S Caring ConneCtion - St. Joseph`s Hospital Health Center

Transcription

Caring
Connection
S t .
J o s e p h ’ s
A Publication of St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center | Winter 2011 | Vol. 8, No. 3
IN THIS ISSUE:
St. Joseph’s Is Ranked No.1
for Vascular Surgery
A Higher Level of Care
I
t seems as if the work never ends, but for St. Joseph’s patients,
their families, hospital staff and the Syracuse community that is
great news!
As the last tool is laid down upon completion of our new
emergency department, chest pain center, mental health emergency
department, data center and nutritional services area, we go right
back to work on the final phase of our $265 million hospital
expansion.
A 110-bed patient tower will provide private rooms that are
35 percent larger than existing semi-private rooms. The size,
and the fact that there is only one patient per room, will improve
patient safety and also lower the risk of hospital-acquired infections. It also will make it easier for doctors, nurses, family members
and patients to get around without bumping into furniture or each
other. Family waiting areas also will be enlarged.
Kathryn H. Ruscitto
For the first time in its modern history, critical patient services
such as the operating rooms, postanesthesia care unit, intensive
care units and centralized sterile will be grouped in close proximity to each other to
provide continuity of care instead of having surgery over here, radiology over there,
and the intensive care units in another direction.
Our current 12 operating rooms occupied 19,000 square feet when they were
designed and built in 1992. The new surgical suite’s 14 operating rooms—along with
expanded storage space and a larger, centralized presurgical area—will occupy 40,000
square feet. Space for an additional three operating rooms has been “roughed in” to be
completed when the need arises, as it surely will.
Each of the patient areas has been designed to provide more daylight, giving patients
a proven boost in their ability to heal more quickly. Some have asked whether these new
facilities will increase health care costs. Our calculations show that, in the long term, the
design criteria, use of higher efficiency mechanical systems, and the ability to improve
patient safety and lower infection rates through the use of private patient rooms will save
money.
There is another element of these improvements that is often overshadowed by our
concentration on patient care and the latest in medical technology, and that is the economic
power that a flourishing hospital injects into the Syracuse community. Consider the fact
that these projects will have provided 600 construction jobs by the time they are finished.
More than 80 percent of those jobs will go to local unionized labor. St. Joseph’s will have
added 250 new, permanent health care jobs thanks to our expansion—100 jobs by the end
of 2012, and an additional 150 jobs between 2013 and 2016.
Look around the North Side and you’ll see new businesses coming into the area and
others getting a facelift. We intend to improve the viability of these area businesses by
providing tree- and shrubbery-lined greenways for better, more attractive access from
the hospital.
Anyone who has driven along Townsend and McBride streets near the hospital has
witnessed the renewal of what was once a blighted residential neighborhood. St. Joseph’s
has contributed by working with Housing Visions and Home HeadQuarters to provide
new houses and rental properties.
Let me put it this way: Where else can you buy a house, have the mortgage guaranteed
by St. Joseph’s, gain access to as much as $15,000 in Syracuse Neighborhood Initiative
grants, and have your kids go to a city high school, graduate and be able to go to college
for free through the “Say Yes” program? And, if you walk to work at the hospital from a
home in the neighborhood, you don’t even have to buy gas.
There is no doubt we have a lot of work ahead of us, but it’s the kind of work we all
can roll up our sleeves and relish.
Sincerely,
Kathryn H. Ruscitto
President
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Contents
Ralph & Christina Nappi
Emergency Services:
Naming Gift to St. Joseph’s
Honors Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
St. Joseph’s Is Ranked No. 1
for Vascular Surgery in
New York State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Up-to-Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Taking the Road Less Traveled
Has Made All the Difference
in Her Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Our Foundation Report . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Franciscan Companies
Franciscan Companies Aims
to Improve Quality of Life
for Patients, Reduce Health Care
Costs and Help the
Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Tired of Being Tired . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Quality Care That Provides
Families a Break . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Embracing Age and
Living Home Longer . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Front Cover:
The carotid endarterectomy that vascular
surgeon Syed Zaman, MD, is performing
reflects in his surgical glasses. St. Joseph’s
vascular surgery program recently was named
no. 1 in New York state by HealthGrades®.
The story begins on page 5.
Our Mission
We are passionate healers dedicated
to honoring the Sacred in our sisters
and brothers.
Our Vision
To be world-renowned for passionate
patient care and outstanding clinical
outcomes.
Our Core Values
In the spirit of good Stewardship,
we heal by practicing: Compassion
through our kindness, concern and
genuine caring; Reverence in honoring
the dignity of the human spirit;
Excellence by expecting the best of
ourselves and others; Integrity by
being and speaking the truth.
www.sjhsyr.org
RALPH & CHRISTINA NAPPI EMERGENCY SERVICES
Naming Gift to St. Joseph’s
Honors Parents
R
alph J. Nappi was never famous, nor is his
wife, Christina. Yet their names appear for all
to see on the St. Joseph’s Ralph & Christina
Nappi Emergency Services building.
Ralph was a public service employee for 30 years
until his death in 1980. Christina describes herself
(with some well-earned pride) as the equally hardworking mother of six—all of them, coincidentally,
born at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center.
Yet those are hardly ever the credentials needed to
find your name above a sparkling new state-of-the-art
emergency medicine facility primed to serve tens of
thousands of Central New Yorkers when it opens in
2012. It was, however, more than enough for the
couple’s son and daughter-in-law, Samuel and Carol
Nappi, who made the gift to name the building—a
gift they hope will recognize the lives and life lessons
of Ralph and Christina Nappi. They also say the gift
speaks about the care the elder Nappis received from
St. Joseph’s physicians and nurses over the years.
“Our parents taught us so much about helping
others,” Samuel Nappi says. “We, as a family, are what
we are because of what they taught us. They taught us
by example the importance of helping others without
expecting anything in return. They led by example:
If you give back, you also get back. Giving is its own
pleasure.
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“My father was loved by his family and his commu
nity,” Nappi continues. “In the 31 years since his passing,
every time I meet someone who knew my dad, they say
how much they loved him. He was a very giving person—
a real gentleman and a fine example for us to follow.
“This gift is about honoring my parents, but it’s also
about honoring the care my parents have received over
the years from St. Joseph’s nurses and doctors.”
Nappi recalls playing football with friends as a
teenager in 1972 when an out-of-breath friend ran to
tell him that his father had been taken to St. Joseph’s. He
arrived to find out his father had suffered a stroke and
already had been given last rites. Over the next two or
three weeks, Nappi remembers the care his father received
from neurosurgeon (the late) Dominick C. Adornato Jr.,
MD, as his father was coaxed back from the brink.
“Anyone,” he says, “who has been through that and
comprehends what it’s like watching these nurses and
doctors give back endlessly will understand. It’s in their
nature.”
Nappi praises other St. Joseph’s practitioners, as
well. He recalls the efforts of Abdul-Ghaffar Musa, MD,
who treated his mother for an aggressive cancer.
Dr. Musa, Nappi says, “did an amazing job of saving
her life. Dr. Musa really shines through for me today.
He’s brilliant.”
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St. Joseph’s Hospital
Health Center’s new
emergency services
building was named
by the Nappi family in
honor of their parents,
Ralph and Christina
Nappi. Christina Nappi
is photographed outside the facility with
her sons John (left)
and Nicholas (right).
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He also credits Joel Rosenberg, MD, as another
member of the St. Joseph’s medical staff (and a longtime friend of his) with saving his mother-in-law’s life
through coronary valve surgery.
“St. Joseph’s has always been the choice for my family,
as well,” Carol Nappi says. “Thanks to Dr. Rosenberg,
my mother, Yoshi, is now 82 going on 65. “It was hard
to get her out of cardiac rehabilitation she liked it and
the staff so much. She has always liked to walk, and now
she’s buzzing up and down the driveway.”
Samuel and Carol Nappi hardly have time to slow
down either. He is chairman and chief executive officer
of a privately owned energy company with 12 power
plants in the Northeast that supply electricity—a
portion of it renewable like biofuel and hydroelectric—
to more than a million households. The company also
gathers natural gas in Alaska and operates natural gas
pipelines in Western and Central New York.
Nappi also is the founder of an entertainment
company that produces plays, musicals and feature
films. “I enjoy the business,” Nappi says. “The films and
plays I’m involved with have a social consciousness. I’m
working on a film now based on the life of Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. along with DreamWorks and Warner
Brothers.” A play coproduced with Alicia Keys opened
in New York in November.
Carol Nappi is just as busy. She spent 11 years at
the former Community General Hospital providing
psychiatric day treatment. That was before son, Justin,
and daughter, Leah, were born. “I stayed home and
became a full-time mom,” she says.
Samuel Nappi says his parents taught by example the importance
of giving to others. His mother, Christina Nappi, is surrounded
by her sons (from left to right) John, Nicholas and Samuel. Her
daughter-in-law, Carol, is seated next to her. Not photographed
are Christina Nappi’s children Pamela, Rita and Ralph.
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All Art © Peter Max 2011
This Peter Max portrait of Ralph and Christina Nappi, for whom
St. Joseph’s emergency services building is named, was commissioned
by the Nappi family and will be displayed in the new facility. (For more
about the artist Peter Max, visit www.petermax.com.)
