HCP Happenings

The 411 on 180 S U M M E R 2 0 1 3

Save the

Date! Coffee Talks

(Please volunteer

to host a future

one!)

August, 28, 2013

10:30AM , 224-E

Sept. 25, 2013

10:30AM, 224-E

Oct. 30, 2013

10:30AM, 224-E ______________

Faculty Mtgs

Faculty meet-

ings are discon-

tinued for the

Summer.

The next meet-

ing will be held

on September

9th at 11:30AM

in room 224E.

______________

Seminars

Adriana Lleras-

Muney of UCLA

will be giving a

seminar at HCP

on 9/6 at

12:30pm in

224E

________________

HCPers Braved the

Codzilla at this year’s

Summer Party!

The Department of Health Care Policy ventured out in-

to the wilds of Boston Harbor aboard the Codzilla on

July 30th as part of the annual HCP Summer Party.

With those us of in the back getting soaked and those

in the front receiving a wild and bumpy ride, everyone

was happy to relax afterward at the beautiful upstairs

lookout room at Joe’s on the Waterfront.

Many thanks to everyone involved with the planning of

the party, all of those who attended, and, of course, to

Barbara for providing us with another great HCP

party to remember.

P A G E 2

Tickets Scalping: Kenmore Square is the best spot to find scalpers. They will find you. NEVER accept their first

offer. Don’t forget to check the date on the tickets (some pawn off old tickets on unsuspecting fans). For

even cheaper tickets, scalp one inning into the game.

Craigslist: Shockingly great for scoring cheap tickets on short notice. Search by owner to weed out online

vendors, scalpers and scammers. Ticket owners are less interested in ripping you off. Check the listings a

couple of hours prior to game time; in this window you’re more likely to find sellers who can’t attend be-

cause of unanticipated conflicts. These sellers are more interested in unloading the tickets on short notice,

sometimes at their own expense (and your benefit).

Get a balloon animal on Yawkey Way The short man making balloon animals is internationally renowned. Royal Sorell invented most of the tech-

niques used in large balloon sculptures today. He once created a 9ft tall balloon dragon and has even made

sculptures for the White House. Sorell is also a mime, trained by Marcel Marceau, so don’t just ask for the

standard balloon dog…

Autography Alley Before every home game a former Boston Red Sox player, coach, or team personality signs autographs free

of charge in the Yawkey Way Team store.

Page 2 Emily Corcoran’s Tips for Enjoying your Fenway Experience

The Sox are proving to The Sox are proving to

have more mojo than ex-have more mojo than ex-

pected this year. If you pected this year. If you

haven’t made it go a game haven’t made it go a game

already, a winning record already, a winning record

and the beauty of Fenway and the beauty of Fenway

are great reasons to do so. are great reasons to do so.

These are my tips for These are my tips for

making the most of your making the most of your

visit:visit:

Fenway Park sunset, taken by Emily Corcoran

P A G E 3

BYO-Food Food purchased on Yawkey Way or on Lansdowne Street can be carried into Fenway Park. You are also al-

lowed to bring in sealed bottled water (16oz).

Get your hands on Fenway dirt, without getting arrested Fans who attempt to touch the warning track (field) will be removed from the

park, or even arrested. Others pay big bucks online to get authentic Fenway

dirt. What most people don’t know is that the trees on Yawkey Way are planted

in the same dirt. Confirmed by the grounds crew, the red dirt around these trees

is the same stuff as on the field.

If you don’t want to get your hands dirty you can always keep your eyes open

and hands up and hope you are as lucky as Emily’s goddaughter Gabriella

who got a ball at her first game (picture to the right)!

Scoreboard messages A personal message can be displayed on the scoreboard during

the game for a minimum donation of $50 to the Red Sox Fund

Foundation. Traditional in-game marriage proposals require a

$250 donation. ‘Live’ proposals which include a scoreboard

message, an appearance on the video board, and a visit from

Wally, require a $350 donation. These donations are tax-

deductible. Requests must be made 24 hours prior to the game.

You can get a beer after the seventh inning

At Fenway, the sale of beer stops during the 7th inning or after 2.5 hours of play. Sometimes you need a

beer after that point, especially if there is a rain delay or the game goes into extra innings. Have no fear;

there is a way to get more beer without leaving the park (once you leave the park you can’t get back in!).

‘Who’s On First’ is a bar on Yawkey Way, which is within the confines of the park. They serve beer well

past when the game ends.

Go Sox!

Page 2 Emily Corcoran’s Tips for Enjoying your Fenway Experience

P A G E 4

Welcome to our new HCP employees!

HCP Welcomes Baby Jack!

Baby Stats

Name: John Henry Hurley

Birthdate: March 30, 2013

Time: 10:51PM

Weight: 8 lbs, 4 oz

Length: 21.5 inches

Mary and John Hurley welcomed Baby John Henry “Jack” Hurley into the world on

Saturday, March 30th. Like many infants, this happy, healthy boy counts eating,

sleeping and wishing he were eating or sleeping among his favorite hobbies. Mary

and John could not be happier to have Jack in their lives. Baby Jack could not be

reached for comment due to a prior naptime commitment.

