JAMAICA HOSPITAL RECEIVES OVER
$500K IN FUNDING FROM QUEENS BP
Photos by Carlotta Mohamed
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | SEPT. 3 - SEPT. 9, 2021 17
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
It was a momentous day
for staff members at Jamaica
Hospital Medical Center
as Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards announced
on Friday, Aug. 27,
a $589,000 investment to replace
five aging ultrasound
machines with new, stateof
the-art mobile equipment
that can be used in any setting
to accommodate individuals
with disabilities.
Richards was joined by the
President and CEO of Jamaica
Hospital Bruce Flanz, Assemblyman
David Weprin, hospital
leadership and community
leaders for the announcement
outside of the hospital’s Emergency
Walk-In entrance at
8900 Van Wyck Expwy. in
Richmond Hill.
As Queens was the “epicenter
of the epicenter” of the COVID
19 pandemic 17 months
ago, Richards said they’re
looking forward to a “more
resilient normal for Queens.”
“Normal was never good
enough. We need to move into
a space where there’s a new
normal where healthcare is
a human right for everybody,
while institutions across
Queens have the latest and
greatest technology,” Richards
said. “This is one of my
first investments to Jamaica
Hospital.”
The project, which is fully
funded by Richards, will
allow the hospital’s radiology
department to perform
advanced imaging, such as
elastography, and offer a noninvasive
ways to diagnose
and assess the severity of diseases
such as liver fibrosis,
instead of conducting more
invasive biopsies and other
procedures.
Including the $598,000 allocation
to Jamaica Hospital,
Richards has provided more
than $11.9 million in funding
to healthcare facilities across
the borough since taking office
amidst the ongoing pandemic
— the greatest public
health crisis the borough has
faced in more than a century.
Richards acknowledged
the hospital’s staff for their
sacrifice and resiliency to help
save lives during the height of
the pandemic in March 2020.
“The staff at Jamaica Hospital
were working double and
triple shifts fighting a virus
we knew nothing about — in
some cases, without the PPE
they needed to keep them
safe,” Richards said. “They
handled this unprecedented
crisis with true grace and
compassion. They were even
there to comfort our relatives,
friends and neighbors as they
passed away.”
While Richards commended
the doctors and nurses for
their outstanding work, Flanz
thanked the borough president
for his generous allocation
and support for the hospital
that has been serving the
community for 46 years.
“We strive to deliver quality
and compassionate services
to meet the unique challenges
of every patient,” Flanz said.
“Receiving the support of the
borough president is not only
helping us to expand our effort
in radiology, but it also
helps the hospital to continue
our mission in caring for our
community in offering worldclass
healthcare services
close to home.”
Flanz also congratulated
the hospital for being recognized
as one of America’s Top
250 Hospitals and its Radiology
Department’s high achievement
by the American College
of Radiology and Diagnostic
Imaging Center of Excellence.
Brian Pinnock, a clinical
laboratory technology specialist
at the hospital and a member
of the SEIU 1199 healthcare
union, said the hospital
is very well deserving of the
funding that will provide
state-of-the-art ultrasound.
“I worked every day during
the COVID outbreak and
we saw what happened. In the
beginning, it was confusing
— we experienced seeing different
results that were abnormal
and we were wondering
what was going on,” Pinnock
said.
As an 1199 delegate, Pinnock
said he made sure everyone
in the lab was protected,
even though some of their
members contracted the virus.
“In the beginning, we were
told it wasn’t that contagious
and we didn’t have enough
PPE,” Pinnock said. “We at
1199 need the support of our
representatives who continue
to fight alongside us every day
for top-quality healthcare that
we deserve.”
Weprin, who represents
Richmond Hill, also thanked
the hospital for the work
they’ve done, even before the
virus hit the borough.
“Jamaica Hospital is right
here on the front line involved
in so many emergencies. They
do such outstanding work. I
am proud to be the assemblyman
for Jamaica Hospital,
and it’s great that Borough
President Richards is recognizing
the work they do,” Weprin
said. “I know they will
put the allocation to good use
immediately.”
Reverend Princess Thorbs
McGee of Community Board
12 also thanked Richards
and the hospital for the work
they’ve done.
“You cannot build bricks
without your straw, and the
straw is what came from our
borough president,” Thorns
McGee said. “You need this
money and the equipment to
be able to do the work that
needs to be done. Maybe there
will be an expansion — maybe
there will be a Jamaica
Hospital No. 2.”
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718) 260–
4526.
HEALTH
President and CEO of Jamaica
Hospital Bruce Flanz.
/QNS.COM
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