Quality and Safety

Coming Soon: SB Safe

SB Safe, Stony Brook Medicine's new patient safety reporting system, will launch in June. This easy-to-use software, used by other leading healthcare institutions, will be accessible through the hospital intranet.

"Based on employee feedback about our current patient safety reporting system, we are creating a new way to foster a culture of safety where employees feel free to share safety concerns and report errors," said Joseph Laver, MD, Chief Medical Officer. "Safety is our number one priority. As we work together using SB Safe, we can make a difference in improving the quality of care for our patients."

SB Safe is user friendly and allows employees to quickly identify and enter information, including adverse events, near misses and safety concerns, using convenient drop-down menus. Comprehensive reports generated by reporting occurrences will identify trends, which can help reduce the overall severity of events. Staff can also customize patient alerts, making all aware of potential risks, such as a fall risk. Once an occurrence is entered into the system, the employee will receive written acknowledgement and can view the progress of the occurrence report.

The system received the name "SB Safe" through a contest held in February. Out of more than 100 employee entries, Cara Harth, MD, Department of Neurology, suggested the winning name. Thanks to all employees for their valuable input and commitment to patient safety at Stony Brook.

Employee training on SB Safe will begin in May through Stony Brook Medicine's Learning Management System in preparation for the June launch.

Joint Commission Survey Readiness Tip: What's the best way to respond to a Joint Commission surveyor's questions? Relax. Remember that you and the surveyor have a common objective: providing safe and high-quality care for our patients. Ask the surveyor to repeat the question if you don't understand it. And don't guess if you don't know the answer. Tell the surveyor who you would like to contact to get the answer, or reference a specific manual. Always answer only the question that was asked. Elaborate only if you are asked to provide examples.

CTICU Receives iCare Award

The April iCare Award was presented to the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit (CTICU) for Quality in recognition of the unit's success in reducing hyperglycemia.

Through the collaborative efforts of the interdisciplinary team and the expertise of Joshua Miller, MD, the CTICU was able to increase its compliance with the measure of post-operative glucose management. They reduced the rate of hyperglycemia from a baseline of 21.4 percent in 2014 to 11 percent for 2015 year-to-date. This was a highly collaborative effort, with support from the cardiothoracic surgeons, the departments of Pharmacy, Quality, Dietary and IT, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and especially the CTICU nursing staff, under Dr. Miller's expert guidance. They were able to achieve this without a respective increase in the hypoglycemia rate.

How did they do it? The answer is through a culture change that included education for the staff, insulin drip management and a focus on post-operative nutrition and preoperative optimization. Extremely integral to the success of this effort was the use of data so that the staff had feedback on how they were doing.

The monthly iCare Award recognizes clinical and nonclinical units for outstanding achievements related to quality, safety and the patient experience.

Members of the CTICU staff receiving the iCare Award, from left, Mary Ann Donohue-Ryan, PhD, RN, Chief Patient Care Services Officer; Karen McLean, RN, CTICU Lead Educator; Johanna Salonga, RN, CTICU Evening Clinician; Maria Jazmines, RN, CTICU Day Clinician; Susan Cunneen, RN, CTICU Nurse Manager; Margaret Duffy, RN, Associate Director of Nursing; and Thomas Bilfinger, MD, Director, Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit

Service

Recognizing Community Service

The Annual Michael A. Maffetone Community Service Awards were presented on April 16 at the Health Sciences Galleria. Named for Michael Maffetone, DA, who served as Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Hospital from 1994 through 2000, the awards recognize individuals and organizations that embody the spirit of community service that he embraced.

From left, L. Reuven Pasternak, MD, CEO, Stony Brook University Hospital; Sarah Rose Pestieau, MD, Hospitalist; and Dawn Maffetone

Hospitalist Sarah Rose Pestieau, MD, received the Community Service Award. She was nominated by Neil Jaglall, MD. Over the past five years, Dr. Pestieau has gone on overseas assignments with Doctors Without Borders, an international non-governmental organization that abides by its three principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence. She has spent from three to six months in the Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Pakistan, Syria and most recently Ethiopia. Before her assignments with Doctors Without Borders, Dr. Pestieau volunteered at the Stony Brook HOME clinic, soup kitchens and health fairs. She taught English as a Second Language and went on short-term medical missions to Ecuador and Guatemala.

