87648 cupola spring 08:aacupola summer 04 - bassett · 2020-01-17 · bassett will miss you!...

THE CUPOLAThe Bulletin of The Medical Alumni Association of The Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital

Bassett Healthcare, Cooperstown, New YorkSpring 2008Vol. X, No.IV

Greetings from Cooperstown and New Bern, N.C.Spring is really here, after a false start or two in both locales.Please enjoy this issue of The Cupola. Much is happening inCooperstown. The programs are happy with their matchesthis year, and plans for a clinical medical school campus aremoving apace. Plans are also well along for what should be anexciting Alumni Family Reunion Oct. 10–12. Please mark yourcalendars and make every effort to join us! At least, let ushear from you! Sadly, 2008 will see the retirement of Walt

Franck and the end of a momentous era. Although he still hasa full head of hair, he is solidly in the group of "old bald men"who trained so many of us to be good physicians and goodpeople. Best wishes for the next phase of your life, Walt.Bassett will miss you!

Kenneth W. Wilkins, M.D.President, Board of Directors

Bassett Medical Alumni Association

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Kenneth W. Wilkins, M.D.

By John Davis, M.D.We devote our feature article to

Physician-in-Chief Walter A. Franck,M.D., who plans to retire after anappointed search committee has pickedhis successor.

Walt was born in China of Belgianparents and was multilingual early on.He received his B.A. from Yale and hisM.D. from Columbia University. Therefollowed a residency in InternalMedicine at the University Hospital inAnn Arbor, three years in the military aschief of the Department of InternalMedicine at the SHAPE headquarters inBelgium and a fellowship inRheumatology at the MassachusettsGeneral Hospital. A chain of eventsthen led him to Bassett instead ofDartmouth in 1973 as the institution’sfirst rheumatologist.

Nearly 35 years later, as a board-certified rheumatologist, his clinical andteaching skills in general internal medi-cine and rheumatology set the depart-mental standard. In parallel has been hisextraordinary leadership since 1980 asphysician-in-chief of an ever-growingdepartment (now with more than 90senior physicians in multiple divisionsand locations), expanding residency pro-grams in Medicine and the Transitional

Year, a multifaceted medical studentprogram and a legion of related admin-istrative functions. Along the way, he’salso somehow found the time to pub-lish some 40 medical papers and givemore than 80 presentations at meetingsbeyond Bassett. His continuing close tiesto Columbia’s College of Physicians andSurgeons, where he holds the titles ofclinical professor of medicine and asso-ciate dean at Bassett Healthcare, havebeen of enormous help to Bassett overthe years. He functions as an ultimate

FRANCK to page 3

A SALUTE TO THE CHIEF

Walter A. Franck, M.D.

BASSETT FAMILY REUNIONTo all of you alumni out there, it’s time to return for another

Family Reunion, scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 10. Amongother events, D.A. Henderson will be giving a lecture on bioter-rorism, another lecture will honor the late James Lipsky, M.D.,and the plan for Bassett to become a medical campus will be infull swing.

For those who haven’t been back to Bassett for, say, 20 years,the changes will be profound, but you’ll still find that the goodold Mother Bassett you remember is alive and well! The village ofCooperstown and its surroundings won’t be all that different —except for more baseball-related shops and youth parks, alongwith an influx of new hotels and motels. And no matter when youlast visited Cooperstown, it will just be exciting to be back! Thefall foliage will be at or near peak, and the weather will be — ormaybe we’ll skip over that prediction. Do contact MedicalEducation soon to set your visit plan into motion. (For a list ofaccommodations, see page 5.) A lot of folks here will be mightypleased to see you again.

87648 CUPOLA spring 08:aaCUPOLA summer 04 5/20/08 1:38 PM

THE CUPOLA is the newsletter ofthe Medical Alumni Association of TheMary Imogene Bassett Hospital. TheAssociation was founded to providesupport and recommendations toBassett Medical EducationDepartment; to assist in recruitingmedical students, house staff andattending staff; and to provide financialsupport to develop and enhancemedical education at Bassett.

The Medical AlumniAssociation of

The Mary ImogeneBassett Hospital

OfficersKenneth W. Wilkins, Jr., M.D.

President

Peter R. Gray, M.D.Secretary-Treasurer

Douglas M. DeLong, M.D.Executive Vice President

Board of DirectorsJoseph W. Bell, M.D.

Jacqueline A. Bello, M.D., Past President

Wendy Bonnett Bergman, M.D.James Bordley IV, M.D.

Rodman D. Carter, M.D.Steven S.T. Ching, M.D.James T. Dalton, M.D.Merideth Davis, M.D.John S. Davis, M.D.

