April 2008

School of Medicine and Dentistry Gets Full Accreditation

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) has granted the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry a full eight-year accreditation, the maximum length of accreditation awarded.

The LCME cited a culture of collegiality, connectedness and collaboration at the School of Medicine and Dentistry (SMD). In listing the strengths of the school, the LCME described the Double Helix curriculum as a successful integration of the basic and clinical sciences, and also hailed several programs as innovative including the third-year basic science blocks, the Process of Discovery course and the Community Health Improvement Clerkship.

“The LCME findings reflect a continuation of our leadership and innovation in medical education,” David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry, said. “Building on our rich tradition of the biopsychosocial model and the Double Helix curriculum, and adding contemporary technology, academic rigor and an extraordinary commitment to teaching by our full-time faculty and community physicians, our students emerge with the capacity to contribute greatly to the profession of medicine.”

The report characterized SMD’s curriculum as one that promotes self-awareness, professional attributes and lifelong learning. It praised the formative assessment process, where students identify their learning needs, develop an individualized learning plan and receive follow-up, as well as the numerous opportunities to pursue areas of special interest such as international health experiences.

The School’s leadership also received high marks in the report. Dean Guzick was singled out for his strong commitment to medical education and students, noting the number of recent upgrades to SMD’s facilities and infrastructure, expanded program offerings, and his active participation in teaching and curriculum management. David R. Lambert, M.D., associate dean for undergraduate medical education, was also cited for his time, effort and energy to implement the School’s educational vision and mission.

The LCME survey team visited the School of Medicine and Dentistry and the Medical Center in October. Fifteen months before the site visit, a task force of more than 80 faculty members began a self-evaluation of the School that was provided to the LCME. The report addressed more than 130 standards and many topics prescribed by the LCME. The School’s medical students also developed and presented an independent evaluation to the LCME.

“The accreditation process helps you make sure you have defined objectives and that they are being met, and helps you clarify where to target resources,” Lambert said. “It also brings people together and helps them to learn about other aspects of the School they did not know. It’s difficult and requires a lot of time, but it is a great thing to have done. The process also led to creative suggestions by faculty and students for educational innovations we can implement in the years ahead. It really fosters a collegial atmosphere and reminds us what a great school ours is.”

Medical Center Establishes New Smoking Perimeter

In an effort to address the concerns of our neighbors, the Medical Center is adjusting its Smoke FREE perimeter.

A significant change will occur to the perimeter that runs along Elmwood Ave. The perimeter continues to run along the south side of Elmwood Ave. down the length of the Medical Center campus, but now, a small area has been carved out in Middle Lot drive. This area is between the Emergency Department and the School of Medicine and Dentistry, and provides a place outside the perimeter that smokers can quickly and conveniently access without having to cross Elmwood Ave. Picnic tables with umbrellas and refuse containers are in the process of being installed in this area.

Please note the Annex building, on the north side of Elmwood Ave., remains inside the Smoke FREE perimeter.

While all other boundaries remain unchanged, picnic tables and umbrellas also will be placed at the edge of the perimeter that borders Castleman Road and Parking Lot 2. It is important that faculty and staff who choose to smoke in this area do so inside the berm to help prevent smoke from filtering over to houses on Castleman Road.

URMC’s policy clearly prohibits smoking in the neighborhood areas, and with the spring weather soon upon us, it is more important than ever to be mindful of our neighbors and their property. In warmer weather, neighbors frequently complain about smoke wafting inside their homes through open windows, and cigarette butts discarded on their sidewalks and lawns.

Trash cans have been placed in high volume areas, and we ask smokers to properly dispose of their trash – including cigarette butts – before they leave these areas.

As a reminder, single-dose nicotine replacement lozenges and gum are available at cost at the gift shop and outpatient pharmacy. Many staff who do not have the time during short breaks to walk from their work area to beyond the smoking perimeter have found this a helpful solution during work hours. Other smoking resources, including free smoking cessation classes, also are available to faculty and staff via the “Smoke FREE” website.

New Home for Neurology Outpatient Clinic

The University of Rochester Medical Center continues to transform its on-campus outpatient facility, as another major clinical service, Neurology, takes up home there. The Department of Neurology moved its outpatient clinic to the first floor of the Ambulatory Care Facility in mid-March, gaining much needed space and newer amenities for its patients.

“This new clinic is the culmination of years of growth and planning and will now enable us to provide our patients with the level of care they require in a setting that is far more convenient and designed to meet their needs,” said Robert C. Griggs, M.D., chair of the Department of Neurology.

The new outpatient clinic is far more accessible for patients and will enable the program, which currently sees more than 110 patients a day, to continue to expand. The new space has increased the number of exam rooms from 14 to 19 and provides less wait time for urgent care, new patients, and follow-up visits. The clinic also has a dedicated infusion center.

