RxTraApril 9, 2012 • Vol. 68 No. 12

A publication for the staff of Hartford Hospital

Fulfilling a Patient’s Last Wish:Helping Mrs. Okonkwo

Get Back to Africa

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For Mrs. Bridget Nwofulanu Okonkwo, a 79-year-old cardiac patient who was a patient at Hartford Hospital for five weeks last fall, home

was the small African village of Nimo in Nigeria. From the time of her admission, her one and only wish was to return to her beloved home-land. Mrs. Okonkwo – or Mama Igna as she was known to her three chil-dren and 14 grandchildren – was born in Nigeria in 1932, and spent most of her life there. It was a hard life – filled with caring for a husband who was paralyzed early in life; being the sole breadwinner for her three chil-dren and aging mother-in-law; fleeing her home with her family in the 1960s during the genocide and a devastating civil war in Nigeria; strug-gling to find food and just stay alive. But despite the hardships, Mrs. Okonkwo loved her country. She tack-led social and political causes; she was well-known as a great and gener-ous hostess to many people in the Igbo tribe, who were welcomed into her home when they were passing through the village. She worked as a seamstress and started a successful canteen and trading business. She was a force of nature. When she was 69, Mrs. Okonkwo was visiting her son Ignatius and his wife Helen in Hartford, when a routine medical check-up showed that she had a leaky heart valve. Her condition was effectively managed with

Fulfilling a Patient’s

Last Wish:Helping Mrs.

Okonkwo Get

Back to Africa

medication until 2007, when surgi-cal intervention was deemed nec-essary. That’s when Mrs. Okonkwo first came to Hartford Hospital. She had valve replacement surgery here, which was very suc-cessful. Mrs. Okonkwo traveled back and forth between the United States and Nigeria for four years, and her medical condition was maintained. In October of 2010, she suffered a major heart attack in Africa, and came back to the United States for treatment with her Hartford Hospital cardiologist, Dr. Dariush Owlia. In January of 2011, she in-sisted on going home to Nigeria. Dr. Owlia spoke by phone with her doctor in Africa and gave him

recommendations on her continu-ing care. But his recommendations were not followed, and by July, Mrs. Okonkwo’s condition had deteriorated until it became life threatening. After seeking treatment in three hospitals in Nigeria that were not able to treat her, she was rushed back to the US, where she was met by her family at JFK. They headed for Hartford, but made it only as far as Yale New Haven before they were forced to stop for emergency care. Mrs. Okonkwo’s leg was amputated there at Yale. She was discharged from Yale after a six-week stay, and went to a rehab facility.

From there she was admitted to Hartford Hospital and was a patient of the Cardiology Hospital-ist Service on Center 10, and Bliss 11 step down, for five weeks. “Over the course of a nurse’s career, there are always a few patients that stand out as memo-rable,” said Kerry McGuire, APRN from cardiology. “I’ve been a nurse for 32 years, and Mrs. Okonkwo is one of the patients I will always remember. She touched my heart because of her strength and deter-mination to get back to her home-land. Her will was so strong and her family so determined to honor her wishes.”

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When she was first admitted, Mrs. Okonkwo was on the verge of death from heart failure. Two meetings were held with Pallia-tive Care to define goals of care. “It was apparent from these meetings that the goal was to help Mrs. Okonkwo get back to Nige-ria,” McGuire said. “Her son Igna-tious said to me, ‘My mother has suffered so much in her life. I just want to give her what she wants. And all she wants is to go home.’ I promised him that I would help.” Mrs. Okonkwo was here for five weeks, as the staff worked to manage her symptoms and get her stabilized, always with the goal of getting her back to Nige-ria. She was in constant pain, and struggled to breathe even when just sitting up in a chair or eating a meal. Mrs. Okonkwo’s care was truly a team effort.

“On Center 10, the manager, Ann Vale and the nurses are amaz-

ing: very caring and very smart,” McGuire said. “They did a remark-able job caring for Mrs. Okonkwo and her family.”