Katrina Harris, D.O.Donald A. Henderson, M.D.

Craig A.N. Henson, M.D.Alan J. Kozak, M.D.Jack L. Martin, M.D.

Karen E. McShane, M.D.Maria Mendez, M.D., Past President

William J. Mitchell, M.D.William H. Mook, M.D.

John E. Olson, M.D.Anush Patel, M.D.

Donald O. Pollock, M.D.Mark Reichelderfer, M.D.Sarah M. Ricketts, M.D.

G. Theodore Ruckert IV, M.D.Rory A. Sears, D.O.

Deborah E. Sentochnik, M.D.Timothy S. Whitaker, M.D.Randall S. Zuckerman, M.D.

Ex OfficioWilliam F. Streck, M.D.

President & CEO

Charlotte HoagAdministrative Director,

Medical Education

Mary WiswellMedical Education Assistant

THE CUPOLA is published three times ayear. Please send comments and news,including change of address informationto: Editor, The Cupola, Office of MedicalEducation, Bassett Healthcare, OneAtwell Road, Cooperstown, NY 13326or e-mail to<[email protected]>.

John S. Davis, M.D.Editor

Lisa MillerAssistant Editor

Anne Geddes-AtwellDesign & Production

2 THE CUPOLA Spring 2008

By Laura Schweitzer,Chief Academic Officer

Much has happened since our lastupdate on the medical school campusat Bassett. Bassett’s Cooperstowncampus has been visited by dignitariesfrom Columbia University, theUniversity of Rochester School ofMedicine and Dentistry, the Universityof Vermont School of Medicine,Albany Medical Center and UpstateMedical University. Tours led by Dr.Henry Weil, co-director of theMedical School Initiative, were com-pelling, and every dean who visitedhas expressed a desire to partnerwith Bassett as a clinical campus.

A special treat was the visit by anAustralian dean and Dr. JordanCohen, the past president of theAmerican Association of MedicalCenters (AAMC) for more than adecade. The Australian medicalschools are looking to partner withU.S. hospital systems for clinical train-ing, and Dr. Cohen brought theAustralians to Bassett to see “a facilitywhere it is being done right.” Hisparting words were, “Whatever med-

ical school you partner with will begetting a gem.” The Australians arecurrently working with me to arrangefourth-year elective opportunities inmedicine and surgical subspecialtiesat Bassett for their students.

A major interim step forward inthe planning for a clinical campus hascome from the fact that AlbanyMedical College over-enrolled thefreshman class by 12 students andasked if Bassett might host the stu-dents for their junior (clinical) year. Weagreed and asked to host six studentsnext year. This has allowed us to:

• assess our physicians’ interestsin teaching (Within one week ofsending a query, more than 100physicians had signed up.);

• assess student interest in com-ing (Students at Albany Medhave competed for six spacesfor next year, and our first stu-dents have been selected.);

• develop a formal financial and busi-ness plan for the campus initiative;

• formulate a draft curriculumthat capitalizes on Bassett’sstrengths as articulated at an

August retreat attended by 35Bassett physicians;

• create a strong curriculum com-mittee and develop it into a veryeffective team and

• apply for LCME (LiaisonCommittee on MedicalEducation) approval as a clinicalcampus with the understandingthat this is essentially transfer-able to our permanent partner.

To prepare for the LCME sitevisit, Dr. Emery Wilson, dean emeritusof the University of Kentucky MedicalSchool and past chairman of theLCME, visited to do a mock surveyand left very excited about ourorganization and by the curriculumthat Drs. Weil and Toni Peters fromHarvard have designed. The LCME hasnow done its site visit and was favor-ably impressed. We await the commit-tee's written response and havereceived verbal approval. Based onthis progress we have been designat-ed a Regional Medical School Campusby the American Association ofMedical Colleges. ■

MEDICAL SCHOOL PLANS MARCH AHEAD

The Alumni Board ofDirectors extends a hearty wel-come to John E. Olson, M.D.John obtained his M.D. in 1956from the University of KansasSchool of Medicine. He andphysical therapist Rita Shippwere married at the end of hissecond year (they recently cele-brated their 54th weddinganniversary). In his senior year,John heard about Bassett from aneurosurgeon who had been there as a Columbia P&Sstudent. The intern match was new, and John did a last-minute coin toss to choose between his top two choices,the University of Michigan and Bassett. He recalls thatMichigan won, but he realized that the result was flawed,and that he really wanted Bassett for a year, with plans tohead “west of the Kansas/Colorado border after that.”

