Birmingham Heart Clinic Earns Accreditations
Birmingham Heart Clinic (BHC) has been granted a three-year term of accreditation in both nuclear cardiology and computed tomography (CT) by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC).
To earn this accreditation, BHC underwent rigorous examinations of operational and technical components by a panel of experts. The skill of the technologist performing the examination, the type of equipment used, the background and knowledge of the interpreting physician, and quality assurance measures are all critical to ensuring quality patient studies. The IAC only grants accreditation to facilities that are found to be providing quality patient care in compliance with national standards through a comprehensive application process and detailed case study review.
The first accreditation is in nuclear cardiology which refers to testing that assesses cardiac function and blood flow to the heart muscle. By using nuclear procedures, physicians are able to detect the early presence of cardiovascular disease and may also discover important information regarding the potential occurrence of future heart attacks. The second accreditation is in computed tomography, which includes tests such as coronary calcium scoring and coronary or vascular CT angiography. These tests produce special x-ray images allowing physicians to view three-dimensional images of the heart and vessels.
Crouch Named Dean of Samford School of Pharmacy
Dr. Michael A. Crouch has been named dean of Samford University’s McWhorter School of Pharmacy effective July 1, 2014. Crouch currently serves as executive associate dean and professor at East Tennessee State University’s Gatton College of Pharmacy, Johnson City.
The selection follows a national search to replace Dr. Charlie Sands III who resigned in May to pursue medical mission work. Sands continues to serve on the pharmacy school faculty.
“With experience in a variety of pharmacy education programs and within a College of Health Sciences, Dr. Crouch is uniquely qualified to assume the deanship of McWhorter School of Pharmacy,” said Nena F. Sanders, vice provost of Samford’s College of Health Sciences.
A recipient of numerous teaching awards, Crouch has dedicated much of his career to educating pharmacy trainees. He is a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist who also holds added qualifications in cardiology. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and an active member of ASHP and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.
Crouch received his bachelor of science in pharmacy from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He earned his doctor of pharmacy from Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and pursued postgraduate training that included a first-year residency at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, N.C., and a second-year residency, with emphasis in cardiology, at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Crouch has a number of ongoing research initiatives, including investigations involving inter-professional education and other teaching strategies. He has more than 100 scholarly publications, including two books.
MedManagement Receives URAC Accreditation
MedManagement, LLC, CEO Joan C. Ragsdale announced that the Birmingham-based business, has received URAC accreditation as an Independent Review Organization (IRO). Only 66 organizations nationally have received this accreditation.
MedManagement, LLC is also URAC accredited for Health Utilization Management.
MedManagement provides state of the art knowledge-based services to the healthcare industry to facilitate understanding of, and ethical compliance with, the complex regulatory and administrative regulatory requirements in the health care delivery system.
American Healthcare Resources Welcomes New Staff Member
Recruitment expert Mark Morrison joins newly formed American Healthcare Resources (AHR), a medical staffing firm created when American Family Care (AFC), the largest urgent and primary care provider in Alabama, acquired Trinity Medical Contractors (TMC).
Morrison joins the team as Vice President of Sales and Recruiting at AHR, which focuses on physician recruitment, locum tenens, travel nurses, a wide variety of long-term contractual nursing disciplines and short-term per diem staffing for medical doctors, allied nursing professionals and office personnel. Morrison is responsible for all physician recruitment, including full-time and part-time physicians for both AFC and AFC/Doctors Express, as well as nursing services at facilities throughout Alabama.
Previously, Morrison was Vice President of TMC and worked as part of a team focused on long-term nursing contracts with the City of Birmingham and the State of Alabama. Before joining the Trinity team, Morrison was employed by Merial, a division of Merck.
Morrison has a master’s degree in engineering from UAB. He is the founder of Over the Mountain Touchdown Club of Birmingham, a nonprofit group that hosts guest speakers during college football season and created the Bobby Bowden National Collegiate Coach of the Year Award. The club also benefits youth sports in the Birmingham area and organizations such as the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and the American Cancer Society.
SVMIC Declares $7.5 M Dividend
State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Company’s Board of Directors has declared a dividend of $7.5 million to be returned to all policyholders renewing in the twelve-month period following May 15, 2014.
This is the seventh consecutive year SVMIC has declared dividends for its physician policyholders. Policyholders will receive the dividend in the form of a credit on the renewal premium. Additionally, rates will remain unchanged for 2014.
John Mize, Chief Executive Officer, said “As a mutual insurance company, we exist to serve our policyholders. One way we do so is to return dividends when our financial performance is better than expected. We value the loyalty our policyholders have shown to SVMIC over the years, and are committed to helping them through the uncertainties physicians face in healthcare today.”
