Government Leaders Celebrate Medicare’s 45th Anniversary at Hartford HospitalCongressman John B. Larson (CT-01), Governor Dannel Malloy, and repre-sentatives from Hartford HealthCare and other health care organizations celebrated the 45th anniversary of the country’s first Medicare pay-ment at Hartford Hospital on July 29.

The first Medicare benefit payment was issued by the Aetna Insurance to Hartford Hospital on July 9, 1966.

“We’re delighted to have Governor Malloy here today and hear from Congressman Larson as we mark this historic event,” said Jeffrey Flaks, president and CEO of Hartford Hos-pital. “For 157 years, Hartford Hospi-tal has been serving and caring for the community, especially the un-derserved. The 45th anniversary of the very first Medicare check issued in the United States was a momen-tous occasion - the beginning of en-suring care for the elderly.”

“Today near-ly half of Medi-care beneficia-ries have three or more chron-ic conditions,” Flaks said. “These patients come to Hart-ford Hospital now, and they will come in the future. We wel-come them and always will.”

“Medicare stands out as one of the country’s most important initia-tives—a commitment to the health and well-being of our citizens,” said Governor Malloy. “Healthcare and a better quality of life for seniors and the most vulnerable among us is part of ensuring the strength of the national safety net. I am pleased to join health care and consumer representatives at this anniversary celebration.”

Gary Thomas, president of Aetna Medicare, and Kevin Lynch, presi-dent of the Connecticut Chapter of the Alliance for Retired Americans, participated in the celebration. Due to votes in Washington, Congress-man Larson sent a taped message.

“Forty-five years ago our commu-nity played a major role in the his-tory of Medicare by participating in the first beneficiary payment in the entire country,” Congressman Lar-son said. “This program has provid-ed healthcare for hundreds of mil-lions of Americans over the years, I am pleased to be joined by so many leaders in reaffirming our support for Medicare.

“I want to thank the governor, Jeff Flaks, and Gary Thomas for being here today,” Larson said. “I also want to thank Aetna and Hartford Health-Care CEOs Mark Bertolini and Elliot Joseph for their commitment and innovation in the delivery of health care to Medicare recipients.”

Gary Thomas, president of Aetna Medicare (left) and Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy (center) join Jeffrey Flaks in celebrating the anniversary of the country’s first Medicare payment in 1966.

Connecticut Congress-man John Larson helped celebrate the anniversary of the country’s first Medicare payment to Hartford Hospital.

RxTraA publication for the staff of Hartford Hospital August 8, 2011 Vol. 67 No. 29

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Above: Eveline Schaffer-Shekhman, marketing manager of Hartford Medical Group.

Below: Sally Strange, coordinator of HH’s Bariatric Center talks to a health fair attendee.

Hartford HealthCare participated in the First Annual Health and Wellness Fair for State of Connecticut Employees at the Capitol building on July 27. Hun-dreds of local state employees attended throughout the day.

HHC had been invited to exhibit how we contribute to the state’s health care.

The following participants from Hart-ford HealthCare attended: • Hartford Medical Group (HMG)• Hartford Hospital’s Centers of Excellence: The Joint Center, The Spine Center, Surgical Weight Loss Center, The Sleep Center• Preventive Cardiology at Hartford Hospital• Eastern Rehabilitation Network (ERN)• Hartford Orthopaedic Joint Replacement Specialists• Visiting Nurse Association (VNA)• Clinical Laboratory Partners (CLP)• Hospital of Central Connecticut (HOCC)

With a variety of practices onsite, we successfully portrayed the unique and comprehensive system of care that we provide throughout our communities.

HMG was of specific interest to the gov-ernment representatives regarding its expected certification in the “patient centered medical home” (PCMH) mod-el of care. The PCMH is not a place; it is an innovative team-based model of health care led by a personal physician who provides continuous and coordi-nated care throughout a patient’s life-time to maximize health outcomes.

The other practices stayed busy an-swering questions about Hartford HealthCare, and also provided blood pressure screenings.

