MUSC Catalyst 2-13-2015

February 13, 2015

MEDICAL UNIVERSITY of SOUTH CAROLINA

Vol. 33, No. 24

Team Skinny Dip brings its ‘A-game’ to SEWE

By Mikie Hayes Public Relations

Inside New PeBA BeNefits

C

harles Schultz, creator of the beloved Peanuts cartoon, said, “Happiness is a warm puppy.” But no one had to tell Deb Feller that. And while she’s always known that puppies bring a family lots of joy, she now understands how their love and companionship can also get you through a particularly difficult time.

Three years ago, Feller, a certified, registered nurse anesthetist and adjunct instructor in the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, started experiencing recurrent lower abdominal symptoms that were “pesky and vague.”

After things didn’t improve, her partner insisted she see a doctor. She made an appointment to see Eric Rovner, M.D., a professor in the Department of Urology.

Rovner found she had a mass in her pelvis the size of a grapefruit and ordered an ultrasound. When this confirmed a mass, he sent her to gynecologic specialist Gwen Lazenby, M.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, who ordered a CA-125 lab test.

CA-125 is a protein produced by more than 90 percent of advanced epithelial ovarian cancers, the most common form of the disease. As such, the CA-125 protein has become the most evaluated serum marker for ovarian cancer screening.

Feller’s came back elevated. The next step was a total hysterectomy which Lazenby performed.

Then came the diagnosis. Feller wasn’t prepared to hear the news she received: “You have ovarian cancer.” “I was in complete shock,” she said. “I never recognized the symptoms. Because they are so vague, it’s so, so important that women educate themselves and learn the symptoms.”

Next, she would undergo chemotherapy at Hollings Cancer Center. “That is a frightening experience,” she said, “walking into Hollings.”

4

Prescription copay waiver for certain diagnoses.

photos provided

sAfe ZONe

Nurse Anesthetist Deb Feller throws a bumper as Doni competes in a Big Air competition in Cherokee, N.C. Big Air is the long jump for dogs. Doni sprints down the dock as Deb throws the bumper. The dog with the longest measured distance wins. As a result, Doni was invited to the World Championship.

Whitney Graybill, M.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology who is board-certified in both gynecology and oncology, performed a second surgery on Feller and managed her chemo and care throughout the entire treatment process. “I felt sure I would receive excellent treatment there and that I was going to get what I needed exactly when I needed it,” Feller said. “And I did. I felt very comfortable with Dr. Graybill and her staff from the very first moment.”

Feller speaks highly of the care she received at Hollings Cancer Center and the way she was treated. She also feels a loving support system is critically important to a patient going through cancer treatment.

“When you’re going through a stressful life situation, it helps to have full confidence in your care providers. I also had an incredible support system: my family, my partner, my kids, my granddaughter, and my friends. I

See Dock Dogs on page 6

8

Inclusivity training brings awareness to labels.

3

Applause

5

Meet Kim

10 Wellness t h e C AtA ly s t ONliNe Deb Feller introduces new puppy Doni, while still undergoing chemotherapy.

http://www. musc.edu/ catalyst

2 THe CaTalysT, February 13, 2015

Applause Program The following employees received recognition through the Applause Program for going the extra mile: Medical Center

Morgan Ford, Child Life; Karen Miller, Ambulatory PACU; Javon Young, Patient Transport Svcs.; Shona Mitchell, Meduflex; Chelsie Oster, Financial Services; Sally Shields, Ambulatory-Womens Services; Otis Williams, Safety Security Volunteer Guest Svcs.; Yolanda Bermudez, Safety Security Volunteer Guest Svcs.; Scott Wetzig, Public Safety; Ron Mckinnie, Safety, Security Volunteer Guest Svcs.; Michelle Anderson, Children’s Services; Elmon Watson, Radiology; Peggy Riggs, Heart & Vascular; Karen Goff, Safety, Security, Volunteer Guest Svcs.; Lauren Huffstetler, ART 6 West; Priscilla Pearsey, Environmental Services; Madison Henry, ART 6 West; Cephus Simmons, Radiology; Erin Johnson, ART 3 West; Glenda Brunette, Specialty Nursery; Isabel Lowell, Peds CRI; John J. Sanders, College of Dental Medi-

cine; Cecil Nelson, Maternal Fetal Medicine; Carrie E. Smith, Neurology; Gregg Hawks, PICU; Tammy Burleson, Family Medicine-James Island; Terri Michi, Family Medicine-James Island; Heather Gabrielli, Family Medicine-James Island; Madonna Webb, Meduflex; Justin Ravenel, Safety, Security Volunteer Guest Svcs.;Robert Lewandowski, Support Services; Joanne Heywood, Peds Cardiology Clinic; and Catherine Rogers, OCIO University Charlotte Cooke, Pediatric Dentistry/ Orthodontics; Evelyn Gaskins, College of Dental Medicine/Stomatology; Frankie Maffett, College of Dental Medicine/Dental Faculty Practice; Wendy McEvers, College of Dental Medicine/ Dental Faculty Practice; Amanda Ritsema, University Risk Management; Doris Washington, Engineering &Facilities/ University Housekeeping; and Charles Zaglin, College of Dental Medicine/Oral Rehabilitation

New resource to share research successes Attention all research faculty, students and staff: Do you have exciting research news or findings that you would like to see shared with the MUSC community, other scientific institutions and/or the general public?

