Archive for March, 2007

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Kicker up?

Tuesday, March 27th, 2007

I read in the Daily Announcements that the UTMB Coed Softball League will begin play the week of April 1, 2007, and will run through mid-June with a season-ending championship tournament. (Games are played on the softball fields across from the Alumni Field House, and you can get more information and registration forms from Scott Rein at ext. 76305 or Scott Saxon at ext. 25689. Deadline for registration is April 2, 2007.)

I help coach a Little League team of seven- and eight-years-olds. The kids teach me a lot about myself and about human nature, and one day I’d like to spell out a few of those wonderful lessons. But as the call goes out for UTMB’s long-popular softball league, one lesson sticks: some people are meant to play baseball/softball, and some aren’t. I think I fall in the latter.

It’s not a matter of genetics. I have an uncle who’s a member of a world-series-for-seniors winning softball team. They have a few players in their 80′s. He’s a youngster in his mid-60′s. I didn’t get any of his talent.

It’s not a matter of practice. A few years ago I was part of an office team that tried to be somewhat serious. We had a ringer on the team, the son of a co-worker who went on to fame in the major leagues. The closest I came to distinguishing myself on the field was escorting a colleague to our ER with a shattered foot bone. She was OK but my interest faded.

It resurfaced when my son hit tee-ball age. He liked it. I was being the dutiful dad, helping out, letting him experience the lessons of a team sport. In the process I realized how great all those little kids were, how after a long and hard day at work, they could still make me smile, still make me laugh and enjoy the fading light of a spring evening on the practice field, the feel of a worn leather mitt or the ring of a bat. The day is near when many of these kids will be able to throw better, hit farther, know more about the finer points of baseball. They’ll move on, and maybe I’ll be left with an itch to get my sneakers dusted with the orange clay of the infield.

A colleague mentioned Monday that kickball leagues were a big deal in other parts of the country. Now that sounds interesting, maybe a little more my speed.

         

Posted in Life in Galveston | Comments Off

A recap of the weekend’s clips

Monday, March 26th, 2007

What’s the barometer you use to measure how UTMB is doing? For many, it’s what runs in the newspaper about us. Keeping this in mind, consider this collection of clips from this past few days:

The scare of my life
Galveston County Daily News, March 25, 2007 By Debra Danburg
GALVESTON — It started with some bad clams I ate during a visit to Maryland — or so we assumed. In fact, my diagnosis was far more serious than the hepatitis A that my husband, Bob, and I erroneously suspected I’d contracted. Still, with luck, I may end up owing my survival to early diagnosis and a highly skilled surgeon. And I owe that to having decided a year ago to get my health care at a world-class academic medical center where well-trained and highly experienced physicians and surgeons diagnose and treat some of the most complex and terrifying medical problems human beings can face: UTMB in my new hometown of Galveston. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=bf8e0ba1d775f25e

Hospitals step up recruiting as crisis nears
Galveston County Daily News, March 25, 2007
GALVESTON — In the business of health care, David Marshall is a hot commodity. Hardly a week goes by that Marshall, a registered nurse, doesn’t receive letters, e-mails or calls from headhunters, all dangling such enticements as higher pay, fat signing bonuses and flexible scheduling. It’s nice to be wanted, said Marshall, assistant vice president for patient care and chief nursing officer at the University of Texas Medical Branch hospitals and clinics. But the increasingly aggressive recruiting tactics by some hospitals underscore a state and national staffing shortage so severe it could, in just a few years, leave thousands of hospital patients hitting the nurse call button and finding no one there to answer. “It’s a huge issue for our nation,” said Marshall, an administrator who no longer works at bedsides. “Who’s going to be there to take care of us when we need nursing care?” Nursing shortages are nothing new. For years, U.S. hospitals have imported nurses from Canada, the Philippines and elsewhere to fill vacancies. But an aging baby boomer population and aging nursing work force are combining to create an unprecedented crisis that could lead to more medical mistakes and even patient deaths, experts say. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=95dc255715e4f0f2

Debate too crucial to miss
Galveston County Daily News, March 25, 2007 Editorial by Heber Taylor
Last fall, the medical school at Stanford University adopted a policy that prohibits physicians who work at its hospitals from accepting any gifts — no matter how small — from representatives of pharmaceutical producers. Physicians at Stanford said the policy was a response to a problem: the erosion of public trust in medicine due to the influence of drug companies. That issue was already a hot topic at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Stanford’s move just made the topic a little hotter. Since then, something important has happened. UTMB was debating what its policies should be, and some wise people have taken steps to broaden this debate to include the community. That means you. On Tuesday, you’re invited to a forum to discuss this topic. Why should you care? Because sooner or later, you or someone you know is going to be a patient. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=45d22047ff338844

