Larest News from Christ Hospital after Hurricane Irene

Posted on August 25, 2011 by The Public Relations Department

Visitor Restriction Policy
Christ Hospital is still under a Visitor Restriction policy. The Hospital is taking this measure to ensure the safety of both our visitors and patients. Exceptions will be made for family members with a relative in the Intensive Care Unit and Labor and Delivery.

We understand that this may, in some cases, pose a hardship. Please be assured that the patient care providers at Christ Hospital will, as always, see to the well-being of our patients during this time.

If family members wish to reach a relative by telephone, they can call 201.795.8300 between the hours of 8 am and 9 pm and 201.795.8200 after 9 pm. They should ask the operator for the name of the patient they are looking to speak with and the operator will direct their call appropriately.

Elective Surgeries
All elective surgeries have been cancelled for Monday, August 29.

If You Require Housing, please locate a Community Shelter in Your Area
Please note, the hospital will not serve as a community shelter during this storm. Our primary responsibility is to address patients with acute care needs. Residents requiring shelter should contact their municipal authority. Websites for each municipality are listed as follows:

Jersey City: http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/
Hoboken: http://www.hobokennj.org/
Bayonne: http://www.bayonnenj.org/
Union City: http://www.ucnj.com/

These policies will remain in effect indefinitely unless otherwise posted. For ongoing updates regarding Hurricane Irene and other news happening at Christ Hospital, please visit our website at www.christhospital.org.

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Christ Hospital School of Nursing to Hold Information Sessions

Posted on August 3, 2011 by The Public Relations Department

The Christ Hospital School of Nursing (SON) will be hosting information sessions on Monday, September 19, 2011 at 5:00pm, and also on Tuesday, October 11, 2011, both in the SON building located at 169 Palisade Avenue, Jersey City. In cooperation with Hudson County Community College, the SON will be offering full-time day and part-time night divisions, as well as an accelerated LPN to RN program. The September 19th session is specifically geared toward all current Hudson County Community College students. For questions or further information, contact the Christ Hospital SON at (201) 795-8360.

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Taking Steps to Protect Yourself in Extreme Heat Conditions

Posted on July 19, 2011 by The Public Relations Department

The Combination of high temperatures and high humidity create a situation that can lead to heat related illnesses. It is important to keep out of the direct sun and keep strenuous activities to a minimum. If you work outside, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shade or air conditioned environments.  If you do not have air conditioning you can go to one of Jersey City’s Cooling Centers to get some temporary relief, their locations and hours are listed below.

You should be aware of heat exhaustion symptoms and take immediate action when they occur to prevent a more serious medical condition. The symptoms include:

– profuse sweating
–weakness
– muscle cramps
– headache
– nausea and vomiting

As dehydration increases from the loss of body water, lightheadedness and fainting may occur, especially if you stand up quickly. A low grade fever also may be present. The elderly and the very young are at increased risk because they often don’t sweat like children and adults and run the risk of overheating quicker than others.

Heat exhaustion usually can be treated at home as long as you drink plenty of water or beverages that have electrolyte replacement such as sport drinks.  If nausea and vomiting prevent you from rehydration, it is recommended that you seek medical attention.
Muscles cramps can be severe and if stretching and rehydration cannot relieve recurrent cramps, medical care may be necessary.

It is important to recognize that if the person stops sweating, skin becomes red and / or hot to the touch, the person seems confused, or passes out; they may be having a heat stroke, which is life-threatening. Call 911 immediately and attempt to cool them down while waiting for help by moving them, if possible, to a cooler place, loosening their clothing, and try to cool the body with cold compresses, ice, and by pouring cool water on their skin and head.

In an effort to assist Jersey City residents with the impending heat, local Hudson County municipalities have opened cooling centers. If you feel any heat exhaustion symptoms, please visit a cooling center in your area:

In Jersey City

Five Corners Library
678 Newark Avenue
Hours: Monday, noon – 8 p.m.; Tuesday through Thursday, 10a.m. – 6 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Jersey City Main Library
472 Jersey Avenue  
Hours: Monday, 9a.m. – 6p.m.; Tuesday, 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

The city’s two air-conditioned community centers – The Mary McLeod Bethune Community Life Center and Pershing Field Community Center – will also be open for use as cooling centers. Bethune, located at140 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pershing Field Community Center, at the corner of Summit Avenue and Pershing Field Plaza, is open Monday through Sunday: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Also- Pershing Field Pool (indoor), Summit Ave. and Pershing Plaza- Hours: Monday through Friday: 7 a.m. – 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday: noon – 6 p.m.

