Dr. Gregory Woo, OB/Gyn, Joins HPS Top Performer for Flu ...

H A R R I N G T O N
Harrington
HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
Total Local Care
Volume 52 News for the Extended Harrington Family May 2012
M O O R E N O T E S
In recent months we have
been featuring at least one
story in each issue of HealthLines about our Quality
and Patient Safety initiatives and ratings.
We are proud of what we have accomplished.
Some of our victories have included:
■ Being cited by the independent healthcare
consulting firm Press Ganey for a “significant
increase” in improvement in our Patient
Satisfaction scores.
■ Winning an award for “Highest and Most
Improved” in a key stroke screening
indicator -- dysphagia.
■ Learning that our Patient Satisfaction scores in
two key areas for the last quarter of 2011
were in the top 10 of Massachusetts hospitals
tracked by Press Ganey.
■ Seeing our Outpatient Satisfaction scores rise
since the first quarter of 2009.
We will continue to share our Quality and Patient
Safety stories with you -- and the outside world.
This month we are starting a dedicated column,
called Quality Corner, which will highlight our
Quality and Patient Safety initiatives. This month,
our feature explains that the State Department of
Public Health has cited us as one of the top
performers in Massachusetts for vaccinating
employees against influenza.
We plan to share not only our good news stories
with you but also areas in which we feel that we
can improve. We hope that by being open and
transparent on issues of Quality and Patient Safety,
we will better serve our patients.
Sincerely,
Ed Moore
President & CEO
Introducing
The Quality
Corner
Valuable Auction Items Are Part Of Summer Soiree
Harrington’s Summer Soiree, called “Cruise Into Summer,” will include valuable auction items that will
be available through a raffle the week before the June 16 event. Some of the items, which will be on
display in the lobby in Southbridge, include a vacation time share valued at $1,000, a spa/relaxation
day at Canyon Ranch Resort in Lenox valued at $700, as well as restaurant gift cards, one-of-a-kind
paintings, a TV, piano lessons, jewelry, a high-end purse, a children’s bicycle and much more!
“Cruise Into Summer” is a fundraising dinner and dance to benefit the Harrington Auxiliary and
Harrington HealthCare System that begins with cocktails and auction items at 5:30 p.m. Saturday,
June 16 at the Southbridge Hotel and Conference Center. Dinner and dancing is at 7 p.m.
The event, organized by the Harrington Auxiliary in conjunction with Harrington HealthCare
System, will have a late 1950's to early 1960's theme, complete with music from that era.
Attendees should feel free to don their best ‘50s-‘60s attire or come in casual dress for the soiree.
Tickets are $65 per person. For more information about the event or the raffle or to purchase
tickets, call Kelly at Volunteer Services at 508-765-6472. Payroll deduction is available. ■
Dr. Gregory Woo, OB/Gyn, Joins HPS
Gregory Woo, M.D., an Obstetrics and Gynecology physician, has joined Harrington Physician
Services (HPS). He will join Drs. Christine Carey, Cindy Shiro, Mark Simonelli and Brittany Weber at
the 100 South Street office suite in Southbridge. He will also see patients at the HPS OB/Gyn office
at 61 North Main St. in Charlton. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Woo, please call
508-765-5981. He is accepting new patients. ■
Donation Honors Grandfather
Four generations of the Ritchotte family made a donation
to The Cancer Center at Harrington in Southbridge on
May 18 in honor of Gary Ritchotte, who was treated at
the center before he passed away in April. Gary’s
grandchildren sang and danced at his funeral reception
to raise money from family members. Thanking the family
are Harrington HealthCare System President and CEO Ed
Moore, in the center, and, on the right, Chief Operating
Officer Doug Crapser and Cancer Center Medical
Director Christopher Seidler, M.D. ■
QUALITY ✔ CORNER
Top Performer for Flu Vaccination
Harrington HealthCare System is one of the top performers in the state for vaccinating
employees against influenza, according to the State Department of Public Health.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health challenged all acute care hospitals in
Massachusetts to improve their rate of vaccination for the 2011-2012 flu season. Harrington’s
vaccination rate improved almost 40 percent this year, to 90.4 percent, compared to 65.2
percent last year. That puts us in the top 20 acute care hospitals in the state.
Harrington’s campaign to vaccinate its employees was led by the healthcare system’s Quality
and Patient Safety Department, headed by Kathleen Davis; the Infection Prevention Department,
headed by Sue Valentine, R.N.; and CompreCare, which provides occupational health services
to clients and is headed by Arleen Smith, R.N. Among other initiatives, Harrington provided flu
vaccinations to all departments via a traveling CompreCare nurse, put a “Flu Facts” screen saver
on all computers, and CompreCare sent weekly updated status reports to all managers. ■
H a r r i n g t o n H e a l t h C a r e S y s t e m • 1 0 0 S o u t h S t r e e t , S o u t h b r i d g e , M A 0 1 5 5 0 • 5 0 8 - 7 6 5 - 9 7 7 1 • w w w . h a r r i n g t o n h o s p i t a l . o r g

Lucky Duck Day
Raises More Than
$28,000
The Harrington Auxiliary’s Lucky Duck Day, held
April 29 at Westville Recreation Area, raised a
record $28,282.52 before expenses. A portion of
the proceeds is used to fund scholarships for
area residents who are studying healthcare.
