Jamaica Hospital Recognized As National Model

Jamaica Hospital Medical Center has been chosen the recipient of this year’s “Carolyn Boone Lewis Living the Vision Award” by the American Hospital Association (AHA).
Richard J. Davidson, AHA president, presented the award at a ceremony this week. He said, “Everyday the doctors, nurses and caregivers of Jamaica Hospital ask what more they can do for their community. Health care is a process that begins outside the doors of the hospital with education, access to care and community service.”
The Carolyn Boone Lewis Living the Vision Award was established in 1996 by the AHA Board of Trustees to honor those organizations and individuals who effectively carry out the AHA’s vision of “A society of healthy communities, where all individuals reach their highest potential for health.”
Jamaica Hospital is being recognized as a model for other hospitals and health systems across the nation for its contribution to improving health care delivery and community health status. A unique element of this award is that a hospital cannot nominate itself; it must be recognized as a leader and nominated by others in the health care field.
Jamaica Hospital Medical Center is an amazing example of an inner-city hospital that recovered to not only serve its very diverse, low-income community, but to provide the expertise to help rescue two neighboring hospitals and to share this expertise and resources with hospitals across the nation.
Upon accepting this award, Mr. David P. Rosen, President and CEO of Jamaica Hospital said, “We have in fact recognized that the needs of this multicultural and disparate community are vast, and that there are precious few who are in a position to fulfill those needs. Our success, if any, has come from pushing the system to meet these needs, ever raising the bar, just as the community’s needs continue to raise the bar. We are justly proud of our accomplishments.”
Until the early 1990’s, Jamaica Hospital was in deep financial distress. Senior management and the Board of Trustees had a vision toward the future and a new building was constructed and opened in 1989. While things have never been easy for the hospital, the dedication of its staff to the community helped it to forge ahead and overcome many obstacles. It is currently a full service hospital with 387 beds. Jamaica Hospital is one of the busiest Level I Trauma Centers and Emergency Departments in the city. Its programs include a mental health division, Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units, a Rehabilitation Inpatient Unit, Traumatic Brain Injury and Coma Recovery Unit, 11 Ambulatory Care Centers, and a home health agency.
In addition, with its Disaster Relief and Crisis Intervention Program, Jamaica Hospital “exports” its experience with local emergencies to assist other communities, including sending supplies to medical teams to reopen hospitals closed by Florida hurricanes and New York State ice storms and to assist in airline and other disasters.