Memorial Hermann hosts Quality Symposium Nov. 18

The Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center Campus is hosting a quality symposium in recognition of the 2009 graduates of the Physician Quality and Safety Leadership Academy. All employees are invited to attend at any time from 8 a.m.–1 p.m. Nov. 18 in the Hermann Conference Center.

The event will feature presentations given on quality-related projects being conducted by the 2009 graduates of the academy, a nine-month program designed to build a core group of physician leaders who drive improvements in outcomes. Graduates and presentations include:

• Dr. Andrew Barretto, Time to Intra Arterial Thrombosis for Stroke Patients
• Drs. Mukerrem Ersoy and Kelly O’Brien, Diabetic Core Measures in Ambulatory Clinics
• Dr. Brandy McKelvy, Compliance with Ventilator Weaning Protocols
• Dr. Stephen Yang, Prediction Model for Post-Acute Placement for Trauma Patients
• Dr. Pratik B. Doshi, Improved Care for Emergency/ICU Admits
• Dr. Michael Wenzel, Reduction in Orthopedic Operating Room Cancellations
• Dr. Jerrie Refuerzo, Improved Compliance with Antibiotics for C-Sections

Presentations also will be given by past graduates as well as by faculty members, and Dr. Ken Shine, executive vice chancellor for health affairs of the UT System, will be the main speaker. Shine has played an important role in launching and maintaining the current national quality movement and in raising the visibility of key issues in medicine and health care.

“It is a great honor to welcome Dr. Shine as our keynote speaker for this event,” said Dr. Jeffrey Katz, chief medical officer for the Memorial Hermann-TMC Campus. “He has established a prestigious career in quality improvement and is highly regarded for his work in the field of medicine. I think his presence at our event speaks highly of our quality efforts and the work of our academy members, and I encourage everyone to attend.”

— Memorial Hermann–Texas Medical Center

Medical School faculty shine at UT System conference

Patient safety was the focus of an inaugural clinical safety and effectiveness conference sponsored by the UT System, “Building the Bridge at the Quality Chasm,” in Austin last month.

Keynote speakers included Dr. Eric Thomas, professor of internal medicine, and Dr. Ken Shine, executive vice chancellor for health affairs, who addressed national priority areas for improvement of quality and patient safety, educational course enhancements, and methods for UT institutions to provide full disclosure of unexpected events.

UT System faculty who were graduates of the clinical safety and effectiveness course presented patient quality improvement projects at the conference. The first and third place awards for outstanding patient safety and quality improvement projects were presented to Dr. Felix Tsai, assistant professor of pediatric surgery, for his work on improving blood product delivery to the operating room for pediatric cardiothoracic surgery at Children's Memorial Hermann and Dr. Bela Patel, associate professor of internal medicine, for her work on ventilator associated pneumonia reduction in the medical intensive care unit at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center.

“By utilizing Six Sigma techniques, I was able to reduce delivery time from 55 minutes to 13.6 minutes over the course of 4 months,” Tsai explained. “This resulted in annualized savings of $16,000 in operating room time and nearly $30,000 in decreased blood product wastage.”

In addition, Patel and Thomas were elected to the inaugural class of Fellows in Clinical Safety and Effectiveness for The University of Texas System in recognition of their roles in health care delivery improvements and contributions to patient safety at the Medical School and the UT System.

March of Dimes walk kicks off Nov. 17

President Larry Kaiser and Dan Wolterman invite Medical School employees and students to join them for a March of Dimes reception and press conference at 3:30 p.m., Nov. 17, at Webber Plaza at the Medical School.

President Kaiser will be chair of the 2010 March for Babies, and the Memorial Hermann Hospital System will serve as the presenting sponsor. The walk is scheduled for Sunday, April 25.

Nov. 17 is also National Prematurity Awareness Day, and collective efforts to address prematurity and provide care and research for premature babies will be discussed. Drs. Jose Garcia and Sean Blackwell of the Medical School provide additional information on this important topic. Please join us.

To sign up for the walk and join any team, visit www.marchforbabies.org. For specific information on the Houston walk, visit www.houstonmarchforbabies.org.

Three students named Webber Prize winners

A three-way tie prevailed at the 2009 Research Forum & C. Frank Webber Prize for Student Research Competition.

Christopher Conner, faculty mentor Dr. Nitin Tandon; Michelle Scerbo, faculty mentor Dr. John Holcomb; and Derek Moore, faculty mentor Dr. Heidi Kaplan; all received top honors at the annual competition.

The forum and competition is a venue for second-year medical students who participated in the Medical School’s Summer Research Program.

The Webber Prize for Student Research is granted to outstanding student research and established in memory of Dr. C. Frank Webber, former dean of the Medical School.

Faculty members also were honored for their contributions to the program: Dr. Catherine Ambrose, Dr. Heidi Kaplan, Dr. Marie-Francoise Doursout, and Dr. Lenard Lichtenberger.

The Art of Medicine