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Rapid Response Team Brings Expertise page 2

Double Lung Transplant Patient Attends Prom page 3

Full Face Transplant Makes History page 4

Shock Trauma Model for the World page 5

Welcome New Leaders to UMMC and UMMS page 6

Employees of the Month pages 6-7

American Girl Fashion Show page 7

On Tuesday, March 20, 2012, University of Maryland surgeons and staff completed the most extensive full face transplant in the world. The patient was 37-year-old Richard Norris of Virginia. >>>>> Read the full stoRy on page 4

news for the

University

of Maryland

Medical Center

c o m m u n i t y

INSIDEConnections:

Message from the CEO ThE hEarT Of ThE MISSION

a few patient stories at UMMC have garnered international and national attention this year – most notably the extraordinary full face transplant.

We have devoted page 4 of this issue of UMMC Connections to the team that achieved this milestone in medical history while helping a patient reclaim his life after an injury.

Dozens of individual milestones achieved by patients and their care teams every day don’t make the news, but do make a difference in the lives of those patients. Some are the equivalent of a home run, others are more like runs batted in.

We strive to exceed the expectations of patients and their families. We earn their trust by providing excellent care in the hospital and through our partnerships with the community around UMMC. When the Medical Center’s nurses sponsored a health fair at Lexington Market to celebrate National Nurses Week in May, members of the community trusted them enough to ask their most pressing questions.

Trust is at the heart of our mission to deliver patient-centered care. We work hard to earn it with each new patient, and to continue building it with

each interaction.

JEffrEY a. rIVEST president & Chief executive officer

ConnectionsUMMC

In the CommunIty:

pagE 3 pagE 4 pagE 7

“ never let the fear of striking out get in your way.”

BaBe Ruth

summer 2012

MMC celebrated National Nurses Week May 6-12 with several activities, including a clinical practice symposium, poster presentations and an appreciation breakfast. And for the second year in a row, nurses celebrated by doing something for the community: They again sponsored a community health fair at Lexington Market, providing information on a variety of the areas they specialize in, as well as blood pressure screening and other services, to an estimated 900 people.

evette everett, BSN, RN, and Jemecia Buchanan, patient care technician, work in the Endoscopy Department and were among UMMC staff at the health fair to give information on colon cancer screening. Everett says people asked lots of questions about a variety of digestive diseases, especially gastroesophageal reflux and liver diseases.

Several visitors also had questions for UMMC psychiatric nurses, seeking advice for themselves or for loved ones about where to go for help.

“There are a lot of people who have lost their jobs and lost health insurance, and they need somewhere to go to ask these questions,” Everett says. “And there is that trust that people have in nurses.”

full face Transplant MakES history

Health Fair at City Market

N U r S E S W E E k

Richard Norris’ prom photo Richard Norris before surgery Richard Norris after his transplant


2 ConnectionsUMMC

22 South Greene Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201 410-328-6776 www.umm.edu

Jeffrey A. Rivest President and Chief Executive Officer

Mary Lynn Carver Senior Vice President Communications and Public Affairs

Anne Haddad Editor and Publications Manager

Chris Lindsley Director of Communication Services

Frank B. Moorman Director, Strategic Internal Communications

Linda Praley Creative Director

Marc Laytar Photography

Linda J. Lynch Staff Assistant

Bill SeilerMeghan ScaleaKaren WarmkesselContributors

Fax news and story ideas to UMMC Connections at 410-328-3450 or email [email protected].

is produced by the Office of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs for the UMMC community.

ConnectionsUMMC

F or the rest of the hospital, the University of Maryland Medical Center has created the Rapid Response Team, which is like an Intensive Care Unit, but “on standby.” This team,

on duty around the clock, consists of an advanced and certified critical care registered nurse, a critical care patient technician and a registered respiratory therapist specializing in critical care. Any time a bedside nurse in a non-intensive care unit notices deterioration in a patient’s condition, the nurse can dial a hotline to summon the Rapid Response Team.

Evidence has shown that deploying such teams as a resource to the patient’s primary physicians and nurses can decrease cardiopul-monary arrests and unplanned transfers to higher levels of care, and increase staff, patient and family satisfaction.

The Rapid Response Team’s practice is overseen by Marjan Bahador, MD, assistant professor of medicine, and Margie Goralski Stickles, MSN, RN, MBA, CCRN, director of nursing for peri-

operative services. “Sometimes the patient’s deterioration is obvious,” says Stickles. “For example, by decreased blood pressure, shortness of breath, change in level of consciousness or acute confusion. Other times, it is difficult to identify the cause without further evaluation and resources.”

The team supplies the resources to provide care for the patient in need, allowing the unit staff to continue caring for their other patients. The Rapid Response Team stays with the patient until the appropriate care environment is available, or until the patient’s needs are met on the existing unit.

“The team makes rounds to every unit twice a day, shortly after change of shift,” Stickles says. “We connect with the charge nurse to identify any patients about whom they might be concerned. The current trends indicate that most rapid response calls occur at change of shift.”

Hourly Caring Rounds: Grounded in the Tradition of Nursing

RapId Response team BRIngs expeRtIse to the BedsIdeIntensive care units always

have critical care physicians

and nurses ready to respond

when any patient takes a

turn for the worse.

