July Message from Steven L. Strongwater, MD, CEO

The information below is an employee update of activities at Stony Brook University Medical Center prepared by Stony Brook University Hospital CEO, Steven L. Strongwater, MD. Dr. Strongwater distributes a monthly update which is sent to all hospital faculty and staff to communicate initiatives and activities undertaken at the Medical Center to reach goals in the areas of patient satisfaction, patient safety, and community connections.

Portrait of Dr. Strongwater

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July 2009

Stony Brook University Medical Center (SBUMC) begins a new fiscal year on
July 1, 2009. It is a great time to look back on the accomplishments of this past year and celebrate.

One of our most important accomplishments has been the recognition SBUMC received from the Hospital Association of New York State (HANYS). On June 24, SBUMC was awarded, for the second time, a prestigious Pinnacle Award (along with an additional other honorable mention, which we have received several times over the years). There are only four Pinnacle Awards given out annually in New York State. Unlike many other state awards, the New York State Pinnacle Award is particularly important because there are 14 medical school and affiliated hospitals that compete for these awards. Pinnacle Awards are judged by national experts.

SBUMC was awarded a Pinnacle for converting the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) into a high reliability unit. High reliability organizations (HROs) are places with failure free operation over time. If any of you or your family members have received care in the CICU, it is easy to understand why SBUMC won a Pinnacle. The CICU is a special place. Under the guidance of Dr. David Brown, Dr. William Greene, Dr. Allen Jeremias, Peg Duffy, RN, and Diane Marrone, RN, they have created an atmosphere characterized by remarkable teamwork, creativity, caring, and dedication. Becoming an HRO took more than a year of ongoing work supported by the Performance Improvement staff, particularly Lisa Sokoloff. SBUMC is now working to convert four more units to HRO status. Congratulations to all.

Also of note over the past year (a select listing):

The Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council selected Stony Brook University Medical Center to receive its inaugural “Excellence in Patient Safety Award,” recognizing Stony Brook’s distinguished achievements in patient safety and quality improvement in decreasing sepsis mortality.
Stony Brook University Medical Center’s “Code H Lifesaving Initiative Team” (a program to get patients rapidly in to the cardiac catheterization laboratory for lifesaving angioplasty) was recognized by Long Island Business News as the winner in the “Achievements in Healthcare” category.
SBUMC was ranked by University HealthSystem Consortium as 3rd out of 96 academic medical centers in the U.S. for the lowest overall cardiac mortality; 5th best out of 95 hospitals for lowest mortality following angioplasty; 10th best out of 96 hospitals for lowest mortality following acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), and 5th best out of 96 hospitals in the mortality of patients with congestive heart failure.
The University HealthSystem Consortium recognized SBUMC for having the second lowest risk-adjusted cardiac mortality nationally.
SBUMC was designated a UnitedHealth Premium Cardiac Specialty Center for 2007 to 2009.
An independent rating company of hospitals and physicians designated SBUMC a “Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence” in its 2009 ratings. This ranking is achieved by only 270 (i.e., about 5%) of the 4,971 hospitals that are reviewed. We excelled in the provision of care for cardiac and pulmonary conditions, being ranked #1 in New York State for Cardiac Services.
A “Coronary Intervention Excellence Award” was given by an independent health ranking company, which recognizes the caliber of cardiac care provided compared to all other hospitals in the nation.
The National Consensus Project (NCP) selected the Palliative Care program at SBUMC, Survivorship and Supportive Care, as recipient of the 2009 National Consensus Project Quality in Palliative Care Leadership Award.
An SBUMC Quality Improvement poster depicting the formation and workings of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) Family Advocacy Group was awarded first place recognition at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) annual meeting.
SBUMC was ranked in the top 4% nationwide for the lowest mortality for victims of injury according accordingly to the report, “Survival Measurement and Reporting Trial for Trauma” (SMARTT) by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Study.
SBUMC was recognized as being in the top 10 Percentile for HANYS Pinnacle Awards (Safety Awards). Awards presented at the Annual Meeting of the Hospital Association of New York State (HANYS) for achievement in the areas of “Reducing Complications in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit by Optimizing Nutrition and Growth,” and for “Increasing Detection and Standardizing Care for the Treatment of Severe Sepsis.”
SBUMC received the prestigious Ellison Pierce Patient Safety Award by the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation for its exhibit “Maternal Hemorrhage: A Proactive Multidisciplinary Approach to Reduce Mortality and Morbidity.”
The ALS Association has certified SBUMC’s ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) Comprehensive Care Center—the only one of its kind on Long Island—as its 34th Center of Excellence in the nation.
SBUMC received an Environmental Excellence Award from Practice Greenhealth, presented to healthcare facilities for transforming operations and for improving the environment in a cost conscious manner. Stony Brook was one of only two hospitals in New York to receive a “Partners for Change Award.”
SBUMC achieved a four-star rating for Quality and Accountability by the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), which places SBUMC at number 17 in the nation compared to the 102 UHC member academic medical centers.
SBUMC received the “Innovator of the Year Award” for Food Services.
SBUMC was recognized by the Red Cross for increasing blood donations.
SBUMC received an Organ Donor Medal of Honor from the Transplant Growth and Management Collaborative.
The SBUMC Renal Transplant Service received “Referral to Listing Award” (for achieving a significant decrease in the median referral-to-listing time from a high of 394 days in June 2007 to 45 days in August 2008); “Transplant Volume Award” (for being one of only five centers in the country to achieve a greater than 20% increase in volume of deceased donor transplants); and one of only seven centers to receive the Transplant Growth and Management “Overall Achievement Award.”
Advance, a national Nursing Journal, recognized Stony Brook University Medical Center in its annual Reader’s Choice awards with four out of five “top picks” based upon quality of care, organizational culture, communication, professional development, and retention efforts. SBUMC Nursing was also recognized as one of the best in the NY/NJ region in the category of retention of RNs.
The Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) recognized Stony Brook University Medical Center as a leader in patient quality and safety for its participation in the Ventilator Associated Pneumonia Prevention Project.
SBUMC received renewal of our Advanced Certification for its Stroke Program.
SBUMC received the Bronze Award from the American Stroke Association, the first level award, for “Get with the Guidelines-Stroke” program.
The Rapid Response Team Task Force was recognized by President Shirley Strum Kenny at the University Convocation and received the 2008 President’s Award.
On September 5, SBUMC passed a vigorous re-accreditation review to remain certified as a Chest Pain Center. Stony Brook was the first and remains the only Chest Pain Center on Long Island and sixth Chest Pain Center in the State of New York to be accredited by the Society of Chest Pain Centers.
A poster submitted by the Sepsis Steering Committee highlighting SBUMC efforts to decrease sepsis mortality received the “2008 Quality Award for Merit” from the New York Presbyterian Healthcare System.
Lawrence Hurst, MD, Marie Badalamente, PhD, and Edward Wang, MD, were the recipients of the 2009 Orthopaedic Research Foundation/Kappa Delta Sorority/American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Clinical Research Award. This award recognizes the work they have done in the past ten years on the use of collagenase in the treatment of Dupuytren’s contracture (a disease where the fingers bend towards the palm and cannot be fully extended/straightened) and the use of collagenase for the treatment of frozen shoulder.
Under the leadership of Jonathan M. Buscaglia, MD, Stony Brook’s Endoscopy Unit has been designated a “Recognized Endoscopy Unit” by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) for a period of three years.
SBUMC’s Pediatric Echocardiography Laboratory was accredited for Pediatric Transthoracic and Fetal Echocardiography by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories (ICAEL).
The American Board of Pediatrics recognized SBUMC’s Cystic Fibrosis Center’s success in improving care for patients.
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) invited SBUMC to submit a summation on its efforts to achieve tight glucose control for publication on its “Success Story” Web site. SBUMC was recognized as a leader in glucose control among the 30 participating Critical Care Learning Collaborative Hospitals.
SBUMC’s Radiation Oncology Medical Physics Residency Program is now one of only a handful of programs in the U.S. to receive full accreditation from the internationally recognized American Radiology Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Educational Programs (CAMPEP).
An independent rating company of hospitals and physicians recognized SBUMC with a 2009/2010 “Women’s Health Excellence” Award. SBUMC was within the top 5% of hospitals nationwide for women’s services.
Stony Brook took top honors at the 2009 “Best on Long Island (BOLI) Awards,” where SBUMC’s “Best Ideas in Medicine” advertising campaign was named Best in Category (the highest recognition awarded) for the “Institutional Advertising Campaign of the Year.” The campaign features print, television, radio, and Web site advertising.
SBUMC’s Cancer Services Program received the 2008 American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer “Outstanding Achievement Award.”
SBUMC’s Carol M. Baldwin Breast Care Center was the first in New York State to receive accreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Care Centers (NAPBC). The NAPBC granted a three-year full accreditation, citing compliance with all 27 standards and no deficiencies.
“Best Ideas in Medicine,” the Medical Center’s advertising campaign was also recognized at the Aster Awards, an elite competition honoring the nation’s most talented healthcare marketing professionals for outstanding excellence in advertising. SBUMC received Gold Awards in the categories of “Total Advertising Campaign” and “Web site/Microsite” and Silver Awards in the categories of “Newspaper Advertising Series” and “Newspaper Advertising Single” for the NICU ad.