The Fair was sponsored by the Office of the State Comptroller, Healthcare Poli-cy & Benefit Services Division.

The purpose of this event is to promote workplace wellness with health educa-tion, physical activity programs, nu-trition information and to provide free preventive health screenings.

Hartford HealthCare hopes to have an even greater presence at next year’s Connecticut State Government’s Sec-ond Annual Health and Wellness Fair.

The following is a note of thanks we were asked to pass along from a staff member who was hospitalized here for more than a month.

To the staff of Hartford Hospi-tal and the Institute of Living:

I would like to take a mo-ment to thank each and every one of you for the prayers and many expressions of kindness I received during my extended hospital stay.

The staff was professional, caring and compassionate and I was always treated well.

Unfortunately, I do not have all the names of those who should be recognized for their excep-tionally professional care giv-ing services. But of all the acts of kindness, very important to me were the many cards re-ceived from the children of Grace Webb School.

I can’t thank everyone enough for all that was done to make my stay in the hospital comfortable.

I have been an employee at the hospital for many years and I have to say that I have never been more proud to be asso-ciated with the company as I was during this time.

Sincerely,

Eugene Willingham Sr.

HHC Participates in Health Fair For State Employees at Capitol

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Ethics or compliance concerns?If you have any business ethics or compliance concerns, please contact your supervisor

or call the Compliance Helpline, a confidential service, at 1-800-431-5572.

Su usted habla Espanol, favor llamar 1-800-297-8592.

Join Our Neighbors at the Billings Forge Farmers’ Market

On Thursdays For Fresh, Healthy Local Food and Fun

Hartford HealthCare staff members are invited to Hartford’s largest farmers’ market, at Billings Forge nearby in the Frog Hollow neighborhood on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The farmers’ market is held outdoors from May through October on the green at 565 Broad Street, between Capitol Ave and Russ St., adja-cent to the Firebox restaurant.

The Farmers’ Market at Billings Forge was cre-ated in 2007 to provide residents with ready ac-cess to fresh local foods.

Farmers and food artisans from all over Con-necticut bring their fresh delicious goods to the market to sell directly to consumers.

In addition to produce, fruits, and flowers, the market also features delicious breads, fresh dairy, locally made Italian ice, eggs, jams, pickles, soaps, and locally roasted coffees.

Offerings include baked goods from the Kitchen at Bill-ings Forge and Hartford Baking Company; dairy products from Sweet Pea Cheese; produce from Beckett Farm, Chap-lin Farms, and Rose’s Berry Farm; and specialty items from

Bean and Leaf coffee, Chet’s Italian Ice, Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program, Eagle Wood Farms, gmonkey “farm 2 street” Food, Spielman Landscaping, and Daily Rider bikes.

There is also music, artists and crafters, and pic-nic tables.

The Billings Forge Farmers’ Market was the first of its kind to accept EBT/SNAP (food stamps), and also accommodates debit and credit cards and WIC transactions.

The Billings Forge Farmers’ Market is now pilot-ing a program called the Wholesome Wave Dou-ble Value Coupon Program: For every dollar you spend on produce, bread, meat, cheese, coffee

and eggs with SNAP/EBT, you receive another dollar’s worth free with Billings Bonus Bucks.

Billings Forge Community Works has replaced disinvestment with investment in the Frog Hollow neighborhood of Hart-ford. Your involvement with any part of Billings Forge Com-munity Works helps further their mission of building and sustaining a strong and vibrant community.

Referral Bonus Increased to $5,000 for Critical Care Nurses Until Oct. 31From August 1 to October 31, 2011, any Hartford Hospital staff member who re-fers an experienced critical care nurse that is hired into a full time position will receive an increased referral bonus of $5,000, instead of the usual $3,000. (Half is paid at hire and the other half upon completion of the orientation pe-riod as a full time staff member.) The in-creased bonus is available only for refer-ral of critical care nurses for a limited time. All other details of the Referral Bonus Plan remain in effect, and refer-ral bonuses for other positions remain unchanged. (A direct link to the docu-ment describing the referral bonus pro-gram is http://intranet.harthosp.org/hh/content/273/doc71462.pdf.) Questions may be referred to Human Resources at 860-545-2146.

