Buffalo gets a big new stadium, Queens gets a little new ER

 

Queens Chronicle

Five hundred guests attended a groundbreaking ceremony Friday to celebrate the $150 million expansion of Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s Emergency Department, which will double in size to accommodate more than 150,000 patients annually.

The funding is a grant from the Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program.

Despite having to attend a funeral later that day of a former first responder who died because of a 9/11-related illness, Gov. Hochul made a keynote speech at the Level 1 trauma center in Richmond Hill because she wanted to emphasize that the time of disinvestment in Southeast Queens has ended.

“This is a day of a new beginning,” Hochul said at the June 16 event. “For so many years and decades ... people thought that the people of this community didn’t have political clout to make real transformative changes. That time is over, my friends. With this new beginning, we say that this community matters. This hospital matters.”

Hochul thanked the doctors, nurses, staff and other healthcare workers for their efforts in saving the lives of people who suffer from mental health issues, along with those who fall victim to fentanyl and opioids or contract Covid-19.

“We are going to enhance our psychiatric services, because my God, people are going through so much right now,” Hochul said. “All the work to save lives from overdoses ... we are doing that in real time. We have so much more to do.”

The governor said that the new facility was delayed a bit because of the pandemic, but the commitment of the hospital to get the expansion done while taking care of patients during the height of the spread of coronavirus further highlighted the need for safety-net hospitals.

“There were a lot of hopes and dreams and then in the middle of it all there was a pandemic,” she said. “This demonstrated the compassion and incredible resiliency of this organization and so many of your members, from nurses to doctors to the people who worked in the kitchens, the custodial staff, the doulas and everybody else [who] pulled together to save this community.”

Bruce Flanz, JHMC’s president and CEO, said the hospital was at the epicenter of the pandemic, but with the new funding it will be able to serve more people.

“When completed, the Emergency Department will double in size,” Flanz said.

The hospital will go from having one trauma bay to four major trauma bays, from one isolation room to 22, and the number of treatment areas will nearly triple, he said. There will also be two new intensive care units: a 12-bed neuro-ICU and a 10-bed ICU.

“When the project is complete we will have a total of 48 intensive care unit beds,” Flanz said. “The project will also add much needed space to our mental health program and to our CPAC,” or chest pain center.

Flanz said the improvements are not just necessary to the community, but to its uniformed officers, who say JHMC is their preferred choice for treatment.

Officer Brett Boller, who was shot earlier this year in Jamaica, shared the sentiment.

“I had multiple surgeons and multiple teams work on me,” Boller told the Queens Chronicle. “They communicated well to my family about what was going on and the recovery process. They made me and my family comfortable.”

Lindsey Boller, the officer’s sister, told the Chronicle she was grateful for the care her brother received.

“I’m studying to be a nurse one day and it was just really inspiring to see how great all the nurses and all the doctors were to him,” said the aspiring healthcare professional.

NYPD Chief Kevin Williams, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Queens South, shared their sentiments.

“I’m grateful for their care and the services for our members in the service,” Williams told the Chronicle. “When they come to get treated it’s first-class and we appreciate it.”

U.S. Rep. Greg Meeks (D-Jamaica) said it was a 10-year journey to get here.

“I want to say thank you to all the providers,” Meeks said. “What do we have in life if we don’t have health?”

Meeks’ 700,000 constituents look to JHMC for treatment, said the congressman.

“If it wasn’t for the members of the state Legislature doing their part, this wouldn’t have happened,” he said.

Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman (D-Springfield Gardens) told the Chronicle that Springfield Gardens doesn’t have a hospital so the constituents in her area look to JHMC for help.

“I don’t have any hospitals in my district,” Hyndman said. “While growing up, everyone knew if you had a car accident, if you were hurt on your bicycle, if there was a shooting, this is the place to come. The chances of you surviving was high because this is a Trauma 1 Center.”

Hyndman’s godson, who was wounded after falling through shower glass, was treated at JHMC.

Borough President Donovan Richards, who was born at the hospital in 1983, was also in attendance.

“We’ve been talking for many years now about the need to invest in healthcare especially coming out of this pandemic,” Richards said. “Today we are changing that. Like the congressman said, it’s about ensuring that no matter what your socioeconomic status is, no matter who you love, no matter what your immigration status is, at Jamaica Hospital, you are welcomed.”

 We could have built 4 more hospitals with the money that went to that Bills stadium.