Rajasree Pai, UConn School of Medicine Resident
Resident clinics are half days of outpatient care focusing on a patient’s long-term care over a three-year residency period. Most of these are Medicare/Medicaid patients with complex medical conditions. There is a lot of paperwork and documentation associated with their visits and, as a result, some no-shows when patients do not show up for their appointments. About six to seven patients are scheduled for each afternoon which leaves little time to establish a good physician-patient relationship. That’s why the following account of a patient whose primary care provider changed his perspective of medicine is so unique.
Michael Fairnot got out of his car at the Burgdorf Health Center in Hartford and walked toward his primary care provider’s office. He had been experiencing right knee pain for almost two weeks now and wanted to see his PCP for the same.
Dr. Raghesh Varot Kangath, a young physician doing his third year of medical residency at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, rotated on Tuesday afternoons at the Burgdorf. Dr. Kangath had spent a busy morning working at a local hospital’s critical care unit and drove to Burgdorf for his afternoon outpatient continuity clinic. He met Michael waiting in the patient’s lounge and shook his hand. “I am in safe hands,” Michael reassured himself. He had been seeing Dr. Kangath for the past two years and had a good relationship with him.
Dr. Raghesh Varot Kangath and patient Michael Fairnot (Photo provided by Rajasree Pai)
Several minutes later, the nurse technician brought Michael into the exam room and he described his knee pain to Dr.Kangath. Many physicians would have chalked it up to old age and sent Michael on his way. But based on his prior visits with Michael, Dr. Kangath felt his complaints should be taken seriously.
Dr. Kangath spent the next 20 minutes asking questions, tapping lightly on Michael’s knee, checking his gait and performing maneuvers on the knee. Convinced that the joint had fluid in it, he ran the options over in his mind – getting an orthopedic or rheumatology appointment would take a couple of months; an emergency room visit was unappealing to the patient who had trusted him to take care of the issue; and there were five more patients waiting to be seen. Michael and Dr. Kangath had an extensive discussion about the issue and they decided Michael needed an x-ray. It showed what the yound doctor had suspected. Michael’s pain was caused by degenerative arthritis along with fluid in his knee.
Dr. Kangath briefed his attending physician, Dr. Vom Eigen, about the situation. He assured Dr. Eigen that he was confident about performing the knee aspiration procedure thanks to the training he received from UConn’s orthopaedic specialists at the New England Musculoskeletal Institute. With Dr. Eigen by his side, Dr. Kangath explained the procedure to Michael. He properly positioned the knee and cleaned the area with antiseptic solution. While preparing the syringe for aspiration, he prayed silently for success. The procedure lasted three minutes and removed approximately 25 milliliters of fluid from Michael’s knee.
In the days that followed, Dr. Kangath arranged for Michael to be seen by a UConn orthopaedist and called him every day to check on his health and make sure he was improving after the aspiration.
Even though Dr. Kangath’s schedule was overbooked for the next several months, he made time for Michael in between his regularly scheduled patients. Needless to say, Michael was moved by this kind gesture.
On his next official visit to the PCP in a month, he remarked. “I have lost a dear son to an accident in his youth, my doctor’s caring attitude reminded me of my son and what he would have done for me in this situation.” Michael continued, “I have met several doctors in my life, but none like my Dr. K. He traveled an extra mile to ensure that I felt secure and was safe at home. More than his medical care, I was deeply moved by his caring attitude. I would like him to stay back and continue to be my doctor but I understand he needs to move on after training. I wish him luck and success to pursue the career of his choice.”
Dr. Kangath frames his thoughts this way. “I knew what was expected of me at that time. I had the choice of referring the patient to a specialist but it would have been weeks before he would get an appointment. Michael refused to visit the emergency room so the alternative was to tap the knee myself. I debated back and forth about the plan because it meant staying extra hours that day to finish my schedule and to complete the procedure. Assuming responsibility for the patient for the days after the procedure was difficult because my clinic schedule was only once a week. It was more from empathy and an effort to keep up with Micheal’s expectations that I finally decided to give it a try. I was also backed by the faculty at Burgdorf and my training at the New England Musculoskeletal Institute.”
Michael is currently undergoing continued care from an orthopedist and his primary care provider. Dr Raghesh Kangath is moving on to start his fellowship in infectious diseases at Texas A & M University.
Experiences like this are the driving force for medical residents to combat the grueling hours of work and studies and to reach our common goal of completing the training successfully. These stories remind us to remain humane in spite of battling with textbooks, dissecting bodies, and dealing with difficult patients and families. We can one day look back and tell ourselves, “No matter what sacrifices we made physically, emotionally and financially for training in medicine, it is worth it after all.”
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]]> http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/an-extra-mile/feed/ 0 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/print-health-center-in-the-news-may-2012/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/print-health-center-in-the-news-may-2012/#comments Wed, 30 May 2012 12:01:28 +0000 Carolyn Pennington http://today.uconn.edu/?p=60756 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/print-health-center-in-the-news-may-2012/feed/ 0 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/medical-student-pursues-both-love-of-medicine-and-writing/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/medical-student-pursues-both-love-of-medicine-and-writing/#comments Fri, 25 May 2012 15:45:50 +0000 Carolyn Pennington http://today.uconn.edu/?p=60625 UConn medical student Shirin Karimi has written a book, Enclosures: Reflections from the Prison Cell and the Hospital Bed, comparing illness and incarceration. on May 21, 2012. (Tina Encarnacion/UConn Health Center Photo)UConn medical student Shirin Karimi has written a book, Enclosures: Reflections from the Prison Cell and the Hospital Bed, comparing illness and incarceration. (Tina Encarnacion/UConn Health Center Photo)
It’s not often that someone has the talent and perseverance to pursue both a career in medicine and literature.
But first-year UConn medical student Shirin Karimi has successfully bridged these two seemingly disparate branches of knowledge and is completing her first year of medical school while winning accolades for her writing.
A medical student’s day doesn’t allow for much free time, so Karimi wakes up early in the morning to make sure she has a chance to write. This tradition started when Karimi was a student at American University (AU) in Washington, D.C., where she received her undergraduate degree in literature and a minor in biology.
The Madison, Conn. native took several criminal justice courses while at AU where she was given in-class assignments about inmates sentenced to life in prison. She also spent time reading the creative works of prisoners.
During the summer, Karimi developed an interest in medicine while volunteering in the pediatric oncology clinic at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center. She read books written by physicians about their patients’ illnesses and became especially interested in the writings of Atul Gawande, a surgeon and writer for the New Yorker, and Christine Montross, a psychiatrist and professor who published a book called Body of Work: Meditations on Mortality from the Human Anatomy Lab.
The two experiences inspired her to write poems comparing illness and incarceration. “The comparison is about survival,” explains Karimi. “I try to bring out the intellect, fight, and strength through the words of people in the hospitals and prisons. Both places strip you of everything except the fundamentals of human relationships and values.”
Karimi’s favorite poem from Enclosures is “Seedlings,” which is inspired by a three-year-old girl with cancer. The poem is about everyone noticing that her hair was just starting to grow back after treatments and the beauty in those first few hairs.
Seedlings
I can see her garden.
Little seedlings
Sprouting from the shimmering surface of her head.
They are tiny,
So wispy,
One breeze could carry them far away
And she would be left with nothing again.
But no malicious wind, no malignant character dare touch her.
For beneath those gentle seedlings
Lies the strong, fertile soil,
A breeding ground that anchors the seeds deep
Never resigning, never relaxing its grip.
The soil is she
Resilience herself.
Her collection of poems was published into a book, Enclosures: Reflections from the Prison Cell and the Hospital Bed.
Karimi continues to write about her experiences in medicine, but she says her writing has changed since Enclosures. “Now I realize that for everything I have learned, there is still so much more to learn.”
Karimi says what she often writes about now is in response to the clinical work she has been doing and the interactions she has had with patients. Her topics have included the nervousness medical students experience when doing something for the first time (like touching a patient) and how they try not to show it; the challenge of comforting patients; and the breakdown of privacy and personal space that is necessary in order to help patients.
“Writing is more of a release than it was before,” she says. “Continually practicing the craft of writing helps me empathize. I try to write about the roles of different characters involved in the medical field, such as the patient, the family member, and the doctor. UConn has been very supportive of my writing.”
In fact, Karimi presented one of her newest selections during the Health Center’s most recent Schwartz Center Rounds, The Journey to Becoming a Physician: Student Reflections on Life, Disease and Dying. The piece she presented won the Geezer writing award for UConn. The judges for the award are retired Connecticut physicians.
]]> http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/medical-student-pursues-both-love-of-medicine-and-writing/feed/ 0 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/tv-health-center-in-the-news/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/tv-health-center-in-the-news/#comments Fri, 25 May 2012 13:00:39 +0000 Carolyn Pennington http://today.uconn.edu/?p=60656 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/tv-health-center-in-the-news/feed/ 0 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/bank-of-america-employees-deliver-baskets-to-nicu/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/bank-of-america-employees-deliver-baskets-to-nicu/#comments Thu, 24 May 2012 14:37:24 +0000 Carolyn Pennington http://today.uconn.edu/?p=60532 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/bank-of-america-employees-deliver-baskets-to-nicu/feed/ 0 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/a-letter-to-my-patients/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/a-letter-to-my-patients/#comments Wed, 23 May 2012 14:16:00 +0000 Carolyn Pennington http://today.uconn.edu/?p=60466 Dr. Runjhun MisraDr. Runjhun Misra
I wanted to write a letter to all my current patients and to those I haven’t met yet.
