Consumer Reports Rates Jacobi Medical Center Worst in US
Fri, Mar 2, 2012
By Xiao Dong
The Jacobi Medical Center was rated worst in the country for patient safety
Is Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx the worst hospital in the country? Consumer Reports thinks so. In a new report, the magazine ranked more than 1,000 hospitals in the nation based on the number of hospital-acquired infections, re-admissions within 30 days, and the quality of discharge and medication instructions.
Thirty New York metropolitan area-hospitals earned low scores for patient safety. Of the 10 New York hospitals with the lowest scores, three were in Brooklyn: Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, Kings County Hospital Center and Coney Island Hospital.
But Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, a city run hospital, got the rap for being the worst in the country when ranked for patient safety, according to the magazine’s rankings.
The hospital disputed the findings. “Consumer Reports has taken the very complex question of patient safety and reduced it to four indicators that do not take into account the most recent data showing significant improvements in hospital acquired infections and readmissions. We are constantly reviewing our protocols and remain focused on prioritizing patient safety.” Jacobi Hospital said in a statement.
A nurse practitioner at the hospital for 25 years, Ramona Lamascola, also dismissed the report angrily. “It’s absolutely not the worst hospital in the United States,” she said. “I am angry because this is a general statement. How do you make a statement that it is the worst hospital in the United States unless you went to all the hospitals in the United States?”
Despite the brouhaha surrounding the report, patients visiting the hospital on Friday afternoon did not seem concerned about the report at all. Many praised the hospital.
David Ortiz, who has been coming to The Jacobi Medical Center for the past eight years, was very surprised that Jacobi was rated as the worst hospital in the nation and said the report would not stop him from coming here.
“They always treat me very well. They really care about their patients,” Ortiz said. “If I didn’t think they were good I would not have come here for 8 years.”
Michael Robinson,who works as a vendor and helps hire hospital staff members, also disagreed with the report.
“I don’t think the report is accurate at all. Their customer services are excellent!” said Robinson, who has been coming to Jacobi for two years. “It really hurts me when I see things like that. This hospital is the landmark of the community and it is the busiest hospital in NYC. I don’t think the report will affect them at all.”
Tags: Bronx, Consumer, Consumer Report, health, Hospital, Jacobi Hospital
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Our team would like to say, the Doctors at Jacobi are some of the finest, especially conected with the Trauma and Burn units. The problem lies with the HHC itself not policing its bad managerial administrators. These managers are in “the old boy” network..covering for eachother, and the HHC knows this and does little.
Resently, a State Senator uncovered a housekeeping scam, where hundreds of workers fired or laid off and the remaining ones were making over $140k a year. Nothing was done to fire that manager. These are people making 30-40k normally.
Facebook websites have reported the Radiology Dept. for several reasons. Assoc. Dir. Greenberg, dangerously calling patients down from the floors, just to lie in a hallway for hours, so he can charge the hospital, while at home with all kinds of rediculous overtime. Another Assoc. Director, Maria Shepis , who created 2 no show jobs for her niece and her friend, who were both clerks, went to school to become technicians, showed up sporadically at best to show their faces, and yet recieved pay for 2 years, while not being part of any educational program. One was hired at NCB, and given some rediculous salary by the rescently fired Larry Kassan, whom the HHC “retired” for a separate incident, while the other was employed at Jacobi as a Healthcare Analyst..for which she isnt qualified, just to be given more money and to hide her from the HHC while acting as a staff technician. Ms christine Molerio, wears her id backwards, doesnt identify herself properly to patients, has been in the Operating Room and has had her shift changed no less than 4 times since November when she started acting as a technician. She is not employed as a tech by the HHC, therefore not having malpractice insurance, is fraudulently acting as a HHC employed technician, and has no right to have any patient contact. Besides this, she is administering radiation, when she isnt employed to do so.
This entire scheme, masterminded by her Aunt, Maria Shepis and purportrated by Larry Kassen and Jay Greenberg is such a dangerous fraudulent situation. Molario was in the OR, working as a tech, administering radiation . This is an outrage and anyone involved in this scam should be immediately terminated. Where is the patient safety or concern? Greenbergs response was ” I dont care” when staff confronted him. If you dont care, then he and Schepis should be fired along with Kassen and the rest of the managers who knew and did not report this. In fact, staff is kept in constant fear of losing their jobs. This is why JACOBI HOSPITAL, is the worst. Scam after scam, and the HHC does nothing.