Rapid Response Team members (in black scrubs) Dana Simmons, BSN, RN, CCRN; Robert Russell, EMT-I and patient care technician; and Shawn Trautman, BSN, RN, CCRN, work with respiratory therapists such as Tera Martin, RRT, (front, right) and intensive care nurses such as Danie Stidham, BSN, RN. They are on call to staff nurses such as Vijaya Ramakrishnan, MS, CMSRN, CBN, front center.

“This enhances my rapport with a patient and allows me to more easily pick up on changes in the patient’s condition, because I’m right there at the bedside,” says Visitacion Casal, BSN, RN, a nurse in the Medical-Progressive Surgical Care Unit.B

edside nurses at UMMC embrace “hourly caring rounds,” which is the intentional and purposeful checking in on patients at regular, hourly intervals, in addition to all the times nurses and nursing staff go in and out of a patient’s room or are at the bedside.

Hourly rounding puts a structure and schedule on practices that are already the foundation of nursing — helping patients heal and keep-ing them safe and comfortable by proactively meeting their needs.

“While making hourly caring rounds, we ensure the patient’s com-fort and proper positioning,” says Lisa Rowen, DNSc, RN, senior vice president and chief nursing officer. “We assess their pain and make sure it’s controlled as well as possible. We address other personal needs, such as using the toilet, and we make sure the patient’s desired possessions are within reach — including the call light, in case they need anything before the next rounding visit.”

The evidence indicates this type of nursing practice yields promising outcomes.

“The data tell a compelling story, the kind of story we always want to see unfold at the Medical Center,” Rowen says. “The available evi-dence indicates making hourly rounds is appropriate, safe and useful for practice.”

Nurses purposely check on patients at regular intervals and engage patients by checking on the “4 P’s”:

• Pain • Positioning • Personal needs • Proximity of personal itemsIn addition, one final question to the patient and family should be,

“Is there anything else I can do for you?”In emergency departments and other outpatient settings, nurses and

patient care staff can use a similar approach, focusing on pain, devel-oping a plan of care and reducing any delays.

“Hourly rounding lets our patients know that we are paying attention, and that we care about how they are doing,” says Kerry Sobol, RN, MBA, director, patient experience/guest services and Commitment to Excellence. “It also helps patients know what to expect.”

An illness causes uncertainty. Hourly rounding relieves some of that uncertainty.

“Patients become less anxious about getting their needs met, as they learn to trust the process,” says Paul Thurman, MS, RN, ACNPC, CCNS, CCRN, a clinical nurse specialist at UMMC. “Patient sat-isfaction increases in response to nurses addressing patient needs and preventing problems such as unrelieved pain.”

Research has revealed that patients feel their care is exceptional when the staff constantly views the care process through the patient’s eyes. This philosophy is called patient- and family-centered care. It involves treating people with dignity and respect, sharing complete and unbiased information with patients and families in ways that are affirming and useful, and enhancing the patient’s control and independence.

“The language we use with our patients in describing hourly rounds and their purpose is important not only to standardize the practice and let patients and families know what to expect, but also to com-municate our genuine care about the patient,” Rowen says. “While we need to include some specific language, though, it is possible — and preferred — to make hourly rounds personal for each patient.”

3summer 2012


ictoria “Tori” Chakwin, 18, of Martinsburg, W.Va., came back to UMMC for a follow-up visit to thank the many staff members who cared for her for nearly three months this winter. When she stopped to talk with Laura Classon, BSN, RN, one of her nurses in the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit (CSICU), she showed her a picture of herself in her red-and-black prom dress, excited about the upcoming dance.

“I owe them everything, pretty much,” Chakwin told WJZ-TV, one of many news organizations that covered her visit. “I wouldn’t be here if they didn’t push. I went from never being able to do anything to now, when I have the whole world ahead of me.”

Chakwin had been battling the deadly disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis for six years when physicians at another hospital in Baltimore told her mother they didn’t believe she could survive long enough to get a lung transplant, her only hope of a cure.

Her mother, Robyn Schonhans, a retired New York City police officer, pressed the physicians to find another medical center that would accept Chakwin. She was transferred to UMMC.

“Tori was so young, we had to do all we could for her,” says Aldo T. Iacono, MD, professor of medicine at the UM School of Medicine and medical director of the lung trans-plant program. He evaluated Chakwin and decided to accept her because UMMC ICU staff have the expertise and tech-nology to care for the most complex cases, both before and after transplants.

Chakwin was admitted to the CSICU, where all the physi-cians, nurse practitioners, nurses, patient care technicians, respiratory therapists, clinical pharmacists and physical and occupational therapists specialize in advanced cardiac and pulmonary care. Until a pair of donor lungs became available two weeks after her admission, Chakwin was kept alive on an

external lung machine that did the breathing her damaged lungs could no longer perform.

Chakwin was aided by a technology called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) that bypasses her fail-ing lungs and oxygenates her blood as it passes through a machine. It gave her time until she could get a new pair of lungs, and it allowed her body to become stronger in prepara-tion for the lifesaving lung transplant performed by Bartley Griffith, MD, professor of surgery at the UM School of Medicine and head of the division of cardiac surgery and director of heart and lung transplantation at UMMC.

