RxTraA publication for the staff of Hartford Hospital May 16, 2013 Vol. 69 No. 18

114 Inducted Into Quarter Century Club

The annual Quarter Century Club party (for staff with 25 or more years of service) was held on May 10 at the Connecticut Convention Center. More than 1,000 people at tended. The Quarter Century Club welcomed 114 new inductees this year. Looks like everyone had fun!

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On May 5, Hartford Hospital/The Institute of Living lost one of its finest: Judy A. Gustafson, RNC, BSN. She was 60.

Judy worked at Hartford Hospital for 30 years, with 20 of those years being at The Institute of Living.

Judy earned her bachelor’s de-gree in nursing from UConn and a master’s degree in addiction edu-cation from Cambridge University.

Although known for being prag-matic and no nonsense, she was totally devoted to delivering the very best care with compassion, understanding and professional integrity.

Judy’s subspecialty was the care of the patient suffering with an addiction, an illness where recidi-vism rates are extremely high.

When asked how she sustained her energy and passion through

a patient’s frequent and repeat-ed readmissions she said, “We all have a bottom before we can move up and heal… and for some peo-ple, that bottom is very deep. Un-til they reach it, we have to be pa-tient and hold onto hope for those who suffer and feel so hopeless.”

Not only did Judy touch the hearts and lives of the many patients in her care, she also, by her very practice, taught those of us who knew her, how to be better nurse. For that we will always be grate-ful. Thank you, Judy.

Our condolences go to Judy’s friends and colleagues, her son Erik, daughter Angela and broth-er Dale.

In addition to her parents, she is now forever with the love of her life, Carl, who passed away Oct. 23, 2012.

You can read Judy’s obituary here: http://www.legacy.com/obituar-ies/journalinquirer/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=164795904

For online condolences, please visit carmonfuneralhome.com

HH Mourns Passing Of Mark Salamacha, RN

IOL Says Goodbye to Judy Gustafson, RNC, BSN

Mark Salamacha, RN in the Ar-rhythmia Unit, passed away un-expectedly on May 5. He was 57. Mark had worked at Hartford Hospital for more than 16 years.

Mark’s professional career as a registered nurse embellished the face of the Pacemaker Clinic within the Division of Cardiology at Hartford Hospital.

Our condolences go to Mark’s friends and colleagues, his wife Judy and stepson Greg, and his brother Michael.

According to his obituary, Mark grew up fishing, hunting, and hik-ing in the natural world. He also fell completely under the spell of “Man’s Best Friend”-especially Springer Spaniels, and his dogs Sam, Abbie, Katie and Maggie.

You can read Mark’s obituary here: http://www.legacy.com/obit-uaries/hartfordcourant/obituary.aspx?n=mark-salamacha&pid=164689301&fhid=24220

Messages of condolence may be sent to the family at www.doolit-tlefuneralservice.com.

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Olympic gold medalist and reign-ing U.S. Gymnastics champion Jor-dyn Wieber signed autographs and visited with patients at Hartford Hospital on Monday, May 14.

Wieber was part of the team that won Olympic gold in 2012 in wom-en’s team gymnastics, otherwise known as the “Fierce Five.” Wieber is also the reigning U.S. gymnastics champion. She has won two senior all-around titles.

She was here to promote the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, which will be held at the XL Center in Hartford August 15-18.

At that time, she and the team will be inducted into the USA Gymnas-tics Hall of Fame.

Hartford Hospital is an event spon-sor, and will be the medical care and rehab care provider for the U.S. Gymnastics Championships.

Because of our participation, all employees of Hartford HealthCare can get a 20% discount on single session tickets to the Champion-ships, which are normally $17-87.

Olympic gold medalist Jordyn Wieber, above center, visited with patients and staff at the Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center on May 14.

Use this link to buy tickets: http://www.ticketmaster.com/promo/rrdpoi

Olympic Gold Medal Gymnast Jordyn Wieber Visits Hospital

Hartford Hospital has been rec-ognized by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Associa-tion/American Stroke Association with Comprehensive Stroke Cen-ter Certification. We are the first such program in all of New Eng-land, and 33rd in the United States.

Certification means we are part of an elite group focused on complex stroke care. Comprehensive Stroke Centers are recognized as indus-try leaders and are responsible for setting the national agenda in highly-specialized stroke care.

“Hartford Hospital is thorough-ly committed to providing our patients with the highest qual-ity stroke care based on current

scientific research to ensure con-tinuous improvement in care,” said Dr. Isaac E. Silverman, the Stroke Center’s co-medical director and vascular neurologist. “Compre-hensive Stroke Center Certifica-tion has confirmed what we know: We offer exceptional, cutting edge stroke care to our patients, as we aim to improve care overall for our community.”

