October 2002 A periodic round-up of news from Johns Hopkins Medicine designed to give busy executives easy-to-read reports and useful information from one of the region's largest private employers.
Dear Colleagues and Friends:
We're delighted that residents of Washington, as well as of Baltimore, again picked The Johns Hopkins Hospital as tops in our twin-city region. As you'll see from the following stories, the groundbreaking research for which they turn to us continues at a rapid pace, and we've also invested considerable resources to upgrade facilities beyond our main medical campus. Yet as the commentary below demonstrates (Good Outcomes Require Good Systems), nothing is more important to us than advancing the cause of patient safety. Please let us know if you have questions about any of these topics.
HOPKINS WINS CONSUMER CHOICE AWARD FOR WASHINGTON & BALTIMORE REGIONS
Once again, the National Research Corporation rates The Johns Hopkins Hospital as consumers' No. 1 health choice in both the Baltimore and Washington areas. Only a few hospitals have gained such honors in dual-market regions. RENOVATED EAST BALTIMORE MEDICAL CENTER RE-OPENS
Capping a $5 million round of renovations, the East Baltimore Medical Center holds a ceremonial reopening to showcase its new Ob/Gyn and pediatric unit and an enlarged, updated Care Plus After Hours department for local residents. HOWARD COUNTY GENERAL HOSPITAL OPENS NEW BIRTHING & NEONATAL UNITS
Expectant mothers in Howard County now have a luxurious new facility in which to deliver their babies. Howard County General Hospital: A Member of Johns Hopkins Medicine unveiled its new labor and delivery facility and neonatal intensive care unit in early September. CENTRALIZED OFFICE ESTABLISHED TO DEAL WITH TERRORISM AND DISASTER RESPONSE.
Johns Hopkins sets up a command and control center - the Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response - to integrate more of the institution's resources in dealing with terrorism and other disasters. LENOX BAKER NEW HOPKINS MEDICINE BOARD CHAIRPERSON.
Dr. Lenox D. Baker Jr., of Norfolk, Va., becomes the new chair of the Johns Hopkins Medicine Board of Trustees, as well as of The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System boards. Vice chairs are William C. Baker, Francis X. Knott and Shale D. Stiller. MAMSI AND HOPKINS SIGN TWO-YEAR CONTRACT.
Mid Atlantic Medical Services Inc. (MAMSI) and Hopkins resolve contract negotiations, continuing a relationship for Hopkins as participating provider in all MAMSI health plans and insurance policies. Some 5,000 MAMSI health plan members receive primary care from Johns Hopkins physicians. LEGENDARY FIGURE ON MEDICAL CAMPUS, DR. THOMAS B. TURNER, DIES.
Tommy Turner's remarkable 75-year career at the institution he loved will be remembered for his tenure as dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, during a period of unprecedented expansion.
INNOVATIVE KIDNEY TRANSPLANT TECHNIQUE PREVENTS DONOR-ORGAN REJECTIONS.
Using a blood filtering process and antibody-suppressing drugs, Hopkins physicians report an extraordinarily high success rate among patients normally considered ineligible for kidney transplant surgery.
FIRST BIOLOGIC PACEMAKER CREATED BY GENE THERAPY IN GUINEA PIGS.
Working with guinea pigs, Johns Hopkins scientists create what is believed to be the first biologic pacemaker for the heart, paving the way for a genetically engineered alternative to implanted electronic pacemakers. HEART DISEASE GENE LINKED TO PROSTATE CANCER.
Researchers link mutations within a "heart disease gene" to hereditary prostate cancer, offering new evidence that some cases of prostate cancer may begin with an infection and inflammatory response. EARLY EVALUATION OF KIDNEY DISEASE INCREASES SURVIVAL
Kidney disease patients face a far greater risk of death if there are delays in getting to a specialist, a Johns Hopkins-led study shows. Delayed evaluations occur more often among black males, the uninsured and those with multiple illnesses.
THE HOSPITAL
University President Bill Brody writes about the "dynamic organism called The Johns Hopkins Hospital."GOOD OUTCOMES REQUIRE GOOD SYSTEMS
Growing evidence suggests the weakest link in patient care lies in systems failures, writes Dean/CEO Ed Miller, who is excited about Hopkins' early successes in reinventing patient care. Q&A WITH HOPKINS' NEW CHAIRMAN OF PSYCHIATRY
A discussion with Dr. J. Raymond DePaulo Jr. about his latest book, Understanding Depression, and what it takes to be a better psychiatric clinician.
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