External recognition is important. It reflects an appreciation by our peers for the work our staff does every day. As important, it is one of the few objective ways the community can learn how seriously we take our responsibility to provide quality care for our patients. SBUMC care is an integral part of the quality of life in Suffolk County.

We celebrate the many accomplishments of this past year. Thank you all for your ongoing commitment to excellence at SBUMC. Congratulations to all!

STONY BROOK PRIDE
SBUMC passes Joint Commission survey with flying colors. Our latest Joint Commission survey, conducted June 15 through June 19, was a resounding success! As many as seven surveyors spent a week visiting every clinical area in the Hospital and many of our off-site practices, a building engineer checked our safety records and toured the building, and a behavioral health surveyor spent a day at our continuing day treatment program. They interviewed staff, reviewed medical records, spoke with patients, inspected our food and environmental services, evaluated our human resource and credentialing activities, reviewed our quality program, observed staff at work, and after a week of activity came away with nothing but the highest praise. Their only findings related to clutter in the hallways, prohibited abbreviations, and untimed entries in the medical record, which we will work to improve. It was noted that this is the smallest number of findings for a medical center our size that this survey team ever encountered. The surveyors were especially impressed by our staff’s compassion, expertise, and commitment to improve the quality of care provided to our patients. In fact, according to the lead surveyor, we were among the best the team has ever seen. The surveyors asked us to provide them with various policies and forms that were deemed best practices, with the intention of sharing with other organizations. Congratulations to all on a job well done!

Cardiac Intensive Care Unit wins HANYS Pinnacle Award. The award was given for SBUMC’s excellent work on creating a High Reliability Unit in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU). The Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Team has been working since January 2008 to introduce the principles of high reliability organizations (HROs). A second submission titled, “First Do No Harm: A Journey to High Reliability” scored in the top ten percent of the HANYS Pinnacle applications and received an Honorable Mention. Congratulations to the CICU HRO multidisciplinary team and the staff of the CICU for all of their work and progress.

SBUMC physicians are named to New York Magazine’s 2009 Best Doctors list. Several of Stony Brook’s outstanding physicians are included in this year’s New York Magazine’s Best Doctors List. Each year, New York City research and information company Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. publishes a guidebook titled Top Doctors: New York Metro Area, listing doctors they have determined to be in the top 10 percent of the region’s physicians—more than 6,000 in all. New York Magazine provides a shorter version for its “Best Doctors” issue. Congratulations to our colleagues who were selected and named to this year’s list!
Carole Agin, Pain Medicine; Mary Andriola, Child Neurology; David Baker, Obstetrics and Gynecology; Thomas Biancaniello, Pediatric Cardiology; David Brown, Cardiovascular Disease; Lev Chernobilsky, Pediatrics; Alexander Dagum, Plastic Surgery; Raphael Davis, Neurological Surgery; Dorothy Lane, Preventive Medicine; Brian O’Hea, Surgery; Robert Parker, Pediatric Hematology-Oncology; Michael Poon, Cardiovascular Disease; Lesley Rechter, Family Medicine; Michael Richheimer, Allergy and Immunology; Todd Rosengart, Thoracic Surgery; Deborah Weisbrot, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Thomas Wilson, Pediatric Endocrinology; and Michael Zema, Cardiovascular Disease.

SBUMC wins national award for environmental achievement. Stony Brook was honored with a “Partner for Change Award” from Practice Greenhealth, a national membership organization for healthcare facilities committed to environmentally responsible operations. The award recognizes healthcare facilities that continuously improve and expand upon their mercury elimination, waste reduction, and pollution prevention programs. The Award Committee was especially impressed with Stony Brook’s establishment of a green team, energy conservation measures, pharmaceutical waste program, environmental stewardship programs, and medical equipment reprocessing.

Pediatric Kidney Transplantation poster receives recognition. Drs. Frank Darras, Wayne Waltzer, and Dilys Whyte made an award-winning presentation, titled, “Pediatric Deceased Donor Prednisone-Free Renal Transplantation with Campath Induction” at the American Transplant Congress (ATC) in Boston on June 2. The poster was awarded a ribbon as an ATC Poster of Distinction, placing it in the top 10 percent of all posters presented at the meeting.

High ratings for SBUMC on new CMS data reporting. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has recently begun publishing on its “hospital compare” Web site (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov) hospital-specific, risk-adjusted 30-day mortality rates and 30-day readmission rates for CMS (Medicare) patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), congestive heart failure (CHF), and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). For the period July 2005 through June 2008, SBUMC staff and physicians achieved outstanding results in these new data. The 30-day risk-standardized (adjusted) mortality rates for both AMI and CAP were significantly and substantially better than the national average. For AMI, we were one of less than 120 such hospitals (out of about 3,000 nationally) and for CAP, one of about 200 hospitals (out of 4,000 nationally) with such results.

A successful grass roots effort to benefit children with cancer. Debra Giugliano and Nicole Gutman were elected to the Executive Board of the Association of Pediatric Hematology Oncology Educational Specialists (APHOES)—Debra as Vice President and Nicole as Secretary. This organization is multidisciplinary with members from across the country. Debra, Nicole, and colleagues worked diligently over the past four years to establish a collaboration among a group of individuals dedicated to the educational and academic needs of children with cancer and blood disorders.

Adriann Combs, RNC, receives the L. Stanley James Award. Adriann, Perinatal Outreach Coordinator for SBUMC, received the award from the New York State Perinatal Association, the NYSPA’s highest honor. Nomination and selection criteria include a sustained history of unique and exceptional contributions to the field of maternal and child health in areas such as scientific medical research, clinical care, legislative initiative, and/or patient advocacy. Congratulations!

Administrative Fellow continues second year. Maria Smeraldi, the current Administrative Fellow, will spend her second Fellowship year working as the Interim Administrative Director for the Department of Pediatrics, reporting to the Chair, Dr. Margaret McGovern. Maria has made a positive impact at Stony Brook in her work chairing the Taskforce Assessing Language Knowledge (TALK) Committee, providing oversight and support in Breast Cancer Operations, and having significant involvement in the Throughput Committee, in addition to her learning rotations throughout the major hospital areas and services.

