Dear Colleagues:

At the close of last month, I spoke with a group of employees and members of our medical staff at a “President’s Forum,” hosted by our NYHQ College.  It always strikes me to hear the many expressions of the trust and pride our team has for their colleagues and institution.  These forums are an opportunity to share the great things that are happening right here.  At this session, we also talked about how difficult it is to work in health care delivery when we have to keep doing more with less, while ever increasing levels of quality, satisfaction and safety. 

One of the forum participants asked me what individuals can do to support our hospital during these difficult economic times.  I’m sharing my response here… 

• First, it is important to know as much as you can about your hospital. Be aware of the major programs and strengths.  Ask questions and take advantage of the resources and information all around you – read newsletters like this and INSIGHT, the Web site, and the many letters and announcements that come to you.  Then, share what you know with others.  Positive word of mouth is a great tool for building our reputation, referrals and  volume.

• Second, referral patterns are not set in stone, but it does take time and effort to build the relationship and trust that give a physician confidence to make a referral. A number of our medical staff are new to both our organization and to our community.  They have to reach out and establish themselves, while they build their reputations through proficiency, service and accessibility.  By the same token, we hope that the talented newcomers that are seeking opportunities to collaborate energize the well-established physicians in the hospital and community.

• Third, we need to demonstrate that when a physician entrusts his or her patient to us, the patient will return to them with a high level of satisfaction from that referral or admission.  Our Patient Satisfaction initiative is focused on sensitizing all caregivers that it is the patient’s experience with our communication, courtesy and control of their pain that forms their opinion of how well we have taken care of them. 

• Finally, we need to show community-based physicians that by working with our institution, they can access great talent and support, and find opportunities to expand their own practice efficacy.  Opportunities abound in our new West Wing, especially as 10 new operating rooms become available.  These will allow many more surgeons to perform more surgeries right here.  The opening of the new facility is also reducing pressure on the Emergency Department, and enabling us to move admitted patients into rooms much faster than we could previously. 

The bottom line is that when each individual can help to communicate to our community and area physicians that they will have a great experience when they choose NYHQ, and then we deliver on that promise … we can and we will overcome the toughest of environments.

Sincerely,   

Stephen S. Mills, F.A.C.H.E.

PEOPLE AND PROGRAMS

PROGRAM NEWS 

We will present a series of symposia in October and November for medical professionals in our Lang Center for Research and Education Auditorium:

October 8: 1st NYHQ Wound Care Symposium: 2010 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Guidelines for Evidence-Based Practice is a program developed by our surgical and wound/ostomy teams to unite and educate medical professionals on evidence-­based research, diagnosis and treatments for wound and skin care. 

October 12: At the 5th Annual NYHQ Surgical Symposium: Vascular Disease in Primary Care, the heart, vascular and surgical experts from New York Hospital Queens as well as visiting vascular specialists will discuss “Carotid Endarterectomy: 50 Years and Going Strong,” “Venous Disease and Varicose Veins: Minimally Invasive Treatment Options,” “Screening for Aortic Aneurysms and Developing a Management Algorithm,” and “Endo­vascular Management of Peripheral Artery Disease in 2010."

October 14: 4th Annual Pediatric Emergency Medicine Symposium will provide updates in diagnosis and treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis, pediatric head trauma, rashes and dermatological issues, respiratory disease and environmental emergencies. The program concludes with a demonstration in the NYHQ simulation Center on one of the computerized simulation mannequins.

November 4: 1st NYHQ Speech Pathology Symposium: Objective Assessment and Differential Diagnosis of Dysphagia in Pediatrics is a course intended for pediatricians, speech language pathologists, pediatrics gastroenterologists, dieticians and other related medical professions who focus on the interpretation of medical findings in children with dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), GERD (acid reflux), failure to thrive, oral hypersensitivity, oral motor weakness, behavioral feeding aversion, food allergies - and providing effective treatment.