To help increase awareness about the research successes found here at MUSC, we have created a dedicated email address through which that information can be collected and appropriately disseminated.

Editorial of fice MUSC Office of Public Relations 135 Cannon Street, Suite 403C, Charleston, SC 29425.

843-792-4107 Fax: 843-792-6723 Editor: Cindy Abole catalyst@musc.edu Catalyst staff: Mikie Hayes, hayesmi@musc.edu Dawn Brazell, brazell@musc.edu J. Ryne Danielson, daniejer@musc.edu Helen Adams, adamshel@musc.edu Sarah Pack, packsa@musc.edu Jeff Watkins, watkinsj@musc.edu

Send an email to research-comm@ musc.edu with some basic information about what you would like to have shared, and you will be contacted by a communications expert who will help deliver your message to the appropriate audience(s).

Share this address with everyone in your research cohort and encourage its use whenever appropriate. Help spread the word about the amazing work being done here at MUSC. The Catalyst is published once a week.

Paid adver tisements, which do not represent an endorsement by MUSC or the State of South Carolina, are handled by Island Publications Inc., Moultrie News, 134 Columbus St., Charleston, S.C., 843-849-1778 or 843-958-7490. E-mail: sales@moultrienews.com.

CrAfted with lOve

photo by Julia Duda, Public Relations

Jenna Langley creates a Valentine’s Day greeting for a loved one. MUSC’s Office of Student Programs provided pens, paper, scissors and artwork for students to drop by and prepare a valentine for Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14.

Volunteers needed for 2015 Safe Kids Day Come out to celebrate kids, prevent injuries and save lives. The Safe Kids Trident Area will be hosting tons of exciting activities for children and adults about unintentional injury prevention. Volunteers will be asked to help at stations focusing on water, bike, fire, sports, medication, pedestrian and in and around vehicle safety and infant safe sleep.

Volunteer shifts available are event set-up, 7 to 10 a.m.; event staff, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; event staff, noon to 3 p.m.; and event breakdown from 3 to 5 p.m.

For information, call Janet Winkelmann, 792-5327.

THe CaTalysT, February 13 2015 3

Improve health, save money with new waiver benefit

By Mikie Hayes Public Relations At a time when the costs of prescription drugs are on the rise, receiving a free prescription is practically unheard of.

But there is actually some good news for MUSC and MUHA employees, as well as their covered spouses and adult children, who carry the MUSC health plan as their primary insurance, and who have been diagnosed with diabetes or heart disease.

Through the Public Employee Benefit Authority (PEBA Insurance Benefits) program that aims to help MUSC employees and their families improve their health, eligible individuals may qualify to receive “copay waivers” on generic medications for diabetes and heart disease.

A copay waiver means there will be no cost to the patient to get the prescription filled.

Common qualifying conditions include diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart failure, heart attack and coronary artery disease.

Steps to Qualify for PEBA Year-long Free Prescriptions q Register on the Blue Cross Blue Shield South Carolina website at https:// www.southcarolinablues.com/ and complete a personal health assessment survey. This typically takes 20-30 minutes. q Attend an MUSC Employee Wellness worksite screening event. Individuals who prefer may coordinate the laboratory screening tests with their primary care physician if they do not attend the on-campus screening events. q Visit your primary care physician to follow up with your laboratory results and develop a personal action plan to stay healthy. q Participate in a health management and/or health coaching program offered free by BCBS of South Carolina.

Qualifying for the yearlong prescription benefit requires completing a fairly simple process.

After all steps have been completed, a letter documenting the generic copay waiver, as well as the official end date for the 12–month eligibility period, is typically received within 30 to 45 days.

According to Mark Lyles, M.D., MUSC chief strategic officer, the free monthly screening services held on campus coupled with the new copay waiver program are great incentives for employees, spouses and adult children

covered by the plan.

"The generic prescription drug waiver program offers a great way for MUSC Health Plan members to focus on improving their health while also saving money in the process.”

Philip Smeltzer, program administrator for Total Population Health, sees great merit in worksite screenings and the new program.

“The screenings are a convenient way to learn more about your health status,” he said. “We encourage employees to make an appointment to follow up with their primary care physicians to discuss a personal strategy for optimum health.

This conversation is the key to managing

deNtAl MediCiNe reCOgNiZes eMPlOyee exCelleNCe James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine dean Dr. John J. Sanders recognized employees with fourth quarter awards for excellence as part of the college’s staff recognition program. Left photo: Dean Sanders congratulates Ann Marie Jones (clinical) and Brad Hammond (non-clinical), top right photo. Bottom right photo: Other Dental Medicine fourth quarter award winners include Michelle Foy (clinical) and Roy Hughes (non-clinical). The employees were recognized Feb. 3 at the college’s Town Hall meeting event where Dean Sanders delivered a speech and lunch was provided.

good health.”

There is another benefit associated with this program. If the individual covered by the MUSC Health Plan chooses to have the lab tests done through their primary care physician’s office, there will be no charge for the tests just as there is no charge for the tests performed at the on-site screening.

Lyles summed it up, “Our employees are the MUSC family. We all have an obligation to help them enjoy the best life can offer. Health is our life, we need to support our MUSC family to get healthy and stay healthy. These enhanced benefits combined with our MUSC employee wellness programs are designed to help the entire MUSC family focus on our personal health in 2015.”

