Northwell hosts cancer survivor event

Continued from Page 10 caretakers is to creating a safe environment for patients.

“I think what makes us such a great healthcare system is the culture here, which is incredible,” he said. “I think it stems from the top, the leadership of Michael Dowling. It’s such an inclusive culture that focuses on the [patients’] voices and well-being. I think that when you have satisfed and engaged employees, patients pick up on that.”

Barakat explained that Northwell is rated one of the best places to work in health care in the United States, the No. 1 health-care system by diversity and the largest private employer in New York with 83,000 employees.

Through ongoing philanthropic support, Northwell’s surpassing of its $1 billion capital campaign and the revenue generated by the system made up of 21 hospitals, the health care provider will be expanding.

“As a not-for-proft, we pour that money back into the system,” Barakat said. “Since cancer is so prevalent and important, I’ve been blessed that the health-care system is putting half a bil- lion dollars into cancer in the next three years.”

Barakat said that Northwell is building the frst cancer center in Queens, which is opening this year, and a brand new cancer center on Staten Island, opening in the fourth quarter of 2023. Barakat noted the benefts of being treated locally, especially in Queens, which has the most ethnically diverse population in the world.

“The combination of being treated locally, being treated by people that are like you, by having a very diverse staf and faculty providing cutting edge care right in your backyard, I such a center because it already ofers support programs on various topics that coincide with their new mission of providing mental health support.

Other programs the JCC now provides are caregiver support groups, wellness services for cancer survivors and vocational life skills training for individuals with special needs.

“We’re in that space already,” Shuster said. “But this is going to lift everything up and hopefully the community up.” think that’s what makes the diference,” he said. “When you remove that stress of driving and paying for parking, I think that that does wonders for patients, and I think that’s why we’re growing and succeeding.”

The center will be located within the JCC, which Shuster said is an intentional design in order to make it a welcoming space for all JCC members to use at any time.

“We want it to feel part of the JCC, yet diferent and special,” Shuster said.

While the preventative mental health center will be a physical location at the JCC, Shuster said they are also looking to do work out in the community with training sessions or mental health screenings.

The center is still being developed, but Shuster said they are aiming for a soft opening in the fall and a grand opening shortly after.

Shuster said the center’s physical space is being organically designed using wood tones and greenery to assist in grounding its members.

In the meantime, Shuster said the center is developing its fall portfolio and curriculum to provide programs upon opening.

Shuster said that she and the JCC expect to bring this to the community soon.

“I’m looking forward to being able to lift up the community with additional tools, skills and resources for preventative mental health in all the work that we do and in all the ways that we see that the community is touched and afected by this mental health pandemic that we’re in right now,” Shuster said.

During the celebration, the Tita and Joseph Monti-Vincent Vinciguerra Award in Patient Care was presented to Dr. Ruthee-Lu Bayer, Northwell Health Cancer Institute’s system head of stem cell transplant and cellular therapy treatment and the lab.

Saladino and Dr. Vincent Vinciguerra copresented the award. Vinciguerra specializes in treating gastrointestinal cancers and breast cancer, is the principal investigator for the National Cancer Institute and had treated Don Monti at NSUH when he was a medical resident.