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.

Governor Cuomo’s Executive Budget proposes cuts for Stony Brook University that are disproportionately high, amounting to an approximately 30 percent cut in Stony Brook University’s direct New York State support compared to 10 percent cuts for other SUNY campuses. The proposed cuts come on top of $419 million in State-mandated expenses and cuts already incurred or planned for Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) from 2007 to 2012. The cuts threaten essential healthcare services and future economic development for Long Island.

Stony Brook University Medical Center (SBUMC) has introduced many vital programs in the effort to save lives and improve the quality of life of the residents in our community. Since 2007, these programs include lifesaving interventional stroke care, noninvasive coronary artery imaging (using CT scans), robotic heart surgery, neonatal head cooling for vulnerable babies, robotic electrophysiologic heart care, groundbreaking treatments for pancreatic cancer, palliative care programs and a great deal more. We have invested in the expansion and modernization of SBUMC’s physical plant and information technology, and have recruited academic physicians to study and develop new treatments for yet untreated or incurable conditions. We can be proud that we have accomplished all this during a time when our budgets have been cut year after year. SBUMC earns more than 94 percent of its funds with the remainder provided by New York State for critical programs. Unlike prior cuts, the proposed New York State budget eliminates all State support and threatens the quality of life of the residents in Suffolk County.   

SBUMC has focused on filling gaps in care for our community by building programs of distinction and partnering with local hospitals and community-based physicians in the areas of heart, stroke and cancer care, and others. As leading causes of death in the nation, we have made these diseases among our clinical priorities. We believe improving patient safety and quality is a long-term strategy that not only makes care better but reduces costs. Indeed, we hope the entire nation adopts this strategy as health reform evolves. Defining best practices, putting these reliably into place and repeatedly doing the right thing reduces costs.

SBUMC continues to absorb imposed new expenses coupled with extensive budget cuts—seven rounds of cuts amounting to $275 M over the past three years. We have done this while remaining steadfast in raising the bar to improve all aspects of care. Infection rates are the lowest ever and among the best in the nation. Mortality rates continue to fall. SBUMC has been recognized as a national leader by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and a model hospital for treatment in the Emergency Department (ED). Stony Brook has received the University HealthSystem Consortium Excellence in Quality and Safety Award, and the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) Pinnacle Award for Quality and Patient Safety in recognition of our Cardiac Care Unit as a High Reliability/Exemplary Clinical Unit. Additionally, the ED, along with inpatient services in a combined commitment to improving Hospital flow and patient care, implemented a full-capacity protocol, which has been featured as a best practice by the following organizations: The Joint Commission, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, IHI, Urgent Matters and The Advisory Board, and has been highlighted in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NBC, ABC, Fox News and the Associated Press. Supply costs, staff costs and other markers of care (e.g., how long patients are in the Hospital or length of stay) continue to improve.

SBUMC has maintained our commitment to programs not available elsewhere in Suffolk County, providing much needed services regardless of whether they may be a profit loss for the Hospital. These vital programs care for victims of trauma, people with mental illnesses, patients suffering from burn injuries and individuals who are uninsured. All of us at Stony Brook can be proud of the many lives we have touched. National news reports underscore the importance of these programs when a public figure like U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords is shot. Every community needs a trauma program where people who are critically injured can be saved. Vehicular accidents on the Long Island Expressway and other area highways are unfortunately all too common. SBUMC is Suffolk County’s Level 1 Trauma Center. This is why trauma centers, emergency management systems and regional perinatal systems that are in place in Suffolk County, are led or coordinated by Stony Brook. These programs are essential for the well being of our community. They are not luxuries or optional programs. Each and every one of us needs to know these services will be in place if and when we need them—24/7.

Let me sound the alarm on behalf of our community. These critical programs are at risk. Every last dollar of support for these and other programs at SBUMC are slated to be cut in the proposed State budget. The voice of SBUMC on behalf of Suffolk County cannot be ignored. Our aim is to call attention to the need for these services because without a full restoration of funds, SBUMC cannot maintain the same level of care.

