Thursday, January 23, 2014

Dr. Deen is Distinguished Alumnus Guest Speaker

The University of South Alabama Medical Alumni Association is hosting its first "Distinguished Alumnus Guest Speaker" event on Jan. 29, 2014, in the first floor auditorium of the Medical Sciences Building.

The event will feature Dr. H. Gordon Deen, professor of neurosurgery at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla. Dr. Deen, who graduated from the USA College of Medicine in 1978, will discuss his path from USA to the Mayo Clinic, as well as the importance of graduate medical education.

Dr. Deen has been awarded the distinction of being one of the "Best Doctors in America” on multiple occasions and was named as one of the “Top Doctors” in U.S. News and World Report in 2011. He has extensive military service including serving as the attending neurosurgeon for President Regan’s Medical Support team in Bali, Indonesia.

Lunch will be provided for all students who confirm their attendance to the Medical Alumni Office. You can confirm by e-mailing cynthiaharris@southalabma.edu or medalum@southalabama.edu. If you have special dietary requirements, please make note of them in your confirmation. 

Dr. Roberson-Trammell Named Medical Director of Gulf Coast Patient Care Network

Dr. Katrina Roberson-Trammell, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and a pediatrician with USA Physicians Group, was recently named medical director of the Gulf Coast Patient Care Network (GCPCN).

The network provides a system of care coordination, including care management and pharmacy services, to serve Medicaid patients in our area with chronic disease and/or mental illness. With this network, members of the health care team work together to provide a high level of coordinated care that accomplishes the simultaneous goals of higher quality, greater patient access and lower costs.

As medical director of GCPCN, Dr. Roberson-Trammell will work to enhance primary medical providers’ communication, improve patient adherence and accountability via care coordination services, and identify and alleviate any potential barriers or obstacles.

According to Becky Tate, chief executive officer of the USA Health Services Foundation and president of the board of directors for GCPCN, Dr. Roberson-Trammell’s 17 years of practice in Mobile gives her a keen understanding of the unique health care needs in our community.

As medical director, Dr. Roberson-Trammell will help facilitate patient care by utilizing care managers, pharmacists and behavioral and transitional nurses. “Our provider network will extend into the home environments and identify and address barriers to patient compliance,” she said. “As the health care industry changes, we will embrace a more holistic approach - treating not just the medical issues, but also identifying methods of addressing emotional and social distress as part of comprehensive patient care.”

She said her ultimate goal is to improve patient health by educating and encouraging patients in becoming more proactive in their own care by knowing their numbers – including BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar – all of which are risk factors for heart disease and other chronic conditions. “If we can get our patients to monitor these four numbers, their quality of life would be so much better,” Dr. Roberson-Trammell said.

"I sincerely feel we need to be creative and move health care delivery out of our traditional model of educating our patients and go into different environments such as their homes, churches, communities, and schools in order to make a more positive impact,” she added.

Dr. Roberson-Trammell earned a bachelor of arts in biology at Talladega College in Talladega, Ala., and her medical degree from USA. She also completed her internship and residency in pediatrics at USA. She serves as a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of the Mobile Medical Society, American Medical Association, Mobile Pediatric Society, and the Mobile Bay Area Medical Association. In addition, she is involved in other community activities such as serving on the Board of Directors for the Gulf Regional Early Childhood Services (GRCMA) and the Blessed Beginnings Development Center.

GCPCN is based on an existing patient-centered medical home initiative within the Alabama Medicaid program known as Patient 1st, which gives Medicaid beneficiaries access to medical homes. Patients either choose a primary care practice to be their medical home or Medicaid officials assign them to one. GCPCN is partnering with all Patient 1st providers in Mobile and Washington Counties, including the USA Health System, the Bayou La Batre Health Development Board, Franklin Primary Health Center, the Family Oriented Primary Health Care, and private practice physicians.

USA Medical Center Holds 2014 State of the Hospital

USA Medical Center employees recently gathered for one of several State of the Hospital sessions during which Hospital Administrator Beth Anderson commended the staff's good work, highlighted the hospital's accomplishments of 2013, and emphasized a focus on patient-centered care in 2014.

State of the Hospital presentations will also be held on the following dates in the USA Medical Center Conference Center:

Friday, Jan. 24 - 6 a.m., 10 a.m., 2 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 27 - 7:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 28 - 2 p.m., 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 29 - 10 a.m., 2 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 9 p.m.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

USA Physicians Named Best Doctors


Twenty-two physicians affiliated with the University of South Alabama College of Medicine have been included in the 2014 Best Doctors in America database released this month. The following physicians were chosen for the list after extensive peer review by thousands of doctors:

• Dr. Jorge E. Alonso - Orthopaedic Surgery
• Dr. Susan L. Baker - Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Dr. Errol Crook - Nephrology
• Dr. R. Michael Culpepper - Nephrology
• Dr. Jack DiPalma - Gastroenterology
• Dr. Donna Lynn Dyess - Endocrine Surgery
• Dr. Karen Fagan - Critical Care Medicine and Pulmonary Medicine
• Dr. Michael A. Finan - Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Dr. Richard P. Gonzalez - Trauma Surgery
• Dr. Johnson Haynes Jr. - Pulmonary Medicine
• Dr. Jorge L. Herrera - Hepatology and Gastroenterology
• Dr. David F. Lewis - Obstetrics and Gynecology 
• Dr. Arnold Luterman - Burn Surgery
• Dr. Paul Maertens - Pediatric Neurosurgery
• Dr. Frederick Meyer - Hand Surgery
• Dr. Dean K. Naritoku - Neurology
• Dr. Prasit Nimityongskul - Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery
• Dr. J. Michael O’Dowd - Cardiovascular Disease
• Dr. Albert W. Pearsall IV - Orthopaedic Surgery
• Dr. William O. Richards - Bariatric/Laparoscopic Surgery
• Dr. Theresa Pryor Roca - Pediatric Specialist
• Dr. John Alan VandeWaa - Infectious Disease

USA Physicians Group, the private practice of the academic physicians at the USA College of Medicine, is the region’s largest multi-specialty practice and the only academic physicians group along the central Gulf Coast.

Best Doctors, Inc. is a database that uses peer review along with other criteria to determine the most qualified doctors in various fields of medicine. The database seeks physicians whose reputation and expertise put them in the top 5 percent of their specific specialty. To ensure impartiality, physicians cannot pay to be included in the database, nor are they paid for their participation.

Jan. 30 DSS to Feature Dr. Gerald Hart

Next week's Distinguished Scientist Seminar at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine will feature Dr. Gerald Hart, DeLamar Professor and Director of Biological Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The lecture, titled “Nutrient Regulation of Signaling & Transcription by O-GlcNAcylation: Roles in Diabetes, Cancer and Neurodegeneration," will take place Jan. 30, 2014, at 4 p.m. in the first floor auditorium of the Medical Sciences Building on USA’s main campus.

Dr. Hart earned his bachelor of science degree in biology and chemistry from Washburn University in Topeka, Kan., and his Ph.D. in developmental biology from Kansas State University. He completed post-doctoral work at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The lecture series is comprised of distinguished scientists from other academic institutions who are invited by the USA  College of Medicine basic science departments to present a seminar showcasing their latest research findings. Faculty, staff and students are strongly encouraged to attend.

For more information on Dr. Hart, click here. To learn more about the lecture series, click here.