October 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, M.D.  Dr. Strongwater distributes a monthly update which 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 satisfaction, patient safety and community connections.

View Past CEO  Updates

October 2008

Congratulations Stony Brook University Medical Center! SBUMC achieved a four star rating for Quality and Accountability by the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) which places SBUMC at number 17 in the nation compared to the 102 UHC member academic medical centers. The National Consensus Project also announced the first recipients of the Quality in Palliative Care Leadership Award and  SBUMC is one of  nine selected to receive this award in the USA! Our deepest appreciation and congratulations to Dr. Lynn Hallarman and her team who started our Survivorship & Supportive Care Program Stony Brook's Palliative Care program) from scratch less than two years ago.

Further, we celebrated the grand opening of the first phase of the Major Modernization Project. Amidst hundreds of staff, guests, legislators, press, television cameras, the Dean of the School of Medicine, the President of the University and the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health, we celebrated the opening of Phase I of the Major Modernization Project (MMP) on September 4, an important milestone in our history. The MMP has created the platform for contemporary advanced care for the next several decades. Advanced technologies will speed the transfer of information, make care safer, enhance patient privacy, and improve workflow for staff. A peak at the highlights:

• Ten new Operating Rooms with dedicated specialty ORs for neurosurgery, orthopedics, vascular surgery, minimally invasive surgery;
• Dedicated OR Pharmacy to enhance patient safety;
• Expanded Emergency Department with private rooms, improved ambulance and paramedic access/support, separate Pediatric ER;
• Women & Infants Center with 12 high risk and 36 post partum beds, two newborn nurseries;
• Expanded lobby, to house the gift shop, Starbucks Coffee Shop, the Chapel, Discharge Waiting Area, Information Desk, artwork donated by our Development Council;
• A meditative labyrinth garden just outside the Chapel.

"Stony Brook: Home of the best idea in medicine" is the tag line for our current marketing campaign. SBUMC began this campaign to brand our "academic medical center" in early September as part of the rollout of our strategic plans. Watch for television ads, print ads, web banners and radio spots over the coming months. We also invite you to visit http://www.bestideasinmedicine.com/ and view the campaign on the web. We are proud of what we do at SBUMC and we are sharing our well kept secrets with the community!

STONY BROOK PRIDE

Quality in Palliative Care Award. The National Consensus Project (NCP) selected the Palliative Care program at SBUMC - Survivorship & Supportive Care - as recipient of the 2009 National Consensus Project Quality in Palliative Care Leadership Award.  SBUMC's program is one of nine programs in the United States selected for this prestigious award. This award is presented annually to recognize organizations that have enhanced palliative care services by implementing the palliative care principles espoused by the National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care and the National Quality Forum. It identifies Stony Brook's program as a model for implementing the National Consensus Project Guidelines to promote the highest quality of palliative care Congratulations to Dr. Lynn Hallarman and her team!

SBUMC Nursing Ranked by Peers.  SBUMC Division of Nursing was ranked by ADVANCE for Nurses readers as one of the best in the NY/NJ region in the category of retention of RNs. During an interview with CNO, Lee Xippolitos, the reporter was very impressed with the information Lee shared about the Healthy Work Environment project, specifically the use of AACN's five pillars to develop a Nurse Manager Toolkit. ADVANCE editors decided to do a two-page feature on the project to share the great achievements at Stony Brook with other nurse leaders. The articles should appear in an issue later this fall.

Code H Team a finalist for "Health Care Heroes" Award. The Code H Lifesaving Initiative Team at Stony Brook University Medical Center has been selected as a finalist in the "Achievements in Health Care" category for the Long Island Business News' Health Care Heroes Awards program. Long Island Business News created Health Care Heroes to honor individuals and organizations in the health care industry in Nassau and Suffolk counties. The goal of this awards program is to recognize excellence, promote innovation, contribute to the enhancement of the value and quality of health care and, ultimately, recognize the men, women and organizations whose tireless work, contributions and dedication to healing and caring ensure the well-being of everyone on Long Island. Finalists will be honored at a special breakfast on Thursday, Oct.23 at The Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Good Luck!

