November Grand Rounds on Mississippi Medical News

November Grand Rounds

Dr. Phillip Ley Performs Gene-Based Testing for Breast Cancer at Woman's Hospital

FLOWOOD —
Dr. Phillip Ley, breast surgical oncologist on staff at Woman's Hospital, has brought Molecular Medicine to the OR in Mississippi. Woman's Hospital is the first site in Mississippi and one of the first sites in the United States to use this new technology.

Dr. Ley performs 4-5 procedures a week and has performed over 100 procedures to-date.

The manufacturer of GeneSearch™ Breast Lymph Node (BLN) Assay, Veridex – the Advanced Oncology Diagnostic Division of Johnson & Johnson, approached Dr. Ley because of his breast focus.

The company thought that Dr. Ley would be a good outlet for dispersing GeneSearch information into the community.

The GeneSearch™ BLN Assay can detect the spread of cancer into the lymph nodes more accurately than existing rapid methodologies and, as a result, has the potential to reduce the need for stressful and costly second surgeries for breast cancer patients. The process relies heavily on the Woman's Hospital laboratory. Kay Martin, Assistant Director of the Lab, has been specially trained through the FDA process. Only those that are directly trained can determine test results.

Hattiesburg Clinic Physical Therapy Opens New Clinic

Hattiesburg Clinic Department of Physical Therapy began seeing patients in their new facility, Poplarville Orthopedic and Sports Rehabilitation, on September 29.

Ryan Woods, PT, will provide rehabilitation services at the new facility. Woods is a graduate of The University of Southern Mississippi where he received a bachelor's degree in nursing. He received his Master's in Physical Therapy degree from University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss. Woods is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association and the Mississippi Physical Therapy Association.

The new clinic is located at 1403 South Main Street in Poplarville.

Dr. Gregory Gravell joins Rush Foundation Hospital

MERIDIAN — Rush Health Systems is pleased to announce that Gregory Gravell, M.D. has joined the staff of Rush Foundation Hospital in the practice of anesthesiology.

Dr. Gravell completed his undergraduate studies at University of Florida and University of West Florida. He holds a Masters and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida. In 2004, he completed his Medical Degree from the University of South Alabama and completed his residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center Department of Anesthesiology in June, 2008.

Dr. E. Vereen Farrar joins Family Medical Clinic

MERIDIAN — Rush Health Systems is pleased to announce that E. Vereen Farrar, M.D. has joined the staff of Family Medical Clinic, Meridian and will be joining Marc Fisher, MD and Eddie Ulmer, MD in the practice of Family Medicine.

Dr. Farrar completed her undergraduate studies at Auburn University. She received her Doctorate of Medicine from The University of South Alabama College of Medicine in 2001. She is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Hattiesburg Clinic Nuclear Cardiology Departments Receive Accreditation

Hattiesburg Clinic's three nuclear cardiology departments were recently granted accreditation by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Nuclear Medicine Laboratories (ICANL).

Nuclear cardiology testing is a noninvasive procedure that evaluates the heart at rest and during exercise in order to detect the presence of cardiovascular disease and uncover important information regarding the occurrence of future heart attacks. A complex imaging technique, nuclear cardiology testing relies on the experience and training of both physician and the technologist.

Hattiesburg Clinic is one of the first nuclear cardiology laboratories in the United States to be recognized for its commitment to high quality patient care and diagnostic testing.

Dr. Leland Lou joins Rush Pain Treatment Center

Dr. Lou specializes in the practice of Interventional Pain Management.

Dr. Lou completed his undergraduate, masters and doctorate degrees from Tulane University in New Orleans. He also completed an anesthesiology residency and fellowship at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Dr. Lou has served on the editorial boards for two medical journals: Pain Practice and Pain Physician. In addition, Dr. Lou has co-authored two books: Radiographic Imaging for Regional Anesthesia and Pain Management and Interventional Pain Management: Image-Guided Procedures.

Dr. Gregory Auzenne joins Rush Pain Treatment Center

Dr. Gregory Auzenne specializes in the practice of Interventional Pain Management.

Dr. Auzenne completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Texas, Austin and his maters degree at the University of Texas, El Paso. He received his doctorate degree from The University of Texas Science Center at San Antonio Medical School and completed an anesthesiology internship and residency at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Most recently, he completed a pain management fellowship at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas.

Dr. Jennifer Rodriguez Joins Rush Medical Group

Dr. Jennifer Rodriguez will be joining Rush Medical Group in the practice of interventional cardiology.

Dr. Rodriguez completed her undergraduate studies at Dartmouth College and received her doctorate of medicine from the University of Texas Health Science Center. She completed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Dr. Rodriguez also completed a fellowship in Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch and The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas.

Robot-Assisted Surgery Proving Beneficial In Kidney Surgery

For several years, minimally invasive surgery, or laparoscopic surgery, has enhanced the way surgeons at St. Dominic Hospital have performed a variety of procedures. Robot-assisted surgery is a specialized form of minimally invasive surgery in the areas of prostate and gynecological cancer surgery and other treatments. Now, patients requiring kidney surgery can benefit from Jackson's first and only 3-D, HD Robotic Surgical System, found only at St. Dominic Hospital.

Dr. Patrick Daily, surgeon, said St. Dominic's new da Vinci Robotic Surgical System is especially beneficial for patients undergoing a complete nephrectomy, or removal of a kidney, as well as a partial nephrectomy and tumor removal.

Daily said the ability to remove a small portion of the kidney provides better results for the patient and is often all that is needed to eradicate a tumor or other non-functioning section.

Daily said the success surgeons are experiencing with the da Vinci robotic system in the area of kidney surgery at St. Dominic's is similar to advancements in the treatment of prostate and gynecological surgeries.

