Strong Recovery Holds Annual Staff Picnic
​Strong Recovery staff held their annual picnic on August 23rd. The picnic included a competitive game of kickball, pucket and bean bag toss. In addition, one member of the Strong Recovery team was honored with a trophy commemorating them joining the "60 and over club." 

A New Partnership to Provide Care for Families 
Avangrid, the parent company of Rochester Gas & Electric, recently awarded our Family Lounge sponsored by Ronald McDonald House Charities of Rochester (RMHCR) a $25,000 grant to support lounge programming for families with children receiving care in the inpatient psychiatric unit and partial-hospitalization program.

As of June 30th, the Family Lounge has seen 894 individuals, a majority of whom were from Monroe County. The RMHCR's Family Experience Survey found that 96% of visitors agreed that access to the Family Lounge allowed them to be better able to provide support for their child. A ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate The Avangrid Foundation's contribution will take place on September 25th at 10 AM at the Family Lounge. 

If you are looking for ways to support the Family Lounge and RMHCR, consider attending the RMHCR Fall Sale. LEARN MORE>>>

Eric Caine Discusses VA Suicide Guidelines and Evidence​
Eric Caine, MD recently published commentary on two forthcoming publications in Annals of Internal Medicine. The editorial, "Seeking to Prevent Suicide at the Edge of the Ledge" discusses new clinical practice guidelines  from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) as well as evidence from the ECRI Institute. In addition, Eric will be speaking on an upcoming podcast episode of "Clinical Conversations" about his editorial. LEARN MORE>>>

Strong Recovery to Restructure Clinical Operations

Effective August 1st, Julie Achtyl, MS, LMHC, CASAC,and Itza Morales-Torres, MSB, CASAC will take over the director responsibilities for the Chemical Dependency (CD) clinic and Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) respectively at Strong Recovery. Julie and Itza will be the primary representatives for CD or OTP clinic related activities in the department. They will also represent the clinic’s affairs with community partners and ensure compliance with Joint Commission standards and state and applicable federal regulations.

Marc Swogger Discusses Kratom Research
Marc Swogger, PhD discussed the latest research about kratom use and his concern surrounding bans on kratom with The Columbus Dispatch and WWL First News. This comes after several states introduced bills to ban the popular supplement. LEARN MORE>>>

Bridge Art Gallery Accepting Submissions for Upcoming Exhibit
The Bridge Art Gallery is now accepting submissions for their upcoming art exhibition Life is a Journey until November 4th. Artists of all skill levels and from all walks of life are invited to submit 2D artwork to the gallery. For more information, contact Amanda Lai. LEARN MORE>>>

Eastman Performing Arts Medicine Returns for September
Eastman Performing Arts Medicine will return to the Strong Mental Health and Wellness lobby on September 13th and September 27th from noon to 1 PM. Logan Mohr, saxophone, will be joined by a new guest artist for each session. LEARN MORE >>> 

Collaborative Art Project at Science Parkway

Patients and staff at Pediatric Behavioral Health and Wellness' Science Parkway location recently completed a collaborative "Strength Tree." Each leaf on this collaborative art project contains a response to the prompt "What would you put on a leaf that you really love about yourself or that has made you proud?" LEARN MORE>>>

Staff Highlight

Patricia Anuszkiewicz, RN, is retiring at the end of September. Patti began her work at Strong Memorial Hospital in 1978 as a psychiatric nurse on unit RN-1. In 1989 she began working nights in the Psychiatric Emergency Room. She helped navigate many changes in her time there, as state psychiatric hospitals decreased beds, the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) was started, and eRecord became a reality. In 2001 she took a day Charge RN role in CPEP. In 2011 she transitioned to the role of Nurse Leader for the Medicine in Psychiatry Service. (MIPS) She assisted in the process of acquiring Primary Care Health Home status and smoothed the process of
e-Record roll-out for MIPS.

In 2015 Patti joined the Clinical Risk Management Quality Improvement Team. Patti observes that the availability of resources in the community to meet psychiatric as well as basic needs impacts the use of emergency services in our community.  

Patti loved providing direct patient care, and serving in a variety of clinical and community settings allowed her to see the growth and healing that is possible for people as they are engaged in care. She brought her calm, compassionate nature and clear thinking to all her work. 

After 42 years, Patti is looking forward to waking up every morning and deciding what she wants to do to enjoy the day. She will have more time for her beloved pets, gardening, knitting, and travel with family. Please join us in saying farewell to Patti at the Department celebration for her on September 27 in the Romano Room, 1-9041, from 2:00 to 3:30.

Written by Michele Capellupo, MS, RN
Clinical Risk Management and Quality Improvement Team

Upcoming Events & Lectures

• Sept. 4: Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds
• Sept. 13: 33rd Annual Steinberg Lecture
• Sept. 13: Eastman Performing Arts Medicine: Logan Mohr
• Sept. 14: URMC Student and Trainee Celebrating Diversity Cookout
• Sept. 26: Working With the Legal System Webinar
• Sept. 27: Eastman Performing Arts Medicine: Logan Mohr
• Oct. 25: 4th Annual Social Work Conference
• Oct. 25: The Economics of Behavioral Health Integration
• Ongoing: 66th Rochester Finger Lakes Exhibition