24 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 9, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
St. John’s Episcopal promotes women’s health and new facility expansion
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
A Far Rockaway hospital brought
awareness to women’s health in a festive
way last Friday.
St. John’s Episcopal Hospital held a special
O’Neill talks better cop-community relations at town hall
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Hundreds of southeast Queens residents
fi lled the Queens Library Central
Plaza Monday evening for an open, truthful
dialogue with NYPD Commissioner
James P. O’Neill on the legalization of marijuana
and building trust and strengthening
the relationship between the NYPD
and community.
Th e Southeast Queens NYPD Public
Safety Town Hall with O’Neill was organized
by City Councilman Donovan
Richards, chair of the New York City
Council Public Safety Committee.
Richards was joined by NYPD offi -
cials, Councilwoman Adrienne
Adams, Councilman I. Daneek Miller,
Congressman Gregory Meeks and
Borough President Melinda Katz.
According to Richards, over the last
year and a half, community lawmakers
have worked together with the NYPD to
reduce marijuana arrests and summonses,
improvement of the Special Victims
Division, an increase in transparency in
the NYPD’s internal discipline system,
and the construction of a new 116th
Precinct planned for Rosedale.
Residents brought forth the past history
of police interactions in the community
and how to approach an offi cer for support
without fear of being mistreated.
“Based on the Critical Intervention
Training, if they still have their biases
and maybe slight racism, I don’t know
because some people do, what do you
do with those types of offi cers who don’t
know how to be respectful?” said Allison
Belmosa, of St. Albans, who experienced
an unpleasant encounter with a police
offi cer in 2010.
Commanding Offi cer of the 113th
Precinct, Inspector Jerry O’Sullivan, said
they have made changes and will continue
to do so.
“We don’t tolerate people being spoken
to disrespectfully at our precinct. I’ve
addressed that on many issues and we’ve
come a long way. With the NCO offi cers,
there would not be NCO offi cers if I feel
that they’re well rounded. We have to lead
by example. I’m not going to allow anyone
to be disrespected. We won’t tolerate
it, and I won’t tolerate it.”
Another resident asked, “What is the
NYPD doing to recruit more ethnic
groups and backgrounds to have more
representation in communities that they
police? As a young black man, I feel like
when you do see a police offi cer, no matter
how nice or respectful you are, it feels
more comforting seeing someone who
looks like you.”
O’Neill noted the diversity of the NYPD
and recruits that join the department to
serve in communities.
“Th ey go up through the ranks and it’s
getting better and better,” said O’Neill.
“You have to have a police department
that refl ects the diversity of the city or else
you’re not going to get to build trust.”
In regards to the stop-and-frisk protocol
by the NYPD, Miller said, “Th ey
weren’t doing well, but they’re now defi -
nitely on course and doing better building
a relationship not only with the leadership
of the NYPD, but with the police offi cers
in the community.”
Adams encouraged the community to
continue to have a dialogue with the
police offi cers and to participate in the
NCO meetings.
“What I hear a lot in our community
is we’ve got issues and we’ve got a history
with law enforcement that is not a pretty
history and with history comes baggage,
and with baggage comes a time of healing,”
said Adams. “I’m going to encourage
my beautiful black and brown community
and everything in between to begin
the healing process on your own. Start to
engage with our partners in the NYPD.
We are not their enemy and they’re are
not our enemy. Th ey are here to lawfully
to protect and serve you.”
“Cinco de Mammo” event to illustrate
the importance of getting mammograms
and health screenings in an area
with some of the highest breast cancer
levels in Queens.
Community members learned how to
easily schedule appointments for these
procedures and also about the abundance
of other services St. John’s off ers at several
practices in the Rockaways. Attendees,
including members of the community,
patients and hospital staff , were treated to
live music from a Mariachi band, refreshments
and more.
“Th e purpose of the Cinco de Mammo
event is to encourage the public to get
health screenings, especially mammograms,”
said Rosemary Bonilla, vice president
of physician practice and ambulatory
care. “Breast cancer is prevalent in the
Rockaways, and residents need to be educated
about getting screened so that cancer
is caught and fought in its early stages.”
A community study identifi ed the
Rockaways, along with central Queens,
as having the highest breast cancer rates
in the borough. Th e study also showed
that early breast cancer diagnosis rates are
lower than the United States average.
“Breast cancer is the most common cancer
among women worldwide and claims
hundreds of thousands of lives each
year,” said Chief Medical Offi cer Donald
Morrish, MD. “It is extremely important
to get regular screenings because early
detection increases your chance of fi nding
breast cancer before it spreads.”
SJEP also off ers several other women’s
health services including well-woman
visits and screenings, routine and highrisk
obstetrics, reproductive endocrinology
and infertility services, management of
abnormal Pap smears, minimally invasive
surgery, gynecological oncology and urogynecology.
Event attendees also learned about
the hospital’s future expansion to build
a women’s comprehensive health center
and a 3,850-square-foot radiation oncology
center.
Th e women’s center would expand upon
the available services and will feature
routine and sub-specialty gynecological
and obstetrical services, maternal fetal
medicine, urogynecologic services, cancer
screening, breast surgery, behavioral
health, nutrition service, bone density
scanning and ultrasound, mammography
and on-site lab services.
Th e new oncology center will feature
state-of-the-art equipment including the
Rockaways’ only linear accelerator —
a machine that customizes high energy
X-rays or electrons to conform to a
tumor’s shape and destroy cancer cells
while sparing surrounding normal tissue.
“I want to thank St. John’s Episcopal
Hospital for bringing such vital resources
to our community,” said Assemblywoman
Stacey Pheff er Amato. “Breast cancer has
touched so many of our lives and it is
important to encourage the public to get
screened regularly.”
Photo: Carlotta Mohamed/QNS
Police Commissioner James O'Neill (at left) addressed residents at the May 6 town hall meeting at
Queens Public Library's Central branch in Jamaica.
Photo: Jenna Bagcal/QNS
St. John's Episcopal Hospital held its "Cinco de Mammo" event on May 3 in the Rockaways, promoting women's health in a festive way.
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