PATIENT SAFETY
SBUMC is spotlighted in NAHQ e-news. The National Association for Healthcare Quality, in the June installment of its online newsletter, “NAHQ e-news,” features SBUMC’s presentation, “Decreasing Sepsis Mortality at an Academic Medical Center,” in its “Spotlight” section. In the article, Dr. William Greene and Christine McMullan explain how the Medical Center, in conjunction with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the Surviving Sepsis Campaign of the Society for Critical Care Medicine, reduces sepsis mortality. Visit www.nahq.org/enews.

SBUMC to present “First Do No Harm: Journey to High Reliability.” As part of our journey to high reliability, we are striving on many fronts to reduce risk and enhance patient safety. We are invited to present our “First Do No Harm…” poster at the Eighth National Quality Colloquium on the campus of Harvard University in August. The poster focuses on the multiple approaches to proactive risk assessment including the use of Modified Early Warning Systems, Rapid Response teams, and FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) blitzes.

Focusing on Core Measures. The Division of Medical and Regulatory Affairs hosted a Core Measures Festival, which included an Administrative Grand Rounds and a display in the Galleria. Grand Rounds featured a panel discussion, moderated by Dr. William Greene, on the current and future status of core measures for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), congestive heart failure (CHF), community acquired pneumonia (CAP), pediatric asthma, and surgical care infection prevention (SCIP). Panelists, including Dr. Hal Skopicki, Dr. Richard Dickinson, Dr. Marc Shapiro, Dr. Luis Gruberg, Dr. Maribeth Chitkara, Dr. Shai Gavi, Peg Duffy, and Katherine Holzmacher shared their perspectives on the progress being made with core measures, and opportunities for improvement and using technology to improve compliance and focus on systematic deployment of processes for higher reliability. Posters displayed in the Galleria depicted the current core measure data for each of the sets as well as information about composite scores, the impact on reimbursement, and the proliferation of public report cards.

A perfect score for SBUMC’s CMS validation rate. Decision Support Services just received a perfect validation rate for its Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) core measure chart abstractions for Quarter 3, 2008. These scores reflect the accuracy, reliability, and integrity of the data submitted for regulatory purposes and also impacts financial reimbursement. Congratulations to all who continue to do a wonderful job in collecting, organizing, and submitting these data.

Laboratory serves as College of American Pathologists Inspection Team. As part of its commitment to the College of American Pathologists (CAP) Accreditation program, the Department of Laboratories CAP Inspector Team performed a two-day CAP inspection of the Quest Diagnostics facility in Pittsburgh, PA. This involved a vigorous effort of reviewing standards promulgated by the College of American Pathologists and ensuring that accredited laboratories follow guidelines.

SBUMC excels in radiation safety. A recent NYS Department of Health Bureau of Environmental Radiation Protection inspection at SBUMC resulted in an excellent review. This success is due in large part to the efforts of the Medical Center’s radiation safety program, Edward J. O’Connell as Director of Radiation Safety and Chair of the Radiation Safety Committee, and the Medical Physics team consisting of Mike Bonvento (Radiology), Nand Relan (Nuclear Medicine), and Josh Xu, PhD (Radiation Oncology).

Crew Resource Management initiative continues to progress. Several interdisciplinary teams from Vascular Surgery, Obstetrics, and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit participated in a two-day training program focused on how to utilize Crew Resource Management (CRM) in healthcare settings with the use of checklists, protocols, and additional tools to ensure successful, effective, and safe communication among the healthcare team. In the near future, a plan will be implemented to begin CRM simulation training, which will be geared specifically for the services involved in the pilot program. Eventually, the pilot will be replicated in additional Hospital departments.

The Quality Assessment Review Board meets. The Quality Assessment Review Board met on June 23, where Dr. Strongwater presented an overview of federal healthcare reform proposals and the potential impact on the community. Ronnie McKinnon discussed patient safety organizations and patient safety reporting, and Dr. Michael Poon provided an overview of cardiac CT angiography.

