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(November 5, 2007) Representative Gillibrand, Dyson Foundation and Columbia Memorial Hospital Announcement |
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Hudson, NY - Today, Local Congresswoman Kirsten E.
Gillibrand announced that she will hold a press conference with
Columbia Memorial Hospital and the Dyson Foundation to announce a
collaborative effort and new technological system that will benefit
Columbia Memorial Hospital located in Hudson, NY. The Conference will
be held promptly at 9:30 am on Monday, November 12th, 2007 on the
second floor waiting area in the Kellner Wing directly above the
Emergency Department.
"I am thrilled to have played a role with connecting Columbia Memorial
and the Dyson Foundation on this important project. This $500,000
grant will help pay for new software and barcode technology that will
insure even greater efficiency and administrating patient medication,"
Congresswoman Gillibrand said. "I cannot emphasize how important
Columbia Memorial is to this community serving over three counties and
their continued effort to provide quality, accessible and state-of-the
art healthcare."
In her first term, Congresswoman Gillibrand
has focused on healthcare IT investments as a substantive way to
increase her constituents' ability to have access to quality,
affordable healthcare.
WHO:
Congresswoman Gillibrand,
Robert R. Dyson, President of the Dyson Foundation
Jane Ehrlich, CEO of Columbia Memorial Hospital
WHAT:
Press Conference Announcement of
Demonstration of New Scanning System
WHEN:
Monday, November 12th, 2007 9:30am
WHERE:
Columbia Memorial Hospital
The Kellner Wing, 2nd Floor
Directly above the Emergency Department
71 Prospect Ave.
Hudson, NY 12534
BACKGROUND:
Earlier
this year, local Congresswoman Gillibrand reached out to the Dyson
Foundation and expressed concern for needed funding after an
appropriations request moved forward in the first round of funding in
Congress. The Congresswoman resourcefully reached out to the Dyson
Foundation, a Millbrook-Based, family-directed foundation with a
longstanding interest in the health care needs of the Mid-Hudson Valley
and facilitated a meeting with the Columbia Memorial Administration and
the Foundation. The Congresswoman continues to take steps in
establishing grant opportunities for local organizations. Furthermore,
the Congresswoman wants to see more resourceful funding for area
hospitals especially in the areas of IT and computerized information
gathering as a cost-saving and more efficient practice for today's
hospitals. This particular grant will have a significant impact on
patient safety.
"After being approached by Congresswoman
Gillibrand, we recognized that Columbia Memorial's Technology
infrastructure needed upgrading. By providing barcode scanning
technology in the Hospital's Pharmacy, patient safety will be greatly
enhanced," said Robert R. Dyson, President of the Dyson Foundation. "We
are pleased to be able to work with the Congresswoman to help this
growing Medical Center reach its full potential."
The Dyson
Foundation is a private, family-directed grantmaking foundation
established in 1957 and headquartered in Millbrook (Dutchess County),
New York. The Foundation's assets presently stand at approximately $355
million and, in 2006, it awarded grants in excess of $18.4 million.
"We
are sincerely grateful to Congresswoman Gillibrand and the Dyson
Foundation for enabling us to make this giant leap forward in the arena
of patient care and safety. We have been working to implement this new
technology for the past two years and now, through the good work by our
Congresswoman and the generosity of the Dyson Foundation, we will be
able to make it happen." said Jane Ehrlich, CEO of Columbia Memorial
Hospital. "This is a most exciting gift. On behalf of our board of
trustees, our hospital staff and the patients we serve, we gratefully
acknowledge and thank our Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand and Robert
R. Dyson, President of the Dyson Foundation."
Columbia
Memorial serves more than 100,000 residents in Columbia, Greene and
Northern Dutchess counties. The hospital focuses on emergency care,
advanced surgery and primary care and health-based education. It is a
192-bed acute care facility and it also operates a 120-bed long-term
care site as well as numerous outlying primary care centers and
outpatient specialties centers.
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