Impact June 2017

UTMB NEWSLETTER • JUNE 2017

Keeping it clean with UTMB’s Laundry Department CMC-TDCJ program bonds female offenders with newborns, reduces recidivism Seven employees recognized for 45 years of service Spotlight on Mari Robinson, director of telehealth

UTMB Police Officer Harold Beasley was recognized by the 50 Club of Galveston County as one of its Officers of the Year during an awards luncheon at the Moody Gardens Hotel in Galveston on May 4. Beasley is a certified Master Peace Officer and joined UTMB Police in 2006 after retiring from the Galveston Police Department. He has served primarily in patrol, but has worked as a background investigator, an internal affairs investigator and detective. Beasley received the UT System Commendation medal last year for his distinguished actions in May 2016, when he talked a suicidal person off the Galveston Causeway. He then persuaded the man to surrender himself to authorities to be transported to a facility for psychiatric treatment.

Hayley Rogers, a second-year School of Medicine student, received the Texas Medical Association Medical Student Section Student of the Year Award at TMA’s annual conference on May 5 in Houston. Rogers was recognized as an outstanding student member who excels in furthering the section’s goals and policies to improve Texas’ health care system. Among her accomplishments, she has written several diversity-related policies that the American Medical Association has adopted, serves as Region 3 alternate delegate to the AMA, serves on state and national committees, and has presented on LGBTQ+ health care at AMA meetings.

Victor Reyes, PhD, was selected as a 2017 Piper Professor by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation. Reyes is a professor in the departments of Microbiology and Immunology and Pediatrics. In 2016, he was chosen as a member of the University of Texas System Kenneth I. Shine, MD, Academy of Health Science Education. Established in 1958, the prestigious Piper Professor Awards honor 10 effective and dedicated professors each year from two- and four-year colleges and universities across Texas.

Rebecca Davidson, a nurse in Neuro/Neurosurgery ICU, was honored as one of the greater Houston’s Top 10 Nurses of the Year by the Houston Chronicle. Since 2000, the Chronicle has solicited nominations from the public for its Salute to Nurses awards, which coincides with National Nurses Week in May. Davidson received a crystal award and was invited to attend the Salute to Nurses luncheon. Her name, along with nine other UTMB nurses’ names were listed in the 2017 Salute to Nurses section that was published on May 7. Congratulations to other UTMB nurses who made the Top 150 list: Barb Bonificio, Brenda Yanez, Brianna

Salinas, Jason Sheaffer, Meg Baerti Brown, Odette Comeau, Pamela Cruz, Patty Crosby and Tracey McHenry. Check the July issue for more Nurses Week honors.

UTMB recently received “Top Performer” status from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC) for committing to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer-inclusive policies and practices. The university also is being considered as one of the “go to” resources in the HRC’s 2018 Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) Resource Guide. UTMB began participating in the HEI survey in 2016. The survey is the national LGBTQ benchmarking tool that evaluates health care facilities’ policies and practices related to the equity and inclusion of their LGBTQ patients, visitors and employees. This year, UTMB scored 90 points, receiving full credit in the following areas: Non-Discrimination and Staff Training, Patient Services and Support, and Patient and Community Engagement. A record 590 healthcare facilities actively participated in the 2017 HEI survey. For additional information, visit www.hrc.org/hei.

Evan Shields, a nurse with CT Surgery/Vascular Surgery, was recognized during a recent Health System Leadership Team meeting for the exceptional and compassionate care he provided to a patient. The patient, who underwent open heart surgery at UTMB, submitted a letter thanking Shields for taking the time to answer all their questions, make them feel safe, and for helping the patient and her son laugh even in times of unease. The patient wrote, “I knew being in his care was exactly where I was supposed to be. I truly feel blessed to have had him as my nurse. It is his calling. It is who he is. Thank you for having him there to help heal the sick.”

Patient Services Specialists Alina Valdez, Internal Medicine, and Olivia Guzman Martinez, Radiology, recently received “Way to Go” Awards from UTMB President David Callender for their dedication and commitment to helping patients. The two women worked together and stayed past their scheduled shifts to ensure a patient who needed X-rays received timely, same-day care. Valdez also followed up with the patient several times to keep them informed about subsequent specialist visits. The patient submitted a letter recognizing the women’s actions, writing about their “care and dedication to both UTMB and me as a patient. I am truly impressed and know the value of dedicated employees.”

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From the President I’d like to take a moment to thank all of our faculty and staff for your outstanding, ongoing commitment to improving health for the people of Texas and around the world.

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On May 31, we honored 1,719 employees who have achieved significant service milestones and 538 GEM card recipients at one of my favorite events of the year—Employee Service Day. This edition of Impact includes an article on the annual celebration and highlights seven remarkable employees who have given 45 years of service to the university! It also includes the winner of this year’s Nicholas and Katherine Leone Award for Administrative Excellence, which recognizes a manager or supervisor who displays the highest degree of professionalism.

CMC-TDCJ program helps female offenders, newborns

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It’s through all of our employees’ hard work and passion to help others that UTMB has become the world-class teaching, research and health care delivery center that it is today. This month celebrates the one-year anniversary of our League City Campus Hospital, and you’ll see in the Parting Shot section of this issue how the campus is continuing to grow to serve the needs of our community today—and into the future.

