NATHAN LITTAUER HOSPITAL HONORED IN 2013 TOURNAMENT OF ROSES PARADE Posted on January 8, 2013January 8, 2013 by Dakota PikeNathan Littauer played a role in The Donate Life Rose Bowl Parade FloatNathan Littauer Hospital was recognized with a rose on the Donate Life Float in the 124th annual Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day. Nathan Littauer partners with the Center for Donation & Transplant (CDT) to facilitate life-saving organ and tissue donation. CDT is sponsoring a rose on the Donate Life float in honor of the donors from Nathan Littauer Hospital. The rose also recognizes Littauer’s for its support of donors and their families through the Donate Life Flag Program. In 2013, a flag will be flown at the hospital following every organ and tissue donation case, which will then be given to the donors’ families in honor of their loved one.Today, over 117,000 people are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant; this statistic includes just over 10,000 New Yorkers. Over 28,000 organ transplants were performed in 2011; however, the demand is still much greater than the supply, with an average of 17 Americans dying every day due to the shortage of donor organs.New Yorkers can register to be an organ and tissue donor by joining the New York State Donate Life Registry available online atLittauer honors organ donation. When a donation is made we raise a “Donate Life Flag”www.donatelifecdt.org.The Center for Donation & Transplant is the federally designated non-profit organization that coordinates organ and tissue donation at 43 hospitals throughout western Vermont and northeastern New York State.
Nathan Littauer Earns ACR Accreditation Posted on January 7, 2013 by Dakota PikeNathan Littauer has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in computed tomography (CT) as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology (ACR). CT scanning — sometimes called CAT scanning — is a noninvasive medical test that helps physicians diagnose and tailor treatments for various medical conditions. Dr. McBiles, Chief of Radiology for Littauer states, “This accreditation illustrates our commitment to the highest standard of care during the Diagnostic Imaging process.” He added, “I am very proud our team reached this goal.”Nathan Littauer has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in computed tomography (CT) as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology (ACR).The ACR gold seal of accreditation represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting ACR Practice Guidelines and Technical Standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Image quality, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures, and quality assurance programs are assessed. The findings are reported to the ACR Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report they can use for continuous practice improvement. The ACR is a national professional organization serving more than 36,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services.
Local doctor to aid children in Vietnam Posted on January 1, 2013 by Dakota PikeLittauer’s Dr. James Anania, volunteers time to help children overcome a lifetime of stigmaDr. James Anania will travel to Vietnam to help perform surgeries on children with isolating injuries and deformities.Dr. James Anania an Anesthesiologist at Nathan Littauer will be leaving forVietnam January 4, 2012 as a volunteer for the NGOs (Non Governmental Organization) Smile Train and ReSurge International. He will be assisting people -especially children who need surgery. When not at the Surgery Center at Nathan Littauer Hospital, he frequently volunteers his time to travel to under served areas throughout the world. This is his third trip for the organization. He has also traveled to Peru. “Dr. Anania has traveled to some of the most economically-challenged countries in the world to help deliver surgeries.” stated Mr. Laurence E. Kelly, Littauer’s CEO and President. He added, “I know he will be working under exhausting conditions to transform lives. We are immensely proud of Dr. Anania’s contributions to our region and to the world.Dr. Anania is part of ReSurge International (formerly Interplast). The organization works with Smile Train and other NGO’s “to restore the health and dreams to children and adults with deformities and injuries (such as disabling burns and clefts) so they can go to school, return to work to care for their families and be productive members of society. They also build surgical capacity in underserved areas to increase year-round access to surgical care. ReSurge mission is to reduce global suffering and poverty by giving more and more patients a second chance for a normal, productive life.”Dr. Anania states that despite the exhausting schedule and challenging setting, he feels truly rewarded when he meets the patients and their grateful families. He explains, “The family members are very appreciative. This is truly life-changing. These kids tend to be ostracized and these surgeries are a new lease on life for them.”An avid photographer, Dr. Anania will be taking pictures of his journey which will be posted on the hospital’s Facebook site. He summarizes, “I like to do this. This is where medicine can change a person’s life. And these are extremely poor people.” He added, “I am satisfied to know that I played a direct role in changing somebody’s life.”Dr. Anania is expected to return to Nathan Littauer January 21, 2013.
