Lifeblood Cuts Ribbon At Newly Expanded Donor Center In Germantown

In March Germantown Mayor Sharon Goldsworthy joined Lifeblood to celebrate the opening of its newly expanded donor center in Germantown.

Goldsworthy and several Lifeblood representatives held a ribbon cutting ceremony to symbolize the official re-opening of the center, which has been in the community for 25 years.  At 3,200 square feet (twice its original size), the facility will allow Lifeblood to better serve a market where more than 22 percent of its total donors live.

Lifeblood invested $65,000 in the expansion of this facility, which was previously 1,600 square feet.  AutoZone architect Phil Pecord donated his time and talent to the project, creating the design and blueprints.  Pecord is also a 6 1/2-gallon blood donor.

$2M NIH Grant Funds Parkinson’s Research

 Dr. Charles Blaha, professor of psychology at the University of Memphis, and research collaborator Dr. Kendall Lee of the Mayo Clinic have been awarded a $2.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue their research on Parkinson’s disease.

The five-year study will form the basis for the development of “smart” next generation Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) systems that use neurotransmitter release in the brain as feedback to optimize DBS therapeutic efficacy.

DBS, an established therapy for neurological disorders, involves implanting stimulating electrodes into specific areas of the brain. When electrical stimulation is applied to these electrodes, the tremors and other motor symptoms seen in Parkinson’s patients disappear. However, no one knows how it works.

Regional Medical Center at Memphis Named Among the Best Hospitals

The Regional Medical Center at Memphis has been ranked fourth out of 25 hospitals in and near Memphis in U.S. News & World Report’s first-ever Best Hospitals metro area rankings. In addition, the Regional Medical Center was recognized as a high performing organization in the specialty of gynecology. The hospital received high marks in level of nursing staff and in patient safety, demonstrating its commitment to providing quality care throughout the region.

To be ranked in its metro area, a hospital had to score in the top 25 percent among its peers in at least one of 16 medical specialties. The rankings recognize 622 hospitals in or near major cities with a record of high performance in key medical specialties.  A hospital’s breadth of expertise is also factored into the rankings.

U.S. News created Best Hospitals more than 20 years ago to identify hospitals exceptionally skilled in handling the most difficult cases. The new metro area rankings are relevant to wide range of healthcare consumers seeking quality care in their city.

For a full list of metro area rankings visit www.usnews.com/hospitals.

Board of Wright Medical Group, Inc. Appoints Chairman David D. Stevens as Interim CEO

Wright Medical Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: WMGI), a global orthopaedic medical device company and a leading provider of surgical solutions for the foot and ankle market, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Chairman David D. Stevens as interim president and CEO, effective immediately. Mr. Stevens remains Chairman of the Board.

Mr. Stevens replaces Gary D. Henley, who has resigned as President and CEO and as a director of the Company on April 4, 2011. Mr. Henley had served as President and CEO and as a director since 2006. Mr. Henley tendered his resignation prior to a Board meeting called to discuss management’s oversight of the Company’s ongoing compliance program. The Board accepted Mr. Henley’s resignation. Mr. Henley’s resignation is considered to be without “good reason” under the terms of his employment agreement, and he therefore is not entitled to severance.

The Company also announced that the Board has terminated Frank S. Bono, the Company’s Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, for cause for failing to exhibit appropriate regard for the Company’s ongoing compliance program.

Penn Marc Internal Medicine joins Methodist

Penn Marc Internal Medicine has joined the Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare family.  The arrangement became official on March 27, 2011.

Located at 6401 Poplar Avenue, Suite 400, the practice includes three internal medicine physicians: Drs. Paul Katz, Avron Slutsky and Carol Mitchell, and nine employees.

 The clinic name will not change, and patients and referring physicians can expect a seamless transition.

Physician practices now part of Methodist include: Foundation Medical Group, Lakeland Family Medicine, McGee General Surgery Clinic, Penn Marc Internal Medicine, Sutherland Cardiology Clinic and The CardioVascular Center.

Saint Francis Healthcare Announces Agreement with Blue Cross-S

Saint Francis Healthcare is pleased to announce a new agreement with Blue Cross-S. Effective, April 1, 2011, Saint Francis Hospital-Memphis and Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett are now in-network with Blue Cross-S.

Saint Francis is currently in-network for more 85 health insurance plans. This allows St. Frances to expand hospital services to people in the area who are covered by Blue Cross-S according to David Archer, CEO.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital names new senior vice president of public relations

Kimberly Ovitt has been appointed senior vice president of public relations at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Ovitt will oversee public relations and communication strategies for the hospital.

With a strong focus in health care and scientific research, Ovitt has led ambitious public relations, marketing and communication programs for more than 20 years. Her expertise includes developing and implementing multifaceted strategic programs that incorporate brand management, media relations, Web-based communication, employee communication and educational and community outreach.

Ovitt comes to St. Jude from Arizona State University (ASU) where she directed communications for several high-profile research programs. She led launch communications for ASU’s  premier multidisciplinary research institute, the Biodesign Institute, serving first as its communication director and then as director of strategic affairs. She also directed strategic communication for ASU’s Complex Adaptive Systems Initiative.

In addition to her bioscience public relations knowledge, Ovitt served for nine years as communication director for Phoenix Children’s Hospital, one of the 10 largest children’s hospitals in the nation.

Southwind Medical Specialists Welcomes Jason Barrett, PhD, as Practice Administrator

Southwind Medical Specialists, PC, has announced the addition of Dr. Jason Barrett as its new Practice Administrator.

Prior to joining Southwind, Dr. Barrett was employed as Ambulatory Services Practice Director for the Regional Medical Center at Memphis (The Med).  He served in this role for five years, overseeing operations, strategic planning, and financial viability for off-campus services.

Dr. Barrett’s experience also includes two years as Faculty Practice Manager for the UCONN Health Center, and eight years of directing optometry and primary care clinics for the United States Navy in Okinawa, Japan.

 Dr. Barrett holds a BS in Healthcare Management from Southern Illinois University, an MS in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas, and a Doctorate in Healthcare Administration from Capella University.

Dr. Porterfield Named Medical Director Of Electrophysiology Laboratories at MUH

 James Porterfield, M.D., F.A.C.C. has been named medical director of the electrophysiology laboratories at University Hospital.  Dr. Porterfield is well recognized nationally and internationally for his work.  He attended medical school and did his internal medicine residency at the University of Tennessee.  Dr. Porterfield then did a fellowship in cardiology and electrophysiology at Harvard University (Peter Bent Brigham Hospital).  He then returned to Memphis where he opened the first cardiac electrophysiology laboratory in the country.  Dr. Porterfield is the first private practice electrophysiologist in the United States.

 He has been listed in Best Doctors in America, and is credited for inserting the first internal cardiac defibrillator in Memphis.  He performed the first radiofrequency ablation procedure in the region and invented an electrophysiologic catheter aptly named the Porterfield Catheter that is used worldwide.  He also developed an award-winning program -- the first educational computer program in the world for patients to answer questions about implantable defibrillators.  Dr. Porterfield has made this program available to all patients worldwide free of charge.

Saint Francis Medical Partners Opens New Location

Saint Francis Medical Partners has opened up a third primary care clinic in the Memphis area.  The new clinic is located at 1144 N. Houston Levee Rd. in Cordova, one half mile south of Macon Rd.

The internal medicine practice will be staffed by Detra Tisdale, M.D.  Dr. Tisdale is Board Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a member of the Society of General Internal Medicine.

Saint Francis Medical Partners is a growing network of employed and affiliated primary care physicians that will strengthen the alignment between Saint Francis Healthcare and its physician partners said Kem Mullins, Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett CEO.

Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital Names Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Patient Care

Diane Ridgway rejoins Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital as chief operating officer and vice president of patient care.

Ridgway previously served as chief operating officer of WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Ga. 

Ridgway graduated from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in Nursing and later earned an MBA from the University of Memphis.

St Jude Ching-Hon Pui, M.D., Recognized with AACR Award

Ching-Hon Pui, M.D., a world renowned leukemia physician and researcher at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, is the recipient of the 2011 Joseph H. Burchenal Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Research from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

The AACR Joseph H. Burchenal Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Research is presented to a scientist who has made exceptional achievements in clinical cancer research. Pui accepted the award during the 102nd AACR Annual Meeting, in Orlando, Fla.

