We had a good crowdwith 30 people attending our Wednesday night G&G's dinner meeting. At 8:10pm Martin Hochhauser called the meeting to order. President Dan Ashley then welcomed those assembled and apologized for the cancellation of our October 29th Dinner-Gala – which is the first time such an event has been cancelled in the 87- year history of our club. However, the freak October snowstorm that night was indisputably an "act of God" that trumped even our best laid plans - as anyone who spent the next week disposing downed tree limbs and waiting for their power to be restored can attest. Nevertheless, said Dan, the club is exploring the possibility of rescheduling the event to later in the season. The date of February 15th was mentioned, as the club attempts to hold some kind of event at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel. Dan said that a minimum of 20 couples would need to attend. Stay posted for further details.
Dan then called on John Weisman to introduce the evening's speaker; Pediatrician Dr. Daniel Aronzon, M.D., who is the President and C.E.O. of Vassar Brothers Medical Center. Dr Aronzon spoke about his responsibilities as the director of an expanding medical facility - especially in regard to the quality of care his hospital strives to achieve. It is his objective, said Dr. Aronzon, that a patient entering Vassar medical Center has the utmost confidence in the demonstrated ability of the V.B.M.C. to provide competent and responsible medical care which can be verified by measurable results. There are both government and private agencies that track various hospitals, said Dr. Aronzon. They measure such things as the mortality rates for various procedures and illnesses among comparable medical institutions. In this regard, a hospital's total care must be taken to account , not just its physicians but - just as importantly - its nursing staff. Dr. Aronzon noted that he has tried to institute a culture of rigorous accountability within the medical center to catch and eliminate - in as much as it is humanly possible – potentially harmful errors in the administration of medications, as well as the transmission of various infections that are often endemic to the hospital environment. Dr. Aronzon cited the disturbing statistic, as reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, that forty-seven thousand patients die annually in U.S. hospitals from preventable mistakes. Thus, Vassar Medical Center has pioneered a system of bar-coding drugs and strict procedures which, Dr. Aronzon was happy to report, had eliminated such problems as staph infections by 75% over the past several years.
We were pleased as well to welcome back as well Dr. Arthur Menken, who has just returned from a medical mission of mercy to the nation of Colombia as part of a group of American doctors volunteering to treat the ears, nose and throat of scores of children who otherwise would not have received this medical care. Art, however, was more excited to kvell over the birth of his newest grandchild, Aaron. Mazel Tov!
Red Ticket; Harvey Katz,
Blue Ticket: Monroe Weinstein
Respectfully Submitted: Peter Albenda
Additionally,
My thanks to all of you who attended Addie Gelb’s funeral. The Harding Club presence was appreciated by the family. Bernie Cohen made sure we had a Harding Club hat for Al, see below.
John:
When you convene on Wednesday, please express our heartfelt thanks to all the Harding Club members who came to our mother's funeral last Wednesday. Even after two and a half years away from Poughkeepsie, Harding Club remains such an important part of our father's life and his memories. There are no words to express how much it meant for him to be surrounded by the warmth and support of all of you on the saddest day of his life.
Warmly,
Cheryl Gelb Eppsteiner, Debbie Gelb Katz, Nanci Gelb
Followed by the following comment:
Dad loves the Harding Club hat -- thank you all so much! He has been wearing it constantly.
MORE ADDITIONALLY and very important…..
Please send pictures for the Picture Show and display that Dr. Muldorf (former distinguished HC President) is creating for a future meeting. His email is lesm1974@mac.com. Jpeg (computer speak) format via the internet, slides (he has the equipment to scan these into the computer file) or photos (Les will scan them into the computer file) are acceptable. I understand the good Dr. might include some Root Canal photos from within; for those who are dentally challenged.
That’s it for now.
John Weisman VP of all things not important or remotely useful
To all our snowbirds:, have safe travels and wonderful winter in Florida, Arizona or wherever you plan to spend time away
from during snow season.