Dear Patient,
I want you to know how proud I am of you, for everything that you do. Whether you suffer from multiple diseases or just one, it isn’t easy waking up every morning knowing you’re not 100 percent. I know you struggle every day, and every morning you have to swallow some challenges along with your daily pills.
When I’m sitting with you in the office, I realize I didn’t know you when you did cartwheels around the park, or were able to paint furiously for hours without arthritis pain slowing you down. But I know you now, and have more respect for you than you could ever imagine.
I know I’m harsh with you sometimes, like your mother used to be. I do it, because I care, and because I love you. I want you to be healthy so you can be around to love life and to be there for all those who love you back.
I know that each time you come to my office, whether by your own car or by a medical taxi, it’s always a voyage. Doctors’ appointments aren’t the most exciting things to pencil into your calendar. So, for every appointment you keep, and for every half-hour you spend with me, I want to thank you. For taking that time to slow down and to acknowledge the importance of keeping your mind and body healthy. For if we don’t nourish our beings with the right ingredients, we might not be around to see the next golden sunrise or see the baby leaves finally emerge after the winter frost.
For everyone who took their sugar pill today instead of eating that slice of chocolate cake or for those of you who took time out of your day to walk around the park to get in a workout — here’s the applause you deserve!
Thank you for taking care of your health, for being compliant with your medications, and ultimately, for letting me manage your most valuable possession: you.
Take care,
Your friend, your doctor
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]]> http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/a-letter-to-my-patients/feed/ 4 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/on-the-radio-health-center-in-the-news-may-2012/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/on-the-radio-health-center-in-the-news-may-2012/#comments Wed, 23 May 2012 14:00:46 +0000 Carolyn Pennington http://today.uconn.edu/?p=60480 Listen to the broadcast >Aired on WRCH-FM, May 13, 2012
This edition of Rich Answers on Lite 100.5 WRCH features two UConn Health Center social workers. Jennifer Vendetti discusses the mother-child bond, then Kathleen Novak discusses postpartum depression.
Listen to the broadcast > Audio
Aired on WTIC NewsTalk 1080, May 14, 2012
First-year medical student Sahar Barfchin helped organize a student-run bone marrow donor registry drive at the UConn Health Center. WTIC NewsTalk 1080’s Ray Dunaway asked her about it.
Listen to the broadcast > Audio
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]]> http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/on-the-radio-health-center-in-the-news-may-2012/feed/ 0 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/uconn-hypertension-specialist-begins-national-leadership-role/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/uconn-hypertension-specialist-begins-national-leadership-role/#comments Tue, 22 May 2012 13:03:21 +0000 Chris DeFrancesco http://today.uconn.edu/?p=60392 Dr. William WhiteDr. William White is now president of the American Society of Hypertension. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health Center Photo)
Dr. William B. White, professor of medicine and chief of the Calhoun Cardiology Center Division of Hypertension and Clinical Pharmacology, has been involved with the American Society of Hypertension since its inception in 1985.
“While it has grown as a professional society, I have grown as a physician and clinical investigator,” White says.
Today, with an inauguration ceremony in New York City at the society’s national meeting, he begins a two-year term as its president.
“I am honored to have been elected president of the American Society of Hypertension for 2012-2014,” White says. “ASH remains the largest and most visible professional organization devoted to the management of hypertension and its consequences in the USA. It is a tremendous responsibility to be at its helm but also a wonderful challenge to undertake and one that I look forward to.”
White, who also is a fellow of the American Society of Hypertension, has served in several leadership positions, including as a member of its board of directors and as program chair of its annual scientific meeting.
“There’s been much more focus on obesity, cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, even C-reactive protein, but blood pressure is the major risk factor for stroke as well as a very potent risk factor for heart failure in older people, even in the absence of coronary disease, and kidney failure, particularly in African-Americans,” White says.
ASH states as its mission “the advancement of science, prevention and treatment of high blood pressure and its consequences.”
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]]> http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/uconn-hypertension-specialist-begins-national-leadership-role/feed/ 0 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/health-center-accolades-may-2012/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/health-center-accolades-may-2012/#comments Mon, 21 May 2012 13:45:14 +0000 Carolyn Pennington http://today.uconn.edu/?p=60368 Leslie LoewLeslie Loew
Leslie Loew, director of the R. D. Berlin Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling, has been chosen as the new editor-in-chief of Biophysical Journal. It is the premier journal for the field of Biophysics and is published by the Biophysical Society.Loew has previously served on the BJ editorial board as an editor and is currently serving as the associate editor for the biological systems, cellular processes, multicellular dynamics section.
Nominations for editor-in-chief were accepted from society members in 2011. These nominations were reviewed by the publications committee, who interviewed candidates and made their recommendation to the board and council. The board and council approved the committee’s recommendation at their February meeting in San Diego.
