New York, NY  - Feb 25, 2011 - Using a sophisticated imaging test to probe for higher-level cognitive functioning in severely brain-injured patients provides a window into consciousness — but the view it presents is one that is blurred in fascinating ways, say researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in the Feb. 25 online edition of the journal Brain.

In a novel study of six patients ranging in their function from minimally conscious state to the locked-in syndrome (normal cognitive function with severe motor impairment), the researchers looked at how the brains of these patients respond to a set of commands and questions while being scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Contact:

Phyllis Fisher

Director, Public Relations

(212) 606-1197

FisherP@hss.edu

New York, NY - February 18, 2011 - For years, doctors have used platelet rich plasma (PRP) to promote healing in various surgeries, but a recent study demonstrates that a type of PRP did not improve healing after rotator cuff repair. The study, conducted by Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) investigators, will be presented at the upcoming American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) 2011 Specialty Day meeting, held Feb. 19 in San Diego, Calif., following the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

“I would not recommend platelet-rich fibrin matrix [PRFM] as we used it in this study until we gain further information,” said Scott Rodeo, M.D. He led the study and is co-chief of the Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service and professor of Orthopedic Surgery at HSS. PRP has been used extensively in orthopedic surgeries and the study begs the question of whether it has been used prematurely in some cases, before sufficient evidence has accumulated to back up its usefulness.

“The general PRP has been used extensively in orthopedics and in other areas,” Dr. Rodeo said. “There are a number of different types of PRP, and I think we need more information to identify the appropriate doses and the appropriate timing of giving it.”

Contact:

Nicole Russell
Public Relations Coordinator

(201) 833-3284
n-russell@mail.holyname.org

Teaneck, NJ – February 18, 2011 – Yesterday, Holy Name Medical Center was the first hospital in northern New Jersey to offer the new Revo MRI™ SureScan^® pacing system, the first MRI-compatible pacing system designed, tested and FDA-approved for use in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment. The system, which has valuable disease diagnosis and surveillance implications for thousands of patients, addresses important medical needs that, until now, have been unmet.

A Holy Name thoracic surgeon implanted the device in an 81-year-old female with a history of irregular heart rhythm. According to members of the woman’s medical team, she is “feeling great, so much better than before she had the procedure.” The patient was an excellent candidate for the Revo MRI Sure Scan pacing system because she has a history of breast cancer, a disease for which MRI is the acknowledged gold standard for diagnosis and surveillance.

Contact:

Lloyd Torres

Director, Special Projects

(718) 480-4023

lftorres@silvercrest.org

Briarwood, NY – February 17, 2011  - On February 3^rd, 2011, Silvercrest Senior Housing opened its doors and welcomed home its first tenants.  Silvercrest Senior Housing is a newly developed senior housing facility that is operated by The Silvercrest Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation and extends the center’s mission of Giving Quality to Life for the elderly in Queens.  The new affordable housing community for seniors, features 80 apartments on almost 2 acres of previously undeveloped land.  The $17 million project is for very low-income seniors over 62 years of age.  The project received $14.4 million in a capital grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), $1.8 million from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and the land was donated by The Silvercrest Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation.  The Silvercrest Senior Housing apartments feature a wide array of convenient amenities—including laundry facilities, secured parking, library/computer room, arts and crafts room, wellness/fitness room, community multi-purpose room, and over 4,700 square feet of outdoor recreational space.

Caring for a relative with Alzheimer’s presents unique challenges including complex issues about how to relate to the person with Alzheimer’s and when and how to provide the right services. Silvercrest is working with the Alzheimer's Assocation - New york City Chapter to provide a caregivers support group at Silvercrest Senior Housing.

Join the group and share the feelings you may not be able to share with other family members or friends. This group will help you make informed decisions. Support group for all members of the community (your loved one does not have to be at Silvercrest for you to join):

2nd & 4th Thursdays of each month
6:30 – 8:00 pm

Contact: Bari Goltzman 646-470-7241 to register for the group.

