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Daniel Z.
Aronzon, Nicholas
Christiano, Jr., and Stephen
A. Katz
Moderated
by Irving
Wladawsky-Berger, Visiting
Professor of Engineering Systems
and VP, Technical Strategy and
Innovation, IBM
About
the Series
Today’s
increasingly complex world requires
engineers to innovate as never
before. To have real impact,
whether within a firm or society
as a whole, engineers must not
only develop technologically
superior solutions, but also
know how to think systemically
and lead strategically.
In the 21st century, mastery
of a wide range of interdisciplinary
skills is needed to create effective,
resilient solutions to complex
problems. Today’s engineers
must understand how to work
individually and on teams. They
must recognize critical factors
that emerge along technical,
organizational, and societal
boundaries that can enable or
preclude technological success.
Moreover, they must apply careful
analysis not only at the product
level, but also within the technical
and managerial context in which
engineering and design challenges
occur.
Engineering Systems Solutions
to Real World Challenges
is a seminar series co-sponsored
by IBM and MIT’s Engineering
Systems Division. Each seminar
will show how today’s
leaders and practitioners are
using engineering systems and
services sciences approaches
to address complex problems.
Drawing from real-life examples,
the series will explain how
these approaches were applied
at IBM and other organizations,
and demonstrate how to achieve
breakthrough solutions that
deliver sustained value to enterprises
and society as a whole.
About
the Lecture:
Many
healthcare systems around the
world are in crisis. Costs are
rising; quality of care is inconsistent.
The US spends 16% of GDP on
healthcare but still faces large
numbers of deaths each year
due to medical mistakes in hospitals.
A well known 1999 IOM report
put the estimate at 98,000 deaths
per year. A more recent 2004
study by Healthgrades, using
data on Medicare patients, estimates
195,000 people a year dying
in U.S. hospitals because of
easily prevented errors.
Healthcare
leaders are looking for innovative
ways to improve patient safety
and operational efficiency by
giving doctors and nurses the
crucial information they need
– where and when they
need it.
Making
progress is challenging. Information
technology projects in the healthcare
industry are often costly, while
frequently failing to achieve
business, clinical and technical
goals and exceeding budget and
time estimates. The reasons
for these failures are not singular.
In many cases, organizations
fail to appropriately address
the social/governance/cultural
structures and issues when designing
and deploying IT.
To
achieve their "Digital
Hospital" vision, Vassar
Brothers Medical Center is collaborating
with IBM and its business partners
to pilot an important element
of that vision – Radio
Frequency Location Services.
This technology has huge potential
to improve patient safety and
operational efficiency.
In
this lecture a panel of senior
leaders from Vassar Brothers
will discuss their strategy
covering the technologies, their
business investment model, and
the deployment challenges related
to social structures and change
management. Three specific projects
will be discussed: bar-coding
to reduce adverse medical events;
voice over IP to improve nurse-physician
communication and; active RFID
to track and optimize mobile
assets.
About
the Speakers
Daniel
Z. Aronzon, M.D., F.A.A.P.
is a Cum Laude graduate of Union
College, where he majored in
French Literature; New York
Medical College and completed
his Pediatric Residency including
a 4th year Chief Residency at
the Albert Einstein College
of Medicine – Jacobi Hospital
Center.
He
became Director of the Pediatric
Emergency Service at Bellevue
Hospital Center, one of the
largest services of its kind
in the country, and Associate
Director of Pediatric Ambulatory
Care at the New York University
School of Medicine. At NYU,
he was recognized by the graduating
class, as its distinguished
professor.
He
then joined a pediatric practice
in Poughkeepsie, New York, and
practiced general pediatrics
for 22 years. As the practice
grew, he became the first medical
director and founding partner
of The Children’s Medical
Group, one of the largest and
most recognized practices in
the Northeast encompassing 6
offices, 23 pediatricians and
over 110,000 patient visits
a year.
Dr.
Aronzon joined the medical staff
of Vassar Brothers Medical center
in 1979 and over the years became
involved in Medical Staff Affairs
at Vassar serving as chairman
of the By Laws, Credentials,
and Quality Improvement Committees,
and finally was elected for
multiple terms as President
of the Medical and Dental Staff.
He
is the co-author of a comprehensive
multidisciplinary text in Pediatric
Medicine entitled Primary
Care Pediatrics, published
in 2001 by Lippincott, Williams
and Wilkins.
Dr.
Aronzon previously served as
Senior Vice President for Medical
Affairs at Vassar brothers Medical
Center, the regional center
for the Mid Hudson Valley, and
concurrently as Chief Medical
Officer for Health Quest its
parent system. He currently
serves as the President and
CEO of Vassar Brothers Medical
Center, a 365 bed full service
hospital in Poughkeepsie, New
York.
He
is a fellow of the New York
Academy of Medicine, the American
Academy of Pediatrics, and a
member of the American College
of Physician Executives.
