Methodist Sleep Neurologist Published in National Journal
MEMPHIS — A national task force chaired by sleep neurologist Dr. Merrill S. Wise, Methodist Healthcare Sleep Disorders Center, has published a comprehensive, evidence-based review of the world’s literature regarding the treatment of narcolepsy. The paper appears in the December issue of the journal SLEEP, the official publication of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS), a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.
The article, Treatment of Narcolepsy and other Hypersomnias of Central Origin, provides the basis for state-of-the-art recommendations by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine for the management of narcolepsy and related disorders.
The treatment of narcolepsy involves a combination of lifestyle changes coupled with medication to improve alertness. The task force led by Dr. Wise performed a systematic review of the literature and graded the quality of evidence using standardized evidence review methods. Results indicated that both older (traditional stimulants) and more recently developed medications, used alone or in combination, improve alertness to a significant extent. However, Dr. Wise says much work remains to develop even more effective treatments that are well tolerated by patients.
Methodist South Hospital Offers 30-minute Emergency Room Guarantee In Midst Of $350,000 Renovation
With major renovations complete and a 30-minute emergency department guarantee, Methodist South Hospital in Whitehaven wants to show how serious it is about reducing emergency department wait times and improving the whole emergency department experience for its patients.
Over the last several months, the hospital has done $7 million in renovations and equipment upgrades, $350,000 of which was for emergency department renovations that were just completed. Other renovations included the second and third floor medical-surgical floors and the cafeteria. Earlier this year Methodist South installed a state-of-the-art VCT (Volume Computed Tomography) system, arming doctors with some of the clearest and most detailed images of the carotid and coronary arteries to diagnose disease and life-threatening illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, stroke and chest pain.
Renovations include moving the existing triage room and adding two more. Triage is a process used by emergency departments that allows a nurse to quickly assess patients to ensure the sickest patients are seen first.
Ramsey said other improvements include a new registration desk, areas for bedside registration clerks and new work stations for case management workers and patient care coordinators, and a security station.
UT Medical Group Adds Gastroenterology Specialists
MEMPHIS — UT Medical Group Inc. has expanded its gastroenterology services with the addition of two new specialists.
Dr. Farees T. Farooq is a board-certified gastroenterologist and internal medicine specialist. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) College of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship at University Hospitals - Case Medical Center and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. He also completed an advanced therapeutic endoscopy fellowship at University Hospitals – Case Medical Center. Farooq serves as assistant professor of medicine at the UTHSC.
Dr. Christopher D. Miller is a board-certified internal medicine specialist with fellowship training in gastroenterology. He earned his medical degree from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, where he later served as chief resident. He completed a gastroenterology fellowship at the UTHSC as well as the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society’s clinical training program in gastrointestinal motility at the Kansas University Medical Center. Miller now serves as assistant professor of medicine at the UTHSC and specializes in clinical gastroenterology, diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy, and esophageal manometry and pH studies.
Farooq and Miller work closely with Dr. Mohammad K. Ismail, a board-certified gastroenterologist and internal medicine specialist with additional fellowship training in hepatology. He received his medical degree from Dow Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan and completed his internal medicine residency and fellowship training at the UTHSC. Ismail currently serves as assistant professor of medicine and director of the GI Laboratory as well as chief of gastroenterology at Methodist University Hospital. He also serves as program director for the fellowship training program in gastroenterology at UTHSC.
Education Deans Named at the UT Health Science Center College of Medicine
MEMPHIS -— Robert Shreve, EdD, and Dr. Owen Phillips, have been appointed to associate dean positions within the College of Medicine (COM) at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Dr. Shreve has been named associate dean for medical education, and Dr. Phillips associate dean for student affairs.
Dr. Shreve, associate professor of Preventive Medicine, previously served as interim associate dean of academic and faculty affairs. Dr. Phillips, professor and vice chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, previously served as assistant dean for student affairs. The associate dean appointments are effective December 1.
The Memphis campus will maintain associate deans for both hospital services and clinical ambulatory services. Dr. James “Lacey” Smith serves as the associate dean for hospital services. The UTMG chief medical officer serves as the associate dean for clinical ambulatory services.