Kidney Transplant Service Wins Awards/Recognition. The SBUMC Kidney Transplant Service was informed that it will receive the following awards at an upcoming Transplant Growth and Management Collaborative (TGMC) National Conference in Nashville on October 24th:

• "Referral to Listing Award" for achieving a significant decrease in the median referral to listing time from a high of 394 days in June 2007 to 45 days in August 2008;
• "Transplant Volume Award" for being one of only five centers in the country to achieve a greater than 20% increase in volume of deceased donor transplants, and one of only seven centers to receive the TGMC "Overall Achievement Award";

Additionally, an abstract for poster presentation was accepted for the Transplant Administrator's National Meeting in April 2009 in Seattle entitled "A Collaborative Approach to Saving Lives, A Transplant Center Initiative to Increase Organ Donation."

SBUMC Achieves Four Star Rating! The University HealthSystem Consortium's 2008 Quality and Accountability Performance Scorecard ranks SBUMC with an overall quality rating of four stars out of five! We ranked 17th out of 88 academic medical centers and we are edging closer to becoming one of the top 10 academic medical centers within the rankings. The UHC Quality and Accountability Score identifies key attributes of high-performing organizations. The overall score rolls up from several domains (mortality, effectiveness [related-readmission rate within 30 days of discharge], safety [iatrogenic pneumothorax, selected infections due to medical care, postoperative hemorrhage and hematoma, postoperative respiratory failure, accidental puncture or laceration, birth trauma and obstetric trauma], equity and patient-centeredness [HCAPHS question: percentage of respondents that five an overall hospital rating of 9 or 10]. One of the hospital's performance improvement priorities for 2009 is to earn five stars on the UHC 2009 Quality and Accountability Performance Scorecard. We will continue to focus on improving patient safety, core measure and patient satisfaction outcomes, while systematically deploying best practices. All hospitals in the UHC are improving at an unprecedented pace and in order to improve our score, we must improve at a faster rate. Teamwork will allow us to achieve our goals. Thank you all.

SBUMC takes the Bronze at UHC Fall Quality and Safety Forum. Several months ago we reported that the poster entitled, "Using a Wide Range of Reports Based on the UHC Core Measure Database to Drive Accountability at Stony Brook University Medical Center" was one of 27 posters to be accepted (out of 130 submissions) for presentation at the UHC Fall Quality and Safety Forum. We learned at the Forum that this poster was selected as the Bronze Medal winner at the conference. Congratulations to Elisa Horbatuk, Lisa Wilbert, Cyndi Indelicato, Jacqueline McDonald, Sharon Valentine, Lisa Wells, Lisa Sokoloff, Dr. Skopicki, Elizabeth Maas, Mary Mbuthia and Eileen Dowdy for your hard work in preparing the poster.

Chest Pain Center Re-Accreditation. On September 5, SBUMC passed a vigorous re-accreditation review to remain certified as a Chest Pain Center. Stony Brook was the first and remains the only Chest Pain Center on Long Island and sixth Chest Pain Center in the State of New York to be accredited by the Society of Chest Pain Centers. Hospitals accredited by the Society of Chest Pain Centers have been shown to perform better in the heart attack core measures established by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as compared to non-accredited hospitals, according to a national study reported in the July issue of The American Journal of Cardiology. Congratulations to the Emergency Department, Invasive Cardiology, Decision Support and Continuous Quality Team who made this possible.

Dr. Dagum and Dr. Singer Published in NEJM. Dr. Alexander Dagum (Plastic Surgery) and Dr. Adam Singer (ED) recently collaborate for publication in the September 3 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine is a Current Concepts paper entitled "Current Management of Acute Cutaneous Wounds." The NEJM is one of the most prestigious journals in American Medicine. Publications in this journal speak to the caliber of our faculty. Congratulations Dr. Alex Dagum and Adam Singer!

Advanced Dental Education Program in Dental Anesthesiology Approved. Dr. Peter Glass, Chairman, Department of Anesthesiology and Dr. Robert Reiner, Chairman, Department of Dentistry, received Initial Accreditation of the Dental Anesthesia Residency Program, also known as the Advanced Dental Education Program in Dental Anesthesiology. The Stony Brook program, which accepted its first three residents for the academic year July 1, 2008, was officially accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) at its meeting this past July. There are currently eight dental anesthesia residency programs in the United States and Canada of which only four have received accreditation by CODA. The residency program is two years duration and will be expanding to four residents per year starting July 2009.

