56 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • OCTOBER 5, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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LIJ Forest Hills nurse is a rising star
Starr Lentz walks through the intensive
care unit of LIJ Forest Hills like she
owns it. And in many respects, the ICU
nurse does.
“She can lead and take control of a
hairy situation which is important because
things are very fl uid in the ICU,” said
Rosemarie Robinson, RN, nurse manager
of the hospital’s 18-bed critical care unit.
“Being an ICU nurse is not for everyone.”
Direct, forward, and admittedly loud,
Ms. Lentz grew up in and out of foster
care and a group home. One of four children
born to a crack cocaine using mom,
she recalls having to hide her mother’s
food stamps when she was 9 so she and
her older sister could do the grocery shopping
and make sure there was food in the
house.
A run-in with gangbangers over wearing
a rival gang’s colors left Ms. Lentz with
a four-inch knife scar on her left forearm.
At 14 she wound up in a group home in
Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, run by the
Catholic Guardian Services.
“Starr gave me a run for my money,”
said Mary Jackson, supervisor of the home
where Starr lived for two years.
Th ere were the numerous late night
escapes through the second-fl oor window
of the three-story brownstone at
the corner of Malcolm X Boulevard and
Lexington Avenue.
And the countless times Ms. Jackson
had to pull her out of the beauty parlor
across the street when she was supposed
to be in school.
“She was horrible, she had more days
absent than she had present in school,”
recalled Ms. Jackson. “But she was smart.
She would go to school on the day of a test
and ace it. I told her, ‘Starr if you could do
this without anybody teaching you, what
could you do if somebody really taught
you?’”
Aft er being adopted by a family on
Staten Island, Ms. Lentz heeded Ms.
Jackson’s advice and applied herself.
Although there were a few bumps along
the way, she went on to become class
valedictorian at Concord High School in
Staten Island.
When she was 17, Ms. Lentz suff ered a
ruptured appendix, leading to peritonitis
and small bowel obstruction. She spent 10
days in the ICU, had three surgeries and
a colostomy bag for three months. Th e
experience would help shape her career
in nursing.
While high school was a breeze for Ms.
Lentz, college was a disaster. Lacking discipline
and good study habits she fl unked
out.
At 22, she found herself homeless,
pregnant and sitting on a park bench in
Central Park. Th at was the turning point
in her life.
“I didn’t want my daughter to have to
experience anything that I had to experience,”
said Ms. Lentz. “I didn’t want her
to know what it’s like to be hungry, to not
have a roof over her head or what it’s like
not to be wanted.”
She lived in a homeless shelter throughout
her pregnancy and for several months
aft erwards, eventually getting a Section
Starr Lentz’s experience as a teenage ICU patient helped shape her career in nursing.
8 apartment, a job and going back to
school. At the urging of her brother, Ms.
Lentz moved upstate and graduated with
a Bachelors degree in nursing from Utica
College.
A nurse for seven years, the last yearand
a-half at LIJ Forest Hills, her nurse
manager sees her as the ideal advocate for
her patients.
“When you actually experience the
other side of being in a hospital you have
a lot more empathy for the people that are
laying in the bed,” Ms. Lentz said of her
recollections as a teenage patient.
Now a happily married mother of two,
Ms. Lentz’s metamorphosis – or as she
refers to it, memories of a ghetto superstar
- is the subject of a documentary by
the Catholic Guardian Services. Th e notfor
profi t agency hopes it will serve as a
message of hope to others facing similar
life struggles.
“You don’t have to be a victim of your
circumstance. You don’t have to allow
what your parents did or didn’t do to be
your end state,” said Ms. Lentz. “If you
work and you’re willing to put in the sacrifi
ce you can make yourself a better you.”
Saluting service at Elmhurst Hospital’s ‘Red, White & Blue Tribute’
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst
recently honored fi rst responders from
local NYPD precincts, FDNY companies,
and EMS stations at the hospital’s fi rst
Red, White, and Blue Tribute.
First responders were celebrated at the
recognition and awards ceremony for
their outstanding commitment to protecting
the community and assisting
the hospital in its mission to provide
high-quality health care to the residents
of Queens. NYC Health + Hospitals/
Elmhurst leadership and staff were joined
by several local elected offi cials, including
Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman,
Assemblymen Brian Barnwell and David
Weprin, and state Senator Jose Peralta.
“Our Red, White and Blue Tribute is
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst’s way
of thanking New York’s fi rst responders
who work in partnership with us
each day to save lives,” said Israel Rocha,
chief executive offi cer, NYC Health +
Hospitals/Elmhurst. “As health care providers,
we are continuously inspired by
these extraordinary men and women and
their unwavering dedication to our community.
We are excited to have the chance
to show our appreciation and honor them
for their hard work.”
“All of the fi rst responders being honored
during this Red, White, and Blue
Tribute have my deepest thanks for their
hard work, tireless dedication and sacrifi
ce in service to their fellow city residents,”
added Queens Borough President
Melinda Katz. “Congratulations to the
honorees and thank you to NYC Health
+ Hospitals/Elmhurst for organizing this
wonderful tribute.”
First responders who received awards
included Deputy Inspector Nicola
Ventre of the 110th Precinct; Captain
Th omas Schulz, commander of FDNY
EMS Station 46; Battalion Chief Frank
Leeb of Battalion 46; Christine M.
Mazzola, Division Commander, FDNY
EMS Division 4; Assistant Chief Juanita
Holmes, NYPD Borough Commander,
Queens North; Chief Edward Baggott,
FDNY Queens Borough Commander;
Kubrat Hristoff , Director, Hospital Police
6th Division, NYC Health + Hospitals/
Elmhurst; NYPD Chief of Transit
Joseph Fox; Captain Denis Mullaney,
Commanding Offi cer, NYPD, Transit
District 20; Special Offi cers Iana Isaacs,
Anthony Stephens, Jeff erson Yagual
and Christopher Labella of NYC Health
+ Hospitals/Elmhurst Hospital Police;
Police Offi cer Th omas Imperatore and
Detective Brian Timmons of the 110th
Precinct; Paramedic Jose Mendoza
#4241, FDNY EMS Station 46; EMTs
Eric Feng, Michael Rojas, Alex Gonzales
and Gerald Lenox of FDNY EMS Station
46; Police Offi cers Daniel Carter and
Althea Th omas of NYPD Transit District
20; and Captain Michael Sitler of Engine
Company 287.
In addition to recognizing the fi rst
responders, staff from NYC Health +
Hospitals/Elmhurst provided health and
wellness information on such topics as
smoking cessation, nutrition, heart disease,
and hip and knee disorders. Other
participating organizations included
MetroPlus Health Plan, GrowNYC/
Elmhurst Greenmarket, and the 82nd
Street Partnership.
Photo courtesy of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst