August is National Minority Do-nor Awareness Month, designed to increase awareness of the need for more organ donors, especially among minorities.

Nearly 115,000 people are on the waiting list for a life-saving organ transplant, and 18 die each day due to lack of organ donors. Minorities make up 56% of those currently on the organ donation waiting lists, but only 36% of the U.S. population, and only 30% of all donors.

Grisselle Figueroa, an administra-tive assistant at Hartford Hospital, understands why it is so important for minorities to register as donors.

“When I was 17 and first getting my driver’s li-cense, I automat-ically checked off ‘yes, I would like to be an organ donor,’ because my sister’s life was saved with a liver transplant

when she was 16,” Figueroa said. “A total stranger, upon their death, donated their liver to her, and it meant the difference between life and death for my sister.”

“I remember how our family all prayed and hoped that someone out there would say ‘yes’ to be-ing an organ donor so my sister wouldn’t die,” she said. “By being a donor after I die, I’m hoping that I can answer the prayers of some-one out there whose life I could save. How could I ever deny some-one else the chance at life by not donating my organs after I’m gone,

when my prayers were answered by my sister’s donor?”

The families of those who become organ donors often feel comfort in knowing that a miracle has come from their tragedy. Mary Marti-nez’s daughter, Charlie Gonza-lez, was an organ donor after her death.

“We know all too well the devas-tating pain you feel when you lose someone you love,” Martinez said. “We have found solace in knowing that we were able to prevent others from feeling this pain, and instead provide joy.”

Although organs are not matched according to race/ethnicity, and people of different races frequent-ly match, everyone waiting for a transplant will have a better chance of receiving one if there are large numbers of donors from their racial/ethnic background.

Please register to be an organ donor, and join Public Safety officers Her-bert Perryman and Jose Arduiz (be-low) in saying, “I’ll save your life; will you save mine?”

RxTraA publication for the staff of Hartford Hospital August 26, 2013 Vol. 69 No. 32

Grisselle Figueroa

Support National Minority Organ Donor Month

Mary Martinez and her family find solace in the fact that, even though her daughter Charlie is gone, her organs saved the lives of many recipients.

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Compliance Questions or

Concerns?If you need to obtain information

about compliance issues or raise

concerns regarding internal and

regulatory practices

or policies, please contact your

supervisor or call the ComplianceLine,

a confidential and toll-free service, at

1-855-HHC-OCAP or online at

HHC.OCAPComplianceLine.com

On August 8, 16 Hartford Hospital runners participat-ed in the Corporate 5K road race in Bushnell Park. This was the 11th consecutive year that HH has sent teams to this event.

For the first time ever, the race route was revised. This year’s edition followed a new out-and-back route that looped once around the pe-rimeter of the park, passed the state Capitol and went out Capitol Avenue to a turn-around point under I-84 be-fore re-tracing the same route in reverse, to finish by the Soldiers & Sailors Me-morial Arch.

The HH teams fared very well, led by the first-place Women’s Open team.

The hospital had teams in all four team categories, and they finished as follows:

• Women’s Open: 1st of 19 teams

• Women’s Masters: 2nd of 10 teams

• Men’s Open: 5th of 26 teams

• Men’s Masters: 4th of 15 teams

Trophies were awarded to first, second and third-place finishers in the team categories and individual age groups. Other trophy winners from HH were:

• Tessa Mah, second overall woman and second in Female 30-39 age group (time 19:44)

• Susan Dana, second in Female 50-59 age group (time 22:48)

• Diane Snow, third in Female 50-59 age group (time 24:54)

• Kevin Markowski, third in Male 50-59 age group (time 19:58)

Left to right, standing: Marta Zoll (Pathology), Susan Dana (Fund Development), Tessa Mah (Food & Nutrition Services), Chuck McKay (Occupational Health), Kevin Markows-ki (Facilities Development), Peter McKay (Occupational Health), Eric Parent (Engineer-ing), Amy Johnson (WAHS), Mitch Bielenda (Biomedical Engineering), Adam Borgida (Prenatal Testing), Joe Tortora (Research Administration), Ken Erikson (Facilities De-velopment) and Peter Briggeman (Engineering). Left to right, kneeling: Diane Snow (HHRN), Dawne Paulhus (Prenatal Testing) and Kelly Pabilonia (Social Work Services). Photo by Julia Stoughton

Staff Development Courses For SeptemberDate Course Location Time

Sept. 4 FY13 Compensation Decision Process (for anyone who manages staff)

JB-118 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

Sept. 9 FY13 Compensation Decision Process JB-118 2-3 p.m.

