February 4, 2005

MGH and NSMC receive Nesson Award for collaboration

The MGH and North Shore Medical Center (NSMC) were jointly awarded a Nesson Award for Collaboration from Partners Community HealthCare, Inc. (PCHI), at the group's recent annual meeting. The Nesson Awards are presented in honor of H. Richard Nesson, MD, the "founding father" of PCHI, who conceived of the organization as a means to integrate and manage patient care.

The two hospitals were recognized for their collaborative development and successful implementation of cardiac surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) programs. In two years, the MGH and NSMC planned and constructed a new open-heart surgical service at Salem Hospital that culminated in NSMC performing its first open-heart procedure in the spring of 2003. In November of that year, the first PCI procedure was successfully completed at NSMC.

The PCI program now allows patients on the North Shore to receive life-saving angioplasty as well as elective interventional treatments for heart disease. Through this collaboration, NSMC has the only heart center in the region that offers cardiac surgery and PCI.

"This collaboration has combined the cardiac expertise of the MGH with North Shore Medical Center's innovative and personalized approach to care to offer the best cardiac care to patients on the North Shore," says Ann Prestipino, senior vice president for Surgical and Anesthesia Services and the MGH Cardiac Program. "We are proud to share this award with North Shore and continue to enjoy our longstanding partnership with them."

The MGH departments involved with the team include Patient Care Services, Cardiac Surgery, Cardiology and Administration, as well as areas such as Cardiac Medical and Cardiac Surgery Inpatient Units, the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, the Cardiac Operating Room and the Patient Care Services Center for Clinical and Professional Development.

"There were numerous benefits resulting from this opportunity for MGH nurses to collaborate closely with our North Shore colleagues," says Theresa Gallivan, RN, associate chief nurse for MGH Patient Care Services. "We were able to put faces with names and share expert clinical, operational and administrative knowledge. Perhaps most importantly, we further established professional networks that we will continue into the future."