USA hosts 12th Annual Gulf Coast Trauma Symposium

David Efron, M.D., professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, presents the William A. L. Mitchell Endowed Lectureship.

USA Health’s division of trauma, acute care surgery and burn, in conjunction with the Alabama Department of Public Health and Alabama Gulf Emergency Medical Services, recently hosted the Gulf Coast Trauma Symposium at the Battle House Renaissance Hotel & Spa in downtown Mobile. 

Jon Simmons, M.D., trauma medical director and chief of trauma and acute care surgery at USA Health University Hospital, said he was very pleased with the participation and outcome of the symposium this year. 

About 165 people attended this year’s symposium from various states, including California, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Attendees included nurses, emergency medical service providers, advanced practice practitioners, physicians, students and community leaders. 

“Our ultimate goal is to use this symposium as a forum to integrate all aspects of preventing and treating injured patients. The focus on mass casualty preparation and trauma system integration will certainly improve trauma care in our region, and the specific EMS tracks are vital for optimal care in rural environments,” said Simmons, professor of surgery and pharmacology at the Whiddon College of Medicine. “We are excited to build on the learned concepts and newly developed relationships to provide the best possible care for our patients.”

The symposium was a three-day event aiming to encourage collaboration and educate healthcare providers, community leaders and others regarding the treatment of critically injured patients. 

This year’s guest speaker for the William A. L. Mitchell Endowed Lectureship was David Efron, M.D. Efron is a professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and serves as the medical director and chief of trauma at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. His presentation, titled “An Arresting Story: John Hopkins, Baltimore & the Management of Sudden Cardiac Arrest,” told the story of his wife’s cardiac arrest 10 years ago and how the event was handled outside and inside of the hospital. 

The John Campbell Tribute Lecture was given by Stephen Barnes, M.D., professor and chair of surgery at the University of Missouri. His lecture, titled “Transformational Leadership in Trauma,” addressed the steady flow of changes in not only the medical environment but also in the life of a medical professional, and the importance of transformational leaders in healthcare.   

Multiple others gave lectures, including members of the FBI and the U.S. Coast Guard. There were also outreach lectures for various projects in the Mobile community that focus on violence prevention and assistance for those affected by violent crimes:

• Operation Echo Stop: Kevin Levy, Mobile Police Department
• Project Inspire: Ashley Williams Hogue, M.D., USA Health University Hospital
• Project Thrive: Joshua Jones, Mobile Police Department
• Light of the Village: John Eads, M.B.A., Light of the Village Ministries

View more photos from the symposium.

First-ever Brain Awareness Week a success

During a field trip to the Exploreum Science Center, students learned about the brain as part of Brain Awareness Week.

The department of physiology and cell biology at the Whiddon College of Medicine and the Gulf Coast Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the University of South Alabama recently sponsored and hosted the first-ever Brain Awareness Week in Mobile at the Exploreum Science Center March 14-18. 

Brain Awareness Week is a global initiative to foster public enthusiasm and support for brain science initially created by the Dana Foundation. The event was co-sponsored by HFC and Fisher Scientific. The Mobile event was organized by Amy Nelson, Ph.D., assistant professor of physiology and cell biology, and lab members including Evan Butlig, Samantha Chaney and Allison Bauman. 

Throughout the week, more than 20 volunteers from the Whiddon College of Medicine and the Department of Health, Kinesiology and Sport presented hands-on activities related to brain cell types, the importance of wearing a helmet, exercise and the brain, and brain and eye dissections. A total of 991 field trip students, their teachers, chaperones and families, and many visitors from the public took part in Brain Awareness Week activities. 

"We were grateful to share information about the brain with so many people of various ages," Nelson said. "This was an amazing educational opportunity for our community!"

Return to Rwanda: Medical students, faculty serve on medical mission

Volunteers from the Whiddon College of Medicine, including 12 senior medical students and several faculty members, traveled to Rwanda for the month of February on a medical mission trip with the Christian Medical Ministry of South Alabama.

For the first time since the pandemic, a group from the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine and USA Health embarked on a month-long medical mission trip to Rwanda in February. 

