USA Health Represented at Proclamation Establishing Alabama Health IT Week

The state of Alabama officially observed National Health Information Technology (IT) Week, led by the Alabama Chapter of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), on Sept. 26-30, 2016.

Mark Lauteren, chief information officer at University of South Alabama Health, was part of a team representing the Alabama health IT community in Montgomery, Ala., on Sept. 28, 2016.

Lauteren and other health IT professionals from across the state met with Gov. Bentley as he signed a proclamation establishing Alabama Health Information Technology Week.

“It was a pleasure to be part of the team representing the Alabama health IT community at Gov. Bentley’s office,” Lauteren said. “This proclamation helps to highlight the importance of health IT across the state of Alabama and across the nation.”

“The celebration of the week also spreads awareness of health IT across USA Health,” Lauteren said.

“As information technology becomes more entwined in almost all aspects of the delivery of healthcare, quality health IT will continue to ensure an efficient delivery of healthcare,” Lauteren said.

Health IT provides health systems across the country with secure access and sharing of health information, including through the use of electronic health records.

For more information about HIMSS- Alabama Chapter, click here.

Nominate an Outstanding Nurse for the Daisy Award

The Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses will recognize 12 nurses serving with USA Health for the first time this year. Nominations began on Sept. 27, 2016.

“We will accept nominations for outstanding nursing on a continuous basis – year round,” said Stephanie McDaniel, director of customer service at the University of South Alabama Children's & Women's Hospital.

According to McDaniel, the Daisy Award is given to licensed nurses who demonstrate extraordinary, compassionate care for their patients.

All nurses across USA Health licensed in all levels from LPN and up are eligible for nomination.

Patients, visitors, nurses, physicians and employees may nominate a deserving nurse online at www.usahealthsystem.com/daisy-award or by filling out a nomination form and submitting it to the nurse’s station, dropping the nomination in a Daisy box, or leaving with a staff member at the main information desk throughout all USA Health hospitals and clinics.

Daisy Award honorees will be announced during surprise prize patrols, which will be comprised of representatives from across USA Health. Honorees of the award will receive a certificate, a Daisy Award pin and a hand-carved stone sculpture titled A Healer’s Touch. McDaniel said that a surprise gift specifically for Daisy honorees at USA Health is also being developed.

Additionally, the unit will celebrate with Cinnabon cinnamon rolls. The Barnes family, founders of the Daisy Foundation, asks that whenever and wherever nurses smell the wonderful cinnamon aroma, they stop for a moment to think about how special are.

The Daisy Foundation was founded in 1999 in memory of Patrick Barnes by his family after he passed away from complications due to Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). Touched by the compassionate and professional attitudes the nurses who took care of Patrick and his family exhibited during his stay in the hospital, Patrick’s family decided to find a way say thank you for the gifts nurses give to patients and families every day.

For more information about the Daisy Foundation, click here.

USA Welcomes Dr. Linda Ding

Dr. Linda Ding recently was appointed assistant professor of surgery at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and serves as a surgeon with USA Health.

Dr. Ding earned her medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, after earning her bachelor of arts degree from the University of Chicago. She completed both her residency training in general surgery and a fellowship in surgical critical care at the University of Rochester Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y.

Dr. Ding is a member of the American College of Surgeons, the Association for Surgical Education, the Society for Critical Care Medicine and the Eastern Association for the Society of Trauma. She is the recipient of multiple awards for medical and teaching excellence.

Dr. Ding practices trauma, acute care and general surgery at USA Medical Center.

USA Mourns Loss of Dr. Angus McBryde

Dr. Angus McBryde, professor and interim chair of the department of orthopaedics at the University of South Alabama, passed away unexpectedly on Oct. 4, 2016.

Dr. McBryde received his undergraduate degree at Davidson College and earned his medical degree from Duke Medical School. From there he completed a general surgery internship and junior residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. McBryde then served two years in the U.S. Navy, including a year in Vietnam as well as a year at the Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego. He completed his orthopaedic residency at Duke Medical Center in 1971.

A noted academician and skilled surgeon with nationally recognized expertise in sports medicine, Dr. McBryde served as team physician for the World Games in Yugoslavia in 1987 and for the U.S. National Team for both the Seoul and Atlanta summer Olympics.

Dr. McBryde served as professor and chair of orthopaedics at USA from 1991-1996. From 1996 to 2000, Dr. McBryde served as professor and chair of the department of orthopaedic surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C. He then moved to the USC School of Medicine in Columbia S.C. to join the faculty as professor in the department of orthopaedic surgery and director of USC Sports Medicine from 2000 to 2005.

Prior to returning to USA, Dr. McBryde also served as director of the American Sports Medicine Institute Ankle and Foot Fellowship at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala. He practiced at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center with subspecialty care delivered to competitive athletes.

Dr. McBryde is survived by his loving wife of 27 years, Kay McBryde of Columbia, S.C.; his sister Read M. Spence and her husband Jim of Greensboro, N.C., and his brother Neill G. McBryde and his wife Peggy of Charlotte, N.C.; children of his first marriage to Jane Rostan McBryde: sons, Angus M. McBryde III and his wife Margaret of Charlotte, N.C., and Dr. JP McBryde and his wife Karen of Abu Dhabi, UAE; daughters, Dr. Holly McBryde Mason and her husband Dr. John Mason of Charlottesville, Va., and Mary McBryde and her husband George Newcomb of Norwich, Vt.; 10 grandchildren: Grace McBryde, Jane McBryde, Lea McBryde, Rostan McBryde, Gillie McBryde, John Mason, Mary Holland Mason, Mac Mason, Maddie Newcomb, and Angus Newcomb; the children and grandchildren of Kay McBryde who he embraced, Mary Beth O'Briant and Sam of John's Creek, Ga., and their children John, Will and Charlie; Peter Joseph Brennan, Jr. of Charlotte, N.C., and his children Kelli and Britani; Catherine Parker Brennan of Charleston, S.C., and her children Parker and Vann; and Anna Kelly Brennan of Birmingham, Ala., and her children Elizabeth and Jacob. In addition, Dr. McBryde leaves behind numerous nieces and nephews who loved him greatly.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Davidson College for The McBryde Family Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 7170, Davidson, NC 28035 or to the Southern Orthopaedic Association for the Angus M. McBryde, Jr. MD Memorial Fund c/o Chuck Freitag 110 West Rd. Ste.227 Towson MD 21204.

Read Dr. McBryde's full obituary here.