a publication of the steven and alexandra cohen ... - Krames StayWell

SPRING 2011 + INSIDE
neW PiCu to oPen + Heart Center eXPansion + Generations ProJeCt
kids
first
a publication of the steven and alexandra cohen children’s medical center of new york

Gertrude and
Louis Feil
pediatric
intensive
care unit
to Open
Summer 2011
The new Gertrude and Louis Feil
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)
— with unparalleled space, privacy
and safety — will open this summer on the
fourth floor of the Steven and Alexandra
Cohen Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) of
New York. The state-of-the-art, eight-bed
unit will offer the highest standard of familycentered
care in an ICU setting. CCMC will
have 28 ICU beds with the addition of the new
unit, which will be primarily used to care for
the most critically ill patients and their families.
“This past year, children and families from
66 hospitals within our region sought the care of
our PICU,” said Peter Silver, MD, chief of critical
care medicine at CCMC. “While there are many
hospitals in our region that provide basic ICU
service, the referral base for our unit continues to
grow rapidly with families and physicians seeking
the best specialized care for critically ill children.
The new state-of-the-art ICU will substantially
increase our capacity to care for the sickest
children in our ever-expanding community.”
Comfort and Privacy
Made possible by the support of the Feil family,
each of the new PICU rooms will be private
and spacious, ranging from 280 to 390
square feet. The larger rooms will include a
separate living area comprised of a pull-out
sofa sleeper, chair, television, closet and work
station, letting parents stay comfortably by
their child’s bedside 24 hours a day with the
privacy that they need during their stay.
“Our ability to have parents stay comfortably
at their child’s bedside is of paramount
importance,” said Dr. Silver. “We wholeheartedly
believe that we treat the entire
family unit while their son or daughter
is in our care. This approach helps the
recovery and emotional well-being of the
child and the family supporting them.”
The additional space and private rooms
will also be significant assets for the PICU
staff, helping them to control infections and
perform their time-sensitive work with ease.
“When a child arrives in our unit immediately
ON THE COVER: At the heart of Cohen Children’s Medical
Center of New York, CA Technologies’ Child and Family Activity
and Resource Center provides an uplifting environment for
patients, their parents and siblings to unwind. The atrium —
made possible by a $10 million gift from CA Technologies —
offers play areas, Internet access, a food court, a new gift
shop and other conveniences in a central location.
after a complex surgical procedure, there can
easily be at least nine medical professionals
working on the patient simultaneously,” said
Ann McGrath, RN, director of patient care
services for pediatric and neonatal critical care
at CCMC. “The jobs of each caregiver are of
equal importance and urgency, so more space is
essential for a patient in critical condition.”
Greater Mobility, Access
Two of the eight new rooms will be furnished
with ceiling-mounted booms. Like headwalls,
the booms are where PICU staff can access
the power, medical gases and monitoring
and communications systems needed to care
for a patient in critical condition. The mobility
of the boom offers greater flexibility and surveillance
of patients in critical condition.
This is the first in a series of improvements
to the unit. Following the opening of the
Feil PICU, the hospital will undertake a
renovation of the current 20-bed PICU,
made possible by a generous donation from
the Leon Lowenstein Foundation.
An additional 25-bed PICU is being incorporated
into CCMC’s new six-story, 100,000-squarefoot
pavilion. Construction of the new building is
expected to be completed in December 2012.
“When the construction is completed and the
new PICU opens, these eight beds will be
converted to hematology/oncology beds to
support the continued growth of this important
clinical area,” said Kevin McGeachy,
CCMC’s deputy executive director.
2 kids first I Spring 2011

children’s heart center
Expands Space
The Children’s Heart Center at Cohen
Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) is
the only program on Long Island that
offers comprehensive pediatric cardiology care
from pregnancy through infancy, childhood,
adolescence and into adulthood. Each year,
board-certified physicians who specialize in
the care of infants and children with known
or suspected heart disease perform more than
6,000 outpatient cardiac evaluations.
