Category: Health care

On-the-Spot Mammograms and Breast Cancer Education at Patient Voices Network Event

by BNMCin Campus-wide, Community, Event, Health care, Healthy Communities, Outreach, WellnessLeave a Comment on On-the-Spot Mammograms and Breast Cancer Education at Patient Voices Network Event

Free wellness event and walk are sponsored by Patient Voices Network, a network of patient action teams, established by UB Family Medicine and Jericho Road Ministries
A free breast cancer awareness walk and wellness event will be held Saturday, October 13 at 10 a.m. in Masten Park by the Patient Voices Network. The network is a patient empowerment partnership between the University at Buffalo Department of Family Medicine, and patients from UBMD Family Medicine at Jefferson and Jericho Road Family Practice.

The 1.6 mile walk will start at 10 a.m. at the Best Street entrance to Masten Park, with registration starting at 8:30 a.m. The wellness event begins at 11 a.m. in Masten Park. Health care providers will be available to talk to participants and there will also be information on breast health, breast cancer and screening. Healthy snacks and free T-shirts will be distributed.

On-site screening mammograms will be available for women who have a prescription and who pre-register by calling WNY Breast Health at 1-855-464-7465, prior to the event.   Free services through the Cancer Services Program are available for the uninsured. Those who are unable to get screened on Oct. 13 will be provided with an wp-contentointment for another day.

The idea for the event originated with members of the Patient Voices Network, which was formed by the UB Primary Care Research Institute of the Department of Family Medicine and Jericho Road Ministries. In the network, patients living with chronic illness work together to improve primary care and to boost the rate of cancer screenings at the network’s practice partners, Jericho Road Family Practice and UBMD Family Medicine at Jefferson, which is operated by the UB Department of Family Medicine.

“We were talking about how everyone knows what the pink ribbon means, but to really reach people on Buffalo’s East Side, we would need to put on an event right in the community,” says Laurene Tumiel-Berhalter, PhD, associate professor of family medicine and director of community translational research at the Primary Care Research Institute in UB’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. “We started talking about walking right down Jefferson Avenue, bringing people out of their homes to join us and to get screened for breast cancer.”

According to Tumiel-Berhalter, patients and providers were committed to making sure that both the walk and the event be free in order to ensure the highest possible participation rate. Those who want to donate to breast cancer research will be able to do so; gift bags for participants will include information on how to donate.

“This is not a fundraiser,” she stresses. “This is an event we are holding to educate people on the East Side about breast cancer and to screen them for it.”

The free walk and event are being made possible by grants to the Patient Voices Network from the Western New York Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and from the New York State Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR).

During the event, women who have pre-registered will be screened at the WNY Breast Health’s Mobile Mammography Unit, which will be stationed in Masten Park.  Additional screenings will take place on Oct. 18, when the unit will be stationed in front of UBMD Family Medicine at Jefferson and UBMD Gynecology Obstetrics, 1315 Jefferson Ave. in Buffalo.

Throughout the rest of the fall, women will have additional opportunities to receive mammograms. The unit will be stationed at Jericho Road Family Practice, 184 Barton St., Buffalo, on the fourth Tuesday of every month and at Jericho Road Family Practice, 1609 Genesee St. on the third Tuesday of every month. To pre-register, call 1-855-464-7465.

“By stationing the mammography machines in such convenient and visible locations, we hope that as many people as possible in the community will get screened,” says Tumiel-Berhalter.

If a screening indicates that further tests are necessary, patients will be referred to an wp-contentropriate health care provider if they do not already have one.

The need for breast cancer education in minority communities is urgent, says Tumiel-Berhalter, because:

–Among African-American women, breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second most common cause of death;

–African-American women have a higher incidence rate of breast cancer before age 40 and are more likely to die from it at every age than are non-Hispanic, white women;

–While mortality rates decreased for white breast cancer patients from 1975 to 2003, they actually increased for African-American women.

The Patient Voices Network began with a grant Tumiel-Berhalter received from the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities, part of the National Institutes of Health. She used the grant to develop an organization in which patients could promote ways to improve primary care in their community by helping one another. The response from patients was so enthusiastic that the group, which began meeting monthly, now meets on a weekly basis. The network provides education and assistance in the community for patients with diabetes and, with Roswell Park Cancer Institute, has promoted colorectal cancer events and screenings.  More information on the network is here: http://www.fammed.buffalo.edu/patientvoices.