Even though she was raising two children, she
continued to teach at the family’s church and volunteer
for several agencies. Carol is an active board member
on several national charities in Central New York, New
York City and Los Angeles. She was honored with a
local Jefferson Award in 2000 for her community
involvement.
But when there are calm moments, moments for
reflection on the most important elements of life, their
thoughts turn away from work and back to families and
the communities in which they grow up—including those
in poverty who need, but who can’t afford, health care.
“The people who often need it the most, the impoverished, will use the emergency center for their primary
care needs as they have in the past,” Nappi continues.
“It’s not always good for the hospital, and yet one
thing continues to ring true—St. Joseph’s is building a
world-class facility for all comers, including for those
who have nowhere else to turn.
“We live in both New York City and Los Angeles,
and have seen the facilities at New York’s Cornell
Medical and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los
Angeles. We are so happy to see that St. Joseph’s is
coming up to such wonderful standards in terms of
technology and infrastructure. They have always had
great doctors and nurses, and the fact that they are
making such a huge capital investment in a community
of this size is remarkable.”
So how does Christina Nappi feel about having her
and her late husband’s names connected with the new
emergency services building?
“You know,” she ponders, “I have seen the
goodness in our children from a young age. I’m
humbled by this honor; my husband would be proud.
We are blessed that our children can give back to such
an important cause and community.” l
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St. Joseph’s Is Ranked No. 1 for
Vascular Surgery in New York State
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t. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center has been
named the top hospital for vascular surgery in
New York state and among the top 5 percent in
the nation by HealthGrades®, a nationally recognized, independent source of physician and hospital
quality ratings. HealthGrades released its findings in
October as part of its 2011 Healthcare Consumerism and
Hospital Quality in America report.
That is reassuring news for Central New York residents who may face the life-threatening consequences
of blocked carotid arteries or bulging aortic aneurysms
that, if they were to burst, are fatal more than 80
percent of the time. Surgical expertise is an important
variable in survivability, so having a top-rated facility
in the backyard is a big plus, but the biggest advantage
is having seven vascular surgeons on St. Joseph’s staff
with decades of experience in treating these high-risk
conditions.
You can understand the importance of experience
as you watch Syed Zaman, MD, repair the severely
blocked right carotid artery of Gloria Didas.
The surgery is filled with risk and the possibility of
catastrophic endings, unless the surgical team knows
exactly what it’s doing and has learned to manage the
dangers involved in nearly every vascular surgery.
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Despite the risk, there seems to be very little
tension.
When Dr. Zaman, who is also chief of surgery at
St. Joseph’s, reaches calmly to his right for a clamp,
surgical technician Carene Lozito already has anticipated his move and places it in his gloved hand without
being asked. Dr. Zaman hasn’t even looked up from the
three-inch-long incision in Didas’s right carotid that
gives him access to the artery that is 90 percent blocked
by a lifetime’s accumulation of a gristle-like material
called plaque. Dr. Zaman must now carefully peel the
plaque away from the inside surface of Didas’ artery. If
any of the plaque is loosened, it can travel to the brain
and cause a debilitating or fatal stroke.
Dr. Zaman is aided by physician assistant Larry
Scimone, and Gerard Falotico, certified registered nurse
anesthetist, who has sedated Didas and keeps track
of her vital signs throughout the procedure. Meghan
Harrison, RN, is the circulating nurse who seldom
stops moving as she scurries around the operating
room gathering whatever disposable supplies are
needed.
To keep blood flowing to the right side of Didas’
brain, Dr. Zaman and Scimone install a plastic tube that
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Vascular surgeon
Syed Zaman, MD, (left)
performs a carotid
endarterectomy at
Health Center.
St. Joseph’s vascular
surgery program has
been rated among
the top 5 percent
in the nation by
HealthGrades, an
independent hospital
and physician quality
rating organization.
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caring Connection A Higher Level of Care
Plaque in the carotid artery, if not removed, may have devastating
consequences, including stroke.
The surgical team has opened the patient’s carotid artery and prepares to remove plaque
that has blocked 90 percent of blood flow.
continued from page 5
temporarily detours the blood around the blockage.
With the tube—or shunt—in place, Dr. Zaman carefully slices into the artery and removes the plaque in
one piece making sure that he doesn’t take any of the
artery’s lining with it. It is, Dr. Zaman says, a delicate
procedure. Once the plaque is removed and the
interior of the now shiny artery is methodically rinsed
with a mixture of sterile salt water and a blood thinner,
Dr. Zaman closes the incision with 30 or so stitches
before removing the shunt and restoring blood flow
through the artery. What has taken less than a minute
to read about has taken more than an hour to safely
perform. It has also contributed yet more experience
and knowledge to the entire team.
“It is nice to have other people say good things about
us, but we still continually evaluate ourselves to do
even better for our patients.”
—Lawrence Semel, MD
Such experience is partly the reason St. Joseph’s
and its vascular surgeons are rated so highly by
HealthGrades®.
“In every case, you see small differences,” Dr. Zaman
says. “Everyone is slightly different. Even after doing
thousands of such surgeries, you still may be surprised
—something looks worse than you thought it would or
there are abnormalities you’ve never seen. But, because
we’ve been through these procedures so many times, we
can tackle and overcome such challenges.”
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As an example, Didas’ carotid artery was larger in
diameter than most—something seen in only one or
two out of 100 patients. Dr. Zaman normally stitches
a polyester fabric patch to help close smaller incisions,
but didn’t need to this time.
Lawrence Semel, MD, whose volume of carotid and
aortic aneurysm surgeries is similar to Dr. Zaman’s, says
that experience is the driving force behind patients’
successful surgeries at St. Joseph’s or any other hospital.
“If you look at this from a numerical point of view,
the seven vascular surgeons at St. Joseph’s have the
largest volume of carotid operations in New York and
the second highest volume of aortic aneurysm repairs,”
Dr. Semel says. “There are a lot of data that says the
outcomes on high-risk procedures are better at highvolume centers. That’s usually true because the fact is
you can’t have a large volume unless your results are
good because the physicians who send these patients to
you wouldn’t send them otherwise.”
Part of the reason the number of procedures is
increasing is the overall aging of patients. Dr. Semel
says that 10 years ago, a 70-year-old patient may
have been considered “old.” Today it isn’t rare to have
80- and even 90-year-old patients. Nor is it odd to find
patients in their 50s with carotid blockages. Dr. Zaman
adds, “You’re only as old as your arteries.”
Being ranked no. 1 in the state is a responsibility
St. Joseph’s vascular surgeons take seriously, according
to Dr. Zaman.
“It is nice to have other people say good things
about us,” Dr. Semel adds, “but we still continually
evaluate ourselves to do even better for our patients.”
“This is a team effort,” explains Dr. Zaman. “The
partners I work with are the most professional, experienced and dedicated doctors I know. You can’t do
this without support. St. Joseph’s anesthesia staff and
nurses provide excellent care, and administration gives
us what we need to do our work.”
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You get the impression from talking with Dr. Zaman
that he and the other vascular surgeons at St. Joseph’s
view their work more as a calling than a job. He
remembers the time he found himself humming as he
got ready to leave home for an early morning surgery.
His daughter asked him why he was so happy. “I don’t
know,” he told her, “I just feel good when I go to work.”
Turning momentarily serious, he reflects on the honor
that St. Joseph’s vascular surgeons have earned and what
it means for them and also for Central New York.
“As a vascular surgeon, you don’t get too many
second chances—you need to do things right the first
time. The consequences of failure—a stroke, losing
a limb or losing a life—are just too great. So being
recognized like this for offering something in Syracuse
that is safe, good and can’t be done better anywhere
else in the state is quite an honor.
“Being able to have a positive impact on the life of
another person is a great privilege for us as physicians,
but it’s also an obligation to make sure we are doing
what we do the best we can.” l
St. Joseph’s Receives HealthGrades
Vascular Surgery Excellence Award
A
leading hospital and physician quality rating organization, HealthGrades®
has recognized St. Joseph’s vascular surgery program as:
n
Recipient of HealthGrades Vascular Surgery Excellence Award™ for two
years in a row (2011-2012)
n
Among the top 5 percent in the nation for vascular surgery (2012)
n
No. 1 in New York state for vascular surgery (2012)
n
Rated five stars for vascular surgery (2012)
n
Rated five stars for carotid surgery (2010-2012)
n
Rated five stars for peripheral vascular bypass (2012)
HealthGrades’ five-star rating means clinical performance is better than
expected. HealthGrades 2011 Healthcare Consumerism and Hospital
Quality in America report stated that patients had, on average, a 73 percent lower risk of dying in a five-star rated hospital compared to a one-star
rated hospital, and a 54 percent lower risk of dying in a five-star rated
hospital compared to the national average. Patients, on average, were
63 percent less likely to experience in-hospital complications than patients
at one-star rated hospitals and had a 43 percent lower likelihood of developing an in-hospital complication than the national average. More information about HealthGrades may be found at www.healthgrades.com. l
St. Joseph’s vascular surgery program was rated no. 1 in New York state by HealthGrades in its 2011 Healthcare Consumerism and Hospital Quality in America
report, released in October. St. Joseph’s vascular surgeons are (from left to right) Robert Carlin, MD, J. Timothy Riley, MD, Lawrence Semel, MD, Syed Zaman, MD,
and Mark McGurrin, MD.
