(CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY) — Cooper University Hospital and its Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery is proud to announce the approval of the Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Fellowship Program. Full accreditation was granted by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) on June 26, 2009. Sanjay Kumar, M.D., has already begun his two years of training at Cooper; and the new program has also secured a 2010 fellowship for Nyali Taylor, from the University of Pennsylvania.

New program launched in Camden with help of significant grants from PSE&G and the Cooper Foundation (Camden, New Jersey) Among balloons, bubbles and the laughter of children playing on brand-new playground equipment, officials from the city, county and state joined community and business leaders to celebrate the launch of the “Clean and Safe Cooper Plaza” program this morning at the newly re-opened Cooper Commons Park. This dual celebration was the first event to be held at the park and marks its grand re-opening.

On Wednesday, June 10, 2009, Chris Gunderson, a 17-year-old Eagle Scout candidate from Mount Laurel, N.J., donated 30 blankets to the Cooper Cancer Institute. These blankets will benefit cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Gunderson is a member of Boy Scout Troop 44 in Moorestown, N.J. He is working toward achieving Eagle Scout status - the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).

Cooper University Hospital is proud to appoint Michael Sinno as Vice President and Chief Information Officer. “It’s an honor and humbling experience to be selected as CIO of Cooper University Hospital,” said Sinno. “It’s a reward in itself to be able to come to work each day doing something that I truly love.”

Cooper University Hospital is proud to appoint Carolyn E. Bekes, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer. “Dr. Bekes has had a very successful career at Cooper and has served in many and varied capacities. Through effective leadership and hard work, I am confident that she will continue to excel within this new position.” said John P. Sheridan, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer.

Cooper University Hospital has taken the positive step of officially becoming a smoke-free campus for all employees, patients and visitors to all of our inpatient, outpatient and business offices. Smoking is the single most preventable cause of death and disease in the United States. Each year more than 400,000 lives lost – 25 percent of all deaths—are related to tobacco use. In addition, exposure to secondhand smoke causes thousands of deaths each year from lung cancer and heart disease in healthy non-smokers.

(CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY) Cooper University Hospital has appointed Jeffrey P. Carpenter, M.D., as Vice President for Perioperative Services. “Dr. Carpenter has superior clinical, academic and administrative skills,” says John P. Sheridan, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer. “I am confident that he will provide effective leadership that will contribute to the achievement of the overall strategic mission, productivity standards and expense management.”

(Camden, New Jersey) Cooper University Hospital and the Health Professionals & Allied Employees (HPAE), the union representing Cooper nurses, have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. The contract is scheduled to be voted on by nurses Tuesday, May 26, 2009. "People turn to Cooper for their health care needs when they face the most serious injuries and medical conditions. And when they come to Cooper, very often, the first health professional they meet are the outstanding Cooper nurses," said George E. Norcross, III, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Cooper. "This tentative contract agreement proves our continued commitment to our nurses."

(Voorhees, New Jersey) On Thursday, May 7, 2009, the Cooper Cancer Institute celebrated the opening of the Dr. Diane Barton Complementary Medicine Program Healing Garden with a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony. Approximately 100 donors attended the Healing Garden event, donating commemorative pavers, benches and trees. One of the focal points of the garden is a water sculpture donated by Michael and Brian Keenan, in memory of their mother Mrs. Barbara Keenan, a former patient of Dr. Generosa Grana, Director of the Cooper Cancer Institute.

(Camden, New Jersey) Cooper University Hospital has launched its new electronic health record system, EPIC, going “live” throughout the hospital on April 30, 2009. Cooper is the first hospital in South Jersey to adopt an electronic health record for all of its patients. This new, health-information system allows physicians to access all of their patients’ electronic medical records whether they are in the main hospital, the emergency department or one of Cooper’s four outpatient offices. It can be used for order entry, results review, prescription printing, discharge instructions, surgery scheduling and documentation, charging, nursing assessments and more.