Staff Who Do Not Get Flu Shots to Wear Masks - Harrington ...

H A R R I N G T O N
Harrington
HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
Total Local Care
Volume 46 News for the Extended Harrington Family November 2011
M O O R E N O T E S
The holiday season is upon
us, and everywhere around us people are giving
-- to the community, to causes they favor, to those
less fortunate then themselves.
I’ve seen so much of this spirit from our employees
and volunteers recently. At this special time of
year, this issue of HealthLines illustrates some of
our works of charity. I thank you all for reaching
out to the community. That really is what TLC --
Total Local Care -- is all about. Here are some of
the members of the Harrington Family behind two
recent events that underscored our commitment
to the community.
■ So many members of our Management Team
volunteered their time to help serve meals to
veterans at the two veterans luncheons
Harrington hosted, one in Webster and one in
Southbridge. Although dozens of employees
helped make these events a success, I’d like to
give special thanks to the two organizers --
Blaine Schnare in Marketing and David
Langevin in Nutrition Services. And thanks to Dr.
Jim Sullivan, the Chief of our Emergency Care
Center, recently arrived back home from
Afghanistan, where he was on active duty
caring for the needs of our military, who shared
his experiences with the veterans at the
Southbridge luncheon.
■ Our departments donated goods to the Festival
of (Giving) Trees basket that will be raffled off to
help fight cancer. Our basket, which contains
dozens of beautiful items, is worth more than
$3,000. Thanks to our Auxiliary for initiating this
process, and to Rae-Lynn Salisbury of Nutrition
and Kelly Hibbard of Volunteer Services for
helping put together the basket.
Sincerely,
This Is
Indeed A
Season to
Give
Ed Moore, President & CEO
Staff Who Do Not Get
Flu Shots to Wear Masks
In order to ensure the safest possible environment for our patients, employees and visitors during
flu season, Harrington HealthCare System will require all employees, physicians and volunteers
who do not receive the flu vaccine to wear surgical masks when they are within six feet of
patients or if they are in patient areas. We are taking this step because we consider the
vaccination of hospital workers to be critical to patient safety. Hospital workers can be very
prone to contracting this disease if they are not vaccinated, and they can become infectious
days before they show any symptoms.
Workers, including volunteers, who have not received a vaccination will be required to wear the
mask when they are within six feet of a patient or when they enter a patient room, cubicle,
procedure room or examination room. The requirement to wear a mask will commence at the
beginning of a flu outbreak in the area and will last through the end of flu season, as determined
by the Harrington Infection Prevention Department and the state Department of Public Health. ■
Serving Those Who Served Us All
In appreciation for all local community members who
have served our country, Harrington recently held its
annual Veterans luncheons in Southbridge and Webster.
On Thursday, Nov. 10, nearly 75 veterans joined together
at the Southbridge Hotel and Conference Center to
enjoy a delicious meal prepared by the Hotel staff. Guest
speakers included Harrington Chief of Emergency
Medicine, Dr. James Sullivan, CEO Ed Moore and State
Representative Peter Durant.
Four days later, more than 100 veterans attended the Web-
Harrington Phlebotomy Supervisor Diana Fishwick
serves lunch to Webster area Veterans during the
annual appreciation luncheon, held in Webster.
ster luncheon at Point Breeze Restaurant, where Harrington Nutrition Services prepared a hot stuffed
chicken dinner. More than two dozen members of Harrington’s Management Team helped serve
their guests. State Representative Kevin Kuros and State Senator Richard Moore joined Administrator
Pam Zouranjian Connor and Ed Moore to address the crowd and express their gratitude. ■
Harrington Dramatically Improves
Heart Attack Response Time
Harrington HealthCare System has dramatically improved its response time for treating STEMI
heart-attack victims who are brought by ambulance to its two Emergency Departments.
Harrington’s Southbridge campus average time of 24 minutes from arrival in the Emergency
Department, through assessment and treatment, to departure for angioplasty at University of
Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center is the best among hospitals that admit to UMass Memorial.
