OMCNews

ISSUE IN THIS

September 2011

Botox used to relieve chronic migraine painPage 6

Dr. Bruce retires from Shannon County Medical ClinicPage 3

OMC welcomes 6 new physicians Page 4

Area students receive hands-on learning at 2-day health care campPage 5

The Right Care, Right HereThe Right Care, Right Here

Blue Jean Ball

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Continued to page 2

ust off your boots, dig out your denim and get ready for dancing, food, fun and entertainment at the Third Annual Blue Jean Ball on Sept. 10, sponsored by the Ozarks Medical Center Foundation.

The Blue Jean Ball will begin at 6 p.m. at Risner Stables in West Plains.

Headlining this year's Blue Jean Ball is Big Smith, a band from Springfield whose unique harmonies have made them a local legend in the music scene. The Blue Jean Ball will also include a special appearance by the Budweiser Clydesdales.

“We hope to see everyone come out in their denim and enjoy a night of great entertainment” said OMC Foundation Director Robin Morgan. “The Blue Jean Ball is a fabulously fun way to support a wonderful local cause.”

The Blue Jean Ball is the OMC Foundation’s signature event to raise funds for worthwhile programs and services. The 2010 Blue Jean Ball raised more than $45,000, which goes to support the delivery of quality health care at OMC.

Big Smith and Budweiser Clydesdales appearing at Blue Jean Ball Sept. 10

Big Smith Band

Ozarks Medical Center 2September 2011

“We appreciate the community’s great support of the Blue Jean Ball and the OMC Foundation,” Morgan said. “We think this year’s entertainment, provided by Big Smith, will be a perfect fit for the Blue Jean Ball. We are also looking forward to welcoming our special guests, the Budweiser Clydesdales.”

Big Smith band includes five cousins: Mark and Jody Bilyeu, Bill and Rik Thomas, and Jay Williamson, and fiddle player Molly Healey, who have been performing professionally since 1996.

They are known for playing raucous acoustic music that captures the spirit of the Ozarks, equipped only with an acoustic guitar, mandolin, bass fiddle and washboard.

Admission tickets to the event are $50 and may be purchased at the OMC Foundation at 401 Washington Avenue.

The admission ticket includes food, drinks and entertainment. Sponsorships, which include benefits such as reserved seating in the “Sheriff’s Tent,” are available. There will also be a silent auction.

Proceeds from the event benefit the OMC Foundation, which uses the funds for projects such as newborn care, the OMC Foundation Endowment, Riverways Hospice, Heart Care Services and the OMC Cancer Treatment Center. For more information on tickets or sponsorships contact the OMC Foundation at 417-257-5700.

Budweiser Clydesdales will be special guests at the 2011 Blue Jean Ball. The OMC Foundation event begins at 6 p.m. Sept. 10 at Risner Stables in West Plains. Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at the OMC Foundation. Call 417-257-5700 for more information.

Blue Jean BallContinued from page 1 West Plains Bank and

Trust Company recently presented the Ozarks Medical Center Foundation with a $5,000 sponsorship for the Third Annual Blue Jean Ball. Pictured at Risner Stables are, from left, Bank President and CEO David M. Gohn, Foundation Director Robin Morgan and Bank Vice President /Senior Loan Officer Eric Judd.

West Plains Bank supports Blue Jean Ball

Ozarks Medical Center 3September 2011

Prostate Cancer ScreeningProstate Cancer Screening

Screenings are by appointment only and are being accepted now!

Beginning at 5 p.mThursday, September 8Ozarks Medical Center Cancer Treatment CenterShaw Medical Building 1111 Kentucky Ave.West Plains, Mo.

.

8 a.m. to 4 p.m. • Monday through FridayCall 417-257-5984 to make an appointment

A $306 value, this $10 exam includes a prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test and a prostate exam by a physician.

Only $10 per person

www.ozarksmedicalcenter.com

Cancer Treatment CenterOzarks Medical Center

The Right Care, Right Here

In this year alone, the American Cancer Society estimates that 240,890 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed and 33,720 men will die of the disease in 2011.

Because prostate cancer often develops and spreads with no symptoms, many men do not know they have the disease until it is in its later stages, making it the second leading cause of cancer death in men.

A simple yearly prostate exam can increase the chances of detecting the cancer while it is still at a curable stage.

OMC employees welcome to register for screening

Dr. Bruce to retire from Shannon County Clinic

Long-time local family care physician Dr. Joseph Bruce will retire from the Ozarks Medical Center Shannon County Medical Clinic on Sept. 1, 2011.

“It has been a great honor and privilege to provide medical care to this community over the past 32 years,” he said. “I appreciate the loyalty of all my patients and I value my relationships and friendships with them and their families.”

Catherine Pearson, APN, will continue to be a full-time provider at the clinic. Also, beginning in September, Druery Dixon, MD, will be taking appointments at the clinic.