CSC certification is like being des-ignated a Level 1 trauma center - it recognizes hospitals that have the advanced infrastructure and staff to treat patients with the most complex strokes.

Click here to view an ad in the May 15 USA Today congratulating the 33 Comprehensive Stroke Centers, including Hartford Hospital.

HH Designated Comprehensive Stroke Center

Happening at Hartford Hospital

Questions or comments about RxTra? Contact editor Annie Emanuelli at aemanuelli@harthosp.org or 860-545-2199

The Institute’s Got Talent! Annual Craft Fair FridayThe Institute’s Got Talent! 4th Annual Craft Fair will be held Friday, May 17 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. in the Hartford Room/Commons Building on the Insti-tute of Living campus. If you’ve attended this event in the past, you already know about the great items for sale, as well as the generous gift certificates and beauti-fully themed gift baskets that have been donated to our cup auction raffle.

As in the past years, the funds raised will benefit the “Celebrations” shop, where families experiencing hardship are able to shop free for their child’s special occa-sion such as birthdays, graduations, holi-days, etc. This past year some of the funds raised were used to buy school uniforms for children, along with school supplies, new shoes, back packs and gift cards to Walmart, Target and grocery stores. We also purchased warm clothes and toilet-ries for families living in shelters. Please come and show your support!!!! For more information, contact Nelis Bido-Jimenez or Alison Wellman at 545-7239.

Cardiovascular Nursing Symposium Friday

The 12th Annu-al Henry Low Heart Center Cardiovascular Nursing Sym-posium will be held on Friday, May 17 from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. at the ERC. The symposium is designed to ed-

ucate Hartford Hospital nurses on a va-riety of cardiovascular topics.

Schwartz Center RoundsJoin us for Schwartz Center Rounds, a forum where staff get together to dis-cuss a common theme in health care, on Wednesday, May 22 in Gilman Auditori-um from 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. We’ll talk about what it feels like to walk in anoth-er person’s shoes. Is it possible to have empathy towards everyone? Where are the boundaries between understand-ing someone’s pain and actually feel-ing it? Schwartz Center Rounds have always been a safe place to share the joys and challenges in patient care. All staff/volunteers/physicians are encour-aged to share their experience. No need to RSVP, and lunch is provided. For more information, contact Kathy Burns at ext. 5-5712 or Dr. Evan Fox at ext. 5-2629. See you there.

Employees Council Monthly Open Meeting The next meeting of the Employees Coun-cil is Wednesday, May 22 at 12 noon in the Special Dining Room in the back of the cafete-ria. Guest speaker will be Janice Cannon, clinical nutrition man-ager from Food & Nutrition Services. The Employees Council helps staff members with work-related issues, and plans em-ployee activities. All staff members are welcome to attend our open monthly meetings. Contact the EC anytime at 860-545-3904, or at employeecouncil@har-thosp.org. You can also check the EC page on the Intranet.

Pampered Chef and Silpada JewelryPampered Chef and Silpada Jewelry ven-dors, in the lobby of the Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center, Wednesday, May 22 from 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.; 20% of the pro-ceeds go to benefit The Boutique at the Gray Cancer Center.

LifeChoice Cowboy Roundup in Avon!

LifeChoice Donor Services is sponsor-ing a Cowboy Roundup on Thursday, May 23 from 6-8 p.m. at Blue Fox Run in Avon. Eat a great cowboy dinner, and learn how to lasso and line dance! Tick-ets are only $15, and kids under 10 are free. This includes a BBQ dinner, 1 drink, 1 raffle ticket, and entertainment. For tickets, go to http://golfdigestplanner.com/cgi/page.cgi?_id=243838 and click Register.

Memorial Service for Marty RichmondPlease join us to hon-or the memory of Mar-ty Richmond, RN, on Thursday, May 23 from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. in the Multifaith Chapel. A reception will follow in Dining Room A and B from 12-1 p.m. Marty was a registered nurse at Hartford Hospital for 47 years. She died on April 13 after a courageous battle with cancer. She was 68. Marty was an active alumna with the Hartford Hospital School of Nursing.

Nurses: Please Take the NDNQI Survey by May 26The NDNQI-RN Survey, which measures RN perceptions of the practice environ-ment and job satisfaction, runs until Sunday, May 26. It is anonymous and quick! This valuable information will help identify goals for improving nurse job satisfaction and improve the work environment. Nurses - don’t forget to complete this quick, anonymous online survey from the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators. The link is on the Nursing/Patient Care Services In-tranet page.