February 9, 2004

MHA NewsWeekly Electronic Edition
Vol. 22, No. 5
February 9, 2004

Quote of the Week
“If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you haven’t been in bed with a mosquito.”
~ Anita Roddick

In this week's edition...
1. New Women’s Heart Guidelines Stress Early Action
2. Bush Expects Drug Makers To Do More to Prevent Diversion, Abuse
3. North Mississippi physicians uniting to meet demand
4. Mural a good supplement to Sisters of Mercy legacy
5. Church group makes cancer patients Queen for a Day
6. Help Jackson teachers
7. UMC's Taylor, Tsao to Speak at Annual Science Meeting Feb. 19-20 in Biloxi
8. Emergency Rooms Fail Test on Treating Food Allergy
9. CDC Webcast/Satellite Broadcast: Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism
10. A resource to read before you vote
11. Project Helping Hand continues
12. Positions Available
13. People in the News
14. News Around the State
15. MHA Education Calendar

1. New Women’s Heart Guidelines Stress Early Action
 The American Heart Association released new guidelines for preventing and treating heart disease in women on Feb. 4 and said most women still did not realize heart disease was more likely to kill them than anything else.
 The new guidelines, available on the Internet at www.americanheart.org, stress lifestyle as the first line of attack — stopping smoking, losing weight, exercising every day and eating a healthy diet. But they also call for aggressive use of drugs to lower cholesterol and blood pressure in high-risk women.
 Although surveys show women consider cancer to be their No. 1 health risk, cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of women globally, the Heart Association said. It takes the lives of nearly 500,000 U.S. women each year — one every minute.
 In 1997 the Heart Association found that 30 percent of women listed heart disease as the leading cause of death among women. But the latest survey of more than 1,000 women found that 46 percent now know the risk — an improvement, but still fewer than half of those surveyed. However, when asked what they consider their own greatest health risk, only 13 percent of respondents cited heart disease.
 The new recommendations incorporated more than 7,000 separate studies and divide women into three general groups — those at high risk of a heart attack or other “event,” those at medium risk and those at low risk.
 A high-risk woman, for instance, already has heart disease, has had a heart attack or stroke or has diabetes. A woman considered at moderate risk may have high blood pressure and high cholesterol, while a woman at low risk may be at a healthy weight with healthy blood pressure and cholesterol readings.
 The guidelines say low-risk women should not take daily aspirin to thin the blood because the risks of aspirin — it can cause stomach bleeding — outweigh the benefits. Also, women are more likely than men to have a hemorrhagic stroke. Instead, if a low-risk woman has slightly elevated cholesterol she can try to lower it with diet and exercise.
 But the recommendations call for using statins or other cholesterol-lowering drugs in high-risk women even if their cholesterol is at normal levels.
 The experts said a woman should think 50-100-150 — and seek a high-density lipoprotein or HDL reading of 50. This goal for so-called good cholesterol is higher than previous guidelines. LDL or bad cholesterol should be below 100 and triglycerides should be below 150.
 ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers are recommended for all high-risk women — even those whose blood pressure is normal. And unlike in men, women with heart disease should be checked for depression, as the two often go hand-in-hand, the Heart Association said.
 Letting women know that heart disease is the number one killer of women is the focus of the Mississippi Heart Truth campaign, an awareness campaign promoted by over 30 Mississippi hospitals and other statewide and national partners. For the latest information on the campaign, visit www.mshearttruth.com. To add your hospital to the list of participating hospitals, contact Shawn Lea at (601) 368-3237, (800) 289-8884 or slea@mhanet.org.

