By the Numbers: Employee Campaign

N E W S F R O M T H E R E G I O N ’ S P R E M I E R A C A D E M I C M E D I C A L C E N T E R

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Caring, compassionate, commit-ted: It takes a special kind of person to be a nurse at The University of Kansas Hospital.

The hospital this week is cel-ebrating National Nurses Week – recognized each year in conjunc-tion with the birthday of Florence Nightingale – with a variety of events honoring the skilled clini-cians who play such an important role in helping patients heal.

As part of the celebrations, nurses gathered Tuesday for the second annual 5 Star Symposium, a day-long education event where many of the hospital’s nationally recognized nursing experts led sessions on topics ranging from the history of hip surgery to pre-paring for weather emergencies.

The gathering of hundreds of staff members reflects the remarkable commitment nurses here have to their profession, said Tammy Peterman, RN, hospital

executive vice president, chief operating officer and chief nurs-ing officer.

“What I like most about our nurses is their passion,” she said. “They have a passion for clinical ex-cellence and for great service – and they never stop learning. National Nurses Week gives us a chance to recognize these true professionals.”

Nurses at our hospital are some of the most accomplished and well-trained in the region. Since 2006, the hospital has been designated by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Magnet® facility – a distinction held by fewer than 400 hospitals world-wide. To achieve Magnet designa-tion, hospitals must demonstrate extraordinary patient outcomes, patient satisfaction and the ability to attract and retain the best nurses.

These nurses’ dedication to providing the best care possible also helped the organization

garner the American Nursing Association’s NDNQI Award for Nursing Quality in 2010 – con-sidered among the highest honors in the field.

The hospital also takes pride in the number of nurses who have attained specialty certifications, an indication of the expertise they hold in their fields. An audit of

the hospital’s nursing staff found more than 560 of the hospital’s 2,200 nurses currently hold certi-fications in areas from surgery and transplantation to cancer care. 

“Nurses are a crucial part of the care equation,” Peterman said. “We are so lucky to have such an extraordinary team of nurses at The University of Kansas Hospital.”

MAY 9, 2013

Employees at The University of Kansas Hospital every year donate to the Employee Campaign, which supports patient care and staff education.

$ 97,000How much employees have given so far this year, up nearly 40 percent since 2008

$ 900,000Total raised since 2003

Ophthalmology Spotlight

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To suggest a By the Numbers, email Advances@kumc.edu.

A passion for patient careSymposium shows our nurses never stop learning.

105 STAR Fund

8 Clinical Nutrition

65 Other

15 Patients in need

12 Area of greatest need

40 Cancer support

10 Cardio support

34 Continuing education

15 Maternal/NICU/Pediatrics

Areas given, by number of donations

15 Organ transplant

The more than 2,200 nurses at our hospital, including Marcia Stanley, RN, in Labor and Delivery (Unit 54), are some of the most well-trained in the region.

STAR FundPatient Care ....................$10,062Patients in Need .............. $9,317Patient Rehabilitation ... $5,017Patient Education ........... $4,107Other ................................... $1,500

Events How Do I Look in These

Genes? – Enjoy a ladies’ night out and learn how genetics play a role in your risk for certain types of cancer: 6-7 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, The University of Kansas Cancer Center – South. Wear your favorite jeans and learn fashion tips from a wardrobe styl-ist. Event also features meditation and relaxation series. Hosted by Larry Geier, MD. Registration required at 913-588-1227 or kumed.com/bewell.

Jin Shin Jyutsu: Managing Fatigue – Explore ways to increase energy and help your body settle into feeling peace-ful, renewed and replenished: 1-2 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, The University of Kansas Cancer Center – Lee’s Summit. Registration required at 913-588-1227 or kumed.com/bewell.

Yoga and Mind/Body Experience – Learn how to breathe to promote energy and vitality, followed by a session of yoga in chairs: 11 a.m.-noon Wednesday, May 22, The University of Kansas Cancer Center – Overland Park. Registration required at 913-588-1227 or kumed.com/bewell.

Hall of Fame Dinner and Awards Celebration – The event honors individuals and organizations for their support of The University of Kansas Hospital’s mission and vision: June 5, The Intercontinental. Honorees: Gov. Bill Graves, Greg and Deanna Graves, William Reed, MD, and Mary Reed, Lockton Companies and Standard Beverage Corporation. Tickets, $100: 913-588-2800.

Kansas City Royals Diamond of Dreams – Area restaurants serve food and drink on the field, followed by a performance by the band Drew6: June 20 at Kauffman Stadium. VIP 5:30-7:30 p.m., gener-al admission 7-10:30 p.m. Benefits The University of Kansas Hospital’s Neonatal Medical Home. Tickets: $100/250. Information: kansascity.royals.mlb.com/kc/community/diamond_of_dreams.jsp.

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

A focus on the most complex eye careOphthalmologists at The

University of Kansas Hospital represent the region’s largest group of sub-specialists among vision healthcare providers.