A food critic reviews our hospital food Posted on December 18, 2012 by Dakota PikePublished in the Leader Herald Newspaper, December 16, 2012A faux patient tries the new food system at NLHDecember 16, 2012 – Anita HanaburghMy sister calls me a faux patient. Well I guess I am, or I was. I was asked by Nathan Littauer Hospital to become a patient — just for lunch. Okay, what’s up? I asked Cheryl McGrattan, my hospital hostess.“Well, we have a new food system with extra service and gourmet food choices and we need a ‘critic’ to check it out … ” To do this, I was invited to go the hospital, check into a room and have lunch.“No shots? “ I asked. She responded in the negative. “No ugly gown?” Negative again! “Well, okay, I’ll give it a try.”Am I a critic? I hope not. I like to think of myself as a restaurant and food consumer advocate. So I guess I can advocate for the patient/guest who is eating hospital food.Oh, busboy, this is new to me, checking out the food in a hospital. Gourmet hospital food? This has to be a misnomer.I was curious, so one day I met Cheryl in the hospital lobby and was taken to my room in the maternity ward (now, I thought, this is a stretch), where I was joined by Bill Ackerbauer, The Leader Herald’s Sunday Features Editor, who was there to check out the new food-service program as well. I sat gently on the beautiful bed spread. I looked around. This doesn’t feel like a hospital at all.Soon we were greeted by Tim Forte, the hospital’s general manager of nutrition services, his regional manager Bill Pepe, Laurence Kelly, CEO of the hospital, and even Scott Norris, the executive chef. (Who knew this hospital had an executive chef?)The food service at Littauer and its nursing home is run under contract by a company called Sodexo, a division of Marriott. Forte and Norris are Sodexo employees assigned to the hospital.We chatted awhile. They explained their new personal-service dining program, called “Expressly for You.”“Oh, like room service?” I queried.“Not exactly,” Tim explained. “Some hospitals use room service as in a hotel, but this is better.”With room service, the guest/patient gets the menu and interprets it himself, then calls in the order. When he calls, one person takes the order, someone else assembles the food and then another person delivers it. With Expressly for You, the patient is given the menu to browse then visited later by a personal service ambassador.The ambassador takes the order as a waitperson might, being careful to note likes and dislikes, answers any questions and suggests anything that might be missing, such as a beverage. The ambassador notes the order on a little electronic tablet that has all the food options for this patient’s individual diet. The order then goes immediately to the kitchen.The really great thing is this ambassador not only takes the order but he or she also fills the order in the kitchen then delivers the food to the patient. He or she also visits the patient after the food is served to make sure everything is okay. This sure beats the classic hospital method of circling what you want and having it dropped off later by a unknown person. This new method keeps errors and omissions to a minimum, making happier customers — er, patients.For this visit, I was assigned a “normal” diet (as opposed to a doctor-restricted one) so the sky was the limit. The menu is set up much like a restaurant menu. There is a set menu where the patient can choose from a large array of popular items such as a turkey sandwich on whole wheat, cheese pizza, grilled chicken breast, fresh fruit or mashed potatoes. Even cheerios and oatmeal are available at any meal. The menu also offers, much like specials in a restaurant, two different entree choices at each meal every day. There is a set service time for meals, but one can have most foods anytime all day. I really liked my friendly and capable ambassador, Paula Costello.Because I was there to try the food as well as the service, I ordered a lot, both from the set menu and the “special” of the day. I had the beer-battered cod sub, which was very tasty. Paula prompted me to order the lemon wedge with it and some tartar sauce. As it is something I know pretty well, I ordered a hamburger to do a comparison. Paula again suggested I have a cheeseburger. It was big and juicy, a third of a pound, and grilled.I tried the homemade soup of the day, turkey vegetable. It was very good, with large turkey chunks. The hospital makes more than 90 percent of its food from scratch, quite a feat for a kitchen that serves 1,000 meals a day. I also had fresh tossed salad, custard and hot tea. I was feeling really full and really healthy.It was a fun experience, and I have to admire the people at Nathan Littauer for taking a chance and inviting us. Was the food really “gourmet?” By restaurant standards, maybe not quite. Was the service and food better than I expected at a hospital? You bet! As one patient told us, Expressly for You worked very well for her.Oddly enough, my greatest impression was of the hospital itself. It was bright, fresh, clean and neat. There were no messy notes hanging around the patient’s room or the nurse’s stations. It didn’t feel like a hospital. The kitchen also fit the “clean and neat” category, even though we visited right after lunch.Comments? Readers may write to anita@anitaalacarte.com.
