News from the University Hospital at Downstate
May 2022

A Message from David H. Berger, MD, MHCM, FACS, CEO of University Hospital at Downstate

Hospital Week and Nurses Week Celebrations!

Downstate will have many reasons to celebrate in May due to National Nurses Week that is held between May 6-12 and National Hospital Week that runs from May 8-14. We would like to provide our heartfelt thanks to the vast contributions and positive impact of our nurses and everyone at the hospital for following through on our Vision and making UHD the ‘Best Place to Get Care and the Best Place to Give Care’.

Our nurses and the entire hospital team as a whole are essential in serving as the bridge to compassionate and equitable healthcare for our community. We will hold many events throughout May and provide opportunities to celebrate our dedicated Nursing staff and the entire Hospital team.

Please look at our two calendars below! We encourage our nurses and all our staff to participate in the many amazing events available. We appreciate all of you for your dedication to excellence in patient care as we continue towards proceeding through our We Care journey and becoming a High Reliability Organization!

Preparation for Active Violence Emergency Response Training

As we know, active shooter events are on the rise throughout our nation.  Emergency Management and University Police at Downstate are tasked with implementing mitigation strategies that will better prepare staff on how to respond. AVERT, short for Active Violence Emergency Response Training, goes beyond active shooter training by also teaching emergency bleeding control techniques and expands on the fight/confront option when that step is necessary.  

With grant deliverable funding, our very own Downstate, head of The Brooklyn Coalition, will now be bringing the train-the-trainer AVERT classes to all 17 acute care facilities and additional coalition members.  As of now, Dr. Pia Daniel, Director of the Emergency Preparedness Fellowship and Jennifer Guzman, Emergency Manager, have completed the course and are now certified instructors, making UHD a training center, where training sessions are currently being scheduled for our multidisciplinary staff.  This training is interactive, beneficial, and absolutely necessary to ensure that our staff feels safe during these trying times.

Recognizing our Amazing Staff at UHD

Jason Elijio

We would like to welcome Jason Elijio as our new Assistant Vice President for Hospital Facilities. Mr. Elijio will report directly to Senior Vice President for Hospital Operations, Dr. Patricia A. Winston, DNP, MS, RN NEA-BC, FACHE, and will provide supervision and leadership for operational and preventative maintenance of all utilities, services, buildings, and grounds at UHD and offsite properties. He will also supervise environmental services, the Scientific Medical Instrumentation Center (SMIC), bed shop, and telecommunications.

Most recently, Mr. Elijio served as Assistant Vice President of Real Property Management and Facilities at Women In Need, Inc., a provider of affordable housing and programming services for at risk and homeless populations in the New York City metropolitan area. Prior to this, Mr. Elijio was employed as an Assistant Director of Engineering and Construction Project Manager at One Brooklyn Health System.

Mr. Elijio received his undergraduate degree from St. John’s University, completed his graduate studies and earned a Master of Science from the New York Institute of Technology School of Engineering and Computing Sciences, and is a current doctoral student in Public Administration at Liberty University. He is a Six Sigma Black Belt and LEED Accredited Professional specializing in Operations and Maintenance. He is also a veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

Mr. Elijio’s office is located at 445 Lenox Road and he can be reached at his office line at 718-270-3242, via email at Jason.Elijio@downstate.edu, and his mail stop is MSC 23. Join us in welcoming Mr. Elijio to the Downstate family.

David Charles

We would like to offer our congratulations on a well-deserved promotion for David A. Charles, our new Director of Environmental Services.

Mr. Charles, who has been with Downstate since 2017, previously was the Interim Director of Environmental Services. He is a dedicated member of the institution and always takes the opportunity to applaud everyone in Environmental Services. His staff excels at providing a safe and sanitary area for our patients, visitors, and staff. Mr. Charles and his team are committed to maintaining a high standard of excellence, which he has set both for himself and for those he supervises, to provide the best for us here at Downstate.

The Department of Environmental Services is one of our most critically important “back of the house” departments. Keeping equipment, treatment areas, and patient rooms clean, sanitary, and pathogen free is a key component of institutional safety. Mr. Charles believes that leading the Department of Environmental Services is a great honor and is proud of his staff for always going beyond the call of duty. Join us in congratulating Mr. Charles on his promotion as we look forward to many more great accomplishments from him and everyone at Environmental Services.

Appreciating Our Patients During Patient Experience Week

During Patient Experience Week (April 25-29, 2022), we celebrated our patients and the amazing efforts of our UHD team, who impact our patients every day.

This year’s theme was ‘Tropical Paradise’, where we passed out whole fruit to patients on inpatient units and suites. Everyone was delighted to be a part of the festivities, as it helped brighten their day. Please see a few pictures below from Patient Experience Week.

Employee of the Month for April

Ms. Svetlana Bogdanova, RT, (R) (MR) (M) (CT) (ARRT), is a Computed Tomography (CT)/Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technologist in the Department of Radiology.  She has dedicated over 25 years of service to Downstate and our community.

As her colleagues often call her, Svetlana, or Lana, she is the consummate professional. Here are a few of her many positive qualities:

• Excellent bedside manner
• Extraordinary patient care
• A reliable and dedicated employee who goes above and beyond, working additional shifts when necessary to ensure coverage in CT/MRI
• Always acts in the best interest of the patient
• Ability to put patients at ease with her sense of humor

Ms. Bogdanova is one of the most knowledgeable technologists working at Downstate. Her warm, calm, and friendly demeanor immediately put her patients at ease, resulting in optimal studies, which aids the radiologist in coming to the correct diagnosis.  She regularly receives commendations on patient satisfaction surveys for her outstanding work performance from radiology attendings and residents.

Ms. Bogdanova is an invaluable asset to our institution. UHD is proud to have Ms. Bogdanova as our Employee of the Month for April 2022.