February 2012

Dear Colleagues:

The harsh economic climate of the past few years has driven hospitals and physicians to work differently. In the past, hospitals and physician offices operated much more independently, but now we rely on each other to sustain our mutual base of patients.

The challenges experienced by both are similar. Individual hospitals, as do community-based physicians, face stiff competition from large health systems and an uphill battle to retain and increase the share of the patient population that we each serve. Both are experiencing a steep rise of the cost of doing business, such as an increasing cost of salaries while navigating financial issues caused by regulations, as well as paying for new technology needs and facility upgrades. All the while, deep cuts in federal and state funding for Medicare and Medicaid erode income from health care reimbursement. Not only has the economic environment changed, so has the American health care system, as Health Care Reform is enacted.

To account for the changing milieu, we have taken steps to more closely align with our strongest ally—our community-based physicians. New York Hospital Queens is engaged in dialogue with physicians with whom we share a patient population. There are multiple opportunities to work jointly to reduce cost and participate in information technology ventures. We have formed a professional corporation—a physician-governed structure through which our full-time faculty practice medicine.

Our new vice president for Physician Business Development, Tom Evans, as well as Stephen Rimar, M.D., our Chief Medical Officer, are providing strategic options for physicians who want to work more closely with our institution. By meeting the needs of our community physicians, we can help our affiliated physicians leverage shared resources. A higher level of alignment can help us improve patient outcomes and community health.

From the perspective of market share in Queens, we lead the borough with the most hospital discharges in Queens. We continue to bolster our presence and access points throughout more neighborhoods in Queens. We believe that keeping Queens patients in Queens is really in the best interest of patients, who should have their family and medical support system nearby during recovery from illness or surgery.  

There are many reasons for physicians to use our hospital and refer patients to New York Hospital Queens. We reinvest in the programs that our community needs, such as the development of a Center for Healthy Aging, which is coming soon to our Jackson Heights Family Health Center, and an ocu-plastic service at the Queens Eye Center for cosmetic eye procedures. In addition, as the hospital overseeing the East Queens Division of the New York State Cancer Services Partnership Program, we provide free cancer screenings for the Queens community.

To learn more about our services and clinical programs or for more information about how New York Hospital Queens can help a physician’s practice in day-to-day operations, contact Tom Evans, at (718) 670-8714 or Dr. Rimar at (718) 670-1549. For more information about our community health programs, contact Anthony Somogyi, M.D., chairman, Community Medicine, or Maureen Buglino, R.N., Vice President, Ambulatory and Emergency Services, at (718) 670-1981.

Sincerely,

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

PEOPLE & PROGRAMS

People News

It is an honor for us when our hospital team members are recognized by other organizations and when they attain professional achievements:

  

Kyle J. Jacobi, Esq., has been promoted to vice president, associate general counsel and assistant secretary. He has served as associate general counsel since he came to us in April 2008. He has also been elected assistant secretary for the Silvercrest Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation. Mr. Jacobi came to NYHQ from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP, after receiving his Juris Doctor from Seton Hall University School of Law.

John Sciortino, senior vice president and chief operating officer, was appointed chair of the Chief Operating Officers Council of the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS). The group is comprised of 22 chief
operating officers throughout New York State’s health care facilities. The Council is focused on the impact of state and federal legislation and advocacy needs on behalf of health care facilities.

Joseph J. Abularrage, M.D., chairman, Pediatrics, was named Liaison for Curricular Projects, in the office of
Academic Affairs, for Weill Medical College of Cornell University, where he also serves as assistant dean.

Kenneth Ong, M.D., M.P.H., chief medical information officer, has been elected to the national board of the Health Information and Management Systems, a not-for-profit organization exclusively focused on providing global
leadership for the optimal use of information technology and management systems for the betterment of healthcare.

Congratulations to Kathleen Adinolfi, M.A., C.C.C.-S.L.P., B.R.S.-S., speech pathologist, on becoming a board-recognized specialist in swallowing disorders. Ms. Adinolfi along with Marta Kazandjian, director, Speech Pathology and Swallowing, is one of only 125 board-recognized specialists in the country.

