BIDMC News and Notes
9/1/2010 (10:22:53am)Tags: noneComments: (0)
BIDMC has said farewell to 35 area students who are headed back to school this fall a little wiser.
The summer interns who took positions throughout the hospital now have their own insight into what it really takes to run a hospital.
For more, click here.
Or hear them in their own words.
8/25/2010 (11:20:45am)Tags: nutrition diet youth community healthComments: (0)
For those of you following the saga of the Healthy Champions program at the Bowdoin Street Health Center, here's an update featuring the first fruits (OK, vegetables) of their harvest.
8/12/2010 (11:48:50am)Tags: volunteers high schoolComments: (0)
"I know that I'm making a difference in a patient's life in some way," says Hannah Zack, a Summer Health Corps volunteer in BIDMC's hematology/oncology department.
The program gives teenagers ages 14-17 the opportunity to volunteer at BIDMC in various departments from cardiology to social work to public safety.
"Over 70 students applied this year," says volunteer services program coordinator Terry Morgan, "We wish we could take them all."
The lucky 30 students accepted this year will volunteer for more than 100 hours this summer. Throughout the program the students tour different departments, and gain greater insights into hospital workings.
Lindsey Shanck, a student at Hingham High School, said the emergency department was her favorite tour. "It was so fast paced!"
Other tours include radiology, where some excited students had an ultrasound for the first time. Students also tour the Spine Center, and participated in an emergency labor pool activation drill.
"The program is a great learning opportunity for the students," says Amanda Iwunze, a program mentor, in volunteer services. Students do administrative work, assist nurses, make phone calls and act as patient greeters. "I've seen them grow as a group, work well together and solidify their goals."
And solidify their goals they do. After the emergency department tour, Nick Bolden, a student at Boston College High School, knew he wanted to become a trauma surgeon. "I love the patient contact," he says.
Jane Richardson, a volunteer in nursing, knew she wanted a job in the medical field, but now wants to be an immunologist. "I've learned a lot."
The program enables high school students to ignite their interest in the medical field. Students say they love the patient contact and the hospital experience. Daniel Genkin, volunteer in cardiology, said, "The best part is really just being inside the hospital."
8/11/2010 (2:26:44pm)Tags: nutrition diet youth community healthComments: (0)
The Boston Foundation has awarded the Bowdoin Street Health Center a three-year, $270,000 grant to support its efforts to improve access to fresh produce and other healthy food choices for residents of Dorchester's Bowdoin/Geneva section.
The grant supports the health center's Healthy Food Access Project, which links a community farmers' market with corner stores and area restaurants, consumers and Dorchester youth and helps local store owners revamp their merchandising in order to make the sale of fresh produce and other healthy foods a good business proposition.
Additionally, the center was one of 11 organizations in 10 different states to receive funding as part of the inaugural ConAgra Foods Foundation Community Impact Grants program, receiving $24,985 for the same project. More than 325 non-profit organizations from across the country responded to the new ConAgra grant program.
"We are pleased that The Boston Foundation and the ConAgra Foods Foundation have made such a significant commitment to our community," said Bowdoin Street Health Center Executive Director Adela Margules. "We are very excited to be able to partner with our community residents and local businesses to create permanent opportunities to provide healthy food choices in the Bowdoin/Geneva neighborhood."
The Boston Foundation President and CEO Paul S. Grogan said, "We are particularly pleased to invest in an organization whose important work is so closely aligned with the Foundation's commitment to encourage healthy behaviors among Boston residents and increase access to healthy food and opportunities for physical activity."
"Nearly 17 million children in the United States struggle with hunger throughout the year. That's almost one in four kids. There are hundreds of groups doing their part to help children in need, and we're focusing our funding on identifying and funding groups that are using innovative solutions. We'll study their successes and share them with others so that we can move closer to ending child hunger," said Kori Reed, executive director, ConAgra Foods Foundation.
The Healthy Food Access Project takes a multi-pronged approach to address the important public health issue of ensuring inner city families have access to healthy food choices. Over the next three years, the project aims to establish the economic sustainability of an existing farmers' market, support and educate local merchants to expand healthy food offerings and realize the profitability of such adaptations, and foster healthier purchasing patterns among residents through consumer education.
For more, click here.
