Queens is blessed with several world-class hospitals serving our communities. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know three of the women running them: Susan Browning at Northwell LIJ in Forest Hills, Jaclyn Mucaria at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens and now I am delighted to write about Caryn Schwab, who runs Mount Sinai Queens.
Caryn has a long and distinguished 30-year career, which began with her serving for many years under great leaders whom I admire, both Mayor Ed Koch whom she served as health care advisor and Stan Brezenoff who recently ran the city’s Health and Hospitals Corporation.
Fortunately for us, she made her way to Mount Sinai when they took over the community hospital known as Astoria General, renamed it and began investing in it.
And did they ever! The most recent effort is the building of the $175 million Ambulatory Pavilion that nearly tripled the size of the Queens campus.
It’s a sparkling, six-story, 140,000-square-foot pavilion that features the state-of-the-art Stavros Niarchos Foundation Emergency Room.
With a broad smile, Caryn shared with me that it’s so successful, there is a need to expand it. In fact, when we met, she had just been told that 12 people were waiting for beds because the hospital was full.
The new building is a classic example of “you build it and they will come!” Not only has the hospital grown, but so has the community and its confidence in the superbly trained, world-class doctors she has brought to Queens.
The multi-specialty physicians are on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine and in Queens, so our community has access to the experienced physicians at its “sister” hospital in Manhattan.
Caryn, the executive director, said with pride, “Now our patients can get world-class medical care and can stay in their neighborhood.”
When I asked her about the opportunity to provide outpatient services in other neighborhoods, she told me about the hospital’s site in Forest Hills and Jackson Heights. And, she glowed when she told me that her hospital had received the prestigious magnet designation, considered the highest recognition of nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center — the only hospital in Queens to have been selected.
Under her leadership, the hospital also has achieved the highly regarded Joint Commission of New York State Department of Health’s designation as a Primary Stroke Center, making it again the only one in Queens.
She has forged a strong bond with the community and has made strides in outreach programs like health screenings, educational lectures and workshops.
Both the community and the hospital have seen the rising tide of growth and improvement. As has been said, “They’ve come a long way, baby,” and Caryn Schwab has lots to be proud of in making that growth possible.
Chinese American Hotel Association Meets
Anticipating the new archway to the Chinese community planned for Brooklyn’s Sunset Park, and to discuss another gala for Chinese American Hotel Association members and friends, we gathered at Vivo! In Bayside.
