Grand Rounds April on Memphis Medical News

Grand Rounds April

St. Francis Hospital and HMCT

St. Francis Hospital to participate in TCAB, an AF4Q Quality Improvement Collaborative.

The Healthy Memphis Common Table announced March 11, 2009 that Saint Francis Hospital has been selected by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to participate in a new effort to improve the quality of care in hospitals. The program will help nurses and other frontline staff identify, test and implement changes that will improve the quality and safety of patient care in their medical and surgical units.

Patients Are Untapped Resource For Improving Care, Study Finds

A study looking at over 21,000 patients from 11 health centers finds that patients who receive mailed reminders for scheduling colorectal cancer screenings are more likely to comply than those who don't. Forty-four percent of patients who received a reminder in the mail were screened, versus 38 percent who did not-an effect that increased with age. However, electronic reminders targeting physicians yielded no significant increase.

Memphis Obstetrics and Gynecological Association Congratulates Dr. Alok Kumar to DeSoto Office

The physicians and staff of Memphis Obstetrics and Gynecological Association have announced the addition of Dr. Alok Kumar to their office located at 7900 Airways in Southaven.

Since 2006, Dr. Kumar has served as an Associate Physician with Chesapeake Women's Care in Annapolis, MD. He is a graduate of Memphis' own White Station High School, as well as Duke University. He attended medical school at the University of Tennessee School of Medicine, where he also completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology. During his schooling, he was recognized by the University of Tennessee as the best resident in maternal fetal medicine, and as the best student during his OB/GYN clerkship. Additionally, he was a member of Phi Chi medical fraternity, where he served as president for two years and vice-president for one.

Christ Community to Open Health Center In Hickory Hill

Christ Community Health Services will soon open a health center in Hickory Hill at 5366 Winchester Road.

The Hickory Hill Health Center will offer family and internal medicine and pediatric and prenatal care and will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Two donor organizations and one anonymous donor were instrumental in opening the new health center and hiring Jeffrey Zsohar, M.D., to head clinic staff. Donors for the Hickory Hill Health Center include the Kemmons Wilson Family Foundation and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare.

Children Sought for Amblyopia "Lazy Eye" Therapy Study

Southern College of Optometry (SCO) is seeking children ages 7-13 for a national trial comparing two types of therapy for Amblyopia, also known as "lazy eye".

The trial is being conducted through the National Eye Institute and funded by the National Institutes of Health. It will compare two different types of therapy for lazy eye in order to definitively identify the best therapy.

Approximately 220 children who have reduced vision in one eye will take part in the study at pediatric eye care centers around the country.

If you know a child or are the parent/guardian of a child with lazy eye and would like them screened for the study, please contact Dr. Janette Dumas at (901) 722-3369 or email Jonathan Reddell at jreddell@sco.edu.

Memphis Business Group on Health-Annual Luncheon & Awards

Did you know that you, your family, and your employees are extremely vulnerable to medical mistakes and errors and increased costs when moving between one setting of care to another? What can be done?

Join us at our Annual Luncheon & Awards meeting on Fri., April 24, at The Crescent Club, to get answers and learn more about "transitions of care" from Cheri Lattimer, Executive Director, Case Management Society of America and leader of the National Transitions of Care Coalition (NTOCC) and Cristie Upshaw Travis, CEO of Memphis Business Group on Health and Member of the national NTOCC Advisory Task Force.

For information and to register by the April 10 deadline, contact Janis Slivinski at: 901-767-9585, ext. 234

Honey Is The 'Sweetest' Remedy For Healing Wounds At Methodist South

The Methodist South Comprehensive Would Healing Center (CWHC) has discovered a new way to heal its patients' wounds. The new topical dressing, Medihoney™, is reviving a 4,000-year-old ingredient and healing some wounds faster.

The honey-based wound and burn dressing is comprised of a unique and special species of leptospermum honey. The product was FDA- approved last fall to treat diabetic foot ulcers, leg ulcers, pressure ulcers, first and second degree burns, traumatic wounds, and surgical wounds.