The staff consulted

with Dr. Barbara Jacobs and Dr. Evan Fox from the ethics team, and with risk management to make sure that what we were do-ing was in Mrs. Okonkwo’s best interest. “Since she didn’t speak much English, we needed to be sure we were clear about her final wishes and the safety of proceeding with the plan,” McGuire said. “Our con-cerns included whether or not the trip back to Africa was too medi-cally risky. How would she toler-ate the car trip to JFK followed by the extended flight? What if she died on the plane in the middle of that 12-hour flight? The ethics team helped us work through all these issues.” Working As A Team Phyllis DeMaine, the case coor- dinator on Center 10, was invalu-able in making this plan become a reality. She ordered equipment and obtained the supplies that would be needed for the long trip back to Africa. She was able to identify potential problems and gather resources and equipment

that would help to avert disaster. Additionally, Carol Manseau from the pulmonary rehab team worked with Mrs. Okonkwo’s family, teaching them to use an oxy-gen concentrator on the plane. After being here for a month, Mrs. Okonkwo was medically stabilized. The day came, and she was discharged with the intention of making the drive to the airport and then taking the

long trip home to Nigeria. She didn’t make it to JFK.

It was a rainy Friday afternoon and the traffic was horrible. When her son realized they would not make it to the airport in time for the flight, they turned around and came back to Hartford Hospital. She was readmitted, and then discharged again several days lat-er. This time, they made it almost to JFK when the airline called and notified them that the flight was canceled due to mechanical dif-ficulties. Again, they came back to Hartford Hospital. By this time, Mrs. Okonkwo had really deteriorated medically. “Honestly, I did not think she was going to make it home,” Mc-Guire said. It took about 10 days after that failed second attempt to get her stabilized again. She was started on a new medication on the Saturday before her anticipated Monday discharge, and it worked really well.

Mrs. Okonkwo’s son Ignatious wrote a letter to thank every-one at Hartford Hospital for the care shown to his mother. It reads in part:

“I do not know how to begin to thank the Hartford

Hospital administrators and staff for the great work you

all did for us in taking care of our beloved mother.

There is no way we can articulate the feelings in

our heart when we revisit all that had transpired

since 2007 when our mother was admitted for the

first time at Hartford Hospital. Your staff was

wonderful. Every step of the way, your care team

exceeded all our expectations.

When it became apparent that things were getting very

bad, our mother’s only wish was to be able to go back to

her village. Your team made it happen. They stepped up

and assured Mama that they would do all they could to

make sure she gets back to Nigeria safely. And yes! Your

team did it!

She was very grateful to be back home. Her relations

were pleased to welcome her back.

We want you all to know that she was continuous-

ly talking about the wonderful care and love she received

from Hartford Hospital staff. She never stopped talking

about the nurse that worked tirelessly to keep her warm on

a night she was feeling very cold, and about Kerry and her

team that continuously worked to adjust her medication.

Thank you Hartford Hospital team! We are eternally

grateful to you all.

We pray and strongly believe that somehow, some day,

we will be able to give back to a great hospital that dem-

onstrated what providing quality medical care and overall

human care (spirit, mind, soul and body) is all about.”

“By Monday morning, she looked like a different per-son,” McGuire said. “She was sitting up in a chair, and she was alert and smiling. For the first time in five weeks, we felt we got a glimpse into her real personality. And, she was ready to go home.” Third Time’s The Charm Mrs. Okonkwo was dis-charged for the third time on October 24. As the family was leaving, her son was on the phone with the doctor in Africa, and the staff was providing information on her condition and treatment. “We told him what medi-cation she was on, and the doctor said it was going to be difficult to get in Nigeria,” said McGuire. “So we got a bag from the pharmacy for them to take with them.” That night, Mrs. Okonk-wo and her son took off on the long-awaited flight.

He called McGuire the next morning to report they had gotten there safely.

“Ignatius said his moth-er was so happy and

grateful when that plane touched down on African soil,” McGuire said. “She had made it back to her beloved homeland. Although she was in physical pain, she was spiritually at peace.” Mrs. Okonkwo passed away 36 days after her return to the country she loved so much. She was surrounded by her loving family. Photographs provided by her family show the out-pouring of love and respect she was shown at the elabo-rate funeral in her village. “It was an extraordinary end of life for an extraor-dinary lady,” McGuire said. “And we are so glad we were able to be a part of making it happen according to her wishes.” n

The Okonkwo family attended a Management Forum meeting at which Kerry McGuire (third from right) shared the

story of helping get their mother back to Africa. They are joined by team members who cared for Mrs. Okonkwo.

