RxTraA publication for the staff of Hartford Hospital January 23, 2012 Vol. 68 No. 2

Dr. Lenworth Jacobs Named VP of Academic AffairsDr. Lenworth Jacobs, direc-tor of trauma and emergency medicine, has been named vice president of academic affairs and chief academic officer at Hartford Hospital.

Dr. Jacobs succeeds Dr. Neil Yeston, who will retire in June and will be working on quality and safety Balanced Scorecard initiatives.

“We are fortunate that our aca-demic program is passing from one set of skilled and dedicat-ed hands to another,” said Jef-frey Flaks, president and CEO. “Drs. Jacobs and Yeston will work closely together to ensure a smooth transition.”

In this new role, Dr. Jacobs will be charged with ensuring that our academic endeavors re-flect not only our emphasis on patient-centered care, but also the new realities of health care reform and a changing marketplace.

He will be responsible for the hos-pital’s extensive medical education programs and will play an impor-tant role in the development and expansion of the Center for Edu-cation, Simulation and Innovation (CESI). He also will work to broaden research opportunities at Hartford Hospital.

In the near term, Dr. Jacobs will continue as director of the Trau-ma Institute and will maintain his oversight of the trauma centers at Hartford Hospital and the Connecti-cut Children’s Medical Center.

He also will remain chair of Trau-matology and Emergency Medicine at Hartford Hospital and the UConn School of Medicine and will continue

to oversee the LIFE STAR medi-cal transport service.

Dr. Jacobs will look to deep-en our long-standing relation-ships with the UConn School of Medicine and School of Den-tistry and with our other asso-ciated educational institutions.

In support of Dr. Jacobs’ new duties, Dr. Bruce Liang, inter-im dean of the UConn School of Medicine, will appoint Dr. Jacobs as an assistant dean at the medical school.

Dr. Jacobs is both a superb cli-nician and renowned educator. A 28-year veteran at Hartford Hospital, he is one of the most respected and trusted figures at this hospital.

Last year, his Hartford Hospital medical peers presented him with the John K. Springer Hu-manitarian Award for exem-plifying the qualities of com-passion, civility, vision and integrity.

He received the Meritorious Award of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma. The Ameri-can College of Surgeons, American Association for the Surgery of Trau-ma and the National Safety Coun-cil bestowed on him the “2005 Sur-geons’ Award for Service to Safety.”

Join us for a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the newly expanded Emergency Department

Tuesday, Jan. 31 • 2 p.m. • Enter ED from main lobby or Bliss ConnectorRemarks, refreshments, tours

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Vicie Brooks, RN, BSN has been named Community Liaison Nurse. Ms. Brooks brings 40 years of experience at Hart-ford Hospital to her outreach role in the community.

She has organized numerous commu-nity activities in her off-duty hours. In so doing, she has earned the trust and confidence of area communities.

She has served as head of the Nurse’s Unit at Christ Temple Church in Hart-ford, where she organizes and directs an annual health fair, increasing access to medical care for a community. She conducts monthly programs on topic that include hypertension, organ do-nation, sexually transmitted diseases, skin care and diabetes.

In her new role, Ms. Brooks will be re-sponsible for supporting health screen-ings, health fairs and information

sessions within the Hartford commu-nity. The focus of these programs will be to reach under-served populations with an emphasis on stroke preven-tion, management of hypertension and the prevention of head injury.

Ms. Brooks will enhance the hospital’s partnership with city schools. This partnership will further Ms. Brooks’ established presence as a mentor for students interested in careers in health care.

Ms. Brooks graduated from Capi-tal Community College and complet-ed her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Hartford. She is a founding member of the North-ern Connecticut Chapter of the Black Nurses Association. In 2011, she re-ceived the CHA Heroes in Healthcare Award for her community service.

Vicie Brooks Named Community Liaison Nurse

The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons has granted three-year accreditation with commendation to Hartford Hospital’s Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center.

