Keeping in Touch

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Happy New Year!

I've been reading many "year in review" articles in newspapers and magazines this past week and thought I'd take a moment to reflect on our own Medical Center's accomplishments in 2008.

As we look back, The OSU Medical Center was once again at the forefront of innovation. Our research with a unique device to treat migraine headaches not only attracted national media attention, but much more importantly gave hope to the millions of people whose quality of life is affected by this disorder. You might also have seen or heard stories about the use of the popular Apple Ipod touch as a teaching tool for our medical students. The times are changing, and we're at the leading edge.

All of you were instrumental in helping OSU Medical Center to be recognized in eight categories in the most recent "Best Hospitals" edition of U.S News & World Report, including a top 20 ranking for our cancer program. This was quite an honor, and we should all be very proud of this accomplishment as well as the honor of being named as a Best Place to Work in central Ohio for the second year in a row.

Other firsts during 2008 included the nation's first use of a new device to manage congestive heart failure and our first islet cell transplant only a few months ago. This year we had our first three year JCAHO accreditation as a health care system, and we became the first, and only, health care system in Columbus to go wireless.

And where would we be without the partnerships that make us successful? In the past year we forged notable partnerships with Nationwide Children's Hospital, NetJets and Abercrombie and Fitch, just to name few. In the past few weeks, we joined with Battelle and the other Columbus health care systems in a collaborative approach to evaluating the possibility of bringing proton therapy to the region.

We're also an important part of One University and we're collaborating across our campus and have found time and time again that we are stronger together. Take for example, the NIH awarding us the prestigious Clinical and Translational Science Award this year. This initiative involves 13 colleges within the University.

We've improved access to our medical care by increasing the services available at University Hospital East. In fact, this year University Hospital East had its first year of financial profitability and it exceeded national standards for quality. We're now able to serve more heart patients as we added two new floors to the Ross Heart Hospital, and we also opened a new MRI facility.

This year we made plans and received support to increase access to OSU physicians and services for years to come. The OSU Board of Trustees approved the Master Space Plan – newly named Project One – it will expand our cancer and critical care programs as well as provide a new environment to integrate of research, teaching, and patient care so that we can truly transform the way medicine is delivered and practiced. Our thanks to the Board of Trustees for their confidence in us.

The Board also approved the lease of a building at Goodale and Olentangy River Road for our new ambulatory surgery and outpatient facility, complete with six needed operating rooms. We've broken ground on an outpatient facility in southern Delaware County, and we've also secured land to build a new James Care site for women's oncology services including a Comprehensive Breast Health Center.

Despite four years of flat National Cancer Institute funding, OSU's NCI funding has increased markedly over the last four years to $38 million. In fact, NCI funding at OSU has more than quadrupled in the last 10 years. Accruals to therapeutic clinical trials in cancer are up 42 percent over last year, adding more than 900 patients in the first 11 months of this year. The James team is to be commended for this remarkable accomplishment and it's a national leader in this area.

We hosted several public figures this year including Lance Armstrong, John McCain, CNN's Paula Zahn, president-elect Barack Obama, and even the anchors from Entertainment Tonight. Due to your efforts, we are making a national name for ourselves as leaders in medical treatment, training and research. We're attracting attention and resources, and we want that to expand.

What's ahead in 2009?

We'll continue to grow in strategic ways to better serve our communities. The growth of the Medical Center not only impacts those who need health care services but also those who need jobs. Project One is predicted to be one of the largest providers of new jobs in Ohio, both in construction and health care, in the next several years.

To support our realized and predicted research growth, we'd like to build out the three shelled floors of our Biomedical Research Tower, pending Board approval.

We'll see more collaborative, patient centered programs develop, such as our Ohio State University robotics program. Our Education programs will also focus on collaboration, such as developing a pilot course with the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Allied Medicine and Pharmacy. Our disciplines work together in the hospital, why not in the classroom?

In the New Year, each of us will have to increase our individual accountability for improved patient safety and customer service. We will not be able to thrive without this commitment from each one of our team members.

We'll increase our commitment to personalized health care across our organization. I've asked Dr. Clay Marsh to lead the development of a strategic plan encompassing all mission areas by early spring. Each one of us will have a role in truly transforming health care in the very near future.

One things for certain. We will encounter challenges – mainly due to the economy and its impact on the individuals we serve. We will have to make tough decisions based on sound data and thoughtful analysis. But we will move forward. We will continue to grow to fulfill our mission.

Each one of our accomplishments this past year, the ones I mentioned today as well as the countless others I didn't, were made possible due to your talents and commitment to helping others. What remarkable things you've done this past year. Thank you for improving people's lives – through heroic acts and small gestures. The truest form of thanks comes from reflecting on the lives you've touched – as a caregiver, a teacher, a mentor, or a friend. And you've touched so many.

I'm looking forward to working together with you to make 2009 an exciting and fulfilling year of innovation, impact, and hope.

Again, happy and healthy New Year!