The extraordinary personal standard and hard workhe brought to his intern year were quickly recognized byDr. John Davis, among other fellow interns and all levels ofstaff. After service as a flight surgeon in the Naval Reserve,he returned to complete a surgical residency at TheBassett (yes, we called it “The Bassett” in those days),

which included a stint as chiefresident at P&S. He recalls anincident in the Bassett OR help-ing an intern with an appendix,when the attending surgeon,James Mithoefer, M.D., came inand received a face full of blood“over my shoulder” from a rup-tured appendiceal artery.Commenting that “I think you’vegot everything under control,”Dr. Mithoefer quickly left the

room. During a subsequent fellowship in surgical metabo-lism with Dr. Francis Moore at the Peter Bent BrighamHospital, John had three of four weekends off to comeback to Cooperstown. On one of these weekends, he wascalled in for the horrific experience of assisting in the futileeffort to revive Dr. Mithoefer, who was dying of multiplehornet stings.

John’s ensuing career as an attending surgeon atBassett evolved in ever-widening dimensions. He becamethe respected backbone of the general surgical staff. Earlyon, he ran Bassett’s nascent tumor registry, and this

OLSON to page 4

JOHN E. OLSON, M.D., JOINS MEDICAL ALUMNI BOARD

Dr. Olson in 2007Attending Surgeon in

1971


The Board of Trustees of The Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital hasapproved the creation of the Dr. Walter A. Franck Excellence in MedicalEducation Endowment to honor Dr. Franck’s academic and clinical lead-ership as physician-in-chief over the past 30 years. During this distin-guished career, Walt Franck has served Bassett Healthcare in countlessways, and his clinical and teaching skills have guided and inspired severalgenerations of physicians and other health care professionals.Highlights of his academic career are reviewed in our feature article onPage 1 of this issue of The Cupola.

The first permanently endowed fund in Bassett’s history, the Dr.Walter A. Franck Excellence in Medical Education Endowment will sup-port Bassett’s new medical school campus through the creation of theFranck Award for Medical Student Teaching Excellence. The award willrecognize excellence in teaching at Bassett by means of an annual

stipend from income generated by the endowment, to be bestowed onselected faculty, with the number of awards and their size to be deter-mined by the market value of the endowment. Awards will be grantedby Bassett’s chief academic officer in concert with Bassett’s president.All active physician faculty members involved in the Bassett MedicalStudent Education Program are eligible to receive the Franck Award. Asthe fund grows, the number of awards and their and size will similarlyincrease at the discretion of the president and chief academic officer.

Alumni at large, current medical staff, and national and regionaldonors are being asked to honor Dr. Franck’s service with a one-timegift or a multiple-year pledge to build the endowment. For more infor-mation on how you can participate, please contact Scott A. Barrett,executive director, Friends of Bassett, (607) 547-3556 or [email protected]. ■

THE CUPOLA Spring 2008 3

confidante and mentor at all levels, and an appear-ance of calm and order always pervades, no matterwhat the presented problem, crisis or complaint. His“Walt Rounds” for the resident staff continue toprovide a superb model of the truly caring physician,combined with an inspiring breadth of medicalknowledge and problem-solving skills. It’s tough notto be awed, but, as one colleague and former resi-dent put it: “His humanity overshadows all else.”

Here are three more quotes about Walt fromBassett leaders and colleagues: “He is just a remark-able human being, a thoughtful listener, a most pre-cise observer and a most incisive adviser. The ulti-mate professional, this remarkable person, whosesense of fairness and integrity in the organization isthe gold bullion of Bassett. A wonderful guy and anamazing leader, and he is as unobtrusive in his excel-lence as he could be.Somehow he finds thecenter of an issue wherethe truth is, the correcttruth – not the version ofthe truth – and then heacts upon that ethicallyand appropriately, withoutconsequence of the factthat it might be harderfor him to do it that way.An anchor of integrity forthe organization.”

“What struck memost about Walt was,first, that he’s an absolute-ly wonderful person, in hisstyle, personality and graciousness. I quickly learned

that he stood for excel-lence in medicine and wasunequivocal about thestandards that he thoughtwere appropriate, for thecare of patients, the edu-cation of students and ofresearch. The other thingthat came across was hisgentle but persistentadvocacy for Bassett, asan institution, as an educa-tional enterprise. He wasnever hesitant to makehis points not only knownbut very clearly and elo-quently, and never, never in an adversarial fashion orat the expense of another institution.”

“Above all, there’s been commitment to his wifeand family, and as a lovingand dedicated son to hisparents who moved toCooperstown in theirlater years. Walt’s concernfor and commitment tocommunity has been asubstantial force creatingthe family feel that existsin the Department ofMedicine and the wholeinstitution.”

