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Hospitals

Pictured from left, Audrey Goodfriend, Tamara Baker, and Phyllis Stark with blankets to be donated to hospitals. Photo courtesy of Fountaingate Gardens

Audrey Goodfriend and Phyllis Stark, avid crocheters and knitters who are members of the new 62+ Independent Living Community Fountaingate Gardens in Commack, were so pleased to learn of We Care Blankets, a charity that aligns with their talents and interests. Recently, they welcomed Tamara Baker, founder of the charity, to their community to donate more than a dozen blankets for children and young adults who are going through chemotherapy.

Blankets made by Fountaingate residents will be donated to hospitals. Photo courtesy of Fountaingate Gardens

According to Baker, she started We Care Blankets more than two decades ago because she saw how cold children in treatment could be while in the hospital. “We have a network of more than 25 hospitals, and we supply them with 15,000 blankets each year, keeping children warm and comforted while they battle cancer. I’m so thankful for volunteers like Phyllis and Audrey,” Baker said.

“I think this is an amazing cause for those who are going through such difficult and challenging times,” Stark said while packing the blankets for pick up. “It creates a positive impact not only on the recipients, but also on the broader community, inspiring others to get involved!”

Goodfriend, who crochets while attending the weekly Needler’s Group at Fountaingate Gardens as well as while watching her Mets play, said, “Combining passions and interest with a purposeful act is a win-win situation; we enjoy our leisure time, but also make a positive difference in the lives of others.”

Baker noted that a network of volunteers meets regularly to wrap the blankets she has gathered from her volunteers, usually wrapping between one and two thousand blankets for delivery to the many hospitals in the We Care Blankets network. 

For information or to volunteer for We Care Blankets, contact 516-797-2250 or visit their website at www.wecareblankets.org/volunteer.

Sechrist model chamber for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Photo courtesy Renee Novelle

Port Jefferson’s St. Charles Hospital will open its new Center for Hyperbaric Medicine & Wound Healing on July 18, as the hospital seeks to help people with chronic, nonhealing wounds.

The center, which will be located on the second floor of the hospital, will include two hyperbaric chambers that provide 100% pure oxygen under pressurized conditions and will have four examining rooms.

The chamber “provides patients with the opportunity to properly oxygenate their blood, which will increase wound healing and wound-healing time,” said Jason Foeppel, a registered nurse and program director for this new service.

Potential patients will be eligible for this treatment when they have wounds that fail to heal after other treatments for 30 days or more.

Residents with circulatory challenges or who have diabetes can struggle with a wound that not only doesn’t heal, but can cause other health problems as well.

More oxygen in people’s red blood cells promotes wound healing and prevents infection.

The treatment “goes hand in hand to deliver aid to the body’s immune system and to promote a healing environment,” Foeppel said.

Nicholas Dominici, RestorixHealth regional director of Clinical Operations; Ronald Weingartner, chief operating officer, St. Charles Hospital; Jim O’Connor, president, St. Charles Hospital; and Jason Foeppel, program director. Photo courtesy Renee Novelle

St. Charles is partnering with RestorixHealth in this wound healing effort. A national chain, RestorixHealth has created similar wound healing partnerships with other health care facilities in all 50 states.

The new wound healing center at St. Charles is one of several others on Long Island, amid an increased demand for these kinds of services.

Partnering with Healogics, Huntington Hospital opened a hyperbaric chamber and wound healing center in May 2021. Stony Brook Southampton Hospital also has a wound care center.

“There’s a great need for this in our community,” said John Kutzma, program director at the Huntington Hospital center. “We know that there are 7 million Americans living with chronic wounds,” many of whom did not receive necessary medical attention during the worst of the pandemic, as people avoided doctors and hospitals.

Concerns about contracting COVID-19 not only kept people from receiving necessary treatment, but also may have caused nonhealing wounds to deteriorate for people who contracted the virus.

Although Kutzma hasn’t read any scientific studies, he said that, anecdotally, “We’ve had patients that had COVID whose wounds haven’t healed as quickly as non-COVID patients.”

Patients at the Huntington Hospital center range in age from 15 to 100, Kutzma said. People with diabetes constitute about one-third of the patients.

