{"id":85678,"date":"2013-11-05T08:00:11","date_gmt":"2013-11-05T13:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=85678"},"modified":"2013-11-13T09:18:22","modified_gmt":"2013-11-13T14:18:22","slug":"uconn-health-center-premieres-clinical-support-services-week-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2013\/11\/uconn-health-center-premieres-clinical-support-services-week-2\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn Health Center Premieres Clinical Support Services Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UConn Health Center is dedicating this week to employees in support departments whose contributions to clinical care may not be as noticeable as those of doctors and nurses.<\/p>\n

\n

A flash mob performs at the Health Center in recognition of Clinical Support Services week.<\/p>\n

Watch video >
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A full schedule of events<\/a> is planned through Friday to mark the Health Center\u2019s inaugural Clinical Support Services Week. Examples of clinical support services staff include perfusionists, physician assistants, social workers, respiratory therapists, imaging\u00a0technologists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacists, laboratorians, housekeeping staff serving clinical operations, food and nutrition staff, physical therapists, medical assistants, transportation aides, clinical office assistants, and clinical informatics staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are the unsung heroes of the quality health care we deliver every day,\u201d says Anne Diamond, interim chief executive officer of John Dempsey Hospital. \u201cOften their work is thankless and it\u2019s not hard to take them for granted. Our awards and programs this week are to remind us of and appreciate the vital role clinical support services play in what we do here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inaugural Touchstone Awards<\/h2>\n

Scholarship<\/h3>\n
\n

\"Deborah<\/a><\/p>\n

Registered dietitian Deborah Downes<\/b> was recognized for the publication of her case study \u201cPancreatic Cancer and Secondary (Surgically Induced) Diabetes\u201d in the Spring 2013 issue of Oncology Nutrition Connection.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"Teresa<\/a>Teresa Works<\/b>, clinical social worker from the UConn Health Center\u2019s sickle cell disease team, was recognized for her presentation \u201cIncreased Risk of Trauma History in Adults with Sickle Cell Disease and Chronic Pain\u201d at the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America\u2019s annual convention this fall.<\/div>\n
\n
\"Lisa<\/a>Clinical oncology pharmacist Lisa Holle<\/b> is recognized for her article \u201cNational Survey on the Effect of Oncology Drug Shortages and Cancer Care\u201d in the American Journal of Health System Pharmacy and her presentation \u201cUpdate on the Treatment of Prostate Cancer\u201d at the New England Pharmacists Convention.<\/div>\n
\n

Innovation<\/h3>\n
\"Susan<\/a>Clinical social worker Susan Eisenberg<\/strong> was recognized for her role in significantly reducing readmission rates for heart failure patients and improving the quality of psychosocial and medical care.<\/div>\n
\n
\"Susan<\/a>\"niemann_christopher\"<\/a>Christopher Niemann<\/b>, pharmacy clinical coordinator for oncology, and oncology pharmacist Susan Glassman<\/b> are recognized for their efforts to improving safety practices, customer service and communications, and reducing medication errors.<\/div>\n
\n
\"Ruth<\/a>Investigational study pharmacist Ruth LaCasse Kalish<\/strong> is recognized for spearheading a medication reconciliation pilot program and her overall dedication to medication safety.<\/div>\n
\n

Service<\/h3>\n
\"Laurel<\/a>Administrative program coordinator Laurel Mancini<\/b> is recognized for being the \u201cquiet but consistent foundation\u201d of the Patient Relations Department, always focusing on what is right for the patient and encouraging others to do the same, and for her unwavering professionalism in preserving patient privacy.<\/div>\n
\n
\"Kelly<\/a>Lab assistant Kelly Moore<\/strong> is recognized for her efforts to improve efficiency in the Department of Pathology and Lab Medicine, including being the lab\u2019s go-to person on a regular basis.<\/div>\n
\n
\"Deb<\/a>Deb Gaity<\/b>, clinical office assistance in the operating room, is recognized for her positive energy and relentless approach to supporting the O.R. suite, answering phones, pages and questions, locating sought-after clinical staff, assisting the charge nurse, and \u201cmaking the place hum.\u201d<\/div>\n
\n
\"dietary_team\"<\/a>The Clinical Nutrition Team<\/strong> is recognized for its unified work in support of patient needs, medical staff education, and wellness promotion. Team members: Daniel Fernandez, Christopher Carnwright, Julie Mullane, Sarah Arsalanian, Linda York, Nicole Newman and Deborah Downes.<\/div>\n
\n
The Environment of Care Team<\/strong> is recognized for creating a positive means to improve environmental issues in all areas, and including staff and management to increase understanding. Team members: Deb Abromaitis, George Moses, Morgan Hills, Dennis Scranton, Cliff Ashton, Mel Hobson, Jim Brown, Daryl Byrne, Caryl Ryan, Tom Elliot, Steve Jacobs, Kevin Larsen, Nick Noyes, John Unwin, Anita Urbanski, Grace Boucher, Nancy Dupont, Jeannine Childree and Marie Sudsbury.<\/div>\n
\n
\"clinical_informatics\"<\/a>The UMG Clinical Informatics Team<\/strong> is recognized for its role in the transition to the NextGen system, enabling information to be shared with appropriate providers and becoming more patient-centered. Team members: Ria Racette, Marietta Johnson, Natalie Jury, Andrew Leete, Elissa Wagner, Bonnie Johnson, Ania Scott, Valerie DiDonato, Magdalena Bourgoin and Lorraine Boulanger.<\/div>\n
\n

Follow\u00a0the UConn Health Center<\/a> on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a> and\u00a0YouTube<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The UConn Health Center is dedicating this week to employees in support departments whose contributions to clinical care may not be as noticeable as those of doctors and nurses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111,"featured_media":85716,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[179,1,70],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[57,2010],"class_list":["post-85678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uconn-health","category-uncategorized","category-video"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-09 14:55:00","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/111"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85678"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85964,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85678\/revisions\/85964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/85716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85678"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=85678"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=85678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}