Words tell stories, but so can numbers.
The eight below help illustrate the missions of Upstate Medical University – medical care, education and research – and reveal the institution’s dedication to the Syracuse community through charitable donations and its environmental stewardship through composting.
1,168 babies were born at the Community campus of Upstate University Hospital in 2014. That’s the highest number of deliveries since 2007, when it was the former Community General Hospital. The increase can be attributed to the launch of the Midwifery and Gynecology Program and Upstate’s partnership with the Syracuse Community Health Center.
More than 150,000 pounds of food scraps have been diverted from the trash at Upstate Medical University since an initiative to compost food scraps began in 2011.
5,807 is the number of the fruit fly gene named by scientists in the laboratory of Upstate’s Francesca Pignoni, PhD. They chose the name Lilipod, an acronym for Lipocalin-like membrane protein receptor. The scientists work on fruit flies because their genome is so similar to that of humans, and they anticipate their research will someday have an impact on cancer and other human diseases.
266 mammograms were provided to women living in the Syracuse Housing Authority’s Pioneer Homes development through a program called “She Matters.” A grant from the Susan G. Komen foundation helped create the program, which relies on trained resident health advocates to educate, support and encourage breast cancer screenings among low-income women. A grant renewal means the program is expanding to Syracuse’s Toomey Abbott Towers.
527,956 dollars were pledged to be donated to charities by Upstate employees through payroll deduction during 2015.
-164 degrees Celsius is the temperature at which stem cells are stored while awaiting transplant at the Upstate Cancer Center.
94.2 percent of first-year medical students at SUNY Upstate are New York state residents, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Interim President Gregory Eastwood, MD, says, “The education of New York residents is directly tied to Upstate’s mission. When we commit to improving the health of our community, growing our own to be the next generation of doctors is an integral part of that process.” Upstate is competitive, receiving 4,412 applications for the 154 spots in its first-year medical class this year.
6 past and present chief executive officers for Upstate University Hospital gathered for a ceremony in June that dedicated and renamed the main lobby after James H. Abbott, the hospital’s first leader.
A commemorative wall overlooking the lobby at University Hospital’s Downtown campus shows all of the hospital’s chief executives.
This article appears in the summer 2015 issue of Upstate Health magazine.
