2 • JANUARY 2022 Birmingham Medical News Driving business, practicing law. wallerlaw.com A partner in healthcare law that KNOWS all the ANGLES No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. Contact: Colin Luke 205-226-5717. Waller is proud to be recognized as #1 in the South region in the ABA Health Law Section’s 2019 Law Firm Recognition List.
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Mollie deShazo will be joining the UCA VAN SCOTT CANCER CENTER as a specialist in genitourinary cancer treatment.
This reconstruction technique has a good track record for allowing young ath letes to return to playing the sports they enjoy, but it’s important to allow time for healing and strengthening the knee. “It is vital to guarding against re injury,” Momaya said. “Training to strengthen the muscles around the knee, balance exercises, and flexibility are im portant. Training can also help athletes become more aware of how they move. This helps them learn to protect their knees by avoiding moves that put them at unnecessary risk.”
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Kids love to run, jump, climb and dance. They love playing soccer, foot ball, basketball, baseball and hockey. Unfortunately, when they twist or pivot the wrong way, they can tear the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in their knee. Reconstruction in adults is a matter of drilling through the thigh bone and shin bone and connecting them with a graft. But what complicates the injury in children under 14 is that the growth plate is still open and the child is still growing. Attempting to reconstruct the ACL as we would in adults may cause lifelong problems, including a difference in leg length and failure for the child to reach his normal height. In the past, it was common for sur geons to delay ACL repairs in children until the growth plate closed in order to avoid potential abnormalities in bone de velopment. However, studies show that leaving a tear untreated puts the menis cus and other knee structures at risk of serious damage. So how can the knee be stabilized without future growth issues?
Birmingham Medical News JANUARY 2022 • 3 205.930.0920
All Epiphyseal Reconstruction
In addition to the benefits the all epiphyseal approach offers now, when a child becomes an adult and she is play ing with her own children, it may help her avoid pain and the need for an early knee replacement by preventing stress from over constraint that can happen with other types of surgery. “It’s good to see kids recover and be free from pain, enjoying the sports they love again,” Momaya said. for Pediatric ACL Tears
Amit Momaya, MD
“All epiphyseal reconstruction is a relatively new approach that stabilizes the knee without the need for drilling through the growth plate,” orthopedic surgeon, chief of sports medicine and UAB team physician Amit Momaya, MD, said. Although the number of ACL tears in children has increased in recent de cades, most physicians don’t see enough pediatric cases to gain expertise in this technique. So young patients in Ala bama who need ACL reconstruction are often referred to either UAB or Chil dren’s of Alabama. This surgery can be done ar throscopically, which minimizes recovery time and scarring. It’s a good option for children whose bones are large enough, typically age 10 and above. For smaller children, another physeal-sparing tech nique uses the iliotibial band. “In the all epiphyseal procedure, the torn ligament is removed and an autograft is inserted to follow the natu ral anatomical placement of the ACL,” Momaya said. “With this approach, we’ve seen good outcomes in improving joint stability and reducing stress when young athletes return to play.”
To refer a patient, our easy-to-use Referral Form can be found at UrologyCentersAlabama.com/referral.
Welcome Dr. Mollie deShazo, MEDICAL UROLOGYCENTERSALABAMA.COMONCOLOGIST
ACL tears can be mistaken for sprains, and it isn’t uncommon for pa tients to make multiple trips to a doctor before the diagnosis is found. “We tend to see this type of injury in middle school children, especially those playing sports that involve sudden changes in direction and pivoting,” Momaya said. “If a child is showing symptoms, it’s im portant to not assume it’s just a sprain. Knee injuries should be followed to be sure there isn’t a tear that needs to be re paired. Due to differences in anatomy, girls are actually more likely to have an ACL tear than boys, but physicians tend to see more boys who have the injury because more boys participate in sports.”
By Laura Freeman
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A simple look at history shows how changeable international relations can be. Yesterday’s foes are today’s friends. An election in one country can derail a treaty in another. Alliances may change, but long personal and professional relationships can be a stabilizing influence that keeps the world on course toward peace.
Medical Diplomacy Building Bridges to The World
Co-chairmen of 2021 Cardiology Conference were Donald M. LloydJones, MD, president of the American Heart Association and Professor Yong Huo, MD, FCC, Chairman of the World Association of Chinese Cardiologists. Lectures by Cardiology PC cardiologists were in English, and Chinese portions of the program had English subtitles. Lectures on seven topics were set up in individual programs that could be downloaded and viewed much like a Netflix series. The lectures covered cur rent knowledge of COVID’s effects on
Dr. Mendelsohn with Chinese fellows who were receiving their graduating certificate at a previous in-person program.
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4 • JANUARY 2022 Birmingham Medical News BETTER EVERY DAY Bariatric Center of Excellence
At a time of tensions between the U.S. and Asia, it may come as a surprise that Alabama physicians have been build ing strong relationships with their coun terparts in China for decades. The latest example of this international cooperation was the 2021 Annual Cardiology Confer ence focusing on the effects of COVID19 on the heart, presented online through the joint efforts of cardiologists at Bir mingham’s Cardiology PC, the Ameri can Heart Association and the World Association of Chinese Cardiologists. “Over the past ten years, Cardiol ogy PC has sponsored an international teaching program that brought around 100 cardiologists from China to train with us for three months and observe the latest innovations in cardiology and care techniques that we use. It’s the only U.S. program to receive a certificate from the Chinese Ministry of Health,” Cardiol ogy PC interventional cardiologist Hut ton Brantley, DO, said. When the pandemic lockdown made international travel impossible, Brantley, who is Program Director of the Annual Cardiovascular Conference, and his part ners at Cardiology PC began to look for alternatives that would allow them to continue building their relationship with health care professionals in China. “We decided that a virtual cardiol ogy conference that could be accessed online and downloaded or viewed by session was our answer,” Brantley said. “Viewers in China and other parts of the world could use the We Chat platform to download each session. They could also review episodes by topic on YouTube. This allowed us to continue communicat ing at a critical time when cardiologists everywhere were fighting COVID-19.”
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By Laura Freeman
The virtual conference was well-re ceived. It established a conduit for com municating the latest information on the heart health effects of the COVID19 virus, a problem that all nations have in common.Farrell Mendelsohn, MD, an in terventional cardiologist with Cardiol ogy PC, is the Director of the Chinese Cardiovascular Fellowship Program at Baptist Princeton. Mendelsohn said, “While maintaining communication on the heart effects of COVID-19 has been important, from a larger perspective, maintaining a strong professional rela tionship and personal ties between the people of our two countries at a time of stress could be an even greater contribu tion to the future of all our people. “Through the common ground of health care, we can bridge the differ ences. Focusing on people rather than politics and sharing the interests we have in common can help us maintain the con nections we have built through years of friendship and professional cooperation.”
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Medical Diplomacy, continued from page 4
As most decisions on testing are made during or just after morning rounds, the team’s hours are scheduled to match the hours they are most likely to be needed. When they move patients, they wait with them and return them to the unit afterward. This allows nurses and respiratory therapists to stay on the unit, caring for their other patients, which is an advantage at a time when there are nationwide staffing shortages.
Transport Teams Within Hospitals Reduce Risks and Ease Staffing Shortages, continued from page 1
6 • JANUARY 2022 Birmingham Medical News 9TH ANNUAL RARE DISEASE GENOMICS SYMPOSIUM Friday, March 4, 2022 12:00 – 4:30 pm Telehealth AdvancesTherapeutic& SAVE THE DATE IN RARE DISEASE CARE Register now! Rare Disease Symposium-BHam_Medical_News-.indd 1 10/18/21 2:31 PM a lot that can go wrong,” Baptist Princ eton critical care intensivist Ronald Roan, MD of Southern Anesthesia Management said. “In moving patients who are very ill or seriously injured, the care team may have to watch over the patient’s oxygen supply, IV, and multiple tubes and monitors. There could be traumatic injuries or surgi cal incisions that have to be protected, and if you’re working with one of the many ECMO patients we’ve seen since COVID, you have to be mindful that the patient’s blood is moving through the equipment and be vigilant in guard ing against leaks.”
Over the past year, the critical transport team concept has proven its value. However, it has not been added to other hospitals at this time because it has been difficult to get approval for re imbursement. Therefore, the CRS pro gram has been primarily self-funded. To take advantage of the benefits an internal transport specialty service offers, medical centers may wish to contract the service from an outside source, or set up specialty transport teams. At a minimum, training and regular refresher courses in critical care transport could be beneficial to patients, staff and hospitals.
As one of three intensivists at Bap tist Princeton Medical Center, Brook wood Baptist Medical Center and Shelby Baptist Medical Center, Roan has seen the value of having specialists in critical care on the unit. That experi ence, together with his background in military critical care transport in high acuity situations, led to an idea intended to reduce critical care risks and staff stress, while easing some of the pressure from staff shortages. “For proof of principle, we launched our Critical Response Service (CRS) in January at Baptist Princeton, where we usually see a high volume of critical care cases,” Roan said. “It’s the first team of its kind in Alabama. “When a highly trained team does the same complex task every day, several times a day, they can become very profi cient. Our CRS team has a paramedic with each move. There are also advance practice care providers, either medical assistants or nurse practitioners, who can write orders and prescriptions to immedi ately deal with problems that might arise. We have portable ventilators to precisely match the patient’s previous settings. This helps to avoid a drop in oxygenation. “The team has also become very experienced at working with the many ECMO patients who have been referred to Princeton during the pandemic. They are skilled in working with infection risk reduction protocols, and they are pre pared to deal with a sudden cardiac ar rest, if necessary.”
Ronald Roan, MD clots and venous thrombosis, myocardi tis, the use of ECMO support and other related topics. “We are currently working toward presenting another online conference for 2022, which will provide information on new developments in cardiology and updates on current information on the cardiovascular effects of COVID-19,” BrantleyMendelsohnsaid. added, “As soon as the pandemic is sufficiently under control to allow more reliable international travel, we plan to relaunch our Chinese Health Fellows Teaching Program to continue building and maintaining our bridges to the world. “We would also like to acknowl edge that the relationship Birmingham has established with the cardiology and medical community in China was built on 40 years of outreach by former Stam ford Dean of Pharmacy Charles Sands III, PharmD. Sands’ work in Asia and through the MedEd Global Advisory Board have been part of his mission to share knowledge of healing with the world. We are proud to share in the ef fort to continue taking that mission for ward into the future.”
“Between transport cases, the CRS team can also do procedures such as placing arterial or central venous lines,” Roan said. “While on the unit, they can also turn COVID patients on their stomachs to help them breathe easier.”
Birmingham Medical News JANUARY 2022 • 7
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The nature of some conditions can make transportation issues more dif ficult, which is another reason that it is helpful to have multiple providers in one location. Some conditions may also require additional support from social workers to assist in other aspects of mov ing into adult life, such as setting up nec essary accommodations for education, living environments and work settings. “Located at the Whittaker Clinic at UAB, the STEP clinic gives our patients a medical home where they can go for all their health care needs,” Hopson said. “We don’t want them to feel that the pediatric team they have relied on for years is abandoning them. We want them to see it as part of the process of growing into their new lives as adults. “The planning for a smooth transi tion and developing more autonomy be gins early, starting at around age 13 or 14. That’s when we begin to assess the patient’s readiness and identify the chal lenges we need to meet so we can begin setting goals and moving toward them.” The first step in preparation is to identify the types of referrals and spe cialists the patient will likely need for optimum care. The next consideration is what type of support or accommo dations might be needed in education, career preparation or vocational reha bilitation to allow patients to maximize their abilities, pursue their interests and achieve quality of life. “We work with patients and families to identify what’s important to them,” Hopson said. “We ask parents what their concerns are when they think of their children as adults. What skills will they need to learn to live independently? Sometimes it’s basic life skills like making their bed, remembering to brush their teeth and take their medication, or learn ing how to make medical appointments.
New Program Helps Pediatrics with Chronic Disorders Transition to Adult Healthcare
By Laura Freeman Not so long ago, few children with cystic fibrosis lived long enough to need the care of an obstetrician or other adult health specialist. Now, recent advances in treatment are extending the lives of children with serious chronic conditions, creating a wonderful new challenge. How can we most effectively help pediatric patients and their families seamlessly manage the transition from adolescence into adulthood as they gain autonomy and begin taking day-to-day responsibility for their health and ev eryday life? To that end, Children’s of Alabama and UAB Medicine have col laborated to create the Staging Transi tion for Every Patient (STEP) program. “From muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, and cystic fibro sis to sickle cell, rare genetic disorders and type one diabetes, these patients re quire a broad range of specialized care to manage their condition,” said Betsy Hopson, MSHA, Director of STEP. “Their pediatric team becomes almost like family. Patients and their families come to rely on that support, and it can be scary moving to something new. “As they are becoming adults, they will need an adult healthcare specialty team that can offer the same range of support. That’s what the STEP clinic provides. In addition to building a rela tionship with a primary care physician who will manage their overall care as their pediatrician previously did, the clinic gives them one-point access to a broad range of specialized health and support services to meet the specific needs of their condition. From nephrol ogists and neurologists to mental health and social workers, physical therapy and vocational therapy, it’s all in one place.”
STEP team meets with pediatric patient who will transition to adult patient.
Thanks For Our Front Line Heroes We are committed to providing a safe space for you to receive your rehabilitation during your stay with us. You will enjoy a private room with a private shower, along with private therapy sessions and consistent social distancing as part of our safe approach to your rehab during this time.
By marti WeBB SLay William Wainscott is passionate about addiction recovery. As the CEO of Kolbe Clinic and Kolbe Detox, and the founder of the nonprofit Rural Ad diction Prevention (RAP), Wainscott is committed to bringing quality addiction services to the people of Alabama.
In addition, UAB will be screening and treating for Hepatitis C and HIV in these areas, which is an important com ponent for infectious disease control among an at-risk population, particu larly IV drug users. Kolbe Clinic and Kolbe Detox rep resent the treatment arm of addiction services, while RAP’s goal is to work on training and prevention. The RAP board has hired Anna Harris as CEO. “Alabama is consistently in the top five states with the worst edu cation systems and some of the highest rates of substance abuse from the lim ited data that is available,” she said. “I’ve seen the good that a holistic approach to systemic issues can do. That is my hope for RAP. That we are not just treating the symptoms of substance use disorder, but rather, we are focusing on all aspects of SUD. That is, the psychological, so cial and biological factors that lead to addiction. There is a reason that rural counties have such high rates of drug use, overdose, depression - there is a lack of resources and basic needs being met. If we can remove the stigma of SUD and embrace treatment over punish ment, especially at a young age, I believe we can prevent addiction.” Harris and Wainscott are optimistic about using the grant to improve addiction services around the state, although they ac knowledge there is a long way to go. “What’s our ultimate goal? The per fect case scenario for us would be to have outpatient centers so everyone in Alabama has to drive no more than 40 miles to reach one,” Wainscott said. “Even if that center is only staffed one day a week. Even if its ac cess to counseling or medication or telepsy chiatry. Our concept for treatment is if you can’t treat them as an outpatient immedi ately, then you get them to the appropriate level of treatment and follow up. But when they go back home, there has to be some place nearby that’s accessible, so they don’t relapse. We’ve done projections, and that means 17 to 22 clinics statewide. We now have six, so we have a lot of work to do.”
