Suozzi, Northwell Health Announce “Geriatric Center of Excellence” at Glen Cove Hospital

LongIsland.com

Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-Long Island, Queens) and Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling have announced the creation of the first “Geriatric Center for Excellence” at Glen Cove Hospital.

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The Geriatric Center for Excellence will serve as a national model for geriatric care and community coordination. Photos from the announcement can be found attached.

The Geriatric Center for Excellence at Glen Cove Hospital will provide some of the best care for seniors in the region and help revitalize the hospital. Supporting the hospital has always been a goal of Suozzi’s since he served as Mayor in 1994. As a Geriatric Center of Excellence, the Glen Cove Hospital will be equipped to work alongside the local community to provide care to seniors, partner with assisted living facilities, nursing homes and the Glen Cove Senior Center, and to attract the country’s top professionals and best practices.

This announcement of the Center at Glen Cove Hospital comes as Northwell Health is recognized as an age-friendly health system by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the John A. Hartford Foundation. This recognition will help build upon the Parkinson’s treatment center, rehabilitation center, and brain injury center already established at the Glen Cove Hospital.

“For years, building the Glen Cove Hospital into a premiere facility has been a goal of our community. Today, achieving that goal took a big step forward, said Suozzi. “I grew up with all four of my grandparents living at our home. Three were very sick. My mom and dad passed away a few years ago at the ages of 93 and 95. I have always been intimately familiar with Senior healthcare needs. I first spoke with Dr. Carney almost five years ago about creating the Geriatric Center of Excellence at Glen Cove Hospital. I want to thank Michael Dowling and the entire Northwell team for making it a reality. Glen Cove is the perfect spot for this world-class center of excellence.”

“Caring for our older adults is a big responsibility, one that we take great pride in,” said Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health. “Our aging population will face health issues that require the right care at the right time which is why we have increased our services including at Glen Cove Hospital. This recognition is humbling and a true testament to the exceptional care we are providing our elders.”

“At Glen Cove Hospital, we have developed proficiencies in care for our older adults starting from the moment they enter our hospital and we have built the vital connections to the community provides a continuum of care post discharge,” said Kerri Scanlon, RN, Glen Cove Hospital’s executive director. “Our revolutionary Parkinson’s rehabilitation disease program is another facet that helps people grow older with dignity and a focus on preserving their independence and quality of life.”

“Northwell Health has been steadily and thoughtfully adding services and protocols over the last several years to provide expert and improved care for older adults,” said Maria Torroella Carney, MD, Northwell’s chief of geriatrics and palliative medicine. “We aim to promote longevity, safety, and independence for a person as they face a challenging aspect of life and as needs evolve across a lifespan. I am proud of Northwell for all of its effort to provide the best care possible for this population.

Among some of the steps that Northwell has taken to earn this recognition is having all its emergency departments achieve geriatric emergency department accreditation through the American College of Emergency Physicians, providing falls prevention education and bringing together multi-disciplinary co-management teams to provide the best management of people hip fractures. In addition, Northwell has developed a dementia memory care program through the University of California, Los Angeles that incorporates neurologists and psychologists and aims to help families understand the stages of this disease and how to manage their loved one’s mood. Northwell Health and Zucker School of Medicine have expanded its specialized fellowship training opportunities in geriatrics and palliative medicine in order to further educate the next generation of physicians

Glen Cove Hospital is in the process of building a caregiver center with the help of $400,000 from the Glen Cove Hospital advisory council-run annual appeal.