The American Cancer Society Harrah's Hope Lodge broke ground at 10 a.m., Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 718 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tenn. The facility will help lessen the financial burden on adult patients traveling to Memphis for treatment at one of the metropolitan area's many cancer facilities.

 

Many patients require daily treatment for multiple weeks, and staying in a hotel for that long would be expensive. The Harrah's Hope Lodge will allow patients and a caregiver to stay at no cost and be with others going through the very same experience. Patients will be able to concentrate on their health and getting well.

 

The facility will include 40 guest rooms, each with a private bath and sleeping accommodations for two. There will be community dining, kitchen, library, and recreational areas, and each floor will have a day room and guest laundry with 24 hour access.

 

The Harrah's Hope Lodge is funded in part by a $2 million grant from the Harrah's Foundation. The grant is the largest one-time donation received by the Mid-South Division of the American Cancer Society. The Harrah's Foundation is the charitable giving arm of Harrah's Entertainment, parent company of Harrah's, Horseshoe, and Sheraton Casinos in Tunica, Miss.

 

The Harrah's Foundation is proud to partner with the American Cancer Society by providing a $2 million grant for the construction of the Harrah's Hope Lodge, which will house adult cancer patients undergoing treatment and their loved ones at no cost.

 

 

Memphis Heart Clinic is pleased to announce that Bashar Shala, MD, FACC, FSCAI, FASE, FASNC has been granted board certification for Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (CT) by the Board of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (CBCCT). CBCCT recognizes physicians who have demonstrated knowledge and skill in the field of Cardiovascular CT by passing an extensive written examination. Currently, there are 731 physicians worldwide certified by the CBCCT. Dr. Shala is the first and only physician that holds this board certification in West Tennessee.

 

 

Dr. Morris Ray of Memphis recently received the Distinguished Practitioner in Neurosurgery Award from the Southern Neurosurgical Society.

 

Dr. Ray attended Medical School at the University of Tennessee, graduating in 1962.  After his internship at the then John Gaston Hospital, he served as a Flight Surgeon in the U.S. Army.  After his stint in the Army, he came back to Memphis where he did his residency at the University of Tennessee, completing the program in 1969.  He then joined the staff of the Semmes-Murphey Clinic in Memphis where he served until his retirement in 2006. 

 

 

Abbas E. Kitabchi, MD, PhD, has been appointed the Maston K. Callison Professor of Medicine in Endocrinology for the Department of Medicine in the UT College of Medicine.

 

Dr. Kitabchi has ably led the UTHSC Division of Endocrinology in the Department of Medicine for more than 35 years.  He has stepped down as division chief to devote more time to his highly successful research endeavors.  He was originally recruited to the Health Science Center as Director of Research at the Veterans Administration Hospital, served as director of Endocrinology from 1973 to 2009, and was director of the General Clinical Research Center from 1973 to 1991.

 

 

Rev. Jack Conrad, a Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital hospice chaplain, is helping those coping with grief to find comfort through his hospice experiences. After the loss of his parents and siblings, he wrote, Living Before Dying, Reflections of a Hospice Chaplain, to help hospice patients and their families. Proceeds from the book will benefit the future Methodist Hospice Residence.

 

The book shares experiences of people who are facing death and focuses on how they chose to live their remaining days. 

 

 

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital who represent the interdisciplinary team studying acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have been recognized by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) with the AACR Team Science Award.

 

The AACR Team Science Award,acknowledges the importance of interdisciplinary teams to the understanding of cancer and/or the translation of research discoveries into clinical cancer applications. The award will be given to the St. Jude team at the AACR's 100th Annual Meeting in April.

 

 

Andrew Davidoff, M.D., has been named the chair of the St. Jude Department of Surgery. His previous position at St. Jude was director of Surgical Research and division chief of General Pediatric Surgery.

 

A New York native, Davidoff came to St. Jude in 1997 as an attending surgeon and assistant member in the department. He has also served as an attending surgeon at Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center and associate professor of Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee School of Medicine. Davidoff is a board-certified pediatric surgeon and completed his residency training in general surgery at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and in general and thoracic pediatric surgery at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. Prior to coming to St. Jude, he held hospital appointments at several hospitals in the Chicago area.

 

 

Maury W. Bronstein, MD, of Memphis, was recently honored with the Tennessee Medical Association's 2009 Outstanding Physician Award during the TMA's 174th Annual Meeting at the Nashville Airport Marriott Hotel.

 

Dr. Bronstein was nominated by The Memphis Medical Society for his humanitarian work and his years of medical leadership in Memphis and Shelby County. A Memphis native and graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Dr. Bronstein has served as an internist and cardiologist at Baptist Memorial Hospital for 51 years.

 

 

Campbell Clinic marked the opening of its After Hours Clinic with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 24, 2009 at its 1400 S. Germantown Road location. The new After Hours Clinic will provide the same services as the regular clinic, but will be open in the evening hours: Mondays through Thursdays from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

 

There are plans to consider opening the clinic on weekends later this year as well. 

 

The After Hours Clinic serves those suffering from suspected strains, sprains, eaks, fractures and similar sports or other injuries on a walk-in basis with no appointment necessary.  The clinic first opened to the public on Monday, March 23, 2009.

 

 

Methodist North Hospital is the first hospital in Memphis and surrounding communities to use the world's smallest heart pump, the Abiomed Impella 2.5 circulatory support system, which uses a tiny pump to take over the job of circulating blood from the heart to the rest of the body.

 

This tiny heart pump is actually smaller than a number 2 pencil eraser. It is inserted within a catheter through a tiny incision in the groin, up through the aorta, and into the left ventricle of the heart. Dr. Smolin describes the Impella as a small turbine that takes the blood from the heart and pumps it into circulation throughout the body. He explains that it augments what the heart is doing and that it gives the heart a chance to rest, relieving the heart of the burden of pumping blood.

 

This revolutionary device is most appropriate for two types of patients, those who are desperately ill and those whose hearts are too weak to undergo interventional therapies such as stents or angioplasty to open blocked arteries.

 

 

The Health and Healing Clinic, a Jackson, TN based healthcare clinic for the working uninsured of Madison County announced today that it will expand its services by joining with the West Forest Family Medical Center at 779 West Forest Avenue in Jackson.  The change will occur officially on May 1, 2009 with a ribbon cutting at the new location.

 

Respected for its commitment to the working uninsured, the Health and Healing Clinic provides care for those who work but do not have an insurance safety net provided by their employer, through TennCare or any other insurance program.

 

Medical, dental, and vision care have been provided for Health and Healing patients for more than three years and will continue with this transition.  Specialty care is provided by volunteer physicians to ensure that these hard working citizens are able to continue to work and provide support for their families in times of sickness or injury.

 

 Health and Healing Clinic founder, Dr. Don Lewis, says "This change of location will enable the Health and Healing Clinic to share some staff with the West Forest Family Medical Center and allow us to provide care at extended hours and days."  Fundraising will continue by the board of directors to expand the educational services of the clinic. "It is our aim that we can take the spirit of the Health and Healing Clinic into churches and neighborhoods of Jackson," stated Dr. Lewis.

 

 Volunteers in locations including the Emergency Room work daily to inform the public that these services are available.  More volunteers are needed and can be used throughout the community.

 

 

Coventry Health Care and Health Partners, a subsidiary of West Tennessee Health Care System, have entered into multi-year agreement that gives Coventry members access to all hospitals and physicians affiliated with this Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), including Jackson Madison County General Hospital.