In
the community Dr. Aronzon has
been a long standing member
of the Poughkeepsie Rotary Club,
the Board of Counselors at the
Children’s Home of Poughkeepsie,
and a past member of the Board
at Rehabilitation Programs Inc.
and the Mid-Hudson Chapter of
the March of Dimes. He currently
chairs Marist College’s
Pre-Health Advisory Board. He
also serves on the Board of
Governors of the United Way
of Dutchess County and the Board
of Advisors of the local chapter
of the American Cancer Society,
the American Heart Association,
as well as on the Board of Pattern
for Progress and SPARC. On a
national level, he has served
on the Pediatric Advisory Council
for the Anne E. Dyson Initiative,
a collaborative venture between
the American Academy of Pediatrics
and the Dyson Foundation.
Nicholas
Christiano, Jr., Vice
President and ClO of Health
Quest
Nick is the Vice President and
Chief Information Officer for
Health Quest, a multi- Hospital
entity in New York State and
HealthServe Information Technologies,
the IT enterprise of Health
Quest. Nick has over 30 years
of information systems experience
in various industries that include
healthcare, consulting, broadcasting
and financial services. Within
healthcare, Nick has served
in an executive role or as CIO
in several organizations e.g
Cooper Health System, Monmouth
Medical Center, Maimonides Medical
Center, Continuum Health, and
NYU Medical Center. He has also
been a leading developer of
solutions with software firms
like Cerner, Siemens, and Eclipsys.
Nick
holds a Masters of Business
Administration degree in Management
Information Systems and Finance
from Iona College and a Bachelor
of Science degree in Computer
Science from the New York Institute
of Technology He is an active
member of HIMSS and CHIME and
regularly lectures on leading
technologies in healthcare.
Stephen
A. Katz was raised
in Ellenville, New York and
completed his secondary school
education at The Hun School,
Princeton, New Jersey. He graduated
from the University of Pennsylvania
in 1964 with a B.A. in Biology.
He had the unique opportunity
to attend medical school at
the University of Birmingham,
England, where he earned his
medical degree in 1969. Returning
to the United States for his
post-graduate education, he
completed his internship, then
residency, at the State University
of New York at Buffalo, where
he held the title of Clinical
Assistant Professor of Medicine.
In 1972, he achieved Board Certification
in Internal Medicine. That same
year, he joined Dr. George Engel’s
acclaimed Psychosomatic Medicine
Program at the University of
Rochester as a Fellow and an
Associate Professor of Medicine.
In
1974, Dr. Katz became a partner
in The Mid-Hudson Medical Group,
P.C., Fishkill, New York, and
began his private practice in
Internal Medicine. During his
time there, he served as a Board
Member, an Officer of the Corporation,
and chaired many operational
committees. He was founder and
chairman of the Quality Practice
Committee and initiated significant
measures to improve medical
care within the practice.
Dr.
Katz’s primary hospital
affiliation with Vassar Brothers
Medical Center also gave him
the opportunity to serve in
many leadership capacities at
the hospital. He was Audit Committee
Chairman, Chairman of the Department
of Medicine, and Chief of the
Medical Staff. He instituted
the Progressive Leadership Training
Track and the Peer Review Committee.
He sat on the Board of Trustees
and was a member of the Executive
Committee of the Board. In addition
to his medical practice and
hospital commitments, Dr. Katz
chaired the Alumni Secondary
School Admissions Committee
(Hudson Region) for the University
of Pennsylvania. He was also
appointed to the Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental
Health Advisory Board at Marist
College, on which he continues
to serve.
In
September of 2005, after thirty-one
years of successful clinical
practice, Dr. Katz accepted
the full-time position of Chief
Medical Officer and Senior Vice-President
of Medical Affairs at Vassar
Brothers Medical Center.
About
Vassar Brothers Medical Center
Vassar Brothers Medical Center
is a 365 bed facility that has
been serving New York’s
Mid-Hudson Valley since 1887.
Recently listed in Consumers
Digest as one of 50 exceptional
U.S. hospitals, Vassar Brothers
has established centers of excellence
in cardiac services, cancer
care and women and children’s
health services. As a regional
medical center, Vassar houses
the area’s first and only
cardiothoracic surgery center
between Westchester and Albany
and delivers more babies than
any other hospital between Manhattan
and Montreal. Vassar has a state-of-the-art
birthing center with private
luxury maternity suites, each
with a striking view of the
Hudson River, the only level
3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
in the Mid-Hudson Valley and
the region’s only dedicated
Pediatric Unit. The Dyson Center
for Cancer Care, Vassar’s
Outpatient Cancer Center, is
designed to accommodate patients
and their families while providing
infusion therapy, radiation
therapy, Stereotactic Radiosurgery,
pet therapy and a wide variety
of support groups.
The
Medical Center houses the Center
for Advanced Surgery, one of
the most sophisticated operating
rooms in the world and one of
only a handful in the United
States. The Vassar Brothers
Wound Care Center, intended
for the treatment of chronic,
non-healing wounds, has one
of the highest healing rates
in the country.
Vassar
Brothers is an affiliate of
the hospital system known as
Health Quest, which also includes
Northern Dutchess Hospital in
Rhinebeck, Putnam Hospital Center
in Carmel and numerous affiliates.
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