“Caring for patients such as this young woman, who came to us with very complex needs, is what the ICU teams throughout the hospital do, 24/7,” says Daniel Herr, MD, associate professor of medicine at the School of Medicine and chief of surgical critical care services at UMMC, as well as medical director of the CSICU.

“Our team has a greater depth of experience than most hospitals nationwide in the technology used to keep Tori alive until she could receive a transplant,” Herr says. “Everyone plays a critical role — from those of us who provide the direct patient care to the technicians who maintain the machines.”

ICU teams care for the patients before and after surgery and watch for the slightest change in a patient that could signal trouble. Before an operation, the job of the ICU team is to keep that patient in the best condition possible to weather the surgery and recover successfully afterwards. Many patients are so seriously ill that they require two nurses to care for them.

Tori attended her high school prom, in her red-and-black dress and red Chuck Taylor sneakers, on April 28. It was her first appearance at her high school in more than a year, and something she couldn’t have imagined before her life-changing transplant.

FROM DOUBLE LUNG TRANSPLANT

Robyn Schonhans, left, and her daughter, Victoria Chakwin, came back to thank the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Team and her

surgeons, including Bartley Griffith, MD, in photo at right, who saved her life with a double lung transplant.

a West Virginia teen returns to thank ummC

staff for helping her survive pulmonary

fibrosis through a double lung

transplant and making it

possible for her to attend

her senior prom.

V

TO hIgh SChOOL prOM

The “BEEP” of a monitor and the “THUMP” of a pneumatic tube that has just arrived from the lab join with other sounds in most patient units to make for a cumulative commotion that can keep patients awake. The automatic doors make an indescribable yet unmistakable sound when someone enters or leaves the unit.

In a busy hospital, where patient needs arise regard-

less of the hour, silence can be elusive. But things are

getting quieter, says Kerry Sobol, MBA, RN, director

of patient experience and Commitment to Excellence

(C2X).

The only way to effectively turn down the volume is

to take a hospital-wide approach that involves multiple

departments, Sobol says.

So the new Service Partners Team, made up of staff

from departments that are not part of Patient Care

Services, has made the noise-at-night problem its first

project. The team is exploring ways to reduce the noise

level without hindering care for patients. It’s led by

Albert Johnson, MBA, CPM, director of logistics and

materials management for UMMC.

Ronetta Lambert, MS, RN, nurse manager of the

Medical-Surgical Progressive Care Unit on Gudelsky

5 East, purposely focuses on noise reduction, starting

with more control of the automatic doors and equip-

ment delivery schedules, and continuing with how

nurses and technicians meet patients’ needs.

“Our secretaries do not use the overhead page

when a patient requests assistance for a nurse or PCT

[patient care technician],” Lambert says. “They actu-

ally are expected to physically go and inform the RN or

PCT. We also dim our lights at 11 pm to visually commu-

nicate that we should be mindful of our noise level.”

The nurses and technicians adopted some new

practices that improved patient care and had the

secondary effect of reducing noise. For example,

says Andrea Danielson, BSN, RN, a nurse who rotates

between day and night shifts, the entire staff agreed to

act on any call light from a patient, rather than going to

find the patient’s assigned nurse to respond.

“And if we do need to talk to a specific nurse or

technician, we don’t page — we actually get up and go

find the person,” Danielson says.

Aiming for Quiet at Night FOR A BETTER PATIENT EXPERIENCE


4 ConnectionsUMMC

faCe tRansplant tImelIne

his medical milestone required the work of hundreds of faculty and staff, beginning 10 years ago with basic science research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine on the body’s immunologic response to transplantation of bone, nerves, muscle and blood vessels.

The combined research and prepa-ration by the scientists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurse practitioners, perioperative nurses, surgical techni-cians and other staff culminated in a 36-hour surgical procedure in the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center that restored form and function to a man whose injuries had forced him to live as a recluse since 1997.

“Our goal was to restore function as well as have aesthetically pleasing results,” says Eduardo Rodriguez, MD, DDS, associate professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and chief of plas-tic, reconstructive and maxillofacial surgery at the Shock Trauma Center.

“We utilized innovative surgical practices and computerized tech-niques to precisely transplant the mid-face, maxilla and mandible, including teeth and a portion of the tongue,” Rodriguez explains. “In addition, the transplant included all facial soft tissue from the scalp to the neck, including the underlying mus-cles to enable facial expression, and sensory and motor nerves to restore feeling and function.”

At a press briefing held at the hospital on March 27, Rodriguez revealed photos of Norris at his high school prom before his injury and after his injury (see photos, page 1). When he revealed the photo of Norris six days after his face trans-plant, there was an audible gasp in the room packed with media and University of Maryland leader-ship, who then erupted in applause. UMMC is only the second hospital in the country to perform a full face transplant, and a reporter for Reuters

described it as “the most aesthetically pleasing result” seen yet.

