Internationally Renowned Trauma Surgeon to Present Mitchell Endowed Lecture in Traumatology and Surgical Care

Internationally renowned trauma surgeon Dr. Kenneth L. Mattox will present two lectures in February on the care of trauma patients. Both talks are open to all medical professionals and are made possible by the William A. L. Mitchell Endowed Lecture in Traumatology and Surgical Care.

His first talk, “Abdominal Trauma Operations Which Changed My Life,” will take place on Feb. 18, 2010, at 6 p.m. The second lecture, “Continuing Controversies in Blunt Thoracic Aortic Injury Screening and Treatment,” will take place the following day, Feb. 19, 2010, at 7 a.m. Both talks will be held at the conference center located on the second floor of the University of South Alabama Medical Center.

Dr. Mattox is professor and vice chair of the Michael E. DeBakey department of surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where he serves as chief of surgery. He also serves as chief of staff at Ben Taub General Hospital, also in Houston.

This memorial lecture is presented annually to honor the life of Mitchell, who died in 2005 from severe traumatic injuries sustained in a car crash. Despite the best of care, his injuries were so critical that he was not able to be saved. Following his treatment at the USA Trauma Center - in appreciation for the care he received - his family established the endowment and the lecture series both to memorialize Mitchell and to improve trauma patient care in our region through education. Mitchell was a senior at UMS-Wright Preparatory School at the time of his death.

In addition to his contributions as a trauma surgeon, Dr. Mattox has authored or co-authored more than 500 articles for scholarly and professional journals. He has served as editor, writer, and contributor to many books related to trauma, surgical procedures and techniques, and heart disease. He is a past president of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma and a founding member of the American Trauma Society.

As an academic medical center, leaders in healthcare such as Dr. Mattox are invited to lecture to university and community physicians to improve patient care.

The USA Trauma Center is the area’s only Level I Trauma Center, serving as a community resource and a leader in trauma care for citizens throughout the central Gulf Coast region. The center provides the highest level of care for trauma patients.

For more information on these lectures, call (251) 471-7993.

“Surgical Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes”

February’s Med School Café lecture will feature Dr. William Richards, professor and chair of surgery at the USA College of Medicine. The lecture, titled “Surgical Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes,” will take place Feb. 18, 2009, at Christ United Methodist Church at 6101 Grelot Road in Mobile. The presentation will begin at 11:30 a.m. Boxed lunches will be provided to attendees at the conclusion of the talk.

Dr. Richards’ lecture will include information on surgical options for treating obesity and Type 2 diabetes, as well as the impact these procedures have on improving patient health and quality of life.

Dr. Richards, who specializes in laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgery, will outline the latest procedures available, as well as discuss new techniques and research for people who are obese. During the talk, he will also provide important information on various diseases associated with obesity, including diabetes, heart disease and hypertension.

According to Dr. Richards, Alabama has the second highest incidence of obesity in the United States. “By effectively treating obesity, many serious medical conditions, such as Type 2 diabetes, can be cured,” he said.

Body mass index (BMI) is used to estimate a healthy body weight based on a person’s height. The CDC defines someone as obese if they have a BMI of 30 or more, while anyone with a BMI between 25 and 30 is considered overweight.

The Med School Café lecture and lunch are provided free of charge, but reservations are required. For more information or to make reservations, please call Kim Barnes at (251) 460-7770 or email kebarnes@usouthal.edu.

Med School Café is a free community lecture series sponsored by the USA Physicians Group. Each month, faculty from the USA College of Medicine share their expertise on a specific medical condition, providing insight on the latest treatment available as well as promising new research.

