MEMORIAL HOSPITAL ANNOUNCES EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR
Francis Dietz, president and CEO, congratulates Kathleen Blackledge, guest representative, Food & Nutrition Department, as Employee of the Year.
PAWTUCKET, RI – Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island celebrated National Hospital Week in May. Memorial paid tribute to the dedicated staff at the hospital with a seemingly endless capacity to care National Hospital Week focused attention on the numerous contributions hospitals make to their communities and honors the individuals who play an important role in advancing healthcare.
During National Hospital Week, Memorial honored employees at the Employee Recognition event. Kathleen Blackledge, guest representative, Food & Nutrition Department, was named “Employee of the Year 2010.” A Seekonk, MA resident, Kathy began working at Memorial in 1979. During more than 30 years of service, she has been nominated on two previous occasions as the Department Employee of the Year and has established a long record of outstanding job performance, excellent interpersonal skills and unfailing flexibility and dependability.
Kathy started as a diet assistant, where she was responsible for writing therapeutic diets for non-select menus, checking the patient trays for accuracy, processing diet changes, correcting menus, updating patient information and processing telephone calls.
In 1994 Kathy transitioned to the guest representative position she holds today. During the 15 years she has been a guest representative, she has consistently placed the patient’s need as her top priority, with patients often commenting about the excellent service she has provided to them. Since patient satisfaction began being monitored by Press Ganey Associates, the department has consistently ranked above the 90th percentile in overall satisfaction. Kathy’s dedication to meeting her patients’ needs has been a key factor in achieving this success.
Kathy is responsible for collecting patients’ menu preferences, distributing and collecting patient trays, maintaining the floor stock and sanitation of patient unit kitchens and assuring patient satisfaction during meal times. In 2009, Kathy took on new challenges by transitioning from using paper menus, collected one day in advance to a paperless system where patient menu preferences are collected, using portable data terminals, on the same day of service.
Throughout change, Kathy remains cheerful, positive and always willing to help where needed, demonstrating that her interpersonal relationships with her coworkers, supervisors and patients are exemplary. She is an invaluable resource to the Food & Nutrition Department.
As Employee of the Year, Ms. Blackledge received an Employee of the Year plaque, crystal bowl, a day off with pay and a free parking space for one year.
David A. Marcoux, MD, named Physician of the Year
David A. Marcoux, MD, The Miriam Hospital's 2010 Charles C.J. Carpenter, MD, Outstanding Physician of the Year.
PROVIDENCE, RI – David A. Marcoux, MD, an internal medicine specialist, was recently named The Miriam Hospital’s 2010 Charles C.J. Carpenter, MD, Outstanding Physician of the Year at the hospital’s annual staff association meeting. Noted as an exceptional physician, patient advocate and colleague, Marcoux was nominated by his peers and selected by a committee of physician leaders.
“Dr. Marcoux’s ability to combine clinical excellence and compassion embodies the spirit of this award and makes him an extraordinary role model for his patients, students and co-workers,” says William Corwin, MD, vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer at The Miriam Hospital. “We’re proud to call Dr. Marcoux a member of The Miriam Hospital family and recognize him with this important honor.”
Marcoux, who is also a physician with University Internal Medicine, Inc., has practiced at The Miriam Hospital since 1992, where he is also a member of the hospital’s ethics committee. As an educator, Marcoux is an associate clinical associate professor of medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
A Rhode Island native, Marcoux is a graduate of Rhode Island College and received his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He completed both his internship and residency at The Miriam Hospital, serving as chief resident.
INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED EPIDEMIOLOGIST JOINS WOMEN & INFANTS
Providence, RI – David A. Savitz, PhD, an internationally renowned epidemiologist and member of the prestigious Institute of Medicine, has joined The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island as associate director of the Division of Research. He will also serve as professor of community health and obstetrics and gynecology at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
“Dr. Savitz’s research career has been focused on reproductive epidemiology and the study of environmental influences on cancer and pregnancy,” noted Joanna Cain, MD, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Women & Infants and the Chace/Joukowsky professor and chair at Alpert Medical School. “He is committed to mentoring faculty and developing databases and systems in obstetrics and neonatology, and to collaborating across institutions to create the long-term research infrastructure and support that will continue to advance research.”
Dr. Savitz received his doctoral degree in epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. In 1996, he was named chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina, a position he held until 2005. In January 2006, he joined Mount Sinai School of Medicine as director of the Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute and the Charles W. Bluhdorn Professor of Preventive Medicine.
