June 4, 1999

Memorial gift to MGH Thoracic Surgical Unit

The MGH Thoracic Surgical Unit on Ellison 19 recently received a generous gift of state-of-the-art monitoring equipment from Protocol Systems, Inc., a company that manufactures EKG monitoring systems. The gift was made in honor of Stephanie Macaluso, RN, a longtime MGH nurse who died in July 1998.

From left, Jim Welch and Nhedti Colquitt of Protocol Systems, Inc., Nathaniel Sims, MD, of Anesthesia, Penny Ford-Carleton, RN, associate director of Research Administration, and Ruth Dempsey, RN, of Ellison 19, stand in front of a model depicting the new monitoring system dedicated to Stephanie Macaluso, RN.

In 1991, Macaluso and a group of MGHers from Nursing and Biomedical Engineering helped forge a collaboration with Protocol Systems to help improve their monitoring equipment. Macaluso eventually flew to the company's home office in Oregon to assist in the design and development of the Acuity System and later implemented the first version of the system at the MGH.

"Stephanie knew everything there was to know about that system, and she educated our staff on how to use it," says Ruth Dempsey, RN, nurse manager for Ellison 19. "She created an environment in which technology was accepted and embraced as an important tool in helping to provide the best in patient care."