By the Numbers: Pathology/Laboratory

N E W S F R O M T H E R E G I O N ’ S P R E M I E R A C A D E M I C M E D I C A L C E N T E R

ADVANCES JANUARY 2, 2014

Sports Medicine Spotlight

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To suggest a By the Numbers, email Advances@kumc.edu.

Over the past 12 months, employees in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at The University of Kansas Hospital performed 2.7 million billable tests of patients’ blood and tissue.

242,416Total lab tests performed in October 2013, the most ever at the hospital in a single month

Translational research? It is here and nowMed Center a leader at turning lab results into bedside cures.

Remember back in November, when Missouri voters in Jackson County soundly rejected a proposed sales tax to fund “translational research”?

Such research already is thriving at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

“Many of us did watch the vote with interest,” said Douglas Girod, MD, the medical center’s executive vice chancellor. “This is, after all, a field in which we have much experience.”

The medical center actually is among the nation’s leaders in translational research – the process of transforming basic science discoveries in the lab into new medical treatments for pa-tients. “Because our scientists are focused on solving the mysteries of human disease,” Girod said,

“most of our research could be considered translational.”

The patient-friendly University of Kansas Clinical Research Center in Fairway is home to some of the work. The center is supported by the Johnson County Education and Research tax, passed by Johnson County voters in 2008.

In addition, the medical center in June 2011 received a $20 million Clinical and Translational Science

Award from the National Institutes of

Health. The five-year grant posi-tioned the medical center among an elite group of universities collabo-rating on clinical and translational research across the country.

Through the grant, research-ers here are working with more than two dozen universities, community organizations and areas hospitals to help speed the delivery of discoveries to patients.

Medical center staff and their

colleagues in those partner-ships are involved in a range of promising projects. They’re examining the effects of exercise on Alzheimer’s disease, targeting the use of existing drugs to battle leukemia, studying peripheral neuropathy – one of the major complications of diabetes – and exploring Pompe’s disease, a rare genetic condition that slowly attacks muscles.

“We have earned a place among the nation’s leaders in transla-tional research,” Girod said. “We have also led the regional effort, which is and will continue to be a major focus of our partnerships across the Kansas City metro.”

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n Total testsn Critical test results (%). ‘Critical’ may indicate a life-threatening situation. The rising

percentage demonstrates the hospital is treating more patients with complex conditions.

185,673186,073

194,510

180,857185,664

183,306

186,968

203,778

190,935

205,615200,803

197,831

209,155

187,406

203,862205,675

211,197

201,110

204,865

222,307

212,657

242,416

216,370

PhD students Dandan Li (left) and Sushma Jadalannagari examine umbili-cal cord blood stem cells in a new BMT lab.

Left, the University of Kansas Clinical Research Center is home to many of the translational research efforts.

1.02

1.22

1.021.12

1.24

1.171.09

1.26

1.30

1.21 1.21 1.191.11

1.211.26 1.31 1.28

1.13

1.37

1.231.14

1.071.09

Events Stress, learning and

memory – Learn the science behind how certain stressors may enhance memory, why chronic stress can impact it negatively and how to neutralize stress in practical, effective ways: 10:30 a.m.-noon Wednesday, Jan. 8, at Turning Point: The Center for Hope and Healing in Leawood. Call 913-383-8700 to register.

Wellness shopping and tast-ing tours – Join culinary nutri-tionist Lisa Markley on a shopping tour and learn how to identify the healthiest food choices and ways to simply prepare them: 6-7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14, at Whole Foods Market in Overland Park. Register by calling 913-588-1227.

Tending the spirit: The art of self-care – When illness touches your life – either your own illness or that of a loved one – it can be a real challenge to your self-care. The group will explore simple “user-friendly” physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of self-care: 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14, The University of Kansas Cancer Center - North Kansas City. Call 913-383-8700 to register.

Therapeutic uses of supple-ments and the immune system – It is easy to be confused about the different dietary supple-ments. Learn about supplements and the ways in which they can both positively and negatively affect your health: 12:30-1:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, at Turning Point: The Center for Hope and Healing in Leawood. Call 913-383-8700 to register.

Girls’ Night In – The 9th Annual Girls’ Night In is 6 p.m. Feb. 26 at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Heartfelt storytelling will be followed by art, wine and heart healthy bites in the Bloch Lobby. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, Jan. 8. See details at girlsnightinkc.com

Details and more events are at kumed.com/event-detail.

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

Sports Medicine takes next big stepOver the last three years, The

University of Kansas Hospital has assembled an impressive lineup of sports medicine services – and now Charlie Rozanski is the man in the middle of it all.

Rozanski joined the hospital this fall as sports medicine execu-tive director. It is a new position for the hospital, underscoring the rising importance of the health-care specialty.