A new $1,000,000 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services will allow RAP to expand into seven rural Alabama Counties with two clinics, one in Collinsville and the other at Tallassee Hospital Outpatient Center.
“The grant is a start of expansion into rural areas, to address addiction is sues there,” Wainscott said. “That’s where there is a lack of care, and that’s where the biggest problems are. It’s not just about expanding treatment. We also aim to ex pand prevention services along with train ing and education services. We will be able to train existing providers on how to treat and liaison with drug courts and to work on treatment rather than punishment.”
The grant also includes funding to purchase a vehicle at each location to transport patients when needed. “We will also work with other entities to help with transportation,” Wainscott said. “This is a coalition grant. The federal government is trying to build links be tween anyone involved in treatment in these areas. Individually we can help, but together we can get there quicker.”
Members of the coalition grant to expand treatment prevention services to designated rural areas. Receives Grant for Rural Expansion
• UAB • Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) • Tallassee police department • Guntersville police department • Tallassee Community Hospital • Rural Addiction Prevention • Kolbe Clinic • Mountain Lakes Behavioral Health Counties targeted by grant: • Cherokee County • DeKalb County • Jackson County • Marshall County • Tallapoosa County • Randolph County • Tallassee Census Tract 01051030400 Kolbe Addiction Services
“Many people who are addicted have their first encounter for recovery when they are arrested. If you live in a rural area with a primary care physician who isn’t screening for substance abuse, and there are no treatment facilities, who is going to identify that a person has substance abuse disorder? It’s going to be the police when they make an arrest. This grant will help us do a better job of prevention in schools; working with police departments to identify people with addiction and keep them out of the system and into treatment; train exist ing providers; have treatment available when we do identify addiction; and then follow up with their care long-term. “The goal beyond setting up the two clinics is to either expand our clinics or train a local provider depending on the cir cumstances. I’m an advocate of treatment. I like having more clinics, but ultimately, it’s about providing access for patients. If we have to go in and train a physician in the area to do it because that’s the best op tion, that’s what we’ll do.”
William Wainscott
8 • JANUARY 2022 Birmingham Medical News Same day appointments available || Monday – Thursday 8:00 – 4:00 || Friday 8:00 – 3:00 We accept most insurance, including Medicare 3570 Grandview Parkway, Ste 100 || Birmingham 35243 DR. MYERSSARA FAMILY MEDICINE ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS 205-250-8900
Birmingham Medical News JANUARY 2022 • 9 With our new facility opening in 2024, Medical West is committed to providing quality, state-of-the-art care for patients in West Jefferson County. That’s why we’re excited to now expand our orthopedic services by welcoming Dr. Christopher Palmer and Dr. Scott Seibert to our team of medical professionals. With a combined 36 years of experience, both physicians are thrilled to bring their experience and expertise to Birmingham. Alongside Dr. Dory Curtis, Medical West Orthopedics is committed to providing convenient care by serving two locations with offices in Bessemer and Hoover. Call (205) 481-8570 today to schedule an appointment with a Medical West Orthopedic Surgeon. We’re growing for you, so come grow with us. WE’RE GROWING FOR YOU. WELCOMING DR. CHRISTOPHER PALMER AND DR. SCOTT SEIBERT | ORTHOPEDICS MEDICAL WEST HOSPITAL • 995 9TH AVENUE SW • BESSEMER, AL 35022 • PHONE (205) 481-7000 • WWW.MEDICALWESTHOSPITAL.ORG Christopher Palmer, MD Medical West Orthopedics 205.481.8570 J. Dory Curtis, MD Medical West Orthopedics 205.481.8570 NEW COMINGHOSPITALIN2024
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Adding Color
Clinical Studies, continued from page 1
New Program Helps Pediatrics with Chronic Disorders Transition to Adult Healthcare, continued from page 7
“Depending on the condition, there may be specific skills they need to learn to protect their health when their par ents are no longer there to read labels for allergens or to check their blood sugar, things like that. “One of the most important steps in preparation for transitioning to adult care is developing an emergency plan. Patients new to the adult health care en vironment need to know what to do and where to go if they become ill.” In operation for just over a year, the clinic has streamlined the process of moving from pediatric to adult care by supporting close communication be tween pediatric and adult care teams. “It isn’t just a matter of passing medical records from one to the other,” Hopson said. “The pediatrician and the primary care physician can actually dis cuss the more specific points of caring for that individual patient and following up on progress and any issues that might arise. The same goes for other members of the care team and their counterparts. The new team can take approaches that previously worked for that patient and emulateAlthoughthem.”there are transition pro grams for pediatric patients with specific conditions in other areas, the collabo ration between Children’s of Alabama and UAB to provide transition support for patients with many types of chronic conditions is a rare innovation.
many were offered a trial, and how many have been screened for a trial.” Finding interested companies came surprisingly easy for the twoyear-old business. “A lot of them found us,” Whitlow says, adding that Covid19 advanced the need for inclusion in clinical trials to the forefront of the in dustry. “More guidance came out about clinical trials. So if you were enrolling for the Covid-19 vaccine and you didn’t show diversity, they stopped your en rollment. It was a problem for the in dustry. They knew they had to be part of thatAddsolution.”inthesocial unrest, and com panies began to actively seek out blackowned businesses to partner with. “So our phone rang for one or the other reason,” Whitlow says. With headquar ters in Birmingham, Acclinate now has small offices at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, and another at Johnson and Johnson labs in Washington DC across from the FDA. Google invested in the company and provided them with access to develop ing AI models to manage their data. “The pharmaceutical industry needs to understand how internally widespread their approach needs to change to permanently alter recruit ment in clinical trials,” Whitlow says. “They need changes to happen from the time they think and plan a trial to post-marketing of who is the drug going to and who knows about it. “Right now, pharmaceutical com panies ask potential participants once and if that person declines, the com pany moves on. We tell them that it’s better to invest in building a commu nity and in educating people because the people who say no now can one day be the best participant for your next trial,” Whitlow says. Acclinate wants the black popula tion to know that clinical trials are an option for attaining treatment. When Whitlow’s grandfather needed a hear ing aid, he had to buy one for $6,000. Her grandmother, who recently needed one, balked at that price. So Whitlow went online and found a clinical trial near her. Her grandma enrolled and re ceived a free hearing aid as part of her participation.“Peopleget afraid that a clinical trial is always something have to swal low,” Whitlow says. “But sometimes it’s for something you need day to day, like hearingTheyaids.”reach the community through their website, www.nowincluded.com site where they invite people to share their stories of medical situations and treatments in order to help people learn about healthcare options which, hopefully, empowers people in making healthcare decisions. The latest digital outreach expands on that concept. Launching January 22, www.binclusive.com will include the option for healthcare providers and service companies to post videos, as well as learn how the black commu nity views healthcare with both their perspective and experiences. “This can help healthcare providers understand at what point people are making health care decisions, like why they waited until they had Stage 4 cancer to come in,” Whitlow says, adding that the more healthcare providers participate and learn from these conversations, the bet ter the outcomes for everyone. to
The precision of robot-assisted sur gery has now become a life-saving op tion for tracheobronchomalacia (TBM) patients in Alabama. “It’s going to ex tend the candidacy for this operation to more people,” says Benjamin Wei, MD, the thoracic surgeon who performed the first robotic-assisted tracheobroncho plasty in the Generally,state.the complicated surgery excludes patients because of the pulmo nary access and pain. But Wei recently performed the robotic-assisted tracheo bronchoplasty on an 80-year-old woman who was able to leave the hospital three days after the surgery. A progressive, debilitating disease, TBM collapses the airway on itself due to weakened tissue and its abnormal shape. The surgical treatment for this rare dis ease often involves placing stents inside the airways as support. “But the stents can be irritating to the tissue, which can form mucus or scar tissue,” Wei says. “This can end up requiring an additional surgery in which surgeons may need to exchange the stents. If the stents get clogged, it’s a life-threatening emergency.”