To accommodate the growing demand for its
services and improve access for families, the
Pediatric Cardiology Ambulatory Center in New
Hyde Park has been remodeled with approximately
4,400 square feet of new space. The
remodeled ambulatory center, located about a
half-mile from the main CCMC campus at 9
Vermont Drive, includes six exam rooms, two
ultrasound rooms with state-of-the-art equipment,
an exercise stress lab and free outdoor and
indoor parking. In addition, fetal echocardiography
services for the new Prenatal Diagnostic
Center will be based in the new office.
“Our new space in New Hyde Park offers
marked improvements in efficiency and conveniences
for our patients,” said Rubin Cooper,
MD, chief of pediatric cardiology, director of
development and professor of pediatrics at the
Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine.
“The wait time for appointments has decreased
dramatically, and we are delighted to offer our
patients and their families a more spacious and
updated environment.”
SEAMLESS CARE
The new facility also is the first ambulatory
site in the children’s hospital to be completely
computerized with Allscripts Electronic
Medical Records, which includes e-prescribing.
Physicians will be able to access patient
records and scheduling information in real
time from the hospital, laboratories, pharmacies
and other physicians, who are all working
together to coordinate patient care.
Prescriptions can also be sent electronically
within the hospital, and even to a patient’s
local pharmacy.
To make an appointment for a
consultation at the Children’s Heart
Center, please call 718-470-7350.
Stay In the Know!
Do you want to read news stories about
North Shore-LIJ Health System facilities and
their clinicians? Then sign up for our e-mail
newsletter, North Shore-LIJ In The News.
Follow the link below and sign up for this
weekly roundup of newspaper, online and
broadcast news stories involving North
Shore-LIJ at bit.ly/gCpvtQ.
Help Us to Help Your
Children!
The Steven and Alexandra Cohen
Children’s Medical Center of New
York stands ready to provide the most
advanced and compassionate care
possible to every child in this region.
You can help by supporting this vital
mission! Just visit support.northshorelij.
com/CCMC and click the “How You
Can Help” tab.
Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York I 3

CCMC Leading the Way
in Quality Initiatives
Cohen Children’s Medical Center
(CCMC) of New York has set an
aggressive quality agenda that reflects
its stature as a nationally recognized children’s
medical center and now the largest provider of
pediatric healthcare in New York State.
CCMC enjoyed remarkable achievements
from its quality initiatives that garnered recognition
around the region and beyond. Last summer,
CCMC’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
(PICU) became the first in New York State to
achieve an entire year without a central-line
infection. This accomplishment was part of a
national collaborative effort orchestrated by the
National Association of Children’s Hospitals and
Related Institutions (NACHRI) to eliminate
catheter-associated bloodstream infections.
First Quality Officer Appointment
CCMC has made an extraordinary investment
in quality improvement, appointing its first
pediatric chief quality officer, Fiona Howard
Levy, MD, to lead the growing number of quality
initiatives at CCMC and within the North
Shore-LIJ Health System. Dr. Levy will also
serve as associate director of pediatric critical
care medicine at CCMC. Dr. Levy joins CCMC
from the Children’s Medical Center in Dallas,
where she served as vice president of quality;
director of access and inpatient services;
co-chair of the Quality Review Committee;
and chair of the Performance Improvement
Steering Committee.
Mobile Site Adds
“Find a Physician” Feature
A mobile version of the North Shore-LIJ
Health System’s Web site is accessible via
NorthShoreLIJ.com on any smartphone,
BlackBerry, iPhone or Palm
and delivers a greatly
improved experience for
mobile Web site visitors.
Use the site for quick
retrieval directions and
maps to North Shore-LIJ’s
hospitals and facilities or
to try our “Find a
Physician” feature.
“I am excited by
this opportunity and
honored to join an
elite medical institution
that has already
made a substantial
investment in quality
improvement,” Dr.
Levy said. “Our initial
focus will be integrating
and enhancing
Fiona Howard
Levy, MD
quality measurement, which is essential for
improving our processes, systems and professional
performance, and ultimately achieving
transformational change and improvement in
clinical effectiveness and patient safety.”
Addressing Critical Issues
CCMC is one of only 10 hospitals nationwide
partnering with The Joint Commission
Center for Transforming Healthcare to
address one of the most critical patient safety
problems today. Since 2009, CCMC and
partner institutions have participated
in the Hand-off Communications Project.