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2. Bush Expects Drug Makers To Do More to Prevent Diversion, Abuse  
 Expect more guidance from the FDA on how to identify drug diversion and abuse in patients and colleagues. A new report from the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) recommends just that after examining factors that have contributed to the widespread abuse and diversion of the powerful narcotic pain reliever OxyContin (GAO-04-110).
 As a result, the GAO wants the FDA to require that drug makers submit detailed risk management plans with their approval applications for drugs with a high risk for abuse. The plans should contain strategies for identifying potential problems with abuse and diversion.
 The FDA approved OxyContin in 1995 as a controlled-release narcotic pain reliever. Sales of the drug increased rapidly after the drug hit the marketplace in 1996, exceeding $1 billion annually by 2001. Today, it is the most frequently prescribed brand-name narcotic medication for treating moderate-to-severe pain in the United States, reports the GAO.
 It is also widely abused. Many drug abusers crush the tablets and either snort the powder or dissolve it in water and inject it. This defeats the drug’s controlled-release effect and creates an instant “rush” or “high,” the GAO reports.
 Several factors may have contributed to the abuse, the agency found, including:
• aggressive marketing by drug maker Purdue Pharma L.P., which encouraged physicians, including primary care specialists, to prescribe OxyContin as an initial opioid treatment for moderate-to-severe noncancer pain. By 2003, nearly half of all OxyContin prescribers were primary care physicians, the GAO reports.
• its active ingredient is twice as potent as morphine, which makes it an attractive target for misuse.
• the label’s original safety warned patients not to crush the tablets. This “may have inadvertently alerted abusers to methods for abuse,” the GAO concludes.
 Federal and state agencies and Purdue have since taken actions to address the abuse and diversion of the drug, including by approving a stronger safety warning label. The FDA and Purdue have also collaborated on a risk management plan to help detect and prevent OxyContin abuse and diversion — an approach that was not used when the drug was initially approved.
 The FDA also plans to provide guidance to the pharmaceutical industry by September 2004 on risk management plans, which are an optional feature of new drug applications.
 Purdue agreed with the GAO’s findings but stated that the report should have listed the media as a factor contributing to the abuse and diversion, because media stories provide the public with information on how to “get high” from using OxyContin incorrectly.
  Click hereto view the report.

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3. North Mississippi physicians uniting to meet demand
   Forty-six physicians attended the inaugural meeting of the DeSoto County Medical Society recently in Memphis. Dr. Jacinto Hernandez and Dr. Julio Ruiz of Mid-South Nephrology Consultants in Southaven have taken a leading role in organizing this association. Membership in the society is open to medical personnel working in DeSoto county. Those interested in joining do not need to be members of the American Medical Association or be residents of DeSoto county.
   Dr. Hernandez was elected president at the group's first meeting. Those attending the meeting also elected officers for the coming year. They are: Dr. Tapan Thakur, treasurer; Dr. Julio Ruiz, speaker; Dr. Larry Black, vice president; and Dr. Edward Evans, secretary. The society's next meeting was set for April 22 at 7 p.m. Physicians interested in learning more about the organization can contact Kim Brown or Margaret Smith at (662) 349-8323.

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4. Mural a good supplement to Sisters of Mercy legacy
   The newest mural at City Front in downtown Vicksburg honoring the city's history tells the story of the Sisters of Mercy. It is the seventh panel of the Riverfront Mural Project. Painted by Louisiana artist Robert Dafford and his staff, the mural has three scenes, each depicting the sister's work in Vicksburg. The health care scene is of nurses being taught by the sisters with three hospitals in the background.
   The order of Roman Catholic nuns established the Sisters of Mercy convent in Vicksburg in 1860 and opened the city's first Catholic school, St. Francis. The school closed during the Civil War while the sisters worked as nurses to help sick and wounded soldiers. (Disease made a far greater claim on soldiers of both armies than bullets.) It reopened as a school after the war and today is the Vicksburg Catholic School.
   The sisters also owned and operated Mercy Regional Medical Center from the 1950s until it was sold in 1992. In 1999, McAuley Home in the hospital complex, which had become a replacement for the convent, was emptied. The retired sisters moved to a church residential facility near New Orleans. After moving most of their members out of Vicksburg, the Sisters of Mercy funded and opened Mercy Delta Express, a 41-foot state-of-the-art medical and dental bus, in the Mississippi Delta. But their legacy continues in Vicksburg. And the new mural will help everyone remember it.

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5. Church group makes cancer patients Queen for a Day
   The 11th- and 12th-grade members of The Sonrisers girls' Bible study group from Madison United Methodist Church in Madison recently asked locals for crowns for "Queen for a Day" parties they will throw for girls getting cancer treatments at the University of Mississippi Medical Center's Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children. The now national Queen for a Day organization, started by Clinton native Jenna Edwards, encourages local communities to set aside party days for girls with cancer. During the parties, the girls are treated like queens, complete with robes, sashes, flowers, tiaras, makeovers and manicures. The patients keep the crowns as mementos.
   The next party is scheduled for Feb. 16 at 11 a.m. in the Blair E. Batson Conference Room. Forty-four crowns have been donated, with another 12 promised.  

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6. Help Jackson teachers
   Hospitals and individuals in the metro Jackson area are invited to help Jackson district teachers by donating extra supplies and incentives for their classroom. Items needed include all types of paper, pens, pencils, glue and glue sticks, rules, calculators, paint brushes and paint, dry-erase markers, tape, paper grocery bags, wallpaper books, various types of containers, pie tins, cassette tapes, flashlights and batteries, umbrellas, magazines, games, Legos, manipulatable toys and children's books. the district plans a pickup day on Friday, Feb. 13, for those who wish to donate. For a pickup, call the district at (601) 960-8905.

