| Practicing disaster life support |
Disaster drill prepares health professionals to work as a team |
By Anne DeLotto Baier |
| The drill also taught the students who mimicked injured and panicked patients a thing or two about disaster response. Register was initially triaged as a victim needing immediate care (a red tag was attached to her body) until paramedics applied a tourniquet to her leg to stop the fake arterial bleeding. Then, her status was downgraded to delayed care – a yellow tag. "It was a good learning experience," Register said. "I found out that if someone is waving and yelling, that person is usually not a top priority for immediate treatment because it means they are conscious and breathing. Someone who is unconscious, bleeding uncontrollably or experiencing chest pain would be a higher priority." Steve Morris, MD, RN, project director for Disaster and Bioterrorism Training at the College of Nursing, said one major objective of the drill is to begin training rescue teams to respond to disasters in a standardized way. The morning drill was designed to be as realistic as possible – from the mock explosions, screaming actors and wailing sirens to the participation of Tampa Fire Rescue's HazMat unit. In the afternoon, participants practiced their life-saving skills on life-size patient simulators. The robotic patients can be programmed to realistically mimic everything from respiratory distress and shock to symptoms associated with chemical exposure or other biohazards. A course participant injecting the drug atropine into the patient simulator could almost immediately evaluate the simulator's response to the dosage administered and the drugs ability to counteract effects of the nerve agent. |
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"One of our goals is to promote patient safety even when the emergency response system is overtaxed," Dr. Morris said. "The simulators allow participants to rehearse an intense disaster scenario and quickly learn from their mistakes without consequences to real patients." | |
Participants in the Advanced Disaster Life Support training course at the USF College of Nursing prepare to transport mock burn victim Amber Traci, program assistant for the CON Clinical Collaborative. Nursing staff and students played the roles of injured patients for the mock mass casualty, designed to train health professionals how to respond as a team to natural, biological, chemical and radioactive disasters. Photo by Eric Younghans.
Dr. Ted Williams head USF diversity |
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Ted Williams, PhD, has been named associate vice president for Diversity and Equal Opportunity (DEO) for USF. He has served in an interim capacity since October. Dr. Williams, who has been with USF since 1978, is associated dean for diversity for the USF College of Medicine. He holds a joint appointment in the College of Medicine as professor of biochemistry. |
USF names new anesthesiology chair | |
| Enrico Camporesi, MD, has been appointed chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and associate dean for Clinical Practice at the USF College of Medicine. Dr. Camporesi will begin full time at USF no later than May 1, said Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, dean of the college and vice president for Health Sciences, when he made the announcement last week. One of the pioneers of hyperbaric research for diving accidents, Dr. Camporesi has been professor and chair of anesthesiology at the State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University in Syracuse since 1989. He is a major figure in anesthesiology education, research and service, and will assist USF in ensuring a top-quality residency program. "Enrico Camporesi is one of the most respected anesthesiologists in America," Dr. Klasko said. |
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| "He brings talent, experience and cutting-edge research to our community. Because of Dr. Camporesi's extensive experience in clinical practice development, I've also asked him to take an associate dean role in clinical practice operations. He will work with the vice dean for Clinical Affairs and the executive director of the USF Physicians Group to move our practice group into an era that will require increased efficiency, productivity and flexibility. He clearly understands the research underpinnings of good education and clinical practice, and I look forward to his help in building excellence." "The University of South Florida is in a metropolitan area with a growing population, a thriving business community and high-tech companies," Dr. Camporesi said. "There are great opportunities for a Health Sciences Center to enhance its clinical and research programs in such a vibrant environment." Born in Milan, Italy, Dr. Camporesi received his MD from the University of Milan and moved to the United States in 1972. He joined Duke University as a professor of anesthesiology in 1984, becoming director of research for anesthesiology and medical director of Duke's Hyperbaric Center. In 1990, he brought a hyperbaric medicine program to Central New York at SUNY Upstate, where he also developed subspecialty units in cardiac anesthesia, pediatric anesthesia and critical care anesthesia and built a foundation of successful research in the anesthesiology department. Dr. Camporesi has received international recognition for his scientific work in applied physiology, hyperbaric medicine and anesthesia. He is the author of seven books, edited several major journals of undersea medicine, and published 178 peer-reviewed articles and chapters. He is the past president of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society. Return to top | |
