Is the Hospital's Radiation Therapy Safe for Patients?
Recently reported catastrophic errors at other hospitals have alarmed patients and providers. But UCH hasn't had a life-threatening error in at least 10 years -- if at all -- says Radiation Oncology Chairman Laurie Gaspar, MD. Plus: what the hospital does to prevent unsafe exposures.  |
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| Alaris pumps await servicing last week in the Central Supply depot. | |
IV Pump "Gymnastics"
Materials Management and Biomed Engineering staff wrapped up a week-and-a-half-long project that moved and remediated 1,500 IV pumps without interrupting patient care. |
Field of (email) Dreams
Adding a new field to an IDX screen for Care Team members may help the hospital fulfill a dream of being more closely connected to patients. It's already working in the Endocrinology Practice |
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| The HeartWare ventricular assist device is about the size of a D battery. Photo: HeartWare International Inc. | |
Tiny Implants for Heart Failure Patients
UCH has joined a study of a new ventricular assist device that could reduce risk of mechanical failure and infection in patients awaiting transplants. |
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| Emmy Betz and Michael Allen, both MDs, lead the hospital's study of enhanced screening tools to identify patients at risk of suicide. | |
Finding the Suicidal Patient in the Crowd
Helping patients considering self-harm can't start until they are identified. An upcoming NIH study in the ED aims to improve the diagnoses of those who show no obvious signs of inner turmoil. |
UCH in the News
Soda and cancer; Epic hiring strides; warnings for women; more. Mentions: Michael Allen, Emmy Betz, Peter Buttrick, Eric Coleman, Steve Hess, Frank Lisnow, Rachel Rabinovitch, Colin Weekes. | |
Annual employee opinion survey rescheduled Citing a big workload for managers responsible for employee evaluations and time-crunching projects like implementing Epic and planning for a new inpatient tower, Bruce Schroffel and hospital leadership decided to move the survey from next month to a new date, sometime after August. 
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Acupuncture now the service leader in Integrative Medicine Insurance doesn't usually cover it, but acupuncture now draws about 200 patients a month for patients in search of relief from pain and stress. The Center for Integrative Medicine plans to bring in two new contract acupuncturists to help handle the load.
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Sidebar: Help for "debilitating headaches" Narcotics and medication "cocktails" didn't help Eye Clinic Manager Loretta Todaro's migraines. So she tried something different, with positive results.
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Inside the Insider Commentary: Tyler Smith goes gonzo and steals Bruce Schroffel's iPod, sort of. Plus: "What You Read."
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Watching the baby UCH became the first in the nation to bring in new monitors that help NICU providers keep a closer eye than ever on their tiny patients.
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A son's devotion, some hustling cardiovascular providers, and a new tool All combined to help an endangered patient at UCH survive the kind of heart attack that usually claims 70 percent of its victims. "Good karma" helped too.
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Sticking points and sticky notes A lot of moving parts -- MDs, RNs, Environmental Services, transport, Pharmacy and so on -- have to mesh to get a patient discharged from the hospital and home in a timely way. A team on 7 East is borrowing from best manufacturing practices to make the process simpler, faster and more efficient. Plus: the view from the bed.
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You gotta have heart The third annual Hearts of All Ages event drew a record crowd. This year's Valentine's Day gala for kids of all ages benefited the Cancer Center expansion.
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Overcoming a big blow in Cardiac Rehab When an expensive and important piece of training equipment blew out, patients and an anonymous donor came to the rescue.
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Around UCH Our regular round-up of goings-on, big and small, in and around the hospital. This issue: Medical Staff, President's awards (left); Kronos time-out; Weight Watchers wait nears end; State of the Hospital address looms; more...
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Dean Krugman's news The latest on what's going at the School of Medicine.
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