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7. UMC's Taylor, Tsao to Speak at Annual Science Meeting Feb. 19-20 in Biloxi
   Dr. Herman Taylor, director and principal investigator of the Jackson Heart Study, and Dr. Audrey K. Tsao, professor of orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, are scheduled to speak at the Mississippi Academy of Sciences 68th annual meeting Feb. 19-20 at the Broadwater Towers convention area at President's Casino in Biloxi. Taylor will deliver the prestigious Dodgen Lecture, "The Jackson Heart Study Confronts the Heart of an Epidemic," while Tsao will present "Orthopaedics and Engineering: the Chicken and the Egg."
   The meeting, which will focus on cardiovascular research, will provide an excellent forum for researchers and educators to exchange ideas and information. Research papers will be presented in divisional meetings and abstracts of the papers will be published in a supplement to the Journal of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences.  
   Also scheduled to speak are Dr. Richard Alley, professor of geosciences at Pennsylvania State University; Dr. Joan Fitzpatrick of the United States Geological Survey, who will present "Climate Change: Its History and Future;" and Dr. Joseph A. Cameron, professor and director of the graduate program and director of the Bridges to the Baccalaureate Degree Program at Jackson State University, who will present "Bridges to the Baccalaureate Degree Program: A Method to Recruit and Train the Next Generation of Biomedical Engineering Research Scientists." For more information, call (601) 366-2995, or visit the academy's Web site.

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8. Emergency Rooms Fail Test on Treating Food Allergy
   Emergency rooms are not providing the proper lifesaving care to people brought in with severe allergic reactions to food, U.S. researchers reported on Feb. 9. A survey of 21 North American emergency rooms showed only 16 percent of all patients coming in with severe allergic reactions were treated with epinephrine, the gold standard for treating allergic reactions to food.
   Clark and colleagues at the Department of Emergency Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston found that 72 percent of the patients were given antihistamines, while 48 percent got corticosteroids -- neither of which is supposed to be used in treating an acute allergic reaction. Writing in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Clark and colleagues said the patients they studied had allergies to nuts, crustaceans, fruit and fish.
   Only 16 percent were prescribed self-injectable epinephrine when leaving, despite the very real risk of suffering a life-threatening reaction again. And only 12 percent were advised to visit and allergist or immunologist. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, which publishes the journal, estimates that 1 percent to 2 percent of the general population is at risk for anaphylaxis -- severe allergic reaction -- from food allergies and insect stings. It said the study suggested that emergency room workers need better education on how to treat allergies.

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9. CDC Webcast/Satellite Broadcast: Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism
   There will be a Public Health Training Network Webcast entitled Medical Response to Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism on Tuesday, February 10, 2004, from 1:00 to 2:00 PM EST. The complete course overview is available online here.

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10. A resource to read before you vote
   Who's mandating that employers offer coverage and is offering refundable tax credits if they do? Which one wants to create a new MediKids program? If you're puzzling through the health care proposals that the candidates for president are offering, the American Hospital Association has put together 16 pages of charts that break it down. You can view it here. (Incidentally, the answers to the above questions are Richard Gephardt and Joe Lieberman, respectively.)

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11. Project Helping Hand continues
   The American Hospital Association announced last September a program to encourage members to donate used medical equipment and surplus supplies to hospitals and clinics outside Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. The Association is working with Global Watch Group, a non-profit organization that will collect, transfer and distribute the supplies in Afghanistan. The program is called "Project Helping Hand: Improving Hospitals and Health Care in Afghanistan."
   The needs for this project continue. Needs include adult crash carts, pediatric crash carts, X-ray machines, nebulizers, respirators/ventilators, incubators, beds and bedding, blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes and thermometers. A complete list of needed equipment and supplies can be found on GWG's Web site at www.globalwatchgroup.org. Hospitals wishing to donate used medical equipment and surplus supplies can contact GWG at (202) 521-5198 or e-mail globalwatchgroup@yahoo.com.

