FEBRUARY
2011
Employee News
Child Life Rocks!
On the web:
CareConnect: A New Name
for UCLA’s EHR
Patients and families at Mattel Children’s
Hospital UCLA were all smiles when
singer/songwriter Avril Lavigne stopped
by for a visit last month.
The electronic health record program will
now be called CareConnect, a name that
reflects both the breadth and benefits of
the program.
Kourtney Najar, who had been in the
hospital for 176 days following a small
bowel and pancreas transplant, presented
Avril with a calendar that included photos
of herself receiving treatment at UCLA
over the last year with cover art she
designed herself.
For many kids at Mattel Children’s Hospital
UCLA, the hospital is their home away
from home. UCLA’s Child Life/Child
Development Services provides social,
emotional and developmental assistance
to patients and families, and also helps
arrange welcomed distractions such as
Lavigne’s visit to our patients.
While the CareConnect program is using
Epic Systems technology, the actual implementation will be tailored to UCLA’s needs.
CareConnect builds upon the mission of
delivering leading-edge patient care by
streamlining our processes and systems.
For more information, visit:
www.ehr.uclahealth.org
Matttel Children’s Hospital UCLA patient
Kourtney Najar with Avril Lavigne.
Chamber Music in a Hospital?
That’s the concept behind the newly created
Music at the Med concert series. The program
debuted on Jan. 28 with a beautiful performance
by the award-winning Angeles Saxophone Quartet.
A collaboration between the UCLA Health
System’s Volunteer Department and the UCLA
Herb Alpert School of Music, the series of six
concerts was created as a unique way to offer
respite to patients and caregivers. It is also an
opportunity for some of UCLA’s elite student
musicians to perform for a new audience who
appreciates and benefits from their talents.
Mark your calendar for these upcoming Music
at the Med performances: Feb. 25 Vivaldi’s
“Four Seasons”; March 18 Belles Aires Woodwind Quintet; April 15 Music Made in Los
Angeles; May 20 Monaco Brass; June 3 UCLA
Camarades String Ensemble.
The free concerts are held at noon in the RRUCLA
Tamkin Auditorium. Seating is limited. To watch
a video, visit: www.uclaahealth.org/music
IN THIS ISSUE
UCLA People
3 Vinod Mangal Provides Food for Thought
Inside Stories
2 Project SEARCH Students Graduate
2 UCLA Ensures Blood Product Safety
4 Former Pediatric Patient Gives Back
5 Santa Monica Bay Physicians Join UCLA
5 UCLA Health System Getting Greener
Wellness Initiative
6 Managing High Blood Pressure
News Shorts
6 UCLA Physicians Named Super Doctors
6 2011 Run/Walk to Cure Brain Tumors
6 February Healthcare Recognition
UCLA Employee Plays National Role
in Ensuring Blood Product Safety
Project SEARCH Celebrates
Project SEARCH proudly recognized Lauren
Levine, Patrick Zegler, Joshua Chen and
Corinna Hitchman in January with a special
graduation celebrated by department managers,
community agency leaders, UCLA Extension
leadership, Hospital Administration and
Human Resources staff.
Project SEARCH is a program adopted by
UCLA Health System and UCLA Extension to
provide education and training to young adults
with intellectual and developmental disabilities
through an innovative workforce and career
development model that benefits the individual,
workplace and community.
This six-month school-to-work program was
launched at UCLA in July and allows four students
to intern with the Food Services and Material
Management departments at Ronald Reagan
UCLA Medical Center. The students work in
positions such as return items technician, office
clerk, mail delivery technician and food service
worker. During their internships, the students
are able to acquire on-the-job training and gain
invaluable employment skills from their on-site
job coaches, such as time management, appropriate workplace behavior and communication.
At the end of each day, the interns participate
in a one-hour classroom/group instruction
where they reflect on their day, review curriculum relevant to succeeding in the workplace and
journal what they’ve learned.
“The interns were a very positive addition to our
teams. Our managers were able to learn as much
from these special individuals as they learned
from us, which was evident from the large
turnout at the graduation,” notes Robin Ludewig,
Director Recruitment and Workforce Planning,
UCLA Health System, Human Resources.
