A Heartfelt Gift - Washington Hospital Center

WASHINGTON
HOSPITAL CENTER
FOUNDATION
FALL 2010 CenterConnections
INSIDE…
Hospital Center
Welcomes
New President
Forming Healthy
Foundations
Nuclear Medicine
Expands
New Program for
Breast Cancer
Survivors
Golf & Tennis
Classic Raises
$209,000
The Power of Philanthropy
A Heartfelt Gift
DONATION MAKES VISION A REALITY
Thanks to a $2 million grant from The Morris
and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, patients
and caregivers at Washington Hospital Center
will soon experience a world-class facility for the
treatment of heart rhythm disorders.
The grant will support a $6 million project
to expand and renovate the hospital’s Cardiac
Electrophysiology (EP) Laboratories.
continued on page 5
Zayd Eldadah, MD, PhD, co-director
of EP Labs at Washington Hospital
Center, reviews plans for the facility
with Calvin Cafritz, president, CEO
and chairman of The Morris and
Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.

Hospital Center
Welcomes
New President
Washington Hospital Center recently
welcomed John Sullivan, a health
care executive with more than 25
years of experience, as our new president.
“John has extensive experience leading
clinical quality, patient safety and service
excellence improvement efforts—all of
which are vital to the Hospital Center at this
time,” shares Marc N. Duber, chairman of
the Hospital Center’s board of directors.
John Sullivan
“We are very pleased to have someone
of John’s caliber—with both hospital and
system experience that closely mirrors
ours—join the Hospital Center and MedStar
team,” adds M. Joy Drass, MD, executive vice
president, operations—Washington Region,
MedStar Health. “This will better ensure a
quick and smooth transition of leadership.”
Before joining the Hospital Center,
Sullivan spent five years with the Sisters
of Mercy Health System in Chesterfield,
Missouri, serving as chief executive officer,
and before that, as chief operating officer.
He was also executive vice president of the
Loyola University Health System in Chicago,
Illinois, for six years, and held several
executive roles within Resurrection Health
Care, also in Chicago, in the 1990s.
Sullivan received an undergraduate degree
in biology and chemistry from Marquette
University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and a
master’s degree in hospital and health care
administration from The University of Iowa
in Iowa City. ✹
2
Women Encouraged
to Listen to Their Hearts
Even though heart disease is the
number one killer of women in this
country, many people still think of
it as a “man’s disease.” Because women’s
symptoms can be different than men’s,
women are often misdiagnosed and do
not receive appropriate care when they
need it.
That’s why Michelle Lee, a Washington
Hospital Center Foundation board
member, and her husband, C. Daniel
Chou, MD, a cardiac anesthesiologist at
the Hospital Center, decided to open their
home to a group of influential women
business leaders for some straight talk
about heart disease. The event featured
Top: C. Daniel Chou,
MD, addresses the guests
at the reception while
Michelle Lee, Lowell F.
Satler, MD, and Paul J.
Corso, MD, look on.
Right: Preparing to
welcome guests to their
home are Kristen, Courtney
and Alison Chou.
Paul J. Corso, MD, chief of cardiac
surgery as guest speaker. In addition to
Dr. Corso and Dr. Chou, other physicians
participating included Lowell F. Satler,
MD; Zayd Eldadah, MD, PhD; Stephen
Goldstein, MD; and Janis M. Orlowski,
MD, MACP, senior vice president and
chief medical officer at the Hospital
Center. ✹
To find out more about the Hospital
Center’s women and heart disease
programs, contact Kristen J. Pruski at
202-877-GIVE (4483) or
WHCFoundation@medstar.net.

Forming Healthy Foundations
Unique Program
Nurtures Moms
Supported by a grant from the District
of Columbia Department of Health,
Washington Hospital Center has
developed a unique program that combines
hospital-based activities with home visits to
reduce infant mortality rates among some of
the city’s most high-risk populations.
The program, called Healthy
Foundations, uses an integrative and
individualized approach to ensure that highrisk
pregnant women attain timely access to
needed medical and psychosocial services.
Jetaune Dalton Scales, RN, from the Hospital Center’s Healthy Foundations program, says hello to baby Jackson, while
his mom, Cherie Jacobs, looks on.
Cherie Jacobs, who recently had her
second child at age 40, calls the program
inspirational. “Because of problems I had in
the past, I didn’t think I could get pregnant.