8/9/2010 (4:46:34pm)Tags: geriatrics elderly medical errorComments: (0)
BIDMC researchers say a specially programmed computer warning system can significantly reduce doctors' orders for drugs that pose a danger to older patients.
The findings, reported in the new edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine, are especially helpful for doctors who have not been trained in geriatric medicine.
Adverse drug events, such as dizziness or confusion occur in an estimated 40 percent of all hospital patients and can be the result of inappropriate medications being ordered. Not surprisingly, elderly individuals are particularly vulnerable to these adverse events, which not only result in longer hospitalizations, but can also pose a threat of serious complications and even death.
Computerized provider order entry (CPOE) enables physicians to electronically order medications and treatments for hospital inpatients and was developed, in part, to help prevent errors in prescribing medications (such as drug allergies or drug-drug interactions). CPOE systems can be programmed to issue a computerized "warning message" that alerts physicians to possible problems and conflicts. BIDMC first started using a CPOE system approximately 10 years ago.
A specialized version of CPOE developed by Dr. Melissa Mattison, a pharmacist and computer information specialist in 2004 helps doctors in prescribing medications for elderly patients. The new system uses components of the Beers List, which was developed by physician Mark Beers in 1993 to draw attention to dozens of common drugs that should be prescribed "with caution" to elderly patients.
To learn more, click here.
8/2/2010 (1:21:25pm)Tags: ALS muscular dystrophyComments: (0)
A BIDMC neurologist has invented a device that charts the progression of muscle loss in patients more accurately and without pain.
Seward Rutkove, MD, chief of the Division of Neuromuscular Disease, is in the process of testing his muscle probe in patients with degenerative nerve and muscle ailments such as Lou Gehrig's disease and muscular dystrophy. Currently, charting a patient's muscle loss is done with a variety of tests that are slow, often not very reproducible, or require painful placement of a needle in a muscle as the patient is asked to contract.
Click here to watch a video of Rutkove explaining how his muscle probe works.
Rutkove's probe is non-invasive and functions similar to an ultrasound, except that it applies a very minute electrical current rather than sound waves. Using this handheld device, muscle loss is assessed through electric impedance myography or EIM. Muscle condition is measured by passing a painless electrical current through the muscle using two electrodes and measured by a second set of electrodes. In less than a minute, the device sends information about the muscle's electrical properties to a nearby laptop. Rutkove hopes his probe will be used to test a patient's response to drugs in clinical trials.
"The device is based on similar principles to the scale-like devices at some gyms that tell you how much lean body mass you have," Rutkove said. "However, here we are measuring the integrity of the membranes of the muscles over very small areas. In addition to helping diagnose conditions, it may also be a good way to see if someone is responding to a drug therapy in someone already being treated."
Upon completion of this early testing, Rutkove hopes to commercialize his device and begin bigger clinical trials with it. But for now, he is happy with what he has achieved thus far.
"Having this data coming in is a gratifying event in and of itself," Rutkove said.
For more information about his research, visit his lab's website.
7/27/2010 (10:04:24am)Tags: liability medical error apologyComments: (0)
BOSTON - With high quality care at lower cost a centerpiece of federal health care reform efforts, BIDMC and the Massachusetts Medical Society are joining forces to develop a "road map" to help avoid medical errors while making it easier to compensate patients who have been harmed.
Backed by a $273,782 grant from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, researchers will fan out across Massachusetts to interview physicians, insurers, hospital executives, patient advocacy groups, consumers, attorneys and representatives of other stakeholders to better understand what is needed to transform the system from its current focus on harm and litigation to one based on the concept of "disclose and offer."
For more, click here.
7/26/2010 (3:47:49pm)Tags: transparency OpenNotesComments: (0)
The OpenNotes trial has received a fair amount of media attention since publication in the Annals of Internal Medicine last week.
The New York Times' Dr. Pauline Chen was the latest to weigh in -- following the Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press and Reuters. For a dull list of clips, click here.
We've also posted an expanded video, with comments from focus group members at BIDMC, Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and at Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania. That's in addition to the video offered to media outlets last week.
7/22/2010 (11:18:52am)Tags: nutrition diet youth community health centersComments: (1)
Bowdoin Street Health Center's Jen French reports members of the Healthy Champions program got a pleasant surprise on Tuesday morning when they went out for their usual routine of "weeding, watering and trying to revive our strawberry plant.