Contact:

Takla Boujaoude

Public Affairs

(212) 821-0560.
tab2016@med.cornell.edu

New York, NY - Feb 15, 2011 - An estimated 75 million Americans have hypertension, or high blood pressure, and 50 million take antihypertensive drugs. But in as many as 20 percent of cases, the drugs don't bring the blood pressure under control, and most doctors randomly add drug after drug in an expensive, prolonged and often unsuccessful guessing game to see what works.

A new review article in the February Journal of Clinical Hypertension by Dr. Samuel Mann reports on an approach that greatly simplifies and improves the treatment of what is called "resistant hypertension." He reports that this approach usually brings blood pressure under control more quickly and with fewer drugs and side effects. It can also help physicians supersede this trial-and-error process and more quickly get their patients the treatment they need.

Contact:

Nicole Russell
Public Relations Coordinator

(201) 833-3284
n-russell@mail.holyname.org 

Teaneck, NJ—February 14,  2011 – Holy Name Medical Center is establishing an Asian Diabetes Center to serve the special needs of the Asian community, the members of which suffer a high incidence of diabetes.  The project, which is directed by HNMC internist Chang Woo Lee, MD, is under the auspices of Holy Name’s existing Diabetes Center and its Korean Medical Program. 

The Asian Diabetes Center will address the culture-specific obstacles to diagnosis and treatment by providing bilingual healthcare professionals, who will educate people with diabetes and their significant others about:

·        Diabetes as a chronic disease process

·        Self-management strategies for nutrition and meal planning

·        Exercise

·        Blood glucose monitoring

·        Medications

·        Stress management

·        Preventive care and risk reduction

Dear Colleagues:

Health reform is very much in play along several pathways.

On the Federal level, a few judges have found the 2010 legislation unconstitutional. The House has symbolically voted to repeal the legislation, and the Senate voted not to repeal the legislation: all along party lines.

The important point is that health care reform is law.  The regulations have to be finalized, which will drive change in the way the law is implemented over the next several years. We will see more people insured and more “pay for performance” initiatives at the acute care, long term care, personal care and physician practice levels.

Most immediately, acute care hospitals across the country will continue to experience reduced Medicare reimbursement. State budgets in New York, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Texas and others are experiencing extraordinary budget “indigestion.”

Here, in New York, Governor Cuomo published his 2011-12 budget, recommending landmark reductions in Medicaid funding. These onerous cutbacks are partial corrective action for a $10 billion budget deficit. At the same time the Governor has appointed a Medicaid Re-design Task Force with representatives from every sector of the State healthcare community, co-chaired by Michael Dowling, President and CEO of North Shore/Long Island Jewish Healthcare System, and Dennis Rivera from the 1199 SEIU Healthcare United Workers union.   

Contact:

Maureen Curran Kleinman

Marketing and Communications

(201) 291-6310

mcurran@valleyhealth.com

Ridgewood, NJ – February 14, 2011 – The Valley Hospital is proud to announce that the just released 14^th edition of Top Doctors: New York Metro Area includes 114 members of the hospital’s medical staff.  The guide, published annually by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd,  a New York City research and information company, includes more than 6,000 top primary care and specialty care physicians. “Top Doctors: New York Metro Area” identifies the top 10 percent of physicians in the New York metro region and reflects the results of tens of thousands of physician respondents to Castle Connolly's nationwide survey.

“I am very proud to recognize the many outstanding physicians at The Valley Hospital who have been included in the “Top Doctors” guide, said Audrey Meyers, President and CEO of The Valley Hospital.    “It demonstrates what we’ve always known – that some of the top specialists in their fields practice here at Valley.”

Contact:

Karen Huxtable

Manager, Public and Media Relations

(607) 547-4581

karen.huxtable@bassett.org

Cooperstown, N.Y. – February 11, 2011 - David Strogatz, Ph.D., has joined the Bassett Research Institute as director of the Center for Rural Community Health. Dr. Strogatz is an epidemiologist with expertise in community-level health interventions.  He comes to Bassett from the Albany School of Public Health where he served as chair of the Department of Epidemiology and as director of a CDC-designated Prevention Center.