From left, Marret Anderson, RN, MICU, and Carol Moor, Invited INN

The Community Service Grant was awarded to Invited INN, a soup kitchen in Rocky Point. Marret Anderson, RN, Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU), nominated the Invited INN, and was joined by Carol Moor from the Invited Inn, to accept the grant. Invited INN has been serving hot, nutritious meals every Thursday evening to those in need for more than 23 years. Completely staffed by volunteers, all food and monetary donations go directly to feeding those who are hungry.

The keynote address was delivered by Edmund M. Hayes, RPh, PharmD, Interim Dean, Stony Brook University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Assistant Director of Pharmacy; and Residency Program Director, who spoke about the importance of volunteerism and community service. Inspired to serve by Dr. Maffetone, Dr. Hayes frequently attends health fairs and gives talks within the community.

The event also honored Stony Brook Medicine employees who volunteered their time in 2014 to perform community service on behalf of Stony Brook University Hospital. Three employees received Distinguished Service Awards for their dedication and commitment. The 2014 Speaker of the Year was given to Pamela Kostic RN, Chest Pain Accreditation Coordinator. The 2014 Screener of the Year was awarded to Donna Rapczyk for her efforts at the monthly Mall Walkers meetings, and Antonios P. Gasparis, MD, Division of Vascular Surgery.

Kidney Transplant Ceremony Honors Living Donors

Stony Brook Medicine's Kidney Transplantation Services recently hosted an award ceremony to honor living kidney donors and thank them for their selfless gifts that enable recipients to experience a renewed quality of life.

Stony Brook performed its first living donor kidney transplant in 1981. Since then, the program has expanded to include deceased donor transplants. This unique, steroid-free kidney transplant program remains the longest active transplant program on Long Island and is the only one on Long Island to perform pediatric kidney transplants. Stony Brook is also in the top 20 percent of kidney transplant programs nationwide by patient volume and has outcomes that are comparable to some of the best programs in the country.

Transplant surgeons, Wayne Waltzer, MD, and Frank Darras, MD, have performed more than 1,500 kidney transplants and currently handle 60 to 70 transplant surgeries each year with a success rate of 93 percent over one year.

From left, Mary Ann Donohue-Ryan, PhD, RN, Chief Patient Care Services Officer; Dawn Francisquini, RN, BSN, Outreach Transplant Coordinator; Laurie Rafkin, Senior Associate Executive Director of Hospital Operations; Frank Darras, MD, Medical Director, Kidney Transplantation Services; Carol Gomes, MS, Chief Operating Officer; Wayne Waltzer MD, Director, Kidney Transplantation Services; Carrie Lindower, RN, MBA, Administrative Director, Kidney Transplantation Program; and L. Reuven Pasternak, MD, CEO, Stony Brook University Hospital

2015 Faculty and Staff Annual Fund: Spring Campaign

Lukas Vasadi '16

Thanks to dedicated faculty and staff at Stony Brook, remarkable students like Lukas Vasadi '16 thrive at Stony Brook University and beyond. As a senior in high school, Lukas had visited Stony Brook and put it atop the short list of colleges vying for his attention. Still, he understood that without a scholarship, he might never step foot on campus again.

But each year, generous donors -- including more than 1,600 faculty and staff -- ensure that the best and brightest students like Lukas have the opportunity to join the Stony Brook community. Gifts to the Stony Brook Fund for Excellence go to student scholarships and also fuel innovations in teaching, hands-on research experiences, advances in healthcare and academic enrichment.

Now a junior, Lukas has distinguished himself in many ways. He shares his excitement for science with underprivileged students in local school districts, he co-founded the Red Watch Band program, and through undergraduate research experiences, he has discovered his life's work: a career in bioastronautics, hopefully on NASA's biomedical research team.

Visit the Annual Fund to learn how to make a gift that can help ensure the success of more remarkable students like Lukas.

