The name of Dr.
Izabella Park has been prominent in several recent issues of our magazine,
which is not surprising at all. Dr. Park rightfully earned the title of «Person
of the Year 2020/2021» for her invaluable medical assistance to the Bukharian
Jewish community during the pandemic. Her selfless work, touching care for
patients, high professionalism, and dedication to her calling have made Dr.
Izabella Park well-known to many of our readers who are members of the Long
Island Jewish Forest Hills Hospital community.
I am immensely
delighted that I have personally had the opportunity to meet this individual of
rare compassion and kindness, referred to as the «fearless physician» by her
colleagues. Time flew by unnoticed during our captivating conversation with
this lovely, calm, extraordinary, and outwardly delicate woman. I was genuinely
interested in learning what brought this ethnic Korean woman close to the
Jewish community and how Dr. Park's presence influenced innovations and radical
changes in one of the most renowned medical institutions in Queens, where she
serves as the Associate Medical Director, Director of Geriatric &
Palliative Care, and Assistant Professor of Zucker School of Medicine at
Hofstra/Northwell University.
– Dear
Dr. Park, your name became widely known in the Russian-speaking community when
you were nominated for the title of «Person of the Year 2020/2021» in the 10th
international competition organized by the magazine «Women's World» under the
auspices of the Congress of Bukharian Jews in the USA and Canada. How do you
feel about this?
–
I thank you for this honor bestowed upon me. It was memorable and incredibly
thrilling. The award ceremony and the celebration of this event exceeded all my
expectations. My triumph was shared with my friends and colleagues. I
particularly want to thank Dr. Eric Ilyaev and Natalie Mirakova, the manager of
"Home Care Services," for nominating me to participate in such a
prestigious competition.
– Dr.
Park, how long have you been in America? How did you find your path here?
–
My story is very similar to that of many immigrant families. My father came to
New York 40 years ago from Korea with his older brothers and sisters in search
of a better life. He started from scratch in a new country with only $50 in his
pocket and without knowing any English. To support his young wife and children,
he worked in grocery stores in Manhattan. My mother helped him take care of my
grandmother and my cousins. Eventually, my father bought a grocery store in
Jackson Heights. My brothers and I grew up in different parts of Queens, in
various immigrant communities. Although I was born in New York, my native
language is Korean. As I began to excel in English, my parents relied on me for
communication with insurance companies, translating movies and TV shows,
essentially making me a crucial link for them in the English-speaking society.
I became a second mother to my two younger brothers. Now that we are all adults,
I am married with two children of my own, and my brothers also have families.
However, they still look to me for care and support for their families, which I
provide with love. Cohesiveness is a culture among many immigrants, and we
always take care of each other and preserve our cultural heritage. We
immigrants strive to live close to one another, and for me, it's always
valuable to see how the Bukharian community comes together to support each
other, not only in happy moments but also in difficult times. You have a lot in
common with the Korean community: we both respect and care for our elders,
support the youth, celebrate cultural and religious traditions with plenty of
food, cherish our heritage and traditions, and preserve our language. Like you,
we also motivate our children to become successful in life. Although my parents
now appreciate that I became a doctor, choosing my medical career was a very
challenging decision for me at the time. By the way, my parents continue to
provide immense help to me – without their support, I would have barely managed
the demanding work schedule, especially during the pandemic.
– What
motivated you to pursue this challenging profession? Did you know from the
beginning what kind of doctor you wanted to become?
–
I received an excellent medical education at the New York College of
Osteopathic Medicine. During my residency at Jamaica Hospital, I realized that
I enjoyed treating and caring for the patient, addressing medical and social
problems. This especially applies to elderly patients, which is the field of
geriatrics and palliative care.
– Is
palliative care something similar to hospice care?
–
No, but they complement each other. Palliative care aims to improve the quality
of life for patients (adults and children) and their families facing
life-threatening illnesses, addressing physical, psychosocial, and spiritual
issues. Hospice care, on the other hand, is for terminally ill patients during
the last months of their lives. Hospice aims to enhance the patient's quality
of life and provide continuous care and support to the patient and their
family. Hospice focuses on providing comfort rather than curative treatment. It
offers care whether the person is in a hospital, nursing home, or at home.
American
medicine is very humane, but it can also be complex, especially for immigrants.
For example, there are many aspects of healthcare that can be confusing and
complicated, where decisions are influenced by traditions, language, culture,
and religion.
I
love my work, and I know that I can help people, if, of course, it's within my
power.
– You
currently work at Long Island Jewish Forest Hills. In the past, this hospital
had a not-so-good reputation. Besides the name change, what else has changed in
this medical institution since your arrival and its transition to a new
administration? Have there been any significant improvements?
–
Yes, I started working at this hospital in 2016 as the Associate Medical
Director for Geriatric and Palliative Care when it was renamed from North Shore
Forest Hills to Long Island Jewish Forest Hills Hospital. Since then, many
positive changes have occurred. There was a complete change in leadership,
focused on creating new programs, especially for the elderly and patients of
all ages with chronic conditions. We also replaced a significant portion of the
medical staff and mid-level providers based on their treatment outcomes and
patient surveys. Skilled medical professionals have joined our hospital, and
our performance indicators are consistently improving. We continue to work with
patients not only during their stay but also after they return home or move to
rehabilitation centers.
My
team and I strive to enhance our programs and bring our service to the highest
level. For this purpose, we received two financial grants from the Fan Fox and
Leslie Samuels Foundation to expand our services for elderly care. We are
leaders in orthopedic surgery, with a well-coordinated team of surgeons,
therapists, and anesthesiologists. Few people know that we have one of the best
maternity units equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, where high-level
specialists from Katz's Women Center at Long Island Jewish Hospital work! Our
clinical programs cover a wide range of specialized areas: we have introduced
programs for complex robot-assisted surgeries in gastroenterology, gynecology,
and urology. We have one of the best cardiology centers for pacemaker
implantation. Licensed Heart and Stroke Centers have been established. We have
significantly improved our Emergency Care, and ambulances bring critical
patients to us, whom we are genuinely able to save.
Furthermore,
many of our staff members are representatives of the Bukharian community who
speak Russian, and we continue to hire more to make it more comfortable for
patients to communicate in their native language.
Recently,
we were awarded the Beacon Gold Award for the high evaluation of our Intensive
Care Unit.
In
summary, our hospital is reaching a new level of service, and we are confident
that soon it will become the best hospital not only in Queens but in all of New
York.
– What
should the relatives of a patient do when they don't see the proper attention
to their loved ones and don't observe positive progress in the treatment? Do
you have any support services they can turn to in such cases?
–
It is important for all our patients and their families to know that they
should not hesitate to ask the doctor responsible for the treatment to explain
in detail the medical care being provided. You can also ask the assigned nurse
to help you understand any issues that may arise. In every hospital, there is a
team of specialists who can assist with any problems that the patient and their
family may encounter. Sometimes, I even step in myself to ensure that
everything is being handled correctly.
– What
would you like to wish the readers of our magazine?
– I believe that all people want to be understood and cared for with respect and dignity. As a responsible physician, my goal is to provide that for each and every patient. Every person's life is valuable and important, and it is my joy and great honor to care for each one. My mission is to help people! Take care of yourselves!
Eleonora Nektalova
