Best Medicine Matters Fall 2009 - Mount Sinai Hospital
Best Medicine Matters Fall 2009 - Mount Sinai Hospital
Best Medicine Matters Fall 2009 - Mount Sinai Hospital
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FALL <strong>2009</strong><br />
he <strong>Best</strong><br />
<strong>Medicine</strong> <strong>Matters</strong><br />
Heartfelt Thanks: Gavin, Owen,<br />
Ian and Vicki McKenzie celebrate<br />
in utero procedure that repaired<br />
Océane McKenzie’s heart<br />
A PUBLICATION OF THE MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL FOUNDATION<br />
Giving Thanks:<br />
For rising to<br />
construction<br />
challenges;<br />
For donations<br />
supporting The<br />
<strong>Best</strong> <strong>Medicine</strong>;<br />
For lives saved.
Baby’s<br />
Heart<br />
Repaired<br />
Before<br />
Birth<br />
Dr. Ryan describes the procedure:<br />
“Under ultrasound guidance, we<br />
inserted a needle into the left ventricle<br />
of the baby’s heart and passed a guide<br />
wire and balloon through the narrowed<br />
aortic heart valve, and infl ated the<br />
balloon to open the valve.”<br />
“This intervention was minimally<br />
invasive for the mother and lifesaving for<br />
the baby,” says Dr. Ryan. “Océane’s heart<br />
condition improved almost immediately.”<br />
Océane McKenzie<br />
Vicki McKenzie knows a lot about the<br />
human heart. “I know the valves, the<br />
numbers, the gradients. I would never<br />
have known that a year ago,” she says.<br />
A year ago, McKenzie hadn’t heard the<br />
words that would send her and husband<br />
Ian on an incredible medical journey. “They<br />
Dr. Greg Ryan with Océane McKenzie<br />
said, ‘Your baby has a very sick heart.’” An<br />
ultrasound in Ottawa had revealed that<br />
the valve from her baby’s left ventricle<br />
was severely narrowed. Untreated,<br />
this would lead to a shrunken, scarred<br />
ventricle which would require several<br />
major surgeries to enable baby Océane<br />
to survive and which would drastically<br />
reduce her chances for a normal lifespan.<br />
Three days later, the McKenzies were in<br />
Toronto seeing Dr. Greg Ryan, head of<br />
the Fetal <strong>Medicine</strong> Unit at <strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong>,<br />
and Dr. Edgar Jaeggi, head of the Fetal<br />
Cardiac Program at SickKids. The team<br />
proposed an experimental in-utero<br />
surgical procedure that had never been<br />
successfully carried out in Canada.<br />
“The team were willing to try something<br />
they had never done before to save our<br />
child. It really touches our hearts,” said Vicki.<br />
“What they did in-utero saved her,”<br />
says Vicki. At four months old, Océane<br />
is adored by her brothers, Gavin, 7 and<br />
Owen, 4. She weighs nine pounds and<br />
is doing very well. She is living up to her<br />
name — inspired by the Pacifi c Ocean.<br />
“We named her just before the<br />
procedure,” says Vicki. “The ocean is<br />
deep, strong, stubborn and a miracle on<br />
its own — just like our little girl.”<br />
Donor Role in<br />
Medical First<br />
At a press conference announcing<br />
the successful procedure, Dr.<br />
Greg Ryan said the Philips IU22<br />
ultrasound machines used to<br />
diagnose Océane’s condition<br />
and for the procedure had been<br />
provided by donors.<br />
“These donors are very happy<br />
that their gifts have made such<br />
a tangible difference to this little<br />
girl,” said Dr. Ryan.<br />
“But the remainder of our<br />
ultrasound machines are ageing<br />
models, which urgently need to<br />
be replaced,” he added. “Only<br />
with the best equipment can we<br />
help our tiny unborn patients,<br />
right from the start.”
