UAB Wins $5.7 Million Neurofibromatosis Grant
A team of UAB geneticists, doctors and biostatisticians has received $5.7 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to study and test new treatments for neurofibromatosis, or NF. UAB is the lead research center in a nine-institution group called the NF Consortium, which was formed to manage multiple clinical trials held across the nation looking at new therapeutic options for patients diagnosed with NF.
Bruce Korf, MD, PhD, chair of the UAB Department of Genetics and an expert in neurofibromatosis type 1, said the goal of the consortium is to streamline and improve the way clinical trials are performed for this disease, and to break down past barriers to discovering and testing cutting-edge NF treatments.
“We expect results from the NF Consortium studies to provide a wider range of therapeutic options for patients with the goal of reducing the rates of tumor growth, and improving quality of life,” Korf said.
OSA Hosts Open House at Shelby Location
On November 1st, Orthopaedic Specialists of Alabama hosted a Football Fever Tailgate Open House in celebration of their newly expanded clinic and office space at OSA’s Shelby Baptist Medical Center location. The event was hosted by Andrew Cordover, MD, Daryl Dykes, MD, Chad Mathis, MD and David Ostrowski, MD.
Many guests brought along their families, who were entertained by music and fightsongs by Platinum Entertainment. Two team mascots danced with guests and posed for pictures all evening. Buddy’s BBQ in Alabaster catered a cookout, while the physicians and staff of OSA gave the guests tours of the clinic. Along with new clinic space, and large waiting room, OSA showcased their new therapy rooms where both physical and occupational therapy are carried out on site.
Birmingham-based AirMed International Wins Award
Birmingham-based AirMed International won the Air Ambulance Provider of the Year Award at the 15th annual ITIJ Awards Ceremony held in Venice, Italy. AirMed was the only U.S. finalist for the award, competing against other well-respected companies from Canada and Europe.
“We are honored with this award from ITIJ,” said Jeffrey Tolbert, President and CEO of AirMed International. “It is our ongoing mission to provide exceptional transportation and patient care on a worldwide basis and to be recognized with this award is a tremendous acknowledgment of our efforts.”
Flying over 2500 transport missions each year, AirMed is the country’s leading air ambulance service, offering bedside-to-bedside transportation on a worldwide basis. The company covers more than 1 million people in the state of Alabama, providing air medical benefits to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama members.
Huntsville MGMA Sponsoring Seminar
The Huntsville MGMA and Huntsville Hospital are sponsoring a seminar on February 8, 2008. Don Self of Don Self & Associates will speak on reimbursement and collections, focusing on methods of increasing practice income. The seminar will be good for 5.25 CEU. For information, email mgma_hsv @yahoo.com.
HWCF Declares Dividends
As of November 14, 2007, The Healthcare Workers’ Compensation Fund Board of Trustees, has approved a dividend of over $290,000, which will be paid to eligible Members on or about April 1, 2008. Chairman of HWCF, Allen Fletcher, President and CEO of Northeast Regional Medical Center said “the HWCF Board is pleased with the success of HWCF and is pleased to return a dividend to its members.”
$11.5 Million NIH Grant to UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center an $11.5 million renewal grant of its Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in breast cancer from the National Cancer Institute.
The UAB breast cancer SPORE is among 11 such projects funded nationally. Since its inception more than five years ago, the UAB program has grown into one of the most productive and highest-ranked efforts to combat the disease.
UAB Researches Methods to Improve Emergency Response Time
UAB researchers have embarked on a project that will evaluate methods to improve emergency response time to automobile collisions.
“In urban areas, it is becoming more of a worry that traffic congestion increases the time it takes emergency medical personnel to arrive at an injury site. It also increases the time it takes to transport an injured person from the scene to a trauma center,” said Russ Fine, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., director of the UAB Injury Control Research Center.
Gerald McGwin, Jr., M.S., Ph.D., principal investigator for this project and professor of epidemiology at UAB, says that the results of this research could be used to implement a plan of action that would enable EMS personnel to minimize the response and transportation time.
Whitley Slated to Lead Professional Society
Rich Whitley, MD, FIDSA, director of the UAB Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital, has been elected vice president and president-elect of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). Whitley is vice-chair of the UAB Department of Pediatrics, the Loeb Eminent Scholar Chair in Pediatrics and professor of Pediatrics, Microbiology, Medicine and Neurosurgery.
Whitley’s term as vice president began last month. He will assume the role of president-elect in October 2008, president in 2009 and past- president the following year. He has been a member of IDSA since 1981.
Barlow Appointed Departmental Director at Children’s
Vanessa Barlow, RN, BSN, MBA, of Alabaster has been appointed departmental director of Inpatient Child-Adolescent Behavior Health at Children’s Hospital.
Barlow earned her undergraduate degree in nursing at Troy University and her master’s of business administration from the University of Phoenix. She comes to Children’s Hospital from GrandView Behavioral Health Center in Montgomery where she served as Clinic Director.
Barlow has received numerous professional awards during her career, including the Outstanding Nurse Administrator Award from the Alabama State Nurses Association and Nurse of the Year by Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc., Sigma Eta Chapter. She is a Life Member of Who’s Who and is listed in Who’s Who in American Nursing, Who’s Who in American Women and Who’s Who in Young Professional Women. She is a charter member of the Alabama Chapter of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association and has served that organization as secretary and vice president.
December 2007