Michael Ugwueke Named President of MLH; Gary Shorb Focuses on Role as CEO
After serving more than a year as executive vice president and chief operating officer, the MLH board has approved Michael Ugwueke as president and COO of our parent company Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, as well as president and CEO of Methodist Healthcare Memphis Hospitals (MHMH). MHMH is the entity that includes the five Memphis hospitals licensed as one, including Methodist Germantown Hospital, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, Methodist North Hospital, Methodist South Hospital and Methodist University Hospital. The move, effective May 1, is designed to help MLH become a stronger integrated system to best serve our patients. Reporting directly to MLH CEO Gary Shorb, Ugwueke will be responsible for operations across the system.
Since being promoted to chief operating officer for MLH in January of 2013, Michael has led the adult facilities through a challenging healthcare environment with a clear sense of purpose to provide the highest quality care to patients and their families according to Gary Shorb, CEO of MLH. Originally selected for the COO role because of his passion for patient- and family-centered care, his ability to build strong bonds with physicians, his commitment to excellent clinical quality and his dedication to community wellness, were the qualities that Shorb says will make Ugwueke an outstanding President/COO.
Minton Mayer Elected President of Memphis Jewish Home & Rehab
Memphis Jewish Home & Rehab (MJHR) announced Minton Mayer was elected for a one year term as president at its Annual Meeting on Monday, April 7th. The following officers were also elected for one year terms: Gregg Landau, vice president/president elect; Scott Notowich, vice president; Dr. Lee Stein, treasurer; Judy Royal, secretary.
Minton Mayer, AV Rated Attorney, is a partner with Wiseman Ashworth Law Group, PLC and focuses his practice on the defense of long-term care organizations including nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other aging services providers. He regularly consults with long term care organizations regarding risk management, regulatory, operations, administrative and employment related issues. He has extensive jury trial experience throughout West Tennessee and has appeared before the Tennessee Court of Appeals and Tennessee Supreme Court. Mr. Mayer is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association, Defense Research Institute, Tennessee Bar Association, Memphis Bar Association and is also a Fellow of the Memphis Bar Foundation.
In addition to the elected officers, Geri Lansky will continue on the executive committee as immediate past president, and past presidents Dr. Jay Cohen, Barbara Jacobs, Nat Landau, and Steve Wishnia will serve as presidential advisors. Several new board members were also elected that evening for two year terms: Dr. Gordon Gruen, Judy Moss, and Dr. Audrey Zucker-Levin. Re-elected for a second two-year term were Andy Sasalwsky and Herbert B. Wolf, Jr. Elected for a third two-year term were Maurice Buring, Jonathan Epstein, and Bernard Lipsey. The members of the nominating committee were Dr. Jay Cohen (chair), Geri Lansky, Bernard Lipsey, Minton Mayer, and Judy Royal.
The presentation of MJHR’s 2013 Aaron Brenner Distinguished Service Award was given to Minton Mayer. The award is given “in grateful appreciation for dedicated service to Memphis Jewish Home & Rehab”. In the words of Mr. Brenner, “The world is divided into people who do things and people who get the credit. Try, if you can, to belong to the first class; there is far less competition.” Mr. Mayer was honored for his leadership during executive director search process.
In addition, Mayer announced the beginning of a strategic planning process for MJHR.
Saint Francis-Bartlett Honors Physician of the Year on Doctor’s Day
Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett employees recently honored the hospital’s physicians at their annual Doctors’ Day luncheon. The theme of this year’s event was “10 Years of Olympic Service.” The Olympic theme incorporated lunch dishes from around the world, while other activities included a departmental Doctors’ Day poster contest and chair massages for the physicians.
The celebration was also a time to honor two individual physicians, as the Physicians of the Year and Physician Leadership awards were presented.
Ben Gibson, M.D., was named the Physician of the Year. Gibson is a general surgeon and has been on the hospital’s medical staff since 2005. He has served as Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett’s Vice Chairman of Surgery as well as the Chairman of the Bylaws Committee. He was named the hospital’s Physician of the Month in March 2013.
The medical staff voted Margarita Lamothe, M.D., as the recipient of the Physician Leadership award. Dr. Lamothe is an infectious disease specialist and has been on the hospital’s medical staff since 2004. She has served the hospital as the Chairman of the Quality/Performance committee and a member of the Medical Executive Committee.
