Dear Cooper Team:
October is proving to be a very busy and exciting month with myriad activities, awards, celebrations, and events. We appreciate all you do to keep our patients, families, and one another safe at Cooper.
What You Should Know This Week:
- TOMORROW, Friday, October 7, we are inviting all team members to wear your favorite professional baseball jersey to work as part of this month’s Red October.
- Due to the inclement weather, the paving project slated to take place this week in the hospital (CCIA) garage next to the Ronald McDonald House has been rescheduled. For an updated schedule related to the tents and vaccine hours, click here.
- CCBO power outage scheduled for this weekend. At 6 p.m. this Friday, October 7, CCBO will shut down power to the building so that PSE&G can replace a switch that has been the suspected issue behind our recent power outages. Cooper CCBO team members must power down their computers and vacate the building by 6 p.m. on Friday. Building operations will resume on Monday morning. We appreciate your cooperation.
- 12th Annual Cooper Red Hot Gala Raises a Record $3.5 Million. George E. Norcross III, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Cooper University Health Care and MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, and Philip A. Norcross, Chairman of The Cooper Foundation, announced that The Cooper Foundation raised a record $3.5 million at its 12th Annual Red Hot Gala last Friday, September 30, 2022, at the TRIAD1828 CENTRE on the Camden waterfront. This was the largest amount ever raised at a single charity event in the history of South Jersey. To read more, click here.
- Yesterday, we were excited to honor Katrina Chapman, RN, a nurse on the Kelemen 3 Neurology Unit, with the Cooper Heroism Award. Katrina responded to a serious car crash outside of her home in the early morning hours on August 16. She pulled a severely injured young man from the vehicle and, while attending to him, she simultaneously directed others to put out the car fire, also saving the young woman inside. For the majority of her 29 years at Cooper, Katrina has been a trauma unit nurse. When she witnessed the accident, her training and skills kicked in. We are extremely proud of Katrina for her bravery and courage. Click here to see a photo from yesterday’s event.
- MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper Has Ninth Anniversary on October 5, 2022. For 75 years, the world-renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center has been defined by a single, powerful idea – to eliminate cancer through exceptional programs that combine patient care, research, prevention, and education. In 2013, MD Anderson joined with Cooper, and the opening of MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper transformed the cancer care market by bringing advanced cancer care close to home for New Jersey patients. None of this would be possible without the hard work and compassion of the entire MD Anderson at Cooper team and their commitment to being a place where no one fights cancer alone. Thank you for all you do. Click here and here to see two articles from the grand opening.
- Antoinette (Toni) Spevetz, MD, ACGME-Designated Institutional Official of Graduate Medical Education at Cooper University Health Care and Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, has been named a recipient of the Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award by the Accreditation Council for Graduation Medical Education. This prestigious award honors designated institutional officials who have demonstrated strong leadership and astute resource management, and who have encouraged innovation and improvement in residency and fellowship programs at their sponsoring organizations. The award will be presented at the 2023 ACGME Annual Educational Conference in Nashville, TN, in February. Congratulations, Toni.
- Cooper’s Center for Critical Care Medicine has received national recognition for its outstanding extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) program, an advanced lifesaving system used for critically ill patients. The Cooper team was named a Silver Level Center on the Path to Excellence in Life Support program by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization. Click here to read more.
- Cooper’s Pam Gorman, RN, ACRN, Administrative Director of the Early Intervention Program (EIP) and Infectious Diseases, will be a featured presenter at an upcoming Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) sponsored webinar on The Integration of Comprehensive HIV Medical Care With Addiction Services. HRSA, a federal agency that provides grant funding to Cooper’s EIP Program, has recognized the program as a “Best Practice” model. Congratulations to Pam and her team for the important work they are doing in the community.
- Supporting the Camden Community. Kudos to Dr. Michael Goodman and the pediatric team for helping save the girls soccer season for students at Camden Promise Charter School. A number of students needed to obtain sports physicals before the deadline or forfeit their soccer season. Dr. Goodman rallied the pediatric team, who gladly volunteered on short notice to help facilitate sports physicals for students. Without Cooper’s support, this school may not have been able to field a girls soccer team. We offer special thanks to the entire pediatric team who helped make this possible. To read more, click here.
