FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 9th 2009

United Hospital Fund’s Award luncheon. 

Peninsula Hospital Center auxiliary member Margaret (Peggy) DeMatteis and hospital volunteer John Ward were honored by the United Hospital Fund on Friday, March 6th at a luncheon in the Waldorf Astoria’s Grand Ballroom.  Both Rockaway residents, Mrs. DeMatteis and Mr. Ward were joined by other auxilians and volunteers from voluntary and municipal New York City hospitals selected to receive this prestigious annual award. 

 Peggy DeMatteis is a lifetime member of the PHC Auxiliary and currently serves as its Vice President for Membership and on its Executive Board.  Mrs. DeMatties can often be found at the Hospital Center helping with Auxiliary sales and contributing her expertise to the various fundraising efforts at the hospital.  As President of the Belle Harbor Garden Club, she has also helped coordinate Hospital Center beautification efforts.  

 Following his own courageous and successful battle with brain cancer and with the desire to give back to the hospital and others who helped him, John Ward has given many hours each week assisting in the Outpatient Testing Department and most recently, added even more hours as a volunteer in the Hospital Center’s new Hospice Unit. 

 The United Hospital Fund honors distinguished auxilians and volunteers each year for “giving back to the community” through their volunteer initiatives and for the many hours each honoree devotes to volunteer efforts.  Peninsula Hospital Center’s honorees, joined by their families, friends, other volunteers and auxilians, were welcomed by James R. Tallon, Jr., President of the United Hospital Fund, at a special honoree reception and received accolades from keynote speaker, Sade Baderinwa, Co-Anchor, WABC-TV Eyewitness News at 5.  Each honoree was presented with an engraved award to commemorate the occasion.  

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 2009

Hospital Center is pleased to announce its new 2009 Medical Board Leadership.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 28th, 2009

Press Release:

IT WAS A DRILL…

Peninsula Hospital Center, for the purpose of reinforcing its Emergency Management-Hazmat Operations program, invited National Grid, the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) and volunteer ambulance companies to work with them this past Saturday to conduct a joint Hazardous Materials Drill.  National Grid, and its contractor, Posillico Environmental, Inc., were invited to participate because they will soon be working to remove contaminated soil from the old coal gasification plant on Beach 108th Street.  Given these circumstances, Peninsula Hospital Center set up a drill scenario involving a “mock” accident at the MGP site.  Even though medical personnel confirmed that the chemicals involved would most likely not require decontamination procedures, this mock drill was developed to challenge all facets of emergency decontamination at all levels. 

  The participants in the drill included Peninsula Hospital Center’s Emergency Department and members of the Hospice Center’s Emergency Management Team, under the supervision of Julie Hassing, PHC’s Safety Director and Michael Valentino, PHC’s Director of Security and Emergency Preparedness Coordinator.

  The overall goals of the drill included the review and testing of the notification process between emergency responders and the receiving facility (PHC).  Additionally, the drill reviewed and reinforced the Hospital Center’s response to an event requiring decontamination of patients; i.e. setting up the decontamination tent and properly decontaminating patients prior to triage without putting other patients or emergency personnel at risk.  

  The drill kicked-off at approximately 9 am on Saturday setting the Hospital Center’s Emergency Team in motion. Hospital maintenance and security personnel immediately set-up  the decontamination tent in anticipation of the “mock patient” arrivals, who were transported to PHC by volunteers from the Broad Channel Fire Department Volunteer Ambulance Corps.  Upon arrival at Peninsula, the “patients” were triaged in the contamination tent positioned directly outside of the Emergency Department and assessed for their levels of acuity and degree of contamination under the direction of Phyllis Prawzinsky, RN, Assistant Head Nurse, E.D. Following assessment, the “mock” patients, as well as Emergency Management Service personnel, were put through a dry run decontamination.

  “The drill lasted just about one hour and was an outstanding success, thanks to the participation of the FDNY, Broad Channel Fire Department, Dr. Michael Franklin, Director, Emergency Department, the entire Emergency Room staff, as well as the Emergency Management Team of the hospital,” Hassing remarked during the drill’s after-action report.  “These simulated Hazmat exercises however, would not be possible without the cooperation and assistance of the local community served by Peninsula Hospital Center,” said Security Director, Michael Valentino.   “The level of participation and support provided by National Grid and their local contractor went above and beyond cooperation, as they were truly an integral part of the exercise.”  Tom Campbell, National Grid’s Project Manager, Environmental Department, expressed his appreciation to the Hospital Center, “We’re very grateful for this opportunity to integrate our own extensive safety procedures with Peninsula Hospital Center. All of us were impressed with the way everyone worked together as a team.” 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE: February 23rd, 2009 

PHC Achieves Quality Respiratory Care Recognition for Seventh Year in a Row

 Peninsula Hospital Center recently received its annual renewal as a national Quality Respiratory Care Recognition (QRCR) hospital for 2009. This national award certification program speaks to the exemplary services offered by the Hospital Center’s respiratory care team.     