Biophysical Journal appears biweekly and publishes over 500 scientific papers a year. Loew, the Boehringer Ingelheim Chair in Cell Sciences, will have a term of five years and will be overseeing an editorial board of about 60 scientists around the world.
Dr. Molly Brewer
Dr. Molly Brewer, director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology in the Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center, was recognized for her exceptional volunteerism during a fundraising benefit for the Malta House of Care in Hartford last week. The second annual event, “Wonder Women…Women Helping Women,” honored eight women in the region who have helped make Malta House of Care’s mission possible.
Brewer is a nationally recognized gynecologic oncologist. She offers highly personalized care for women with gynecologic malignancies, such as ovarian, uterine and cervical cancer. Dr. Brewer also provides consultations about cancer prevention, particularly ovarian cancer, through the Women’s Cancer Prevention Program.
Since opening the doors to its mobile medical clinic in 2006, the Malta House of Care has provided more than 20,062 free patient consultations. More than 70 physicians, nurses, counselors and administrators voluntarily heal, teach, and assist patients.
Dr. Lorand Kristof and his award-wining poster.
Dr. Lorand Kristof, a geriatric medicine fellow, won a presidential poster award during the 2012 American Geriatrics Society Annual Scientific Meeting in Seattle earlier this month.
The poster “Experiences of Informal Caregivers of Older Adults Discharged from Nursing Homes to the Community through the Money Follows the Person Demonstration Program” highlighted UConn Center on Aging research conducted by Kristof, Richard Fortinsky Julie Robison, and Courtney Butler.
The research found that caregivers of older adults discharged to the community after a prolonged nursing home stay have less caregiver stress, a lower level of burden and higher levels of positive aspects of caregiving. However, burden and symptoms of depression are significantly higher in caregivers of parents.
Rasy Mar
Rasy Mar, community education specialist in the School of Medicine’s Community Based Education (CBE) program, was honored for her hard work and commitment to immigrant rights. Mar was among 17 people honored at a ceremony held last month at the State Capitol by the Connecticut Immigrant and Refugee Coalition. Gov. Dannel Malloy and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal were among those who recognized the honorees during the event.The Coalition is a network or community agencies, religious groups, legal service providers, and immigrant rights activists committed to protecting the rights and welfare of refugee and immigrant communities.
UConn’s CBE program affords students the opportunity to acquire a broader view of their role in the profession of medicine. The CBE curriculum partners with community organizations throughout the state to provide educational activities in a community learning environment.
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]]> http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/health-center-accolades-may-2012/feed/ 0 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/health-center-jackson-lab-project-among-top-10-business-deals-of-2011/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/health-center-jackson-lab-project-among-top-10-business-deals-of-2011/#comments Mon, 21 May 2012 13:00:13 +0000 Maureen McGuire http://today.uconn.edu/?p=60343 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/health-center-jackson-lab-project-among-top-10-business-deals-of-2011/feed/ 0 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/2000-uconn-employees-still-not-compliant-with-hep-requirements/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/2000-uconn-employees-still-not-compliant-with-hep-requirements/#comments Mon, 21 May 2012 12:29:57 +0000 Michael Kirk http://today.uconn.edu/?p=60330 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/2000-uconn-employees-still-not-compliant-with-hep-requirements/feed/ 0 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/uconn-celebrates-brain-power-that-fuels-economic-development/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/uconn-celebrates-brain-power-that-fuels-economic-development/#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 15:46:27 +0000 Elizabeth Omara-Otunnu http://today.uconn.edu/?p=60243 Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and UConn President Susan Herbst at the Celebration of Innovation event on May 16. (Thomas Hurlbut for UConn)Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and UConn President Susan Herbst at the Celebration of Innovation event on May 16. (Thomas Hurlbut for UConn)
Taking the research done every day at the University of Connecticut from the campus to the marketplace is becoming an ever-greater part of UConn’s mission, as an awards ceremony recognized Wednesday night. The inaugural Celebration of Innovation event put the spotlight on the University’s growing importance in the larger economy.
With laurels bestowed on everyone from undergraduate entrepreneurs to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, the Celebration of Innovation at the Connecticut Science Center showcased not only the research that’s earning millions in revenue for the University, but the network of partnerships between public and private entities that’s a core component of that work.
“Economic development is, at base, about brain power,” UConn President Susan Herbst said, as she ticked off some of the University’s recent successes bearing that out: more than 366 patents in the past 20 years, over $4 million in revenue from licenses in the past four years, and a 79 percent success rate with companies involved in the Technology Incubation Program, compared to the national average of 65 percent.
“We were pretty quiet on the economic development front for a few years, but that’s changing,” Herbst said.
The Connecticut Innovation awards celebration at the Connecticut Science Center. (Thomas Hurlbut for UConn)
The ramping-up of UConn’s economic development initiatives comes in the nick of time, Malloy told the crowd, following more than two decades of stagnant employment numbers in Connecticut.
