June Message from Steven L. Strongwater, MD, CEO

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

Forcefully and methodically, changes are being planned that will alter the future of healthcare. A search is on to do the near impossible: provide medical care for more people and spend less money doing it. At stake may be the success or failure of the American economy. This is not hyperbole, as we now function in a global marketplace and the cost of “benefits” (i.e., health insurance) for nearly every large and increasingly small employer is outstripping their ability to produce competitive products and services. The translation of this equation is going to be what providers may view as an assault on the world as we know it. We have already seen the first phase of these changes at Stony Brook University Medical Center (SBUMC)—a $47 million budget gap—a result of reduced New York State support, Medicaid reductions and increased expenses.

Can we function in this new world without changing? The answer to this question is no. We cannot survive, let alone thrive, if we do things the same way. We will have to change. And we can. The fact is hospitals and our work force are going to face the brunt of the changes planned under the Accountable Care Act. It is true that many powerful forces are competing to prevent these changes and we will watch this play out in the national media, during debates within our towns and in New York State through budget actions. Indeed, this debate is very important and the outcomes will say a great deal about us as a nation. But, one thing is certain, because the facts are inescapable, healthcare will have to cost less on a per person basis, which means hospitals and other providers will be paid less for the same work we are doing today, which means we will have do things differently.

Some changes are good. In fact, there is a long list of changes many of us would like to see in the way healthcare is practiced now. Wouldn’t you like immediate electronic access to your providers—without having to wait in line for an appointment? Shouldn’t we be able to avoid waiting in the Emergency Room? Can’t we minimize the time people are in the hospital, when they could be home? There are so many inefficiencies in healthcare that we have come to accept them as the norm. Nowhere has this been better exposed than in proving we can prevent iatrogenic (provider-induced) complications like central line, urinary catheter or ventilator-induced infections. Similarly there are many preventable complications like blood clots, bedsores (pressure ulcers), diabetic complications and the like. We have and will continue to do a much better job.

Eliminating inefficiencies and doing things perfectly, the first time, is SBUMC’s goal. We want error-free care each and every time. This does not happen by chance. It requires careful planning and practice until error-free care becomes routine. Recently, The Joint Commission embraced a strategy to move all hospitals toward “high reliability” (aka, error-free care). SBUMC actually embarked on this path several years ago, although you may not have known it.

There are five elements that frame our approach toward the goal of high reliability: (1) detection of potential breakdowns in care (e.g., early warning systems); (2) better communication among providers, and between providers and patients—our approach is crew resource management training and safety huddles every shift/day; (3) prevention via regular failure modes and effect analysis (FMEA) and root cause analysis (RCA); (4) empowerment (e.g., value stream analysis, deep dives when problems arise); and (5) checklists to serve as gentle reminders (e.g., time outs, preoperative antibiotics, etc.). Each element is a crucial step toward better outcomes. 

It may be hard to believe, but better processes reduce costs and improve outcomes by reducing unnecessary re-work, complications, extended length of stay and readmission rates, and by enhancing patient satisfaction. You can make care better. It is possible. It will require discipline and practice by all of SBUMC staff. Thank you for your continued efforts in moving Stony Brook toward a high reliability organization.

STONY BROOK PRIDE

Stony Brook University Medical Center (SBUMC) earns national certification from The Joint Commission as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center following a thorough review of the Cerebrovascular and Stroke Center. With this achievement, Stony Brook is one of 12 hospitals in New York State to earn this advanced certification. The Joint Commission’s certification process recognizes centers that make exceptional efforts to foster better outcomes for stroke care. Certification signifies that services have the critical elements to achieve long-term success in improving outcomes.

Patient Safety First highlighted in American Hospital Association’s May 6 edition of AHA News Now, a daily electronic newsletter for healthcare executives. The piece focused on Stony Brook’s Patient Safety First program and included a web link to the Quality and Safety page on the Medical Center’s website.

Stony Brook Children’s receives three Aster Awards. The Aster Awards recognize excellence in medical marketing and honored Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital with three awards related to its advertising campaign: a Gold Award for the Stony Brook Children’s “Sandbox” ad within the category of Newspaper Advertising; and two Silver Awards for the Stony Brook Children’s logo within the category of Logo Design/Letterhead and the Stony Brook Children’s fundraising video. Winning entries will be published in an upcoming issue of Marketing Healthcare Today.