  Approximately 10% of all of the hospitals in the United States receive this prestigious award. Ed Ozechowski, Director of Cardio-Pulmonary Services, oversees the respiratory therapy department of the Hospital Center and was very pleased when he recently announced that Peninsula Hospital Center holds the distinction of receiving this award for the seventh year in a row.   Congratulations!

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 10th 2009

Press Release:

PHC Radiation Oncology Passes inspection fro NY Dept of Health.

The Peninsula Hospital Center Department of Radiation Oncology, under the direction of David Schwartz, M.D., has once again completed a successful inspection by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.  The routine inspection consisted of examinations of procedures, testing and calibration records, personnel accreditation documents, interviews with personnel and observations by the inspector as they relate to the radiation safety and quality assurance program for linear accelerators.   Peninsula Hospital Center is noted for being the only hospital center in the southeast Queens region with a linear accelerator to compliment its Cancer Treatment program.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 10th 2009

Press Release:

PHC Angels on the Bay Children for Children Program

The pediatric patients in the Angels on the Bay Pediatric Unit at Peninsula Hospital Center were treated to specially designed and hand-made jigsaw puzzles recently.   Children from P.S. 256 under the leadership of Ms. Elizabeth Kaufman joined with the Children for Children Programs on a mission to link community service and learning.  The children arrived at the Hospital Center proudly carrying their creations.  They were given a tour of Angels on the Bay Pediatric Unit, had an opportunity to visit and interact with some of the nurses and personnel and learn about the unit.  As they departed, each child donated their puzzle to a hospitalized child.

            The children were eager to learn, listened intently, asked questions and interacted very politely with the staff.  When quizzed on why they had made puzzles and visited the pediatric unit, all of them were eager to say, “To help other people.”

            Children for Children programs engage more than 79,000 young people in 26 states across the United States.  Working with children from all backgrounds beginning at an early age, CFC’s various programs teach the value of civic engagement and demonstrate that no matter how young, everyone has something to give.

            The youngsters who designed, made and delivered the jigsaw puzzles to Peninsula Hospital Center were very excited to share their creations and give back to the community.

A job very well done!     

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 4th 2009

Press Release:

PHC DENTAL SOCIETY HOSTS

RENOWNED IMPLANT SPECIALIST

The Peninsula Hospital Center Dental Society hosted an all-day seminar featuring Dr. Carl Misch, B.S., D.D.S., M.D.S., PhD., an internationally recognized pioneer and authority on the use of dental implants.  The meeting was attended by 250 dentists from all over the New York metropolitan area including both general practitioners and specialists.

Dr. Misch,  Founder of the Misch Institute; Editor of Contemporary Implant Dentistry; Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Congress of Implantologists and co-Inventor of the BioHorizons Dental Implant System and international lecturer, captivated his audience with his presentation on modern implantology.

“Dr. Misch shared his very high level of expertise in implantology with our community dentists and we were delighted that he accepted our invitation to speak before our group,” said Leonard E. Schiffman, DMD, Director of the Department of Dentistry and Oral-Maxillofacial Surgery at Peninsula Hospital Center.  “Implant placement and restoration protocols undergo continuous revision based upon the accumulated experience of practitioners and researchers.  This was a wonderful opportunity to learn the very latest treatments and techniques which in turn, offer our patients the greatest chance of a successful outcome.”

The Peninsula Hospital Center Dental Society’s continuing education program is open to all licensed dentists.  For over four decades, it has brought the finest dental practitioners from all over the world to the Rockaway area, benefiting both practitioners and members of our community.  The program is accredited by the  Academy of General Dentistry and the New York State Education Department to offer continuing education credit.  Tuition includes the full day seminar, continental breakfast, buffet style lunch, free parking and continuing education credits. 

The next presentation on March 20th will feature Dr. Sascha Jovanovic from U.C.L.A., whose presentation is entitled “Implant Dentistry:  New Advances in Tissue and Esthetic Management.”  For further information, call the Peninsula Hospital Center Department of Dentistry at 718-734-2773.

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