February 2017 Vol. 19 Issue 2
ECHO STORIES AND NEWS FROM THE HSS FAMILY
HSS Grows Dominican Republic to Be No. 1 International Market critical component of our Roadmap to 2020
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is fulfilling our potential to impact healthcare around the world. An increased international
presence helps us “win” at home. HSS has many
Intraoperative Monitoring Lab Receives Prestigious Award he Department of Neurology’s Intraoperative
ensure the success of the entire organization overall.
T
One of the countries where we have made a large
prestigious designation, which is based on evaluation
impact over the last year is the Dominican Republic.
of the program operations, staffing, established
global initiatives underway that not only extend our
Monitoring (IOM) Lab has been granted a five
reach internationally, but also raise the visibility and
year accreditation by the credentialing board
ABRET. This is the first time HSS has received this
Through a collaboration between the Global Sports Marketing Department and the International Center, we have expanded our partnerships in the country to help extend our brand reach and increase the number of patients coming to HSS for care. According to Emil Calcano, AVP, Global Sports Marketing and Business Development, the Dominican Republic is the number one market for HSS internationally; we see more patients from this country than any other country outside of the US. The Dominican Republic is a highly competitive market for US hospitals because they are very focused on US healthcare. “You don’t have to convince patients from the Dominican Republic to come to America for healthcare, because they already know how good it is,” said Brian VanVelzor, AVP, International Center. “What we need to do is differentiate ourselves and create brand recognition so they know that for orthopedic care, HSS should be their top choice.”
standards and policies. Antonio Mir, President of LNB, poses with Laura Porcella, Dr. Answorth Allen, Emil Calcano and Brian VanVelzor after HSS and LNB announced their official partnership.
IOM is a specialized service provided by the
As a first step, HSS hired Laura Porcella as the
informed about possible neurological complications
Dominican in-country liaison for the Hospital.
during spine surgery. The purpose of IOM is to
Laura lives in the Dominican Republic and is there
reduce the risk of injury to the spinal cord and nerve
Department of Neurology to help keep surgeons
to help support our efforts on the ground. She does
roots during surgery by continuously monitoring the
everything from finding patients and gathering their
ability of a patient’s spinal cord and nerve roots to
information to meeting with insurance companies
transmit signals.
and local businesses to assisting with our marketing and advertising strategy in the country. With Laura’s help, we began building relationships with physicians, hospitals, sports team and athletes in the Dominican Republic. On August 29, 2016 we announced a partnership with Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (LNB), the men’s professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic, which was our second official partnership outside of the US. “With this partnership, we wanted to replicate what we do for sports organizations in the US down in
When Brian began working here more than three
the Dominican Republic and use the power of sports
years ago, not many people in the Dominican
to influence the way people perceive healthcare,” said
The IOM Lab team includes (back row, l-r) Arturo Sanchez, Sean Freeman, Caleb Natale, Jon Dizon, Kristin Mercado, Christine Kurda, Kirsten Smith, Rinil Merdegia, (front row, l-r) Maya Karshenboyem, Marlene Brown, Nashali Castillo, (not pictured) Susan Vergara and Andrei Spirin.
Republic knew HSS by name. To help change that,
Emil. “No one does sports medicine like HSS, and we
the International Center worked with Emil and the
wanted to show sports fans in the Dominican Republic
By using this procedure, neurophysiology technolo-
Global Sports Marketing Department to increase
that we are willing to provide the same services to
gists continuously monitor the function of the spinal
efforts in the country through several sports-focused
athletes there as we do in the US, and hopefully have
cord during the operation and are able to alert the
initiatives and partnerships.
that resonate with consumers in general.”
surgeon if there are problems arising in the nervous
As part of the partnership, Answorth Allen, MD, Associate Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon, is serving as a medical consultant for the league, with an emphasis on contributing to the development of the league’s medical structure over the next few years. HSS clinicians are spending time on the island
system. At HSS, we use a three-tiered monitoring system to provide the best possible care to our patients. In addition to the technologist present in the operating room, there is both a senior technologist and a neurologist monitoring the patient outside of the OR.
educating local physicians, coaches and physical therapists on injury prevention methods to keep all basketball players in the game. “It is an honor to share my knowledge and collaborate with medical staff in the Dominican Republic,” said Dr. Allen. “Our goal is to help provide world-class Drs. Riley Williams and Bryan Kelly performed five surgeries in the Dominican Republic as part of HSS’s surgical sports mission in late October 2016.
care for athletes so they can avoid injury as much as possible.”
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Heart of a Giant Holiday Roundup Culture of Health
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