Palisades Medical Center

History

Palisades was formerly known as North Hudson Hospital in Weehawken, New Jersey. In 1978, the hospital was relocated to the North Bergen waterfront and renamed Palisades Medical Center. It is situated on the Hudson Waterfront at the site of Bulls Ferry.

The hospital's location on the waterfront, across from Manhattan, and situated between the Lincoln Tunnel and George Washington Bridge, makes it a vital component of the area's emergency response in the event of disasters in the Hudson River area, or widespread disasters in the surrounding urban areas, including New York City. This was demonstrated on January 15, 2009, when survivors of the Flight 1549 crash landing were taken to Palisades Medical Center following their rescue, where they were treated for hypothermia and other injuries. On July 28, passengers Dave Sanderson and Barry Leonard organized a thank you luncheon on the Center's shores for the hospital staff and emergency responders from Hudson County who had rescued them and treated them.

The Palisades Medical Center Foundation gathers support from local residents, businesses and other organizations to enable Palisades Medical Center and the Harborage to more effectively serve the community by improving facilities and programs. The Palisades Medical Center Fashion Show raises funds for Guardians of Healing, a group of local health care professionals who serve in countries in need of medical assistance.

In 2009, the hospital began carrying out renovations and remodeling of its Emergency Department, the first phase of which was completed at the end of July 2010. The renovations were implemented to improve capacity, community access, patient safety and quality of health care delivery. The changes included reconfiguration of the nursing station to improve workflow and augment patient privacy, the presence of all board certified physicians, renovated patient rooms, waiting areas, pediatric care unit and digital radiology, and improved communication to track emergency patients during critical periods and provide medical staff updated status reports, including laboratory and radiology results. The upgrades were made amid a declaration from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies that the United States is experiencing an epidemic of overcrowded emergency departments, a problem particularly severe in New Jersey, due to its high population density (New Jersey has the highest in the county), and a poverty rate in the North Hudson and South Bergen Counties that is four times the New Jersey average. Renovations planned in 2010 were designed to allow walk-in patients direct access to the Emergency Room from the waiting area.

Performance

By 2009, waiting times at Palisades Medical Center were reduced to nine minutes, with a maximum of 11 minutes, improvements that were attributed to the a mid-2009 update to PMC's emergency room, specifically, the construction of a Rapid Evaluation Unit (REU), in which patients are asked questions and treated by two nurses: a technician and a physician. The REU features digital radiology, a Picis computer system that permits rapid delivery of a patient's history, a Vital Works computer system that provides staff with up-to-the-minute updates, new cardiac, stroke and ventilator equipment, a renovation of patient waiting rooms and staff facilities, and a pneumatic tube that can vacuum specimens directly to the hospital's lab.

Palisades Medical Center received among the highest scores in Hudson County in the New Jersey Department of Health's 2009 Hospital Performance Report. The Center scored in the top 10% of hospitals in the state for their care of heart attacks, surgical improvements, and heart failure, receiving 100, 98 and 100 in those areas, respectively, percentages which represent the number of patients treated properly and released. PMC received 98% for pneumonia, greater than 50% of hospitals in the study. Its performance in pneumonia was due to a 98% correct preventative antibiotic timing, and 93% blood culture rate. Beginning and ending antibiotic treatment at the right time crucial to prevent infection. At PMC .03 of patients received accidental punctures or lacerations, compared to a national average of 3.6. PMC had a post-operative sepsis rate of 42 per 1,000, compared with a 2004 national average of 11.4 cases per 1,000 patients treated, and a 2007 statewide rate of 13.9 cases per 1,000 patients.

In October 2010, Lori-Ann Ligon, the director of Respiratory Care at PMC, was given the 2010 Instrumentation Laboratory (IL) Achievement Award by the New Jersey Society for Respiratory Care (NJSRC) at the NJSRC's annual conference in Atlantic City. The IL Award recognizes individuals who have contributed significantly to both the state society in general, and the Respiratory Care profession in general.

Medical record controversy

On September 21, 2007, actor George Clooney and a companion were taken to Palisades Medical Center for treatment after a motorcycle accident. Information that Clooney was a patient at the hospital was disseminated to the media before any official hospital statement had been issued, leading officials to suspect an internal leak. The hospital conducted an audit and announced that 27 employees had accessed Clooney's information without prior authorization. All 27 employees were suspended for one month without pay. The employees included nurses, support staff, and security guards, but no physicians. A union representing some staff challenged seven of the suspensions.

Leadership

Bruce J. Markowitz is the hospital's President and CEO, while Theresa de Leon is Chairwoman of the Board of Governors.