November 9: 7th Annual NYHQ Thoracic Symposium: Advances in Treatment of Lung Cancer and Benign Thoracic Disorders is a program that will review current trends and advances in the diagnosis  and treatment of chest wall disorders, both malignant and benign. Recent therapeutic advances have considerably improved the outlook for individuals with chest disease. The new staging system for lung cancer will be presented as well as newer bronchoscopic diagnostic and staging methods. Viewpoints regarding the management of stage IIIA lung cancer will be discussed.

To kickoff the fall symposia schedule, we hosted the 3rd Annual Pain Symposium: Casting a New Light on Pain, on September 14: The multidisciplinary symposium featured nurses, physicians and mental health professionals presenting  and moderating topics ranging from “The recognition of pain in patients with dementia or inability to talk” to “Identifying cultural issues in pain assessment and management.” 

PEOPLE NEWS
We are pleased to announce the following appointments: 

Kenneth Ong, M.D., M.P.H., has been appointed chief medical information officer. He will lead the hospital's efforts to achieve meaningful use of the electronic health record (EHR) by developing and managing clinical documentation, order sets, and other clinical decision support in the EHR. He will serve as the intermediary between clinicians and Information Services.

Dr. Ong most recently served as the vice president of Medical Informatics at Catholic Health Services of Long Island. He is a former deputy commissioner in the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Dr. Ong is residency-­trained and board certified in family practice, internal medicine, and infectious diseases. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, the Infectious Disease Society of America, HIMSS, and the New York Academy of Medicine. He earned his M.P.H. at Columbia University, his M.D. at Wayne State University, and B.S. at University of Michigan.

 
Anesthesiologist Isaac Lowenwirt, M.D., has been appointed medical director of the new Ambulatory Surgery Unit (ASU) in the West Wing and associate chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology. He joined our anesthesiology staff in 1989 and served as director of Obstetrical Anesthesia since 1992. Dr. Lowenwirt earned his medical degree from Downstate Medical School and completed his anesthesiology residency at New York University/Bellevue. He is well published in the subject area of OB Anesthesia and patient safety with a focus on the high­risk obstetrical patient. As part of a multidisciplinary team, he was instrumental in developing and implementing “Team Blue,” our obstetrical rapid response team. 

Anesthesiologist David Brady, M.D., has been appointed director of Obstetrical Anesthesia. He will be responsible for coordinating and integrating anesthesia services, quality of care, and patient safety among the obstetrical patients on the Labor and Delivery unit. Dr. Brady received his medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey and completed his anesthesiology residency at New York University/Bellevue. He joined our anesthesiology staff in 1994.

Attending Anesthesiologist Matthew Korsen, M.D., has been appointed associate director of the Ambulatory Surgery Unit (ASU). Dr. Korsen earned his medical degree from Albany Medical College and completed his anesthesiology residency at Long Island Jewish Medical Center & Schneider Children’s Hospital. He joined our anesthesiology staff in 1990.

The Department of Medicine welcomes three new specialized physicians in digestive disease, epilepsy and geriatrics/palliative medicine:

Cynthia Pan, M.D., A.G.S.F, F.A.C.P., board certified clinician and educator in internal medicine, geriatrics, palliative care and hospice, comes to us from the Hospice Care Network, where she served as medical director for the Queens region. At NYHQ, she will serve as director, Palliative Care, and an attending geriatrician. She achieved her undergraduate degree in biology from 
Harvard University and completed her medical degree at Stony Brook School of Medicine. She completed her fellowship in geriatric medicine at Harvard Medical School and an internal medicine residency at University of Rochester Medical Center. 
Contact Dr. Pan at (718) 670­-2413.

Syed Hussain, M.D., attending gastroenterologist, has joined the full­time faculty. He adds further depth and expertise to our 
growing, full service gastroenterology team. He initially served as a medical resident from 2003 to 2006 and subsequently was 
appointed chief medical resident in 2006. Dr. Hussain completed a three­year gastroenterology fellowship in 2010 at New York 
Hospital Queens. His expertise is focused on consultative gastro­enterology, routine upper endoscopy and colonoscopy, ERCP, 
capsule endoscopy, manometry, pH studies and balloon assisted enteroscopy. Contact Dr. Hussain at (718­) 670­-2138.

