Here’s a list of kudos, updates and other newsy stuff from area hospitals and health organizations:
Bridgeport Hospital to honor Fairfield couple at spring gala
The Bridgeport Hospital Auxiliary will honor the hospital’s retiring chief medical officer, Dr. Bruce McDonald and his wife Beth, a longtime member of the Auxiliary, during its Spring Gala, Thursday, May 10, 6 p.m., at the Birchwood Country Club in Westport.
Earlier this year, McDonald announced that he will retire in September, after 32 years at the hospital, first as Chairman of Pediatrics from 1980 to 1986, and for the last 26 years as Senior Vice President, Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer. He is also a clinical professor at Yale School of Medicine and has maintained his clinical practice as a pediatric nephrologist at Bridgeport and Yale-New Haven Hospitals. Dr. McDonald was recently named Physician of the Year by the Greater Bridgeport Medical Association.
During more than 20 years as a member of the Bridgeport Hospital Auxiliary, Beth McDonald has been a member of the group’s board of directors, served a two-year term as vice president and participated in a number of fundraising activities.
Proceeds from this year’s gala will support the renovation of SurgEase, Bridgeport Hospital’s ambulatory surgery center. Planned improvements include the addition of two pediatric areas—one an interactive playspace with computers and games and the other specifically designed for special needs children; a new adult area with computers and workstations; a new social area for TV viewing and conversations; and upgrades to the check-in and waiting areas.
The gala is being co-chaired by Ulla Atweh of Westport and Marlene Fischer of Southport. For information about the event or to request tickets, call the Auxiliary office at 203-384-3331.
Yale doc represents Connecticut in Cancer Society board
The American Cancer Society’s New England Division Board of Directors has welcomed Dr. Anees B. Chagpar, director, Yale-New Haven Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital to a 2-year term as member of the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society’s New England Division.
Anees Chagpar
Chagpar is a member of the society’s 25-person volunteer Board of Directors, providing leadership in achieving the American Cancer Society’s mission. The New England Division comprises Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
A resident of New Haven, Chagpar is also an associate professor in the Yale University School of Medicine Department of Surgery.
New Haven Coalition gets award
A local coalition called the Greater New Haven Coalition for Safe Transitions and Readmission Reductions (GNH CoSTARR) is one of 30 community-based programs across the United States to date to receive an award from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to improve the quality of care for Medicare patients and keep them from being readmitted to hospitals.
GNH CoSTARR is a partnership between Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH), the Hospital of Saint Raphael (HSR) and the Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut (AASCC) that was formed in summer 2011. One of GNH CoSTARR’s goals is to reduce the number of Medicare patients who are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of a previous admission. Grace Jenq, MD, medical director of the YNHH East Pavilion, was applicant program director.
Building off past efforts, GNH CoSTARR will implement special care transition teams with registered nurses as care coordinators at YNHH and HSR and social workers from the Agency on Aging. Teams will be housed within the two hospitals and develop holistic, patient-tailored discharge planning to help the patient recover successfully upon discharge. The teams will work to improve communications between the hospitals and nursing homes, home health agencies, and primary care providers in greater New Haven, as well as support patients through their post-hospital transition, and also inform them about community resources.
The Partnership for Patients is a CMS initiative which incorporates the Community-based Care Transitions Program, mandated by Section 3026 of the Affordable Care Act of 2010.
CMS hopes to reduce preventable errors in hospital settings by 40 percent and reduce hospital readmissions by 20 percent over a three-year period. Achieving these goals has the potential to save up to 60,000 lives, prevent millions of injuries and unnecessary complications in patient care, and save up to $50 billion for Medicare over 10 years.
The dedicated care transition teams will work with Medicare patients age 64 or older who have had a 30-day readmission or non-elective hospitalization in the last six months or have received their care at HSR’s or YNHH’s Primary Care Centers, Cornell Scott Hill Health Center, Fair Haven Community Health Center or a Project ElderCare Clinic. Other eligible patients include those who have no primary care physician, come from skilled nursing facilities or primary care practices with higher than average readmission rates.
As part of its two-year agreement with CMS, GNH CoSTARR will be paid a flat fee per beneficiary for helping to coordinate patient care after a hospital stay for each Medicare beneficiary who is at high risk for readmission.
