Glen Cove Hospital earns accolades

Like so many people in the city, Tom Suozzi has a special place in his heart for Glen Cove Hospital, he said. The congressman was born there and still lives in Glen Cove. At one time, his father, Joseph, was on the hospital’s board of trustees, and his mother, Marguerite, was a GCH emergency room nurse. Suozzi has supported the hospital, he said, since he was the city’s mayor from 1994 to 2001.

“I had my three children there, and I’ve been to the ER 15 times for my parents, wife and kids,” he said. “We’ve got an aging population. In Glen Cove, we have three nursing homes, three assisted-living centers, a fantastic senior center and senior housing.”

Suozzi stood beside Michael Dowling, Northwell Health’s president and chief executive officer, on Nov. 30 to announce GCH’s recognition as an “age-friendly” health system by the Institute for Healthcare Im-provement and the John A. Hartford Foundation. Additionally, GCH has become Northwell’s first Geriatric Center of Excellence. Not only will the hospital benefit the older population, but also it will serve as a national model for geriatric care that is coordinated with the surrounding community.

“We have been recognized by Northwell Health,” said Dr. Usman Khan, chief of geriatrics at GCH. “We will provide the foundation for how to provide excellent care for our geriatric community. And we hope to teach the other [hospitals] that are in the Northwell network.”

According to the Center for an Urban Future, which is supported by AARP, New York state has an estimated 3.2 million residents ages 65 and older, including about 43,400 in Nassau County. In February 2019, the center estimated that nearly one in six New Yorkers is 65 and older, a larger share of the state’s population than ever.

“Caring for our older adults is a big responsibility, one that we take great pride in,” Dowling said. “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.”

Northwell’s emergency departments receive geriatric emergency department accreditation from the American College of Emergency Physicians by providing fall-prevention education. Multi-disciplinary teams provide the best management to people with hip fractures. Northwell also has developed a dementia memory care program that incorporates neurologists and psychologists. The program aims to help families understand the stages of the disease, as well as  how to manage a loved one’s mood.

The geriatric community requires “unique care and attention,” Khan said. And those caring for the elderly need proper training and education, he said.

“We base our care on the four pillars: medication, mental status, mobility and what matters most,” he said. “We have been recognized because of the care programs we have here as well, which include inpatient acute rehabilitation, inpatient programs and the Parkinson program.”

Dr. Alessandro DiRocco, director of Northwell Health’s movement disorders program, co-directs GCH’s Parkinson’s program, one of the components of the hospital’s geriatric care. “The Parkinson program is unique because patients come from home as outpatients and their treatments are customized,” he said. “The personnel are specifically trained to deliver Parkinson-specific programs, which is the second most common brain disorder among the aging. The first is Alzheimer’s.”

The Parkinson program has been placed on hold as a precautionary measure because of the coronavirus pandemic, he said.

“People are struggling,”  DiRocco said. “We have a long waiting list for people to join this program.”

One of the goals is to help people grow older with dignity, said nurse Kerri Scanlon, GCH’s executive director. “At Glen Cove Hospital, we have developed improvements in care for our older adults starting from the moment they enter our hospital,” she said, “and we are building vital connections to the community to provide a continuum of care post discharge.”

Suozzi said he had been speaking with Dr. Maria Torroella Carney, Northwell’s chief of geriatrics and palliative medicine, for the past five years about creating the Geriatric Center of Excellence at GCH. She had been Suozzi’s health commissioner when he was county executive and is a friend.

“This is a national issue,” Suozzi said. “Baby boomers are becoming senior citizens. The whole Northwell system is designated as an age-friendly system. Glen Cove is leading the way.”

Torroella Carney said Northwell Health has added services for older adults in recent years. The goal is to promote longevity, safety and independence, she said. 

Suozzi said that caring for older adults is a critical issue for him, and he is proud GCH is leading the way.