Rxtra 8 1 for web

Hartford Named One of 100 “Most Wired” Hospitals by American Hospital AssociationFor the fifth consecutive year, Hart-ford Hospital has been named one of the nation’s 100 Most Wired hospitals.

The honor comes from Hospitals & Health Networks, the journal of the American Hospital Association.

Most Wired hospitals show better outcomes in patient satisfaction, risk-adjusted mortality rates and other key quality measures.

This year’s survey included 1,388 hospitals. MidState Medical Center (a Hart-

ford HealthCare partner), was also named a Most Wired hospital, an honor they received last year as well.

Only three other hospitals in Con-necticut were named: Bridgeport Hospital, St. Francis Hospital, and Yale-New Haven Hospital.

The biggest differentiator between the “Most Wired” organizations and others is the ability to present pa-tient documentation as structured data, a major criteria for meaning-ful use under the ARRA.

“Meaningful use” means providers need to show they’re using certi-fied electronic health records (EHR) technology in ways that can be mea-sured in quality and quantity. Begin-ning this year, Medicare has an EHR Incentive Program that will provide incentive payments to eligible hos-pitals that demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology.

“The most wired data reinforce the trend we’ve been seeing over the past few years of hospitals mov-ing forward with technologies that are the most important for clinical care and patient safety,” says Chan-tal Worzala, director of policy at the American Hospital Association. “We continue to see areas like medica-tion safety and medication reconcil-iation take priority.”

Hospitals are assessed for Most Wired status based on progress in adoption, implementation and use of information technology in four critical areas: infrastructure, busi-ness and administrative manage-ment, clinical quality and safe-ty, and care continuum. To receive “most wired” status, hospitals must meet specific requirements in each of the four core areas.

The July cover story detailing results is at www.hhnmag.com.

RxTraA publication for the staff of Hartford Hospital August 1, 2011 Vol. 67 No. 28

2

Pet therapy dog Shane and his owner, Jena Weiss, visit a patient in the hospital.

Therapy pets help people just by visiting with them in a hospital. A visiting pet can boost peoples’ moods and reduce depression, anxiety and pain for people who are hospi-talized. The following story is about Shane, one of our favorite therapy dogs.

In this day and age it should come as no surprise that even a pet therapy dog has joined the social network.

Shane, a beautiful fawn-colored Dober-man Pinscher, not only provided cheer, hope and healing to a patient at Hart-ford Hospital, but connected the pa-tient with family and friends across the country through his Facebook page.

During a pet therapy visit, an appre-ciative patient and her visitors really connected with Shane, and wanted to learn all about him. Shane’s owner, Jena Weiss, informed her of Shane’s Face-book page. The patient was delighted.

Jena checked Shane’s Facebook page later that evening and was amazed that within minutes, the patient’s fam-ily and friends from across the coun-try had begun to post comments on Shane’s wall. Some thanked Jena for sharing Shane with their daughter, sis-ter, friend. There were comments on how beautiful Shane is, how much his visit brightened their loved one’s spirit and how he made them smile.

As a dog trainer, Jena thought it would be good PR to give Shane his own Face-book fan page, linked to her company’s website. She never anticipated that it would prolong the impact of a pet ther-apy visit, allowing the patient to share the joy of having been visited by a dog in the hospital.

Shane and Jena have found their seven years of volunteering at Hartford Hos-pital very rewarding, but Jena said the unanticipated flurry of connections outside the hospital and outpouring of gratitude brought the joy to a new level. You can visit Shane’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/shanethedog.

Connecticut Governor Dannel Mal-loy has named Yvette Melendez, vice president of government and community alliances, to the state’s new Board of Regents for Higher Education.

Melendez has over 30 years of ex-perience developing public policy in

education, human services, and public health at the state level. Before joining HH, she was chief of staff and chief ad-ministrative officer for the Connecti-cut state university system.

She also worked at the State Depart-ment of Education, where she led Con-necticut’s entry into the charter school movement; as deputy commissioner of the Department of Public Health and Addiction Services; and as chief of staff for the Department of Income Mainte-nance (now Social Services), where she was part of the state’s initial efforts to desegregate schools.

The new board is central to Malloy’s reorganization of higher education, which involves consolidating the lead-ership of the state’s four smaller uni-versities, 12 community colleges, and online college. The new board will have 19 members: nine appointed by Malloy, two students, four legisla-tive appointments and four ex-officio members (state commissioners).

Shane The Therapy Dog Spreads Cheer In The Hospital, And Now On His Own Facebook Page

Governor Names Melendez to State’s Board of Regents for Higher Education

3

Ethics or compliance concerns?If you have any business ethics or compliance concerns, please contact your supervisor

or call the Compliance Helpline, a confidential service, at 1-800-431-5572.

Su usted habla Espanol, favor llamar 1-800-297-8592.

Dr. Justin Lundbye, Director of Inpatient Cardiology,

Recognized As Young Leader by Hartford Business Magazine

Dr. Justin B. Lundbye, medical director of the Hartford Hospital Cardiac ICU, director of Hartford Hospital’s inpatient cardiology services and cardiology hos-pitalist program, and chief of cardiology at The Hospital of Central Connecticut, was named among Hartford Business Magazine’s “40 Under 40” winners.

“40 Under 40” recognizes 40 outstand-ing young leaders under the age of 40.

