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CARTI Looks Toward the Future
In celebration of its 30th anniversary, Central Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute (CARTI), with locations in five Arkansas cities, is marking its next move.
"We've actually been planning for a long time," said CARTI CEO Jan Burford, a seventh-generation Arkansan. "We've done a lot of demographics analysis with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. By 2015, (we know) we'll have a significantly larger population. Seventy percent of our patients are over 50 and the baby boomers are moving into their peak cancer years.
BY JEREMY PEPPAS |
Dying From Embarrassment
It seems like such a random amount of time — 18 minutes — just a little over 1,000 seconds.
In that span time of time one American man dies from prostate cancer.
Last year, some 30,000 American men died from the disease; about 83 men a day.
And how many of those deaths could have been avoided?
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Kidney Cancer Drug Shows Promise for Lung Cancer
A drug already approved for the treatment of kidney cancer shows promise for the treatment of some lung cancers, too. That's according to research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting held in Atlanta this past June.
Dr. Mark A. Socinski, an associate professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, explains to Medical News that the oral drug sunitinib malate, already shown to inhibit a kidney tumor cell's ability to develop new blood vessels, offers the same avenue of hope for some patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
BY SHARON H. FITZGERALD |
ASCO Meeting Showcases Hopeful Cancer Research
A study regarding the effectiveness of a kidney cancer drug against lung cancer was just one of many findings revealed at the June annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Atlanta. Kidney cancer patients heard some good news as well.
In a phase 3 clinical trial of an investigational drug called lapatinib, cancer growth slowed and survival improved in some patients with advanced kidney cancer. Specifically, the growth of renal cell carcinoma decelerated, thanks to the drug.
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Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy Celebrates $14 Million in Research Grants … So Far
When physicians and medical researchers see the acronym ACGT, they think "adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine," the string of four nucleotides that constitute DNA. That's why Edward Netter gets such a kick out of the name he came up with for the organization he founded with his wife, Barbara, in 2001 — the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT®).
"By then, I had probably read 20 books on gene therapy, and ACGT is universal," he says. Netter trademarked the new alliance's name.
BY SHARON H. FITZGERALD |
Television, Religion Influence Public Perception of Mental Health
Seeing a mental health professional still has a stigma attached to it, but two influences — television and religion — are slowly beginning to change people's attitudes.
"How mental health is depicted on television is big," said Dr. Bert Price, medical director of St. Bernards Behavioral Health in Jonesboro. "People will see something and it will make them think (about mental illness). Especially if it's an accurate depiction, a show like 'Monk,' which has a character with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), will make a difference."
BY JEREMY PEPPAS |
Vagus Nerve Stimulation
For almost a decade, patients suffering from some forms of epilepsy have received the benefit of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy. In July 2005, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the device for the most severe cases of treatment-resistant depression.
Dr. Richard L. Rudolph, vice president of clinical and medical affairs and the chief medical officer for Cyberonics, the Houston-based manufacturer of the device, says FDA approval for the treatment of patients with refractory epilepsy came in 1997, and the following year clinical trials for depression were launched.
BY CINDY SANDERS |
Family Ties
In late June of this year, Families for Depression Awareness (FFDA) launched an online tool to help patients and their relatives trace their mental health family tree. Certain illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, have strong familial connections.
"Bipolar disorder often runs in families like cancer or heart disease," says Julie Totten, president of FFDA, who founded the nonprofit organization in 2001 in the wake of her own family's mental health struggles.
BY CINDY SANDERS |
By the Numbers
88,000
Total population of Saline County.
880
Total number of employees at Saline Memorial.
167
Number of licensed beds at Saline Memorial.
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Physician Spotlight: Dr. T. Eric Bowen
Born in the South and educated, at least partly, in the North, and now back in the South again, Dr. T. Eric Bowen, a cardiologist with the Heart Clinic Arkansas in Little Rock, knows the differences between the two.
"What you find in the North is that not as many people smoke as down here," Bowen said. "You have a higher incidences of diabetes here ... people up there tend to be real Internet savvy, and you tend to be their third or fourth stop, but a lot of the time, here in Little Rock, you are generally the first."
BY JEREMY PEPPAS |
Saline County Medical Community Experiencing Changes
BENTON — With all the growth, things are changing rapidly in Saline County, especially at Saline Memorial.
The county-owned hospital recently sent Quorum management packing and installed a new CEO, Randy Fortner, a Benton native who spent the last 18 years as chief operating officer at St. Joseph's in Hot Springs.
"My parents still live here," Fortner said, on his first day on the job, but "it's not the same Benton I remember as I kid."