State Approves Methodist’s Request to Build Hospice Residence
MEMPHIS — Recently, the Health Services and Development Agency approved Methodist Alliance Hospice’s Certificate of Need (CON) to build a $9 million dollar, 30-bed free-standing hospice residence. Methodist Alliance Hospice is a division of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare. The hospice residence will be built on close to six acres on Quince Road between Messick and Kirby.
Since 1979, Methodist Hospice has provided compassionate care and support to individuals and their families who are facing life’s final journey. As one of the first hospices in the country to receive Medicare certification, Methodist Hospice works to help ease the end-of-life transition for over 225 families in the Mid-South every day.
The Methodist Hospice Residence will provide acute care for those who require symptom and pain management as well as short-term residential beds for those who cannot be cared for in their homes. The residence will also contain office space to accommodate interdisciplinary teams of physicians, nurses, home health aides, chaplains, social workers, volunteers and support staff. The hospice residence will serve as a community asset, offering educational rooms, a library and a bereavement center open to all adults and children throughout the region.
New Book In Evolving Field Of Interventional Spine Care Includes Chapter By Campbell Clinic Physician
MEMPHIS —A Campbell Clinic physician who specializes in non-operative approaches to treating spinal pain is among the contributors to a new textbook designed to help doctors evaluate spinal pain treatment options less haphazardly. Dr. Ashley L. Park, who joined Campbell Clinic in 1998 as the clinic’s first interventional spine physician, wrote the chapter on lumbar instability for Interventional SPINE: an Algorithmic Approach, published in August 2007.
Editors and contributors to the book, including Dr. Park, believe patients deserve the most conservative care feasible, but the alternatives must be wisely considered and balanced by an individual’s physician. “Doctors in a wide variety of specialties practice spine care,” Park said. “Our goal is to provide those physicians with something that has been lacking, which is a step-wise approach to evaluating diagnostic and treatment interventions and therapeutic alternatives,” Dr. Park said.
Dr. Park studied under the new book’s principal editor, Dr. Curtis Slipman, during a residency at The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. “Dr. Slipman’s vision was to publish a comprehensive evidenced-based approach on the diagnosis and treatment of patients with spinal pain, incorporating contributions from top clinically-active interventional spine physicians,” Park said. “Since interventional spine is an integral part of the spine program at Campbell Clinic, one of the foremost orthopaedic centers in the world, the editors felt that my input toward the topic of lumbar instability would be insightful.”
Interventional, or non-surgical, treatment for spinal pain is a growing field. During the past 20 years, a number of studies have indicated that non-operative management of spine-related problems may be preferable to surgery for some patients. “One aspect of non-surgical treatment within the scope of an interventional spine practice is the use of diagnostic and therapeutic spinal injection procedures performed under x-ray guidance,” Park said. “These injections are valuable in diagnosing the specific structure responsible for a patient’s spinal pain and, in many cases, used in conjunction with other non-surgical treatment, are curative.”
Baptist Collierville Offers Minimally Invasive Option for Back Surgery
COLLIERVILLE — Baptist Memorial Hospital-Collierville is offering a new minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of lower back and leg pain caused by lumbar spinal stenosis.
LSS is a narrowing of the lower part of the spinal canal that occurs with aging. As this space in the lower spine shrinks, the nerves passing through the spinal canal can become squeezed, resulting in back, leg, buttocks and groin pain in some patients. This common spinal problem mainly affects people older than 50.
The X-STOP Interspinous Process Decompression procedure involves inserting a titanium spacer implant during back surgery, which offers a less invasive approach and long-term relief from back pain. The implant is designed to limit the extension of the lumbar spine and keep the canal open, relieving pain often caused by standing.
The procedure takes 45 to 90 minutes and can be done under local anesthesia.
Because the X-STOP procedure requires only a small incision, patients typically are discharged within 24 hours. Most patients need only mild pain relievers for a few days following the surgery.
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital Names Assistant Administrator
MEMPHIS — Rebecca Cullison has been named assistant administrator of clinical support services for Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital. Cullison has been with Methodist for three years, first as an administrative resident and most recently as manager of system operations.
