musc the catalyst

September 30, 2011 MEDICAL UNIVERSITY of SOUTH CAROLINA Vol. 30, No. 7

READ THE CATALYST ONLINE - http://www.musc.edu/catalyst

62 Pioneering researchnew Dean

Dr. Louis Guillette capturesHeinz Award for his work.

4

10

5The College of Health Professions hasselected Dr. Lisa Saladin to take the helm.

Applause Program

Meet Carmen

Medical Center Excellence

Sharon Shepherd circled the fire truck lookingfor just the right place to sign her name.

“This is the coolest idea ever,” she said grinningbroadly as she signed her name as a 15-yearsurvivor of cancer.

Participating in the Pink Heals Tour, she hada chance to meet the firefighters and volunteerswho tour the country to support women battlingcancer or who have battled cancer. MUSC alsohosted a Women’s Cancer Awareness Fair.

Shepherd, manager of MUSC’s gift shop,said the support is crucial. Volunteer DannyBaughman, a firefighter from High Pointsporting magenta Nike shoes, agreed. He saidhe loves hearing all the stories of hope andinspiration. The fire trucks travel the countrybearing the signatures of all those inspired towrite a message. MUSC was one of 73 stops ona 90-day tour during this leg of the journey.

Baughman’s truck is named Debbie in honorof his mother-in-law who had breast cancer.Firefighters are the type who want to rescuepeople, but it was agonizing for his family towatch her battle the disease. What helped herconquer it was the support she received, he said.It’s why he goes on the road.

Jean Day, a certified registered nurseanesthetist at Rutledge Tower and cancersurvivor, signed the truck “for all those beforeme, for me and for all those after me – Survivor2009.’ Women tend to be the medical caretakersin the family and forget what they need to do totake care of themselves, she said

“I’m so touched. It’s amazing,” she saidas she finished adding her name. “I thinkwomen should rock on. It’s very inspiring forthose looking for hope and reassurance thateverything’s going to be OK. It’s reaffirming.”

SupportRollingFive pink fire trucks and a motorcycle escort visited the Horseshoe Sept. 27 as part ofthe Pink Heals Tour to raise awareness of the issues women face battling cancer.

EmployeesSharonShepherd, above,and Jean Day,left, add theirsignatures tothe trucks. Thesignatures neverget erased.

2 The CaTalysT, September 30, 2011

The Catalyst is published once a week.Paid adver tisements, which do notrepresent an endorsement by MUSCor the State of South Carolina, arehandled by Island Publications Inc. ,Moultrie News, 134 Columbus St. ,Charleston, S.C., 843-849-1778 or843-958-7490. E-mail: [email protected].

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Editor: Kim [email protected]

Catalyst staff:Cindy Abole, [email protected] Brazell, [email protected]

After a national search, Lisa Saladin, Ph.D., wasrecommended for and has accepted the permanentposition of dean of the College of Health Professions(CHP).

The dean selection committee was chaired by DarleneShaw, Ph.D., MUSC associate provost for educationand student life, and consisted of a representativegroup of faculty and staff members from the college aswell as across the MUSC campus. The appointment iscontingent upon final approval of the MUSC board oftrustees.

With her national reputation in her academicdiscipline, her exemplary performance during hertenure as CHP executive associate dean and then asinterim dean of the College of Health Professionsthis past year, a strong consensus developed amongcommittee members to recommend offering thepermanent position to Saladin. Among manydesirable leadership qualities cited by the committee,her collaborative approach to decision-making washighlighted as having a direct and immediate impact onCHP.

Mark Sothmann, Ph.D., MUSC vice president foracademic affairs and provost, said Saladin is accordedextraordinary respect for her accomplishments asa faculty member, as evidenced by her numeroushonors for her teaching at MUSC and beyond, andher national reputation in her academic discipline ofphysical therapy.

“Her expertise is further evidenced in her scholarshipand through her insightful service to the college,MUSC and on the national level. I am confident shehas the skills, the demeanor, and the talent to enhancethe prominence the college already enjoys. I believeit is a tribute to the College of Health Professionsfaculty that a rigorous national search to find the bestcandidate identified one of their own.”

Saladin offers CHP 21 years of diverse andprogressive experience in leadership, education andscholarship. She received her bachelor’s degree inmedical rehabilitation physical therapy and a master’s

of science degree in anatomy from the University ofManitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Her doctorof philosophy degree in physical therapy was earnedfrom Nova Southeastern University, located in FortLauderdale, Fla.

At MUSC, she served as director of the PhysicalTherapy Education Program; chair of the Departmentof Rehabilitation Sciences; chair of the Departmentof Health Professions, responsible for six academicdivisions while simultaneously serving as executiveacademic dean; and as interim dean for the last 10months.

