Monthly Archives: June 2022

This month, we are proud to shine our Employee Spotlight on Jonathan Benedek, LMSW. Jonathan has been with Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for five years. He is a native of Queens and still resides in the borough. He attended elementary school at Yeshiva Tiferes Moshe in Kew Gardens, Mesivita Yesodei Yeshurun in Kew Gardens Hills for high school and Touro University where he obtained a BA in Psychology. He then received his Master’s Degree in Social Work from Touro Graduate School of Social Work.

Jonathan resides with his wife and they are expecting their first child in mid-July. In his free time he enjoys playing the piano/keyboard both for his own enjoyment and also to entertain at social events like birthday parties. He likes to cook with his wife and some of their favorite dishes to prepare are fish, pasta, chicken, and meat. Whenever he gets a chance, he enjoys a good bagel and also a nice slice of pizza. Jonathan also enjoys taking walks with his wife and engaging in religious studies.  Some of Jonathan’s favorite sports to watch and play are volleyball, tennis and soccer. He also enjoys hiking, camping, and zip lining.

Jonathan likes to travel and he has been to Florida, Rhode Island, Canada and Israel. In the future he hopes to visit places around the world that he has only visited virtually through Google Earth. Learning about other cultures is also very important to him.

Jonathan loves working at Jamaica Hospital because of his great co-workers and the diversity of the staff and the patients that they take care of. He enjoys being able to serve patients and assisting them with finding practical solutions to the challenges that they may be facing.  He feels that it is very important to treat people the way he would like to be treated.

We are very fortunate to have Jonathan as a member of our healthcare team at Jamaica Hospital and we hope that he remains with us for many more years.

All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page. You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter. PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.

With summer in full swing, we will be spending more time participating in activities outdoors in areas such as parks, forests, and hiking trails.  While getting out and keeping physically fit is strongly encouraged it is important to keep in mind that being in these areas can put you at risk for tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne infection in New York City and in the United States.  On the east coast, Lyme disease is spread by the bite of a black-legged tick infected with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi.  Not all black-legged ticks carry this bacterium and, even if they are infected, they must be attached for at least 36 – 48 hours after a person is bitten to transmit the disease.

Although Lyme disease is common, it is not the only tick-borne disease to be wary of; other diseases include tularemia, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness, Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever, and anaplasmosis.

The best way to avoid contracting Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases is to avoid direct contact with ticks.  You can do this by avoiding wooded and brushy areas, and high grass.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommends the following to reduce exposure to ticks:

• Wear a hat and light-colored clothing, including long-sleeved shirts and long pants tucked into boots or socks.
• Use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone
• Check your skin and clothes for ticks
• Remember to check your hair, underarms, and groin for ticks.

Some of the tips to find and remove ticks from your body and clothing are:

• Take a shower soon after returning indoors. If you wash within two hours of returning indoors, the ticks are more easily found and washed off your body.
• Once you are indoors, take your clothing and place them in the wash using hot water and then put them in the dryer on “high” for at least 10 minutes; if the clothes were washed in cold water, place them in the dryer on “high” for at least 90 minutes

If you have been bitten, please consult a doctor immediately. Tick-borne diseases that are left untreated can cause arthritis, facial palsy, and nervous system problems. To schedule an appointment with a doctor at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, please call 718-206-7001.

All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page. You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter. PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.

Aphasia is a neurological condition that can affect your speech, as well as your ability to write and understand both spoken and written language.

Aphasia typically occurs after a stroke or a head injury, but it can also have a gradual onset as the result of a slow-growing brain tumor or a disease that causes degenerative damage. Sometimes temporary episodes of aphasia can occur. These can be due to migraines, seizures or a transient ischemic attack (TIA). A TIA occurs when blood flow is temporarily blocked to an area of the brain.

The severity of aphasia varies depending on the cause and the extent of the brain damage.

Some of the symptoms of aphasia include:

• Speaking in short or incomplete sentences
• Speaking in sentences that don’t make sense
• Substituting one word for another or one sound for another
• Using unrecognizable words
• Not understanding conversations
• Writing sentences that don’t make sense

Aphasia can create numerous quality-of-life problems because communication is so much a part of your life. Communication difficulty may affect your job, relationships, and general day-to-day functionality.  Communication difficulties can also lead to feelings of shame and depression.

Once the cause has been addressed, the main treatment for aphasia is speech and language therapy. The person with aphasia relearns and practices language skills and learns to use other ways to communicate. Family members often participate in the process, helping the person communicate.

Because aphasia is often a sign of a serious problem, such as a stroke, seek emergency medical care if you suddenly develop any symptoms.

All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page. You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter. PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.

The retina is found on the inside back wall of the eye. It is a thin layer of tissue that contains millions of light sensitive cells called rods and cones. These cells gather visual information and transmit it to the brain through the optic nerve.

Disorders of the retina can affect vision and lead to vision loss. In certain cases loss of vision can be prevented if retinal diseases are detected and treated early.

Some common types of retinal diseases include:

• Retinal tears – occur when the gel like substance in the center of the eye shrinks and causes tugging on the retina to the point where it tears. Symptoms include seeing floaters and flashes of light.
• Retinal detachment – occurs when fluid passes through a tear in the retina and accumulates behind the retina causing it to separate from the back wall of the eye.
• Diabetic retinopathy – occurs in people who have diabetes. It is the condition where the tiny blood vessels in the back of the eye leak fluid causing the retina to swell. This leads to blurry vision.
• Macular degeneration – occurs when the center of the retina begins to deteriorate causing a blind spot in the center of the visual field. There are two types of macular degeneration, wet and dry.
• Retinitis pigmentosa – is an inherited disease and causes loss of night vision and peripheral vision.

Some common symptoms of retinal diseases include:

• Blurry vision
• Loss of peripheral vision
• Loss of night vision
• Appearance of floaters

If you are experiencing any changes in your vision it is important to see an eye doctor as quickly as possible. Depending on what the diagnosis is, there are treatment options available that may be able to help correct the condition. If you would like to schedule an appointment with an eye doctor at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, please call 718-206-5900.

All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page. You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter. PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.