American College of Critical Care Medicine inducts Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center Director of Surgical Critical Care
Gary R. Collin, MD, FACS, Director of Surgical Critical Care, will be inducted as a Fellow into the prestigious American College of Critical Care Medicine during its Annual Scientific Congress in Phoenix on January 16, 2005.
The College honors a select group of people who have shown dedication to critical care, participated in the development of programs or systems related to critical care, made significant educational contributions in the area of critical care, and assumed leadership roles in professional organizations associated with critical care. Dr. Collin is one of only 57 individuals recognized internationally this year, and the honor was based on his commitment to the ideals and practice of multi-professional critical care medicine, his dedication to education and research, his leadership in critical care program development, and his participation in national endeavors. Dr. Collin is a National Consultant for the Fundamental Critical Care Support course, an internationally recognized educational tool for improvement in providing critical care services.
Director of Surgical Critical Care speaks at national conference in Osaka Japan
Gary R. Collin, MD, FACS, Director of Surgical Critical Care, spoke at the 23rd annual meeting of the Japan Society for Clinical Anesthesia, held October 14-16, 2004 in Osaka, Japan. Dr. Collin’s lecture, 
“Decreasing Catheter-Related Infections: The Role of Antiseptic-Impregnated Catheters,” discussed ways to prevent central venous catheter associated bloodstream infections. Approximately 5 million central venous catheters are placed annually in the United States, and 16,000 patients will have a bloodstream infection related to the catheter. The healthcare cost in the U.S. is $60 to 460 million dollars per year. Dr. Collin’s research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and he actively participates in the bloodstream prevention program at Saint Francis. As a result the Medical-Surgical Intensive Care Unit (MSICU) has one of the lowest infection rates in the country, according to National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance data.
Gary R. Collin, MD, FACS, Director of Surgical Critical Care, has been selected as a recipient of the Presidential Citation from the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) for his contributions to the specialty of Critical Care during 2003.
The Presidential Citation Award was established in 1995 to honor Critical Care providers who have made outstanding contributions to the field of Critical Care.
Dr. Collin’s advancement of critical care education through the use of the Fundamental Critical Care Support (FCCS) course was cited in his selection for this award. As Course Director and as National Consultant for FCCS, Dr. Collin has used this two-day critical care course to increase the educational opportunities in Critical Care both within Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center and in hospitals throughout the Northeast.
This training of healthcare providers at Saint Francis was a principal reason the hospital has become the first and only hospital in Connecticut to fulfill the criteria for safety of The Leapfrog Group for Patient Safety. The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) is a coalition of more than 90 public and private organizations created to help save lives by initiating breakthrough improvements in the safety of health care.