Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) for pledging ongoing action to decarbonize the health care sector and make health care facilities more resilient to the effects of climate change. SBUH has formally committed to pursuing the White House’s climate goal of reducing emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and has already begun:
- Greening the Operating Room
- Reducing energy and water consumption
- Growing and serving healthy foods
- Using safer and fewer chemicals
- Purchasing environmentally preferable materials
- Implementing Green Building initiatives
- Investigating how to decrease emissions from transportation
- Focusing on waste reduction and recycling
A September 2021 consensus statement from more than 200 medical journals named climate change the number one threat to global public health. It exposes millions of people in the United States to harm every year—with disproportionate impacts on historically disadvantaged communities—through increases in extreme heat waves, wildfires, flooding, vector-borne diseases and other factors that worsen chronic health conditions. The healthcare sector also contributes to climate change, accounting for approximately 8.5 percent of U.S. domestic emissions.
One hundred and two prominent health companies in the U.S. have signed the White House/HHS Health Sector Climate Pledge, including organizations representing 837 hospitals as well as leading health centers, suppliers, insurance companies, group purchasing organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and more. Federal systems like the Indian Health Service (IHS), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), and Military Health System (MHS) are working together to meet similar goals to those the private sector organizations have embraced. Combined, over 1,080 federal and private sector hospitals have made such commitments, representing over 15 percent of U.S. hospitals.
Glen Cove Hospital announced the opening of its $11 million, 15,500 square-foot, physical medicine and rehabilitation unit specializing in treating patients with neurological conditions such as brain injury, Parkinson’s disease and stroke.
Located on the third floor, the new 28-bed, acute-care rehabilitation unit has 12 beds designated for patients with Parkinson’s disease. There are 24 private rooms and two double rooms. The innovative short-term Parkinson’s disease rehab program involves multidisciplinary, targeted interventions to help patients improve function and independence.
Mount Sinai Health System and Contessa announced the extension of their partnership combining Mount Sinai South Nassau’s home health agency into their existing joint venture. The new combination offers a full continuum of home-based care that includes home health, hospitalization at home, rehabilitation at home (in lieu of care at a skilled nursing facility) and palliative care at home. The home health agency will be called Mount Sinai at Home.
This new entity is the result of a strengthened joint venture between Mount Sinai Health System and Contessa, an Amedisys company (NASDAQ: AMED) and leading comprehensive home-based care provider, which first partnered in 2017 to provide hospitalization at home and expanded in 2021 to offer palliative care at home. Mount Sinai at Home, as Mount Sinai South Nassau’s home health agency is now called, currently treats nearly 3,000 patients each year with a 96% patient satisfaction rate and maintains a 4-star quality rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson earned the prestigious Magnet® recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for the third time. The ANCC designation came with 13 exemplars, examples of excellence in nursing practice. The Magnet Recognition Program® recognizes health care organizations for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice. Mather had previously earned Magnet® recognition in 2013 and 2018.
Northwell Health and Nassau Community College (NCC) announced a new education and scholarship program to train entry-level medical associate candidates to become medical assistants in a wide range of outpatient health care settings. The program starts in January 2023.
The inaugural Earn & Learn Medical Assistant Program is open to eligible current Northwell employees and external candidates who may apply for the program that includes a scholarship from the health system to earn a medical assistant certificate from Nassau Community College. A major component of the program will include medical associates starting work at Northwell Health, while simultaneously beginning their coursework at NCC in the one-year medical assistant certificate program. Northwell will pay tuition and fees of about $10,000 per person and the Nassau Community College Foundation will cover book expenses for the first initial year of the program.
The Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell has received a 2022 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. The Zucker School of Medicine is among 21 medical schools around the country selected for this national honor, recognizing institutions that exemplify outstanding leadership in diversity and inclusion.
Four Northwell Health hospitals across Long Island earned national accolades as part of Healthgrades’ 2023 America’s Best Hospitals list, led by the cardiac programs at North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) in Manhasset and South Shore University Hospital (SSUH) in Bay Shore.
The Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital at NSUH has been named one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery and one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Coronary Intervention, according to new research released by Healthgrades, the leading marketplace connecting doctors and patients. In addition, SSUH has been named one of America’s 50 Best Hospital for Cardiac Surgery and America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care and Coronary Intervention by Healthgrades.
The Fortunato Breast Health Center at Mather Hospital has earned accreditation status from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons.
To achieve voluntary NAPBC accreditation, a breast center demonstrates compliance with NAPBC standards that address leadership, clinical services, research, community outreach, professional education, and quality improvement for patients. Breast centers seeking NAPBC accreditation undergo a site visit every three years.
Leaders from Northwell Health gathered at a ribbon-cutting event to recognize a new gift from longtime trustee Roy J. Zuckerberg to create the R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Hospital at Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center — Long Island’s first cancer hospital — and to establish the R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Center, Northwell’s largest ambulatory cancer center. Mr. Zuckerberg’s transformative gift will also create an endowed chair in cancer research, helping to recruit top talent in the field and is part of his long-term generous philanthropy to Northwell, where his vision and commitment to enhancing patient care have made a direct impact across the health system.
The Lake Success, New York office of NSPC Brain & Spine Surgery has been approved to serve as one of several study sites for a nationwide clinical trial of a drug to treat the pain of Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN), a neuropathic facial pain condition that produces sudden, excruciating pain in the jaw or cheek area on one side of an affected persons face.
According to Jeffrey A. Brown M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.A.N.S., a senior partner and attending neurosurgeon at NSPC, the clinical trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of a drug manufactured by Biohaven Pharmaceuticals called Rimegepant compared to a placebo for adults, 18 years or older. A nationally known expert in the treatment of TN, Dr. Brown serves as the Facial Pain Association (FPA) Medical Advisory Board National Chairman.
The Biohaven Pharmaceuticals TN study is open to patients, reports Dr. Brown, with poorly controlled trigeminal neuralgia as determined by careful evaluation. It will be double blinded and will take approximately seven to nine weeks to complete, with an opportunity to continue for an additional 12 weeks. Participants may be able to continue a stabilized dosage of their current medications. Patients will be randomly assigned either Rimegepant or a placebo.