RxTraSeptember 13, 2012 • Vol. 68 No. 34

A publication for the staff of Hartford Hospital

A Hartford HealthCare Partner

7,000 Ideas: The Award-winning Innovations

Generated By H3W Work Groups

at Hartford Hospital

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Idea Generation: Learning from Success By Karin Diamond

New ideas are constantly churning at Hartford Hospital. Each is heard and cultivated through the H3W operat-

ing and process improvement model. To date, H3W work groups have generated more than 7,000 ideas, of which 2,839 have been resolved or implemented and 1,514 are being actively explored. That’s a lot of innovation focused on the H3W goals of teamwork, staff engagement, and continuous quality improvement. There is much to be learned from those initiatives that started as ideas and are now engrained in our hospital’s function. Notably are those that received top honors at the 2011 Team of the Year awards. These ideas have built upon our culture of excellence and top quality care delivered with integrity, caring and safety in mind. Ideas are recognized at every work group meeting, as Full Circle Awards at Management Forum, and as Team of the Year awards, among other venues. “A lot of great work is done throughout the year to hon-or novel ideas that teams have brought forward,” says Dr. Jamie Roche, vice president of patient safety and quality.

“H3W processes ensure no idea is lost. A central repository of ideas is expanded on and revisited throughout the year. Recognition is an important part of our culture.” “At the core of every good idea are the innovative, creative and talented people behind it,” says Jeffrey Flaks, president and CEO. “We are fortunate to have so many forward thinkers working on our team who continually recognize opportunities for improvement. Fostering those voices to bring ideas from brainstorms to reality is central to the culture of teamwork and innovation here at Hartford Hospital.” If your group has implemented such an idea or you know of a team doing great work to help our hospital run most efficient-ly and effectively for the patients we serve, be sure to nominate them for 2012 Team of the Year. This year’s winners will be announced at the State of the Hospital on Nov. 13. Nominations are due by Sept. 28. The form can be found on the intranet at http://intranet.harthosp.org/h3w.htm. Here, the people behind last year’s award-winning ideas talk about what has made their initiatives successful.

Bloodstream Infection Action Group: 2011 Clinical Team of the Year

Hartford Hospital director of Infec-tious Diseases, Dr. Jack Ross, and

his team recognized bloodstream infections as an issue that greatly impacted patient safety and incurred significant costs. Under the leadership of Dr. Karyn Butler and Maria Tackett, the Blood-stream Infection Action Group was formed to decrease variability in how hospital staff was taking care of and monitoring intravenous lines and ad-dressing infections. “Variability — and the opportunity for improvement — was recognized,” says Ross. “We explored and adopted best practices and realized that the process requires ownership at the lo-cal level on a day-to-day basis.” Standardization of practices has been the key to the initiative’s suc-cess. Hospitalwide use of checklists, standardized kits, provider education,

daily line checks and rounding, new infection control medical equipment and improved phlebotomy practices aimed to reduce contamination have contributed greatly to blood infection reduction. Since the inception of the BSI Steering Committee in 2009, Hartford Hospital has reduced its annual num-ber of bloodstream infections from 39 to 17 in 2011 — a 57 percent reduction. With the high mortality rate associ-ated with every bloodstream infec-tion, this improvement translates into additional lives saved. This reduction also led to cost savings of $801,700 within a 12-month period. Mandatory huddles now take place each time a blood infection event occurs, resulting in collabora-tive, multi-disciplinary discussion of the patient and meticulous review of all central lines. The team takes pride in the fact that there has been reduction, says Ross. Infection Control even posts how many days since the last blood stream infection to keep awareness and momentum going. “When a blood infection occurs the staff is crestfallen,” says Ross. “They take it as a personal hit, truly want to know when it happens, why it happens and what they can do to prevent it from happening with another patient.” The initiative was first focused in the hospital’s Intensive Care Units and

has grown with further success by involving departments that put in lines hospitalwide, including IV Therapy, Infection Control, and Epidemiology. Team members continue their bi-weekly meetings, focused huddles, and data gathering, while exploring novel ways to reduce risk and encourage institutional best practices.

Team EXCEED: 2011 Clinical Support Team of the Year

Team EXCEED co-leader David Fichandler, director of Patient

Experience, says the success of their team has been the ability to create change and utilize the supporting hospital culture to move it forward. He credits the momentum of the group to the energy and engagement of its members. “They are seeing results, are proud of it and want to be part of something bigger,” says Fichandler, who describes Team EXCEED as a safe place where everyone has a voice. H3W Facilitator Lynn Deasy jokes that many people run in the opposite direction when told they have another

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meeting, but that their experience surrounding Team EXCEED has been the opposite with people eager to get involved. The H3W process has been inte-gral to the successful implementa-tion of many of the solutions Team EXCEED has created, say Deasy and Fichandler. The monthly messages for H3W work groups have allowed their ini-tiatives (like staff uniforms, hourly rounding and patient room white boards) to reach hospitalwide audi-ences with streamlined consistency.

The facilitators bring feedback to the team and connect the dots to issues, opportunities and challenges. This opens the lines of communica-tion among hospital departments with the goal of improving the patient experience. “At the start there was a clinical and non-clinical divide, but old lines are blurred now,” says Fichandler. “Now nearly everybody gets the fact that patient satisfaction scores start long before the patient sees a nurse or doctor, and that has empowered everyone.”

The team’s results are obvi-ous with patient satisfaction scores making a 15 percent improvement, bringing Hartford Hospital into the 54th percentile in just the first year of work by the group. They are currently hitting an historically high level. For others looking to institute change within the hospital, Fichan-dler says: “Get the right people at the table and start with a vision, because without that it becomes a task. If you take the time you can create the road map as a team. Without it, you run in a circle or finish it and put it away.”

Discharge Process Action Group: 2011 Clinical Team Finalist

This multidisciplinary group made the mo-

mentous move to push hospital discharges from afternoon to 11 a.m. To improve patient flow, the team took a hard look at all factors involved, from blood draw times to post-acute care. From its start in 2010, the group shifted the amount of 11 a.m. discharg-es from 9 percent to 35 per-cent in 2011 with continued work being done to main-tain that goal percentage.

Those extraordinary efforts gave them Team of the Year finalist recognition for two years running. The hospital had been looking at morning dis-charges for years, but it took the convergence of a multidisciplinary group of talented individuals to make it happen. Beth Lawlor, Hartford Hospital’s director of case coordination, leads the team in partnership with director of Medicine, Dr. Michael Lindberg. “There was a lot of work being done in isolation on individual units, but we needed to share what the big picture looks like in or-der to make sure everyone

understood how to move forward,” says Lawlor. “No opportunity was seen as too small and all of those small things added up.” The team instituted processes like timelier post-surgical meal service to allow patients to advance their diet and early morn-ing lab draws that give doctors the opportunity to review results sooner. The efforts required much teamwork across hospital departments. Knowing that patient discharge is not an isolated process, the team looked beyond internal hospital workings. They also forged coordinated partnerships with organizations involved in post-care, including skilled nursing facilities and ambulance providers to ensure proper staffing at pick-up times, bed avail-ability and transportation schedules that would all

sync with the hospital’s earlier discharge efforts. Lawlor says the team is committed to its goals and the fluidity of the process as new challenges and op-portunities arise. They look at model hospital units to learn from their successful practices and find solutions for struggling units. Their structured ap-proach, guided by Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model, cre-ated the sense of urgency and action plan. The team also utilizes the H3W work group dashboards to view monthly discharge metrics and create a healthy com-petition among units. “It could take up to three to five years for the processes we put in place to be hardwired on any of the nursing units,” says Lawlor. “Even after that amount of time, if you stop looking at it, it reverts back to the original process.”

Feeding People in the ED: 2011 Clinical Support Team Finalist

Fixing a known, yet complex prob-lem paid huge dividends with cost

savings and patient satisfaction. Its solution took much effort, coordina-tion and communication between the vastly different Emergency De-partment and Food and Nutritional Services to make the “Feeding People in the ED” initiative a reality. The col-laboration is a solid example of two very different departments working through challenges for the ultimate goal of comprehensive patient care.

Food and Nutritional Services had been sending universal trays to the Emergency Department that were not effectively reaching the patients – if at all – generating a great amount of food and resource waste. There needed to be a way to get appropriate meals to patients, both in rooms and boarding, despite the fast-paced atmosphere of the Emergency Department. H3W facilitators were able to work with department representatives to create a cohesive solution. -Continued on page 4

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IOL Young Adult Services Team: 2011 Clinical Team of the Year Semi-Finalist

The methodology was total team involvement

at all levels, seeing a need, and discussing how to meet that need, says Dr. Law-rence Haber, director of the Institute of Living’s Family Resource Center, who heads the IOL’s Young Adult Ser-vice’s team. “A lot of idea generation came from the team seeing what wasn’t there,” says Haber. “When working with a patient you reach a point where you discover there aren’t any other services out in the community doing things to meet their needs. We started the process of

addressing how we can fill that gap.” The program is the first-of-its kind in the area to help mental health pa-tients aged 17 to 26 make the transition out of critical care with outpatient and outreach programs that lessen the stigmas and logistics that can become roadblocks for patients needing continued care. Success is measured by functional outcomes like patients going back to col-lege or getting a job. “One of things we clearly know with everyone — particularly with young adults — is that mental illness is only a piece of who they are,” says Haber. “We need to attend to who they are in addition to their problems by treating the

whole person.” The team started eight years ago with three people bumping into each other and deciding they needed to do something, says Haber. Since, it has grown to provide support to dozens of patients on a daily basis with a variety of services and programs. Administrative backing and an expanded staff pro-vided the support needed to get the program off the ground. Focus is now Hart-ford HealthCare-wide with goals toward establishing community satellites for improved patient access. “Emerging adulthood is a very underserved popula-tion,” says Haber. “If we can reach them now, we really can change the course of their lives in the future.”

Haber credits the multidisciplinary team of psychologists and psychia-trists to social workers and caseworkers, all who feel empowered to suggest ideas and feel very good about what they do. Facilitator retreats include everyone from administrative staff to physicians. “We not only talk about ideas, but we figure out how to implement them, learn, evolve, and see what else needs to be done,” says Haber. Often you learn more from what doesn’t work than from what does, says Haber. He encourages oth-ers to be willing to get it wrong and to look at that learning as a success as they move to implement new ideas.

Supply Cost Management Stewardship Team: 2011 Clinical Support Team of the Year Semi-Finalist

Through use of new technology, skilled

contract negotiation, best practices implementation and waste elimination, the Supply Cost Management Stewardship Team was able to decrease Hartford

Hospital’s supply expenses by more than $4.6 million in 2011 — with more cost savings continually being explored. Under the leadership of Materials Management director David Reska and Rebecca Calabrese, Depart-ment of Surgery’s man-ager of clinical operations, the team spread its reach institutionwide, listening to ideas and incorporat-ing cost-saving tactics to streamline and save. The team includes representa-

tives from everywhere from Environmental Services and Cardiology to Pharmacy and Finance. “The group is diverse, so we’ve had this philoso-phy that we need to look at everything, turn every stone and ask questions about best practices, safety components and education-al needs,” says Calabrese. “A lot of this is done at the hands-on level.” It started in 2009 with the Clinical Quality Value Analysis (CQVA), which

took a close look at sup-ply management practices at Hartford Hospital. The CQVA teams throughout the hospital continue to be a valuable source of ideas for cost savings and qual-ity improvement ideas, in addition to ideas that come up from H3W work groups, HHC Thrive teams, and a variety of other methodolo-gies. “We are the Hartford HealthCare repository to funnel some of these ideas through,” says Reska.

Janice Cannon, Food and Nutri-tional Services director, admits she was wary about putting more respon-sibility on her staff with the logistics that would be required to pass trays with patient names on them to the ED. A light bulb went off for Cannon when Emergency Department nurse Steve O’Donnell asked why patients in the ED were being treated differently than patients in any other hospital department who receive specialized trays. It was then that she and her department decided to “own it” and everything began to fall in place. “We were able to make peace around the table for the good of the patient,” says Cannon.