Dr. Bruce and his wife, Jeri, first opened a practice at the clinic in 1981. In 1990, they sold the practice to OMC, and he continued as an OMC physician. His wife, Jeri, a native of the Winona area, died of cancer in 1994. Dr. Bruce continued with the clinic until 2003. He returned to the Shannon County Medical Clinic in 2008. Dr. Bruce received his medical education at the University of Yucatan in Merida, Mexico, and completed his internship at the Tucson Medical Center in Arizona.

Ozarks Medical Center 4September 2011

Husam Barakat, MD, Gastroenterologist Suranga Dharmaratne, MD, Hospitalist

Douglas Green, MD, Neurosurgeon

Vikas Kumar, MD, Neurologist Liana Makarian, MD, Hematologist/Oncologist

Husam A. Barakat, MD, Board Certified Gastroenterologist, has been in private practice for the past 10 years. Recently, he was with Midwest Gastroenterology in Lee's Summit. Prior to his experience there, Dr. Barakat practiced in St. Joseph, Missouri, and in New Jersey. Dr. Barakat received his degree in medicine and surgery from the Jordan University of Science and Technology in Irbid, Jordan. He completed a residency in internal medicine from Seton Hall University at Saint Michael's Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey, and a fellowship in gastroenterology from the University of Missouri – Kansas City.

OMC Digestive Health and Liver Specialist - 417-257-5834

Jerry D. Howard, MD, Radiologist

Ozarks Medical Center is pleased to welcome Radiologist Jerry D. Howard, MD, to the OMC Medical Staff. Dr. Howard joins Radiologist Dr. Rob Armstrong at OMC Imaging Services. Dr. Howard comes to OMC from University Hospital at the University of Missouri – Columbia. There, he completed an integrated internship and residency in diagnostic radiology. He received his Doctorate of Medicine from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine in Loma Linda, California. Dr. Howard is a member of the Radiological Society of North America.

OMC Imaging Services - 417-256-9111

Hematologist/ Oncologist Liana Makarian, MD, joins Hematologist/ Oncologist Dr. Charles Morgan in practice at the OMC Cancer Treatment Center. Dr. Makarian completed a fellowship in hematology and oncology from St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York and an internship in internal medicine from Columbia University. Dr. Makarian is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Board Eligible in Oncology and Hematology.

OMC Cancer Treatment Center - 417-257-5900

Neurologist Vikas Kumar, MD, joins Neurologist Dr. Clara Applegate at the OMC Neurosciences Center. Dr. Kumar was the Chief Resident in the Department of Neurology at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where he completed his internship in Neurology and pursued fellowship training in Clinical Neurophysiology. He also earned his PhD in Molecular Physiology and Biophysics from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Dr. Kumar received his medical doctorate from All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India.

OMC Neuroscience Center - 417-257-6777

OMC welcomes new physicians

OMC Hospitalist Team - 417-256-9111

Suranga Dharmaratne, MD, provides inpatient care at OMC in West Plains. Hospitalists assess and treat the patient’s acute medical condition, keep the patient’s primary physician informed of their progress and coordinate all aspects of the patient’s hospital care. Dr. Dharmaratne comes to OMC from the Metropolitan Hospital Center at New York Medical College. There, he completed a residency in internal medicine. He received his medical degree from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka and completed internships at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka with the University of Colombo.

OMC Surgical Specialists - 417-256-1774

Neurosurgeon Douglas Green, MD, has relocated his practice and is now a member of the medical team at Ozarks Medical Center Surgical Specialists Clinic. Dr. Green had been in private practice at Ozarks Neurosurgical Associates since 2003. Dr. Green is a native of West Plains. He earned his Bachelor in Science from what is now Missouri State University and his Medical Doctorate from the University of Missouri Columbia School of Medicine. He completed an internship in surgery from the University of Oklahoma at Tulsa and a residency in neurosurgery from the University of Kansas.

Suturing bananas, giving injections to oranges and blood type testing were all a part of the exciting and educational

M*A*S*H Camp experience that area high school students recently participated in at Ozarks Medical Center.

The two-day M*A*S*H Camp, which stands for Missouri AHEC Science and Health Camp, gave area high school students interested in health care careers a chance to receive hands-on “This camp is a great opportunity for students training. The camp was held Aug. 4 – 5 at OMC. who already have an interest in health care

careers to see if this field is right for them,” said The camp began with a discussion panel that Suzanne Smith, OMC Professional included presentations by area professionals Development / Service Excellence Coordinator.from a variety of health care fields.