Treatment plan

For the hyperbaric chamber to have the greatest chance of success, patients typically need daily treatments that last between one and a half to two hours, five days a week for four to six weeks. While the time commitment is significant, Foeppel said it has proven effective in wound healing studies.

“We pitch it as an antibiotic treatment,” he said. “You want to complete that full cycle to ensure the body has enough time to complete the healing process.”

Kutzma said Huntington Hospital reviews the treatment plan with new patients.

In following the extensive treatment protocol to its conclusion, he said, “The alternative is to live with this very painful, chronic wound that may lead to amputation.” Given the potential dire alternative, Huntington Hospital doesn’t “have a problem getting that kind of commitment.”

While the treatment has proven effective for many patients, not everyone is medically eligible for the hyperbaric chamber.

Colin Martin, safety director. Photo courtesy Renee Novelle

Some chemotherapy drugs are contraindicators for hyperbaric oxygen treatments. Those patients may have other options, such as skin grafts, extra antibiotics or additional visits with physicians for debridement, which involves removing dead, damaged or infected tissue.

“We invite patients to come in, go through the checklist and see what their plan of attack” includes, Foeppel said.

The cost of the hyperbaric treatment for eligible conditions is generally covered by most health insurance plans, including Medicaid and Medicare, he said. 

The two hyperbaric chambers at St. Charles can treat eight to 10 patients in a day.

Aside from the cost and eligibility, patients who have this treatment frequently ask what they can do during their treatments. The center has a TV that can play movies or people can listen to music.

“We don’t expect you to sit there like in an MRI,” Foeppel said.

As for complaints, patients sometimes say they have pressure in their ears, the way they would if they ascend or descend in an airplane. The center urges people to hold their nose and blow or to do other things to relieve that pressure.

Foeppel encourages patients to use the restroom before the treatment, which is more effective when people don’t interrupt their time in the chamber.

Prospective patients don’t need a referral and can call the St. Charles center at 631-465-2950 to schedule an appointment.

Photo from Stony Brook Medicine

By Daniel Dunaief

[email protected]

While looking after the physical and mental well-being of patients who come in for care, Suffolk County hospitals are also focused on protecting staff, patients and visitors from the kind of violence that has spread recently throughout the country.

Over the past six months, hospital security staff and administrators have added a host of procedures to enhance safety and are considering additional steps.

“New measures have been put in place to minimize risk and better secure our buildings from a variety of threats,” Frank Kirby, Catholic Health Service line manager, wrote in an email. Catholic Health includes St. Catherine of Siena in Smithtown and St. Charles in Port Jefferson, among others.

“All Catholic Health facilities have an ‘active shooter’ contingency policy, which includes training for our employees on what to do in such an event,” Kirby wrote.

Executives at several health care facilities shared specific measures they have put in place.

The safe room

“Over the last six months or so, we have created something called the safe room,” said Dr. Michel Khlat, director at St. Catherine of Siena. Inside that room, hospital staff can hide and can find emergency items, like a door stop, medical supplies, gauze and first aid equipment.

St. Catherine recommends putting all the tables down in the safe room and hiding.

Khlat added that the hospital recommends that staff not open a door where another staff member knocks, in case a criminal is squatting nearby, waiting for access to the hospital.

Kirby added that Catholic Health facilities actively conducts drills across their hospitals, medical buildings and administrative offices to “sharpen our preparedness for any potential crisis that could impact safety and security.”

Catholic Health hospitals have onsite security guards and field supervisors who have prior military or law enforcement experience, Kirby added.

Northwell Health

As for Northwell Health, which includes Huntington Hospital, Scott Strauss, vice president of Corporate Security at Northwell, said the hospitals have an armed presence that includes many former and active law enforcement officers.

Strauss himself is a retired New York Police Department officer who, as a first responder on 9/11, rescued a Port Authority officer trapped by the fall of the World Trade Center.

Northwell is researching the possibility of installing a metal detection system.

Strauss suggested that the security program could not be successful without the support of senior leadership.

He suggested that staff and visitors can play a part in keeping everyone safe by remaining vigilant, as anyone in a hospital could serve as the eyes and ears of a security force.