Among many collaborative chang-es, the Food Services and ED teams found a way to make their computer programs sync so that patient loca-tions could be tracked; they obtained bedside tables so that all patients had a way to eat safely; and dedicated staff to the delivery efforts. There are many quick status changes and location shifts of pa-tients in the hurried ED environment, which has always presented a chal-lenge, but by working hand-in-hand with Danette Alexander, Emergency Department director, the initiative saved more than $25,600 for the hos-pital by eliminating the 26 trays that were being wasted six times a day.

Cannon says that since the pro-gram’s inception, she hasn’t heard a complaint from patients nor the doc-tors that patients have not been fed during their time in the ED. Additional challenges arise and the team is constantly looking for ways to overcome them. “We really keep the patient in mind, the ultimate person that we’re here for,” says Cannon. She attributes this to the collaboration of the ED and Food and Nutritional Services teams. Cannon praises the ED leadership and staff, saying that they always came to the table asking what they could do to support the efforts, and how they could best work together.

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Idea Generation: Learning from Success

Pulled from the idea achives of Team of the

Year and Full Circle Award nominations and presenta-tions given at VP Opera-tions meetings, here is a glimpse at just some of the innovative ideas now in action improving processes across our institution:

Cultivating Team Performance Excellence Advanced Practitioner Dedicated General Surgery White Service TeamEstablish a new general surgical service unit called the “White Service,” staffed by two advanced practitioners (PAs and APRNs) to limit the number of patients cared for on the resident-based services and thus restoring the resident duty hours to mandated limits and helping to improve 11 a.m. discharge percentages.

CB-5 Rapid Response Improvement ProjectMore effectively manage unit-based RRTs by defining every CB-5 staff member’s role in an RRT then develop the Post-RRT Huddle to evaluate performance.

The Making a Difference Class Facilitation TeamAdd classes to accommodate more employees to sup-port institutional goals of having more than 75 percent of employees attend a service excellence class through the work of the team’s 23 class facilitators from all hospital departments.

Nursing Staff of the Advance Organ Support and Transplant Unit of Hartford Hospital Bliss 5Bring their patient satisfaction scores from the lowest ever to the number one unit in the hospital by institut-ing new, improved practices like the “5 Ps” of practice for patient care.

Operation Waldo TeamShadow each role within the West Hartford Surgery Center to give glimpses into co-worker’s workday in attempt to break down silos and create better under-standing among team.

Radiation Oncology Nursing Team in the Helen & Harry Gray Cancer CenterShift nurse affiliations from assignments to a machine to assignments with a particular doctor so that nurses see patients earlier in their journey and are better able to deliver coordinated care and improve doctor to nurse communication.

Radiology Transportation Team Create the Ticket to Ride initiative to change work flow and ensure all patient information is obtained and verified before transfers to eliminate errors and improve quality of patient care.

Reducing Heart Failure Readmissions Action GroupEnhance and facilitate the safe and comprehensive delivery of care to patients across the entire continuum of care through an integrated and coordinated approach to reducing heart failure readmissions.

The Spine Center/CB6 TeamFocus on improving “Nurses listening carefully to pa-tients” HCAHPS score by instituting best practices that have achieved an unprecedented increase in improved patient experience.

Women’s Health Services OB OR Reorganization and Trial TeamImprove “on time” starts for the first scheduled cesar-ean section of the day by developing an OB OR staffing and scheduling plan, developing an OR coordinator and team role description, educating the OB physician and nursing staff, developing an OB OR survey to evaluate success and conducting OB OR benchmarking audits.

Advancing Technology Cancer Clinical Research Office (CCRO)Continually increase development of and enrollment in trials, help underserved community with advanced treatment options, maintain high research standards and active involvement in community through a variety of research efforts and programs.

C9i Hypertonic Bullets Create immediate availability of life-saving medication to at-risk patient population by working through education and safety practices required to be able to stock crucial, time-sensitive hypertonic bullets in C9i Pyxis to avoid Elevated Intra Cranial Pressure (ICP), a life-threatening manifestation of brain injury.

Cardiac Robotic Team Train and ready department for mastery in new robotic technology by devoting time, effort, training and practice. Work with local high school and middle school students to incorporate robotics in their curriculum and a state-wide competition.

Hypothermia TeamDevelop and promote this beneficial therapy that improves patient outcomes and quality of care, encour-ages continued learning, strengthens community ties, improves national standards, and provides hope to patients and families who at one time had no chance of survival.

Institute of Living’s Research Team of Four CentersGenerate vast amounts of new knowledge about the hu-man brain in relation to behavior and learning, mental illness and responses to medication by impacting clinical practice at an unprecedented pace through research.

Pharmacy DoseEdge TeamSuccessfully implement Dose Edge – an automated technology that allows a pharmacist verification of technician prepared sterile products from a remote loca-tion – in essence TelePharmacy.

Reduce High Dose Rate Brachytherapy Simula-tion and Treatment Times in the Radiation Oncology Cancer Center

Improving Efficiency H3W Medical Clearance Group TeamAddress problem of increased return rate to the emergency room after a transfer of a patient to the IOL resulting in unnecessary costs, patient and family dissatisfaction, a suboptimal working relationship with ED, and risk of harm to the patient with better establishment of illnesses and intervention approaches, teamwork and communication between departments.

Human Resources Performance Management “Green Initiative”Reduce paper, time, labor, and errors associ-ated with performance reviews by using the H3W D.O.W.N.T.I.M.E Initiative Tool. Already reduced paper and copying from 15-20 pages to 5-6 pages creating a hospital-wide savings of $33,000.

Laundry Utilization Initiative With B10EEstablish efficient linen delivery system, reduce utiliza-tion, create process to discard linen, remove linen from patient rooms, establish Par Levels for B10E based on utilization, educate laundry delivery process to staff, implement “Yellow – Reject Linen Bag” to pull unusable linen out of system, establish and educate utilization practices to RNs, PCAs, Unit Aides and Environmen-tal Services and standardize changing of beds with environmental services.

