Cedars-Sinai surgical team expands mission in China

In November 2011, when a pediatric surgery team from Cedars-Sinai traveled to Maria's Big House of Hope, an orphanage in Louyang, China, the focus of the mission was on the children. The future looked bleak for the infants and toddlers, born with anorectal malformations in a culture that believes such birth defects bring a family bad luck. They had all been abandoned by their parents within days of their birth. Last year, following up on the success of that mission, in which 11 children had operations and several were adopted, the Cedars-Sinai team returned to Louyang.

Here comes the flu

C-S sees spike in flu cases; new visitor precautions put into place

Cedars-Sinai is experiencing an increase in flu cases, and California public health officials warn that the flu epidemic that has already hit hard in other areas of the nation is headed our way. "The number of positive influenza cases confirmed at Cedars-Sinai has increased substantially in the past two weeks," says Rekha Murthy, MD, director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai. "We are admitting five to six patients per day with influenza diagnosis and three to four positive for other respiratory viruses."

C-S team repeats as surgical Jeopardy champ

Congratulations to Seth Felder, MD, and Doug Liou, MD, for winning surgical Jeopardy at the recent Southern California conference of the American College of Surgeons.

Dozens make presentations at Research Day, ACS meeting

Numerous Cedars-Sinai Department of Surgery residents and faculty members made presentations at the medical center's Research Day IV and at the annual meeting of the regional chapter of the American College of Surgeons.

Articles accepted for publication

Several articles involving members of the Department of Surgery have been accepted for publication.

Prominent bone cancer surgeons join Orthopaedic Center

Two of Southern California's best-known orthopedic oncologists have joined Cedars-Sinai, enhancing a surgical team that treats some of the most complex and difficult types of cancer. Lawrence R. Menendez, MD, and Daniel C. Allison, MD, FACS, MBA, have partnered with Earl Warren Brien, MD, director of musculoskeletal tumor service at the Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedic Center, to form one of the preeminent orthopedic oncology practices in the western U.S.

More doctors, hospitals partner to coordinate care for people with Medicare

Cedars-Sinai has been selected as one of 106 new Accountable Care Organizations in Medicare, ensuring as many as 4 million Medicare beneficiaries across the United States now have access to high-quality, coordinated care, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Jan. 10.

Reversing the trend in APLs

"Accidental Puncture and Laceration" is a patient safety indicator developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that is reported on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website to report adverse events for individual hospitals. The indicator rate is calculated from the hospital's coding of diagnoses and conditions that is based on physician documentation.

Patient whiteboards see red ... and yellow and green

Cedars-Sinai is rolling out newly redesigned patient room whiteboards with color-coded sections designed to enhance patient care and help improve patient satisfaction. The boards are being installed in patient rooms across the medical center.

Visualizing how colorectal surgical site infections have fallen

New protocols at Cedars-Sinai have significantly reduced the number of surgical site infections among patients who undergo colorectal procedures.

FDA lowers recommended dose of zolpidem products

Pharmacy focus

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is notifying the public of new information about zolpidem, a widely prescribed insomnia drug. FDA recommends that the bedtime dose be lowered because new data show that blood levels in some patients may be high enough the morning after use to impair activities that require alertness, including driving.