October 2007

Medical Staff Bulletin

Contents

Message from the Chief of Staff

There was wonderful news this month concerning projects related to the new Cancer Hospital.

The City of New Haven and Yale-New Haven Hospital signed an agreement concerning two critical construction projects that are integral to the Cancer Hospital project. A new garage will be built on "Lot E," a parcel owned by the City and bounded by North Frontage Road, Legion Avenue, and Dwight and Howe Streets. The garage will have 845 parking spaces, as well as office and retail space. In addition, 24 housing units will be constructed on the north side of the garage, some of which will be available for patients and families traveling great distances to the Cancer Hospital.

Also approved was construction of an office-laboratory building on Park Street that will be connected to the Cancer Hospital by a bridge over South Frontage Road. Fusco Corporation is developing this site, which will eventually house all new laboratories for the department of laboratory medicine, the pharmacy and loading docks, as well as conference and retail space.

Approval was also granted to create a tunnel under South Frontage that will greatly improve traffic flow because delivery trucks will be able to access the loading dock entering under the Air Rights Garage and avoid the current process of stopping traffic to back into the delivery dock on South Frontage Road.

The City and Yale-New Haven Hospital were both extremely pleased with the outcome of the negotiations which settled a host of unresolved issues. Nonetheless, construction of the Cancer Hospital is on schedule with plans to open in just over two years. In view of the current pressure on inpatient and outpatient cancer resources, this indeed is welcome news.

New addition to CCSS to aid with medication reconciliation

Upon discharge from the hospital, one of the most common sources of confusion is the discharge medication list.

All patients receive discharge instructions, which include a list of medications prescribed by the inpatient practitioner. In most instances, this list is generated in CCSS by the attending or house staff at discharge. If the patient requires a W-10, the medications on the W-10 are also generated in CCSS. The dictated discharge summary, however, frequently contains additions, deletions or changes from the patient’s discharge instructions and the W-10 form sent to the skilled facility. The differences in medication lists found in the discharge summary and the discharge instructions are a potential source for error that should be eliminated.

In order to ensure that the discharge summary contains the same list as the discharge instructions, the discharge medication list is now available for all discharged patients on the front screen of CCSS. When you dictate discharge summaries, you should dictate the discharge medications from the list of discharge medications on this CCSS front screen. If, instead, you make additions, deletions or changes in the list noted on CCSS, please note the reason for those differences and indicate that the patient, family, personal physicians, VNA, SNF and others were informed of the change.

New policy and sanctions for hand hygiene and contact precautions
At its meeting in September, the Medical Board approved a policy outlining progressive sanctions for members of the medical and affiliated medical staffs who willfully disregard Hospital policy concerning hand hygiene and contact precautions.

Sukru Emre is new head of Yale-New Haven Transplantation Center
Sukru Emre, M.D., arrived in July as director of the Yale-New Haven Transplantation Center and section chief of transplant surgery and immunology in the department of surgery. Dr. Emre received his medical degree and completed his residency at the University of Istanbul, Turkey. He completed one fellowship in hepatobiliary surgery at the University of Istanbul and another in transplant surgery at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Dr. Emre previously directed the pediatric and adult liver transplant programs at Mount Sinai Medical Center, and under his leadership, the program at Mount Sinai became one of the nation’s best. He has expertise in performing split-liver transplants and living donor transplants. His research interests include liver transplantation in patients with liver cancer, quality of life and recurrent diseases after transplantation, organ allocation and organ donation.

Dr. Bercik named new section chief of urogynecology
Richard S. Bercik, M.D., has been named chief of the section of urogynecology at Yale-New Haven. Dr. Bercik, assistant professor of OB/GYN at Yale School of Medicine, is the director of the Yale Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery program and the YNHH Women’s Center. Dr. Bercik received his medical degree from UMDNJ – New Jersey Medical School and completed his OB/GYN residency at New York University-Bellevue Medical Center. Before coming to YNH, he was director of gynecology and chief of OB/GYN at Bellevue, and co-director of the urogynecology/ pelvic reconstructive surgery service. He has extensive experience in vaginal, laparoscopic and abdominal reconstructive procedures for urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse and vaginal fistulae.