I am a former head nurse there. I left to join a different hospital 3 years ago and couldn’t be happier. The above poster is correct that there is an internal network of managers that cover-up to the public and corporate. When I was a scrub nurse, these technicians would routinely leave blood covered equipment in the OR out in the halls and despite complaints , their deptartment did little to curb these occurances. Our doctors deserve better, and our patients even moreso. Management here is a joke. They really dont care about these lower income patients, but know how to go to their fancy homes in Westchester and Long Island. Makes you wonder how do they afford these fancy lifestyles on a typically low city salary. Hmmm?
The public is kept unaware of all the mishaps that go on. Management is at at all time low. These people gravitate to city jobs to rip the city off, with either overtime or not showing up for work. I can’t tell you how many times from the floors housekeeping or xray was called and we would have to wait forever for someone to arrive. The best department there is Respiratory. They do their jobs well, are very caring and attentive, and come very quicky…all the time.
Complaints were even lodged with Mrs. Morris and Mr.Grecco from HR., and they back up the managers. It’s the general consensus that if the worker makes a conplaint, they are targeted by these idiots in HR. The only descent person there is Delores Lyte who really does her job well. Aot of coworkers have nothing but praise for that lady.
I hope Downtown opens their eyes and cleans house of these fools, because alot of my coworkers are still there sufferring…as well as the patients and doctors who deserve the best treatmant. They should pass a law that only people who live in the 5 boroughs are eligible to work in these city hospitals.
I am cuurently working there and can say that yes this girl Molario has hidden her id, and our staff all suspect she was given more money as a clerk, then she should not be taking the xrays on the patients. When we made inquireies to managers she was put on night shift to hide her from hospital staff, I have been trying to get different shift to work two jobs and have been denied many times by Assoc. Dir. Jay Greenberg and Larry Kassan all the time and this new person is shown the favoritism to be moved around 3-4 times. She is not even employed as a tech by Jacobi. This is against the Patients Bill of Rights and a fraud show. I am looking for work elsewhere, to get away from these managers.
You forgot to mention the 300 million plus dollars that went missing from the construction budget of the new Jacobi Hospital building #6. This led to the ejection of the then President of the Hospital Mr. Orlando,who I understand proceeded to find employment in another hospital in New Jersey. Jacobi is full of cronyism and nepotism. The same managers are shuffled from one HHC institution to another. The most conscientious Doctors were forced out when budget cutting began years ago. Experienced nurses, conscientious employees and managers were forced to leave or retire.
Funny that these two embesselers Larry Kassan and Jay Greenberg are mentioned here. Right now, these two are trying to convince an associate criminal. Chris Fugazy, to cut them a million dollar check for a new 64-slice Cat Scan machine, which ofcourse once it goes in Kassan’s Radiology budget, he will hunt around for used equipment, and keep the surplus in the budget, for which he recieves a bonus on. No doubt, he probally cut C
Funny that these two embezzelers Larry Kassen and Jay Greenberg are mentioned here. Right now, these two are trying to convince an associate criminal, Chris Fugazy, to cut them a million dollar check for a new 64-slice Cat Scan machine, which ofcourse once it goes in Kassen’s Radiology budget, he will hunt around for used equipment, and keep the surplus in the budget, for which he recieves a bonus on. No doubt, he probally cut Chris Fugazy in for a piece of the pie. This is exactly what happened when he was given funds when Radiology went from the old building No 1 to Bldg No 6. All the managers cashed in on that one, especially David Roseman who retired with a nice fat check from that transaction.Kassen then used his cut to pay off his catering bill for his daughter’s wedding.Here is a link to his Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Larry-Kassen/1646846654
How do I know these things? He bought the used equipment from my company I worked for at the time. Funny to read all these true things, but its about time he got his hands caught in the till.
I agree with the 2nd poster hands down. In 2010, Kassen installed a Cat scan machine in NCB. hIS salary jumped to $169,000 that year as did the Cat Scan Supervisor to over $102,000, while all the other supervisors stayed in the $75-80k range. Do you smell payoff for keeping his mouth shut? I sure do. Thats the HHC for ya.
Hi,
I never been in Jacobi hospital, I just called them to take some information.
