2001
• Hurricane Katrina –Louisiana & Mississippi, 2005
• Hurricane Sandy – Far Rockaway, New York, 2012

According to Bruce J. Flanz, President & Chief Executive Officer of the MediSys Health Network, “It has always been our mission to provide relief to those in need. We believe our experience in responding to disasters and exporting our talents where they can be utilized is something that we are proud to do and will continue to offer whenever it is needed.”

New York State ranks last in the nation in the percentage of residents registered as organ donors, and as a result, every 18 hours someone in New York dies while waiting for a life-saving organ. 

As part of an effort to bolster the number of organ donors and reduce the number of people on the organ transplant waiting list, New York has adopted October 4^th as Organ Donor Enrollment Day.

Jamaica and Flushing Hospital Medical Center joined this statewide initiative to increase the number of donors by collaborating with LiveOnNY to host donor registration events in their main lobbies.

During the course of registration, people were given informational brochures that debunked myths that would have kept them from becoming an organ donor in the past. With the help of dedicated staff and volunteers which included Flushing Hospital’s Mary Fischer and her daughter Lauren Fischer (pictured)-a double lung transplant recipient; approximately 80 new organ donors were registered.

Jamaica and Flushing Hospitals thank all who signed up and those who took information to decide at a later date.

If you have not done so already, please consider becoming an organ donor. It is truly a gift that only one person can give to another.

To find out how you can register as organ, eye and/or tissue donor please visit http://www.liveonny.org/

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:

• Evelyn Loli, ACR, Emergency Department
• Giselle Byjoo, Sr. Accounting Clerk, Patient Financial Services
• Ana Pacora, ACR, Emergency Department

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

Flushing Hospital Medical Center (FHMC) employees hit a grand slam on Sunday, September 24, 2017, at their First Annual Softball Tournament and Family Day.

Over 28 departments from the hospital and upwards of 200 people, participated in playing ball, volunteering, cheerleading or just being a spectator.

The daylong event took place at Flushing Meadow Corona Park where employees and their families were treated to a delicious BBQ donated by Sodexo and color coordinated team shirts,  face painting and healthy snacks from Healthfirst.

“What I am witnessing here today really embodies the word team. Although we work together every day, we don’t always take the time to get to know each other,” stated Rob Arbitello, game organizer. “A great deal of work was put into this event and it was all worth it.”

FHMC administrators were on hand to cheer the teams that played and to meet employees’ family members. CEO Bruce J. Flanz brought his pup, Miley, who quickly became the event’s mascot and the big hit of the day. “We could not have organized this event without the support of Mr. Flanz, Mr. Robert Levine; Executive Vice President and COO, and all who donated their time and services,” Arbitello noted.

The winners of the Softball Tournament were the “Toe Taggers.”  They received trophies and took a well-deserved victory lap around the field.

The event brought a fun day of competition to everyone. It is the hope of the organizers that this will become a yearly event for the employees to unwind and have fun.

On Wednesday, September 13, 2017, Flushing Hospital Medical Center (FHMC) hosted its annual Celebration 2017 Dinner Gala, at Russo’s on the Bay in Howard Beach.

Each year, Celebration receives overwhelming support from the hospital’s administration and staff, as well as members of the community.

President and CEO, Bruce J. Flanz welcomed over 400 guests to the venue and offered his heartfelt gratitude to this year’s honorees, each chosen for their devotion and contributions to Flushing Hospital, its patients, and the surrounding community.

Celebration 2017 honorees included Mr. Michael Patti, President of Patti & Sons Inc; MaryAnn D’Agrosa, RN Administrative Nursing Supervisor and Dr. Yan Sun, FHMC’s Chief of Orthopedics.

Each honoree spoke with passion about the place Flushing Hospital holds in their hearts and what it means to be part of the Flushing Hospital family.

Mr. Flanz concluded the program by thanking all in attendance for their support. Following his remarks, guests spent the rest of the night enjoying dinner and the dance floor. A fine night was had by all.

Jamaica Hospital Medical Center is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Shape Up NYC, a program created by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, to offer a free low impact exercise class to the community.

Improving the health and wellness of the community it serves is a high priority at Jamaica Hospital. The hospital offers many free programs that provide its population with the resources needed to lead a healthy life.

Providing a free low impact total body workout offers many benefits to participants including improved balance, coordination, strength and flexibility. The program also promotes good heart health.

Classes begin on September 27, 2017, and are offered every Wednesday from 8:00 am to 9:00 am. They will take place at the hospital’s fitness center, the MediFit Gym; 134-20 Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica NY 11418, on the third floor.  All are welcome to participate.

For more information, please visit

 https://www.nycgovparks.org/programs/recreation/shape-up-nyc