The security staff has relied on their 15 to 35 years of experience to deescalate any potentially violent situations, Strauss said.

Northwell hospitals also offer guidance to staff for personal relationships that might
be dangerous.

“People don’t realize they’re in a poor relationship, they might think it’s normal,” Strauss said.

Across social media and the Internet, the communications team at Northwell monitors online chatter to search for anything that might be threatening.

“We evaluate it and notify the police as needed,” said Strauss.

Aggressive behavior

Strauss urged people who see something threatening online to share it with authorities, either at the hospitals or in the police force. “You can’t take a chance and let that go,” he said.

At this point, Northwell hasn’t noticed an increase in threats or possible security concerns. It has, however, seen an increase in aggressive behavior at practices and in
the hospitals.

In those situations, the security team investigates. They offer to get help, while making it clear that “threatening in any way, shape or form is not tolerated,” Strauss said. “There could be consequences” which could include being dismissed from the practice and filing police reports, Strauss said.

Anecdotally, Strauss believes Northwell has seen an increase in police reports.

When the draft of the Supreme Court’s decision that will likely overturn Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that made it unconstitutional for states to restrict abortions, became public, Strauss was concerned about the potential backlash for health care providers.

So far, Strauss said gratefully, Northwell hasn’t seen any violence or threats related to the pending decision.

Stony Brook

Stony Brook University Hospital has an accredited and armed law enforcement agency on campus, in addition to a team of trained public safety personnel within the hospital, explained Lawrence Zacarese, vice president for Enterprise Risk Management and chief security officer at Stony Brook University.

Zacarese indicated that university officers are extensively trained in active shooter response protocols and are prepared to handle other emergency situations.

He added that the staff looks for ways to enhance security.

“Our training and security activities are continuous, and we are committed to exploring additional opportunities to maintain a safe and secure environment,” he explained in an email.

Kirby of Catholic Health Security suggested that hospitals do “more than provide care for surgical and medical inpatients. They also need to guarantee safety for all who enter our grounds.”

The new front entrance of the emergency room. Photo by Victoria Espinoza

With the decision of Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to lift the elective surgeries ban in Suffolk on May 16, area hospitals will be able to resume an important aspect of their day-to-day operations. 

Hospital officials have praised the news because elective and emergency procedures are seen as a vital source of revenue for these facilities. 

James O’Connor, president of St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson and chief administrative officer of St. Catherine of Siena Hospital in Smithtown, said it’s good news that both facilities can resume these important procedures. 

“It’s a public health issue, you have these patients that were holding off on these urgent and vital surgeries,” he said. “Those needs didn’t go away because of COVID-19.”

O’Connor said between them the two hospitals perform around 750-800 surgeries a month. Orthopedic, bariatric, spine and general surgeries are the most common. The hospitals have already started to bring back staff and furloughed workers have been contacted and will report back to work. 

Elective/urgent surgeries have been put on hold for nearly two months, in an effort to ensure there were sufficient hospital beds and medical staff available to handle the surge in COVID-19 cases.

The St. Charles president said that he expects the hospitals to be back “at full volume” in performing surgeries by sometime next month.

“After week one, we will be ramping up the percentage of surgeries that will be done,” he said. “The first week will be at 25 percent and then we’ll keep going forward.”

Stony Brook University Hospital has begun bringing back personnel to the Ambulatory Surgery Center, main operating room and other areas. 

“The hospital is looking forward to rescheduling cases to provide the care necessary for its patients and addressing their surgical needs as soon as possible,” said Carol Gomes, chief executive officer at Stony Brook University Hospital. 

On average, approximately 100-120 cases daily are performed at the hospital. Those include general surgery, orthopedics, neurosurgery, surgical oncology, cardiac surgery, trauma, kidney transplants, urologic procedures and gynecologic surgery. 

The return of these services will help hospitals who are in the midst of financial hardship from the ongoing coronavirus crisis.  

According to a report from the American Hospital Association, U.S. hospitals and health systems have lost around $50 billion per month on average during the COVID-19 crisis. From March 1 to June 30, the association estimates a total of $202.6 billion in losses. 

“Hospitals and health systems face catastrophic financial challenges in light of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the AHA said in the report. 