“We cannot afford in this state to miss any opportunities, because we did it for 22 years,” he said.
Malloy knows firsthand about the climate of innovation at UConn – his successful gubernatorial campaign hired a company owned by a UConn undergraduate to run its website during the election, for which the company later won an award.
“This new relationship that UConn has with state government has the potential to be tremendously important for the state of Connecticut,” he said.
Some of the awards handed out Wednesday night recognized some of the early fruits of that partnership. State Senate President Pro Tempore Don Williams was lauded for his work in winning General Assembly approval for a $170 million investment in UConn’s technology park and its first building, a 125,000-square foot facility with laboratory space and specialized equipment. The tech park, which is slated to open in 2015, will ultimately have roughly 1.4 million square feet of research space.
Mary Holz-Clause, UConn's vice president for economic development. (Thomas Hurlbut for UConn)
Another award recipient was The Jackson Laboratory, the Maine-based genetic research firm that this year signed a deal to bring a billion-dollar facility to the UConn Health Center campus in Farmington, an arrangement that was recently lauded by Site Selection magazine as one of the 10 best economic development deals in the country.
That kind of recognition is being keenly observed at UConn’s peer institutions, said Mary Holz-Clause, the University’s first-ever vice president for economic development.
“They just look at us in envy and say, this is the place to be,” she said.
Awards were also given to Mun Choi, dean of the School of Engineering; Suman Singha, vice president for research; the company Agrivida, which has partnered with UConn and recently invested $600,000 to expand the greenhouse at the Advanced Technology Lab Building; IMCORP, a Manchester-based company founded by UConn professor emeritus Matthew Mashikian with technology he developed while at UConn; to faculty patent recipients; and to student teams that won competitions to develop their own business plans.
Connecticut Innovation awards. (Thomas Hurlbut for UConn)
The sheer range of innovation on display at the awards ceremony is a testament to how much work UConn has done in recent years to expand its profile in the marketplace, said Tony Esposito, chairman of the UConn Research & Development Board and winner of the Alumnus of Distinction award.
“UConn is in the unique position to be a driving force for economic development in Connecticut,” he said. “The dedication and diligence of the UConn R&D Board and staff to economic development is evidenced by the impressive portfolio of startup companies. The challenge of identifying and nurturing UConn research and services is being met.”
]]> http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/uconn-celebrates-brain-power-that-fuels-economic-development/feed/ 0 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/uconn-health-center-hosts-free-huntington%e2%80%99s-disease-symposium-may-19/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/uconn-health-center-hosts-free-huntington%e2%80%99s-disease-symposium-may-19/#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 15:40:29 +0000 Carolyn Pennington http://today.uconn.edu/?p=60280 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/uconn-health-center-hosts-free-huntington%e2%80%99s-disease-symposium-may-19/feed/ 0 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/parking-a-briefing-for-heath-center-employees/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/parking-a-briefing-for-heath-center-employees/#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 15:35:13 +0000 Chris DeFrancesco http://today.uconn.edu/?p=60302 A prefabricated building now in Lot L will be used by the valet parking staff starting May 21. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health Center Photo)A prefabricated building now in Lot L will be used by the valet parking staff starting May 21. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health Center Photo)
Word about the big parking changes coming to the UConn Health Center campus is spreading, but reaching everyone who is or will be affected is a large and continuing task.
The Health Center’s parking advisors held a town hall meeting Thursday to review what’s been done so far and explain what’s to come.
During the question-and-answer portion of the meeting, Assistant Police Chief Ray Bouchard explained how parking lot designations would be assigned in phases, starting next week with hangtags for Shuttle Lot 3 on lower campus. Free valet service for patients and clinical visitors starts Monday, May 21, along with enhanced expressed shuttle service to Shuttle Lot 3. Bouchard emphasized the need for compliance in order for the assigned parking system to work effectively.
“With your help and with a little practice, we’ll refine this, and figure out what works and what doesn’t work. But we’re projecting ahead, and without knowing who’s parking where today, we’re trying to figure out how to logically tackle this,” says parking advisor and Chief Administrative Officer Carolle Andrews. “We don’t have all the answers.”
Additionally it was announced that the criteria for “convenience”—paid—parking permits would be dropped, and those interested should contact Public Safety to get on a waiting list.
The complete video of the meeting is available on the UConn Health Center’s Parking Updates page, http://biosciencect.uchc.edu/parking.
