South Shore Hospital continued to set new standards in patient care in 2006. We are fortunate to have so many dedicated people working for, involved with, and supporting our charitable mission
of healing, caring and comforting.

When you are focused on caring for patients and the community,
it gets noticed. That is why South Shore Hospital has been recognized by an unprecedented number of state and national agencies this year.

Major accomplishments on behalf of our community in 2006 included:

• Becoming the region’s first hospital to provide eligible patients with the opportunity to participate in the elective coronary angioplasty MASS COMM Trial, in partnership with Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

• Learning in February that our organization had been named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals for 2005 by Solucient, a national health care information company.

• Earning the "Gold Seal of Approval" from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, signifying that our inpatient, outpatient and home health care programs have each received maximum, three-year accreditations.

• Being named to the 2006 HomeCare Elite,^® an inaugural compilation of the nation’s most successful home care providers. Our South Shore Visiting Nurse Association ranks among the top 25 percent of all home health providers, according to Outcome Concept System (OCS), a leading post-acute health care information company.

• Assuring the safety of our patients, our colleagues and our environment, including being named a Mentor Hospital by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. We also won the 2006 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence from HealthGrades, an independent health care ratings company.

• Building our $13.5 million Cardiovascular Center to improve the community’s access to experts in the prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and management of heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease.

• Laying the early groundwork to build an ambulatory Cancer Center, in affiliation with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

As 2006 drew to a close, Leonard Bicknell, president of Alvin Hollis of Weymouth,
was elected chairman of the Board of Directors of South Shore Hospital and its
parent organization, South Shore Health and Educational Corporation. Len succeeds John C. Doody of Marshfield, who concluded a successful two-year term as Board chairman. I am grateful to John for his personal commitment, sound judgment, good counsel, and laser-like focus on the interests of our patients. He remains on our Board in the role of immediate past chairman.

I’d also like to acknowledge Jacqueline Haley, who was elected to the honorary position of director emeritus, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to our organization. She is the first to earn this distinction in six years and only one of 15 in our hospital’s 84-year history. Ms. Haley became an officer soon after being named to the Board of Directors nine years ago. She was at the center of critical decisions that redefined our organization for the better and at all times exemplified our mission of healing, caring, and comforting in her service and leadership.

My thanks also go to Giovanni Ferrante, MD, president of our medical staff. Dr. Ferrante is a board-certified general surgeon who also serves as medical director of our vascular laboratory. He has been a member of our hospital’s medical staff since 1987.

As a not-for-profit, tax-exempt charity, our organization depends on community support to advance our mission. I thank and commend the Board of Trustees of South Shore Health and Educational Foundation — led by chairman Philip O’Sullivan, MD — who worked tirelessly to win support for South Shore Hospital, South Shore Visiting Nurses, and Hospice of the South Shore. More than $2.4 million was raised this year to benefit our patients and their families. Equally important, our dynamic auxiliary — The Friends of South Shore Hospital — increased its membership by more than 20 percent, thanks to the dedicated leadership of Ellen Scott Garvey, president of The Friends and a senior vice president at South Shore Savings Bank.

Every moment of every day, our patients depend on us. We consider it a privilege to help them through their sickness by providing expert care, delivered with compassion. I am proud and appreciative of the contributions of our 3,500 employees, 500 volunteers, and 800 medical staff members whose dedication to excellence makes our organization the region’s number one choice for health care.