While serving as director of the Physical TherapyEducation Program, she led the design andimplementation of an expansion distance educationdegree program for physical therapy in Greenville thatincorporated the use of innovative distance educationtechnology for delivery of the majority of the didacticcurriculum. The experience led to her participation ona large training grant as the distance education contentexpert and to national and local presentations on theuse of technology to provide distance education.

Among Saladin’s numerous professionalaccomplishments are:q Collaborated with two colleges to develop andimplement one of the first interprofessional master’sdegrees in rehabilitation sciences in the United States

q Presented on health care reform and the impacton health professions as chair of the GovernmentAffairs Committee of the American Physical TherapyAssociation (APTA)q Completed a certificate in Management andLeadership in Education from Harvard Universityq Awarded three University Teaching Excellenceawardsq Designated a Master Teacher by the MUSC board oftrusteesq Recognized by the APTA as the recipient of thenational Dorothy E. Baethke-Eleanor J. Carlin Awardfor Excellence in Academic Teaching

Saladin said that MUSC is recognized as havingone of the top colleges of Health Professions in thecountry, with a reputation for educational excellencethat is well documented and a commitment to qualityclinical care and service. “We’ve also grown our researchprograms exponentially during the last year with theopening of our Center for Rehabilitation Research forNeurological Conditions. I am honored to have beenasked to provide the leadership necessary to buildon these established strengths and to create novelopportunities for the college in this dynamic health careenvironment.”

Saladin will be MUSC’s third female dean. Etta D.Pisano, M.D., became dean of the College of Medicinein 2010, and Gail Stuart, Ph.D., R.N., became dean ofthe College of Nursing in 2002.

Sothmann said he hasn’t conducted a systematicreview, but he would venture to guess that MUSC maybe the only academic health center nationally that hasan equal percentage of female and male deans.

“It is also important to note that while Dean Pisanowas recruited from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Dean Saladin worked her way throughthe ranks at MUSC to her present leadership position.This speaks well for the diversity of MUSC in beingable to both attract talented female leaders fromother universities while cultivating strong internalleadership.”

College of Health Professions names new dean

The MUSC Foundation boardannounced its recently elected officersand newest members Sept. 22.

Walter Seinsheimer, president andchairman of Dolphin Architects &Builders was re-elected chair. RichardElliott, president of Maverick SouthernKitchens was re-elected vice chairman.Robyn Frampton, chief financial officerfor the foundation, will serve as treasurer.Thomas Anderson, the foundation's chiefexecutive officer, will serve as secretary.

New members include John Barter,president of AlliedSignal Automotive,Kiawah Island; Helen “Cokie” Berenyi,

president and managing partner of RedTriangle, Charleston; Richard Hagins,chairman and CEO of Universal Supplies& Services, Greenville; Lou Hammond,chairman and founder of Lou Hammond& Associates, Charleston and New York;Susanna Johnson, graduate student atNew York University, George Heyman Jr.,Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising,New York and Spartanburg; and KevinLuzak, CEO of Coastal Forest ResourceManagement, New York and Charleston.

For more information on the MUSCFoundation board, visit http://academicdepartments.musc.edu/board.

MUSC Foundation board announces officers, new members

Currently,CHP’s Dr.Lisa Saladinis the thirdfemale deanat MUSC.

The CaTalysT, September 30, 2011 3

MUSC medical center was among 118 hospitals inthe nation and the only hospital in South Carolina thatis the “most connected,” as listed in a ranking by U.S.News & World Report. The listing affirms MUSC as aleader statewide and nationally in its use of ElectronicMedical Records (EMR).

A growing computer-based technology, EMR allowshospitals to manage patient medical information,physician orders, medication scanning, healthinformation and electronic digitally stored data tophysicians and clinical staff. EMR advances protectpatients from hospital errors and help save lives.

Office of Chief Information Officer Frank Clark,Ph.D., compares the hospital’s progress and recognitionin this area as grabbing the brass ring in the complexworld of health care.

According to Clark, the EMR transition will improvethe clinical work flow of clinical staff and affect patientcare by improving health care outcomes. The decisionto respond and move forward in this area was drivenby the 1999 Institute of Medicine’s “To Err is Human”report, challenging hospitals to reduce preventablemedical errors by investing and incorporating newtechnologies and safety systems that can report, evaluate

and analyze medical errors.“This effort has been an odyssey for us since we

initiated it in 2007. What we’ve done is create a secure,closed loop clinical information and patient safetysystem that provides cognitive support to our medicalstaff in their everyday efforts. We’ve created a secure,transparent system that allows us to use tools that willhelp us work smarter and more efficient,” Clark said.