Materials Management Purchasing TeamRenegotiate current contracts for supplies, services and capital equipment, partner with key internal stakehold-ers and move purchases of products to companies offering better value, saving $6.3 million for Hartford Hospital in FY11.

North 12 TeamReduce length of stay and increase number of patients discharged before 11 a.m. by concentrating efforts on discharge appointment, communication, handoff, clini-cal progression and metrics.

The Newington Central Scheduling TeamEffectively establish brand new department to schedule cardiology and radiology procedures through training and learning new technology processes.

PracticeCentral - PEMR TeamSuccessfully implement and upgrade to AllScripts Electronic Medical Records in the outpatient arena.

The Stroke Center Team for Improving Quality and Safety through DocumentationEstablish a new process for admission, consultation, and daily progress notes to standardize assessment and documentation and ensure coding that better reflects the appropriate level of care being provided.

WB Mason/Office Supply Initiative TeamModify, regulate and streamline ordering of hospital office supplies like pens, highlighters, dry erase markers and Post-It notes to create an annualized savings of more than $20,700.

Standardizing Practices Process to Practice: Total Joint Center 11 a.m. Discharge InitiativeImplement a multidisciplinary team to analyze patient flow, including the use of a tracer model to analyze the flow of patients from pre-operative through discharge to understand the opportunities to enhance operations.

VAP Steering CommitteeReduce incidents of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP), a common complication for patients treated in the intensive care setting that are mechanically venti-lated through prevention education, implementation of an oral care kit, and a sedation protocol to facilitate the “Wake Up and Breathe” process. Volunteer Fall Prevention/Safety Monitor TeamSend volunteers through training program with fall prevention specialists and utilize them on every unit to visit all patients designated as a fall risk to ensure that safety measures are in place, correct oversights, and remind patients of their role in fall prevention.

EMT-ERN Reducing “No Shows” ProjectCoordinate efforts among South Main ERN, Granby ERN, and HUB ERN to standardize communication with patients that “no show” for appointments, manage pa-tient preferences for appointment times through the use of a wait list, share best practices, implement reminder calls to all new patients, standardize calls to patients with two consecutive no shows and similar initiatives.

Improving Clinical Support Processes Assessment CenterImprove the completion rate of Patient Profiles for elec-tive surgical and selective Cardiac Vacscular Procedures to improve OR start times, patient satisfaction, regula-tory compliance and staff satisfaction.

Central Scheduling Implementation TeamCreate a Central Scheduling and Pre-Registration project by strategizing, designing and developing a comprehensive standardized and consistent plan that reviewed current policies and procedures, researched industry best practices and accessed current perfor-mance measures.

Electronic Billing TeamIncrease charging and ICD-9 coding accuracy by moving to electronic billing, while also gaining a more accurate interface between Electronic Billing Team and the Patient Access Department.

Eye Surgery Center Implementation TeamMake a cohesive transition from the Constitution Eye Surgery Center (CESC) to the Hartford Hospital Eye Surgery Center through teamwork and adherence to hospital’s core values.

Financial Assistance Coordination Team (FACT)Redefine the Financial Assistance Policy and processes to better assist and serve patients by giving capabil-ity to work with customers and educate patients, as well as the account guarantor, of their financial responsibility.

Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB)Learn and teach best practices surrounding concept of bedside reporting to improve discharge times, patient safety, better communication, patient satisfaction and reduction of falls and pressure ulcers across institution.

Encouraging Safety Practices Engineering High Clean 2011Create opportunities to close down rooms for “high clean” with three-day turnaround time, requiring effective coordination and communication among departments.

Engineering Team/Hurricane Irene 2011Work to ensure all safety measures were in place in advance of Hurricane Irene’s arrival and goals for a swift clean up after its devastation.

Engineering Team/Snow Team 2010–2011Keep staff and visitors as safe as possible with effective snow removal practices.

Ensuring Comprehensive Patient CareCancer Center’s Multidisciplinary Care Committee TeamBuild a clinical and programmatic infrastructure organized around the individual patient to provide in-tegrated, coordinated cancer care based on established clinical guidelines, best practices, and state-of-the art research and technology.

Cardiovascular Inpatient Telemetry /Stepdown Unit Nurses and Leadership TeamFocus improvement efforts on “Nurse Communication” on each Cardiovascular Patient Care Telemetry Unit. Each unit exceeded their target by 6 to 9 percentage points, surpassing their goal of a 5% improvement.

Food Matters: Voice of the PatientListen to needs and implement ideas from Patient Advi-sory Board Menu Committee like piloting a cook serve service for Conklin Building, enhancing health aspects of food, giving more choice to patient for time of meal delivery and selections closer to meal time, adding cold plates and standard sandwiches and salads.

Palliative TeamIncrease the opportunity for patients to receive end-of-life care by implementing a Resource Nurse Program for patients with serious illness.

Surgical Weight Loss Center TeamCreate a hospitalwide training program that addresses specific required training elements for staff involved in the multifaceted care of the surgical weight loss patient with a program that uses pathways that articulate and describe the care of a patient population across the entire continuum of care.

Team YESAs a chosen culmination of their learning objective, coordinate a large-scale community service project at Thirman Milner School in Hartford to upgrade and beautify its school grounds.

The Webb School in CheshireInstitute new behavior system using colors instead of previously used levels to allow better flexibility and tailoring toward specific needs of individual students.