Day in the Life: UTMB Laundry Department

Among the other stories in this issue:

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• A Day in the Life of Glynnis Glover, a linen services tech with the UTMB Laundry Department • A profile of Mari Robinson, UTMB’s director of telehealth • A mid-year Best Care update from Health System leadership • A UTMB Correctional Managed Care and Texas Department of Criminal Justice program to help female offenders bond with their newborns and reduce recidivism • UTMB leaders “Walk a Mile” in nurses’ shoes as part of Health System and Nurses Week • A research study that discovered many pregnant women are unaware of how the Zika virus can spread • Our Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences awards 49 degrees at commencement • Tips on how to protect yourself from the Zika virus by two leading researchers from UTMB • Numerous accomplishments and kudos in the Working Wonders column and throughout the newsletter

Spotlight on Mari Robinson, director of telehealth

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I hope you enjoy this issue, and please let the Impact team know if you have any story suggestions for future editions. Thank you!

Employee Service Day

Dr. David L. Callender UTMB President

Impact is for and about the people who fulfill UTMB’s mission to improve health in Texas and around the world.

We hope you enjoy reading this issue. Let us know what you think!

ON THE COVER: Glynnis Glover is a linen services tech with the UTMB Laundry Department. The department is responsible for ensuring UTMB campuses and clinics have clean and adequate supplies of various hospital linens at all times. In fact, last year, Glover and her team sorted and delivered 3.4 million pounds of medical linens.

P R INT E D B Y U T MB G R A P H IC D ES IG N & P RIN TIN G S ERVICES

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Vice President Marketing & Communications Steve Campbell

CONTACT US Email: impact.newsletter@utmb.edu Phone: (409) 772-2618

Associate Vice President Marketing & Communications Mary Havard

Campus mail route: 0144 U.S. Postal address: UTMB Marketing & Communications

301 University Boulevard

Galveston, TX 77555-0144

Editors KirstiAnn Clifford Stephen Hadley Art Director Mark Navarro

B E S T CA RE IN AC TION

BY KIRSTIANN CLIFFORD

For many months, UTMB’s Chief Medical and Clinical Innovation Officer Dr. Gulshan Sharma has been living and breathing UTMB’s No. 1 priority goal—the Best Care initiative, which challenges UTMB to achieve a top 20 ranking among academic medical centers by 2018.

people are providing care, not just how they are documenting.”

Sharma agreed.

“We won’t achieve top 20 by documentation alone,” he said. “While it is an important common thread that has helped us across the board, we still need to make changes culturally—where our approach to patient care is different. We can’t keep doing the same things and expecting different results.

We have to look at things and say, ‘If it’s not working, let’s do it differently.’”

Mid-year performance rankings, measured by the national Vizient Quality and Accountability Study, revealed good news: UTMB improved from 76th place to 19th place out of 102 reporting academic medical centers. While that One area that’s doing things differently is brings UTMB closer to its goal to rank Dr. Randall Urban (left) with members of the Daniels Team, Drs. Matthew Internal Medicine. Department chair Dr. Ranamong the Top 20 AMCs, Sharma said Mrazek, Megan Berman, Lindsay Sonstein, Brian Harris and Carlos Clark. dall Urban has helped lead several innovative all employees need to remain focused projects, including one focused on better on meeting the end-of-year ranking—and beyond. managing frequently admitted patients and reducing the need for hospital admis“We should all be proud of the progress we’ve made and should celebrate the sions. Under a new approach to patient management, general medicine doctors early gains,” said Sharma, who credits UTMB’s quick rise in the rankings to a are split into three distinct teams that each provide care to the same patients shared vision and commitment among leadership, physicians and all employwhenever they come to the hospital. ees. “However, a lot more work needs to be done. As we are improving, other “Previously, a frequently admitted patient would see physicians from any of the institutions also are working hard to get where we want to go.” three teams and they could get lost in the system,” said Urban. “Now, when The Vizient study measures six different domains, including patient-centeredness, the patient is admitted to the hospital, the same team cares for them each time effectiveness, mortality, safety, efficiency and equity. So far, results have shown and the doctors get to know that patient very well. This has been a really big UTMB is ahead of target in most areas, ranking first in equity, fourth in safety, change for us and a better way to provide continuity of care.” and 13th in patient-centeredness. More work is needed for length of stay and cost of care (measures of efficiency), and mortality, but UTMB has been trending Urban said UTMB follows about 40 percent of our frequently admitted patients in the outpatient setting, as well. In efforts to reduce readmissions, the inpain the right direction in those domains, as well. tient teams were recently brought together with outpatient care providers for a “When we first started this initiative, many people expressed to me that our two-hour lunch meeting. Members of each team sat at the same table and did Best Care goals were too far of a stretch,” said Donna Sollenberger, executive team-building activities before discussing how they could develop better care vice president and chief executive officer for the UTMB Health System. “Yet, plans for their frequently admitted patients. after seeing our second-quarter results, I feel as confident as ever that if we “In addition to better managing frequently admitted patients, we want to figure out maintain our focus, we will be successful.” how we can identify patients who are on the cusp of being frequently admitted Thus far, improved clinical documentation has been a major factor in UTMB’s and prevent them from moving into that category,” he said. “We aren’t there yet, progress in several domains, including mortality. For example, by educating but in the end, I think that’s where we’ll make the biggest impact.” physicians on how to properly document the complexity of patients we serve, billing and coding staff has been able to more accurately report patients’ severity UTMB will receive a final report card from Vizient in September, which will show of illness. This has led to an improved and more accurate risk-adjusted mortality whether the university achieved a top ranking for the year. In the meantime, rate, which takes into consideration factors such as age, comorbidities and level Sharma encourages all employees to keep pushing ahead. He hopes Best Care practices become “hardwired” so the positive changes are sustained. of organ failure on presentation.

