Vol. 2, Issue 3

Feb. 6, 2006

IOEs - Creative Educational Models

Public Health Students Help with Post-Katrina Recovery. (Click here for photos). Five USF College of Public Health students and one alumnus received valuable field experience Jan. 27-30 in New Orleans, assisting with population surveys critical to disaster recovery planning. The information collected will help federal, state and non-profit agencies more effectively allocate resources, such food and medicines, infrastructure, schools, and law enforcement and emergency services, to residents remaining in New Orleans.Working with staff from the city's Emergency Operations Center

and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the students prepared survey packets, coordinated volunteers, went door-to-door in Orleans Parish to conduct surveys, and entered population data. "Assistance provided by the students will make a real difference in the quality of data by which we proceed with recovery efforts," said Nathaniel Weaver, administrative analyst for the New Orleans EOC.  The students were Marilyn Williams and Anthony Barone, EOH; Donna Shanklin and Yves Pierre Louis, Global Health; Jackie Wertel, Disaster Management certificate program; and Dr. Richard Kheune, a COPH alumnus. 
 

• The City of Knowledge Foundation's Board of Trustees Jan. 19 approved USF's proposal to establish a Public Health Program in Panama, sponsored by the USF College of Public Health. The public health program will educate leaders and professionals of the Americas, generate financial support for scientific research projects in alliance with the City of Knowledge, link education and research activities with field work initiatives, and promote health services improvements in the Panama region.  

IOEs - Research Really Matters

·        USF Rheumatologist Awarded NIH Grant.  Evaluating the potential benefit of combination antibiotic therapy for Chlamydia-induced reactive arthritis is the aim of a $415,000 National Institutes of Health grant awarded to John Carter, MD, an assistant professor in the Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine. The two-year study will be funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.  The clinical trial arm will follow patients treated with a prolonged regimen of combined antibiotics. The in vitro arm will determine if the same combination of antibiotics can clear infection from mononuclear cells infected with persistent Chlamydia trachomatis, a known trigger for reactive arthritis. Reactive arthritis arises after certain genitourinary and gastrointestinal infections. Dr. Carter, the grant's principal investigator, will collaborate with international experts from the U.S., Canada and Germany.
 

• David Morgan, PhD, professor of Pharmacology and Molecular Therapeutics, presented "Microglial activation in APP transgenic mice." Jan. 23, Winter Conference on Brain Research,  Steamboat Springs, CO.
   
• Kathleen Rockefeller, PT, ScD, MPH, MS, assistant professor of Physical Therapy, will co-present at the V.A. Patient Safety Center's March 2006 Conference on Safe Patient Handling and Movement in Clearwater Beach.  Dr. Rockefeller will speak on developments in "Therapeutic Use of Patient Handling Equipment," a program coordinated by the American Physical Therapy Association, the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses and the American Occupational Therapy Association.  The conference presentation continues work done by Dr. Rockefeller as an APTA appointee to the National Task Force that published a white paper on safe patient handling in 2005.
   
• Paul Sanberg, PhD, DSc, Distinguished University Professor and director of the Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair, has been identified as one of the "top patenters" in the life sciences. The U.S. Patents and Trademarks Office places Dr. Sanberg, among 400 other researchers, above the 99^th percentile in number of patents held – researchers with 17 or more patents since 1976. 
   
• Kuzmenok OI, Sanberg PR, Desjarlais TG, Bennett SP, Garbuzova-Davis SN, Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair and Biochemistry, "Lymphopenia and spontaneous autorosette formation in SOD1 mouse model of ALS," Journal of Neuroimmunology, Dec 22, 2005.
   
• John I Malone, David D Cuthbertson, Michael A Malone, Douglas D Schocken, Diabetes Center, "Cardio-protective Effects of Carnitine in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Rats," Cardiovascular Diabetology, 5 (1):2, Jan. 19, 2006.
   
• Mary Evans, PhD, professor of Nursing, "Developing a parent-professional team leadership model in group work: Work with families with children experiencing behavioral and emotional problems," by Ruffolo, M. C., Kuhn, M. T., & Evans, M. E. (2006), was published in Social Work, 51 (1), 39-47. 
   
• Janine Overcash, PhD, ARNP, professor of Nursing,  "Comprehensive geriatric assessment in the older person with cancer, In Cope & Reb (eds), An Evidence-Based Approach to the Treatment and Care of the Older Adult with Cancer, Oncology Nursing Society. 
   
