28 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • MARCH 11, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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Three Queens frontline workers recognized
at 2020 Whole Health Heroes Awards
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th ree Queens-based industry
game changers were among
47 other prominent New York
City individuals and teams to
receive an award at the virtual
2020 Empire Whole Health
Heroes Awards held on Feb. 18.
Th e Queens honorees include
Dr. Alfredo Astua, MD, chief of
pulmonary and critical care medicine
at NYC Health + Hospitals/
Elmhurst; Oren Barzilay, president
of FDNY EMS Local 2507
in Whitestone; and Lori Ames,
national secretary treasurer at
Home Healthcare Workers of
America, of Briarwood.
As part of its mission to
improve the health of all New
Yorkers, Empire BlueCross
BlueShield, in partnership with
Crain’s New York Business,
announced the 50 honorees of
the 2020 Empire Whole Health
Heroes Awards program. Empire
and Crain’s created this program
to honor and celebrate individuals
and teams whose commitment,
kindness and exceptional
leadership have helped
to improve the health, wellness
and safety of the city during the
ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
“COVID-19 hit New York
early and hard, which meant that
our communities were on the
front lines of the response,” said
Alan Murray, president & CEO
of Empire BlueCross BlueShield.
“In true form, many New
Yorkers stood up to these new
and evolving challenges, demonstrating
resilience and innovation
as they worked to address
emerging needs across our city.
It was a true honor to learn about
these stories as part of selecting
our 50 honorees.”
Frederick Gabriel Jr., publisher
and executive editor of Crain’s
New York Business, said it was
a privilege to work in partnership
with Empire BlueCross
BlueShield in bringing these
remarkable stories to light.
All honorees were recognized
in three categories: healthcare,
business and essential workers.
Th e honorees received a crystal
award to commemorate their
selection on the list and were
featured in a print and digital
section in Crain’s New York
Business on Feb. 22. Empire also
made a donation to the Food
Bank for New York City to honor
this year’s heroes.
Dr. Alfredo Astua, MD,
chief of pulmonary and
critical care medicine
at NYC Health +
Hospitals/Elmhurst
Astua, a native to the Elmhurst
community aft er immigrating
from Nicaragua, dedicated his
award to all healthcare workers
on the front lines of the pandemic.
“I know that the main thing
I have learned is that I am a
part of a wonderful team, and
we can take excellent care of
our patients, and get through
anything, even COVID,” Astua
said. “We can work diligently
and feverishly in order to accomplish
our goals and have more
and more of our patients come
home to their families.”
During the pandemic, Astua
steered lifesaving care to hundreds
of patients in New York
City. He created Elmhurst hospital’s
original COVID-19 treatment
plan and co-created the latest
version of the guidelines. His
forward thinking and leadership
proved pivotal in mobilizing and
orchestrating care for the surge in
patients in the intensive care unit.
He also expanded care for critically
ventilated patients by more than
500 percent in just a few weeks.
Astua instructed, supervised
and guided all hired and volunteer
physicians that came to assist
during the surge in COVID-19
cases. In addition, Astua inaugurated,
perfected and implemented
lifesaving treatments, including
intermittent prone positioning
for patients presented with
life-threatening adult respiratory
distress syndrome.
Additionally, Astua took part
in town hall meetings in order to
implement ideas, plan courses of
action as well as alert the community
to the treatment options
available at Elmhurst Hospital.
He held podcasts with organizations
across the country in order
to teach lessons learned and successful
processes from his experience
with these critically ill
patients. He continues in his
leadership role by coordinating
preparatory plans for a second
surge, teaching all he knows to
medical and nursing colleagues
as well as planning for the longterm
care of the fragile COVID-
19 patient population.
Oren Barzilay, president
of FDNY EMS Local 2507
Barzilay leads the 4,000-plus
member FDNY Emergency
Medical Service (EMS) union in
Whitestone and is one of the most
widely recognized advocates for
frontline medical fi rst responders
battling COVID-19 in New York.
“Early on in the pandemic, there
were certainly times when many
thought this nightmare would
never end. Th e 4,000 women and
men of the FDNY EMS were
steadfast in manning the front
lines, answering hundreds of thousands
of medical emergency calls,
at great risk to themselves and to
their families,” Barzilay said. “As
New Yorkers we do not back down
from a challenge and the city is
stronger because of that dedication
and sacrifi ces. To receive this
acknowledgment means a great
deal to all of our members.
Barzilay’s members respond
to over 1.5 million annual medical
emergencies, the busiest fi rst
responder group in America, managing
the bulk of all FDNY emergencies,
and during COVID, call
volumes rose 200 percent.Starting
in February, with the NY State
Nurses Association, he helped lead
an issues briefi ng for the New York
and national press corps to paint an
accurate picture of New York City’s
unpreparedness for the virus. As its
toll mounted, he provided critical
transparency about the harsh realities,
diffi culties and dangers these
heroes of the pandemic — oft en
referred to as New York’s Street
Doctors — experienced daily while
protecting New Yorkers.
With medical studies now
showing that FDNY members
were 15 times more likely to
contract COVID-19 and FDNY
EMS members fi ve times more
likely than FDNY fi refi ghters
to contract the virus, Barzilay’s
staunch advocacy and leadership
was necessary in a time of deep
crisis for New York and the rest
of the nation to grasp the overwhelming
medical crisis.
Lori Ames, national
secretary treasurer
at Home Healthcare
Workers of America
(HHWA)
During the height of the pandemic,
Ames advocated aggressively
for the health, workplace
safety, wages and benefi ts of over
20,000 essential home healthcare
workers caring for New York’s
most vulnerable.
“On behalf of the 28,000 home
health care professionals we
advocate for, my thanks go out to
Crain’s New York and BlueCross
BlueShield for the recognition
of our work on the front line as
New York health heroes,” Ames
said. “While the pandemic put
immense stress on our healthcare
systems, these dedicated
caregivers served a critical
role by providing for more than
100,000 of our region’s most vulnerable
who are homebound.”
Every day during the pandemic,
the unheralded HHWA workforce
entered the homes of New York’s
sick, elderly, those with special needs,
at great risk to themselves, to provide
necessary care and companionship.
Yet by early June, 11 HHWA
members had already lost their lives;
540 tested positive for COVID-19;
350 had symptoms of COVID-19;
and 475 lost access to childcare or
to their ability to visit immune-compromised
family members.
Ames took her message to
Congress, testifying twice before
the House Select Subcommittee on
the coronavirus crisis. At the same
time, she stressed to top New York
state medical regulators in Albany
the urgent need to maintain the
services of home care workers.
Ames successfully dramatized the
realities these unsung home health
care heroes confront daily and the
need for federal government intervention
and resources.
Photos courtesy of MarinoPR
Dr. Alfredo Astua, MD, chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine at NYC
Health Hospitals/Elmhurst; Oren Barzilay, president of FDNY EMS Local 2507 in
Whitestone, and Lori Ames, national secretary treasurer at Home Healthcare
Workers of America, of Briarwood.
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