Forum focuses on doctors’ links to drug makers
Galveston County Daily News, March 25, 2007
GALVESTON — Should pharmaceutical companies be allowed to continue to advertise new and powerful drugs on TV? Should your doctor be permitted to accept free samples of these drugs and pass them along to you? Should physicians and academic researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, in addition to their regular salaries, also be allowed to receive drug company retainers? Should they accept free meals, free trips or even free ball-point pens from drug companies? A panel including Dr. Howard Brody, UTMB professor and author of “Hooked: Ethics, the Medical Profession and the Pharmaceutical Industry,” and John Swen, vice president for science policy and public affairs for Pfizer Global Research and Development, will present their perspectives on these and other issues at a community forum Tuesday. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=8a75a970725ab555

UTMB forum features national expert on stress
Galveston County Daily News, March 25, 2007
GALVESTON — Stress and what to do about it is the focus of a roundtable discussion featuring researcher Janice Kiecolt-Glaser. The event is set for 5 p.m. Tuesday at Levin Hall North, 10th and Market streets, on the campus of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. The event is the fourth installment of the Nicholson Integrative Medicine Roundtable series. The forum is free and open to the public. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=0dba4c5b87a61c1d

UTMB names obstetrics, gynecology chairman
Galveston County Daily News, March 24, 2007
GALVESTON — The University of Texas Medical Branch has appointed Dr. Gary D. V. Hankins as its new chairman of obstetrics and gynecology. Hankins was vice chairman for 11 years before being named interim chairman when Dr. Garland Anderson was appointed UTMB dean of medicine in October. As chairman, Hankins will lead the renovation and expansion of the university’s labor and delivery areas and nurseries. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=81a196eee0735c63

Valley suffering from psychiatrist shortage
McAllen Monitor, March 24, 2007
BROWNSVILLE — Margal M. Vicars sits at his work desk with his fingers entwined. He tries not to cry, bows his head and remembers all the tears he’s shed because he’s unable to help his beloved wife, “Sarita.” “I don’t know what else to do,” the 81-year-old Vicars said at his Brownsville office. “I don’t know how many times I’ve sat here and cried my eyes out.” Sarah Vicars, 79, suffers from severe depression. With no psychiatrist working in this city and only one in private practice in Cameron County, Margal Vicars fears she won’t get the help she needs. Margal Vicars was once a Brownsville mayor. Sarah was the city’s first lady. He remembers her as a vibrant woman who was greatly involved in the community, serving on boards and active in the annual Charro Days festivities. She changed when the couple’s only daughter died seven years ago. One option is having patients meet with psychiatrists electronically, communicating through a computer. The trend, more commonly known as telemedicine, would link a patient with a doctor at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, said Maribel Martinez, with UTMB-Galveston. http://www.themonitor.com/onset?id=1117&template=article.html

Scientists discover zinc link to a leading cause of blindness
WebWire, March 23, 2007
GALVESTON, Texas — An international research team including scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) and the Galveston-based spinoff Neurobiotex, Inc. has found high levels of zinc in deposits in the eye that are an indication of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) — the leading cause of blindness in the elderly in the developed world. The finding, published this month in the journal Experimental Eye Research, contributes to a better understanding of AMD and could facilitate the development of effective treatments, said UTMB ophthalmologist Erik van Kuijk, senior author of the study. http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=30460

Rice contest pairs students with investors to launch technology companies, products
Houston Chronicle, March 23, 2007
HOUSTON — Their pitch was simple — a straight smile in half the time. And that catchy line helped students from the University of Illinois at Chicago sell their idea to start a business to a Houston investor during the annual Rice University business plan competition last year. Chris Wasden, a former investment banker who judged the competition, licensed the technology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and paid students an undisclosed amount for their plan. Since then Wasden has started a venture to develop that product, which he hopes to have on the market by 2009. Selling an idea is the dream of dozens of competitors from across the world who are in Houston this week for the 2007 Rice University Business Plan Competition. This year, the competition features many plans based on biotechnology and the life sciences. The team from UCLA, for example, wants to develop a minimally invasive surgical procedure to treat glaucoma. Students from the University of Illinois at Chicago are promoting an imaging technology that can predict cardiovascular diseases. And the Rice University team’s plan is built around medical tests used to tell if a woman is at risk for a premature delivery. The technology was developed by the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4654447.html

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In this case, we should listen

Wednesday, March 21st, 2007

They say money talks. In the case of UTMB’s abbreviated comprehensive fundraising campaign, we should listen. Why? Because there are almost $250 Million dollars on the table right now from smart and experienced people, foundations, businesses and others who have taken a hard look at us, at our institution and the great work we do, and said “wow.” And they’ve reached for their checkbooks to help us continue doing these great things, or do them even better.