STONY BROOK PRIDE

Join us for a Town Hall meeting for all Stony Brook University Medical Center (SBUMC) employees. The meeting will address the New York State budget cuts impacting the Medical Center and will include a question and answer session. It will be held on Monday, March 14, 11:30 am to 12:30 pm, in the Health Sciences Center, Lecture Hall 6. Live video conferencing will be available at the following locations: Medical Center Lobby Conference Rooms 1 and 2, Level 5; OVP Conference Room, HSC Level 4; North Dining Room, Adjacent to the Skyline Deli, Level 5; 3 Technology Drive, HR Conference Room; 31 Research Way, Conference Room A; Ambulatory Surgery Center Conference Room; Cancer Center, Conference Room, Level 1; and Flowerfield Conference Room. For those unable to attend, a video recording will be available on the Intranet following the Town Hall Meeting.

Stony Brook study published in JAMA receives national and international attention. Shenhong Wu, MD, PhD, Principal Investigator, and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, and colleagues analyzed data on the use of the chemotherapy agent bevacizumab (Avastin®) in a study of 10,000 patients. They concluded that patients using Avastin may be at an increased risk of treatment-related death when the drug is used in combination with other therapies. Their findings were reported in the February 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Dr. Wu’s study received considerable media coverage in regional, national and international news outlets including FoxBusiness, Newsday, Reuters, USA Today, WebMD and The Wall Street Journal.

The American Chemistry Society (ACS) has designated the development of the MRI a National Historic Chemical Landmark. This is the 67th such designation by the ACS. MRI, a commonly performed noninvasive medical imaging technique, was first developed by Stony Brook chemist Paul Lauterbur. A ceremony will be held at Stony Brook University’s Chemistry Building Library to commemorate this designation. Following the ceremony, all are invited to attend a symposium on “The Future of Bioimaging” on Friday, March 11, at 3 pm in the Charles B. Wang Center theater.

Head and Neck surgeon specializing in minimally invasive endoscopic procedures joins Stony Brook. Trained in the most advanced techniques in minimally invasive and endoscopic treatment of head and neck disease, Mark F. Marzouk, MD, will focus his clinical practice on the treatment of cancers of the head and neck, as well as disorders of the salivary glands. Through the Division of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Dr. Marzouk is initiating a new program in salivary endoscopy, the first such program on Long Island, which allows for the removal of salivary gland stones and relief of another condition called salivary duct stenosis. Dr. Marzouk comes to Stony Brook from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center where he was Chief Resident in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. He received his medical degree with surgical training from Ain Shams University School of Medicine in Cairo, Egypt. He completed an internship in general surgery at North Shore University Hospital–Long Island Jewish Medical Center and then spent a year as a research fellow investigating head and neck carcinogenesis at the Northport VA Medical Center, under the direction of his Stony Brook colleague Ghassan J. Samara, MD. Dr. Marzouk is a member of the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery.

Stony Brook physician has been accepted into highly competitive interventional cardiology leadership development program. Allen Jeremias, MD, Director, Vascular Medicine and Peripheral Intervention, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, has been selected as one of ten national fellows for the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions Emerging Leader Mentorship Program in partnership with the American College of Cardiology and the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. This two-year program is designed to forge the next generation of great thinkers, presenters, teachers and leaders in the field of interventional cardiology.

Congratulations to the March Employee of the Month. Mohini Jose, MSW, LCSW, Social Work Supervisor, was selected as the Employee of the Month for March. Ms. Jose always puts patients first and spends as much time as needed with staff, patients and families to help them in any way she can. She effectively communicates all information with team members and willingly shares her wealth of knowledge with patients and caregivers, empowering them to participate and navigate their care as much as possible. She always leaves families with a sense of peace and comfort. Ms. Jose facilitates a support group for women with gynecologic cancers and is highly regarded by the gynecologic surgical team and the group participants. In November 2009 with the Pastoral Care Department and the 19 South Staff Educator, Ms. Jose started a support group called Combating Compassion Fatigue for oncology staff on 19 South. Committed to her patients and co-workers, she works hard and always tries her best, and does so with a wonderful smile.

