Hauppage Graduate Becomes Medical Man of the Year - Dr. Patrick OShaughnessy

Patrick O'Shaughnessy is Man of the Year in Medicine for empathy; coordinated teamwork
 

By Anthony Frasca
 
  
  
 Dr. Patrick O'Shaughnessy works well with his team at St. Catherine of Sienna and cares about his patients. Photo from St. Catherine of Siena (click for larger version)
December 29, 2010 | 04:18 PM
From being named director of emergency services to becoming interim chief medical officer at Saint Catherine of Siena Hospital, Dr. Patrick O'Shaughnessy has distinguished himself as a leader and as a skilled clinician. That is why he is The Times of Smithtown's 2010 Man of the Year in Medicine.

"He came onto the scene when we needed a leadership change in the emergency department," said Dr. William Flader, a St. Catherine's emergency room physician since 1989. "The emergency department is critical to the success of the hospital. It reflects on what happens in the rest of the hospital. Dr. O'Shaughnessy brought a lot of key elements to the job."

In addition to his hospital duties, O'Shaughnessy serves on the county's Heroin and Opiate Advisory Panel, battling drug abuse among children and young adults.

A graduate of Stony Brook University, O'Shaughnessy attended the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine in Old Westbury where he achieved a degree as a doctor of osteopathic medicine in 1999. He studied emergency medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center and worked for two years at the Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey before returning to Long Island, where he became the director of emergency services at St. Catherine's in 2008 before being named interim chief medical officer recently.

He lives in St. James with his wife Mia and 3-year-old daughter Brooke.

"Pat has been very successful at bridging gaps and creating a coordination that hasn't existed in the emergency department for a long time," Flader said. "He brought the physicians together and got us clicking on all cylinders. That's key to having an emergency department functioning at a high level. A big part of that is that there is a lot of confidence in Patrick and he has confidence in us."

Being organized and working well with staff are not the only things O'Shaughnessy has going for him.

"Dr. O'Shaughnessy has true empathy for those who are sick or infirm and delivers high quality clinical care as the leader of our emergency department, and that compassion carries over into his new administrative function," Dennis Verzi, executive vice president and chief administrative officer of St. Catherine's, said. "He treats everybody with mutual respect including both physicians and non-physician colleagues. He has true appreciation for the important work of the first responders, maintains open communications, and takes the time to coordinate quarterly education community sessions to meet with them. Dr. O'Shaughnessy brings unrelenting energy and focus on mission to hospital administration. In the short while that we have served together it has been a pleasure to work with him, and I am in support of him being honored as the Man of the Year."

Dr. O'Shaughnessy has also established lines of communication with the nursing staff.

"[He] is intelligent, a multitasker, knowledgeable of the topic at hand, highly motivated team leader," Donna Thomson, nurse manager of the emergency department, said. "He has worked diligently since arriving at St. Catherine's in 2008 to streamline processes, improve throughput, improve communication processes both inter- and intradepartment and services. He forged ahead in creating a bridge to the emergency services community and has met quarterly with this community to present dinner lectures which have been very well received, and the number of community attendees have increased."

Of the Man of the Year Award Dr. Flader said, "I think this is something he is very worthy of and deserving of it. It's going to attract more attention to what he's trying to accomplish in the future. He came from some big hospitals with big population and big emergency departments on the cutting edge of programs and protocols. Coming to St. Catherine's required a shifting of gears and a cultural shift. He comes in with excellent clinical skills and a firm understanding of what has to be done in an emergency department and establishes confidence in the community with the care delivered."