As part of an academic medi-cal center, they research, study and teach advanced eye-care treatments.

“Our education mission makes us unique,” said Ophthalmology Chair John Sutphin, MD. “Because we teach medi-cal students and residents, we are creating the future of ophthalmology.”

The department, which also operates as KU Eye, encompasses 58 people, including 16 ophthal-mologists and nine residents.

Just as teaching is vital, so are its clinical operations. KU Eye handled approximately 25,000 patient visits last year (nearly half of them from Missouri). Unlike a visit to the optical shop at a mall, most patients seeking treatment at KU Eye require advanced sub-specialty care.

To meet that demand, the de-partment is expanding on several fronts. Construction begins in June on the KU Eye Surgery and Laser Center, located at the

KU Eye Center facility at 7400 State Line Road.

Expected to be complete next winter, the center will handle an array of refractive, cataract, glaucoma and retinal surgeries. It will help consolidate some surger-ies now performed at various sites around the metro, as well as allow our ophthalmologists to offer more cosmetic surgical options.

The department also has opened a second KU Eye Center, located on the hospital’s main campus in Miller 1011. It features a two-room clinic and

full-service optical shop, along with routine and refractive eye exams, minor cosmetic proce-dures and evaluations for LASIK, cataracts and corneal transplants.

Though it caters to the public, Sutphin notes the new shop also is a convenient option for the approximately 10,000 employees and visitors on the main campus, many of whom need specialized vision care.

EXPOSURE

Hi-tech NICUThe University of Kansas Hospital’s remarkable new Neonatal ICU (Unit 55) opened this week. The new space con-sists of 28 rooms, where staff can care for up to 32 infants. During an employee open house, Kent Spitz, a NICU patient care assistant, discussed features of the state-of-the-art procedure room, where minor surgeries can be performed without leaving the unit.

Many patients seek relief at KU Eye after being evaluated elsewhere. Ophthalmologist Miranda Bishara, MD, examines a patient for chronic dry eye.

Ophthalmologist or optometrist?

Their roles often overlap, but optometrists typically serve on the frontline of vision healthcare. They perform refractions (vision-correction exams), prescribe certain medications and diagnose and treat basic conditions.

Ophthalmologists can provide the full range of eye care, though they tend to specialize. They are MDs trained to perform surgery, such as LASIK and removal of cataracts; diagnose and treat more complex disorders; and prescribe a broader range of medications.

Kitchen therapyIntegrative Medicine’s Leigh Wagner, RD, and Randall Evans, RD, led a “Cooking up Comfort” demonstration at the University of Kansas Clinical Research Center. The new program offers tips to cancer patients, families, caregivers and dietitians for making food ap-pealing and enhancing. The free cooking demos are held the third Thursday of every month. Information: 913-945-7624.

Collaboration with Mexican universityThe University of Kansas Medical Center on April 15 signed

an agreement with the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos (UAEM) in Mexico, renewing cooperation between the institutions to advance health, medicine and science.

Children’s Mercy Hospital signed a similar agreement with UAEM that day, expanding the collaboration. Paula Cupertino, PhD, assistant professor in the University of Kansas Medical Center’s Preventive Medicine and Public Health, has been a driving force behind the growing relationship.

Research targets aspirin, breast cancerRegular use of low-dose aspirin may prevent the progression

of breast cancer, according to a team of local researchers.The study found that aspirin slowed the growth of breast

cancer cell lines in the lab and significantly reduced the growth of tumors in mice. The age-old headache remedy also exhibits the ability to prevent tumor cells from spreading.

The lead author of the study is Gargi Maity, PhD, a post-doctoral fellow who works in the cancer research unit at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Senior author is Sushanta Banerjee, PhD, director of the cancer research unit and a professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Maity pre-sented the findings at the Experimental Biology conference, an annual meeting of nearly 14,000 scientists, in Boston on April 21.

$2.5M gift supports nurse navigators An estimated 30,000 patients will come to The University of

Kansas Cancer Center this year for cancer care. To help guide them through their treatment, Tom and Teresa Walsh, of Leawood, have made a $2.5 million gift to sup-port a nurse navigation program.

Nurse navigators guide patients through appoint-ments, tests, treatments and follow-up, answering questions and providing emotional support. The Walshes’ gift will support five new experienced nurse navigators from The University of Kansas Hospital, enabling the pro-gram to expand and serve more patients.

The Walsh family had previously funded the lead navigator position. Each navigator specializes in a different type of cancer.

The support of cancer patients must go beyond advanced medicine and compassionate care, said Terry Tsue, MD, cancer center physician-in-chief.

“Cancer patients need the connections provided by nurse navi-gators to a wide variety of support services,” he said. “Navigators are cancer patients’ link to information they might have missed, questions they forgot to ask and services they didn’t know existed.”

In the NewsA recap of recent articles, TV segments and other media coverage of the region’s leading academic medical center.