BY JEREMY PEPPAS |
Fight Over Specialty Hospitals Goes on Even After Moratorium is Lifted
For Cirrus Health in Dallas, a three-year federal moratorium directed at specialty hospitals has given them time to work on some long-range planning.
"To be honest," says Cirrus spokesperson Tracy Edwards, "we've been laying the foundation for physician-owned hospitals during the moratorium. With it ending, of course, it just opens up the opportunities."
Those opportunities lie in signing up groups of physicians to invest in new specialty hospitals for a development pipeline that now includes eight to 12 projects around the country.
JOHN CARROLL |
St. Vincent Plans $40 Million Expansion
The look of midtown Little Rock is about to change with two major construction projects on facing corners at the intersection of Markham and University.
On the northeast corner, a new shopping center is going up. Across the street, St. Vincent will construct a $40 million hospital expansion project.
The project calls for a four-level facility with a modern glass facade, and will house a 19,000-square-feet emergency department, nearly doubling the existing space.
BY JEREMY PEPPAS |
Steve Mansfield Tenders Resignation
Stephen Mansfield recently announced his resignation as president and CEO of St. Vincent Health System, effective Oct. 15. Chief operating officer Ken Haynes was named interim CEO; a national search is being conducted for Mansfield's replacement.
Mansfield, a native of Martin, Tenn., has accepted a CEO position with the Methodist Health System in Dallas, which has seven Dallas-area facilities.
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Political Notes
While the general election is still months away, the candidate known as Gene "Doc" Shelby already has a plan mapped out.
Shelby, who is running as a Democrat for the open seat in the Arkansas Legislature's 25th District, is a practicing emergency room physician at National Park Medical Center in Hot Springs and is also in his third term as coroner in Garland County.
So why would someone who slogged through the decade or so of school and training to become a physician give up "Dr." and just go with "Doc?"
Shelby Ready for Race |
Understanding Your 401(k) Distributions
It is estimated that the average American will change employers 11 times in his or her lifetime. When you consider that you may have a retirement account balance each time you leave an employer, this is quite significant. When you switch jobs before retirement, the decision you make regarding what to do with your 401(k) or retirement savings account is an important one.
Chad Carlson |
Knee Surgery Seminar Set
St. Vincent will host a seminar on "Arthroscopic and Ligament Surgery of the Knee" at 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 12.
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UAMS Picks Fiser to Replace Reece
Debra H. Fiser, MD, an Arkansas native, has been named dean of the UAMS College of Medicine.
Fiser, professor and chairwoman of the Department of Pediatrics in the UAMS College of Medicine, joined the UAMS faculty in 1981.
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Nicholas Named Chairman of Orthopedic Surgery
Richard W. Nicholas Jr., MD, a nationally known expert in orthopedic tumors, has been named chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery in the College of Medicine at UAMS. Nicholas, who joined the UAMS faculty in 1989, has served as the department's interim chairman since the death of Carl L. Nelson, MD, in January 2005.
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Rieke, Hannon Join CARTI Foundation Staff
Dee Rieke and Blair Hannon have joined the staff of the CARTI Foundation, according to a recent announcement by Foundation president Kathi Jones. Rieke will serve as special projects coordinator for the Foundation, while Hannon assumes the responsibilities of resource development officer.
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Kern Earns Prestigious NIH Funding
Philip Kern, MD, a nationally known obesity researcher at UAMS, has received a highly selective MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), funding his research into the chemical mechanisms of fat cells with up to $2.79 million over 10 years. Only a small percentage of grant applicants receive the Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award, intended to recognize long-term research success with stable funding.
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ContourMed Clinic Offers Prosthesis Fitting Option
The Surgical Clinic of Central Arkansas, located at the Hickingbotham Outpatient Center at Baptist Health, has opened the ContourMed Clinic within its medical offices. This is the first physician group in the country to offer ContourMed's laser scanning technology to mastectomy patients at the point of medical care.
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UAMS Names Peel Communications Director
Andrea Peel was recently named communications director in the Office of Communications and Marketing at UAMS. Peel, who joined UAMS in 2002, previously served as a communications manager.
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Barone Named Dean of Nursing
Claudia Barone, EdD, RN, has been named dean of the College of Nursing at UAMS to replace Dean Linda Hodges, EdD, who will retire in October.
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ACHRI Researcher Appointed to March of Dimes Committee
Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute Researcher Charlotte Hobbs, MD, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UAMS and Section Chief of Birth Defects Research, recently accepted an appointment to the National March of Dimes Scientific Advisory Committee on Prematurity.
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Sickle Cell Education Conference Set
As part of a first-of-its kind sickle cell education campaign, UAMS is sponsoring a conference on the debilitating blood disorder Sept. 8-9 at Children's Hall on the Arkansas Children's Hospital's East Campus.
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