"So you can imagine our surprise when instead of finding the normal menacing plant life, we found six different types of vegetables ready to be picked! Red and yellow tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, and two kinds of bell peppers were the first "market ready" items to grace the Healthy Champions' produce basket.
"And although we are waiting for a slightly larger crop to start our regular sales at the market, I am happy to report that our harvesting festivities quickly turned into a taste testing adventure, and we have nothing but rave reviews to report to our potential market customers!"
The Stonehurt/Norton Community Garden will supply produce later this summer for the Bowdoin Geneva Farmers Market.
Surveying the fruits (and vegetables) of their first harvest are, from left, Damara, Daizy, Ricardo, Adan and Jemiah.
7/19/2010 (4:12:15pm)Tags: OpenNotes transparencyComments: (0)
Technology has placed vast amounts of medical information literally a mouse click away. Yet what often may be central - a doctor's notes about a patient visit - has traditionally not been part of the discussion. In effect, such records have long been out of bounds.
In "Open Notes: Doctors and Patients Signing On," published in the July 20 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers speculate about the risks and rewards of making clinicians' notes transparent to patients.
"Opening documents that are often both highly personal and highly technical is anything but simple," write ten investigators, led by Tom Delbanco MD and Jan Walker RN, MBA of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. They document what they have learned from preparing their ‘OpenNotes' study, in which more than 100 primary care doctors are inviting about 25,000 patients to read their notes. The 12-month trial involves doctors and patients associated with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania, and Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
For more, click here.
7/15/2010 (4:36:33pm)Tags: stroke alcoholComments: (0)
DALLAS - Call it the not-so-happy hour. The risk of stroke appears to double in the hour after consuming just one drink - be it wine, beer or hard liquor - according to a small multi-center study reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
"The impact of alcohol on your risk of ischemic stroke appears to depend on how much and how often you drink," said Murray A. Mittleman, M.D., Dr.P.H., senior author of the Stroke Onset Study (SOS) and director of the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in the Harvard Medical School.
To learn more, click here.
7/15/2010 (2:50:27pm)Tags: noneComments: (0)
BOSTON – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has been recognized as one of the nation’s top hospitals in the US News & World Report “Best Hospitals” edition, placing among the leaders in seven clinical specialty categories.
According to the magazine, BIDMC is among an elite group of 152 hospitals nationally – only 3 percent of the nation’s 4,852 hospitals – to rank in at least one of 16 specialties.
BIDMC ranked in the Top 50 among the nation’s hospitals in the care and treatment of heart and heart surgery; cancer; gastroenterology; pulmonology; kidney diseases; geriatrics; and diabetes (in conjunction with the Joslin Clinic).
7/15/2010 (2:32:26pm)Tags: kidney disease geneticsComments: (0)
Kidney disease is a growing public health problem, with approximately half a million individuals in the United States requiring dialysis treatments to replace the function of their failed kidneys.
The problem is particularly acute among African Americans, whose rates of kidney disease are four times higher than those of European Americans.
Now, a scientific team led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and the Universite Libre de Bruxelles, has discovered a genetic explanation for the higher incidence of kidney disease among African Americans.
As reported in the July 15 online issue of the journal Science, the study found that patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and hypertension-attributed end-stage kidney disease (H-ESKD) harbored variants in the APOL1 gene that changed the APOL1 protein sequence. These variants are commonly found in individuals of recent African ancestry.
Furthermore, in a twist of evolutionary medicine, the disease-causing variants may have protected Africans against a lethal parasite, explaining why these genetic variants are so common in the population today.
To learn more, click here.
7/14/2010 (2:50:56pm)Tags: urgent care community health centerComments: (0)
Summer sun and fun can often bring less pleasant side effects like sun burns, lacerations and an occasional broken bone. While non-life-threatening, these injuries can create anxiety when the nearest hospital emergency room is miles away through sometimes packed roadways.
But thanks to a long-standing relationship between Outer Cape Health Services and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, urgent care is now available seven evenings a week from 5-9 p.m. at Outer Cape's Provincetown center.