PATIENT SATISFACTION
Maps are now available to help patients and visitors. In response to patient feedback, SBUMC has developed maps of Levels 4 and 5, available at the Information Desk, to help patients and visitors find their way throughout the Hospital. Additional pieces are being created which will include information such as frequently asked questions and visiting hours to make it easier for our patients and visitors.

Mother expresses gratitude for care her daughter received. Agnes Ann Pepe, the mother of Joanna Rosen, a patient who was cared for in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, donated an original painting titled, “The Butterfly Girl” as a “thank you” to the entire PICU staff. Appreciation was expressed also in a plaque that reads, in part, “Each and every one of you is the reason my daughter is alive today. You saved her life.”

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
The Brady William Russell Laboratory is dedicated. Devoted to research in neonatal lung development, the Laboratory, in the Department of Pediatrics, was dedicated on June 19. The Brady William Russell Memorial Fund, established through the private support of the family and friends of Brady William Russell, and a $250,000 grant made possible through the leadership of New York State Senator John Flanagan, was established in 2006 to conduct research into neonatal complications from high-risk pregnancies, premature birth, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). For more information or to make a gift, contact the Stony Brook University Medical Center Advancement Office at 444-2899 or go to www.stonybrook.edu/giving and include the name of the Brady Russell Memorial Fund.

H1N1/Swine Flu update. SBUMC continues to monitor the activity of Swine-Origin Influenza A (S-OIV) H1N1. The activated Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) brings hospital leadership together regularly on the issue, in order to coordinate the implementation of appropriate portions of SBUMC’s Pandemic Influenza plan.

E-mail updates are provided to faculty and staff as needed. Employees can speak with their department manager for up-to-date information. HICS has also developed a single source of information for Medical Center faculty, staff, and students. Links to important public health sites, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, can also be found here. Please refer to the home page of the Hospital Intranet and select the "H1N1 (Swine) Flu Update" button.

To keep current on county-wide statistics, visit the Suffolk County Department of Health Services’ Web site, www.suffolkcountyny.gov/departments/healthservices/H1N1.aspx. For updates from the New York State Department of Health, please see
www.nyhealth.gov/diseases/communicable/influenza/seasonal/swine_flu/index.htm. For further information regarding definitions of confirmed, probable, and suspect cases, visit www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/casedef.htm

CEO Town Hall Meeting goes “high tech.” Throughout his tenure as Hospital CEO, Dr. Steven Strongwater has held a series of Town Hall Meetings to communicate with employees and keep them informed. With the availability of new video teleconferencing equipment, the latest, held on June 29 to discuss such timely topics as Obama Healthcare Reform, Budget Reductions, Parking at the Medical Center, was presented with a “high tech” approach. In addition to two live and “in person” presentations, the 12:30 pm Town Hall was video streamed to several locations, including the HSC, the CEO Suite, Radiation Oncology, 16 South, 14 North, Pharmacy, the GCRC, Biomedical Engineering, Ambulatory Surgery Center, Ambulatory Care Pavilion, Tech Park, and Flowerfield. Employees were invited to e-mail questions to Dr. Strongwater and Senior Executive Group members during the broadcast.

Students’ philanthropic gift is a first at SBU. Stony Brook University Medical Center opened a new cryopreservation laboratory dedicated to advancing research of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and other neuromuscular diseases. The dedication of the lab on June 8 was a hallmark moment in educational philanthropy and a first at Stony Brook University, as the Medical Center and University recognized a group of Northport High School students who contributed $125,000 to the opening of the lab.