“I want us to be consistently in the top 20 for three years in a row—that will be Looking ahead, Sollenberger said clinical documentation is very important, but a true testament that our culture at this great institution has really changed,” there’s still more to Best Care. said Sharma. “Best Care is not only for one year—it is here to stay. We will “What we really have to do now is fundamentally change patient care processes,” continue to work on opportunities to improve every year. We have a clear path she said. “That will be more of the heavy lifting because it is changing how forward, which is a remarkable thing.” n

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CORRECTIONAL MANAGED CARE

Breaking the cycle

BAMBI program helps female offenders bond with their newborns, reduces recidivism

BY KIRSTIANN CLIFFORD

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rom the moment a woman and her infant arrive at the Santa Celia Enriquez has been in BAMBI with her Maria Hostel in Houston, Liz Moore works to break a cycle— daughter, Ariabella, since she was born in the cycle of incarceration.

February. Already pregnant when she was “I’ve always believed in rehabilitation—and that somebody can sentenced for drug charges, Enriquez went change,” said Moore, a UTMB Correctional Managed Care to prison scared about the future. But she employee and program manager of the Baby and Mother Bond- said getting into BAMBI was the first step ing Initiative (BAMBI). “My work with the BAMBI program has in the right direction. She now looks forreinforced that belief. By giving these moms the opportunity to ward to her June release date and life after change their lives—particularly at this vulnerable time in their prison—free from meth addiction, which lives—greatly reduces the odds of their children becoming crim- she has battled since she was 12 years old.

The whole experience has made her cominals themselves. These are high-risk populations.” mitted to change.

Moore helped start the BAMBI program in 2010 as a collaboration between UTMB and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. “Being able to bond with my daughter and The program provides eligible, nonviolent female offenders the wake up with her every day knowing that she opportunity to live and bond with their newborn babies, instead is right there with me has made me realize of sending the infants to family or foster care. (Eligibility is con- how special every moment is,” said Enriquez. tingent upon the child being delivered during the course of their “It’s been a really hard journey. To know that my daughter did time with me, that we did sentence.) it together—it means a lot.”

Celia Enriquez Up to 15 women are housed at the Santa Maria Hostel—a suband her baby, stance abuse treatment center where they can stay until their Since BAMBI started in 2010, the program Ariabella sentences are over, which is usually under a year. The secure has graduated 218 women and has seen a residential facility looks and feels more like a college dormitory recidivism rate much lower than the national average. than a prison, with offenders and their babies sharing two-bed- “The baby bonding and attachment is proving to be beneficial,” room apartments. said Moore. “Our recidivism rate is 13 percent, which is just phenomenal. ” Along with baby bonding, Moore and a BAMBI case manager help each woman prepare for a successful future, whether that means planning for college after they are released from prison or finding affordable housing so they can live independently.

Women and their infants also take part in routine sessions such as group therapy, child development training and GED classes.

In comparison, the most recent Bureau of Justice Statistics study found about 68 percent of prisoners released in 30 states in 2005 were rearrested within three years.

Moore is encouraged by each success story, which proves that many of the women are internalizing the lessons and skills they “I’m so proud of the women. Some have never finished anything,” learn at BAMBI. said Moore. “To finally have that sense of achievement, it opens a “We had two moms test for their GED today and I’m sure they whole new world for them. It lifts all that shame and worthlessness did really well,” she said. “And I just got an email from a graduate feelings to ‘Wow, I can do this.’” who just got pinned with her LVN, and another email from a

graduate who just got her certificate for appraising properties. Our initial babies who were with us in 2010 have started school—that’s unbelievable. I want them all to come back for a reunion. The support and comradery they built with one another is incredible.”

Liz Moore (back row, second from left) and BAMBI case manager Jo Ann Marshall (right), with BAMBI participants and their babies. impact

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The BAMBI program continues to evolve. For the past year and a half, UTMB’s School of Nursing has collaborated with the program, matching SON students with BAMBI offenders for seven weeks, starting before the baby is born through labor, delivery and the postpartum phase. Recently awarded a UTMB President’s Cabinet Award, the project seeks to improve maternal bonding through student-led educational sessions that will improve the mother’s knowledge of prenatal health and infant care. n

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R ES EAR C H

Pregnant women unaware how Zika virus can spread, survey finds UTMB researchers recommend more education on the risks of Zika virus infection and proper preventive measures

BY CHRISTOPHER SMITH GONZALEZ

PREGNANT WOMEN AT RISK OF ZIKA VIRUS INFECTION may not be aware of the various ways the virus is spread or be taking the proper preventive measures.

A survey conducted by UTMB researchers focused on pregnant women in Southeast Texas. The participants included women born in the U.S. as well as women who had immigrated to the U.S. from Central and South America where the Zika virus is locally transmitted. The findings were published in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

“What we found with this survey was that there are several gaps in knowledge about Zika and that women wanted to know more about it,” said Dr. Abbey Berenson, lead author of the study and director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women’s Health at UTMB. While almost all the women surveyed said they had heard of the Zika virus, most did not know that, along with mosquito bites, the virus could be spread through sex even if a partner did not display any of the symptoms associated with Zika.

