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Cogitator Oct 30, 2013
Sandra Coletta, President and CEO of Kent Hospital
MILLION DOLLAR MEAL, HELD AT THE KENT HOSPITAL DOCTOR’S AUDITORIUM
VISITING ROTARIANS
None.
GUESTS
Anne Marie Charland from Greenwich Bay Manor was again a guest of Chuck Sauer.
ROTARY ANNIVERSARIES
Happy Rotary anniversary to two Rotarians this week: Bob Petrucelli (re)joined the club 7 years ago on November 1st, 2006 and went on to serve as treasurer for several years; and on that same day, our 2011 Rotarian of the Year Jane Boynton began her energetic career in the Rotary Club of East Greenwich.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
John and Donna Wolcott attended the Imagine Dinner with Jim and Janet Essex. Held at the Atlantic Beach Club in Middletown, the Imagine Dinner benefitted the Lindsay Ann Burke Memorial Fund’s campaign to stamp out dating and domestic violence. Janet Essex said it was ‘one of the best charity events she ever attended!’ Kudos to President Jodi and the club for supporting this event.
ROTARY FOUNDATION DINNER
This year’s Rotary Foundation Dinner will be held on Thursday, November 14th at the Venus De Milo Restaurant in Swansea. The evening begins at 5:30pm. Tickets are $45 but will cost only $22.50 for East Greenwich Rotarians after the board purchased a table. President Jodi Gladstone encouraged all to attend, noting ‘The soup alone is worth $22!’
CITRUS UPDATE
Bill Winter came to the rescue, volunteering to help Citrus Chair Bonnie Sauer store leftover fruit after our December 7th Citrus Delivery Day. Nice work, Bill!
DISTRICT GOVERNOR TO-BE
Congratulations to former Assistant District Governor and Wakefield Rotarian Russ Bertrand, who was nominated to serve as District (7950) Governor in the 2016-2017 Rotary year!
NEW GENERATIONS
This year’s East Greenwich Rotary Telephone Directory will proudly display on its cover the New England Institute of Technology Rotaract Club!
BOY SCOUTS OF RHODE ISLAND
The Boy Scouts of Rhode Island will hold their Fleur-de-Lis Club Dinner at the prestigious Squantum Club in East Providence on Wednesday, November 20th. Andy Erickson noted that our club’s support for the Fleur-de-Lis Club began in the 1980’s and continues today.
END POLIO NOW
President Jodi mentioned that October 24th was World Polio Day. She added that there have been significant new outbreaks in Syria and Somalia, which have led to polio spreading in Africa. The battle continues, with Rotary at the forefront. To learn more you can visit www.endpolionow.org.
HAPPY BUCKS
-Bob Sloan was back from his trip to Southeast Asia. It was a ‘fabulous experience,’ and he was able to speak with people who have benefitted from water filters via Rotary’s Clean Water campaign in the region.
-Bonnie Sauer thanked hubby Chuck for helping get scores of letters out to Citrus customers.
-Steve Lombardi’s son was a wee one-year-old when the Lombardi family hosted an exchange student from Germany; years later, that same student was on hand recently for his son’s wedding!
-Lou Lepry was recently with family in Colorado for a Notre Dame football game.
-Vin Meola had a great time visiting Acadia National Park in Maine.
PROGRAM/SPEAKER
Sandra Coletta, President and CEO of Kent Hospital
Andy Erickson introduced Sandra Coletta, President and CEO of Kent Hospital, citing that her hiring in 2008 was ‘the best thing to happen to the hospital since its founding.’ Sandra is also Chief Operating Officer of Care New England.
Sandra thanked the club for its commitment of $10,000 toward the hospital’s new Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC), a ‘wonderful outpatient surgery center’ for Kent County and all of Rhode Island.
‘We were late to the party,’ she noted, since most other local hospitals currently have separate outpatient and inpatient surgical centers. Kent now has a state of the art facility which will provide ‘good customer service to our community.’ It will help alleviate the unpredictability of surgery scheduling and create a streamlined process for patients needing access to either operating room.
Sandra announced a new option of ‘private pay stay’ at the ASC. Pricing will likely be similar to a 4-5 star hotel, in the vicinity of $500-700 per night. It will be perfect for many people who need the convenience of being in the hospital for early morning procedures, or folks who just wish to be close to a premium care center like Kent for just a bit longer than insurance coverage may allow.
Sandra spoke of the successful Michael J. Woods Institute at Kent. The Institute was founded in 2009 as part of a lawsuit settlement to Michael Woods’ family, including actor James Woods, to study and implement improvements in patient care. Sandra proudly noted tremendous improvements in emergency care at Kent in the aftermath of that well publicized case. ‘Human factor design’ considerations and improvements have indeed made things ‘safer for everyone.’
The cardiac alliance between Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Kent Hospital has meant wonderful advancements in ‘telemedicine’ and continues to provide a good continuum of care between Boston and Warwick.
The Kent Hospital emergency room sees 60,000 patients annually, second in the state only to Rhode Island Hospital.
Kent Hospital’s Capital Campaign is steaming ahead with $7 million already committed to date, with an ultimate goal of $10 million.
When asked what she loved most about her job, Sandra replied that ‘she loves making things up,’ explaining that she loves most being able to constantly bring fresh ideas to the fore. Some will work, others may not…but every day, she is working on new ways to improve Kent Hospital.
(After our meeting, Sandra and her staff graciously gave several Rotarians a tour of the new facility...)
Sandra Coletta with Andy Erickson