Hospitals making the list had to meet two challengingstandards demonstrating that they were leading thetransition of medicine into EMR. Hospitals with thedistinction of national ranking in the 2011-12 U.S.News’ “Best Hospitals” or “Best Children's Hospitals”rankings, or a designation as a “high-performing” inone or more medical specialties were considered for the“Most Connected Hospitals” list.

Hospitals that met the Stage 6 or Stage 7 of the EMRAdoption Model of the Healthcare Information andManagement Systems Society (HIMSS) analytics scoredin the hospitals’ adoption of EMR on a scale fromStage 0 (no EMRs) to Stage 7 (full use). MUSC medicalcenter is currently at Stage 6.

HIMSS is a comprehensive health care organizationdedicated to improving the quality, safety and cost-effectiveness to health care through the use ofinformation technology and management systems.

MUSC’s EMR was implemented in 2009 starting

with the Clinical Documentation package (ClinDoc),Oacis/eCareNet viewer and Admin RX (bedsidemedication administration) projects. The final phase forinstalling computerized physician order entry (CPOE)system in Perinatal Services was completed Sept. 20.The plan is to continue with the CPOE rollout in theNewborn Nursery, Neonatal ICU and Special CareNursery. OCIO also will continue to offer employeetraining and tech support.

Medical center leadership realized the potentialand has supported this project from the start. PatCawley, M.D., MUSC executive medical director,considers EMR vital to automating aspects of clinicalcare by providing standardization and data collectionin assessing the delivery of care, reliability and safety.The information gathered will provide quick electronicdata that will help measure outcomes and makeimprovements.

“Our goal is to focus on quality of care and improvepatient safety outcomes. We want to eventuallydevelop as a highly reliable hospital organizationwith a robust IT infrastructure that will enable us toachieve widespread accessibility. All these changeswill contribute to making medicine better for MUSCpatients in the next five to 10 years.”

To see the U.S. News & World Report rankings, visithttp://tinyurl.com/3t4oazt.

MUSC listed among ‘most connected’ hospitalsBy Cindy aBole

Public Relations

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Students receive Women’s Club scholarships

The Medical University Women’s Club presented 22 MUSC studentswith scholarships Sept. 14. Splitting $15,000 in scholarships areCollege of Nursing students: My Unog, Tonya Anderson and JenniferSedlak; College of Health Professions students: Sarah Boyd, ClaireMarsh, Julie Cartmell and Shijuana Scotland; College of Pharmacystudents: Ashley Sims, Margarita Taburyanskay and Whitney Boston;College of Dental Medicine students: Anna Roberts and JeanetteWingate; College of Medicine: Valerie Smith, Alisha Joyner, AshleyArana, Kristine Day, Rhonda Winchester and Bobbie Dulcie; Collegeof Graduate Studies: Jessica Ross, Joseph Taylor, Denise Kimbroughand Codruta Chiuzan.

State employees may opt to continue life insuranceWhen state employees retire, their optional life

insurance can be continued at the same premiums theypaid as employees, but many people are unaware thatthe premiums increase every five years with the policyending at age 75.

Retirees also may convert their life insurance toan individual policywhich is good for life, but thepremiums can sometimes be up to $800 per month. Ifthey leave employment, they are offered the opportunityto convert the insurance to an individual policy.

Because of that, University Human Resourcesis providing a new benefit — a supplemental lifeinsurance product that will be made available touniversity employees, in addition to the optional termlife insurance provided by the S.C. State EmployeeInsurance Program.

The Whole Life Insurance product, or VoluntaryPermanent Life, is offered by MetLife and has beenapproved for an open enrollment period ending Oct. 7.

Sarah King, DHA, director of public relations, saidit's wonderful employees can have a choice. “I had noidea that the current group life insurance was hardto keep when I retire. This new life insurance benefitis wonderful and really helped me understand howeverything works.”

These policies are guaranteed to be paid up at age70, or 20 years after the policy is issued if someone is51 or older. The premiums never increase and thereis guaranteed cash value built up in the policy, whicha policy holder has access to at any time. The deathbenefit is guaranteed. A disability waiver of premiumrider is also included, which means if a person can’twork, the premiums are paid by MetLife, in order tokeep the policy in force.

This new benefit will enable state employees to applyfor significant amounts of life insurance coveragethrough Express Issue Underwriting by answering threehealth related questions related to the last six months.Express Issue is offered to the employee who optsfor coverage, and it may be extended to the person’sspouse, minor children and minor grandchildren. Byadding this benefit before Oct. 7, employees will receiveLifetime Express Issue for themselves and their families.