The association also predicted more financial hardship as millions of people could be left unemployed and lose health insurance. It could lead to increased uncompensated care at hospitals. 

O’Connor said without those services health care systems would cease to function. 

At Huntington Hospital, a member of Northwell Health, officials have started to implement a daily symptom screening policy for all staff and developed a non-COVID care pathway for all elective/urgent procedures — from parking and presurgical testing to discharge. For the last eight weeks the hospital has been performing surgery on emergency cases. 

“I am confident we are prepared to safely take the next step with elective surgeries,” said Dr. David Buchin, director of Bariatric Surgery at Huntington Hospital.

Stony Brook University Hospital will also implement a number of safeguards in preparation for elective surgery patients. In addition to expanding on the use of telehealth, it will test all patients prior to surgery and have them self-isolate prior to operations. 

For St. Charles and St. Catherine hospitals, O’Connor said all patients will be required to undergo a COVID-19 test 72 hours before a planned procedure. 

From left: Nassau County Executive Laura Curran (D), Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) and former Congressman Steve Israel. Photo from Bellone’s office

For the first time, Suffolk County has fallen below the three-day rolling average for new hospitalizations mandated for economic reopening yesterday, starting a clock that, if the pattern holds, could allow the county reach another metric by May 25.

The three-day average for new hospitalizations for Suffolk County, which is based on the total population, is 30.

“It’s a good thing to say we have met that decline in new hospitalizations for a three-day rolling average,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily call with reporters.

At the same time, the number of people in the Intensive Care Unit dropped by two, to 214, which is “another piece of good news,” Bellone said.

Still, the overall numbers aren’t all positive.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 increased by 10 for the 24-hour period ending yesterday, bringing the total hospitalizations to 585.

Additionally, the number of new positive tests over the last day rose by 243, bringing the total, excluding antibody testing, to 37,305.

Hospital capacity remains close to the 70 percent level mandated for economic reopening. The number of available beds is 894 out of a total of 2,965 beds. The number of ICU beds, meanwhile, was 199 out of a total of 602, which exceeds the 30 percent availability necessary.

Four upstate regions have been cleared to begin the reopening process starting May 15, after Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s New York Pause order is set to end. At the same time, all of Long Island, including both Nassau and Suffolk counties, will be considered one for understanding when it will reopen.

At the same time, the county is aiming to have additional bed capacity, as hospitals hope to start offering elective surgeries again for residents who have put off procedures for weeks or even months.

The number of people who died in the last day was 26, bringing the total to 1,680.

“We are with you as you grieve this terrible loss,” Bellone said.

Amid hotspot testing, 1,595 people have tested positive for COVID-19 out of 4,386 results, bringing the infection rate to 36.4 percent of the total tests.

Bellone’s office distributed another 220,000 pieces of personal protective equipment yesterday, mostly to nursing home and adult care facilities.

Separately, Bellone invited veterans to a town hall scheduled for this evening at 5:30 p.m. Those interested in attending virtually can access the town hall at facebook.com/SteveBellone.

Finally, on Friday, the 106th Rescue Wing of the Air National Guard will salute health care workers with a flyover that starts in Riverhead at 12:15 pm, travels over several hospitals, and ends at 1 p.m. at Jones Beach.

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Officials from the Port Jefferson village, chamber and BID joined Teachers Federal Credit Union and hospital heads to accept a $5,000 check allowing more meals to hospital workers. Photo by Kyle Barr

This post has been updated with new information of more funds coming from Suffolk Federal Credit Union.

Port Jeff business organizations have gotten a helping hand from Teachers Federal Credit Union in their quest to bring meals to hospital workers on the front lines of the coronavirus, as well as support restaurants that have seen massive drops in sales since the start of the pandemic.

Mary Joy Pipe, the president of the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, and Inna Sprague, the chief experience officer of Teachers, joined together in offering a check to the chamber and BID’s program offering meals to hospital workers. Photo by Kyle Barr

Holding a large $5,000 novelty check in front of the PJ Lobster House, Mary Joy Pipe, the president of the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce and Inna Sprague, the chief experience officer of Teachers,joined village and hospital officials in accepting the check. It was also a show of how people try to maintain social distancing even in such simple events like a press conference.

