Deaconess HomeCare is Named Nurse Employer of the Year

Deaconess HomeCare (DHC) was awarded with the Nurse Employer of the Year Award by The Mississippi Nurses Association and The Mississippi Nurses Foundation.  Penny Lovitt, VP of Professional Services, and Grace Flynt, RN, Regional Manager, were presented with the award at the Mississippi Nightingale Awards Gala held at the Marriott Hotel in Jackson, MS recently.

 The Nurse Employer of the Year Award recognizes an employer of registered nurses that demonstrates recognition for professional nursing and innovation in leadership.  The recipient of this award is selected based on the following criteria:  length of time organization has been in business, history of the organization, description of the organization’s most significant contribution to the healthcare industry and nursing profession, comments from RN staff, demonstration of RN recognition program within the organization, demonstration of  support of RN professional development, turnover of RN staff, and demonstration of support of RN participation in professional organizations.

Hattiesburg Clinic Executive Earns Top Healthcare Management Credential

Alan Hale, assistant chief operating officer for Hattiesburg Clinic, recently became a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).  Fellow status represents achievement of the highest standard of professional development with only 7,500 healthcare executives holding this distinction.  Candidates must fulfill multiple requirements, including passing a comprehensive examination, meeting academic and and experiential criteria, earning continuing education credits and demonstrating professional and community involvement.

Hale received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Mississippi State University in Starkville, Miss. He also received a master’s degree in Health Administration from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Ga.  Hale  is a member of the Medical Group Management Association and a Certified Medical Practice Executive in the American College of Medical Practice Executives.

MS Hospital Association Health, Research & Educational Foundation Awarded National Jobs Initiative Grant

The Mississippi Hospital Association Health, Research & Educational Foundation has been awarded a $437,750 grant to help advance the careers of frontline health care workers by providing training to build skills, increase earning potential, and improve the quality of care and services that patients receive. The Mississippi Jobs to Careers Initiative was one of eight selected nationwide through Jobs to Careers: Promoting Work-Based Learning for Quality Care, a national initiative that supports a variety of projects to develop the skills of workers who deliver direct health care and services.

The grant will allow the Mississippi Jobs to Careers Initiative to implement the program in Jackson, Mississippi, through a partnership between the Mississippi Office of Nursing Workforce, Central Mississippi Medical Center and Hinds Community College. The initiative, managed by the Office of Nursing Workforce, will be introduced to frontline workers such as nursing assistants, housekeeping and clerical workers from Central Mississippi

Medical Center. It will provide them with opportunities to increase their skills in order to reduce high turnover rates and vacancies among ancillary staff, especially unit service clerks, and to improve the quality of care provided to consumers.

Central Mississippi Medical Center will be responsible for developing and defining training curriculum, creating new human resources policies to include career ladders for frontline workers with wage increases,  recognition, and rewards, while establishing a work ethic needed to sustain a continual work-based learning model. Hinds Community College will develop courses, policies, and processes to provide classes to staff on the medical center’s campus. Curricula will be developed and implemented to provide short-term, challenging blocks of instruction for the worker to take and apply immediately in the health care setting and to provide certificates and academic credits for learning accomplishments.

Heart Association Gives Nod to Oxidative Stress Research

Dr. Istvan Arany of Madison, professor of pediatrics, received an American Heart Association Grant in Aid award for his study, “p66shc Mediates Death of Renal Proximal Tubular Cells Under Oxidative Stress.”

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and serious problem in clinical medicine. Besides its high mortality rate among patients in the intensive care units, it also could contribute to the progression of pre-existing chronic kidney disease and to the development of end-stage renal disease.

     The long-term goals of these studies are to identify novel targets to promote survival during ischemia-induced acute kidney injury that would also be applicable to other organs that undergo ischemic injury.

National Ataxia Foundation Awards Vig for SCA1 Study

Dr. Parminder Vig of Flora, professor of neurology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, received an award from the National Ataxia Foundation for his study, “Role of Bergmann Glia in Purkinje Cell Development and Pathology in SCA1.”

The long-term objective of this project is to understand the neuron-glial relationship in neuronal degeneration in order to design therapeutic approaches in clinical management of SCA1 or other cerebellar ataxias.