The first on-site screening event for 2015 is scheduled for Feb. 18. Online registration through the MUSC Intranet is required to reserve a time for the screening tests. Visit http://mcintranet. musc.edu/employeewellness/. Then click on the menu option “worksite screening appointment.”

For questions or information regarding the MUSC copay waiver program, please call Phil Smeltzer at 792-6637 or email SmeltzerP@musc.edu.

4 THe CaTalysT, February 13, 2015

Scientist honored for her role in mentoring women at MUSC

By Helen adaMs Public Relations

W

hen Rosalie Crouch, Ph.D., recently stepped forward to accept the Arrow Award at MUSC, it was clear why she’d been chosen to receive it. The annual honor recognizes people who support and encourage women faculty at MUSC, something Crouch has been doing for about four decades.

“This has been one of my passions, as many of you know,” Crouch said. “Trying to understand why there have not been more women at the top. Most seem to stop at the assistant or associate professor level.”

While plenty of women attend medical school, she said, few end up in academic leadership roles. That means the role models and decision-makers at some medical schools are disproportionately male.

MUSC recognized the imbalance and created the Initiative for the Advancement, Recruitment and Retention of Women, the program behind Crouch’s Arrow Award.

The program offers everything from mentorship to family resources to information about MUSC’s promotion

MUSC President David Cole congratulates Dr. Crouch at the December Arrow Award ceremony.

and hiring practices.

“We’ve got to learn how to essentially harness women’s intelligence and make working environments so they can succeed,” Crouch said. “Women do have this biological factor. Not all women, but many women want to have families. That affects their careers and how they handle their careers.”

Crouch spoke from experience.

She’s now a grandmother as well as a distinguished university professor and interim director of ophthalmology research.

When Crouch arrived at MUSC in 1975, she started as a faculty member in the College of Medicine's departments of Ophthalmology and Biochemistry. At the time, the Vietnam War was ending, the Watergate scandal was winding down and women were playing a growing role in the U.S. workforce. Time magazine declared it “The Year of Women,” pointing to the achievements of Betty Ford, Billy Jean King and other female luminaries.

But Crouch noticed something else.

“The reason I became intrigued with this is that I realized that so much talent is being wasted. Often the smartest people in the class, including the science classes, were women, but they seemed to drop out — I think mainly through social pressures and expectations.”

Crouch decided to try to encourage women who were interested to stick with their work, creating a support system to help them achieve their professional goals without giving up their personal dreams. Their support helped her as well. Crouch held several leadership positions, including dean of the College of Graduate Studies. She was also the Medical University’s first female provost and vice president for academic affairs and she directed the Molecular and Cellular Biology and Pathology Program.

Along the way, Crouch became “one of the best vision scientists of our time

photos by Helen Adams, Public Relations

Dr. Rosalie Crouch holds the Arrow Award, which is given each year to a person who does an outstanding job of serving as mentor for a women at MUSC. internationally,” according to long time friend Darlene Shaw, Ph.D. Shaw serves as chairwoman of the Arrow Initiative’s steering committee, associate provost for education and student life and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

“Rosalie has been a role model for women who want to be very effective in their careers but also have an active family life,” Shaw said. “And she’s been very active in mentoring women.”

Deborah Deas, M.D., is one of those women. Deas, a parent who’s also a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, senior associate dean for medical education in the College of Medicine and a member of Arrow’s charter committee, has relied on informal mentoring sessions with Crouch at MUSC’s Wellness Center. They swap stories about their families and work and discuss issues while exercising.

“Rosalie has always been willing to give advice and mentorship, and she constantly promotes the careers of women,” Deas said at the award

ceremony. “Thank you for inspiring us to be great leaders, great mothers, researchers, administrators and finally for being ourselves.”

Crouch hasn’t finished advocating for women. The world has changed in many ways since 1975. Instead of fighting in Vietnam, American troops are battling extremists. Watergate is a chapter in our history books, and the idea that women are an important part of the workforce is widely accepted. Now, she wants to see more women at the top and is encouraged by what she’s seeing at MUSC and other institutions.

“You hear the leaders of major companies saying we’ve got to do something to quit wasting half our brain power,” Crouch said.

She didn’t sound ready to give up her work at MUSC any time soon. “It’s just been a very special place to me. I seem to have a little trouble leaving it,” she said, laughing along with the audience.

For information, visit http:// academicdepartments.musc.edu/ arrowinitiative/index-new.htm.

THe CaTalysT, February 13, 2015 5

Meet KiM

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Visit www.EdHunnicutt.com Kim Seymour-Edwards

How you are changing what’s possible at MUSC Because we work in the health care environment and encounter people from all walks of life, I make it my mission to bring understanding and compassion to others every day.

How long at MUSC 25 years Family Husband, Randy; daughters, Peyton, 18 and Skyler, 11 Hero I admire Nelson Mandela, former prisoner and first black president of South Africa. I admire his tenacity and endurance. He was battered but not broken.

First thing I notice about a person People’s spirit. Are they warm, peaceful or angry and resentful?

Fantasy dinner I’d invite Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Maya Angelou and Helen Keller. These people faced adversity and didn’t let their circumstances make them bitter, but better.

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6 THe CaTalysT, February 13, 2015

doCk dogs

Continued from Page One

had calls and visits constantly. I received a great deal of support and love.”