NICU Nurse Family Serves as March of Dimes Ambassador

Stony Brook University Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurse Danielle Donohue, RN, is serving as the Ambassador Family for the upcoming March for Babies on Sunday, May 3, at the Brookhaven Holtsville Ecology Center in Holtsville.

In a recent publication of the March of Dimes, Donahue had the opportunity to tell her story about the birth of her son, Max, who was born at Stony Brook University Hospital when Donahue was only 26 weeks pregnant, on July 6, 2011. At birth, Max weighed just 2 pounds, 7 ounces.

Donahue praised the staff at Stony Brook for doing all they could to delay her baby's arrival and for the expert care Max received during his 115 days in the NICU, where he was treated for many complications, including an intestinal perforation at five days, DPA, ROP, bi-lateral inguinal hernias, eating difficulties and BPD from being intubated for nearly seven weeks. Donahue and her husband, Joshua, were also thankful for the support and comfort they received from the March of Dimes NICU Family Support.

"I am privileged to work in the Stony Brook NICU with colleagues who saved our son's life, and they will be forever a part of our family's story," said Donahue. "My work at Stony Brook is not just fulfilling, but also inspiring, and my wish is that I am able to provide families with the same hope and comfort that was given to us."

Learn more about the Donohue family's story. 

To help support the March for Babies, visit the Stony Brook team page.

People

Allyson Silver, MPH

Allyson Silver Named Associate Director of Operations for Surgical Services

In her new role as Associate Director of Operations for Surgical Services, Allyson (Ally) Silver, MPH, will work collaboratively with physician leaders in surgery and the OR, and the AD for Nursing. Her key responsibilities include strategic and operational planning, business development, financial management, revenue cycle analysis, human resources management and environment of care.

With 10 years of experience in healthcare administration, Silver comes to Stony Brook from Montefiore Medical Center. There, she served as the Director of Business and Operations for Perioperative Services, and was responsible for overseeing financial management and all operational and administrative activities for four stand-alone facilities and 45 operating rooms, which perform more than 35,000 surgical cases annually. Prior to Montefiore, Silver served in healthcare administrative roles for NYU Langone Medical Center.

Lory Bright-Long, MD

Dr. Bright-Long Appointed Medical Director of Alzheimer's Disease Assistance Center of
Long Island

Assistant Professor Lory Bright-Long, MD, who helped write the original application for the Alzheimer's Disease Assistance Center of Long Island (ADAC-LI) in 1988, and served as its first director until 1994, has been appointed as the Medical Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Assistance Center of Long Island. Dr. Bright-Long is also the Director of the Department's Geriatric Fellowship Program. Additionally, she provides psychiatric consultation to the Long Island State Veterans Home and also sees outpatient geriatric patients.

The ADAC-LI is one of eight Centers of Excellence in New York State for the diagnosis and care of patients with Alzheimer's disease. It serves as a regional resource for information about the disease and is an important source of information, reassurance and support for family members.

Faculty Profile: David Fiorella, MD, PhD

David Fiorella, MD, PhD

As the range of available treatments for endovascular disease has broadened in the past 15 years, neurointerventionalist David Fiorella, MD, PhD, has been at the forefront. As Co-Director of the Stony Brook University Cerebrovascular and Stroke Center, Dr. Fiorella has played a pivotal role in the development, testing and introduction of numerous technologies and treatments for cerebrovascular diseases. At the same time, he has helped build a world-class cerebrovascular diagnostic and treatment center that is unique in Suffolk County. Dr. Fiorella is among only a handful of leaders nationally in terms of the range of interventions and volume of procedures he performs. Patients from many areas of the country and around the world speak with tremendous gratitude and enthusiasm about their successful outcomes under the care of Dr. Fiorella.

Dr. Fiorella was recruited to Stony Brook in 2009 by friend and former colleague at Cleveland Clinic's Cerebrovacular Center, Henry Woo, MD, who is a Co-Director of the Cerebrovascular and Stroke Center. At the time, Dr. Fiorella was on the faculty of the prestigious Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. Dr. Fiorella completed both his fellowships, in neuroradiology and interventional neuroradiology/endovascular neurosurgery, at Barrow. His residency was at Duke University Medical Center. He received both his MD and PhD (in neuropharmacology) from SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine.

