While several hospitals within the borough of Queens have been forced to close, Queens Hospital Center has been growing and working hard to provide top-notch service to the community.
When Executive Director Antonio D. Martin started at the hospital as its Chief Operating Officer in 1999, he saw the transformation from an 80-year-old facility with dilapidated buildings to a new and revitalized hospital.
“I happened to come here at a very good time because when I came to this hospital five years ago and it gave me an opportunity to be a part of rebuilding a great institution,” said Martin, who took over as Executive Director in 2002. “It's been tremendous. The design of the building really gave a lot of thought to the many different aspects of patient care, including physical, mental and spiritual well-being.”
With the new design of Queens Hospital Center, a major goal was to create an environment that was more welcoming than the feeling that people used to associate with medical facilities. The various areas of the hospital have bright colors, lots of sunlight along with other features such as trees and artwork in order to assist in accomplishing this.
“I think when you walk inside and you come into the hospital you get a very good feeling,” said Martin, who grew up in St. Albans. “You really(get) just a very warm and inviting feeling.”
Another major change that has occurred at the hospital is the attitude of those who work there. When there was talk of Queens Hospital Center being privatized, Martin said the outlook of many staff members was not a positive one. However, that has changed now that the hospital is thriving.
“People feel that we're an excellent hospital,” he said. “Over the last five years we've demonstrated excellence in terms of our commitment.”
Others in the medical industry have recognized the strides Queens Hospital Center has been making. This year, the hospital was one of the first to successfully undergo an unannounced visit by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations.
“They walked into our doors and we did exceedingly well,” Martin said. “We had two recommendations for improvements and that's (out of) 400 standards that they touched upon.”
Queens Hospital Center includes four centers of excellence, including one for diabetes. Currently, the physicians in this area are working at examining population trends for the incidence of diabetes. Also, the hospital helps patients manage their diabetes through the use of the latest technology as well as education, which is part of their theory of empowering patients.
The hospital is also doing a great deal through its Cancer Center of Excellence, which is headed by Dr. Margaret Kemeny and is part of between 20 and 30 clinical trials at the moment.
“As we were planning to build a new hospital we looked at the health needs within the community. We found that the rates of cancer surrounding this hospital were really twice that of many other communities,” Martin said. “At the urging of then Borough President Claire Shulmanwe developed a Cancer Center of Excellence. I don't see a more comprehensive cancer center in this borough.”
Due to the fact that about 70 percent of the hospital's patient base are female, it has also developed a Women's Center of Excellence where women can receive all forms of treatment ranging from primary care to gynecological care and pregnancy needs.
“What we've done is to co-locate all of the services for women on one floor. You can see all the different health care professionals who provide care for women,” Martin said. “This is a concept that certainly has been a big success in terms of coordinating services that we deliver to women.”
Queens Hospital Center's final center of excellence is for behavioral analysis. This portion of the hospital treats all ages and all types of disorders.
“Our psychiatric and detox services, in my opinion, are also second to none in the borough of Queens,” said Martin. “We have every level of service that you could think of in psychiatry.”
Martin did point out that, although there are four centers of excellence, members of all the various departments at Queens Hospital Center work hard to provide the best care possible.
The success of the hospital can be seen in the many numbers of people who go through its doors on a regular basis. Currently, it averages 75,000 emergency room visits a year and 330,000 annual ambulatory visits.
“Right now we're facing challenges of being somewhat oversubscribed,” Martin said of the 243-bed hospital. “Our occupancy rate today is at 108 percent.”
Martin said Queens Hospital Center is in talks with other agencies to discuss increasing the number of beds even more, especially since other hospitals in the area may face closing.
In 2006, the facility is expected to complete construction of a new ambulatory pavilion.
In the future, Martin said he would like to see Queens Hospital Center develop another center of excellence, this one focusing on providing care to senior citizens. While assisting with medical issues, it would aid seniors with things such as nutrition and psychological problems.
Martin also hopes to continue with his strategic plan, which includes four major areas of improvement. They are in the areas of comportment, environment, business and patient safety.
Queens Hospital Center is continually trying to engage members of the community. They have done this in part through informational sessions they have held regarding Medicare Part D and also have hosted community board meetings.
Martin has high hopes for the future of Queens Hospital Center.
“We have a mantra here at this hospital where we don't want to be known as the hospital for the underserved. We want to be known as the hospital of choice,” said Martin, who is poised to take the hospital into the future. He continued, “The hospital is definitely on the upswing.”
Queens Hospital Center is located at 82-68 164th Street in Jamaica. For more information on the hospital and its services call (718) 883-3000.