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]]> http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/parking-a-briefing-for-heath-center-employees/feed/ 0 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/retreat-enhances-interdisciplinary-collaboration/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/retreat-enhances-interdisciplinary-collaboration/#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 15:25:34 +0000 Carolyn Pennington http://today.uconn.edu/?p=60250 Jeffrey Bluestone, executive vice chancellor and provost University of California, San Francisco, gives the first plenary speech during 'An Interactive Retreat to Enhance Interdisciplinary Collaboration' held at the Rome Commons ballroom on May 15. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)Jeffrey Bluestone, executive vice chancellor and provost University of California, San Francisco, gives the first plenary speech during 'An Interactive Retreat to Enhance Interdisciplinary Collaboration' held at the Rome Commons ballroom on May 15. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
A retreat to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration across campuses was held Tuesday in Storrs. 150 basic science and clinical faculty attended the event and helped set the stage for developing new ways to strengthen UConn’s research enterprise.
“The goal was to hear what others are doing with an eye toward generating new ideas and partnerships that will lead to discovery and grant support,” said Dr. Paul Skolnik, chairman of the Department of Medicine and one of the event organizers. “At first blush, some of the research interests would not seem related but on further investigation, we found new and important connections.”
Participants were drawn from 22 clinical and basic departments at the medical and dental schools in Farmington and from 19 departments and three schools in Storrs.
Prior to the meeting, faculty members were asked to submit brief profiles and department chairs and deans to provide overviews on the research in their units. Slides of the overview presentations will be made available to all participants in order to encourage interactions.
Dr. Paul Skolnik, professor and chairman of the Department of Medicine, speaks during the retreat. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
One of the keynote speakers for the retreat was Jeffrey Bluestone, executive vice chancellor and provost of the University of California, San Francisco. Bluestone described how research and discovery at academic medical centers like UCSF and the UConn Health Center are at risk because of reduced federal funding and the rising costs of research, education and health care.
“His comments resonated with the group,” said Sandra Weller, chair of the Department of Molecular, Microbial and Structural Biology and retreat organizer. “He recommended taking smart risks and making strategic investments that promote team research and lower the barriers to innovative research.”
Bluestone told the group that at UCSF they have promoted an environment for excellent basic and clinical research that is the foundation for achieving a better understanding and improvement in human health and welfare. A development office allows faculty to better take advantage of complex funding opportunities and team building. A website provides “one stop shopping” to promote clinical research. UCSF has also promoted public-private partnerships that have allowed mutually beneficial interactions to flourish. They include small startups, as well as partnerships with large pharmaceutical companies.
Later in the day, four breakout sessions were held in which existing collaborations across schools and across campuses were identified and future collaborations were encouraged.
Weller says the organizers plan on preparing a report summarizing the most frequently mentioned ideas from the breakout sessions.
“The breakout sessions gave participants a chance to interact and get down to the next level – to the project level,” said Skolnik. “Overall, new connections were made which hopefully will result in new collaborations and engender entrepreneurship.”
The retreat was sponsored by the Department of Medicine, the Department of Molecular, Microbial and Structural Biology, the UConn Office of Economic Development, and the Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science.
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]]> http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/retreat-enhances-interdisciplinary-collaboration/feed/ 0 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/what-you-need-to-know-about-parking-at-uconn-health-center/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/what-you-need-to-know-about-parking-at-uconn-health-center/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 19:19:15 +0000 Chris DeFrancesco http://today.uconn.edu/?p=60211 Assistant Police Chief Ray Bouchard. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health Center Photo)Assistant Police Chief Ray Bouchard. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health Center Photo)
In advance of the town hall meeting on changes in campus parking, Thursday, May 17, at noon in the Keller Auditorium, Assistant Police Chief Ray Bouchard provides some important information.
What are the most important things to know about parking on the UConn Health Center campus in the coming months?
Why are these changes necessary?
The UConn Health Center is undergoing major capital improvements under Bioscience Connecticut, including the new hospital tower, parking structures, and ambulatory care center, as well as the construction of the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine. These construction projects will impact areas currently used for patient visitor and employee parking.
Can faculty, staff and students use the free valet service?
No, valet parking is only for patients and hospital visitors.
What do employees need to know about the new hangtags?
The hangtags are color-coded for each lot. The hangtag only allows parking in the designated parking lot. Please note: If you currently park in Lot L, Lot M or Shuttle Lot 3, you will need your new hangtag by Friday, May 18. Please contact Public Safety at 860-679-2511. We will be phasing in the distribution of new hangtags for everyone else over the next several months.
I’m an employee who pays extra for convenience parking. What do these changes mean to me?
You will continue to park where you have been parking. You will be issued a new hangtag with a designated lot at a future date.
What are the consequences for parking where I’m not supposed to?
You will receive a parking ticket for not parking in your assigned lot. Please note that Lot L will be for valet parking exclusively and will be otherwise off-limits at all times, even during hours when the valet service is not running.
I work second or third shift. What do I need to know?
If you work second or third shift your impact will be minimal. You should park on the academic side of the Health Center, where the gated lots will be open between the hours of 4 p.m. and 4 a.m.
What about the carpool lot?