Since SVMIC’s inception, a total of $335.5 million has been returned to physician policyholders.
Godoy Graduates from Nation’s Only Pediatric Bioethics Program
Tuscaloosa neonatologist Guillermo Godoy, MD recently graduated from the only ethics program in the United States that focuses exclusively on pediatrics.
Godoy treats acutely ill newborns at the Neonatal Intensive Care Units at DCH Regional Medical Center and Northport Medical Center, and he has a joint clinical adjunct professor appointment with the College of Community Health Sciences in the departments of Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology.
The Children’s Mercy Center for Pediatric Bioethics Certificate Program in Pediatric Bioethics is a nine-month program taught by faculty from the Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and the University of Missouri – Kansas City. The program helps clinicians understand common pediatric bioethical issues. This year’s class of 26 graduates included doctors, nurses, chaplains and social workers from the U.S., Canada, Norway and Saudi Arabia.
The program begins and ends with an intensive on-site session in Kansas City. For the rest of the year, students and faculty meet on–line to discuss selected readings. Each student works with faculty mentors to prepare a paper for publication.
The program covers the role of ethics committees, practical techniques in ethics consultation, end-of-life decisions, pediatric palliative care and research ethics.
Trinity Medical Center Names Assistant Chief Nursing Officer
James Epperson has been promoted to Assistant Chief Nursing Officer at Trinity Medical Center. Prior to his promotion, he served as Nurse Director of the CVICU, CVSU and Central Monitoring at Trinity. A registered nurse for 12 years, he has served as a nursing director at Jackson Hospital in Montgomery and at Self Regional Healthcare in Greenwood, SC.
Epperson received his associate’s degree from Jeff State Community College and his bachelor’s degree in nursing from Jacksonville State University. He is currently working towards an MBA from the University of North Alabama.
Tour de Blue Raises Awareness about Prostate Cancer
Cyclists from around the Southeast gathered at the Red Diamond Headquarters in Moody, Alabama on Saturday, April 26th to ride their bicycles either 50, 75 or 100 miles to raise awareness about prostate cancer. The Tour de Blue bicycle ride, which is part of the Alabama Backroads Century Series, attracted over 264 riders with proceeds from the event benefitting the Urology Health Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides free prostate cancer screenings across Alabama, especially in the underserved areas at of the State.
Participating in the Tour de Blue this year were Drs. Eddie Bugg, Bryant Poole, Leon Hamrick, Tom Moody, Scott Tully, Jason Burrus, Rupa Kitchens and not pictured were George Adams and Michael Bivins.
Stewart Named Director of Maternity at CRMC
Cullman Regional Medical Center (CRMC) welcomes Marsena Stewart, CRNP as Director of Maternity. Stewart previously served as the Director of Maternity at CRMC before working as a Nurse Practitioner at ABC Pediatric Clinic, LLC during the past several years.
Stewart graduated from Wallace State in 1994 with an associate degree in nursing. She then obtained both her BSN and MSN from the University of Huntsville. She has seven years of experience in pediatric primary care and 13 years of experience in labor/delivery and newborn care as a registered nurse.
CRMC’s Maternity & Nursery Care Center is located on the second floor of the medical center. Nearly 1,000 new babies are born each year in the CRMC Maternity & Nursery Care Center.
SeniorCare Grand Opening
SeniorCare of Alabama is opening its new doors to the public at 1280 Columbiana Road, Suite 120, Birmingham, AL on Thursday, June 12 from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm. The public is invited to attend this special community open house and ribbon cutting.
The event will include light refreshments, door prizes and guided tours of SeniorCare’s new clinic which has been specifically designed to accommodate the unique needs of the geriatric patient. Members of the SeniorCare staff, which includes Drs. Paul D. Roller, Emily R. Baillio, Tyler D. Stracener, M. Claggett Collins, Harold E. Simon, M. Scott Touger and Cliff Arceneaux, PA-C, and Jacinta Kimani, CRNP, will be available to greet those who attend.
SeniorCare is Alabama’s only geriatric medical practice which focuses on the coordination of all aspects of healthcare for seniors age 65 and older. Our group of experienced providers offers comprehensive care for patients, their families and caregivers.
Our care continuum begins with our new specially designed clinic on Columbiana Road and extends across all patient settings including satellite offices in retirement communities, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, hospital care and even in the home with house calls provided by geriatric specialists.
HealthSouth Lakeshore Physical Therapists Receive Certification
Karlie Brantley, DPT, NCS, and Keri Cao, DPT, NCS of HealthSouth Lakeshore have received the Neurologic Certified Specialist (NCS) designation. This is a board certification in the treatment of patients with neurological deficits granted by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists (ABPTS). Brantley and Cao are two of the six physical therapists in the state of Alabama with this certification.