Dr. Lundbye, 39, initiated several new programs to improve patient care, in-cluding a therapeutic hypothermia pro-gram, which substantially increases the chance for survival after cardiac arrest. The program has been successfully de-ployed to all Hartford County emergen-cy medical service providers.

Dr. Lundbye has also lectured on the subject, trained providers, produced

research publications and has a book contract on the subject.

As director of Hartford Hospital’s cardi-ology hospitalist program, he oversees seven physicians and three advanced practice nurses providing excellent care to 120 patients/beds.

Dr. Lundbye is currently working on an MBA, as his long-term goal is to be a physician leader/executive in a hospital.

He said the best advice he’s ever re-ceived was to remember your roots.

“Never forget from whence you have come, your ‘professional roots’ — and all those whose guidance and mentor-ing have helped to make your advance-ment and growth possible. This will keep you connected — and humble,” he said.

August 1-7

Farm Stand FreshSeymour Square Farm Stand

Fridays, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center in Avon

August 10, Sept. 7 and Oct. 5 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Happening at Hartford HospitalValues Training: Sessions Added

To accommodate those who still need to attend Making a Difference Values and Behaviors training, there are six addi-tional sessions in August and September. • Wednesday, August 10: 8-10 a.m., Newington Amphitheater• Tuesday, August 16: 12:30-2:30 p.m., Gilman Auditorium• Wednesday, August 17: 8-10 a.m., Gilman Auditorium• Monday, September 12: 8-10 a.m., Newington Amphitheater• Monday, September 19: 8-10 a.m., Gilman Auditorium• Thursday, September 22: 2:30-4:30 p.m., Gilman AuditoriumPlease self-register in HealthStream, and make arrangements with your man-ager prior to registering. For more infor-mation, please contact Alison Rapose at 860-972-1688, or [email protected].

Poster Presentations By Research Fellows Aug. 12Poster presentations of the research projects that were completed by the 16 summer student research fellows will be on display Friday, Aug. 12, from 9-10 a.m. in the Special Dining Room. For more in-formation, contact Rosemarie Portal at [email protected].

All Star Skating Show Aug. 13

The Third Annual Tribute to Life Skating Event will be held at the Newington Are-na on Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. Performing will be JoJo Starbuck, Nicole Bobek and Rus-lan Goncharov. The event will also fea-ture a silent auction, pre-show BBQ, and post-show meet and greet. Tickets ($25 in advance, $35 at the door) are avail-able by calling 860-665-7825. Proceeds will benefit the Helen & Harry Gray Can-cer Center. [email protected].

Diabetes LifeCare Support Group Meeting Aug. 22

The Diabetes LifeCare Support Group will meet on Monday, Aug. 22 from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Windsor satellite site at 1060 Day Hill Road. Speaker will be regis-tered dietician Molly Kirschner, who will speak on “Out in the Trenches - Dining Out.” The support group meeting is free of charge. To register, call 860-545-1888.

Retirement Tea for Phylis Watson Aug. 25There will be a retirement tea for Phy-lis Watson on Aug. 25 from 2-4 p.m. in Dining Room A&B. Phylis is a PAA in the Assessment Center, and has been with Hartford Hospital for 31-1/2 years.

Make Strides for Healthy Hearts-Join the Team! Last year, 113 Hartford Hospital staff members participated in the Ameri-can Heart Association’s Heart Walk, and raised $7,052 for cardiac research. This year, the walk will be held on Saturday, October 29 at Bushnell Park, and Cardi-ology Administration here is heading up the event with Hartford HealthCare sup-port. Our goal is to raise $15,000, so we are looking for walkers and team cap-tains to lead them. It’s always a great day of fun and inspiration! You are welcome to bring your family, friends and pets. To sign up, please e-mail team leader Ceci-lia Kozlowski at [email protected].

Looking for Hand-made Hats for Local VeteransThe Blue Star Mothers of Connecticut (Chapter One) are looking for donations of hand knit or crocheted hats to give as gifts to the veterans at the Connecti-cut VA hospitals in December. This year they need a total of about 375 hats, but to date, they only have 75 hats complet-ed. Any help would be greatly appreci-ated. Please contact Helena Cutler in Utilization Review at 860-545-7299 or [email protected].

English 101-Composition Offered Starting Aug. 30English 101 Composition, a three-credit college course, will be offered at Hartford Hospital on Tuesday and Thursday after-noons, 4:45-6:15, from Aug. 30 to Dec. 13. Instruction will be provided by Capital Community College. For more informa-tion, contact Leticia Colon in Learning and Organizational Development.

Chris Botti TicketsTickets go on sale Au-gust 1 to hear trum-pet player Chris Botti, currently the largest selling American jazz instrumental artist, perform at The Bushnell on Feb. 4, 2012 to benefit Women’s Health Services. For tickets, call the Bushnell Box Office at 860-987-5900, or go online to bushnell.org. Tickets start at $32.50, but staff can get $5 off with the code “harthosp.”

Wanted: Used Music PlayersThe Volunteer Department is requesting used music players (tape cassette or CD) of any size to be used for therapeutic ac-tivity for patients. If you would like to donate one, please drop it off at Volun-teer Services or contact Chris Waszynski from Geriatric Medicine at 860-545-5630, and she will pick it up from you.