So I was unprepared for this baby. The staff
in the Hospital Center’s Healthy Foundations
program have helped me so much…now they
are like family.”
“Many of these women face financial,
transportation, literacy and cultural barriers
in trying to obtain necessary health,
social, nutritional, educational and child
development services,” explains Loral
Patchen, RN, CNM, director of
the Hospital Center’s Division of
Midwifery and executive director
of the Teen Alliance for Prepared
Parenting (TAPP) program.
Patchen serves as co-director of
Healthy Foundations, along with
Melissa Fries, MD, director of
the Hospital Center’s Division
of Genetics and Fetal
Medicine.
“To combat
these barriers, it is
important to integrate
case management,
care coordination
and health education with high quality and
comprehensive medical services through
both home and clinic-based interventions,”
Patchen adds.
Every patient enrolled in the program is
assigned a dedicated team that includes a
registered nurse and family support worker.
This team works with the patient through
home visitation and the coordination of
clinic-based services with the Hospital
Center’s medical staff to develop an
Individual Service Plan. This plan covers all
aspects of care, including prenatal, postnatal
Rebecca Heagy, LICSW, associate director of TAPP, (r) visits with Maria Martinez,
a Healthy Foundations program participant, and her daughter, Ashley Ramos.
and pediatric follow-up services. Mental
health services, substance abuse treatment
and referrals to vital community services are
also provided if warranted.
Patchen stresses the importance of
weekly contact and regular home visits to
the program’s success, which has already
enrolled more than 120 patients. “Medical
providers do not typically have intimate
knowledge of patients’ social situations, and
therefore, often cannot appreciate the context
in which patients make their health care and
behavior decisions,” she says. “A lot of these
women, especially the new moms, have so
many needs. We’ve found them to be very
receptive to and appreciative of the program.
They are grateful to have a health care
professional come to their home to help.”
First-time mom Maria Martinez agrees.
“I have a history of depression, and having a
new baby is overwhelming. The program has
been a big help.”
Looking forward, the Hospital Center
hopes to expand the program if additional
funding can be secured. ✹
To find out how you can support Healthy
Foundations, contact Arlene Snyder at
202-877-GIVE (4483) or
WHCFoundation@medstar.net.
This program is funded, in whole or in part, by the
Community Health Administration, Department of Health,
Government of the District of Columbia.
3

4
Nuclear Medicine Expansion
Improves Patient Experience
The Division of Nuclear Medicine
at Washington Hospital Center,
one of the busiest nuclear
medicine facilities on the East Coast,
has expanded. With the expansion—
made possible in part through the
support of former patients—comes a
better patient experience.
Occupying 11,500 square feet, the
new, larger space was designed to have a
relaxing spa-like feel, providing privacy
to patients from the moment they
register to the time they are discharged.
The new space also improves the
efficiency of the staff, making patientto-patient
triage smoother.
Arlene A. Snyder, CFRE, senior
vice president, Development at
Washington Hospital Center, was
recently honored by SmartCEO magazine
with a 2010 Brava! Women Business
Achievement Award. Snyder was one of
25 women recognized in this year’s awards
program, which celebrates women leaders
who have achieved success in business and in
the community.
Snyder, who joined the Foundation in
2006, has played a key role in generating
more than $32 million in philanthropic
investments to support the mission of
“We now have an exceptional facility
that no other hospital or private clinic
can surpass,” says Douglas Van Nostrand,
MD, director, Nuclear Medicine. “We
are truly grateful for the gifts we have
received from patients and their families
to help support it.”
As part of the expansion, the Hospital
Center also became the first hospital
in the region to add a D-SPECT
system, a state-of-the-art technology in
radioisotope nuclear cardiac imaging
that dramatically reduces the time to
conduct certain tests.
Another new feature is the
Endocrinology Imaging and Therapy
Suite, where patients can receive their
Foundation Executive Honored
Washington Hospital Center. In addition,
seven gifts have been received at the million
dollar or multi-million dollar level under
her leadership.
Honorees were selected by an
independent review panel that scored
candidates based on financial performance,
social responsibility, leadership qualities and
the ability to overcome adversity. The awards
were presented during the 4th Annual
Brava! Women Business Achievement
Awards ceremony, and all award recipients
were profiled in the July issue of SmartCEO
magazine. ✹
“We are truly grateful for the
gifts we have received from
patients and their families to
help support it.”