Dr. Perlmutter Named Director, Suffolk County Medical Society. Congratulations to Dr. Steven Perlmutter, who has been named director of the Suffolk County Medical Society. The mission of the Society is to act as the premier professional medical association for the physicians of Suffolk County by maintaining a representative and united organization. Among other goals, the Society is charged with establishing the highest possible standards for the practice of medicine; cultivating and advancing education in the science of medicine; and, pro-actively identifying and responding to the evolving needs and interests of physician members. The Society shall be the Suffolk County Component of the Second District Branch of the Medical Society of the State of New York. Dr. Perlmutter is Director of Radiology at Peconic Bay Medical Center and an associate professor of radiology at SBUMC. He is past president of the New York State Chapter of the American College of Radiology. Congratulations!

Renowned Colorectal Surgeon Joins SBUMC. A warm welcome to Dr. Roberto Bergamaschi, who joins Stony Brook University Medical Center as a Professor of Surgery and Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery. He will focus his practice on laparoscopic and conventional surgery for colon and rectal cancer, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, rectal prolapse and other conditions. Dr. Bergamaschi became interested in the rapidly evolving field of laparoscopic colectomy at the National Center for Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery in Norway. He has authored or co-authored more than 300 journal articles, book chapters and abstracts. He is an editor or peer reviewer of more than a dozen journals, including Diseases of the Colon and Rectum. His academic appointments include Professor of Surgery at the University of Bergen, Professor of Surgery at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, and Professor of Surgery at Penn State College of Medicine. Dr. Bergamaschi is a Fellow of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. Most recently, Dr. Bergamaschi worked at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he held the Khubchandani Endowed Chair in Colorectal Surgery.

Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Program Eligible for a Bronze!  SBUMC has achieved the first level of award for their performance in the Get With The Guidelines Stroke Program - the Bronze Award. As part of our service, a monthly review of data demonstrates eligibility from May 14, 2008 to August 12, 2008. This represents 90 days of compliance at 85% or higher across the seven GWTG-Stroke Performance Achievement Award measures - making SBUMC eligible for the Bronze Award (90+ days). Well done!

PATIENT SAFETY

IHI Taps SBUMC. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) contacted SBUMC when leadership was struck by our progress and perseverance in driving culture change based upon activities relating to central line education for residents. As a result, Medical Center representatives were asked to participate during an IHI National Office Hours webex on Sept 16 to discuss our newly developed standardized central line insertion education and certification program.

HANYS Invites SBUMC to Present on Webinar. SBUMC staff members were asked to co-present, along with staff at URMC's Strong Memorial Hospital, on the latest literature published for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) on HANYS's VAP Prevention Project webinar on September 17.

PICU Advisory Board Members in Action. Members of the PICU Advisory Board began to offer one-on-one guidance services to current PICU family members, and response was overwhelmingly positive. Moving forward, select members from the Advisory Board are preparing to work with members of the Department of Corporate Education and Training to develop an educational program for PICU staff on how to positively and effectively communicate with patient family members.

Anticoagulation Task Force Plans to Exceed NPSG. The Anticoagulation Task Force presented a plan to the Patient Safety and Medication Safety Committees outlining its proposals to meet and exceed all Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goals and deadlines associated with the use of anticoagulants such as heparin and coumadin. This includes house-wide standardization of their use by creating and implementing protocols, algorithms and order sets to improve safety and efficacy.  Two heparin order sets and a related protocol are currently in use, and two coumadin algorithms and a related order set are being piloted on CICU and CACU.  Standardization of patient education materials related to these drugs is slated for October 2008. An electronic anticoagulation data tracking system was implemented in September. The Task Force will compare pre and post data (time to therapeutic range, length of stay, readmissions due to complications relating to anticoagulation) to monitor performance against the National Patient Safety Goal.

Medication Trial Initiated. The Missing Medication Task Force, a Nursing, Pharmacy, and Clinical Informatics collaborative, initiated the Cerner Missing Medication Trail on September 22, 2008. This functionality will enable nurses to send medication requests via PowerChart directly to the Pharmacy. The fax request system will still be utilized for downtime procedures.

MRI FMEA Team at Work. The Magnetic Resonance Imaging FEMA team is in the process of scoring the potential failure modes in order to calculate the risk priority number. The team will then review the process of identifying and implementing risk reduction strategies to improve the safety of patients who receive MRI testing.

FMEA Safety Team Formed in Radiation Oncology. An interdisciplinary team was created to improve the safety of patients receiving treatment in Radiation Oncology.  They have initiated a departmental FMEA, focused on Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) External Beam Radiation Safety.  The team is currently working to flowcharting current processes, and  plans to evaluate other departmental procedures using the FMEA methodology.

