New hospital budget approved. . .
Ethics panel - When monetary and medical interests collide
MediBase projects seeks duplicate medical records
Nurses and hospitals agree to contract extension
Three associate deans appointed for academic affairs
New Cancer Center Breaks Ground
September 11 - Late night visit saves emergency physician
Life Goes On
by: LAWRENCE M. SHUER
We cannot yet comprehend how our lives have changed since Sept. 11. For days afterward, many of us found ourselves glued to the television or news radio. The images of two passenger jets crashing into the World Trade Center and the resulting collapse of the two towers replay in our minds. The drama was horrifying but occasionally inspiring. On the positive side, we heard reports of passengers showing incredible courage on a doomed airliner.
While the horror unfolded, we continued caring for patients, and many of us were called in to provide additional services. At the hospital, meetings were called to assess whether we had enough personnel and supplies available for our patients. Our staff and employees showed admirable initiative and resilience. For example, Nick Gaich, vice president for customer service/materials management, was stranded in Colorado but worked with his staff via phone to make sure our supplies flowed in smoothly despite a moratorium on air transport.
Several times we were reminded, despite our best efforts, that circumstances were not normal. In one case, a pediatric patient was denied a desperately needed liver transplant because aircraft had been grounded and were unavailable to transport the donor organ from New Mexico.
Then two days after the terrorist attacks, our hospital received a bomb threat, which had to be taken seriously. A significant portion of the medical center was evacuated because of the threat and we experienced some difficulties, including communication breakdowns, which we now need to address as we continue to update our response plans for these types of situations.
However, life must go on for us at the medical center. We have a new budget - approved by the hospital board last month. [See related story].
Respective of external conditions, we face operational challenges requiring our immediate attention and support. As most of you know, we face an ongoing effort to roll out the physician order entry (POE) program. Many physicians and nurses have voiced concerns about this system. Most of those who have worked with the system and with the trainers have developed some degree of comfort in using it. I continue to urge all of the medical staff to work with the program and help us iron out the problems so that POE will enable us to be more efficient and deliver safer care to our patients. My colleague and newly elected staff president Ray Gaeta is working hard to make this project physician-friendly. He also writes about this issue on page 3.
As we move forward, our thoughts and prayers are with those who lost friends and family in the Sept. 11 tragedy. Our national leaders have encouraged us to resume our lives but not forget what we have experienced. I hope we will all grow stronger and develop the resolve to face the challenges that await us.
