8
QUEENS WEEKLY, FEB. 24, 2019
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On February 14, 2019, history
was made with the signing into
law by Governor Andrew Cuomo
of the “Child Victim’s Act.”
This Act will ensure that those
who abuse children are held accountable
criminally and civilly
for their wrongdoing. In addition,
this new statue creates a
path to justice for victims. The
bill extends the civil statute of
limitations to allow civil actions
to be brought until a victim’s
55th birthday for child sexual
abuse which occurred before
age 18. A one year window has
been created for adult survivors
to commence civil actions for
damages which under current
law are barred because of the
statute of limitations. This one
year window will begin on August
14, 2019 so victims up until
their 55th birthday can bring
civil lawsuits against individuals
or public and private institutions
from churches to public
school districts for child sexual
abuse that they may have suffered
many decades ago.
The Legislature also removes
the current Notice of
Claim requirements for public
entities in cases involving child
sexual abuse so a Notice of Intention
to make claim against
municipalities within 90 days is
not required in order to bring a
lawsuit.
Sexual abuse against a child
is a shameful unforgivable act.
It is a traumatizing experience
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that can take a lifetime to come
to terms with. While this new
law cannot erase what happened
to victims, it will give victims
an opportunity to recover damages
in a Court of Law for what
happened to them.
While the one year window
to bring a legal action will not
begin August 14, 2019, victims
should consult an attorney as
soon as possible to begin the
painful and arduous task of
their gathering medical records
and other evidence of their victimization.
Governor Cuomo and the
state Legislature are to be commended
for making the “Child
Victim’s Act” a reality.
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New $47.7M laboratory
opens in Little Neck
Michael Dowling with the Northwell Health Labs team at the opening of a $47.7 million shared,
centralized laboratory in Little Neck. Courtesy of Northwell Health
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Northwell Health and
NYC Health + Hospitals
celebrated the grand opening
of a $47.7 million shared
laboratory in Little Neck
last week.
The new Clinical Laboratory
of New York, located
at 59-25 Little Neck
Parkway, is currently the
largest nonprofit, hospitaloperated
lab in the nation
and will allow the healthcare
systems to provide
enhanced patient services
while reducing their costs.
Northwell Health Labs
administers the Leadership
in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED)
Silver-certified central lab
which will primarily perform
microbiology tests
including molecular diagnostics,
from local hospitals,
clinics and physician
offices. Testing at the lab
will incorporate the latest
technology and advanced
robotic testing systems.
Additionally, the new
lab and the Core Lab in
Lake Success will process
about six million non-urgent
tests from NYC Health
+ Hospitals, allowing public
hospital labs to focus on
urgent testing.
Each year, Northwell
Health Labs performs more
than 30 million tests in
their Core Lab, hospitals,
physicians’ offices, nursing
homes and clinical trials
and also handles more than
200,000 surgical pathology
specimens annually.
“This state-of-the-art facility
shows what’s possible
when two mission-driven
organizations collaborate,”
said Michael J. Dowling,
president and CEO at
Northwell Health. “Northwell
Health’s laboratory expertise,
along with exciting
new technology deployed
here, will help turn tests
around faster and more efficiently.
That’s good for all
of the communities served
by Northwell and NYC
Health + Hospitals.”
The 36,000-square-foot,
two-story lab was born out
of the Clinical Laboratory
of New York (CLNY) Alliance
formed by Northwell
Health and NYC Health +
Hospitals in 2014. The CLNY
Alliance had a goal to integrate
services through a
shared reference lab.
“The partnership between
NYC Health + Hospitals
and Northwell Health
will improve the efficacy
and delivery of treatment
for patients in Queens and
beyond,” said City Councilman
Barry Grodenchik.
“In addition to the sharing
of resources and standardized
levels of service, the
$47 million project represents
a significant investment
in our community,
and I am pleased that the
lab has opened here in Little
Neck, Queens.”
A total of 176 employees
began operations at the lab
earlier this month, but the
number of employees is expected
to increase to 210.
According to Northwell
Health, the joint project
is expected to save NYC
Health + Hospitals more
than $20 million a year.
In addition to the Little
Neck lab, Northwell Labs
will move its Core Lab operations
to a new building
in Lake Success. The $59.6
million 101,000 square-foot
facility includes 84,000 in
clinical space and the largest
chemistry and hematology
automated line of its
kind in the continent.
To accommodate its increased
operations over the
past year, Northwell has
hired about 90 new employees
who will join their 1300-
person team.
“This is an exciting time
as Northwell Health Laboratories
takes a step forward
with new equipment and facilities
to match our already
excellent staff,” said Dwayne
Breining, MD, executive
director of Northwell Labs.
“Our partnership with NYC
Health + Hospitals, along
with the Core Lab expansion,
is an investment in the
health of all New Yorkers.”