Experiencing Patient Safety Fridays - New York Presbyterian Hospital

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Getting to Know You Andreas Couraud, NYP/Columbia Q: Why did you want to work at NYP? A: After working in occupational medicine for a major commuter railroad, I wanted to return to a more clinical setting. Working for NYP lets me practice my specialty in one of the best hospitals in the nation. Richard Lobell Andreas Couraud Q: What is your name, and what is your job here at NewYork-Presbyterian? A: My name is Andreas Couraud. I am a nurse practitioner with Workforce Health & Safety at NYP/ Columbia. Q: How long have you been at NYP? A: I’ve been here since July of 1998. Q: What does “We Put Patients First” mean to you? A: To me, placing “patients first” means that as practitioners we ought to strive to form alliances with the people we have the privilege to care for. Our clinical expertise only goes as far as it is accepted by patients. We must offer clinical solutions that make sense to our patients. Q: What’s your favorite type of music, and why? A: Anything that fits in my MP3 player, from the Allman Brothers to Zachary Richard. Q: What’s the best part of your job? A: I enjoy working with a very diverse population in an ambulatory care setting. Workforce Health & Safety sees employees from all departments and all services, so I have contact with a lot of different people, each coming with an interesting background. Q: What do you do in your spare time? A: I run a bit, training for my sixth marathon. I plan to run the upcoming New York City Marathon in November. Q: What three things are we likely to always find in your refrigerator? A: Water, juice and soy milk. Andreas Couraud examined Sandra Broadhurst, N.P. In 2008, NYP employees made 87,595 visits to Workforce Health & Safety clinics. Richard Lobell Dr. Pardes speaks with Maria Bartiromo on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” Dr. Pardes Weighs In on National Health Care Debate As the national debate on health care reform continues, NYP employees can take pride in knowing that Dr. Pardes is playing an important role in this conversation by putting forward issues that affect not only NYP as an institution, but also the care and safety of our patients. Since June 1, Dr. Pardes has been sharing his thoughts with the public through appearances on CNBC’s “Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo,” National Public Radio’s “The Takeaway,” MSNBC’s “Dr. Nancy,” and CNN’s “American Morning.” He has also appeared on NY1, Fox Business News, and The Economist magazine’s online video series, “Tea with The Economist.” Dr. Pardes’ opinions have been published in op-ed pieces in the Daily News and The Washington Times. He advocates retaining individual choice in the selection of insurance policies and health care providers, streamlining medical billing and collections, continued support for hospitals that care for the poor, making health care a mandatory part of school curricula for children, and having all stakeholders, as he puts it, “share the pain” that any change may bring. “My main concern, at the end of the day, is that people throughout the country should have access to quality health care,” he told Ms. Bartiromo. “We should not tolerate the fact that so many people don’t have access to medical coverage.” • NYPress 2 SEPTEMBER 2009
Experiencing Patient Safety Fridays (Continued from page 1) charged and ready for use. As we walked down the hall looking for staff to interact with regarding the extinguishers, a gentleman walked up and asked, “Can I help you? Are you lost?” I smiled and introduced myself to George, who was an NYP employee in charge of keeping the floors on the unit clean. I told him that we were going to check the fire extinguishers as part of Patient Safety Friday. “Here, let me help you,” he said. He lifted an extinguisher from the wall and pointed out the inspection tag. “We always make sure the extinguishers are charged and regularly inspected.” I was impressed; George really knew his stuff. “So, do you know how to use a fire extinguisher?” he asked. I explained that I had never actually handled one so George offered to do a quick demonstration. “It helps to remember the word PASS,” he said. “That means you pull the pin near the lever, aim the nozzle at the base of the fire, squeeze the level slowly and sweep from side to side. Why don’t you try it?” He handed me the fire extinguisher and we walked through the four steps of how to use an extinguisher in the event of a fire. “I didn’t know about aiming at the base of the fire,” I said. “Well,” George laughed, “I guess we all learned something this morning!” We continued to survey the area and spoke with other staff on the unit about keeping logbooks up to date and making sure medication drawers are locked as required. Susan and I thanked the team and prepared to leave to report back on our tracer experience. As we waited for the elevator, I noticed George walking toward us. “I hope I was helpful today,” he said. “It’s just that I want to help people learn how to keep us all safe in case of an emergency. It’s really important.” George was absolutely right — and I’ll never look at a fire extinguisher the same way again! • GET YOUR FLU SHOT! NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has long recognized that getting vaccinated against the flu is the best way to protect ourselves, our families, and our patients. For the first time, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) has issued an Emergency Order mandating all health care workers to be vaccinated against the flu by November 30. Please visit the Infonet home page to find out where and when you can get your flu shot. nyp @ night “It’s Up to Us to Solve Problems as Quickly as Possible” One of an estimated 3,500 NYP employees who work evenings and nights at NYP, Patrick Sweeney is an Information Services Specialist at the 333 East 38th Street site. He described his work to NYPress reporter Gabriel Miller. For the last 10 years, I’ve worked the night shift at NYP. I work 12½-hour shifts on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights, beginning at 7:30 p.m. My main job is monitoring all of the electronic systems. At night everything that is run by computer at the Hospital is our responsibility. When most people are sleeping, my body and my mind have to be in high gear. Many people think that computers are “automatic” and invincible. But they do mal- Richard Lobell function, and when they do, it’s up to us to identify the problem and solve it as quickly as possible. A seemingly small problem can have important consequences for Hospital staff if we don’t fix it right away. If, for example, the server that handles printing prescription labels goes offline, medications might be delayed. When a pharmacist calls the help desk with a problem like this one, ultimately it’s my job to restart the system and make sure that the Pharmacy’s electronic operations are running smoothly. People are often surprised by how interconnected NYP’s information systems are. We have more than 1,000 interfaces among our systems at NYP/Allen, NYP/Westchester, and the Columbia and Cornell campuses. In addition, we support IT systems at a number of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System institutions. So we get IT network help calls from both NYP and various System hospitals. I was brought in during the merger of New York Hospital and Presbyterian Hospital because of my knowledge of large networks. The merger was a huge technological challenge, and I worked seven days a week for months. Lately we’ve been working on NYP’s electronic records system. The Hospital has been a pioneer in this field, and it’s our job to make sure that we continue to lead the way. All my life, I’ve worked night shifts. After 40 years, I jokingly tell people I’m basically a nocturnal creature. It began as a matter of Patrick Sweeney During his 7:30 p.m. to 8 a.m. shift, Patrick Sweeney monitors all the electronic systems of not only NYP sites but also of a number of hospitals in the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System. convenience between me and my wife after our children were born. After 10 years, my wife, a teacher, wanted to go back to work, and it made sense for us to alternate “shifts” with the children at home. Now my sons are grown, and working nights gives me a new set of unique opportunities. For example, during the day I deliver meals to the elderly with Meals on Wheels in Staten Island. It’s rewarding for me personally and also gives volunteer support at a time when most other people are unavailable to help. I’m an active guy, and when I get home from work, I’m rarely tired enough to sleep. I’ll make a cup of tea and see my wife off to work, read the newspaper and do a few chores around the house before I go to bed, around noon. And at 64, I don’t have any plans to slow down. I still find my job challenging and fulfilling. I’ll eventually retire, but as long as I have the ability to do the best I can, I’ll keep working to keep the IT systems running smoothly all night long. • Richard Lobell SEPTEMBER 2009 3 NYPress
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Experiencing Patient Safety Fridays - New York Presbyterian Hospital

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