(Camden, New Jersey) — Cooper University Hospital welcomes Francis R. Spitz, M.D., as Vice Chief of Surgery, Head of the Division of General Surgery and Deputy Director of the Cooper Cancer Institute. Dr. Spitz is a leading surgical oncologist with expertise in gastrointestinal cancers including esophageal, pancreatic, gastric, and hepatobiliary. He also specializes in primary and metastatic melanoma. “With an expanding cancer program, it is imperative that we have the best surgical options for our patients who are undergoing cancer treatments,” said Jeffrey P. Carpenter, M.D., Chief of Surgery at Cooper. “Dr. Spitz brings a new set of highly technical skills for some of the most complex surgeries for cancer patients.”

(Camden, New Jersey) - New Jersey Health Statistics reports that unintentional injury is the leading cause of death for residents age 1 through 44. Nearly 600 fatalities occurred on New Jersey roadways in 2008; and falls, pedestrian crossing and bike crashes are on the rise. This year, the New Jersey Trauma Center Council will participate in National Trauma Awareness Month by addressing Trauma Injury Prevention with a statewide poster campaign. The theme, “We Don’t Need Your Business!” will highlight seat belt use, pedestrian safety, fall prevention and the use of helmets.

When a sharp pain in his abdomen landed Craig Blackman in a local emergency department, he asked for answers. Test after test, doctors could not determine the root cause of his pain. Suggestions of stones in his bile duct, a tumor in the pancreas and pancreatitis, were all investigated. Finally, he underwent an ERCP, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, a typical diagnostic test for location of stones, but none were detected. Mr. Blackman, of Medford saw Dr. Adam Elfant, Director of Therapeutic Endoscopy at the Cooper Digestive Health Institute for a procedure called SpyGlass™. Cooper is the only center in the region utilizing a new state-of-the-art direct visualization system known as SpyGlass ™. SpyGlass™ uses a precise fiber-optic camera, not much bigger than a pencil point, that is inserted through a catheter (or tube) into the upper digestive tract. Threaded through the stomach and into the bile ducts, the physician can “steer” the camera in four directions allowing them to pinpoint the exact spot they want to examine.

Steel beams and construction vehicles will once again enter the Cooper Plaza neighborhood as development plans progress for a 25-unit condominium building on New and 7th streets. “The Cooper” will provide needed housing for existing Camden residents and for Cooper employees. It will also help create a safe, vibrant neighborhood for people to live and work.

In an effort to alleviate overcrowding in the Emergency Department (ED) and ensure that patients get the medical care they need in a comfortable environment, Cooper University Hospital has opened the new Clinical Decision Unit (CDU). This unit is for low risk patients who require further observation before a decision can be made to admit them to the hospital or send them home. Now, instead of spending the night in the ED, these patients get the observation they need in a hospital room on the CDU. The CDU consists of 18 beds on the tenth floor of the hospital equipped with telemetry capability. “The patients who are transferred there are patients first seen in the ED. These patients require observation and evaluation to determine whether they need to be admitted to the hospital or discharged after a period of observation,” said Gina Marone, R.N., M.S.N., Senior Director of Patient Care Services. “Examples of some of the most common ailments that require further observation are asthma, low risk chest pain or abdominal pain, mild congestive heart failure, pneumonia and dehydration.” The CDU staff is a multi-specialty team of physicians, nurses and case managers who are focused on quickly providing the necessary clinical tests to enable patients to progress efficiently with their care. The goal is to evaluate a patient and make a decision within 24 hours. “We safely expedite our patients’ care through their course of treatment in the hospital in order to get them back home or admit them if indicated,” Marone explained. “The CDU’s focus enables us to accomplish this while also being fiscally prudent with hospital resources, which is an added benefit."

Over the decades, school nurses, athletic trainers and coaches have had to expand their technical and educational skills to handle new and increasingly complicated health issues facing children today. Some of these conditions include: diabetes, child obesity, sleep disorders and ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). The Nurses Education Series offers training from Cooper physicians to provide useful information and resources to this core group of community care givers.

The Cooper Cancer Institute (CCI) and its Director, Generosa Grana, M.D., will be the recipients of two distinguished honors from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Philadelphia Affiliate. Dr. Grana, a nationally renowned oncologist, has been selected as the 2009 Light of Life honoree by the Komen Philadelphia Affiliate. Dr. Grana was chosen because she is “an extraordinary individual we feel represents the spark that brought the beacon to life, as well as the continuous source of inspiration that fuels its perpetual guidance in our community,” explained Executive Director of Komen Philadelphia Affiliate, Elaine I. Grobman.

“We commend the Governor for giving priority to healthcare and particularly to safety net hospitals in this toughest of budget years,” said John P. Sheridan, Jr., President and CEO of the Cooper Health System.

(Camden, New Jersey) — John Ainsworth, Rudolph Freda and Michael Landis didn’t know each other and all had different cardiac conditions that required three different surgeries; but in one single day they became part of a cardiac surgery trifecta that would save their lives. “What is particularly special about this day is that in the majority of hospitals, these procedures are not even performed. At Cooper they were all performed in one day by three different surgeons,” said Michael Rosenbloom, M.D., Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Cooper.

(Camden, New Jersey) The Cooper Health System has appointed George J. Weinroth, Esq., as Chief Operating Officer of Cooper University Physicians (CUP). He will oversee all contractual and financial responsibilities of the physician group serving Cooper University Hospital. Cooper University Physicians is comprised of more than 439 employed physicians at Cooper. In addition, there are 260 Residents and Fellows at Cooper who are physicians in advanced training programs in various medical specialties.