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THE EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER OF THE BROOKLYN HOSPITAL CENTER
DECEMBER 2025
President’s Message:
SURVEYS MATTER! HERE’S WHY THEY’RE IMPORTANT
TBHC invites patients to fill out several kinds of surveys – department surveys, outpatient surveys, and surveys to discharged patients. Surveys help us underGary G. Terrinoni stand how we’re doing in the eyes of patients, but they have external consequences, as well. The greatest impact on us comes from our inpatient survey, informally called “HCAHPS” (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems), a national, publicly reported survey, or “Press Ganey,” the company who administers this survey for us. HCAHPS results determine many recognitions, including US News & World Report “Best Hospitals,” Leapfrog grades, and the star rating from Centers for Medicaid/Medicare Services (CMS). Right now we have two CMS stars (out of five). Recently, Leapfrog gave us a “B” grade. Those two measures reflect recent gains, and I’m proud that we are trending upward, but there is room for more improvement. How do we improve? Service is key. Every survey leans heavily on patient experience. It’s important to heal a patient, but what makes a lasting impression is the experience around the healing – from making an appointment, to registering, to dealing with clinicians. We have been focusing on service forever and for good
reason. We are a fine hospital, but we can become a great one if we improve patient experience. Is anything else important? Yes, we need to improve our survey participation. Unhappy patients are more likely to fill out their surveys, so the more people that participate, the more the results will capture happy patients, too, and our overall results are likely to improve. We have focused here on the HCAHPS survey, but we also send other kinds of surveys on behalf of specific departments, such as to patients from Ambulatory Care, Radiology and Pediatrics. Sometimes we send them directly and sometimes a third-party vendor sends them. These surveys are useful ways for us to measure our performance and find opportunities for improvement. We need your engagement! Everyone can provide excellent customer service, from helping the family member find the elevator, to answering phones with a smile in your voice, to making sure your patient understands her plan of care. If you interact with patients at checkout or discharge, give them a heads-up that there are some surveys they might receive. Tell them we welcome their feedback. Remember, surveys matter, but they are chiefly a reflection of the work we put into great care and great service.
2025 Service Awards In 1980, the beginning of a new decade, “Call Me” by Blondie was the hottest song, spending six weeks at the top of the chart. Star Wars: Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back was thrilling audiences and 9 to 5 was making them laugh. At home, we were engrossed with Dallas, The Dukes of Hazard and M*A*S*H. This was also the year that three of our longest-serving employees began work at TBHC: Blake Carl, Patient Access Associate, Victoria Gomez, Clerical Service Associate, and In Suk Seo, MD, Director of Nuclear Medicine, Radiology. On Thursday, October 23, TBHC gathered at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge to celebrate Mr. Carl, Ms. Gomez and Dr. Seo, as well as the many other loyal employees among us. Speeches, dinner and dancing were enjoyed by all those honored, those with 10 years’ service and upward! Here are the rest of the colleagues recognized that night:
40-Year Honorees
Courtney Grodon, Stuart Green, Ramesh Gulrajani, Diane Jordan-Esposito, Oscar Molina and Mariefe Paderanga
30-Year Honorees
Tricia Campbell, Jacqueline Clarke, Ruth Edwards, Faigy Friedman, Irina Gresse, Carol-Ann Harris-Baldwin, Renee Johnson, Stacey McLean, Rita Richardson, Sandra Rogel, Galina Shnayder, Sandra Strickland, Aileen Jeongim Song, Necha Tauber and Leah Werzberger
25-Year Honorees
Orville Blissett, Jr., Aunet Bramwell, Jennifer Butler, Erroll Byer, Jr., Eunhee Cha, Anasthasie Charles, Nadeem Chaudhry, Sonia Colley, Andre Deveaux, Phillipa Faulkner, Ana Feliciano, Jean Frederic, Michael Gibbs, Rhonda Grimsley, Walter Hall, Dara Haynes, Mimi Maulella, Sarnia Mcbean, Joan Mercado, Jessica Mercedes, Michael Miller, Nalini Mohun, Helene Monroe-Vislosky, Martha Nicholas, Egondu Onuoha-Nwaokorie, Doreen Pizarro, Elena Prokopenko, Douglas Ramirez, Leonardo Ramirez, Kathy Rivera, Maritza Santiago, Norrisia Smith, Charles Thomas and Carlos Willis
20-Year Honorees
Pilar Arzayus, Carmen Ayala, Maria Bartholomew-Blaize, Josue Berrios, Luciana Bianchini, Ricardo Boyce, Danni Brown, Marie Claude, Charles-Gauthier, Sandy Coreen, Rosemary Daniele, Travis David, Sundra Dorsett, Kimberly Ellis, Danielle Farnell, Andras Fenyves, Jeanette Gonzalez, Pamela Grosvenor-Murray, Ramrattie Harinarine, Debra Hutchinson, Karen James, Hilda Jeffcoat, Keith Jordan, Alina Lazis, Sonia Lee-Welch, Denise Liu, Luz Martinez, Allyson McKenna, Beata Myszkowski, Oliver Ormsby, Irma Pierrot, Yelena Plotnikova, Yevgeniya Plutova, Daniel Ricciardi, Amozah Rivers, Robert Robertazzi, Hakeem Salaam, Coreen Sandy, Paula Smith, Tatiana Venevskaia, Madhumathi Voddi and Linus Yoe
15-Year Honorees 35-Year Honorees
Norma Adolphe, Cherlyne Beliard, Leonardo Bello, Jasmine Bygrave, Paula Calixte, Kathy Duncan, Jerome Gaillard, Stephanie Galvan, Dwayne George, Yun Hung, Natalie Jarrett, Fatima Kalthoum, Lewis Krata, Charles Major, Janelle Mathews, Clarette Miller, Sybil Miller, Alisha Mondesir, Kim Perkins, Tamara Pirts, Kalvine Prawl, Earl Raiford, Haidy Rivero, Gilda Shettlewood, Loanne Sobers, Shaneice Springer, Alejandra Uribe, Marie Vilmenay and Judith Vilson