Learn more. 

Stony Brook Children's Ad Campaign Receives Awards

The advertising campaign for Stony Brook Children's Hospital, which was created by Stony Brook Medicine's Birmingham, Alabama-based ad agency of record, Lewis Communications, recently captured Gold and Silver ADDYs at the Birmingham Advertising Federation awards.

The campaign also received several awards at the Ad Fed Awards, which included submissions from ad agencies in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Louisiana. The Stony Brook Children's "Inquisikids" TV campaign (ER and OR spots) won Best of Show in broadcast advertising. Gold ADDYs were awarded for the "Inquisikids" campaign, the 30-second radio version of "Inquisikids" OR spot and the "Inquisikids" ER spot in the category of Elements of Advertising (Copywriting).

The campaign will compete next in the national arena, at the National Advertising Federation Awards in Las Vegas in June.

Growth

Biobank Celebrates Expansion

On April 23, Stony Brook University Hospital held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its newly refurbished Biobank. The facility was rededicated in memory of Youjun Hu, MD, a former director of the Tumor Tissue Bank, whose family members were in attendance.

The Biobank, which is part of the Department of Pathology and Stony Brook University Cancer Center, archives and provides biological specimens collected under informed consent to Stony Brook researchers and collaborators. The Biobank archives more than just tissue samples; it also preserves bodily fluids, including urine, sweat and cerebral spinal fluid. And it banks tissues, organs, viable cell lines, paraffin blocks and RNA/DNA/HPLC extracts -- basically any biomaterial whether collected for research purposes or as residual specimens from diagnostic, therapeutic or surgical procedures. Researchers can also archive the physical results of their experiments for later re-exploration or for peer review.

Thanks to the generous support of the Long Island League to Abolish Cancer (LILAC), the Biobank now has enhanced capabilities, including cryogenic tissue storage which, at -196º C, allows for better cell preservation and revival than freezing, which will give researchers a host of powerful investigative tools to improve diagnoses and treatments for a variety of cancers.

From left, Kenneth Shroyer, MD, PhD, Marvin Kuschner Professor and Chair, Department of Pathology; Yusuf Hannun, MD, Director, Stony Brook Cancer Center; Julia and Olivia Hu (daughters of Youjun Hu, MD); Angelique Corthals, PhD, Scientific Director, Stony Brook Biobank; James Davis, MD, Medical Director, Biobank; Hui Jiang (wife of Youjun Hu, MD); Lina Obeid, MD, Dean for Research; Kenneth Kaushansky, MD, Senior Vice President, Health Sciences, and Dean, Stony Brook University School of Medicine; Fangfang Zhang, Research Support Specialist; and AnnMarie Kotarba, RN

Stony Brook Medicine Website Redesign

On March 31, Stony Brook Medicine unveiled Phase I of its newly designed website. Changes address new federal requirements as well as some new top-level navigation, a new and enhanced Find-a-Doc capability and Spanish and mobile versions of the patient portions of the site. Areas addressed in Phase I included: the School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Social Welfare, School of Health Technology and Management, School of Dental Medicine and the new Stony Brook Children's Hospital website. This site will go through a number of phases as all of the existing websites are replaced.    

Sustainability

Financial Results Report

Through February 2015, discharges at Stony Brook University Hospital were 25,038, which was 621 discharges above budget. Average length of stay was .01 of a day higher than the prior year at 5.40 days.

Case mix index was 4.7 percent higher than the prior year at 1.8. Significant increases in case mix index occurred in the surgical DRGs for tracheostomies and transplants, cardiology and infectious diseases, and the medical DRGs for neonates, and infectious diseases. Total Emergency Department visits increased by 4,480 from the prior year to 68,067 year to date. Inpatient surgeries increased by 319 to 5,504, and outpatient decreased by 132 to 8,541. Endoscopy volume was 711 above plan at 8,433.

P/L (profit/loss) was $3.3 million versus budget of $3.4 million. Revenue was $29 million above plan due to the recognition of $6.5 million of DSRIP (Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment) program revenue as well as disproportionate share hospital (DSH) revenue, and inpatient and outpatient volume being above plan.