The robotic approach simplifies the process. “I can bring the camera right up to a couple of inches away from what I’m looking at,” Wei says. “And the tools can come from pretty much any angle, and they’re wristed so it’s like a tiny hand in the center of the cavity. It’s a lot easier—better mobility, better control, and better visualization.” That simplicity shortens the surgery. Instead of the long incision with the tradi tional approach, the robotic-assisted ap proach results in just five small incisions across the chest that are used as ports for the robotic arms. These smaller incisions decrease the time needed for the surgery. “The robot makes a five-hour surgery four hours instead,” Wei says. “Because it takes a good 45 minutes just to close the incision from the open surgery.”
Birmingham Medical News JANUARY 2022 • 11
A tracheobronchoplasty (TBP), however, shores up the outside of the di minishing structures. “We put in mesh to re-shape the trachea and bronchia and plicate the redundant area so there is not as much floppiness and redundancy that is outside the airway,” Wei says. “It’s a more permanent solution that has ar guably fewer side effects. There is less chance of infection and no structures inside the airways to stimulate scar tis sue or mucus formation.” But a TBP is a complex surgery. The traditional approach requires a six to eight inch incision and a metal retractor to pull the ribs apart to gain access to the chest. “The trachea is in the center of the human body. To finely suture something in this big cavity is like working in a deep ravine,” Wei says. “Everything becomes difficult because of where the trachea is.”
By Jane ehrhardt
The robot’s better visualization also means more compact tools for the sur geon. For example, instead of using a needle driver that is eight to 10 centime ters long, Wei uses a driver that is only one to two Besidescentimeters.thearmfor the camera, the robot utilizes four other arms to hold tools, all controlled by the surgeon through a console. “We put our eyes into a head piece to see what’s going on and use our feet and fingers to control the arms. We’re fully in control of the robot at all times,” says Wei, who is one of only about a dozen surgeons who per form the TBD in the nation. “The robot makes a painful, long procedure a lot shorter and a lot easier and, I’d argue, somewhat more precise. Patients can return home as soon as a day later and usually no more than three days. Under the open surgery approach, that stay ex tends to five to seven days. They also return to daily activities within a month versus double or triple that using the traditional approach pri marily because of potential complica tions from the large incision and the sutures holding the ribs. “They’re much less able to move and use their upper body, so they’re less mobile and have more issues with pain,” Wei says. Wei says the rare procedure may
When people receive a communication from a law firm, they listen. No Representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. 205.322.6060 • CLOUDWILLIS.COM BIRMINGHAM • MOBILE • NASHVILLE That’s the difference in having the attorneys at Cloud Willis & Ellis represent your medical practice in managing your accounts receivables. We provide the complete services of an agency and a law firm or anywhere in between — you choose. We will collaborate with you to design a collection strategy that helps limit unpaid invoices and medical bills. Then we will implement that strategy in our office, and help you implement the strategy in yours. We have the experience and know-how in medical collections to make it better for you. Call today for a free consultation. FOR CULLMAN REFERRALS, PLEASE CALL 256.739.2885 HERE WE GROW! UROLOGYCENTERSALABAMA.COM Starting January, 2022, Cullman Urology will be joining UROLOGY CENTERS OF ALABAMA. NICK BRASWELL, MD UROLOGIST AMY BURDETTE-GRAY,CRNPRODNEY SANDERS, MD UROLOGIST Main Location | 1848 Parkland Drive NE, Cullman, AL 35058 Satellite Locations | Lawrence Medical Center: 202 Hospital Street, Moulton, AL 35650 St Vincents’s Blount: 150 Gilbreath Drive, Oneonta, AL 35121 WITH 32 UROLOGISTS, 2 UROGYNECOLOGISTS, 4 ONCOLOGISTS AND 16 LOCATIONS We are excited to expand the urological services offered to our patients in the Cullman community. UAB Performs First TracheobronchoplastyRobotic-AssistedinAlabama Benjamin Wei, MD (CONTINUED ON PAGE 17)
1. Documentation Every malpractice case starts with documentation. The medical record is the best way to defend the care provided, but it can also be what is used against the provider. Therefore, documentation should be timely, accurate and factual. The saying “if it isn’t documented, it isn’t done” haunts every provider who is sued for malpractice. In many cases, it would be impossible to document every single thing a healthcare provider does for a patient, but it is important that there be something in the record to re flect the level of care provided. In the Bednarski case, the physician who treated the patient on the second visit to the urgent care center did not document in the electronic health re cord. In fact, there was no indication in the medical record that this physician saw or treated the patient. The Ala bama Supreme Court’s decision high lighted the fact that the physician who provided care was not given access to the EHR allegedly because the urgent care center did not want to pay for another access code. This was something both the trial court and appellate court dis cussed in upholding the verdict.
4. Audit claims, losses, grievance or complaints Conducting an audit of any claims, losses, grievances or complaints from 2021 as a year in review can pinpoint areas of improvement. If there are re peated issues, consider policy changes or additional training. Although there was no pattern of repeated misconduct in the Bednarski case, the Court discussed similar conduct as one factor when ana lyzing the appropriateness of a punitive damage award.
What You Can Learn From A $6.5 Million Med Mal Verdict
Although there were several bases on appeal, the one that can provide in sight to providers looking to avoid sig nificant liability was the analysis of the “reprehensibility” of the conduct of the defendants. In Alabama, the only dam ages available in a wrongful death claim are punitive. Punitive damages are not intended to put a value on the life lost but rather punish the wrongful conduct that caused the death. In analyzing whether the $6.5 million verdict was justified in the Bednarski case, the conduct of the healthcare providers and the practice was a main factor. The five focus areas to start the new year to help avoid a similar fate are documentation, policies, training, audits and collaboration.
2. Policies Policies are guidelines, and there is no way to have a policy to address every potential issue. But if you have a pol icy, you should make sure that staff are trained on it and are following it. One of the hardest things to explain to a jury is why you have a policy that was not being followed. And although we argue that policies do not equate to the stan dard of care, this argument rarely wins the day when a jury hears that a policy was not being followed. With the start of a new year, it is a good idea to review policies to see if any need updating or revising. Ensure that policies remain current with the stan dards of practice. Keep track of when policies change or are updated because if there is a lawsuit related to care, you will need to know which policy was appli cable to the appropriate period of time.