Two senior centers – The Joseph Connors Senior Center and the Maureen Collier Senior Center – will be open 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through Friday. The city will use both center as cooling stations. The Connors Senior Center is located at 28 Paterson Street, off of Central Avenue. The Collier Center can be found at 335 Bergen Avenue, between Ege Avenue and Virginia Avenue.

Residents can also cool off with the help of sprinkler systems that run in the following city parks between 10 a.m. until 8 p.m.: Pershing Field, Audubon Park, Terrace Park, Arlington Park, Dr. Lena Edwards Park, Thomas McGovern Park, Roberto Clemente Park, Virginia Avenue Park, Rev. Ercel Webb/Lafayette Park, Venator Watson Park, Hamilton Park, and Columbia Park.

BAYONNE
597 Broadway (between 27th and 28th St.)
56th St. Senior Center, at 329 Avenue B
Hours: 8:30 a.m. – 8 p.m.

HOBOKEN
City Hall, 94 Washington St. (the basement floor conference room). Hours: 10 a.m. onwards
 

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Christ Hospital Participates in Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Program to Improve Stroke Care

Posted on June 23, 2011 by The Public Relations Department

Christ Hospital is participating in the American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®–Stroke program. The goal of the program is to improve the overall quality of care for stroke patients by improving acute stroke treatment and preventing future strokes and cardiovascular events.

Get With The Guidelines–Stroke was developed to help hospitals employ proven science-based treatment guidelines, including those developed by the American Stroke Association, American Heart Association and Brain Attack Coalition. These guidelines address acute stroke management, primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, secondary prevention of strokes and the establishment of primary stroke centers.

As a Get With The Guidelines–Stroke participating hospital, Christ Hospital is encouraged to develop a comprehensive system for providing rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke when patients are admitted to the emergency department. This includes always being equipped to provide brain-imaging scans, making neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting medications when appropriate.

Christ Hospital is also increasing its efforts to prevent secondary strokes through the aggressive use of medications such as statins and anti-platelets as indicated in the secondary stroke prevention guidelines. Other methods include the treatment of atrial fibrillation and atherosclerosis and management of smoking cessation, weight, exercise, diabetes and cholesterol.

Through Get With The Guidelines–Stroke, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association provides Christ Hospital training and staffing recommendations, care maps, discharge protocols, standing orders, data-collection and measurement tools. The program also facilitates creating and sharing best practices among participating hospitals.

“Christ Hospital is to be commended for its commitment to implementing standards of care and protocols for treating stroke patients,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., chair of the Get With The Guidelines National Steering Committee and director of the TeleStroke and Acute Stroke Services at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “The full implementation of acute care and secondary prevention recommendations and guidelines is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of stroke patients.”

“The time is right for Christ Hospital to be focused on improving the quality of stroke care by implementing Get With The Guidelines–Stroke. The number of acute ischemic stroke patients eligible for treatment is expected to grow over the next decade due to increasing stroke incidence and a large aging population,” said Peter Kelly, Christ Hospital President and CEO.

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is one of the leading causes of death and serious, long-term disability in the United States. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

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Christ Hospital School Of Nursing Graduates 121st Class Of Nursing Students

Posted on June 20, 2011 by The Public Relations Department

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The Christ Hospital School of Nursing (SON), recognized as a Center of Excellence in Nursing by the National League of Nursing (NLN), has been dedicated to its mission of continuing a legacy of higher education since its founding in 1890.  With over 121 years of excellence in nursing education, students that graduate from the Christ Hospital School of Nursing are well prepared to enter the nursing profession.

“We are very proud of the Christ Hospital School of Nursing Class of 2011, one of our largest classes to date with 57 students in the graduating class,” states Carol Fasano, MA, RN, NP, C, CNE, Dean of the Christ Hospital School of Nursing.  “For over 120 years, our school has provided state-of-the-art education to nursing professionals.  Our graduates, who number over 2,200 to date, achieve high scores on the National Nursing Board, with a 95 to 100 percent passing rate nearly every year.  Nursing is the backbone of healthcare, and education is the cornerstone for excellence in nursing.  I feel we are contributing greatly to providing high-quality healthcare; By putting students first, we are also putting patients first.”