Nicole Kelley, MS, CRNP, CPSN, CCRN, RNFA, nurse practi-tioner for the plastic and reconstruc-tive surgery team at Shock Trauma, first met Norris in 2005 during his initial visit with Rodriguez, when he came to see what reconstruction was possible.

“If you had whispered in my ear in 2005 that, ‘You’re going to do a face transplant on him,’ I wouldn’t have believed it,” says Kelley, who has served as Norris’ nurse practitioner throughout his multiple reconstruc-tive surgeries at UMMC preceding his transplant.

As Rodriguez and his team began to exhaust the reconstructive surgical options for Norris and as research progressed, a face transplant became the obvious next step.

When the surgical team was alerted in March that a potential donor might be available, one of the first calls went to Debra KuKuruga, PhD, clinical assistant professor of pathology and director of the Immunogenetics Laboratory at UMMC. By performing mini-trans-plants in test tubes with cells from the potential donor and intended recipient, she can determine the like-lihood of a good match.

KuKuruga’s lab also tested the four other organs that would be trans-planted from this same donor into other UMMC transplant patients (see chart above).

As surgery began, the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) in Shock Trauma, led by nurse manager David Wong, RN, began freeing up staff to help manage Norris after surgery.

“We knew Mr. Norris was going to require two nurses for several days after his surgery. Our nurses took 12-hour shifts for several days after the surgery, checking the pulse and blood flow within his new graft every

15 minutes. Some of them didn’t go home for four days,” says Wong.

Trisha Klein, RN, a nurse in the Shock Trauma PACU, says the plastic and microvascular reconstructive team involved nurses from the start last summer to prepare for their role.

“We were able to make the inter-disciplinary network even stronger by including the Security Department, Integrative Care, the entire PACU staff and the Select Trauma nurses who would care for the patient on their unit. Meeting the recipient months in advance allowed us to help the patient and family with the transitions.”

“It was such a privilege to be part of this team,” says Caroline Connolly, RN, of the STC PACU. “We were very proactive and sought out educational opportunities, did literature searches and contacted the other institutions that had experience with similar procedures.”

Donna Audia, RN, Shock Trauma nurse and liaison to the Center for Integrative Medicine, and Lolly Forsythe-Chisolm, Reiki master, have met with Norris. Audia uses acupres-sure to help soothe the muscles in Norris’ face, offering him his first moments without pain in 15 years.

“Now we’re teaching Richard to apply these acupressure techniques on himself,” says Audia. “We never want to give our patients a treatment they can’t do themselves.”

SPEECH THEraPy HElPS PaTiEnT rEgain HiS VoiCE

The last time Richard Norris spoke with a full tongue, full set of teeth and two lips was in 1997, before a gunshot wound changed his life in an instant. For the last 15 years, he was able to speak, but even those who knew him well had difficulty understanding what he said.

As he recovers, Norris has a unique story to tell about the chal-lenges facing him before and after receiving the most extensive full face transplant the world had ever seen.

Vanessa Peregrim, MS, CCC-SLP, and Jackie Staley, MS, CCC-SLP, both speech therapists at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, had worked with Norris prior to his face transplant. They supported him through his reconstructive surgeries prior to the transplant, focusing on swallowing and communication.

Three days after his transplant, Norris began working with Peregrim for therapy five times a week.

“Our plan of care focuses on articulation and speech and returning the range of motion to oral structures, such as his tongue, jaw, lips, and his face,” Peregrim says.

There are nine speech therapists in Shock Trauma, and Peregrim relied on them to augment her own experience in treating other patients with severe traumatic injuries to their faces and mouths.

“There are some massages and stretch techniques we use to facilitate blood flow and stimulate the facial muscles and nerves,” Peregrim says. “Then we do some tongue exercises with and without resistance. Sometimes I push a Q-tip against his tongue so he has to use strength. We incorporate all of that into words, sentences and sounds. We capitalize on the strength of his posterior tongue, which

is his native tongue. We’re now working on the front tongue [from his donor] and the lips.”

According to Peregrim, Norris makes good K and G sounds, which are formed with the back of his native tongue. Front sounds, such as T’s and D’s, are harder for him because they’re formed with the ante-rior part of the tongue (from his donor), and M, P and B sounds are also challenging because they rely on lip muscles.

“Richard’s a great patient. He will try anything and work hard for the hour we’re in there,” Peregrim says. “And he has homework – he does exercises on his own. Working with him has been very rewarding. You never know when an opportunity like this will come to work with [someone like] Richard.”

1997Richard norris sustains traumatic facial injury.

2002stephen Bartlett, md, chairman of the department of surgery at the university of maryland school of medicine and surgeon-in-chief of the university of maryland medical system, secures grant from office of naval Research in department of defense to pursue research in composite tissue allotransplantation.

2005Richard norris has first patient consultation with eduardo Rodriguez, md, dds, associate professor of surgery and chief of plastic, reconstructive and maxillofacial surgery at shock trauma.

2011Rolf n. Barth, md, associate professor of surgery, Rodriguez, Bartlett and their research lab publish data showing positive effects of vascularized bone marrow in facial transplantation.

November 2011face transplant research procurement occurs for real-time surgical rehearsal.

March 20, 2012university of maryland completes most extensive full face transplant to date.

