MediSys Network News

Health Care Services, Companionship, and a Safe Supportive Environment for Seniors Available at the Schulman and Schachne Adult Day Health Care Program

The newly renovated Schulman and Schachne Institute Adult Day Health Care Program continues to provide a community setting where its registrants receive quality health care services, while participating in socially and educationally  stimulating activities.  The program is an excellent resource for those still living at home, but can benefit from the support and safety the service provides.

This community based long-term care program is part of  the  hospital's on campus Institute for Nursing and Rehabilitation.  The experienced staff develops personalized, interdisciplinary care to meet the individualized needs of each registrant.  The services include: door to door round trip transportation from home to the program; continental breakfast, nutritious lunch and snacks; comprehensive medical and nursing services; social work and case management services; rehabilitative therapy; therapeutic recreation therapy; medication supervision, and nutritional and disease management education. Additionally, exciting and stimulating recreational programs and special events are provided on a daily basis.  Certified Nursing Assistants complete the program with assistance on all levels of activities of daily living.

The Schulman and Schachne Institute Adult Day Health Care Program provides a much-needed service to the community by offering a positive alternative to institutional care and preserving the quality of family and community based life for the participant.  The program also serves the poor and underprivileged in the community that may be living in isolation, but would be able to participate in a medical model that provides needed socialization as well.  Unlimited access to services available at both the long term care setting and the acute care hospital, assure, comprehensive, quality care.
 
The Program is conveniently located at 9620 Church Avenue and is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  For additional information or to arrange for a tour of the facility, please call 718 240-6909.  Medicaid and most Medicaid Managed care programs cover these services.  Private rates are also available for those not eligible for Medicaid or for those in need of respite care.

 

Time to Celebrate!!!

Get ready for a celebration! On September 16, at Russo’s on the Bay, Flushing Hospital will host Celebration ’09, a fun-filled event expected to raise money for the hospital’s lobby renovation. The evening will begin with a cocktail reception, followed by a night of dinner and dancing. The celebration will also include the honoring of Michael J. Russo, Chairman of Flushing Hospital’s Board and Myra Baird Herce, President, Flushing Chamber of Commerce, as well as Flushing’s very own Charles "Cliff" Johnson, Foreman, Central Store Room, and Sandra Montes, Pharmacy Technician.

Excellent food, great music, and wonderful raffle prizes, along with the chance to laugh and chat with employees from all levels and departments, makes this an event not to miss! Keep your eyes open as tickets are now on sale and raffle tickets will be available in August.

For further information, reservations, raffles, please contact the Development Department at (718) 206-8613 or (718) 206-8291.

Telemetry Expansion at Jamaica Hospital

To better accommodate patients that require continuous monitoring of their heart and to reduce these patients wait time in the Emergency Department, Jamaica Hospital has recently expanded its telemetry monitoring capabilities.

The existing telemetry monitoring unit has 24 transmitters, whose signals can be received from patients admitted to any of the beds on 4 South.  The hospital has added an additional eight transmitters and expanded its antenna network to allow patients on 4 North to be monitored as well. With the telemetry expansion, up to 32 patients can be monitored at any one time and the number of beds available to these patients has doubled.  Physicians and specially trained nurses on 4 North will now be able to view their patients’ cardiac rhythms and print arrhythmias from the unit’s centrally located monitoring station.  

“Nationally, many trend-setting hospitals have already implemented a wireless infrastructure to provide centralized monitoring of patients in many nursing care units,” explained Howard Rosen, Administrator for the Department of Medicine.  “Having a central surveillance unit to monitor large number of patients from one location has improved the quality of patient care and increased the efficiency of patient flow.  With telemetry, any bed can become a monitored bed, making it easier to admit patients to an appropriate available bed and ultimately reducing the number of patients in the Emergency Department. An approach like this has proven to help hospitals, specifically those with crowded emergency operations, improve patient admissions.”
 
Patients that require telemetry monitoring are fitted with a small radio-frequency transmitter that allows the patient’s heart rhythm to be monitored in a centralized location by specially trained staff. This system enables medical personnel to immediately respond to any changes in the patient’s cardiac condition.