Donors Keep NICU<br />
Equipment Current<br />
Jason Macartney with donor-funded<br />
equipment in the Valentine Neonatal<br />
Intensive Care Unit<br />
“I can’t express how much this means<br />
to our patients and families,” says Jason<br />
Macartney, Registered Respiratory Therapist,<br />
Clinical Co-ordinator for the Valentine<br />
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).<br />
Macartney is talking about equipment<br />
donations. “These gifts allow the<br />
acquisition of infant ventilators that<br />
support the breathing of some of our<br />
smallest patients, infusion pumps that<br />
deliver medications to patients and<br />
transport equipment that allows us to take<br />
patients for diagnostic tests or to a facility<br />
closer to home for the family,” he says.<br />
New physiological monitors are another<br />
critical need. “Physiological monitors<br />
are a much-needed component in the<br />
care of the critically ill neonates,” says<br />
Rheney Castillo, Senior Director, Women’s<br />
and Infants’ Health and Nursing. “The<br />
monitors are designed to measure<br />
specifi c parameters such as temperature,<br />
heart rate, breathing rate, oxygen<br />
saturation, blood pressure. This helps<br />
clinicians to assess the neonate and<br />
make decisions about their care.”<br />
“We are grateful that donors<br />
recognize the immense value of these<br />
sophisticated monitors,” says Castillo.<br />
The benefi ts of equipment donations<br />
go well beyond the hardware. As<br />
Macartney says, “Being able to put the<br />
best technology and equipment at the<br />
bedside for our staff goes a long way in<br />
promoting a culture of excellence in our<br />
workplace. It creates a sense of pride<br />
and commitment and helps us to retain<br />
the best and the brightest people.”<br />
Welcome to The <strong>Best</strong> <strong>Medicine</strong> <strong>Matters</strong>! The timing of this edition, so close to<br />
Thanksgiving, inspired us to gather stories with a ‘giving thanks’ theme.<br />
This theme gives me a perfect opportunity to thank you, our wonderful donors. Every<br />
day, I see the evidence of your contributions — in the new addition to our Murray<br />
Street tower, in new equipment, in every exciting research discovery. I see your<br />
contributions, too, in the heartwarming sight of families taking home their new little<br />
boy or girl — and occasionally both!<br />
<strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong> <strong>Hospital</strong> and the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute continue to go from<br />
strength to strength because you have chosen to make us your philanthropic priority. I<br />
am very grateful for all that you do.<br />
I hope you enjoy the stories in this newsletter. And I hope you also enjoy our newly<br />
expanded Giving Catalogue, which we’re promoting in this edition. The Giving<br />
Catalogue and our Holiday Cards offer many wonderful ways to show your gratitude<br />
and appreciation to friends, family and colleagues. With the holiday season fast<br />
approaching, I hope you will be inspired to give great gifts with great meaning.<br />
Warm regards,<br />
Susan Horvath<br />
President, <strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong> <strong>Hospital</strong> Foundation<br />
3
Legacy Helps Build Future Science<br />
Three young scientists at the Samuel<br />
Lunenfeld Research Institute of <strong>Mount</strong><br />
<strong>Sinai</strong> <strong>Hospital</strong> have made strides toward<br />
redefining the diagnosis, treatment and<br />
prevention of cancer — work made<br />
possible through legacy gifts. When Doris<br />
Mack made a gift in her will to support<br />
trainees in honour of her late husband<br />
Harold she may not have realized the<br />
impact it would have.<br />
PhD candidate Kelly Seto received a<br />
bursary to work in Dr. Irene Andrulis’s<br />
lab, where she is studying familial<br />
ovarian cancer. “Every day I’m thankful<br />
to be in the presence of such gifted<br />
researchers,” says Seto. “Nowhere else<br />
could I experience such a strong link<br />
between what happens in the lab, and<br />
its application to hospital care.”<br />
Ian Taylor, a PhD candidate and<br />
bursary recipient working with<br />
Senior Investigator Dr. Jeff Wrana,<br />
PhD candidate Kelly Seto, with Doris<br />
Mack’s attorney and executor of her<br />
estate, John Honsberger<br />
contributed to the development of<br />
‘DyNeMo’ — a diagnostic tool for<br />
breast cancer patients. He explains<br />
that donations fund research and help<br />
investigators pay for grant applications<br />
that can attract even greater funding to<br />
the Lunenfeld.<br />
Postdoctoral fellow Nadine Kolas and her<br />
colleagues in Dr. Daniel Durocher’s lab<br />
recently discovered two new genes that<br />
help cells avoid cancer-causing mutations.<br />
“Research institutes need to keep the<br />
best people in science,” says Kolas.<br />
“Thanks to donor support, the Lunenfeld<br />
is showing how to do it.”<br />
For You<br />
Dr. Allison<br />
McGeer, H1N1<br />
spokesperson,<br />