—Douglas Van Nostrand, MD
radiation therapy dose and be released
after three to four hours, eliminating
hospitalization. During their time in
the private therapy suite, the patients
have access to amenities such as an LCD
television, massage chair and iPod.
Currently, the Division of Nuclear
Medicine sees more than 9,000 patients,
and performs more than 13,000
procedures each year, a number that
continues to grow. It also treats more
patients with thyroid cancer than nearly
any other facility in the country. “In one
week, we will do as many thyroid cancer
scans and/or therapies as a community
hospital may do in one year,” Dr. Van
Nostrand notes. ✹
To find out how you can support the
Division of Nuclear Medicine, contact
Dennis Boyle at 202-877-GIVE (4483)
or WHCFoundation@medstar.net.
Michelle Lee, a Foundation board member,
celebrates with Foundation executive Arlene
Snyder at the Brava! awards ceremony.

New Program for
Breast Cancer Survivors:
Helping Patients Live
Well after Treatment
Breast cancer patients who have completed treatment at
Washington Cancer Institute at Washington Hospital
Center will soon benefit from a new Breast Cancer
Survivorship Program.
The program, funded by a grant from sanofi-aventis U.S., focuses
on helping breast cancer patients understand the changes they will
experience once their active treatment is complete.
“Breast cancer survivors often find the transition back to everyday
medical care difficult after years under the care and guidance of
cancer specialists,” explains Sandra M. Swain, MD, medical director
of the Cancer Institute. “This grant makes it possible for us to ensure
that these patients get the support they need to live well with cancer.”
The grant provides for a nurse practitioner who is dedicated to
program participants—an essential component of the program.
The nurse practitioner works hand-in-hand with patients as they
transition from their medical oncologists back to their primary
care physicians.
A Heartfelt Gift
Cardiac electrophysiology is a rapidly
expanding field in cardiology that focuses
on the diagnosis and treatment of heart
rhythm disorders (arrhythmias). In some
cases, arrhythmias can be mild; in other
cases, they cause major symptoms, but the
most significant consequence of arrhythmia
is sudden death.
The Hospital Center’s EP Labs opened
in 1985, and are among the busiest in the
nation. More than 2,000 patients receive
care for arrhythmias in these facilities each
year, and patient volume is projected to grow
between five to eight percent annually for the
next five years.
“It has been our long-standing vision
to build a world-class arrhythmia center at
Washington Hospital Center—one that is
distinguished by its focus on quality and its
efficient, effective and compassionate care,”
explains Zayd Eldadah, MD, PhD, the Hospital
Center’s co-director of EP Labs.
continued from page 1
“With the growing demand for EP services
at the Hospital Center, the renovation and
expansion of our facilities and the acquisition
of state-of-the-art equipment are essential to
realize this vision and to meet the needs of the
community for the next decade and beyond.”
The project involves the renovation of
four existing EP Labs, the creation of a fifth
lab and the construction of a state-of-theart,
pre- and post-procedural patient suite.
Construction began this summer and is
expected to be completed by December
2011. Once complete, the facility will be
named The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz
Foundation Electrophysiology Laboratories.
“We felt this investment was essential for
the Hospital Center to continue delivering
Another important part of the program is an individualized
Survivor Care Plan, developed for patients in concert with their
oncology teams. The need for patients to have a Survivor Care
Plan was stressed in the landmark 2001 report from the Institute of
Medicine, From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition,
which recommended that cancer survivorship be treated as a distinct
phase of cancer care, with coordinated support from oncologists and
other health care providers.
The program also includes one-on-one counseling sessions
and classes in nutrition, fitness and psychosocial oncology to help
increase survivors’ knowledge of healthy behaviors and strengthen
coping skills.
In addition to addressing patients’ needs, the program ensures that
breast surgeons, medical oncologists specializing in breast cancer,
residents and physician assistants at the Cancer Institute understand
the survivorship care model, and are trained in developing Survivor
Care Plans. Training in follow-up care for breast cancer survivors
is also provided to primary care physicians through clinics held at
Washington Hospital Center. ✹
To find out how you can support the Cancer Institute,
contact Dennis Boyle at 202-877-GIVE (4483) or
WHCFoundation@medstar.net.
the most advanced care to patients with
cardiovascular disease,” says Calvin Cafritz,
president, CEO and chairman of The
Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.
“The care the Hospital Center provides is
unmatched in the region, and we are pleased
to be able to support it.”