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up to date
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Vice Presidents Named
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Mark Murphy
Fred Letourneau
Deborah Welch
t. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center has named Mark
Murphy, RN, NP, senior vice president for system
development and ambulatory care. Murphy works closely
with St. Joseph’s President Kathryn Ruscitto on system
development, and with Frank Smith Jr., vice president
for corporate development and president of Franciscan
Companies, to further develop home care, wound care,
the sleep labs, as well as dialysis and cardiac rehabilitation
services at St. Joseph’s. In addition, he focuses on developing primary care center based mental health services and
medical homes. Murphy will continue to concentrate on
care coordination and readmission prevention.
Murphy, who has worked for St. Joseph’s since 1989,
most recently served as vice president for care management
and ambulatory services. He is pursuing a master’s degree in
business administration from Le Moyne College and currently holds a master of science in nursing degree from Boston
College and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from SUNY
Plattsburgh. He is a member of several community boards,
including PACE of Central New York, the New York State
Home Care Association, Rosewood Heights Skilled Nursing
Facility and the Liverpool Little League.
Fred Letourneau has been named vice president for
physician enterprise. He is responsible for working with
employed and private practice physicians affiliated with
St. Joseph’s to form an integrated system to improve
quality and coordination of patient care. This new position is part of St. Joseph’s recognition that physicians and
health care organizations working together provide the
best care for patients throughout the care continuum,
from wellness visits in the primary care provider’s office
to advanced procedures offered in the hospital.
With 16 years of experience in physician practice
management, Letourneau is returning to St. Joseph’s
where he previously ran a physician hospital organization in the mid-1990s. Most recently, Letourneau served
as chief executive officer/administrator for three medical
groups in Syracuse: CNY Family Care, LLP, a family medicine group with 11 physicians and seven mid-level providers; Upstate Surgical Group, a general surgery practice
with nine physicians; and Vascular Surgeons of Central
New York, a vascular surgery group with five physicians.
Letourneau also has worked for Aetna Health Plans.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in management from
Syracuse University.
In January 2012, Deborah Welch will assume the
position of vice president for people (mission integration
and organizational development).
A 32-year employee of St. Joseph’s, Welch has been
responsible for the overall operation, administration and
management of mental health services for 22 years.
Under her leadership, St. Joseph’s mental health services
has grown exponentially and has led the way in providing mental health services to those most in need in the
Central New York community.
Recently, Welch assumed additional responsibilities
as director of organizational development. Applying her
knowledge of Baldrige principles, quality and employee
development, she has helped advance the organization’s
readiness to meet the challenges of tomorrow.
As vice president, Welch will continue to focus on
organizational and leadership development, as well as
mission integration at St. Joseph’s. She holds a bachelor’s
degree in psychology from Le Moyne College and is an
alumna of Leadership Greater Syracuse, Class of 2003.
She also is a member of the boards of directors of the
New York State Council for Community Behavioral Health
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New Kitchen Cooks Up Made-to-Order Meals
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t. Joseph’s new $6 million kitchen, which opened in October with
a ribbon-cutting and open house, will allow the hospital to provide
on-demand room service for patients. The first hospital in Syracuse to
provide room service, St. Joseph’s expects to kick off the program in
early December. Patients, who may choose from a selection of menus
featuring regular and modified diets, will receive their freshly prepared
meals within 45 minutes. “No one wants to stay in a hospital, but
if they need to be here, we want to be sure they are well-nourished
with high-quality hot meals made to order to their specifications and
needs,” says Jamie Nicolosi, director of nutritional services.
Nutritional services aide Carlos Lind cuts the ribbon unveiling
St. Joseph’s new kitchen while (from left to right) Jeffrey Mitchell,
executive chef who recently became a certified culinary administrator™;
Joseph Scicchitano, vice president for support services; Jamie Nicolosi,
director of nutritional services; and St. Joseph’s President Kathryn
Ruscitto look on. l
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Photographed at the
Fayetteville Free Library,
Andrea Grant embarked
on “the road less traveled” when she decided
to change her life with
bariatric surgery performed at St. Joseph’s
Hospital Health Center.
Taking the Road Less Traveled Has
Made All the Difference in Her Life
. . . Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
— Robert Frost
A
ndrea Grant, like millions of others, is familiar with
Robert Frost’s four-stanza poem, The Road Not Taken,
but for her it has special meaning as she reflects on the
choice she made eight months ago to change her life
with the help of St. Joseph’s Hospital Heath Center and Dmitri
Baranov, MD, PhD, FACS.
Frost’s protagonist, like Grant, encounters two roads that divide
in a forest. She must choose one over the other, knowing that the
consequences of her choice will almost certainly be irreversible.
Grant is fortunate in that she, unlike Frost’s wanderer, already had
some hints of the burdens that one road was likely to bring. Even
knowing that, however, didn’t make her choice any easier.
With a deep breath, Grant took her first step down the other
path on April 12.
When Grant (whom almost everyone calls Drea) first visits
Dr. Baranov in May for a consultation on bariatric surgery, she
weighs 321 pounds, is 29 years old, in love, and, she admits, not
all that happy with the road she has allowed herself to take.
Her shopping options, she says, are limited and “not the same
fashion that you long to enjoy.” The available colors and prints
remind her of living room drapes. There are good shops, she admits,
but they are too expensive, even though she works two jobs.
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“When I ride in an airplane, a train or go to a sporting event, I tend
to spill over onto the person next to me,” she admits. “That’s alright if
it’s your fiancé sitting there, but with a stranger it’s embarrassing.
“You don’t want to be that way. You don’t want people to look
at you. And sometimes you look at yourself in disgust that you’ve
allowed yourself to get so big.”
That’s exactly the way she feels when she makes a routine visit to
her family physician and the nurse asks her to step up on the scale
to be weighed. Grant hadn’t weighed herself recently and remembers
looking down at the scale as it settled at 321 pounds. She was devastated, having told herself that she’d never let herself get over 300
pounds. She entered a “biggest loser” competition at work, feasting
on a protein shake for breakfast, a simple lunch, and then what she
called a more elaborate, but healthy, dinner. Extra exercise was still
difficult because when she finished one job, she’d change clothes and
be off to the next leaving scant spare time in her day.
It was a chance conversation with a friend who had undergone
gastric bypass surgery that convinced Grant there were ways to lose
weight other than traditional dieting.
“My friend characterized the gastric bypass surgery with
Dr. William Graber’s group as ‘amazing,’ and said she had no
complaints,” Grant recalls. “I also had done some of my own
research and learned that, if I met certain criteria, the surgery could
be covered by my employer’s health insurance. I was determined to
attend the next information session hosted by St. Joseph’s Hospital
Health Center.”
That session would point the way to “the road less traveled,”
and it was on Grant’s day off—April 12.
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Andrea Grant meets bariatric surgeon Dmitri Baranov, MD, for the first time on May 27
in his office. After attending an informational session about bariatric surgery hosted by
St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in April, Grant decided she wanted to learn more and
see if she would be a candidate for the procedure.
Obesity—weighing more than you should for your
height and gender—is a killer. It is estimated to be
responsible for 300,000 premature deaths each year in
the United States. About 34 percent of Americans are
obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, and more than 5 percent are considered
to be morbidly obese with a body mass index of 40 or
more. That’s the category into which Andrea Grant falls
when she seeks information and help at that April 12
seminar.
“It was an eye-opening session and they gave us so
many facts,” Grant says.
Among those facts are these: Obesity contributes to
diabetes, high blood pressure and an increased risk of
heart attacks and strokes, liver and kidney disease, and
several kinds of cancer, including breast and colon. But
the fact that struck Grant the hardest was this: Women
who have gastric bypass surgery are 50 percent less likely
to have children who struggle with childhood obesity.
“If I could prevent my child from having to suffer
any of the heartache that I went through as a chubby
child, I would go through any kind of pain and any
kind of food restrictions that gastric bypass surgery
requires,” Grant says.
Gastric bypass surgery can’t be taken lightly,
William Graber, MD, FACS, says. It is major surgery
and its success, in the end, depends on how serious
the patient is about changing his or her eating habits
following surgery. Bariatric surgery, he says, remains
the only way to help the morbidly obese successfully
lose weight, keep it off and improve overall health.
10 caring Connection
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Drs. Graber and Baranov won’t perform it on everyone.
Surgical candidates, they say, must have a body mass
index of 40 or more—or 35 or more with other significant medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension
and obstructive sleep apnea.
Grant met those surgical prerequisites, but she
also has two other personal goals driving her: She is
engaged to Daquan Thomas and she looks forward to
a long healthy marriage along with healthy children.
She also looks forward to her June 9 surgery, but not
without some trepidation.
On June 9, a Thursday morning, Andrea Grant is
nervous, but not too nervous. She knows that what
she’s doing is the right thing for her health and her
future. She also has some help from a friend, Sarah
Paschuk, an RN in St. Joseph’s postanesthesia care unit,
who calms her until she goes into the operating room.