This project is working to find specific solutions
to potentially dangerous breakdowns in
communication that occur when patients are
transferred from one caregiver to another.
For a second year, CCMC hosted the
Pediatric Quality Symposium, a conference
that brings together regional representatives
from children’s hospitals and pediatric
departments to share best practices and
focus on the latest quality developments.
This most recent symposium featured the
benefits of medical simulation, a type of
high-tech training that allows clinicians to
hone their clinical and communication
skills in simulated hospital settings.
“The real-time exercises conducted
through medical simulation training
enable physicians, nurses and other medical
personnel to improve skill performance,
teamwork and confidence, thus improving
the quality of our care and the safety for
our patients,” Dr. Levy said.
Could Your Child
Have Acid Reflux?
The digestive difficulty that causes
heartburn is not only for adults. Acid
reflux troubles babies and children,
too. But they’re less likely to have the
classic burning pain that grown-ups
frequently experience.
Acid reflux, or gastroesophageal
reflux (GER), occurs when the muscular
ring at the lower end of the esophagus
fails to close properly. As a result, food
and digestive juices move upward from
the stomach into the esophagus. The
condition is considered gastroesophageal
reflux disease (GERD) when it becomes
a chronic problem.
Infants with GER frequently spit up or
vomit but usually get over the condition
by age 1. If reflux continues beyond
then, it might signal GERD. In babies
with GERD, persistent reflux with vomiting
irritates the esophagus. This can lead
to fussiness, breathing difficulties and
refusal to eat.
Children’s GERD symptoms include:
◾◾
repeated vomiting;
◾◾
trouble swallowing;
◾◾
nausea;
◾◾
laryngitis; and
◾◾
dry cough, wheezing, asthma or
pneumonia.
Children may also experience heartburn,
but they often describe it as a stomachache
or chest pain. If your baby or child regularly
has uncomfortable reflux-related symptoms,
talk with your child’s doctor.
health tip
Changing eating habits and diet may curb
acid reflux. Have your child try eating small,
frequent meals. And avoid foods that may
trigger acid reflux, including chocolate,
carbonated drinks, peppermint, fried or
spicy foods, and acidic foods like tomatoes
and citrus.
Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York I 4

CCMC Welcomes New Staff
The staff at Cohen Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) of New York recently
welcomed several professionals on staff.
Stewart Ault is the hospital’s new executive director of ambulatory
surgery. An accomplished administrator with a record of achieving
organizational improvement, program development and management,
fiscal accountability, human resource development and effective
operations management, Mr. Ault comes to CCMC from the Danbury
Health System of Connecticut, where he served as executive of
women’s and children’s services. Prior to that, he was vice president of
hospital operations at NYU Langone Medical Center. Mr. Ault earned
his MPA in health administration and MA in art therapy from NYU.
Stewart Ault
CCMC’s new chief of pediatrics, Henry Bernstein, DO, has always
focused on promoting the health of children, their families, and the
communities where they live in the primary care setting. An editor and
peer reviewer for numerous medical journals, Dr. Bernstein served as
the chief of general academic pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital at
Dartmouth in Lebanon, NH, prior to his CCMC appointment. He
earned his DO at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New
Jersey’s School of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his pediatric
residency at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia.
Shilpa Malhotra, MD, comes to CCMC as a staff hospitalist; Dr.
Malhotra previously served as a community-based pediatrician and as
an attending pediatric Emergency Department physician at Beth Israel
Hospital. Upon earning her MD at Stony Brook University, Dr.
Malhotra completed her pediatric residency at
Cornell Medical Center.
Board-certified in pediatric pulmonology,
Kalliope Tsirilakis, MD, earned her medical
Shilpa Malhotra, MD
degree at Weill Medical College of Cornell
University in New York City. She was a
postdoctoral fellow in pediatric respiratory medicine at the
Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx and completed her
pediatrics residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell
Medical Center in New York. An American Board of Pediatrics diplomate,
her clinical interests include flexible
bronchoscopy, endobronchial and transbronchial
biopsy, interventional bronchoscopy and
diagnosis and treatment of refractory asthma.