A PlAN fOr reCOvery Feller took six months off of work. Every three weeks she underwent chemotherapy treatments for a total of six rounds. Before every round she would have a CA– 125 and each time it went down so they knew they were on the right track.

Still, by February, 2012, Feller was feeling sick and miserable. All she could muster the strength to do was lie on the couch and watch television. “Chemo ravages your body,” she said.

But her life partner, Laurie Uebelhoer, CRNA, who is also an adjunct instructor in the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, had a better idea. Watching her partner of 30 years go through cancer and the ensuing treatments was heart– rending, but watching the person she loves, a normally exuberant, joyful, physically active person lying in bed trying to recover, was equally hard. She came up with a plan… one she knew in her heart would work. And work it did: Ubelhoer brought home two Labrador and golden retriever mix puppies – one yellow, one black.

“Deb has always had a passion for animals,” Uebelhoer recounted her plan, “particularly dogs.

When I heard about the pups that were available, I knew the timing was perfect. Deb would be home recovering for six more weeks before returning to work.

Although I couldn’t be there every day to encourage her to get off the couch, I knew a puppy would. She focused all of her free time on the pups, and before she went back to work, she had all basic obedience and house breaking done.”

Feller laughs when she thinks about how well her partner knows her and how well the plan worked. “I would have preferred to have stayed in bed and watched TV,” she said. “But if I have pups that need to be walked, I’ll drag myself out of bed to walk them. When you have two puppies, the last thing you can do is stay in bed and watch television.”

Uebelhoer brought the littermates home: the yellow was to be Feller’s and the black, her son’s and his wife’s pup. “The plan,” Feller said, “was to raise them together because everyone in my family thinks my dogs are the best behaved. I know how to housebreak and train them — I just have a knack.”

They named the black pup Sirius Black, from the Harry Potter novels, and the yellow, Adonis, or Doni, for the Greek god of beauty. Coming home on February 13, the day before Valentine’s Day, earned Doni his name.

As it happened, Feller and Uebelhoer had gotten dogs close to holidays in the past, and they thought it

photo and graphic provided

Left photo: Doni displays a few of his many first-place medals. Above: The logo for Team Skinny Dip is a dog jumping off a dock lunging for a teal awareness ribbon.

would be fun to name them something befitting the holiday. For instance, there had been a Lab named Frankenstein, or Frank, as they called him, who joined the family around Halloween, and their 180–pound Great Dane is named Rudolph, or Rudy, as he came at Christmas. Feller wasn’t particularly fond of a cutesy name like Cupid, so they chose the name Adonis instead – and an Adonis he is. Both names, they will tell you, perfectly fit the pups. dOCk dOgs By the time the pups were 15 weeks old they were launching from the side of the pool. The pair had a very strong suspicion they might have dock dogs on their hands. Dock jumping, or dock diving, as it is also called, is a sport where dogs compete by jumping for distance or height from a dock into a body of water.

“Six years ago, we went with a friend of ours who is also a CRNA to watch her compete with one of her dock dogs - it was so much fun. We said, ‘The next lab we have who loves water, we’re doing that.’ We knew we wanted to try it. When the pups showed us they loved water and loved to jump for toys, we just knew.”

Feller said, “I spent the last six weeks I was home recovering, intensely training them. They are the best trained dogs I’ve ever had. They both play crazy Frisbee — they are amazing Frisbee players. They both swim and both retrieve. I was horseback riding yesterday, and they love to go trail riding with me. I can, from horseback, ask them to heel and they will stay right at my stirrup and follow right with me. Then they run through the

woods, romping and playing.”

While Feller’s son and wife moved with Sirius Black to California, she kept working with Doni. When he was two years old, he took his first shot at competitive dock diving at the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition.

Right out of the chute he scored in the middle of the pack, showing a great proclivity for the sport. They started practicing earnestly. A few weeks later, Doni had the best jump in a Georgetown event and took home first place in his division. Of the three events that dock dogs compete in: big air, which is long distance jumping; extreme vertical, where the dog has to jump vertically to get the toy; and speed retrieve which involves running, jumping and swimming, he showed a gift for all. By August of that year, Feller and Doni had captured four national titles and other important titles such as IronDog Titan.

Feller and Uebelhoer soon involved their granddaughter Kaitie in the sport as she showed a special gift for handling Doni. Kaitie and Doni have captured every conceivable dock dog award and she was listed as the number one youth handler in the world.

PAlMettO dOCk dOgs The Uebelhoer-Feller family, who are called “Team Skinny Dip” because the dogs work by voice commands and don’t need to wear collars or leashes, are members of Palmetto Dock Dog Club, a fun social group with approximately 30 members. Members each have one or

See Dock Dogs on page 7

THe CaTalysT, February 13, 2015 7

doCk dogs

Continued from Page Six

2015 SEWE Dock Dogs Competition Wave Time Friday BA #1 1000 BA #2 1130 BA #3 1300 BA #4 1430 BA #5 1600 Saturday BA #6 1000 BA #7 1200 BA #8 1400 EV 1600 Sunday BA #9 1000 BA#10 1200 SR 1400 Kaitie Finals 1630

Doni Feb. 13 Deb Deb Kaitie Feb. 14 Kaitie Deb

Sirius Brittlebank Park Deb Deb Deb Brittlebank Park

Deb Kaitie Deb Feb. 15 Brittlebank Park Kaitie Deb Deb Deb Farthest jump! Deb (if top 6)

BA= Big Air; EV= Extreme Vertical; SR= Speed Retrieve

photo provided

Doni and Deb bring awareness to national ovarian cancer month in September. Deb sports teal-colored hair and Doni has a painted ribbon on his hind leg. two dogs, some have three, and they all deeply love the sport. While the club is comprised of a high percentage of Labrador retrievers, it’s a mix of dogs in the club.