“Sarah was there for me and that was great,” Grant
recalls. “Any normal person has to be a little nervous
before going under anesthesia, but I was ready. I
remember them moving me over to the operating table
and the next thing I knew. . ..”
Grant has no recollection of the hour or so it took
for Dr. Baranov and the surgical team to complete the
procedure that would significantly change her life. But,
she knew what to expect.
Dr. Baranov earned his medical degree and a
doctorate in his native Russia. Upon completion of his
surgical training, he worked as a staff surgeon in one
of the city hospitals in Moscow. After coming to the
Weight Loss Surgery Office
Opens on St. Joseph’s
Hospital Campus
T
he weight loss surgery practice of William
Graber, MD, FACS, and Dmitri Baranov, MD,
PhD, FACS, has opened an office in St. Joseph’s
Hospital Health Center’s Medical Office Centre,
located at 104 Union Ave., Syracuse. On the
St. Joseph’s campus, the office is located in
suites 809-810 on the eighth floor of St. Joseph’s
Medical Office Centre.
The practice, which specializes in weight
loss surgery, has treated nearly 4,000 patients.
Board-certified surgeons specialize in laparoscopic
bariatric surgery, and use the most advanced
techniques.
Drs. Graber and Baranov have earned the
American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
Center of Excellence designation. St. Joseph’s
Hospital also is designated as a Bariatric Surgery
Center of Excellence.
To learn more about bariatric surgery at
St. Joseph’s, see the list of upcoming informational sessions on page 13 or call St. Joseph’s
Resource Line at 315-703-2138 or 1-888-7856371 (toll free). l
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United States, he completed a general surgery residency
at the Brooklyn Hospital in New York City, and then a
fellowship in minimally invasive surgery at the Boston
University Medical Center. Drs. Graber and Baranov
have performed hundreds of these procedures, but they
are never routine.
Long before the surgery, Dr. Baranov explained
to Grant that he would perform what is known as a
“Roux-en-Y gastric bypass” procedure named decades
ago for a Swiss surgeon, Dr. Cesar Roux. He also
would perform the surgery laparoscopically. Instead
of making one long incision opening up much of her
abdomen, Dr. Baranov would make several small halfinch incisions through which he would insert small
surgical tools. He will be guided by a high-resolution
videocamera with his progress shown greatly enlarged
on an overhead videoscreen.
“The laparoscopic approach makes it much easier to
see what we are doing,” Dr. Baranov says, “and it’s also
much easier on patients because they have less pain,
it reduces their hospital stay and it gives much better
cosmetic results. It also reduces some complications
associated with open procedures.”
Just because the laparoscopic approach reduces
complications, it doesn’t reduce the procedure’s
complexity. Following the surgery’s progress on the
screen takes a well-trained eye, since virtually all of the
structures in the abdomen tend to look about the same
color and texture to the novice.
In the most commonly performed gastric bypass procedure,
Roux-en-Y, a small pouch is created, excluding a large portion of
the stomach. A section of the small intestine is attached to this
pouch. Food that is now eaten bypasses the stomach and goes
directly to the small intestine. Filling this pouch with just a few
bites of food creates the same sensation as a large meal would
prior to surgery. Patients who have gastric bypass surgery need
to commit to a new style of eating (including smaller portions,
foods low in sugar and fat, and appropriate fluid intake) as well
as regular physical activity in order to promote overall good
health. Weight loss surgery often alleviates obesity-related illnesses such as diabetes, sleep apnea and hypertension.
Dr. Baranov looks at one of several videoscreens in the operating room as he conducts Grant’s gastric bypass surgery laparoscopically,
using a number of small incisions through which he inserts the surgical tools, instead of making one large incision. Laparoscopic
surgery typically benefits patients by reducing the length of hospital stay and likelihood of postoperative complications.
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Under normal circumstances, chewed food is swallowed and enters the upper end of the stomach from
the esophagus. The food is partially digested in the
stomach and then passes through the other end of the
stomach into the small intestine, a wrinkly tube about
an inch in diameter and about 25-feet long, where
it continues the digestion process. From the small
intestine, waste passes into the large intestine and is
eventually expelled from the body.
In the Roux-en-Y procedure, Dr. Baranov shortcircuits the digestion process.
He cuts a small portion of the top of the stomach,
creating a pouch about the size of a jumbo chicken
egg. The remainder of the stomach is stapled closed at
the top cutting off the flow of food to the remaining
bypassed “big stomach.” In the second part of the
operation, Dr. Baranov cuts the lower part of the small
intestine, pulls it upward, and fastens it to the newly
created pouch creating a direct and much shorter path
for the food to follow. What happens to the portion of
the small intestine still attached to the lower end of the
“big stomach” but disconnected from the remainder of
the small intestine that was pulled up and attached to
the “pouch?” It is reconnected to what’s left of the small
intestine further down the line. When the two portions
of the small intestine are reconnected, they form a “Y”
giving the procedure the rest of its name.
It’s not necessary for Andrea Grant to grasp the
technical aspects of the Roux-en-Y procedure, but
it is necessary for her to grasp its consequences, Dr.
Baranov says. The surgery dramatically reduces the
amount of food Grant can consume, and, importantly,
it decreases the craving for food. To be successful,
however, she must eat three meals a day of regular food
Grant attends a St. Joseph’s bariatric support group meeting in August. The group is
held monthly for those who have had bariatric surgery at St. Joseph’s or elsewhere. Barb
Wagoner, RN, (center), facilitates the group.
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At her first postoperative appointment with Dr. Baranov’s office
on June 30, Grant has lost 38 pounds to date.
knowing that she’ll feel “full” much sooner than she
used to, and when that happens, she must stop. She
will learn that the most important thing is to “protect
the pouch” by following the post-surgical diet to the
letter, and also drinking and eating slowly. Dr. Baranov
tells his patients that the newly created “pouch” is
delicate and, for the next several weeks while it is
healing, is not strong enough to withstand overfilling.
The single most important instruction after surgery is
to follow the diet exactly as it is written.
Grant continues to lose weight—86 pounds by
mid-October. Reflecting on the changes the surgery has
had on her eating habits and diet, she explains:
“All I ‘ate’ my first two weeks after the surgery were
fluids,” Grant says, “juices, broth, some protein shakes.
Then I started some mushy foods like diluted mashed
potatoes or humus. I love humus. At four to six weeks,
I was eating soft foods with more texture—soft fruits,
soft vegetables, a little macaroni, even some mashed
tuna. Finally, at seven weeks, I could start eating some
meat. It was meat, but it was like shaved deli meat—
not a fork full of steak.”
The pace of eating and drinking slows, as well.
Grant has been counseled to drink about eight cups
of water or other calorie-free liquids a day—slowly,
always slowly, and not directly before or after meals,
and in tiny sips, never gulps. Over those first few
weeks, Grant’s new stomach “pouch” would slowly
begin to stretch as the swelling from recent surgery
decreases, but never would it hold more than a cup
of food.
“Being hungry all the time was one thing I worried
about before the surgery,” Grant says candidly. “But
when you slow down your eating and get food in
that little pouch you feel as if you’ve just eaten a
Thanksgiving dinner. It seems impossible, but you are
satisfied.”
Throughout both the pre-operative and postoperative periods patients like Grant have full access to the
practice’s staff of physician assistants, nurse practitioners, registered nurses and dietitians.
Grant admits that there have been some changes
in her food choices. She tries to avoid pasta and some
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varieties of rice because they seem to expand in her
stomach pouch and cause mild pain. She also has
decided that if she can’t eat very much, she will make
the most of what she does eat by using fresh ingredients
and packing each meal with flavor. Never, she says,
have fresh zucchini, beans and other vegetables tasted
so good. Her fiancé, Daquan Thomas (she calls him a
gentle giant), continues to lose weight, as well.
“He’s been amazing throughout this whole process,”
Grant says. “He took a week off work without pay to
stay home and look after me. He stayed both nights at
St. Joseph’s sleeping in a chair. If I needed anything, he
was just there. That speaks volumes about his character.”
It’s now mid-November—nearly six months since
Andrea Grant awoke from the June surgery that, as
she suspected, would change her life. When she was
rolled into one of St. Joseph’s operating rooms for the
hour-long gastric bypass surgery with Dr. Baranov, she
weighed more than 300 pounds. Today, she weighs
225 pounds—well on the way to her goal of 180
pounds. She has settled into her regimen of metered
eating and has become used to a stomach that is threequarters smaller than it used to be. She’s exercising
regularly, too. But right now, there’s something else
on her mind besides her weight and her two jobs—
her April 14 wedding to Thomas—a year and two
days after her first information-packed meeting with
Dr. Graber’s practice.
Enough has changed now, Grant says, that her
friends—both close and casual—have witnessed what a
difference gastric bypass surgery can make in a person’s
life. She was facing collateral health problems before the
surgery, but those are gradually waning. A new set of
“problems” now face her, but they bring smiles to her face.
With her weight dwindling steadily, it’s difficult to
predict what size wedding dress she’ll need next April.
She has finally found a bridal salon willing to wait until
very close to the service before settling on a size. There
will still be some alterations needed here and there, but
those are the problems that any young woman doesn’t
mind facing.