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An estimated 20,000 people nationally and 400,000 people globally are living with
hemophilia, an inherited bleeding disorder in which the blood does not clot properly.
Worldwide, only 25 percent of people with hemophilia receive adequate treatment for
the disorder. In the United States, however, as many as 70 percent of hemophiliacs
receive specialized care in federally funded Hemophilia Treatment Centers (HTCs) and
experience mortality and hospitalization rates that are 40 percent lower than others
with the disorder. The outlook for hemophiliacs in the U.S. has not always been so
bright, recalls Judith Baker, director of the federal HTC network for Region IX, which has
been based at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA since 2006.
“When I began this work in the 1990s, the HIV crisis
was in full swing,” says Baker. HIV and Hepatitis C
(HCV) contaminated the nation’s blood supply in the
1970s and 1980s, and because the medicine that
people with hemophilia depend upon was made
from blood, large numbers of hemophiliacs became
infected with those viruses, she explains.
“HIV was a fatal disease at that time because
effective medications had not yet been developed,”
Baker says. “One of my first challenges was to
identify ways to meet the immediate medical and
psychosocial needs of our HIV- and HCV- infected
patients, while also developing the capacity and
infrastructure that would enable us to deliver
modern hemophilia care to diverse and underserved populations in the long term.”
From 1990 to 1996, Baker produced 16 HIV/HCV risk
Judith Baker
reduction retreats for affected patients statewide.
In the late 1990s she helped establish the first ever
federal HTCs in Guam, Hawaii, Nevada and central California. Region IX, the largest
in U.S., now includes 14 HTCs. Baker provides regional leadership and oversight of
several federal and private grants that support multidisciplinary clinical care, outcomes
surveillance, research, state/federal advocacy, education, outreach and discount
pharmacy services for more than 6,000 people with rare inherited blood disorders.
Baker’s expertise has also been tapped to inform and influence health policy makers,
including the Food and Drug.Administration (FDA) advisory committees on blood
products and tissue spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease), the CDC/NHLBI
Healthy People 2020 work group on blood disorders, and a number of other national
and state committees. For example, Baker served as the sole consumer advocate on
the FDA committee charged with evaluating the clarity of proposed instructions for
over-the-counter HIV testing kits.
According to Baker, who holds a masters degree in Health Services Administration
(MHSA), and is currently a doctoral student in the UCLA School of Public Health, UCLA
is the ideal environment to not only strengthen direct patient care, but also influence
the policies that impact how care is delivered and financed.
UCLA people
Vinod Mangal, Principal Food Service Manager, UCLA Health System
Food for Thought Through Catering
As Principal Food Service Manager in charge of At Your Service catering for UCLA
Health System’s Nutrition Department, Vinod Mangal is responsible for overseeing 200 catered events — which feed about 2,500 people — every week.
Vinod Mangal has been at UCLA since 2003.
He started as a cook and worked his way up to
patient service supervisor before being promoted
to principal food service manager three years ago.
Mangal has worked in the food service/catering
industry since 1985 and has had previous jobs
as a catering supervisor at Tawam Hospital
at the Alain University in the United Arab
Emirates and assistant manager of Kentucky
Fried Chicken.
breakfasts, 13 lunches, nine appetizer/snack
meals and three dinners. I work very hard to
stay within my budget, which means sometimes
I have to help out, pushing carts, delivering
meals, doing whatever I have to do to get the
job done. When someone makes a last-minute
request, I have to go to four different places to
make the change. Sometimes we get change
requests while we are in the process of preparing
or delivering the food. That can be difficult.
What are your goals for At Your Service
catering?
With a staff of five servers, the catering
department sets up, delivers, takes down and
sometimes serves everything from five-star
sit-down dinners to casual buffet breakfasts
and lunches. We are trying to offer healthy
choices with good nutritional value. Our salads
are healthier than they used to be and we’ve
eliminated most of our cream sauces. We offer
baked or grilled entrees and have also cut
down on carbohydrates. We used to have a lot
of sandwiches and pasta, but now offer fresh
fruit, yogurt, several healthy salads including a
Chinese chicken salad and a baby green salad
with grilled chicken, and gourmet vegetables
with dipping sauce.
