75 North Country Road, Port Jefferson, NY 11777 • 631.473.1320

A Message from the President:
Preparing for Change
June 4, 2010

For close to 100 years, a maple tree has stood guard on the front lawn of Mather Hospital. The best that we can tell it was there when the first brick was laid more than 80 years ago, and like Mather Hospital, it has grown dramatically over the years. Sadly, recent reports from two separate arborists have informed us the ravages of time have made this grand tree vulnerable to coming down in a hurricane or nor’easter. For the safety of our employees, patients and visitors, we must have it taken down.

Change is never easy. Letting go of the familiar, especially when it’s imposed on us, does not come naturally to most of us. As our revered maple represents unavoidable change to the hospital’s familiar façade, federal healthcare reform is proposing major changes to the way we deliver care. Much of the reform specifics are still being defined by our elected officials and think tanks in Washington. Yet, the underlying goal is clear: increased coverage, lower reimbursements, greater efficiencies and improved quality. This is to be done through the implementation of technology, reimbursement changes, and cooperation among providers.

In many ways, our Voyage to Excellence has been preparing us for the changes to come. By working together across departments, implementing innovative approaches to care, and maintaining that personal touch, we provide the quality that our patients, families, and we deserve.

People
Departments throughout the hospital have been working closely with the Emergency Department for several years now. They continue to demonstrate true teamwork on an ongoing basis, delivering fast, reliable, and high quality care to our community. The ED Team has achieved the goal of excellence in clinical quality and service. Our Board of Directors and the members of the Mather Leadership wanted to recognize this interdisciplinary team and recently presented the Emergency Department, and all its Hospital partners with Mather’s first “Cornerstone Award.” Congratulations to all.

On March 25, the Town of Brookhaven held its 24th annual Women’s Recognition ceremony, which honored 11 women who have demonstrated excellence in their respective fields and have had a positive impact in our communities. In the category of Science, Mather’s own Dr. Denise Geiger was honored for her extensive work in clinical trials and research. Dr. Geiger was also the driving force in bringing Long Island’s first robotic lab to Mather Hospital.

Our Mather Hospital Auxilians recently presented a check to Mather Hospital for $231,000, which will go toward the purchase of a new state-of the-art CT scanner. A $450,000 grant secured through Congressman Bishop will also help to fund this important purchase. Our dedicated Auxilians volunteer their time and raise funds through various activities and sales throughout the year as well as through our Thrift Shop and Gift Shop. Thank you to President Helen Rodowicz, the Auxiliary Board, and the entire Auxiliary membership.

As part of Mather Hospital’s innovative program in joint replacements, we are pleased to announce the appointment of Maryann Goodman, RN, to the new position of Orthopedic Surgery Coordinator. In her new role, Maryann coordinates the activities of our multi-specialty Joint Replacement Program team to help ensure that all aspects of care – from pre-surgical testing to surgery to physical therapy and hospital discharge – are performed safely, accurately and with optimal results.

Service
At our 15th annual Cardiowise Café in March, Mather physicians and staff – Michael Rosenband, MD; Michael Sauter, MD; Peter Bruno, MD; Michael Matilsky, MD; Mitchell Pollack; MD and Gemma Saylor, RD – shared interesting and potentially life-saving information with an audience of nearly 400. Their presentations vividly illustrated the causes of cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and strokes, how to recognize symptoms, and the steps we can take to lower our risk of developing these conditions.

To help make our patients’ stays at Mather as pleasant as possible, our Patient Experience Team has recently introduced a Patient’s Convenience Kit. This handy little welcome package contains a few simple convenience items that are easily overlooked when preparing for a hospital stay. Items include a pad and pencil, a reading magnifier, earplugs and a few other simple conveniences.

Our Nursing Department has demonstrated exceptionally strong performance in numerous categories of both Press-Ganey and HCAHPS patient satisfaction surveys. Both surveys are designed to allow objective and meaningful comparisons between hospitals based on the patient’s perspective of care. Their continued focus on nursing education and best practices in patient care are resulting in high scores well in the 90th percentiles.

Quality & Safety
The commitment of Mather staff to our patients and community has made its mark at the National level. I am very pleased and proud to say that Mather Hospital was recognized for outstanding patient safety in a recent newspaper article. The article cites patient safety data analyzed by the Niagara Health Quality Coalition (NHQC), a nonprofit organization based in the Buffalo area. Rating criteria included discharge status, avoiding complications and survival rates. It is the first safety report to identify both the top and bottom hospitals. In New York, Mather was one of 10 Top Honor Roll Hospitals cited in the report and the only hospital on Long Island to be named.

Through an interview with Mather’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joan Faro, the article also emphasized that Mather Hospital was an “early adopter of rapid response teams and of national guidelines for treating and preventing blood clots,” key factors in helping to ensure patient safety.

The Fortunato Breast Health Center has achieved accreditation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), stating that, “the level of care is outstanding.” NAPBC is a consortium of national organizations dedicated to high quality care and the monitoring of outcomes for patients. The group evaluates breast centers with more than 40 measurements designed to confirm that the most efficient and contemporary care is being provided. The Fortunato Breast Health Center is only the third center on Long Island and only the seventh center in New York State to have attained this prestigious distinction.

In April, Mather’s Institutional Review Board (IRB), the committee that is responsible for oversight of all clinical research projects Mather and its staff participates in, underwent a three-day, extensive audit by the Food & Drug Administration. Their report was very favorable. Congratulations to Dr. Henry Best, Chairman, and all of the IRB committee members on an outstanding review.

Innovation & Growth
On March 31, Mather signed a contract with Eclipsys to implement an advanced clinical information system over the next five years. Plans call for Mather to deploy a computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system to support evidenced-based practices and clinical decision making, a clinical documentation system, and a pharmacy information system. In combination, these applications will create a single and unified view of the patient’s information from the emergency room to the bedside and into the hospital pharmacy. The electronic system will transform the care delivery process by removing keystrokes, manual processes and improving workflows and collaboration among the care team by providing each caregiver real-time access to the latest patient lab result, medication therapy and physician reports. To further support patient safety, a computerized medication administration system will provide further safeguards that ensure patients receive the right medications at the right time.

Mather will also implement a critical care system to enhance clinician ability to monitor and assess patient conditions in our critical care units. The system continuously cross-checks incoming test results and information from patient-monitoring devices against the patient's age, condition, gender, treatment history and evidence-based standards of care to quickly alert clinicians to potentially dangerous downward trends in a patient's health. While this is a monumental investment of resources, it was essential for two reasons. Our current IS system is almost two decades old and no longer supported by the manufacturer. In addition, federal stimulus funding is now available to healthcare providers to implement systems that assist in demonstrating quality benchmarks.

We are pleased to announce the opening of our new pharmacy, which is located on the second floor of the Medical Arts Building. The new location is 40% larger than the old facility, and boasts the latest in workflow design and state-of-the-art equipment. The new facility will enable our pharmacy team to enhance service to both patients and employees. Our thanks to Pharmacy Director Olga Larios and her team as well as all the departments throughout the hospital that made the pharmacy’s transition a smooth and successful one.

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