“Thank you for thinking of us as your hometown as all of our hometowns are suffering,” Pipe said.

On Tuesday, April 14, Suffolk Federal Credit Union will also be presenting the business organizations a $7,500 check to help with operations, according to chamber executive director Barbara Ransome. This brings the total in donations from credit unions
to $12,500.

For the past few weeks, Port Jefferson village, the chamber and the Business Improvement District have teamed up to have restaurants supply meals that are shipped to both John T. Mather and St. Charles hospitals. James Luciano, the owner of PJ Lobster House and the BID’s secretary, said they are sending 40 meals to hospital workers at a time on a rotating basis between businesses. Participating businesses include Slurp, Nantuckets, Prohibition Kitchen, Wave Seafood & Steak, Pasta Pasta, The Steam Room, Fifth Season, C’est Cheese, Saghar, The Pie, PJ Lobster House and Salsa Salsa.

The money raised is also partially to help businesses support some of their staff while there are a limited number of customers.

BID and chamber leaders said they have been holding constant meetings alongside village officials to try and keep on top of events.

“The BID and chamber are matching contributions from the restaurant association to help keep these meals moving along,” Mayor Margot Garant said. “We accept any support we can get from partners and our residents to help keep our businesses relevant and open to help feed the front line and also the people who are in need of supplies and meals.”

The chamber has established a Gofundme page at www.gofundme.com/f/help-port-jeff-restaurants-feed-hospital-workers. So far they have raised nearly $6,500.

“The restaurants and shops are the backbone of our community,” Roger Rutherford, the general manager of Roger’s Frigate and BID president said. “When we see partners such as Teachers stepping up it’s a really wonderful thing that helps us sustain and weather the storm.”

The idea of supporting hospitals during the crisis has spread to downtowns all throughout the Island. Sprague said Teachers originally caught on to what Port Jeff and other communities like Patchogue were doing through the Greater Long Island websites. Last week they donated $5,000 to the fundraising efforts in Patchogue. Later this week the credit union plans to donate another $5,000 to restaurants in Bayshore and Babylon.

“Our goal is to continue to support frontline staff who are deemed essential to our society, as well as keep our local businesses employed and functioning and operating,” she said.

Stock photo

Suffolk County has been managing to keep the number of beds available above the rate of hospitalizations due to the coronavirus pandemic, though cases continue to climb.

In his daily call with reporters April 2, County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said the number of cases in Suffolk County has breached 8,927, climbing well over 1,000 by yesterday’s count. This has been attributed to the greater amount of testing being done, with over 21,000 being completed to date in Suffolk alone.

Meanwhile, the county has been trying to meet Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) executive order to increase the number of available hospital beds by at least 50 percent, with the goal of reaching 100 percent increase. Bellone said Suffolk has increased its count of hospital beds to 2,831 beds countywide, with 438 Intensive Care Unit beds also available for the most severe cases. Currently, 472 hospital beds and 64 are vacant and available.

This is also while Cuomo said in this morning’s briefing he is becoming even more concerned with the limited number of ventilators for use during the crisis, now being down to about 2,200.

Healthcare workers on the front lines have struggled to deal with the number of cases now coming into hospitals. Bellone said the surge is still building, but the voices of health care workers are being heard.

“They’re operating in an incredibly difficult, stressful traumatic environment in which they are working overtime, double shifts, day after day after day, in a struggle to save peoples’ lives” Bellone said. “It is emotional, it is stressful and it is extraordinarily difficult.”

The number of deaths increased by 15 from the previous day. All had underlying health conditions. This includes eight individuals in their 80s, four in their 70s, and one in their 40s and 50s. One individual in his 60s died while in mandatory isolation at a local nursing home.

Currently, there are 1,323 cases in Brookhaven, 435 in Smithtown and 1,390 in Huntington townships. While close to 9,000 total cases are growing in Suffolk, New York State currently totals at more than 92,000.