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12. Positions Available
 Magnolia Regional Health Center in Corinth is seeking a Clinical Dietitian. Must be a registered dietitian with the CDR and licensed in MS. Prefer acute care clinical exp. For more information, call (662) 293-1196 or visit www.mrhc.org.
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 Magnolia Regional Health Center is seeking a Psychiatric Nurse. MS RN license required. Psychiatric experience preferred. For more information, contact Sonya Wyke,RN, Crossroads Unit Manager, at  (662) 293-5590 or visit www.mrhc.org.
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 Magnolia Regional Health Center is seeking a Director of Food & Nutrition Services. RD/LD with management experience required. B.A. and/or additional certifications in food service preferred. For more information, call (662) 293-1300 or visit www.mrhc.org.
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 Tyler Holmes Memorial Hospital is seeking a full-time medical records coder. Inpatient and outpatient coding experience preferred. Apply at the hospital or fax resume to (662) 283-4640. For more information, contact Janice McClain at (662) 283-4114.
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 Tyler Holmes Memorial Hospital is seeking a full-time registered diagnostic medical sonographer. Vascular experience preferred. Apply at the hospital or fax resume to (662) 283-4640. For more information, contact Celia Graham at (662) 283-4114.
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 Select Medical Corporation is seeking a Chief Executive Officer for their freestanding Select Specialty Hospital in Biloxi and their “hospital within a hospital” located in Memorial Hospital at Gulfport. Qualified candidates will have results-oriented senior hospital management experience and a successful record in quality operations, program development and budgets. Mail resumes to Connie Newell, HR/Recruitment, Select Medical Corporation, 4716 Old Gettysburg Rd., Mechanicsburg, PA 17055; fax to (717) 763-8694; or e-mail to cnewell@selectmedicalcorp.com.
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 Hancock Medical Center is seeking a Health Information Director. BS degree in Medical Records Administration and five years experience, with two of those years in medical records administration, are required. Interested parties should apply at Hancock Medical Center, 149 Drinkwater Blvd., or mail resume to Human Resources, P.O. Box 2790, Bay St. Louis, MS 39521.
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 St. Dominic Hospital is seeking a Director of Patient Financial Services. BS degree in Accounting or Business Administration preferred. Must have supervisory experience and significant work in the area of health care collections. Apply online at www.stdom.com or fax your resume to (601) 200-6722. For information on all jobs available at St. Dominic’s, call the Jobline at (601) 200-6700.

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13. People in the News
 The following employees recently received I Swim with the Dolphins pins at Rankin Medical Center in Brandon: Christina Ammons, Dr. Andy Anfanger, Marie Bagwell, Dr. Marshall Belaga, Georgeann Case, Joe Clancy, Chris Cothern, Mark Cook, Amber Cox, Julie Grantham, Dr. James Jefferson, Herrie Jenkins, Fred Johnson, Alton Lee, Debbie McLean, Mike McMillin, Tyra Murphy, Davis Richards, Danny Salers, Beau Simonson, Jonathan Thomas, Ashley Thompson, Vernon Tucker, Lisa Walsh and Dwight Walton. This group was recognized for possessing many positive attributes shared with dolphins — gentleness, compassion, intelligence, the ability to adapt and selfless concern for the safety and happiness of the group.
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 East Mississippi State Hospital in Meridian recently honored four retirees with a reception at the hospital. Alice Rowe, a pharmacist, retired in November with more than 10 years of service. Carolyn Hunter, nurse administrator, retired with almost 27 years of service. Christine Wilson, CNA at Reginald P. White, retired with more than 27 years of experience. And Charles Wiggins of the Lab and X-Ray Department retired with over 34 years of service.
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 Clinton Davis was named East Mississippi State Hospital’s Employee of the Fourth Quarter. He has been employed by the hospital since 1992 and currently works as a direct care supervisor on the Acute Psychiatric Receiving Male Unit on second shift.
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 John J. “Jack” Cleary, President & CEO of River Oaks Health System in Flowood, has been named CEO of the Year by Health Management Associates. Cleary was selected from over 52 HMA hospital administrators in 16 states. The award is given to the CEO who exceeds corporate goals in the areas of fiscal management, hospital operations, quality of care indicators, patient satisfaction, overall leadership abilities and management skills.
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 Dr. Marcia Rachel, assistant chief nursing officer, was selected  by UMC’s Quality Council to receive the Customer Service Award for December. Dr. Rachel performed “above and beyond her duties” for a UMC family and her outstanding service was reported to the Intervention Line.
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 Carl Mangum, assistant professor of nursing at UMC, has been appointed director of emergency preparedness in the School of Nursing. The appointment coincides with his certification in Homeland Security by the American Board for Certification in Homeland Security of the American College of Forensic Examiners International.
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 Dr. Pauline Abbott recently began work in her new role as medical director of North Mississippi Medical Center’s Occupational Medicine and Work Link programs. She began seeing patients on Feb. 2 at Med Serve in Tupelo. Work Link provides area companies convenient access to rehabilitative and outpatient care. Dr. Abbott earned her medical degree from Kirksville College in Kirksville, Mo., and completed an internal medicine residency at Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre, Penn. She earned a master’s degree in occupational medicine from the Medical College of Wisconsin and is board certified in both occupational and environmental medicine and internal medicine. 
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  Dr. Leigh Ann Ramsey, assistant professor of pharmacy practice at UMC, was installed as president of the Mississippi Pharmacists Association during the organization's annual convention. She received her Pharm.D. from UM. She has completed a primary care residency and is a board certified pharmacotherapy specialist. In addition to her teaching responsibilities at UMC, Ramsey is director of the Pharmaceutical Care Clinic, providing disease management in diabetes, asthma, anticoagulation and dyslipidemia.

