THE GOOD SAMARITAN NEWSLETTER

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1 THE GOOD SAMARITAN NEWSLETTER JUNE 2015 The parable of the Good Samaritan speaks of a charitable individual who saved the life of an injured stranger. It exemplifies strong ethics and it is central to the Bon Secours Mission, to give Good Help to Those in Need Partnership with Westchester Medical Center supports healthcare throughout our region East meets west in a new partnership that will advance healthcare in the Hudson Valley. Bridging communities on both sides of the river, Westchester Medical Center and Good Samaritan s parent organizations have entered into a joint venture to enhance local access to world-class care. Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center is a member of Bon Secours Health System Inc. and Bon Secours Charity Health System, which have entered into the partnership with Westchester. Continuing to provide high-quality compassionate care to all residents in the communities we serve remains our top priority. This relationship combines the resources of the partners successful health systems to do just that. Together, we all benefit from emerging opportunities in our nation s evolving healthcare environment. Michael D. Israel, President and CEO, Westchester Medical Center and Mary P. Leahy, M.D. and CEO, Bon Secours Charity Health System Continued

2 Partnership Continued from previous page Mary P. Leahy, M.D. and CEO of Bon Secours Charity Health System said a joint venture such as this one is transformative and will allow our organizations to thrive in a climate of change. We share a common vision of clinical and operational excellence and a keen desire to maintain the long-held mission of Bon Secours and the Sisters of Charity. Dr. Leahy confirms that Bon Secours Charity Health System will remain a Catholic healthcare ministry with Bon Secours Health System Inc. and the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth as members and canonical sponsors. A joint venture with Westchester Medical Center represents an unparalleled opportunity to enhance the quality of services for the people in the region and will preserve and expand local healthcare, said Mark Nantz, Executive Vice President of Bon Secours Health System Inc. The challenges of today s healthcare environment require that healthcare systems explore innovative ways to deliver high-quality care through Support from Good Samaritans like you ensures that we remain the trusted local resource our community relies on when they need good help. clinical transformation and population health management. We believe this joint venture can achieve the best for both organizations. Westchester Medical Center s historic mission has been to ensure that all the residents of the Hudson Valley have the finest healthcare available as close to home as possible, said Michael D. Israel, President and CEO of Westchester Medical Center. Our focus remains protecting the valued local healthcare services that the residents of this region have come to expect and deserve and, with our clinical and operational acumen, further strengthening local programs and offerings in the community, which started with our partnership with MidHudson Regional Hospital earlier this year. As further progress is made in expanding and enhancing our healthcare services through this partnership, we will keep you and others in our family of supporters up to date. Please join us in supporting the future of healthcare in our community by

3 Joe Allen experiences, firsthand, what it means to be a patient at the Institute he helped name Joe Allen has been talking about Good Samaritan for a long time. His voice has echoed throughout the region to raise funds for our Medical Center since 2006, when he joined the Foundation s Board of Directors. But until last January, Joe never imagined that he would someday be wheeled on a stretcher into the unit that bears the name of the company he works for, the Active International Cardiovascular Institute and that he would talk about our Medical Center from the perspective of a patient. Joe is a longtime Rockland County resident and the Senior Vice President of Employee Communications and Community Affairs at Active International in Pearl River. He launched and leads Active Cares, the company s philanthropic program, which supports a range of vital charities, including local healthcare. Joe was instrumental in acquiring the naming rights to the Cardiovascular Institute. Active s owners, Alan Elkin and Arthur Wagner, and I realized that this service would make a huge difference in saving lives, including those of our employees and their families, he said. The Active International Cardiovascular Institute was named in This year, Joe became one of the many patients who have benefitted from the state-of-the-art care our healthcare professionals provide there. but the atrial fibrillation would not. Not on its own. I needed intervention and in addition, my doctor determined I needed a stent, he said. His story began this past winter. I was walking my dog one night in January when I fell and sustained a serious concussion. I have no recollection of hitting the ground, no knowledge of my family finding me or of the ambulance bringing me to Good Samaritan. I woke up in the Emergency Department, Joe recalls. Joe and his family learned that in addition to a concussion, he had atrial fibrillation. My medical team determined that the concussion would heal It s one thing to tout the Medical Center as a board member, but it is entirely different to experience it firsthand. I had not been a patient in a hospital since I was four years old, so everything about being the patient was new to me. I had not lived it until this year, first for five days as an inpatient and then as an outpatient, Joe said. The treatment here is spectacular! At every turn, I received care way in excess of what I would have anticipated. Good Samaritan s quality of customer service is very high. Continued

