EYES ON UCH: DEFIBRILLATORS INSTALLED

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1 A round-up of goings-on, big and small EYES ON UCH: DEFIBRILLATORS INSTALLED The Leprino Building received a key safety upgrade September 15 and 16 with the installation of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). The units were placed near the elevators on each floor. Kristin Paston, RN (left), life support coordinator for Professional Resources, demonstrated for staff how AEDs work. The devices help restore normal heart rhythm to patients suffering cardiac arrest. Staff who encounter such a situation are to use a land line to call hospital security, who will connect them to 911. Each AED unit provides audio instructions for responders. The device analyzes the victim s heart rhythm and instructs the responder if an electric shock is needed to restore a normal heart beat. Paston also demonstrated how to administer a two-minute cycle of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, using rhythmic chest compressions, following the delivery of the initial electric charge. We re delighted to take proactive measures in the office buildings to protect people s lives, Paston said. The installation of the AEDs was not mandated by the Joint Commission or any other agency.

2 CEDAR NAMES EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH FOR AUGUST, SEPTEMBER Jody James and Valerie Fuson, RN, are the Center for Addiction, Dependency and Recover (CeDAR) employees of the month for August and September, respectively. James (center, top), a care team specialist in CeDAR s admissions department, supervises four admissions assistants, takes care of financial coding on patient records, and assists director Frank Lisnow, MEd (right, top), with special projects. Jody is my right hand, my left hand and part of my brain, said CeDAR admissions supervisor Jeanette Moss (left, top). She fits the job description, but does far more than a typical employee. That makes her invaluable. Like James, Fuson (left, bottom) has been with CeDAR since it opened in Nurse manager Anne Felton, RN (right, bottom), said simply, Patients love her. Added CeDAR program support assistant Diana Romaine, She s one of the most caring people I have ever met not just to patients, to all people. Addiction, noted Fuson, is a hard disease. But when you care about your patients, it shines through. They see it, and they appreciate it. HOSPITAL OFFERS VOTER REGISTRATION OPPORTUNITY The deadline to register to vote (October 6) is coming up fast. If you wish to do so, visit either the Courtyard or Garden View cafes Thursday, September 25, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers will assist with first-time registration, address changes or sign-up for voting by mail. Bring Colorado driver s license or another form of identification, such as Social Security card. Questions: Rita Alexander, 84068, or Keith Peterson,

3 PORSCHE WILL MAKE TWO FINAL CAMPUS VISITS The opportunities for purchasing a raffle ticket to win a Porsche and benefit the Pink Ribbon Foundation are dwindling to a handful of days. The gleaming adult toy will make its final two campus appearances September 26 and October 3, just ahead of the drawing for a winner at the Foundation s 8th annual fundraising gala, October 4, at the Hyatt DTC. Raffle tickets are $100 apiece. The Pink Ribbon Foundation is a Colorado-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization providing assistance to cancer patients at UCH for items and services that are not covered by insurance. To purchase raffle tickets, tickets@thepinkribbon.org or contact Ben Meyerhoff at More information on the Pink Ribbon Foundation: URSULA STREET NAME CHANGE DRAWS CLOSER The City of Aurora, intent on explicitly linking its name to the Anschutz Medical Campus, took one more step in that direction September 15 when a City Council study session approved, with no objections, a measure that would change the name of Ursula Street to Aurora Court. The name change, if approved, would require address changes for the Anschutz Outpatient Pavilion, the University of Colorado Cancer Center and the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Institute, at a potential cost of tens of thousands of dollars. Commenting on the impending action, Councilman Bob FitzGerald told the Aurora Sentinel, In essence, we have to have a say that Aurora is part of this medical center and part of this complex. One thing that we can

4 do as a city is change the street name... People, when they turn in and go down the main drag, should see Aurora, Aurora, Aurora. To go into effect, the name change requires formal approval from the full council. No date on a vote has been announced. JAZZ ENSEMBLE IN A JAM The Fitz 5 to 9 Jazz Ensemble is looking for reed and brass players and a drummer to join its two remaining members. The ensemble, together for five years, has entertained patients and staff in the Outpatient Pavilion and at occasional in-house events. We ve lost several key players to greener pastures in the last several months, said Mike Cain, band member and RIS/PACS administrator for Radiology. We re looking for people who like jazz and are willing to make a small time commitment perhaps a couple of hours every two weeks. Interested? Contact Cain at or Michael.Cain@uch.edu. DRESSED-UP STAFF GIVE RMLEI PATIENTS SOMETHING TO TREASURE Staff at the Eye Clinic at the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Institute September 19 gave visitors reason to wonder if they d wandered onto a Pirates of the Caribbean set. Clinic manager Loretta Todaro and her care team lightened the mood in a typically crowded waiting room by donning the apparel of buccaneers. The seafaring costumes spared no detail one even included a parrot perched atop a staff member s shoulder.

5 Asked why she and her staff occasionally assume piratical identities, Todaro said, International Talk Like A Pirate Day is celebrated by all Pirate aficionados around the world on September 19th each year. In the words of the official website for the celebration, it s the only day of the year that you can talk and dress like a pirate and not be considered insane. Pressed to express an additional reason for the unconventional day, Todaro added, RMLEI is no poop deck on the USS UCH! We find and use any international holiday as a reason to celebrate and inject fun in our workplace. We have Pirattitude and we aren t afraid to show it! 2ND ANNUAL COLORADO CANCER DAY A SUCCESS More than 100 patients and 40 physicians from around the state spent Saturday, September 20 learning about the latest advances in diagnosing, treating and surviving cancer at the event, held on the Anschutz Medical Campus. Patients and their friends and families listened to updates on lung, prostate, colorectal and breast cancers, and gathered information on nutrition, coping with the disease, and available clinical trials. More than 30 clinicians from UCH and the University of Colorado Cancer Center contributed their expertise to the conference, chaired by Wells Messersmith, MD, associate professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine. Physicians earned continuing medical education credits for a similar program designed to help primary care physicians detect cancer and deliver care to patients and survivors of cancer. Patients and physicians enjoyed a complimentary lunch and entertainment by the CU Buffoons (above, right), an a capella group.

6 CAMPUS MARCH KICKS OFF LATEST ROUND OF AOM Several dozen walking enthusiasts crowded the front entrance of the Leprino Building September 10 to jump-start phase two of America on the Move, the program that encourages physical activity. President and CEO Bruce Schroffel was on hand to speak a few words in praise of walking and to lead participants in a one-mile walk around campus. Marchers trooped south on Quentin and east on Colfax to Ursula, where they received water bottles and towels. A westward jaunt down 17th Avenue back to the Leprino Building completed the march. Subscribe: The Insider is delivered free via every other Tuesday. To subscribe: uch-publications@uch.edu Comment: We want your input, feedback, notices of stories we ve missed. To comment: uch-insiderfeedback@uch.edu