Around BIDMC

New Research Center Breaks Ground

Mayor Thomas Menino joined BIDMC President and CEO Paul Levy, Chairman of the Board of Directors Carl Sloane, Chief Academic Officer Jeffrey S. Flier, MD, world-renowned medical researchers from BIDMC, community leaders and representatives from Lyme Properties in breaking ground for the new Center for Life Science. Located behind BIDMC’s east campus, the 705,000 square foot life science research facility will be the largest privately financed medical research building in the Longwood Medical Area. A portion of BIDMC’s research staff will occupy 50 percent of the state-of-the-art building when it is completed in late 2007. “BIDMC is proud of its record of producing breakthrough solutions to medical problems through scientific research,” says Sloane. “These world-class research facilities will help to continue that tradition.” Above (l-r): Menino, Sloane, Lyme Properties Managing Director David Clem, Scottish Widows Investment Partnership representative Tom Laidlaw, Lyme Properties COO Bob Green, Levy and Flier break ground. - Photo by Lyme Properties.

IT Survey Lauds BIDMC

BIDMC has been recognized as one of the nation’s “Most Wired” and “Most Wireless” hospitals, according the 2005 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study published in Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. The nation’s 100 Most Wired hospitals and health systems — those that have invested significantly in health information technology — have risk-adjusted mortality rates 7.2 percent lower than other hospitals, according to an analysis conducted by Solucient, the nation’s largest health care database.
“We continue to build secure, robust and powerful technology solutions that support out clinical, educational and research users,” says John Halamka, MD, BIDMC’s chief information officer.

Time’s Running Out for 401(k) Changes

Aug. 30 is fast approaching! If you are a BIDMC, CareGroup Corporate or Affiliated Physicians Group employee (excludes HMFP physicians), and allocate your 401(k) contributions to one of Fidelity Investment’s “frozen” funds, you must redirect future contributions. To see a list of “frozen” and alternate funds, visit the BIDMC general Web portal > human resources > forms > retirement/investment forms > 401(k) and 403(b) forms and information. To redirect fund allocations, go to http://www.fidelity.com/atwork or call Fidelity at 1-800-343-0860 (Mon. - Fri., 8 a.m. to midnight.)
Questions: human resources at (63)2-9400

Staff Appointments

Sidhu P. Gangadharan, MD, has joined the division of cardiac and thoracic surgery. A general thoracic surgeon, he is broadly experienced in the treatment of lung and esophageal cancer, benign esophageal disease, and mediastinal and chest-wall tumors. When possible, he utilizes minimally-invasive approaches (thoracoscopy, mediastinoscopy and laparoscopy), and he is interested in techniques that minimize surgical trauma and optimize patient recovery. His research interest is in cell adhesion and molecular mechanisms of metastasis. Gangadharan comes to the medical center from Brigham and Women’s Hospital after completing advanced resident training in cardiothoracic surgery. Referrals: (63)2-8383

Ekkehard Kasper, MD, has joined the division of neurosurgery. He comes to BIDMC from Massachusetts General Hospital. Kasper, who holds a PhD in developmental neurobiology from Oxford University, is an expert in advanced surgical treatment for brain tumors. He is also experienced in the radiosurgical treatment of brain tumors and received two years of subspecialty training in C.B. Ostertag's department at the University of Freiburg. At BIDMC, he has also been instrumental on the team implementing the new Keith C. Field Cyberknife Program. Referrals: (63)2-7246

Harvard's Crimson Summer Academy Visits BIDMC

Thirty high school students from Harvard University's Crimson  Summer Academy program got a firsthand look at the world of medicine when they toured BIDMC on Aug. 4.  The visit was coordinated by Vivian Sanchez, MD, minimally invasive surgery, who also conceived the idea. BIDMC Chief of Medicine Mark Zeidel, MD, (right, top) welcomed the enthusiastic group, who heard presentations by Chief of the Division of Surgery Mark Callery, MD, Minimally Invasive Surgery Chief Dan Jones, MD, Chief of Cardiac Surgery Ralph de la Torre, MD, minimally invasive surgeons Benjamin Schneider, MD and Sanchez, MIS Nurse Educator Angela Walsh,  RN, MA , and several BIDMC residents. The students then received hands-on training using surgical simulators at BIDMC's Minimally Invasive Surgery Lab (right, bottom) before viewing a gallbladder surgery. Sixty Crimson Scholars currently participate in the three-year program sponsored by Harvard University, which prepares promising but  financially disadvantaged teenagers for success in college and beyond.

Nurse Reads Verse

BIDMC staff enjoyed a rare treat on June 22 when renowned nurse poet Cortney Davis, NP, (right) stopped by the Shapiro 10 Board Room to read selections from her poetry. The author of several books of poems, much of Davis's writing reflects on her feelings as a nurse caring for her patients. Click here to read one of Davis 's recent works. You can also learn more about Davis and her poetry at http://www.cortneydavis.com .

Kudos to BIDMC’s Summer Interns

As the end of summer approaches, BIDMC's office of human resources would like to thank our interns from the 2005 Summer Youth Internship Program who have helped out in several departments since the beginning of July. The three-year-old summer employment program has grown from nine interns and one community partner, to this summer's group of 19 interns from four programs: Boston Private Industry Council's Summer Jobs for Youth/JD O'Bryant High School; Sociedad Latina Career Explorations Initiative; ABCD Summer Jobs for Youth; and Work Connections for Youth/Brookline High School Community Partnerships. This year's summer interns assisted in a variety of clinical and administrative settings ranging from telecommunications, to podiatry, to transportation. Here, meet three of the interns and their supervisors, who spoke about their interns' contributions:

Marie Gay,
intern, nephrology/
allergy and inflammation
“Marie is very bright and responsible,” note her supervisors, Jill McGee, allergy and inflammation, and Debbie Lamar, nephrology. “From the first day she came in we were impressed by the way she presents herself, and in the quality of her work.  She is diligent, self-directed, and shows forethought in completing her assignments.” Right (l-r): McGee, Lamar, Gay and supervisor Angela Guild, nephrology. Missing from photo: supervisor Thomasina Shavers, nephrology.

Oscar Cartagena,
intern, groundskeeping
“Oscar's work in the maintenance department has helped us to beautify the medical center's grounds, making it a more enjoyable place for both visitors and staff,” says supervisor Brendan Raftery, maintenance operations. Right: Raftery (l) instructs Cartagena on the finer points of landscaping.

Melissa Rivera,
intern, nuclear medicine
"Melissa has contributed in many ways to keeping our busy office running smoothly by confirming numerous patient appointments, obtaining written orders from our referring doctors, maintaining and keeping our daily schedules up to date, and in many other ways,” says supervisor Dawn Federman, (r) nuclear medicine. “Melissa is efficient, hard- working, very conscientious and comes to work every day with a smile on her face ready to help where she can. It has been a pleasure having her in the office."