Jamaica Hospital welcomes home Puerto Rico
earthquake response team with award ceremony
3
QUEENS WEEKLY, FEBRUARY 23, 2020
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
A team of mental health
professionals who were
deployed on a disaster relief
mission to Puerto Rico
received a warm welcome
back home with a special
reception and award ceremony
at Jamaica Hospital
Medical Center on Friday.
On Feb. 2, Gov. Andrew
Cuomo made the special
announcement that a delegation
of bilingual mental
health professionals were
being deployed to Puerto
Rico to provide much-needed
support to residents recouping
from a string of devastating
earthquakes.
The MediSys Health Network
volunteered a group of
six mental health experts
from the Jamaica Hospital
Health Disaster Response
Team to serve on the mental
health relief mission coordinated
by the Greater New
York Hospital Association
(GYNHA).
The team — Frank
Lopes (social worker); Denise
Osorto (social worker);
Alberto Palomino (clinical
manager); Martha Edelman
(CPEP medical director);
Attilio Rizzo (chief social
service psychiatry); and
Jennifer Santos (psychologist)
— returned to New
York on Feb. 10.
In celebration of their
humanitarian work in
Puerto Rico, State Assemblyman
David Weprin
presented each team
member with a certificate
from the New York State
Assembly.
“What you did going to
Puerto Rico to assist — and I
know that a number of mental
health initiatives from
all of the suffering people
have gone through and
dealing with the issues post
earthquake and hurricane
— I commend all of you,”
said Weprin, who visited the
island in November.
Although the earthquakes
— which began on
Dec. 28, 2019 and continue
to occur — have caused
hundreds of millions of dollars
in property damage,
the greatest impact of the
State Assemblyman David Weprin (third from right) with members of the Jamaica Hospital Health Disaster Response Team, who were deployed on a disaster
relief mission to Puerto Rico. Photo: Carlotta Mohamed/QNS
catastrophic events is reflected
in the mental health
of the island’s residents. The
devastation has left many
people feeling hopeless and
fearful. Several have been
diagnosed with mental
health disorders such as depression,
anxiety and posttraumatic
stress disorder
(PTSD).
“The need for mental
health support on the island
was overwhelming. We realized
that survivors were in
great need of our assistance,
and this prompted us to respond
with urgency to serve
on the mental health relief
mission,” said Mark Marino,
director of Pre-Hospital
Care.
According to Marino, the
team was deployed to shelters
and camps in Guanica,
Guayanilla and Ponce on
Feb. 3. Jamaica Hospital’s
mental health professionals
were integrated into
the work of the Puerto Rico
Administration of Mental
Health and Anti-Addiction
Services.
Each day, during their
week-long mission, the
team separated into two
groups to canvass the
south-west part of the island.
One group led by
Edelman, worked at camps
in various locations as well
as a park used as an informal
school for children.
“There was a nonprofit
teachers association and
they had 165 kids in that
park trying to do classes for
kindergarteners through
third grade for two hours
each morning,” Edelman
said. “I saw amazing, strong
loving people who are trying
to help each other.”
According to Edelman,
buildings are either destroyed
or undermined to
the point where people are
unable to live in it.
“Here and there is a building
where people can still
be in, but in general, those
homes were built to withstand
hurricanes, not an
earthquake. They were on
stilts,” Edelman said. “People
are also not sleeping. They’re
very anxious and are experiencing
panic attacks.”
Describing the trip as a
“life changing experience
and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,”
Edelman said
the team members are still
adjusting on their return
back to New York.
“It’s a sharp contrast —
the kind of work we do in
mental health is exposure to
a lot of suffering, and so we
have a lot of ways in coping
with that and this was different,”
Edelman said.
The other group, led by
Rizzo, was deployed to different
neighborhoods in
mountainous areas, where
they conducted door-to- door
canvassing and provided
home visits to those in need.
According to Rizzo, a
database called Go Canvas
was created to gather information
on 1,200 patients
evaluated in Puerto Rico.
“It was about what they
were experiencing and what
types of symptoms, specifically
to whatever they
claimed to what was making
them feel that way, which
was the tremors,” Rizzo said.
“They’re still working on
that database and we don’t
know the complete results,
but when we do, we’ll figure
out how to help them down
there. We’re hoping we can
develop another plan.”
Santos said amid the destruction
she observed a resilient
community.
“We saw people who are
strong and community-oriented,”
Santos said. “Even
though we were there to
assist them, you could see
the resilience and culture
that assisted them to move
forward and look into the
future.”
Anthony Maffia, vice
president of Psychiatry,
said, “Jamaica Hospital is
proud to have served on this
mission and hope that by
supporting the victims of
the earthquakes, we were
able to help them to recover
from traumatic events and
rebuild their lives.” The MediSys
Health Network has
a long history of providing
disaster relief to those in
need. Some past relief efforts
of the MediSys Health
Network include:
• Hurricane Andrew –
Homestead, Florida, 1992
• Northern Country Ice
Storms – Watertown, NY,
1998
• World Trade Center Attacks
(9/11) – New York, NY,
2001
• Hurricane Katrina
–Louisiana & Mississippi,
2005
• Hurricane Sandy – Far
Rockaway, New York, 2012
• Hurricane Maria-
Puerto Rico, 2017
According to Bruce J.
Flanz, president and CEO
of the MediSys Health
Network, “It has always
been our mission to provide
relief to those in need.
Responding to disasters
and exporting our talents
where they can be utilized
is something that we are
proud to do and will continue
to offer whenever it is
needed.”
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com
or by phone at (718) 260–
4526.
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