SBUMC Maintains High Data Validation Rates, Ensures Full Medicare Payments.  Hospitals are required to submit ongoing data to Medicare a part of the Core Measures process. Medicare validates the Core Measures chart abstraction conducted by SBUH and the results must match a minimum of 80% in order to maintain full reimbursement.  Some hospitals struggle to maintain this rate. SBUMC is proud to achieve validation rates of 95%, 100%, 97% and 97% for the most recent four quarters validated by Medicare.

Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) Prophylaxis Implementation Program.  Education to support the use of the new DVT risk assessment form is well underway. The DVT form was trialed and house-wide roll-out will continue during the month of October. The DVT Task Force continues to work with Information Technology and Clinical Informatics to incorporate the use of the DVT forms in an electronic environment.  Additional aspects of the initiative are being finalized and will be reported in the near future.

Emergency Equipment Rounds to Improve Code Blue Outcomes. The Mock Code Blue Committee successfully reached out to 200 nurses throughout the hospital and Ambulatory Surgery Center. The nurses who participated in the "Emergency Equipment Rounds" were given a demonstration/return demonstration scenario on how to successfully prioritize their response from the critical time a patient is identified as unresponsive to first defibrillation. This initiative will be continued by nursing unit educators to ensure the nursing staff are able to effectively incorporate their expertise during the critical first three minutes of a code blue event.

Joint Commission.  On September 19, SBUMC successfully completed the annual Joint Commission Periodic Performance Review (PPR) necessary to maintain our full accreditation. The annual self-assessment requires us to evaluate our compliance with all the elements of performance in 272 Joint Commission standards. Thanks to the Joint Commission functional group leaders for completing the review. The full Joint Commission unannounced survey can occur at any time between now and November 2009. To help us prepare for it, a survey agenda has been published on the "Inside SBUMC" website under Professional Resources.

Patient Satisfaction

Caring Bridge Initiated at SBUMC. CaringBridge is a not for profit organization dedicated to enabling communications between family members and hospitalized patients using the web. In September, we launched this project using existing Concierge who assisted patients/ family members create a CaringBridge website to communicate with their loved one's. This began with 13N and 17N. The Hospital's concierge program has purchased 4 lap top computers for bedside use to support this initiative. The test program will be expanded to include 14S in the first week of October.

Voice of the Customer Program at SBUMC.  The Allegiance Voice of the Customer System is an internet based system which helps use customer feedback to improve patient satisfaction. The software helps document  patient concerns, suggestions compliments and questions. In phase 1, issues that come to the Patient Relations Office will be documented and tracked. Eventually, the system will accept patient feedback directly via the internet and kiosks on units and automatically route the feedback to the appropriate department for recognition and resolution. Training for department managers will take place in the coming weeks.

Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) Live!  The CMS has updated the HCAHPS data on the http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/ website for the period January 2007 - December 2007. On most of the items, Stony Brook scored better than the majority of Long Island hospitals. Compared to the other LI hospitals SB scored particularly well on the "staff provided help" composite. Only one LI hospital scored better than Stony Brook.  Stony Brook scored below the majority of LI hospitals on two composites "area around room quiet at night" and "doctors communicated well".

Tower Room Renovations Underway. Staff and patients on 15th floor have something to look forward to in October when patient room renovations commence. Patient satisfaction scores on both 15N & 15S have been depressed in part because of the rating patients give room accommodations.

17 North Patient Satisfaction Scores Improve. Nancy Petrone and her staff on 17 North continue to consistently set the inpatient gold standard for Patient Satisfaction.  The unit's current score is 88.3. Congratulations 17 North!
  
19 North Press Ganey Scores Rise. Under Kathy Noone's leadership, the staff on 19 North have done a great job improving their score. When comparing July and August results, current scores jumped from 79.6 to 84.9. The 19 North staff has put emphasis on providing their patients excellent nursing care. Clinical assistants are conscientious in addressing a patient's basic needs, turning patients and making sure they are comfortable. Nurses have added a simple introductory hand-off in front of the patient. For example, "Mrs. Jones, this is Mary, she is going to be your nurse tonight.  She is aware that pain was the biggest problem we worked on today." 