CoVeR stoRy

On Tuesday, March 20, 2012, University of Maryland Medical Center surgeons and staff made history by completing the most extensive full face transplant in the world. The patient was 37-year-old richard Norris of Virginia.

T

The family of one anonymous donor generously donated his face and also saved five other lives through the heroic gift of organ donation.

72 HOURS AT UMMC

GOR POD 4

21

24

25

STC

OR

s

65

DAY ONE Face Transplant Begins (OR 5 & 6)Organ Donation Begins (OR 5)

DAY TWO Face Transplant Finishes (OR 6) Heart Transplant (OR 24)

Liver Transplant (OR 21)Single Lung Transplant (OR 25)

DAY THREE Single Kidney Transplant (OR 21)

DONOR

full face Transplant Makes history

Vanessa Peregrim, speech therapist

5summer 2012


Shock Trauma Model for the World

ealth officials in Brazil, which will host the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, are strengthening their trauma system before they welcome the elite athletes and hundreds of thousands of fans and supporters.

They turned to Maryland for their model, and sent a team of 17 physician and nurse leaders to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center earlier this year for an intensive six-week training program that is truly “golden” — R Adams Cowley, MD, the center’s namesake, was a pioneering surgeon who developed the concept of the Golden Hour. Cowley found that stabilizing patients in the first hour after a traumatic injury gave them a much better chance of survival. The model he pio-neered includes “pre-hospital” response, coordinated statewide by the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS).

The Brazilian physicians and nurses have now returned to their own country, preparing to open their first trauma hospital — Hospital Estadual Alberto Torres (HEAT) — in November. By 2014, they plan to have built three more trauma hospitals and a rehabilitation hospital.

“The 11 physicians and six nurses who came here are the leaders for this hospital, so we developed their training to focus on the importance of communications and relationships in a trauma network — between hospitals and first responders, and among the physicians, nurses and other clinical care staff,” said John Spearman, who was then a senior vice president for external affairs and community relations at UMMC and is now CEO of Laurel Regional Hospital. “They need to work against time, as a team, to save a patient.”

The visiting physicians and nurses observed UMMC’s Trauma Resuscitation Unit, where a bank of phones provides direct contact with ambulance, fire and police at the scene.

Most of the training was provided by Carnell Cooper, MD, clinical associate professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Shock Trauma nurse leaders Karen McQuillan, MS, RN, CNS-BC, CCRN, CNRN, clinical nurse specialist, and Deana Holler, MS, RN, trauma nurse coordinator.

Spearman said the Rio leaders want a true network between hospitals and emergency responders, such as fire, ambulance and police, for the state of Rio, which includes the city of Rio de Janeiro as well as surrounding suburban and rural areas, and a population of 18 million residents.

“This partnership started when the medical directors and physicians in the Fire Department for the State of Rio de Janeiro first came to us in 2006 while researching the

best emergency medical systems worldwide,” Spearman said.“Upon securing the bid for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, the

state of Rio’s health care budget increased and the state’s secretary of health and civil defense was able to devote more resources to developing a better trauma network and clinical care,” said Gretchen Swimmer, global market development manager at UMMC.

Meanwhile, the State of Rio and the Maryland Department of State were beginning to develop a formal sister-state agreement for collaboration on key issues, including health care. Ultimately, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Rio Gov. Sergio Cabral Filho signed a sister-state agreement in March 2011.

The Rio State Health Foundation, which oversees the development and management of hospitals and health programs, has also developed a strong relationship with UMMC to collaborate in other disciplines. The Health Foundation is opening a new transplant hospital for the State of Rio at the end of 2014, and is considering collaboration with UMMC in training of nurses and physicians in transplant surgery and patient care.

aaron rapoport, MD, at the Maryland Half Marathon with former patient Amy Babst and her daughter, Kira.

Deana Holler, Shock Trauma nurse coordinator, explains to visiting Brazilian physicians and nurses how emergency responders communicate from the injury scene with the Trauma Resuscitation Unit.

geoffrey Rosenthal, md, phd: Running for little hearts

The annual Baltimore Running Festival is fast approaching. And this means that more than 100 UM staff and friends are lacing up their running shoes to participate in the festival on Oct. 13 as part of the University of Maryland Children’s Heart Running Team.

Each year, geoffrey rosenthal, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics at the University of

Maryland School of Medicine and director of the pediatric and congenital heart program at

University of Maryland Medical Center, energizes his staff and community members to run

and raise money to help care for children with heart disease.

“People always ask me what motivates me

to run each day,” says Rosenthal. “I do it for the

children. I run because I know we can do more to

make life better for those touched by childhood

heart disease.”

One out of every 125 infants are born with

heart defects each year, making it one of the

most common birth defects and one of the

leading causes of birth defect-related deaths.

Diagnosis and surgical advancements, like those

performed by physicians within the Children’s

Heart Program, have lead to dramatic increases

in survival rates for children with congenital

heart disease. Now more than ever we are see-

ing children with congenital heart disease grow

to be healthy, normal adults.

To join the cause and run — or walk — with

the Children’s Heart Running Team, contact

nichole Barbuzanes at 410-328-6053 or email

[email protected].

