This marks the inaugural electronic issue of Lifelines, the Medical Center employee newsletter. The newsletter will be emailed to all Stony Brook University Medical Center staff every other week with information organized based on the Medical Center's strategic priorities, known as the four pillars: Quality, Relationships, Best Place to Work and Sustainability. It includes links to our monthly message and Last Touch; the mission, vision and values of the Medical Center; the websites for the Medical Center and its Programs of Distinction; a calendar of events; and the Employee of the Month. Managers are encouraged to print the newsletter and post it in areas visible to staff who may not be frequent email users. We hope you enjoy reading this first edition and welcome any feedback or comments.

Walk for Beauty to raise funds for breast cancer research and patient support. The 18th annual Walk for Beauty will be held on Sunday, Oct. 2, at Stony Brook Village Center to raise funds for breast cancer research and patient support at Stony Brook University Cancer Center. This year's walk will honor Brian O'Hea, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery in the Department of Surgery, Chief of Surgical Oncology, Chief of the Breast Service and Director of the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Care Center at Stony Brook University Cancer Center. Dr. O'Hea has been with the Cancer Center since 1996. Pre-registration for the walk is $15, with a pre-registration deadline of Saturday, Sept. 17. Registration on the day of the event is $20. Registration forms may be obtained by calling 444-4000 or by visiting the Walk for Beauty Web page.  

Today marks the official opening of the newly constructed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Labor & Delivery Suite. Starting at 7 am on Sept. 13, a parade took place featuring NICU babies, expecting mothers, families and staff, as they rode the elevator from the NICU on 8S and Labor & Delivery space on 8N to the new space located off the Medical Center Lobby. Babies were wrapped in special blankets, and staff wore special T-shirts for the occasion both imprinted with, "One Small Elevator Ride for Me, One Big Step for Stony Brook." These newly constructed areas are the most modern and advanced in New York State, with the first all-private-room NICU equipped with 46 beds and a Labor & Delivery Suite that offers 10 Labor & Delivery rooms with private baths, private recovery rooms and three state-of-the-art operating rooms. They provide conveniences previously not available to patients and their families and enhance Stony Brook's ability to provide state-of-the-art care. Special thanks to all of the staff who helped make this phase of the Major Modernization Project happen.

Vincent Yang, MD, PhD, joins Stony Brook as Chair of the Department of Medicine. This month, Vincent W. Yang, MD, PhD, joined Stony Brook University Medical Center as Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine. A nationally recognized physician-scientist specializing in gastrointestinal cancers, Dr. Yang comes to Stony Brook after most recently serving as the R. Bruce Logue Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Digestive Diseases at Emory University School of Medicine with a secondary appointment in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology of the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University. At Stony Brook, Dr. Yang oversees the largest department within the School of Medicine. The department includes a broad residency-training program and the nine clinical divisions of Cardiology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Oncology/Hematology, Infectious Diseases, Nephrology, Pulmonology and Critical Care, and Rheumatology/Immunology. As Chair of Medicine, Dr. Yang will grow the Department's clinical and research programs, as well as enhance medical education at all levels, from undergraduate medical education to residents, fellows and junior School of Medicine faculty.