“We have lots of Chesapeake Bay retrievers, or Chessies, Nova Scotia duck tolling retrievers, border collies, and sweeping up all the events lately are the Belgian Malinois,” Feller said.

The club practices once a month out at Trophy Lake on Johns Island. The competitions are individual but the club supports each other, the dogs and their endeavors. Members are currently restoring the Trophy Lake dock, and with people literally working underwater in wet suits, it’s definitely a labor of love. “It will be neat when it’s all done,” Feller said. “We actually see the light at the end of the tunnel,” she laughed.

There are no monetary prizes associated with winning in dock dogs, more it’s about bragging rights. Feller said they do it for the love of the sport and the love of the dogs. sewe 2015 Feller and Doni will be competing at SEWE this weekend and in all three dock dog events. And because this is Kaitie’s last year as a youth handler, they are giving her the opportunity to jump Doni in the majority of the events. They are also introducing Sirius Black for the first time at the SEWE event. Feller will

be handling him primarily.

During the three-day competition their teams will be jumping in most of the events at Brittlebank Park in downtown Charleston. Friday and Saturday tickets cost $20. Sunday tickets are only $10. lOve ANd triuMPh Recently, Feller’s son, Gentry, who is a Marine, was recently deployed to Japan. His wife, Macy, and Sirius Black are temporarily living with Feller, Ubelhoer, and Kaitie. The littermates are together again, and according to Feller, they are ecstatic — as if they’d never left each other.

While Feller loves Sirius Black dearly, and refers to him as her “grand-dog,” the bond between her and Doni is unbreakably strong. “You should see the two of us together. We are bonded. I can tell when he’s thirsty, or has to go to bathroom without him letting me know.

He’s constantly at my side. He follows me everywhere.

He’s also a spectacular family dog. He loves everyone.

He’ll roll over and give you his belly as soon as you meet him.”

During the month of September, which is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness month, it is not unusual to see Feller dye her blonde hair the signature color teal and paint a teal green ribbon on Doni’s leg to bring awareness to the disease. The logo for Team Skinny Dip is a dog jumping off a dock lunging for a teal ribbon.

Feller’s last CA–125 score was 7; less than 35 is considered normal. Feb. 3 marked her three year anniversary of being cancer free. She knows how blessed she is to have come through this serious disease so well. She is grateful for the wonderful care that Rovner, Lazenby, Graybill and their teams gave her, and she credits the love of her family, most especially Laurie for concocting a plan that moved her off the sofa and onto the docks. Most of all, she credits the pups for giving her a purpose greater than her own and a reason to get out of bed and move forward with her life.

“Doni and Sirius Black were absolutely integral to my recovery – absolutely,” she stressed. “There is no doubt… the fact that I had the two of them to make me get up and move - it made me robust at a time when my body was weak and ravaged. These puppies gave me joy every day. They gave me love. For me, it was the best medicine I could have had at that point in my cancer. I know Laurie had that up her sleeve when she brought them home. She knew me well enough to know that a couple of puppies would get me up and moving.”

8 THe CaTalysT, February 13, 2015

Safe Zone training promotes equality, acceptance at MUSC

By J. Ryne danielson Public Relations

T

he Office of Training and Intercultural Education held its third Safe Zone training Jan. 30. MUSC students, faculty and staff attended a half-day workshop designed to reduce homophobia, transphobia and heterosexism on campus by ensuring all members of the sexual minority community—including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, asexual, ally, and intersex individuals—are treated inclusively and respectfully at MUSC. DaNine Fleming, Ed.D., director of training and intercultural education, said the program seeks to create a network of allies and “safe zones” across campus. “A safe zone is a place where one can feel supported, affirmed and valued, not judged,” she said. “As an academic medical institution, MUSC needs to be open and welcoming. When a patient is sick or has an emergency, that is not the time any barriers should be placed between them and access to health care.

We want to tear down those barriers through education.”

That philosophy represents the position of leading medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, and American Academy of Pediatrics, all of which say that homosexuality falls within the normal spectrum of human behavior and is not a medical or mental disorder.

Warren Redman–Gress, a member of the MUSC Safe Zone advisory council and executive director of the Alliance for Full Acceptance, helped facilitate the training. AFFA is a Charleston–based advocacy group which promotes equality and acceptance for sexual minorities and provides diversity and inclusion

training to institutions such as MUSC. Redman–Gress shared with participants that even things as simple as intake forms can cause confusion among the sexual minority community and place barriers between those individuals and access to care. “It’s important that doctors hear how a person self identifies and reflect that back,” he said. “We need to feel we can be open with our doctors.”