Dr. Fikrig named section chief of infectious disease
Erol Fikrig, M.D., Waldemar Von Zedtwitz professor of medicine, microbial pathogenesis, epidemiology and public health at Yale School of Medicine, has been named section chief of infectious diseases at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Dr. Fikrig came to Yale in 1988 to serve a fellowship in infectious disease and immunobiology. Dr. Fikrig, who received the National Institutes of Health merit award in 2006 has worked on vaccines and therapies for Lyme disease and West Nile Virus. Dr. Fikrig completed his undergraduate work at Cornell University and earned his medical degree at Cornell University Medical College. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Information about flu vaccines for medical staff and patients

Medical Staff members can receive a free flu vaccination in the East Pavilion cafeteria special events area on November 7 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; November 8 from 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; and November 9 from 6:30-11:30 a.m. Also, Yale University Health Services will offer free flu vaccines to faculty physicians on three consecutive Mondays, October 29, November 5 and November 12 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the medical school, 367 Cedar Street. No appointments are necessary.

Additionally, the Medical Staff is reminded that influenza and pneumococcal vaccination of inpatients are CMS core measures for pneumonia patients. As of October 1, YNHH re-instituted its annual screening of inpatients for receipt of influenza vaccine. Using the Nursing Admission Assessment in CCSS/SCM, all inpatients are screened for vaccine indications, contraindications, as well as their vaccine history. Then, the data is transmitted to the pharmacy to enter a protocol order for vaccination, if appropriate.

If an inpatient has received influenza vaccine as an outpatient since September 2007 or pneumococcal vaccination within the last five years, please note this in the medical record and inform the patient’s nurse so the vaccine can charted in CCSS/SCM with the notation of “Not given due to prior receipt of vaccine.” This way, the charting of the vaccine removes the order from the patient’s profile and allows appropriate documentation of why the vaccine was not administered during the inpatient stay.

Welcome, new Medical Staff:

August

Kristy Lee Altongy-Magee, P.A.; Affiliated, Internal Medicine
Dragos Victor Balf, M.D.; Attending, Internal Medicine
Michael J. Barmach, M.D.; Associate, Internal Medicine
Joseph D. Benevento, M.D.; Attending, Ophthalmology
Devina Bhasin, M.D.; Associate, Internal Medicine
Daniel J. Boffa, M.D.; Associate, Surgery
Ketan R. Bulsara, M.D.; Associate, Neurosurgery
Suzanne Louise Cassel, M.D.; Attending, Internal Medicine
Sharon Anoush Chekijian, M.D.; Associate, Surgery
Sunita Chhabra, M.D.; Attending, Internal Medicine
Amir Cohen, M.D.; Associate, Ophthalmology
Andrew F. Cutney, M.D.; Associate, Internal Medicine
Malini Harigopal, M.D.; Associate, Pathology
John Jiqiang Huang, M.D.; Attending, Ophthalmology
Daniel Louis Jacoby, M.D.; Attending, Internal Medicine
Cindy A. Jayanetti, A.P.R.N.; Affiliated, Anesthesiology
Joby Joseph, D.D.S.; Visiting, Dentistry
Anamika Katoch, M.D.; Attending, Internal Medicine
Roman Khodzinsky, M.D.; Attending, Internal Medicine
Richard Wookyum Kim, M.D.; Associate, Surgery
Sarah Yunsin Lee, M.D.; Associate, OB/GYN
Ann Jennings Maley, M.D.; Associate, Pediatrics
Joseph Ryan Martin, M.D.; Associate, OB/GYN
Albert Nima Nayeri, M.D.; Associate, Internal Medicine
Marcella Nunez-Smith, M.D.; Attending, Internal Medicine
Vinita Parkash, M.D.; Attending, Pathology
Pravin Vaman Patil, M.D.; Associate, Internal Medicine
Molly Fey Persinger, A.P.R.N.; Affiliated, Surgery
Pamela Jean Petersen-Crair, M.D.; Attending, Psychiatry
Constantine G.A. Theoharis, M.D.; Attending, Pathology
Jinhua Zhao, M.D.; Attending, Internal Medicine