Partners in Care Advisory Council recognizes SBUMC physician for outstanding care. Michael Pearl, MD, Director, Gynecologic Oncology, was recognized by one of his patients as someone who exemplifies and embraces the concepts of Patient and Family Centered Care (PFCC). The Partners in Care Advisory Council, made up of former patients and families, developed an award to recognize staff members. Dr. Pearl’s patient wrote a letter to the Advisory Council to nominate Dr. Pearl and noted that his expertise and compassion left her feeling informed and reassured. She also spoke highly of the “wonderful and professional staff” at the Ambulatory Surgery Center and praised Dr. Pearl’s assistant, Charlotte Shiger.

PATIENT SAFETY

National Patient Safety Awareness Week to be celebrated at Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) from March 6 to 12. Join us in making the commitment to safe healthcare with a week of events that are open to all staff and the community. From March 7 through March 10, the annual Patient Safety Poster contest will take place in the Medical Center Lobby. The Patient Safety Fair will be held on Thursday, March 10, from 10 am to 3 pm, in the Medical Center lobby and will include health screenings and risk assessments; an “Ask the Pharmacist” booth; healthcare professionals to answer questions; information on National Patient Safety Goals; blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol screenings; and games and raffle prizes. The highlight of the week will be a presentation by Sorrel King on Wednesday, March 9, 12:30 pm to 2 pm in Lecture Hall 1 with a live video broadcast in Lecture Hall 6. Ms. King, mother of Josie King, will share a moving, personal story about medical errors, and speak about the Josie King Foundation’s mission to create a culture of patient safety for us all.

ASPHO accepts Stony Brook Children’s poster. The American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) accepted a poster submitted by the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Subcommittee for presentation at the ASPHO annual meeting in April. The poster highlights outcomes relating to a successful decrease in central line-related infections for this high-risk population. The CLABSI (central line associated bloodstream infection) rate at Stony Brook has decreased 84 percent compared to the baseline period.

SBUMC participates in Project “BOOST” (Better Outcomes for Older adults through Safe Transitions). An initiative of the Society of Hospital Medicine, Project BOOST employs tools and techniques across multiple healthcare disciplines to ensure that patients leave the Hospital with the support and education they need to avoid readmission and lead a healthier, safer life. The pilot project will begin on the 15th floor and criteria used to determine those eligible for Project BOOST are patients who are age 70 years or older, on at least five medications and with a previous history of heart failure. The criteria will be expanded to include other disease states and units over time.

The Therapeutic Hypothermia Task Force has been implemented to improve outcomes after cardiac arrest. This collaborative effort among Medicine, Cardiology, the ED and other responsible departments (Distribution, Materials Management and Purchasing) aims to improve the outcomes of patients following a cardiac arrest by inducing hypothermia. Studies have shown that lowering the brain temperature of patients during the first 24 hours following resuscitation of a cardiac arrest has a significant effect on survival and neurologic recovery. A Power Plan went live to standardize the protocol orders. The most recent evidence has been converted into a protocol to guide physicians and nurses to adhere to the standard expectations set. 

Organ Donor Council and Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care and Bioethics host conference. Titled “Thinking about Consent and Procurement in Organ Donation: Some Lingering Issues in the Areas of Ethics, the Law and Public Perception,” the conference will be held on Monday, April 11, 9 am to 12:30 pm, in the HSC, Level 2, Lecture Hall 2. Additional details will be available soon. To RSVP please call David Harris at 4-4710.

Decedent Affairs Office leads FMEA on timely notification. The Decedent Affairs Office (DAO) is scheduled to conduct a failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) on the timely notification to the DAO following a patient death. The goal of the FMEA, led by Amy Kretz, is to facilitate communication of all deaths so that there is an opportunity to meet with the family in person and offer autopsy services.

The “Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse” site is available on the Hospital Intranet. Located on the center of the page, directly next to the Patient Safety First icon, staff can access the site for all necessary tools needed for reporting and identifying child abuse. These include the phone number for the New York State Child Abuse Hotline, the Child Abuse Form (LDSS-2221A), a flyer identifying indicators of child abuse and key points for the mandated reporter, guidelines for mandated reporters, and a link to the New York State Office for Children and Family Services website.