Carpooling is still greatly encouraged, but Lot D is no longer available to carpoolers without a paid parking tag.
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]]> http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/what-you-need-to-know-about-parking-at-uconn-health-center/feed/ 2 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/future-awaits-uconn-health-center-class-of-2012/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/future-awaits-uconn-health-center-class-of-2012/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 12:45:46 +0000 Chris DeFrancesco http://today.uconn.edu/?p=60100 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/future-awaits-uconn-health-center-class-of-2012/feed/ 0 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/breaking-down-how-we-breathe/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/breaking-down-how-we-breathe/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 12:27:41 +0000 Cindy Weiss, CLAS Today http://today.uconn.edu/?p=59169 Daniel Mulkey. assistant professor of physiology and neurobiology, in his lab with graduate students Ian C. Wenker and Joanna Hawryluk. (Daniel Buttrey/UConn Photo)Daniel Mulkey. assistant professor of physiology and neurobiology, in his lab with graduate students Ian C. Wenker and Joanna Hawryluk. (Daniel Buttrey/UConn Photo)
If you’re an average person (not from Lake Wobegon) you breathe in about 900 times an hour. You probably don’t think about it much, but Daniel Mulkey does. He studies what happens at the molecular level when you breathe and how your body gets the message that it’s time to take a breath.
We know that if you hold your breath, the build-up of carbon dioxide (CO2) causes the brain to get a message, “Hey – we need to breathe,” he explains. In a tiny area of the brain, a subset of neurons that are highly sensitive to CO2 project a message to the respiratory centers to get breathing underway.
But what causes the rapid electrical activity of the neurons that tells the respiratory cells to go to work?
Mulkey is looking at how ion channels – pores in the cell membrane that allow the movement of ions (such as sodium or potassium) – influence the behavior of neurons when you breathe. Ion channels act as gateways into or out of cells for the ions that determine their electrical activity.
Using just a thin slice of an animal brain, his research group isolates and studies the cells that they think are important for the regulation of breathing. Identifying these cells and the ion channels that regulate their function might eventually help in the development of drugs for people who suffer from respiratory failure in conditions such as epilepsy, SIDS, or sleep apnea.
Mulkey, an assistant professor of physiology and neurobiology who came to UConn five years ago, recently won a research promise award from the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) at UConn. He also was named a UConn Teacher for a New Era Fellow.
When he was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Virginia in 2004, Mulkey was the lead author on a paper that identified the cells in a very small area of the brainstem – the retrotrapezoid nucleus – that are critical in respiration.
He and two former fellow postdocs at Virginia, Thiago Moreira and Ana Takakura, who are now at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, are among the handful of scientists doing in vivo respiratory studies on brain cells. Moreira’s group studies breathing behavior in live rats. He can check how the animals’ breathing behavior changes, depending on the activity of ion channels that Mulkey has identified. Mulkey’s group works on brain slices, using electrophysiology techniques to see how ion channels are regulated by CO2 or neurotransmitters that are known to influence breathing.
Although his group works at the molecular level, “It’s really satisfying to go back to the whole animal and see how these cells work,” Mulkey says. The two groups, in Storrs and in Brazil, will exchange graduate students so that each group learns the techniques of the other.
The studies in Brazil are done on both active and sedated animals. Most respiratory problems occur when you fall asleep, Mulkey notes. When you are awake, you have cues that tell you to breathe. But when you are asleep, breathing depends entirely on the activity of the CO2-sensitive cells that drive respiration.
People who suffer from congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, also known as Ondine’s curse, have a mutation specific to these cells. When they fall asleep, these people have no drive to breathe.
By learning more about the cells and the ion channels that influence their behavior, Mulkey’s basic research could guide the development of drugs to provide a solution.
“If you know the players involved, you have a target,” he says.
His research is supported by a grant from the Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health and by the Cure Epilepsy Foundation. One of his graduate students, Ian C. Wenker, has his own pre-doctoral research grant from the American Heart Association.
Learn more from this upcoming paper in The Journal of Physiology.
Read about the other AAUP research promise awardee, Mark Urban, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.
]]> http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/breaking-down-how-we-breathe/feed/ 2 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/variety-of-techniques-highlight-health-center-exhibit/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/variety-of-techniques-highlight-health-center-exhibit/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 12:00:14 +0000 Carolyn Pennington http://today.uconn.edu/?p=60161 "Seaside Goldenrod" by Diane CadrainArt work by Diane Cadrain now on display in main and mezzanine lobbies. (Photo provided by Diane Cadrain)
Who: Diane Cadrain
What: “Twigs and Tides”
Where: Main and mezzanine lobbies, UConn Health Center, 263 Farmington Ave., Farmington
When: Now through August 1, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., daily
About the Artist:
Diane Cadrain states she works as a freelance writer specializing in employment law topics, but lives to create art. Her current work includes painted pima cotton fabric embellished with paint sticks. Her techniques also include felting, hand embroidery, machine quilting, hand and machine appliqué, and most recently, three-dimensional work.