He notes the support of hospital administration and the use of internal com-munication tools like the PSAG newsletter and H3W messaging have been most helpful in streamlining their processes and work-ing across hospital depart-ments. Many of the group’s ini-tiatives center around best uses of equipment in the hospital operating rooms, but the ideas extend as far as electrical savings and vendor negotiation. Some of the ideas that have derived from the Supply Cost Man-agement Stewardship Team have taken leverage not only at Hartford Hospital, but Hartford HealthCare-wide. “It’s not about just saving money but about making sure we have qual-ity products for patients,” says Reska. Calabrese says that it’s sometimes hard to quantify cost savings and that investments in qual-ity care are of the utmost importance, knowing that in the end the hospital is doing its best for the cus-tomers it serves. Reska says the group maintains a laundry list of ideas, remarking: “It doesn’t mean that every idea we hit is a home run, but it is a mechanism to be able to track ideas and not lose sight of them.” “If someone has an idea they should voice it and try to partner with their partic-ular area to see if they can move it forward,” advises Calabrese. “They don’t have to wait for a committee to say they’re going to focus on it; if they have an idea they should feel comfortable to talk openly about it.” n

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Dr. Yasser A. Al-BaghdadiAnesthesiology, Hartford Anesthesiology

Associates

Dr. Talhat AzemiInterventional Cardiology, Hartford

Cardiac Lab

Dr. Faiqa A. CheemaInfectious Disease, CT Multispecialty

Group, PC

Dr. Siobhan C. Collins Dermatology, Dermatology Surgical

Associates

Dr. Sandra E. Cordoba VargasHospital Medicine, Hartford Hospital

Dr. Adam M. DebinAnesthesiology, Hartford Anesthesiology

Associates

Dr. Roger R. El-HachemInternal Medicine, Hartford Medical Group

Dr. Thomas H. FarquharRadiology, Jefferson Radiology

Dr. Dennis S. GianoliOral-Maxillofacial Surgery, Dennis S.

Gianoli, DDS, PC

Dr. David M. GrygierPhysical Medicine/Rehabilitation,

Hartford Hospital

Dr. Timothy J. HerbstRadiology, Jefferson Radiology

Dr. Aized A. ImtiazHospital Medicine, Hartford Hospital

Dr. Kevin S. JoGastroenterology, Connecticut GI, PC

Dr. Joshua A. KallenRadiology, Jefferson Radiology

Dr. Richard T. KershenUrology, Hartford Specialists

Dr. Caroline RochonTransplantation Surgery, Hartford Specialists

Dr. Parth S. ShahVascular Surgery, Hartford Specialists

Hartford Hospital Welcomes New Physicians To Our Medical Team

A Hartford HealthCare Partner

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45 Years of Service Theresa Harvey, Food/Nutrition/Main Kitchen

40 Years of Service Stasia Buss, Transplant/Immunology Lab

Darlene Henry, Security

Catherine Yavinsky, General Surgery Clinical

Admin

35 Years of Service Teresa Koza-Bliven, Social Work

Vernon Kwok, Department Of Dentistry

30 Years of Service Holly Glazewski, OR/Joint Center

Clemente Gonzalez, Mailroom

Carmela Pietraroia, H I M/DOC Imaging

Joseph Pistritto, Security

Ruth Reiser, Psych/Pre-Admissions

David Scholl, Engineering/Electrical

25 Years of Service Yvette Alleyne, Donnelly 3N

Sue-Anne Anderson, IS/Operations

Gina Baixauli, Post Transplant Clinic

Jeffrey Bergeron, Surgical Service C9I

Mitchell Bielenda, Biomedical Engineering

Scott Ely, Cardiology Service Bliss 10 ICU

Lisa Enoch, Vascular Laboratory

Cecelia Francis, IS/Clinical Integration

Barry Graham, Food/Nutrition/Main Kitchen

Maria Inacio, Central Sterile SUPPLY

Kevin Kenney, Respiratory Care

John Kobetitsch, Dialysis Service

Karen Landor, Nutrition Service

Joanna O’Flaherty, Surgical Service C9I

Pamela Soucy, Obstetrics/Bliss 6

Marlo Steward-Carroll, IS/SAG

Linda Whitehead, Obstetrics/Bliss 6

20 Years of Service Sherry Adams, Nursing Admin Medicine

Patricia Clark, O.R. CORE

Felix Correa, O.R. Assistive Personnel

Michele Ferrer, Cardiac Rehab

Mark Larson, Surgical Service C9I

Angela McGovern, Surgical Service Bliss 7E

Margaret Repicky, OR/Cardiovascular

Erica Thompson, Clinical Admin/Neuro/TR/

OR

Marlene Williams, ERN - Midstate

15 Years of Service Jennifer Cronin, Surgical Service C9I

Edith Gore, Health Information Management

Susan Lynch, Labor And Delivery

Darlene Sawczysyn, Treasury services

Gurdev Singh, Respiratory Care

Christina Sutherland, Center For

Anti-infective Research/Development

Lucille Wall, Medicine Service Bliss 11E

10 Years of Service Kim Alleman, Post Transplant Clinic

Tammy Barbagallo, Emergency Room/General

Susan Carter, Cardiology Service Bliss 10 ICU

Sengphet Chantarak, Medicine Service Bliss

11 ICU

Camille Cordeiro, PAS ED Registration

Amy Costello, Surgical Service Bliss 9 ICU

Jacqueline Coveney, Surgical Service C9I

Glenda Delgado, Cardiology Service Bliss 10

ICU

Juan Diaz, Respiratory Care

Jacqueline Dietrich, Surgical Service Bliss 8

Mary Evans, Case Coordination

Charliss Feuerstein, Cardiac Rehab/

Glastonbury

Zusedie Garcia, H I M/ROI

Brendalee Graham, Donnelly 3S

Nancy Hubbard, Department Of Psychiatry/

Rehab

Janet Linden, Department Of Cardiology/

Admin

Lisa Millerick, Nursing Admin/Womens’