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

Auxiliary Gala a Huge Success! On September 25, the Auxiliary hosted a gala with more than 400 in attendance. Dr. Richard Fine was honored, along with the Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery Programs at SBUMC. Dale Carmen, a gentleman whose life was saved by Dr. Rosengart, attended the event and retold his story of mowing a lawn and kicking up a nail which penetrated his coronary artery. Dale's interview on the Today Show was played as were SBUMC ads for cardiac services. Thank you all for supporting the great work of the Auxiliary. Special thanks to Barbara Delfyett, Diane Carillo, and Debbie Lang for helping bring this event to reality. More than $170,000 was raised!

10th Ceremony of Remembrance. On September 21, several hundred family members gathered to remember their children at the 10th annual Babies and Children's Memorial Garden Ceremony of Remembrance. A rededication of our Memorial Garden took place along with poetry readings and songs in recognition of these children. Sincere  appreciation to the staff who supported this program including Virginia Coletti, Kathleen Southerton, Dr. Joe DeCristofaro and many others who served on the Garden and Organizing Committees.

CEO Community Outreach. On September 9, Dr. Strongwater met with approximately 20 members of the Civic Association of the Setaukets and Stony Brook to present SBUMC's strategic plans. There was a lively discussion and members of the Association were invited to tour the MMP.

Major Modernization Project (MMP) Tours A Great Success. In an effort to share the success of the MMP, a series of tours were held for faculty, staff and community members. We had many employees anxious to see where they will be working and others curious about the new units. Staff came from West Campus, along with several community physicians and representatives from St. Charles Hospital, Brookhaven Hospital and United Healthcare.  All were impressed. Thank you all for your support and cooperation providing tour guides, Special thanks to Debbie Lang, Brianne Vought and Catherine McWilliams for helping running these activities.

Psychiatry Co-Hosts Important Program. On September 14, the Department of Psychiatry co-hosted, in partnership with the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Affective Disorder, a public forum entitled "Healthy Minds Across America: Breakthroughs in Psychiatric Research" at the Wang Center. This was part of an unprecedented national initiative involving over 50 universities and medical centers in the United States and Canada which, like Stony Brook, have been selected by NARSAD to participate. Featured presentations covered schizophrenia and depression by Drs. Fritz Henn (BNL), Grigori Enikolopov (CSHL) and Lorna Role (SBU). 

Health Occupation Partnership for Excellence (HOPE) Kicks Off 2009 Program. The HOPE program, now in its fourth year, assists high school students from under served communities to pursue careers in healthcare by offering them assistance with SAT preparation and exposure to healthcare occupations. The five students who completed the program last year have all gone on to college. HOPE welcomed  sixty-five students from five local high schools to the opening ceremony on September 22 in the HSC Galleria. In her keynote address, our Chief Nursing Officer, Lee Xippolitos, encouraged students to make good use of the professional staff who have volunteered to serve as mentors in the program. Thanks to Ruth Alvalle, Yvonne Spreckels and Kathleen Kress for their work in organizing the program and to the fourteen staff who volunteered their time to serve as mentors. 

Fifteenth Annual Walk for Beauty, Walk for Life will be held Sunday, October 5 at the Village Center in Stony Brook.  Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and the Walk begins at 9:30.  The registration fee is $20, which can be paid on Sunday morning. Funds raised by the Walk go to support breast and prostate cancer research at the Stony Brook University School of Medicine. A total of $900,000 has been donated to the School of Medicine by the Walk over the course of the years.

Fundraiser For Burn Center. Come out to support the Suffolk County Volunteer Firefighters Burn Center Fund on October 4 when they host a fundraiser at Martha Clara Vineyards in Jamesport. The evening begins at 6:30 pm and promises a perfect way to spend a fall evening with friends, to enjoy the North Fork's premier winery, and at the same time, support a great cause -- the Burn Center at Stony Brook University Medical Center. Tickets are $35 per person. For more information please call Craig Zitek at 631-831-8842 or Jerry Owenburg at 631-433-3701.

Fall Fashion Festival. On Thursday, October 16, Stony Brook University Medical Center physicians, nurses, and staff will take off their white coats and scrubs to model some of the best fall fashions, from sporty clothes to formal wear, at the 8th Annual Fall Fashion Festival at Villa Lombardi's in Holbrook. The event benefits the GIFT (Giving Inspiration, Fighting Together) program at SBUMC. The GIFT program provides patients with comforting amenities, as well as access to support programs, educational materials, and other resources. Tickets are $60 per person. For more information call 444-1386.

