From the Offices of Elliot Joseph and Jeffry Nestler, MD
May 16, 2010 Edition

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"Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work." - Vince Lombardi

OHCA Approves HHC-CCHA Affiliation

The state Office of Health Care Access approved the proposed affiliation between the Central Connecticut Health Alliance (CCHA) and Hartford Healthcare. CCHA is the parent organization of the Hospital of Central Connecticut. In approving the partnership, OCHA wrote: “ . . . this proposal will create a larger, financially stronger health care delivery system that will . . . continue access to quality care in the area.” The affiliation must now be reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission.

Medical Staff Annual Awards

If you were unable to attend the Medical Staff Annual Spring Event, you can still catch up on the five extraordinary physicians who were honored there. Read the press release.

Spine Center Leads

Under the leadership of Medical Co-Directors W. Jay Krompinger MD and Andrew Wakefield MD as well as coordinator Martha Rogers, MS, OTR, the Spine Center at Hartford Hospital has grown to become the statewide market leader, regionally recognized for minimally invasive procedures performed by both our neurosurgeons and orthopedic spine surgeons.

ABC News Wants You

ABC News keeps a database of physicians, and it is always looking for more experts. Rebecca Stewart, Director of Media Relations, would like to add more Hartford Hospital doctors to the list. If you are interested, please email her at RStewart@harthosp.org. She will need name, title, phone, email and area of expertise.

Across-the-Board Improvement

Safety, satisfaction and volume are up. In April, we recorded the smallest number of patient falls (35) and the smallest number of fall-related injuries (4) ever recorded for one month at Hartford Hospital. In March, we achieved a two-year high score in overall rating of hospital experience that exceeding our target. Meanwhile, discharges for April were ahead of budget and ahead of April 2009.

Hartford Hospital Team Contributes to Crohn’s Study

Joseph Cappa, MD was a co-Investigator on the SONIC study -- a trial of second-line medications for selected Crohn’s Disease patients. Resutls were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in April. Sandra Trifiro RN, CCRP and Tara McLaughlin PhD, CCRP from Hartford Hospital's Clinical Research Center coordinated the study. Patients were recruited through Dr. Cappa's office at Connecticut GI. Gina Paternostro APRN from Connecticut GI provided clinical support for the study.

HH2020: Building Our Future

Three of six new step-down rooms in Bliss are now open. The remaining rooms -- all part of the HH2020 project -- will open in the next few weeks. In addition, eight new ICU rooms will be open by early summer. Work on the main (High Building) lobby begins late Monday (May 17).

Candlelight Vigil Caps Week of  "Respect and Deference"

Hartford Hospital brought Nursing Week to a powerful and emotional end on the evening of May 12 with a candlelight vigil outside the hospital’s main entrance. A crowd of nurses from a variety of units – some with family members – joined administrators and other staff members in a candle-lighting ceremony that also included short talks and a song by a grateful patient
The Seymour Street Journal has been developed to communicate key messages pertinent to our hospital’s physicians. It will keep you informed and up-to-date on hospital, network, and health care news in a concise, convenient format. The digest will be sent to your preferred e-mail address every other Sunday. Back issues can be viewed here. For any questions or suggestions, please contact Dr. Jeffry Nestler, Medical Staff President, at (860) 836-7313.