The operator was so rude. She was talking to some one and laughing, she put me on hold and after 5 minutes she hanged up the line….
The administration should take care of these things…..
This is honestly the worst hospital in the Country. Living in the South Bronx for several years, the saying is “Once You Go In, You May Never Come out”. People go into this hospital with something very simple, like a passing gall stone (that does pass); and year or two later they are still there. That is if they live. Some patients have operations they never needed when they came in, and they blotch them up. Bed sores are common, sepsis and c-diff in this hospital, from bad care. I hear stories all the time, that their loved one went into Jacobi Medical Center for something they should not have been in there for week or more; and instead they DIED, and then the hospital claims their medical records are lost. I wonder what this place does to people. Experiment on them? Drug testing on them? I heard cases they got caught stealing body parts, of patents that died there. And the family can’t get a straight answer HOW they died. This place should be under FEDERAL INVESTIGATION and CLOSED DOWN.
I am a former head nurse there. I left to join a different hospital 3 years ago and couldn’t be happier. The above poster is correct that there is an internal network of managers that cover-up to the public and corporate. When I was a scrub nurse, these technicians would routinely leave blood covered equipment in the OR out in the halls and despite complaints , their deptartment did little to curb these occurances. Our doctors deserve better, and our patients even moreso. Management here is a joke. They really dont care about these lower income patients, but know how to go to their fancy homes in Westchester and Long Island. Makes you wonder how do they afford these fancy lifestyles on a typically low city salary. Hmmm?
The public is kept unaware of all the mishaps that go on. Management is at at all time low. These people gravitate to city jobs to rip the city off, with either overtime or not showing up for work. I can’t tell you how many times from the floors housekeeping or xray was called and we would have to wait forever for someone to arrive. The best department there is Respiratory. They do their jobs well, are very caring and attentive, and come very quicky…all the time.
Complaints were even lodged with Mrs. Morris and Mr.Grecco from HR., and they back up the managers. It’s the general consensus that if the worker makes a conplaint, they are targeted by these idiots in HR. The only descent person there is Delores Lyte who really does her job well. Aot of coworkers have nothing but praise for that lady.
I hope Downtown opens their eyes and cleans house of these fools, because alot of my coworkers are still there sufferring…as well as the patients and doctors who deserve the best treatmant. They should pass a law that only people who live in the 5 boroughs are eligible to work in these city hospitals.
Some of our employees went to Channel 12, Bronx Press Review and the Mayor’s office….to get a door slammed in their face and some even fired as in the case of alot of Enviormental Services perople. Senators and Councilmen were even notified. They all know,,,and choose to turn the other way. Can you imagine getting injured and coming to the ER at night and the tech isn’t even employed by the HHC as a tech, as in Christine Molario’s case. The HR department is so corrupt under Susan Morris and her asswipes that even the HHC knows about them and still does nothing. The person they have doing Cat Scan, Lisa Kelly IS UNCERTIFIED…how are they getting reimbursements for the exams she’s doing when it’s a state law that she be certified? I am afraid to accompany my patients down to the floor. Last year, because she wanted to leave early,gave the wrong patient an injection and they had a severe life-threatening allergic reaction, anaphalectic shock,and had to be taken to the ER, yet she’s still employed there because Larry Kassen and Jay Greenberg covered it up. If Greenberg wasnt the closet homosexual he is, I would have suspected she gives them “special favors”. Kassen is slimey and always looking for a bit of extra curricular activity. He also has the Ris Management idiot,as one of his cohorts, covering up when ever possible.
As a nurse I was privialaged to work with Mr. Bill Lane, and look what happened to that poor soul all because Greenberg couldn’t make a 2 minute phone call to have a glitch fixed…so Bill went into a coma, too late for the OR and died. And Mr. Lane was the Director of Social Services, so imagine how it would be if you were just a regular patient there. It’s in his memory, that I take the time to expose these evil selfish people, who are making rediculous money at the expense of the patients and support staff.The management looks to fire anyone making a complaint, and then asks the rest of us to work outside our job descriptions, to make up for the people they don’t hire, just to keep their exhorborant salaries afloat.
Random comment from a random Bronx guy.. I’ve been to Jacobi 3 times in my life, twice it was life or death and once for a bad tooth…I def saw longer waits and crappier care in army hospitals during OIF… w/e..