Is all of the catered food prepared at UCLA?
About 80 percent of what we serve is cooked
here. The other 20 percent comes from outside
vendors such as El Pollo Loco, Lucia Pasta and
Pizza and Tomodachi Sushi.
What’s the most challenging part of the job?
Balancing all of the events with the staff we have
available. Most days we have around 15
What are your most popular meals?
Our crusted pine nut chicken, grilled salmon
and porcini mushroom ravioli are the most
popular dishes we serve. For sandwiches,
most people prefer chicken, tuna and turkey;
very few take the roast beef. Between fish and
chicken, fish is more popular, especially salmon
and sea bass. Between chicken and beef, you’ll
have more orders for chicken, unless it’s a
special occasion, like a holiday party. Then,
people like steak or tri-tip.
Do you and your wife ever meet for lunch?
“Passing customers in the hallways and
hearing rave reviews
about a past event is
really rewarding.”
My wife, Carol Lubos, works as a care partner
at RRUCLA. We drive to work together but
we never see each other for lunch. We both
understand that she’s busy with her patients and
I’m busy with my job. Most of the time, when I
can go eat lunch, it is her busiest time and when
she is available, it is my most busy time.
Do you have any pointers for making
a dinner party for 20 people?
How much notice do you need to cater
a party?
We generally request two days notice. If it’s a
big party with more than 150 guests, I like to
have two weeks notice, but sometimes I don’t
get that luxury.
What’s the most rewarding part of the job?
We always get good feedback from our customers.
Hearing the gratitude and appreciation they
express for what we do is great. Passing
customers in the hallways and hearing rave
reviews about a past event is really rewarding.
First, make sure you have enough tables and
chairs. If you’re going for a sit down affair,
you need one chef and two servers. You can
pre-set the silverware, napkins and glasses.
The salad and rolls should be served first. If
you want to keep the costs down, have one
entrée — chicken is usually a good choice. It’s
nice to have a vegetarian option for two or three
people. That way, if one of your guests wants
seconds, you have some food left over.
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Former Pediatric Heart Patient
Sponsors Cardiac Fellowship
Tyler Gilbert, who suffers from a rare congenital
heart defect, was 16 years old when a cardiologist
told his parents that his current physicians had
“done everything they could” and referred him
to UCLA for a heart transplant.
But the pacemaker Gilbert received instead was
such a success that the aspiring composer was
able to go on a three-month solo trip through
Europe and the Middle East in 2008 and write a
self-published book about the experience called
“Epic Journey: 21 Countries at 21.”
To express his gratitude for the surgery that
allowed him to live a normal life, Gilbert, now
23, has decided to use money from a family
foundation set up in his name to fund a $60,000
research fellowship in cardiac surgery at UCLA.
“I hope that the research this fellowship funds
will help develop new techniques that not only
could save my life in the future but also other
people’s,” Gilbert says.
Gilbert, who had received a recording studio
from the Make-A-Wish Foundation when
he was on the heart transplant waiting list,
is earning a bachelor’s of fine arts in music
composition at California Institute of the Arts.
An affable young man who wears a neat beard
and glasses, his quiet exuberance for music,
writing, theater and philanthropy makes him
seem mature beyond his years.
Gilbert and his mother Deborah Gilbert, a pastry
chef, recently returned to UCLA to visit with
Hillel Laks, M.D., the renowned thoracic
surgeon who had performed one of Gilbert’s
many operations. Dr. Laks talked with Gilbert
about some of UCLA’s cutting-edge clinical
trials and thanked the Gilberts for sponsoring
a fellowship, which will allow a young scientist
or clinician in cardiac surgery to do a research
project in the field.
“These gifts are very important, especially in
these times when there are so many budgetary
constraints,” says Richard Shemin, M.D., chief
of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. “They
give us more flexibility and create opportunities
for people to advance their education and make
new discoveries that hopefully benefit patients.”