Sept. 10 The Human Dynamics of Change - part 1 JB-118 2-4 p.m.

Sept. 11 The Human Dynamics of Change - part 2 JB-118 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Sept. 17 FY13 Compensation Decision Process JB-118 9-10 a.m.

Sept. 24 Understanding Yourself and Others - part 1 (pre-requisite online assessment)

JB-118 2-4 p.m.

Sept. 25 Understanding Yourself and Others - part 2 JB-118 9-11 a.m.

Sept. 26 FY13 Compensation Decision Process JB-118 1-2 p.m.

For more information: Click here or call 860-972-3985

16 Runners Represent HH at Corporate 5K

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Dr. Carolyn Hoban Named VP of ResearchCarolyn J. Hoban, D. Sc., has accepted the position of Hartford Hospital vice president of research, effective Sept. 16.

She will report to Dr. Lenworth Jacobs, vice president of Academic Affairs and chief academic officer.

Dr. Hoban has more than 20 years of experience devel-oping research strategies and supporting genomics and translational medicine initiatives, which transition re-search results into innovative patient treatments.

She has expertise in oncology, clinical operations and drug development and in working in academic settings and with biotech and pharma firms, non-profit advo-cacy groups and the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Dr. Hoban earned her Doctor of Science at the Harvard School of Public Health. She completed a Nation-al Institutes of Health Genetics Fellowship in cancer biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and completed the eMBA program at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

She comes to Hartford Hospital from the Multiple My-eloma Research Foundation in Norwalk, Conn., where

she has served as director of t ra n s l a t i o n a l research since 2011.

Previously, she spent six years at the Univer-sity of Michi-gan Medical School at Ann Arbor, where she served as research assis-tant professor in

oncology and executive officer of the NCI Cooperative Oncology Group.

Dr. Hoban’s business knowledge and extensive experi-ence fundraising, competitive grant applications and building collaborative relationships will be important in furthering Hartford Hospital’s development as a re-nowned training and research center.

Chrysalis Center, a United Way agency, has a food pantry called Freshplace, but it’s not your typi-cal food pantry.

Freshplace provides fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy, meats and staple items to families in need in Hartford’s impoverished Upper Albany neighborhood.

It allows patrons the dignity of choosing their own foods and of-fers nutrition education as well as cooking classes.

Freshplace is a collaborative proj-ect between Chrysalis Center, the Junior League of Hartford, and Foodshare, our region’s food bank.

It is also part of a research project to compare outcomes for Fresh-place patrons to those for patrons of traditional food pantries.

Vo l u n t e e r s are needed on site to help

patrons select items, stock shelves or keep things tidy.

Freshplace is open Tuesday and Thursdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Each volunteer needs to com-plete a training and application process.

Interested? Visit: http://vol-unteer.truist.com/uwcact/org/opp/10469765244.html

For more volunteer opportunities at United Way agencies through-out the greater Hartford area, vis-it: http://volunteer.truist.com/uwcact/volunteer

United Way Corner From Sept. 9-20, we will conduct a “Pulse” survey as a follow-up to the system-wide employee satisfaction survey conducted in March 2012.

The sur-vey will ask you to re-spond to 28 ques-tions to help us assess employees’ commitment and our progress based on your earlier feedback. In particular, we’d like your input about our progress with balancing work and personal life, and developing and improving communications across different levels of the organization.

As in the past, we will keep your answers confidential. We’ve once again hired Morehead Associates Inc., now part of Press Ganey, to conduct the survey and compile the results. No one at HHC will view any individual responses. We only are interested in the results as a whole.