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40 Years of Service Ruth Newell, Labor and Delivery

35 Years of Service David Cole, IS/Clinical Integration

Benjamin Diaz, IS/Operations

Charles McDonald, Biomedical

Engineering

Gregory Melnyk, Pharmacy/General

John Wrobel, Engineering/Administration

30 Years of Service Norman Cote, Donnelly 3N

Buja Sohn, Operating Rooms/CORE

Ambulatory

Peter Zagaja, Radiology

25 Years of Service Carolyn Bauer, WHS North 8

Debra Gemski, Assessment Center

Sharon Gerent, Patient Accounts/

Administration

Lisa LeConche, RC Revenue Cycle IT Paul Maloney, Administration/General

Tammy Weirs, Research Office

20 Years of Service Carol Bourque, IS/Electronic Health

Record Adalgisa Frias, Obstetrics/Bliss 6

Josephine Miano, Information Services Leonard Simmons, Security

15 Years of Service Linda Adams, Research Office

Gertrude Anisyk, Obstetrics/Bliss 6

Deborah Lamarr, Department of Surgery

Amelia Lensink, Operating Rooms

Charlotte Meucci, Congestive Heart

Failure

Claudy Torres-Ochoa, OPD/Adult

Primary Care

10 Years of Service Daisy Arocho, O.R. Assistive Personnel

John Banta, OPD/Surgical Clinic

Xenia Caballero, Womens’ Ambulatory

Health Services

Kelly Generis, PAS Financial Clearance

Laura Hintz, Fund Development/Major

Laura Jenner, Department of Orthopedics

Rebecca Joiner, Surgical Service Bliss 5

Yadira Maldonado, PA Financial

Assistance

Nancy March, Donnelly 1N

Vincente Medina, Environmental

Services/General

Stanislawa Olender, Orthopedics CB6

Daniela Pratt, Department Of Urology Maureen Riback, Planning

Harold Springer, Engineering/Mechanical

Sheena Wallman, Accounting/

Disbursements

Diane Wilson, Nursing Per Diem Pool

5 Years of Service Victor Acevedo, Patient Support Services

Brian Bozzuto, Engineering/Electrical

Christina Brault, Donnelly 2N

Cora Cook, Environmental Services

Melissa Edwards, Obstetrics/Bliss 6

Candace Forte, Rehabilitation/General

Karen Giana, Nutrition Service

Proshanto Gomes, Food/Nutrition/

Main Kitchen

April Henderson, PAS Financial

Clearance

Yakpaoro Kollie, Environmental

Services/General

Susan Mateyov, PA Third Party

Follow Up Isaura Monserrate, Environmental

Services/General

Deniece Morgan, Special Education/

Cheshire

Teodora Ortiz, Environmental Services

Hyla Radin, ERN - VNA Hartford

Pamela Ribera, Administration/General

Milagros Rodriguez, Environmental

Services/General

George Saydee, Food/Nutrition/Patient

Tray Service

Gillian Sinclair, Cardiology Service North

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Edris Strong, Radiology

Maria Tavarez, Medicine Service Bliss

11E

Sheryl Taylor, Oncology Service CB2

Elizabeth Teixeira, Nursing Per Diem

Pool

Steve Wallace, Security Christine Welles, Finance/Professional

Services

Linda Williams, PAS Financial Clearance

Ashley Wilson, Food/Nutrition/Main

Kitchen

Letricia Wilson, Medicine Service CB5

Staff Members Recognized for Years of Service - February 2012

Hartford Hospital’s HIV clinic, located in the Brownstone

Building, celebrated its 20th an-niversary March 29. When the clinic was initially established in 1992, HIV was con-sidered to be a death sentence. The world was stunned in 1991 when basketball Legend Magic Johnson announced that he was HIV positive. No one expected him to be around today. Hartford Hospital is not only a state-of-the-art medical center; it’s also Hartford’s community hospital with a 158-year history of reaching out to help its neighbors. For their size, Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport have a dispropor-tionate number of HIV/AIDS pa-tients. Although together the cities have 10.9 percent of the state’s population, they have 45.5 percent of its HIV/AIDS cases. With the establishment of the HIV clinic, Hartford Hospital was definitely filling a pressing need for care. In 1997, the Community Care Center, an expanded HIV clinic,