The policy is portable and permanent. Whether anemployee retires or changes jobs, this is an individuallife insurance policy. The premiums will be paidthrough payroll deduction.

A team of MetLife representatives has beenassembled especially for MUSC employees and will beavailable throughout the enrollment period at various

locations on campus. For more information, contacta representative to schedule a personal appointmentor visit a representative at one of the locations belowbefore Oct. 7. For more information, contact MetLifeon the dedicated MUSC office line at 460-6722 oremail Robert Legare at [email protected].

VisiT a RepResenTaTiVe

8 a.m. to 5 p.m.—Oct. 4, Room 803, HarborviewOffice; Tower; Oct. 5, Room 420S, Clinical SciencesBuilding; Oct. 6, Room DC601, College of DentalMedicine, Room DC601 (use main patient entry); andOct. 7, Room 803, Harborview Office Towerq The policy is paid up at age 70 or 20 years after issuedate (if 51 and older)q Premiums are based on your age when you enrolland will not change when you retireq Premiums are paid through payroll deductionq Express Issue based on three health questions aboutthe last six monthsq The policy may be taken with you if you leaveemployment

If employees have questions, contact the UniversityBenefits Office at 792-2607 or review information onthis program at http://www.musc.edu/hrm/benefits.

Applause ProgramThe following employees and depart-

ments received recognition through theApplause Program:

Medical Center

Ron Ingram, Adult ED; Gordon Mutter,Adult ED; Matt Maughan, Pharmacy; Viv-ian Gathers, Labor & Delivery; RebeccaMoore, Labor & Delivery; Kathi Teske-hanuscin, Labor & Delivery; StephanieGreen, Labor & Delivery; Debra Bell,Labor & Delivery; Elysia Sachs, Labor &Delivery; Brendan Oconnell, ResidentsOtorhinolaryngology; Sara Selander,James Island PT/OT; Debra Capps, Ra-diology; Hilarie Boone, Business Op-erations; Allison Shipp, SEI; MarkethaGreen, SEI; Charles Pegram, Outreach& Client Services; Angela Vanderhorst,Family Medicine; Jason Santanna, Pre-op Surgery; Lavetta Flagg, PAS; RuthieChristy, Meduflex Team; Abigail Senkal,7A; Jerrell Green, Environmental Servic-es; Gail Brown, Environmental Services;Diana Evans, 9PCU; John Parlor, Volun-teer & Guest Services; Emily Frithsen,Nursing Informatics; Terrey Doyle, Dialy-sis; Patricia Nickerson, CCU; WoodrowAtkinson, Respiratory Therapy; Liylann

Dermatology Surgery Check-In; Una Bo-gan, Transportation Services; Scung (Pe-ter) Chung, College of Dental Medicine;Mary Gray, College of Dental Medicine;VeLonda Dantzler, Human Resources;Altonya Davis, Neurosciences; Nehemi-ah Godfrey; Engineering and Facilities;Heidi Grund, Pulmonary & Critical CareMedicine; Barbara Harley, Housekeep-ing; Latasha High, Psychiatry/NationalCrime Victims; Martha Jones, PublicSafety; Matt McCoy, OCIO-InformationServices; Christina (Chrisa) Moore, Di-gestive Disease Center; Gloria Moran,Neurosciences; Dorothy Roper, StudentHealth Services; Idelle Sass, Engineering& Housekeeping; Susan Strobel, PublicSafety; Laurel Thompson, Otolaryngolo-gy/Head & Neck; and A. Raquel Vining,College of Nursing.

University

Johnson, MedSurg Registration; LaCrys-tal Bartelle, Business Operations; DorisSimmons, Children's Services Registra-tion; Renee Johnson, Pulmonary; MaryScarborough, Respiratory Therapy; Ai-leen Cromwell, Venipuncture; TheresaStephens, 6W; and Raylene Gries, 6E.


Meet CarMen

Carmen Rice

DepartmentAmbulatory Care ServicesHow long at MUSC13 yearsUnique talentInterior decoratingDream jobMy current job, but I would only workfrom 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. four days a weekFavorite sportNASCARChildrenBrittany (21), Eric (20), Aaron (18),Janelle (14) and Laura (13)What do you do on the weekendsHome improvement projectsWhere did you grow upCaledonia, Minn.Amust-have in the fridgeDiet PepsiFavorite restaurantThe Kickin’ ChickenDream vacationA warm tropical island with my familyFavorite quoteIt’s YoYo night — You’re on your own fordinner

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They have it down to a science. They all know thejaws and the tail pose the biggest threat. After the

trapped alligator is hauled onto the shore, Louis J.Guillette, Ph.D., climbs on top and, with the help ofassistants, secures the powerful jaws with several rubberbands.

