Welcome Our Newest Provider

Gregory L. Bearden, MD General Surgery

Gregory L. Bearden, MD is a board-certified general surgeon with over 20 years of medical experience in Birmingham, AL. He attended Birmingham-Southern College and the University of Alabama School of Medicine. He completed his residency with Baptist Health System in 2006 and opened his practice at Princeton in 2009. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of The American Society of Breast Surgeons and The Wound Healing Society.

Special Interests Include:

• General Surgery

• Gastrointestinal/ Colorectal

• Abdominal Hernia

• Breast Biopsy/ Breast Cancer

• Endoscopy

• Thyroid/ Parathyroid

Dr. Bearden is accepting new patients.

Brookwood Baptist Health

Princeton Surgical Specialists

801 Princeton Ave. SW, POB I, Suite 520 Birmingham, AL 35211

Phone: 205-776-8600

Fax: 205-776-8603

Rampart IC Announces Collaboration with Boston Scientific

Rampart IC, a Birmingham-based medical device company specializing in radiation shielding and orthopedic protection, announced a collaborative agreement with Boston Scientific to promote radiation safety and orthopedic protection solutions to medical professionals. The companies will work together on sales program offerings.

In addition to its own international growth, Rampart IC has agreements to sell products in the United States for Fluke Corporation and Mavig GmbH, a provider of personal protective equipment used in hospitals.

Dugum Joins Gastro Health

Bob Foster, MD

The Rampart IC system is already employed by several American healthcare systems. Rampart IC will handle direct sales within the United States, and the company has signed distribution agreements in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and North America, providing its radiation-shielding solution to healthcare professionals in 62 countries.

“I’m very excited about the next generation of operators who are going to be able to work in a better environment both from an orthopedic and radiation standpoint,” said Bob Foster, MD, Rampart IC Founder. “The 100-year-old solution of heavy aprons will soon become obsolete.”

Mohannad Dugum, MD has joined Gastro Health and is practicing gastroenterology and advanced endoscopy at the Grandview Medical Center location.

Dugum received his medical degree with honors from Jordan University of Science and Technology. He completed an Internal Medicine residency at Cleveland Clinic where he was elected to the highly competitive Clinical Scholar Program. He then completed a fellowship in Gastroenterology followed by an additional fellowship in Advanced Endoscopy at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He joins Gastro Health from Duluth, Minnesota where he’s been practicing for three years.

Dugum is trained and experienced in all forms of advanced endoscopy including ERCP, Endoscopic Ultrasound,

Endoscopic Mucosal Resection, Barrett’s esophagus therapy, small bowel enteroscopy (Double Balloon), endoscopic suturing, and enteral stent placement. Additionally, he has acquired several teaching and research awards and authored multiple peer-reviewed publications.

Children’s of Alabama Physicians Honored by U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Kara Huls, MD, and Ashley Hodges, PhD, CRNP, both with Children’s of Alabama, received the inaugural “Outstanding Victim Protection in Countering Human Trafficking” award from the Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT) within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

CCHT recognized Huls, Hodges and other members of Birmingham’s Multidisciplinary Team. The group includes law enforcement officers, judicial officials and other service providers working together to improve the detection and care of trafficking survivors. It also works to increase accountability for perpetrators.

Huls and Hodges provide medical care to survivors of childhood sex trafficking at the Sunrise Clinic at Children’s. The clinic, founded in partner- ship with UAB, offers medical care to survivors of child trafficking. The Sunrise Clinic is held within Children’s Hospital Intervention and Prevention Services Center. It comprises nurses, case managers, therapists and medical staff who are devoted to the care of survivors of child abuse.

Complete Women’s Care Opens Grandview Clinic

Complete Women’s Care of Alabama has opened a new office in Grandview Physicians Plaza II located on the campus of Grandview Medical Center. This location will have ultrasound, mammography and lab.

All eight Complete Women’s Care physicians will be rotating at the new location, including Drs. Kara Conti; Ashley Gooding; James Head; Jessica Rodriguez; Malcolm Simmons; David Spangler; George Zaharias; and Mackenzie Woodson.

New patients can call 205.664.9995 to schedule an appointment or visit online at www. cwcalabama.com.

The Alabaster Complete Women’s Care of Alabama location will remain open and continue to serve current and new patients.

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UAB Joins as Founding Member of the Global Sarcoidosis Alliance

The UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine’s Sarcoidosis Clinic has joined the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research as a founding member in their Global Sarcoidosis Alliance.

This new network of specialty clinics creates a network for patient and clinician education, innovates sharing of information to advance new therapies for treatment of sarcoidosis, and creates referral networks to connect patients with complex sarcoidosis with specialists.

Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease characterized by the formation of granulomas in one or more organs of the body. When left unchecked, chronic inflammation caused by granulomas can lead to fibrosis. This disor- der affects the lungs in approximately 90 percent of cases, but it can affect almost any organ in the body. Despite increasing advances in research, sarcoidosis remains difficult to diagnose with limited treatment options and no known cure.

Disease presentation and severity vary widely among patients. In some cases, the disease goes away on its own. In others, the disease may not progress clinically, but individuals will still suffer from some symptoms that challenge their quality of life. The rest of patients — up to a third of people diagnosed with the disease — will require long-term treatment.

It is estimated that the prevalence of sarcoidosis in the United States ranges from 150,000 to 200,000, with an estimated 1.2 million individuals with sarcoidosis worldwide.

The FSR Global Sarcoidosis Clinic Alliance brings together sarcoidosis clinics and hospitals committed to finding a cure and offering evidence-based care for those living with sarcoidosis.

State Approves Freestanding ED at Hartselle Health Park

In April, the State Health Planning & Development Agency Certificate of Need Review Board approved Cullman Regional’s application to build a freestanding emergency department in Hartselle. The approval sets in motion an estimated 12-month construction phase to complete the new healthcare facility, which will serve Hartselle and south Morgan County communities.

The 17,934 square foot facility will operate 24/7 and will be staffed with board certified emergency medicine physicians capable of caring for patients in critical medical conditions. It will offer on-site imaging including MRI and CT as well as lab and pharmacy services. The facility will also be equipped with an ambulance bay and a helipad.

In 2021, Cullman Regional opened Hartselle Health Park and has since added two physician clinics, a diagnostic imaging center and an urgent care clinic.