3. Training In the Bednarski case, the lower court reduced the verdict from $9 million to $6.5, and the judge noted that the physi cian whose conduct was at it issue had just started working in the urgent care center the same day the patient presented for evaluation. The physician did not have credentials to access the electronic health record and was the sole physician respon sible for all patients that presented in the urgent care center that day. In the court’s opinion, negligent training and supervi sion were appropriate claims asserted by the plaintiff.Withthat in mind, a healthcare provider should ensure its staff is prop erly trained on policies and procedures. Documentation of training should be maintained including the dates of train ing, who participated in the training, and what materials or information was used for the training.
5. Don’t discount collaboration Lastly, collaborating with other healthcare providers to develop a plan of care or diagnosis can be valuable. The Bednarski court implied that the second physician who saw the patient at the urgent care center was not aware of her prior encounter at the urgent care center, where she complained of chest pain, coughing, and shortness of breath. The physician who saw her prescribed an antibiotic and diagnosed her with bronchitis. He also told her to come back if her symptoms worsened. Two days later, she returned and saw a dif ferent doctor who allegedly did not have access to the EHR so he was unaware of her visit two days earlier. The second physician prescribed an inhaler. Unfor tunately, the patient died the next day from pulmonary emboli. Although the jury should not view these facts in hindsight when determin
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12 • JANUARY 2022 Birmingham Medical News The GoldenPoint Testing Laboratory utilizes next-generation robotic Instruments, equipment and software to precisely run and report test panels. Our lab facility consists of a dedicated molecular PCR-only lab space and a toxicology lab space with highly trained scientists and lab technicians who follow a regimented test methodology from beginning to end. GoldenPointLabs.com (205) info@goldenpointlabs.573-6222 com Our powerful technology and software applications provide streamlined collection, processing and resulting solutions for our clients. • Full line of viral and pathogen testing • Rapid resulting • Specimens processed locally at our Hoover location • High complexity lab • CLIA # 01D2176939 • Technology-driven healthcare platform • Veterans Administration verified business The Gold Standard for LaboratoryMedical Testing Top Five New Year Tips By angie C. Smith In a recent medical malpractice case, the Alabama Supreme Court up held a $6.5 million jury verdict against a physician and urgent care center in a wrongful death case. The verdict alone warrants a review of the case, but the facts of the case can also provide some helpful reminders to healthcare provid ers as we enter 2022. In Bednarski v. Johnson, the estate of the patient sued three physicians, a medical practice and an urgent care center for wrongful death. The estate alleged that the first physician (and her practice) failed to identify the patient’s risk for blood clots and prescribed birth control with a known risk factor for blood clots. The second and third phy sician, along with the urgent care center where they worked, were sued for failing to diagnose the patient with pulmonary emboli, which caused her death. The first physician and her practice settled prior to trial for $1 million. The re maining defendants went to trial before a jury in Lee County, Alabama. The jury awarded $9 million to the estate of the patient for the wrongful death. The jury reached this amount after consider ing and subtracting the $1 million settle ment with the first physician. Following the verdict, the trial court reduced the verdict to $6.5 million. The physicians and urgent care center appealed the case to the Supreme Court of Alabama.
Birmingham Medical News JANUARY 2022 • 13 new goalsNEW YEAR A new year is the perfect time to set goals for your practice Whether you hope to improve key performance indicators, recruit additional team members, or develop a strategic plan, we can help. Our advisors can assist with the development and implementation of your goals, all while providing accountability to make 2022 a successful year Contact us to begin the new year on the right foot H E A L T H C A R E A D V I S O R Y , T A X P L A N N I N G A N D C O M P L I A N C E , M S O S E R V I C E S , F I N A N C I A L P L A N N I N G K A S S O U F . C O M 1 . 8 8 8 . K A S S O U F
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Addressing Barriers to Health Care Delivery Through Advocacy
14 • JANUARY 2022 Birmingham Medical News
By amBika P. aShraF md, FaaP, FnLa Diabetes is the epitome of “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” That was the driving force behind our division’s advocacy efforts that led to a change in Medicaid coverage require ments for continuous glucose monitors (CGM) for children with type 1 diabetes. The Division of Pediatric Endocri nology and Diabetes at UAB, located at Children’s of Alabama, caters to the majority of children with diabetes in Al abama. Multiple studies in children with type 1 diabetes have confirmed that in tensive glucose control reduces the rate of diabetes complications. Traditionally, patients with diabetes check blood sug ars at least four times per day. The glu cometers require frequent, painful finger pricks to get a drop of blood for testing. In addition, middle-of-the-night checks are often needed to catch dangerously low/high sugar levels. CGM provides real-time, numerical and graphical information every five min utes and allows patients with diabetes to monitor blood glucose with a reduced pa tient burden. CGM use can improve glu cose control while reducing the frequency of hypoglycemia, lowering hemoglobin A1C, improving time in the range of goal blood glucose and ultimately helping to prevent acute and chronic complications related to diabetes. These devices can be especially helpful to patients with social determinants of health that prevent them from adequately self-monitoring their bloodInglucose.2019,our clinic’s baseline CGM use rate for all patients with diabetes was 22 percent, while the national average based on the Type 1 Diabetes Exchange Quality Collaborative was 48 percent. Of the approximately 2,000 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes at Children’s, around 45 percent of pa tients had Medicaid insurance. In our commercial insurance population, 50 percent of our total patient population used CGM. In contrast, our coverage rate for those insured by Medicaid was 17 percent, mainly due to the restric tions on coverage of CGM. At that time, Alabama Medicaid required patients to have “severe hypoglycemia” for cover age of CGM, which led to significant inequity between patients with private insurance vs. Medicaid insurance. Drs. Jessica Schmitt and Mary Lau ren Scott initiated a quality improve ment project to address disparities in CGM access based on patient insurance. They used plan-do-study-act cycles to reduce the baseline disparity by 10 percent. The interventions targeted im proving provider understanding of re quirements for CGM coverage, weekly emails to providers detailing the percent of their patients using CGMs, assisting patients with meeting documentation requirements and inserting CGM sam ples obtained using the Kaul Pediatric Research Institute grant funding. Even though the percentage of patients who had CGM samples inserted in the clinic went up, we realized we could not get continued CGM supplies without meet ing the Medicaid criteria. In 2020, we petitioned Alabama Medicaid to change the CGM coverage policy, specifically to reverse the dem onstrated hypoglycemia requirement to provide CGM technology for our pa tients with type 1 diabetes. All of my col leagues, especially Drs. Jessica Schmitt, Mary Lauren Scott, Margaret Marks, Joycelyn Atchison and Michael Stalvey helped me petition Alabama Medicaid. We explained that the cost of the CGM will be offset by decreased emergency room visits and admissions for diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperglycemia or hypogly cemia. While the yearly cost of CGM per patient may appear high, prevent ing one patient from having an admis sion for diabetic ketoacidosis can cover the complete out-of-pocket cost for two to five patients to use a CGM for a year. After months of effort, this became a reality on January 1, 2021, when Med icaid approved CGM use for children with type 1 diabetes who had proof of
Birmingham Medical News JANUARY 2022 • 15
daVid Fieno, md, Phd As a cardiologist, I have become accustomed to diagnosing and treating patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), seeing their leg edema, prescribing lasix, doing an evaluation en route to hopefully watching their recovery.
