TBHC TIMES - July 2023

TBHC

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President’s Message: NEW CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER

I am very pleased to announce that Sam Amirfar, MD, MS, has been appointed Chief Medical Officer. He will continue in his role as Chief Information Officer. Given the importance of technology and data analytics in healthcare today, the integration of these two disciplines is becoming more relevant and crucial. Dr. Amirfar is a proven leader in healthcare technology and is an excellent clinician and out-of-thebox thinker, so we are very excited for his appointment and what he will bring to our focus on patient safety, quality and satisfaction.

Dr. Amirfar came to TBHC in 2014, as an attending physician and Chief Medical Information Officer, and then eventually was promoted to Senior VP and Chief Information Officer. In that capacity, Dr. Amirfar was responsible for building, maintaining and securing clinical data throughout the hospital network. In 2018, he implemented the Epic outpatient electronic health record on time and under budget. He supervised a five-time increase in patients using the EHR portal, a 10-fold reduction in report production time, and improvement in payment processing times. These improvements were accomplished with a decreased operating budget of 4% over the past five years.

Dr. Amirfar graduated from Stanford University with a BA degree in Anthropology and a BS in Biological Sciences. His senior thesis examined an ancient

structure built by the indigenous Anasazi people who lived in the Four Corners area of the American Southwest and used it as a “Stonehenge of the West.” He received his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine and completed his residency in Bellevue Hospital Center/NYU Medical Center.

After a Chief Resident year at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, he received his MS degree and completed his fellowship in Clinical Epidemiology & Health Services Research from Weill Cornell Medicine. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Clinical Informatics.

Please welcome me in extending hearty congratulations to Dr. Amifar!

Gary G. Terrinoni

Sam Amifar, MD, MS

Nurses Week

On May 6 through 12, we celebrated our hard-working nurses during the National Nurses Week. The week included a Blessing of the Hands by Chaplain Father Francis Obu-Mends, daily access to a Recharge and Relaxation room and meditation sessions, and snacks, gifts and raffle giveaways.

Events included:

• NYSNA-sponsored lunch and dinners

• Laz Parking-sponsored breakfast

• Grand Canyon University Lunch and Learn

• Educational Webinar on food and emotions and eating, featuring Elizabeth Winings, DNP

• Abbott Nutrition-sponsored breakfast featuring info on wounds and malnutrition

• Nursing leadership luncheon

• Virtual speaker presentation in collaboration with Sigma Theta Tau International on electronic health literacy among Filipino Americans, featuring Ellen Arigorat, MS, RN-BC

• LIU Brooklyn speaker Breakfast and Learn on navigating the IRB , featuring Bevin Cohen, PhD, MPH, MS, RN, Director, Center for Nursing Research and Innovation, Mount Sinai Health System

• The always-popular Nurses’ Expo, an afternoon of information, scholarship and presentation.

Here are some fun snaps from the festive and informative week:

1) The Whitney Anne Buckholz Excellence in Nursing Award winners. Shown here: Board Vice Chair Maria Ramirez; Winner Carmen Santalena-Cicero, RN, ED Nurse; Board Vice Chair Adrina Banks-Martin; Winner Jacques Celesitn, LPN, Ambulatory Care; Judy McLaughlin, DNP, Chief Nurse Executive; Mary Poppy, RN, MCH; Board Chair Lizanne Fontaine. The award is named in honor of Ms. Fontaine’s late daughter.

2) Ambulatory Nurses lunch at the local Pingpod!

3) Keisha Date, PCA, Razia Begum PCA/MOA of the Year Award winner, with Dr. Shafiqur Rahman.

4) Wendy Thomas, MOA, Razia Begum PCA/MOA of the Year Award winner with Dr. McLaughlin.

5) Friend of Nursing Award for Excellence in Environmental Services winner, Onis Buckner with Frankie Goldsberry, EVS Director.

