Seeking to enhance healthcare for seniors in Queens, the North Shore-LIJ Health System today announced the signing of a clinical affiliation agreement with Fairview Nursing Care Center in Forest Hills.

“With almost 300,000 residents 65 and older in Queens, there is a tremendous, ongoing need to deliver quality healthcare services to seniors in our region,” said Michael J. Dowling, president and chief executive officer of the North Shore-LIJ Health System. “We are pleased to partner with an outstanding facility such as Fairview Nursing Care Center, where we will have the opportunity to share resources and expertise to meet the changing healthcare needs of older adults in the diverse communities we serve.”

“As one of the nation’s largest healthcare providers, the North Shore-LIJ Health System will collaborate with Fairview Nursing Care Center on quality initiatives to enhance its clinical programs and enhance geriatric medical resident education where needed,” said Mr. Dowling.

Fairview Nursing Care Center and North Shore-LIJ Health System recently celebrated their new clinical affiliation at a reception at Fairview attended by 50 staff members from both organizations. From left to right: Maureen McClusky, executive director, Stern Family Center for Extended Care & Rehabilitation; Robert Hettenbach, executive director, Forest Hills Hospital; Abraham Klein, Fairview’s executive director; Charles-Edouard Gros, administrator of Fairview; Howard Gusik, MD chief of geriatric medicine, North Shore University Hospital; Lila Naaze, director of clinical services, Fairview; Merryl Siegel, North Shore-LIJ’s director of post-acute services; and Shashi Patel, chairman of the department of medicine, Forest Hills Hospital.

“Fairview Nursing Care Center is honored to have been selected by the North Shore-LIJ Health System as a clinical affiliate” said Charles-Edouard Gros, administrator of Fairview Nursing Care Center, a 200-bed skilled nursing facility. “We look forward to continuing the work we have started together on programs to assure the highest quality of excellence in rehabilitation, sub-acute care as well as long-term care to the residents of Forest Hills and the borough of Queens.

“Our mutual programs will allow for an unparallel quality of care through an integration of services and communication as well as quality improvement initiatives that will address the changes in the role of skilled nursing facilities in the continuum of healthcare,” added Mr. Gros.

About Fairview Nursing Care Center
Located in Forest Hills, NY, overlooking the lake at Flushing Meadows, Fairview Nursing Care Center is a 200-bed skilled nursing facility that provides short-term rehabilitation, sub-acute medical services, post-surgical care, hospice services and long-term care. The facility has five specialized nursing floors, each containing the most up-to-date amenities and latest equipment to offer the best services and highest quality of care to residents.

Fairview Nursing Care Center has been recognized for clinical excellence and was named “the best in the borough” for rehabilitation and nursing care by The Queens Tribune. Fairview remains a top performing skilled nursing facility in the New York metropolitan area.

About North Shore-LIJ Health System
The nation's third largest, non-profit, secular healthcare system, the North Shore-LIJ Health System cares for people of all ages throughout Long Island, Queens and Staten Island – a service area encompassing more than five million people. The health system includes 15 hospitals, 14 long-term care facilities, a medical research institute, four trauma centers, five home health agencies and dozens of out-patient centers. North Shore-LIJ facilities house more than 9,000 beds, and are staffed by over 8,000 physicians, 11,000 nurses and a total workforce of more than 38,000 -- the largest employer on Long Island and the ninth largest in New York City.