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Major Expansion Underway at Mount Sinai Queens to Better Serve Community’s Health Needs Mount Sinai Queens has embarked on a $125 million expansion project so the hospital can better serve the health care needs of the western Queens community. The groundbreaking, held October 21, celebrated the beginning of a three-year construction project scheduled to be completed by summer 2016. The expansion will include construction of a new building on Crescent Street, behind the existing 30th Avenue hospital. One of the most notable improvements will be a new state-of-theart Emergency Department (ED), to be named in recognition of a generous gift from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. At more than 19,000 square feet, it will feature 36 bays, including private rooms; a new covered drive-through entrance for ambulance drop-offs; and the latest technology for CT and radiology. Eight new observation beds will be constructed in the space currently occupied by the ED. The expansion also includes seven new state-of-the-art operating rooms, allowing for additional, more complex surgeries for outpatients and those admitted to the hospital. As the industry nationwide shifts to increased ambulatory care, the expansion will create an integrated multi-specialty “polyclinic”
that will offer patients convenient “one-stop shopping” for primary and specialty care, as well as diagnostic services including MRIs, CT scans, bone density tests, mammograms, x-rays, and ultrasound testing, as well as enhanced laboratory services. The new building will house primary care doctors and specialists in cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, general surgery, pulmonary medicine, and vascular surgery. The hospital plans to add 160 medical and support staff. “With the new building in reach, we’re closer than ever to realizing our vision: To become a premier health care center of choice and a leader in patient-centered care,” says Caryn A. Schwab, Executive Director, Mount Sinai Queens. ▲
Photo from left to right: Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer; Council Member Peter Vallone, Jr.; Co-President and Board Member, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Andreas Dracopoulos; Kenneth L. Davis, MD; Queens Borough President Helen Marshall; Former City Council Speaker Peter Vallone, Sr.; State Senator Michael Gianaris; Peter W. May; Assemblymember Aravella Simotas; Caryn A. Schwab; David Reich, MD; Trustee, Mount Sinai Health System, Jean Crystal
Community-Minded Expansion “Mount Sinai Queens has always been a vital part of the communities it serves, and its physicians, nurses and staff will continue to provide the highest levels of care,” says Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and CEO of Mount Sinai Health System. “In just a few more years, this part of Queens will be home to a stateof-the-art health care institution that will further enhance the quality of care and improve patient outcomes.” Before embarking on the ambitious expansion project, leaders from Mount Sinai Queens worked closely with Community Board 1 to assure members that the hospital would work to minimize any inconvenience to neighbors that might be caused during construction. After meeting with hospital management, architects, and builders, the community board was satisfied that the hospital was acting in good faith and providing transparency and it unanimously recommended the expansion.
“Our new building and modernization project epitomizes our goals of giving patients the highly personalized care of a community hospital, with easy access to world-class specialists.” PETER W. MAY, CHAIRMAN, BOARDS OF TRUSTEES, MOUNT SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM
Mount Sinai Queens is going to extraordinary efforts to be a good neighbor during this project. Construction will be limited to the hours of 7 am and 3:30 pm; for safety, the site will be enclosed by fencing on Crescent Street and 30th Road and by a sidewalk bridge on the 30th Avenue frontage; work will be contained inside the fence to minimize the impact of noise and dust, which will also be controlled by keeping the construction site wet; all affected streets will remain open to traffic; all deliveries will be made between the hours of 7 am and 5 pm and, for added pedestrian and traffic safety, will be controlled by a flagman; and ongoing pest control will take place during construction.
Peter W. May, Boards of Trustees Chairman, Mount Sinai Health System; Caryn A. Schwab, Executive Director, Mount Sinai Queens; and Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and CEO, Mount Sinai Health System.
The economic impact of the expansion will be significant: The project will generate more than 460 construction and related jobs and, upon completion, will create an additional 160 new permanent hospital positions. Mount Sinai Queens will hold regular town hall-type meetings to address the concerns of local residents and to provide updates to the community on progress on demolition and construction as the project unfolds. Residents with questions may contact the hospital’s chief operating officer, Judy Trilivas, at 718-267-4384 or by email at judy.trilivas@mountsinai.org. ▲
Doctor Profile: Gloria Morris Assistant Professor of Medicine, Hematology, and Medical Oncology and Director of the Mount Sinai Queens Infusion Center. “Her expertise, her clinical trials, and her compassionate bedside manner serve her patients well.” Dr. Morris sees patients at the Mount Sinai Queens Infusion Center on 30th Avenue in Astoria, across the street from the main hospital, and in the Jackson Heights office of the Mount Sinai Cancer Network, an initiative of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and The Mount Sinai Hospital.