Aaron Schwartz is a 5th-year MD-PhD student who

is sitting at department while completing his disserta-

tion in the economics track of the Health Policy PhD

Program. Aaron will be working under the guidance

of Joe Newhouse, who is the chair of his dissertation

committee. Currently, Aaron's research focuses on

the provision of low-value medical services. He is also

hoping to tackle research questions relating to the

health care workforce. Aaron is originally from the

Philadelphia area and currently enjoys cooking, cy-

cling around Boston, and playing squash with fierce

competitor and mentor, Tom McGuire.

P A G E 5

Page 4

Rudy Douven is the new Dutch Harkness Fellow who will be

working with Tom McGuire and Mike Chernew on a project

titled “Competition and Global Budgets in Health Care: How

Can We Get the Incentives Right?”

In the Netherlands he works as a health economist and com-

bines research with policy work at the CPB. One day a week

he works at the Erasmus University Rotterdam (iBMG).

As a policy advisor at the CPB, he have done numerous activi-

ties. He constantly aims at bridging gaps between pressing re-

al-world policy issues and academic research.

Welcome to our new HCP employees!

Hannah Neprash is a rising third-year in the Health Policy PhD Program,

Economics Track. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Oberlin College in

2007 with a BA in Politics and Economics. During college, she co-founded

Oberlin's Committee on the Non-Medical Use of Prescription Drugs and dis-

covered her interest in health economics. Following completion of her un-

dergraduate degree, she joined the Medicare Payment Advisory Commis-

sion (MedPAC) and worked on issues including physician access, shared de-

cision making strategies, quality improvement, and health care disparities.

Subsequently, she joined the House Ways & Means Committee staff – han-

dling a legislative portfolio including Medicare/Medicaid dual eligible and

Part D Low-Income Subsidy issues, quality improvement initiatives, and

health care fraud. As a student in Harvard's Health Policy PhD Program,

she plans to explore a broad range of research interests including health

care financing, provider competition, and physician behavior. Her work at

Harvard is supported by an AHRQ trainee position (2011-2012) and a NSF

Graduate Research Fellowship (2012-2015).

An Update on Mike Piantigini

Michael Piantigini has been released from Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital

to continue his recovery at home. Any cards can now be sent to his home

address:

245 Beacon Street, #5

Somerville, MA 02144

Page 5

HCP Family Updates

Silva Antreassian celebrated the high school gradua-

tion of her son, Andre, from Waltham High School on

June 2. Though the ceremony was bittersweet for Sil-

va, who is proud of her son but sad that her baby is

getting older, Andre is happy to be done with high

school and looking forward to starting college in the

fall. Congratulations to Andre and Silva!

Elizabeth Haak became and aunt again on December

28th when her niece Amelia Anne MacKinnon was born

in Norwalk, CT. Amelia is named after her maternal

great grandmother and Liz’s mom, her paternal grand-

mother. Liz is not only a proud Auntie, she is also excit-

ed because earlier this summer she received the honor

of becoming Amelia’s God Mother. Liz has been enjoy-

ing the summer because she is able to spend a little

more time with her niece!

Garrett Kirk became the proud uncle and

godfather of Elaeth Ki Duk Kirk. Born to

Garrett’s twin brother, Jonathon, and his

wife, Joann, Baby Elaeth has recently cele-

brated his 13 week birthday.Please make

sure to congratulate Uncle G!

Eric Bourke entered the timeless tradition of annu-

ally terrifying his child by forcing her to sit upon the

lap of an unknown and unnatural half-animal-half-

human. Despite her appearance in this photo, Ella

is fully recovered from her Easter trauma. Best of

luck to Eric and Ella on avoiding a reprise next

year!

PAGE 6

What is HCP Happenings?

HCP Happenings is an electronic newsletter solely for the Department of Health Care Policy and

is intended to keep HCP employees abreast of important announcements and information about

department events, HCP employees, and campus affairs. If you are unable to commit to the news-

letter on a full time basis, but would still like to submit a news brief or announcement please do

so. Also, the committee would appreciate receiving feedback and will incorporate that feedback

into future monthly issues. If you have comments or an interest in joining the HCP Happenings

team, please contact Katie at dean@hcp.med.harvard.edu.

In the past, we used to have suite parties a few times a year and we are hoping

to continue with that tradition. We encourage everyone to get creative and get

planning! The sign up sheet is in the 2nd floor kitchen.

Some suites have stepped up to the challenge… so get ready to be festive

and save the date!

Kessler Suite — Halloween Party — October 25th

Zaborski /Dept. Event — Department Yankee Swap — December 18th

The Admin Ladies of Suite 202 — Sick of Winter Party — February 7th

A message from Silva….Sign up for Suite Parties!