will appear in<br />
the fall series<br />
of <strong>Sinai</strong> Speaks<br />
An exciting fall lecture series debuts<br />
soon. Exclusively for donors, <strong>Sinai</strong> Speaks<br />
features <strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong> experts discussing<br />
hot health care topics.<br />
The first event takes place on November 23.<br />
Andrea Clark, Clinical Dietitian, will reveal<br />
myths about nutrition and offer tips on how<br />
to eat well to live well. Influenza is the focus<br />
of our second lecture, on November 30,<br />
with Dr. Allison McGeer, Director, Infection<br />
Control, and Christine Moore, Infection<br />
Control Practitioner. Dr. McGeer has been<br />
a key H1N1 spokesperson in the media, and<br />
together with Moore, she will discuss<br />
how to protect yourself against the flu.<br />
“<strong>Sinai</strong> Speaks was developed specifically<br />
for our donors,” says Joan Stevens, Vice-<br />
President, Donor Engagement, <strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong><br />
<strong>Hospital</strong> Foundation. “We received great<br />
feedback from previous lecture events and<br />
we know our donors want health information<br />
that’s useful for their daily lives.”<br />
Lectures will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the<br />
<strong>Hospital</strong>’s Ben Sadowski Auditorium on the<br />
18th floor. Presentations will be followed<br />
by a Q&A session. For more information<br />
please visit www.mshfoundation.ca/<br />
NetCommunity/sinaispeaks or contact<br />
Celane Chan at 416-586-8203 ext. 8476<br />
or cchan2@mtsinai.on.ca.<br />
Exclusive Lecture<br />
Series for Donors —<br />
You’re Invited!<br />
November 23<br />
Hot Topics in Nutrition<br />
With Andrea Clark, Clinical Dietitian<br />
November 30<br />
The Flu and You<br />
With Dr. Allison McGeer and<br />
Christine Moore<br />
All events begin at 5:30 p.m.<br />
and take place in the Ben<br />
Sadowski Auditorium on the<br />
18th floor, <strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong> <strong>Hospital</strong>.<br />
Join Us! http://mshfoundation.ca/NetCommunity/sinaispeaks<br />
Sign up now using the<br />
enclosed coupon!
Patients Thank Bright Minds and Big Hearts<br />
Nora Perry<br />
“Not to worry, we’ll help you.” These were<br />
the reassuring words spoken to Nora Perry<br />
when she was recently diagnosed with<br />
breast cancer and reunited with a nurse<br />
who treated her when she was in the<br />
hospital 23 years ago.<br />
Nora has a long history with <strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong><br />
<strong>Hospital</strong>. In 1984, after finding a lump<br />
on her back, she was brought to <strong>Mount</strong><br />
<strong>Sinai</strong> and diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma.<br />
For 11 months she was in and out of the<br />
<strong>Hospital</strong> undergoing several surgeries<br />
and eight rounds of chemotherapy. “I<br />
fully expected that the cancer would<br />
come back,” says Nora, but in fact she<br />
ended up having 23 perfectly healthy<br />
and cancer-free years. She attributes this<br />
to the wonderful care she received from<br />
doctors and nurses who she describes as<br />
respectful, caring, thoughtful and kind.<br />
About her recent diagnosis, Nora says,<br />
“I wouldn’t want to be treated anywhere<br />
else. If you have to go through something<br />
like this it’s nice to know you’re going<br />
somewhere where the professionals are<br />
so empathetic and kind.” She speaks<br />
highly of all of her <strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong> caregivers,<br />
from the massage therapists, to<br />
her doctors, to the Reiki therapist who<br />
provided tremendous emotional support.<br />
“This is as good as it gets,” says Nora. “It<br />
does not get any better than <strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong>.”<br />
Hamza Al Mathno<br />
Dear Madam/Sir,<br />
My name is Hamza, I am three weeks old. I<br />
was born at <strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong> <strong>Hospital</strong> on April 4,<br />
<strong>2009</strong>. Many thanks to the professional and<br />
dedicated staff that took care of my mother<br />
and me while we were hospitalized.<br />
I would like to participate in supporting<br />
<strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong> <strong>Hospital</strong> so other kids and<br />
patients can benefit from the care you<br />
provide. Enclosed is my donation to<br />
<strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong> <strong>Hospital</strong>.<br />
Thank you,<br />
Baby boy Hamza Al Mathno<br />
Young donor<br />
Hamza Al Mathno<br />
Christine & John Schuman<br />
When Christine Schuman was 18 weeks<br />
pregnant, an ultrasound revealed that her<br />
unborn baby had a urinary tract obstruction<br />
that was causing problems with his<br />
bladder and kidneys. Christine was referred<br />
to Dr. Greg Ryan and eventually a bladder<br />
shunt was inserted into the baby’s bladder<br />
to relieve the pressure and attempt to<br />
save his kidney function.<br />
“Dr. Ryan and the nurses and fellows<br />
were very compassionate and understood<br />
what an emotional and difficult time we<br />
were going through,” says Christine.<br />
Jack Schuman had<br />
a bladder shunt<br />
inserted before birth<br />
The procedure was successful and<br />
Christine was monitored until her son<br />
was born at 38 weeks weighing 8<br />
pounds 4 ounces. The shunt stayed in<br />
past delivery and did its job preserving<br />
her baby’s kidney function. Christine<br />
and her husband John say they had a<br />
wonderful birthing experience at <strong>Mount</strong><br />
<strong>Sinai</strong> and they can’t thank Dr. Ryan and<br />
his team enough for everything they did.<br />
“We know if it were not for the talented<br />
and committed professionals in the Special<br />
Pregnancy Unit, our son may not have lived,<br />
or if he did, he would have serious kidney<br />
problems,” says Christine. “We are so lucky<br />
to have him and we’re grateful that we are<br />
able to go to a hospital like <strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong>.”<br />
Upcoming Events<br />
For details, please see the Calendar of Events at www.mshfoundation.ca or call 416-586-8203.<br />
Monthly<br />
Online Auction for Chronic Pain at<br />
www.nhl.com, hosted by AJ Sports<br />
World. All proceeds go to Miriam’s<br />
Fund, Wasser Pain Management<br />
Centre at <strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong>.<br />
November 12, 6:30 p.m.<br />
Leadership <strong>Sinai</strong> Dinner with Scientists<br />
<strong>2009</strong>; $180 per person<br />
November 28, 4 p.m.<br />
<strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong> Day at Marlies<br />
$5 from every ticket purchased through<br />
<strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong> <strong>Hospital</strong><br />
December 3, noon to 1:30 p.m.<br />
Leadership <strong>Sinai</strong> Lunch with Leaders<br />
featuring David Rosenberg, Chief<br />
Economist and Strategist, Gluskin Sheff;<br />
members $25; non-members $35
Rising to Construction<br />
Challenges<br />
Patients, visitors and staff have been understanding of disruptions caused during construction of the new Lawrence and Frances<br />
Bloomberg Centre for Women’s and Infants’ Health<br />
“I would really like to thank everyone<br />
for their incredible patience,” says Altaf<br />
Stationwala, Senior Vice-President,<br />
Operations and Re-development at<br />
<strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong> <strong>Hospital</strong>. “This has been<br />
a very challenging undertaking; one<br />
that has been made easier with the<br />
understanding of visitors to the <strong>Hospital</strong>.”<br />
Stationwala is referring to <strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong>’s<br />
ambitious redevelopment project, which<br />
has just reached another major milestone.<br />
The shell of the six-storey expansion of<br />
what will become the new Lawrence and<br />
Frances Bloomberg Centre for Women’s<br />
and Infants’ Health has been completed<br />
and outfitting the space has begun.<br />
Every construction project has its challenges,<br />
but the complex task of upgrading<br />
structures and building new spaces within<br />
the confines of a working hospital takes a<br />
delicate approach. Stationwala has been<br />
responsible not only for keeping the project<br />
on track, but at the same time minimizing<br />
disruption to patients, staff and visitors<br />
caused by construction-related road closures<br />
and out-of-service elevators. It requires<br />
extraordinary timing and co-ordination, and<br />
a generous helping of compassion to ensure<br />
that patients’ safety and comfort are upheld.<br />
Stationwala expects periodic delays will<br />
continue, but he says there is light at the<br />
end of the tunnel. “The impact of the past<br />
year’s disruptions will materialize in this<br />
phase of construction, as we begin to see<br />
the tangible benefit of the new space.”<br />
The new Centre has been designed<br />
to integrate state-of-the-art medical<br />
technology and infection control<br />
processes, allow natural light, conserve<br />
energy, and fulfill the comfort, safety<br />
and privacy needs of patients and staff.<br />
When it opens in 2010, patients and visitors<br />
can expect a warm, welcoming and healing<br />
environment, and an efficient, modern<br />
and comfortable workplace that will help<br />
our doctors, nurses and staff further the<br />
delivery of patient- and family-centred care.<br />
6
Lowering Barriers to<br />
Mammogram Access<br />
When Linda Muraca, Nurse-Clinician in <strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong>’s Marvelle<br />
Koffler Breast Centre, was asked in 2007 by the Centre for<br />
Independent Living in Toronto (CILT) to do presentations on<br />
breast health for women with disabilities, she thought, “That’s<br />
interesting.” And so it was.<br />
“I thought the problems they were sharing with us were<br />
isolated, but I kept hearing more disturbing stories,” said<br />
Muraca. Women told her about going for a mammogram, only<br />
