STONY BROOK, N.Y., September 7, 2006—Stony Brook University President Shirley Strum Kenny announced today the appointment of a Blue Ribbon Commission to conduct a comprehensive review of Stony Brook University Hospital. The five members of the commission, all medical and academic leaders with national reputations, will begin their review of the hospital beginning September 18th.
The Blue Ribbon Commission will be chaired by Mitchell T. Rabkin, M.D., a former president of Beth Israel Hospital (Boston), former CEO of Boston’s CareGroup health system and currently Professor of Medicine at Harvard University. The other members are Gilbert S. Omenn, M.D., Ph.D., former CEO of the University of Michigan Health System; Charles Young, Ph.D., who served as Chancellor of UCLA for 29 years; Aram V. Chobanian, M.D., President Emeritus of Boston University and former Dean of its School of Medicine; and Paul Hickey, M.D., an internationally recognized expert in pediatric cardiac anesthesia.
“I am determined to identify and correct any problems, and to do so as quickly as possible,” President Kenny said. “Concerns that have been expressed must be put to rest and we must ensure the best possible health care for all of the people of Long Island.” Kenny said that the Commission will make a full report to her, SUNY Chancellor John Ryan and the SUNY Board of Trustees. The report will cover all issues the Commission finds during the course of its review and include recommendations on steps to be taken. Kenny noted that the Commission would be available following submission of its report to assist Stony Brook in implementation of recommendations or any other follow-up.
SUNY Chancellor John R. Ryan praised the appointment of the independent Blue Ribbon Commission. “The members of the Blue Ribbon Commission possess the medical, academic and administrative skills and expertise necessary to conduct a thorough and impartial review of Stony Brook University Hospital," Ryan said. "This rigorous evaluation will highlight strengths as well as weaknesses and will enable Stony Brook University Medical Center to improve on all aspects of its number one priority, patient care and safety."
Dr. Rabkin was for 30 years head of Beth Israel Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. He led the merger of Beth Israel and Deaconess Hospitals that formed the nucleus of CareGroup in 1996. Since 1998, he has been a member of the Carl J. Shapiro Institute for Education and Research at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Dr. Gilbert S. Omenn was CEO of the University of Michigan Health System from 1997 to 2002. He is now Professor of Internal Medicine, Human Genetics, and Public Health at the University of Michigan and Director of the Center for Biomedical Proteomics and the Michigan Proteomics Alliance and of the Center for Computational Medicine and Biology. Dr. Omenn is Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He chaired the 1997 Presidential/Congressional Commission on Risk Assessment and Risk Management, and received the Jon W. Gardner Legacy of Leadership Award from the White House Fellows Association in 2004.
Dr. Charles Young became Chancellor of UCLA at the age of 36. Upon retirement from UCLA, he served as President of University of Florida from 1999-2003. Most recently, he was President of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Technology. He is a former Chair of the Association of American Universities, and received the Distinguished Service Award for Lifetime Achievement from the American Council on Education.
Dr. Aram V. Chobanian served as President of Boston University from 2003-05; he was previously Dean of BU’s School of Medicine and Provost of its Medical Campus. He played a leading role in the merger of Boston City Hospital and Boston University Medical Center to create Boston Medical Center. Founder of the pioneering Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute at BU in 1973, he was awarded the first Lifetime Achievement Award in Hypertension by the American Heart Association.
Dr. Paul Hickey is Anesthesiologist-in-Chief and Professor of Anesthesia at Children’s Hospital Boston. An international leader in pediatric cardiac anesthesia, Dr. Hickey is past Editor of both the Journal of Anesthesia and Analgesia and the Journal of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia.
This will be the second independent review of the hospital following an investigation by the New York State Department of Health into the unrelated deaths of three children. Last month, the Joint Commission on Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) conducted a week-long review of the hospital as part of its customary survey; JCAHO surveys hospitals and healthcare organizations once every three years. Stony Brook received JCAHO’s Gold Seal of Approval™ and full accreditation in its last review in 2003. Results of the current review are expected to be announced within several weeks.
The hospital received national attention last year for a number of highly sophisticated and unusual surgeries. In February, Stony Brook surgeons re-attached the hands of a man injured in an industrial accident—believed to be the first simultaneous re-attachment in New York State history and one of very few nationwide—and the same month performed life-saving surgery to repair the skull of a toddler accidentally struck by the family car. In August, doctors delivered triplets prematurely at 31 weeks so they could then immediately repair a rare and typically lethal cardiac condition in the mother.
Stony Brook University Hospital is the only academic medical center on Long Island and the only tertiary care hospital in Suffolk County. With 504 beds and more than 4,000 employees, Stony Brook is the largest hospital in the County. The Heart Center performs the only open-heart surgery in Suffolk, and the Stony Brook University Cancer Center attracts patients from throughout the region. Stony Brook has Long Island’s only kidney transplantation center and the nation’s first Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center. The hospital is also the regional referral center for trauma, perinatal and neonatal intensive care, burns, bone marrow and stem cell transplantation, cystic fibrosis, and pediatric/adult AIDS. It is home to the Cody Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities.
The hospital is a vital component of Stony Brook University, one the nation’s premier public research universities, whose laboratories conduct advanced research in biomedical and related sciences, and in patient care.