“A key finding of our study was that many pregnant women who may be at risk of contracting the Zika virus do not use mosquito repellants because they fear they are unsafe during pregnancy,” Berenson said. “But this is not true. Mosquito repellents that are registered with the Environmental Protection Agency are not only safe to use, the CDC actually recommends pregnant women use them in areas with Zika virus transmission.”

There was strong support for testing for Zika and most women surveyed said they’d agree to be vaccinated against Zika if a vaccine became available.

Women surveyed also said they would like to know more about the Zika virus from their health care provider.

“While the survey only looked at pregnant women in Southeast Texas, it is an important reminder to health care providers to talk to their patients about Zika, how it is transmitted and how to lower the risks of acquiring the virus.”

The survey also found about half of the women knew that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recommended against traveling to outbreak areas during pregnancy, but those surveyed had little knowledge of what areas had confirmed mosquito-borne outbreaks of Zika.

Another cause for concern was most of the women surveyed did not frequently use mosquito repellant. Almost half of the

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women in the survey said they were worried about the safety of using repellent during pregnancy, according to the study.

“While the survey only looked at pregnant women in Southeast Texas, it is an important reminder to health care providers to talk to their patients about Zika, how it is transmitted and how to lower the risks of acquiring the virus,” Berenson said.

Other authors included Ha N. Trinh, Jacqueline M. Hirth, Fangjian Guo, Erika L. Fuchs and Scott Weaver, all with UTMB. This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Check out the back page of Impact for tips on how to protect yourself from the Zika virus. n

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E DUCAT I O N

UTMB Graduate School awards 49 degrees at commencement

BY KURT KOOPMANN

UTMB’S GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES AWARDED 49 DEGREES during its commencement ceremony on May 19 in Levin Hall. Chief Research Officer, Senior Vice President and Dean, David W. Niesel, presided over the convocation. Dr. David L. Callender, UTMB president, conferred the degrees.

There were four prestigious awards presented during the ceremony.

The Graduate Student Organization presented its Distinguished Teaching Award to Amol Karmarkar, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Rehabilitation Services, School of Health Professions.

The organization presents the award annually to a faculty member who has made outstanding contributions to the academic growth and development of students.

Laura Rudkin, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, received the Distinguished Faculty Service Award. Rudkin received the award for her service and dedication to the GSBS. Under her leadership, several graduate programs have been enriched, resulting in higher enrollment. Rudkin is also UTMB’s Centennial Chair in Preventive Medicine and Community Health.

The Distinguished Faculty Research Award was presented to Yingzi Cong, PhD, professor in the departments of Microbiology and

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Immunology and Pathology. Cong joined UTMB in 2010. He has received national and international recognition for his work in the field of mucosal immunology and garnered substantial funding to further his research.

Thomas Vickroy, PhD, received the 2017 Distinguished Alumnus Award. A member of the GSBS class of 1982, Vickroy is the executive associate dean and a professor at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. During his nearly 30-year tenure at UF, Vickroy’s career steadily advanced as he balanced teaching and service responsibilities with research activities.

The 2017 commencement mace bearer was Gracie Vargas, PhD, a professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology.

Vargas serves as co-director of the Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program. PREP is a yearlong program designed to provide underrepresented minority and economically disadvantaged students who excel in science with the tools to pursue and obtain a doctoral degree.

Vargas led the graduates in reciting the Biomedical Scientist’s Oath during the ceremony.

During the 2016-17 academic year, the graduate school awarded 15 master’s degrees, 50 doctoral degrees and three MD/PhD degrees. n

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Glynnis Glover doesn’t need an alarm clock to wake up for her 3 a.m. shift— she’s naturally full of energy and looks forward to each new day.

BY KIRSTIANN CLIFFORD

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“Good morning, ma’am! Hello, sir!” Glynnis Glover says enthusiastically to each person she passes in Jennie Sealy Hospital on the Galveston Campus.

As a linen services technician with UTMB’s Laundry Department, Glover is used to getting an early start. The department is responsible for ensuring UTMB campuses and clinics have clean and adequate supplies of various hospital linens at all times. Last year alone, Glover and her team sorted and delivered 3.4 million pounds of medical linens, including scrubs, patient gowns and bedding.

The first unit Glover delivers to is the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in John Sealy. In addition to hundreds of blankets and onesies, she’s loaded 450 cloth diapers onto her mobile cart.

“As you can see, each unit has different items they need stocked,” she says after counting all the items and double-checking her list to make sure she has everything.

“Ready to roll?”

Glover’s strength and ability to maneuver the large linen cart becomes apparent as we head from the CSW toward John Sealy Hospital. As we approach an inclined hallway, she skillfully transitions from behind the cart to the front to ensure the cart doesn’t hit a wall or go speeding down the slope. The early work start makes it easier to transport the cart through hospital hallways.

I meet up with her around 4 a.m. on a Tuesday morning in May. The Laundry Department occupies a large room in the Clinical Services Wing (CSW), where they keep linen in bulk. While my sleepy eyes fight to stay open, Glover runs circles around me, loading up a big blue cart “Once physicians and residents arrive around 7 a.m., the hallways are much busier and more complicated to navigate,” says Glover. with various types of linen to deliver to a hospital unit. She’s “I’m the only female linen tech who hauls these big carts around already visited more than a dozen areas of John and Jennie campus.

It’s a lot of walking! I love it, though. No complaints.”