Putting a towel over the alligator’s eyes, the thrashingstops. It’s a trick the researcher, who holds a SmartStateendowed chair in Marine Genomics, has learned calmsthe alligators. This is better for all involved and makesit easier for the team to quickly get blood and urinesamples and tag the animal, so he can be released backinto the wild.

Swarms of mosquitoes cover the researchers as theycollect these samples at the Tom Yawkey WildlifeCenter Heritage Preserve, home to 31 square miles ofmarshland and a favorite hangout for the alligators. It’swhere they found the hatchling rate to be 68 percent,about 22 percent below what it should be.

One of a new breed of scientist, Guillette does muchof his laboratory work in the wild. This means he hashad to get creative from figuring out innovative testingkits for field research, to repurposing dog catheters, to

getting urine samples from alligators.It’s one reason it was announced Sept. 13 that

Guillette, a reproductive biologist, endocrinologist andprofessor of obstetrics and gynecology, is to receive

a $100,000 Heinz Award for his pioneering researchinto toxic chemicals’ impact on wildlife and humanhealth. He is being recognized for his research showinghow alligators can function as a sentinel species forenvironmental contamination.

Guillette said he was ‘blown away’ by the news.“When you get an award on this level, you realize youhave colleagues who respect your work,” he said, addingthat it was a humbling experience to look at formerrecipients. He said it’s an award not just for him butfor his laboratory and the colleagues with whom hecollaborates, a critical key to today’s successful scientists.“Modern science is not done by individuals. Modernscience is done by teams.”

He’s thankful for the award in that it helps convincefunding agencies to support the kind of science he’sdoing. Some agencies may see it as being a risky area.

“It validates what we continue to do – that wecontinue to fight to do not just the science but to takethat science and have it used to make a difference inother fields and in policy. I still believe that individualscan make a difference.”

Though medical science looks at nutrition and the

Guillette, who provides community talks toraise awareness about his research, uses hisphotography skills to augment his work in thefield.

Walt Rhodes, formerly with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, helps Dr. Louis J. Guillette (center) and Dr. Thomas Rainwater get fieldsamples during research at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center Heritage Preserve. To watch a video, visit http://bit.ly/DrLouisGuillette.

Researcher lands alligator, Heinz Award

The Catalyst, September 30, 2011 7

workplace as environmentalfactors affecting health,other areas have been largelyignored, he said. “There areenvironmental contaminantsthat we all are exposed tochronically at relatively lowconcentrations, but theyare chronic exposures fromconception to death. What isthe implication of that? Rightnow there are not many peoplein the field of medicine whoreally think about that.”

Guillette’s joint appointmentin MUSC’s Department ofObstetrics and Gynecology andthe Marine Biomedicine andEnvironmental Sciences Centerat the Hollings Marine Lab is one way to start changingthat.

Guillette said the major breakthroughs in medicineoften happen at the interfaces of disciplines. “That’swhy today you have mathematicians and engineersworking with geneticists to develop the next approachto how do we study genetic codes – how do westudy genomes. We have bioengineers working withcardiologists working with developmental biologists todiscover how to repair a heart – not a bionic heart –how do we actually make the tissue to implant into theheart.”

In his area, he gets to combine the fields of wildlife,genetics, reproductive biology and the environment.Studying wild populations with true genetic diversity

and exposure to a region’senvironmental surroundings willyield very different results froma scientific model using inbredmice, he said. “Being a biologist,I’m interested in understandingthe biology of the beast. Thesecond part of the issue is thesentinel species aspect – whatcan that animal tell us aboutthe health of the environmentand our own health? At thelevel of the genes – an ovary isan ovary and a testes is a testes.What is the gene-by-environmentinteraction?”

Guillette has made importantfinds into how contaminantsaffect gene regulation or how

they get turned on and off. In winning the HeinzAward, Teresa Heinz of the Heinz Family Foundationcited his work in the field of endocrine disruption.“His research on alligators and other marine life createdan in-depth model for understanding the effects oftoxins in the wild and provides information we need tosafeguard people and wildlife,” she said.

Guillette is a leader in the field of hormonedisruption, which has emerged as a major public healththreat during the past two decades. He has researchedenvironmental estrogens for years, believing they couldbe responsible for dropping population levels andreproductive abnormalities in wildlife living in thewaters of Florida. In the late 1980s, he and his teamdiscovered that DDT and other chemicals in Lake

Apopka in Florida were creating ovarian and genitalabnormalities by manipulating their hormones. Later,he demonstrated that even low-level exposures to oneor multiple environmental contaminants during criticalperiods of fetal development can have long-lastinghealth implications.