Both inpatient and outpatient neurology services are currently experiencing a high level of demand due to the shortage of practicing neurologists in the region and demand for the Medical Center’s unique and leading programs in epilepsy, movement disorders, neuroimmunology, and neuromuscular diseases. Additionally, the Department has an inpatient certified stroke program that has a high volume of outpatient follow-up visits and recently added a new ALS Clinic in cooperation with the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The ALS Clinic is a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary clinic that allows patients with ALS to see multiple specialists during the same visit.

The Department is also among the nation’s leaders in research funding and oversees some of the largest clinical studies in neurological disorders. Consequently, many of the patients seen in the clinic are also enrolled in the multiple clinical trials offered through Department investigators.

Up until its move, the Neurology department was one of three departments with a clinic located within older portions of the Medical Center campus. By early 2009, it is expected the other two clinics - Infectious Disease and Pulmonary - will relocate to ACF-3, taking up space vacated by the Cancer Center.

Other recent renovations in the ACF include a retrofitting of existing space of ACF-2 to provide the Department of Surgery with two additional procedure ooms and four new exam rooms.

UR Medical Faculty Group Earns Reaccreditation
Perfect Score Earned on Stringent Credentialing Process

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recently gave the University of Rochester Medical Faculty Group (URMFG) a perfect score for its credentialing and privileging systems, and recertified it as a Physician Organization. The NCQA seal is a widely recognized symbol of quality, and URMFG is one of only two physician credentialing organizations in upstate New York certified by NCQA.

URMFG, an organization of 982 physicians, is a division of the University of Rochester. Through its Medical Staff Office, URMFG serves as a central resource for credentialing physicians, coordinating privileges for all health care professionals working within the Medical Center, and negotiating payment rates with third-party payers. Seventeen payers delegate credentialing to URMFG.

According to Karen Crotinger, director of the Medical Center’s Medical Staff Office, the bi-annual recertification ensures the Medical Center is meeting or exceeding high national standards in credentialing physicians.

“Achieving NCQA certification for credentialing and recredentialing processes reassures the public and the insurance plans who contract with us that we are rigorously reviewing the backgrounds of each physician – from medical school graduation to the present – before we are granting membership to our organization,” Crotinger said. “This ensures that only the most highly qualified physicians practice as part of our group.”

The Medical Staff Office’s perfect score from the NCQA is in part a reflection of new electronic processes introduced over the past 18 months. By amassing all documentation in electronic format, the group can now provide physician information to staff through a convenient and secure electronic portal.

Barbara Bailey, audit specialist in the Medical Staff Office, helped to oversee the electronic conversion, and notes the new system has streamlined what was once a very cumbersome and time-intensive process. In any given year, the Medical Staff Office credentials more than 300 health care professionals, and recredentials another 1,500. It also coordinates paperwork to expand or renew privileges for more than 1,500 health care professionals each year.

“We are now able to do more work on a more timely basis with the same number of staff we had when we began our electronic conversion,” Bailey said. “And, we are saving an incredible amount of file space and paper. Notebooks with privileging information that used to literally take up four feet of cabinet space can now be accessed through our secure site.”

The National Committee for Quality Assurance is an independent, non-profit organization that certifies physician organizations, and accredits managed care organizations and preferred provider organizations. NCQA’s accreditation program represents the most rigorous standards of their kind.

This is the second recertification URMFG has received since 2004; a follow-up audit is currently scheduled for April of 2010.

Medical Center Goes Wireless

Information Systems Division (ISD) is at the tail end of its massive infrastructure upgrade, MCNet, that has resulted in wireless capability throughout the Medical Center campus, Highland Hospital, and major off-site locations such as Clinton Crossings and Corporate Woods. All told, more than 1,300 wireless access points were installed in high traffic areas throughout these facilities.

Wireless capability provides secure access to internal systems for faculty and staff. When using the system, employees should attach to the UR_MCwireless SSID to gain access to the secure system. More information on how to properly configure your wireless device is available through the ISD page available through the intranet.

Patients and visitors can access the internet through our UR_MCguest wireless connection. Shortly, signs will be placed throughout the Medical Center, and brochures with directions will be available at the main lobby information desk. Individual units also will be given a supply of brochures to hand out to patients as needed.

To date, as many as 900 computers have been connected into our wireless network at one time, and more than 4,000 different computers used the wireless network in February alone.

Wireless connection is just one benefit of the MCNet network upgrade project. More than 22,000 new wired ports were installed throughout the Medical Center providing needed growth capability and higher availability.

Any questions or concerns regarding this project should be addressed to the MCNet Project Manager, Dave Lindsey at 275-0175 or dave_lindsey@urmc.rochester.edu.

Tour New Cancer Center

Get a sneak peek of the new home of the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center on Wednesday, April 30. This 163,000-square-foot, four-story facility will raise the bar for cancer care in Rochester and the Finger Lakes region. The new building will consolidate all outpatient cancer care into a single location, expand cutting-edge technology, and introduce a new model for breast cancer care to the community.