His interest in epidemiology began in the 1980s and developed to encompass the full range of potential health determinants and consequences of perinatal health conditions. He has a strong interest in the concepts, strategies, and technology of epidemiology and has sustained a focus on advancing the methods of epidemiologic research, resulting in the 2003 publication of his book, Interpreting Epidemiologic Evidence.
Dr. Savitz has served as editor of the American Journal of Epidemiology and as a member of the Epidemiology and Disease Control-1 Study Section of the National Institutes of Health. He is currently an editor with Epidemiology. He was president of the Society for Epidemiologic Research and the Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research, and North American regional councilor for the International Epidemiological Association. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2007.
The Miriam Hospital names new Chief Nursing Officer
Maria Ducharme, MS, RN, NE-BC, senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer, The Miriam Hospital
PROVIDENCE, RI – The Miriam Hospital has appointed Maria Ducharme, MS, RN, NE-BC, senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer effective immediately. Ducharme has served as interim chief nursing officer for the past three months.
In her new role, Ducharme is responsible for all nursing services, including developing and maintaining professional nursing practice and standards of care. She also will oversee all patient care services at The Miriam Hospital, including the emergency department, inpatient and outpatient surgical services, social work and several other clinical areas.
Ducharme has held various leadership roles throughout her 23 year career at The Miriam, most recently as administrative director of patient care services. She has been instrumental in leading efforts to increase patient satisfaction, and develop and improve system-wide quality indicators. Ducharme has also played a crucial role in the hospital achieving Magnet status three times – the most esteemed award an organization can receive for nursing care – and has spearheaded The Miriam’s fourth Magnet application.
“Maria has amassed a tremendous breadth of experience in virtually every area of strategic, clinical and operational leadership during her tenure at The Miriam Hospital,” says Arthur J. Sampson, executive director, The Miriam Hospital. “She has continuously demonstrated that she has the leadership skills, determination and commitment to exceptional patient care that we want and expect at The Miriam.”
A resident of Barrington, Ducharme is a graduate of Rhode Island College and received her master’s in nursing from the University of Rhode Island. She is a member of the Rhode Island State Nurses Association, the American Organization of Nurse Executives and she sits on the board of the Massachusetts Organization of Nurse Executives (MONE).
William M. Corrao, MD, receives Milton Hamolsky Outstanding Physician Award
* Award given each year to a physician who has made exceptional contributions to medicine
* Corrao has spent entire 30-year career at Rhode Island Hospital
* Internationally recognized for work in pulmonary, respiratory medicine
William M. Corrao, MD
Providence, R) – The Rhode Island Hospital medical staff presented its annual Milton Hamolsky Outstanding Physician Award to pulmonary and critical care physician William M. Corrao, MD, for his contributions to his patients, residents and fellows in training, medical students and the hospital. The award is the highest honor the Rhode Island Hospital medical staff bestows on one of its own.
Corrao, a resident of Wakefield, RI, has spent his entire career – more than 30 years- as a physician at Rhode Island Hospital. He has served in various roles at Rhode Island Hospital, including medical director of the department of respiratory therapy and director of the pulmonary function lab. He currently serves as a staff physician on the respiratory intensive care unit, and also has a private practice in East Greenwich.
“Dr. Corrao demonstrates true dedication to his patients and peers,” said John B. Murphy, MD, chief medical officer at Rhode Island Hospital. “For more than 30 years, Dr. Corrao has been providing outstanding care for some of our most critically ill patients, while teaching and mentoring tomorrow’s physician-leaders. His commitment is commendable, and makes him a role model for all of our staff.”
Corrao has received national and international recognition for his work in pulmonary and respiratory medicine, specifically relating to cough and asthma. He has been an invited speaker at many symposia around the world including Indonesia, China, Thailand and Greece.
He is a former member of the Rhode Island Hospital and Rhode Island Lung Association’s boards of trustees. He also volunteers at the Rhode Island Free Clinic and Taming Asthma clinic; has received numerous teaching awards from Brown University; and has been chosen by the American Thoracic Society as Rhode Island’s pulmonary clinician of the year. He currently serves as Rhode Island’s governor for the American College of Chest Physicians.
The Hamolsky Outstanding Physician Award is presented each year to a physician who has made exceptional contributions to medicine, medical education and research; who has demonstrated leadership; and who has been an exemplary role model. The award honors Milton Hamolsky, MD, a now-retired endocrinologist who came to Rhode Island Hospital in 1963 and served as the first full-time physician-in-chief. Hamolsky is also the retired chief administrative officer of the Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline and a pioneer of medical education in Rhode Island.