According to “Is Homosexuality a Choice?” — a short film presented during the training — “The science overwhelmingly says that being gay is not a choice and that sexual orientation can’t be changed.” Rather, the narrator argues, it is biological. For example, having older brothers increases the odds of a boy being homosexual. “When a woman is pregnant with a boy, scientists are realizing that her female body often sees the male fetus as a foreign object and begins to produce antibodies against it. The more boys a woman has, the more adept her body becomes at feminizing the fetus, which may explain why, with every successive boy, the odds that he will be gay go up significantly.”

As part of the training, participants were asked to keep confidential the personal experiences shared by others, only speak for themselves and treat other participants with respect. Beyond that, however, “political correctness” was out the window.

“We’ve been trained to be politically correct all our lives,” Fleming said. “But, to confront the stereotypes that are out there, we need to be very honest with ourselves.”

The various terms that make up the acronym LGBTQQAAI were posted around the room, with space for participants to write the first thought that came to mind with respect to each term. Some thoughts were positive. Most weren’t. After this activity, each negative stereotype was addressed and the

photos by J. Ryne Danielson, Public Relations

Warren Redman-Gress, from left, emphasizes his point with facilitators and participants during the Jan. 30 MUSC Safe Zone Training at the Harper Student Center auditorium. He is joined by Dr. Laurie Charles, Dr. DaNine Fleming, David Howell and Dr. Joe Vuthiganon.

Dr. Laurie Charles, far left, facilitates a group exercise.

Participants were asked to write initial thoughts — positive or negative — about various LGBT terms, which were then discussed.

facilitators took time to define, simply, what each term actually means.

“LGBTQQAAI is a mouthful,” said Joe Vuthiganon, DMD, an assistant professor in the college of dental medicine, who helped to facilitate the training. “I wouldn’t expect people to use it all the time, but it does better reflect the diversity of the sexual minority community.”

During the program, participants often used “LGBT” as shorthand for the more inclusive term.

Redman–Gress believes supportive allies — one of the As in the acronym — are critical for establishing a welcoming campus. “Some people say, ‘don’t bring it up’ or ‘don’t flaunt it,’ but for anyone

in a relationship, dating or married, gay or straight, we reveal those things about ourselves all the time. Even simple things like wearing a wedding ring. Or when people ask ‘what did you do yesterday,’ and I have to start censoring what I did yesterday because I’m afraid of revealing something they may not want to hear.

We talk about our relationships all the time. There’s no way to say to someone ‘you can work here, you can study here, but cut that part of your life out.’

Nobody else has to do that.”

To be an ally, according to Fleming, one must first understand his or her own privilege. She acknowledges this is

See Equality on page 9

THe CaTalysT, February 13, 2015 9

equaliTy Continued from Page Eight a controversial topic, but to her it’s simple. “Privilege doesn’t mean you haven’t struggled or worked hard,” she said. “It just means there are some things in life you take for granted—some things you don’t even have to think about.”

Being fired for being gay is one of those things, said Laurie Charles, Ph.D., associate director of Student Diversity, who helped to facilitate the training.

Charles serves as faculty advisor to MUSC’s Alliance for Equality (formerly the Gay Straight Alliance). In South Carolina and 28 other states, she said, an individual can still be fired just for being gay — unless, like MUSC, the employer has adopted a nondiscrimination clause that expressly protects sexual orientation and gender identity.

“We’ve made great strides in the last few years toward making MUSC a more welcoming and diverse environment,” Charles said. “After seven years of working to include sexual orientation and gender identity in MUSC’s nondiscrimination clause, we finally accomplished that. One of our students sent a petition to Dr. Cole [MUSC President David Cole, M.D., FACS], asking him to sign it, and he said, ‘I’m not signing this — I’m making it happen.’

It was astonishing.”

Being an ally, Fleming said, also means

doing your homework—researching LGBT issues and getting to know members of the LGBT community.

“You can’t be someone’s ally unless you know them,” she said. “It means speaking up against discrimination, but not speaking over the members of the community you’re trying to help.” She also said being an ally means realizing mistakes when you make them and apologizing.

“This can seem overwhelming,” Redman-Gress admitted. “But everyone has a circle of influence. For some of us, it might be very broad. For others, it may just be the space of the cubicle you work in. Being an ally is just about making a decision to treat everyone equally and being supportive in whatever space you have control over. You may not have influence across campus or even down the hall, but you have influence in your space.”

The symbol of MUSC’s Safe Zone program is a rainbow triangle. This symbol indicates a safe space on campus where individuals can feel free to discuss their issues. Allies who have undergone the training are encouraged to post the symbol in their workspaces as a sign of openness and support.

The rainbow has long been a symbol of inclusiveness, said David Howell, a faculty member in the College of Health Professions. The triangle,

Glossary of Terms

q Lesbian—a woman who experiences sexual and emotional attraction to other women q Gay—a man or woman attracted to members of the same sex q Bisexual—a man or woman attracted to members of either sex q Transgender—an individual whose gender identity does not match their assigned sex q Queer—an umbrella term encompassing all sexual and gender minorities (can be offensive, so it is important to listen to how an individual self-identifies) q Questioning—individuals questioning or exploring their sexual or gender identity or sexual orientation q Asexual—a lack of sexual attraction to anyone, regardless of gender or sex q Ally—a heterosexual individual who supports and affirms the sexual minority community q Intersex—an individual with one of several conditions in which sex characteristics, including genetics, genitalia and secondary sex characteristics, do not allow a clear male/female distinction. Often, a sex is assigned at birth, though this may not match perceived gender identity later in life. q Straight—a man or woman who experiences sexual attraction toward the opposite sex (seen by some in the LGBT community as derogatory, as it implies that homosexual attractions are “crooked” or wrong) Source: Definitions provided during Safe Zone Training, Warren Redman-Gress

however—another symbol of the LGBT community—has a darker history; it is a reference to the pink triangles used in Nazi concentration camps to identify homosexual prisoners.