The Center for Rural Community Health will work with state and local public health agencies and Bassett health professionals to develop and test community-level interventions designed to address the most serious health challenges affecting people in Bassett’s catchment area.  Currently, Dr. Strogatz is advising Bassett researchers Ida Baker, Jennie Kreis and Mary Ringeisen on a project aimed at assessing rural worksites as useful locations for weight control intervention.  Other Bassett researchers are working in schools to enhance nutrition education and reduce tobacco use.  These and a series of new activities will be tried and formally evaluated by Center for Rural Community Health scientists.  Programs that prove effective will be offered to communities across the eight county region Bassett serves.

Contact:

Elizabeth Howell

Development and Public Relations

(212) 545-2404

ehowell@chnnyc.org

New York, NY – February 11, 2011 – C ommunity Healthcare Network (CHN) maintains the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval™ by demonstrating continued compliance with The Joint Commission‘s national standards for health care quality and safety.

“Receiving the favorable accreditation from the Joint Commission supports Community Healthcare Network’s commitment to providing safe, high-quality treatment and services to our patients,” said Catherine M. Abate, CHN president and CEO. “It’s an honor to berecognized for our dedication to excellence.”

The Joint Commission conducted an unannounced, on-site evaluation of CHN in December 2010. The accreditation award recognizes CHN’s dedication to complying with the Joint Commission’s state-of-the-art standards on a continuous basis. The original accreditation survey was conducted and approved in December 2007.

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public through the provision of health care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care organizations. The Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care.

Community Healthcare Network

Community Healthcare Network (CHN) is a not-for-profit organization providing access to affordable, culturally-competent and comprehensive community-based primary care, mental health and social services for diverse populations in underserved communities throughout New York City. CHN serves more than 60,000 individuals a year who would otherwise have little or no access to critical health care. CHN is composed of nine health centers and one mobile health units. To learn more about CHN visit our website at www.chnnyc.org.

Contact:

Andrew Klein

Public Affairs

(212) 821-0560
ank2017@med.cornell.edu

New York, NY - Feb 10, 2011 - A new clinical trial at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center is among the first to test surgery specifically for Type 2 diabetes. The aim of the study is to understand whether surgery can control diabetes, as well or even better than the best medical treatment available today. This is the first study of its kind open to patients who are overweight or mildly obese.

Under current guidelines, bariatric surgery is only indicated for the treatment of severe or morbid obesity, defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or greater. By contrast, the new study is open to patients with a BMI as low as 26. Normal-weight individuals have BMI ranging between 19 and 25 and overweight individuals have BMI between 26 and 29, whereas a BMI above 30 defines obesity. Patients with a BMI below 26 and above 35 will not be considered for enrollment in the trial.

Previous research has shown that in severely obese patients (BMI greater than 35) gastric bypass surgery is a safe and effective way to treat Type 2 diabetes. It has been shown to improve or normalize blood glucose levels, reduce or even eliminate the need for medication, and lower the risk for diabetes-related death.

Teaneck, NJ – February 7, 2011 - The Holy Name MS Center is seeking volunteers to join a benefit committee to help organize, produce and support the Holy Name MS Center's 14th Annual Spring Fashion Fling – a charity fashion show and luncheon event. Interested individuals are invited to attend a meeting on Wednesday, February 9 at 6 p.m. in Holy Name’s Marian Hall Conference Center, Room 2.

For additional information about the Spring Fashion Fling or to RSVP to the benefit committee meeting, please contact 201-833-3000 ext. 7250.

The Holy Name Medical Center MS Center is the only state-licensed, non-profit facility in New Jersey providing healthcare and related services exclusively for MS patients and their families.

Contact:

Andrew Klein

Public Affairs

(212) 821-0560
ank2017@med.cornell.edu

New York, NY - Feb 7, 2011 - Dr. Dana Leifer, associate professor of neurology at Weill Cornell Medical College and neurologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, has headed a study that establishes new guidelines to improve quality of care at stroke centers. The recommendations were published online on January 13 as a scientific statement from the American Heart Association and will appear in the March issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

The statement proposes a set of 26 standardized metrics for use by comprehensive stroke centers to monitor the diagnosis and treatment of patients with the goal of improving the quality of care stroke patients receive. The statement is part of the American Heart Association's plan to encourage designation of comprehensive stroke centers. Such centers would be located at hospitals that provide highly specialized and advanced treatment of stroke patients, including neurosurgical and interventional neuroradiological procedures and specialized intensive care.