She holds both a Masters of Science degree in Health Administration and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Alabama, Birmingham and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alabama. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
As assistant administrator of clinical support services, Cullison will be responsible for the operations of the following departments: cardiac cath lab and non-invasive cardiology, laboratory, radiology, rehabilitation services, environmental services, food services, gift shop, materials management and security.
West Tennessee Healthcare Announces Formation of OB/GYN Services
JACKSON — West Tennessee Healthcare announces that the Nurse Midwife Clinic and West Tennessee OB/GYN Clinic, both in Jackson will merge to form West Tennessee OB/GYN Services. This new entity will have a new home January 2, 2008 at 110 East Forest Avenue, Jackson (at the corner of N. Highland Avenue and E. Forest Avenue).
Currently the Nurse Midwife Clinic sees approximately 4,500 expectant moms each year. West Tennessee OB/GYN sees approximately 10,500 patients per year. The staff of the new West Tennessee OB/GYN Services includes: Army Walker, MD; E. Michael Finan, MD; Courtney Marsh, CNM; Katherine Lewis, CNM; Valerie Stout, CNM; and Margaret Taylor, CNM.
West Tennessee Rehabilitation Center Awarded Three-Year CARF Accreditation
JACKSON — CARF, the Commission of the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, announced that West Tennessee Rehabilitation Center received a Three-Year Accreditation for Inpatient Rehabilitation Programs — Hospital (Adults) and Hospital (Children and Adolescents). This is the fifth consecutive Three-Year Accreditation that the international accrediting commission has awarded to West Tennessee Rehabilitation Center. The Three-Year Accreditation is the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization. It indicates that the facility has put itself through a rigorous peer review process and that its programs and services were found to be of the highest quality, measurable, and accountable, meeting international rehab standards.
The 40-bed inpatient rehab center, which is located at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, offers physical, occupational, speech, and recreation therapies for patients as well as specialized physician services, rehab nursing, and neuropsychology. “We are quite fortunate to have patients who trust us, staff that takes ownership, administration that supports us, and a wonderful environment for using our skills and making a difference every day,” said John Yarbrough, executive director of the Rehabilitation Center. “The surveyors were quite impressed with our commitment both to patient satisfaction and to our educational efforts in the community.”
“An accreditation from CARF lets the patients and families know that we are a high-quality facility,” continued Yarbrough. According to their web site (www.carf.org), rehabilitation and human services providers from the U.S. to Canada and Europe seek CARF accreditation because of its value to consumers. CARF accredits only those programs that meet the rigorous standards established by CARF.
Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute Marks Two Milestones in 2007
MEMPHIS — On Sunday, November 25, the 100th liver transplant of the year was performed at Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute, moving it one step closer to becoming one of the top 10 transplant centers nationwide. The transplant marked a record for number of liver transplants performed annually by a transplant center in the state of Tennessee. In addition to reaching this milestone, the Transplant Institute also surpassed its previous record for number of transplants performed annually at the facility by completing more than 200 transplants in 2007. The Institute projects to perform more than 230 transplants by year’s end.
“Everyone played a significant role in reaching these milestones,”said Daniel Stanton, administrator, Methodist University HospitalTransplant Institute. “We’re all excited to see this programcontinue to thrive. The program’s success and increased volume meanthat we’re saving more lives each year.”
The transplant program began at UT Bowld Hospital in 1976. Methodist Healthcare assumed operation of UT Bowld in 2002. In 2004 transplant services moved to Methodist University Hospital and became the Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute. Since moving to Methodist University Hospital, the Institute has more than doubled total transplant volume.
“The bottom line is that we’re giving patients in the Mid-South better access to transplant care and better long-term survival rates than in most areas of the United States,” said Dr. James Eason, program director, Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute. “When I came to the Institute in 2006, one of my goals was to have this program recognized as one of the top 10 transplant institutes in the nation. I think our growing patient volume and better patient outcomes confirm that we’re continuing to move toward that goal.”
Pediatric transplant services are also provided at Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center.
January 2008
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