Peter Kelly, President and CEO of Christ Hospital states “As the students from the Class of 2011 move onto the next stage of their career, it is heartening to know that the patients’ lives who these nurses will touch, will receive a quality of care that is exceptional. We commend all their efforts and hard work and congratulate them on a job well done.”

Delivering the Commencement Address was Jessica Walsh, also a SON graduate of the class of 1999.  She currently works at Hackensack University Medical Center as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner.

The SON is a cooperative nursing program affiliated with Hudson County Community College.  The School offers a full-time day division, part-time evening division and accelerated LPN to RN program.  Students at the SON are also taught the importance of community service and receive practical training by participating in community outreach events and health fairs, where they not only provide a valuable service to local residents, but they also receive important training that avail them the opportunity to hone their skills before entering clinical settings.

For more information about the SON at Christ Hospital, please call 201-795-8360.

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Christ Hospital offers Free Health Fair on June 11

Posted on June 6, 2011 by The Public Relations Department

Christ Hospital will offer a free health fair open to the public on Saturday, June 11, 2011.  The event will take place at Christ Hospital located, 176 Palisade Avenue, Jersey City, New Jersey.  Free screenings will be provided by Christ Hospital medical personnel in Staff Rooms A & B.  The available screenings will include Blood Pressure testing, Glucose and Body Mass Index measurements, and Non-Invasive Cardiac screenings.  In addition to having access to valuable health information on all Christ Hospital Inpatient and Outpatient departmental services, some fun activities will be planned for the kids, which will be located on the lawn between Christ Hospital and the Doctor’s Building at 142 Palisade Avenue.

Click here for more information.

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Christ Hospital Calendar of Events — Stroke Awareness Health Fair

Posted on May 10, 2011 by The Public Relations Department

5/20/2011:  Stroke Awareness Health Fair
Free and open to the public.  In honor of National Hospital Week and Stroke Awareness Month, the Hospital will be hosting a free Health Fair open to the public on Friday, May 20th. The event will take place at Christ Hospital, 176 Palisade Avenue, in Staff Rooms A & B from 10 am to 3 pm. Medical professionals will be on-hand to provide information for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and administering a variety of screenings including Glucose measurements, Blood Pressure, and Non-Invasive Cardiac screenings. Reservations are not required

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Christ Hopsital Calendar of Events — Journey for Control: Diabetes & Healthy Eating Program

Posted on May 10, 2011 by The Public Relations Department

5/18/2011:  Journey for Control: Diabetes & Healthy Eating Program
Free and open to the public; registration required.  Come learn effective ways to manage your diabetes in a fun, interactive group session.  This program is taught by certified diabetes educators and will be taking place at 6:30 p.m. in Staff Room A at Christ Hospital in Jersey City.  If you are a person living with diabetes, take advantage of this free educational program.  Call 1-877-532-4545 to register.  Space is limited.

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Christ Hospital Events Calendar — “Look Good . . . Feel Better” Program

Posted on May 10, 2011 by The Public Relations Department

5/16/2011: “Look Good… Feel Better” Program
Free; pre-registration required.  Designed for women undergoing cancer treatment, Christ Hospital and the American Cancer Society are offering the “Look Good… Feel Better” program on Monday, May 16, 2011.  The program will be held at 10:30 a.m. in the Board Room at Christ Hospital, Jersey City.  This program is designed to help women gain control over changes in their physical appearances caused by chemotherapy and radiation treatments.  There is no charge to attend the program; however, pre-registration is required.  Please call the American Cancer Society at (973) 508-5686, or toll-free at 1-800-395-5665 to register.

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Christ Hospital Earns Quality Respiratory Care Recognition In National Program

Posted on May 10, 2011 by The Public Relations Department

Christ Hospital has earned Quality Respiratory Care Recognition (QRCR) for the fourth consecutive year under a national program started by the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC).  This program was created in 2003 to help patients and families identify those facilities using qualified respiratory therapists to provide respiratory care.  Hospitals that meet the QRCR requirements provide a level of respiratory care consistent with national standards and guidelines, and should be commended for their commitment to quality care.  Now, Christ Hospital is among the 15% of hospitals in the United States that have been named a Quality Respiratory Care institution.

Michael Mickens, Manager of Respiratory Therapy at Christ Hospital, stated, “I am proud of our success in achieving this award for the fourth year in a row.  We are honored that the AARC recognizes us as a Quality Respiratory Care institution.  We continue to strive for excellence and to provide the highest quality of care to our patients.”

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