Radiology Registration Now Done in Admissions

Please note that all radiology patients (including IR and MRI) will now be reg-istered in the main Admissions area off the High Building lobby, instead of go-ing directly to the Radiology Depart-ment. This centralized registration will provide our patients timely, accu-rate registration and all pertinent infor-mation about their visit, as well as ac-curate and up-front cost estimates for their services and any financial services they may require, in one location from one PAS registration staff member. Our staff will be able to provide written di-rections to the areas where their servic-es will be performed, as well as wheel-chair escort for those patients that may require assistance. (Any patient arriving by stretcher will still be accommodated directly into Radiology by a Patient Ac-cess staff member coming to the service location to complete the registration.) If you have any questions or need assis-tance with this new process, please con-tact Becky Peters (860-545-1383) or Jes-sica Pereira (860-545-1256).

Library Adds MedLink Neurology to DatabasesThe Robinson Library has added MedLink Neurology to their database listings. (It can be found on the left side of the Li-brary Intranet/Internet page.) This da-tabase has thousands of neuroimaging studies, pictures, and videos that sup-plement clinical summaries, high qual-ity patient handouts, hot topics, neurol-ogy news, Grand Rounds presentations and Journal Club reviews. For more in-formation, or to let us know what you think about this service, contact Sheila Hayes, knowledge manager for web re-sources and senior librarian, 860-545-2416 or Shayes01@harthosp.org.

Diabetes LifeCare Support Group Meeting Aug. 22

The Diabetes LifeCare Support Group will meet on Monday, Aug. 22 from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Windsor satellite site at 1060 Day Hill Road. Speaker will be registered dietician Molly Kirschner, who will speak on “Out in the Trenches - Dining Out.” The support group meeting is free. To register, call 860-545-1888.

Blood Drive Aug. 24There will be an American Red Cross Blood Drive at the Glastonbury Endos-copy Center at 300 Western Blvd. on Wednesday, Aug. 24 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Appointments are preferred, but not required. For more information, contact Jennifer Chicoine at jchicoi@harthosp.org. If you can’t donate, please ask a friend or family mbmer to donate on your behalf.

Farm Stand FridaysJoin us at the Seymour Square Farm Stand on the concrete plaza between the Conklin Building and CCMC every Fri-day, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., through early Oc-tober. The Seymour Square Farm Stand is WIC certified and coupons are accept-ed. A Farm Stand is also being held at the Avon Cancer Center one Wednesday a month, on August 10, Sept. 7 and Oct. 5, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Happening at Hartford Hospital

David Vaughan, winner of the Arne Welhaven Dr. Radhika Mehendeu with Dr. Harold Schwartz, Joe Stevens, winner of the Ned Graffagnino MD Memorial Award. who presented her with the Psychiatrist-in-chief Honorary Award. Award.

Auxiliary Golf Tournament

To Benefit Mobile Mammography

The 22nd Annual Hartford Hospital Auxiliary Benefit Golf Tournament will be held on Monday, September 12 at the Tumble Brook Country Club in Bloomfield. It is the Aux-iliary’s most important fundrais-er, consistently raising more than $200,000 each year.

The 2011 tournament will benefit Hartford Hospital’s “Take the Time” Mobile Mammography Program, operated by Hartford Hospital’s Partnership for Breast Care. The monies raised will help fund the upgrade of the mobile unit to state-of-the-art digital mammography technology, enabling the program to double the volume of mammo-grams each day, thus providing life saving screening and education to over 5,000 women annually.

Registration for golfers begins at 9:30 a.m., and there is an 11 a.m. shotgun start with scramble for-mat. Lunch will be served on the course, and there will be hors d’oeuvres and cocktails at 4 p.m. followed by dinner, awards, and a raffle.

For more information, contact one of our co-chairs: Lori Flaks at 860-673-2590 or lbflaks@yahoo.com; or Shelli Siegel at 860-231-7733 or momgull@comcast.net.