Resources Following Hurricane Sandy

Important Phone Numbers
American Red Cross: Nassau County: (516) 747-3500
American Red Cross: Suffolk County: (631) 924-6700
NYS Emergency Management Office: (518) 292-2200
Nassau County Emergency Management Office: (516) 573-0636
Suffolk County Fire Rescue & Emergency Services: (631) 852-4900
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): 1-800-621-FEMA

Websites
Nassau County Office of Emergency Management http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/OEM/
Suffolk County Office of Emergency Management http://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/FireRescueandEmergencyServices/Off...
National Hurricane Center http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
LIPA http://mobile.lipower.org/mt/www.lipower.org
National Weather Service http://www.weather.gov/

Twitter
Federal Emergency Management Agency: @fema
FEMA Region 2 (Covering the NY Region): @femaregion2
Red Cross New York: @redcrossny National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: @NOAA
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate: @craigatFEMA
Long Island Power Authority: @LIPANews National Weather Service for New York: @NWSNewYorkNY
Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano: @edmangano
News 12 Long Island: @news12LI
Fios 1: @FiOS1News_LI
Newsday: @newsday

Resources Following Hurricane Sandy

Important Phone Numbers
American Red Cross: Nassau County: (516) 747-3500
American Red Cross: Suffolk County: (631) 924-6700
NYS Emergency Management Office: (518) 292-2200
Nassau County Emergency Management Office: (516) 573-0636
Suffolk County Fire Rescue & Emergency Services: (631) 852-4900
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): 1-800-621-FEMA

Websites
Nassau County Office of Emergency Management http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/OEM/
Suffolk County Office of Emergency Management http://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/FireRescueandEmergencyServices/Off...
National Hurricane Center http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
LIPA http://mobile.lipower.org/mt/www.lipower.org
National Weather Service http://www.weather.gov/

Twitter
Federal Emergency Management Agency: @fema
FEMA Region 2 (Covering the NY Region): @femaregion2
Red Cross New York: @redcrossny National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: @NOAA
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate: @craigatFEMA
Long Island Power Authority: @LIPANews National Weather Service for New York: @NWSNewYorkNY
Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano: @edmangano
News 12 Long Island: @news12LI
Fios 1: @FiOS1News_LI
Newsday: @newsday

Resources Following Hurricane Sandy

Important Phone Numbers American Red Cross: Nassau County: (516) 747-3500 American Red Cross: Suffolk County: (631) 924-6700 NYS Emergency Management Office: (518) 292-2200 Nassau County Emergency Management Office: (516) 573-0636 Suffolk County Fire Rescue & Emergency Services: (631) 852-4900 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): 1-800-621-FEMA Websites Nassau County Office of Emergency Management Suffolk County Office of Emergency Management National Hurricane Center LIPA National Weather Service Twitter Federal Emergency Management Agency: @fema FEMA Region 2 (Covering the NY Region): @femaregion2 Red Cross New York: @redcrossny National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: @NOAA FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate: @craigatFEMA Long Island Power Authority: @LIPANews National Weather Service for New York: @NWSNewYorkNY Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano: @edmangano News 12 Long Island: @news12LI Fios 1: @FiOS1News_LI Newsday: @newsday

My Checklist to Prepare for Hurricane Sandy

I wanted to share some information with you that my family and I are finding useful during this severe weather.

You can closely monitor the storm's path, using local radio and television or online reports and pay close attention for Emergency Alert System (EAS) messages that carry local emergency orders, such as evacuation or travel restrictions. The best way to receive emergency information is to subscribe to NY-ALERT, the State's alert and notification system. Visit www.nyalert.gov and sign up for free today.

 

There is also an extremely informative State website, http://www.dhses.ny.gov which contains critical information regarding the storm and instructional information about how we can best prepare ourselves in case the worst predictions turn out to be accurate.

 

Here’s a checklist of things that I have personally done to keep my family and home safe during Sandy… you can, too!

Have food and emergency supplies in your home

·  Keep a three-day supply of food and water for every member of your family. The same applies if you have pets. One gallon of water per person per day is recommended. Canned foods or dehydrated foods are a good choice.

·  Flashlights and extra batteries. Keep these in several rooms in the house.

·  Keep a portable radio with extra batteries so you can listen to the weather report in case telephone and cable lines are damaged by storms.

·  Keep all of your important documents (birth certificates, Social Security cards, etc.) in a waterproof container.