Hospitalists Join Methodist Olive Branch Hospital
John W. Allen, Jr. M.D., and Shailesh Patel. D.O., have joined Methodist Olive Branch Hospital as hospitalists. They specialize in caring for patients who are admitted to the hospital.
Dr. Allen says as a hospitalist he enjoys having all of the services his patients might need right there. He can respond immediately to a medical issue by sending a patient for a CAT scan or order a biopsy and get immediate results.
He became a hospitalist because he likes the variety of cases. Hospitalists treat a wide range of illnesses from a simple stomach virus to pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses to life threatening ailments.
Dr. Patel chose hospital medicine because he enjoys caring for adult patients and feels this is an area where he can make a difference.
Given that hospitalists function exclusively in the hospital setting, they have a unique opportunity to see patients more than once a day. This enables the physicians to provide a higher level of efficiency in the care that is provided and helps reduce the amount of time patients need to stay in the hospital.
Through their commitment to providing high-quality transitional care to a patient’s home or community setting, hospitalists help reduce the number of readmissions to the hospital. They achieve this by coordinating timely follow up outpatient appointments with a patient’s primary care doctor or specialist. For patients who do not have a regular physician, and there is concern the patient may be at risk for readmission, the hospitalists may see a patient for a follow up appointment at the hospital to make sure the course of recovery is proceeding well. Taking the proactive approach to providing a follow up visit gives hospitalists the opportunity to help identify any potential medical challenges and provide additional care quickly.
Allen graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from the University of Mississippi, Oxford, and earned his medical degree from the University of Mississippi, Jackson, Miss. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Patel attended the University of Mississippi, Oxford, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in pharmaceutical sciences and a Doctor of Pharmacy. He received his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, Kansas City, Mo. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine.
Health Gap Between Adult Survivors Of Childhood Cancer and Siblings Widens with Age
Adult survivors of childhood cancer face significant health problems as they age and are five times more likely than their siblings to develop new cancers, heart and other serious health conditions beyond the age of 35, according to the latest findings from the world’s largest study of childhood cancer survivors. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital led the research, results of which appear in the March 17 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Key Points
• As a record number of childhood cancer survivors head into middle age, researchers have identified a widening health gap between survivors and their siblings who were not diagnosed with cancer in childhood. Investigators found that survivors age 35 and older were five times more likely than siblings to have experienced severe, disabling, life-threatening or fatal health problems.
• By age 50, more than half of childhood cancer survivors had at least one serious health conditions, compared to less than 20 percent of siblings. More than 22 percent of survivors had at least two serious health problems, and about 10 percent had three or more chronic conditions. The conditions included new cancers as well as diseases of the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys.
• Among healthy survivors who reached age 35 without serious health conditions, more than 25 percent developed life-altering medical problems by age 45.
• The study included 14,350 adult survivors of childhood cancer and 4,301 siblings. The survivors included 5,604 who were age 35 and older. The survivors were diagnosed with different childhood cancers between 1970 and 1986. They were treated at St. Jude and 25 other medical centers in the U.S. and Canada. All survived at least five years.
• The results highlight the importance of lifelong medical care for childhood cancer survivors. The care should include risk-based health screenings to look for signs of heart disease, new cancers and other problems. The goal is to catch conditions early when the chances of treatment success are often greatest.
• The findings also add to evidence that some survivors may experience accelerated aging.
Dr. Paul Brezina Named Director of Reproductive Genetics at Fertility Associates of Memphis
Fertility Associates of Memphis has named Dr. Paul Brezina Director of Reproductive Genetics, joining Dr. William Kutteh, Director of the Center for the Study of Recurrent Pregnancy Loss, and Dr. Raymond Ke, Director of In Vitro Fertilization services. Dr. Brezina is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and is a Consulting Gynecologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Dr. Brezina is board certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility as well as Obstetrics and Gynecology by the American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. In 2012, he completed his fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. Dr. Brezina earned his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has an MD/MBA degree from the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., where he also completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
In his role as Director of Reproductive Genetics, Dr. Brezina coordinates preimplantation genetic testing with the goal of reducing the risk of transmitting genetically inherited diseases. He also adds important guidance for couples with genetic factors contributing to pregnancy loss at the Center for the Study of Recurrent Pregnancy Loss. His main area of research has focused on genetic testing as it relates to assisted reproductive technologies.