In a recent inter-view, Walt summed up hisBassett career with hisusual modesty: “Bassett,like the rest of the hospi-

tals and practices in this country, has undergone

enormous change duringmy tenure here. Bassetthas done it about as wellas any organization con-ceivably could have. It’sgone from having the lux-ury of time, our quintes-sential commodity thatour patients value themost, really more thanour talent. They can’tjudge our talent, but theycan judge our empathyand our compassion andour time. And we’ve hadless and less of that to

give to our patients. We’ve done a pretty good jobof protecting time for our staff, with time for ourfamilies and community, making it possible to have apersonal life that’s been rewarding in this communi-ty.”

Walt and Linda were married right after his firstyear in medical school. Linda served for 20 years asa public health nurse, and, Walt says, “She was alwaysable to keep me focused on the patient and thehome and on the importance of nursing in the careof patients – seeing care delivered to our communi-ty from the eyes of a PHN.” They have four childrenand seven grandchildren in several locations. Whatnext? “I hope not to disappear, but enjoy the fruits ofthe academic life at Bassett, time at the Cape plustravel, with headquarters staying in Cooperstown.”

Walt, the Bassett community far and wide sendsyou three cheers and more as you transition to anew and continued productive life, which we knowwill continue to benefit Bassett and Cooperstown!Talk about a tough act to follow. ■

FRANCK from page 1

“...he stood forexcellence in

medicine and wasunequivocal aboutthe standards...”

BOARD APPROVES DR. WALTER A. FRANCK EXCELLENCE IN MEDICAL EDUCATION ENDOWMENT

“His humanity overshadows

all else.”



Walter Luft, M.D.

Dr. Walter Luft passed away Jan. 23, 2008, inSouth Florida at age 100. Born in Germany, hesurvived diphtheria and a tracheotomy at age 2,obtained his M.D. and did his internship inGermany, got out of medicine for a while, fledGermany to Denmark in the 1930s, spent timein Israel, got more medical education and cameto the United States in 1938, where he rapidlylearned English. When interviewed by John Davisin 1997, he recalled being offered a six-monthinternship by Dr. George Mackenzie in January1938 after one of the four Bassett internsdropped out with tuberculosis, thus becomingBassett’s first international medical graduate (thesecond was 55 years later). He worked chieflyunder Dr. John Powers, “a strict disciplinarian”who “reminded me of the Prussians,” but with awarm side, and they developed a friendship thatwas to last over the years. Internists Drs.Mackenzie, Francis Harrison and David Kydd

were his other principal teachers at a time whensulfa had just come in as a near-miracle drug forpneumonia and other infections.

Dr. Luft opened his first office inPortlandville in July 1939. He had met his wife,Annemarie Schneider, in Buffalo in 1942, andthey moved to Milford with the help of Bassettobstetrician Floyd Atwell, M.D., where he con-tinued his general practice for over 40 years,retiring in 1985. During those years, he mademany house calls, including one in which hehad to deliver a breech baby (with a successfuloutcome). He was recognized by Bassett col-leagues as an excellent physician with a deepunderstanding of the art of medicine, for whichhe was revered by several generations ofpatients. He was a regular attendee at Bassett’sGrand Rounds during his practice years andafter retirement, often with sharp questions andcomments. He is survived by his wife, daughterJill Luft, a grandson and two great grandchildren.

George L. Nicklin Jr., M.D.Dr. George R.

Nicklin Jr. died June21, 2007, in Medford,N.J., at age 81. A graduate ofHaverford College,he served as a medicin the military inGermany in WW II,was awarded twoBronze Stars and

was severely wounded in the process. Heobtained his M.D. from the College ofPhysicians and Surgeons of Columbia Universityand then did a two-year rotating internship atBassett (1951-53), before completing a residen-cy in psychiatry at Bellevue Hospital. He wenton to a career in the practice of psychiatry andpsychoanalysis on Manhattan and Long Islandand as a professor of psychiatry at New YorkUniversity. He retired in 2004 and was honoredby the American Psychiatric Association for 50years of distinguished service. Late in life, hepublished two books “Doctors in Peril, HowThey Cope” and “War Stories: World War IIReminiscences.” He is survived by his wife of 57years, Kate Nicklin, and a large extended family.