was established and was the first HIV/AIDS treatment center in the area to offer integrated medicine. Patients have access to primary care as well as psychiatric, social and dietary services. The center is open eight hours a day, five days a week with a physician on call seven days a week. The center is headed by Dr. Jack Ross, director of Hartford Hospital’s HIV program, who was instrumental with Cathy Yavinsky in the establishment of the Com-munity Care Center. Ryan White Foundation Grant The Community Care Center has been recognized with $249,000 in funding from the Ryan White Foundation for the treatment of HIV and AIDS. In Fiscal Year 2011, the clinic had more than 6,500 patient visits, a 10.5 percent increase over FY 2010. The clinic is the largest in the area and has the reputation for caring for some of the most challenging HIV patients.

In addition to caring for pa-tients, the Community Care Center provides medical training. More than 40 medical residents per year spend a month on HIV rotation, both inpatient and in the clinic. Six psychiatry residents attend a continuity clinic there every week with Dr. David Pepper as their mentor, and eight to 10 pharmacy students per year spend a month with Ross. PA and ARPN students from Quinnipiac University also sometimes rotate through the center. Center providers conduct numerous lectures locally and regionally. “The staff is a great resource to the hospital, community, AIDS residences and the University of Connecticut Medical Center,” Ross said. “The clinic staff are commit-ted and live our values of integ-rity, excellence, caring and safety – providing the right, best, most compassionate and safest care possible every day. We are proud to say that we are the clinic of choice for many local agencies.” n

Attending the anniversary celebration at the Community Care Center on March 29 are (left to right) Booth Wainscoat, Celia Alamo, David Pepper, Blanca Santana, Noraliz Santa-Grondin, Moneca Liz, Janice Cousino, Ankita Kadakia, Jack Ross, Ilia Vega, Fundador Burgos, Doris Colon, Jessica Ramirez, Maria Jimenez, Elaine Donovan, Sue Stagg and Joshua Spieker.

Community Care Center Celebrates 20 YearsOf Caring for HIV/AIDS Patients

A Hartford HealthCare Partner

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Staff Members Recognized for Years of Service A Hartford HealthCare Partner

February • 2012

Left to right: Jamie Roche, vice president for Patient Safety and Quality, congratulates Proshanto Gomes, Cora Cook, April Henderson, Milagros Rodriguez, Yakpaoro Kollie, George Saydee, Elizabeth Teixeira, Isaura Monserrate and Linda Williams for five years of service.

Left to right: Dr. Roche, Xenia Caballero, Daisy Arocho, Laura Hintz, Daniela Pratt, Yadira Maldonado, Vincente Medina, Maureen Riback, Harold Springer and Diane Wilson.

Left to right: Dr. Roche, Linda Adams, Gertrude Anisyk, Charlotte Meucci, Claudy Torres-Ochoa and Bimal Patel, vice president of Support Services.

Left to right: Mr. Patel, Josephine Miano and Luis Taveras, senior vice president and chief information officer. Left to right: Liz Roper,

director of the Clinical Research Center, joins Mr. Patel (right) in congratulating Tammy Weirs on becoming the newest member of the Quarter Century Club.

Dr. Roche, John Wrobel, Charles McDonald, Benjamin Diaz and Mr. Patel.

Ruth Newell, Labor and Delivery, celebrates 40 years of service with her coworkers.

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10

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40

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2011 United Way Campaign Meets Goal and Wins Awards

Hartford Hospital staff members contributed to the United Way campaign in 2011 in greater

numbers and at higher levels than 2010. “Our goal for the 2011 Campaign was $220,000, and we met that goal,” said Susan Klein, Hartford Hos-pital’s United Way Campaign chair. “The campaign committees at both the Hartford and Newington campuses did a fantastic job raising funds for this worthy cause.”