PATIENT SATISFACTION

Patient satisfaction ratings increase in 2010. Patient ratings of service indicated by Press Ganey survey results increased in 2010 compared to 2009 for all patient populations surveyed, except in the Ambulatory Surgery Center where the high overall rating achieved in 2009 (94.5) was duplicated in 2010. The biggest rating increase (3.8 points) was on the ED survey where the increase was statistically significant and represents a real improvement in patient satisfaction. Patients were more satisfied with the time it took to see a physician, how well their pain was controlled and how well the staff kept them informed regarding delays. To date, the ED scores are even higher this year than in 2010.

During 2010, SBUMC inpatients were found to be more satisfied with several important issues measured on the Press Ganey surveys. These issues were noise levels in and around the patient rooms, promptness of staff in response to call bells, finding one’s way around the Hospital, inclusion of patients by staff in decisions regarding treatment, the extent to which patients were informed about medications received, introductions by staff and explanation of their roles, and respect by staff of the patient’s cultural and spiritual needs. The units that received ratings above the Hospital average of 84.1 in 2010 were 05&6ENEP, 05CH, 09N, 11S1, 11S2, 17N and 18S1.

Outpatient areas improved patient satisfaction in 2010. Outpatients were more satisfied than in 2009 with the waiting time in registration and with how well the staff introduced themselves and explained their roles. Units that scored above the Hospital average of 91.0 in 2010 were the Breast Care Center, Cardiac Testing, Preadmission Testing, Pulmonary Function, and MRI and Nuclear Scan at the Imaging Center.

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

Support Stony Brook through “It’s About Us!” faculty and staff annual giving campaign. Join in celebrating our University, Medical Center and Veterans Home by taking part in this campaign. The “It’s About Us!” campaign is designed to support Stony Brook programs and initiatives. There are many funds to give to—all of which support students, researchers, patients and residents. You can make a one-time gift or set up an automatic payroll deduction. Visit www.stonybrook.edu/itsaboutus to find a fund using the online Fund Finder, make a gift online or download a form to make a gift by mail.

Learn about the latest information on colorectal cancers on Wednesday, March 2, 7 pm to 8:30 pm in the Cancer Center Lobby. The event called “Update on Colorectal Cancers” will feature presentations by Roberto Bergamaschi, MD, PhD, Chief, Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery, and Professor of Surgery; Marvin Corman, MD, Professor of Surgery, Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery; Paula Denoya, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery; William Smithy, MD, Program Director, Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery; and Marisa Siebel, MD, Assistant Professor, Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology. Light refreshments will be served. RSVP for this free event by calling 444-4000.

Nominations for the Michael A. Maffetone 2011 Community Service Awards are due by March 10. The awards honor employees of Stony Brook University Hospital, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Health Sciences Center and Long Island State Veterans Home who demonstrate outstanding community service in education, healthcare, human services, arts and culture, diversity, safety, or injury prevention, and will be recognized at ceremony and reception on Friday, April 8. Submit nominations and supporting documents to Yvonne Spreckels, Director of Community Relations, Zip 9229. Visit the Medical Center Intranet for more information about the awards and to download a nomination form. If you have any questions about the awards or the nomination process, call 444-5250.

Stony Brook hosts MS Awareness Day. Join the staff of the National Pediatric MS Center on March 17, from 7 am to 7 pm in the Medical Center lobby. Dr. Patricia Coyle and Dr. Lauren Krupp will be available from noon to 2 pm. For more information, email Dominique Stanley, Dominique.Stanley@StonyBrook.edu, or call 444-1454.

Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) will receive valuable information regarding their health and well being during a spring seminar series titled “Living Well With MS.” Sponsored by the Department of Neurology and the MS Comprehensive Care Center at Stony Brook, the series includes presentations and interactive discussions with healthcare experts from the Center and other professionals specializing in issues related to MS. Seminars are held Thursday evenings, 7 pm to 8:30 pm, at 179 Belle Mead Road, East Setauket. The dates are March 31, April 14, May 19 and June 16. For additional information and to register, please call 444-3578 or email Jennifer.Curley@StonyBrook.edu.