The economic impact has also been felt far and wide, and Bellone said he is continuing to build out what the county can internally do to help businesses separately from the federal government’s response. So far, the county has been keeping a survey of businesses through their recently created Business Response Unit, and as of March 31, there were over 1,200 responses to said survey from businesses that employ more than 13,000 individuals, with over 7,000 responding they had lost their jobs or employment. The overall New York number, however, is much more staggering, with approximately 6.6 million filing for unemployment, a number not seen since the 1981 recession.

“Particularly our downtowns are facing tremendous hardships, and we will need a targeted effort there,” Bellone said. 

He added while some businesses have maintained some employees, “without assistance, they will not be able to keep that up much longer.”

The County Executive said he has spoken with financial institutions, who will be handling the disbursement of loans via the CARES Act, the federal financial assistance bill that promises loans to businesses to help keep people employed. The rollout of that has not been foolproof, however, with the federal Small Business Administration telling business owners they would need to reapply for their loans at https://covid19relief.sba.gov/#/

Anybody who previously applied via email, fax or snail mail will have to reapply.

Bellone said any difficulties that said financial institutions may have must be overcome if the region is to see any kind of recovery by the time the crisis begins to ebb. 

“The public wasn’t expecting this, we weren’t expecting this, but we have to deal with it,” he said. “We were on call with financial institutions and continue to convene with them.”

A view of the front entrance to Huntington Hospital on Park Avenue in Huntington. File photo

Hospitals across the North Shore and the country have been adapting to an entirely new set of medical codes over the last two months, completely changing the system in which a patient’s diagnosis is detailed.

As of October, all hospitals across the United States switched to the ICD-10 system, which allows for more than 14,000 different codes and permits the tracking of many new diagnoses. ICD-10, an international medical classification system by the World Health Organization, requires more specificity than the previous code system. Doctors at North Shore facilities said they agreed that although it’s time-consuming and has slowed productivity, it is more beneficial to patients in the end.

Dr. Michael Grosso, chairman of medicine at Huntington Hospital said these new codes should help make it easier for symptoms of various diseases to be tracked.

According to Gross, preparation for the new code started two years ago with a required education program for all physicians that described what all the new codes meant.

“Physicians are being called upon to provide more specificity and detail,” Grosso said in a phone interview. He described the codes as a “vast extension” to what the hospital was previously using and said it should “improve the quality of medical records and increase the amount of information that researchers can obtain and make for the best care for patients.”

Grosso also said that understanding and learning the codes was an important first step, but ongoing feedback on how the codes are being adopted is equally important. A feedback program has been created at each hospital.

John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson. File photo
John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson. File photo

John Ruth, director of revenue integrity and interim chief compliance officer at Stony Brook University Hospital, said Stony Brook used outside resource companies with online courses to teach the new code to their physicians and coding staff.

Ruth said that a new code system was necessary, as the previous system, ICD-9, was created by WHO in the 1970s. He called ICD-10 a natural progression.

“There are a lot more codes for specific organ systems, muscles, muscle tendons and nerves than were required with ICD-9,” he said in a phone interview.

Ruth also said that ICD-9 was mostly comprised of three- and four-digit codes, and ICD-10 is up to seven digits in length, which makes the new coding more challenging but more valuable.

“If a patient has PTSD, we can assign a code from where he got it from, not just that he has it, which is important for planning his future and ongoing care,” Ruth said.

Stacie Colonna, associate director of inpatient coding at Stony Brook University Hospital, said there has been approximately a 30 percent decrease in staff productivity with the changeover to ICD-10 and a shortage of trained staff.

“I get 10 questions a day just from internal staff,” Colonna said. But she also noted that staff frequently asked daily questions about the old system as well. She said she expects productivity to improve in the near future.

At John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson, Chief Medical Information Officer Dr. Joseph Ng said the staff went through web training, too. One-on-one training was also available if a clinician requested it.

Ng agreed specificity is both the pro and con of ICD-10. “Because it’s so specific, it really allows clinicians to hone in on what’s really going on with patients and be able to communicate better with one another,” Ng said in an email. “But because it’s so specific, sometimes it’s hard to find the right code, especially when it comes to procedures. The codes are not all inclusive.”

Looking forward, Grosso said the new system had a lot to offer for hospitals across the country because of the amount of information people could potentially learn from it.

“A number of private and government parties will benefit from the ability to look at more detailed hospital data,” Grosso said.