The significance of the present study is that an early identification of abnormal communication pathways between Bergmann glia and Purkinje cells could be targets of potential therapies for pre-symptomatic patients with SCA1.

SBJ Surgeon to Serve on Hip Resurfacing Panel in New York

Dr. Richard Conn of Southern Bone and Joint Specialists, P.A. has been invited to participate in a New York University panel discussion with leading national and international orthopaedic surgeons on hip resurfacing procedures in May.

Conn will be among seven other distinguished orthopaedic surgeons including Dr. Fred Jaffe with the New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases and Dr. Derek McMinn, who developed a hip resurfacing system, an alternative to total hip replacement. They will present on the scientific background, clinical applications and surgical technique associated with hip resurfacing.

Conn is the first physician in the United States to perform a hip resurfacing procedure with the Cormet Hip Resurfacing System, offered exclusively by Stryker in the United States. Conn also trains other surgeons across the country on how to perform the procedure and to select the appropriate patient. Cormet hip resurfacing, an alternative to total hip replacement, was approved in 2007 by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States.

Unlike hip replacement, in which the entire hip joint is replaced, hip resurfacing involves shaping and capping, with an implant, a few centimeters of bone within the hip joint. The implant, made from cobalt chrome, has the potential to last longer than traditional hip implants, experts say, making it an especially attractive option for younger, more active patients.

The technique also offers other advantages over the traditional hip replacements performed in the United States, the experts said. The resurfacing implant is larger than the femoral head used in total hip replacements, offering greater stability and reducing the risk of dislocation, the most common cause of hip replacement failures. It also offers greater range of motion after surgery.

New Gulf Coast Surgery Center Receives Three-Year Accreditation

The New Gulf Coast Surgery Center (NGCSC), an Ambulatory Surgery Center located in Ocean Springs, Mississippi has been awarded a three-year certification from Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). Status as an accredited organization means the New Gulf Coast Surgery Center has successfully passed a series of rigorous nationally recognized standards in the provision of quality health care. Ambulatory health care organizations seeking to achieve this exceptional accreditation undergo a two-day extensive on-site peer based survey of its facilities and services.

Sisson Joins Wesley Medical Center as COO

Travis Sisson has recently joined Wesley Medical Center as Chief Operating Officer.  Sisson graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce and Business Administration from The University of Alabama.  He received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Travis most recently served as Chief Operating Officer at NorthShore Regional Medical Center in Slidell, Louisiana where he was responsible for Radiology, Lab, EVS, Dietary, Therapy services, Engineering, Pharmacy, Medical Staff Affairs and Contract Administration.  While in Slidell, Travis was the 2004 Heart Walk Champion, raising a record $30,000 for the American Heart Association.  He was also an active member of the Slidell NorthShore Rotary Club.

Prior to serving at NorthShore, Sisson served as Administrative Resident, Director of Hotel Services, Director of Support Services and Assistant Vice President of Operations at Brookwood Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama.

Magnolia Regional Health Center Breaks Ground on New Cancer Center

Magnolia Regional Health Center recently announced it has begun construction on its new cancer care facility. Expected to be completed by November 2008, The Cancer Center at Magnolia will enable patients to receive the most advanced cancer care in northeast Mississippi.

A 17,000 square-foot comprehensive care facility, The Cancer Center at Magnolia will offer state-of-the-art radiation therapy technology, including Intensity Modulated  Radiation Therapy (IMRT) and Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT); integrated medical oncology and chemotherapy services; clinical research offices; and supportive care services and resources for patients and families. Medical oncology services will be provided by the West Clinic and radiation oncology services will be provided by Radiation Oncology of North Mississippi.

The Cancer Center at Magnolia will enable physicians, hospital staff and supportive care professionals to collaborate and focus on patient care and satisfaction. It will also offer complete information on prevention, screenings and cancer care education.

New Additions to Medical Staff at Central Mississippi Medical Center

Central Mississippi Medical Center is please to welcome Dr. Rhonda Odom-Funches  and Dr. John C. Farmer  to its medical staff and Dr. Elizabeth Tice to its Wound Management Center.