Nicole Manfield, P.T., supervisor, Inpatient Physical Therapy, recently completed the HANYS/Cornell certificate program, The Academy for Healthcare Leadership Advancement. The six-week program taught participants on effective leadership in today’s complex and changing health care environment.

Kevin Campbell, director, Security, and former member of the NYPD, was recognized by the 109th Police Precinct Council, for his efforts to keep the employees, patients and guests of New York Hospital Queens safe and secure.

Burton S. Wasserman, D.D.S., chairman, Dental and Oral Medicine, and director, General Practice Residency Program, was appointed chairman, Medical/Dental Advisory Board, of the U.S. Army for the Greater NY area.  The board’s mission is to assist the Army in informing medical and dental students about career opportunities in the medical and dental corps of the United States Army.

Emmanuel Moustakakis, M.D., attending interventional cardiologist, was inducted as a fellow in the Society for
Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions promotes excellence in invasive and interventional cardiovascular medicine through physician education and representation, and the advancement of quality standards to enhance
patient care.

We are pleased to announce the following appointments to our medical and professional staff:

Welcome to Gangadhara Kabbli, M.D., new hospitalist team member. Dr. Kabbli comes to us from Yale-Griffin Internal Medicine Residency Program, where he worked as a clinical academic hospitalist and faculty in the Department of Internal Medicine at Griffin Hospital. He completed his internal medicine residency at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, in 2009, and has trained in internal medicine at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Center, Chandigarh, India.

Welcome to Konstantinos Fakiris, M.D., the fourth Fellow to participate in the Stavros Niarchos Foundation—New York Hospital Queens Hellenic American Emergency Medicine Exchange (HAEME) Program, which is coordinated at NYHQ by Michael S. Radeos, M.D., M.P.H., Emergency Medicine Research Director. Dr. Fakiris is an attending
anesthesiologist in Greece, and he is currently studying at the Post-Graduate Program in Emergency Pre-Hospital Medicine National Centre of Emergency Care in Crete.

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

Patricia Woods, Ph. D., chief learning officer, presented, “The Art and Science of Transformational Conversation,”
at the University of Texas at Dallas.  Her presentation covered how to establish rapport with patients and help
patients make informed decisions.

Heung Soo Sul, M.D., (pictured, second from left) attending neurologist, served as a steering committee chair and senior editor of the book titled, “Centennial History of Korean American Physicians in America.” He began organizing the steering committee in 2004 while serving as president of the Korean American Medical Association.

Todd Mastrovitch, M.D., director, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Education, presented “Pediatric Emergency Care of the School Age Child” at the School of Nursing of Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J.

Ellen Gutkin, M.D., third-year gastroenterology fellow, was awarded the Research Forum Award by the New York Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy for her research on “Full Liquid Diet Versus Clear Liquid Diet for Colonoscopy Preparation.” Anthony Nici, M.D., second-year gastroenterology fellow, was awarded the Peter D. Stevens, M.D. Intracity Rounds Award for his case, “Disconnecting the Stomach from the Colon with a Wire and Lots of Clips.”

Anita Datta, M.D., R.D.M.S., director, Emergency Medicine Ultrasound Resident Education, Devjani Das, M.D., former emergency ultrasound fellow, Penelope Chun Lema, M.D., R.D.M.S., former director, Emergency Medicine Ultrasound, were featured in Critical Ultrasound Journal on “Ultrasound of a Distended Pediatric Abdomen in a Limited Resource Setting.”

Cynthia Pan, M.D., director, Palliative Care, presented “Palliative Care in the United States,” at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing, China.

Program News

NYHQ Celebrates Opening of Urgent Care Center The Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and NYS Senator Toby Stavisky, NYS Assembly Member Grace Meng, and NYS Assembly Member Michael Simanowitz, joined New York Hospital Queens in celebrating the opening of the Urgent Care Center for the treatment of non-life threatening emergencies. The Urgent Care Center includes a patient treatment area, nurses station and private, dental and ophthalmic emergency areas. The HEAL-NY Program funded The Urgent Care Center and an upcoming expansion of the main Emergency Department. HEAL-NY (Health Care Efficiency and Affordability Law for New Yorkers) is a state grant-funding program that support the restructuring of New York’s health care system.

