Flushing Hospital Medical Center on April 24 celebrated the discharge of its 1,000th patient to recover from COVID-19 with a special send-off.
Employees lined the hallways of the hospital as they cheered and applauded Ruben Silvestre, the hospitals’ chief nursing officer, who was discharged after a five-day battle with COVID-19.
Today was a very special day, our network, Jamaica and Flushing Hospital celebrated the discharge of our 1000th COVID-19 patient. New York We Will Get Through This! #InThisTogether #NewYorkStrong pic.twitter.com/456Rejh7Mj
— Jamaica Hospital (@JamaicaHospital) April 24, 2020
Silvestre’s message of hope for others during this challenging time:
“Keep it up, believe and have faith,” Silvestre told NY1 News.
Silvestre was admitted to the hospital on April 20. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, he has been helping to treat patients battling the virus.
Silvestre is the 1,000th patient to be discharged from the MediSys Health Network, which includes Flushing Hospital Medical Center and Jamaica Hospital Medical Center — two of the hospitals within the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Queens.
“Both hospitals within our network provide healthcare to communities that have been hit hardest by the pandemic,” said Bruce Flanz, president and CEO of the MediSys Health Network. “Many who live in the neighborhoods we serve are medically vulnerable. Therefore, we became inundated by seriously ill patients who were dependent on our frontline staff to provide lifesaving care.”
Having cared for a large volume of patients, each hospital experienced its share of losses.
“Our doctors, nurses and other caregivers worked tirelessly and selflessly to save as many lives that they could. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, some patients expired due to the complications of the disease,” said Dr. Sabiha Raoof, chief medical officer, MediSys.
According to Raoff, the MediSys Network reached its apex in Mid-April with over 450 patients admitted for coronavirus complications, and more than 150 in need of ventilators.
However, the number of admitted COVID-19 patients at Jamaica and Flushing Hospital has declined as well as the amount of patients requiring ventilators.
“Over the last week, thanks to the perseverance of our frontline heroes, our numbers have become slightly more encouraging,” Raoff said. “It is with great optimism that we say our numbers are slowing down.”