Howell, who identifies as a progressive Christian, said the principle of the safe zone goes back to the idea of treating others as you would want to be treated. Though some try to use

faith to discriminate against the LGBT community, he said, he wants to break down the stereotype that one can’t be both gay and religious.

The next Safe Zone training is scheduled for Feb. 17 at 5 p.m.

Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to register online at https:// academicdepartments.musc.edu/ esl/studentprograms/training_edu/

Volunteers needed for Burke High School professionalism event Volunteers are needed for a Professionalism Symposium at Burke High School from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday, April 10.

This event represents a collaboration with Communitiesin-Schools of Charleston and MUSC’s EdLink allowing employees to serve as mentors.

Repsonsibilities may vary, but the greatest need is to recruit individuals who can conduct mock interviews.

For information or to volunteer, email Danielle Wright at wrightdo@musc.edu.

10 THe CaTalysT, February 13, 2015

Sharing tips for a happy, healthy Valentine’s Day Looking to pamper your valentine (or yourself) with a special evening, while still remaining health conscious? The delicious combination of dark chocolate truffles and a glass of red wine offers the perfect recipe for a romantic evening, with wellness benefits to boot.

Health at work

220 to 280 calories per 42 grams, or about 1.5 ounces, so eat sparingly. q Ingredients list: Quality chocolate is made with cocoa butter and milk fat. If vegetable oil or hydrogenated oil is included, skip it. q Fat content: Look for zero trans-fat. Total fat can be as high as 20 grams per serving because the more cocoa in a bar, the more fat it will contain.

Health Benefits of Chocolate q Dark chocolate is good for your heart. Studies show that Susan Johnson eating a small amount of dark chocolate two or three times each week can help lower your blood pressure. q Dark chocolate is good for your brain.

Benefits of Red Wine Dark chocolate increases blood flow to q Red Wine is good for your heart. the brain as well as to the heart, so it can Red wine contains compounds that help improve cognitive function.Dark protect your heart and arteries against chocolate also helps reduce your risk the effects of saturated fat in your of stroke. Dark chocolate also contains diet. The alcohol in red wine, when several chemical compounds that have consumed in moderation, raises your a positive effect on your mood and levels of “good” HDL cholesterol, helps cognitive health. prevent the formation of blood clots q Dark chocolate helps control blood and can help to protect your arteries sugar. Dark chocolate helps keep from the damage caused by “bad” LDL your blood vessels healthy and your cholesterol. circulation unimpaired to protect against q Red wine contains antioxidants.

Type 2 diabetes. The flavonoids in Antioxidants in red wine can help slow dark chocolate also help reduce insulin the signs of aging and prevent a number resistance by helping your cells to of degenerative illnesses like Type 2 function normally and regain the ability diabetes. Drinking one or two glasses of to use your body’s insulin efficiently. red wine each day can help protect you Dark chocolate also has a low glycemic from many of the diseases of the elderly, index, meaning it won’t cause huge such as osteoporosis. spikes in blood sugar levels. q Red wine can lower risk for cancer q Dark chocolate is full of antioxidants.

The many antioxidants in red wine Antioxidants help free your body of free can help prevent the oxidative damage radicals, which cause oxidative damage responsible for the process of aging to cells, so eating antioxidant rich foods and for many degenerative conditions like dark chocolate can protect you from like Alzheimer’s, Type 2 diabetes and many types of cancer and slow the signs cardiovascular disease. Guercetin, one of aging. of the many antioxidants in red wine, q Dark chocolate is high in vitamins may help prevent lung cancer. Research and minerals. Dark chocolate contains has shown that resveratrol, the same red a number of vitamins and minerals that wine antioxidant that helps protect your can support your health. Dark chocolate heart, can also kill cancerous cells. contains some of the following vitamins q Red wine prevents tooth decay. and minerals in high concentrations: Red wine, even nonalcoholic red potassium, copper, magnesium and iron. wine, hardens your enamel to prevent tooth decay. Hardened enamel is more Which Chocolates are Best? resistant to the bacteria that lives on your q Percentage of cocoa: The amount teeth and is responsible for tooth decay. of cocoa can vary from 10 percent to The polyphenols in red wine can also as high as 94. Aim for a bar with a prevent gum disease and can treat it by minimum of 35 percent cocoa. reducing inflammation in the gums. q Calories: Most chocolates contain

How Much Red Wine?

Recent studies have shown that one or two glasses of red wine per day support optimal health.

So, for your perfect Valentine’s Day dessert, make sure that the chocolate is dark and the wine is red. For an added healthy treat, add berries to the mix.

Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are a plentiful source of lutein, carotene, vitamin C, fiber and potassium and boast anti-aging properties.

Bon appetit and Happy Valentine’s Day.

Wellness Events

q Take the Monthly Mindful Challenge and be eligible for prizes by completing a short survey at the beginning and end of the month. One employee will be featured in our “Spotlight on Wellness” column in The Catalyst. The February challenge is “Elevate your heart rate.”