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14. News Around the State
 East Mississippi State Hospital recently held a ground breaking ceremony for the Reginald P. White Nursing Facility. The new facility will be located on an 18-acre tract of EMSH property in the western part of Meridian off Old 8th Street Road. The $11.5 million project includes the construction of two120-bed single story buildings.
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 UMC’s Clinical Skills Assessment Center is recruiting individuals of all races to participate in a new teaching program for medical students. Retirees with medical teaching or teaching experience are preferred. Individuals will be trained to act out certain medical problems in a standardized manner. The program requires approximately four to 10 hours per month, divided into several two-hour sessions. Some individuals will be paid for their services. The next training session is scheduled for Feb. 27. For more information, call Kathryn Hill at (601) 985-4566.
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 Pine Grove, Forrest General Hospital’s Behavioral Health Center of Excellence, has been awarded a $787,000 Permanent Supportive Housing grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, aimed at ending homelessness in Hattiesburg. The grant will be used to develop and maintain Pine Grove Village to help homeless individuals. Services at the Village will include disease management, clinical therapy, retraining, vocational rehabilitation and employment services for those suffering with psychiatric, behavioral, medical or addictive disorders.
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 River Region Medical Center in Vicksburg recently had a topping out ceremony for its first expansion. The three-story wing will open in early July, with the top floor holding a 12,000-square-feet cardiac intensive care unit for the open heart surgery program. The unit will start with eight to 10 beds but can expand to 14 beds, if needed. The new wing is the first expansion of the facility since the center opened in February of 2002. Since River Region opened, Dr. Ed Crocker, a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon, has been added to the staff and will work in the unit. The cost of the project is $7 million.
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 George County Hospital in Lucedale recently opened a new Inpatient Senior Care program. An Open House was held in late January. Dr. William Clark is medical director.
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  Construction crews are digging in for the next phase of construction at Oktibbeha County Hospital in Starkville. Workers are laying the groundwork for a materials and supplies building, and bids are about to be let for the south tower, which will eventually be home to a new emergency department and other clinical areas. The first phase of the project--a new parking lot--is complete. The $30 million project, which is projected to be completed in 2005, will expand the hospital on three sides. The current emergency room space was renovated in 1984 and was designed to handle 7,500 to 8,000 visitors. The hospital is seeing about 21,000 visitors annually. The project will also expand the hospital's surgical areas, doubling the number of operating rooms from four to eight, with room to add six more. A good portion of the project's budget--about $5 million--is for updating and adding medical equipment. The final renovation phase will also enlarge the hospital's lobby and create much-needed waiting areas.
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   River Oaks Health System in Flowood has been named a quality respiratory care provider by the American Association for Respiratory Care. Hospitals must meet certain criteria and credentials to gain recognition into the program. The Respiratory Department was also recently accredited by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Vascular Laboratories. Brenda Ledbetter serves as director of the cardiopulmonary department.
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   North Mississippi Medical Center's Breast Care Center is sponsoring a series of community programs for women diagnosed with breast cancer. Life after Diagnosis will be offered at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at the North Mississippi Medical Center Breast Care Center. Additional programs will be offered on March 23, April 27 and May 25. The programs provide educational and emotional support from health care providers and breast cancer survivors and women can join the program at any part in the series. For more information, call 1-800-THE-DESK.
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   S. E. Lackey Memorial Hospital in Forest is currently working with architects and engineers on the design phase of a new building. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2005. The hospital is proposing a new building project that will relocate them to a 30-acre area in the city's industrial park. The estimated cost is to be between $8 and $12 million and at least 50 new jobs will be created. The new facility will expand outpatient services and provide additional space for physicians, wellness programs and other services. The number of in-patient beds will remain at 25. The current facility was built in 1950.
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   Magee General Hospital recently purchased the  LORAD M-IV mammography system . The new system will improve both the quality and the comfort of hospital mammograms. Diane Myers, a certified mammographer with over 25 years of experience in x-ray technology, has also been hired by the hospital.

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15. MHA Education Calendar

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