That was the message I took away from the community forum on March 19. If you missed it, you can watch it online and get details on those dollars, where they came from and where they are going: http://www.utmb.edu/communityforum/default.asp

   

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Art imitating life, or not

Tuesday, March 20th, 2007

If you missed these, they are a fun and/or interesting read.

“ER” shows accurate pace of emergency rooms
Galveston County Daily News, March 19, 2007
GALVESTON — The funny thing about medical students and doctors is that they don’t have a lot of time to watch all those TV shows about medical students and doctors. Still, Dr. Angela K. Gardner has seen enough episodes of NBC’s drama series “ER” to make a diagnosis about how true a portrayal it is of the real-life business of saving lives…The show is pretty good at capturing how hectic an emergency room can be, Gardner said. “The pace feels right,” said Gardner, assistant professor in the division of Emergency Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch. “But they get their scripts out and say all these things and they have no idea what they mean.” But at the island emergency room, there’s a lot more trauma and a lot less drama, Gardner said. Read more.

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ misses mark on romances
Galveston County Daily News, March 19, 2007
GALVESTON — Is there a Dr. McDreamy working on the island? Residents at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston say it’s possible..But for the most part, the melodrama and oversexed lives of the surgical interns at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” is pure fiction. Dr. Grace Huang, a third-year anesthesiologist resident at UTMB, said the show often treats surgery as the only specialty needed to run a hospital. “It seems like the surgeons on the show run the entire hospital,” she said. “There’s no internal medicine, no emergency doctors. In real life, there are other physicians that you really consult with every day.” Read more.

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Email etiquette and the hive mentality

Thursday, March 15th, 2007

File this under “no good deed goes unpunished.” Someone found a set of keys and sent email to a few hundred (maybe a few thousand?) of her closest friends. There was no way to really tell, because–with nothing but the best intention—she sent the message using some of the distribution lists in the Exchange Email global address book. But they were big groups of people.

Sure enough, the owner of the keys got the message and was reunited with his/her missing item. We all heard about it. And then two (or three or four) people replied to everyone about how great and wonderful that was. And then it got weird. People, uninterested in the keys saga, took umbrage at the many emails sent to so many, and started emailing the entire group again, this time saying they did not want to get anymore messages on the topic. There were another dozen messages, again sent to everyone, saying to not send those messages to everyone. It eventually tailed off and I guess people got back to work.

I’m no Miss Manners of the email world, and this incident isn’t something I’m losing any sleep over, but I’ve been asked to assemble a list of email best practices. (I guess this request stems from that “internal communication” part of my job title.) Some of it is common sense, some is covered in our required training, some of it is just convention that maybe not all of us know. Watch for it in an upcoming Impact and I’ll post a link to it from my blog. And, I’m glad those keys found their owner. 

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

The scoop on the poop and the corn

Thursday, March 15th, 2007

A few mornings ago people arrived on campus and saw feed corn scattered on the sidewalk. The corn had been blown off the roof.

We had started—and since suspended—a new program with a bird relocation expert that was going to help us manage our very large population of pigeons and grackles. They love our trees, love our ledges, and have foiled several years of effort and many different strategies to make our campus less hospitable to them.  

As part of the new program, regular corn was going to be fed to the birds for several weeks, to get them accustomed to feeding on corn on our rooftops. Then, the plan was to substitute regular corn for corn treated with a controlled product designed to make the birds who eat it act erratically, which in turn would disrupt the flocks and get many of the birds to relocate. Think of how you’d react to an obnoxious and drunk human—not a lot of fun to be around. Same general principle would apply to our feathered friends, according to the experts.  

There isn’t and hasn’t been a plan to purposely kill or poison the bird population, but we do understand a relatively small percentage of the pigeons and grackles who eat the treated corn (5-15%)—particularly those who gorge on large amounts of treated corn or who are already sick—could die from it. (In the same way someone who drinks too much can die from alcohol poisoning). 

In any case, the university has shelved the project and is taking additional time to make sure we are aware of and understand all the issues and concerns, and to continue to explore additional options. No additional corn has been put out; no treated corn was ever put out.  

We’re still committed and working hard to maintain the cleanliness in the areas where the pigeons and grackles roost. In addition to being slippery, droppings can pose a health threat. The daily cleanings continue. The job seems to keep getting bigger.

Fortunately, the heavy rains this week helped wash the trees and ledges off, and the facilities team will keep at the controls of their pressure washers and sidewalk scrubbers.  I’ll let you know more when I hear it.

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Legislative update from UT System

Tuesday, March 13th, 2007

The University of Texas System Office of Governmental Relations (OGR) produces an online newsletter that offeres a recap of the latest news from our legislators in Austin. “With the regular session of the 80th Legislature now in full swing, it is critical to keep information flowing. Every week LU will deliver timely news about the status of our most important issues and legislation, key committee actions, the state budget, and upcoming events of interest.”