6) Lenny Singletary, SVP, External Affairs, Strategy & Marketing; Daniela Adams from Chick-Fil-A (near Barclays Center), who donated meals to our nurses; and Fanny Nunez, Nursing Administrator Coordinator.

7) The senior nursing team

8) One of many festive meals!

Brooklyn Women, Stay Healthy! A focus on our gynecological services

You know we deliver nearly 1,500 babies a year at TBHC, but as a reminder, we also take care of women at all stages of life. To that end, we offer:

access diagnostic procedures, surgeries and treatments, as well as screenings.

Introducing Brooklyn Imaging!

Well Care

• Annual screenings for cancers of the cervix, vagina, uterus, ovaries and vulva. Breast exams are done in close working relationships with the excellent mammography and other breast cancer diagnostic services at TBHC.

• Counseling for, access to and management of all birth control methods.

• Fertility evaluation and/or egg cryopreservation for those women seeking to delay their families or for those who are undergoing medical treatments that may affect fertility.

• Management and support through menopause and postmenopausal years.

• Seamless access to the wide breadth of TBHC medical and surgical specialties and subspecialities.

Gynecological Diseases

The department has a full-time gynecological oncologist, a specialist in gynecological cancers. Care provided includes:

• A full range of diagnostic procedures such as colpos copy, LEEP, pelvic ultrasound and pelvic laparoscopy.

• A full range of minimally invasive surgeries to treat gynecological cancers, including the most advanced robotic surgeries.

• The division works closely with TBHC radiologists, breast surgeons and oncologists to help patients

Using medication, management, and minimally invasive, laparoscopic and robotic surgeries, our gynecologists also diagnose and treat non-cancerous conditions, such as:

• Fibroids

• Endometriosis

• Ectopic pregnancies

• Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

• Sexually transmitted diseases

• Menstrual disorders

Urogynecology Care

Corrective procedures use minimally invasive, robotic, laparoscopic and transvaginal techniques, and include:

• Cystocele repair

Scheduling an appointmen

• Sling procedures

• Radical pelvic surgery

• Pelvic floor reconstruction

There are two convenient ways of scheduling an provider at the Brooklyn Hospital Center using MYCHART Use your smart phone camera to scan the QR code

• Hysterotomy (partial and full, including minimally invasive and robotic procedures)

Make an appointment today for the very best, culturally sensitive gynecological care!

MYCHART

2023 Founders Ball Big Success!

On May 22, we gathered with friends and supporters at the Brooklyn Museum to celebrate the hospital’s Blueprint for Excellence, including our recent progress with magnificent new facilities, award-winning clinical programs, top-notch medical education and compassionate patient care. Participants enjoyed an evening full of dinner, awards, heartfelt stories and more.

We honored the esteemed:

• Jeffrey Vacirca, MD, FACP, of New York Cancer & Blood Specialists, with a Founders Medal.

• Viswanath Vasudevan, MD, TBHC’s Program Director of Internal Medicine Residency Program & Vice Chair, Education Medicine, with a Walter E. Reed Medal.

Thanks to our generous community, this was the 10th Founders Ball in a row to raise over $1 million!

Proceeds continue to support new patient facilities, award-winning clinical programs and top-notch medical education.

Here’s a peek at the festivities:

1) Event Chair, Olamide (Lami) Ajibesin, KPMG Partner; Lizanne Fontaine, TBHC Board Chair; Dr. Vacirca; Gary G. Terrinoni, TBHC President & CEO.

2) Dr. Vasudevan and his proud family.

3) Anu Iyer, TBHC Sr. Director, Quality Management; Madhavi Reddy, MD, TBHC Chief of Gastroenterology; Saimamba Veeramachaneni, MD, TBHC Cardiologist; Pratibha Vemulapalli, MD, TBHC Chair of Surgery; along with some lovely flower ladies!

4) Ingrid M. Fenn, President & CEO , SIREAS Inc., and Srividya Madhusudha, TBHC Trustee.

5) Partygoers!