UAB Researcher Granted $1 Million for Study of Bacteria Passed from Mothers to Babies
New research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry will study the transmission of a bacteria that up to 40 percent of women carry, which becomes deadly when passed on to infants during birth.
Narayana Sthanam, PhD, professor in the Department of Optometry, has been awarded a four-year, $1 million R01 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to further Group B Streptococcus research.
GBS is the leading cause of sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis in a newborn’s first week of life, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Even after extensive preventive screening and treatment of expecting mothers, GBS infects a considerable percentage of neonates, as around 25 percent of mothers pass the GBS pathogen to infants during birth,” Sthanam said.
UAB Medicine Launches State’s First Online Service to Treat Common Medical Conditions
UAB Medicine is the state’s first medical provider to offer online diagnosis and treatment of common conditions, such as colds, allergies, bladder infections and pink eye.
The service, known as UAB eMedicine and available at uabemedicine.com, is for adults 18 and older in Birmingham and the surrounding area. Patients are charged a $25 fee only if the clinician can diagnose their condition through the service; if symptoms are too complex or advanced, patients will be be referred for additional care.
The online visit takes approximately five minutes to complete, although the total number of questions depends on the patient and the condition. eMedicine uses a diagnosis and treatment software system, Zipnosis, to collect a patient’s symptoms in minutes by asking the same questions a clinician would in face-to-face meeting. The patient’s responses are reviewed by a UAB clinician who provides a diagnosis and personalized treatment plan.
Samford Nursing School Awarded
Samford University’s Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing has received Sight Savers America’s KidCheck Plus Nursing School of the Year Award. Samford nursing students partner with KidCheck Plus to provide screenings for students in rural and urban Alabama. Samford is one of the program’s 20 nursing school partners in Alabama.
In 2013-14, Samford nursing students provided 1,832 health screenings at nine schoo, leading to nearly 700 referrals.
State of Alabama Number One in Prostate Cancer Deaths
Alabama is the number one state in the nation in per capita prostate cancer deaths among African American men and third overall for others. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among all men in the United States.
In 2014 Alabama is expected to have 3,760 new cases of prostate cancer and 540 deaths resulting from this disease. “The high prostate cancer mortality rate among African Americans can be attributed to several factors, including genetics, environment, education and socio-economic conditions,” says Andrew Strang, MD, urologist at Urology Centers of Alabama. “But the failure to have a simple prostate cancer screening is a major contributing factor.”
Governor Robert Bentley has proclaimed September as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in Alabama. According to Bentley and Strang, the state has made progress in the fight against prostate cancer and will continue to bring greater awareness to prostate cancer and to educate men on the importance of prostate cancer screenings. “Early detection and treatment are the key factors in addressing this disease,” Strang says.
No one knows the exact cause of prostate cancer and why one man develops the disease and another does not. However, research has shown that men with certain risk factors are more likely to develop the disease. The biggest risk factor is age, along with a family history of the disease. Men with a father or brother who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer have twice the risk of being diagnosed. Race is also a risk factor.
During September, Strang and his collegues at Urology Centers of Alabama invite the state to come together to raise awareness about prostate cancer and to stress the importance of men knowing their PSA scores. The screening for prostate cancer consists of a simple blood test and a brief examination. This screening takes ten minutes and it is ten minutes that could save a man’s life.
Learn more about prostate cancer by visiting www.urologycentersalabama.com.
Interventional Cardiologist Joins Alabama Heart at Trinity
Jimmie Dotson, Jr., MD has joined Alabama Heart & Vascular, PC on the Trinity Medical Center campus, where he will specialize in Interventional Cardiology.
Dotson received his medical degree from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis and completed his residency with the University of Tennessee Internal Medicine Residency program. He also completed a general cardiology fellowship at the University of Mississippi in Jackson and an interventional cardiology fellowship at Detroit Medical Center/Wayne State University in Detroit.
Dotson is a member of the American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, American College of Cardiology and the Association of Black Cardiologists.
Beard Honored in Top 50
John Beard, of Alacare Home Health and Hospice, has been named to the Top 50 Over 50 in Birmingham. Positive Maturity, Inc. honored 50 individuals 50 and older for their lifelong commitments to community service and premier business practices.
Beard serves as an Adjunct Professor in the UAB School of Health Related Professions, on the Board of Navigator, Inc., as well as the Alabama Nurses Foundation.
In 2006, the Alabama State Nurses Association selected Beard as its Outstanding Non-Member. He was also the recipient of ASNA 2010 D.O. McCluskey Award, which is given to a healthcare administrator who has demonstrated outstanding support nursing during the past year.
Clements Named Interim CEO of CRMC
James Clements has been named Interim Chief Executive Officer of Cullman Regional Medical Center.
Clements has over 25 years of healthcare operations experience as a Chief Executive Office, Chief Financial Officer and as a Chief Operations Officer for acute-care hospitals with 60 to 500 beds.