About 10 years ago, I noticed there was a group of patients whose lower extremity swelling was worse on one side than the other and did not improve with diuretic therapy. I later realized that, in fact, they did not have CHF, but rather a completely diff erent problem that would become one of my subspecialty areas of interest - vein disease. This issue became particularly clear to me when I was asked for a fourth opinion on an octogenarian who had a non-healing large ulcer on her left leg. I recognized it as May-Thurner Syndrome. Once she was correctly diagnosed and treated, she has experienced healing of this large ulcer and continues to improve to this day. So what is vein disease? And what is May-Thurner Syndrome? Distinct from the arterial system, the venous system has a unique set of diseases, some of which relate to valves that stop working in a one-way fashion. When this happens, patients are labelled with valvular venous insufficiency (VVI). It has recently been recognized that, in addition to VVI, the veins themselves can have clots (or thrombus) and/ or blockages. In the case of the latter, similar to arteries, opening of these blockages can result in improved patient outcomes, as it did for my patient with the non-healing ulcer. One specific blockage of the veins of the legs that is common is May-Thurner Syndrome (MTS) (see picture 1). The hallmark of MTS is swelling of the legs that is more prominent in one leg than the other, or marked asymmetric edema. This was what my patient had, and I told her the suspected diagnosis and we began the evaluation. Typical MTS is caused by external compression of the left common iliac vein by the right common iliac artery. >50 percent external compression, diagnosed by computed tomography, magnetic resonance, formal venography and/or intravascular ultrasound, is the criterion for intervention with venoplasty and/or stenting. (See picture 2). Atypical or variant MTS can cause swelling of the right leg greater than left and is diagnosed and treated identically. Unlike arterial disease where there is a dearth of literature and randomized trials demonstrating treatment algorithms, the entire fi eld of venous disease is at its burgeoning stage, one of the great frontiers in cardiovascular disease at this time, and the treatment paradigms are a major topic of current researchAdditionalstudies.problems can happen in the venous system, such as deep vein thrombosis, pelvic congestion syndrome, and lymphedema. These, as well other diseases, are part of the American Board of Vein and Lymphatic Medicine subspecialty certification. I enjoy diagnosing challenging patients, evaluating for vein disease, and treating the condition as many effective therapies now exist. May-Thurner is an important, under-recognized, and common cause of lower extremity edema and should be considered by clinicians that see leg swelling.
David Fieno, MD, PhD practices cardiology with Heart South Cardiovascular Group.
It’s a privilege to serve Central Alabama at Princeton Baptist Medical Center, and we’re thankful for the thousands of team members who have provided advanced and compassionate care for over 100 years. It’s always been our mission to provide quality care with a priority on patient safety. As we mark this milestone, we keep an eye on the future to embrace technological advances and train tomorrow’s leaders. you for your support through the years. is Not Heart
Thank
Failure
David Fieno, MD, PhD Picture 1 Picture 2
ofCELEBRATINGYEARSaCommunityBuiltonCare
All Swelling
All of these possible causes of rhinitis feel the same to the patient, so our job is to figure out the trigger and then find the best treatments. Most of the treatments for rhinitis are designed to influence the turbinates, which have become swollen, accounting for congestion or the excess production of the mucous. A favorite first line of rhinitis treat ment for me are two types of nose sprays that I like because they are going directly to the turbinates topically and have few side effects. One category are the nasal steroid sprays (Flonase, Nasocort and others – I have no financial affiliation with any prod ucts mentioned) that reduce the swelling of the turbinate to help congestion and to re duce drainage. And no matter what the un derlying trigger for the rhinitis, these help. A second category of sprays are antihis tamine sprays (Astelin, Patanase) which de liver antihistamine topically to the turbinate and help dry up the drainage and assist with congestion. Both sprays can be used at the same time. There is a product called Dymista that has them already combined. These can be used for long-term mainte nance of symptoms. Possible side effects in clude burning in the nose or nosebleeds. This can usually be remedied by using saline nasal spray Anotherregularly.category of medications are oral anti histamines which block the release of histamine, one the substances that triggers allergy reactions systemically and swelling of the turbinates lo cally. The gold standard is Benadryl, which it is strong but can have side effects of dry mouth and sedation. So non- se dating antihistamines were developed ( Allegra, Zyrtec, Claritin,Xyzal). One rea son they are mostly non-sedating is they are not as strong. But they may be strong enough to handle the patient’s symptoms. These can also be used long-term. Another unique pill medication is Singulair, which blocks the release of leukotrienes, another inflammationcausing substance found in allergic reac tions. Singulair is used for allergies and asthma, but not for infectious causes of rhinitis and can be used long-term. Another type of medication for con gestion are the decongestants both in a spray form (Afrin, Neosynephrine) and in pill form, Sudafed. These medications are to be used short-term for relief of conges tion. If a patient uses them long-term, there are usually significant underlying issues that need to be evaluated, such as nasal block age from nasal polyps, chronically enlarged turbinates or a deviated septum. Your nose can become dependent on the deconges tant sprays and the oral decongestants can raise blood pressure and make you feel jit tery. Also, there are combination products (Allegra-D, Zyrtec -D) that combine the antihistamine with the decongestant. If the package says “D” there is Sudafed in it. Yet another rhinitis product are mu colytics (Mucinex) that thins the mucus, which makes the drainage thinner and easier to clear and has a drying effect.
16 • JANUARY 2022 Birmingham Medical News Happy New Year! from Birmingham Bessemer Alabama’s Leaders in Pain Care Online Referral Form | BamaPain.com | 205.332.3160 Wishing you all the best in 2022! ALABASTER AL | 205-283-0704 | SALES@HOLTZMANXRAY.COM holtzmanxray.com IMAGINGX-RAYHOLTZMAN& XRAY SALES, SERVICE & DIGITAL IMAGING • conventional & digital x-ray equipment • x-ray machines • ultrasound • x-ray accessories • consumable x-ray supplies • all diagnostic equipment Let us help you avoid costly mistakes and time-consuming research. New x-ray project? Wanting to expand? • initial planning • radiation regulatory guidance • facility design • equipment selection & installation • applications training • various support services All Sinus Troubles Aren’t the SameSinusitis vs Rhinitis
By e. SCott eLLedge, md When I’m interview ing a patient in my Otolar yngology practice at ENT Associates of Alabama, he or she will often tell me he has sinus. And while I under stand the patient’s colloquial use of “sinus,” to an ENT doc tor, sinusitis is a specific problem af fecting the paranasal sinuses as opposed to rhinitis, which involves inflammation and /or infection in the nasal cavity. I certainly don’t fault our patients for not knowing the difference between sinusitis and rhinitis because the symp toms of each are similar, including con gestion, runny nose, post nasal drip, facial pain, headaches and discolored drainage, just to name a few. And it can take a few studies or medication trials for the doctors to get it right. Rhinitis is inflammation in the nasal cavity and it involves the nasal turbinates, membranes in the nose that under nor mal circumstances moisturize the air you breathe, producing about a quart and a half of hydrating mucous so that when the air reaches your lungs, it is moistur ized and is at body temperature. So rhini tis can be infectious (colds or viruses and also bacteria). Rhinitis can be triggered by allergies to pollen, mold or dander or irritants like chemicals and smoke as well as barometric pressure changes or dry air.
E. Scott Elledge, MD practices Otolaryngology with ENT Associates of Alabama at Grandview Medical Center. He has been in private practice in the Birmingham area since 1994.