Jane Margaret Wolf, M.D.Dr. Jane Margaret Wolf died Feb. 9, 2008, at

age 57, of complications of pancreatic cancer.Dr. Wolf graduated cum laude from RadcliffeCollege and obtained her M.D. with honorsfrom the University of Vermont, where shewent on to become an associate professor inthe Department of Psychiatry and director ofthe residency program. From 1990 to 1999, shewas Bassett’s psychiatrist-in-chief, leaving tobecome clinical director of the Augusta MentalHealth Institute in Augusta, Maine, until herretirement for health reasons in 2000. Dr. Wolfwas a fellow of the American PsychiatricAssociation. She is survived by her two sisters,Julietta Wolf-Foster and Molly Wolf.

IN MEMORIAM: BASSETT REMEMBERSEditor’s note: Please send us information about Bassett colleagues who have passed on.

evolved to his growing expertise and nationalrecognition in surgical oncology and key involve-ment in the cancer program of the AmericanCollege of Surgeons, the Eastern CooperativeOncology Group and the New York StateCancer Programs Association, where he servedas president. On a parallel track, he became anexpert in endocrine surgery, all the while main-taining his status as Bassett’s premiere breastand general surgeon (Davis recalls his diagnosingWhipple’s Disease at the operating table in acase that had defied diagnosis by all.)

Throughout his career, his dedicated andpassionate personal standard of surgical practiceand teaching were key to turning out a series ofsuperbly trained surgeons, stressful for many, but

with admiration and the highest regard for thisextraordinary surgeon role model. Beginning in1988, at the behest of the National Cancer

Institute, he began a series of trips as a consult-ant to Taiwan to promote multidisciplinary treat-ment of cancer at three medical schools and toset up a surgical oncology fellowship program.He retired from Bassett in October 1995 butcontinued a part-time clinical and teaching rolefor a couple of years.

John and Rita live outside of Cooperstown,with a summer getaway home in the Adirondacksand with close contacts with their three sons,one of whom, Stephen Olson, M.D., was the firstFellow in Bassett’s Mithoefer Center for RuralSurgery. These days, John’s passion and expertisefor fly fishing keep him heading for the best fish-ing spots around Otsego County, the UnitedStates and the world. ■

OLSON from page 1

Bassett House Staff 1956. Besides Dr. Olson,how many can you identify?

George Nicklin, M.D.

Dr. Luft at Interdepartmental Grand Roundsin 1982.



1950sDonald A. Henderson,M.D., M.P.H., (Intern1954-55, Assistant Residentin Medicine 1958-59): Anote in the recentRochester Medicinereports, “The King ofThailand has conferred onhim the Knight GrandCross of the MostAdmirable Order ofDirekgunabhorn. It was amagnificent ceremony atthe Royal ChulalongkornPalace in Bangkok. Hereceived a medal and sashthat are beautiful tobehold, though he doesn’tsee any events on his cal-endar that call for wearingthem. He is also beginningan autobiography, despitehaving sworn never to doanother book after he fin-ished the smallpox booknine years ago.” (D.A.,here’s your chance toappear in proper attire foryour lecture at ourupcoming Bassett FamilyReunion!)

1970sWilliam (Bill)Petersen, M.D.,(Transitional Resident 1978-79) writes, “I sold my oph-thalmology practice twoyears ago. Cathy retired atthat time, but I continuedto work part timethrough October 2007. Iam now fully retired and

now have time to learnnew sports. We are farfrom bored and trulyenjoy our newfound free-dom.”

1980sJonathan Fong, M.D.,(Surgery Resident 1987-93[Chief Resident 1992-93])writes, “I have been inVenice, Fla., for the pastfive years now. James is 13and Alex is 10. Sophiamaintains her involvementin the community. The car-diac surgery program willreach its fifth anniversarythis summer. It has beendesignated as a top 100program by Thompson(formerly Solucient) forthe second year in a row,was named byHealthgrades.com to thetop 5 percent of programsin the nation for coronarybypass surgery, and wasranked No. 3 in the stateof Florida, receiving fivestars (the highest rating)for in-hospital, 30-day and180-day mortality. Theabove are mentioned onlyto give kudos to thosewho never gave up tryingto make me a better sur-geon and physician. WhileI will freely and openlysubmit that the results aredivinely given, if there isany human component tothese results, they are adirect result of the behav-ior modeled by my men-

tors at Bassett. Fastidioussurgical technique andattention to detail in post-operative care actually didtrickle down and becomeintegral parts of my identi-ty as a surgeon. Thankyou. We remember fondlyour time at Bassett andlook forward to that timewhen we can visit in per-son and see the amazingchanges we’ve read aboutin The Cupola. Keep upthe great work!”

