NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens to spend $1.2 million on equipment

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NEW YORK – NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens hosted its annual Legislative Breakfast on Friday, March 2, in collaboration with the hospital’s Community Advisory Board.

Over 80 people attended the breakfast including City Councilmembers Rory Lancman and Adrianne Adams, other elected officials, policy makers, labor leaders, community leaders and hospital staff.

Attendees received a comprehensive update about the hospital’s ongoing efforts to address the health care needs of the local community and learned how the acquisition of three essential items will enable NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens to make significant improvements to patient care in the areas of cancer care, ophthalmology, and urology.

The following items will cost a total of $1.2 million:

Cancer Center: The upgrade of the Mammography Suite in incorporating 3D technology, costing $1 million.

Currently the hospital has two 2D Mammography units and 2D prone Stereotactic Units which are set to expire within the year.

Ophthalmology: The Zeiss IOL Master 700 with SWEPT Source OCT Camera and Table, costing $65,000.

This device is used to determine exact eye measurements upon cataract removal and intraocular lens (IOL) installation. The IOL Master 700 uses a scanning laser to measure the eye in multiple dimensions, leading to a significant increase in patient satisfaction. The hospital’s current IOL is no longer unusable.

Urology: The Lumenis Pulse 100H Holmium Laser, costing $132,000.

This device is used by Urology to treat an enlarged prostate gland due and urologic stones for either the bladder or kidney. The laser breaks up stones into smaller pieces so that the patient can pass them without requiring more extensive surgery. With the purchase of a new Holmium Laser, the hospital will be able to offer assistance to patients on demand and process their care faster, enabling them to be added on to the Operating Room schedule the same day.

Attendees also received an update about construction that is taking place at the hospital to expand the Emergency Room.

Over the last several years, the ER at NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens has experienced an increase on 50 percent in patient volume and this project, which is expected to be completed in the fall of 2018, will seek to meet the growing needs of the community by adding 6,500 square feet of space that will include new exam rooms, isolation rooms, triage rooms and nurses stations.

NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens also announced that its existing Linear Accelerator (LINAC) will be upgraded by April of this year to include image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) that will improve the precision and accuracy of treatment delivery.

IGRT is used to more precisely target the radiation dose used to treat tumors in areas of the body that move, such as the lungs.

As a result, this non-surgical treatment is more effective than traditional therapy in helping patients preserve healthy tissue.