Stony Brook offers revolutionary endovascular treatment for complex cerebral aneurysms. SBUMC is offering a new treatment for patients diagnosed with complex brain aneurysms. Recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Pipeline™ Embolization Device (PED) is a stent-like device that enables physicians David Fiorella, MD, PhD, and Henry Woo, MD, of the Cerebrovascular Center at Stony Brook to treat some of the most complex brain aneurysms using minimally invasive techniques. Stony Brook’s Cerebrovascular Center is one of a handful of centers in the United States that participated in initial FDA clinical trials of PED and is now one of a few institutions nationwide with the ability to offer treatment with PED.

Stony Brook University researchers uncover new potential biomarker and therapeutic target for aggressive breast cancer. In an analysis of more than 1,300 human breast tissue samples, a team of School of Medicine researchers discovered a possible role of the squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) in the progression of breast cancer. Wei-Xing Zong, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, and colleagues found that SCCA expression correlated to both grade and stage of cancer. The finding, reported in the current issue of PLoS One, may be a crucial step to developing SCCA as a biomarker and therapeutic target for aggressive and advanced stage breast cancers.

Stony Brook study shows rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo widespread. A new study based on examination of government-collected and nationally representative data from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) shows that levels of rape and sexual violence against women in the country are 26 times higher than official United Nations estimates. The study, “Estimates and Determinants of Sexual Violence Against Women in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” was spearheaded by The Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research, Graduate Program in Public Health, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, and published in the American Journal of Public Health. Tia M. Palermo, PhD, Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine, Graduate Program in Public Health, and colleagues, found in their analysis that more than 400,000 women ages 15 to 49 in the DRC had experienced rape in a 12-month period in 2006 and 2007. That is the equivalent to 1,152 women raped every day, 48 raped every hour, or four women raped every five minutes.

Stony Brook University Center for Biotechnology establishes Biotechnology Commercialization Fund. The fund was created to accelerate the development of promising biomedical technologies emerging from Stony Brook University. Created with support from the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology, and Innovation (NYSTAR) and the Office of the Vice President for Research at Stony Brook University, the fund will immediately help develop six technologies in partnership with researchers University-wide. These projects, selected for support by an independent panel of industry and academic advisors, encompass a wide range of technologies with total funding reaching $456,000 for 2011. Overall, the projects center on the discovery of new diagnostics and therapeutics in areas such as musculoskeletal diseases, metabolic and cognitive disorders, cancer, burn injuries, inflammatory diseases, and other medical conditions.

Dexter A. Bailey appointed as Vice President for Advancement for Stony Brook University. Reporting directly to Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD, Mr. Bailey will provide leadership for the University’s development and alumni relations operations and also serve as Executive Director of the Stony Brook Foundation. He brings to Stony Brook a broad range of experience in development and alumni affairs. Prior coming to Stony Brook, he served as Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and had also directed external relations for intercollegiate athletics at the University of California, Berkeley.

Stony Brook physicians are named Fellows of the American College of Radiology. Radiologists John Ferretti, MD, Interim Chair, Department of Radiology, and Elaine Gould, MD, recently earned this distinction, which is the highest honor the American College of Radiology can bestow. Congratulations, Drs. Ferretti and Gould.

Marshall Lieberman, CHC, CHPC, HEM, Director, Compliance and Audit Services, passes the Certified in Healthcare Privacy Compliance examination. With the successful completion of the exam, he has earned his CHPC credential. Congratulations, Marshall. 

John Hutter, MS, CMPE, Department of Pathology, attains the designation of Certified Medical Practice Executive in the American College of Medical Practice Executives (ACMPE). ACMPE is the standard-setting and certification body of the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), promoting the professional growth of leaders. Congratulations, John.

Thank you to Roy Burnham, LCSW, DCSW, for helping people cope with the aftermath of the North Carolina tornadoes. Mr. Burnham, Department of Care Management Social Work Service, is a Disaster Mental Health Supervisor on the National Disaster Response team of the American Red Cross. He recently embarked on a two-week deployment to work with North Carolina families who have suffered losses and to help communities cope with the devastating effects of the storms’ disaster.