“My friends tell me that in a few years that final
wedding gown won’t even fit,” Grant smiles. “I tell
them I’ll wear it when I’m pregnant.”
Her mother will be making the wedding cake, but
Andrea has no problem with that, either. She just plans
on eating the tiny morsel that her new husband will
feed her for the photographers. These wedding plans
bring smiles to Grant’s face, but when she discusses the
surgery, she takes on a serious mien, again considering,
perhaps, Robert Frost’s figurative “Y” in the road that
she faced only months ago.
“I could have taken the other road just as easily,”
Grant says. “I already had clues where it would
lead—guaranteed health issues the rest of my life. So
do you stay with the road you know even though it will
probably have dire consequences, or do you take the
unknown path? I knew there were risks along the road
less traveled, but I chose to imagine a bright, serene
meadow at its end.”
And that has made all the difference. l
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Shopping for gowns on Sept. 23 for her April 2012 wedding, Grant is more interested in the
style of dress than the size as she continues toward her goal of losing 140 pounds overall.
winter 2011
ONE FREE HOUR WITH A ST. JOSEPH’S PHYSICIAN
Weight Loss Surgery:
When Is It the Best Option?
Presented by William Graber, MD, FACS
Board-certified surgeon specializing in weight loss surgery
(most insurance plans accepted)
nLearn what qualifies as obesity
n Review how obesity affects health
n Find out when surgery is the best option
n Review what can be expected after surgery
Monday, Feb. 27, 2012 at 6 p.m.
St. Joseph’s Medical Office Centre
Suite 809-810
104 Union Ave., Syracuse, NY
Free parking
Monday, March 26, 2012 at 6 p.m.
Northeast Medical Center
5th floor conference room
Medical Center Drive, Fayetteville, NY
Free parking
Space is limited.
Register at 315-744-1244 or email [email protected].
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Our
Foundation Report
“I keep my friends as misers do their treasure, because, of all the things granted us by wisdom,
none is greater or better than friendship.”
—Pietro Aretino, 1537
Dear Friend of St. Joseph’s,
E
973 James St., Suite 250
Syracuse, NY 13203
Phone: 315-703-2137
Fax: 315-703-2139
Email: [email protected]
Donate Online: www.sjhsyr.org/foundation
For more information about
the many opportunities
St. Joseph’s Hospital Health
Center Foundation has to fit your
giving interests, please contact
Margaret Martin, vice president,
by calling 315-703-2137; emailing
[email protected]; or
visiting the Foundation’s website
ach holiday season I take time to think about the treasures
in my life—family, friends, work and good health. This
year, as I do so, it comes to me that I would like to share
with you why I begin each of my letters to you with the
words “Dear Friend.”
To some, this phrase might feel impersonal. However, to me,
these words were carefully selected out of the emphasis I place on
the friendships in my life. Whether at home or at work, I believe it
is important to hold my friends tightly “as misers do their treasure”
because they are irreplaceable. Likewise, here at St. Joseph’s,
Margaret Martin
friends and their ongoing support—whether provided through
time, material gifts, financial support, or thoughts and prayers—
are equally valued.
All of us at St. Joseph’s are so appreciative of the many donors from throughout our
community who have played such an important role in the Foundation’s success and the
hospital’s ability to continue to provide the highest quality health care. With your help,
this has been a great year!
In 2011, the hospital and Foundation have worked together to raise more than
$7.5 million through grants and donations from foundations, individuals and businesses.
And, thanks to the community’s generosity, the annual gala and the golf tournament
together netted nearly $580,000.
Much of our focus this year has been on the Generations Campaign for the hospital’s major
facility expansion. As of this writing, the campaign has reached more than $12.5 million in
gifts and pledges! This is a thrilling testament to the value that Central New Yorkers place
on excellent health care—and most especially on keeping this care accessible to all, regardless of their station in life. There is still time for you to be a part of this exciting project.
Naming opportunities are available at many levels. Every gift is crucial and every gift is
appreciated. For more information, call the Foundation or visit the Generations website at
www.generationscampaign.org.
As you see, my friend, without you, we would not be able to accomplish what we
do. For this, on behalf of St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center and St. Joseph’s Hospital
Foundation, I extend my most sincere, “Thank you!”
Best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season,
at www.sjhsyr.org/foundation. Gifts
are appreciated at any level.
Margaret Martin
Vice President
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Fund raising on the Greens Helps to Keep Health Care in Central New York Out of the Rough
19th Annual St. Joseph’s Golf Classic a Success!
M
uch fun was had by a total of 380 golfers in a
relaxed and happy atmosphere as they participated in St. Joseph’s Annual Golf Classic held at the Turning
Stone Resort & Casino on Sept. 9, 2011.
Greatly anticipated in the community, the tournament
is one of St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation’s primary fundraising events each year. With a goal of enhancing health
care for the residents of this community, and in support of
St. Joseph’s, many local businesses support the Golf Classic
as golfers, hole sponsors, through donated prizes or by
advertising purchased in the event’s program booklet.
Netting more than $227,200, this year’s Golf Classic
was described by Margaret Martin, St. Joseph’s vice president for marketing, communications and development,
as “a tremendous success!” During the evening’s wrap-up,
amidst heavy hors d’oeuvres, cocktails and raffles, Martin
thanked all of the tournament’s generous supporters and
said, “We are pleased to see friendly faces from past years
and new partners for the future.” Proceeds from this
year’s tournament will benefit the comprehensive range of
services at St. Joseph’s Hospital, including mission services
that provide compassionate care and state-of-the-art technology to address our community’s health care needs.
Taking a swing is Hank Fust, president of Fust Charles Chambers
LLP. The company was a master level and luncheon sponsor of
the tournament.
John O’Connor (far left), with wife, Kathleen, and Patrick O’Connor
(far right) and wife, Ellen, put their best wood forward as they
enjoy Turning Stone’s award-winning golf course, Shenendoah.
Kopp Billing supported the tournament as a master level sponsor
and by donating three TVs for closest to the pin prizes.
Franciscan Companies, a member of the St. Joseph’s
Hospital Health Center network, was the presenting
sponsor of the tournament. “We believe it’s important to
give back to the community,” Franciscan President and
CEO Frank Smith Jr. says. “We’ve been an important part
of it for nearly 30 years and this is our home. Just as our
home health care services contribute to the continuum
of care at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, we are
pleased to contribute to a worthwhile event and benefit
a great cause.”
Next year’s tournament, to be held on Friday,
Sept. 7, 2012, at Turning Stone Resort & Casino, will
mark the event’s 20th anniversary! l
Immersed in shopping bags generously donated by Wegmans
is Pamela Kennedy, event coordinator for St. Joseph’s Hospital
Foundation.
Don’t Miss Out in 2012
B
e sure to mark
your calendars for
St. Joseph’s Hospital Health
Center Foundation’s 2012
events! Highly anticipated
and always fun, next year’s
Annual Gala and Golf Classic
will both offer participants
the opportunity to benefit the hospital’s many
award-winning programs and services:
Above: Franciscan
Companies President
Frank Smith Jr. and
Margaret Martin, vice
president of St. Joseph’s
Hospital Foundation, share
in the post-tournament
“follow-through” during
the awards portion of
the evening. Franciscan
Companies was a presenting sponsor of St. Joseph’s
Golf Classic and donated a
number of raffle prizes.
nSt.
n
Joseph’s Annual Gala Dinner Dance
Friday, June 1, 2012
20th Annual St. Joseph’s Golf Classic
Friday, Sept. 7, 2012
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Top: Mark McConn, MD,
chief medical officer of
St. Joseph’s Medical, PC,
shows a higher level of
skill as he prepares to
swing out of the rough
at St. Joseph’s 2011 Golf
Classic.
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St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center’s new patient
tower will feature team communication centers on
its medical-surgical floors and critical care units.
Communication among health care professionals is
a critical component to quality care, and the centers
will foster a high level of interaction—especially during critical times such as shift changes—to enhance
workflow and patient care. Patient rooms will be in
clear sight of the team communication centers, and
the centers will be within easy access to medication/
supply rooms and private dictation centers. This
specialized workspace also will support the latest
technology needed to maintain electronic medical
records. Construction of St. Joseph’s new patient
tower will begin in 2012.
Recent Grant Awards
We thank the following foundations and agencies
for their support of St. Joseph’s mission and services:
The Pfizer Medical Education Group awarded a grant of $26,850
to enhance care for patients of St. Joseph’s Family Medicine Center.
Faculty and resident physicians will utilize disease registry software to
conduct evidence-based research to establish quality of care benchmarks for chronic diseases such as diabetes.
New York State Department of Health awarded $40,000 to
St. Joseph’s Hospital for bioterrorism preparedness. This funding
will be used to continue to strengthen the hospital’s ability to
respond to the threats of bioterrorism through the purchase of
equipment, supplies and training.
St. Francis Garden • Walk of Valor • Caritas Park
T
he three Walkways of Caring, located throughout St. Joseph’s
Hospital Health Center’s grounds, are beautiful courtyard settings that offer patients and visitors a peaceful oasis during what may
be a stressful time.