- Moorestown Campus Sneak Peek. As you know, construction is under way and the opening of our Moorestown campus is less than a year away. We wanted to give you another sneak peek at the progress being made on what will become our largest ambulatory campus. Last week, members of our team visited Durapods in Chalfont, PA, where exam rooms and bathrooms are being constructed as “pods” that will be installed at the Moorestown facility. This novel and innovative approach is the wave of the future and ensures precise and consistent workmanship, reduces costs, and speeds construction. Click here to see pictures.
- Nominate a Team Member for 2022 Armed Forces Person of the Year. In 2018, Cooper established the Military Person of the Year Award – now called the Armed Forces Person of the Year Award – to honor a deserving team member who has made significant contributions to Cooper or in the community. The award is presented to the winner in November. To nominate a team member, or for more information, click here.
- September is CyberSecurity Awareness Month. Click here to read some helpful tips. And, as a reminder, NEVER submit your name or password on a site unless you are absolutely sure it is a safe and secure source. Report suspicious emails to spam-alert@cooperhealth.edu and then delete the email. For other questions, email informationsecurity@cooperhealth.edu.
Reminders:
- Deadline for 2022 Regulatory and Compliance Program is TODAY. You must complete all of the assigned courses by the end of the day today. Click here to request credit for training completed at another facility, and check the last selection under Request Type: Update participant course status/attendance (i.e., mark complete). Attach proof of course completion.
- Vote today. Voting for the DEI T-shirt Contest is open until Friday, October 14, 2022, so get your vote in now! Click here for more information.
- Give ‘em Pumpkin to Talk About. The annual pumpkin decorating contest is officially under way with a new theme. Look for the contest email and visit Pulse+ for details.
- 2022 Flu Vaccination Program will continue until Wednesday, December 7, 2022. You can view the flu shot clinic schedule here. You can also receive a COVID-19 booster shot at any of the flu shot clinic locations – no appointment is necessary. Click here for more information.
- Food truck schedule is ALWAYS available on the Pulse homepage under Team Member Resources.
COVID Updates:
- New Up-to-Date Recommendations for COVID-19 Vaccines. With the development of a new bivalent booster, the CDC’s recommendation for an individual to be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines has changed. To determine if you meet the CDC’s definition of up to date, please click here and use the quick tool on the CDC website.
- The New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) is currently reviewing the latest CDC guidelines regarding COVID-19 boosters and masking for health care workers. We are awaiting NJDOH’s review and recommendations before making any changes to Cooper’s current masking policies, which remain: masks are required in clinical buildings and areas; for details about masks in non-clinical areas, click here.
- Yesterday New Jersey reported another 1,335 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 7 new confirmed deaths. The state’s seven-day average for confirmed coronavirus positive fell to 1,614, a 17% decrease from a week ago and an 8% increase from a month ago. For more information, click here.
- For the latest updates on required PPE and masking, go to the COVID-19 Resources section on the Pulse.
Monkeypox Update:
- Monkeypox vaccination appointments can be made on myCooper. Click here to read more about monkeypox from the CDC. For our clinical team, Cooper’s current protocols for monkeypox are available here and here. For additional clinical questions, please contact the Infection Prevention team at 856.342.2254 or via email here.
Other News:
- Click here to read the most recent Daily Dose, “Aging Joyfully.” As always, you can view the Daily Dose archives here.
- We love positive patient feedback. Kudos to all who are making The Cooper Experience a reality, including Dr. Manno, Dr. Kaminski, Adam, and Monica. Click here to read more.
- Theme of the Week: Monday, October 10 is World Mental Health Day. At Cooper we are committed to supporting your emotional and physical well-being. Check out the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare website for a wonderful list of Mental Health and Well-Being Resources for Healthcare Workers, including coping with workplace violence, resources for health care leaders, and resources for the families of health care workers. For more information on Cooper-specific resources, click here.
- Movie Quote: “How many times do I have to teach you: just because something works doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.”
Please email CEOQuestions@CooperHealth.edu with any questions or comments.