SBUMC hosts 5th Annual National Cancer Survivors Day®. Approximately 400 people—survivors; volunteers including staff, family, and friends; guests, physicians, nurses, and staff came out to support our patients and celebrate cancer survivorship. Through the efforts of many, the day was truly fun-filled, with balloons, face-painting, music and entertainment, giveaways for the kids, food and drink, and games including the popular “Dunk-a-Doc” and “Chemo Bag Toss,” and the traditional Survivors Parade. Thanks to Linda Bily and all who played a part in making this day so special.

“Ride For Life” raises $65,000 to support the ALS Comprehensive Care Center. On May 16, Chris Pendergast, founder of Ride for Life, a non-profit organization that raises funds to support amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patient services and research, presented a check to the ALS Comprehensive Care Center. At the ceremony, the ALS Association, a national organization that funds ALS research and oversees qualified ALS clinics, designated the ALS Center at SBUMC as the first nationally certified center on Long Island.

“Meeting of the Minds” is a success. The second annual Meeting of the Minds symposium was held in June at Gurney’s Inn in Montauk. Two hundred people attended, including cardiologists and specialists from across the country. The symposium brought together leaders in the field of cardiovascular medicine to discuss and debate issues through the prism of quantifiable outcomes and evidence-based medicine. Led by physicians from Stony Brook University School of Medicine and Stony Brook University Medical Center, the two-day symposium focused on the institutions’ emphasis on science, research, and education, while also including the expertise of other nationally recognized authorities serving on the faculty.

SBUMC experts talk wellness on WALK Radio (97.5 FM). In the past two months, Stony Brook physicians have been interviewed on WALK radio to share healthcare information with local listeners. In May, Dr. Candice Perkins and Dr. Henry Woo spoke about stroke symptoms, treatments, and risk reduction. In June, Dr. Wayne Waltzer discussed prostate health, screenings, and the latest treatment options for patients with prostate cancer. Later in June, Dr. Brian O’Hea discussed the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Care Center receiving a three-year full accreditation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, and the fact that the Center is the first in New York State to receive national accreditation.

NBC spotlights Stony Brook’s PAR FORE program during U.S. Open coverage. On Sunday morning, June 21, a 3-minute segment (previously filmed at the HSC) featured Clinical Assistant Professor Alexander Lopez and the PAR FORE (Perseverance, Accountability, Resiliency, Fellowship, Opportunity, Respect, and Empowerment) program he helped develop with colleagues from the School of Health Technology and Management’s Occupational Therapy Program. Through the program, Stony Brook University students mentor at-risk youngsters to teach group and individual life skills, including such things as anger management, anti-bullying, time management, and other skills fundamental to adult success and the acquisition of healthy occupations. The game of golf is used as a medium for developing these essential life skills. To learn more, visit www.parfore.org.

Laboratory staff participates in Expo. Ten staff members from the Laboratories Department participated in the School Health Technology and Management’s Clinical Laboratory Expo. Also participating were staff from local hospitals, laboratories, and vendors. Approximately 200 visitors attended the lectures, talked with exhibitors, and discussed careers in laboratory science with SBUMC representatives.

SBUMC has a presence at Career Day. Michele Gilleeny-Blabac, Laboratory Quality Systems Manager, represented Stony Brook at Longwood Middle School’s Career Day. She provided information about the Clinical Laboratory Sciences profession to approximately 200 fifth-grade students, and spoke to students about testing for swine flu, parasitology, and Lyme disease.

Speech Pathology makes presentation. On June 12 in the Health Sciences Center, Speech Pathology provided its first presentation aimed at educating Hospital and community service providers. The topic was assessment and treatment of dysphagia resulting from pulmonary and neurologic disorders and cancer.

Upcoming Events
"SBUMC events offered throughout the year provide important healthcare education and screenings to the community; raise funds to support a variety of efforts, including patient care and research; or celebrate people, causes, and milestones. For details about the many activities and events taking place throughout each month, visit the SBUMC Web site at StonyBrookMedicalCenter.org, and at the top go to “In the Community,” then select “Calendar of Events.” Some events coming up in July are the Kids Health & Safety Expo, July 8; Keep It Moving, July 18; the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund Annual Celebrity Golf Outing, July 20; and the Pediatric MS Summer Soiree, July 29."

