Dr. Morley Initiates Major Medical Enhancements at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi and North Central Bronx
Jan 27, 2016
Dr. John Morley has brought significant medical innovations to NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi and NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx since becoming the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at the hospitals last March. “We are building a foundation on which to continue to develop the culture of safety and improving patient care,” Dr. Morley said.
One of Dr. Morley’s first moves was the appointment of a new Director of Infection Prevention, Kathi Mullaney, BSN, MPH. “We recognize that infections are preventable,” Dr. Morley said, “so we are partnering with her to increase the understanding of the principles of infection prevention.” He said Ms. Mullaney is an active partner with the medical staff so everyone can better understand how to protect patients from infections while they are in the hospitals.
The new CMO has also instituted twice weekly “in situ” simulations for the Obstetrics Department so the medical staff is thoroughly prepared to handle emergencies during births. This means practicing in the delivery rooms with mannequins for such emergencies as excessive bleeding.
“The purpose of simulations is so that everyone is on the same page and knows exactly what to do and when to do it and what everybody else is doing at the same time,” Dr. Morley said. “It enables us to handle emergencies much quicker.”
NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi’s Trauma Program is also preparing for its upcoming survey by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma. Responsibility for this designation has switched from the New York State Department of Health to the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and an ACS team is planning to visit the hospital in March. The committee requires clear collaboration between Emergency Medicine, Trauma, Anesthesia, Nursing and all clinical departments. Dr. Morley is working to increase collaboration at all levels in order to retain its designation as a Level 1 Trauma Center. In preparation, the trauma program is running in situ training sessions to make sure all members of the resuscitation teams know their roles and responsibilities.
Dr. Morley is also working with Donna Lewis, the new Senior Associate Director for Medical Staff Affairs, to reorganize the medical staff office in order to standardize the process of credentialing and privileging for the hospitals’ medical professionals and to make the process more efficient.
Jacobi and North Central serve more than 150,000 patients a year and feature a Trauma Center, a Burn Center, Family Weight Management Programs and a renovated Psychiatric Emergency Department.
Dr. Morley, a Bronx native, previously served as Medical Director of the State Department of Health’s Health Systems Management Division and as Senior Vice President and Deputy Chief Medical Officer at New York City Health + Hospitals.