• Adrienne Berarducci, PhD, ARNP, associate professor of Nursing, "Continuous Heat Therapy: Can It Have an Impact?" Arthritis Practitioner, January/February 2006.  

IOEs - Entrepreneurial Academic Practice

USF Health's Ronald McDonald Care Mobile Visits First School.  (Click here for photos.) Aboard USF Health's new Ronald McDonald Care Mobile (RMCM), the Department of Pediatrics team made a site visit Feb. 1 to its first  Hillsborough County public school. The van, which houses patient exam rooms, a laboratory, and medical records and reception areas, visited Memorial Middle School in Tampa where  practitioners examined 10 students.The team included

Lynn Ringenberg, MD, USF Health Pediatric Director; Tana Bierce, LPN; Linda Nelson, ARNP; Steve Kennedy, MD (Pediatric Resident); Tammy Fleming (AllScripts); Jeannette Fleishman, ARNP; Alvin Khadaroo (Driver); and Shawn Conrad (USF IT). USF Health's vehicle joins 27 other RMCMs across the country – one of only three in Florida -- providing free medical and dental preventive services to underserved children. USF Health's RMCM, the only van associated with an academic medical center, will travel to seven Hillsborough County schools, The Spring of Tampa Bay, the Joshua House and Metropolitan Ministries.

IOEs - Operational/Financial Innovation

• Physicians Group Selects Allscripts for Electronic Health Record Initiative.  The USF Physicians Group of USF Health has selected and will invest more than $2 million in Allscripts' TouchWorks™ Electronic Health Record as the cornerstone of an ambitious, $15-million program to create a national center of healthcare excellence. An integrated electronic health records system is at the core of USF Health's commitment to provide patients the highest quality, best technology and most personal service. "The selection and implementation of Allscripts advanced solutions is critical to the development of our new Centers for Advanced Healthcare and will position USF Physicians Group at USF Health as the clear leader in the region," said Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, Vice President for USF Health and Dean of the College of Medicine.

IOEs - People Excellence

What the Buzz? Mini-Med School 2006 a Crowd Pleaser!  More than 260 people attended each session of USF Health's Mini-Med School on Jan. 30 and Feb. 6 at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Master of ceremonies Jay Wolfson, DrPH, JD, associate vice president and Distinguished Service Professor of Public Health and Medicine, launched the free community outreach series with an overview how USF Health is working to make life better by focusing on the continuum of health. A standing ovation to the crowd-pleasing faculty who spoke: Anne Curtis, MD, Division of Cardiology; Janine

• Twenty-seven women and nine men have been selected from a pool of highly qualified applicants to become the USF Doctor of Physical Therapy Class of 2009.  Coveted slots in the 36-member class – the second DPT class in the College of Medicine's School of Physical Therapy – were filled using a "rolling admissions" process and attracted many of the best students in the state and country. The class overall undergraduate GPA was 3.55, with an average GPA of 3.65 in upper division courses. USF was the first public university in Florida to receive state approval for a DPT program, and the School of Physical Therapy welcomed its charter DPT class in August 2005. 
   
• J. Robert Hamill, MD, clinical associate professor, Division of Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery, Internal Medicine, was recently awarded the "Practitioner of the Year Award" by the Florida Society of Dermatologic Surgery.  In December, Dr. Hamill also received the "Volunteer Faculty of the Year Award", an annual award bestowed by the Division of Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery.  
   
• Christopher Crotty, MD, clinical assistant professor, Division of Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery, Internal Medicine, was recognized in the January 2006 edition of Dermatology World, a publication of the American Academy of Dermatology, for his extensive volunteer experience in the "Members Making a Difference" column.
   
• Neil A. Fenske, MD, professor and director of Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery, Internal Medicine, recently made a presentation to physicians in Raleigh, NC, regarding eczema.  He collaborated with country singer LeAnn Rimes, who gave a personal testimonial about her experience growing up and suffering with chronic eczema.
  
  

  Neil Shulman, MD, the inspiration behind the 1991 major motion picture "Doc Hollywood" starring Michael J. Fox, introduced his new movie "Who Nose" to faculty, staff and students Jan. 26 at the USF College of Nursing.  Dr. Shulman also interacted with the nursing audience, demonstrating approaches by which humor can be incorporated into the daily lives of health providers to improve communication and create a sense of well-being. (Click here for

  photos.) Dr. Shulman also was a speaker for the USF Health 2006 Dean's Lecture Series later in the day.