Nursing home one of the first in Long Island, NY to meet the new standard of care promoted by the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety January 23, 2024 – Port Washington, NY * Sands Point Center for Health & Rehabilitation is one of the first in New York State and among the first ten in the U.S. to meet the criteria. * PPAHS expects 10 more facilities to adopt the standard in the first half of 2024.
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., Jan. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) is pleased to announce that Sands Point Center for Health & Rehabilitation in Port Washington, NY has achieved or surpassed the Enhanced Respiratory Care Standards of Care. Sands Point is one of the first facilities to be awarded Enhanced Respiratory Care Accreditation in Long Island.
"At Sands Point Center for Health & Rehabilitation," said Eric Fischbein LNHA (Administrator), "our goal is to exceed the expectations of our patients. Our Enhanced Respiratory Care Accreditation is a testament to our continuing commitment to achieve that objective. Our staff of concerned and dedicated professionals is committed to helping everyone through providing support and guidance on a one-to-one basis."
Dr. Jerry Gentile, EdD, MEd, MSHA, MPH, MBA, BSRT, BSHA, RRT (Consulting Director of Respiratory Care Services and Managing Partner, Respiratory Care Group, LLC) commented on the significance and importance of receiving accreditation, "I am pleased that our respiratory care unit at Sands Point Center has met the rigorous requirements of the Enhanced Respiratory Care Program. This program ensures that our cardiopulmonary program is committed to promoting the highest standards of cardiopulmonary care while meeting the special needs of our patients."
Until recently, there was no standardized benchmark for the quality of service in Mechanical Ventilation (MV) facilities. This posed potential risks to the well-being of patients and their families, resulting in problems such as lung-related injuries and dependence on MV. Meanwhile, the facilities struggled with inefficient resource utilization and elevated liability insurance rates.
Endorsed by the American Society of Respiratory Care (AARC), Enhanced Respiratory Care is the pioneering standard within the field. It's developed on evidence-based principles and refined through extensive practice in Tennessee, where it has served as a ventilation standard since 2003. The standard includes advancements in weaning, patient care, and ventilator unit technology. It's beneficial to both sides: patients and their families can expect quality-of-life improvements that make positive outcomes more likely, while facilities gain a competitive edge through accreditation and optimize their resource utilization.
Clyde Heflin MD, FACCP spoke about the need for recognized standards of care, "Previous to the Enhanced Respiratory Care Standards of Care, there were no established standards of care. Patients were sent to healthcare facilities based on other factors - bed availability, the smoothness of the marketing process, the look of the building, and so on. Enhanced Respiratory Care provides a standard of care that ensures that patients are receiving care based on an established standard and not on extraneous factors." Dr. Heflin is also a member of the Enhanced Respiratory Care Standards Committee.
Michael Wong, JD (Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety) emphasized the patient safety and quality of care that New York State communities will now enjoy, saying, "When families send their loved ones and friends to a healthcare facility, they want to make sure that they are receiving the best care possible. For the Long Island community, Sands Point Center for Health & Rehabilitation is such a facility."
The Enhanced Respiratory Care Standards of Care are supported and endorsed by the American Association for Respiratory Care. Carl Hinkson, MS, RRT-NPS, ACCS, FAARC (President, American Association for Respiratory Care) writes:
"The American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) would like to express our support and endorsement of your efforts in developing standards of care and facility accreditation for long-term mechanical ventilation in skilled nursing facilities. As the leading professional association for respiratory therapists in the United States, we recognize the importance of ensuring patients receive the highest quality care possible."
Gene Gantt RRT, FAARC, whose team has developed and managed the Enhanced Respiratory Care program in Tennessee since 2013, said, "The Enhanced Respiratory Care Program is based on standards published by the American Association for Respiratory Care. Utilized in Tennessee, this Program has achieved liberation rates of 65% and has earned national recognition of excellence from the American College of Chest Physicians."
For more on the Enhanced Respiratory Care Accreditation, please visit https://ppahs.org/accreditation-of-facilities/ To apply for Accreditation, please go to https://ppahs.org/apply-for-accreditation/
About Sands Point
Sands Point Center for Health & Rehabilitation has been a community healthcare resource for many years. It has maintained a special focus on meeting the needs of individuals who require short-term skilled nursing care.
Sands Point Center provides several types of care, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. Medical services offered at Sands Point include cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, heart failure services for CHF, cardiac recovery, and LVAD management (managed by Respiratory Care Group, LLC), amputee rehabilitation, stroke rehabilitation, and wound care management to name a few.
About Physician-Patient Alliance for Health and Safety
Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety is ranked internationally as a top-100 patient safety organization (Agilience Authority Index, August 2023) and is a national advocacy force for addressing patient health and safety priorities shared by patients, physicians, regulators, and industry. PPAHS seeks to ensure that the best medications, medical inventions, and technology that can improve care and reduce costs are employed. PPAHS works to advance patient health and safety by developing and highlighting best practices and recommendations through better use and application of clinical practices and experiences, information technologies and checklists, and healthcare information. As a voice in support of ideas and innovation that can improve care, we encourage a health ecosystem that fosters a culture of patient safety. For more about PPAHS, please visit www.ppahs.org.
Media Contact
Michael Wong, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety, 1 8477705582, [email protected], https://ppahs.org/
SOURCE Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety

Share this article