School of Medicine graduates 118 new doctors at 2011 Convocation. The ceremony, which was held on May 24, featured keynote speaker Peter Agre, MD, who was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Collectively, the Class of 2011 will begin residency training in July at a variety of healthcare institutions around the country, including in New York and 17 other states. The specialty areas they will pursue include emergency medicine, surgery, anesthesiology and many others. Nearly one third of the class will enter primary care specialties, with internal medicine and pediatrics the top two sub-categories. Congratulations graduates!

Help Stony Brook win Soliant® Health’s Most Beautiful Hospitals Contest. SBUMC has been selected as one of 50 finalists from nearly 250 nominations nationwide in the Soliant Health Top 20 Most Beautiful Hospitals for 2011. Visit mostbeautifulhospitals.com to cast a vote. There is no limit to the number of votes a person can submit, so visit the site often and encourage friends to do the same. Voting will take place until June 19. The 20 hospitals with the most votes will be named to the list, which will be announced on July 1.

PATIENT SAFETY

Stony Brook continues to improve Joint Commission S3 score. The Strategic Surveillance System (S3) quarterly assessment and comparative report for the first quarter of 2011 continues to trend down, which means an improvement. The report attributes to Stony Brook a total risk score of 26. This is down from 28 from last quarter, which was the lowest prior score. This score places SBUMC below the averages for national, state, regional, academic medical centers and major teaching hospitals, and is lower than the average for the U.S.News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals,” the Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals® and Magnet hospitals. Comparatively, Stony Brook is among the best hospitals in the country. 

Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) Nursing drives pressure ulcer rates to a new low. SBUH has developed, implemented and is finalizing the hard wiring of a Hospital-Acquired Pressure Ulcer risk assessment, prevention efforts, and the management and treatment of pressure ulcers. This is part of the 5 Million Lives Campaign sponsored by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Every patient at Stony Brook is assessed for pressure ulcer risk using the Braden Scale, a research-based instrument. If the patient is determined to be at risk, the prevention and treatment program Bed-Fed-Red-Tread is implemented: ensuring the patient is on the right bed, is receiving sufficient and appropriate calories for complete body health and healing, is assessed and urgently treated if any part of the skin becomes reddened or darker in color, and is out of bed and ambulating (on the treads) as early as possible. Since using this targeted approach, Stony Brook has seen a consistent downward data trend in hospital-acquired pressure ulcer prevalence and incidence, surpassing its own internal benchmarks. Recent incident data from the last prevalence audit reveals less than 1 percent (0.79 percent) of patients surveyed had a hospital-acquired pressure ulcer. It is with continued dedication by all departments that these incredible results have been achieved. 

Endoscopy retreat aims to maximize productivity. The Endoscopy Unit held a retreat on May 18 at the Charles B. Wang Center. Many changes have been made to improve the efficiency of patient flow on the unit over the past year thanks to the hard work of all endoscopy staff and faculty. During the retreat, faculty and staff celebrated these successes and discussed how to continue moving forward to further reduce waste and maximize productivity, while maintaining excellent patient satisfaction scores. 

PATIENT SATISFACTION

Dietary Department to start bedside ordering. To provide food ambassadors with more opportunities to discuss menus with patients and to help them make choices that will be more satisfying, on select units food ambassadors will begin taking food orders at the bedside and entering orders using computer tablets and wirelessly sending the order to the kitchen. The tablets make it easier for food ambassadors, who also deliver trays to patients, to explain diets that are sometimes restricted, make recommendations and answer questions. The new service does not replace room service, which is still available to patients. It complements room service by giving patients more opportunity to interact with servers, and helps to make sure patients know when and how to order meals.

Endoscopy pre-procedure area helps improve patient satisfaction. In September, a five-bed pre-procedure area was opened on the Endoscopy Unit, which allows pre- and post-procedure patients to be segregated in the Endoscopy Unit. The new area is equipped with comfortable recliners and personal televisions. In the new space, patients sign consents, ask questions and receive information about their procedures away from recovering patients, which makes the post-procedure space quieter and more soothing for these patients. Segregating pre- and post-procedure patients also helps with patient flow, helping to keep the unit on schedule. The unit also has added one procedure room, which expands capacity and makes it easier for fasting patients to receive an early appointment. Space was made available for the new procedure room when the patients needing motility tests were moved to the new Motility Center, which now occupies four rooms on 9 North. Patient satisfaction for the unit improved slightly in the first quarter.