Fewer calories may slow Alzheimer's disease, USC/USF study finds |
| Restricting the diets of mice reduces the build-up of plaques in the brain that are linked to Alzheimer's disease, according to a study by the University of Southern California and USF. With obese people generally considered to be at higher risk for developing Alzheimer's, the research raises questions about whether the findings are potentially applicable to humans. In the study, published in the December online version of the journal Neurobiology of Aging, researchers used mice whose DNA had been altered with human genes from two families with early onset hereditary Alzheimer's. The mice were split into two groups as young adults — one that could eat all it wanted and the other that had its food intake reduced 40 percent over four weeks (diet-restricted). The researchers, led by USC neuroscientist Caleb Finch, PhD, looked specifically at the formation of plaques caused by a buildup of fiber-like substance called beta-amyloid. In Alzheimer's patients, these amyloid plaques accumulate in the hippocampus and frontal cortex of the brain – areas responsible for memory and learning. In the diet-restricted mice, both the size and amount of plaque was about 50 percent less than in mice that ate as much as they wanted. The researchers next plan to try to isolate which consequences of diet restriction — for instance lowered insulin or blood sugar — may be responsible for such profound effects. The USC/USF study adds to the growing body of animal studies indicating that restricting calories may prolong life, delay disease and improve health. David Morgan, PhD, a study co-author and director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Laboratory in the USF Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, said the ability to clear amyloid deposited in the brain is increasingly impaired with age. This excess accumulation of amyloid appears key to the development of Alzheimer's. "We know that caloric restriction dramatically slows the aging process in animals," Dr. Morgan said. "So, one way to effectively treat age-related diseases like Alzheimer's might be to slow the aging process by creating drugs that mimic the effects of calorie restriction." The other USF researchers involved in the study were Marcia Gordon, Karen E. Connor, Robert W. Engelman and Jerimiah Mason. USF/All Children's Hospital immunologist Robert A. Good, now deceased, was a co-author of the study. Return to top |
Great job HSC! |
2004 United Way Campaign a Success |
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HSC total: $73,996
Medicine: 50 percent above goal Nursing: 33 percent above goal Public Health: 37 percent above goal * 70+ HSC faculty and staff pledged individual gifts of $500. |
In the News |
| A Jan. 16 Tampa Tribune story on body donations for science included comments by Christopher Phelps, PhD, chair of the Department of Anatomy, and second-year medical student Brian Derby, who helped organize a service in which medical students commemorate the lives of people who donated their bodies. USF surgeon Michel Murr, MD, was featured in a Jan. 17 Tampa Tribune cover story on a move by major insurers to eliminate standard coverage of obesity surgery. In a sports section cover story in the Jan. 20 Tampa Tribune, USF family physician Eric Coris, MD, commented on the progress of a USF men's basketball player undergoing treatment at Moffitt Cancer Center for a rare form of kidney cancer. While in India at a USF-organized conference, USF infectious diseases specialist Jeffrey Nadler, MD, commented on HIV medicine in India and the cost of anti-AIDS drugs for the Jan. 10 Statesman News in Calcutta, India. He was also quoted on advances in HIV management in the Jan. 10 Pune Newsline and in the Jan. 21 Miami Herald on the CDC's new guidelines recommending antiretroviral drugs for those who suspect they have been exposed to HIV. Joel Strom, MD, director of the Division of Cardiovascular Disease, commented on sudden death related to heart disease for a Jan. 21 St. Petersburg Times article on the death of a seemingly fit local high school student athlete following a running exercise. Eric Coris, MD, who specializes in sports medicine and has studied sudden death in young athletes, was quoted in a related Jan. 21 Tampa Tribune article discussing what parents and coaches can do to minimize children's risk. David Morgan, PhD, director of the USF Alzheimer's Disease Research Laboratory in Pharmacology and Therapeutics, was quoted prominently in a Jan. 11 Louisville Courier-Journal article covering promising developments in Alzheimer's research. The article accompanied a multipart series following a patient diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Anne DeLotto Baier abaier@hsc.usf.edu Return to top |
Dr. Steve Morris brings disaster training expertise to Nursing |
