A Message from our President and Chairman

Dear Friends, 

Inside, you will find updates on a number of programs and initiatives that support our patients, medical staff, employees and the community. New York Hospital Queens finished 2011 in a strong position, despite continued turmoil in the economy and questions about the prospects of some other healthcare facilities in this area. As we write this letter in the first quarter of 2012, the challenges to health care delivery continue to arrive fast and furious.

Our strategic plan focuses on the pillars of Quality, Service & Satisfaction, Our People, Financial Viability, and Growth. These five pillars support the high level of expertise and caring that this community has come to expect. From the strategic priorities we outlined in our last report, we can cite very good results, as the NYHQ team has:

• Made measurable progress in improving the experience of patients and their loved ones; now, patient satisfaction ratings are a key indicator of quality care
• Completed the conversion to a completely electronic health record (EHR) for the emergency department and inpatient facility; now our website enables access to EHRs via secure and private physician and patient portals
• Established a robust physician engagement program that creates greater alignment between hospital-based services and physician practices in the community
• Sustained financial viability, showing a positive operating margin for the 8th year in a row

Moving into 2012 and beyond, we continue to press forward with emphasis upon:

• Maintaining gains in quality and safety measures, while increasing infection-control strategies in this era of vigilance for community and hospital-acquired infections
• Reducing waste and supply costs so that precious resources can be conserved, along with expenses
• Extending the EHR throughout our community-based healthcare sites and opening access to physician practices
• Supporting primary care physicians with more opportunities to closely align with the hospital, and with resources such as a growing Hospitalist service, and a new 24/7 pediatric surgery program in partnership with the Pediatric Surgery Division at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital
• Creating programs that help patients move through hospitalization as quickly as appropriate; a new urgent care center, a transitional care unit, and an outpatient antibiotic therapy unit are good examples of opportunities to reduce length of stay and help patients return home and to the care of their community physician

As always, there is so much more happening right here than we can possibly include in one report. We hope that reading about the progress and accomplishments of our team will spark your interest in learning more. This website is a rich and current source of information and tools to help the public and the medical community maximize each and every experience with NYHQ and our team.

We also thank our entire community for its continued trust and support – you allow us to grow, and we work hard each day to deliver excellence you can trust and service you deserve.

Sincerely,

Stephen S. Mills, F.A.C.H.E    
President and Chief Executive Officer  

George F. Heinrich, M.D.
Chairman, Board of Trustees

Current and previous Issues of The President's Message
(monthly newsletter)

August 2009-Present