Visitors to St. Francis Garden, the Walk of Valor and the College
of Nursing’s Caritas Park take comfort in the names and messages
on the parks’ bricks and benches. These inscriptions carry messages
of hope, love, dignity and caring with words that honor heroes,
support the hospital’s mission or express gratitude for a special
nurse. They become a part of the healing atmosphere that permeates
St. Joseph’s, and their words are read by thousands of people who
visit the hospital each year.
To purchase a brick or bench in honor of a loved one, as a memorial to someone special, to express gratitude to a caregiver or to leave
a message for future generations, please contact the Foundation office
at 315-703-2137. Additional information is also available online at the
Foundation website: www.sjhsyr.org/foundation. l
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St. Joseph’s LINK (Leading, Integrating and Networking for Kids) program received a $10,000 grant from Citizens Bank Foundation.
Serving school-age children and their families from the East SyracuseMinoa Central School District and the North Syracuse Central School
District, LINK offers highly innovative programming that will be
enhanced through this funding.
The pediatric office at St. Joseph’s Maternal Child Health Center (MCHC)
promotes childhood literacy through the national Reach Out and
Read program. At checkups, pediatricians give each child a new
book of their own to take home. Also in support of child and family
literacy, MCHC and St. Joseph’s Family Medicine Center receive
generous donations of children’s books from the Ella Fitzgerald
Charitable Foundation. l
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College Corner
St. Joseph’s College of Nursing
Joins Say Yes to Education
Higher Education Compact
S
t. Joseph’s College of Nursing is the latest college to join the
Say Yes to Education Higher Education Compact, by agreeing to offer free college tuition to Syracuse City School District
graduates who meet residency and college entry requirements
beginning in 2012. St. Joseph’s College of Nursing joins nearly
100 colleges and universities currently in the Say Yes to Education
Higher Education Compact.
St. Joseph’s offers several options for nursing students to
reach their career goals, including weekday and weekend options
that allow them to graduate with an associate degree in applied
science with a major in nursing (RN) in just two years. The college
also offers a dual degree partnership with Le Moyne College,
another Say Yes to Education Higher Education Compact member.
The dual degree partnership allows students to satisfy both the
associate degree and bachelor’s degree requirements within four
years.
Say Yes to Education is a non-profit foundation that began
offering K-12 supports in the Syracuse City School District four
years ago to assist the district in increasing graduation rates.
Students who attend their sophomore, junior and senior years
and then graduate from a Syracuse City School District high school
are eligible to receive college tuition grants at one of the Say Yes
partner colleges once accepted into that college.
More information is available at www.sayyessyracuse.org and
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St. Joseph’s Nurse Visits Capital of
Country She Faithfully Served
F
rances Steve Gibbons, St. Joseph’s College of Nursing Class of
1942, proves that there’s no stopping a St. Joseph’s nurse. Now
91 years old, Gibbons served in the Navy Nurse Corps during World
War II and later provided care to the wounded aboard ships during the Korean War. Still able to fit into her 1943 issued Navy dress
uniform, Gibbons visited Arlington National Cemetery in June and
visited the gravesite of her husband, Joseph Aloysius Gibbons, who
served as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Air Force (later the U.S. Air
Force) during World War II, Korea and Vietnam—a military career that
spanned 55 years. Although she graduated from St. Joseph’s more
than 60 years ago, Gibbons still commends the nursing program for
her educational preparation and remains a devoted alumnus. l
Has Your Life Been
Touched by a Nurse?
T
St. Joseph’s College of Nursing Students Make
a Commitment to Nursing Profession
St. Joseph’s College of Nursing Commitment to Nursing Ceremony
was held in August at Immaculate Conception Church, Fayetteville, NY.
Students celebrated their chosen profession at the ceremony by lighting
candles, reciting the Nightingale Pledge and receiving crosses or lamp pins
from representatives of the previous year’s class. The Nightingale Pledge is
a testimony of students’ commitment to the nursing profession. The cross
is a reminder of the spirit of St. Francis and symbolizes the unity and dedication of the students to their chosen profession. Representing the Class
of 2012, Alison Houck (left) and Nicole Tartaglia (right) lit candles from
the Nightingale lamps. Because Florence Nightingale was known as the
“lady with the lamp,” the lamp became representative of nursing. It is an
icon that signifies the light that shines brightly as a symbol of the care and
devotion a nurse provides to the ill and injured. After the candles were lit,
the flames were passed to all members of the Class of 2012.
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o learn how you can help dreams
come true by contributing to the
nursing programs and infrastructure
needs at St. Joseph’s College of
Nursing, contact Connie Semel, BS,
RN ’74, Director of Development,
St. Joseph’s College of Nursing,
at 315-448-5303 or Connie.Semel@
sjhsyr.org. You may also use the
enclosed business reply envelope;
just write College of Nursing on
your check. Thank you! l
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Franciscan Companies Aims to Improve
Quality of Life for Patients, Reduce Health
Care Costs and Help the Bottom Line
T
he story begins in 1985 with an idea, a two-bay garage on North State Street,
Syracuse, and one employee. Over time, it weaves through Central New York,
ultimately stretching from Watertown to Pennsylvania, Utica to Auburn. Today,
the idea has prospered, and that first office employee remains, but she is joined by
hundreds of others. Thousands of patients are receiving services daily to improve their lives.
Millions of dollars are funneled back into local hospitals for patient care.
The story is that of Franciscan Companies.
“There probably isn’t a week that goes by that a patient or family member doesn’t
phone or send a note thanking us for something Franciscan Companies has done,”
President and CEO Frank Smith Jr., MS, RRT, says.
Smith was the director of St. Joseph Hospital’s Health Center’s respiratory therapy
department in 1984. Under his leadership, the state-of-the-art department was rendering
an advanced level of care.
“As a respiratory therapist and associate professor of respiratory
therapy,
I was acutely aware of the adversities experienced by those
“Our role has always been to be flexible visionof all ages with pulmonary disorders,” Smith says. “I have asthma
aries who establish programs that complement and I know what it feels like to not be able to breathe. Over the
years, I saw people suffer because they couldn’t breathe.”
the mission of the hospital, reduce costs and
It became apparent to Smith and Thomas Aiello, MD, a pulmonologist,
that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
generate a new source of revenue for the
(COPD) were making repeated visits to the emergency department.
hospital system.”
“You knew the patients by heart,” says Tim Scanlon, executive
vice president of Franciscan Companies. “They’d come in for
—Frank Smith Jr., MS, RRT
tune-ups, if you will, only to go home to the same environment and
lifestyle; their disease was not being well managed. It wasn’t unusual
to see patients readmitted three, four, five or six times a year.”
“There was a very high mortality rate as patients’ conditions spiraled downward,”
Dr. Aiello recalls. “We wanted to improve their quality of life and extend their lives.”
Then in 1985, Smith and Dr. Aiello brainstormed Franciscan Health Support—a
program in which a respiratory therapist would care for patients at home after discharge.
Whatever they did for them in the emergency department, the respiratory therapists were
able to do at home.
“We wanted them not to have to change their life drastically,” Dr. Aiello says. “The
program had to be very, very patient directed, increase patient comfort, maintain quality
of life, and reduce morbidity and hospitalizations. We had all the pieces and had to put
them together.”
“So, we set up a home medical equipment program with a clinical component,” Smith
says. “It was the only one with a full-time medical director. We employed only registered
respiratory therapists (RRTs) while other companies utilized technicians. We were interested in more than just selling equipment. We did home visits and follow-ups.”
“Immediately, almost overnight, those ‘frequent fliers’—the people who used to come
in all the time—they weren’t coming in,” recalls Scanlon. “You didn’t see them anymore.
We reduced readmissions into the hospital.” That is one of the main goals of Franciscan:
to prevent unnecessary readmissions to St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center.
“Our role has always been to be flexible visionaries who establish programs that
complement the mission of the hospital, reduce costs and generate a new source of revenue
for the hospital system,” Smith says. Franciscan aims to reduce patient length of stay,
Member of the St. Joseph’s
promote good physician relations and good community relations, too.
Hospital Health Center Network
The key is to get people engaged in their care. “Nobody wants to go to a hospital.
7246 Janus Park Drive
Patients always do better at home,” Scanlon says.
Liverpool, NY 13088
Take Bernard Coyle who had a wake-up call of sorts about six years ago. “I went to the
Phone: 315-458-3600
doctor for a colonoscopy and my doctor wouldn’t release me because my oxygen level was
Fax: 315-458-2760
too low,” Coyle says. “I was diagnosed with COPD.”
www.franciscan-services.com
Coyle became engaged in his care. He took control, lost weight and got into better shape.
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winter 2011
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“Your quality of life doesn’t have to decrease.
It’s how your mental attitude is. You have to
pull yourself together,” says Coyle. “Oxygen has
improved my life. It has kept me from saying, ‘poor
pitiful me.’”
As the need evolved, Franciscan grew. It was
apparent that people needed more than oxygen; they
also needed bathroom safety products and mobility
products to use at home. So, Franciscan established
a full-service durable medical equipment supply
company.
“Today, Franciscan is the largest independent
home medical equipment provider in this region,”
Smith says. “We are leaders in the industry.”