Nathan Littauer Patient Meals: Now a step above room service Posted on December 18, 2012January 7, 2013 by Dakota PikeNew food program first of its kind for regionGloversville, NY — Nathan Littauer Hospital and its Nutritional Services has recently launched a new food service program, “Expressly For You, Personal Service Dining by Sodexo™”. After a few months of testing, the system is now fully operational for every patient in the hospital. “This really sets us apart from other healthcare facilities in our region” stated Tim Forte, the General Manager of Nutrition Services for Littauer who also spearheaded the program. He added “Hospital food is the subject of a lot of late-night comedy routines, but our team is working hard to change that image. We have already seen a big difference in our patient’s reaction to our food using the Expressly For You Program.”Reporters and food critics joined us in a patient room to try our new food service program.The program is centered on one-on-one attention with a nutritional services staff person, called an Ambassador. Upon arrival to the hospital a patient is provided with a menu while nutritional information is received from the admitting physician into a central computer system. Soon after, the hospital ambassador meets with the patient to review the upcoming meals and their preferences. Then the patient orders from a menu which changes every three weeks. The ambassadors are equipped with a handheld computer and the ordering is done in real-time. As the ambassador orders something bedside, the order is instantly received by the kitchen and preparation begins at once. “This way our food is hotter.” stated Scott Norris, the hospital’s Executive Chef. Designed not to be obtrusive and with a focus on efficiency, each patient sees an Ambassador six times a day. Mr. Norris explains further, “This goes beyond room service- because we provide face-to-face interaction. Instead of picking up the phone to order food each patient gets a person who visits them, who is trained in customer service and eager to help.”Food critic, Anita Hanaburg works with our Ambassador to order her meal“Gone are the days of tray lines” stated Mr. Forte. Mr. Forte goes on to state, “Now everything is about real-time.” He also has observed, “Our staff has responded well to the change. Some people who were behind the scenes in our kitchen are now working directly with our patients and enjoying the interaction.”As a part of Sodexo Healthcare the hospital is the only one in the Upstate New York region using this program. Tim said, “The project required a complete overhaul of the kitchen at Littauer. It was no easy task.”The program has been well received by the patients. The hospital reports that patient satisfaction scores in the category of “Courtesy of the person serving the food” has risen by 40 percentile points. One patient who was admitted last week explained, “The food was actually good. I almost hate to leave.”In addition to a better food experience, Expressly For You also increases patient safety by strictly adhering to patient dietary restrictions. The system double checks patient food compatibility, allergies, intolerances and automatically filters out any contraindicated foods.Our new system goes beyond room serviceTim Forte concluded, “I am really proud to have reached this goal. But in the end it is the patient who will benefit the most.”Additional Facts:1. NLH serves 1,000 meals daily.2. All of the menu items are approved by Sodexo Healthcare and also approved by the clinical dietitian team at Littauer.3. The hospital has 96 hours of food on hand on any given day in the event of an emergency.