Dr. Brezina will be directing a course at the Annual Clinical Meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists this year. This is the largest meeting of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in the country, where physicians learn the latest updates in clinical care.
UTHSC Online Art Auction Grosses More Than $70,000
The online auction by the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) of more than 300 works by internationally known Memphis artist Paul Penczner grossed more than $70,000. The sale, which opened for bidding March 4, and finished with a rapid, rolling auction, drew 158 bidders. Works auctioned are part of a collection of 400 pieces donated by the artist’s widow, Jolanda Penczner, after his death in 2010 to the UTHSC College of Medicine to establish an endowment in his name in the Department of Physiology. All proceeds go for cardiovascular research at UTHSC. Zach Pretzer, director of development for the UTHSC College of Medicine proclaimed the auction a huge success.
Memphis Mental Health Institute Announces New Nurse Executive
Memphis Mental Health Institute is pleased to announce Lori Minor, RN, MSN, MSHSA has joined the staff as the facility’s Nurse Executive. Ms. Minor’s educational background includes a Master of Science in Nursing Management and Leadership and a Master of Science in Health Service Administration. She has practiced as a Nurse since 1999 holding various positions of leadership and management in Nursing Services. Ms. Minor brings to MMHI a wealth of experience from practice throughout the United States including Kaiser Permanente Hospital, Honolulu, HI; University Community Hospital, Tampa, FL; Memorial Hospital of Gulfport, Gulfport, MS and The Regional Medical Center, Memphis, TN.
Dr. Frederick Azar of Campbell Clinic Named President of American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Dr. Frederick M. Azar, Campbell Clinic chief of staff, was named president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) at the organization’s annual meeting, held March 11-15 in New Orleans.
Dr. Azar becomes the eighth Campbell Clinic physician to serve as president of the AAOS board of directors since the academy’s establishment in 1933, when Campbell Clinic founder Dr. Willis Campbell was elected its first board president. Over his yearlong term, Dr. Azar will oversee management of AAOS affairs, heading up the administrative body and directing activities and policies related to both the academy and its association.
In addition to his work at Campbell Clinic, Dr. Azar is a professor and director of the Sports Medicine Fellowship Program at the University of Tennessee-Campbell Clinic Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, where he previously served as research director. He currently serves as the team physician for various professional and amateur athletic programs in the Mid-South, including the Memphis Grizzlies, University of Memphis and Christian Brothers University. He previously served as first vice president of the AAOS board of directors last year.
Congressman Blackburn visits Results Physiotherapy Clinic to Discuss Proposed Healthcare Bills
On April 14, Congressman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) visited Results Physiotherapy’s Franklin, Tennessee clinic to tour the facility and discuss several healthcare related bills currently being considered with federal lawmakers.
Jason Richardson, PT, DPT, OCS, Sr. VP of Clinical Operations with Results Physiotherapy, coordinated the visit on behalf of the patients Results Physiotherapy serves.
The April 14th visit focused on legislation that would preserve patient access to a physical therapist under the Medicare program. The first centered on a permanent fix to a flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula (method used by Medicare to control spending) and permanent repeal of Medicare therapy caps which arbitrarily obstruct some Medicare patients from obtaining necessary PT services beyond a monetary threshold. On March 31, Congress passed a legislative “patch” to SGR which prevents physician cuts for Medicare services and extends the current therapy cap exceptions process until March 2015. Congressman Blackburn has been a long-time supporter of eliminating the therapy caps to preserve access of needed services to Medicare beneficiaries.
Richardson also shared with Congressman Blackburn that under current law, physical therapists in private practice are not able to bring in another licensed PT through the Medicare program to temporarily cover the caseload of a PT who must take leave due to illness, pregnancy, vacation or continuing clinical education. The ability to bring in a temporary provider is known as locum tenens, an arrangement some other providers are currently eligible for in the Medicare program. For many physical therapists in private practice, this means that they may be unable to take these absences or patient care can be interrupted. Richardson urged Congressman Blackburn to consider support for the bipartisan bill, “Prevent Interruptions in Physical Therapy Act (HR 3426)”.
Repeal of the therapy cap and support for legislation that would permit locums tenens for PTs under Medicare will assist in assuring Medicare patients have access to cost-effective care that facilitates health, independence, and a pain free active lifestyle according to Richardson.
