Crouse Docs Rap to Halt HAC

Why would three distinguished hospital physician leaders including a retired 71-year-old surgeon, and two advanced practice nurses dress up like gangbangers—with dangling bling and head bandanas—and strut around risking embarrassment to themselves and their hospital?

It's for the cause, man. For the cause.

One morning while brushing his teeth, Syracuse-based Crouse Hospital senior medical quality director Mickey Lebowitz, MD, was mulling over a problem, thinking out loud.

"Like many hospitals, we sometimes face challenging situations, and we have faced a few recently," he says. He heard his voice saying "Heck No!"

"I thought, that sounds a lot like 'HAC NO!' because I had HACs (hospital acquired conditions) on my mind." Then the rhymes just kept on coming. One verse, for better or worse, led to another. When he was done, he had the lyrics to The "Crouse Hospital Germinators" rap video:

Patients come in and they are sick.
We want them to get better and do it quick.
But there are things we do that cause de-lays,
That make them worse, and that's not okay.

And another

We call these things hospital-acquired conditions
It can be caused by all, even nurses and physicians
We don't want our patients getting H. A. C.
It's bad for them, and for us financially.
So, so, so, so.
We want our complication rate to be Zer-o
Hey HAC No, Hey HAC NO.
We want our complication rate to be Zer-o.

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