“We are extremely grateful for this
generous gift, which will save and improve
lives in our community well into the future,”
adds Dr. Eldadah. ✹
“ This generous gift will save and improve lives in our
community well into the future.”
— Zayd Eldadah, MD, PhD
To find out more about The Morris
and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
Electrophysiology Laboratories, contact
Arlene Snyder at 202-877-GIVE (4483) or
WHCFoundation@medstar.net.
5

6
A Ray of Sunshine for
Washington Hospital Center
Despite the rain, the 17th Annual Golf and Tennis
Classic was a ray of sunshine for Washington
Hospital Center, raising $209,000 for several hospital
initiatives. Held on May 17 at Woodmont Country Club,
more than 165 Hospital Center supporters, physicians
and associates made the most of the somewhat soggy
day, enjoying golf and tennis along with lunch, a cocktail
reception and an awards dinner with prizes. Proceeds
from this year’s event will support the expansion of the
Cardiac Electrophysiology Labs, renovations to the Cardiac
Catheterization Labs and a surgery lectureship. ✹
If you would like to participate in or be a sponsor of next
year’s Golf and Tennis Classic, contact Kristen Pruski at
202-877-GIVE (4483) or WHCFoundation@medstar.net.
Taking a brief break on the green are Bob Palumbo of Morrison Management
Specialists, title sponsor of the event with Richard Heitmiller, MD, and Rich Condie.
Jimmy Light, MD, director of Transplantation Services, Washington Hospital
Center, stands ready at the net as his partner, Don Kohlhafer, Bank of America,
prepares to serve.
J.D. Murphy Jr., chair of Washington Hospital Center Foundation’s
board and president of Computech, Inc (third from left) prepares to tee
off with friends, Chris Johnson, Mike Cohen and Bud Hawk.
Foundation Announces New Staff
Washington Hospital Center
Foundation recently announced the
addition of Emily Riffle to its staff
as director of individual gifts. In
this role, she directs all individual
giving and related donation programs
and oversees the Foundation’s
Center Society. Riffle comes to the
Foundation from the Choral Arts
Emily Riffle
Society of Washington, where she
served as director of development. In this position, she was
responsible for all of the organization’s fundraising initiatives,
including its Annual Holiday Gala at The Kennedy Center, one
of the District’s premier events. Before that, she worked at the
Smithsonian American Art Museum as a curatorial research
assistant. Riffle holds a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt
University and a master’s degree from American University. ✹

New Leadership for
Medical & Dental Staff
Micheal C. Pistole, MD, a physician
with a long history at Washington
Hospital Center, has been named the
new president of the Medical & Dental Staff.
In this role, he represents the 1,600 private and
employed physicians of the Medical & Dental
Staff on the Hospital Center’s board of directors,
and serves as their voice in a variety of other
venues.
Dr. Pistole
believes that his
many years of
experience at the
Hospital Center
provide him
with valuable
insight that
should prove
to be helpful
Micheal C. Pistole, MD
in his new
position. He completed his internship, residency
and fellowship at the Hospital Center, and has
had privileges at the hospital since 1982. “I love
the Hospital Center,” he says. “It is my second
family.”
When asked about his goals for the year
ahead, he notes that these are challenging
times—not just for the Hospital Center but for
the entire health care industry. “Everything is
changing—medicine is changing—the way care
is delivered is changing. So going forward, we all
have to work together,” he says. “To be successful,
we need good communication, accountability
and transparency—and that’s where I plan to
focus my efforts.”
In his new role, Dr. Pistole also serves as a
member of the board of directors of Washington
Hospital Center Foundation. “Philanthropy is
so important in these changing times,” he adds.
“We are continually being asked to do more with
less. At the same time we are being held more
accountable by others and ourselves to provide
the highest quality of care.”
Board-certified in internal medicine,
Dr. Pistole is in private practice and specializes
in gastroenterology. He also works with patients
living with HIV and Hepatitis C at Unity Health
Care clinics. He received his medical degree
from the University of Maryland at Baltimore. ✹
Why I Give
Wanda Wallace, a senior
administrative assistant in
the department of Imaging
Services at Washington Hospital Center,
believes that charity begins at home.
That’s why she has generously supported
the Hospital Center—her home away
from home—since 1994.
“Washington Hospital Center
Foundation makes it easy to give,”
Wallace explains. “Donations to the
Foundation support so many Hospital
Center programs and services. They
help ensure that those of us who
work here have the resources we need
to provide the very best care to our
patients.”