Tours will be available from 7 to 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and breakfast and lunch will be served. Please RSVP to (585) 275-5830.

Lisa Lord Brings Passion to Dentistry Career

Lisa Lord

Note: Throughout the year, we will be publishing profiles on the winners of the 2007 Board Excellence Awards, which are given to those employees whose professional and personal standards exemplify quality patient care, mirroring the values of the institution’s Strong Commitment initiative: integrity, compassion, accountability, respect and excellence. All told, six individuals and three teams received 2007 Excellence Awards.

Since she was 13 years old, Lisa Lord knew without a doubt her career would be in dentistry. Each year, she spent school breaks shadowing her grandfather and chatting with patients at his dental practice in the Sibley Tower building downtown. That lifelong passion ultimately gained her the 2007 Board Excellence Award in Dentistry.

Lord began her career at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) 26 years ago as a certified dental assistant in General Dentistry, and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. She worked chair-side, and assisted in the operating room, ensuring patient safety and comfort while helping with a wide range of routine to very complex procedures.

“Lisa has dedicated her entire professional career to the Department of Dentistry’s growth,” said her supervisor Lisa Sansone, who is senior operations administrator for the University Dental Faculty Group at Strong Memorial Hospital, as well as Strong Dental and Oral Surgical Services. “She has a wealth of knowledge in the dentistry field, which enables her to be an enormous resource to everyone – providers, support staff, outside vendors, internal departments and support services.”

Lord’s high degree of integrity, responsibility and ambition soon landed her a promotion to lead assistant, and then obtaining certification as an anesthesia assistant to safely monitor the recovery of patients after sedation procedures. Today as the Dental Operations Supervisor, she continues to keep her focus on her number one priority – patients.

Going above and beyond for patients is the norm for Lord. Most recently, when parents of a pediatric patient called with a frustrating situation involving their emergency visit, she immediately took the lead to resolve it quickly, and eliminated the family’s anxiety, so much so that they submitted her name as a Strong Star.

Her commitment to her staff and colleagues is also unwavering. Last year, they presented Lord with an appreciation award for her support, guidance and fairness in leadership.

She has served on countless committees and continually participates in her own professional growth through workshops. She consistently takes initiative to move the department forward in a positive direction. From problem solving to team building, she’s resourceful and creative, and has repeatedly helped the department become more efficient while reducing costs.

“Lisa gives 110 percent and demonstrates the kind of customer service we all aspire to,” said Sansone. “Her high energy, easy going flexible and positive attitude make her a manager’s dream. She’s motivated, an excellent team player and demonstrates consistent follow through.”

“I am thrilled to be recognized by the people who know me best for doing what I love most,” said Lord. “For the first time in my life, I am speechless. Receiving this award is such an honor.”

When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband, David Ramjattansingh, D.D.S., her 16-year-old daughter who hopes to pursue a career in orthodontics, and her 22-year-old son, who Lord says, “solemnly vows to abstain from dentistry.” She is also a licensed realtor, and works part time with Hilbert Realty in the Greece area.

At age 47, and with 26 years of service in the same department, is a change in store for Lisa Lord?

“Absolutely not,” Lord said without hesitation. “Dentistry here at the U of R is my life and I love my job.”

New Awards Recognize Staff Contributions

Two new awards have been created to honor outstanding service by staff working throughout the University of Rochester.

"Earlier this year I announced the creation of the Staff Community Service Award, given posthumously to Latasha Shaw,” University President Joel Seligman said. “I am delighted to announce the creation of two additional awards to celebrate the vital contributions made by our staff."

The Witmer Award for Distinguished Service recognizes staff members for their exceptional accomplishments, leadership, and dedication to the University. Intended as a "lifetime achievement" award, it honors full- and part-time staff with five years' experience or more. The award is named after Board of Trustees Chair G. Robert Witmer, Jr., a 1959 graduate of the University.

The Meliora Award recognizes staff members whose work performance over the past year exemplifies the University's motto, Meliora, or "ever better." The Meliora Award honors specific positive contributions by an individual or staff team in an area such as service to constituents, process improvement, or cost reduction. Full- and part-time active staff from any division of the University are eligible; nominees must have at least 12 months of service to the University.

Witmer Award recipients will receive a salary increase of $1,500 and free University parking for a year. Individual Meliora Award recipients will receive $1,000 and free University parking for a year. Team Meliora Award recipients will receive $3,000 to be used to support their University unit or organization’s work. This year’s Witmer and Meliora Award recipients will be honored at the May 2008 University of Rochester Board of Trustees meeting.

Recipients of the Witmer and Meliora Awards will be chosen by a selection committee from nominations submitted by current University faculty and staff. The nomination deadline was April 15.

Further information and nomination forms for both awards can be found at the Human Resources home page.