YeouChing Hsu, MD
@Stay INFORMED
Henry Bernstein, DO
Kalliope Tsirilakis,
MD
YeouChing Hsu, MD, comes to CCMC after completing a pediatric
endocrinology fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
She performed her residency at the New York University School of
Medicine. Dr. Hsu earned her medical degree at New York Medical
College and is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics.
To subscribe to our FREE Kids First e-newsletter, simply visit
northshorelij.com and click on the e-newsletter icon located
on the home page.
ca technologies
kids’ wellness
All Else Aside,
Obesity Draws Bullies
Bullies target obese children based
on their weight — and nothing
else about the victims seems to
matter, a study shows. Researchers
set out to learn whether obese
children’s gender, race, family
income, social or academic skills,
or schools’ demographic makeup
might help explain what made
them victims of bullies. None of
these factors appeared to play a
role. For instance, being in the
racial minority didn’t make bullying
more likely, and having strong
social skills didn’t make bullying
less likely. The study involved
821 children ages 8 to 11 at
10 sites across the nation. It
appeared in the journal Pediatrics.
The study’s authors called for more
efforts to reduce obesity and
bullying of obese children.
Obese children who are bullied
are more likely to face depression,
anxiety and loneliness.
Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York I 5

kids first
Michael Dowling
President & Ceo,
North Shore-LIJ Health System
Arthur Klein, MD
Senior vP, Children’s Services,
North Shore-LIJ Health System
exec. Director & Chief of Staff,
Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s
Medical Center of New York
Kevin McGeachy
Deputy executive Director
Brian Mulligan
Assistant vP, Public relations
Maria Conforti
Director of editorial Services
Kids First is published by
the Public relations Department
of the North Shore-LIJ
Health System (516-465-
2600). The information is
intended to inform and
educate about subjects
pertinent to health, not as
a substitute for consultation
with a personal physician.
Produced by Krames
Staywell, evanston, IL. ©
2011. Printed in the u.S.A.
899M
NorTH SHore-LoNG ISLAND JewISH HeALTH SYSTeM INC.
Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York
269-01 76th Avenue
New Hyde Park, NY 11040
NeeD To FIND A DoCTor? 888-321-DoCS
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NSLIJHS
about the steven and
alexandra cohen children’s
medical center of new york
+ OUR COMMUNITY’S ONLY CHILDREN’S
HOSPITAL
It’s a convenient, central location for
your child’s medical, surgical, dental,
psychiatric and educational needs.
+ INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
All staff is specially trained in pediatrics.
The hospital’s specialists and patients
come here from all over the world.
+ EDUCATIONAL CENTER
Access our web page for a wealth of
information about childhood diseases:
NorthShoreLIJ.com/ccmcny.
+ POSITIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE
our playrooms, school, Pet Therapy
Program, Art Program and Music
Program make the hospital experience
a positive one.
+ ON THE CUTTING EDGE
State-of-the-art equipment, technology
and innovative protocols are
designed specifically for children.
+ IN YOUR BACKYARD
Satellite treatment centers provide specialists
close to home in Commack, Hewlett,
Flushing, Brooklyn and Manhattan.
+ WE TRAINED YOUR DOCTORS
Doctors from all over the country come
here for valuable training.
+ INNOVATIVE RESEARCH
ongoing, up-to-the-minute research on
children ensures leading-edge care.
generations project:
following families to understand disease
Scientists at The Feinstein Institute for
Medical Research, in partnership with
Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New
York and the North Shore-LIJ Health System’s
Obstetrics/Gynecology Department, are enrolling
pregnant women in a landmark study to
collect tissues and blood from mothers-to-be,
including information on their pregnancy and
delivery. The goal is to gather specimens from
20,000 women and follow the children and their
biological parents for 18 years. The collection will
be used by scientists throughout the North Shore-LIJ
Health System to study environmental, genetic and
epigenetic factors in a range of complex diseases.
For more information about the Generations Project,
call dorota Gruber, a genetic counselor and project manager
of pediatric cardiology research at Cohen Children’s medical
Center of new york, at 718-470-7350.
need info on
Childhood diseases?
the Cohen Children’s medical
Center of new york’s Web site
includes a children’s health
library as well as information on
patient services, programs,
physicians and other resources.
visit NorthShoreLIJ.com/ccmcny.
Please recycle this publication.
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