Jamaica Hospital On-Air Coverage: Dealing with the Swine Flu

On May 27, Fox 5 News expressed interest in visiting a Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) facility to find out what’s really happening in city emergency rooms since the H1N1 outbreak. After hearing Jamaica Hospital’s record breaking ER numbers and their efforts to handle this surge, Dr. Sapna Parikh, Medical Correspondent, almost immediately decided to use the hospital for her story.

What appealed to Dr. Parikh was Jamaica Hospital’s distinct process for swine-flu related ER visits, which included setting up two mobile units in front of the hospital to see and treat these patients.

When Dr. Parikh arrived, she followed the footsteps of a person displaying flu-like symptoms. She was greeted by a hospital worker at the Emergency Room Walk-in entrance, where she was given a mask and an H1N1 informational brochure, and then directed to a separate triage area. Although she went straight from there to the mobile units, it was explained to her that patients normally waited in a partitioned section of the ER waiting area until time to see the doctor.

While touring the mobile units, she interviewed Dr. Geoffrey Doughlin, Chairman of Emergency Medicine, and Dr. Elliot Friedman, Associate Director of Pediatric Emergency Medicine.  Both physicians discussed the impact these visits had on the hospital and the need to modify how patients were initially being seen. Doctors Doughlin and Friedman talked about wait times, as well as the similarities between the swine flu and seasonal flu. Most importantly, they tried to ease public fear and anxiety by letting the community know that they haven’t seen many confirmed cases of H1N1. They also advised people to go to their primary care physician if they experienced common flu-like symptoms, stressing that only those with severe symptoms should immediately go to their local emergency room. 

Jamaica Hospital began using its mobile units once daily ER visits steadily began to increase. After a local Assistant Principal, confirmed with swine flu, died, ER visits surged from approximately 400 patients a day to its highest, 663 patients a day. Flushing Hospital, where the confirmed swine flu fatality was reported, also saw ER visits double during the same time period. 

Now that the surge of patients that all MediSys Emergency Rooms experienced has subsided, the Network can review its efforts and be proud. Treating such a high volume of patients and attempting to limit exposure to others, while a difficult task, was handled exceptionally by everyone involved. Our actions were applauded by many local elected officials and the Network's reputation to respond to the healthcare needs of the community was only reinforced by our achievements.  MediSys staff will continue to monitor H1N1 virus as well as other potential healthcare emergencies and make all the necessary preparations to respond to them as they arise.  

To see Fox 5’s coverage of Jamaica Hospital, click here .

New York Mets Player Reads to Children at Jamaica Hospital

Cheers for the NY Mets were recently heard throughout the halls of Jamaica Hospital. On Tuesday, June 24, NY Met pitcher Mike Pelfrey and Mr. Met visited the pediatric unit as part of EmblemHealth’s Mets Magic Program.

Mike Pelfrey, Denise Shearer, Manager for Special Events at EmblemHealth, and even 8-year old pediatric patient Letty Martinez took turns reading Here Comes the Strikeout to over 15 children in the unit’s playroom. After the enthusiastic and exciting read, the Mets pitcher spent some time mingling with patients and their families. Pelfrey and Mr. Met then took photos with patients, their relatives, and staff, and gave the children various autographed items—baseball hats, T-shirts, and baseballs. Patients who were unable to leave their room during the reading were greeted by Pelfrey as he visited their rooms to say hello, shake their hands, and take pictures.

“This is great chance to give back to the community, give back to kids and make their day,” said Pelfrey.

Added Ms. Shearer, “[the children] can see somebody who’s fit and healthy, recover quickly, and go out and watch the Mets.”

This is the third time that the program has brought NY Mets players to the hospital.

59th Employee Service Awards at Brookdale

Hosted by Judy Selman, Director of Human Resources, Brookdale honored 429 employees of the Hospital and Schulman and Schachne Institute who have attained between 10 to 40 years of service.  The program was held in the Sonja and Dr. Alvin I. Kahn Auditorium with a reception that followed in the hospital cafeteria. 