Sealy hospitals to count how many linens were used through the night and is headed out to restock the diminished reserves. When Glover first joined UTMB eight years ago, she worked “Every hospital unit or clinic has a ‘standard sheet’ that lists in UTMB’s laundry facility in League City, where she would how many bed sheets, pillow cases, patient gowns and other sort soiled gowns, linens and more. It was a full-service faciliitems they need to have on hand, so we go by that,” says ty, with sorting, washing, drying and folding stations. In 2010, Glover. “There are three linen techs who count, build and UTMB joined the Texas Medical Center (TMC) Hospital Laundry deliver to units on the Galveston Campus. Every morning, Cooperative Association. Since then, TMC Laundry (located in we count how many items the units have and make sure we Houston) delivers clean linen in bulk and picks up soiled linen fill up their stocks to the standard number. We enter the from UTMB’s Lipton Tea Building in Galveston five days a week. information into a handheld device that is then uploaded About seven UTMB employees work out of Lipton Tea, which to a central database.” serves as the hub for laundry coming in and going out.

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When we arrive at the NICU, Glover rings a bell for a nurse to let us in to the patient area.

Once inside, she opens the doors to a linen closet, restocks items and fills a warmer by the nurses station with fresh blankets for swaddling pint-sized patients.

“I have about 15 units I deliver to each day, as well as clinics like radiology and oncology,” she says. “My favorite part of the job is meeting people—I get to know all the hospital staff and it’s easy to make friends, really. I always try to give them what they ask for and keep everybody happy. If people need something on the weekends, we have someone on call—usually one of our drivers who goes to and from the Lipton Tea building.”

For the rest of the morning, we make dozens of trips from the linen room in the CSW to units all over the hospital—from cardiology, general medicine and the medical intensive care unit on the top floors of Jennie Sealy, to day surgery on the ground floor and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice holding unit, which is where offenders are held before and after surgery. She spends time making sure every linen closet is organized and neat, so medical staff can easily find what they need.

When we arrive at each unit, it’s clear that Glover is well-liked by nursing staff. Some nurses provide unsolicited compliments, describing how hardworking and pleasant Glover is to work with.

Debbie Incalcaterra, administrative manager for the UTMB Laundry Department, said Glover and the rest of the laundry team are some of UTMB’s unsung heroes, who do a lot of work behind-the-scenes to ensure patients have a safe and comfortable stay.

Glover also is responsible for restocking three scrub machines, which dispense various sizes of scrubs to faculty, residents and students by the push of a button. She gathers soiled scrubs from a drop-box in Labor and Delivery before opening the door to “Without linen, you can’t put a patient in a bed,” says Incalcaterra. the scrub machine, which has rows of clean, neatly rolled scrubs. “Glynnis and the rest of of the UTMB Laundry staff make sure there are always adequate supplies of clean linen to promote a sterile, healing environment.

This helps nurses care for their patients safely and efficiently. Our staff is very dependable and they don’t miss days from work—it would be easy to call in sick for a 3 a.m. shift, but they never do.”

I part ways with Glover as she prepares a few final carts to be delivered to UTMB-TDCJ Hospital Galveston. It can be an exhausting job, but Glover still has bounce in her step Glover with some of her colleagues in UTMB Laundry: (L-R) Reginald Thomas, J.J. Smith, when she heads home Reggal Foreman, Glynnis Glover, Raymond Reyes, Junior Martinez and Debbie Incalcaterra. around 11 a.m. She’ll stay busy for the rest of As she restocks the machine, she keeps an eye on quality control. the day—taking in one of her nephew’s baseball games and “If I see any scrubs that don’t look good—like they still have transporting an elderly couple she knows to doctor appointstains even after being washed—I’ll put them aside to send back ments. Then, she’ll go to bed early so she can do it all over again.

to TMC,” Glover says. “I only stock the machine with ones that “I like to be busy, that’s just me,” says Glover. “Life is too short— are nice and clean, fresh and not faded—because we want our you’ve got to enjoy life. I love my job and how I am able to help students and doctors to look perfect.” people. We don’t stop until the job is done.” n

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L E A D ER S POTLIGHT

Spotlight on Mari Robinson, director of telehealth Mari Robinson, JD, joined UTMB in October 2016 as director of telehealth. In her role, Robinson guides UTMB regarding policy and regulatory issues surrounding telehealth and assists in developing partnerships across Texas to expand health care to those in rural and remote areas of the state.

Robinson is currently helping with the coordination and implementation of a statewide telemedicine network, the UT Virtual Health Network (UT-VHN). The UT-VHN will provide coordinated outbound and inbound support for telemedicine services from all eight of the University of Texas health science centers and medical schools into care settings such as other hospitals and clinics, nursing facilities, schools, employee work sites and patient residences.

Prior to UTMB, Robinson served as executive director of the Texas Medical Board. She spent nearly 16 years with the agency, initially working as a litigation attorney, prosecuting physicians who violated the Medical Practices Act. She also worked as the manager of investigations followed by the enforcement director for the agency, overseeing the Investigation, Litigation and Compliance departments.

Originally from Grand Prairie, Texas, Robinson graduated in 1999 with a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law.

What does Best Care mean to you and how do you contribute?

To me, this means getting patients the highest quality of care in the most efficient manner possible. By helping to expand telemedicine across the state, patients will have access to specialists that they otherwise might not have been able to reach. I love that idea.

Mari Robinson and her husband, Greg Ritzen, on vacation at a local winery in Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico.

that almost all of the people I managed were older than me, the same things that were important to them were true of anyone. Employees want to be heard, to be treated fairly and to be able to trust their managers. I tried my best to fill that role.

What was your first job?

