A Heartfelt Gift - Washington Hospital Center

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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
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A Heartfelt Gift - Washington Hospital Center

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