Funches is a Family Medicine practitioner who is affiliated with Grace & Mercy Family Health Clinic. Shereceived her medical degree from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She completed an internship and residency in Family Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She is a member of the Student National Medical Association, Mississippi Medical and Surgical Association and the Young Scientist Program.

Farmer is a board certified internal medicine practitioner who comes to CMMC from his solo practice in Chicago, Illinois. He received his undergraduate degree from Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi. He obtained his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts in 1974. He completed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Illinois.

Tice is a Podiatrist who received her DPM from Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. She completed a Podiatric Surgical Residency at Saint Michael’s Medical Center in Newark, NJ and a Podiatric Surgical Residency at the Presbyterian Medical Center at the University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia, PA. She has also completed a Wound Management Course at Nix Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

University of Mississippi Medical Center Establishes New Faculty Practice

University Physicians (UP), the faculty physician practice of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, in concert with University Hospitals and Health System (UHHS) now comprises University of Mississippi Health Care (UMHC), the clinical programs of the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC).  More than 450 full-time faculty physicians, representing all medical specialties, provide health care to Mississippians and people from across the southeast.  Prior to January 1, 2008, these physicians made up the 17 separate practice plans under the University Clinical Associates.  On January 1, these separate practices organized into a multi-specialty physician group to improve the quality of care for patients, improve patient satisfaction, achieve efficiencies and economies of scale, integrate the physicians more closely with the hospital, and provide more financial stability for support of its missions--education, health care, and research. It also will improve how the Medical Center recruits and retains faculty.

QuadraMed Successfully Transitions QCPR Solution to InterSystems’ CACHÉ Database to Enhance Care and Patient Safety

QuadraMed^® Corporation (Amex:QD) announced recently that Hattiesburg, Miss.-based Forrest General Hospital became the first client to run QuadraMed CPR (QCPR) on CACHÉ^®, the high-performance object database from InterSystems Corporation that makes applications faster and more scalable. The benefits of QCPR on CACHÉ include enhanced reporting capabilities, positioning users to deliver better, safer and more efficient care enterprise-wide. The announcement was made at The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society 2008 Annual Conference & Exhibition held Feb. 24-28 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.

QuadraMed’s support of InterSystems’ CACHÉ database platform is a key feature of its next major release of QCPR, a robust, clinician-oriented electronic health record that is an important part of the company’s Care-Based Revenue Cycle™ portfolio of solutions. These solutions are designed to assist large health systems transform quality care into positive outcomes.

KDMC Announces Changes in Departmental Management

King’s Daughters Medical Center recently announced several managerial changes in various patient care and service departments at the Brookhaven hospital.

Terry Singleton, RN, EMT-P, was appointed as the new manager of the Emergency Department while still fulfilling his previous role as supervisor of Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Mark Lambert, RN/EMT-P was placed in the role of Assistant Manager of EMS. Jaymie Heard, RN, accepted the position of ICU Nurse Manager in the Intensive Care Unit.

New recent additions to KDMC include Walt Wilson in the role of Cardiopulmonary Manager and Othena Redfield as manager for Environmental Services.

Lisa Slay Named Top 40 Under 40

Mississippi Business Journal names Wesley Medical Center Marketing Director Lisa Slay in the Top 40 Under 40, the publication’s annual program that recognizes up-and-coming business leaders under the age of 40.

The Top 40 Under 40 program recognizes Mississippi business leaders who have made important contributions to the state’s progress within their local economies.

Before joining Wesley in 2005, Slay served as director of marketing and public relations for The University of Southern Mississippi and as director of communications for the Office of the Governor under Ronnie Musgrove. She is an alumna of Southern Miss.

Johnson Joins NMMC’s Advanced Wound Care Center

Kevin Johnson, DO, has joined North Mississippi Medical Center’s Advanced Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center.

Dr. Johnson received an associate’s degree from Itawamba Community College in Fulton and graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in  biology from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

After his medical training at Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine in Pikeville, Ky., Dr. Johnson completed his family medicine residency at NMMC’s Family Medicine Residency Center in Tupelo.