Anne Nafziger, M.D.,*reports that “JoeBertino* and I were inBangkok, Thailand, in lateJanuary 2008. We had thepleasure of seeingSiwaporn Chainuvati*, herhandsome son Gem, andJoy Ngarmukos*! They areboth doing well—practic-ing in academic medicine,teaching medical studentsand seeing patients. Joeand I have started a con-sulting business and arehaving a great time work-ing for ourselves. We aredoing a wide range ofwork for the pharmaceu-tical industry. We have aWeb site that gives moredetails about what we aredoing for those who areinterested: www.bertinoconsulting.com

*Dr. Nafziger, TransitionalResident 1984-85, MedicineResident 1985-88, Attending

Physician and ClinicalResearch Scientist 1990-2004; Joseph Bertino,Pharm.D., Co-Director,Clinical Pharmacy ResearchCenter 1982-2004;Siwaporn Chainuvati,M.D., Medicine Resident1998-2000; Chardpra-orn Ngarmukos, M.D.Medicine Resident 1995-97.

1990sMary Flannery, M.D.,(Attending – Pediatrics,Bassett Herkimer 1995-2004) reports, “As a pedi-atrician with a stronginterest in behavioralhealth, I decided to pursueformal training in psychia-try. In July ’07 I started afour-year program in psy-chiatry at St Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital inNew York City. On com-pletion, I’ll be board eligi-ble in both child and ado-lescent and general psy-chiatry. St Luke’s is aColumbia affiliate locatedin Morningside Heights. I

love NYC and get to seetwo of my three childrenhere quite a bit. One is asenior at Fordham andthe other works in mar-keting in Manhattan. Theirolder brother is up inCambridge, studying VERYhard at Harvard LawSchool.”

2000sJennifer Wen Doe(Jennifer Wen, TransitionalResident 2003-2004) writes,“I just had a baby girl in theend of December and she’sbeen growing like crazy! Wenamed her KatherineSophia Doe. My husbandand I are relocating to NewJersey, where my family is. Iwill be starting a Body MRI

fellowship at Columbiabeginning July1. I am cur-rently studying like crazy formy oral board exam onJune 1. Wish me luck!” ■

Left to right: Dr. Nafziger, GemChainuvati, Dr. Chainuvati, Dr.

Bertino, Dr. Ngarmukos

THE BASSETT FAMILY ALBUM—ALUMNI NEWSAgain, thanks to those who have sent the following news.

To the rest of you, notes and pictures (preferably sent electronically) will be welcomed!

Katherine Sophia Doe

Accommodations Available for Reunion WeekendAutumn is a busy time in Cooperstown, and as the alumni reunion will be held on a holiday weekend, it may be even busier.

Book your rooms early, and please indicate that you are attending the reunion. The following have set rooms aside for the weekend:

Abbey’s CottagePhone: (607) 547-2263

Web: cooperstownchamber.com

August Lodge Cooperstown, Inc.Phone: (607) 547-7457Web: augustlodge.com

Hickory Grove Motor InnPhone: (607) 547-9874

Web: hickorygrovemotorinn.com

Howard Johnson Inn and SuitesPhone: (607) 286-7600

The Inn at CooperstownPhone: (607) 547-5756

Web: innatcooperstown.com

Lake Front MotelPhone: (607) 547-9511, ext. 1

Web: lakefrontmotelandrestaurant.com

Lake ‘N Pines MotelPhone: (607) 547-2790

1-800-615-5253

Main Street Bed & BreakfastPhone: (607) 547-9755

Web: mainstreetbandb.info

Sunny Slope Bed and Breakfast(on an organic dairy farm)

Phone: (607) 547-8686

The Otesaga Resort HotelPhone: 1-800-348-6222

Web: otesaga.com


HEART CARE INSTITUTEADDS ARRHYTHMIA EXPERT

The Bassett Heart Care Institute now hasthe specialized services of Amit J. Shanker, M.D.,a board-certified interventional electrophysiol-ogist. With the addition of Dr. Shanker to thecardiology team, Bassett will establish a Centerfor Advanced Arrhythmia Medicine offeringboth pharmacologic and nonpharmacologicoptions for arrhythmia treatment, suppressionor cure.

A variety of surgical options will be avail-able, including: implantation ofdefibrillators/pacemakers and cardiac resyn-chronization therapy devices for the treatmentof heart failure, electrophysiology studies withadjunctive 3D high density electroanatomiccomputer mapping (to aid in the identificationof electrical ‘short circuits’ in the heart), andradiofrequency or cryoablation procedures. Dr.Shanker will also offer alternative treatmentsfor symptomatic drug-refractory atrial fibrilla-tion, including the catheter-based wide area cir-cumferencial pulmonary vein isolation proce-dure.

