MDNews - Mid Hudson

including representatives from area businesses and hospitals, Orange County residents, local dignitaries, and Cr ystal Run Healthcare physicians and staff. At the Foundation for Putnam Hospital Center's annual gala on Oct. 22, one guest was so moved by the presentation that he donated an impromptu $100,000. Following a shor t video shown at the gala about the hospital Breast Center's journey to - ward accreditation, Anthony Rutledge said he was inspired to suppor t Putnam Hospital Center's plan to expand the program. Rutledge, a former Carmel resi - dent, shared a stor y about how his wife is a breast cancer sur vivor who was treated at Putnam Hospital Center. The Moonlight Ball, held at the Westchester Hilton in Rye Brook, had close to 300 attendees and raised $221,520. Putnam Hospital Center's Auxiliar y also pledged an additional $150,000, delivering a $50,000 check that evening for a 3-D mammography unit for the hospital. The gala honored the team behind the newly accredited Breast Center at Putnam Hospital Center. All of the money raised at the ball will go toward programs and ser vices for the hospital's breast program. Accepting the award on behalf of the Breast Center were breast surgeon Lyda Rojas, MD, and pathologist Vinita Agar wal, MD, physicians on the medical staff at Putnam Hospital Center. Drs. Rojas and Agar wal spearheaded the accreditation, a program administered by the American College of Surgeons and given only to centers committed to providing the highest level of quality breast care to their patients. Both Drs. Rojas and Agar wal thanked the team for its ideas and insights, skills, and commitment to seeing the accreditation process through on behalf of patients. Vassar Brothers Medical Center, the flagship hospital for Health Quest, was one of 84 4 hospitals to receive an A in the fall Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, ranking among the safest hos - pitals in the United States. Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades assigns A, B, C, D and F grades to hospitals nationwide to provide a complete picture of patient safety. The grades are issued by The Leapfrog Group, a national patient safety watchdog. Developed under the guidance of an expert panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades use 30 measures of publicly available hospi - tal safety data to assign A, B, C, D and F grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is calculated by top patient safety experts, peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. On Oct. 19, Orange Regional Medical Center's Inpatient Physical Rehabilitation team hosted a patient appreciation event in celebration of its 25th anniversar y of ser vice to the community. Inpatient and outpatient physical rehabilitation physicians, nurses and staff, Board of Directors members, executive leader - ship, and employees gathered on the Inpatient Physical Rehabilitation Unit to welcome and thank each patient who attended for entrust - ing Orange Regional with his or her care. Patients shared personal stories and appreciation for the attentiveness and excel - lent patient care they received. The Medical Director of Orange Regional's Inpatient Rehabilitation program, Vincent Gulfo, MD, was also recognized by the staff for 25 years of dedicated ser vice. By 2020, physical therapy will be provided by therapists who have doctoral degrees. Vision 2020 was adopted by the American Physical Therapy Association, effectively changing the profession that once required only bachelor's degrees to practice. The Putnam Hospital Center Rehabilitation Department has worked hard to reach that vision, with sev - eral of its therapists earning their Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in recent years. While physical therapists coming out of school since 2015 are required to receive their doctoral degree, those who earned their bachelor's or master's degrees in the past are grandfathered in. The therapists at Putnam Hospital Center have been motivated on their own to reach that goal. A doctoral degree takes about three years to complete. This curriculum requires students to take foundational sciences such as pharmacology, radiology, differential diagnosis and evidence- based practice. ■ From left, Putnam Hospital Center's President Peter Kelly; PHC Medical Staff President Michael Nesheiwat, MD; pathologist Vinita Agarwal, MD; Foundation Executive Director Priscilla Weaver; Foundation Chair Gerry Klein; PHC Board Chair Karen Fleming; Health Quest President Robert Friedberg; breast surgeon Lyda Rojas, MD; and Health Quest Board Chair Greg Rakow Orange Regional Medical Center's Inpatient Physical Rehabilitation Unit celebrates its 25th anniversary. Some of Putnam Hospital Center's physical therapists with their Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, from left, Praveen Issac, Kirsi Vera, James Mangano, Hannah Clark Polhill and Vicki Seppell 2 1 M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S M I D H U D S O N ■ 2 016 / 2 017

• Cover