Our hospital as small town

I really like it when people write me notes complimenting their colleagues, especially those from other departments. Here is a note I received just after the Christmas holiday weekend from one of our senior faculty members in the Radiology Department:

Good afternoon!

I wish to relay to you a short story that illustrates why BIDMC is so special.

Through the magic of our Radiology PACS system, as well as a robust backbone from Information Systems, I have been able to read all of my radiology cases from a home workstation for a number of years. As computer power has increased, I now can display cases faster at home than in some of the older sections of the hospital!

In the last few days, this connection to the hospital PACS system dramatically slowed. I feared that something within the hospital was malfunctioning, as my internet connection speeds (purchased by me to provide the highest downloads available) were perfect. Another user, with the same ISP, was suffering the same problems.

In response to this query, John Halamka, answering emails from me immediately while having an arduous cross country plane flight, assembled a crack team from his dep't, consisting of Mr. Mark Olson, Ms. Michelle Frayman, Mr. John Powers, and Mr. Bill Corzett. From our department, Mr. Jim Brophy and Mr. Phil Purvis also stepped in to help. The IS department thoroughly analyzed their systems. While this work was occurring, another remote user, having a different ISP indicated, to me there were no connection problems. After conversing with my ISP, and spelling out the problem, they located a regional server malfunction, issued me a new IP address, and basically rectified the problem!

The point of this message is that without rigorous analysis of this technical issue by people who gave of their free time on a holiday weekend, the solution would not have been achieved. I believe such dedication deserves recognition. The caring attitude that these people exemplify is the clearest explanation as to why our hospital is so special. High technology doesn't mean anything without the people who are willing to go way beyond their assignments to ensure that caregiving remains optimal. I certainly feel honored to have been a very small part of this effort for more than three decades. While our hospital has grown substantially in this time period, the strong interpersonal relationships that wonderful people engender at BIDMC still create a wonderful "small town atmosphere." This sense of friendliness and desire to help makes BIDMC a very special place to "hang one's hat."

Sincerely yours,

Jonathan Kleefield, M.D.
Radiology Dep't