20th Annual Run For Children. Come join us for a healthy and fun-filled day at the 20th Annual "Run for Children" on Sunday, October 19, 2008. The certified 5K run/walk takes place on the beautiful tree-lined, foliage-filled streets of Setauket. Registration begins at 7:30 am and the run gets underway at 9:30 am at Gelinas Jr. High School. Following the run, the event celebrates its 20th anniversary with a special "Fun Fest" from 10 am - 2 pm, with music provided by Long Island's #1 hit music station, WBLI, and lots of activities and games for children and adults alike. Pre-registration is $17 and everyone who registers in advance (by October 16) receives a commemorative t-shirt; day of registration is $20. Awards will be issued to top finishers and there will be fantastic Chinese auction prizes and post-race refreshments for all. For more information call 444-3840.

Little Miracles Fashion Show. On Thursday, November 19, children and young adults who are recovering from cancer will be the stars of a fashion show to benefit the Sunrise Fund. The Sunrise Fund benefits pediatric oncology services and research at Stony Brook University Medical Center. The fashion show, "Little Miracles: For Childhood Cancer Survivors" will feature children as young as one year old modeling the latest fashions in young clothing. The event in its fourth year, takes place on Thursday, November 19 at Villa Lombardi's in Holbrook from 6:30-10:30 pm. Dinner tickets to Little Miracles Fashion Show are $60 each; individuals may sponsor a child for $50 and a child and family for $250. Corporate sponsorship packages range from $250 to $2,500. The evening includes beautiful raffle baskets, live auction and entertainment! To purchase tickets or for more information, please call 444-7720.

School Re entry Conference. On Tuesday, November 4, the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Stony Brook University Medical Center is offering a free, one-day conference for school teachers, nurses, counselors, social workers, psychologists, other educators, and parents to educate the educators about childhood cancer, the effects of treatment and  preparation for school re-entry following treatment. Speaking at the conference are Dr. Robert Parker, Director, Division of Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology, Professor, Vice Chairman of Pediatrics for Academic Affairs and Associate Director of the Stony Brook University Cancer Center and Dr. Devina Prakash, Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology . Dr. Parker will be discussing common pediatric hematological disorders, and Dr. Prakash will give an overview of common pediatric cancers.  In addition to presentations about the side effects of pediatric cancer treatment, and its impact on a child's learning, Dr. Norman Fried, PhD of Winthrop-University Hospital will be discussing The Creative Expressions of Loss, Recovery and Survivorship in Critically Ill Children.  Participants will also have an opportunity to hear from a panel of pediatric cancer and hematology patients, their parents, and their educators about their experiences with returning to school following their diagnosis and treatment. For more information on this free conference and for a complete program, please call 444-7521.

Last Touch

On September 18, 2007, Randy Pausch did something quite brave. He stood before a large audience and webcast a lecture. Many of you likely have seen his talk entitled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." This was a special lecture, because in it, Randy teaches us how to live. Inspiring. Unique. Insightful. Beautiful. The problem-Randy reveals he has pancreatic cancer and is going to die. Randy's message, however, was not about dying, but about living. His talk has since become well known as "The Last Lecture" and viewed on the web by millions of people. Well worth watching from your home computer if you haven't seen it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo).

Randy passes on many ideas that are both simple and profound.

From Randy's slides, slightly reordered.

"Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.
Brick walls let us show our dedication."

"Be good at something: it makes you valuable
 Work hard ...
Find the best in everybody; no matter how long you have to wait for them to show it"

"Be prepared: "luck" is where preparation meets opportunity
 Show Gratitude
Don't complain; just work harder"

"Never Lose the Child-like Wonder
 Help others
Loyalty is a two-way street
Never Give Up"

"How to get people to help you.
Tell the truth
Be earnest
Apologize when you screw up
Focus on others, not yourself"

These simple words are meant to help you achieve your childhood dreams. In truth, Randy gave this lecture not for all of us, but for his family. He wanted them to learn these important lessons and have this remembrance when he was gone. He lived life to the fullest, until the very last moment. Sadly, after undergoing surgery and chemotherapy, Randy died on July 25, 2008. He left his wife and three children and advice for us all.  A profound last touch....

We are all human and as such, fragile. Enjoy each day. Thank you for being part of the SBUMC community. It is a special place.

Steven L. Strongwater, MD
Chief Executive Officer
Stony Brook University Hospital

Patients first - World class processes - Teamwork - Growth - Use resources wisely