True sinusitis involves an infection of the sinus cavity, causing fluid and mucus to be trapped in the sinus space. Some form of rhinitis usually is the trig ger for the sinusitis which causes the nat ural drainage openings to be impaired or occluded. Sinuses normally assist in filtering air to remove irritants and sup ply additional mucus to the nose. Treat ing sinusitis can involve antibiotics, oral steroids, and nasal rinses. And because sinusitis is accompanied by rhinitis, the various rhinitis remedies are used also.
Birmingham Medical News JANUARY 2022 • 17 Today’s medical malpractice market is Turbulent and Unstable. 205.447.1642 | V oltz P rofessional r isk com We work for YOU, not the insurance company. VOLTZ PROFESSIONAL RISK ADVISORS A M O P R O B OS Doesn’t it make sense to seek advice and guidance through such difficult times from an experienced, unbiased, medical professional liability consultant? Outstanding coverage with Experiencedoptions defense attorneys with proven courtroom success Best possible price Exceptional service You can have all four. 40 years of state-of-the-art surgical excellence performed with world-class skill. Specializing in Minimally Invasive Laparoscopic & Robotic Surgery 52 Medical Park Drive East #308 | Birmingham Al 35235 150 Gilbreath Drive | Oneonta Al 35121 Northside Medical Home, 74 Plaza Drive | Pell City Al 35125 3 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU 205.838.3025 | FAX 205-838-0411 | EASTERNSURGICAL.COM ing whether the physicians in this case breached the standard of care, one can look at the circumstances in hindsight to learn from potential mistakes. Collabo rating with other providers to get addi tional opinions or viewpoints could be helpful in coming to the right conclusion. There is no golden ticket to avoid being sued, but having best practices in the above areas may help avoid signifi cant liability. Angie Cameron Smith is a partner at Burr & For man LLP practicing exclusively in the firm’s health care industry group. For more information, please contact acsmith@burr.com or 205-458-5209. What You Can Learn From A $6.5M Med Mal, continued from page 12 four blood sugar checks per day. They eliminated the severe hypoglycemia re quirement. With the continued effects of our interventions, by late March 2021, the disparity between Medicaid vs. pri vate insurance decreased to 12 percent. Currently, our sustained weekly CGM use in our clinic for all patients is 81 percent and for patients with Medicaid insurance is 75 percent. This increased use of CGM resulted from our team’s com mitment to our patients and our respon sibility to improve the quality of life and long-term outcome. We are grateful to Al abama Medicaid for recognizing this op portunity to improve the care of patients with type 1 diabetes and reduce disparities.
The O’Neal Invests program funds UAB investigators starting new cancerrelated projects to initiate key, prelimi nary work needed to enable competi tive R01 applications from the National Institutes of Health. The BCRFA’s newly funded projects include:
The Breast Cancer Research Foun dation of Alabama (BCRF) has awarded funds for three new projects through the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birming ham’s O’Neal Invests research program.
• Characterization of hypoxia-specific adaption of ribosomes by Rajeev Samant, PhD, UAB Department of Pathology.
BCRF Awards $400,000 to UAB O’Neal Invests
Addressing Barriers to Health Care Delivery, continued from page 14 UAB Performs First RoboticAssisted Trach, continued from page 11 become more common as physicians be come aware of insomethingdisguisedUnderdiagnosed,tracheobronchomalacia.theconditionisoftenasCOPDorasthma.“It’snotthatwelearnaboutintraininganyspecialtyandit’snotcommon,” Wei says, adding that diagnosis relies on examining the airways from the inside. “If someone has breathing prob lems much worse than you would expect based on their COPD or emphysema or asthma, than have them diagnosed by a thoracic surgeon,” Wei says. “Even pul monologists may need more awareness of this condition so we can optimize the therapies that these patients get.”
GRAND ROUNDS
Lakshmi Kannan, MD Joins Cullman Endocrinologist and Obesity Medicine Special ist, Lakshmi Kannan, MD has joined the Cullman Regional Medical Group. Kannan completed her medical degree at Thanja vur Medical College, and later complet ed her residency in Internal Medicine at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She then went on to com plete her fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at the Hospi tal of the University of Pennsylvania. Kannan specializes in treating hor monal diseases. She sees patients with Adrenal Disorders; Calcium Disorders/ Parathyroid Disorders; Diabetes Mel litus; Endocrine Hypertension; Medical Management of Obesity; Osteoporosis; Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome; Pituitary Diseases; Thyroid Disorders. She has received numerous awards, including the Exemplar of Professionalism Award (2014), from the American College of Physicians, Pennsylvania Chapter; the Outstanding Graduating Resident Award (2015) from Einstein Medical; the Robert D. Utiger Award and Bradley Award for Outstanding Research (2017) from the University of Pennsylvania; and the Can didate of the Year Award (2019) from the American Board of Obesity Medicine.
Ambika P. Ashraf MD, FAAP, FNLA serves as the Director of the UAB Division of Pediatric Endo crinology and Diabetes and the Medical Director of the Children’s of Alabama Pediatric Endocri nology Clinics.
• CRISPR-perturbation single-cell platform to dissect the tumor-immune in teraction and metastasis by Lizhong Wang, MD, PhD, UAB Department of Genetics.
• Structural basis for Fas-mediated apoptosis and mechanisms of inhibi tion in breast cancer by Jamil Saad, Ph.D., Department of Microbiology; and Yabing Chen, PhD, UAB Department of Pathology. Kannan,LakshmiMD
Standaert graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1982 and earned his medical and doctoral de grees from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, in 1988. He con
Standaert Named Vice President of the American Neurological Association David Standaert, MD, PhD, chairman of the De partment of Neurology in the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, has been named vice president of the American Neurologi cal Association.Founded in 1874, the American Neurological Association is a leading professional society for academic neu rologists and neuroscientists. The As sociation is devoted to advancing the goals of academic neurology, including training and educating neurologists and other physicians in the neurologic sci ences and expanding both our under standing of diseases of the nervous sys tem and our ability to treat them. “I am excited to be joining the lead ership team of this important organiza tion,” said Standaert. “We are at a critical time for neurology, which is experiencing rapid growth in new knowledge and the development of new therapies.”
MaddoxMD,Standaert,PhDCasey
18 • JANUARY 2022 Birmingham Medical News GRAND ROUNDS Trust your Heart & Vascular Needs to Birmingham Heart Clinic LEADERS SPECIALIZING IN Chest Pain & Hypertension • Cutting-Edge Minimally Invasive Therapies Watchman & Treatment of AFIB • Varithena Without Incision For Varicose Veins BHC Trussville 100 Pilot Medical Dr, Ste 300 | Birmingham 205.856.2284 BHC at MedicalNorthsideHome 74 Plaza Dr, Ste 2B | Pell City 205.815.4818 BHC at St. BlountVincent’s 150 Gilbreath Dr | Oneonta 205.274.3323 BHC Vein Center 100 Pilot Medical Dr Ste 185 | Birmingham 205.815.4800 BHC at St. GardendaleVincent’s 2217 Decatur Hwy | Gardendale 205.518.7660 CALL TODAY TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT • BIRMINGHAMHEART.COM Get Relief from Allergies & Asthma, and Get Back to Living! Take back your life from allergies and get started with AllerVie Health today! 205.871.9661 | allervie.com Alabaster | Chelsea | Cullman | Fort Payne Homewood | Hoover | Jasper | Oxford | Trussville Food Allergy Treatment Center (Homewood) Serving multiple communities across Alabama formerly Alabama Allergy & Asthma Center During the last 25 years, the BCRFA has invested more than $11 million in breast cancer research in Alabama. Its awards to the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center have resulted in over $43 million in additional federal/national funds for the center, as well as 267 publi cations and five patents. Grandview Nuclear Cardiology Earns Nuclear Cardiology Reaccreditation Grandview Medical Center, Nuclear Cardiology has been granted an addi tional three-year term of accreditation by the Intersocietal Accreditation Com mission (IAC) in Nuclear Cardiology. Accreditation by IAC indicates that Grandview Nuclear Cardiology has un dergone an intensive application and review process and is in compliance with the published standards. Comprised of a detailed self-evaluation followed by a thorough review by a panel of experts, the IAC accreditation process enables both the operational and technical components of the applicant facility to be assessed, including case studies and their corresponding final reports.
