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Let’s Connect: When It Comes to Patient Care,

ACHE of South Florida Show Some Urgency

Spotlight
My air travel is streaky. I can literally go months
where everything goes perfectly. Then I go
through a few weeks where nothing goes right.
ACHE of South Florida Helps Recently I was in the latter situation.
Monday, 5:15 am, getting ready to board and
Members Broaden Horizons, the announcement came, “ … there is a problem
with the plane’s brakes. We are looking at about a
half hour delay.” We watched as the flight crew
Become Recognized in the Field deplaned and went for coffee. After about an
hour, they announced everything looked good
and they simply had to back it out, make sure the
BY VANESSA ORR number of ACHE of South brakes worked properly and we would be good to
Florida board members go. We sat and waited another 45 minutes. Then BY JAY JUFFRE
Attila Hertelendy, Ph.D., served as guest lecturers in someone else made the same announcement.
MBA faculty, Florida his FIU classes, he began At this point, people with a connecting flight
International University attending different func- began to lose their minds. After another hour, the maintenance team slowly
(FIU), is a big believer in tions and became even backed the plane out and brought it back to place. Announcement number
individuals broadening more involved. four, “ladies and gentlemen, we just have to locate your crew, get them back
their horizons, whether “While teaching at on the plane and then we will begin the boarding process … ”
through education, net- Colorado State University, I Listen, I am all for airline safety, but I am also in favor of a thing called
working with peers, or served as the program chair urgency. The same is true for patient care. Everyone gets it, stuff happens, and
exploring faraway places. of the higher education net- most people are more than understanding. It is important that we train our
Having lived in Canada, the work for the ACHE chapter teams to be accurate with information and show urgency. In the end people
United Arab Emirates, there, as well as a formal just want the facts and they want to know that we are taking aggressive steps
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and mentor to students,” he said to fix the situation at hand.
numerous places in the Dr. Attila Hertelendy of his previous involvement Health systems are leasing huge digital billboards boasting low wait times for
United States, he under- with the organization. “I their ERs, but they think nothing when a patient has to wait in an exam or
stands the importance of making personal was pretty involved in helping them with waiting room for 20-30 minutes with no explanation. Many are told less than
and professional connections. volunteer opportunities and applying for accurately, “the doctor will be right with you …’ When it comes to patient care,
The professor, who has taught finance, scholarships, along with promoting the avoid the airline approach, be honest and show urgency, your patients and
healthcare reimbursement, and organiza- organization and putting together addi- their families will appreciate it.
tional behavior at FIU for the past five tional networking opportunities with vari-
years, started his career in emergency serv- ous organizations and partners.” Jay Juffre is Executive Vice President, ImageFIRST. For more information on
ices, working as a paramedic/firefighter As a member of ACHE of South Florida ImageFIRST, call 1-800-932-7472 or visit www.imagefirst.com.
before being promoted to fire chief. He (formerly the South Florida Healthcare
worked as an emergency management Executive Forum), Dr. Hertelendy is the
advisor for large oil and petrochemical Program Chair-Elect, and is currently
companies such as Aramco and SABIC helping to coordinate educational activi-
before moving into healthcare administra- ties for members for the next two years.
tion, where he managed emergency “Having been a member in South Researchers Challenge New Guidelines
departments, ICUs and trauma services. Florida for the past seven years, I can say
Originally from Alberta, Canada, Dr. that the networking is great, and the edu- on Aspirin in Primary Prevention
Hertelendy received a Ph.D. in Clinical cational opportunities are wonderful,” he
Health Sciences with a specialization in explained. “We’re all interested in expand-
healthcare administration from the med- ing our horizons by meeting new people, The most recent guidelines for primary and strokes,” said Charles H. Hennekens,
ical school at the University of Mississippi. and this is a large chapter, with a lot of new prevention recommend aspirin use for M.D., Dr.P .H., senior author, the first Sir
He also received a master’s degree in people coming in all the time.” individuals ages 40 to 70 years who are at Richard Doll Professor, and senior aca-
Healthcare Administration from Charles By providing the opportunity for mem- higher risk of a first cardiovascular event, demic advisor in FAU’s Schmidt College of
Sturt University in Australia and a master's bers to network with other healthcare but not for those over 70. Yet, people over Medicine. “In addition, among long-term
degree in Biomedical Science from the administrators, Dr. Hertelendy believes 70 are at increasingly higher risks of car- survivors of prior heart attacks or occlu-
University of Mississippi. Prior to joining that ACHE of South Florida not only pro- diovascular events than those under 70. sive strokes, aspirin should be prescribed
FIU, he taught at George Washington vides an educational context, but keeps There has been considerable confusion long-term unless there is a specific con-
University in Washington, DC. members abreast of what is going on in the from recently reported results of three traindication. In primary prevention, how-
“What I like about teaching is that industry. large-scale randomized trials of aspirin in ever, the balance of absolute benefits,
there’s never a typical day,” he explained. “Meeting some of the decision makers, high risk primary prevention subjects, one which are lower than in secondary preven-
“Not only am I working with students, but and the people who are the face of health- of which showed a significant result, but tion patients, and risks of aspirin, which
I’m also quite heavily involved in research care in the region is really important, espe- the other two, based possibly on poor are the same as in secondary prevention, is
in the areas of telemedicine, healthcare cially for those new to the industry or the adherence and follow up, did not. Health far less clear.”
transformation and innovation, leadership area,” he explained. “It’s the perfect oppor- care providers are confused about whether The researchers emphasize that, based
and development, and disaster/emergency tunity to get recognized. or not to prescribe aspirin for primary pre- on the current totality of evidence, any
preparedness for hospitals.” “Healthcare is a crowded market, and to vention of heart attacks or strokes, and if judgments about prescribing long-term
Dr. Hertelendy first joined the American get a good job, it helps to stand out,” he so, to whom. aspirin therapy for apparently healthy
College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) continued, adding that the credibility of In a commentary published online individuals should be based on individual
as a student in Mississippi while finishing becoming a fellow can also help an indi- ahead of print in the American Journal of clinical judgments between the health care
his master’s degree and later connected vidual’s career path. “An organization like Medicine, researchers from Florida provider and each of his or her patients
with the national organization. After a this can help you move forward.” Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of that weighs the absolute benefit on clot-
Medicine and collaborators from the ting against the absolute risk of bleeding.
University of Wisconsin School of The increasing burden of cardiovascular
Medicine and Public Health, and the disease in developed and developing
Harvard Medical School and Brigham and countries underscores the need for more
Women’s Hospital, provide guidance to widespread therapeutic lifestyle changes
health care providers and their patients. as well as the adjunctive use of drug ther-
They urge that to do the most good for the apies of proven net benefit in the primary
most patients in primary care, health care prevention of heart attacks and strokes.
providers should make individual clinical The therapeutic lifestyle changes should
judgements about prescribing aspirin on a include avoidance or cessation of smok-
case-by-case basis. “All patients suffering ing, weight loss and increased daily physi-
from an acute heart attack should receive cal activity , and the drugs should include
325 mg of regular aspirin promptly , and statins for lipid modification, and multiple
daily thereafter, to reduce their death rate classes of drugs likely to be necessary to
as well as subsequent risks of heart attacks achieve control of high blood pressure.

10 March 2020 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News