BARIATRIC SURGERYPROGRAM WINSRECOGNITION

Bassett has been designated as a Center ofExcellence for its bariatric surgery program bythe Surgical Review Corporation, a sub-groupof the American Society of Metabolic andBariatric Surgery. Bassett is one of 321 hospi-tals nationwide, and 24 in New York state, toachieve Center of Excellence status.

Hospitals eligible for this designation mustperform at least 125 weight-loss surgeries peryear, with exceptional standards of care and

treatment. The SRC selection process examinesthe entire patient experience, including caregiven by a dedicated bariatric team consistingof surgeons, nurses, nutritionists, psychologistsand exercise physiologists; and reviews educa-tional material and patient support provided topatients. The bariatric team must also reportlong-term patient outcomes and undergo on-site inspections.

Bassett’s selection as a Center ofExcellence also means the program will be ableto provide care for patients with Medicareinsurance who are candidates for weight-losssurgery. The bariatric surgery program offers“lap band” and laparoscopic gastric bypass pro-cedures to help obese patients achieve the ulti-mate goal of improved health with the result-ant weight loss.

TRI-TOWN REGIONALHOSPITAL OPENS

Bassett celebrated the opening of its fourthaffiliated hospital, Tri-Town Regional Hospital inSidney, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony onFeb. 5. Pictured, left to right, are: Tri-TownRegional Hospital Board of Trustees ChairmanScott McLean; Bassett President and CEO

William F. Streck, M.D.; state Sen. John J.Bonacic; state Assemblyman Peter Lopez; PhilGiltner, legislative representative forCongresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand and Tri-Town Regional Hospital CEO Bruce Wilhelm.

BASSETT HONORED BYCOMPUTERWORLD

MAGAZINEComputerworld magazine, a leading tech-

nology publication, has named BassettHealthcare a Laureate for 2008 for its casestudy, “Advanced Information Infrastructure forElectronic Medical Records.” According to VicePresident for Information Services and ChiefInformation Officer Ken Deans, medicalrecords in this context means all of Bassett’selectronic medical applications, from electronicmedical record (EMR) to PACS to moving theannual budgeting process from paper to onlinewith Lawson Budgeting and Planning 9.0 mod-ule.

The Computerworld Honors Programbrings together the principals of the world’sforemost information technology companies torecognize the achievements of people andorganizations around the world whose vision-ary applications of information technology pro-mote positive social, economic and educationalchange. “In the competition for Laureate status,the biggest thing this award is after is not justthe use of technology, but use of technology tobenefit society, and that’s where we stoodabove the crowd,” Deans says. “I was surprisedthat we received the Laureate designation giventhe level of other participants, probably 200individual organizations. We are very honoredand extremely pleased.”

ON COMMUNICATING BY E-MAILWhat a wonderful way to communicate with you out there – except that e-mail addresses change rapidly, much faster than telephone numbers,

so frustration is too often the name of the game!So, please send your updated addresses to [email protected]!

And while on the subject, your board discussed the concept of restricted, password-protected e-mail access via the Bassett alumni Web site,www.bassett.org/edu/alumni.cfm.

A workable system will be a daunting task. Let us know what you think!


Breaking News

Sidney ribbon-cutting



PHYSICIAN EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AT BASSETTBassett Healthcare is an expanding institution! Each of the listed positions is described at

http://www.bassett.org/careercenter/phys_opp.cfmFor more information, contact Medical Staff Affairs at [email protected] or (607) 547-6982.

• Anesthesiologist• Cardiologist• Emergency Medicine Physician• Gastroenterologist• Gynecologic Oncologist• Hospitalist

• Obstetrician/Gynecologist• Optometrist• Orthopaedic Surgeon• Pediatrician• Pediatric Hospitalist• Physiatrist

• Plastic Surgeon• Primary Care Internist• Psychiatrist• Radiologist

LEARNING COMMONS OPENS DOORS After many months of planning, the trans-

formation of the Mackenzie Medical Libraryinto a high-tech, multidisciplinary LearningCommons is complete.

“I’m very excited to expand upon ourtraditional mission as a medical library byincorporating new educational technolo-gies,” said Laura Dixon, manager, BassettLearning Commons & Mackenzie MedicalLibrary. “Our upper floor has been trans-formed into the primary access point forstaff and students to use computer-basedresources, while the lower floor will beused for hands-on learning as well as quietstudy (when classes aren’t in session).”

At the heart of the project is the BassettActive Learning Center, a multidisciplinaryteaching laboratory with virtual-reality train-ing modules and a laparoscopic surgical sim-ulator. During surgical grand rounds inJanuary, Associate Chief of Surgery Dr. KarenMcGinnis gave a presentation on theLearning Center to a capacity audience ofmedical staff, medical students and adminis-trators.