Pledge DriveEmployee contributions through the yearly pledge drive account for the largest portion of contributions to the United Way. Ann Péan, senior manager of donor relations at United Way of Central and North-eastern Connecticut, reported that Hartford Hospital staff participation increased by more than 11 percent in 2011 compared to 2010. The pledge drive ran from Sept. 12 to Oct. 14. Everyone who made a pledge to the United Way was entered into weekly prize drawings held throughout the campaign. Winners were: Francesca Bogoslofski/Nursing, Gregory Melnyk/Pharmacy, Cindy Otis/Radiology, Annie Emanuelli/Planning & Marketing. and Heriberto Lopez/Food & Nutrition Services. Employees who signed up for pledges through weekly payroll deduction are encouraged to check their pay stubs to ensure that their pledges are being accurately deducted.

Online AuctionThe campaign included an online auction that proved to be very popular again. Items included pre-mium assigned parking spaces, golf instructions, an airplane flight, and two South African photo safaris. Seventy staff members placed 147 bids, generating more than $10,000 for the United Way.

United Way FairOn Sept. 15, staff enjoyed the 20th annual United Way Community Campaign Fair at Hartford Hospital. The event, featuring music, food, games, craft ven-dors and door prizes, raised more than $2,400.

Newington CampusEach year, the Newington United Way Committee coordinates numerous events at the Newington campus. For the 2011 campaign, 30 events were held, including jewelry, clothing and book sales; a pie truck; and a cookie and cupcake truck, raising a total of more than $3,700.

Best of AwardsEach year, the United Way recognizes organiza-tions in central and northeastern Connecticut and their campaign coordinators, volunteer committees and employees for outstanding participation in the United Way Community Campaign at their “Best Of Awards.” The 2012 awards were held Feb. 17 at the Bond Ballroom, Homewood Suites by Hilton in Hart-ford and were emceed by Rachel Lutzker and Laurie Perez of Fox CT.

Judges for the awards included Jerry Belanger and Goran Sisic from Hartford Hospital (Goran also assisted in organizing the event). Hartford Hospital was a finalist in several cat-egories, including “Best Campaign Photo” and “Best Company Campaign Materials,” and won for “Best Year-Round Partnership.” “Hartford Hospital has a long tradition as an active member of the community, helping many neighbors in need,” said Jeffrey Flaks, Hartford Hos-pital president and CEO. “Key to that tradition is our generous support of the United Way Community Campaign throughout the year. The ‘Best of’ awards recognition was a nice way to recognize that support.” “Many of us have been touched by an agency supported by the United Way, such as the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and VNA Healthcare,” Flaks said. “United Way agen-cies have a tremendous impact on the health and well-being of our community. The support from our employees strengthens our community by support-ing programs and initiatives that make a positive difference, deliver results and improve the quality of life for all.” The United Way Committee will start work on the 2012 Annual Campaign this spring. If you would like to be on the committee, please contact Susan Klein at 860-545-1126. n

United Way Fair, Sept. 15, 2011

Hartford Hospital United Way Committee Members accept the “Best Year-Round Partnership” Award.

Newington Campus Committee members, from left, were: Stasia Gray, Beverly Gardner, MaryAnn Majewski, Wendy Benjamin, Lucille Ringrose and Rosa Rosa (not shown).

Hartford Hospital Campus United Way Com-mittee members, from left, were: Jerry Belanger, JoAnn Camera, Sue Klein, Crestina Walker, Kathy Hersey, Lenworth Jacobs, Mary Maibaum, Pearl Lynch, Molly Donavan Goran Sisic, Ann Pean, Holly Reno and Cecilia Kozlowski (not shown).