The program, now in its second season, brings emergency room physicians from BIDMC to the outer cape to help handle a massive influx of summer residents, tourists and seasonal workers. OCHS, with a second clinic in Wellfleet, sees its normal volume of 7,000 patients swell by up to 4,000 additional people during the summer.
"The visitors are literally from all over the world as well as all over the United States and they're coming here mostly for a good time, a summer vacation. They may also be visitors who are coming to work in the summer resort areas or a function of making the Cape a great place to visit," says Sally Deane, the executive director.
"Often they don't have local insurance. They don't anticipate, whether they're visitors or locals, they might get a fish hook, they might step on some broken glass, they might have a health episode and they need readily available care."
In the past, patients would need to drive up to 90 minutes to Hyannis or upward of three hours to Boston.
"Now we have the benefit of the same emergency room physicians locally," she says.
"You expect anything you'd see at any emergency department, anything from a tick bite to a sunburn to a fracture to potentially a very low level trauma," says Maura Kennedy, MD, a BIDMC emergency physician. "It's the first place that a patient comes to, whether it's someone who lives in the town or whether it's someone who's visiting who has any sort of a medical need. It's where they can easily get health care. And I think it's unique in this area because there's not a nearby emergency room."
Outer Cape Health Services is a member of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's Community Care Alliance of health centers, including The Dimock Center in Roxbury; South Cove Community Health Center in Chinatown and Quincy; the Joseph M. Smith Community Health Center of Allston and Waltham; Fenway Health; the Sidney Borum Jr. Health Center of Boston and Bowdoin Street Health Center in Dorchester.
7/12/2010 (3:53:58pm)Tags: nutrition diet youthComments: (0)
Tomatoes, lettuce and beans have begun to sprout in the Stonehurst/Norton Community Garden, located down the street from the Bowdoin Street Health Center in Dorchester. In a few weeks, produce from that garden will be for sale at the Bowdoin Geneva Farmers Market.
The third annual farmers market launched last Thursday with produce from area farms - as well as music, dance, face painting and a Tae Kwan Do demonstration. The market will run Thursday afternoons from 3-6:30 p.m. until October.
Last April, hand-selected youth became caretakers for their own plot of land at the garden, says Healthy Champions program coordinator Jen French, who works with the neighborhood youth to help them plant, grow and harvesting their own produce.
"The garden teaches them about the vast benefits of incorporating healthy and affordable foods into their daily lives," she says. "At the same time, they will help educate their peers in how these foods will serve to reduce prevalent health issues such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and asthma in their neighborhood."
This collaboration among youth, staff, The Food Project, the Boston Natural Areas Network and community residents comes together in the farmers market, which operates out of the health center's parking lot.
The Bowdoin Geneva Farmers Market was launched in response to community concern about a lack of access to healthy food. Every Thursday afternoon from July through October fresh, local produce is available at affordable prices. EBT, WIC and Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Coupons are accepted. The market also participates in Mayor Menino's Bounty Bucks program, providing a 50 percent discount to shoppers paying with their EBT card.
The Bowdoin Street Health Center is a member of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's Community Care Alliance of health centers, including The Dimock Center in Roxbury; South Cove Community Health Center in Chinatown and Quincy; the Joseph M. Smith Community Health Center of Allston and Waltham; Fenway Health; the Sidney Borum Jr. Health Center of Boston and Outer Cape Health Services of Wellfleet and Provincetown.
7/12/2010 (12:53:14pm)Tags: technology electronic medical recordsComments: (0)
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has been recognized as one of the nation's Most Wired hospitals according to the results of the 2010 Most Wired Survey released in the July issue of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine.
Hospitals understand the importance of health information technology and the benefits of its widespread adoption, yet as a field still face significant barriers to implementation according to a newly released survey of America's Most Wired hospitals and health systems.
"BIDMC continues to work to enhance the safety and quality of healthcare through the use of advanced IT applications," says chief information officer John Halamka, MD, who noted all hospital-based clinicians at BIDMC already use electronic health records.
"By 2011, all community clinicians affiliated with BIDMC will be using a centrally hosted, interoperable, certified electronic health record, empowering them to achieve meaningful use. BIDMC's early adoption of healthcare information exchange and personal health records ensures data can be shared with patient consent for coordination of care, quality measurement, and population health.