The concept helped St. Joseph’s by freeing up
patient beds, and Smith knew it would be beneficial
to other hospitals and health care providers. Franciscan set up joint ventures with Loretto in 1998,
St. Elizabeth Hospital in Utica in 1998 and Lourdes
Hospital in Binghamton in 2002. Oneida Health
Support and Auburn Health Services followed in
2010 and 2011, respectively. Home intravenous (IV)
therapy was added through a joint venture with A.J.
Stone in 1999; CNY Infusion Services, as it is now
known, is under the leadership of April Stone, CEO,
and Frank Smith, general manager.
In 1993, Franciscan set up a licensed home
health care agency to provide patients with hands-on
care services such as aides. It complements
St. Joseph’s Hospital’s certified home care agency.
Lifeline Medical Alert system, Philips medication
dispenser, Take Shape weight loss program, and
Among other services, Franciscan Health Support provides home health aides for companionCNY Medical Supply, an online retail medical
ship and to assist with the activities of daily living, such as cooking, bathing and dressing.
equipment company, round out the Franciscan
Companies’ clinical services.
Most recently, Franciscan Companies launched a membership service for senior citizens
called Embracing Age. The first of its kind in the region, Embracing Age creates a comprehensive network of pre-screened professionals to assist senior citizens who want to remain
in their homes. The program helps to improve their quality of life through arranging services
such as yard and home maintenance, financial and legal assistance, medication management
and home health aides.
“We are proud to have a board with a patient-centered care mentality. They’re more interested in quality of care than profit,” Smith says. “Our goals, mission and values have never
changed. The number of people we serve has changed. Our values have not. We provide
compassionate care. We never turn anyone down, regardless of whether they can pay or not.”
“Decisions are based on patient need, not on what we’ll get paid for the service,”
Scanlon adds. “That’s my problem to figure out. We want our
people to focus on improving quality of life.”
“Our goals, mission and values have never
With more than 5,000 patients being cared for each day, it is
changed. The number of people we serve has
no longer possible to have respiratory therapists visit every patient’s
home monthly. However, with a staff of nurses and registered
changed. Our values have not. We provide
respiratory therapists, clinical services are available on demand.
“I’ll have therapist there in an hour if we need to,” Scanlon says.
compassionate care.”
Coyle experienced that firsthand when the power went out
—Frank Smith Jr., MS, RRT
and he had a problem with his oxygen concentrator. “I called after
hours. Within a few minutes, they called me back and we worked
it out within 30 minutes. First thing in the morning they were out here to change the
concentrator. The service tech gave me his personal cell and said, ‘If you run into any
problems, call me…anytime.’ Those are the things that separate the companies. These men
and women are fantastic to deal with.”
www.sjhsyr.org
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19
Top: Down the hill from St. Joseph’s Hospital
Health Center, Franciscan Health Support began in
this former garage at 400 N. State St., Syracuse.
Franciscan aimed to help patients with respiratory
illnesses avoid unnecessary readmissions to the
hospital.
Inset: Franciscan Companies, with services ranging from durable medical equipment to medical
weight loss, now is located on Janus Park Drive,
Liverpool. Satellite offices and warehouses are
located throughout Central New York.
l
“That’s exactly the reaction we want to
hear from our patients,” Smith says. The
company tracks patient satisfaction through
Press Ganey. It maintains averages near or
above 90 percent.
“We’ve always taken pride in our
care,” Scanlon says. “The highest quality of
care is always a given; it’s not even up for
discussion.”
As part of the community, Franciscan
Companies prides itself on giving back
through significant charitable sponsorships
of St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center
network events and contributions to other
organizations that provide services to this
community. The company gives approximately $300,000 per year.
“Part of our mission is being an active
part of the community,” Scanlon says.
“That’s extremely important to us. We
live in the community we work in. We
provide a lot of charitable care. We carry
on the mission the Sisters of St. Francis
brought here in 1869 when they founded
St. Joseph’s Hospital, and we’re honored to be a part of that.”
Franciscan Companies plans to be a part of the community, while
continuing to grow, for years to come.
“In the future, I see us being an integral part of the medical home model,
specifically as it relates to chronic disease management, including everything
from patient education programming, telemonitoring, chronic disease
housing and working with storefront medical clinics,” Smith says.
The baby boomer generation is expected to put an enormous demand on
the health care system. That, coupled with the Healthcare Reform Act that
may add another 50 million insured Americans to the medical system by
2014, and the economic climate, brings a lot of uncertainty.
“But one thing I am certain of,” Scanlon says, “is that we’ll have to do
more with less. We have to be able to evolve. As long as the decisions are
centered on what’s good for the patient, we’ll make the right decision.”
“We want patients to be able to do what they want to do,” Dr. Aiello says.
“With medical support, you can. We have regular communication with patients, and we
can achieve things.”
Today, Franciscan is successfully caring for more and more complex patients. “There
are patients we have, where if you walked into their homes, you’d think you were in
intensive care,” Scanlon says. “With the care offered by Franciscan Companies, people
are enjoying a higher quality of life and, given the support they need, may remain in their
homes longer.”
And what of that first office employee who is still employed at Franciscan Companies
26 years later? “When I first started out, I made birthday cakes for employees and it was
easy at first: I had one small round cake pan,” says Diane Fluck. “Then I went up to a
13” x 9” pan and, before I knew it, I was up to sheet cakes just so everyone could have
a piece. The growth has been phenomenal. I never thought back then that it would be
as large as it is now.” It seems that a good idea—just like the size of birthday cakes—has
just kept growing. l
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Tired of Being Tired
T
ossing and turning all night… getting elbowed
to stop snoring… and waking up—startled.
This is a typical night’s sleep for many people.
Just ask John More of Syracuse. For more than
a decade, he woke up more tired than he was the night
before. He had no energy and wanted to crawl back in
bed. He was keeping the house awake with his snoring.
“I just figured, with a 14 and 12 year old, that
you’re always going to be tired,” More says. “I will
never have a good night sleep with kids. I was always
listening for them and didn’t realize something else was
going on.”
That “something else” is obstructive sleep apnea.
The National Sleep Foundation estimates more than 18
million American adults have sleep apnea. The condition occurs when the muscles in the back of the throat
fail to keep the airway open, despite efforts to breathe.
Obesity is the most common cause of sleep apnea. The
condition is also related to high blood pressure and
diabetes.
When More began working for Pulmonary Health
Physicians, he realized his nighttime angst wasn’t
simply a result of aging or parenting. His family
doctor sent him to get a sleep study. Once he was
diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, More received
CPAP supplies through Franciscan Health Support.
Franciscan Health Support fit him with the correct
size mask, which ensures successful treatment. The
results, he says, were immediate. “I felt rejuvenated and
refreshed. I hadn’t felt that way in years. It was instant.”
More’s reaction is one shared with most people who
seek treatment for sleep apnea.
“People are simply amazed,” Neil Widrick, RRT,
manager of St. Joseph’s sleep laboratory says. “They
can’t believe they feel that way and are stunned.”
Sleep problems start to arise in women who have a
neck size greater than 16 inches and men with necks
larger than 17 inches. It’s a good idea for both groups
to undergo a sleep study. “If you take that step to see a
doctor and get a sleep study, you can sleep well within
a few weeks,” Widrick says.
Every six months, a representative from Franciscan
Health Support follows up with More to make certain
he has the supplies and support he needs to continue
home sleep therapy. More likens the CPAP mask to a
catcher’s mask. “You put it over the back of your head
and you’re good to go,” he says. It’s comfortable, he can
sleep on his back or sides, and he stays put through the
entire night, with no tossing or turning.
“I feel great with it. My wife likes it because I don’t
snore,” More says, “so she gets a good night sleep, too.”
www.sjhsyr.org
l
Now that John More is being treated for sleep apnea, he has more energy for the things he
enjoys such as a game of basketball.
“I think a lot of people regret not seeking treatment
sooner,” says Widrick. “They say, ‘If I had known I
could do this 10 years ago, I wouldn’t have felt so awful
for so long.’”
More shares this sentiment. When he thinks back
to all the restless nights and tired mornings, he wishes
he gone for a sleep study years ago:
“It’s like someone took the blinders off and
everything was in high definition—instead of black and
white TV.” l
winter 2011
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21
Quality Care That Provides Families a Break
L
Louis Polge enjoys
working with wood
at St. Francis Adult
Day Care.
et’s face it. We’re all getting older. Nearly 40
million Americans are now over the age of
65. And, according to the Administration on
Aging, there will be 72 million senior citizens
by 2030. That’s a huge jump. As baby boomers hit this
milestone, families may be hit with the role of caregiver.
Family members may be dealing with the onset of dementia or early Alzheimer’s Disease. Occasional visits
may turn into the need for supervised care.
St. Francis Social Adult Day Care in Syracuse offers
caregivers a break. Program participants may attend
Monday through Friday or on weekdays when family
members have appointments and other commitments.
Jean Polge brings her husband, Louis, to the day
program for seniors. She heard about St. Francis Adult
Day Care through Onondaga County and thought it
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would be great for her husband who suffers from some
dementia.
“They said nothing but high things about St. Francis,”
Polge says.
Taking advantage of a guest pass to try out the
facility, Polge recalls, “I took my husband there for the
visit and he seemed to get along with no problems.”