This is one that no one ever guesses—I actually worked in a clothing

The world of telemedicine continues to rapidly evolve. warehouse tagging price tags onto items before they were shipped to How do you see it being applied in the future? stores. This was the summer between high school and college. It was I think that medical devices will become more portable, more complex, and cheaper, so that in the near future, relevant medical data will be at everyone’s fingertips. We will definitely have to address the potential problem of information overload gathered by all these devices, but the capacity to have such detailed information on a patient can really move health care forward if we can learn how to best use it.

What are the most challenging aspects of your job as director of telehealth? The most rewarding?

The most challenging aspect is that there is a large amount of misinformation about telehealth, and that can be difficult to successfully address. However, if you can address it, you usually gain a willing participant in telemedicine expansion which is pretty rewarding.

You were the first speaker to address UTMB’s new EMERGEx Resource Group, which is focused on advancing a culture of inclusion for the university’s next generation of leaders. Attendees learned that you were quite young when you became executive director of the Texas Medical Board. What advice do you have for other aspiring leaders?

I was 34 when I became executive director. Honestly, I never really thought of my age as much of a factor. While it was definitely the case 12

exhausting!

What do you like to do outside of work?

I love food and wine, traveling, reading, and buying shoes—probably in that order.

What’s something people would be surprised to know about you?

Probably the fact that for the first year of college, I held a double major.

The first major is completely predictable (government) but the second is the surprise—theatre.

What’s something you always wanted to do but have not done yet?

Live in another country. My husband and I have traveled quite a bit, but never for more than three weeks. Right now, a year in Europe with a fully charged train pass sounds pretty perfect.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

Next on my list is New Zealand. It has wonderful natural beauty, a great culture scene, and of course, good wine.

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G OOD N E W S

Memorable Milestones Employee Service Day 2017 celebrates 22,135 years of employee service

BY KIRSTIANN CLIFFORD

More than 1,700 UTMB employees were recognized

build a newborn intensive care unit and a newborn service for reaching important milestones in their careers during a from scratch… I’m going to stay around long enough to build festive Employee Service Day ceremony on May 31 on the Gal- one more nursery and hopefully that will be open in the next three or four years. The neonatal ICU is my baby, it is my pasveston Campus. sion, it is the thing I came here to do and I have been fortunate Collectively, the employees represented 22,135 years of service enough to work with an enormous number of talented and and dedication to UTMB. Special service pins were given in committed people.” five-year increments, with 45 years being the longest tenure honored at the ceremony. In addition, 538 GEM card recipients The highest degree of professionalism were recognized for “going the extra mile.”

Cathy Copeland, business oper-

ations manager for the School of Nursing, was selected as the This year’s celebration recognized not one or two, but seven winner of the Nicholas and Kathemployees who have been at UTMB for 45 years. erine Leone Award for AdminAlexander Kurosky, PhD, director of the UTMB Biomolecular istrative Excellence at this year’s Resource facility and professor in the Department of Biochemis- celebration. try and Molecular Biology; Shirley McGraw, The award recognizes a manager Leone Award winner Cathy Copeland with her administrative coordi- or supervisor at UTMB who dis- colleagues, Clay Wade (left) and Brad McGonagle, PhD. nator in the Department plays the highest degree of profesof Physician Assistant sionalism. A monetary prize of $7,500—$2,500 for the winning Studies in the School manager and $5,000 for developing and training in his or her of Health Professions; department—comes with the honor. Employee Advisory CounJohnny Peterson, PhD, cil members reviewed and scored more than 40 nominations. the Samuel Baron Dis- “I am totally shocked!” said Copeland after receiving the award.

Dr. Callender (left) with 45-year employees Dr. Joan Richardson, tinguished Professor “Galveston is my home and UTMB is my home—both of my Dr. Barbara Thompson, Johnny Peterson, PhD, and Shirley McGraw. in the Department parents retired from here and I first started working at UTMB of Microbiology and back in 1974. So for me, it’s what you do—I like people and I’m Immunology; Dr. Joan Richardson, chair and professor in the a helper. I’m just so thrilled and humbled.”

Department of Pediatrics and director of the Division of NeoCopeland was nominated by her colleagues Clay Wade and natology; Dr. Landon Stout, pathologist in Autopsy Services Jason Fry, who described her as someone who epitomizes trust. and professor in the Department of Pathology; Dr. Barbara In the nomination letter, they wrote “Her position requires a Thompson, professor and chair of UTMB’s Department of very high level of confidentiality, and during the years we have Family Medicine; and Dr. Courtney Townsend Jr., the Robworked together, her judgment and/or integrity in this regard ertson-Poth Distinguished Chair in General Surgery—all joined has never been questioned… I’ve come to know that she’s truly UTMB in 1972. a good and well-intentioned person who is always looking to President Dr. David Callender personally thanked the 45-year add value….” employees for their commitment to UTMB’s mission and to those we serve. A video featuring some of the employees’ favor- The Leone Award, established in 1971, is made possible through ite memories of their decades-long careers drew laughs and an endowment from Dr. Nicholas Leone, a former commanding officer and director of the Public Health Service Hospital in applause from the audience.

Galveston, and his wife, Katherine.

“I guess the obvious question is why I have hung around here for 45 years—and I never could get a job any place else,” joked To watch the Employee Service Day video or view the full list of honorees, go to http://hr.utmb.edu/tod/serviceday.

Richardson in the video.

