U.S. News & World Report ranks two Memorial Hermann hospitals

Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center and TIRR Memorial Hermann have earned distinction as two of the nation’s top hospitals in U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” issue.

Just 152 hospitals of more than 5,100 U.S. hospitals meet the rigorous criteria required to be recognized as a “Top 50 hospital” in key medical/surgical specialties.

Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center was newly recognized in the areas of Heart and Heart Surgery and Gynecology. The hospital continues to place in the areas of Urology and Kidney Disease, moving up in both specialties. Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center ranked 46 in Heart and Heart Surgery, 38 in Gynecology, 30 in Kidney Disorders, and 48 in Urology.

For the 21st consecutive year, TIRR Memorial Hermann ranks within the top five rehabilitation hospitals across the country. The rankings are published in U.S. News & World Report's July 21 issue.

“Through its affiliation with The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Memorial Hermann-TMC gives patients access to more than 800 academic physicians representing more than 80 specialties. Leaders in their field, our physicians offer patients the latest treatments available for a wide range of disorders and contribute to Memorial Hermann’s success in many disciplines including rehabilitation, urology, kidney disorders, gynecology, heart and heart surgery,” said Dean Giuseppe Colasurdo, physician-in-chief for Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital.

The magazine scores the quality of inpatient care based on each hospital's teaching status, advanced technological capabilities, patient volumes, reputation with physicians, mortality statistics, nursing proficiency, and other measures relevant to each specialty.

“We are so pleased to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report in its prestigious annual listing of the nation’s top hospitals,” said Juanita Romans, CEO, Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. “I am proud of everyone’s efforts to help us achieve our rankings. Our recognition across such a broad range of specialties speaks to the talent and innovation of our entire team of employees and affiliated physicians and our academic partners at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.”

Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center is home to the Memorial Hermann Heart and Vascular Institute. The Institute has a dynamic team of affiliated cardiologist, cardiovascular surgeons, and clinicians to coordinate the best treatment plans for patients.

The Institute offers innovative solutions in cardiovascular care, for improved outcomes and increased patient satisfaction.

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Department of Surgery adds new divisions

The Department of Surgery has established three divisions to take the place of the Division of General Surgery/Trauma Critical Care.

Effective June 1, the divisions are Acute Care Surgery, led by Dr. John Holcomb; Elective General Surgery, led by Dr. Erik Wilson; and LBJ General Surgery, headed up by Dr. Tien Ko.

The division of Acute Care Surgery includes Trauma, Critical Care, Emergency General Surgery, and Burn.

“Most surgical departments across the country are moving to a new model as a means of consolidating activities for portions of General Surgery,” explained Dr. Richard Andrassy, chair of the Department of Surgery. “Since Acute Care Surgery is a hospital-based program and Elective General Surgery is office/ambulatory care programs, the separation is very sensible.

“Having the ‘team’ or ‘group practice’ approach on all patients, as opposed to the individual approach, provides better continuity of care for these high acuity, injured patients.”

These three new divisions join the department’s existing divisions of Immunology and Organ Transplantation, led by Dr. Charles Van Buren; Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, led by Dr. James Wilson; Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, headed by Dr. Donald Parks; and Urology, led on an interim basis by Andrassy.

— Darla Brown, Office of Communications, Medical School

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Morano wins Rice innovator award

A researcher in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics has been honored by Rice University for his innovation and collaboration.

Dr. Kevin Morano, associate professor of microbiology and molecular genetics and director of the New Investigator Development Program at UT Health, and Dr. Laura Segatori, T.N. Law assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Rice, received one of three 2010 Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering Innovations Awards for their project, “The Deg-On System: Generation of a Chemical and Genetic High Throughput Assay for Proteasome Activation.”

“The goal of this project is to develop a biological screening system to identify novel compounds that activate the proteasome, the cell’s primary means of regulated protein degradation,” Morano said.

The proteasome is required for the regulated turnover of cellular proteins, many of which are involved in controlling growth and development. Proteasome inhibitors exist and are now being used clinically to treat some cancers, like multiple myeloma.

“To date there are essentially no useful proteasome activators,” Morano explained. “These could be used to enhance the cell’s ability to remove damaged or malfunctioning proteins.”

Morano and Segatori have been collaborating about six months. “Laura works on protein biogenesis and folding in human cells, and I study the same topic using the model organism baker’s yeast,” Morano explained. “I invited her for a departmental seminar, and we struck up a collaboration. She had devised this clever system to screen for novel proteasome activators, and we thought it could be adapted for the yeast system to accelerate the search.”

Benefits to such collaboration include sharing research expertise and resources. “Specifically, her background and membership in the bioengineering department at Rice might allow for a different approach, including automation of our biological screens,” Morano said. “We have wanted to expand our studies into human cells for some time and are becoming more interested in the intersections between protein folding and degradation.”

The award’s funds will support the work of a fourth-year graduate student in the Microbiology and Molecular Graduate Program, Yanyu Wang, and Wenting Zhao, a first-year graduate student at Rice.

Now in its fourth year, the Innovator Awards program shows Rice’s commitment to enhancing interactions with its partner institutions in the Texas Medical Center. Funds are provided by the Hamill Foundation and the Sid Richardson Foundation.

— Darla Brown, Office of Communications, Medical School

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Children’s Learning Institute adds The Parish School to resident training sites

The Parish School and Carruth Center have been selected by the Medical School’s Children’s Learning Institute as a site for resident neurologists and pediatricians to visit as part of their training rotations.

Starting in May, four medical students began spending two days on The Parish School and Carruth Center campus visiting classrooms and therapy rooms to learn about identification and intervention techniques for children with language-based learning differences.

“This is a wonderful way to help future neurologists and pediatricians identify early warning signs, and to make appropriate referrals to parents in need of early intervention for their children,” Parish School Principal Nancy Bewley said. “We have lots to teach and share with the medical professions.”

Dr. Pauline Filipek, professor of pediatrics, said the Parish School and Carruth Center were ideal locations because of the diversity of language disorders represented in the client populations and because the school and clinic combined on one campus presents a unique opportunity.

“I hope that through this rotation the residents will gain an appreciation that educators and therapists, as well as primary care doctors, are members of a team that provide care for our children,” Filipek said. “The idea is that they can learn from the educators and therapists and the school and clinic concerning non-medical care and also recognize and take advantage of the opportunity to become an active, educated participant in the care of their special needs patients.”

Located in west Houston, The Parish School is a private, non-profit school for children with language and learning differences who demonstrate average to above-average learning potential. By offering a unique early intervention program, the school is successful in providing the tools for academic and social achievement for these children. The school serves a student population that ranges in age from 18 months to fifth grade. The on-site Carruth Center offers a wide range of therapy services for children and families in the greater Houston, as well as those from The Parish School.

— Claire Williams, The Parish School

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A sweet deal