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<Hartford Hospital United Way Cham-pions during the campaign kick-off breakfast, Aug. 9, 2011 (this photo was a finalist for “Best Photo” during United Way’s “Best Of Awards”)

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We usually celebrate the big events in our lives –

events like birthdays, weddings and graduations. Marking these happy events with our friends and relatives is fun, and shows us that we are important to each other and value one another’s accomplishments. But celebration is often not a big part of the workplace. We are usually too busy to take the time to pause, pat each other on the back and feel good about what we have accomplished. Hartford HealthCare wants that to change for all of our affiliates and the 15,000 people who work here. In fact, it is so important to the organization that the Recognition and Celebration Team has begun offering “Celebration Workshops” to convey to managers how critical it is for us all to celebrate with our coworkers. “An organization’s celebrations reveal what it values and thinks is significant,” said Jeffrey Flaks, president and CEO

of Hartford Hospital. “By making it an important part of our work lives, we bring attention to those milestones that reflect our core values of integrity, caring, excellence and safety. People see that extra effort and high level performance matter.” Acknowledging, honoring, and thanking everyone who contributes to improving our service to patients and meeting our goals keeps people feeling energized, optimistic, and focused on the big picture, Flaks said.

The Celebration Workshop Is Born Celebrating the accomplish- ment of a coworker makes them feel appreciated and that their work is significant. It provides other staff members with examples that motivate them to engage in similar behavior. Everyone on the team feels more motivated to give their best efforts when they anticipate that those efforts will be noted and celebrated by the group. The program has evolved

gradually over the past three years, since a staff survey in 2009 revealed that employees felt they wanted and needed heartfelt recognition, but that many managers weren’t sure how to show it in a meaningful way, or felt there were barriers to doing it effectively. The Recognition and Celebration Team, along with Leadership and Organizational Development, offered an educational session called “Encouraging the Heart” for work group leaders and managers, designed to explore the essentials of staff recognition. This workshop continues to be offered by LOD. A subsequent survey of H3W workgroups indicated that two-thirds of respondents felt they were celebrating effectively. The Celebration Workshop was developed over the past year to increase that. There have been four Celebration Workshops offered at Hartford Hospital

since December, and more than 130 leaders have participated. The workshops will now be offered to all the affiliates in the system. “Recognition and celebration is critical to the culture we continue to create at Hartford HealthCare,” said Heather Machado, who is co-chair of the Recognition and Celebration Committee, a nurse on Bliss 11-I, and co-chair of nursing recruitment and retention at Hartford Hospital. “The purpose of the workshop is to inspire the participants to celebrate things specific to their departments. We brainstorm ideas of celebration-worthy events, which can be small things or large things. It could be anything from completion of a project, opening a new facility or reaching a financial milestone to decreasing bloodstream infections, receiving a Full Circle Award or welcoming a new staff member.”

Feeling The Celebration The H3W facilitators serve as support to managers and work group leaders at the workshops. The session is designed to inspire celebration instead of teaching it, with the goal of helping participants “feel” what a good celebration is like. The song “Celebration” is played while a slide show of employees celebrating milestones is shown to kick off the workshop. The room is decorated with balloons and brightly colored tablecloths and garlands, and there are outrageously festive cupcakes for everyone to share. All these trappings don’t have to be expensive, facilitators point out. “Everyone has budget concerns. But one trip to the Dollar Store, and you’ve got inexpensive tablecloths, gift bags, tissue paper, balloons – all the things that make it look like a real celebration,” Machado said. “And they are all in colors inspired by our corporate logo.” Participants are provided with a “starter bag” they can use in their department celebrations, as well as invitations that can be copied and an inexpensive source for the fabulous cupcakes, which at only $16 for 24 cupcakes are a party all by themselves. Bev Sherbondy, director of Human Resources, attended one of the workshops, and was inspired by those cupcakes to plan something for her staff. “During the workshop, you’re asked to describe what is meaningful to your staff,” Sherbondy said. “I listed food, time away from desks, group time, and fun. Then, inspired by all the cupcakes around us at the workshop, I began to think about Cupcake Wars - a show on the Food Channel, and thought it would be fun to try something like that.”