10-Year Honorees
Roseline Aderibigbe-Adeniyi, Merlean Bartlett, Evangeline Beswick-Assaye, Denise Brown, Anderson Clarke, Jennifer David; Angela Douglas, Sharaine D’oyen, Eileen Eugene, Michelle IfillRoberts, Madone Jean-Pierre, Sheila Jolley, Michael Largie, Louise Martin-Edwards, Erik Mills, Rosalie Moore, Felix Olivera, Charlene Patterson, Vilma Reid, Nancy Robinson, Jacinta Sergeant and Andy Wo Oi Tam
Tatiana Alexis, Yasmine Alnowfi, Jude Anglade, Joel Auguste, Mohamed Bakhit, Krystal Bishop-Stewart, Onis Bucknor, Felician Burgess, Saad Butt, Peter Caldone, Lambert Campbell, Pallavi Chandupatla, Ghizlane Choua, Yvonne Christopher, Sixtina Climer, Kelly Concepcion, Gloria Deliz, Shawn Earle, Shahira Eskander, Joseph Fetto, Kaela Fonzi, Tracey Foster, Alexis Gomez, Maxine Gordon, Martha Guzman, Wendy Ifill, Natalie Igel, Claude Jean, Ryan Joseph, Schameek Kershaw, Kyunghee Kim, Nita Kumar, Choi Kwok, Jia Lau, Elizabeth Liz-Perez, Dmitry Markovich, Jose Marrer, Jr., Loraina Martinez, Paul Mercedes, Luca Milone, Cristina Montagna, Magdalie Nelson, Francis Obu-Mends, Michael Roberts, Janice Rodriguez, Elvira Solis, Gregory Stein, Elizabeth Stuart, Gary G. Terrinoni, Devon Thomas, Lorraine Treadwell, Sherlene Trotman, Velko Voynov, Valeria Wallace, Carol Williams-Manners and Karen Wilson
Rounds At the end of the summer, we held our annual Ed Becote Back-to-School Drive, named for our beloved, late colleague. We raised more than $5,000, which went toward backpacks and other school supplies for children in our community. The event was held in our front horseshoe driveway, and attendees were treated to face painting, Italian ices and music.
We were proud to honor our terrific team of Certified Surgical Technicians last month and every week. They’re the people who keep our operating rooms safe, running and sanitized – with smiles on their faces while they do it. TBHC takes part in the Pre-Diabetes Lifestyle Change Program from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Led by TBHC’s Certified Lifestyle Coaches, Nicolette Rowland and Novia Asquith, the program has helped patients who are at risk prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. Throughout the year, students learned how to eat healthy, added physical activity to their routines, and explored stress management tools to stay motivated. Results: They lost weight and lowered their A1C stats.
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, TBHC wore pink on October 17! We also teamed up with The Brooklyn Cancer Center on October 26 at the Brooklyn Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk.
PATIENT TESTIMONIAL
For Convenience, Quality and the Intangible Brooklyn Vibe After living most of their lives in Manhattan, Sandy and Louise Mattingly moved to Brooklyn in 2005. It was for all the usual reasons — the kids had moved there, and they wanted in on the then burgeoning Brooklyn “vibe.” But, one thing they didn’t change was their healthcare. That remained Manhattan-centric even though their home was a block from TBHC. Ms. Mattingly, a recently retired teacher, was the first to take a second look at her neighbor. “I would walk past TBHC on DeKalb to get a subway into Manhattan for my mammograms and bone density checks,” she remembers. “Finally, I thought, ‘What am I doing? Why am I schlepping onto the subway to go into the cityinstead of trying the place that is literally steps from my front door?’” What she found encouraged her: Excellent medical care, a committed, caring staff, and, of course, convenience. “TBHC renovated the breast imaging suite, and the facilities were even nicer. The results were fast. The patient portal made it convenient,” she adds. His wife’s experience piqued Mr. Mattingly’s curiosity. At that time, his Manhattan doctors were forming a concierge practice that was not practical for him. “Louise told me, ‘You should give TBHC a shot,’” he recalls. “For me, it started with convenience and grew from there. It’s an intimate environment, almost small-town. I’ve been seen by heads of departments as a patient. Their manner is amazing. Friendly, professional. They spend time with patients. And it’s a onestop shop if you have other needs beyond your primary care,” says the retired attorney and realtor. During the pandemic, the Mattinglys’ commitment grew deeper. “I remember riding a Citibike by the hospital and appreciating all the heroics going on inside,” says Mr. Mattingly. Every night, 7 pm sharp, the Mattinglys were at their window clapping their
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A publication of The Brooklyn Hospital Center Marketing and Communications Department. If you have an idea for an article or feedback on this newsletter, please contact Kim Flodin at x8271 or kflodin@tbh.org.
Sandy and Louise Mattingly hands, banging pots and pans, and shouting out their appreciation for all those on the front lines, knowing that their healthcare team was in earshot. A recent move took them about 10 blocks away from TBHC to a new development on the edge of Downtown Brooklyn, but it has done nothing to disrupt their relationship with their community hospital. “TBHC is in Fort Greene, one of the most diverse neighborhoods in New York City. Interactions and shared life experiences are greater here than anywhere I’ve lived, and I was born in Manhattan,” Mr. Mattingly says. “TBHC is not stratified healthcare, it’s real and it’s a representation of the incredible community it serves. I enjoy sitting in the waiting room and seeing Brooklyn in the house.”
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