Led by the Christian Medical Ministry of South Alabama (CMMSA), 12 senior medical students and more than 20 clinical faculty members, residents, advanced practice providers and support personnel served on the mission. The volunteers worked alongside the physicians and staff at Kibogora Hospital, a rural referral hospital in southwest Rwanda.

The hospital is so remote, drones deliver blood products needed for transfusions. During the mission, the team caught the packages of lifesaving blood as the boxes parachuted safely to the ground.  

Chris Johnson was among the fourth-year medical students on the trip, which is an elective course for senior medical students. In the absence of an official radiologist, he helped perform and interpret X-rays and ultrasounds – a role he was well prepared for thanks to his upbringing, education and training. 

Chris Johnson uses needle localization

on a patient at Kibogora Hospital.

Johnson learned to interpret images from his mother, Leigh Ann Cashwell, M.D., a 2001 graduate of the Whiddon College of Medicine and a practicing radiologist. As a medical student, he spent three months in USA Health’s interventional radiology department with Zeiad Hussain, M.D., assistant professor of radiology. Under Hussain’s guidance, he participated in ultrasound-guided biopsies and vascular accesses.

These proved to be useful skills at Kibogora Hospital. One of the hospital’s patients had been assaulted and stabbed by attackers with needles, which had broken off in her pelvis and flank. She had three prior surgeries, but they were not able to find all the foreign bodies. 

“I went to surgery with her and used ultrasound-guided needle localization to find all the foreign needles. Once I’d find one, they’d prep and use my needle as a guide to remove the foreign object,” Johnson explained. “We repeated that until we got them all.” 

He added, “It was very impactful to truly make a difference in a patient’s care and actually be vital to the patient’s outcome.”

Kasey Grant Andrews, a fourth-year medical student and future pediatrician, served in varying capacities on the trip. For example, she worked in the post-anesthesia care unit, assisted in the minor procedure room, and went on home visits to check on paralyzed patients who were unable to travel to the hospital for regular check-ups. 

“As a medical student at the Whiddon College of Medicine, I have learned the value of helping in any manner that is beneficial to the team, which made me very comfortable with switching positions day-to-day,” she said. “Additionally, having been exposed to many different hospital settings prepared me to adapt to a setting that was unfamiliar and a group of patients I struggled to communicate with.”

Andrews cultivated many relationships on the trip, including one she cherishes with a 3-year-old burn patient and her mother.  

Surgery faculty and residents Harrison Howard, M.D., Alissa
Doll, M.D., Elizabeth Lockett, M.D., Victoria Bouillan, M.D.,
and Lee Grimm, M.D. 

“Being an elementary school teacher, her mother spoke English well, which allowed us to communicate throughout her treatment,” Andrews said. “While she was inpatient, I was able to check on her every day; and when she went home, I was still able to participate in dressing changes every other day.”

She continues to receive regular updates from the patient’s mother via WhatsApp messages. 

Andrews said she models her patient interactions after how USA Health providers treat their patients. “Watching several of the physicians and residents care for patients day in and day out with passion and humility has helped me cultivate how I try to treat each patient regardless of who they are or what brought them to seek care,” she said.

OB-GYN Interest Group to host book club discussion

The OB-GYN Interest Group, in partnership with Jags Against Trafficking and the American Medical Women's Association, will present the inaugural Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Book Club. A book discussion will take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, in the Atlantis Room (behind USA Health Children's & Women's Hospital). 

The book is "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. It is available for free on cloudLibrary of the Mobile Public Library System. Heather Glass also has copies available for checkout. 

Anyone interested in reading and participating in or observing thoughtful conversations on worldwide health disparities and themes highlighted in "Half the Sky" is invited to attend. Resident physician Sara Anne Stringfellow, M.D., and medical student Rennan Zaharias will be the discussants.  

The group plans to host the book club quarterly in the months of February, April, August and November. 

Food will be provided. RSVP here. 

SRFC to provide colorectal cancer screenings March 31

The Student-Run Free Clinic and Oncology Interest Group will host a free colorectal cancer screening on Friday, March 31, from 2:30 to 5 p.m. at the Student-Run Free Clinic, located at the Salvation Army, 1009 Dauphin St. 

The screening will be preceded by a patient education session on the importance of colon cancer screenings. Patient education will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. at the SRFC.

Volunteers who are interested in helping with the patient education session or clinic can sign up on the Google sheet.