Decades of dedication

On a more serious note, she added, “The great thing about UTMB is it has given me the opportunity to do a variety of things. The most memorable has been the opportunity to help impact

JUNE 2017

For photos, visit UTMB’s Flickr page at www.flickr.com/ photos/utmb/. n

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PAT IEN T C A RE

Walking in a nurse’s shoes UTMB leaders gain insight from front-line nurses during Nurses Week and Health System Week 2017

BY KIRSTIANN CLIFFORD

Stacey Robinson became a nurse not only “We support patients throughout the hosbecause she is an adrenaline junkie, but also pital who are starting to deteriorate and because she wants to make a difference. may need some extra interventions that nurses on non-ICU units are not trained for “If I have a patient who is scared or nervous or allowed to provide,” explained Woodby. while getting ready for a procedure, I talk “We have a pager system and they can with them and educate them on the whole call us at any time—we try to have our process,” said Robinson, an OR nurse at response time at under five minutes. Then UTMB’s Angleton Danbury Campus. “Nurses we work with the nurses and primary phyare a big part of the patient care team. I really sician taking care of the patient to provide enjoy taking care of patients and helping to interventions to prevent respiratory or carrelieve some of their anxiety so they have a diac arrest. Sometimes interventions can good experience.” prevent patients from needing the ICU, and other times we are needed to help facilitate Robinson was one of about 20 nurses across their movement to an ICU.” the Galveston, League City and Angleton Danbury campuses who had a UTMB leader Just as Woodby finished explaining the shadow them as part of the “Walk a Mile” pager system, his beeper went off and program during Nurses Week and Health Callender followed as he was called to a System Week May 6-12. non-ICU unit, where a patient was having

Emily Blomberg (left) shadowed nurse Stacey Robinson during a total knee surgery

Emily Blomberg, vice president for Professional and Support Services in the Health System, had the opportunity to observe Robinson as she assisted Dr. Craig McDonald, an orthopedic surgeon, and the patient care team during a total knee replacement surgery.

seizures every five minutes. For the next hour, Callender stood close by as Woodby worked with the patient’s primary care team to slow the seizures and transport the patient to the neuro ICU unit.

Dr. David Callender (left) shadowed Scott Woodby, a rapid response nurse.

Callender, a board-certified head and neck surgeon, said it was great to learn more about rapid response teams and how important they are to patient care.

“While I know what a nurse’s role is, it’s hard to see the challenges they face when you don’t spend time with them,” said Blomberg. “They are on the front lines taking care of patients and it’s really exciting for me to be able to see how hard that is—it’s “Studies have shown that hospitals with rapid response teams have lower mortality a lot of hard work.” and complication rates,” said Callender. “I love being around patients and I appreciate Scott educating me about the important role he and members of our Rapid Response Robinson explained her responsibilities to Blomberg as she went through a pre-op Team play in responding to immediate needs for urgent and critical interventions. checklist, making sure all equipment was in the operating room and the patient was Throughout the course of my career, I’ve learned more about critical bedside intervenin the proper position. Blomberg stayed to watch the surgery from start to finish and tions from nurses than anyone else. Great nurses are critical to great outcomes.” n said she was impressed with the work Robinson does every day.

“Stacey did a great job, not only doing her job—but teaching me about what she does,” said Blomberg. “I spend time shadowing front-line employees every week so I can better understand their job and learn more about what they do. It’s the best part of my week.”

UTMB President Dr. David Callender arrived at the medical intensive care unit (MICU) in Jennie Sealy Hospital wearing scrubs and a pair of running shoes, ready to “walk a mile” with Scott Woodby.

Woodby has been part of UTMB’s Rapid Response Team since it started in 2005. Since then, the team has received more than 6,000 calls, bringing critical care expertise to non-intensive care units.

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Nurses Week and Health System Week 2017 UTMB celebrated Nurses Week and Health System Week with various events, including a blood drive, awards ceremonies and appreciation lunches, coffee with Chief Nursing and Patient Care Services Officer David Marshall, pet therapy, and cakes and ice cream for Florence Nightingale’s birthday. Join us in celebrating all UTMB nurses, who provide outstanding direct patient care every shift, every day of the year. Many thanks to all UTMB nurses for their commitment and dedication to patients.

To see more photos from Nurses Week, visit www.flickr.com/photos/utmb.

JUNE 2017

impact

CAMPUS

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE UTMB’s three campuses continue to experience growth and expansion.

The following are some of the projects currently underway at the institution: Members of the first graduating class of the UTMB Mini Medical School at the Angleton Danbury Campus.

Fast-track learning Mini Medical School at UTMB’s Angleton Danbury Campus graduates first class

BY SIMONE PARKER

Invasive Cardiology Services Location: Jennie Sealy Hospital Project Scope: Cath labs, Electrophysiology labs and Post-Anesthesia Care Unit will be located on 6th Floor of Jennie Sealy Hospital, with support offices on 6th Floor of Clinical Services Wing.

Timeline: Construction to start in August; operational in October 2018

UTMB’s Mini Medical School graduated its first class at the Angleton Danbury Campus on April 26, which included nearly 60 participants from working professionals and community leaders to retired seniors and high school students.

Excited graduates took turns trying on white lab coats while posing for pictures. One of those was Angleton High School senior Mary Stanford, who decided to attend the class sessions to increase her scientific knowledge and gain more comfort with medical terminology.

“I thought the school would be a great start for me to learn more about the cardiovascular system, nervous system and digestive system,” said Stanford. “The classes have convinced me that I should pursue a career in medicine.”