Health

Heather Moore, Social Work

Jessica Pereira, PAS IP Registration

William Rebeiro, Receiving

Roxann Robinson, Medicine Service Bliss 11E

Michael Shea, Department Of Emergency

Medicine

Lori Spurvey, Radiology/Administration

Lilibeth Warner, Medicine Service North 12

Christopher Watkins, Emergency Transport

5 Years of Service Catherine Alco, Surgical Service Bliss7E

Marvelin Allen, Medicine Service Bliss 11E

Sonia Alves, Medicine Service CB5

Marissa Auclair, Obstetrics/Bliss 6

Maureen Bascom, Facilities Development/

Safety

Cara Baumgartel, Speech Therapy

Ruth Beltran, PA Remit Processing

Ian Bobb, Surgical Service North 9

Rebecca Boice, Oncology Service CB2

Nicholle Boles, Oncology Service CB2

Anna Caligiore, Surgical Service Bliss 9E

Angel Delgado, Environmental Services

Ashley Dube, Cardiology Service Center 10

Sarah Dupuis, WHS North 8

Jeanne Ebaugh, PAS IP Registration

Christina Edwards, Emergency Room/General

Robert Edwards, Emergency Room/General

Ellen Farrell, Surgical Service Short Stay C8

Ursuline Farrell, Community Relations

Nereida Fernandez, PAS ED Registration

Ian Greaves, Security

Melinda Guzman-Rodriguez, O.R. CORE

Kumarie Haribaran, Obstetrics/Bliss 6

Philip Hawley, Emergency Room/General

Angelica Hay, Surgical Service Bliss 5

Heidi Heim, Emergency Room/General

Richard Hernandez, IT/Client Infrastructure

Paula Holmes, PHP/Eating Disorders

Ava Horyn, Surgical Service Bliss 8

Michele Kamen, Cardiology Service Bliss 10E

Nicole Labowski, Finance/Professional

Services

Mary Leggett, Cardiology Service North 10

Angela Leininger, Electrophysiology

Chinyhu Leung, Food/Nutrition/IOL

Jennifer Loos, Rehab Glastonbury - OP

Barbara Masciangioli, Central Sterile Supply

Kate Massaro, WH Surgery Center/Clinical

Rosemary Mensah, Medicine Service North 12

Agnieszka Nalepa, Cardiac Laboratory/Adult

Elizabeth Pearson, H I M/Coding

Roberto Pinedo, Cardiology Transportation

Elyse Plude, Patient Service/SNF

Margaret Powell, Obstetrics/Bliss 6

Donna Marie Punt, O.R. CORE

Adrianna Ramirez, Materials Management/

Purchasing

Lilawattie Ramlachan, Cardiology Service

Bliss 10E

Norleter Richards, OR/Cardiovascular

Kathleen Shattuck, Security

Maria Slajda, Surgical Service Bliss 9 ICU

Benjamin Smith, Cardiology Service Bliss 10

ICU

Peter Smith, Emergency Room/General

Lumnije Tahiri, Oncology Service CB2

Jessica Taricani, Obstetrics/Bliss 6

David Thomas, O.R. Assistive Personnel

Walter Thompson, Patient Support Services

Wilfreda Tilley, Cardiology Service North 10

Kathleen Tuley, Labor and Delivery

Stacey Uriano, Respiratory Care

Carol Yarina-Rich, Emergency Room/General

Stanley Zurek, O.R. Neurosurgery

Staff Members Recognized for Years of Service - June 2012

A Hartford HealthCare Partner

8

Staff Members Recognized for Years of Service A Hartford HealthCare Partner

June • 2012

Back row, left to right: Stanley Zurek, David Thomas, Adrianna Ramirez, Roberto Pinedo, Chinyhu Leung, Angelica Hay, and Angel Delgado are congratulated for five years of service by vice president of Human Resources Peter Fraiser.Front row, left to right: Barbara Masciangioli, Ursuline Farrell, Jeanne Ebaugh, Sonia Alves and Walter Thompson.

Back row, left to right: Peter Fraiser congratulates 10-year winners Lori Spurvey, Janet Linden, Tammy Barbagallo, Kim Alleman and Mary Evans. Front row, left to right: Christopher Watkins, William Rebeiro, Jessica Pereira and Heather Moore.

Christina Sutherland, Edith Gore and Darlene Sawczysyn celebrated 15 years of service.

Erica Thompson, Angela McGovern, Felix Correa, Patricia Clark and Sherry Adams were recognized by 20 years of service.

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A Hartford HealthCare Partner

Erica Thompson, Angela McGovern, Felix Correa, Patricia Clark and Sherry Adams were recognized by 20 years of service. The newest members of the Quarter

Century Club are (front row, left to right): Karen Landor, Maria Inacio, Sue-Anne Anderson and Gina Baixauli; and (back row, left to right): John Kobetitsch, Cecelia Francis and Mitchell Bielenda

Celebrating 30 years of service were (left to right): Carmela Pietraroia, Joseph Pistritto, Ruth Reiser and David Scholl.

Peter Fraiser congratulates Teresa Koza-Bliven on 35 years of service.

Left: Stasia Buss is joined by friends and family as she is recognized for 40 years of service. Right: Catherine Yavinsky is surrounded by family and friends congratulating her on 40 years of service.

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Thank y ou!VolunteerSeth English was recognized for 500 hours of volunteer service.

Every day at work, Diane Ward connects with patients in her role as a radiation oncology nurse

at the Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center at Hartford Hospital. In her leisure time, she creates artwork that explores and celebrates such human interaction.

“I am an artist who also works as an oncology nurse,” Ward said. “My artwork, just like my work with patients, takes me out of myself and allows me to focus on something or someone else. When I am with patients, they are the center of my attention, and I give no thought to my own problems or stress-ors. It’s the same when I am working in my studio; the time flies by and I forget everything except the piece I am working on at that moment.”

Ward creates her mixed media art works primar-ily by layering papers on canvas, adding textures and natural elements and finally color that conveys the emotional content of each piece. 

“I experience great joy in creating art that ex-plores the connection people have with each other, with nature and with that universal force that has the power to transform our lives,” she said.

“Art helps us look at the world and look inside ourselves. It helps us grow, and appreciate what we have and what we want. My hope is to remind the viewer of something meaningful in his or her life.”

Ward is part of a group of nine women, called Syntax, who meet occasionally to critique each oth-ers’ work and exhibit as a group. They are having a group show at the Funky Monkey Cafe and Gallery in Cheshire until Sept. 29.

Two of Ward’s works have been accepted into the Connecticut Women Artists 83rd Annual Open Juried Exhibition at the Slater Memorial Museum in Nor-wich. That show will run until Sept. 28.