Cardiac Cath Holding Area to be modified. Roughly 25 percent of cardiac catheterization patients have access for their catheterization via the radial artery in the wrist as opposed to the femoral artery in the groin. It is not necessary for these patients to remain still and flat on their back in bed. To make these patients more comfortable, the Cardiac Cath Holding Area is updating three of it bays, replacing the beds with recliners to make patients more comfortable while recovering from their procedures. These patients can enjoy a drink, watch television or read more easily when sitting up. This Radial Comfort Suite will also have a new paint scheme, a new sink and counter, and a refrigerator to hold drinks for patients to enjoy during their recovery. The new suite should be opened in early summer.

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

March for Babies® raises $300,300 to fund research and support programs in the community to help women have healthy, full-term pregnancies. This successful annual event for the March of Dimes® was hosted for the first time by Stony Brook on May 1. Co-chaired by Margaret McGovern, MD, PhD, Physician-in-Chief, Stony Brook Children’s and Chair, Department of Pediatrics, and Gerald Quirk, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine, the event honored Jenny Tranfalgia, who with her husband Joe started the Little Angel Fund to help families touched by premature births. In addition, the Niemann Family of Smithtown was designated as the official Ambassador Family. Natalie and Kirk Niemann’s second daughter, Lila, was born eight weeks premature and spent four months in the NICU. Today, Lila is healthy and vibrant, and her family was thrilled to walk in support of programs that saved her life.

High school students learn about healthcare careers through innovative Hospital program. The Health Occupations Partnership for Excellence (HOPE) is a program that offers opportunities for success in healthcare careers for underserved high school students. The annual graduation ceremony was held on May 10 for 15 seniors who completed the three-year program. A total of 35 high school juniors and seniors are currently participating in the HOPE program from five Long Island school districts: Longwood, Riverhead, Brentwood, Wyandanch and Center Moriches. Stony Brook faculty from a variety of disciplines provide the HOPE students with educational sessions and tours of hospital facilities during a 30-week program that takes place throughout the school year. Students are assigned to Hospital mentors during their senior year and have the opportunity to participate in volunteer activities as well.

Stony Brook promotes awareness about skin cancer and provides free skin screenings at the Sixth Annual Skin Screening. The physicians and residents of the Dermatology Department screened about 100 community members during this successful event, held at the Stony Brook University Cancer Center on May 14. In addition to providing skin cancer screenings, Colette Pameijer, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery and Team Leader, Melanoma Management Team, discussed the prevention, detection and treatment of skin cancer, particularly melanoma and the latest efforts in treating this form of skin cancer. Thanks to the many individuals who helped to make the day such a success.

Ride for Life raises $68,000 for Christopher Pendergast ALS Center of Excellence at Stony Brook. The 2011 Ride for Life Celebration and Remembrance Ceremony, held on May 14, honored those who have lost their lives to ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The Stony Brook event serves as a cornerstone of the annual ALS Ride for Life, a 12-day trek from Riverhead to Manhattan. Christopher Pendergast, Founder and President, Ride for Life, and a patient with ALS, led five other patients with ALS on their motorized wheelchairs to start the Ride. Annual proceeds from the Ride go to Center to help fund patient care and research. Since the inception of Stony Brook’s ALS Center in 2002, Mr. Pendergast and the patient advocacy group has granted nearly $400,000 to the ALS Center.

Stony Brook Orthopaedic Associates hosts conference for health professionals and coaches. The first Sports Medicine Symposium, held on May 20, included a full day of lectures, panel discussions and breakout sessions by physicians and sports medicine experts from Stony Brook Orthopaedics, the clinical practice of the Department of Orthopaedics at SBUMC. Co-Directors of the symposium were James Penna, MD, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics and Residency Program Director, and James M. Paci, MD, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics. Topics covered included overuse injuries, general medical considerations in sports medicine and concussions in youth athletes.

