Synergy - January/February 2013 - 19

namss focus

office . The next challenge was meeting
the separate requirements of each and
every medical staff office in the facilities
with which we worked . If we thought our
task was daunting, we could only imagine
the volume of work the other facilities
faced to keep up with the influx of new
patients and new physicians needing
credentialing, operating room time,
technology training, etc . In a few short
weeks, the number of our physicians and
allied health practitioners who needed
disaster credentialing reached more than
700 . There were some days we could not
credential them fast enough . Once our
power was back, we knew that we needed
to organize, work smarter and be consistent
in our processes .
As more hospitals signed on to offer
assistance, we made some suggestions to
expedite their credentialing . In lieu of the
laundry list of items requested, we offered
a “physician profile” from our Cactus
Credentialing Software system, which
included the physician’s information needed
for credentialing, such as:
•	 Demographic information
•	 Verified education
•	 Training
•	 Licensure
•	 Certificate numbers
•	 Malpractice insurance
•	 Expiration dates
•	 Delineation of privileges
The other facilities could use this information
to verify their credentials and perform due
diligence on their end to meet standards . This
made our jobs a little easier, as we could run
the reports directly from our PCs and negate
pulling the files and searching for documents,
copying, faxing and scanning . The intent was
to send these items later after the immediate
crisis was over .
“There is no education like adversity.”
— Disraeli
During this experience, we learned many
lessons . Emergency preparedness is the
most important . I had a contact list of
our active physicians as an attachment
on my BlackBerry that became critical
during the initial crises when we had no
power . Thankfully, we had the capability
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SYNERGY J anuary/F ebr uary 2013

to recharge cellphones and laptops
at the command center . Some other
recommendations to prepare for disaster
credentialing include the following:

had a safe haven and that our physicians,
nurse practitioners and physician assistants
had privileges expedited at all the facilities
to which they applied .

•	 Always have a backup plan for power
outages .

Kudos to our neighboring hospitals in New
York and New Jersey for their generosity,
patience, understanding and outpouring
of support . MSPs from all over the state
called every day to volunteer their services
and offer workspace, especially when
we had no power . Special thanks to the
hospitals that continually opened their
doors to us and managed the incredible
volume of work that came their way .
Every day we witnessed teamwork in
action, as our patients sought care and our

•	 Prepare quarterly reports with physicians’
contact information, licensure, DEA,
boards, NPI# and malpractice insurance
that you email to yourself and your staff
on a quarterly basis for easy access . It’s
also smart to keep a paper backup copy .
•	 Keep a current binder of information in
the MSO that includes the contact
information as listed above and

As the new year begins and our medical
centers slowly come back to life, New Yorkers
have so much to be thankful for.
delineation of privileges for each active
practitioner and update quarterly .
•	 Standardize your disaster credentialing
process .
We recently had a regional meeting of New
York State Association for Medical Staff
Services (NYSAMSS) members to discuss
our experiences on the giving and receiving
end of disaster privileging, and we all
agreed that standardization of the disaster
credentialing process needs to be addressed
on a statewide level . For example, what
credentialing process do you follow when
the disaster is not over in a few days, but
goes on during weeks and possibly months
of recovery? We decided to form an ad-hoc
committee that plans to meet with our state
agencies to discuss guidelines for long-term
disaster credentialing and devise a feasible
plan for New York state and, of course, the
rest of the country, as no state is immune to
these epic disasters .
As the new year begins and our medical
centers slowly come back to life, New
Yorkers have so much to be thankful for .
My heartfelt thanks goes out to our MSPs
and volunteers at NYU Langone Medical
Center for their extraordinary team effort
and positive spirit during this crisis . They
worked tirelessly to make sure our patients

physicians and nurses needed privileges
to provide that care . Credentialing really
does have no other master than the
patient . I will never forget it .
Another moment close to my heart was
an act of kindness brought on by our state
association . A few weeks after the storm, as
the NYSAMSS Board meeting commenced in
Albany, our members volunteered to make
donations, personally shop for and deliver
much needed supplies to the homeless
victims of Hurricane Sandy on the badly
battered Long Beach Island . Is it any wonder
I am so proud to be associated with this
phenomenal group of women professionals?
As I celebrate 10 years of service at NYU
Langone Medical Center — the same 10
years as a resident New Yorker — and
involvement with NYSAMSS, I can attest
wholeheartedly that New York is an
incredibly special place with generous,
compassionate, resilient people . No matter
what challenges we face, I have no doubt
that we will emerge stronger, tougher and
better in so many ways . ■
Dorothy Zelenik, CPCS, CPMSM, is the president
elect of NYSAMMS and the manager of medical
staff services at NYU Langone Medical Center. She
can be reached at dorothy.zelenik@nyumc.org.
Synergy - January/February 2013

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