Ward has exhibited at several galleries in Con-necticut, and her work resides in private collections in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachu-setts and California. n

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Exploring Our Connections: Oncology Nurse or Artist? Diane Ward Is Both

1111

40 Years of Service Elsie Goddu, Nursing Administration Medicine

Joseph Klimek, Administration/General

Bruno Tedeschi, Food/Nutrition/Patient Tray

Service

35 Years of Service Leona Davey, Obstetrics/Bliss 6

Linda Freiman, Cardiology Service Bliss 10 ICU

Kathleen Noyes, Psych/Pre-admissions

Esteban Orozco, Engineering/Carpenters

30 Years of Service Mary Del Ciampo, Women’s Ambulatory

Health Service

Jose Henriquez, Radiology/General

Renee Lemay, Labor and Delivery

Maria Madeira, Post Anesthesia Care Unit

Janice Montano, Orthopedics CB6

Jane Willson, Labor and Delivery

25 Years of Service Deborah Bruno, Compliance Department

Debra Caldwell, Cafeteria/Vend Services

Frank Davis, Biomedical Engineering

Thomas Dutka, Engineering/Mechanical

Jason Ector, Surgical Service Bliss 9 ICU

Angel Nunez, Environmental Services

Lucia Ortiz, Surgical Service Bliss 8

Mary Santos, Surgical Service Short Stay

Dyanne Sullo, Emergency Room/General

Marc Thurston, Security

20 Years of Service Deborah Ailes, ERN - VNA Hartford

Marie Delaire, Food/Nutrition/Patient Tray

Service

Gina Glynn, Surgical Service Bliss 8

Pamela Gregg, Obstetrics/Bliss 6

Janet Jope, ERN - VNA Hartford

Carmelito Luna, PA Self Pay

Gilberto Maldonado, Environmental Services

Ferenc Osvald, Security

15 Years of Service Kathleen Burton, Surgical Service Bliss 9E

Rebbecca Calabrese, Department of Surgery

Maria Duarte, Surgical Service Bliss 8

John Grenier, Security

Cassy Griswold, Labor and Delivery

Carmen Lopez, PAS OP Registration

Theodore Mucha, Department of Psych/

Administration

Sherian Powell, Obstetrics/Bliss 6

Jennifer Sargent, Rehab Per Diem

Kathleen Vangelder, GI Endoscopy

10 Years of Service Olga Acosta, OPD/Surgical Clinic

Cheryl Budhoo, Environmental Services

Nancy Bustamante, Cardiology Service Bliss

10 ICU

Meredith Cantin, Labor and Delivery

Matthew Ciarlo, TODD Grant Program

Jill DeVane, Special Education/Hartford

Mary Fearon, Surgical Service Bliss 5

Daniel Fisher, Rehab Hartford - OP

Christine Hetrick-Shamasna, Donnelly 3N

Tammy Hubbard, Rehabiliatation/General

Merwood Jones, Women’s Ambulatory Health

Service

Orlando Kirton, Department of Surgery

David Larriviere, H I M/Coding

Teresa Listwan, PA Remit Processing

Mark Olson, IT/Client Infrastructure

Susan Palmer, Obstetrics/Bliss 6

Lisa Parris, Surgical Service C9I

Marjorie Reid, H I M/Administration

Michael Stevens, Neuropsychiatric Research

Jason Sutherland, Cardiac Rehab/Glastonbury

Amy Tarantino, Post Anesthesia Care Unit

5 Years of Service Delines Alarcon, Women’s Ambulatory Health

Service

Ruth Aubin, Radiology/CT Scan

Peter Beller, Women’s Ambulatory Health

Service

Jennifer Brooks, H I M/Clinical Documentation

Kenneth Bruno, Rehab Windsor-OP

Angel Class, Laundry/General

Ashley Collins, Medicine Service Bliss 11 ICU

Carolina Correia, Respiratory Care

David Cournoyer, STAR Team

Jared Crandon, Center for Anti-Infective

Research

Sara Cunha, Surgical Service Bliss 9 ICU

Karri Davis, Medicine Service Bliss 11E

Kelly Deforest, Department of Surgery

Socorro Deleon, Medicine Service Bliss 11 ICU

Roy Demma, Program/Recreation

Misty Durkee, Rehab Meriden-OP

Randolph Edwards, Department of Surgery

Lesia Fabrizi, Case Coordination

Juanita Frimpong, Surgical Service Bliss 7E

Victoria Furnelli, Department of Medicine/

Administration

Eric Geigle, Medical Education/Child Psychiatry

Robert Gondor, Respiratory Care

Kimelyn Greenwood, Surgical Service C9I

Jesselina Grider, Medical Education/Child

Psychiatry

Megan Haggett, Cardiology Service Bliss 10E

Jocelyn Harrison, Labor and Delivery

Robert Hay, Finance/Reimbursement

Anne Marie Jack, Surgical Service Bliss 5

Johanna Karbonic, Respiratory Care

Carl Kramer, Cardiac Laboratory/Adult

Allana Lee, Medical Education/Child Psychiatry

Daane Logsdon, Special Education/Cheshire

Carissa Marin, Cardiology Service North 10

Amy McCarthy, Medicine Service North 12

Dawn Morander, Medicine Service Bliss 11E

Deborah Nisotis, Electrophysiology

Malgorzata Panek, Cardiology Service -

North 10

Mary Kate Parker, Cardiology/Cardiac Surgery

Clinic

Karlene Parker-Nunes, Oncology Service CB2

Matthew Patient, Radiology/CT Scan

Francisco Ripepi, Institute Psychiatric Group

Brenden Riley, Finance/Professional Services

Administration

Joanne Rivera, HPHO-Administration General

Sonia Rivera, Pharmacy/General

Sara Sampson, WHS North 8

Renee Sandone, Cardiology Service Bliss 10E

Linda Shapcott, WH Surgery Center/Clinical

Gil Shlamovitz, Department of Emergency

Medicine

Kathleen Sidoti, Cardiology Service North 10

Debra Spencer, Operating Rooms/CORE

Ambulatory

Darcy Ulitsch, Department of Surgery

Jaclyn Wenzell, Surgical Service Bliss 8

William Wetherbee, Security

Debra Wright, Medicine Service Bliss 11E

Thomas Yahary, Security

Ewa Zagorska, Patient Service/SNF

Staff Members Recognized for Years of Service - July 2012

A Hartford HealthCare Partner

12

Staff Members Recognized for Years of Service A Hartford HealthCare Partner

July • 2012

Left to right: President Jeff Flaks with five-year award winners Darcy Ulitsch, Amy McCarthy, Debra Spencer, Angel Class, Kelly Deforest, Robert Hay, Jocelyn Harrison, Jared Crandon, Mary Kate Parker, Joanne Rivera and Jaclyn Wenzell.