UTMB’s Mini Medical School is free and open to the public, and includes a series of three weekly lectures

by UTMB physicians, covering such topics as the respiratory, nervous and cardiovascular systems. This was the first time the program was offered at the Angleton Danbury Campus. The school is based on a program started by the National Institutes of Health and the Association of American Medical Colleges and was held for several years in various locations including Galveston, League City, Houston and Austin—it was even taught on a cruise once. The program was recently revived with funding from the President’s Cabinet Awards.

“The mission of Mini-Medical School is to help patients better understand medical education as well as biomedical research so that they have a better understanding of what an academic medical center is truly all about,” said Becky Trout, UTMB’s executive director for community relations. “The pilot at the Angleton Danbury Campus was very successful. We’re excited impact

JUNE 2017

John Sealy Hospital Modernization Dr. Mohamed Morsy, associate professor of cardiology, teaches a class on the cardiovascular system during the Mini Medical School. to plan the next one.”

That’s good news to one of the school’s presenters, Dr. Mohamed Morsy, an associate professor of cardiology in the Department of Internal Medicine. Morsy said the program provides a great service to the community.

Project Scope: Reworking facade to more closely mirror Jennie Sealy Hospital, expanding, remodeling patient rooms in both towers, updating infrastructure Status: Mechanical scaffolding completed on north and east sides of facade; installation underway on south side.

Timeline: Operational by 2020

“It helps people understand the concept of medicine at a deeper level and this expanded knowledge can help them become better patients,” said Morsy. “I love the interaction. It’s very enriching and helps me connect emotionally to patients. It’s good that we do things like this to reach out to the community.”

Don Nigbor, a retired professional and member of the Angleton Danbury hospital district board, said that after attending the recent sessions he has a greater appreciation for the work UTMB doctors do.

“The presenters provided a great amount of detail and I’ve learned a lot,” he said. “I’m really impressed

by UTMB’s services and the capabilities of the physicians. I will apply some of the doctors’ medical tips to my daily life.”

To see more pictures from the event, visit www.flickr. com/photos/utmb/albums.

MD Anderson Cancer Center at UTMB League City Campus Project Scope: Four-story cancer treatment center Status: Fourth-floor slab complete with roofing installation ongoing Timeline: Substantial completion for Levels 1, 3 and 4 set for Spring 2018; Level 2 substantial completion set for Summer 2018

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Top tips to protect yourself from the Zika virus

By Scott Weaver, PhD, director of the UTMB Institute for Human Infections and Immunity and scientific director of the Galveston National Laboratory; and Dr. George Saade, professor and division chief of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine at UTMB As Texas weather heats up for the summer, mosquitoes that carry Zika and other mosquito-borne viruses become more active and abundant.

While researchers are testing antiviral drugs and vaccines to combat Zika, nothing is currently available to treat infections. The best prevention is to avoid mosquito bites and prevent sexual transmission. The following tips can help you protect yourself and others: • Use insect repellants. When used as directed, insect repellants are safe and effective for everyone, including pregnant and nursing women.

—— Repellants containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535 and some oil of lemon eucalyptus and para-menthane-diol products provide long-lasting protection. For a complete list of Environmental Protection Agencyregistered insect repellants, visit www.epa.gov/insect-repellents.

—— Most repellants can be used on children in proper concentrations; however, do not use products containing oil of lemon eucalyptus in children under 3-years-old or in pregnant women.

—— If you use both sunscreen and insect repellant, apply the sunscreen first and then the repellent.

• Cover yourself. When weather permits, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants. Treat clothing with permethrin or purchase permethrinimpregnated clothing.

• Protect yourself during all times of the day. Keep in mind the type of mosquito that transmits Zika—the Aedes aegypti mosquito—bites during the daytime as well as the early morning and evening.

• Talk to your doctor. Women who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant should talk to their obstetrician and become familiar with the latest guidance from the CDC. Zika infection during pregnancy can cause birth defects including microcephaly and other severe brain defects.

• Empty any standing water. Help reduce the number of mosquitoes inside and outside your home by emptying standing water from containers such as flowerpots, buckets and tires—even something as small as a bottle cap can be the perfect habitat for a mosquito before it bites.

• Keep mosquitoes out. Use air conditioning when possible and install or repair window and door screens to keep mosquitoes out of your home. Do not leave doors propped open.

• Travel with caution. As the summer travel season begins, plan ahead.

Find out if your vacation destination has active Zika transmission. If it does, and you or your partner are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, consider canceling or postponing your plans. Travelers returning to the U.S. from an area with risk of Zika should take extra steps to prevent mosquito bites for at least three weeks, even if they have no symptoms of infection.

The CDC keeps up-to-date information on areas with Zika transmission at wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/zika-travel-information.

• Practice safe sex. Anyone concerned about getting or passing Zika through sex should consider taking precautions. Pregnant women and their partners who have traveled to or live in areas with Zika should use condoms from start to finish every time or not have sex for the entire pregnancy. For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/zika/prevention/ sexual-transmission-prevention.html. n

One year and growing!

PARTING SHOT

As UTMB’s League City Campus Hospital celebrates its one-year anniversary in June, all eyes are on the future. This rendering shows a planned $156.6 million expansion to the campus, which includes the construction of a parking garage, support building and pedestrian bridge. Recently approved by the UT System, the expansion also will add 60 patient beds to the LCC and will include a teleconference center and radiation oncology treatment area. The entire project is expected to be completed in 2020.

Artist’s rendering; certain design elements subject to change.