Dr. James Alexander, Methodist South Wound Center physician, initially used the new product on a lupus patient, who was not having much success with her wound healing treatments. The Medihoney product finally yielded results for her and Dr. Alexander proceeded by trying it on other patients.

The CWHC has been using the new product for approximately eight months and has plans to continue. The clinic will soon offer the dressing in an ointment form for patients who prefer that type of dressing.

Women's Health Specialists

Women's Health Specialists is proud to announce Frank W. Ling, MD, Robert L. Summitt, Jr., MD, and Val Y. Vogt, MD have recently received appointments as Clinical Professors in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Meharry Medical College.

They have each been awarded appointments as Clinical Professors to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the School of Medicine at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Ling is current President of The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Summitt is former Residency Program Director and Chief of Section of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Tennessee in Memphis.

Dr. Vogt is former Associate Professor of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Tennessee in Memphis.

ORNL, UT Project Could Save Vision Of Millions

In the blink of an eye, people at risk of becoming blind can now be screened for eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.

Using a technology originally developed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory to understand semiconductor defects, three locations in Memphis have been equipped with digital cameras that take pictures of the retina. Those images are relayed to a center where they are analyzed and the patient knows in minutes whether he or she needs additional medical attention.

Already, this technology is making a difference as two patients at the Church Health Center in Memphis have been identified as needing laser treatment for moderate and severe diabetic retinopathy and macular edema, both conditions that can lead to blindness.

While some cameras have been installed, others will be installed at several rural and urban health care centers serving the Mississippi Delta. Another camera is planned for a federally funded health center in Chattanooga. Eventually, the goal is to have hundreds of cameras throughout the United States and beyond.

Wesberry Joins UT Medical Group Ophthalmology Staff

Dr. Jesse M. Wesberry, Jr. has joined the Department of Ophthalmology at UT Medical Group Inc. A graduate of the University of Memphis, Wesberry earned his medical degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine. He completed his ophthalmology residency at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and was a Roland Meyers Fellow at the Vitreoretinal Foundation in Memphis. He is certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He cares for patients at UTMG offices in the Hamilton Eye Institute.

Faith & Health Making the Connection

Workshop featuring Margaret Edson, April 18 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Lindenwood Christian Church.

Pulitzer-Prize-winning playwright Margaret Edson will explore the convergence of faith, health and the arts through a discussion of her award-winning play Wit as the workshops' featured luncheon presenter.

What role does storytelling play in healing? In a series of interactive workshops, medical professionals, pastors, chaplains, artists and others will share how their disciplines use storytelling and discuss how to work together to best care for the whole person.

A $10 workshop fee covers materials and lunch. For more information or to register, please visit www.churchhealthcenter.org or call (901) 261-8833.

Dr. B.W. Ruffner to Serve as TMA President in 2010

The Tennessee Medical Association has selected B Winfred Ruffner, Jr., MD, FACP, of Chattanooga, to serve as president-elect for 2009, and subsequently as president of the Association in 2010. Dr. Ruffner, a medical oncologist and internal medicine specialist, was chosen by popular vote in TMA's election by members of the organization.

The first medical oncologist to practice in the Chattanooga area, Dr. Ruffner has been on the medical staff at Erlanger Medical Center for 31 years.

Dr. Ruffner received his medical degree with Alpha Omega Alpha honors from Duke University School of Medicine and served as a research associate and staff Fellow with the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Medical Examiners, the American Board of Internal Medicine, and the Subspecialty Board of Medical Oncology and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Richard DePersio to be Installed as TMA's 155th President

Richard J. DePersio, MD, FACS, a Knoxville otolaryngologist, was recently installed as the 155th president of the Tennessee Medical Association during the annual TMA House of Delegates meeting.

He will serve as the public spokesman and official representative for the TMA's 7,800 physician members.

Board certified in otolaryngology and facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, Dr. DePersio practices with Greater Knoxville Ear Nose & Throat, PC. He also currently serves as chief of the division of Otolaryngology and a clinical associate professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Otolaryngology, the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the American Society of Laser Medicine and Surgery, and the American Head and Neck Society.

Dr. DePersio earned his MD from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis.