MATTITUCK LIONS CLUB SUPPORTS NURSES SCHOLARSHIPS AT ELIH

Vito Italia and Paul Murphy of the Mattituck Lions Club present Paul J. Connor, President/CEO of Eastern Long Island Hospital with a check for $10,000 in support of the nursing scholarship program.  

ELIH initiated a nursing scholarship program in 2006 in collaboration with Suffolk County Community College as a proactive approach to the national nursing shortage.  To qualify, applicants must have completed all pre-requisites necessary for admission into the program.  After graduation and licensure as a Registered Nurse, each scholarship recipient is contracted with ELIH for two years of full-time employment   Presently, the scholarship program is slated to educate nine nursing students over a six-year period.  

The first three scholarship recipients, Cindy Locrotondo and Dawn Quarty of Southold and Chris Murphy of Mattituck joined the nursing ranks at ELIH after successful completion of the RN boards this spring. 

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SKIN CANCER:  TREATABLE WITH EARLY DETECTION   

Hana Ujkic of Mattituck, one of 50 Melanoma Monday participants, received a complementary screening by Dermatologist, Antoinette Notaro, MD at the ELIH Gladys Brooks Medical Village, Greenport.  The free screening, co-sponsored by Eastern Long Island Hospital and The American Academy of Dermatology brings awareness to the growing incidence of skin cancer in the United States.  

Beating skin cancer begins with a visual exam of your skin by a dermatologist.  With early diagnosis and proper treatment, the cure rate for skin cancer averages 95%.  Even melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer has a 95% cure rate with early detection and treatment. 

Eastern Long Island Hospital urges you to be ‘sun smart’, especially here on the North Fork and Shelter Island where the seduction of waterfront vistas encourages extended outdoor activity.  According to guidelines set by the American Academy of Dermatology, a sun screen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of a least 15 should be applied every two hours when outdoors even on cloudy days. 

   

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HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION OFFERS $2000 SCHOLARSHIP

PROPOSED STATE BUDGET CALLS FOR EXTENSIVE REFORMS

Hospital CEOs and state lawmakers held public meetings and press briefings, throughout February and March, to educate patients, providers, and communities about the details of the state’s proposed spending plan for 2009.  The sweeping reform changes called for in this budget are complex and highly technical and difficult to assess fully at this time, say law makers and hospital leaders.  For that reason, hospital CEOs want the state legislature to separate the budget issues from the untested, massive reforms proposed in the executive budget.  
    
With just a few weeks remaining until the start of a new

Photo Caption:  State Budget Cuts and Hospitals  State law makers and hospital CEOs gather at a state budget briefing held Thursday, February 28, 2008 at Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, New York.  From left: Andrew Mitchell, CEO, Peconic Bay Medical Center; Kevin Dahill, president/CEO of the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council (NSHC); Assemblyman Marc Alessi; Robert Chaloner, president/CEO of Southampton Hospital; Paul Connor, president/CEO of Eastern Long Island Hospital.  (Missing from photo is Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr.)

state fiscal year, many questions remain about the financial fallout Medicaid inpatient rate rebasing, for instance, will have upon providers.  "What is clear at this point is that Long Island will have more losers than winners," said Kevin Dahill, president and CEO of the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council (NSHC), which represents the 24 not-for-profit and public hospitals on Long Island.  "Nineteen of the 24 hospitals will be negatively affected."
    
That's the message the hospital industry is carrying forward, as it moves into these final days of budget negotiations.  Namely, two key components of the state's rebasing formula will cause Long Island's hospitals to lose about $8 million dollars, once the rebase estimates are fully implemented.  Graduate Medical Education (GME), funding hospitals receive to train new physicians, and funds for workforce recruitment and retention, which were previously allocated to hospitals, are the two components hospitals want out of the rebasing formula. 
    
"We may have to put off some of these well-intended ideas until we really know their true impact, so hospitals can have true dialog with their legislators.  We don't want unintended consequences that we can't afford," said State Senator Kenneth Lavalle, at a budget briefing organized by the Hospital Council, held Friday, February 29, 2008 at the Village Center in Port Jefferson, New York.
    