Hospital Launches New Electronic Health Record System
NYHQ is ahead of the technology curve and is one of the first hospitals in the NYC area to achieve a completely electronic health record—integrated throughout the inpatient floors and the emergency room.  Later this year, the NYC Department of Health will assist us in the implementation of, and transition to, an outpatient electronic health record system for ambulatory care centers in the community.

By being able to enter, retrieve and analyze patient data online and in real time, we can improve nursing and physician clinical documentation, which can lead to improved patient outcomes. The Federal government has offered hospitals stimulus dollars to adopt comprehensive electronic health records that make daily operations more efficient.

PROGRESS

Perfect Quality Score for the Trude Weishaupt Memorial Satellite Dialysis Center
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (CMS) measure the quality of care provided by health care facilities that treats patients who are insured by Medicare and Medicaid. New York Hospital Queens’ Trude Weishaupt Memorial Satellite Dialysis Center received a perfect score on a quality of care evaluation performed by CMS’s End Stage Renal Disease Quality Incentive Program. The center received a total performance score of 30 out of 30 points for meeting clinical care criteria. Consistent, high quality care and a great experience are what our patients should expect from our employees and medical staff. In addition, this score ensures that the Center will receive full Medicare reimbursement for 2012.

Going Greener
In five years, the hospital has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 28 percent. The hospital started a recycling program last year (now accounting for 15% of all waste being recycled) and acquired a biodigester machine using microorganisms to decompose food waste/organic material into sewer-safe water. These are just a few of the environmentally-conscious efforts that the hospital has implemented. Go to http://www.nyhq.org/gogreen to learn more about our green projects at NYHQ.

OUR VISIBILITY IN THE COMMUNITY

February Is Heart Month
New York Hospital Queens celebrates “Heart Month” in February by educating the Queens community about heart disease risk factors and how to live “heart healthy.”  The hospital is collaborating with the Flushing Library to offer the “2012 Heart Health Lecture Series.” The month-long schedule of lectures is being presented by Heart Hospital of Queens staff members, including Chong Park, M.D., director, Cardiology, George Juang, M.D., director, Cardiac Electrophysiology and Arrhythmia, Todd Kerwin, M.D., director, Non-Invasive Cardiology, and Mimi Chan, R.D. Throughout the month, the Cardiac Health Center is offering heart-health aerobic classes such as Zumba dance and cardio-fusion, as well as lectures about healthy eating.

 

Legislative Briefing
New York Hospital Queens and the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) presented a legislative briefing for members of the Queens delegation from the New York State Senate and Assembly. The meeting was intended to demonstrate the impact that state legislation has on our hospital. Among the topics presented were upcoming proposed federal cuts to ambulatory care services, the need for funding to increase critical care beds, reforms to the Certificate of Need process, and the financial impact of Medical Malpractice Liability premiums.

Presenters included David C. Rich, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs, Communications and Public Policy, GNYHA; and NYHQ administrators George Heinrich, M.D., chairman, NYHQ Board of Trustees, and Stephen S. Mills, President and Chief Executive Officer, Maureen Buglino, R.N., Vice President, Ambulatory and Emergency Services; Mary Godfrey, R.N., Vice President, Professional Services; William P. Wissemann, Esq., Senior Vice President and General Counsel; and Michael Tretola, Senior Vice President and Administrator, The Silvercrest Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation.

Year of the Dragon Festivities
Through the end of February, we are celebrating the start of the “Year of the Dragon.” Each Lunar New Year’s Eve, once a baby is born, we give the family of the first baby a $1,000 savings bond from our hospital. On January 23, Cleotilde Santiago, gave birth to the first Lunar New Year baby. Additionally, we held Lunar New Year festivities on January 26 with an ornate lion dancer traveling throughout the hospital and a special program in the cafeteria about the significance of the New Year. Members of the NYHQ staff also represented our hospital in the annual Lunar New Year parade held in Downtown Flushing.