Forest Hills Hospital Winning War Against Managed Care

The Hospital has also brought on board a computerized prescription service that protects patients against errors or any drug interactions.
Hettenbach, who just recently joined Forest Hills Hospital after serving as interim chief executive officer at Central Suffolk Hospital in Riverhead, said that patients at Forest Hills are backed up by the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System.
"If a patient needs open heart surgery for example," he said, "we can get him quickly by ambulance to nearby North Shore or Long Island Jewish."
Hettenbach believes he is well prepared to deal with the economic problems created by managed care. He points out that he studied economics.
Forest Hills Hospital has 214 beds and has an average occupancy rate of 90 percent.
Before coming to North Shore, Hettenbach served as the CEO of several prestigious psychiatric hospitals in New York State. Following that, he joined the New York State Office of Mental Health as its New York City regional director.
"For years now," the CEO said, "we have operated a House Call program that dispatches physicians into the homes of community residents who are unable to get to the hospital. This unique program is a first for the borough of Queens."
Other innovations at Forest Hills Hospital include an orthopedic program that provides seniors with joint replacement surgery, an important need for this age group.
Hettenbach said the Hospital is situated in a community in which 65 percent of its residents are seniors.