Crouse Connects

Crouse isn’t just about healthcare. We’re about what we believe sets us apart: Carepassion™ .

We always say we’re not a ‘perfect’ hospital. But our physicians, nurses, providers and staff strive to listen to each patient and family member’s feelings and needs with the respect and dignity you deserve.

Our CrouseConnects blog is designed to talk about some of the ways we connect and do just that. How we work on achieving clinical advances that help us provide the best in patient care for our community and region. And how we try to tend to the “little things” — parking, getting around and dining, for example — to make anyone’s visit or stay at Crouse more welcoming and comfortable.

It’s a Family Affair at the Pomeroy College of Nursing

By: Laurie Clark

Sisters Samantha and Serena Steckel are two years apart in age and are currently both first-semester students at the Pomeroy College of Nursing. “It’s hard to say who wanted to go to nursing school first,” Samantha (Sami) says. “Our mom was an RN and we both talked about being nurses growing up.” Sami and Serena…

Read more

Labor & Delivery Staff Creates Special Anniversary Celebration for Patient

By: Laurie Clark

A phrase you might hear at Crouse is that our staff makes “every moment matter” when it comes to providing the best in patient care. This week, our staff made moments matter outside the realm of patient care by helping a couple celebrate their anniversary in a very special way. Joy Flateau has been an…

Read more

Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy Awareness Month: A Family’s Experience

By: Laurie Clark

The month of April is Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) Awareness Month. HIE is a brain injury caused by lack of oxygen and restricted blood flow to the brain. It can cause cerebral palsy, epilepsy, hearing and vision impairments, feeding and GI issues, other developmental delays and disabilities and is the second leading cause of infant…

Read more

Stroke Care: Beyond the Hospital

By: Laurie Clark

How Crouse is helping patients recover from stroke long after their hospital stay.

Read more

Spotlight on Social Work

By: Laurie Clark

The Crouse Social Work team, comprised of 17 social workers, is an essential part of the patient experience, interacting with patients, families and the entire care team. Our social workers are advocates for patients, but they also help patients advocate for themselves. “Their every interaction impacts the patient experience and Crouse social workers are acutely…

Read more

Carepassion in Action: Respiratory Therapists Bring Birthday Cheer to a Patient

By: Laurie Clark

No one would want to spend their birthday in a hospital bed.  Unfortunately for Mary Gersbacher, a COPD patient, that is how she recently spent her 82nd birthday. Fortunately, Mary’s respiratory therapists Todd Davison and Taylor Iannuzzo took the time to make the day special for her and brought her balloons and a necklace. Mary…

Read more

Spotlight on Nursing: Care Coordination

By: Laurie Clark

We’re putting the spotlight on a few of our nurses in the Crouse Health Care Coordination department – there are 21 of them in total – who work daily with physicians, the healthcare team, families and insurance providers to make sure patients receive the proper care upon leaving the hospital. “Our care coordinators work with…

Read more

Don’t Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle: Coping with Holiday Stress

By: Laurie Clark

The holidays are a time of giving, joy and merriment, but for many, they can also be a big source of stress. In fact, according to a study by the American Psychological Association, 38 percent of people feel their stress levels increase during the holidays. Crouse experts Christine Kowaleski, DNP, MHNP-BC and Tolani Ajagbe, MD,…

Read more

Maternal Mental Health: How COVID-19 Has Isolated New and Expecting Moms

By: Laurie Clark

The COVID-19 pandemic has been very isolating for many people, especially those who have mental health conditions. In fact, in a May 2020 article for the Washington Post, William Wan wrote that the pandemic is “pushing America into a mental health crisis.” A June 2020 study from the CDC reported that “symptoms of anxiety disorder…

Read more

What to Expect: Delivering at Crouse During a Pandemic

By: Laurie Clark

Having a baby is an exciting time, but due to the COVID-19 virus, many parents-to-be are feeling anxious about coming into the hospital. Our Kienzle Family Maternity Center team has not missed a beat, and has been delivering babies throughout the pandemic with the same level of safe, compassionate care families have experienced at Crouse…

Read more

Meet Andrea Hammond, RN: Patient Care is Anywhere It’s Needed

By: Laurie Clark

“It’s what I hope someone would do for me.” That’s how Andrea Hammond, RN, described a recent Friday morning. She was running late for her shift in our Witting Surgical Center, but saw a man fall in the middle of the street. “He was an older gentleman, and I pulled over to make sure he…

Read more

Art to Heart for Crouse Healthcare Heroes

By: Laurie Clark

Working in both the medical field and the art world, Syracuse native Robin Kasowitz felt the need to give back to both communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. An artist and a psychotherapist, Robin serves on the Everson Museum’s board of trustees. When the pandemic hit Central New York, she said she saw people “being so…

Read more

Crouse Nursing Student Hero: Life Saved by a Nurse in Training

By: Laurie Clark

How many nursing students can say they’ve saved a life? At least one who we’re proud to say is one of our own: Vincenzia Diglio, a Syracuse native and Bishop Ludden High School grad who’s a second-year student nurse in the Pomeroy College of Nursing at Crouse Hospital. Vincenzia happened to be caring for a…

Read more

Delivering During the Pandemic: Safety First for Babies, Moms, Families

By: Laurie Clark

At 38 weeks pregnant, Jenn Scott is excited to welcome a new baby into her current family of three. Yet with a due date rapidly approaching, Jenn is more concerned with her health and that of her husband as she prepares to give birth during the coronavirus pandemic. Concerns During COVID-19 She already knows what…

Read more

Nursing Programs Can’t be One Size Fits All

By: Laurie Clark

The Pomeroy College of Nursing at Crouse Hospital has been educating nurses for more than 100 years, ranking among the top nursing programs in the nation. With a 99% job placement rate and an NCLEX-RN pass rate higher than both state and national averages, it’s no surprise why students choose to start their nursing careers…

Read more

The Dreaded Flu Season

By: Laurie Clark

October until April is typically known as flu season. Formally called influenza, the flu is a respiratory illness caused by viruses that infect the nose, throat and lungs.

Read more

Refugees Learn about Health Careers from Crouse

By: Laurie Clark

Through a partnership with the North Side Learning Center, these students participate in a program which helps refugee and immigrant young adults, ages 14 to 21, familiarize themselves with paths to personal, academic, professional and financial success.

Read more

Providing Diapers to Families in Need

By: Laurie Clark

How many times a month does a baby’s diaper have to be changed? Any new parent can do the math: six to ten changes each day, times 30 days, equals about 300 diapers needed for a newborn each month. By any count, that’s a lot of diapers. But when parents are financially challenged, the cost…

Read more