By Sandy Eller
Amid the ongoing chaos and confusion, a Manhattan hospital is ensuring that coronavirus patients’ families are kept apprised of their medical conditions during the COVID-19 outbreak, bringing in a liaison to compile patient information and share it with their loved ones.
Lenox Hill Hospital, part of the Northwell Health System, has become a prime destination for coronavirus patients in recent weeks, a distinction earned for its stellar patient care. Hatzolah began transporting patients to the Upper East Side hospital after realizing that coronavirus victims were achieving positive outcomes at Lenox Hill, but the sheer number of infected individuals had doctors and nurses prioritizing medical care over phone calls, leaving family members frustrated and concerned.
After being apprised of the problem, Northwell Executive Vice president for Strategy and Analytics Jeff Kraut worked with Chayim Aruchim Care Navigator Mrs. Leah Horowitz to formulate a strategy to keep family members informed of their loved ones’ conditions while allowing doctors and nurses to focus on patient care. Northwell hired Matis Witriol to serve as a community liaison during the crisis, his fluency in both Yiddish and English and his medical background bridging the gap between patients, their loved ones and the medical staff. Witriol spends his hours walking the floors at Lenox Hill, conferring with the medical staff, making FaceTime calls with patients to their loved ones and sharing information with family members.
“It was a simple solution that worked for everyone,” said Mrs. Horowitz. “Because hospitals have no visitation policies in effect, people saw their loved ones taken away in an ambulance and couldn’t communicate with them at all until they were released from the hospital. Mr. Kraut understood the importance of establishing a line of communication that could provide family members with detailed medical information on their hospitalized loved one.”
Chayim Aruchim applauds both Lenox Hill and Northwell for appreciating the frustration and fear that left family members on edge night and day, and taking decisive steps to alleviate the situation.
“Northwell’s leadership historically has been extremely respectful and responsive to our community,” said Rabbi Shmuel Lefkowitz, president of Chayim Aruchim, a project of Agudath Israel of America.
“It was clearly impossible for doctors and nurses to be answering phones while they were surrounded by crashing patients in need of their care,” added Mrs. Horowitz. “This was simply a communication issue that was thankfully resolved and we appreciate Mr. Kraut’s efforts in providing family members with relief and peace of mind during this difficult time. We hope that other institutions will follow his lead.”
And you trust them? There was a patient lying in the hallway for several days without water and food and the nurse told the patients’ families he’s doing fine. He b”H lived to tell what’s happening.
Did the following story happen in the above mentioned hospital?
Patient with coronavirus reported that she and other patients were murdered at a New York hospital with a lethal injection.
NEW YORK.- A woman from the Dominican Republic infected with Covid-19 left a voice message before dying, in a New York hospital. She stated that they are killing the sick with an injection that they give them to get rid of them quickly
Gertrudis Taveras, a native of Santo Domingo, lived in Brooklyn and was diagnosed with the coronavirus, so she was admitted to a hospital where she died.
Before she died, the 49-year-old woman sent a voice message to a relative of hers, who is also her compadre, in which she states that all the patients who were with her died after being injected.
In the message, in a tearful voice, Gertrudis explains that she was also injected and shows resignation, because she knew that she would die like the others who were confined with her in that hospital.
The audio was posted on social media by the victim’s cousin’s husband, who calls on people with relatives in New York hospitals to be vigilant about how their relatives die.
http://tapnewswire.com/2020/04/probably-and-definitely-banned-everywhere/
Chaim aruchim is amazing
So is mrs Horowitz
Kol hakavod
KLAL YISROEL IS AMAZING. I AM SURE MR. WITRIOL IS COMMUNICATING WITH all FAMILIES, NOT JUST THOSE WHO SPEAK ENGLISH AND YIDDISH
I have hakoras hatov to Lenox Hill Hospital. Two years ago my husband was rushed in to their ER after spending time in a Rehab. He was in septic shock in severely critical condition. The ER, and the staff in each unit he was treated in Lenox Hill, including all doctors, nurses ,etc.were professional dedicated & kind .After three months of ups & downs, surgeries and procedures, he was B’H discharged. Dr. Gardenshwartz, heading this super team was on top of my husbands condition without fail. THANK YOU HASHEM, his messenger DR. GARDENSHWARTZ, and THANK YOU LENOX HILL HOSPITAL. S.K. Boro Park
a month too late in my opinion
I can give you firsthand information on how I was helped by Mr. Vitriol. He made sure my husband had kosher food, checked on him everyday and put the phone by his ear so I could talk to him. I don’t think we would have stayed sane without it!!! I hear from my friends what is going on in other hospitals and Thank Hashem, that he was in Lenox and I had who to talk to.
Wow i have a family member in NYU hospital and we had to beg for info the nurse always said she is busy, and the patient rep there was not allowed to go in what are they afraid that they hide ? It’s great that some hospitals do care for patients.