North Shore Breathes New Life Into Forest Hills Hospital

Five years ago the North Shore University Hospital system gained a foothold in central Queens with the acquisition of LaGuardia Hospital, an ancient and decrepit building that served HIP patients.
Today that 225-bed facility looms as the quintessential central Queens community hospitalone that has succeeded because of the mission and vision of a new management team.
Listen to Andrew Mitchell, executive director of the Forest Hills institution:
"We thrive under the competition from a plethora of health care facilities in the Forest Hills-Rego Park area. We have mobilized community leaders, physicians, public officials religious leaders and other groups in an effort to better serve the areas escalating health care needs."
He said North Shore breathed new life into the Hospital with a $35 million bond floated in 1996 and 1997. Although the Hospital is still in the red, Mitchell predicts it will begin to break even in the next two years.
North Shore Forest Hills is situated in a large aging community. As a result, it has focused on the medical needs of its senior citizen population.
One of its most popular initiatives has been the House Call program. It provides homebound seniors in need of care with home visits by a team consisting of a physician, nurse and technician. That approach has recently been supplemented with distribution of free cell phones to seniors in need. The phones enable the patient to call 911 in the event of a medical emergency.
Another priority has been the Hospitals emergency room. North Shore poured $6 million into the 911 system and $5 million to rehabilitate the ER. The unit is headed by a new team of medical professionals led by Dr. Jeff Horwitz.
Mitchell said the emergency room receives 30,000 visits a year and the average wait for treatment is 30 minutes.
Under its former owners, the Hospital had a 25 to 30 percent occupancy rate, as compared with todays 98 percent.
"But its more than just the sheer numbers that have changed," according to Mitchell. "We strive for high quality service that focuses on the needs of our patient population."
Forest Hills is enthusiastic about its multi-million dollar radiology center and CT scan which will materially augment its diagnostic capability.
Other new services for its largely elderly population will be an orthopedic unit that offers hip joint replacement, a procedure in high demand in the area.
Forest Hills does have a new director of cardiology who performs non-invasive heart procedures.
"Were not quite ready to perform angiography," the Hospital executive director said.
Mitchell readily admits the Hospital is not a trouble-free operation.
"The big problem, one experienced by most hospitals, is the inadequate reimbursement rate," said Mitchell. "But we expect to prosper as additional services become available to the central Queens area."