By: Robert Remler
Hospital officials have issued a call for the community to join with its employees in donating blood.Noting that due to new guidelines on blood donor criteria and eligibility - which may shrink our community's blood supply by 25 percent - Franklin's Blood Drive Campaign Director, Ignacio Lopez, states that "a stable local blood supply and our ability to mobilize potential donors has a significant value on the function of our hospital." There is always an acute need for blood, but with the loss of imported blood from Europe and new donor restrictions, the need to "step up to the plate" is especially critical at this time.According to the hospital, people 17 to 76, weighing at least 110 pounds and who are in general good health, are eligible to donate. A photo ID is required at the time of donation, at which time donors will also receive a free mini-medical exam that includes checking temperature, pulse, blood pressure and iron count. To make an appointment to donate, call 356-6397. The hospital has arranged reserved parking for the convenience of those coming to the hospital to donate blood.
Volunteers honored at St. Francis
St. Francis Hospital honored its volunteer force recently for their extraordinary service to the hospital at its annual Volunteer Awards Luncheon. Dr. Alan D. Guerci, president and CEO of St. Francis Hospital, thanked the volunteers for helping the hospital achieve the highest standards of care. Just one year ago, he noted AARP Modern Maturity magazine ranked St. Francis Hospital the second best hospital in the United States out of 6,000 hospitals surveyed. "The human touch comes from all of you. You should be proud of your efforts," he said.Hold on May 2 at the Woodbury Country Club, the festivities included presentation of awards to volunteers for their service, ranging from 100 hours to 35 years. Last year, 349 men, women and junior volunteers contributed 65,654 hours of service.St. Francis Hospital volunteers assist with the hospital's day-to-day operations including delivery of newspapers, flowers and mail to patients, assisting in medical departments, and staffing the information desk. For information on becoming a volunteer, call the Volunteer Department at 562-6106.
Winthrop's groundbreaking heart disease procedure
Winthrop-Universiy Hospital's Division of Cardiology and Radiation Oncology have teamed up to fight heart disease with a new procedure called Intravascular Brachytherapy that helps patients experiencing a recurrence of arterial blockages after stent placement.Winthrop is one of only a few hospitals in the region with the special expertise to perform the technique that delivers a dose of radiation to the stent implantation site during cardiac catheterization or angioplasty. According to Kevin Marzo, chief of Cardiology at Winthrop, "Winthrop was the first hospital on Long Island to acquire the new Guidant Galileo III system, the most advanced cardiac radiation technology currently available, providing a much more user-friendly way of delivering intercoronary radiation."Placing stents into the blocked arteries angioplasty, a procedure that opens up the narrowed arteries of the heart, has become a highly effective way to keep blood vessels open, preventing further heart damage and potential heart attacks. But, even with implanted stents, approximately 20 percent of patients experience restnosis or the renarrowing of the artery du to scar tissue that grows around the stent and reblocks the artery. Restenosis can occur three to six months after the initial angioplasty and stent placement. "Before this procedure, patients required bypass surgery to reopen their arteries," explained Marzo. "Intravascular brachytherepy is a proven, non-surgical and safe procedure which is quickly becoming the treatment of choice for patients with a renarrowing of arteries with stents."Jonathan Hass, attending radiation oncologist at Winthrop, said, "Now that the procedure is being performed at Winthrop, patients have expressed their satisfaction not only with the technique but with the fact that they can remain with their physician in a hospital that are comfortable with instead of having to go elsewhere."For more information or intravascular brachytherapy, call Wintrop's Institute for Heart Care at 1-800-443-2788 or 1-866-WINTHROP.
Clinton announces $15M grant to North Shore
US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton recently joined with representatives of the National Institutes of Health and the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in announcing a $15 million NIH grant to support vital disease-oriented research at the North Shore-LIJ Research Institute.This unique national designation for the North Shore-LIJ Research Institute represents a shift for the NIH. This is the first year that the NIH's National Cancer for Research Resources, which supports research infrastructure in academic medical centers across the country, is awarding these specialized research grants to health systems that do not have their own medical schools."No other health system in the nation currently has an NIH-funded General Clinical Research Center," said Michael Dowling, president and CEO of the 18-hospital North Shore-LIJ Health System, which currently receives about $25 million in annual NIH funding for other research programs. "This prestigious designation puts the North Shore-LIJ Research Institute in a distinguished group of some of the nation's foremost clinical research institutions."The five-year award will enable North Shore-LIJ to expand its recruitment of patients for clinical studies of such diseases as cancer, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disorders, sepsis, AIDS, schizophrenia, Huntington's, depression and obesity.