The metrics proposed by Dr. Leifer and colleagues would be used by comprehensive stroke centers in addition to the metrics now required for primary stroke centers designated by The Joint Commission and some state departments of health. The metrics are being proposed to assist in the designation of comprehensive stroke centers.

Contact:

Nicole Russell
Public Relations Coordinator

(201) 833-3284
n-russell@mail.holyname.org

Teaneck, NJ- February 4, 2011 – Blood test results from 1,656 Korean-American adults conducted by the Korean Medical Program of Holy Name Medical Center during community-based screening programs between January 2010 and November 2010 confirm a high prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) among that population and the need for health initiatives to address the problem.

Fifty three (3.2%) of the screening participants were HBV carriers, 700 (42%) were susceptible to HBV, and 904 (54.8%) were immune.  “Our findings,” says Chul S. Hyun, MD, PhD, Director of HNMC’s Asian Liver Center, a branch of Holy Name’s Korean Medical Program, “will be used to develop evidence-based strategies to tailor community-based HBV screenings to the high-risk groups among Asian-Americans in the New Jersey/New York metro area.”

Contact:

Karen Huxtable

Manager, Public and Media Relations

(607) 547-4581

karen.huxtable@bassett.org

Cooperstown, NY – February 1, 2011 - Michael Stein, who has served Bassett in various capacities over nearly three decades, has been named Vice President of Development and Executive Director of the Friends of Bassett Healthcare Network.  In that role, Stein will oversee philanthropic activity across the Bassett network, as well as pursue government funding opportunities and handle legislative relations at the state and federal level.

 “Mike has a wealth of experience that will serve Bassett well, and he enjoys the trust and respect of many given his nearly 30 years of service to the organization,” noted CEO Dr. William F. Streck. “We are pleased that Mike has accepted this position with the Friends.”

Stein replaces Scott Barrett who is leaving Bassett after six years of service to become Vice President of Development at Loretto, a network of facilities and programs that comprise a leading eldercare service provider in Onondaga County. During his tenure with the Friends, Barrett led campaigns to fund the Bassett Birthing Center, the cancer screening coach, school-based health and many other projects throughout the next. His move to Syracuse allows Barrett to be closer to his home and family.

Contact:

Lloyd Torres

Director, Special Projects

(718) 480-4023

lftorres@silvercrest.org

Briarwood, NY – February 1, 2011  - As of January 11^th, 2011 at 11am, The Silvercrest Center began implementing The Colors of Safety Across the Continuum of Care.   Spearheaded by Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA), this voluntary initiative standardizes color-coding of certain alert conditions in particular, Do Not Resuscitate (DNR), Allergies, and Fall Risks.  The goal of The Colors of Safety initiative is to reduce variation in practice and should result in more accurate identification of patients who are assessed to be at risk for certain alert conditions.  Currently. there are 31 hospitals and 29 nursing homes participating in the initiative.  Eleven other states throughout the country (Arizona, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia) are implementing similar initiatives to standardize the color-coding of alert conditions

Contact:

Nicole Russell
Public Relations Coordinator

(201) 833-3284
n-russell@mail.holyname.org

Saddle River, NJ – February 1, 2011 – Villa Marie Claire, the first freestanding, residential hospice in Northern New Jersey, and one of only a few in the state, accepted its first patients in mid-January at its 26-acre facility in Saddle River. The 20-bed manor for comprehensive end-of-life care is the most recent development from Holy Name Medical Center’s Hospice and Palliative Services program, which emphasizes a holistic approach to achieving quality of life for people with advanced terminal illness.

According to Michael Maron, President/CEO, Holy Name Medical Center, Villa Marie Claire “is like no other hospice in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area. It is innovative; truly, one-of-a-kind.”

“Everything about the Villa,” says Mr. Maron, “from its family-focused philosophy and interfaith/intercultural educated healthcare team to its overnight accommodations for family members, speaks to a profound belief that quality can be achieved at every stage of life, regardless of an individual’s medical diagnosis or physical and cognitive abilities.”