US Department of Health Recognizes SBUH for High Rate Organ Donation
SBUH was presented the Organ Donor Medal of Honor by the US Department of Health and Human Services at a ceremony that took place during the Third National Learning Congress on Organ Donation and Transplantation.
According to a Nov. 8 press release, SBUH was recognized for maintaining an organ donation rate greater than 75 percent between August 2005 and June 2007. At its peak donation period, SBUH witnessed 35 organ transplantations.
SBUH is one of 14 hospitals in the greater New York metropolitan area to be given this distinction.
Steven Strongwater, M.D., chief executive officer of SBUH said, “We have witnessed how some of our patients benefited from transplants. We hope that by being recognized for this award, we can create awareness about the ongoing need for more donors.”
Elaine Berg, New York Organ Donor Network president and chief executive officer congratulated Stony Brook’s recent achievement. “Like all of the hospitals honored by HHS, Stony Brook University Hospital played a leading role in saving precious lives through organ donation. We also humbly acknowledge the donors and their loving families whose generosity and compassion made organ donation possible. It’s worth remembering that one organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people.”
Between the years of 2002 and 2006, the total number of donors increased by 29.6 percent. The greater NY metropolitan area had a record 319 donors in the last year. This was a significant increase from 2001 when 199 donations were made.
According to the press release, nearly100,000 patients are waiting for organ transplants in the US with 7000 of them living in the greater NY metropolitan area.
NYS Department of Health Grants SBUMC $1.33 Million to Fight Childhood Obesity
According to a Nov. 14 press release, the SBUMC Department of Family Medicine received a $1.33 Million grant from the New York State Department of Health to pursue prevention programs for childhood obesity.
Specifically, the grant sponsors the creation of the Long Island Center for Pediatric Obesity Prevention Best Practices in Heart Links Communities.
One of only three institutions to receive this grant, SBUMC is poised to be a model for prevention of childhood obesity. New York-Presbyterian Hospital and the Foundation for Healthy Living also received this grant.
“This is an exciting opportunity to reduce the prevalence of obesity very early in life when physiological processes related to energy balance are being set and eating habits are established,” said Josephine Connolly Schoonen, M.S., R.D., clinical assistant professor of Family Medicine and director of the center.
The center will operate by counseling pregnant women on optimal weight gain and how to promote healthy eating habits with their children. Furthermore, the center will develop programs that encourage breastfeeding and help parents and their children establish healthy relationships with food.
Furthermore, in the future, the center plans to establish programs that spread awareness of the need for screening for obesity by healthcare providers, workshops for both parents and primary care practitioners from dieticians, and a referral network among healthcare providers for obese children.
