A Heartfelt Gift - Washington Hospital Center

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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
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A Heartfelt Gift - Washington Hospital Center

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