(Camden, New Jersey) Cooper University Hospital has received a generous gift from Dennis and Cathy DiFlorio of Voorhees, N.J., for the new Cooper Healing Garden to be constructed later this year. The DiFlorio’s donated $375,000 towards the construction of the healing garden, which will be named in their honor. The Healing Garden is part of the new Patient Pavilion on the Cooper Camden campus which opened in December 2008. The DiFlorio Family Healing Garden, adjacent to the Pavilion lobby and Garden Walk, will be a place of quiet beauty and natural light, providing a contemplative and comforting haven for patients, families and Cooper staff. This scenic, outdoor garden will feature a water-wall fountain (providing soothing sounds of rainfall), evergreen trees, sculptures and an array of plants and flowers.

(Camden, New Jersey) Breast cancer screening provides an opportunity to save someone’s sister, wife, mother, daughter or companion. To help underinsured and uninsured women fight breast cancer, the New Jersey Cancer Education and Early Detection Program at Cooper (Cooper CEED) provides education, free mammograms and clinical breast exams, follow-up care, and support. A renewal grant for $30,000 from the Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund will enable Cooper’s CEED program to continue it’s outreach to underserved women who live in Camden and the surrounding areas. This is the second year this grant is funded by the Avon Foundation, after having educated 568 women the first year, as well as provided 301 breast exams and 226 mammograms in 2008.

(Camden, New Jersey) Cooper University Hospital is proud to announce that the Intensive Care Unit and the Coronary Care Unit nursing teams have received the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence, an award given by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). The award is specifically designated to recognize the nation’s top pediatric, progressive, and adult critical care units across a multitude of hospitals. The recognition itself is priceless, as it represents extraordinary commitment to high-quality critical care standards, and dedication to the exceptional care of patients and their families.

(Camden, New Jersey) Cooper University Hospital recently opened its new multi-specialty, state-of-the-art Neurological Institute located in Camden. The Cooper Neurological Institute (CNI) will provide patients a variety of neurological and neurosurgical expertise in one beautifully designed office that provides ease of access and surpasses patient’s expectations for care. Every detail of the facility and program has been developed with the patient and visitor experience in mind. CNI is the only facility of its kind in the region offering all neurological specialties in one location.

(Camden, New Jersey) Joseph V. Lombardi, M.D., joins the Department of Surgery at Cooper as the new Head of Vascular Surgery. He is a prominent vascular surgeon with expertise in minimally invasive endovascular therapy. Dr. Lombardi, is pioneering the treatment of thoracic aortic dissection with endovascular grafts and stents. He serves as Global Principal Investigator for the STABLE trial, investigating the use of endovascular therapy to treat complicated Type B Thoracic Aortic Dissection. “We are developing a masterful team of experts in surgery and Dr. Lombardi brings a talent unseen in our region,” said Jeffrey Carpenter, M.D., Chief of the Department of Surgery at Cooper.

(Camden, New Jersey) — The trauma center at Cooper University Hospital has been verified as a Level 1 trauma center by the Committee on Trauma (COT) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This achievement recognizes the trauma center's dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients. Established by the American College of Surgeons in 1987, the COTs Certification/Consultation Program for Hospitals promotes the development of trauma centers in which participants provide not only the hospital resources necessary for trauma care, but also the entire spectrum of care to address the needs of all injured patients. This spectrum encompasses the pre-hospital phase through the rehabilitation process.

(Camden, New Jersey) Cooper University Hospital Breast Imaging Centers located in Voorhees, Cherry Hill, and Camden, N.J., were recently designated “Center’s of Excellence” by the American College of Radiology. These are the only hospital-based breast imaging centers in South Jersey to receive such a distinguished designation. “There is no better way to defend yourself from breast cancer than by getting the best possible screenings,” said Lydia Liao, Director of Women’s Imaging in the Department of Radiology at Cooper University Hospital. “We offer patients the latest techniques and continue to be involved in research that looks at the best options for cancer detection.”

Cooper University Hospital recently dedicated the Dr. Edward D. Viner Intensive Care Unit in the new hospital pavilion. This honor was bestowed on Dr. Viner for his many years of service to Cooper University Hospital and his dedication to his patients. It is the result of the generosity of many of Dr. Viner’s long time patients and friends, particularly Bernard and Shirlee Brown, who generously contributed to the ICU. Dr. Viner, who is currently a practicing physician in Cooper’s Department of Medicine, serves as Chairman of the Cooper Foundation Board and is Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement. He has had an illustrious career in medicine. His career-long interest in intensive care stems from his personal experience as a critically ill ICU patient in 1972.

(Camden, New Jersey) Veterans living in southern NJ, who have historically been underserved due to limited access to health care services, will now have better health care access at the new Veterans Affairs Community Based Outpatient Annex (CBOA) located on Broadway in Camden, NJ. The CBOA will open its doors in 2009 to provide services for military veterans while adding significantly to the revitalization of the central business district in the vicinity of Broadway and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

(Camden, New Jersey) South Jersey, through the N.J. Department of Health and Senior Services Medical Coordination Center Program is one of seven communities nationwide receiving recognition from the (TIIDE) Terrorism and Injuries: Information, Dissemination and Exchange partners as a model of how emergency medical services can work with other safety and public health agencies in times of disaster. The TIIDE project was developed through a collaborative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During a crisis, local hospitals, emergency departments and first responders play a vital role on the front lines of emergency care. The role of public health is also critical and the model community program is one way to identify communities where there are strong public health and medical partnerships working together to respond to large-scale crisis.