Gilbert’s great-aunt, Frances Gilbert of Escondido,
set up the Tyler Gilbert Heart Transplant Survivor’s
Foundation before she died three years ago.
From left to right: Dr. Hillel Laks with Tyler Gilbert
“When Tyler was going through these surgeries,
she was cut to the core and said ‘I just want to
buy him a new heart’,” Deborah Gilbert says.
“We had no idea until she passed away that she
started this foundation in Tyler’s name.”
Gilbert, who still uses the recording equipment
he received from the Make-A-Wish Foundation,
says he will also direct his namesake foundation
to fund two wishes for needy children every year.
Gilbert explains that he is directing foundation
money to research and granting wishes because,
“I’m interested in two things: saving lives and
enhancing lives.”
Gail Abarbanel and RTC Recognized
by House of Representatives
Congratulations to Gail Abarbanel, director of SMUCLA’s nationally known Rape
Treatment Center (RTC), who was recognized by the U.S. House of Representatives
at its session on July 31, 2010.
The resolution, H.R. 716, acknowledges Abarbanel and our RTC for their efforts in assisting sexual-assault victims by addressing their medical, social and emotional needs, and
creating the Fast-Track Forensics Program to help prevent delays and eliminate backlogs
in processing rape kits.
Gail Abarbanel
The resolution also urges Congress to support programs that facilitate timely processing
of DNA evidence to assist local law-enforcement agencies. It was introduced by Rep.
Patrick Kennedy, who toured the RTC. The resolution passed through the House and its
Committee on the Judiciary. President Barack Obama has signed the official resolution.
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© Jack Barron
UCLA Health
System Getting
Greener
Seated, left to right: Mark Needham, M.D.; Bernard Katz, M.D.; David Feinberg, M.D. and Patricia Kapur, M.D.
Santa Monica Bay Physicians
Join UCLA Medical Group
In January 2011, the Santa Monica Bay Physicians joined UCLA Medical Group to expand access
to UCLA Health System for Westside and Santa Monica residents. Now known as UCLA–Santa Monica
Bay Physicians, the group will function as a business unit within the UCLA Faculty Practice Group
and includes approximately 34 board-certified primary care physicians in eight offices throughout the
Westside. Physician specialists in endocrinology, general surgery, neurology and ophthalmology who
were integral to Santa Monica Bay Physicians have also joined the UCLA Faculty Practice Group, and
thereby the greater UCLA Medical Group. UCLA–Santa Monica Bay Physicians also brought along two
walk-in urgent care centers with extended evening and weekend hours, located in Santa Monica and
Marina Del Rey, which UCLA will continue to operate within the UCLA-Santa Monica Bay Physicians
business unit, available to any patient in the UCLA Health System.
“The Santa Monica Bay Physicians is an established practice with a long-standing reputation for
providing excellent clinical patient care in a friendly community setting,” says Patricia Kapur, M.D.,
interim co-president of UCLA Medical Group. “We believe this will be a positive and complementary
partnership that will benefit our patients and the community.”
Like UCLA’s long-established Community Physician Network (CPN), a component of the UCLA Faculty Practice Group that serves adults and children of all ages in medical offices located in Brentwood
(which also has Saturday/Sunday walk-in hours), Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Santa Monica and West
Los Angeles, UCLA-Santa Monica Bay Physicians will also continue to provide community-based
care to Westside residents as physicians with full-time appointments in the David Geffen School of
Medicine at UCLA, having access to UCLA Health System facilities and resources.
UCLA–Santa Monica Bay Physicians serves approximately 50,000 patients, having participated in
a large provider network for the Bay Area Community Medical Group, an independent practice
association in West Los Angeles. These patients can stay with their doctors and will now access their
UCLA–Santa Monica Bay Physicians by way of the UCLA Medical Group provider network.
According to Dr. Kapur, the partnership created by Santa Monica Bay Physicians joining the UCLA
Health System team represents an important additional step in positioning UCLA for the
new era of healthcare. “There is an increasing emphasis on the critical role of population-based
healthcare,” says Dr. Kapur. “We want to ensure we are positioned to provide comprehensive,
high-quality medical care for a growing number of patients, in a wider geographic area, and to
deliver the best possible care to these patients at every level of the healthcare continuum.”