Sherbondy mentioned the idea to others at the workshop, who were very enthusiastic and helped her develop a plan for the celebration during the workshop. “I worked with Ellie McAuliffe, our H3W facilitator, to pull it off as a surprise for my team,” she said. “We decorated the room, had refreshments, and had each team member decorate two cupcakes. Then everyone voted on the best entries, and we awarded prizes and took photos, which we posted on our H3W board.” The 18 members of the team had a lot of fun at the unexpected celebration, she said. “Hopefully it was received as a unique, nice thank you for a year’s worth of teamwork, when we reorganized ourselves to improve service delivery to our customers,” she said. There may be other very real barriers to workplace celebrations, such as lack of time during the workday, or staff working different shifts. Participants identify the barriers they may face, and brainstorm solutions in the workshop. “Our most valuable asset is our staff,” Machado said. “In an effort to retain them, it is important to keep them engaged and feeling valued as we serve our patients, our communities and each other. Celebration is a reward for a job well done.”

Here are a few tips for meaningful work celebrations:

• Ask your workgroup what they would find meaningful to celebrate and how they would like to celebrate.

• Recognize people for their contributions that are in alignment with the organization’s strategic core values and pillars.

• Make it timely – plan it for as close to the accomplishment as possible.

• Include workgroup members in the planning, and recognize the party planners and their efforts.

• Provide a budget, even if it is small. Brainstorm low cost/no cost ideas.

• Aim for a few celebrations a year with your workgroup.

• Make each one special.

Celebration Workshops: Bringing Attention to the Milestones

That Reflect Our Core Values

Research UpDATE

Dr. Justin Lundbye Awarded

New Research Funding

From Gilead SciencesThe Research Program is pleased to announce that Gilead Sciences has recently approved a donation of study drug and $173,000 in support of a clinical research trial to be conducted by Drs. Justin Lund-bye, Gary Heller, and Hanna Slim. The study, Impact of Ranolazine on Endothelial Dysfunction in Patients with Diabetes, will evaluate the use of Ranexa therapy to improve myocardial blood flow as determined by a repeat PET scan. Ranolazine (Ranexa) is an oral antianginal agent that has an anti-ischemic effect and may be beneficial to patients with endothelial dysfunction, a well-known condition that affects pa-tients with diabetes, hypertension and heart failure and is associated with a poor vasodilatory response. The study will use cardiac PET imaging to assess the impact of Ranolazine (versus placebo) on myocardial blood flow response in patients with diabetes who present to Hartford Hospital for a clinically indicated cardiac PET scan. The study is being coordinated by Alan Ahlberg, MA, Deb Katten, RN, and Giselle Cyr, RN, Clinical Research Center coordinators.

Research Proposals Sought For Medical Staff Patient Safety and Quality Grant Competition

The Medical Staff Executive Committee is once again committing a total of $75,000 to the Medical Staff Patient Safety and Quality Research Grant Competi-tion, a program designed to encourage investigators to develop research projects aimed at improving pa-tient safety and enhancing the quality of health care service delivery at Hartford Hospital. This RFP will be administered by the HHC Research Institute and will be evaluated by the HHC Research Committee. We are interested in funding multiple projects with the potential to impact patient care. Project budgets should be approximately $15,000. Interested inves-tigators must complete a two-page Letter of Intent, which is due April 16. Please contact Dr. Ilene Staff Istaff@harthosp.org with any questions.

Internal Funding Update

The following investigators were supported through the generosity of the Hartford Hospital Medical Staff for on-going projects and/or protocol/proposal development:

Dr. Hema Brazell (Urogynecology): Do patients with pelvic organ prolapse have an increased frequency of microscopic hematuria?

Kent Kilborn (Neurology): Clinical characteristics of stress induced cardiomyopathy and cerebral vasospasm

Dr. Orlando Kirton (Surgery): Trends in methods of monitoring and vasopressure use in surgical ICU FY 2004-FY2009; Development and evaluation of an objec-tive and simulation-based core curriculum for surgery residents

Dr. Louise McCullough (Neurology): Necessity of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube placement in acute ischemic stroke in the right versus left middle cerebral artery territory: Is there a difference?

Dr. Andrew Salner (Oncology): Clinical and quality of life outcomes following diagnosis of prostate adenocarcinoma

Dr. Adam Steinberg (Urogynecology): Comparing Repliform® tissue regeneration matrix with natural graft in pelvic floor reconstruction outcomes (The “REPLIFORM” study)

Paul Tulikangas (Urogynecology): Changes in the microscopic vaginal environment caused by pessary use in urogynecology patients

Steven Zweibel (Electrophysiology): Insulation failure in St. Jude Riata leads: Screening and predicting impending lead failure

In addition, Dr. Christine LaSala (Urogynecology), Dr. Donna Chelle (Cardiology) and Dr. Robert McComb (Clinical Chemistry) received senior scientist consul-tation for manuscript development and study design.