4 Joe Allen Continued from previous page My care was well coordinated among specialists and it was completely transparent. Everyone who spoke with my family and me was clear they took the time to help us understand what was going on, Joe said. portal. He said, I m a sports fan, so everything is a score to me. When I read that my results are in range, I feel like I ve hit a home run or thrown a touchdown pass. Given our region s close proximity to Manhattan s highly regarded medical resources, Joe considers how often he hears people talk about going to the city to see doctors. He disagrees with the need for that more now than ever before. We don t need to leave Rockland County for many specialties like cardiology and neurology. The funds we ve put into Good Samaritan have made it a first-class facility. I do not think I could have received better care anywhere. Joe is feeling great. He keeps up with his progress by accessing his medical records through our patient When I was on the stretcher and I was wheeled past the Active sign, I realized that I had an important role in getting it there, Joe said. And then, I was able to go back to Active s owners and tell them, firsthand, that Good Samaritan delivers as promised. It s a tremendous thing to look a supporter in the eye and say that I have lived this; that the care is superb and that by contributing, they will help others, possibly even someone they know, get the same quality of care. Community contributions help purchase new heart pumps Thank you, supporters! Your contributions have made it possible for us to purchase two heart pumps, adding to the equipment and technology in Good Samaritan s Cardiac Catheterization Lab. The Impella 5.0 pump supports a patient s circulatory system during cardiac procedures by sustaining proper blood flow throughout the body. The pump helps enable minimally-invasive procedures. It is inserted into the heart after being guided through the femoral artery via a small incision in the leg. While a doctor performs procedures, the pump does the work of the heart by maintaining blood flow it allows the heart to rest until the intervention is complete. Please join us in supporting the future of healthcare in our community by

5 Message from Harold Peterson, Foundation Chair Dear Friends of Good Samaritan: Like many in our community, Good Samaritan has been important to my family for about as long as I can remember. I am a lifelong Rockland County resident. My elderly mother was cared for here and my granddaughters were born here. During some of our family s most joyful and most difficult times, Good Sam s tremendous doctors and nurses were by our side. People in our region count on our Medical Center for healing and hope. It is a trusted, reliable resource that makes this region a great place to live, raise families and work. I became involved with the Good Samaritan Foundation about ten years ago because I wanted to do my part for an organization so committed to the people it serves. It s my honor to lead the Foundation s Board of Directors, especially now as we ve entered into a partnership with Westchester Medical Center. My fellow volunteers and I are ambassadors for Good Samaritan, representing the Medical Center throughout our professional and social circles. We tell others about what goes on here and we generate support so the goals set by Dr. Leahy, our CEO, and her leadership team can be achieved this is our most important work. I invite you to join me in contributing to our efforts. Remind those in your own circles about the value of Good Samaritan. And help us raise funds to make sure our families and friends continue to have access to world-class care, close to home. This is no small feat it takes widespread commitment something our Foundation has successfully achieved for many years. Thank you for working with me to make sure our Medical Center stays strong. Sincerely, Harold J. Peterson Chair, Good Samaritan Foundation Please join us in supporting the future of healthcare in our community by Good Samaritan Foundation 255 Lafayette Avenue, Suffern, NY Phone: (845) Fax: (845) GSH_Foundation@bshsi.org Bon Secours Charity Health System is one of 14 local systems of the Bon Secours Health System. We are co-sponsored by the Sisters of Bon Secours of Marriottsville, MD, and the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, NJ.