A transplant success story – Pittsburg (Kan.) Morning Sun, April 24. The article chronicles a Joplin-area patient’s experiences with a kidney trans-plant, from his initial challenges with dialysis, through his transplant at The University of Kansas Hospital and follow-up treatment at our facility.

Annual Pink Promise Brunch supports women with breast cancer – Kansas City Live, April 29. Hematology/Oncology’s Carol Fabian, MD, and Lindsey Bock, neuro psychometrician technologist at our hospital, dis-cussed the Pink Promise Brunch, which is Saturday, May 11, at the Overland Park Convention Center. Bock is chair of the event, and Fabian will receive the Komen Kansas City Legacy Promise Award. She is investigating if an estrogen found in flax seed can reduce the risk for breast cancer.

Turkey hunter bonds with Kansas man, donates kidney – KMBC-TV 9, April 30. A Mississippi hunter’s search for an elusive turkey led him to a friendship with a farm owner in western Kansas. After learning his friend in Kansas needed a kidney, the Mississippi hunter discovered he was a match – and donated his left kidney. The procedure was performed at our facility.

New flu strain attracts hospital attention – Life Science Weekly, May 6. Although the H7N9 flu strain has not resulted in any confirmed cases in the U.S., Lee Norman, MD, our hospital’s chief medical officer, said the public should be aware of the new strain, which is spread-ing in China and Taiwan. He was briefed on the virus during a regional Homeland Security committee meeting.

Weight loss programs via virtual reality – Science Codex, April 26. A study at the University of Kansas Medical Center found virtual reality games can be effective at helping participants lose weight and maintain their loss. The study involved 20 overweight and obese individuals play-ing the Web-based Second Life game. Results are published in the May/June issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.

New

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iefs

Teresa and Tom Walsh

Paul Munden, MD Ophthalmology

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is a bi-weekly publication produced by:

The University of Kansas Hospital Corporate Communication

2330 Shawnee Mission Pkwy., Suite 100 Westwood, KS 66205

Send story ideas to Advances@kumc.edu.

Bob Page, President and CEO The University of Kansas Hospital

Doug Girod, MD, Executive Vice Chancellor University of Kansas Medical Center

Kirk Benson, MD, President The University of Kansas Physicians

Staff: Mike Glynn, Editor Kirk Buster, Graphic Designer

New

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Donald Beahm, MD Ophthalmology

Amna Ilahe, MD Internal Medicine

Robert Devine, MD Anesthesiology

Colleen Hupp, DO Vascular Surgery

Lynn Roh, MD Otolaryngology

Our People Student research winners –

At last month’s annual Student Research Forum, students from all three schools at the University of Kansas Medical Center gave presentations on their research projects. Among the approximately 30 awards, these students received first place overall medals:• SchoolofHealthProfessions–

Jason Rucker, Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science

• SchoolofMedicine–Bryce Warren, graduate student, Anatomy and Cell Biology

• RussellHadenMedalforMedicalStudent – Garrett Coyan, Molecular and Integrative Physiology

• RomaLeeTauntonMedal–Sylvia Heinz, School of Nursing

For the full list of winners, go to kumc.edu and search “Student Research Forum.”

60 sensational years, and counting – The University of Kansas Hospital is 107 years old, and one

employee has worked here more than half those years.

April 25 marked the 60th an-niversary for Liz Anderson. Known as Miss Liz to most, she was hired in Dietetics in 1953, when Dwight Eisenhower was president. For the past 18 years she has been a fixture in the Physicians Dining Room, where she prepares food.

“Miss Liz is always a joy to work with,” said Judi Smedra, CPMSM, director of Medical Staff Affairs. “She’s quite a character – sassy and ornery. She keeps after the doctors to eat their vegetables. We are very blessed we have people who are so dedicated to their jobs.”

Anderson attributes her career longevity to her colleagues. “I like all the people I work with,” she said, “and I think they like me, too.”

KCK’s top ambassador – Ashley Adorante, outreach coordinator for The University of Kansas Cancer

Center, was named Ambassador of the Year at the Kansas City, Kan., Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting last month.

She received the award for “going above and beyond in the commu-nity,” according to the organization.

The Ambassador Club meets once a month and acts as ambas-sadors for the KCK Chamber and community as a whole. Members attend ribbon cuttings and ground breakings, act as greeters at Chamber lunches, contact Chamber members to ensure they feel wel-come and function as the eyes and ears for activities in KCK.

Adorante

Leading the field with advanced emergency care and a crew you can count on! As the region’s only nationally verified Level I TraumaCenter, The University of Kansas Hospital offers exceptionalemergency and trauma services around-the-clock. 913-588-1227 kumed.com/trauma

Official healthcare provider of Kansas Speedway

facebook.com/kuhospital facebook.com/kucancercenterfacebook.com/kumedicalcenter

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@kuhospital@kucancercenter@kumedcenter

Urology’s John Weigel, MD, helped Miss Liz celebrate her 60th anniversary.