His research raised red flags about what potentialimpacts chemicals also may have on humanreproductive health, especially as other researchers haveshown that sperm counts have dropped and testicularcancer is on the rise. Guillette’s studies demonstratethat there is a direct link between environmentalchemicals and male and female reproductive health.

“I have little doubt that environmental contaminantsare a significant part of the reason we are today seeingan increase in many diseases of the reproductive systemin wildlife and humans,” said Guillette. “The onlyquestion is, ‘What are we going to do about it?’ ”

Guillette and his team release 80 baby alligators back to their home in the Tom Yawkey WildlifeCenter Heritage Preserve.

Guillette holds one of the alligators that hatchedout at the Hollings Marine Laboratory.

Researchers Drs. Benjamin Parrottand Thomas Rainwater store samplesand record field measurements fromtwo male alligators.


To help employees reduce thenegative effects of stress, MUSCEmployee Wellness will focus onstress management during October.

In addition to weekly free chairmassages available to employees,Wellness Wednesday booths willfocus on stress management and aseries of lunch and learn sessionswill be held each week beginningOct. 12. Topics will include stressand sleep. A free outdoor yoga/taichi class will be held from noon to 1p.m. in the Horseshoe Oct. 26.

According to a summary of theAmerican Psychological Association's Stress in theWorkplace Survey in March, more than one third (36percent) of workers said they typically feel tense orstressed out during their work day and almost half (49percent) said low salary is significantly impacting theirstress level at work. Twenty percent report that theiraverage daily level of stress from work is an 8, 9 or 10 ona 10-point scale.

Effects of work-related stress include the followingsigns and symptoms: Headache, sleep disturbances,difficulty in concentrating, short temper, upsetstomach; job dissatisfaction and low morale.

In addition to these short-term effects, studies

suggest that chronic stress can lead to increased riskof cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders,psychological disorders, workplace injury, suicide,cancer, ulcers and impaired immune function.

Job stress is costly, with an annual price tag for U.S.businesses of more than $300 billion annually due toincreased absenteeism, employee turnover, diminishedproductivity, medical, legal and insurance expenses andWorkers' Compensation payments. According to theJournal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine,health care expenditures are nearly 50 percent greaterfor workers who report high levels of stress.

For information, email [email protected].

Employee Wellness eventsq Flu Shot Clinic: Free flu shots for employees from11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Oct. 5 in Children's Hospital lobby.Employees should bring their ID badge and theiremployee ID or a completed consent form (http://tinyurl.com/3t9kdmr).q Wellness Wednesday: MUSC Employee AssistanceProgram is a worksite-based program designed to assistemployees in identifying and resolving personal andoccupational concerns that may affect job performance.Visit the Wellness Wednesday booth from 11 a.m. -1 p.m. Oct. 5 at Ashley River Tower to learn aboutservices available to employeees. To learn about MUSCEAP, email Jeni Bowers-Palmer at [email protected].

Speaker series begins withinterprofessional expert

MUSC Strategic Plan Speaker Series will host K.Scott Griffith, chief operating officer of OutcomeEngineering (Oe), at 4 p.m. Oct. 4 in Room HA809, Storm Eye Institute Auditorium.

Oe is a Dallas-based risk management firmspecializing in assisting organizations to improveoperational performance. Griffith, who workedpreviously at American Airlines and at severalnational health care organizations, will speakabout achieving better outcomes through an

interprofessional culture.Griffith is currently

leading “Just Culture,” amodel which supports valuesand objectives, safety andclinical outcomes to privacy,compassion and operationalexcellence, implementations,at several health care systemsthroughout the country.

Griffith will also be thekeynote speaker at the Oct. 5

MUHA Leadership Development Institute and willshare how this model and outcomes can enhanceMUSC Excellence and the campus’ interprofessionaland interdisciplinary initiative.

Griffith

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The medical center town hall meetings held in Septemberincluded pillar goals, employee awards and survey results.Service—The fiscal year (FY) 2011 goal was for 78 percent ofthe Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providersand Systems (HCAHPS) respondents to rate MUSC a 9 or10 on the 10 point overall rating scale. MUSC exceeded thisgoal with 80 percent rating the medical center a 9 or 10.The FY 2011 outpatient clinics goal was to achieve an Avatarsurvey mean score of 92.7 and MUSC achieved a 93.02. ForFY 2012, the goal will be to be at or above the 75 percentilein 7 of 10 HCAHPS composites. Currently, MUSC has threecomposites at the 75 percentile withtwo other compositesnearing the 75 percentile.