Hind Kettani, M.D., board­ certified neurologist, comes to us following fellowship training in epilepsy at Vanderbilt University, 
Nashville, Tenn. Dr. Kettani achieved a medical degree at Universite Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco, completed an internal 
medicine residency at Nassau University Medical Center­ North Shore LIJ Medical Center and neurology residency training at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan. She has completed more than a dozen research studies concentrating on effective and safe treatments for seizures in patients with epilepsy. Dr. Kettani is fluent in French and Arabic and can be reached at (718) 670­-2900.

The Emergency Department announces new staff and appointments:

Joseph Habboushe, M.D., M.B.A., has joined the Department of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Habboushe completed his residency training in Emergency Medicine at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan and achieved his medical degree from Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He also earned an M.B.A. from Columbia University. His interests include resident education, ultrasound and temperature management.

Gregg Rusczyk, M.D., director, Pediatric Emergency Medi­cine, was elected to a 3­ year term as a member of the General 
Faculty Council at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

Edward Bennett, M.D., attending physician, has been appointed medical director of the NYHQ Emergency Medicine Training Center. The Emergency Medicine Training Center provides certification and recertification to EMTs and paramedics. Courses are conducted throughout the year at our training facility located at our NYHQ Ambulance Base in Flushing.

Our physicians and clinical staff frequently present their work at national medical conferences and in peer­-reviewed publications:

Our Cancer Center conducted research on the “Analysis of acute rectal toxicity, interfraction prostate and SV shifts during 
kV­CBCT image guided IMRT for prostate cancer.” The research will be presented at the American Society for Therapeutic 
Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting on October 31 in San Diego, CA. Researchers included Nandanuri M. S. 
Reddy, Ph.D., senior physicist, Akkamma Ravi, M.D., clinical director, radiation oncology; Shana Coplowitz, M.D., resident, 
radiation oncology; Weisi Yan, M.D., Ph.D., resident, radiation oncology, Srinivas Bolugoddu, M.B.B.S., volunteer research 
associate, radiation oncology, Daniel Sicurello, R.T.T., Radia­tion therapy technologist, Catherine Lagos, R.T.T., Radiation 
therapy technologist; Hyesook Chang, M.D., attending radiation oncologist, and Dattatreyudu Nori, M.D., chairman, radiation 
oncology, director.

Steven S. Wright, M.D., director of medical and PA student education, Penelope Chun Lema, M.D., R.D.M.S., ultrasound 
fellowship director, Alison Suarez, MD, assistant residency director, and attending emergency medicine physicians Sanjey 
Gupta, M.D., Jose D. Torres, Jr., M.D., Amit Chandra, M.D., and Dr. Habboushe authored chapters in the textbook titled Essential Emergency Trauma.  

It is an honor for us when our hospital team members are recognized by other organizations:

Burton Wasserman, D.D.S., chairman, Dental and Oral Medicine, is being honored at the 25th Annual General Practice 
Residency Fair, which is a joint venture of the American Association of Hospital Dentists, the Greater New York Dental 
Meeting and the dental schools throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Dr. Wasserman is being 
honored for establishing the General Practice Residency Fair and for his 25 years of service.

PROGRESS

NYS Senate Committee Introduces Legislation to Repeal FMAP Plan

The Senate Rules Committee has introduced legislation to repeal the FMAP (Federal Medical Assistance Percentage) contingency plan law. In September, New York State began reducing Medicaid 
payments to health care providers as authorized by legislation  
passed in July as part of the 2010­2011 State budget plan.  
We have sent a letter to all Queens members of the Assembly and  
Senate as well as the health chairmen for the Assembly and Senate  
to urge them to pass the legislation to repeal the FMAP contin­ 
gency plan. Passage of legislation repealing the contingency plan 
is crucial to the continued delivery of quality health care in New  
York. Health care providers have endured funding cuts in seven 
budget actions over the last two years.