To begin, take the challenge survey at http://tinyurl.com/mdxqchc. q Sodexo’s Got Heart — Each week during Heart Month, the cafeterias will support the health of our employees by offering tasty, baked sweet potato fries and other heart-healthy side items on Fried-Free Fridays.

q Quit Smoking in 2015 — MUSC is conducting a research study to see if magnetic stimulation can reduce nicotine cravings and make it easier to stop smoking. Payment for participation is provided and free parking is available.

For information, contact Scott Henderson, 792-5560. q MUSC Employee Fitness Series — Join Katie Blaylock for a free Cardio Power Class from 4:15 to 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18 at the Wellness Center. For information or to register for the class email musc-empwell@musc.edu. q Chair massages — Free massages are offered to employees midday on Wednesdays. Check broadcast messages for locations and times. q Farmers Markets — Fresh fruits and vegetables are available from local farmers on Fridays from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Horseshoe.

MUSC Urban Farm

q Midday Work and Learn — 12:15 to 12:45 p.m., Tuesdays q Early Bird Maintenance — 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Wednesdays q Third Saturday Family-friendly Work and Learn — 9 to 11 a.m., Feb. 21 Email Johnsusa@musc.edu.

THe CaTalysT, February 13, 2015 11

Murder-suicides show need for task force

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onnie Best, Ph.D., wishes her expertise in domestic violence wasn’t so badly needed right now. But as the events of the past few days show, domestic violence continues to be a deadly problem in South Carolina.

“It hasn’t stopped,” Best said. “If anything, it seems to be getting worse.”

Last Thursday, a professor at the University of South Carolina was shot and killed by his ex-wife who then killed herself. Sunday, a man on Wadmalaw Island killed his on-and-off-again girlfriend and her mother, then shot himself.

Best has seen a lot of lives torn apart by domestic violence. She’s a nationally known crime psychology expert who teaches in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Services at the Medical University of South Carolina and directs adult services at the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center.

The center, founded in 1974, is involved in scientific research, evidence-based treatment, professional education and consultation.

Best’s experience and knowledge were recently recognized by Governor Nikki Haley, who approved a nomination from the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education to include Best on the state’s domestic violence task force. The task force will try to end what the governor called “generational cycles of domestic violence” in South Carolina.

While the state has the grim distinction of ranking second in the country for the rate of women murdered by men, the death of Professor Raja Fayad at USC shows men are victims too, Best said. So are children.

“We must get a handle on all the elements that contribute to domestic violence and have a better understanding of the ways to do prevention,” Best said.

The attorney general’s office has noted that more than 36,000 people report an incident of domestic violence across South Carolina each year. Experts say many other incidents go unreported.

“I hope the task force will be able to come up with really usable, viable strategies. Not just talk about domestic violence but do something about it,” Best said.

“Maybe if all the right players are at the table, we can make progress.”

The players on the task force come from organizations around the state. The team includes experts on education, the legal system, employment issues, the impact of violence on victims, housing and faith-based responses to domestic violence.

Best’s inclusion in that group is part of a larger effort that MUSC has undertaken to reduce domestic

“I hope the task force will be able to come up with really usable, viable strategies. Not just talk about domestic violence but do something about it.”

Dr. Connie Best violence. The Charleston campus recently hosted a seminar on domestic violence that drew experts from across the country. It focused on how domestic violence can turn deadly, how health care professionals should respond when they see evidence of domestic violence and the impact it has on everything from children to national health care costs.

Best has been busy as well. The past recipient of the U.S. President’s Award for Outstanding Service to Victims of Crime has continued to play a role in making public policy, going beyond research and clinical work to make people safer.

Last year, Best served on a panel of just 14 people involved in updating the Clery Campus Crime Act, expanding it to include domestic violence, stalking and other elements in its crime categories. She was chosen for the U.S. Department of Education’s rulemaking team through a competitive nomination process. The Clery Act was named after a Lehigh University student who was raped and murdered in her dorm room in 1986. It requires colleges and universities to compile and disclose crime statistics, describe what they’re doing to prevent crime and spell out how they handle criminal accusations involving students as accusers and students as defendants.

Best said her background at MUSC gave her the range of knowledge needed to make changes to the act in ways that will stand up to legal scrutiny while ensuring students’ safety and rights are protected.

“I think we’re unique in this area because we do research, and we do clinical work and we do public policy at MUSC,” Best said.

Her new assignment will call upon that range of expertise as she joins colleagues from across the state in exploring the complex problem of domestic violence.

“We just had five people die in domestic violence incidents within days of each other. We have to make progress as a state,” she said. “We can’t let people continue to lose their lives to domestic violence.”

12 THe CaTalysT, February 13 2015

Nominations for diversity awards being accepted

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Entries must include the nomination form and two letters of endorsement for each nominee.

All submissions should be received by 5 p.m., Friday, Feb. 9 to burnham@musc.edu.

For information, visit http:// academicdepartments.musc.edu/esl/ studentprograms/studentdiversity/ ebhiggins/nominations.html.

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MUSC’s Office of Student Diversity is accepting nominations for the Earl B. Higgins Award 2015.

Nominations are being accepted for the Earl B. Higgins Achievement in Diversity Award and the Student Leadership in Diversity Award.

Nominees should be individuals who have contributed significantly to diversity.

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