The annual “Stars of Stony Brook” Gala to be held on Monday, April 4. The Gala will honor world-renowned Academy- and Grammy-Award winning actress Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, a New York Times best-selling author and esteemed member of the Stony Brook University faculty. A portion of the proceeds from this year’s Gala will benefit Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital. To be held at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers in New York, the Gala will begin with a cocktail reception at 6:30 pm, followed by dinner at 7:30 pm. Stony Brook faculty and staff can purchase tickets at the reduced price of $500 per ticket or $5,000 for a table of ten. In addition, chartered coach bus transportation to and from the Gala is being offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations are required. To purchase tickets and reserve bus transportation, contact Rosalie Kosonen at 632-7699 or Rosalie.Kosonen@StonyBrook.edu.

Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital and March of Dimes partner for “March for Babies.” On Sunday, May 1, hundreds of walkers—individuals and teams—will gather at the Stony Brook University to raise funds and give hope to the more than half a million babies born too soon each year. This year, the March will coincide with the opening of Stony Brook’s new state-of-the-art NICU. The Suffolk County March for Babies Honoree is Jenny Tranfaglia, who with her husband Joe, established the Little Angel Fund in memory of their daughter Amanda who lost her battle with prematurity. The Niemann Family of Smithtown has been designated as the official Ambassador Family for the March. Natalie and Kirk Niemann’s second daughter, Lila was born eight weeks premature and through surgical intervention and expert care in Stony Brook Children’s NICU, she was given a new lease on life. The money raised by the March for Babies supports programs in the community that help mothers have healthy, full-term pregnancies. In addition, it funds research to find answers to the problems that threaten newborns. For more information on walking as an individual or forming a team log on to Stony Brook Children’s pledge page.

Children and families on Pediatrics enjoyed a tailgate party with Wolfie during Super Bowl Sunday. Food Services, in conjunction with the Child Life Program and Pediatrics, hosted this tailgate event for children, families and staff in the Pediatrics playroom before the big game. Staff members tried to reach everyone including patients who were on isolation by delivering plates to them. Many patients had several family members visiting that day and there was a continuous stream of people into the playroom for a helping of delicious food. Many thanks to the chefs, organizers and servers who helped to make it such a fun-filled afternoon.

SBUMC helps Long Island child care agencies achieve New York State Department of Health breastfeeding-friendly designation. SBUMC’s Long Island Center for Pediatric Obesity Prevention has aided 15 child care agencies on Long Island achieve the goal of attaining a New York State Department of Health breastfeeding-friendly designation. Prior to the program’s work with the agencies, no Long Island child care centers had received the designation.

Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital launches program to help prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Stony Brook Children’s has expanded its commitment to reducing the incidence of SIDS with a new program that helps to emphasize good sleep habits at home. Each baby discharged from the NICU is sent home with a HALO® SleepSack®, a wearable blanket that replaces loose blankets in the crib that can cover the baby’s face and interfere with breathing. It helps babies to sleep more safely and more soundly, because the warm blanket can’t be kicked off. The SleepSack giveaway program at Stony Brook Children’s was started with assistance from The Little Angel Fund, Inc., and will continue with support from the Hospital’s Gift Shop, which has agreed to donate one SleepSack to the NICU giveaway program for each one they sell in the gift shop.

P.J. Gelinas Junior High School and community raise $31,000 for Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital. The Gelinas student government raised the funds for Stony Brook Children’s through numerous events, including a student-versus-faculty basketball game, a spare change drive and a school dance. These donations were matched by two gifts of $10,000 from community members Pam and Stephen DellaPietra and Vincent DellaPietra. 

Junior High students lend support to Stony Brook’s Center for Public Health Education for HIV/AIDS training. National Junior Honor Society students from P.J. Gelinas Junior High School pooled resources to donate $150 to the Center for Public Health Education (CPHE), a Health Sciences program through the School of Health Technology and Management. The gift will be used for educational materials needed for the CPHE’s mission of providing timely information on HIV/AIDS to support health and human service professionals.

Zumbathon event to be held for Stony Brook Children’s. Kristi Tramposch, part of the NICU nursing team and a Zumba® instructor, is organizing a Zumbathon event on Sunday, March 13, 2 pm to 5 pm, on the Stony Brook University campus in the Student Activities Center, Ballroom A. Come and enjoy a fun afternoon of dance and fitness and support Stony Brook Children’s. 