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The 2012 Employees Giving Campaign: Join your colleagues and make your pledge today

Pledge forms can be found on the Employees Giving Campaign intranet page: www.giving.harthosp.org/employeescampaign.

For more information on the Employees Giving Campaign or if you are interested in joining the committee, please contact a committee member, or Jenn Coutu in Fund Development

at 860-545-2969 or JLCoutu@harthosp.org.

Every gift makes a difference! n

2012 Employees Giving Campaign Committee

Dan Madison – Cardiology (Chair)JoAnn Camera, Auxiliary StoreCarmelina Fidelio, Coding SpecialistSandra Gregware, Human ResourcesLaurie Hardie, Bliss 11 ICUBrenda Laureano-Geer, TransplantApril Mann, Non-Invasive Cardiology

Julie Michaelson, Information ServicesMarcia Olsson, Business DevelopmentJoe Rapisarda, SecurityBrendy Riera, IOL Patient AccessTeresa Russell, Nursing EducationDeb Tetreault, Nursing EducationHeidi Weise, Emergency Medicine/Trauma

Eugene Willingham, Environmental ServicesSue Wright, Cancer CenterJohn Wrobel, EngineeringLynn Yaglowski, Patient Safety and Risk ManagementSusanne Yeakel, B8 Surgery George Zern, Food and Nutrition

President Jeff Flaks (left) hosted the first Employees Loyalty Luncheon for staff donors who have contributed to the Employees Giving Campaign for more than five consecutive years. A special group, employees that have been donating for more than 20 years, received plaques to commemorate the event. With over 115 in attendance, Jeff spoke to the culture of Hartford Hospital and how meaningful it is that so many employees invest both professionally and financially in this great institution. It sends a great message to our community that we stand behind the hospital’s mission and values, he said.

The Employees Giving Cam-paign is an outreach effort by

a group of employee volunteers, combined with the Fund Develop-ment staff, to encourage everyone on the Hartford Hospital team to make a charitable contribution in support of the programs and ser-vices provided by the hospital. When employees give, it sends an important endorsement to the greater community: that those who know the hospital so well, have a pride and honor in what is accomplished here everyday. Your support goes directly to the important and essential

programs and services we offer at Hartford Hospital. Our goal this year is $215,000. Last year, we raised more than $205,000 for programs and ser-vices that have a direct impact on the Hartford community. Not only will you be making a difference for our patients and our community, you will also have the chance to win some great prizes! Raffle gifts include everything from yoga classes, oil changes, and lift tickets to tickets to the Travelers Championship, the Talc-ott Mountain Music Festival, and the Funny Bone Comedy

Club; admission passes to Mystic Aquarium, Mystic Seaport, and the Hill-Stead Museum; overnight stays at Residence Inn by Marriott and Marriott Hartford Downtown; or gift cards to Big Y, Shady Glen Restaurant, Effie’s Place Restau-rant, West Side Marketplace, Harry’s Pizza, and McKinnon’s Irish Pub. For a complete list, go to www.giving.harthosp.org/employ-eescampaign. This year’s Employees Giving Campaign will be led by chair Dan Madison, a longtime employee and supporter of Hartford Hospital.

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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).

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Colorectal Cancer Awareness MonthVisitors to Hartford Hospital had a chance to learn about colon health and colorectal cancer by visiting the Super Colon, which was on display every Friday in March. The

8-foot-tall, 20-foot-long inflatable exhibit shows examples of normal colon tissue, polyps and cancer cells. Staff from Hartford Hospital’s Helen & Harry Gray

Cancer Center and the Gastrointestinal Division of the Department of Medicine offered information about colorectal cancer screening and answered visitors’ questions.

Left to right: Kathleen Van Gelder, Sha Wood, Andre Rivera and Andre Shakes.

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