People—Employee Partnership mean score fell behind at72.1 (goal: 73.6); Physician Satisfaction mean score surpassedits goal with a score of 74.6 (goal: 74.3).

Quality—The hospital’s mortality percentile rankings was70th (goal: 80th), while hand hygiene audits surpassed with80.8 percent (goal: 75 percent). For FY2012, employees willcontinue to focus on hand hygiene compliance (currentresult: 84.2, stretch goal: 90 percentile). In addition, inFY 2012 “Ideal Care” is included as a quality goal and is acomposite of patient care outcomes and processes.

Finance—The hospital’s days cash on hand or emergencyfund did not meet its goal and achieved 12.1 days (goal: 25

days). Year-end net income reported 22.6 M (goal: 25.5 M).For FY 2012, goal remains the same (current result: 2.7 Mwhich, if annualized, puts MUSC on course to reach goal of25.5 M).

Growth—Inpatient patient admissions and outpatient visitswere short of goal. Patient volume increased by 1.8 percent(goal: 3 percent). The economy is affecting physician officevisits nationwide and here at MUSC (goal: 5 percent, current:-0.14 percent). For FY 2012, the goal is to increase inpatientadmissions (current result: 2.8 percent, goal: 2 percent) andto maintain outpatient visits (current result: +0.6 percent).q Rankings: From October 2009 to September 2010,MUSC's overall HCAHPS result was 79 percent (78 percentin the current quarterly report period) compared to otherlocal hospitals, Bon Secours-St. Francis (84 percent) andRoper Hospital (77 percent). Among comparable academicmedical centers, MUSC’s 79 score is the second highestbehind UNC-Chapel Hill (81 percent).q Units achieving goals: Four units were recognized forcurrently reaching the goal of having seven or more HCAHPScomposites at or above the 75th percentile nationally. Theseinclude 10W (7), ART 5W (7), 9E (8) and 5W (met all 10composites). Children's Hospital’s inpatient (99th percentile)and emergency department (93rd percentile) continues toprovide exceptional service as reported on surveys by patientsand their families.q Hand hygiene (fourth quarter): The medical center has

seen a 28 percent increase in compliance for hand hygiene.q Looking ahead: Results from the 2011 Culture of Safetyand Employee Partnership surveys were reviewed. For Cultureof Safety, the key findings reflect consistent opportunitiesacross work groups in the areas of “communicationopenness” (61 percent) and “non-punitive response toerror” (43 percent). Under section mean scores, the areathat showed improvement was “systems and leadership”(65 percent), with leaders really listening to employees. Foremployee partnership, “leaders really listen to employees”was among the top three opportunities to improve employeepartnership for the third consecutive year despite increasesin the mean score.q Employee Partnership Survey: The action plan will focuson “leaders really listen to employees;” the focus will be tohardwire existing tools such as rounding with employees andto use Stop Light Reports to communicate follow-up status.Additionally, a mechanism to receive and report on employeesuggestions and ideas is being investigated.q Culture of Safety Survey: Action plan will focus on “Non-punitive response to errors.” The focus will be to educateleaders, develop internal experts and create a “just culture”resource library. All are being asked to include these prioritiesin their work group action plans.q Plans will be submitted to “one up” supervisor by Oct.15. The status of organizational action plans will be reviewedat least quarterly by the operations group and in upcomingmedical center town hall meetings.

Town hall meeting highlights goals, action plan

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Medical Center

‘Making a difference every day’

Michelle Vandermaas, Child Life

“I would like to recognize Michellefor helping out the family of mypatient. I am a PICU nurse and havebeen taking care of a sick 10-year-old boy. My patient’s prognosis hadworsened, and the parents knew theyneeded to explain this to his siblings,but were at a loss as to what to say. Icontacted Michelle and she came inon her day off to help.”Nominated by Katherine Baldwin

Sarah Cline, Meduflex Team

“A patient that Sarah saw for thefirst time was going to have a tubesurgically placed later that day. Theclinical reasoning behind placing thetube (including ventilator weaningand long term nasal tube enteralfeedings) seemed to justify such aninvasive procedure for this patient.He had not tolerated swallowingwithout becoming nauseated. He not

only tolerated the procedure, but was allowed to have aregular diet.”Nominated by Alexandra Milhaupt

Janice Petrilla, MRI Clinical Services

“Janice has been instrumentalin supporting, encouraging andeducating our patients in theEpilepsy Center. Recently there wasa patient undergoing surgery — shecalled his wife throughout the day tooffer support. Janice took her lunchbreak to go visit this family bringinghis wife an angel and a flower.”Nominated by Kelly Cavins

Brittany Perry, 8E

“Our patient, Smiles, has a longpsychiatric history and an organicbrain injury due to a stroke andabuse — all played a part in Smiles’dynamics. Her caretaker diedsuddenly and violently and there wasno one to care for her. Brittany tookcharge of all of Smiles’ needs whilestill tending to her other patients.”Nominated by Cindy Little

Employees of the Month

In the fall of 1992, my son, Sean McDerby, enteredthe Corp of Cadets at The Citadel. I thought hisfreshman year as a “knob” would be about the mostdifficult challenge he would face in life. It didn't takelong to realize that I was sadly mistaken.