At a similar event held the day before at Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, New York, Assemblymen Marc Alessi and Fred Thiele Jr. offered the same concerns. 
    
“It is a difficult budget process,” said Thiele.  “It is disturbing to think we don’t have all the information to know how these proposals will affect us.”
    
“I agree that the executive branch has the right goals – reducing costs of health care and providing more patient-centered care.  But cutting health care is not reforming health care,” said Alessi.

 

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    FREE CHOLESTEROL TESTING FOR BLOOD DONORS

Eastern Long Island Hospital will host a blood drive on May 15, 2008 from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.   Donate blood and have your cholesterol checked at the same time.  Cholesterol results will be mailed to your home within 30 days of your donation courtesy of Long Island Blood Services. All blood donors will receive a five-dollar gift certificate to the Hospital’s Corner Gift Shop or the Green House Grill.  The ELIH Blood Drive is supported by the Medical Staff.

Blood donation is important to the health of your community.  Hospitals need to maintain an adequate blood supply for everyday emergencies, for patients undergoing surgery and patients with cancer. 

Long Island requires nearly 800 volunteer donations a day to serve patients in 50 local hospitals.  Each pint of donated blood can help save the lives of up to five people.

Be A Lifesaver ….  Call, 477-5100, today to schedule your blood donation appointment. 
Walk-ins are always welcome.  

 

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  TUNE IN TO QUALITY . . . OUR COMMUNITY HOSPITAL FEATURED IN TOP TEN ON “INSIDE HEALTH”

 

By delivering the highest quality of care with unique hometown charm and compassion, Eastern Long Island Hospital caught the attention of the award-winning national program, “Inside Health” hosted by Peggy Fleming.

Measure for measure, quality performance standards for lifesaving medical treatments compared with hospitals across America, ranked Eastern Long Island Hospital amongst the highest overall.

The show featuring professional caregivers in action will air on The Learning Channel (TLC-Channel 28*), Saturday, January 28, 2006 at 7 am. *Check local media listings for the TLC channel in your area. On camera interviews with Paul J. Connor III, President/CEO, D. Patricia Pispisa, Vice President Patient Care Services, and Lloyd Simon, MD, Medical Director provided a wonderful opportunity for the executive staff to describe how caregivers at Eastern Long Island Hospital are actively engaged in daily decision-making processes to ensure quality, patient satisfaction and safety.

A local workforce in a small community adds to the individualized treatment patient’s experience. Despite its size, standard treatment protocols at Eastern Long Island Hospital scored “Top 10% in the County … “Best” on Long Island, as reported in the New York Times. “Patient safety and quality is a focus for healthcare facilities nationwide regardless of their bed capacity. Adherence to standards of care and working to improve performance measures must be constant, in order to keep patient outcomes at optimum levels, ” explains D. Patricia Pispisa, Vice President Patient Care Services.

“We have an outstanding patient care team that focuses on core competencies and the fundamentals of providing quality care,” states Connor. “The medical staff and the nursing staff set the standard across the board. The entire hospital staff strives for excellence, everyone is highly responsive and compassionate.” “The medical staff is 100% board certified, a testament to their commitment for excellence.

The challenge at Eastern Long Island Hospital is being the primary care hospital for a growing senior population, which is more than double the national average,” states Lloyd Simon, Medical Director. “The increasing demand for current technologies and advanced diagnostics continually test the system. Eastern Long Island Hospital can easily be a model for the rest of the country as the first wave of baby boomers begin to age and require more sophisticated treatment planning.” In today’s healthcare environment where new technologies and medical advances can sometimes seem increasingly impersonal,

Eastern Long Island Hospital is one community hospital that takes great pride in delivering extra does of tender loving care. “Through the camera’s eye, America will witness the nurturing culture that continues to touch every aspect of healthcare at Eastern Long Island Hospital,” notes Paul J. Connor, President and CEO. “It is this caring culture coupled with consistent high quality standards that sets us apart from all other community hospitals.”