Pulse Survey is Coming!

Happening at Hartford Hospital

Questions or comments about RxTra? Contact editor Annie Emanuelli at annie.emanuelli@hhchealth.org or 860-972-2199

Class Offered For Com-mand Center Recorders

The Center for Emergency Medical Pre-paredness is offering a class in Hospital Command Center Operations - Record-ers on Monday, Aug. 26 from 10 a.m.-12 noon in JB-118. The training will include roles and responsibilities of the Com-mand Center Recorder and the impor-tance of the position, an overview of the layout of the Hospital Command Cen-ter, the positions that are filled during CC activation. A hands-on session will teach participants how to correctly com-plete the appropriate forms so that the incident and response actions are thor-oughly documented. Please bring a lap-top to the class. Advance registration is required. Please contact Rich Leach, Cen-ter for Emergency Medical Preparedness (CEMP), at 860-545-1082 or CEMP@Hh-chealth.org, with subject and date “Class registration for August 26.”

Orientation Class for New Cancer PatientsBecome familiar with the Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center, staff, and the various supportive resources that are available to help you throughout your cancer treat-ment. Class is Tuesday, Aug. 27, from 9:30-10:30 a.m., in the Taylor Conference Room in the Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center. Registration is not required, but it is preferred. Please call Cancer Con-nect at 860-545-6000 or email cancercon-nect@harthosp.org.

Car Raffle Benefits Cancer Center

Want to win a 2013 Volvo XC-60? You can, if you win the LITE 100.5 WRCH/Hartford Hospital car raffle. Your $50 donation

benefits the Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center. The winner will be drawn on Oct. 4 at the Nite of Lite Laughter. Raffle tick-ets will be sold Wendesday, August 28 4-6 p.m. at Big Y in Meriden, and Satur-day, Aug. 31 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Klot-er Farms in Ellington. Check e-xtra for upcoming dates.

Free Music Thursday at Blue Back SquareHartford Hospital has partnered with Blue Back Square in West Hartford for their outdoor concert series, A Little Thurs-day Night Music, which offers free sum-mer concerts on Thursday evenings from 7-9 p.m. Bands will play next to Barnes & Noble. On Thursday, Aug. 29, the band will be The Spampinato Brothers.

Yoga for Patients and Staff at the IOLThe Family Re-source Center at the IOL is offer-ing monthly yoga classes for patients, families and staff. The next class will be Thursday, Aug. 29 from 4:45-5:45 p.m. at the IOL in Staunton Williams-Clark Social Room. Instructor is Valerie Raggio. Mats are pro-vided, or you can bring your own if you’d like. To RSVP or inquire, call 860-545-7716 or e-mail patriciac.graham@hhchealth.org.

Dementia Support GroupThe Dementia Support Education Group will meet on Tuesday, September 3 from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in the IOL Staunton-Williams Building, Clarke So-cial. It will be devoted to sharing success-es, challenges and resources as caretak-ers. We welcome new members! Please RSVP to Mary Cameron at ext. 5-7665.

Join the Bowling League!The Hartford Hospital Co-ed Bowling League will start on Wednes-day, Sept. 4, and run every Wednesday from 5-7 p.m. until April at the Bowl-O-Rama on the Berlin Turnpike. (Three person teams.) Cost is $18/week. Please contact Beth Clancy at 696-7028.

Mobile Mammography at Newington CampusThe Mobile Mammography Team will be offering screening mammograms to the HHC employees at the Newington cam-pus on Tuesday, Sept. 10 in the upper lot. These mammograms are offered for women over the age of 40 who have not had a screening mammogram in over one year and one day. We accept insur-ance, and if a woman has no insurance, we have donated funds to cover the cost of her screening. Call Diana Gonzalez at 545-1243 to schedule an appointment.

HealthStream Required Tests Must Be Complet-ed By Sept. 30 The 2013 Mandatory HealthStream As-signments are available online. All Hart-ford Hospital employees must complete this training no later than Sept. 30. There are consequences for non-completion of required training.