PSCU Top Left
Volume 6 | Issue 19| Through April 9, 2013
Nurse Scientist 032713                 
Panoramic Financial         
Fitz March 2013                  
Best Western              
First Bank           
 Leeret Koehler     
ED plays beat the clock With less than two weeks to go before the scheduled April 7 opening of its new home, the Emergency Department and its partners throughout the hospital are tending to thousands of details necessary to ensure the safe transport of patients, supplies and equipment on the big day. Left: ED Nurse Manager April Koehler (r) and Emergency Services/Trauma Director Rob Leeret go over unfinished business in the "War Room," the nerve center of preparations for the transition. >>More
 ICU Boom and Hoist     
"It's time": hospital preps for tower opening Life Safety Orientation online courses and tours are underway as the opening of the first phase of AIP 2 draws near. For employees, it also means unit orientation, equipment training, and simulated patient care. The goal: ensure the environment is as safe as possible before the first patient arrives May 6. >>More
 Air-Handler AIP 2     

The beating heart of AIP 2 Hidden from most staff in the new tower is a complex of machinery that delivers the hot and cold water, the purified air, electricity and a host of other necessities the we take for granted. Left: Ron Wiebers of Facilities Management checks an air-handler that governs the mix of inside and outside area in AIP 2.  >>More

 EchoNavigator                  
A new vision for cardiac care A new imaging tool that integrates X-ray and 3D ultrasound imaging during minimally invasive procedures to repair structural heart defects owes much to the contributions of UCH cardiac imaging specialists and interventionists. The hospital was an alpha and beta site for the EchoNavigator, approved for marketing in the U.S. this month. "A better view of the anatomy of the heart improves our efficiency and hopefully leads to better outcomes," says UCH Director of Interventional and Vascular Cardiology John Carroll, MD. >>More
 Glenn Kindt      

Neurosurgery's pioneer In This Hospital Life: The Neurosurgery program at CU had lost its residency program when Glenn Kindt, MD (left), arrived as chairman in 1981. But he had already helped pioneer national standards of neurological care that are now routine, including devising a relatively simple  to measure intracranial pressure and introducing specialized intensive care to stroke and traumatically brain-injured patients. After restoring the residency program, Kindt built a nationally recognized cerebrovascular program at CU, mentored many and helped establish the foundation for today's Stroke Program. Plus: "What You Read." More

NSQIP          
Setting surgical safety standards The hospital and School of Medicine are poised to join a nationwide effort with the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program to reduce the number of post-surgical complications. They'll compare their peformance with peer institutions and identify areas that need work to reduce risk to patients. Next: find a nurse to extract data from medical records and submit it to the NSQIP database for analysis. >>More
Parkinsons Exercise Class                      
Applying exercise to Parkinson's UCH physical therapists' weekly class helps individuals with Parkinson's disease slow down the movement disorders, loss of cognition and deteriorating quality of life. Better yet: "People in the class feel they are taking control and feeling empowered as they understand the benefits of exercise," says Jane Renner, one of the PTs who leads the class>>More
Karen Talcott       
Sidebar: Surprised by diagnosis, she fights back  UCH nurse Karen Talcott, RN (right), wasn't prepared initially for the Parkinson's disease diagnosis she received two years ago. But she responded by educating herself about the condition, increased her activity levels and reaching out to others through a support group. "We have to consciously train ourselves to live in the here and now," Talcott says.  >>More
Kate Snapp and Joanah Cruz                    
Feeding hungry moms. Press Ganey scores were down in the Birth Center and Women's Care Center. Moms were "hungry, grouchy and vocal," says Food and Nutrition Services admin Kate Snapp (far left, with FNS worker Joanah Cruz). That's changed since Snapp hit on the idea of delivering afternoon tea and two-bite pastries to the bedside three days a week. >>More
Nightingale Finalists         
Around UCH Goings-on, big and small, in and around the hospital: Nightingales sing again (right); resident RNs shine; last chance to vote for palliative care funding; PHA cash-in set to launch; more.  >>More
UCH in the news Executing a drug search; the skinny on skim milk; we just joined a group named CORHIO; clipping stroke risk; more. Mentions: John Carroll; Stephen Daniels; Amanda Dempsey; Mark Earnest; Richard Krugman; CT Lin; Nia S. Mitchell; Peter Rice; Dan Theodorescu. >>More
Stapleton    
Marketplace Ad   
Campus classifieds More services, products to buy or sell. Also: nearby dining and lodging. Try our new classified ad and guide to campus services section, University Health Marketplace. >>More
Construction updates We see a new tower arisin'. The latest news on the hospital's building projects. Available only to those with access to the Hub, the hospital's intranet. >>More
UCH on Facebook See what's cooking at the state's only academic medical center. Stories, photos, comments, conversation and more. >>More
Dean Krugman's news The latest from the School of Medicine. >>More
Dan Theodorescu       
Cancer Center Wins The Gold Standard

With its election this month to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), the University of Colorado Cancer Center joins an elite group of academic medical institutions that have a big say in establishing standards for oncological care everywhere. The Cancer Center is the first institution to join the NCCN since 2005. Above: Cancer Center Director Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, says the NCCN election is a huge boon for patient care at UCH and other hospitals in the UCHealth system. >>Go

David Kuwayama          
MD-Modified Aortic Graft a Regional First

For what may be the first time in the Rocky Mountain region, vascular surgeons repaired a thoracoabdominal aneurysm with a graft they modified. It preserved blood flow to the kidneys and intestines as they fixed a patient's life-threatening, dangerous arterial ballooning. Above: David Kuwayama, MD, works on the graft prior to surgery.  >>Go 

Brian Schaad        
RN Sparks Interest in Burn Education

When Burn/Trauma ICU grad nurse Brian Schaad, RN (above), noticed the Epic electronic medical record didn't contain a specific section for documenting burn patient education, he decided to do something about it. This month he presented the results of his work at a national meeting of resident nurse programs. >>Go

Norio Fukami            
East Meets West in Endoscopic Procedure

In Japan, Norio Fukami, MD (above), learned a minimally invasive endoscopic technique for removing small tumors from the esophagus, stomach and colon. Now practicing at UCH, Fukami wants to spread the knowledge to more clinicians and give patients alternatives to open surgeries. >>Go