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Volume 8| Issue 16| Through March 3, 2015
 
        
              
Country Inn and Suites  
 
Construction brings AIP 2 out of its shell Less than two years after the second tower opened, crews are steaming ahead with the build-out of two more floors -- one an ICU, the other a medical-surgical unit -- housing a total of 60 beds. Four new ORs are also part of the expansion, as well as regular planning sessions, training, and plenty of hiring. >>More
                                                             
What are you wearing? "Campus Diary" puts UCH'ers Melody Davey (right) and husband Loren through a version of "The Newlywed Game" to see how much they really know about each other. Their answers may surprise you. Plus: Staffer cracks the book market; an aspiring Chief Drinking Officer; more. >>More
 A surgeon without borders
In "This Hospital Life": David Kuwayama, MD (far left), makes his living performing vascular surgeries at UCH. But his heart lies in helping to deliver care in some of the most dangerous and underserved parts of the world -- like the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where he spent five weeks of unpaid leave last fall. Plus: "What You Read." >>More
                 
Tough to slow revolving readmissions door The directive to UCH and many other hospitals is simple: reduce the number of patients with targeted conditions who are readmitted within 30 days. The example of heart attack patients shows that meeting the goal is a tricky business. >>More
Safety advocates urge providers to read the labels
A hospital-wide initiative to reduce the number of labeling errors on patient blood specimens sent to the Clinical Lab had a five-month run of success. But quality and safety leaders are looking for ways to sustain the gain after the number the number of errors ticked back up in January -- a lose-lose-lose proposition for patients, lab techs, and nurses. >>More
               
A multitrauma drama continues Not quite a year ago, a car crash left 18-year-old Devyn Brinkerhoff on death's doorstep. With the help of a tightly integrated team of providers at UCH and her own determination, Brinkerhoff (right, with Rob McIntyre, MD, director of the hospital's SICU), has battled back, as a UCH-produced video story shows. >>More
UCH teams show people make the difference in patient care
The staff who make up January's "Teams We Treasure" -- the Outpatient Infusion Center (OIC) and the Outpatient Physical Therapy Clinic -- show that clinical expertise is only part of the recipe for exceptional patient care. Left: some of the members of the OIC show their certificate. >>More
                  
Around UCH Goings-on, big and small, in and around the hospital. This issue: "Moustache Madness" is just a whisker away; Burn/Trauma staff help warm up the homeless; polling for Magnet; afib conference doesn't miss a beat; more. >>More
Dizziness test a real (V)HIT The hospital is the first in the region to offer the Video Head Impulse Test, a quick and painless way to identify the causes of debilitating dizziness. It offers a new view into the labyrinthine workings of the inner ear. "We can tell exactly what your ear is doing. Before it was a black box," says UCH otoneurologist Carol Foster, MD. >>More
Check out our Facebook page News, views, and stories of inspiration on UCH's Facebook page. Give us a like!. >>More
Follow the Insider on Twitter News, commentary, and updates on UCH, UCHealth and the wider world of health care. >>More
Dean Krugman's news The latest about what's going on at the School of Medicine. >>More
             
UCH Financials Stay Strong, Even as Landscape Shifts

At the midway point of fiscal '15, the hospital's earnings exceeded budget, thanks to strong volumes and effective cost controls. The success comes amid evolutions in the market and in regulations that are altering the patient population and the payer mix. >>Go
                                            
Friends in Finance Take Super Bowl Rivalry on the Road

UCH Finance team colleagues Mike Bishop (above, right) and Todd Bidlingmaier have been friends since elementary school. They are also dedicated followers of the opponents in Super Bowl XLIX. Rather than watch the battle for bragging rights at home, they hit the highway to Phoenix for an excellent adventure. >>Go
                                                             
  
Out of the Darkness
Two years after suffering the emotional devastation of a car wreck that killed his wife, Richard Cornwall was blinded by a freak lab explosion. With the help of delicate retinal surgery performed by UCHealth Eye Institute Medical Director Naresh Mandava, MD (above), Cornwall has found his way back to the light. >>Go
                   
UCH Gains in Race to Beat
the Stroke Clock 

The hospital earned "Elite Plus" designation from the American Stroke Association for its success in getting patients clot-busting medications within an hour. The life-saving improvements are the result of ongoing process improvement and collaboration between the ED and Stroke Team. >>Go
                   
Transition in the TTO

With the imminent departure of long-time director Rick Silva, the CU Anschutz Medical Campus Tech Transfer Office is looking to reinvent itself and consider new opportunities for getting laboratory and clinical breakthroughs to market, says CU Associate Vice President for Tech Transfer Kate Tallman (above). >>Go
               
UCH in the News

Putting measles on the spot; politics vs. medical leadership; legislature's death debate; more. Mentions: Jean Abbott; Ashok Babu; Virginia Borges; Pearce Korb; Laura Madsen; Shona Murray; Peter Rice; Dan Theodorescu. >>Go