NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst Opens Wellness Center for Healthcare Heroes
The welcoming space will provide physical, emotional and mental support for 6,000 employees across all departments at Elmhurst Hospital
08 April 2024
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, a 545-bed Level 1 trauma center and community hospital located in Elmhurst, Queens, recently opened a brand new wellness center to support its 6,000 employees. The Center sponsors programs that revolve around the 8 dimensions of wellness, including physical, emotional, social, intellectual, financial, environmental, spiritual, and occupational wellness. The center is expected to receive over 100,000 visits annually from doctors, nurses and other members of the hospital’s healthcare team. The soothing space includes amenities designed to help busy staff relax and unwind, such as a coffee machine, snack kiosks, massage chairs and stations for board games, art projects and creative activities. The Wellness Center also sponsors a variety of other programs, including mental health workshops, cultural celebrations, mediation sessions and exercises throughout the hospital campus.
“I am so happy and excited to open this beautiful, welcoming space for our healthcare heroes,” said CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals Dr. Helen Arteaga-Landaverde. “Our team provides exceptional care to our patients, but self-care is vital and necessary even as we care for others. This wellness center will give our staff a safe place to access the resources they need to recharge in a busy environment.”
“The Workforce Wellness Center is a reflection of the hospital’s commitment to investing in the well-being of our staff,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst’s Workforce Wellness Director Tatiana Celsis, LCSW. “The center is a safe haven for our employees to relax, recharge and connect with mental health resources. The creation of this space reinforces the commitment to create a culture of psychological safety and support for healthcare workers.”
“We are so excited to officially launch the Workforce Wellness Center, the cornerstone and new physical home of our Workforce Wellness programming at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst,” said Chief Wellness Officer Dr. Suzanne Bentley. “The center has been truly co-designed with our frontline staff colleagues and is a respite for staff, a place to pause, to relax, to connect with others and a place to laugh together and also be vulnerable together. We are proud of all that the Center has to offer, and I couldn’t be happier to hear supportive conversations and connections happening in line for the coffee machine, staff exhaling in the massage chairs, and small groups sitting in our comfortable chairs, pondering together. We are all in healthcare together, one team, one Elmhurst family, and it is a privilege to help support our amazing staff.”
“Our healthcare workers provide our communities with the highest quality care that patients deserve,” they said New York City Council Member Shekar Krishnan. “Here at Elmhurst Hospital, which was the epicenter of the epicenter during the height of the COVID pandemic, our healthcare professionals, residents and interns are facing incredible amounts of stress. I am proud to support the amazing team and am so excited about the new wellness center providing our health heroes with a much needed space to relax and unwind from their daily challenges.”
“Elmhurst Hospital’s new H3 Workforce Wellness Center stands as a beacon of care in our community for the more than 6,000 dedicated medical professionals and hospital staff who provide our care,” said New York State Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz. “I am grateful to Helen Arteaga Landaverde, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, for supporting this initiative and to Dr. Suzanne Bentley, Chief Wellness Officer, for looking after the health of physicians, staff and medical residents who work tirelessly to care for our neighbors. In light of the extraordinary demands placed on our healthcare heroes, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, this wellness center is a testament to Elmhurst Hospital’s unwavering commitment to nurturing those who dedicate their lives to caring for our community.”
“I am so proud of the work that Elmhurst Hospital continues to do for the Queens community,” said New York State Assemblywoman Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas. “From being a beacon of hope and an example of resilience during the pandemic to ensuring my own recovery, the staff at Elmhurst Hospital deserve all the flowers, celebration and care. The opening of the wellness center serves as a reminder that our dedicated hospital staff and essential workers need a break. The wellness center will help reinforce the great work the staff are already doing. As we learned during the pandemic, tapping into the mental well-being of hospital and frontline staff is essential to the overall well-being of our community. Congratulations on this incredible milestone.”
For more information about programs and services at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, please call 718-334-4000 or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ElmhurstHosp.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Atiya Butler, NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, 917 319-5167
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About NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, part of the NYC Health + Hospitals health system, is the primary tertiary care provider in the borough of Queens. The 545-bed hospital is a Level 1 trauma center, cardiac emergency station, stroke receiving center with thrombectomy capability, sexual assault response team (SART) center of excellence and 911 receiving hospital. It is a premier healthcare organization for several specialties, including surgery, cardiology, women’s health, pediatrics, rehabilitation medicine, renal services and mental health services. Last year, the hospital received nearly 700,000 outpatient visits and more than 130,000 emergency room visits. The hospital is nationally ranked and named “Best Regional Hospital” by US News and World Report, and is known for providing exceptional care in key areas including heart failure, heart attack, stroke, hip fracture, renal failure, orthopedics, pneumonia and COPD. Stay connected on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ElmhurstHosp.
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the nation’s largest public health system, serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, community-based primary care and specialty centers anchors care coordination with trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agencies and MetroPlus Health Plan – all supported by 11 major hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest lives possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, TwitterInstagram and LinkedIn.