“We would like to thank the community for
coming out to support this worthy cause,” said
Betsy Peppel, co-chair of the event. “By
supporting the Auxiliary at this event, the
community is helping not only Harrington
HealthCare System, but four residents from our
area who are studying healthcare.”
Helen Santilli, also a co-chair of the event,
added, “How does this event benefit the
community? It allows the Auxiliary to give a
scholarship of $4,000 each -- for a total of
$16,000 -- to four area students studying
healthcare. It also allows us to provide free
healthcare programs for the 17 communities
Harrington HealthCare services. Also we are
able to fund some non-budgeted items
requested by Harrington departments.”
The scholarships are funded by both donations
from local businesses and by the purchase of
duck tickets. Every ticket purchased has a
number, which coincides with the number on a
toy rubber duck. The ducks are dumped into a
wading pool. At the end of the event, there is a
Duck Pluck, where a large Lucky Duck, in a
duck costume, is blindfolded and pulls several
ducks from the pool. Those whose raffle ticket
numbers coincide with the number on the duck
win cash prizes. The remainder goes to the
Auxiliary fund. ■
W E L C O M E A B O A R D
Warren D. Blake —————— Dietary
Charlotte M. Boutillette ——————
Occupational Therapy
Jaelynn Colon —————— Dietary
Patricia Daguiar–Sibley ——————
Cardiology
Kim Daniel —————— Psychiatric Emergency
Services
Services
LeeAnn Desmarais —————— Inpatient Psychiatric Unit
Rachel Krans —————— Radiology
Michelle Lacombe —————— RN, HPS
Wendy Ligeti —————— Pre-Admission Testing
Jose Lugo ——————— Child and Family Services
Gretchen Marino —————— Emergency Care Center
Kathleen Meisler —————— Medical Assistant, HPS
Lisa J. Normandin —————— Emergency Care Center
Dorinda Ortiz —————— Patient Accounting
Danielle I. Rinehart —————— Dietary
John W. Shevlin —————— Environmental Services
Shruja Vaidya —————— Occupational Therapy
Carolyn P. Vancini —————— WIC
News for the Extended Harrington Family
Rolling Out Harrington On Wheels
Harrington On Wheels is going places. Our
35-foot Mobile Health Services vehicle makes it
possible to connect with our community in
ways we never thought possible. We have
brought Harrington On Wheels to public events
to spread the word about Harrington and the
services we offer. We will use this vehicle to
provide outreach and healthcare services
throughout our region.
Harrington On Wheels will be able to provide screenings, insurance registration and financial
counseling, women’s health and OB information, vaccinations and more. If you are interested in
having Harrington On Wheels visit an event or organization, please call 508-765-3006. ■
Webster Celebrates Three-Year Anniversary
The Webster campus celebrated its three-year
anniversary with a special employee lunch and ice
cream sundae bar May 1. Pictured, from left,
Cardiopulmonary Therapist Terri Kolesnik, Cardiopulmonary
Secretary Jane Manzi, and Respiratory
Therapy Manager Scott MacLean enjoy a burger with
some summer picnic sides. ■
Harrington Ranks In Top 5 At Heart Walk
Harrington HealthCare was one of the largest teams
representing the 2012 Central Mass. Heart Walk May 5
at Elm Park in Worcester. To date, Harrington has raised
nearly $8,000 of its $10,000 goal, placing in the Top 5
organizations participating.
Harrington Physician Services Cardiologist Paul
Santolucito was co-chair of the event. With his
encouragement and the assistance of Cardiac Rehab
Coordinator Judy Flannery, Harrington organized 20
teams and nearly 200 walkers – more than triple the number of participants in previous years.
With several team captains cheerleading the event for many weeks, as well as at several
pre-event activities including The Amazing Race, Harrington was one of the largest organizations
to attend the Central Mass. Heart Walk. ■
Giving Back During National Nurses Week
As part of National Nurses Week, May 6 -12, the Harrington nursing
staff collected non-perishable goods contributed from throughout
the healthcare system and donated them to the local food
pantry. Pictured, left to right: Ann Beaudry, Nurse Manager,
Maternal Child Health; Marsha Woodard, Nurse Manager Critical
Care; Cathy Montigny, Director of Nursing; Tom Hijeck, Vice
President of Nursing; Craig Langevin, PCA; Zhani Qirko, PCA. ■
45 Years Of Wonderful Service
We honored employees from all our campuses with
five years or more service at a special Service
Recognition night May 10 at the Oliver Wight Tavern
at Old Sturbridge Village. Receiving recognition were
employees with five years, 10 years, 15 years, up
through 45 years of service, in increments of five years.
Honored for 45 years of wonderful service was
Charlene Richard, our Vice President of Human
Resources, who started at Harrington Hospital when she was a teenager. She is shown here
accepting congratulations from Harrington HealthCare System President and CEO Ed Moore. ■
H a r r i n g t o n H e a l t h C a r e S y s t e m • 1 0 0 S o u t h S t r e e t , S o u t h b r i d g e , M A 0 1 5 5 0 • 5 0 8 - 7 6 5 - 9 7 7 1 • w w w . h a r r i n g t o n h o s p i t a l . o r g