14 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 23, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
St. John’s
Episcopal Hospital
executive awarded
for excellent
health care
BY QNS STAFF
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
St. John’s Episcopal Hospital’s vice
president of Behavioral Health was
awarded with the United Hospital
Fund’s Excellence in Health Care
Award, the hospital announced on
Tuesday.
Terri Coyle, who’s been the vice president
of Behavioral Health with St.
John’s since 2018, was given the award
aft er establishing a free virtual support
group in response to the COVID-19
crisis. Th e hospital has run similar support
groups in the past — aft er 9/11
and Hurricane Sandy — that connect
facilitators with patients and focuses on
emotional support related to grief, loss,
stress and anxiety.
Th e Behavior Health department
has seen a dramatic drop in readmission
rates for adult behavioral health
patients under Coyle’s leadership,
according to the hospital. Patient satisfaction
has also been on the rise,
SJEH said.
Th e award is one of several the hospital
has received in recent years.
St. John’s Episcopal was ranked as
“high performing” in heart failure by
US News & World report, it received
recognition for its stroke care and was
awarded the Heart Failure Silver Plus
Quality Achievement Award by the
American Heart Association.
Photo courtesy of St. John’s Episcopal Hospital
Terri Coyle
Courtesy 32BJ SEIU
Airport workers rally at JFK for
passage of Healthy Terminals Act
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Dozens of airport service workers rallied
with Councilman Donovan Richards
and Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman
outside JFK International Airport
Th ursday demanding the passage of the
Healthy Terminals Act, a bill that would
provide tens of thousands of workers with
quality, aff ordable health insurance.
Honoring the death of Leland Jordan, a
baggage handler who died in April aft er
contracting COVID-19, lawmakers dedicated
the legislation in his name and
called for swift passage.
“My dad was a giving man who loved
helping his fellow workers,” Jordan’s
daughter Dazilia Anthony said. “I know
he would have wanted us to continue
fi ghting so that all airport workers have
peace of mind that they can go to the doctor
when they get sick.”
Anthony also spoke of the heartache of
losing her father while still having to deal
with the hospital bills that his unaff ordable
health insurance did not cover.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic,
essential airport workers have risked
their lives simply by coming into work to
make a living,” Hyndman said. “So today,
we’re honoring Leland Jordan, a baggage
handler who was dedicated to passing
the HTA and making the airport a better
place to work. New York cannot wait any
longer to pass this bill. Th ousands lack
the most important protection to keep
themselves and passengers safe: health
care. I urge my colleagues to vote to pass
this bill so thousands of people and their
families can take proper care of themselves.”
Th e HTA would require employers at
New York airports to compensate workers
with a $4.54 benefi ts supplement that
can be used to acquire health insurance.
Many essential workers are immigrants
and people of color who are disproportionately
aff ected by COVID-19.
Th e Centers for Disease Control note
that the lack of access to health insurance
is one of the factors behind the disproportionate
impact of the coronavirus on
minority communities. When compared
to whites, Hispanics are almost three
times more likely to be uninsured, and
Black people are almost twice as likely.
“Essential airport workers have been
putting their lives on the line every day,
securing terminals, sanitizing bathrooms
and ensuring that passengers are safe,”
32BJ SEIU Vice President Rob Hill said.
“Workers must not be left behind as travelers
once again move through the airports
during the pandemic. Th e workers
who check tickets, handle baggage, push
wheelchairs and clean and sanitize planes
are at risk because at the airport the world
comes to them.”
Vladimir Clairjeune was a baggage
handler at JFK for more than 11 years
before he was laid off in April.
“Millions of passengers rely on frontline
airport workers every year for service
and safety,” he said. “Without us, the airport
couldn’t keep their doors open. We
need the dignity and respect we deserve
— healthcare — so we can survive.”
Clairjeune’s coworker, Freddy Briosco,
chooses between rent and medication for
his hypertension every month.
“I am not alone. Th ousands of people
who work here have to make the same
choice, and it’s no way to live,” Briosco
said. “I beg New York to pass the Healthy
Terminals Act now so I can live with dignity.”
Councilman Donovan Richards, who
is leading the race to become the next
Queens borough president, spoke of the
airport workers, many of them constituents
living in neighborhoods that surround
the sprawling airport.
“Th e economy in this state, in this city,
would not run if not for the people who
are actually the working folk doing everything
to make sure this airport in this city
fl ourishes,” Richards said.
Th e legislation would enable 25,000
essential airport workers to access health
insurance.
Essential airport workers rally outside JFK calling for passage of the Healthy Terminals Act.
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