Designed for use by medical students,

medical residents, surgical residents, nursingstudents, CRNA students, OR staff teamtraining, ER providers, attending physicians,ACLS classes, EMT and rapid responseteams, the simulator will initially be usedwith basic models for skill development.These include chest tube placement, lumbarpuncture, IV placement, arterial line place-ment, central lines, peritoneal catheter mod-els, NG/trach care models and laparoscopicsimulation with Haptica and virtual-reality

simulators. Phases deployed over the nextfew years will include patient simulators anddevelopment of a difficult airway course.Future plans may include a trauma program,GYN models, advanced laparoscopy training,endoscopy and ultrasound training.

The Learning Commons also is enablingBassett to serve as a beta-site for theUniversity of British Columbia’sCyberPatient program, an interactive, multi-media, Web-based teaching tool that willform a key part of the faculty’s interactivemedical curriculum. Currently, CyberPatientteaches students how to treat 12 types ofacute abdominal problems.

The Learning Commons was funded by a$100,000 grant from Gladys BrooksFoundation, and the Bassett Medical EducationEndowment Fund approved an additional$100,000 over the next three years.

Dixon and McGinnis collaborated asadministrators on the project. Members of theeducational team include: Drs. DavidBorgstrom, Bill LeCates, Gus Leinhart, BruceKramer and McGinnis, and Martha Twichell,R.N. ■

Surgery residents try out the laparoscopic simulator in theteaching laboratory of the Bassett Learning Commons.Pictured, from left, are: Dr. Tarun Bajaj, Dr. Kerry Rodgersand Dr. Kenneth Bark.

NEW HOUSE STAFF APPOINTMENTS MADEBassett recently announced the following medical education postgraduate

appointments for the 2008-09 academic year:

General SurgeryGregory C. Gardner, M.D., State University of New York at Syracuse College ofMedicine; Mellissa E. Mahabee, M.D., Loma Linda University School of Medicine;Kelly Currie, M.D., State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine;Sanjay Thomas, M.D., Albany Medical College.

Internal MedicineSunil Avagadda, M.D., Siddhartha Medical College, India; Dipendra Chaudhary,M.D., Kathmandu Medical College, Nepal; Tatpong Chit-ua-aree, M.D.,Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; Saleem Chowdhry, M.D., Jawaharlal NehruMedical College, India; Azadeh Farokhi, M.D., University of Vermont College ofMedicine; Aren A. Giske, M.D., University of Vermont College of Medicine; JosephGorodenker, M.D., University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry;

Potjana Jitawatanarat, M.D., Mahidol University, Thailand; Hyeong Kim, M.D.,Yonsei University, South Korea; Candice M. Oliver, D.O., University of NewEngland College of Osteopathic Medicine; Mukesh Kumar, M.D., Dow MedicalCollege, Pakistan; Bhatraphol Tingpej, M.D., Mahidol University, Thailand.

Transitional YearKimberly R. Blasius, M.D., State University of New York at Syracuse College ofMedicine; Dorothy Boo, M.D., State University of New York Downstate Collegeof Medicine; Elizabeth L. Carpenter, M.D., Stony Brook University HealthSciences Center.; Seth H. Iverson, M.D., New York Medical College; RebeccaLenhard, M.D., State University of New York at Syracuse College of Medicine;Marie-Eve C. Noel, M.D., State University of New York at Syracuse College ofMedicine; Robert T. Swan, M.D., State University of New York at SyracuseCollege of Medicine; Sofia J Syed, M.D., Government Medical College, JammuIndia ; Ken L. Tai, M.D., Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine, Canada. ■


THE CUPOLABassett HealthcareOne Atwell RoadCooperstown, NY 13326

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

NONPROFIT ORGUS POSTAGE

PAIDCooperstown, NY

Permit #31

BASSETT LOOKS BACKFrom time to time, we’ll present a picture or two to capture an event or people in Bassett’s past. Enjoy reminiscing!

This pictorial offering is tied to the article on Dr. Walter Franck’s upcomingretirement. Talk about someone who has stood the test of time!

Clockwise, from top left:

New to Bassett in 197350th birthday party on Otsego LakeWith Intern Timothy French, M.D., in 1991With (those now disappearing) X-ray folders, circa 1989At the Golden Apple award ceremony in 1998With Resident Chris Corsi, M.D., in 1990


87648 cupola spring 08:aacupola summer 04 - bassett · 2020-01-17 · bassett will miss you!...

Documents