The accreditation program sets qual-ity-of-care standards for cancer pro-grams and reviews the programs to en-sure they conform to those standards. Accreditation is given only to those fa-cilities that provide the highest level of quality cancer care, and that undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of their performance. To maintain ac-creditation, facilities with CoC-accred-ited cancer programs must undergo an on-site review every three years.

“We are so pleased to be recognized for our comprehensive efforts in cancer outreach, diagnosis, treatment, sup-port and research,” said Dr. Robert Pi-orkowski, chief of Surgical Oncology and chair of Hartford Hospital’s Cancer Committee. “Through our partnership with the NCI as an NCI Community Cancer Center, our program has grown tremendously in the last few years in terms of scope and innovation. All of this means we are taking even better care of our patients.”

Receiving care at a CoC-accredited can-cer program ensures that a patient will have access to:

• Comprehensive care, including a range of state-of-the art services and equipment

• A multispecialty, team approach to coordinate the best treatment options

• Information about ongoing clinical tri-als and new treat-ment options

• Access to cancer-related information, education and support

• A cancer registry that collects data on type and stage of cancers and treat-ment results, and offers lifelong pa-tient follow-up

• Ongoing monitoring and improve-ment of care

• Quality care close to home

“We are delighted to be recognized by the American College of Surgeons with commendation status,” said Dr. Andrew Salner, director of the Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center. “So much of this recognition is attributed to the amaz-ing work and collaborations of our physicians and staff. Because of their efforts, we have made great strides in providing innovative, complex, multi-disciplinary cancer care in a coordinat-ed fashion.”

Gray Cancer Center Accredited With Commendation

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Vicie Brooks Named Community Liaison Nurse A Hartford HealthCare Partner:

Jefferson House Shines in Patient Satisfaction

Renowned Surgeon/Harvard Medical School Professor Named Chief of Cardiac Surgery

The results are in for fiscal year 2011, and Jefferson House continues to sur-pass the peer group in all patient satis-faction survey categories.

Jefferson House, a department of Hart-ford Hospital located in Newington, has been providing excellent long-term care and rehabilita-tion services to se-niors in the great-er Hartford area for more than 120 years.

Out of a peer group of 2,081 facilities that utilize My In-nerview, a third-par-ty applied research company for their post acute survey, Jefferson House re-ceived a score of 95% in the “excel-lent” and “good” category to the ques-tion “How would you rate your satisfac-tion with the facility?”

To the question “What is your recom-mendation of this facility to others?” a score of 97% was achieved.

Under the category of Rehabilitation Therapy, a score of 100% was attained and treatment by the entire staff of the facility received 99%.

Recently the facility completed a satisfac-tion survey of its long term patients. The re-sults again demon-strated the high lev-el of satisfaction that

both patients and their family mem-bers have about Jefferson House.

“We are committed to providing quali-ty care to our residents both post acute and long term”, said Alan Laites, ex-ecutive director of Jefferson House. “The feedback allows us to identify our strengths and opportunities so that we can provide a safe, positive and caring environment for our residents.”

Jefferson House’s survey results for both categories of patients serves as a strong testimony of the good work that the staff is doing. Certainly there is al-ways room for improvement, but satis-faction is high and at the end of the day the quality of care a resident receives is what matters.”

Jefferson House was created in 1873 by a Special Act of the Connecticut Leg-islature. It was originally the Old Peo-ple’s Home, located on Jefferson Street in Hartford, and it offered the elder-ly an alternative to the County Poor-house. Care was provided whether pa-tients were active or sedentary, friend or stranger, with or without the ability to pay.

Gray Cancer Center Accredited With Commendation

Jefferson House.

The original Old People’s Home.

Dr. Robert C. Hagberg has been named the new chief of cardiac surgery at Hartford Hospital. He will begin work here in early April.

Dr. Hagberg, who comes to us from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Cen-ter/Harvard Medical School in Boston, is a nationally renowned surgeon, re-searcher and educator who will fur-ther elevate our well-respected cardiac surgery program, contribute to cardiac surgery research here, expand the port-folio of cardiac surgical procedures and help us train the next generation of ad-vanced heart surgeons.