Ellen Goldbaum (UB); goldbaum@buffalo.edu; 716.645.4605; @egoldbaum

Division within WCHOB Department of Pediatrics Receives $1.1 M Grant

by BNMCin Health care, Homepage, Member Institution(s), News, WellnessLeave a Comment on Division within WCHOB Department of Pediatrics Receives $1.1 M Grant

The Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo’s (WCHOB) Division of Neonatology received a grant for $1.1 M from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. A published SUPPORT report trial revealed that there is a lack of knowledge regarding oxygen supplementation, delivery and toxicity in newborn infants. The Optimal Oxygenation in Neonatal Lung Injury grant will be used to propel the research focusing on infant oxygen supplementation.
Neonatal resuscitation is necessary when an infant is asphyxiated. When an infant is born, its pulmonary circulation shifts in order to adjust to the environment outside of the womb. When that adjustment is not flawless and is met with immediate complications, the result can be a condition called Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn (PPHN) which can be fatal.

Dr. Satyan Lakshminrusimha, the Chief of the Division of Neonatology and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University at Buffalo, is the grant’s principal investigator. His research  focuses on the pathophysiology of the cardio-pulmonary transition – how fetal lungs change at birth in order to breathe air – and disorders of this transition such as birth asphyxia, PPHN, retained lung liquid and respiratory distress syndrome.

The Division’s research goals are to deliver the best critical care to infants with respiratory depression at birth and reduce oxygen toxicity; to discover the optimum management of newborns with PPHN; and to further the treatment of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a gastrointestinal disease that disproportionately affects pre-term infants.

The grant’s disbursement over a 5-year period, with $235, 523 given to the Division each year will go towards the collection of physiological data that will help to establish guidelines for optimal oxygen delivery to premature infants.

The WCHOB has the region’s only level 4 unit in its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, meaning it can provide immediate trauma care that can evaluate, diagnose, and stabilize patients, also offering a degree of surgery and critical care services. The hospital is Western New York’s center for state-of-the-art pediatric, neonatal, perinatal and obstetrical care.

National Study Recommends Smoke-Free Apartment Policies

by BNMCin Environment, Health care, Healthy Communities, Member Institution(s), News, WellnessLeave a Comment on National Study Recommends Smoke-Free Apartment Policies

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 10, 2012
Contact: Annie Deck-Miller, Senior Media Relations Manager
716-845-8593; annie.deck-miller@roswellpark.org

National Study Recommends Smoke-Free Apartment Policies
Majority of those surveyed support policies prohibiting smoking anywhere in multi-tenant residential buildings

BUFFALO — A majority of Americans who live in multi-unit housing have adopted smoke-free rules in their private homes but millions remain involuntarily exposed to secondhand smoke in this environment, according to a study published in the most recent issue of the American Journal of Public Health. Researchers led by senior investigator Andrew Hyland, PhD, Chair of the Department of Health Behavior at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), recommend smoke-free building policies to protect all multiunit residents from secondhand smoke exposure in their homes.

“A vast majority of multi-unit housing residents continue to be exposed to toxic compounds found in secondhand smoke in spite of the adoption of voluntary smoke-free rules for their private homes,” said Dr. Hyland. “This study demonstrates widespread support of the adoption of smoke-free building policies.”

The national study evaluated attitudes, experiences and acceptance of smoke-free policies among residents of multi-unit housing in the United States. Approximately 80 million Americans live in multi-unit housing. Using the results of this study, the researchers estimate that 30 million multi-unit housing residents with smoke-free rules in their homes may still be exposed to tobacco smoke that enters their residence from other areas of the building.

Hyland and colleagues conducted a nationally representative survey of multi-unit housing residents who live in apartments, duplexes, double/multifamily homes, condominiums or town houses was 2010. The study sample included both landline and cell-phone-only users. Overall, 29% reported living in smoke-free buildings. Among all respondents, 56% support the implementation of policies prohibiting smoking in all areas of their building, including living units and common areas.

The study also found that 79% of multiunit housing residents have implemented voluntary smoke-free home rules. Those who have reported having these rules were more likely to be non-smokers, have higher education and live with children. Forty-four percent of those with smoke-free rules at home reported being exposed to secondhand smoke in the past year that originated from smoking in other parts of their buildings.

“Residents of multi-unit housing are particularly susceptible to secondhand smoke exposure from nearby units and shared areas such as hallways,” said lead author Andrea Licht, MS, a doctoral student with the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University at Buffalo. “These residents are trying to protect their families from the dangers of secondhand smoke by not allowing smoking in their homes and would welcome policies that support that goal.”

The publication, “Attitudes, Experiences, and Acceptance of Smoke-Free Polices Among U.S. Multi-unit Housing Residents” can be found at http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2012.300717.

The mission of Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. RPCI, founded in 1898, was one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. The Institute is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit RPCI’s website at http://www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or email askrpci@roswellpark.org.