Going the Distance: UM Physicians Draw Inspiration from Patients

H

geoffrey rosenthal, MD, PhD

aaron Rapoport, md: Celebrating patients’ Courage and staff dedication

Aaron rapoport, MD, wouldn’t miss an opportunity to run in the Maryland Half Mara-thon. And it’s not just because the 13.1-mile race raises money for the University of Mary-land Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center.

“I run every year because I want to celebrate the great work that is done by our nurses and staff every day of the year in the Greenebaum Cancer Center and the privilege of participating in the care of our patients, who display such inspirational courage and deter-mination,” says Rapoport, professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and associate director of the Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant Program at the cancer center. “It’s a very gratifying experience. I run for all of my patients: past, present and future.”

Rapoport, a hematologist/oncologist, adds that the race brings together patients, their families and friends and the cancer center staff in an “almost familial” atmosphere.

“Several of my patients have run in the half marathon, some just months after finishing treatment. Another one of my patients, Amy Babst, has put the finishing medal around my neck each of the last four years. I wouldn’t want to miss that,” Rapoport says.

He has raised more than $39,000 for the cancer center. The race, started by running buddies Michael Greenebaum and Jon Sevel in 2009, was held this year on May 6 in the Maple Lawn community in Howard County. More than $200,000 was raised, bringing total net proceeds to about $1 million. To contribute — or to participate next year as a runner — contact Whitney reeves at 8-3637 or [email protected].

6 ConnectionsUMMC


pE

Op

LE

New Leaders Join UMMC and UMMs

april employee of the month

From her very first day on the job in the Adult Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU), sigrid umali, BSN, RN, demonstrated her commitment to patients and to UMMC, says david Wong, RN, nurse manager of the PACU.

“Sigrid immediately entrenched herself in learning everything there is about perianesthesia nursing,” says Wong. “She has been able to handle the fast-paced environment of the PACU, and has a warm way of making patients feel taken care of. She’s also a strong clinician and an advocate for patients’ families. Her teammates describe her as kind, upbeat, smart and compassionate.”

may employee of the month

Patients recovering on the Gudelsky 6 West Orthopaedic Unit rely on the skill of nurses such as annamma Chacko, RN, CMRSN, to manage their post-surgical pain and encourage them to work through it toward rehabilitation.

“Anna has a passion for her work and a dedica-tion to helping patients meet their goals in recov-ery,” says Beverly dukes, MHA, BSN, RN, nurse manager of Weinberg 5, who formerly also man-aged the Orthopaedic Unit. “She regularly goes out of her way to help them and their families. She has an amazing enthusiasm and appreciation for all patients, no matter how difficult their situations.”

sIgRId umalI, Bsn, RnClinical nurse IIadult post-anesthesia Care unit (paCu)

annamma ChaCko, Rn, CmRsnClinical nurse IIgudelsky 6 orthopaedic unit

Janice J. Eisele Named SVP for Development

at UMMS Foundation

Janice J. Eisele is the new senior vice president for development at the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) Foundation. She is the senior philanthropy executive for all fundraising activities at the University of Maryland Medical Center and works with all 12 hospitals within UMMS to support and strengthen existing fundraising strategies. “We’re fortunate in Maryland, thanks in large part to gener-ous donors who have had lasting impact on the medical system through their gifts,” Eisele says. “I look forward to helping them find new ways to support the growth and innovation needed to remain an international leader in health care.” Eisele joins the UMMS Foundation from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where she was assistant vice chancellor for medical development beginning in 2004 and was responsible for the institution’s “grateful patient” giving program. From 2001-2004, she served as director of development for UCSF’s Department of Medicine. Prior to moving to San Fran-cisco, she held development roles locally at the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. “We are delighted to welcome Janice and her family back to Baltimore and look forward to her leadership driving key fund-raising and development initiatives,” says Jeffrey A. Rivest, presi-dent and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical Center. “We are very confident in Janice’s ability to advance our history of successful programs.” Established in March 2000, the UMMS Foundation generates private financial contributions for UMMC, including the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center, the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital, Kernan Hospital and Maryland General Health Systems.

Candy Knowles, Leader in Human Resources, Joins Medical Center and Medical System

Candy Knowles, MS, SPHR, FACHE, joined the Medical Center in March as the new senior vice president for human resources and chief human resources officer (CHRO) for both the Univer-sity of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) and the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS). And just four days after she and her family moved here from Dallas, her husband fell and broke his kneecap while walking the dog. “Fortunately, I knew where to bring him,” Knowles says. “I got a very in-depth orientation into the UMMC culture right away, and I have to say that at every level, everyone was wonderful to both of us. We felt one big organizational hug!” “It is a pleasure and a privilege to be part of such a renowned organization and leadership team,” she says. “I have found that people who join the health care industry do so because it is a call-ing to help others. This industry, this organization, this leadership team fit my values.” “Candy brings us the experience, vision and strategic leader-ship we need to continue to build our employee base as a local, regional and national destination for top-quality health care,” says Jeffrey A. Rivest, president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical Center. “A leader with Candy’s expertise will help ensure we have the best human resources practices in place for the near term and the future.” Knowles comes to the Medical System from Parkland Health and Hospital in Dallas, Texas, where she had been chief human resources officer since 2008. She has previously held senior-level HR positions at Parkview Health in Fort Wayne, Ind.; Phoebe Putney Health System in Atlanta, Ga., and Battle Creek Health System in Michigan. She earned a BA in business administration and marketing from Lakeland College and an MS from Cardinal Stritch University, both in Wisconsin. She is certified by the Society for Human Resources Management and is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

“We are very confident in

Janice’s ability to advance

our history of successful

programs,” says Jeffrey A.

rivest, president and CeO

of ummC.