Most recently, Clements served as the Vice President of Business Development & Strategic Partnership for Wellstar Health System in Marietta, Georgia and CEO at South Fulton Medical Center, a Tenet Healthcare Corporation hospital in Atlanta where he had served since 2004.
Clements holds an MBA from Georgia State University in Atlanta and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.
Roberson Joins Princeton Heart Services
Lee Roberson, MD has joined Princeton Heart Services. Roberson comes to Princeton from East Alabama Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery, PC in Opelika where he has practiced since 2001.
Roberson graduated from Auburn and earned his medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in 1994. He did an internship at Carraway Methodist Medical Center and a residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi before completing a Cardiothoracic surgical fellowship at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
Jones Named Administrator of Fayette Medical Center
Donald J. Jones, RN, MSN, FACHE, has been named administrator of Fayette Medical Center, replacing Barry Cochran who retired in May.
Jones previously served as CEO of Tippah County Health Services in Ripley, Mississippi. Prior to that, he was administrator of Carraway Burdick West Medical Center in Haleyville, Alabama.
His position with Fayette Medical Center is a homecoming to the DCH Health System. Jones worked as a head nurse, clinical director and special projects coordinator for DCH Regional Medical Center in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Jones earned his bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Alabama and his master’s degree in nursing from UAB. He is a licensed registered nurse and nursing home administrator.
He is currently the Regent for Alabama with the American College of Healthcare Executives. He has served as Scale Back Alabama chairman with the Alabama Hospital Association Board of Trustees.
Alabama Bone & Joint Opens New Office
Alabama Bone & Joint, which has office locations in Pelham and Hoover, has opened a new office in Clanton. The office is equipped with an x-ray machine and DME supplies to treat patients.
Alabama Bone & Joint shares the Clanton office with Encore Rehabilitation so that physical therapy is available to the orthopedic patients.
Dr. Mathis will see Clanton patients on Tuesday morning, with Drs. David Gerhardt and Lloyd Johnson serving patients on Wednesday afternoon.
The office is located at 674 Ollie Avenue, Clanton.
One Billion Campaign for UAB Reaches Halfway Mark
The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Campaign for UAB: Give Something, Change Everything is halfway to its ambitious goal of raising one billion dollars.
More than 74,000 donors have contributed, allowing the institution to surpass the $500 million mark in its largest-ever philanthropic campaign. Gifts support diverse initiatives across the institution that advance faculty excellence, support research innovation and economic development, enrich the student experience, and enhance UAB’s facilities.
“If you look at the history of UAB, a fairly young institution, it’s really been a great story of partnerships within the university community, but also with the community outside of UAB in metropolitan Birmingham, in Alabama and beyond,” said UAB President Ray Watts. “The scope and impact of this campaign will extend far beyond our campus.”
“The primary drivers of prosperity in every community are big ideas, smart people, educational excellence, high-quality research and development, and a culture supporting entrepreneurial business formation,” said Johnny Johns, president and CEO of Protective Life Corp and co-chair of The Campaign for UAB. “Our city and state are blessed to enjoy all of that — in abundance — at UAB. I am confident that the fruits of this capital campaign will nourish economic and cultural development in our city and state for decades to come.”
The Campaign is funding tremendous strides in innovative research and the recruitment of top faculty, who will keep UAB competitive among the nation’s elite academic medical centers.
“UAB is one of the most productive academic medical centers in the country, and we want to remain on the leading edge of science and medicine,” said Selwyn Vickers, MD, dean of the UAB School of Medicine. “By realizing the goals of our AMC21 Strategic Plan, we will become the preferred academic medical center of the 21st century, pushing the envelope in strategic areas such as genomics and personalized medicine.”
In addition to improved health and quality of life, Campaign gifts are also supporting the artistic vitality of the community. The Alys Stephens Center for the Performing Arts anchors a burgeoning Cultural Arts Corridor, including the new Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, and is taking arts education into the community through its outreach programs ArtPlay and ArtReach.
The public phase of the Campaign launched in October 2013 and will run through 2018. Online contributions since the Campaign launch have surpassed total online gifts from the entire previous fiscal year.
“Reaching this halfway point is a tremendous milestone,” said UAB Vice President Shirley Salloway Kahn. “Together we are transforming the future of Birmingham and Alabama.”
St. Vincent’s Opens New Bruno Cancer Center
St. Vincent’s Health System (STVHS) held a grand opening of the new Bruno Cancer Center on, August 6th. The center is housed in a new 71,000 square-foot, three-story professional office building on St. Vincent’s Birmingham campus.
The new center’s larger capacity allows for extra space to utilize the most advanced radiotherapy technology, including the Varian TrueBeam STx. This technology allows for multiple radiotherapy options and addresses treatment possibilities for even the most challenging cases. The new facility also offers patients specialized assistance services, including registered dieticians, pet therapy and art therapy.
Patients will receive one-on-one oncology counseling and a personalized online portal specialized to their treatment. In addition, the new facility also comes equipped with enhanced comfort, including an onsite Newk’s® café, improved patient privacy and conveniences such as automated check-in for faster registration and additional space in waiting areas and exam rooms.