USA Children's & Women's Hospital Hosts Local Goodness 2013

University of South Alabama Children's & Women's Hospital's inaugural Local Goodness fundraising event was held Sunday, April 6, 2014 at the Alabama Cruise Terminal. Local Goodness helped raise funds to redesign the Evaluation Center, the hospital's emergency department that sees over 35,000 patients annually, almost 90 percent of them children. Click here to view more photos from the event.

USA Mourns Loss of Dr. Gil Brogdon

Dr. B.G. “Gil” Brogdon, University Distinguished Professor Emeritus and former chair of the department of radiology, passed away on March 28, 2014. He was 85.

Dr. Brogdon earned his medical degree from the University of Arkansas in 1952. He completed his residency in radiology at the University of Arkansas and Bowman Gray School of Medicine and received his board certification in 1956. He achieved fellowship status of the American College of Radiology in 1966.

After serving as chief of diagnostic radiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and professor and chair of the department of radiology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, he joined USA, where he remained for the remainder of his productive academic career.

Dr. Brogdon served as president of the American College of Radiology, the Association of University Radiologists and the Southern Radiological Conference. He also served as a member of the House of Delegates for the American Medical Association. In 1979, he was awarded the American Medical Association Physician-Speakers Award, and he has also received three Gold Medal Awards, from the American College of Radiology in 1985, from the Association of University Radiologists in 1987 and from the American Roentgen Ray Society in 1996. In 2012, Dr. Brogdon received the Silver Medal Award from the Alabama Academy of Radiology, given in recognition of outstanding achievement in lifetime contributions to the specialty of radiology and to the community.

During his career, he participated in more than 400 invitation lectures in the U.S. and Europe and authored or co-authored more than 360 publications.

In 2013, Dr. Brogdon was featured in al.com’s Connecting Alabama series. To view the article, click here.

A memorial service will be held at the Country Club of Mobile on May 4, 2014, at 11 a.m. To view Dr. Brogdon’s obituary, visit http://obits.al.com/obituaries/mobile/obituary.aspx?pid=170420744.

Internal Medicine Residents Assist Patients with Medication Costs

While many were consumed with the hustle-bustle of this past holiday season, an abundance of patients in southern Alabama struggled to find means to fill their medications. The University of South Alabama department of internal medicine and their residents partnered with Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy to assist these patients with medication costs.

“The residents were looking for a way to give back to the community during the holiday season,” said Dr. Rachel Seaman, clinical instructor in internal medicine at the USA College of Medicine. “When the department received a letter from Ozanam featuring one of our patients, it seemed like the ideal way to give back.”To make the sponsorship possible the residents and faculty of the USA department of internal medicine rallied their support and donated money for the patients who were selected by the pharmacy on a need basis.

“Ozanam has done so much to help our patients at the Stanton Road Clinic,” said Dr. Seaman. “They provide invaluable resources to the underserved population in our community that allow our patients access to life-saving medications.”

According to Dr. Seaman, the internal medicine department hopes to continue this initiative in the future.

Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy is a 501 nonprofit organization that serves the needs of the community through prescription assistance. As a service to the Mobile, Baldwin and Escambia counties in south Alabama, the pharmacy partners with agencies to determine eligibility for persons to have prescriptions filled. They serve more than 1,700 patients and fill over 33,000 prescriptions annually.

Judy Burnham Selected as Medical Library Association Fellow

Judy Burnham, director of the University of South Alabama Biomedical Library, has been recently selected as a Medical Library Association (MLA) Fellow. The presentation of this year’s fellows will be made at the MLA annual conference on May 16–21, 2014, in Chicago.

Fellows are chosen through a nomination process and elected by the board of directors on the basis of sustained and outstanding contributions to health sciences librarianship, as well as to the advancement of the purposes of MLA.

“I am very grateful to have received this award because the honor is bestowed on an extremely limited number of individuals each year -- usually around six,” said Burnham. “There are many outstanding members within the association of more than 3,600 members, and I am humbled by this distinction.”

Nominees must be a current member of MLA and must have held membership for at least 15 continuous years prior to the nomination for Fellowship. In addition, they must have at least 10 years of professional experience in health information science, at least five years of leadership in MLA, outstanding achievements in the Association, demonstrated scholarship by publication of one or more refereed publications in the area of health sciences librarianship, and garnered a professional reputation made evident through letters of support from professional colleagues.

“The University has provided the opportunities for me to contribute to health sciences librarianship and the Medical Library Association by allowing me to travel to meetings and hold offices in MLA, as well as other professional organizations,” said Burnham.

To view the full list of MLA Fellows click here.

Dr. Jon Simmons Receives Clowes Award

Dr. Jon Simmons, assistant professor of surgery at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, was selected to receive the American College of Surgeons’ 2014-2019 George H.A. Clowes Career Development Award for his research.

"I am truly humbled to receive such a prestigious award,” Dr. Simmons said. “To receive the highest research award given to a young surgeon by the American College of Surgeons speaks volumes about the quality of research that is conducted at USA.”

Dr. Simmons said the award represents the work of many people, including Dr. Mark Gillespie, chair of pharmacology at the USA College of Medicine. “Dr Gillespie and his laboratory staff created the foundation for this research,” he said. “This unique collaboration between the USA Department of Pharmacology and the Division of Trauma & Surgical Critical Care is enabling us to take our research from the laboratory to the patient's bedside.”

Dr. Simmons’ research project, titled “Mitochondrial DNA DAMPs – a Pharmacological Target in Preventing Multiple Organ Failure,” focuses on the effect of mitochondrial dysfunction in patients after a traumatic event such as a car accident.

These patients often die from organ failure – e.g. kidney or respiratory failure – that was not associated with the original injuries. “We recently published a report that links this organ failure to the release of mitochondrial DNA into the blood stream,” he said. “Our next step is to use medications that were developed by our lab to treat these patients to prevent kidney and lung failure after traumatic events.”

Dr. Simmons said the award also demonstrates the impact of the USA Trauma Center on a national level because of the combination of quality patient care and research. “Dr. Richard Gonzalez, chief of trauma, and Dr. William Richards, chair of surgery, have been instrumental in creating the vision for our trauma center that cultivates this type of national recognition," he said.

The winner of the Clowes Award is selected by the Scholarship Committee of the American College of Surgeons each year and is given to a surgeon in the early stages of his/her career who shows promising development as a surgeon-scientist. This award offers a means to facilitate the career development of individuals pursuing careers in surgical research by enhancing the monetary support of their research efforts. It is a five-year award that provides $45,000 each year to enhance the ability to conduct quality research.

Sandra Hood Recognized for Customer Service

Sandra Hood, billing/insurance clerk in the department of surgery, was recently presented an Employee Recognition Award for her outstanding customer service skills.

"Sandra puts the patients and their families first. I truly appreciate the professionalism and teamwork displayed by her."

     - Excerpt taken from co-workers' nomination form

To learn more about the USA Physicians Group Customer Service Performance Recognition Program and to print a nomination form, click here.