Pui is chair of the Department of Oncology at St. Jude and an American Cancer Society Professor. Additionally, he is co-leader of the hospital’s Hematological Malignancies Program; medical director of the St. Jude International Outreach China Program; and holder of the Fahad Nassar Al-Rashid Chair of Leukemia Research.

Pui has played a key role in a series of treatment protocols responsible for raising cure rates of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common childhood cancer, from about 70 percent in the early 1980s to an unprecedented 90 percent at St. Jude today. His work has shown that cranial irradiation, once regarded as a standard treatment for childhood ALL, can be omitted altogether, thus sparing patients from devastating side effects and enhancing their quality of life.

More recently, his treatment approach resulted in a remarkably high cure rate approaching 90 percent in older adolescents with ALL. Pui’s team pioneered the use of pharmacodynamics and pharmacogenetics to individualize chemotherapy and to optimize the use of existing drugs; and used genome-wide analyses to accurately classify leukemias, to identify cooperative genetic mutations of leukemic cells and molecular targets for therapy, and to disclose host genes associated with the development of leukemia.

TMA Annual Meeting Notes

The Tennessee Medical Association adopted new policies to waive treatment limits on the sickest TennCare patients, ban the “bath salts” designer drug, and regulate medical spas not affiliated with physician offices or outpatient surgery centers during its 176th annual meeting in Nashville in April.

The statewide physician’s organization also heard briefings on health reform and the budget crisis from Tennessee’s Congressional delegation, installed new officers, presented annual awards and hosted a number of educational classes and forums during MedTenn 2011.

Resolutions of Interest

The TMA’s policy-making body, the House of Delegates (HOD), took action on a variety of issues facing Tennessee doctors and their patients.

Among a slate of 13 resolutions were the following decisions:

• The TMA will petition the Haslam administration to make modifications to the TennCare II Demonstration Project to assign the sickest patients to patient‐centered medical homes (PCMH); waive limits on their care and treatment; and provide more compensation for PCMH care.

• The TMA will support or seek legislation to ban the sale or use of the “bath salts” designer drug.

• The TMA will seek to expand the definition of the practice of medicine in Tennessee to include all aesthetic medical and surgical procedures, and seek legislation to regulate all medical spas to the same extent as those affiliated with physician offices or outpatient surgical centers.

• It is now the TMA’s official position that Tennessee’s Certificate of Need (CON) law does not promote or encourage competitive markets, economic efficiencies or the continued development or quality of the healthcare industry.

• Official TMA policy now states that physicians do not have an ethical obligation to accept nonemergency consultations, and hospitals should fairly compensate those who do.

• The TMA will oppose any restrictions on physicians offering certain medical procedures and services they are properly trained and have demonstrated their qualifications for, such as imaging, as well as oppose insurance company efforts to pay less for such services based on where the service is rendered.

New Officers

In addition to Dr. Michael Minch’s installation as president, delegates to the annual meeting installed the following leaders for 2011-2012:

•  Dr. Wiley T. Robinson, a Memphis internist and hospitalist, will serve as president-elect for 2011‐2012, and serve on the TMA Board of Trustees.

• Dr. Keith G. Anderson, a Germantown cardiologist, is the new vice‐chairman of the TMA Board.

• Dr. John W. Hale, Jr., family physician from Union City, will serve as speaker of the TMA House of Delegates (HOD).

Baptist Memorial Hospital Memphis and Desoto Recognized

U.S. News and World Report magazine recently released a report ranking Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis and Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto among the top hospitals in the Memphis metro area.

To be included in the metro area report, a hospital had to score in the top 25 percent among its peers in at least one medical specialty, and Baptist Memphis and Baptist DeSoto were named “high performing” in a total of six specialties.

Four Baptist Memphis specialties, gastroenterology, heart and heart surgery, kidney disorders and orthopedics, were named “high performing.”

This recognition comes right after receiving the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence from HealthGrades for the fourth year in a row according to Derick Ziegler, administrator and CEO at Baptist Memphis.

Gastroenterology and urology were the two services ranked “high performing” at Baptist DeSoto.

The new rankings recognize 622 hospitals in or near major cities with a record of high performance in 16 key medical specialties, including 132 of the 152 hospitals already identified as the best in the nation. There are nearly 5,000 hospitals nationwide.

Tags:

Related:

Bookmark:

Digg

Facebook

Technorati

Newsvine

Google