to find that the machine couldn’t move to accommodate them.<br />
They talked about encounters with health care staff who would<br />
speak only to their caregivers or family members. They talked<br />
about entering a mammography room in a wheelchair, and<br />
being asked to “hop up on the table.”<br />
“Many of these women had a family history of breast cancer,<br />
but their doctors would gloss over it, saying they had enough to<br />
deal with already,” says Muraca.<br />
The CILT sessions inspired Gateways to Cancer Screening,<br />
a project that became part of Muraca’s Masters in Nursing<br />
coursework at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing,<br />
University of Toronto. Muraca teamed up with Nancy Barry,<br />
CILT’s peer support and volunteer co-ordinator, whose own<br />
negative mammogram experience inspired her to invite Muraca<br />
to CILT in the first place. Five focus groups were led in Toronto<br />
and Peel Region.<br />
“Accessibility issues are very widespread,” says Barry. Fortunately,<br />
the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre offers quite good access. “The<br />
doorways are wide enough so that women can comfortably<br />
wheel in, the machines move up and down, and that lowers<br />
the patients’ anxiety,” says Muraca. The change rooms aren’t<br />
wheelchair accessible, but staff now suggest that women with<br />
disabilities simply change in the mammography room.<br />
<strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong> Breast Imaging staff, Muraca adds, have been<br />
extremely supportive. “Some women who have had horrible<br />
previous experiences have come here and been very happy,”<br />
she says. By asking all new patients if they need any special<br />
accommodation, staff ensure that women with disabilities<br />
receive extra appointment time and an extra technician to<br />
assist with the mammogram procedure.<br />
The Gateways momentum continues. Muraca, Barry and colleagues<br />
have received funding from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation<br />
to develop an educational strategy designed to improve the breast<br />
cancer experience for women with disabilities.<br />
“The idea is to get the information from the women right to<br />
the health-care providers,” says Barry. The program will employ<br />
scenarios revealed by Gateways to develop DVDs that can be<br />
used in training health-care staff. Barry describes their plan as<br />
“a Disability Awareness 101.”<br />
“We work in a rushed environment at times, but it’s all about<br />
listening and respect,” says Muraca.<br />
7
1001 – 522 University Avenue<br />
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1W7<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We’re building a better future for women and infants, Right from the Start. See our website for information.<br />
Research Creates The <strong>Best</strong> <strong>Medicine</strong> — read all about it at www.mshfoundation.ca.<br />
Big Thanks from a Little Boy<br />
Cooper White points to his dove<br />
By all accounts, Cooper White’s ninth<br />
birthday party was pretty spectacular. It<br />
was held at a gymnastics facility with<br />
a sponge pit and climbing ropes and a<br />
sponge wall that the birthday boy knocked<br />
down himself. Wrapped up with all the<br />
fun and games was a serious endeavour<br />
— fundraising for <strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong>’s Valentine<br />
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). For<br />
the second year in a row, Cooper asked his<br />
friends for donations, instead of birthday<br />
gifts. Cooper’s generosity inspired his<br />
friends to respond in kind, and he raised<br />
over $500 for the NICU.<br />
“I wanted to thank the nurses and I<br />
wanted to help the little babies again,”<br />
Cooper said as he handed his birthday<br />
donation to Melissa Cooper, RN, NICU,<br />
accompanied by his younger brother,<br />
Wyatt, and his parents, Cathy Coulthard<br />
and David White.<br />
Not so long ago, Cooper was one of those<br />
“little babies”. “I weighed about 2.5 lb.<br />
when I was born,” he said. Cooper spent<br />
almost three weeks in <strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong>’s NICU<br />
before he was transferred to a hospital<br />
closer to his family’s Burlington home.<br />
“What he’s done is so great,” said<br />
Melissa Cooper. “It’s amazing to get this<br />
much appreciation.”<br />
“It’s all his own idea,” said Cathy. “He<br />
talks about it a lot, the fact that if people<br />
hadn’t donated to <strong>Mount</strong> <strong>Sinai</strong> before, he<br />
might not be here. He has one of those<br />
doves with his name on it on the wall,<br />
and we used to drop by and look at it.”<br />
“I saw it on the way here today,” said<br />
Cooper. Clearly, he’s a boy who makes the<br />
most of every minute — and every birthday.<br />
1001 – 522 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1W7<br />
t 416-586-8203 f 416-586-8639 foundation@mtsinai.on.ca www.mshfoundation.ca<br />
Charitable Registration #119048106 RR0001<br />
DM09I<br />
<strong>2009</strong>03155