Congradulations to the following employees on winning our drawing for a Dunkin Donuts Giftcard. Be sure to let your colleagues who have not signed up know about the benefits of our online portal!

Winners:
Elizabeth Chase, MD – IM Briarwood
Lisa Doyle, MD – FM Hooksett
Gus Emmick, MD – IM/PEDS Hooksett
Sarit Itenberg, DO – Dermatology
Rich Marcucci, MD – Emergency Medicine
Cheresse Nadir, APRN – FM Windham
Eric Plumley, PA – General Surgery
John Poremba, MD – Endocrinology
Elizabeth Soukup, MD – Pediatric Surgery
Lisa Waller, PA – Pediatric Pulmonary

Elliot Health System has once again been named as one of New Hampshire’s Most Wired Hospitals for 2015 by The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and The American Hospital Association. This marks the fifth year EHS has been awarded this distinction and something EHS is proud to celebrate!

Michael Hokenson, MD (NICU) has won the Ipad Mini! Congratulations, Michael!

Miguel Gaeta, MD is the first winner of a $100 gift card for the Hanover Street Chop House. Congratulations, Miguel!

Dear Colleagues,

Recently the Department of Cardiology has seen an increase in requests to perform pharmacologic dobutamine stress echos that must be cancelled and changed due to a patient’s having a history of arrhythmia. Remember that dobutamine is relatively contraindicated in patients with a history of atrial fibrillation, SVT or other significant arrhythmias, due to its mechanism as a beta-1 receptor agonist.  When a reasonable alternative exists, such as a pharmacologic Lexiscan sestamibi nuclear stress test, we try to avoid dobutamine in order to prevent possible recurrence of the pre-existent arrhythmia.

When the need to cancel a dobutamine stress test arises, patients have vocalized frustration at the inconvenience.  Additionally, because nuclear isotope isn’t always readily available on an ad hoc basis, often times the patient needs to reschedule on a different day, adding to the delay and contributing to their anxiety.  Finally, for many insurers, nuclear stress testing needs prior authorization, which can add an additional several days to the process.

Attached please find the description of the various testing modalities as well as the contraindications.

If the practice pattern of your office is to submit an RFL for a  cardiac stress test and a PSR is ordering the test for you, please clarify with them that there are several options available and specify which test you feel  is most appropriate.

If questions ever arise as to the proper cardiac testing for a particular patient, please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of us in the Department via phone  (663-2311) or staff message. We would be happy to assist you in deciding upon the ideal test to answer the cardiac question that you are asking.

Sincerely,

Carl Fier

Elliot Health System (EHS) is pleased to announce that after an extensive search Cynthia (Cindy) Howe, MSN, RN, ONC has accepted the position of Director of Ambulatory Nursing for the EPN/S Practices. Feedback from those who interviewed was fantastic. Comments such as “very, very impressed”, “not afraid to roll up sleeves”, “exceptional candidate”, “very capable nurse leader”, “feel that she will do well in our environment”.

In this role, Cindy will provide clinical direction while helping to roll out components of the hospital strategic plan, more specifically, optimizing and standardizing clinical workflow in the Network, facilitating the provision of safe, high quality, cost effective care while advancing the professional nursing role.

Cindy has extensive experience in ambulatory nursing. Most recently, Cindy was the Director of Clinical Services for the New London Hospital Medical Group, which is comprised of primary care as well as fifteen specialty clinics. Her focus was on patient care delivery, staff development, overseeing the nursing staff, as well as all clinical aspects for the practices at NLH.

Prior to New London, Cindy was the Nurse Manager for the Department of Orthopaedics at Dartmouth Hitchcock. She was responsible for standardizing nursing clinical practices across all divisions of the Department. In addition, she worked on the strategic plan and helped to initiate the General Orthopedic Clinic to increase patient access to orthopaedic services. Ms. Howe also served as the Director of Nursing for the transitional care unit at West Virginia University Hospitals-East. For nine years, she was accountable for the day-to-day operations of the Skilled Nursing Facility.

Ms. Howe is Board certified in Orthopaedic Nursing and has served as the president of the National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses (NAON). She received her MSN from Mountain State University, Martinsburg, WV and her BSN from State University of New York, Brockport, NY. Ms. Howe resides in Springfield, NH with her husband and their two Golden Retrievers.

Cindy will start on August 10th. Please join me in welcoming Cindy when you see her!

I am thrilled to announce that Jean Eberlein Ten Haken has agreed to join Elliot Health System as our Chief Nursing Officer! Jean is currently the Vice President of Acute Care Nursing at Concord Hospital which is a position she has held for the last 6 1Ž2 years. In that role she has responsibility for all acute care nursing but is specifically accountable for the leadership, oversight and operations for Orthopaedics, Medical Specialties, Surgical Specialties, Medical Oncology, Progressive and Intensive Care, Cardiac Telemetry, Respiratory Care, Obstetrics, Pediatrics, Emergency Services and Trauma, Urgent Care Center, Clinical Decision Unit, Care Management, and Spiritual Care.

Before Concord Hospital, Jean spent fourteen years at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon in a variety of roles including; Director of the Intermediate Cardiac Care and Cardiovascular Critical Care Units and as a Continuing Care Manager in Care Coordination. She is Certified by the American Organization of Nurse Executives with a Certification in Executive Nursing Practice (CENP). She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of South Alabama. She has formalized training in Lean Process Improvement Methodology and LifeWings. Jean lives in Grantham, New Hampshire with her husband and two sons, ages 17 and 14.

We had over 5 groups (over 50 people) interview the final candidates last week and here are some of the comments on Jean:

· “High Energy & Engaging”
· “Professional/Accountable/Nice Presence”
· “Strong Leadership and Communication”
· “Described her leadership as ‘lead through service to you’. That is excellent.”
· “Visible leader, spends a lot of time rounding”
· “Excellent role model & voice for nurses”

I hope this gives you a sense of the type of person that will be our next Chief Nurse. She will start on Monday, September 14th. I will be meeting with Jean on a biweekly basis throughout the summer to keep her abreast of activities here at The Elliot, so that she can have a running start in her new position!

Also, I want to thank all of the Nurses, Doctors, Administrators, and staff that met with our final candidates last week. Your commitment in time, thought and energy is greatly appreciated. The importance of this hire, was matched by the level of engagement from all of you!