As the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro (UMCPP) building project and Design for Healing campaign demonstrated, the involvement of our physicians, donors, volunteers, and staff in the planning of these efforts was key to their success. With the implementation of a new post-campaign fundraising model, Princeton HealthCare System (PHCS) Foundation will continue to harness the power of collaboration to meet PHCS’s greatest needs and priorities.
PHCS Foundation’s new Service Line model will significantly expand the involvement of clinical staff and Foundation volunteers in identifying and setting fundraising priorities over the next several years. In this new model, advisory committees will be formed that will be aligned with specific programs (service lines) within PHCS and will consist of a representative group of PHCS physicians, administrative heads of clinical service, PHCS Foundation Board members, volunteers at large from the community, and Foundation staff. Each advisory committee will be charged with pinpointing key funding priorities within its service line—consistent with PHCS’s overall strategic goals—and developing an action plan to raise the necessary funds to support these priorities.
Benefits of the New Model
PHCS Foundation’s new Service Line model provides many advantages to PHCS, donors, and volunteers alike. “Funding needs will be more easily identified and made readily available to potential donors,” explained Dr. Gerard Compito, Foundation Board member and Past-President of the PHCS Medical Staff. “It will also provide a wonderful opportunity for volunteers to collaborate with physicians and other clinical leaders and get in on the ground on new programs and initiatives. Most important, it is a great way to ensure that Princeton HealthCare System’s priorities drive the gifts we raise.”
Areas of Focus
Starting in 2014, Foundation funding priorities will be focused on the following service lines and will provide opportunities for you to play a meaningful role in supporting growth and innovation in these areas:
Surgical Care
The new Institute for Surgical Care at UMCPP is a state-of-the-art, multispecialty surgical institute for patients and physicians in the central New Jersey area. The Institute for Surgical Care will support more than 12,000 surgeries annually and will have a commitment to provide safe, high-quality health care to patients of all ages and from all backgrounds. Currently, the Jim Craigie Center for Joint Replacement and the Stephen and Roxanne Distler Center for Ambulatory Surgery, both supported by substantial gifts from individual donors, are housed under the Surgical Institute. We expect that in the future additional Surgical Centers will be added. They may include:
- Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery
- Center for Sports Medicine
- Center for Spine Surgery
- Center for Vascular Surgery
- Center for Uro-gynecology or Pelvic Floor Disorders
- Center for Bariatric Surgery
Women’s Health
PHCS Women’s Health service line will offer a full array of medical specialties and services to meet the unique healthcare needs of women at all ages and stages of life. Our specialists and sub-specialists collaborate with primary care providers to ensure the best possible care, ranging from routine wellness checks and childbirth services to the very latest treatments for high-risk pregnancies, pelvic floor disorders, and gynecological cancers.
One area where fundraising would advance services we offer is for pelvic floor dysfunction, a growing problem for women across the country. Weakening of the muscles around the pelvic floor can cause pain, incontinence, and bowel-related issues that make day-to-day activities challenging, uncomfortable, and often embarrassing. Pelvic floor conditions can be a result of pregnancy, childbirth, obesity, inactivity, or menopause. The creation of a pelvic floor disorder program would allow key specialists such as primary care physicians, urologists, and gynecologists to collaborate and deliver comprehensive care.
The Baby Friendly Health Initiative is a global initiative of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund to promote breastfeeding for all babies. PHCS is striving to receive the Baby Friendly designation in an effort to promote breastfeeding for all babies born at our facility. Funds are needed to ensure all of the nurses in the Mother-Baby Unit have formal lactation training in order for them to assist mothers in breastfeeding.
Cancer Care
The Edward & Marie Matthews Center for Cancer Care at UMCPP excels in providing more than 1,000 patients each year with outstanding clinical care by bringing program services together into one specially designed space. This allows coordinated, individualized treatment and care to be provided by our top-rated, multidisciplinary team of board-certified physicians, nationally recognized and certified oncology nurses, dedicated nurse managers and oncology educators, and a certified nurse navigator.
The Matthews Center for Cancer Care delivers top-quality, comprehensive care close to home, using the latest advances in technology and science. Our all-digital TrueBeam™ linear accelerator delivers precise radiation four to six times faster than most conventional linear accelerators.
Every element of patient care, including decor, amenities, and patient services, is designed to promote comfort and healing. The JoAnn Heffernan Heisen Infusion Therapy Suite is bathed in natural light, with calming views facing the beautiful Punia Family Healing Garden.
Emergency Care
Even while patient volumes in the new Emergency Department (ED) have increased, the time it takes patients to receive care has not. In fact, since last spring, the nursing staff in the ED has been using an innovative approach to patient triage that has substantially reduced waiting times. The “door to doctor” time, which is the time it takes for a non-emergency patient to see a doctor once he or she arrives in the ED, has been reduced from 35 minutes to only 13 minutes, a 63% reduction! For those patients who require some form of testing and treatment in the ED, the median length of stay has been reduced by 33 minutes, from 168 minutes to 135 minutes.
Funding opportunities for the new ED may include support for the enhancement of stroke care, additional services for seniors in the Senior ED, and training for nurses, nursing assistants, and first responders.
Additional areas for which PHCS Foundation will raise funds include the Bristol-Myers Squibb Community Health Center, as well as programs and services to benefit seniors and pediatric patients.
Pictured above:
Donor Anne Rabinowitz with daughter Mia Cote. Baby Cote is expected to arrive at UMCPP this December.
Emergency Department Employee Donors (left to right): Sandra Mariani, Clinical Nurse Leader; April Washington, Patient Care Technician; Daphne Berei, Senior Nurse Manager; Antoinette Jackson, Supply Coordinator.
Article as seen in Foundation News Winter 2013.