Laurel Heart Care Center Relocates to New Facility

The Laurel Heart Care Center, a service of Hattiesburg Clinic, began seeing
patients in their new facility on Monday, September 29.

In addition to seeing cardiology patients for office visits, the Center will also perform stress testing, echocardiography, holter monitors, EKGs, pacemaker interrogation, and lab work.

Providers at this facility are Joseph Proli, M.D., Wassim Mouannes, M.D., Bassam Mechleb, M.D., Scott Parker, ACNP, and Brandi Garris, ACNP.

The new facility is located at 404 South 13th Avenue in Laurel, on the corner of 13thAvenue and Jefferson Street.

Southern Miss Researchers Find Decrease in Obesity Among Mississippi Children

HATTIESBURG — Mississippi children may be losing weight, as a recent study by University of Southern Mississippi researchers revealed.

Southern Miss professors of nutrition, social work, nursing, human performance and recreation and contributors from the Mississippi Department of Health studied data since 2003 that included 486,427 students in 888 public schools across the state. The Body Mass Index (BMI) of each student was computed and basic demographics were collected.

Data revealed that middle school students had the largest decline in weight in 2007 with 22.8 percent of children considered obese, compared to 28.9 percent in 2005. High school students also showed a decrease of 20.8 percent last year, compared to 23.5 percent in 2005. Elementary school children showed little change in obesity rates. The Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend the use of BMI to screen for overweight and obesity in children and teens from age 2-19. Equal to or greater than the 95th percentile is categorized as obese, 95th to 85th percentile is considered overweight.

Contributing factors to the decrease are not yet known, but a recent surge in healthy education awareness could have played a role.

This research, published in the August 2008 Journal of the Mississippi State Medical Association, was funded by The Bower Foundation, an organization that has provided funding and assistance to create the Office of Healthy Schools with the Mississippi Department of Education. The Office of Healthy Schools offers a system of coordinated school health services to 152 school districts to assist them in developing organizations that make the connection between good student health and high academic achievement.

Dementia Expert To Present Tupelo Programs

TUPELO, Miss.-North Mississippi Medical Center will present two free programs to help caregivers deal with dementia on Tuesday, Nov. 18.

P.K. Beville, founder of Second Wind Dreams® and Geriatric Specialists, will be the guest speaker for both events. Beville authored the Virtual Dementia Tour, a sensitivity training tool widely used by hospitals, nursing homes and other organizations that work with senior adults. 

"The Lights are Dim but Somebody's Home: How to Understand and Care for People with Dementia" is the title for A Woman's Place Lunchtime Learning Series planned for noon Nov. 18 at First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall. Beville will address the latest research and how it impacts the day to day treatment of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and dementia.  

Advance registration is requested for the lunchtime program, which is sponsored by the Health Care Foundation of North Mississippi. Lunch will be provided for those who preregister by Friday, Nov. 14, by calling 1-800-THE DESK (1-800-843-3375).  

Beville has experience as a professional caregiver, caregiver researcher and family caregiver herself. She began working with elders in 1983 and has designed and implemented mental health services that are currently provided in 800 nursing homes nationwide. She co-authored Second Wind, a novel about the positive, upbeat aspects of aging, and is president of Geriatric Specialists, a consulting firm specializing in instructing, programming and counseling in all facets of elder care.

Hattiesburg Clinic's Breast Center Receives Accreditation

Hattiesburg Clinic's Breast Center recently received accreditation by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Magnetic Resonance Laboratories (ICAMRL) in the area of breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The Breast Center is currently the only facility in the state of Mississippi and the third in the United States to hold this distinction in the area of breast MRI.

The Breast Center is a premiere breast imaging provider for South Mississippi that offers one of the area's first digital mammography machines and houses the state's only dedicated breast MRI machine. The Breast Center is also accredited by the American College of Radiology (ACR) in digital mammography and breast ultrasound. The Breast Center also offers bone densitometry, ultrasound guided biopsies, and MRI guided breast biopsies.

KDMC Achieves Gold Certification For Reporting Practices With Cancer Cases

King's Daughters Medical Center
recently achieved gold certification status as a result of its reporting practices as a result of the timely, complete and high quality of cancer patient data submitted to the Mississippi Cancer Registry.

Across the state, 97 hospitals reported cancer data resulting from patients diagnosed with the disease. Only a third of the hospitals reporting received the gold certification. To receive such a distinction, hospitals must have accurately submitted at least 95 percent of expected volume of cancer cases diagnosed and/or receiving first course of treatment at the hospital. Data includes patient's age, gender, residing city, and race.

Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi Elects 2008-2009 Board Members

The Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi recently elected its 2008-2009 Board of Directors. See the attached photos and cutlines below for a list of these individuals. Board members are selected based on their degree of community involvement, leadership abilities and their interest in fighting one of the worst diseases of the 21st century.

SRH Celebrates MICU Re-Opening

Singing River Hospital celebrated the re-opening of the Medical Intensive Care Unit with a ribbon-cutting and brief ceremony Tuesday.

The eight-bed unit was closed for four months while being completed renovated by Singing River Hospital's Facilities Support Department.

Upgrades to the space include a redesigned nurses station that accommodates modern technology, new lighting throughout the unit, and new electronics in all patient rooms, said Suzie Russell, SRH Director of Critical Care Services.

SRH Administrator Lynn Truelove said the renewal process is ongoing in hospitals. "This is first class," Truelove said of the MICU project.

The work was completed entirely by the SRH Facilities Support Department. During construction, patients were redirected to the Neuro Intensive Care Unit and Surgical Intensive Care Unit at SRH.