30 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • OCTOBER 1, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
health
NewYork-Presbyterian Queens names new chief of neurological surgery
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
NewYork-Presbyterian Queens in
Flushing has named Dr. John Park as chief
of neurological surgery, where he’ll lead
a team that provides world-class care for
conditions of the brain and spine.
Park was also recruited to serve as professor
Mental Health and Aging
Dr. Samuel Johnson, an 18th century
poet and biographer, best known for
his famous works on the Dictionary of
the English Language, once commented
on the subject of memory and aging in a
way that is as true today as it was in the
distant past.
Here are his remarks. “Th ere is a wicked
inclination in most people to suppose
an old man as decayed in his intellect. If
a young or middle aged man, when leaving
a company, does not recollect where
he laid his hat, it is nothing, but the same
inattention that is discovered in an old
man, people will shrug their shoulders
and say his memory is going.”
Inaccurate assumptions of one’s cognitive
decline and a cascade of false fi xed
beliefs about mental health is oft en associated
with the aging individual. Th is
inevitably results in stereotyping and a
drag on continued progress.
Mental health, like general health, can
be described as a continuum concept. In
other words, an absence of mental illness
does not necessarily mean one is
mentally healthy, nor does the psychologic
symptomatology mean one is mentally
ill.
Th e continuum of mental health versus
mental illness is more complex and
dynamic than we realize. Mental health
for adults and particularly the elderly, is
diffi cult to defi ne because of a continuous
diff erentiation of their personalities
throughout the lifespan. Th is can result
in periods of eccentricity for the elderly.
Unfortunately, health care professionals
and society in general, are oft en too
quick to assign negative personality characteristics
such as disagreeable, grouchy
and grumpy, that is falsely attributed to
the older individual. I contend, however,
this to be ill-advised thinking.
According to the researcher Havens,
“Th e concept of illness has no stable base
that can fully describe specifi c personalities.”
For example, during numerous
interviews with several groups of older
adults on the subjects of personality and
mental health, their responses appeared
to clearly demonstrate a lack of understanding
of their rigid personality patterns.
Havens , however, believes that this
may be simply a form of self-protectiveness.
It is also understood by social scientists
that this rigidity of the older person’s personality
can be a sign of strength against
intrusion by others.
In late life the visual appearance of an
aged individual with a strong mental
health and realistic capabilities, is measured
by their capacity to eff ectively cope
with personal as well as family and community
relationships.
However, we are still living in a youthoriented
society whereby ageism is constantly
perpetuated by a misunderstanding
about the positive aspects of aging.
Mental health has also been described
with reference to aging in the following
terms:
Autonomy – having the right to
power
Intimacy – marked by a warm friendship
Integrity – adherence to a code of
values.
Researchers believe that aging and
mental health can be generally defi ned
as “the capacity to interact with others
and are able to negotiate the environment
in a manner that is enriching to
self and others.” Feelings of caring for
humanity and nature tends to grow as
one ages and increases in wisdom and
worldly experiences. A researcher once
declared, “Mental health and growing
old is like a violin with strings of interaction,
behavior, eff ect and intellect. All
of these together can produce a pleasant
and stimulating melody or maybe discordant
and irritating. Th e tune, usually
and continually changes.”
No one is entirely mentally unhealthy
and no one is ever fully healthy at all
times.
To the reader please go back to the
beginning of the article and re-read
Samuel Johnson’s comment on memory.
Please visualize yourself as a guest at
Dr. Sheldon
Ornstein is a
registered
professional
nurse with
a doctoral
degree in
nursing
organization. He has
specialized in the care of
older adults and has published
many articles on
the subject. He has done
post-graduate work in gerontology
and has taught
at several universities. In
2013, he was inducted into
the Nursing Hall of Fame at
Teachers College, Columbia
University.
a similar party where you notice a somewhat
frail older man who is looking for
his hat and coat. Will you help him by
searching for it or will you “shrug your
shoulders and whisper to another, his
memory is going.” Th e decision is yours.
It is a decision that will help you and all
of us to frame those impressions about
aging and mental health in a bright
light. Samuel Johnson’s comments seek
to strike a signifi cant and familiar chord
with his anecdote that spans the years as
far back as the eighteenth century.
of neurological surgery at Weill
Cornell Medicine.
“I’m looking forward to serving the residents
of Queens and bringing comprehensive
neuroscience care to our local
communities,” Park said. “I am fortunate
to have the opportunity to make a diff erence
in someone’s life on a daily basis. It is
an honor and a privilege to have patients
and their families put their trust in me,
and I am excited to lead a highly skilled
team dedicated to achieving the best possible
outcomes for patients.”
Park, who has expertise in the treatment
of brain and spinal tumors and degenerative
disorders of the cervical and lumbar
spine, joins a team that provides a
full range of treatment for neurological
conditions. Before joining NewYork-
Presbyterian Queens, he founded and
served as the medical director of the multidisciplinary
Brain and Spinal Program
at Cottage Health in Santa Barbara, CA.
Park also had an active practice providing
neurological treatment for patients
with neck and low back pain and other
spinal disorders. He has particular expertise
in the use of minimally invasive spinal
surgery techniques.
“We are delighted to welcome
Dr. Park, an extraordinary leader,
skilled surgeon and dedicated
educator, who will be
instrumental in elevating
our brain and spine program
in Queens,” NewYork-
Presbyterian Queens
President Jaclyn Mucaria
said. “His commitment to
patients and his expertise
as a surgeon will be a tremendous
asset to NewYork-
Presbyterian Queens and the patients we
serve.”
Prior to his work in California, Park
developed a national reputation at the
National Institute of Health
Clinic Center in Bethesda,
Maryland, for the surgical
treatment of
low-grade gliomas,
the types of tumors
that occur in the
brain and spinal
cords, and recurrent
malignant gliomas.
He also
served as the principal
neurosurgeon
for patients enrolled
in the National Cancer
Institute clinical trials for
malignant gliomas.
“I am delighted
Dr. Park will
l e a d
our neurological surgery team at
NewYork-Presbyterian Queens,” said Dr.
Philip E. Stieg, neurosurgeon-in-chief
of NewYork-Presbyterian Queens/Weill
Cornell Medical Center and director of
the Weill Cornell Medicine Brain and
Spine Center. “We are committed to providing
the very best care to communities
in Queens so that patients can fi nd
the experts they need right in their own
neighborhood, and we look forward to
Dr. Park’s leadership.”
Park has received numerous awards,
including from the Joint Section of
Pediatric Neurosurgery of the American
Association of Neurological Surgeons/
Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the
American Brain Tumor Association, the
New England Cancer Society, and the
Neurosurgery Research and Education
Foundation, among others.
He grew up and attended public schools
in Queens and Manhattan, later receiving
his undergraduate degree, magna cum
laude with honors, from Brown University,
and earning his medical degree and doctorate
at Harvard Medical School. Park
completed his residency training in neurosurgery
at Harvard at Brigham and
Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s
Hospital, completed a research fellowship
at Dana Farber Cancer Institute,
and received advanced spine training at
Cleveland Clinic.
Photo courtesy of NewYork-
Presbyterian Queens
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