She has been in juried shows sponsored by the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts and the West Hartford Art League. She also participated in juried exhibitions sponsored by United Hebrew of New Rochelle and the Florida Chapter of Studio Art Quilt Associates.
She has exhibited at the New England Quilt Museum, Lowell, Mass., the Warwick Quilt Guild, Warwick, New York, the American Sewing Expo, Novi, Michigan, and various Connecticut libraries and other venues with Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective.
A resident of West Hartford, Cadrain is a graduate of Albertus Magnus College, and holds advance degrees from Ohio State University, and Georgetown University Law Center.
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]]> http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/variety-of-techniques-highlight-health-center-exhibit/feed/ 0 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/powerful-aging-program-ages-powerfully-at-the-uconn-health-center/ http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/05/powerful-aging-program-ages-powerfully-at-the-uconn-health-center/#comments Thu, 10 May 2012 20:17:44 +0000 Carolyn Pennington http://today.uconn.edu/?p=59999 Mary Carroll Root helps participants during a Powerful Aging Exercise class at the Avon Senior Center. (Al Ferreira for UConn Health Center)Mary Carroll Root helps participants during a Powerful Aging Exercise class at the Avon Senior Center. (Al Ferreira for UConn Health Center)
The GO4Life program launched earlier this year by the National Institute on Aging, the Surgeon General and many partner organizations, encourages baby boomers and older adults to exercise and become physically active as a means of remaining healthy and independent. As a result, doctors around the country are increasingly addressing a serious question: how do we get our older citizens interested in and excited about exercise? Well, if you follow the example set by the UConn Health Center and its Powerful Aging Program, in many cases the answer may be as simple as…giving them the opportunity.
The Powerful Aging Program was established over a decade ago as part of a federally funded research project aimed towards examining the benefits of exercise in post-menopausal women. Developed by Dr. James Judge of the UConn Health Center, the program was specifically designed to study exercise’s effects on this older population’s bone and muscle health. But when the study ended, the participants pushed to be allowed to continue.
Dr. George A. Kuchel
“There was a real demand from the community to have a program for older individuals who wanted to maintain and improve their health,” says Dr. George Kuchel, who acts as director of the UConn Center on Aging and as the Citicorp Chair in Geriatrics and Gerontology. “And we were happy to provide it.”
Those involved in the program work with trainers and other staff of the Health Center to perform a series of very low-tech exercises (those that only require weighted waist-belts, dumbbells, and step-up platforms) designed to promote muscle strength, flexibility, and balance – the three most important things that contribute to a person’s function and independence as they age. The exercises are very low-impact (great for aging joints) and are designed to be extremely safe.
“The most common mistakes that people make are that they don’t exercise due to fear of injury,” says Kuchel, “or that they exercise and over-exert themselves. The great thing about Powerful Aging is that it gives this older population a place where they can come together with experts to exercise correctly without fear.”
Moving into its 12th year of operation, the program is currently undergoing an evaluation process designed to keep its practices up-to-date.
Linda Yamamoto is a kinesiologist, as well as a certified strength and conditioning specialist who has joined the UConn Center on Aging as a consultant in kinesiology and exercise sciences. She is leading this effort by evaluating the current program from the perspective of both participants and instructors, and incorporating this feedback into an updated program based on the latest scientific evidence.
“We want to make sure that that we are following the current best practices for our patients and clients, and not just following the latest trend,” says Yamamoto. “And we would like to understand the changes that our participants would like to see so that we can incorporate them where appropriate.”
And in keeping with the Health Center’s tradition of integrated learning, in addition to updating the exercise regimen itself, officials are excited about the idea of one day having university students help out with the program.
Mary Carroll Root helps participants during a Powerful Aging Exercise class at the Avon Senior Center. (Al Ferreira for UConn Health Center)
“Right now, all of our instructors are staff of the UConn Health Center,” says Kuchel. “But we would like to get students involved as trainers. It would be a great learning opportunity for students in kinesiology, physical therapy or other disciplines to learn more about aging and geriatric issues.”
The program currently offers classes at four locations – the UConn Health Center, the Elmwood Community Center, UConn Health Partners in West Hartford, and the Avon Senior Center. Officials may consider expanding the program to other areas in the region that have an active older population who would benefit from it.
“You know, not so long ago, experts thought that exercise was only something that young people would be interested in, and they didn’t think that the benefits would outweigh the associated risks,” says Kuchel. “But they’ve been proven wrong on both counts. Not only does exercise bring benefits for our older patients, but they’re enthusiastic about taking part. And that really is a great thing to see.”
Those interested in the Powerful Aging Program are encouraged to call 860-679-7692 or 866-837-7737 or visit the program’s website for more information or for a class schedule.
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