Dr. Hagberg an assistant professor of surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess

Medical Center/Harvard Medical School and di-rector of Gradu-ate Medical Edu-cation, Cardiac Surgery for the BIDMC Cardio-thoracic Surgi-cal Residency Program.

He has co-authored dozens of articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Hagberg’s current research interests include minimally invasive cardiac sur-gery, including techniques for cardiac resynchronization therapy, mitral valve

repair, treatment for atrial fibrillation, stent grafting of the thoracic aorta and percutaneous valve techniques.

He was previously in private practice in Norfolk, Va., where he also acted as in-vestigator for a number of device trials in cardiac and vascular surgery, includ-ing several valve and stent graft trials, which eventually led to FDA approval.

As an educator, he has been deeply in-volved in teaching the clinical practice of cardiac surgery to Harvard medi-cal students and general surgical resi-dents, as well as cardiothoracic surgi-cal residents and fellows.

IV Nurses Day WednesdayEvery year on Jan. 25 we recognize the service our IV Nurses perform ev-ery day. Visit our table in main lobby Wednesday to learn more about the im-portant work our IV Nurses provide to our patients.

Sparkle Jewelry in Auxiliary Store ThursdaySparkle Jewelry will be at the Auxilia-ry Store on Thursday, January 26 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jewelry prices range from $2 to $40. Check out the $5.00 table!

Fire Documentary Premieres Thursday at 8:30 p.m. on CPTVOn Dec. 8 was the 50th anniversary of the tragic fire of 1961, which killed 16 people and was so horrific that it cap-tured the nation’s attention. Ultimately, the events allowed Hartford Hospital to spearhead dramatic changes in fire pre-vention and fire safety, not just here but all across the country. A new documen-tary, “The Hartford Hospital Fire: Inferno on the 9th Floor,” will premier on CPTV at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, January 26, with an encore on Sunday, January 29 at 6 p.m. The documentary was produced by the Hartford Hospital News Service and uses survivor interviews, archival footage and photographs to tell the story of the lives saved, the lives lost, and the changes that made hospitals across the country safer.

Loan Forgiveness for RNs: Deadline To Apply is Feb. 15

Eligible registered nurses may apply for the 2012 Nursing Education Loan Re-payment Program, a federally funded program that offers RNs substantial as-sistance to repay educational loans in exchange for service in critical short-age facilities like Hartford Hospital. HH nurses have qualified in the past to have some of their nursing loans forgiven through this program. Deadline for ap-plications is Feb. 15. Go to www.hrsa.gov/loanscholarships/repayment/nursing for more information or call Nancy Ba-fundo at 860-545-2558.

Winter Fitness ClassesWinter fitness classes are underway at the Employee Fitness Center, and run through Feb. 23. As a special incentive, HHC staff can take any noon class at any time during the winter session for $100.

Winter Yoga - 2 sessionsMonday and Wednesday, 7:30-8 a.m. or Tuesday and Thursday, 12-12:30 p.m. Step and StrideMonday and Wednesday, 12-12:30 p.m. Metabolic MadnessTuesday & Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Winter Boot Camp Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 4:30-5:15 p.m.

Please call the Barney Gym for details; 860-545-3077.

New De-fibrilla-tors Being InstalledThe hospital is rolling out new Zoll de-fibrillators in January, February, and March. The new devices will standard-ize the type of defibrillator encountered in every department at Hartford Hos-pital, minimizing confusion and im-proving safety and include additional features such as continuous Sp02 mon-itoring, continuous ETC02 monitoring, and NIBP monitoring. Educating all HH practitioners throughout the institu-tion is a overwhelming task. To help, a required HealthStream module (for HH employees) has been created to give an update on the new features versus what we currently have, as well as a video that shows the hands-on use. Please watch your emails for superuser class schedules and registration information for your areas.

Info Session for M.A. In Integrative MedicineCome learn about The Graduate Insti-tute’s M.A. degree in Integrative Health and Healing. Tuesday, Feb. 7, 4 p.m., Spe-cial Dining Room. www.learn.edu.

Happening at Hartford Hospital

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