An independent assessment of UCLA Health
System’s eco-friendly practices shows that the
hospital system is well on its way to reaching
sustainability goals for 2020, but still has room
to improve.
“Part of providing healthcare is being a leader in
healthful practices,” says Paul Watkins, executive
director of real estate and support services for
UCLA Health System.
The health system already has system-wide
programs in recycling, energy efficiency and
water savings. Every year, thousands of surgical
towels are repurposed as cleaning rags, 63 tons of
confidential paper is shredded and recycled and
biohazard containers for sharps are being reused.
To reduce chemical and water use, UCLA facilities
switched from conventional wet loop mops to
flat, microfiber reusable mops. An on-site aquifer
reclaims and reuses cooling water and dedicated
air handlers now shut down during unoccupied
hours to save electricity, water and money.
The assessment, which created a timeline of
all the eco-friendly measures UCLA Health
System has implemented over the past decade,
also made some recommendations for further
improvements, including:
• e ducating patients and employees about
eco-friendly choices, including the proper use
of recycling and waste bins;
• purchasing produce grown within a 200-mile
radius of UCLA to reduce carbon emissions
used to transport food;
• d
eveloping sustainability program structure
to monitor our progress.
“Sustainability is really about
making a choice and knowing
the environmental impact of
that choice,” Watkins says.
“Most of the choices are
really cost-neutral.”
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news SHORTS
wellness INITIATIVE
2011 Run/Walk Miles
for Hope: Moving Toward
a Cure for Brain Tumors
WELLNESS PRESENTATION ON MANAGING
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
Tuesday, April 5, 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
RRUCLA, Room B-124 A/B located on B-Level
Sunday, March 13 at 9:00 a.m.
Registration at 8:00 a.m. for 5K
and 9:00 a.m. for 1 mile Fun Run
High blood pressure increases your risk for
developing heart disease and/or kidney disease,
and for having a stroke. It is often referred to as
the “silent killer” because high blood pressure
does not have warning signs or symptoms. High
blood pressure can be prevented and controlled
by understanding the relevant risk factors and
lifestyle behaviors.
Woodley Avenue Park
(adjacent to Lake Balboa Park)
6335 Woodley Avenue, Van Nuys
Join Team UCLA for the Miles for Hope 5K
Run/Walk benefiting the Brain Tumor
Research Program, under the direction
of Linda M. Liau, M.D., Ph.D.
UCLA Physicians Named Super Doctors
To register and/or donate, visit:
www.MilesForHope.org
A select 257 UCLA physicians were recognized as 2011 Southern California Super Doctors in the
January 2011 issue of Los Angeles magazine.
“Super Doctors” honors physicians who are highly regarded by
doctors, nurse practitioners and nurse managers throughout
Southern California.
Ballots were sent asking, “If you needed medical care, which doctor
would you choose?” to identify those doctors most highly recommended by their peers. Nominees were grouped into more than 30 medical
practice areas, and nominees with the highest point totals from each
practice area were invited to serve on a blue-ribbon panel to review,
score and interview a list of doctors selected for their primary practice
area. Point totals from the ballot surveys and the screening process
were then added to arrive at a final point score.
FEBRUARY RECOGNITION
Please take a few minutes to recognize the
February national healthcare observance
for American Heart Month.
For more information, visit uclahealth.org/superdoctors
UCLA Health System Employee News
Director of Marketing: Pattie Cuen | Marketing Communications Manager: Judi Goodfriend | Editor: Tiffani Quach Mendinueto
Contributors: Amy Albin, Ted Braun, Kimberly Enard, Kim Kowsky
Design: Oglesby Design | Photography: Jack Barron, Robert Hernandez, Margaret Sison
Copyright ©2011 UCLA Health System. All rights reserved. email: [email protected]
UCLA Health System Marketing | 10920 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1850, Los Angeles, California 90095-6923
WWW.UCLAHEALTH.ORG 1-800-UCLA-MD1 (1-800-825-2631)
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