"Our stakeholders demand increasingly sophisticated applications, requiring constant innovation. We're proud to receive this recognition."
For more, click here.
7/6/2010 (12:39:53pm)Tags: noneComments: (0)
The Sidney Borum, Jr. Health Center and Fenway Health have joined forces effective July 1.
The Sidney Borum, Jr. Health Center will operate as part of Fenway Health and continue its mission of serving marginalized and disenfranchised young people, including those who are LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender); homeless or living on the streets; struggling with substance use or abuse; sex workers; or living with HIV/AIDS.
Both centers are part of the Community Care Alliance at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which also includes the Bowdoin Street Health Center in Dorchester; the Dimock Center in Roxbury; Joseph M. Smith Community Health Center in Allston and Waltham; South Cove Community Health Center in Chinatown and Outer Cape Health Services in Provincetown and Wellfleet.
For more than 10 years, Fenway Health has shared medical staff with the Borum and the two organizations share complimentary missions and goals. The Sidney Borum, Jr. Health Center will continue to operate the programs and services offered at its 130 Boylston Street location in Boston and at drop-in centers for homeless youth in Cambridge and LGBT youth in Boston. Patients at the Borum will now have access to expanded services at Fenway, including dentistry, optometry and The Fenway Pharmacy.
The merger comes after a year of study and consideration and will ensure the sustainability of the Borum and allow for expanded collaborations among staff at both organizations. Fenway Health and Justice Resource Institute, the Borum's current parent organization, hope to explore new areas of collaboration moving forward.
"The Sidney Borum, Jr. Health Center and its sensitive approach to caring for a very vulnerable population that often is not served effectively in other settings is well aligned with the mission of Fenway Health," said Dr. Stephen Boswell, Fenway Health President & CEO. "We can help the Borum to not only thrive but to reach even more people in need of its services. The merger will enable their patients to access all of the services provided by Fenway while continuing to receive the quality care they are accustomed to. It will allow us to expand research on health disparities in populations of vulnerable young people, including LGBT youth, and help us better address their needs."
"We believe that the clinical orientation and comprehensive care approach of Fenway Health makes it the right home for the Borum," said Douglas Brooks, Senior Vice President for Health Services at Justice Resource Institute and the Executive Director of JRI Health. "Our entire organization is proud of founding, nurturing, and growing The Sidney Borum, Jr. Health Center, and we know that Fenway will, with certainty, continue to grow and build this vital health center."
The Sidney Borum Jr. Health Center is dedicated to providing the best quality health care for youth and young adults ages 12 to 29 who may not feel comfortable going anywhere else, including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or just figuring things out; homeless or living on the streets; struggling with substance use or abuse; sex workers; or living with HIV/AIDS.
Since 1991, JRI Health has pursued social justice by providing underserved individuals and communities with opportunities to develop the tools and skills essential in creating strength, well-being and autonomy. It does this through compassionate support, constant innovation and community leadership.
For nearly 40 years, Fenway Health has been working to make life healthier for the people in its neighborhood, the LGBT community, people living with HIV/AIDS and the broader population. The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health is an interdisciplinary center for research, training, education and policy development focusing on national and international health issues.
7/2/2010 (8:19:15am)Tags: workforce development jobsComments: (0)
BIDMC was one of three employers honored as a Workforce Solutions Group Champion at the Massachusetts Jobs and Workforce Summit, which convened 300 business, education and labor leaders from around the state, with Gov. Deval Patrick the featured speaker.
BIDMC was nominated for the award by the Boston Private Industry Council and the Mayor's Office of Jobs and Community Services.
To learn more, click here.
Caption: Joanne Pokaski, BIDMC's director of workforce development, accepted the award from Worcester Mayor Joseph O'Brien and Workforce Solutions Group Director Sue Parsons.
7/1/2010 (12:36:03pm)Tags: cancer researchComments: (0)
Akash Patnaik, MD, PhD, a physician-scientist in the Hematology/Oncology Division at BIDMC has received a Young Investigator Award from The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF).
The three-year $225,000 award, one of 21 made to young scientists from across the U.S. and Canada, is designed to encourage the most innovative minds in cancer research to focus their careers on prostate cancer.
To learn more about Patnaik's research, click here.