·  Keep a first aid kit and make sure all members of your family know where it is.

·  Have extra sets of your home and car keys.

·  Keep tools like wrenches to turn off gas and water supplies if needed.

 

Discuss emergency plans in advance with your family

·  Phone lines in your area might be damaged during severe storms. If you have friends or relatives who live outside of your area, designate them as the people for all your family members to contact if you get separated.

·  Discuss with your family where you will go if you are told by authorities to evacuate the area.

 

Prepare by removing potentially dangerous objects outside

·  Remove damaged or diseased branches on trees near your house.

·  Take in all lawn furniture and other objects that could potentially damage windows or walls of your house.

Great news for guys!

Digital rectal exam is no longer reliable in screening for Prostate Cancer.
Despite recent USPTF recommendations, PSA does save lives.
Ultrasound Helps direct complete biopsies.

Three Things I Learned About Pelvic Organ Prolapse

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The apical component of pelvic organ prolapse explains the shortcomings of traditional repairs.
Sacrocolpopexy is the go to procedure for apical prolapse repair.
Robotic approach with articulated instruments can make this surgery much easier!
Charbel Salamon, MD

Robotic GYN Surgeey for Benign Disease

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1 of every 3 women will have had a hysterectomy by age 60.

Alessio Pigazzi on Current Trends in Robotic Colorectal Surgery

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Robotic CRS represents small percentage of MIS.
Most common application is rectal cancer surgery (especially in males).
Robotic Surgery results in higher costs to hospital, but lower conversion rates.
Long term costs-benefit to patients and society cannot be estimated.

Great Questions

Lots of questions about learning curves, conversion to open surgery (in this case thoracotomy) and training protocols for mid career surgeons.

Nursing Training and Surgeon Control

Bernard Park: One of the benefits of robotic surgery is that a greater portion of the surgery is under the surgeon's control.

For the success of a Robotic surgery program

A multispecialty approach with a dedicated robotic team and dedicated robotic room will utilize robot time most efficiently...

Live Posts from 2012 Robotic Surgery Symposium

Posting today from 2012 Robotic Surgery Symposium!

Do Physicians Have What It Takes to Achieve Clinical Integration?

There was a time when PHO (pronounced “fah”) was a tasty Vietnamese soup.  In today’s changing healthcare environment, a P.H.O. (Physician-Hospital Organization) may be the clinical integration model that saves private practice.  But do we have what it takes to enter such a joint-corporate venture with area hospitals, and with each other?

Partnering with our hospitals/ hospital systems AND with each other will be an opportunity few of us have encountered or prepared for in the years we have spent building solo and small private practices.  Here are a few critical qualities to consider if we hope to be successful forming a strategic alliance with the hospitals where we work.

·         Individual excellence:  All sides (physicians of all specialties, physician leadership, hospital administrators and hospital staff) bring unique strengths.  No one person or group can be expected to prop up the other. 

·         Importance:  The relationship must matter strategically to all sides. 

·         Interdependence:  Each participant in a joint venture like a P.H.O. needs the others.  Hospitals need us and we need them.  Specialists need primary care physicians.  Participants must acknowledge that there is some level of interdependence in any strategic partnership.  Patients need us all to work together well to achieve common goals and excellent outcomes. 

·         Investment:  We have all wondered what this will cost us.  Is there a price?  How soon will we realize any return on our own investment $?  What is our “sweat equity” worth?  Yet for clinical integration to thrive participants must have a stake in each others’ success. 

·         Information:  Information collected and shared for the purposes of demonstrating value and improving quality is the glue of any clinical integration effort.  Transparency strengthens the partnership; hiding information impedes trust. 

·         Integration:  Agreeing to meet quality standards that we choose and hold each other accountable to is the first step toward physician integration.  Leadership and governing bodies are selected to serve as multiple points of contact across the organizations. 

·         Institutionalization:  A formal structure can aid in objectivity and ensure the partnership works for all sides. 

·         Integrity:  Trust is critical and ethics are a must.

 

I’ve written before about how physicians build trust, demonstrate compassion, provide stability and inspire hope every single day with their patients.  As our medical community navigates this era of patient-centered accountable care, physicians must in our dealings with the hospitals and with each other.

 

 

Adapted from "How to Strike Effective Alliances and Partnerships" by Rosabeth Moss Kanter. and Harvard Business Review’s “Management Tip of the Day,” from June 04, 2009.