“Smiles for Scott” makes a difference for pediatric families. Stony Brook Children’s is once again the beneficiary of a generous donation from The Smiles for Scott Foundation in the amount of $23,725 to cover the cost of television rentals on the pediatric unit. Smiles for Scott was established to honor the life and memory of Scott Loeb who passed away from medulloblastoma, a form of brain cancer, at the age of 5.

My Last Touch

There does seem to be a great deal of turmoil and chaos all around us. I find myself surprised by the news every day: civil wars, economic ferment, political and personal misadventures. It has the makings of a great novel, but it is, to be sure, very real. Some of it, as the expression goes, “you can’t make up.” It can be unsettling and confusing.

But with the click of a TV remote we move on. How come? Why is it that you can largely ignore most of these challenging and frightening issues? Could it be that you live in a certain environment or culture that provides enough stability, safety and security from the chaos that it doesn’t affect you? Is your so-called “microenvironment” safe? What are the components of your microenvironment that make it safe? Could you help other people design a safe environment? What would it look like?

Perhaps it would have some of these key attributes: to be secure about oneself, to be confident in the future, to be valued, to be welcomed, to be trusted, to be and feel supported emotionally and otherwise, to be listened to and understood, and to be safe. How is that for a starter set? You might want to add to the list, but this is not a bad start. Could we actually set up this kind of environment? The answer is a resounding yes! As it turns out, it is not as hard as you might think.

The essential ingredient is not that mysterious. It is respect.

“Respect is an unassuming resounding force, the stuff that equity and justice are made of.” (William Aiken, CPA, “Respect” from Aiken’s 1992-1993 Winter Collection) William Ury writes in his book, The Third Side, “Human beings have a host of emotional needs for love and recognition, for belonging and identity for purpose and meaning to lives. If all these needs had to be subsumed in one word, it might be respect.”

Respect is powerful and worth focusing on because it is often overlooked. Respect is not a top of mind issue. We each tend to focus, rightly so, on our own needs. Overlooking the fact that we are part of a “larger whole,” however, could be disastrous. Respect implies that you will act to support your peers with positive feelings of esteem. It requires you to train your ear to listen and to walk, so to speak, in someone else’s shoes. It implies acceptance, non-judgmental understanding, support and nearly all the elements of our ideal culture described above. Respect requires a certain amount of discipline. Respect also means using good judgment. We are more likely to make positive contributions and risk a mistake for the sake of making the microenvironment better when we know our peers will support us. People who feel respected feel good about themselves. They are prideful in their work and contributions. 

On the other hand, being rude, ignoring the sensibilities of your peers and repeatedly being judgmental are acts of disrespect. Perhaps you have seen the result of environments of disrespect. They are characterized by unpredictable behavior (sometimes revenge seeking), arrogance, mistrust, isolation, among others. All of which, of course, we don’t want as part of SBUMC’s culture.

At SBUMC we have embraced respect as a core value. This is to highlight its importance to patient care. For example, in medicine, we must work as a team. Failing to act as part of a team will lead to bad handoffs and poor patient care. Wikipedia describes respect in medicine as “…the acceptance of an individual as is, in a nonjudgmental manner...an integral component of the [provider-patient] relationship. [It] means caring for the [patients] whose value system may differ greatly from that of the [provider]. To show respect, the [provider] must not react with shock, surprise or disapproval toward a [patient’s] lifestyle, dress or behaviors. The [provider] respects the [patient’s] choices and actions yet sets limits on unhealthy or undesirable behavior.”

One of SBUMC’s most powerful assets is our culture. How we treat each other means a great deal toward how we and our patients feel and recover. Thank you all for helping each other understand the importance of respect and reinforcing behaviors that demonstrate this every day.

I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me...All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.
—Jackie Robinson

Men are respectable only as they respect.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Probably no greater honor can come to any man than the respect of his colleagues.
—Cary Grant

Enjoy the journey to world class.

Steven L. Strongwater, MD

Chief Executive Officer
Stony Brook University Hospital