“Candy brings us the experience,

vision and strategic leadership

we need to continue to build

our employee base as a local,

regional and national destination

for top-quality health care,” says

Jeffrey A. rivest, president and

CeO of ummC.

every tuesday through november

7summer 2012


the fIRst annual ameRICan gIRl fashIon shoW,

held march 24 and 25 at the Hippodrome Theatre, was a

huge success – and a whole lot of fun for the staff and 1,200

guests from the community who attended the fundraiser

that will help make a difference for children at Cool Kids

Campaign and university of maryland Children’s Hospital. The

180 girls chosen to model the American Girl® fashions raised

more than $52,000 through individual fundraising efforts – an

incredible feat for a first-year event!

“We thank all our generous sponsors and volunteers, without

whom this event would not have been possible,” says Janice

eisele, senior vice president, university of maryland

medical system (umms) Foundation.

“The Children’s Hospital is thrilled

with the results of this first annual

event, and we look forward to making

this fashion show a family tradition for

years to come.”

To read more and download photos

from the event, go to www.umm.edu/

pediatrics/american-girl.

June employee of the month

Computed tomography (CT) technology has evolved considerably over the past two decades, but one thing that has not changed during that time is the outstanding performance of eileen dentry, RT(RCT), radiologic technologist III. Colleagues praise her unflappable attitude and her ability to remain positive throughout the busy days.

“Eileen leads with incredible style,” says katherine mohr, MA, RT(RCT), advanced imaging manager. “When the department is humming and patients are abundant, Eileen’s no-nonsense, get-the-job-done attitude propels her forward during the most stressful of times. She takes the initiative and transforms into the center of action, methodically assuring that each patient is scanned in an efficient yet timely fashion.”

annamma ChaCko, Rn, CmRsnClinical nurse IIgudelsky 6 orthopaedic unit

eIleen dentRy, Rt(RCt)Radiologic technologist IIIRadiology/Ct

American Girl Fashion Show

Raises Awareness

www.umm.edu/pediatrics

Children are not just little adults. Young patients need specialized health care

designed to fit their physical and emotional

needs, which is why at the University of

Maryland Children’s Hospital, we combine

state-of-the-art medicine with family-centered

care, treating each child, as well as every

parent, grandparent and sibling, as a

unique individual.

for University of Maryland Children’s Hospital

8 ConnectionsUMMC


The University of Maryland Medical Center is an equal opportunity

employer and proud supporter of an environment of diversity.

is available on the Intranet and at www.umm.edu/connections.ConnectionsUMMC

people spotlIght

Welcome > > > Scott Tinsley-Hall is the new director of strategic planning for the Medical Center. He has more than 15

years of health care planning and finance experience in academic, community and children’s hospi-tals, most recently in Springfield, Ill., where he was regional direc-tor of planning for a 13-hospital system.

Simone Odwin-Jenkins, MBA, BSN, RN, is the new nurse manager of the Orthopaedic Unit on Gudelsky 6 West.

She served as director of outpatient operations and clinical services at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital before coming to UMMC. She obtained her Business of Nursing Certificate from the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and her MBA from Loyola University of Maryland. Her clinical experi-ence includes orthopaedics, neurol-ogy, neurosurgery, multi-trauma, oncology and cardiac telemetry.

Karen Lancaster, director of media relations and corporate com-munications, leads the joint media

relations team for the Medical Center and the UM School of Medicine. She comes to UMMC from MedImmune, a biotechnol-ogy company in Gaithersburg, where she was director of corporate relations and managed the com-pany’s H1N1 pandemic vaccine communications, among other projects. She has also worked in science communications for several high-profile campaigns for the American Diabetes Association, American College of Cardiology, and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope with Lance Armstrong, and for the nation’s largest public relations wire service for press releases and media information. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Loretta “Lori” Schmitt, RN, is the new senior director of strategic market-ing and physician relations. She comes

to UMMC from the Cleveland

Clinic, where she spent the last 12 years as director of service line marketing. She will lead consumer-directed and physician-directed marketing at the Medical Center, including affiliated UM School of Medicine clinical faculty prac-tices, the UMMC call center for specialist consultation and referral services, faculty physician outreach to community physicians and mar-keting strategies for specific clinical services that span the University of Maryland Medical System.

New Role > > > Ruth Borkoski, BSN, RN, has been appointed nurse manager of the Medical

Intermediate Care Unit (N10W) and the Medical Telemetry Unit (N13E/W). She has been a nurse at UMMC for 19 years, includ-ing clinical and leadership roles in both the Labor and Delivery and the Surgical Intensive Care Units. Her particular strengths include employee engagement and patient and family advocacy.