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Meet Rear Admiral Rebecca McCormick-Boyle During Buffalo Navy Week

by BNMCin Campus-wide, Community, Event, Health care, Member Institution(s), WellnessLeave a Comment on Meet Rear Admiral Rebecca McCormick-Boyle During Buffalo Navy Week

Community members will get the opportunity to meet Chief of Staff, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Rear Admiral Rebecca McCormick-Boyle on Wednesday, September 12 from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the Swift Auditorium at Buffalo General Medical Center. The U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery is the headquarters of Navy and Marine Corps medicine. The event is free and open to the public.
Rear Admiral McCormick-Boyle will address Navy Medicine’s humanitarian assistance/disaster relief efforts, emergency medicine, research and development, and wounded warrior care to key medical personnel of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus during a presentation in honor of Buffalo Navy Week. McCormick-Boyle will also highlight the Navy’s global mission of being forward deployed to provide a power projection and deterrence role while also being ready to respond to humanitarian assistance and disaster response requirements.

“When the world dials 911, it’s not to make an wp-contentointment,” said McCormick-Boyle. “We are a global force for good. We build our Navy for war. But we operate our Navy for peace.”

Navy Medicine consists of 63,000 personnel that provide health care support to the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, their families and veterans in high operational tempo environments, at expeditionary medical facilities, medical treatment facilities, hospitals, clinics, hospital ships and research units around the world. Navy Medicine works closely with inter-agency, non-governmental organizations and community partners during humanitarian assistance/disaster relief missions and homeland security operations around the globe.

 

Palliative Care Program at Roswell Receives Advanced Certification

by BNMCin Health care, Homepage, Member Institution(s), Research, WellnessLeave a Comment on Palliative Care Program at Roswell Receives Advanced Certification

Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RCPI) has a strong, dedicated, and experienced team within its Supportive & Palliative Care Program. Most recently, the team received Advanced Certification in Palliative Care for a two-year period from The Joint Commission, an organization that accredits and certifies more than 19,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States.
Palliative Care provides care for individuals with progressive illnesses, helping patients experience relief from symptoms such as pain and the stresses that come with a serious illness. The goal of palliative care is to improve the quality of life for both the patient and the family as well as to work with the other doctors each patient has, providing an extra layer of support. At RPCI, the Supportive & Palliative Care team works with the attending physician and can join the care process at any time, including during curative treatment.

Led by Yashodhara Satchidanand, MD, and Amy Alvarez, MD, the certification makes RPCI the nation’s only dedicated cancer center. It is now also 1 of 15 national hospitals to receive advanced certification to date. “Our team was very excited about receiving the certification. This validates our work and acknowledges that RPCI is known not only for cutting-edge research, but also for compassionate care,” said Dr. Satchidanand, a staff physician and Assistant Professor with the program.

To receive this certification from The Joint Commission, palliative care programs must meet patient-oriented eligibility requirements. The care program must be provided within an accredited hospital, offering a full range of palliative care services to hospitalized patients 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The palliative care team must be easy to contact, readily available to come to the hospital to address patient and family needs when necessary, and must be able to constantly provide the same level of palliative care services around the clock, not just during business hours. Amongst having a minimum number of patients during an initial on-site review, programs must also administer a standardized method of clinical care based on clinical practice guidelines and/or evidence-based practice. To read about more of the eligibility requirements, click here.

“This certification allows us to enhance and help change the perception of palliative care as more than end-of-life care,” notes Dr. Alvarez, a physician with the Department of Supportive & Palliative Care. “It is care for the continuum of the cancer journey, focusing on the goals of the patients and their families.”

Palliative care is wp-contentropriate at any age, at any stage in a serious illness and is designed to meet the patient and family’s psychological, emotional, and physical curative needs.

Memorial Sculpture to Honor John E. Friedlander

by BNMCin Campus-wide, Community, Health care, Homepage, Member Institution(s), VolunteersLeave a Comment on Memorial Sculpture to Honor John E. Friedlander

As one of the community leaders and visionaries who helped to lay the foundation for the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) in 2001, the late John E. Friedlander will be honored with an art sculpture to memorialize his leadership. The BNMC came to be after visionaries in the health care industry came together to help promote wellness and economic development in the Buffalo-Niagara region. It is now a leading biomedical, research, education, business, and clinical consortium helping to fuel economic growth in the area.
He was the first President and CEO of Kaleida Health, serving from October 1996 until June 2005. Friedlander is also the former Buffalo General Medical Center President and CEO. For more than 20 years, Friedlander contributed his skills and experience to build a strong health care delivery system in Western New York and now his former colleagues, friends and family are partnering with the BNMC to honor him.

He was a dynamic visionary and respected health care leader who was loved by the community, striving to make a difference. For members of the community who would like to support the campaign efforts to actualize the John E. Friedlander Memorial Art Sculpture and recognize his deep commitment to the health of Western New York residents, click here.