6/29/2010 (3:17:22pm)Tags: research clinical residencyComments: (0)
Does drinking red wine regularly reduce the risk factors of cardiovascular disease for patients with high cholesterol? Does the brain try to rewire itself after a stroke? How does the brain process and place into a hierarchy the information it receives from your five senses?
These were just three of the seven questions that were posed and subsequently answered - at least in part - during Resident Research Day presentations made as part of Education Week at BIDMC.
The day's judges had a tough task ahead of them. Richard Schwartzstein, MD, Vice President of Medical Education; Gordon Strewler, MD, Vice Chair, Department of Medical Education; Sean Kelly, MD, Director, Graduate Medical Education (GME); and Carrie Tibbles, MD, Associate Director, GME; chose two runners up and one winner.
"This was a tough decision as these were all high quality presentations," Kelly said.
Matthew Hansen, MD, Anesthesia, tied for second place. He proved that the drug dexamethasone could be administered to ambulatory arthroscopic knee patients, reducing their level of post-operative pain and minimizing the number of pain medications they consumed after surgery.
The second runner up was Kathryn Volz, MD, Emergency Medicine. Volz, who rushed to the review from jury duty, argued that only Troponin, not Troponin and CK MB, was needed for the initial screening of a patient at risk of or suspected of having a heart attack. CK MB stands for the enzyme Creatine Kinase, which can have subunits that are Muscle type or Brain type.
Volz proved that screening solely for the heart attack indicator Troponin positively identified which patients were at risk for acute myocardial infarction. Based on her study, BIDMC's Emergency Department no longer gives physicians the option to screen a suspected heart attack patient for CK MB. Eliminating the CK MB tests saves the medical center $39 a patient or about $700,000 a year, Volz said.
Volz and Hansen received $100 each, as the main award and prize money of $200 went to Brett Young, MD, OB/GYN. Young hypothesized that rapid strep tests given to women while they were in labor were more accurate at screening women for Group B streptococcus (GBS) than the current test give three weeks before the anticipated delivery date. She said two-thirds of babies in BIDMC's NICU were born to GBS negative mothers under the old means of testing. The rapid test provided quicker results and can reveal which mother's have GBS at the most crucial point in pregnancy - their delivery. GBS early onset sepsis of the newborn is the leading cause of infection and mortality for newborns, Young said.
"I am so pleased and honored to get this award," she said. "It was wonderful to participate in Resident Research Day and see a cross section of the research being done by my colleagues in different departments at the medical center."
The remaining residents who presented received $50 each.
6/29/2010 (1:10:54pm)Tags: noneComments: (0)
Commonwealth Hematology-Oncology, PC, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have joined forces to create a new model for cancer care in eastern Massachusetts that combines community-based practices with the advanced cancer care resources of an academic medical center.
The affiliation combines CHO, the largest community-based private cancer practice in New England, with BIDMC Cancer Center's renowned hematology/oncology, radiation oncology, surgical and research programs in Boston.
To learn more about the affiliation, click here. To read Boston Globe columnist Steve Syre's analysis, click here. And for the Patriot-Ledger story, click here.
6/24/2010 (4:36:43pm)Tags: Bowdoin Street Health Center Boston MarathonComments: (0)
With BIDMC's Team Grateful Nation raised $37,649.40 to support Healthy Champions at the Bowdoin Street Health Center. Representatives of Team Grateful Nation, including runner Julia Lindenberg, MD, John Hancock Financial's Yasmin Cruz, and retired Vice Chairman for John Hancock Life Insurance Company and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Trustee, Foster Aborn, presented a check to Bowdoin Street staff this week and toured the facility and community garden.
Grateful Nation, a new BIDMC Development program that brings together patients, family, staff and friends in support of the medical center's mission, organized a team of five runners. Team Grateful Nation was inspired to support the hospital's Dorchester community health center.
"Bowdoin Street has a very strong reputation for providing excellent care to the community in Dorchester," said Aborn, who began serving on the New England Deaconess Hospital board of trustees more than 30 years ago. "There is a positive aura associated with Bowdoin Street throughout the BIDMC community."
Bowdoin Street Executive Director Adela Margules detailed the health center's 38-year history and the long list of services it provides to its 11,000 patients. "We are extremely grateful for the support of Team Grateful Nation to help us care for our patients and families."