One of his top priorities: Help coordinate and centralize the hospital’s sports medicine efforts. The team directly involves eight physicians as well as other care-givers who treat patients through the Center for Sports Medicine.

They specialize in orthopedics, pediatrics, family medicine, and physical medicine and rehabilita-tion. Sub-specialists are available. A research component examines concussions and other sports-related injuries.

The new role also touches on the hospital’s healthcare relation-ships with the Kansas City Chiefs, Royals and Kansas Speedway, among other organizations.

It is a lot to tackle, but Rozanski is inspired by what he has seen so far. “This is an

incredible place with phenomenal resources,” he said. “The people here not only are talented and professional, but they want to work together for patients.”

Rozanski has worked in sports medicine for more than 30 years, primarily focused

on college student athletes in North Carolina. In 2010 he was named the nation’s College Athletic Trainer of the Year. Most recently he directed a 100-bed rehab and skilled nursing center in Lexington, N.C.

“We’ve identified sports medicine as an important service for the hospital’s future,” said Chris Ruder, RN, Patient Care Service vice president. “We’re fortunate to have someone with Charlie’s experience and passion who can help lead us in that direction.”

EXPOSURE

Sharing our expertiseSeveral dozen healthcare executives from China toured The University of Kansas Hospital and University of Kansas Medical Center last month to learn about the latest advances in U.S. medical care. Surgeon Niazy Selim, MD, PhD (left), demonstrated robotic and other minimally invasive procedures. The group also toured the hospital’s hybrid surgical suite, as well as Interventional Radiology and Pharmacy operations. The only other hospital on the delegation’s schedule was Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.

Right, as sports medicine executive director, Charlie Rozanski is central-izing the hospital’s Center for Sports Medicine efforts. Among the team (from left) are sports rehabilitation’s Barbara Semakula, MD; youth sport’s Randall Goldstein, DO; Youth Sports Director Doug Wiesner, ATC; sports medicine’s David Smith, MD; and concussion management’s Michael Moncure, MD.

Organ transplants save record lives in ’13 When Troy Guffey received a phone call telling him there

was a donor match for his liver transplant, he said he wasn’t ready emotionally.

“I told them to give it to someone with a family,” said Guffey, a single man from Butler, Mo. “But the voice on the other end of the phone softly said, ‘No, this is your liver.’”

His was the 100th liver transplant in 2013 at The University of Kansas Hospital. Since his Dec. 10 surgery, 14 more transplant patients have received the ultimate gift of a donor liver, setting a record 114 transplants in 2013. Kidney transplants reached the 112 mark for the year, also a record.

Based on volume, the hospital likely will be among the top 10 transplant programs in the nation for 2013.

Efficiency in the operating room continues to improve overall patient experience and long-term outcomes. Behind every transplant are dozens of people working as a team, including nurses, coordinators, anesthesiologists, hepatologists, nephrologists, nutritionists, pharmacists and surgeons.

“It could not be possible without the support of the community who put faith in us to treat the patients,” said Tim Schmitt, MD, Center for Transplantation medical director. “Most importantly it could not be possible without the generous gift of life the donors and their families give.”

Swope Health: A partner with patientsResearchers at the University of Kansas Medical Center are

building on a longstanding partnership with Swope Health Services, involving minority populations that are often under-represented in clinical studies.

Swope Health serves as a safety net clinic for people with low or no income. About 80 percent of its patients are African-American. Those patients benefit from the 16-year partnership by receiving drugs and treatment they may not be able to afford otherwise.

Medical center researchers benefit, too. When staff at the University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Center wanted to test the benefits of aspirin for patients 65 and older, they were able to recruit enough Caucasian patients but not enough minorities.

By opening a clinical trial site at Swope in May, the Alzheimer’s center enrolled 20 people in the trial – 10 times as many before the Swope site.

“We’ve collaborated with the medical center on a number of fronts through the years,” said Dave Barber, president and CEO of Swope Health Services.

“In some partnerships, their providers and residents have supported our efforts to provide care,” he said. “In others, such as a smoking cessation program and the Alzheimer’s project, we’ve as-sisted them in gathering critical data on the population we serve. In all cases, our patients have benefited and continue to do so.”

Read more at kumc.edu and click on research.

In the NewsA recap of recent articles, TV segments and other media coverage of the region’s leading academic medical center.

Scientists treat disabled rats by ‘bridging the gap’ in their brains – GizMag, Dec. 10. Victims of traumatic brain injuries often lose the ability to perform certain actions, as two or more regions of their brain are no longer able to communicate. However, scientists at the University of Kansas Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University have demon-strated that an implanted device – a brain-machine-brain interface – can restore lost abilities to brain-damaged rats. The research could lead to the development of prosthetic devices for treatment of injured humans.