Parents and children enjoy a day at the fair with Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital. During the 6th Annual Kids Health & Safety Expo, held on May 21, attendees learned how to safely install car seats, tell the difference between candy and medications, the importance of wearing a helmet, and many other tips for keeping children healthy and safe. Parents were also able to have ID cards made for their children, which included photos and fingerprints. Many thanks to the Departments of Community Relations and Pediatrics for coordinating this effort.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation gives $100,000 to School of Nursing. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Careers in Nursing Program, which funded the gift, is designed to provide scholarships to help alleviate the national nursing shortage, increase the diversity of nursing professionals, expand capacity in baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs, and enhance the pipeline of potential nurse faculty. As a result of the Foundation’s generosity, 10 nursing students in the School of Nursing’s Accelerated Baccalaureate Program will receive scholarships. This is the fourth consecutive gift presented by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 

Cowles Charitable Trust makes gift to Cerebrovascular Research Center. A $10,000 donation from the Cowles family will fund laboratory equipment for the Cerebrovascular Research Center and help advance research into new tools for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.

Community drives support for Stony Brook Children’s. Island Federal Credit Union and its media partner WALK 97.5 are sponsoring a program through September 30. When a new account is opened at any branch, Island Federal Credit Union will deposit $9.75 into the account and make a matching contribution of $9.75 to Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital. Those who attend the Harbor Country Day School Strawberry Festival in St. James on June 4 will also support the Children’s Hospital as all proceeds from this family-friendly event will benefit Stony Brook Children’s.

Walk for Beauty raises $50,000 for breast cancer and prostate cancer research. A check for $50,000, representing funds raised through the 17th annual “Walk for Beauty, Walk for Life” was presented to the Stony Brook University Cancer Center. The event has raised nearly $1 million for breast and prostate cancer research at Stony Brook University Medical Center since its inception in 1994. The proceeds will help fund the work of two researchers Jason C. Ganz, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, who is conducting research related to breast reconstruction, and Robert C. Rizzo, PhD, Assistant Professor of Statistics and Applied Mathematics, researching molecular anti-cancer targets in breast cancer.

Golden Globe® winner and Three-Time Emmy® Nominee to inspire Stony Brook patients at National Cancer Survivors Day®. Ann Jillian, a Golden Globe-winning, three-time Emmy-nominated actress and singer, will be the keynote speaker at the seventh annual National Cancer Survivors Day at the Cancer Center. Held on Sunday, June 12, from 11 am to 4 pm, the event brings cancer survivors and their families together to celebrate living beyond cancer with their physicians, nurses and Cancer Center staff. The day includes many activities and light refreshments. Inspiring works of art by cancer survivors will displayed in the Cancer Center. Outdoor games include Dunk-a-Doc, Bedpan Golf, Chemo Bag Toss, as well as a scavenger hunt and face painting. Throughout the afternoon, there will be chair yoga sessions, musical entertainment and the annual “Parade of Survivors.” For more information and to register, call 444-4000.

Community invited to attend an educational presentation on upper gastrointestinal cancers. Led by Kevin Watkins, MD and Jonathan Buscaglia, MD, the presentations will address how upper gastrointestinal cancers are diagnosed and treated and what directions therapies will take in the near future. The “2011 Update on Upper Gastrointestinal Cancers” will be held on Thursday, June 16, from 7 pm to 8:30 pm in the Cancer Center lobby. To register for the free event, call 444-4000.

Recognize outstanding patient care with the Partners in Care Award. Patient and Family Centered Care (PFCC) is an approach to healthcare that offers a new way of thinking about the relationship among patients, their families and healthcare providers, and is founded on the understanding that the family plays a vital role in ensuring the health and well being of patients of all ages. The Partners in Care Award has been established to recognize Stony Brook employees who fully embrace PFCC concepts and who have provided outstanding care. Patients, family members or visitors can submit nominations for the Partners in Care Award. Nomination brochures are available on all the units, in the Ambulatory Surgical Center and at the Information Desk in the main lobby. The Partners in Care Hospital-wide Advisory Council will review all nominations. Award recipients will be contacted directly, and the Council will present the awards at an annual recognition dinner taking place in October. To date, 37 employees have been nominated for the award.