joining Mount Sinai Queens, she was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at The Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton, PA. She has lectured and published extensively about breast cancer. Much of her research has involved identifying hereditary and environmental causes for breast cancer. Dr. Morris lives within walking distance from Mount Sinai Queens with her husband, a pastor at CityView Church, and their two children, ages 6 and 3, who attend neighborhood public schools. She enjoys living in Astoria and, as someone with a Greek mother, she says, “It’s a great joy for me to live in a place where I can revisit my family heritage.”▲
In addition to treating patients and conducting research, Dr. Morris is very focused on community outreach and education to raise awareness of breast cancer, particularly among women with a family history. Even in her leisure time, Dr. Morris is committed to reaching out to people. This was her third year as a medical volunteer for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and she has volunteered for a number of organizations, including the New York City Medical Reserve Corps. Two leading New York City hospital networks—Mount Sinai Medical Center, which Originally from Syracuse, NY, Dr. Morris received her MD and PhD from the Medical includes Mount Sinai Queens, and Continuum Health Partners, a network of commuUniversity of South Carolina and did post“Dr. Morris brings a depth of knowledge and nity hospitals—combined in September to experience in treating breast cancer to Mount graduate training at the Thomas Jefferson create the Mount Sinai Health System. Sinai Queens,” says Howard Greenberg, MD, University Hospital in Philadelphia. Before Gloria Morris, MD, PhD, has devoted her career to breast cancer—researching it, preventing it, screening for it, and treating it. An Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Dr. Morris recently came to Mount Sinai Queens with an expertise in breast cancer that will enhance the hospital’s cancer program. She has a keen interest in developing clinical trials and bringing state-of-the-art treatment to the community served by Mount Sinai Queens, with the goal of increasing breast cancer prevention.
New Mount Sinai Health System Unveiled
Mount Sinai Queens Ranks in Top 10 Percent of U.S. Hospitals for Adoption of Electronic Medical Records Just two months after fully implementing its $20 million electronic medical record (EMR) system for patient charts, Mount Sinai Queens has been recognized by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) for reaching Stage 6 status, which satisfies a wide range of criteria for its advanced use of its EMR system. This recognition places Mount Sinai Queens among the top 518 of the more than 5,300 U.S. hospitals tracked by HIMSS.
“Gaining Stage 6 HIMSS designation is not only a prestigious achievement for Mount Sinai Queens, but the clearest sign of our commitment to improving patient experience and outcomes through full implementation of electronic medical records,” says Kumar Chatani, Chief Information Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. The highest possible designation is Stage 7, which recognizes hospitals where paper charts are no longer used.
“We thank HIMSS for recognizing our comThe EMR system gives Mount Sinai Queens doctors instant access to patients’ prehensive efforts in the implementation of current status, medical history, medications, Epic EMR,” says Caryn A. Schwab, Executive Director of Mount Sinai Queens. “Our IT and test results. It provides up-to-theand medical staff will continue to work with minute information that can be shared by the entire medical team treating a patient, Mount Sinai leadership towards achieving even greater levels of EMR integration better enabling them to provide timely, with the single goal of continuing to provide efficient, high-quality care, and minimizing efficient, patient-centered medical care.” ▲ the risk of errors.
The new hospital system encompasses seven campuses across Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn, as well as the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The hospitals under the new umbrella organization include The Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Queens, Beth Israel Medical Center, Beth Israel Brooklyn, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, St. Luke’s Hospital, and Roosevelt Hospital. The System, with a staff of approximately 6,600 physicians, will also include a robust and continually expanding network of multi-specialty services, including more than 45 ambulatory care practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, and Long Island. “Our goal in combining to form an integrated health care system and academic medical center is to provide exceptional medical care to New Yorkers,” says Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. “The combination will create increased efficiencies and expand access to advanced primary and specialty care throughout this citywide system.”▲
MOUNT SINAI QUEENS EXPANSION HIGHLIGHTS
25-10 30th Avenue Long Island City, NY 11102
NON PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE
• New 144,000 square-foot multistory building
PAID PERMIT 262 LONG ISLAND CITY, NY
• Polyclinic: State-of-the art outpatient facility • Greatly expanded state-of-the-art Emergency Department with 36 patient bays and 8 observation beds • 10 operating rooms •
Full on-site imaging suite for MRI, CT, bone density, mammography, x-ray and ultrasound
• Projected cost: $125 million • Scheduled completion date: 2016
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ABOUT MOUNT SINAI QUEENS Mount Sinai Queens is a licensed acute care hospital in Astoria, Queens, offering highquality adult outpatient, emergency, and inpatient medical services. Our highly trained team of nearly 500 physicians represents close to 40 medical and surgical specialties and subspecialties. We are the Queens campus of The Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, highly ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
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F E AT U R ED I N THI S I S S U E :
• Major Expansion Underway at Mount Sinai Queens to Better Serve Community’s Health Needs • Community-Minded Expansion • New Mount Sinai Health System Unveiled • Doctor Profile: Gloria Morris • Electronic Medical Records