| By Anne DeLotto Baier Steve Morris, MD, RN, brings an extensive background in critical care and disaster management to the USF College of Nursing as project director of its new Disaster and Bioterrorism Training program. Dr. Morris joined CON this fall to help plan and implement an interdisciplinary program to prepare nurses and other health professionals to manage mass casualty disasters that would otherwise quickly overwhelm local health care and emergency response systems. The initiative is funded by a U.S. Department of Defense contract. This spring the College launched its first disaster management course as an elective for baccalaureate nursing students, with Dr. Morris as the instructor. The curriculum was developed after surveying officials from Tampa Bay area hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and home health agencies about their disaster training needs. Future courses will be open to health professionals in the community and offered in continuing education and web-based formats. |
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"Our goal is to make sure everyone involved in a disaster response works well together," Dr. Morris said. "If everyone is on the same page, then the way we communicate and operate at the disaster scene will be smoother and more efficient. That ultimately saves more patients and protects more health care providers." Dr. Morris is a 1991 graduate of the USF College of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency here in 1994, serving as a chief resident. He is a senior medical consultant with MedTox Team, International Center for Environmental and Occupational Health. From 2003 to 2004, he managed a multinational team of scientists, physicians, independent contractors and support staff conducting a $20-million environmental risk study in Saudi Arabia. The project was sponsored by the United Nations Compensation Commission, in collaboration with faculty from USF, Johns Hopkins University and the Saudi Arabian Government. Researchers tracked the long-term adverse health effects among Saudi Arabian citizens exposed to toxic smoke and pollutants from oil well fires in the 1991 Gulf War. Dr. Morris established a bioterrorism and disaster response team for an American and British compound while working in Saudi Arabia. He also visited Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt and Lebanon. After residency, Dr. Morris practiced medicine in an underserved area in rural Mississippi. He also worked as a medical control officer for emergency rescue services and as a medical director of a rural community health center. As a nurse and U.S. Navy hospital corpsman, he worked in all aspects of medical, surgical, emergency and critical care. He trained as a combat field medic, and was awarded the Naval Achievement Medal for his military service. Return to top | |
Community comes out for Mini-Med School |
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Vice President for Health Sciences Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, takes center stage on opening night for this year's MiniMed School. More than 350 people attended each of the two programs, which were in the evenings on Jan. 31 and Feb. 7. The free community lecture series, now in its ninth year, was sponsored by the USF Health Sciences Center and hosted by the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. This year's speakers and topics included Dr. Klasko, who spoke on the future of medicine and health care; Dr. John Sinnott, on emerging infections; Dr. Paul Sanberg, on brain and heart repair; Dr. Bernard Guiot, on back surgery; Dr. Sandy Quillen, on managing low back pain; Dr. Maria Carmen Wilson, on migraines; and Dr. Jay Wolfson, on medical errors and patient safety. Photo by Eric Younghans. Return to top |
Two chairs earn spots in national groups |
| Lynn Wecker, PhD, chair of USF Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, was recently elected as secretary-treasurer of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. Larry P. Solomonson, PhD, Chair of the USF Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has been chosen president-elect of the Association of Medical and Graduate Departments of Biochemistry (AMGDB). Return to top |
Take a walk at lunch with Step Up Florida |
| Join the effort to put physical activity first at the Step Up Florida event at noon on Friday, Feb. 18, starting in the grassy lot at the northeast corner of Magnolia and Holly on the USF campus. The event is part of the Florida Department of Health's state-wide effort to promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles and is sponsored by the USF AHEC Office and the Hillsborough County Health Department. In addition, Student Health Services, Campus Recreation, Physical Plant, University Police, Parking and Transportation, and faculty and students from the different HSC academic programs helped coordinate the event. Registration begins at 11:30 and includes health education materials and refreshments. The walk starts at 12:15 and will travel across campus, ending back at the field at about 1 p.m. First aid and water stations will be along the route. It's all about exercise, fitness, and nutrition as a means of promoting and maintaining health. For more information, call 813-974-6622.. Return to top |
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