Learning to eat, at age 4 – The Kansas City Star, Dec. 6. The story profiles little Leah Southard, who, because of severe gastrointestinal inflamma-tion, has been fed through a tube in her stomach since birth. She’s better now, but the challenge is introducing her to real food. Ann Davis, PhD, MPH, pediatric psychologist at the University of Kansas Medical Center, is leading a study to investigate the short-term use of a pain suppressant to help wean youngsters like Leah off their tubes. Fourteen children are enrolled so far here and at hospitals in Columbus, Ohio, and New Orleans.

Brain surgeons in training practice on a simulator – Fox 4 News, Dec. 16. Neurosurgery residents at the University of Kansas School of Medicine are using a simulator to practice brain surgery. Neurosurgery Chair Paul Camarata, MD, is a proponent of the new training device. “It’s fairly daunting the first time you’re having a brain exposed and you’re asked to go in and take a tumor out,” he said.

Initiative forming to deal with psychiatrist shortage – KHI News Services, Dec. 23. In addition to a shortage of family physicians, Kansas also faces a lack of psychiatrists. Of the 105 Kansas counties, all but five are fed-erally designated as mental health professional shortage areas. Sixty-two of the University of Kansas Medical Center’s 813 residencies are psychiatric, but each one costs about $100,000, and state funding for the program has been in decline. “I can tell you I’ve had discussions with people in the community mental health centers,” said William Gabrielli, MD, PhD, who chairs the department. “There’s a significant shortage of psychiatrists.”

New

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In the holiday spiritYou know it is the holiday season when youngsters in festive elf and reindeer hats are caroling in the hallways. So it was in late December when nearly 50 children from Frank Rushton Elementary in nearby Kansas City, Kan., spread yuletide cheer among patients, staff and students on our main campus.

Surgeons such as Sean Kumer, MD, PhD, performed a record number of organ transplants in 2013.

ADVANCES

is a bi-weekly publication produced by:

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2330 Shawnee Mission Pkwy., Suite 303 Westwood, KS 66205

Send story ideas to Advances@kumc.edu.

Bob Page, President and CEO The University of Kansas Hospital

Doug Girod, MD, Executive Vice Chancellor University of Kansas Medical Center

Kirk Benson, MD, President The University of Kansas Physicians

Staff: Mike Glynn, Editor Kirk Buster, Graphic Designer

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Our People Lifetime achievement award – John Doull, MD, PhD, has received the 2014

Career Achievement Award from the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology.Doull, professor emeritus of pharmacology, toxicology and therapeutics,

joined the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1967. He is founding co-editor of “Casarett and Doull’s Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons,” a

textbook in its eighth edition. In addition to a long list of regional

and national awards, Doull served on the Presidential Clean Air Commission and chaired a committee that set limits for exposure to chemicals in the workplace, among other important advisory positions. In 2013 he also received the Mildred S. Christian

Career Achievement Award from the Academy of Toxicological Sciences.

Special delivery for nurse – As kidney transplant nurse manager at The University of Kansas Hospital, Marilee Clites, RN, hasn’t delivered a baby in more than 30 years, back when she was in nursing school. But on Dec. 17, when a car screeched to a halt at the hospital’s entrance and a man jumped out yelling for help, Clites, who was nearby, felt her instincts and training kick in.

In the car were Angela Fowler and Brandon Johnson. Fowler was preg-nant, two days before her due date, and the baby wasn’t waiting. Clites alerted staff and rushed to the car to help – and that is when little Branyla was born.

Clites took off her coat and used it to keep the mother and baby warm, and even tapped the baby a few times to start her crying. She offered comfort and encouragement until more medical staff arrived. The mom and her new 6 pound 14 ounce baby girl were taken to the hospital’s Mother/Baby Unit, where both were examined and pronounced healthy.

In a video at youtube.com/kuhospital, Clites and Fowler recounted the exciting event.

David Smith, MD Family Medicine/Sports Medicine

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Andrea Nicol, MD Anesthesiology/Pain Management

Ajay Singh, MD Ophthalmology

Marilyn Rymer, MD Neurology

Alok Tripathi, MD Hospitalist

Kansas City – North

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A D V A N C I N G T H E P O W E R O F M E D I C I N E ®

There’s no place like homeAdvanced cancer care, where you need it Leading-edge cancer care is available right here,

close to home. At our convenient community

locations, you will have access to comprehensive

diagnosis and treatment options for all types of

cancer – even the most rare. You will also have

access to all phases of clinical trials.

To make an appointment, schedule a second

opinion, or speak with a nurse, call 913-588-1227

or visit kucancercenter.org.

Isaac Hernandez-Jimenez, MD Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Marilee Clites, RN (left), with Angela Fowler and baby Branyla.

Doull