Donations from the Hospital
Center’s associates have long played a
key role in helping the hospital advance
its mission. In fact, in fiscal year 2010
alone, more than $400,000 was raised
through associate giving.
“Heart disease is the number one
killer of women… I give so the
Hospital Center can help more
people with this disease.”
“If you have your health and a job,
you should give something back,”
says Tamara Barker, who works in
Environmental Services. “It doesn’t
matter how much…every little bit
counts.” Barker has made regular
donations through payroll deductions
for nearly eight years.
Donations to the Foundation can be
“unrestricted,” meaning they support
a wide range of hospital programs and
services, or designated to specific areas
in need of funding. Many associates
choose to designate their gifts for
personal reasons.
$$ $
Barker designates her donations
to cardiology because heart problems
run in her family. “Heart disease is the
number one killer of women,” she notes.
“I give so the Hospital Center can help
more people with this disease.”
“Donations to the Foundation
support so many Hospital
Center programs and services.”
When Wallace first joined the
Hospital Center, she gave to the Needy
Sick Fund—a program she supported
for many years. “I had experienced
a period of unemployment and
didn’t maintain my health
insurance,” she says.
“Then I got really sick
but wouldn’t go to the
doctor. I didn’t know
that there were things
like the Needy Sick
Fund to help people who
can’t pay. I got through it, but
I’ll never forget it.”
Today, Wallace designates her
gifts to the Medical House Call
Program, a program she personally
appreciates now that she is
getting older. “For many elderly
people, having someone care for
you in your home is much less
traumatizing than trying to get to
the doctor.” ✹
“It doesn’ t matter how much…
every little bit counts.”
To find out more about the many
Hospital Center programs and services
in need of support, contact Emily
A. Riffle at 202-877-GIVE (4483) or
WHCFoundation@medstar.net.
7

Kellie Ann Kelleher
Managing Editor
Center Connections is
published for donors and
friends of the Hospital Center
by Washington Hospital
Center Foundation,
110 Irving Street, NW, EB 1001,
Washington, DC 20010
James D. Murphy Jr.
In Support of Cancer Research
Washington Cancer Institute at
Washington Hospital Center has
long benefitted from the fundraising
expertise of the District’s Four Seasons Hotel—
and this year was no exception.
In June, the hotel hosted its Annual Drive
Fore the Cure Golf Classic, and in September,
it held its Annual Sprint Four the Cure, a 5K
Run—both in support of cancer research
initiatives at the Cancer Institute.
In Memoriam
These events, and others, have raised more
than $500,000 for the Cancer Institute over the
years. Pictured with the ceremonial check after
this year’s Drive Fore the Cure Golf Classic
are Arlene Snyder, senior vice president,
Development, Washington Hospital Center;
Sandra M. Swain, MD, medical director,
Washington Cancer Institute and Christian
Clerc, regional vice president and general
manager, Four Seasons Hotel.
Washington Hospital Center recently lost a long-time volunteer and supporter—
BARBARA “BARRIE” M. COLLINS. Mrs. Collins’ history of volunteer service spanned
five decades. She was most well known for her work with the Hospital Center’s Women’s
Auxiliary, which she joined in 1962 and served with love and distinction until 2009. She also
served on the board of directors of the Hospital Center and Washington Hospital Center
Foundation. The Hospital Center gratefully acknowledges the many contributions
Mrs. Collins made through the years. Memorial gifts received by the Foundation will be
directed to the Simulations Center, a program she also supported for many years.
VISION
To be the trusted leader in caring
for people and advancing health.
John Sullivan
President
Washington Hospital Center
Dennis R. Wraase
Chairman of the Board
Washington Hospital Center
Kenneth A. Samet, FACHE
President and Chief Executive Officer
MedStar Health
Arlene A. Snyder, CFRE
Senior Vice President
Development
James D. Murphy Jr.
Chairman of the Board
Washington Hospital Center Foundation
Kellie Ann Kelleher
Managing Editor
Donna Arbogast
Connie Helms
Editors/Writers
Robin Mahler
Graphic Design
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Washington
Hospital Center
CenterConnections
THE POWER OF PHILANTHROPY
To Contact Us: 202-877-GIVE (4483)
WHCFoundation@medstar.net
Washington Hospital Center, a
not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization,
does not discriminate on grounds of
race, religion, color, gender, physical
handicap, national origin or sexual
preference.