Chief of Staff
Peter N. Herbert, M.D.

Assistant Chiefs of Staff
Thomas J. Balcezak, M.D.
Victor A. Morris, M.D.

Elected Medical Staff Officers
President
Brett J. Gerstenhaber, M.D.
President-Elect
Leo M. Cooney, Jr., M.D.
Immediate Past President/Treasurer
Robert M. Weiss, M.D.
Secretary
Gordon Reid, M.D.

Medical Board Officers
Chairperson
Brett J. Gerstenhaber, M.D.
Vice Chairperson
Leo M. Cooney, Jr., M.D.

Medical Board Members
Stephen Ariyan, M.D.
Michael C. Bennick, M.D.
James A. Brink, M.D.
Benjamin S. Bunney, M.D.
Christopher R. Canny, M.D.
Richard D’Aquila
Richard L. Edelson, M.D.
Jack A. Elias, M.D.
Fredric O. Finkelstein, M.D.
Patricia Sue Fitzsimons, R.N., Ph.D.
Gary E. Friedlaender, M.D.
Peter M. Glazer, M.D.
Peter N. Herbert, M.D.
David G. Hesse, M.D.
Roberta L. Hines, M.D.
Margaret K. Hostetter, M.D.
Karen A. Johnson, M.D.
Suzanne P. LaGarde, M.D.
Charles J. Lockwood, M.D.
Marc E. Mann, M.D.
Jon S. Morrow, M.D., Ph.D.
Michael O’Brien, M.D., Ph.D.
Joel S. Silidker, M.D.
Brian K. Singletary, D.M.D.
Brian R. Smith, M.D.
Dennis D. Spencer, M.D.
Thomas F. Sweeney, M.D.
James C. Tsai, M.D.
Robert Udelsman, M.D.
Fred R. Volkmar, M.D.
Gary R. Wanerka, M.D.
Lawrence J. Wartel, M.D.
Stephen G. Waxman, M.D., Ph.D.
Norman S. Werdiger, M.D.
Joseph H. Zelson, M.D.

Refer items for the next issue of Medical Staff Bulletin via phone, fax, e-mail or mail to:
Peter N. Herbert, MD
1063 Clinic Building
P: (203) 688-2604, F: (203) 688-7152
herbertpn@ynhh.org
or
Katie Murphy
Marketing & Communications
GB 443
P: (203) 688-2492, F: (203) 688-2491
Katie.Murphy@ynhh.org

Back issues of the Medical Staff Bulletin:

• August 2007
• June/July 2007
• May 2007
• March/April 2007
• February 2007
• January 2007
• November 2006
• September 2006
• July 2006
• June 2006
• May 2006
• March 2006
• January 2006
• December 2005
• November 2005
• September 2005
• August 2005
• June 2005
• March 2005
• January 2005
• December 2004
• November 2004
• October 2004
• September 2004
• July 2004
• June 2004
• May 2004
• April 2004
• March 2004
• February 2004
• January 2004
• January/February 2003
• October/November 2002
• August/September 2002
• April/May 2002
• February/March 2002
• January 2002
• November 2001
• July/August 2001

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Last revised: Oct. 15, 2007 (dh)

Home page URL: http://www.ynhh.org

All information is intended for your general knowledge and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions. You should seek prompt medical care for any specific health issues and consult your physician before starting a new fitness regimen.