One year later, her husband still attends. While he
has good days and bad days, the caring staff members
know how to talk with him and engage him. The
program focuses on meaningful activities that stimulate
participants’ minds and help ward off the progression
of dementia. Instead of sleeping all day or watching
television, participants are active, reminiscing with
friends and learning new things.
“If he’s at home, he usually falls asleep or if he takes
a nap, it’s hard to get him up because he confuses days
and nights,” Polge says of her husband.
As a former television technician, Polge is good
with his hands and enjoys the arts and crafts activities
at St. Francis Adult Day Care.
“He loves to color,” Polge says. “He never colored
before. This is great. It keeps him active and keeps him
thinking.”
St. Francis Social Adult Day Care provides exercise,
healthy meals and assistance with personal care needs.
“I know he’s getting great care there,” Polge says.
“They change from one room to the next, so they’re
not doing the same thing in the same room. They do
different projects to keep their minds stimulated. So,
I love them for that.”
Polge also loves that the day program gives her a
break from around-the-clock care and time to accomplish her to-do list.
“If I have an appointment or there are things that
I need to do, and it takes longer than a couple hours,
I don’t like to be away from him,” she says. “This gives
me a chance to do things that I normally couldn’t do if
he was home.
“St. Francis Adult Day Care gives me peace of mind,”
Polge continues. “I know he’s well taken care of.”
St. Francis Social Adult Day Care is sponsored by
the Sisters of St. Francis. It’s located at 1108 Court St.,
Syracuse. For more information, call 315-424-1003 or
visit stfrancisadc.com for a free guest day pass. l
winter 2011
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Embracing Age and Living Home Longer
‘I
enjoy the wisdom of seniors, their life experiences and the stories they share,” says Mary
Downey Gualtieri, MS. Gualtieri is an eldercare
specialist for Franciscan Companies’ Embracing
Age Program, which was launched in September.
“It’s an exciting new opportunity to assist seniors to
be able to live in their homes and live independently,”
she says.
Embracing Age is a membership service that creates
a comprehensive network of professionals on whom
elders and their families know they can rely.
“Embracing Age eliminates the stress associated
with not knowing where to turn for services, assistance,
companionship and guidance,” says Susan ClancyMagley, executive director of the program.
Services include medication management, home
health care, Lifeline Medical Alert system, legal
assistance, landscaping, snow removal, personal care,
pet care and a person who will drive a “snowbird’s” car
to Florida so he or she may fly there instead.
“The senior we serve is at the center of Embracing
Age, and all of the services and activities we offer flow
from there. The member is really the main event,”
Clancy-Magley says. “Keeping in mind that everyone’s
needs are different, we provide person-centered plans
designed to meet the unique needs of each member.”
Gualtieri guides members through the process,
acting as their personal assistant on an ongoing basis.
She coordinates the services members need at the time
they need them.
“What happens is that a lot of seniors don’t reach
out until there is a crisis,” Gualtieri says. “Embracing
Age is a proactive program. People can become
members when they are active and healthy. The
services will evolve with them over time, providing
the support they need as they age. For now, they may
need a snowplow service, but in the future they may
need added supports such as a home health aide or
respiratory care.”
The first step is a comprehensive assessment. As the
member and eldercare specialist get to know one other,
individualized services will evolve.
“My goal will be to build trust with them,” Gualtieri
says. “Getting to know the clients is paramount. They
will begin to trust me and trust the services they
receive.”
With Embracing Age, elders and their caregivers no
longer need to spend time researching the right roofer,
right contractor, pet care services and financial services.
They don’t have to worry about being the victims of a
scam artist. Embracing Age has done the research and
formed the network, connecting elders with trusted,
reliable assistance. Elders can maintain their independence and live more comfortably. Caregivers can have
peace of mind and comfort, knowing that Embracing
Age is listening to their concerns and ensuring their
loved one’s well-being.
www.sjhsyr.org
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Unveiling the Franciscan
Companies’ Embracing
Age program at a
news conference held
at the New York State
Fairgrounds in September
are (from left to right)
Tim Carroll, director of
mayoral initiatives for the
city of Syracuse; Kathryn
Ruscitto, president of
Health Center; Frank
Smith Jr., president of
Franciscan Companies;
and New York State
Sen. John DeFrancisco. A
membership service for
senior citizens, Embracing
Age creates a comprehensive network of prescreened professionals
who help participants
stay in their homes and
enhance the quality
of their lives.
“At Embracing Age, we feel it is a privilege to
serve our members in their homes. By providing a
continuum of customized services, members can live
life to the fullest right where they want to—at home,”
Clancy-Magley says.
Information on Embracing Age is available at
1 (855) MY HELP 2 or www.embracingage.org. l
winter 2011
Medical Supply E-Commerce
Site Hits Milestone
F
ranciscan Companies, a member of the St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center
network, now offers 1,000 medical products through its website CNY
Medical Supply (www.cnymedicalsupply.com). The available products include:
n Diabetes management
n Mobility, including canes and walkers
n Sleep and breathing systems
n Daily living aids, including power seats, benches and other
comfort and safety devices
Many of the products are priced well below suggested retail.
In addition, the website’s new disease management section is designed
to help educate those with diabetes or chronic lung disease.
“By doing business online instead of in a brick-and-mortar building, we
can keep prices down and get products to customers quickly and conveniently,”
says Keith Cuttler, vice president for corporate development.
The site does not accept Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance, but
instead offers customers products they can buy on a self-pay basis. l
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23
caring Connection Non-Profit
Organization
US Postage Paid
Permit No. 3560
Community Relations Office
301 Prospect Ave.
Syracuse, NY 13203
Syracuse, NY
change Service Requested
St .
Caring
Connection
Jo s e ph’ s
St. Joseph’s Caring Connection is published by
St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, 301 Prospect Ave.,
Syracuse, NY 13203. Copyright © 2011 by St. Joseph’s
Hospital Health Center. All rights reserved. No part
of this publication may be reproduced without prior
written consent of St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center.
If you know someone who would like to receive
Caring Connection or be removed from our mailing
list, contact the editor c/o St. Joseph’s Marketing/
Communications Office, 301 Prospect Ave., Syracuse,
NY 13203, or call 315-703-2140.
Denise Jochem-Robertson
Editor
Margaret Martin
Vice President,
Marketing, Communications and Development
Contributors
Eric Johnson
Writer
Kelly Quinn
Writer
Chuck Wainwright
Photography
Eastwood Litho Inc.
Printing
Kiefer Creative
HealthGrades® Rates St. Joseph’s Cardiac and
Orthopedic Services Among the Best in Nation
S
t. Joseph’s cardiac and orthopedic services recently were
rated among the best in the nation by HealthGrades, receiving five-star ratings (clinical performance is better than
expected) for joint replacement for six consecutive years
(2007-2012) and treatment of heart attack for three years in a row
(2010-2012). St. Joseph’s was named one of America’s 100 Best
Hospitals for Specialty Care™ for joint replacement (2012). The
hospital also received a five-star rating for valve surgery (2012).
HealthGrades, a nationally known, independent source of
physician and hospital quality ratings, released its findings in
October as part of its 2011 Healthcare Consumerism and Hospital
Quality in America report. HealthGrades research found that
patients treated at a five-star rated hospital, on average, experienced a 73 percent lower risk of mortality and a 63 percent lower
risk of complications compared to one-star rated hospitals.
St. Joseph’s also received HealthGrades Vascular Surgery
Excellence Award™ for the second year in a row (2011-2012).
The program was ranked no. 1 in New York state and among the
top 5 percent in the nation. (See article on page 5).
A comparison of hospitals and physicians in the Syracuse area
may be found online at www.healthgrades.com. l
Design
Contact Us
St. Joseph’s Is the Consumers’ Choice
St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center
301 Prospect Ave., Syracuse, NY 13203
www.sjhsyr.org
General information �� 448-5111
Patient information�� 448-5113
Resource line (physician and
program information)�� 703-2138
Foundation office
(giving opportunities) �� 703-2137
Marketing/Communications
office�� 703-2140
College of nursing�� 448-5040
Volunteer office�� 448-5186
All telephone numbers are in area
code 315.
S
St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center is sponsored by
the Sisters of St. Francis.
Member of the St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center Network
t. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center
has been named by the National
Research Corp. (NRC) as a 2011/2012
Consumer Choice Award winner. This is
the 11th time in 12 years the hospital has
earned the award.
The award identifies hospitals that
health care consumers have chosen as
having the highest quality and image in
more than 250 markets throughout the
United States.
Winners are determined by consumer
perceptions on multiple quality and
image ratings collected in the company’s
Healthcare Market Guide Ticker study,
the nation’s largest and most comprehensive study of its kind. Of the 3,200 hospitals named by consumers in the study,
the winning facilities rank highest in their
metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), as
defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. The
Healthcare Market Guide Ticker study
surveyed more than 200,000 households
representing more than 400,000 consumers in the contiguous 48 states and
the District of Columbia. The study has a
margin of error of + or – 0.2 percent at
a national level. Co-winners are named
when scores fall within the statistical
margin of error for a given market. l

S Caring ConneCtion - St. Joseph`s Hospital Health Center

Transcription

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