“It also gives them a chance to learn about the This was followed by workshops that included health care professions that are needed in their instruction on how to perform CPR, give hometowns.”intramuscular injections, take vital signs and test for blood type, along with demonstrations and M*A*S*H Camp was a collaborative effort instruction on casting and splinting, and a between OMC, the Southeastern Missouri Area dissection project. On the second day of the Health Education Center (AHEC), and A.T. camp, participants job shadowed local health Stills University/Kirksville College of care professionals. Osteopathic Medicine.

Lexie Huddleston, daughter of Regena Brucker, patient registration manager, dissects a pig's heart.

Area students receive hands-on learning at 2-day health care camp

2011 MASH Camp students are pictured back row, from left, Ngozi Ekeke, Shelbie Roberts, JackLynn Williams, Andrew DeMuria, Samuel DeMuria and Abbie Conley. Front row, from left, Elizabeth Fine, Lexie Huddleston, Sabrina Seiber, Hannah Gazaway, Kayla Buttram and Jessica Cotter.

Ozarks Medical Center 5September 2011

School Athletic Physicals

Recently, 364 students received free school athletic physicals at a one-day clinic at Ozarks Medical Center. take advantage of free school athletic physicals at OMC. More than 150 students have also received school athletic physicals at outlying clinics. Pictured, Dr. Jeremy Reed examines student athlete Levi Callahan at the OMC physicals event on July 21. Dr. Reed is a sports medicine physician with the OMC Orthopaedic Clinic. Callahan, the son of John and Tina Callahan, is an eighth grade student at Fairview School.

Mountain Grove clinic extends hours

The OMC Mountain Grove Medical Complex has expanded its primary care hours and is now open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday for primary care services. The Mountain Grove Medical Complex is located at 1604 North Main Street in Mountain Grove. Primary care services are provided by Ron Hiemstra, MD, and Connie Armstrong, Family Nurse Practitioner.

Phone auto attendant feature added to OMC

OMC recently added an “Automated Attendant” feature to the OMC phone system. Auto attendant will allow the operators to manage all calls in an efficient and timely manner. The auto attendant performs call routing functions just as a live operator would do, and should eliminate busy signals.

Ozarks Medical Center 6September 2011

OMCNews is produced monthly by the OMC Public Relations Department. For information call extension 417-257-6737 or e-mail shandi.brinkman@ozarksmedicalcenter.com.

The FDA recently approved the use of Botox injections for patients suffering from chronic migraines and the Ozarks

Medical Center Neuroscience Center is leading the way by using this innovative new treatment to help improve the lives of migraine patients.

“I have been very impressed by the results of the Botox injections in the treatment of migraines,” said Clara Applegate, MD, a neurologist with the OMC Neuroscience Center. “Migraines can be debilitating and greatly interfere with a person’s quality of life and their ability to complete everyday tasks. It is wonderful to be able to offer this new effective treatment option to patients suffering from chronic migraines.”

A migraine is a type of headache characterized by severe throbbing pain in the head, often with sensitivity to light and sound or nausea. Dr. Applegate said new information shows that for some patients, Botox injections decrease the number of migraines they experience and the severity of their symptoms.

Harold Wilson, a patient of Dr. Applegate’s, had been suffering from migraines for more The Botox treatment is given in a series of small shots around the than a year. He had constant headaches that were not helped by forehead and neck. The treatment is generally repeated every three medications or pain relievers.

months. Wilson said he does not mind the continual treatments. “For the relief I am getting, I would come back every week,” he said.

“Before, I couldn’t do anything at all,” he said. “I couldn’t even go “I lived in pain for a long time with those headaches.”

outside because that aggravated my headaches even more.”

“Botox is the first ever FDA-approved treatment for headaches that After one session of Botox treatments, Wilson began to feel his

occur more than 14 days of the month and for more than four hours a pain decrease.

day,” Dr. Applegate said. “The World Health Organization equates chronic migraine with the paralysis of the limbs, as far as the degree of “It was the first relief I had from the headaches,” he said. “I’m so agony imposed by the condition.”grateful to have my life back. I've had 75 to 90 percent relief after

one treatment.”Dr. Applegate said side effects of Botox in the migraine studies include neck pain (for 9 percent of patients) and increased headache Wilson said he was surprised when Dr. Applegate first mentioned from the injections. During studies the Botox was well tolerated and the possibility of Botox treatments but after a year of almost daily the drop-out rate was close to that of the placebo, she added. Botox headaches he was willing to give it a try for the chance of pain treatments were FDA approved last fall for the treatment of chronic relief. Botox is most commonly known for its cosmetic migraine following a study of more than 1,000 adult migraine applications to reduce lines and wrinkles, but is also used to treat a sufferers.variety of neurologic conditions.

For more information about Botox treatment for migraines, contact the “I heard about (Botox) being used for a lot of other things, but OMC Neuroscience Center at 417-257-6777.never headache treatments,” Wilson said.

Botox used to relieve chronic migraine painOMC Neuroscience Center patient benefits from new treatment