38 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • AUGUST 2, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
health
Are you a caregiver? Try these 7 resources
When David Bowen’s father fell taking
out the trash in 2016, it set in motion
a series of health challenges the family is
still battling together. Bowen, 62, hired a
part-time professional caregiver to assist
his father and his mother, who was battling
Alzheimer’s, but he found himself
serving as a caregiver much of the time,
too.
Th e responsibility of caregiving can
mean increased stress and anxiety, which
can aff ect family dynamics, nutrition habits,
physical fi tness and overall well-being.
Many people take unpaid leave from
their jobs, reduce work hours, change
careers or quit altogether to care for an
aging loved one.
The 2018 Northwestern Mutual
C.A.R.E. Study revealed that two of three
caregivers reduce their living expenses to
pay for the medical and practical needs of
their loved ones, yet nearly half of future
caregivers said they have made no fi nancial
plans to prepare.
While this can be challenging, caregivers
take immense pride in this vital role,
and most wouldn’t trade the opportunity.
In fact, a recent Merrill Lynch-Age Wave
study found that 91 percent of caregivers
feel grateful to care for someone and 77
percent would do it again.
Caregivers need and deserve support
as they navigate a demanding, emotional
and critical responsibility. Th e good news
is there are resources and services like
the following that can help make life as a
caregiver a bit easier.
Caregiver resource list
• Th e National Family Caregiver Support
Program off ers medical, emotional,
fi nancial and legal advice and training
to adult family members who provide
in-home and community care for people
aged 60 or older and to people older
than 55 who care for children under 18.
• AARP’s Caregiver Resource Center
off ers guides for fi rst-time caregivers,
families and those who care for a loved
one at home. Th ese include fi nancial
and legal considerations and advice on
how to maintain caregiver-life balance.
• While the Administration for
Community Living doesn’t work directly
with individuals, it can be a good
place for a caregiver to start on the
circuitous path to fi nancial support.
Th e organization provides funds to help
older adults and people with disabilities
live where they choose to for as long as
they can, and has provided billions of
dollars to programs in every state.
• UnitedHealthcare proactively addresses
caregiver needs by sharing relevant
information and resources. Its Solutions
for Caregivers program, for example,
is a website for eligible members to
get advice from medical professionals,
fi nancial advisers and experienced care
managers; take advantage of discounted
products and services; and access educational
resources. Non-members can
fi nd a directory of organizations that
focus on issues including Parkinson’s
disease, substance abuse, blindness, MS,
Alzheimer’s and diabetes.
• Th e National Alliance for Caregiving
focuses on caregiving research, innovation
and technology, state and local
caregiving coalitions, and international
caring. It is working to build a global
network of caregiver support organizations.
• Th e Caregiver Action Network (CAN)
serves a broad spectrum of family caregivers,
ranging from parents of children
with special needs, to families
and friends of wounded soldiers, to
adult children caring for aging parents.
Aiming to promote resourcefulness and
respect for the more than 90 million
family caregivers across the country,
CAN provides free education, peer support
and resources.
• Th e Eldercare Locator, a public service
of the U.S. Administration on Aging,
provides a search tool that allows visitors
to search by topic and location for
services pertaining to older adults and
their families.
“Dad and I, we’re trying to put a new
life together for him, and it’s tough,”
said Bowen. “But support from all over
has kept me on my feet and moving forward.
Amid all the challenges, I am grateful
for that.”
Courtesy BPT
Queens Hospital wraps up fi rst part of ER expansion
BY KATHERINE NERI
editorial@qns.com / @QNS
To accommodate the growing demand
for health care services, NYC Health
+ Hospitals/Queens set in motion an
expansion project that will provide
patients with new space, medical equipment
and upgraded service — and it’s
only step one of many.
Th e hospital offi cially unveiled the
completion of Phase 1 (of four) of its
Emergency Room Expansion Project
on July 24.
Phase 1 has added three triage rooms,
seven exam rooms, three nurse stations,
a resuscitation room, three isolation
rooms and 19 cubicles to the establishment’s
Emergency Department. Th ese
inclusions contributed a total of 6,500
additional square feet, with the entire
Emergency Department becoming
16,500 square feet altogether.
“Th is expansion will help us better
serve those who entrust us with their
care at some of life’s most diffi cult
moments, and we are privileged to help
them at such times,” said Dr. Mitchell
Katz, president and chief executive offi -
cer of NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens.
The next three phases of the
Emergency Room Expansion Project
are planned to deliver spectacular services
as well. Phase 2 will relocate
non-emergency spaces and will add
three asthma cubicles. Two existing
Adult Triage rooms and adjoining corridors
will undergo renovations as well.
In phase 3, an entirely new Emergency
Department pod will be constructed,
which will include a total of fi ve exam
rooms, six brand-new cubicles, a nurse
station and workroom, and a medication
room. Also included will be
an expanded space for a workstation,
break area and locker room for the
increasing amount of physician assistants.
Phase 4 will encompass the refurbishing
of existing cubicles, as well as the
renovation and reconfi guration of the
existing nurse station.
“The growing demand for our
Emergency Department services has
outstripped the present space, yet
despite these challenges, we have continued
to expand our services, including
adding an Observation Unit,” said
Chris Roker, chief executive offi cer of
NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens. “We
also have one of the best turnaround
times for ambulances in the city. We’ve
worked hard to earn our reputation as
the premier community hospital in the
borough, a place where all health care
needs can be met effi ciently in a caring
and compassionate environment.”
Th e Emergency Department capacity
is planned to nearly double — from its
current 50,000 visits each year to 97,000
— once all four phases in the project are
successfully completed, which is estimated
to be in 2019.
Th e project will cost $5.8 million in
total, with its construction having had
been funded through a couple diff erent
sources. Th e Queens borough president’s
offi ce allotted a total of $2.5 million
($2 million for construction costs
and $500,000 for medical equipment),
$1,413,850 came from the City Council,
and $2.4 million came from city funding
for capital spending.
“NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens has
a proven record of high-quality, culturally
competent and patient-centered
medical care for Queens families,” said
Borough President Melinda Katz. “A
facility that can accommodate the needs
in the Emergency Department will
allow its dedicated staff to better serve
the growing communities of Queens.”
Photo courtesy of NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens
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