West Wing Update 

September was a major milestone for our hospital, our physicians,  
patients and residents of our community. We began to care for our 
first patients in the new units on 4 West and 5 West in the new  
building. The new hospital entry point is a light­filled atrium on  
Main Street that welcomes all to a place where they will find  
remarkable medicine and remarkable results. We can take great  
pride in knowing that our new building represents the quality of  
our people and our progress. 
In late September, the NYS Department of Health granted  
approval for the opening of our 10-operating room Ambulatory Surgery Center. We expect to open the Ambulatory Surgery  
Center later this month.

Also, our Department of Surgery and the  
CRT Surgical Practice will move into the lower level of the new 
wing.  We invite you to see for yourself how spectacular the West Wing 
looks. Check out our feature “pull out” section on the new West Wing. Or, for a personal tour, contact Debra Pagano Cohen, director, Community & Government Affairs, at (718) 670­-1586.  
Physicians can arrange tours with Pamela Williams, director,  
Medical Staff Society, at (718) 670­-2301. 


Extending Our Reach into the Queens Community  
  


Coming Soon: Neuroscience Lecture Series for 
the Community 
On Tuesday, October 19, at 9:30 a.m. in the Lang Audito­
rium, the NYHQ Neuroscience Institute will present a  
symposium for the community that will include the follow­ 
ing topics: Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy, Stroke, Vestibular  
and Balance Treatment and Low Back pain; Evaluation,  
Treatment Options and Neurosurgical Intervention.  To  
reserve a seat at the symposium, call (800) 282­-6684. 
 



NYHQ Health and Safety Fair Served 300 Community  
Residents 
On September 25th, more than 300 people attended the  
Health & Safety Fair developed by NYHQ in collaboration  
with Assemblywoman Grace Meng and the Queensboro Hill  
Neighborhood Association. St. Ann’s Church in Flushing, a  
few blocks from the hospital, hosted the event. Several city  
and state agencies such as the FDNY, NYPD, NYS Depart­ 
ment of Health and NYC Poison Control participated.  
Health screenings for pediatric asthma, glaucoma and  
diabetes were provided. Event sponsors included TD Bank,  
AARP, United Healthcare and Iver Printing. 

Poison Control and the 109th Police Precinct were among the groups 
who provided health and safety information to more than 300
community residents at the NYHQ Health and Safety Fair.

Building Relationships with Queens Medical Society &  
Chamber of Commerce 
NYHQ will sponsor the monthly physician leaders’ meeting for the Queens Medical Society on Tuesday, October 5. Physician 
leaders from Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation, Neurosurgery,  
Bariatrics, The Cancer Center, Ambulatory Surgery and 
Obstetrics and Gynecology will provide an update on services.  


Also, the hospital will host the Flushing Chamber of  
Commerce luncheon on Thursday, October 28. Stephen S.  
Mills, President and Chief Executive Officer, and physician 
leaders will provide an update about NYHQ. A tour of the  
West Wing will be included.

NYHQ Receives $450,000 for Obstetrics and Gynecology 

A grant of $450,000, secured by state Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, has been delivered to New York Hospital Queens by 
the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York for the  
purchase of new ultrasound equipment for the Department of  
Obstetrics and Gynecology. The equipment is used to monitor fetal growth and development during pregnancies, and detect 
various types of gynecological conditions including endome­ 
triosis, ovarian cysts and lesions, adnexal masses, and cancer.


Raising Funds for Pediatrics

Proceeds from the 5th Annual Pediatric Miniature Golf Classic   will be used to strengthen our medical services provided to children and their families and to assist our doctors and nurses  
who are available 24 hours a day to make a difference in the  
lives of the children we serve. The event will be held on  
Sunday, October 17, 2010, at the Spring Rock Golf Center in New Hyde Park. For more information call Julie Varghese, 
director, Special Events, (718) ­670­-1564.