Andrews Selected as Sports Medicine Provider for the Birmingham Squadron Andrews Sports Medicine & Ortho paedic Center is going to serve has the sports medicine provider for the Bir mingham Squadron, the G League affili ate of the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans.
Warren Averett’s Jennifer Pemble Promoted to Member Warren Averett’s Jen nifer Pemble, CPA, CFE, CHBC, has been pro moted to Member in War ren Averett’s Healthcare Division. She has been with Warren Averett since 2013, where she specializes in business consulting and tax planning for medical practices and healthcare facilities.
Jennifer Pemble
David
Drs. Emily Bell Casey and Michael Ryan
During the 2021-22 season, Em ily Bell Casey MD, non-surgical sports medicine physician, and Michael Ryan MD, orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist are collaborating as the Squadron’s team physicians to pro actively keep the players safe and pre vent serious injuries. “Since the season tipped off in No vember, it’s been great getting to know the Squadron coaching staff and play ers while working alongside the team’s athletic trainer, Gilchrist Schmidt,” Mi chael Ryan, MD said. “Being able to serve other sports programs alongside Dr. Ryan through the years has allowed us to create a teamwork synergy,” Emily Bell Casey, MD said. “We already work together to care for the student athletes at Samford University and Spain Park High School and now we’re excited for the opportu nity to work with the Squadron.”
Maddox Casey Named to BBJ Who’s Who in Birmingham Healthcare Warren Averett’s Mad dox Casey, CPA has been recognized again as one of the Birmingham Busi ness Journal’s Who’s Who in Birmingham Healthcare. Casey is the practice leader for the Warren Averett Healthcare Division, where his team serves over 650 physician practices across the Southeast, helping physicians increase and maintain profit ability during the constantly changing healthcare regulations.
Birmingham Medical News JANUARY 2022 • 19 EDITOR & PUBLISHER Steve Spencer VICE PRESiDENT OF OPERATIONS Jason Irvin CREATIVE DIRECTOR Katy Barrett-Alley CONTRIBUTINGWRITERS Cara Clark, Ann DeBellis, Jane Ehrhardt, Laura Freeman, Cindy Sanders, Marty Slay Birmingham Medical News 270 Doug Baker Boulevard, Suite 700-400, 205.215.711035242AdSales: Jason Irvin, 205.249.7244 All editorial submissions should be mailed to: Birmingham Medical News 270 Doug Baker Boulevard, Suite Birmingham,700-400AL35242 or e-mailed to: editor@birminghammedicalnews.com All changesrequestsSubscriptionoraddressshouldbemailed to: Birmingham Medical News Attn: Subscription Department 270 Doug Baker Boulevard, Suite Birmingham,700-400AL35242 or e-mailed to: steve@birminghammedicalnews.com Birmingham Medical News is published monthly by Steve Spencer ©2021 Birmingham Medical News, all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Birmingham Medial News will assume no reponsibilities for unsolicited materials. All letters sent to Medical News will be considered Medical News property and therefore unconditionally assigned to Medical News for publication and copyright purposes. birminghammedicalnews.com FOLLOW US GRAND ROUNDS At Northway Health and Rehabilitation, we offer a caring, homelike environment with the added bonus of professionally trained nurses, certified nurses’ aides, and therapists. It’s a wonderful alternative to a traditional long-term care and rehabilitation facility. Our Family Caring for Yours 205-328-5870 || NorthwayHealthandRehab.com || 1424 North 25th St, Birmingham AL 35234
“When completed, these suites will be the newest Birmingham and will fur ther our commitment to be the hospital of choice in our community. This investment will have a tremendous impact on Birming ham and the surrounding communities.”
Simon-Williamson Clinic Joins Complete Health
U.S. News & World Report ranked eight adult specialties at UAB Hospi tal among the best in the nation, seven within the top 30 and one ranked 31st. The magazine also noted UAB Hospital as “high-performing” in 14 adult proce dures/conditions in the 2021-2022 Best Hospital rankings. The hospital provides care to the sickest patients in Alabama and the re gion, ranking 11th among academic medical centers on the Vizient Quality and Accountability Scorecard. UAB also maintains the state’s only American Col lege of Surgeons-designated Adult Lev el 1 Trauma Center. UAB Hospital-High lands Emergency Department is the first accredited Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department in the Southeast.
Drs Harold E. Simon and Byrn Wil liamson founded the Simon-Williamson Clinic in 1935. Since then, the clinic has grown to provide expanded primary care services including hematology/oncology, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, urol ogy, podiatry, rheumatology, pediatrics, OB/GYN and diabetes education.
Northway Health and Rehabilitation, LLC SERVICES Secure Memory Care Unit | Skilled Nursing Physical Therapy | Occupational Therapy Speech Therapy | Rapid Recovery Program Stop by any time for a tour ducted a fellowship at Harvard Medical School and spent 11 years on the faculty there before joining UAB in 2006. An acknowledged expert in Par kinson’s disease and other movement disorders, Standaert is the Director of the NIH-funded Alabama Udall Center of Excellence in Parkinson’s Disease Research and chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the American Parkin son Disease Association.
Brookwood Baptist Begins Work on New $30 Million OR Project Brookwood Baptist Medical Center has started work on its new $30 million, 18,922-square-foot operating room proj ect. The project, which is scheduled for completion in early 2023, will house 13 new operating rooms across two floors as well as administrative spaces, along with a 3,500-square-foot post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) renovation and a new pedestrian bridge. The new suites will be larger and more technologically advanced, allow ing for a broader range of specialty sur geries to be performed at the hospital. “As medical technology progresses, the need for operating rooms to accom modate it has become more critical,” said Jeremy Clark, CEO of Brookwood Baptist Health and Brookwood Baptist Medical Center. “The new OR suites will allow us to assist surgeons as they take on more spe cialized surgeries, including advanced car diac and vascular procedures and roboticassisted minimally invasive surgeries.
The hospital’s move into the top 10 in the nation highlights a year of achieve ments and recognitions for UAB Medicine.
UAB Hospital Now Eighth-Largest in the Nation
With 1,207 beds, UAB Hospital, the flagship hospital of the UAB Health Sys tem, is now the eighth-largest hospital in the nation, up three spots from 2020, ac cording to Becker’s Hospital Review.
Simon-Williamson Clinic, which has been practicing in Birmingham for over 80 years, has joined the Complete Health group of primary care practices. Complete Health practices include those formerly known as Birmingham In ternal Medicine Associates, Northside Medical Associates, Deerfoot Internal Medicine and Adamsville Family Medi cine. Complete Health now has more than 110 health care providers, 700 employees and 16 locations caring for more than 150,000 patients in Alabama and Florida.
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