Last Touch
Have you ever met someone who believes they are perfect? I’m sure we have all come into contact with individuals who believe they are always right, and never wrong. We all know that being right all the time is rare, if not impossible.

It is incredibly difficult to reason with someone who thinks they are always or absolutely right; you can’t get a word in edgewise. And the most frustrating aspect is that even if this person is as confident as can be in his or her convictions, if there is no absolute evidence, it’s impossible to verify if they are actually right. Meaning, they’re probably wrong. And at times, it is very difficult to discern when a person is simply over confident, or if they’re indeed right. One negative experience can result in loss of credibility for that person forever. What I think we can all agree on is that someone who believes he or she is right all the time is annoying at best—dangerous at worst.

Then there are times when you desperately want someone to be right, perhaps because you need to lean on his or her strength (like when being confronted with good or bad news). But what is it that we expect when the person who is presumed to be right makes a mistake? What should he or she do? Is an apology an admission of failure, or is it the right thing to do?

Knowing how to admit you have been wrong is important. It is a life skill that we don’t always get right. Pride and righteous indignation prevent us from admitting we were not right. Sometimes we are just so embarrassed that we cannot admit we were wrong.

Knowing how to apologize is a valuable skill for healthcare providers. Patients pose a lot of questions to us. Often, they are looking for answers to challenging questions, perhaps a literal lifeline. They want to believe what we say. And sometimes, we don’t take this responsibility as seriously as we should. Our answers are sometimes light (“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine), or glib (“How should I know?”). Patients’ questions expose their vulnerabilities and fears. Our answers need to be supportive, serious, and sincere.

What role, if any, does humility—the modest opinion of one’s own importance or rank—play in all of this? We can all use a little more humility at times, even, or especially when we are performing at the highest level. Which brings me to my next point…and it is difficult to be humble about this, but I will try.

June was an amazing month at SBUMC. The Joint Commission review went better than anyone could have hoped, although there is not much I can say at this time because the review results are embargoed until officially posted to the Joint Commission Web site. What I can say is that everyone pulled together as a team. We shined. The daily summary updates by unit were instructive and informative, and a true indication that hard work pays off. We were ready. Add to this the fact that we scored above the state average in six categories on an annual report card released by Niagara Health Quality Coalition—the most of any Long Island hospital (as reported in Newsday last month), and we can be very proud of ourselves.

Yet, if there were ever a time to be humble, it is now. I, for one, am humbled by your dedication to excellence and your desire to provide the best care for our patients and their families. I see it every day, I read about it in letters from patients’ families praising you for taking good care of their loved ones.

I receive other letters, too, letters that are difficult to read, highlighting, for example, lack of communication and concerns about getting straightforward answers to serious questions or recounting the problem of multiple answers or advice to the same patients. This is a real problem. As much as anything, it reflects our shortcomings with respect to internal communication. We need to do a much better job of coordinating what and how we say things to our patients. And when we don’t get it precisely right, we need to channel humility and apologize, to benefit the health of our patients.

Yes, we performed well; yes, we have achieved much as highlighted in the mention of honors, awards, and recognitions received over the past year. We have come a long way; we have a long way to go to reach our ultimate goal: high reliability–to be error free over time.

You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.
—Michael Jordan

If I only had a little humility, I'd be perfect.
—Ted Turner

True wisdom lies in gathering the precious things out of each day as it goes by.
—E.S. Bouton

Thanks for your help as we work toward an even better system of care.

Steven L. Strongwater, MD
CEO, Stony Brook University Hospital

Patients First—World-Class Processes—Teamwork—Growth—Use Resources Wisely

Last updated by Webmaster on July 17, 2009

July Message from Steven L. Strongwater, MD, CEO

Stony Brook University Medical Center

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