You can see the March 12 edition here. It’s still early days for this session, but things seem to be moving along pretty well.

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Hogs and Horses “Mission for the Missing”

Tuesday, March 13th, 2007

Last fall I posted an entry about a UTMB family who lost a loved one to a wicked Colorado storm. Walter Eugene Benskin of Santa Fe, husband of UTMB GCRC staffer Cheryl Benskin, was lost in a blizzard while on a hunting trip.

There’s a fundraiser planned by a group that helped the Benskin family and friends in their search, and that hopes to return to Rio Blanco County this spring to help the family find closure. Texas EquuSearch plans its Third Annual “Mission for the Missing” benefit, on Saturday, May 19 from 1 to 11 pm at the Galveston County Fairgrounds, Ed Pickett Hall, in Hitchcock, Texas. Events include a Bar BQ dinner and dancing, live auction beginning at 4:30; silent auction and games. There will also be a raffle for a 2007 Harley FXST Softail Standard motorcycle, sponsored by Stubbs Harley-Davidson. Raffle tickets are on sale for $25. For more information or tickets, contact Cheryl (she’s chairing the event) at (409) 789-4928 or visit http://www.texasequusearch.org

 

Posted in Down Time, Uncategorized | Comments Off

News highlights for this past week

Friday, March 9th, 2007

My hat is off to Marsha Canright, my colleague in Public Affairs, who in spite of being painfully short staffed right now, “keeps on trucking.” Take as an example, this past week in review:

Week’s Top Stories
· Galveston County Daily News, March 9, 2007, UTMB Daylight Savings switch stokes fears. Quotes UTMB’s Todd Leach.
· Galveston County Daily News, March 8, 2007, High hopes for burn scar laser treatment. Quotes UTMB physician, Dr. Erica Kelly.
· Galveston County Daily News, March 8, 2007, Film Doctor. Photo essay on the filming of “Healer,” an educational film produced by UTMB’s Rodger Marion, Ph.D., assistant dean for academic affairs in the School of Allied Health Sciences.
· Galveston County Daily News, March 7, 2007, Program lets women offenders bond with their babies. Quotes UTMB nurse Kathi Simpson.
· Reliant Plant Magazine, March 7, 2007, Facilities earn spots as EPA top-performers
· Houston Chronicle, March 6, 2007, Teen’s survival in Gulf ‘pretty amazing.’ Article about teen that recovered at UTMB after 28 hours in the Gulf.
· Nanotechnology News, March 5, 2007, Nanoparticle Films May Lead to Artificial Retina. Quotes UTMB’s Todd Pappas
· Austin American Statesman, March 4, 2007, Academic efforts lucrative. Article on academic medicine and UTMB’s efforts to expand doctor training and other programs at the city-owned, Seton-operated Brackenridge Hospital
· Galveston County Daily News, March 4, 2007, UTMB ranks 10th in Texas for giving
· Dallas Morning News, March 2, FDA to study kids’ use of cold medicine. Quotes UTMB’s Dr. Wayne Snodgrass

Columns and Commentaries
· Galveston County Daily News, March 7, 2007, Avoiding children’s sports-related injuries. By Drs. Sally Robinson and Keith Bly.

Upcoming News
· John Gohime with HDNet, the Dallas-based high definition news network, is planning to do a 20 minute segment on prison moms including a prison nursery in Nebraska and our ‘Love Me Tender’ program
· Reporters from Brownsville, Houston and Galveston are scheduled to cover our Match Day program on Thursday, March 15.

News Releases
· March 6: Love Me Tender program lets some female offenders bond with their newborns
· March 5: Laser treatments seen as potential breakthrough in treatment of burn scars
· March 2: UTMB named 10th in Texas for charitable giving
· March 2: UTMB student wins honors at military medical center

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Another example of why blood donations are so important

Friday, March 9th, 2007

Last week I wrote about a blood drive for the School of Medicine’s Pam Bass; the drive was a success, with 44 people turning out to donate over two days. People are continuing to show up and donate, and Pam and the UTMB Blood Bank still need your support.

Another email is circulating about platelet donors being sought for Linda Fradkin, The Daily News’ food columnist, who is undergoing treatment for leukemia. She’ll require many transfusions of blood components, especially platelets, which allow blood to clot. M.D. Anderson Blood Bank has agreed to send two donor coaches to Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 22 in Galveston, on March 14. Appointments are required; to donate, call Robyn Bushong at 409-740-1152. Fradkin also is in need of white blood cells. Call the M.D. Anderson Blood Bank at (713) 792-7777 to donate there.

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