February 27, 2017
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo
"ONE IN SIX PEOPLE HAVE
BEEN INSURED UNDER
THE AFFORDABLE CARE
ACT AND WE'RE NOT
GOING BACK."
—Governor Andrew Cuomo
“One in six people have been insured under the Affordable Care Act and we’re not going back,” Governor Andrew Cuomo declared in front of a cheering crowd at the 1199SEIU—sponsored rally for healthcare funding, quality care and healthcare jobs throughout New York.
Steven M. Safyer, MD
Montefiore President & CEO Steven M. Safyer kicked off the event, emphasizing the importance of affordable care and social justice for all. Montefiore hosted the rally at Albert Einstein College of Medicine on February 22—a call to action to preserve financial support under threat from the proposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Speaking to the crowd, the governor said, “It’s not just about the Affordable Care Act—I wish it was only one issue. This is a question about who we are as nation...what we believe as a nation,” citing the proposal to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.
Governor Cuomo and Dr. Safyer were joined by members of 1199, 1199SEIU President George Gresham and elected officials, including Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., New York State Senator Jeffrey Klein, and President of the Greater New York Hospital Association Kenneth Raske. Bronx Borough President Diaz told the crowd that now is the time to unite to save our care. “Here in the Bronx, we’re not going to treat healthcare like some political coin that can be flipped,” says Borough President Diaz.
Joyce Ellison was in intensive care waiting for a heart before having a transplant early on the morning of February 14. A mere twelve hours later, she was smiling and grateful for the efforts of her transplant team, Ulrich Jorde, MD, Professor and Section Head, Heart Failure, Cardiac Transplantation, and Daniel Goldstein, MD, Professor and Vice Chairman, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and Director of Cardiac Transplantation, Montefiore and Einstein. Joyce’s transplant is one of more than 250 heart transplants performed by our team and though each is special in its own way, hers may qualify as the best Valentine ever!
Daniel Goldstein, MD, Joyce Ellison and Ulrich Jorde, MD
March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month. Thousands of patients, survivors, caregivers and advocates throughout the country have joined together to boost awareness of what has become the third most commonly diagnosed cancer, and the second leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the United States.
Montefiore’s Division of Gastroenterology will host a series of events aimed at educating associates and patients on the risks, as well as available treatments and preventive measures everyone can take to reduce risk. There will also be informational events where associates can find out what to expect from the colonoscopy experience and tips on how to prepare.
Joe Verghese, MD, Director, Montefiore Einstein Center for the Aging Brain, was the lead author on a recent study on the use of brain activity scans to predict the risk of falling in elderly people. The findings, published online in the journal of Neurology on December 7, 2016, suggest that changes in brain activity that influence walking may be present in patients long before they exhibit any sign of walking difficulty.
Richard B. Lipton, MD, Director, Montefiore Headache Center, and Professor, Radiology and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Einstein, led a recent study on soccer injuries, concluding that frequent soccer ball heading is a common and under recognized cause of concussion symptoms. The findings run counter to earlier soccer studies suggesting that concussion injuries mainly result from inadvertent head impacts, such as collisions with other players or a goalpost. The study was published online in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Research fellows at Montefiore’s Department of Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine have created fully functioning prosthetic hands for use as a training tool and for evaluating patient compatibility with prosthetics, all at a fraction of the cost and turnaround time of standard prosthetics. The research team presented the study abstract at the Association of Academic Physiatrists Annual Meeting in Sacramento, California.
Nitin Ohri, MD, Attending Physician, Radiation Oncology, Montefiore, and Assistant Professor, Radiation Oncology, Einstein, and his research team recently concluded a study on the use of pretreatment positron emission tomography (PET) scans as a tool for identifying lesions at risk for progression after concurrent chemoradiation (CRT) for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This form of cancer accounts for about 85 percent of all lung cancers. The study was recently published in the February issue of International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics.
Madhur Garg, MD, Clinical Director, Radiation Oncology, Montefiore, and Professor, Radiation Oncology and Otolaryngology, Einstein, and Joseph Sparano, MD, Associate Chairman, Oncology, Montefiore, and Professor of Medicine & Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women’s Health, Einstein, led a team of researchers in a study of squamous cell carcinoma (SCCAC). The study concluded that combining cetuximab, a commonly prescribed treatment for head, neck and colorectal cancer, with chemoradiation (CRT) for the treatment of SCCAC was associated with lower locoregional failure (LRF) rates than with CRT alone. However, toxicity levels were still substantial, indicating the continued need for more effective and less toxic therapies. The study was recently published online in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database and in the January issue of Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Montefiore associates are always doing more to enrich the health of the community. The Moses Campus had its best turnout yet at the 2017 Winter Blood Drive for the New York Blood Center on February 7. Donations from 89 individuals contributed 65 lifesaving units of blood! We surpassed last year’s February total of 63 pints collected.
Stay tuned for details of the next opportunity to donate blood and save a life!
Join us for a course outlining industry sponsored clinical trial processes from planning to closeout.
April 5 and 6 | 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Grand Hall, Moses Campus
This two-day symposium will provide practical recommendations for activating, conducting and completing an industry-sponsored clinical trial successfully and efficiently.
Target Audience: Clinical Trialists, Investigators and their Research Teams
Registration opens in March.
For more information contact jayala@montefiore.org or 718-920-8411.
February saw the opening of the Queen City Art Gallery, a collaboration between Montefiore New Rochelle and the New Rochelle Council on the Arts. The new exhibit space allows Westchester artists to showcase their work, bringing color and culture to the Administration Corridor traveled by patients, visitors and staff. The inaugural exhibit, Creative Visions, features work from five New Rochelle artists, including two poets. The gallery will feature a range of work in a variety of different media, reflecting New Rochelle’s diverse cultural background.
Creative Visions is on view from February 10 to April 18. The gallery is located in the Administration Corridor on the first floor. The admission hours are Monday– Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and all artwork is for sale.
For additional information or questions about The Montefiore Fine Art Program, visit: www.montefiore.org/artprogram or email art@montefiore.org.
A select group of providers from Montefiore Medical Group can be now found on ZocDoc, an online portal that allows patients to choose a local doctor according to their location, insurance and specialty. Users can also view a doctor’s open appointment times and book instantly, receive tailored reminders, and post reviews for new and existing patients to view. As of December 13, 50 Montefiore Medical Group physicians were available on the site, with 359 appointments booked in the first month. Of these, 332 were for new patients. In the coming months, an estimated 100 additional providers will be added.
Montefiore Medical Center and Montefiore IT associates can now access their 2016 W-2 statements electronically by logging into a secure on-line portal through ADP, our W-2 provider at (https://my.adp.com). Electronic versions of your W2 are easier to upload to online tax filing programs or for sending to an accountant. This new benefit is completely voluntary and participation is not required.
Instructions for registering and logging in are available by emailing the Payroll Department at MyW2@montefiore.org.