Olga Acosta, Matthew Ciarlo, Marjorie Reid, Mark Olson, Lisa Parris and Susan Palmer celebrated 10 years of service.

Theodore Mucha, Carmen Lopez and Kathleen Vangelder have worked at Hartford Hospital for 15 years.

Newest members of the Quarter Century Club are Debra Caldwell, Thomas Dutka, Angel Nunez and Frank Davis.

Carmelito Luna, third from left, is congratulated for 20 years of service.

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A Hartford HealthCare Partner

Newest members of the Quarter Century Club are Debra Caldwell, Thomas Dutka, Angel Nunez and Frank Davis.

Carmelito Luna, third from left, is congratulated for 20 years of service.

Renee Lemay, Jane Willson and Janice Montano celebrated 30 years of service.

Esteban Orozco (center) is congratulated for 35 years of service by Mr. Flaks and P. Jay Bigelow, manager of the Carpentry Department.

Dr. Joseph Klimek celebrated 40 years of service to Hartford Hospital.

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Become a HHEESS* with YES**(*Hartford Hospital Employee Education Success Story, **Your Educational Success)

The YES program is now accepting applications!

uAre you a Hartford Hospital employee?

vAre you in good standing at work?

wDo you have a desire to start or finish college?

IF you answered YES to these questions, then now is the time to apply for the YES program.

YES is a 22-week course that will cover topics such as time management, breaking through

barriers, goal setting and follow through, math, grammar, and other college success skills. Stu-dents are required to obtain manager permission to enroll, and must attend classes at Hartford Hospital on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for three hours. YES students will also participate in a service project selected by Hartford Hospital. All accepted students will enroll in college and complete a three-credit college level class and a two-part college preparation course.

Classes will begin in mid-September.

The three-credit college course offered in combination with YES will be IDS105: Interdis-

ciplinary Studies for College Success. The course focuses on skills essential for college success. It is required for all new students in liberal arts and is recommended for all new students in the college. For a detailed description of learning outcomes and guidelines, visit this link: http://www.ccc.com-mnet.edu/protected/assessment/docs/ids_outline.pdf Applications for the YES program may be obtained by emailing Leticia Colon, community al-liances, at LLcolon@harthosp.org. Please use “YES application request” as the subject line. n

Research UpDATE

Additionally, David OSullivan, Ph.D., worked

with Angie Fleig, R.N., on an orthopedic nurs-

ing program based on an award-winning fall-

prevention project initiated by Women’s Health

Services; and Tara McLaughlin, Ph.D., worked

with Cindy Belonick, R.N., and her colleagues in

Nursing Education to evaluate a program fo-

cused on compassionate nursing.

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INTERNAL FUNDING UPDATE

The following investigators were supported

through the generosity of the Hartford Hospi-

tal Medical Staff for on-going projects and/or

protocol development. Analytic work and/or

consultation was provided by senior scientists

David OSullivan, Ph.D. and Ilene Staff, Ph.D.:

Maksim Agaronov, M.D. (Pathology): Immunohisto-chemical Expression of C-KIT and CK19 in Both Cytology and Surgical Specimens as a Prognostic Parameter for Pan-creatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasms

Hema Brazell, M.D. (Urogynecology): The National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported Boston Area Commu-nity Health (BACH) Survey: Pelvic Organ Prolapse in 3,205 women; Long Term Outcomes of Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) Procedures

Nora Lee, M.D. (Neurology): Variability In Stroke Out-comes Across The Population

Louise McCullough, M.D. (Neurology): Necessity of Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Tube Placement in Acute Ischemic Stroke in the Right versus Left Middle Cere-bral Artery Territory: Is there a difference?

Louise McCullough, M.D. (Neurology): Correlation of Severity of Outcomes of Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemor-rhage Patients with Hypothyroidism

Pavlos K. Papasavas, M.D. (Surgery): Simulated Patient Hand-Off Training For Surgical Residents

Judith Pepe, M.D. (Surgery): Attitudes of Health Care Workers Regarding Imminent Death Organ Donation

Cara Statz, Ph.D. (Heart Failure): End-stage Heart Fail-ure with Elevated AVP and /or Hyponatremia as a Potential New Target for Vasopressin V2 Receptor Blockade

Brent Suozzi, M.D. (Urogynecology): Does Visuo-Spa-tial Aptitude Correlate with Robotic Simulator Performance?

Nonprofit

Organization

U.S. POSTAGE

P A I D

Hartford, CT

Permit No. 4361

is published by the Planning & Market-ing Department each week – with a special expanded issue once a month.

Submissions should be sent to announcements@harthosp.org at least two weeks before the publication date using the submis-sion form found on the hospital Intranet under the Planning & Marketing Dept. (The web link for the form is: http://intranet.harthosp.org/hh/docs/2484). For questions or comments, please contact Annie Emanuelli at 860-545-2199. This publication is printed by Hartford Hospital’s Digital Print Center (DPC).

Address Service Requested

RxTra

New Hartford HealthCare Health Lab Opens at Connecticut Science CenterHartford HealthCare has partnered with the Connecticut Science Center to create one of the

nation’s most innovative and interactive health and wellness exhibits. The new Hartford HealthCare Health Lab opened at the Science Center on August 22. Here visitors can interact

with SimMan, a computer operated human patient simulator, which is used at Hartford Hospital to teach doctors and first responders to deal with different medical scenarios.

A Hartford HealthCare Partner

80 Seymour StreetHartford, CT 06102