Dana Farrakhan, MHS, FACHE, has been promoted to a new position as vice president of strategic planning and program devel-

opment. She will also support the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) clinical program development projects across the 12 UMMS hospitals. She has been with UMMC for more than 18 years in planning and market-ing. In her new role, she will lead UMMC’s planning and clinical program development efforts; sup-port the UMMS strategic planning needs; and work with executive and clinical leaders at the Medical Center to expand linkages with UMMS affiliates.

Cynthia O’Carroll, MS, RN, is the new nurse manager of the Transplant Unit on Gudelsky 8 East and West.

She joined UMMC in 2002 as a transplant coordinator and later a clinical leader who was instru-mental in the transition of the transplant infusion center into the Transitional Care Clinic. She has a BA in biological sciences from

UMBC and had worked in molecu-lar biology research and as a cytoge-netic technician before graduating from nursing school at Stevenson University. She obtained her MS at the University of Maryland School of Nursing in Health Services Leadership and Management.

Michael Anne Preas, BSN, RN, CIC, is the new director of infec-tion prevention and control at

UMMC. She earned her nursing degree at Boston College and began her career at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at UMMC in 1984 as a critical care bedside nurse and then as infection preven-tion nurse for Shock Trauma until 1994. She also worked as director of infection prevention at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville before returning to UMMC as an infection preventionist in 2009. She represents the Medical Center on the Maryland Health Care Commission’s Health Care-Associated Infections Task Force, where she has been a representative since 2007. She is also the presi-dent-elect of the Baltimore chapter of the Association of Practitioners in Infection Control.

Involved > > > Karen Doyle, MBA, MS, RN, NEA-BC, was elected as the next president of the Society of Trauma

Nurses, a 1,400-member profes-sional and educational organization. At UMMC, she is vice president of nursing and operations at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center and the Adult Emergency Department. Before becoming president-elect of the Society of Trauma Nurses, she had been on the society’s board of directors, most recently as treasurer. She became president-elect at the 2012 annual conference in April, and will take office as president in the spring of 2013.

Lisa Rowen, DNSc, RN, FAAN, senior vice president for patient care services and chief nursing officer at UMMC,

has been elected to the Maryland Hospital Association Executive Committee, the highest policymak-

summering body of the association’s board. A leader in nursing practice and education, she has published more than 70 articles in peer-reviewed journals and is the principal investigator of an American Organization of Nurse Executives study on improving patient and staff outcomes. She also is an associate pro-fessor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, a clinical associate professor at University of Virginia School of Nursing and an adjunct faculty member at the schools of nursing at Johns Hopkins University and Northeastern University.

Honored > > > Monika Bauman and Connie Noll, two UMMC nurse manag-ers, have been chosen as finalists in the Nurse.com Excellence Awards for the DC, Maryland and Virginia region. They were honored at a gala in June. Nurse.com is affiliated with Nursing Spectrum magazine and NurseWeek.

Monika Bauman, MS, BSN, RN, CEN, nurse manager for women’s and

children’s ambulatory services, is a regional finalist in the Patient and Staff Management category. In addition to her clinical leadership in hospital-based clinics and outpatient procedure areas that serve women and children, she is

also widely known within the Medical Center for heading the Celebrations Team, which includes staff members from a variety of UMMC depart-ments who plan and execute organization-wide events to celebrate accomplishments such as achieving Leapfrog Top Hospital status for qual-ity and safety, and annual events honoring staff who are completing milestones in their careers at UMMC.

Connie Noll, MA, BSN, RN-BC, nurse manager for adult psychia-try services, is

a finalist in the category of Volunteerism and Service. She has volunteered with the American Red Cross since she was in high school and throughout her career as a nurse. Noll specializes in disaster mental health services and has responded to the most devastating disaster scenes in the country, including the Oklahoma City bombing; the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Pennsylvania and New York City; and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. She also leads mental health volunteers in her local chapter in York, Pa. In 2010, the American Red Cross presented her with one of its “Hometown Hero” awards for her national and local service.

BECkEr’S naMES UMMC and CEo JEffrEy riVEST aMong ToP 100 in naTionBecker’s Hospital Review has recognized the University of Maryland Medical Center as one of “100 Great Hospitals to Know” for 2012.

In addition, UMMC President and CEO Jeffrey a. rivest has been named to Becker’s list of “100 Leaders of Great Hospitals.” Rivest is in the company of other hospital presidents, CEOs and directors who have, according to Becker’s, emphasized organizational excellence, patient safety, quality service, financial savvy and an appropriate management demeanor.

Criteria for making the “Great Hospitals” list include contributions to the history of American health care, noteworthy accomplishments in 2011 and continued strides in 2012.

These hospitals “have demonstrated greatness through clinical ac-colades, innovation in care delivery, recent capital developments, and the offering of new services, specialty programs or technology.”

According to Becker’s, “within the Baltimore area, Maryland and the country as a whole, the University of Maryland Medical Center has made a lasting imprint in how it delivers quality care.”

UMMC Connections

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