Senior Bowl Player Provide TLC

Senior Bowl players paid a visit to USA Children's and Women's Hospital on Friday, Jan. 29, to encourage hospitalized patients who won't make tomorrow's game. Quarterbacks Dan LeFevour of Central Michigan and Zac Robinson of Oklahoma State University caught up with USA Pediatric faculty members Drs. Ihab Jubran and Mary Mancao between patient visits.   The Senior Bowl game will be played Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

USA College of Medicine Plays Role in Coordinating Relief Effort in Haiti

Health care is one of the many challenges facing Port Au Prince, Haiti, after the devastating earthquake on Jan. 12, 2009. Carl Taylor, assistant dean at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, is working to meet some of those health care needs.

Taylor recommends supporting a collaboration between the University of Miami and Medishare.org. Within 24 hours of the earthquake, UM and Medishare established a field hospital at the airport in Port Au Prince. The command center in Miami and the deployed team are coordinating logistics and flights to and from Haiti with medical volunteers and supplies.

The team has been returning U.S. citizens and patients back to the U.S. The immediate focus is on acute care with ever-improving surgical capabilities, and personnel from around the U.S. have joined the team.

“As of last week, 3,300 Americans, including many of Haitian heritage, have been transferred to the United States from Haiti,” said Taylor. “Two hundred of those required some level of medical care. Hospitals in Miami, most notably Jackson Memorial Hospital, Fort Lauderdale- Broward General Medical Center and Palm Beach have seen the bulk of those patients.”

Taylor was able to route supplies through the courtesy of the Broward County Medical Association and the Hop-A-Jet Worldwide Jet Charter. “Space is limited on these flights, but I am working on more aircraft capacity through the Japanese Embassy,” Taylor said. Logistics on the ground is also a challenge, but it is getting better as time goes by. Specific needs include medical supplies, food and water. For more information on supply needs, visit Taylor’s Web site at http://h.xchlive.org/ .

“Another outstanding group worthy of donations and potentially volunteer work is Partners In Health,” Taylor said. “Dr. Paul Farmer has worked tirelessly in Haiti for many years, and his team is now running 10 medical centers.”

Taylor encourages people who want to help to donate to their favorite charity that is involved in Haiti. Taylor said it is especially important for medical students to volunteer and raise supplies. “It’s important to realize that the challenges in Haiti will remain for quite some time even after the news coverage evaporates.”

“There are many heroes right now on the ground in Haiti, and a large percentage of those are medical professionals,” he said. “This is a time when well-directed assistance can make a fundamental life saving difference in the lives of a human being.”

To donate directly to the UM/Medishare effort and to find out how to volunteer, visit http://www.med.miami.edu/haiti-relief .

More ways to donate:

• Donations can be mailed to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or to a local American Red Cross chapter. Donations to the International Response Fund can be made by phone at 1-800-733-2767 or online at http://www.redcross.org/.

• Those with wireless devices, including cell phones, can send $10 donations to the Red Cross International Relief Fund by sending a text message to 90999. A confirmation message will arrive within a few minutes. Responding “yes” will finalize the donation. Standard text messaging rates may apply.

• Catholic Relief Services can be contacted by calling 1-800-736-3467 between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Donations may be mailed to Catholic Relief Services, Box 17090, Baltimore, Md. 21203.

• Disaster response volunteers who want to assist the United Methodist Church in Alabama can call Clyde Pressley at 1-866-340-1956.

• Baptist Global Response is working to get disaster relief to Haiti. Donations can be made through its Web site at http://www.baptistglobalresponse.com/ .

"Justice, Health, and Health Reform"

The University of South Alabama is pleased to announce a special lecture by Dr. Norman Daniels entitled “Justice, Health, and Health Reform.” Dr. Daniels is a Mary B. Saltonstall Professor of Population Ethics and Professor of Ethics and Population Health at Harvard University.

Dr. Daniels's lecture will be Friday, Feb. 5th at 4 p.m. in the auditorium at the Laidlaw Performing Arts Center, located on the USA campus, and will be open to the public. This presentation is sponsored by Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, the Division of Academic Affairs, the Division of Health Sciences, the Department of Philosophy, and Jaguar Productions.

For further information, please contact Dr. Ted Poston in the Department of Philosophy at USA at 460-6248.