Harrington’s time of 24 minutes is well below the 30-minute target, set by UMass in order to
facilitate “door-to-balloon time” of 90 minutes, a national standard.
“I’m extremely proud of the performance of our Emergency Department nurses and physicians
and our EMS partners, who have worked diligently to improve our response time,” said Thomas
Hijeck, Vice President of Nursing for Harrington, who, along with Interim Emergency Room Chief
J. Court Stephens, M.D., spearheaded the project to improve Harrington’s response time. ■
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

Webster Harvest Festival
Harrington participated in Webster’s first
October Harvest Festival on Oct. 29. The festival
moved indoors at the Town Hall Auditorium
because of snow! Shown at the Harrington
table welcoming October Festival visitors are
(on left) Webster Site Administrator Pamela
Zouranjian Connor and Meredith Moseley,
Physical Therapy. ■
Get Up And Go
Health Fair
Harrington HealthCare participated in the
Mapfre Employee Health Fair, held Thursday,
Oct. 28 at Mapfre Insurance in Webster. Occupational
Therapist Audrey Weston provided grip
strength testing to more than 500 employees
who came through the annual event.
Harrington was one of several vendors who
offered healthy tips, screenings and freebies. ■
W E L C O M E A B O A R D
Dr. Thomas Babatunde ——————————
Webster Physician
Rita Dubois —————————— Cancer Center
Amanda – Lyn Espino ——————————
Medical Surgical Unit
Michelle Ferro ——————————
Medical Surgical Unit
Judith Galbraith ——————————
Anesthesiology
Laura Raymond ——————————
WIC Program
Joshua Somers ——————————
Receptionist, HPS
Allison Stanwick ——————————
ECC
Gerrilynn Szamocki ——————————
ECC
Thomas Babatunde ——————————
Webster physician
Margarita Veras ——————————
Medical Surgical Unit
News for the Extended Harrington Family
Helping Out In Kathmandu
Be Bold
Be Bald
Everyone at one time or another has
had a friend, acquaintance or family
member affected by breast cancer.
Paula Lavallee, RN, who has three
friends battling breast cancer,
mentioned to the Harrington
Physician Services staff at Harrington
HealthCare at Charlton that she
would be participating in the Be Bold Be Bald campaign. The office staff joined in. Thus far, they
have raised $700 to fight breast cancer. Pictured from left to right: Lavallee, Shylah Hippert,
Melanie Rossi and Amanda Dicesare. Missing from the photo Dr. Martin Devine, Dr. Brenda
Geddis-Comrie, Laurie Germain and Katherine McAvey. ■
A Tisket, A Tasket,
A Harrington TLC
Employee Basket
Employees from all three campuses donated gifts to a
Harrington Festival of (Giving) Trees “basket,” which is
actually in the shape of a tree, to play on the Festival of
(Giving) Trees theme. Employees donated more than
$3,000 worth of gifts to put on the tree, which will be raffled
off at the Festival of (Giving) Trees in LaSalle Hall in
Southbridge on Dec. 4. The Festival has displays of over 100
unique holiday trees. All proceeds fight breast cancer and
support cancer research. One third of the proceeds from
the Festival go to The Cancer Center at Harrington. ■
When John Arsenault, P.A.-C., Orthopedic
Surgery, embarked on a trek to Nepal recently,
he combine philanthropy with pleasure. John
went to Nepal to trek the mountain paths and
visit Mt. Everest. But he also made a goodwill
stop in Kathmandu, where he donated
medical equipment and supplies to The
Hospital and Rehabilitative Center for Disabled
Children. Shown is John (left) with Dr. Banskota
of the hospital. “The staff and patients at the
hospital were extremely appreciative, and they
asked me to pass on their thanks to those who
donated or participated in this effort,” John
said. “It’s our way of giving some TLC -- Total
Local Care -- on the other side of the world.” ■
Flu Shots In The
Community
As part of its outreach efforts to the community,
Harrington HealthCare staffers administered flu
shots at the Church Bazaar at Blessed John Paul
II parish on Nov. 6. Here, Laurie Austin, RN, (right)
from CompreCare, gives a shot. ■
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