The summer after his freshman year, Sean studiedabroad in Spain. Upon returning to The Citadel,he became involved in several extra activities. Thoseactivities included skydiving and rugby. It was aftera rugby match that I was contacted by a doctor fromthe college infirmary. Sean reported to the infirmaryafter he was severely bruised during the match. Thedoctor had a serious concern after reviewing the bloodwork that he had ordered. Sean's platelet count wasextremely low. The doctor scheduled an appointmentwith a hematologist in the Charleston area. Thatdoctor was unable to identify Sean's disorder. Seanreturned home to Delaware for more medicalevaluations. It was after those evaluations that welearned how seriously ill Sean was.

We had never heard of a blood disorder calledaplastic anemia until a local doctor presented us withhis suspicions. He explained the gravity of the diseaseand then cautioned us not to start doing researchon our own. The doctor added that he could treatSean as well as any other doctor in the United States.Always one to follow the doctor's orders, my wife andI began to explore what it meant to be afflicted withaplastic anemia. To put it mildly — we found that weonly had one chance to save Sean's life.

The research that we were warned not to do led usto the Aplastic Anemia Foundation. Marilyn Baker,the executive director of the foundation, told us shewas not in a position to recommend a treatmentcenter for Sean. She went on to explain the she wouldhave different sets of parents contact us and tell uswhat their families experienced when their child wasdiagnosed with aplastic anemia. Each set of parentsdelivered the same message — contact Dr. Robert K.Stuart at the Medical University of South Carolina.It was only a coincidence that Dr. Stuart was locatedclose to The Citadel in Charleston.

Dr. Stuart welcomed Sean as a new patient. Dr.Stuart continued to monitor Sean's condition untilit was determined that our son would need a bonemarrow transplant. Fortunately, Sean's fraternal twin,Scott, was an excellent match to be a donor. Seanrequested a medical discharge from The Citadel in

the first semester of hisjunior year.

Dr. Stuart's team atMUSC included Dr.Debra Frei-Lahr andnurse practitionerChristine Schaub.Without a doubt, thisgroup of dedicatedmedical professionalscombined their talentsand saved the life of ourson. They actually savedSean twice. Shortly after Sean was discharged into thecare of the doctors at home, he developed a severecase of acute graft-versus-host disease. Sean was neardeath when the team at MUSC dispatched its plane toDelaware to bring him back to South Carolina.

Although Sean still had lingering effects fromchronic graft-versus-host, he was well enough to returnto The Citadel. Sean's fellow cadets whom he enteredThe Citadel with would be graduating as the Class of1996. Sean was too far behind in his studies to be partof the graduation in June. He was still determined tobe part of the Class of '96. He doubled his coursesand completed his studies in time for a December '96graduation. He is indeed a member of The CitadelClass of 1996. His membership was in large partbecause of his own fight and determination, but it wasmade possible through the efforts of Dr. Stuart andhis excellent team at MUSC.

Upon graduation, Dr. Stuart made arrangementsfor Sean to have follow-up care at the Graft vs. HostClinic at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. GeorgiaB. Vogelsang and nurse practitioner Vicki Anderstook Sean under their wings. He had his extremebattles with the graft-versus-host disease, but with theexcellent care provided at JHU, Sean was able of fulfillhis lifelong dream. In 1998, Sean became a trooperwith the Delaware State Police. Sean has recently beentransferred to the aviation section within the statepolice. He has started an 18-month course to becomea trooper medic. His desire to be a medic was bornout of his own fight for life battling aplastic anemia.As they say, pictures say 1,000 words. The smile onhis face tells it all. With the support of many, faith inGod and his doctors, Sean fought the good fight andhas overcome all odds.

While writing this article we learned about thepassing of Dr. Debra Frei-Lahr. She lost her battle tocancer, a disease that she had saved so many from.Our thoughts and prayers are with her family.

By KeVin MCdeRBy

A Patient’s Father

Sean McDerby

Letter of thanks to Stuart, team


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