32 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • AUGUST 1, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
health
NewYork-Presbyterian Queens hospital receives high marks for stroke patient care
BY JACOB KAYE
A hospital in Queens was again recognized
Photo provided by Ryan Carbain
Leadership from NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens was joined by Chief James P. Booth of the FDNY to announce that the hospital launched a mobile stroke
treatment unit in Queens
Pilot program addressing high maternal death rates to come to Jamaica
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
A new pilot program to help reduce
maternal deaths and birth-related complications
will fi rst launch in Jamaica
this summer, promoting comprehensive
health literacy education for pregnant
women.
Saving Mothers is partnering with
Public Health Solutions’ (PHS) Queens
Healthy Start — a federally funded program
intended to reduce infant mortality
in high-risk communities — to launch
the fi rst New York City-based pregnancy
health literacy program focusing on
a unique model of training community
health workers and empowering the
women they serve, called mPOWHER.
New York State has one of the highest
maternal death rates in the nation and the
racial disparities are stark. In 2018, the
mortality rate for black and non-Hispanic
women was four times greater than that
of white women. In New York City, black
women are approximately eight times
more likely to die from a pregnancy-related
complication than white women.
Th e top causes of maternal death are pulmonary
embolism, hypertension, preeclampsia
and other underlying maternal
conditions.
According to the New York City
Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene, Queens has the third-highest
maternal morbidity rate of the boroughs,
aft er the Bronx and Brooklyn. Jamaica
has the highest maternal morbidity rate
of any community district in Queens, the
report showed.
“Th e rate of severe
maternal morbidity and
mortality has been going
up and that it’s at its
worst for black women
in particular,” said Marci
Rosa, senior director
of Maternal and Child
Health at Public Health
Solutions, which provides
services to vulnerable
low-income families
and supporting 200 community
based organizations
through long-standing
public-private partnerships.
“Th e communities
that we serve in
Queens — Jamaica, and St. Albans and
other surrounding communities, as well
as Long Island City, which we just added
to our service area this year — have
a very high rate of African American
and Caribbean American women living
there: more than half of all of the
births in our service area are to African
American or Caribbean women.”
Taraneh Shirazian, MD, is the president
and founder of Saving Mothers, a nonprofi
t dedicated to improving maternal
health worldwide. According to Taraneh,
for 10 years, she has been teaching and
training providers, and delivering clinical
services for women in underserved communities
around the world, but never
expected that there would be such a dire
need in the United States.
“People don’t think
of pregnancy as a highrisk
condition but for
many women it is. Every
provider of health and
every woman should
feel empowered to feel
healthy and minimize
her risks in pregnancy,”
Taraneh said. “Our curriculum
for community
health workers and
mPOWHER kits for
expectant mothers will
do just that. No woman
should die giving life.
Our goal is to make sure
no woman does, whether
it is around the world
or in our own backyard.”
Th e Saving Mothers mPOWHER program
will create a culturally sensitive
training curriculum for community
health workers that emphasizes building
trust and identifying high-risk complications
and comorbidities for pregnant
women. Th e program will be piloted
with PHS in Queens, expanding to the
fi ve boroughs, and ultimately, to all of
New York state. To start, fi ve community
health workers from the Jamaica community
will be trained to work with 300
pregnant women per year.
Community health workers serve as
advocates who visit women in their homes
and have a unique opportunity to engage,
educate, advocate and empower the underserved
pregnant and postpartum populations.
Currently, there is no standardized
national curriculum that educates and provides
skills assessment and maintenance
for community health workers.
Th e program will also promote comprehensive
health literacy education
for pregnant women through maternal
health kits, which provide information
about healthy pregnancy, complications,
labor and postpartum. Th e kit will also
discuss risk factors – including obesity,
hypertension, and diabetes – that contribute
to deadly complications, such as
pulmonary embolism and preeclampsia.
“Th e training is one that will be ongoing.
Th e community health workers will
be trained and training will be continued
while working with families,” Rosa said.
“I think that it’s wonderful to be working
with an organization like Saving Mothers.
Th ey’ve done extraordinary work in other
parts of the world and have saved many
lives as a result of their work. So we’re
thrilled that they’ve looked to us to work
with them on this project. I believe that
the research is going to be able to show
that we can make a diff erence with these
interventions.”
Lisa David, president and CEO at PHS,
said through the mPOWHER program,
community health workers will be better
equipped to empower women to advocate
for themselves and their families.
“It’s unacceptable that women of color
face such stark diff erences in pregnancy
outcomes,” David said. “No woman’s
life should be at risk when they deliver
their baby.”
this month for years of top-notch
stroke patient care.
NewYork-Presbyterian Queens received
Th e Joint Commission’s Advanced Disease
Specifi c Certifi cation for Primary Stroke
Centers in July. Th e recertifi cation will last
for two years.
Th e certifi cation recognizes centers that
make exceptional eff orts to generate above
average outcomes for stroke victims.
In order to become re-certified,
NewYork-Presbyterian Queens participated
in an intensive onsite review, during
which Joint Commission reviewers evaluated
the program’s compliance with the
commission’s standards.
“Th e Joint Commission sets the highest
standard for stroke care,” said Dr. Gary L.
Bernardini, professor and chairman of the
Department of Neurology at NewYork-
Presbyterian Queens. “It’s quite an honor
to receive a stroke certifi cation from Th e
Joint Commission.”
Th e Joint Commission is a national
nonprofi t that accredits healthcare organizations
across the country.
In order to receive their recertifi cation,
NewYork-Presbyterian Queens had
to show that they had an acute stroke
team available 24/7, a neurologist accessible
24/7, dedicated stroke beds, suffi cient
diagnostic services, ways of reporting and
tracking performance measures and other
standards set by the commission.
“Th is just confi rms the job we’ve been
doing,” Bernardini said.
According to Bernardini, NewYork-
Presbyterian Queens, despite the achievement,
isn’t done yet. Th ey’ve already
taken action to apply for Th rombectomy-
Capable stroke certifi cation, the latest certifi
cation in stroke care.
Photo: Getty Images
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