Cruz, a corporate social responsibility official for John Hancock, which sponsors the Boston Marathon, said marathon efforts this year raised more than $4 million for many area charities and non-profits. "Team Grateful Nation and Bowdoin Street serve as a great example of the marathon's impact. John Hancock is a strong community partner, and we are proud to leverage our sponsorship of the Boston Marathon to support Beth Israel and the Bowdoin Street Health Center," she said.
Healthy Champions has a busy summer planned with:
• Community Garden: Staff and volunteers will work with local children and youth to maintain a flower and vegetable garden and even sell their produce at a farmer's market.
• Neighborhood Nutrition: By working with local stores and business, Healthy Champions aims to improve healthy eating options for the community.
Bowdoin Street Health Center has been an active participant in the Dorchester community for nearly 40 years, offering care for infants, children, teens, adults and seniors. Its multicultural staff of physicians and nurse practitioners specialize in each of these areas to meet the needs of all age groups. Health center staff often team up with Dorchester residents, local businesses and other community-based agencies to identify and design programs that address community health concerns.
The Health Center is a member of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a patient care, teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School. BIDMC consistently ranks among the top four in National Institutes of Health funding among independent hospitals nationwide. BIDMC is clinically affiliated with the Joslin Diabetes Center and is a research partner of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox. For more information, visit www.bidmc.org
A program of the BIDMC Development Office, Grateful Nation brings together patients, families, friends, and staff of BIDMC to support the quality care and groundbreaking research at the Medical Center. Through new and traditional media, members of Grateful Nation share experiences, thank our caregivers and researchers, participate in sweepstakes, and gather to sponsor and host events and much more. There are more than 8,000 people actively involved with Grateful Nation. Visit www.GratefulNation.org
John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 22 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in the United States, the Company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. For more information, visit http://www.johnhancock.com/
6/22/2010 (12:51:04pm)Tags: workforce employerComments: (0)
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has been honored by the Boston Center for Community and Justice (BCCJ) with the 2010 Business Leadership Award at its Opening Boston Awards held at the Boston Harbor Hotel.
BIDMC was recognized for its commitment to personalized, excellent care for its patients; a workforce committed to individual accountability, mutual respect and collaboration; and a commitment to maintaining the institution's financial health.
"This is an award that goes to the entire institution," said Lisa Zankman, Senior Vice President of Human Resources. "It shows what people are willing to do for the greater good."
The recognition stems from BIDMC's handling of a financial crisis through an open management style. Employees participated in decision making that lead to wage and benefit freezes, allowing the hospital to retain several hundred employees otherwise slated for layoffs. One year later, with renewed financial stability, many of the benefits have already been restored.
As noted in the BCCJ awards program, "This situation highlighted that BIDMC's strong values of reliability, safety, effectiveness, patient-centeredness and equity are reinforced throughout the organization."
The BCCJ awards are given annually to honor individuals and businesses exemplifying socially responsible leadership that advances social justice throughout Greater Boston.
6/22/2010 (11:19:34am)Tags: diet nutritionComments: (0)
Remember when you took too much food to eat your mother often said your eyes were bigger than your plate? There's evidence that today it's the plate which is growing. And waist lines as well.
BIDMC nutritionist Elisabeth Moore was interviewed for an NBC Nightly News story about the growth in plates and portions -- and the impact that has had on Americans health and wellbeing.
6/16/2010 (3:48:24pm)Tags: noneComments: (0)
A new class of 5th graders was inducted into the Red Sox Scholars program on Sunday at Fenway Park, as the initiative's first class prepares for college in the fall.
Since 2003, BIDMC has been the "presenting sponsor" of the Red Sox Scholars program. Each year the program selects - through a competitive essay and interview process - 25 academically talented and economically disadvantaged 5th graders from the Boston Public Schools to participate in the program. Upon graduating from high school, the scholars will receive a $10,000 college scholarship from the Red Sox Foundation. BIDMC staff are matched with scholars and serve as Medical Champions, exposing the scholars to their jobs at the medical center.
For more, click here.
Caption: Sam Chen, 18, a senior at Boston Latin Academy and a member of the Red Sox Scholars Class of 2003, will be heading to Boston University in the fall.