Leading the list of veteran employees were 40 year veterans June Allen – Ambulatory Care, Patricia Cruz – Psychiatry, Evelyn Cummings – Mother Baby Unit, Viviane Douyon-Savaille – Admitting, Gloria Goldberg – Psychiatry, Jannie Hudson – Ambulatory Care, Rita Katzen – Psychiatry, Thelma Kimble – Psychiatry, Franchetta Robinson – CCU, and Joyce Wynter, RN – Med/Surg. 

Also honored were 18 employees who have served 35 years, 16 for 30 years, 38 for 25 years, 81 for 20 years, 107 for 15 years and 165 for 10 years.  

President and CEO, David Rosen thanked all for their exemplary dedication and hard work, as did Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Alvin I. Kahn.  Award presenters also included Bruce Flanz, Executive VP and COO, Dr. Richard F. Fogler, Sr. VP and CMO, Suzanne Pennacchio, Sr. Vice President for Patient Care Services, Vito Buccellato, VP for Clinical Services and Executive VP for Long Term Care and Genevieve Sorensen, VP for Long Term Care.

Flushing Hospital Unveils MRI Mural, Created by Local Students

As part of the “Make a Difference Project 2009,” art teacher, Meri Ezratty, and 31 students from JHS 189, the Daniel Carter Beard School, spent nearly five months completing a mural for Flushing Hospital’s MRI Suite.
 
The MRI Suite, which officially opened last Fall, will now feature a 12 x 15 mural, titled "Ocean Life Triptych." The vibrant and lively artwork will add a splash of color to an area that boasts the latest technology, a Siemens Magnetom Espree MRI open bore system.

“We truly appreciate the hard work and dedication of these students,” said Dr. Sahiba Raoof, Chairwoman of the Radiology Department. “They share with Flushing Hospital an unyielding commitment to this community. These students have contributed to a servicehat was very much needed by the community and has proven to be a great addition to the hospital.

 

One Lucky Little Boy

While waiting to have his little league photo taken at Starrett City’s baseball field, Davonte Kelly suddenly screamed in pain, grabbed his head and felt blood run through his fingers.  He said he thought he had been hit by a ball.  He was immediately attended to by the coach and his mom and 911 was called. 

Davonte was bought to Brookdale’s Emergency Department by EMS, and upon examination,  the doctors noticed something shining in the wound.  Dr. Mary Baldauf, Director of PICU was immediately called and ordered a CT scan.  The results were shocking; Davonte had a bullet lodged in his skull.

Dr. Louis Cornacchia, Chief of Neurosurgery was called to determine the severity of the injury and ensure the bullet was removed.  “Had the bullet perforated the skull, it would have been fatal.  He is a very lucky little boy,” said Dr. Cornacchia.

A huge Mets fan, Davonte received a gift from his favorite team while at Brookdale and an invitation to a game and meet his hero, David Wright. 

Upon discharge on Wednesday, June 10th, a huge press conference was held where Davonte stole the show.  Both Drs. Baldauf and Cornacchia were interviewed and reiterated how lucky Davonte is.  He is expected to make a full recovery and be back on the baseball field very soon.

To view a clip of the press conference featuring Dr. Cornacchia, go to http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6857669  

 

Chemical Dependency Unit Doctor at Flushing Hospital Speaks on Heroin Usage among Youth

With the use of heroin on the rise among New York City teenagers and young adults, Dr. Joseph Cannavo, Medical Director at Flushing Hospital’s Chemical Dependency Unit, recently sat down with New York 1 News Reporter Lily Jamili to discuss his observations of this disturbing and devastating trend.

According to Dr. Cannavo, Flushing Hospital’s CDU has seen the number of teens being treated for heroin quadruple in the past five years. The pattern he observes typically begins with addiction to prescription pills, which ultimately leads to heroin usage.

“What you always hear from the patient is someday, some said to me, look, you’re spending all this money on pills. ‘Why don’t you just try heroin? It’s cheaper and it’s more potent. You don’t have to shoot it. All you have to do is sniff it’,” explained Dr. Cannavo.  

Unfortunately, young heroin users eventually begin to shoot it intravenously. At this point, users require dedicated medical assistance and counseling that is offered at Flushing Hospital's Chemical Dependency Unit.

To see the full NY1 interview, please visit
http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/100810/heroin-making-dangerous-comeback-among-city-s-youth/Default.aspx