My Last Touch

On a scale of being happy, New Yorkers do not seem to score very well. Perhaps not surprising, patient satisfaction scores in New York hospitals are not very good either. Scores in the tri-state area have ranked lower than most of the rest of the nation. Is there something fundamentally different among New Yorkers? We are a “show me” group. More pessimists than optimists. Wouldn’t it be better to be more optimistic?

Optimism is defined as having hopefulness and confidence about the future or successful outcome of something and/or a tendency to take a favorable or hopeful view. It is derived from the Latin word optimum, meaning “best.” Being optimistic, in the typical sense of the word, ultimately means one expects the best possible outcome in any situation. Researchers believe there is a slight biologic component to optimism (nature vs. nurture), but it is far more likely that optimism is a result of environmental factors (nurture). Therefore, optimism can be learned. Regrettably, the opposite is also true: pessimism, rife amongst New Yorkers, can be learned too.

Researcher Martin Seligman, PhD, has devoted his career to studying optimism (Learned Optimism, Martin E.P. Seligman, 1998). He proposes “how we talk to ourselves about negative occurrences is the predominant determinant of optimism versus pessimism.” If you hear a negative perspective over and over again, you are more likely to become a pessimist. Of course, if you repeatedly hear positive thoughts, you are far more likely to turn into an optimist. Many have argued pessimism has its place. The argument being that pessimism has played a role in our evolution and survival. We have lived through harsh climatic changes and dangerous environments, and without preparing for and worrying about bad situations (pessimism), we would have perished long ago. Hence, some degree of pessimism may have conveyed a survival advantage. On the other hand, even these pessimists had to have had a degree of optimism in order to act.

Pessimism is linked to depression and a variety of sad states. Learned helplessness, for example, occurs when we believe we are powerless to change a situation or something annoying. Two out of three don’t even try. Experiments show that when placed into a new situation with a different annoying element, people are not likely to attempt to change from the outset. We are more likely to “suffer” rather than seek solutions. One in 10 would make no attempt to change an annoying element, even if they had never been exposed to an uncontrollable situation (essentially, learned helplessness). Imagine that!

Optimists on the other hand believe in themselves. They hear positive thoughts when talking to themselves. Not surprisingly they believe positive events happen because of them. They also see themselves and their lives (their good fortune) as evidence that more positive things will happen in the future. Optimists reject negative events as being their fault. They see these as isolated events that have nothing to do with other areas of their lives or the future. If an optimist gets a promotion, they are likely to believe it’s because they are good at their job and will receive more benefits and promotions in the future. If they are passed over for a promotion, it’s likely because they were having an off-month because of extenuating circumstances, but will do better in the future.

The good news is it is possible to train yourself to be an optimist. It does not come naturally or easily, in part because those around you don’t necessarily want you to be an optimist (the battle between good and evil—between optimists and pessimists). Even the literature pokes fun at optimists from Pollyanna in Eleanor Porter’s book of the same name (1913) to the baseless optimism embodied in Pangloss, a character in Voltaire’s Candide. The journey to optimism requires reframing. Instead of seeing the glass as half empty, you have to envision it as half full. When faced with a bad situation, it requires you search and find something positive (even if there is only a tiny sliver of it). You must start your conversations with something positive. This will train your mind to think differently. Over time, these thoughts (i.e., conversations) and behaviors become habits. These new positive habits fundamentally reset your internal conversations. Once you have reached the point of having positive conversations in your own mind, you will have become an optimist. It would have been wonderful if this all began in your childhood with positive reinforcement from your parents, peers and teachers, but it is never too late. Believe in yourself. Avoid the dark side of pessimism.

Optimism will inoculate you from depression; help you to live a longer life and to have many friends. Optimists are healthier in general, and this is thought, in part, to be due to the release of endorphins. Also, optimists are happier people. You are far more likely to have good friends as an optimist. Combined with a little talent and drive, optimists are far more likely to achieve their life’s dreams.

So get started. Don’t let yourself slip into the dark side of pessimism! Think positive thoughts.

If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.
—Anonymous

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
—Sir Winston Churchill

It is better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right.
—Anonymous

I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.
—Jimmy Dean

Enjoy the journey.

Steven L. Strongwater, MD

Chief Executive Officer
Stony Brook University Hospital