Foothills Community Celebrates the Joining of USC and Verdugo Hills Hospital
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OCTOBER 11 • 2013 The Weekly theweekly.usc.edu PUBLISHED FOR THE USC HEALTH SCIENCES CAMPUS COMMUNITY VOLUME 19 • NUMBER 28 Foothills community celebrates the joining of USC and Verdugo Hills Hospital By Celine Petrossian expands access to specialty services Right: Debbie Walsh, More than 700 members of the that a world-class academic medical the recently appointed Foothills community joined the wide center can offer.” CEO of USC Verdugo array of cardinal-and-gold-themed Event participants also enjoyed a Hills Hospital, welcomes festivities at the USC Verdugo Hills visit by the USC Trojan Marching the Foothills community Hospital Wellness Celebration on Sept. Band and USC Song Girls, and to the USC Verdugo 28 on the USC-VHH campus. The had an opportunity to take photos Hills Hospital Wellness event celebrated the new affi liation of with Traveler, USC’s mascot. In Celebration. the two organizations. addition, the Radio Disney road crew “I’m terribly in favor of the new entertained children of all ages with Below: Hands-on partnership,” said Sunland resident games and prizes. cardiopulmonary Bob Pinkston, who attended the event Other exhibitors included the Keck resuscitation (CPR) with his wife Diane. “I love USC. Medical Center of USC, Glendale training for adults and Verdugo Hills has been a great hospital Healthy Kids, Glendale Police and children was among the and the association with USC is a step Fire Departments, and Crescenta many off erings for the up. All of my three children were born Valley Drug and Alcohol Prevention community at the Sept. at this hospital.” Coalition. 28 event. Photos/Paul Edward Robison Edward Photos/Paul From cholesterol and bone density Suzy Jacobs, executive director of screenings administered by the USC Crescenta Valley Drug and Alcohol School of Pharmacy students to Prevention Coalition, said the new balance and blood pressure screenings partnership between USC and provided by the USC-VHH clinical Verdugo Hills Hospital is great for staff, community members received the community. “The hospital was their health check-ups and met many already a great community resource, of the members of the Trojan Family. and now it’s even better,” she said. Car seat safety, hands-on CPR training The integration of Verdugo Hills and infection control methods were Hospital into Keck Medicine of also among the educational activities USC creates a unique opportunity offered at the event. for exceptional patient care in the Debbie Walsh, the new CEO of community through synergies USC-VHH, welcomed the crowd to the that enhance the strengths of both celebration. “This partnership provides organizations. Keck Medicine of USC everyone who lives in the Foothills includes the Keck Medical Center of community the same great services and USC, the USC Norris Comprehensive care from the physicians and staff you Cancer Center and the Keck School know and trust,” she said, “but also of Medicine of USC. Keck Medicine of USC opens diagnostic and Strengthening the community, treatment center for children with hearing loss one good neighbor at a time By Alison Trinidad The center builds on the Hearing loss among world-renowned clinical By Sara Reeve awarded in June 2013 to children is a major challenge and scientifi c expertise How many high school partnership programs for pediatricians and parents. of the Department of students voluntarily give up developed between the According to the National Otolaryngology-Head & many of their Saturdays just to university and local com- Information Center for Neck Surgery at Keck go to school? Every year, more munity organizations. Of ‘We wanted Children and Youth with Medicine of USC. than 185 Los Angeles students those 50, 23 grants went to Disabilities, children who “Research and clinical do just that, in the USC programs surrounding the to create a are hard of hearing often innovation go hand in Med-COR program, funded in Health Sciences Campus continuity of fi nd it much more diffi cult hand at the Keck School of part thanks to the USC Good community. to learn vocabulary, grammar Medicine,” said Carmen A. Neighbors Campaign. One of the programs to care for these and word order. Puliafi to, MD, MBA, dean USC’s staff , faculty and receive funding is the Med- children, ... where No single treatment is the of the Keck School. “We friends can pledge to help COR program. Originally answer, however. To offer are enthusiastic about the organizations that improve founded in 1970, Med-COR, audiologists could patients and their families opening of this new center.” the community by promot- which stands for Medical see patients comprehensive clinical The center is the result of ing better health and edu- Counseling Organizing and have access care backed by innovative the hard work and dedication cational opportunities in and Recruiting, works with research, Keck Medicine of of many departments the areas surrounding both high school students of to both clinical USC recently opened the university-wide, according to the Health Sciences and color to help prepare them and research USC Center for Childhood Coreen Rodgers, MBA, CPA, University Park Campuses. for careers in the health Communication on the chief operating offi cer of the The 2013 USC Good professions. resources.’ campus of John Tracy Clinic, Keck School of Medicine of Neighbors Campaign “The Med-COR program 806 W. Adams Blvd., in Los USC. “Coordination for the kicked off on Oct. 1 and exposes underrepresented Angeles. Pediatric audiology logistics of starting things runs through the end of minorities living in inner- —Coreen Rodgers, and speech pathology up in just 10 days’ time has the month. Begun in 1994, city communities of Los MBA, chief operating specialists began seeing been a massive task between the USC Good Neighbors Angeles to health profes- patients on Oct. 1. legal, USC Care, marketing, Campaign encourages USC sional careers and helps offi cer, Keck School The new center provides the audiologists and USC real faculty and staff to contrib- them become competitively of Medicine of USC audiology and speech estate,” she said. “We wanted ute a portion of their pay- eligible for admission to language pathology services to provide continuity of care checks to support programs top universities,” said Joyce to children with hearing loss for these children, setting up through grants from USC Richey, PhD, director of the from birth to adulthood, a location where audiologists Neighborhood Outreach USC Med-COR program. including access to national could see patients and have (UNO) and United Way. “The process of attaining clinical trials and state-of- access to both clinical and Fifty UNO grants were See NEIGHBOR, page 3 the-art rehabilitative care. See HEARING, page 2 OCTOBER 11 • 2013 HEARING: New center provides comprehensive clinical, research resources Continued from Page 1 Tracy Clinic (JTC), which was founded in 1943 The USC Center for Childhood Communication research resources targeted for a pediatric population.” and is a leading diagnostic and education center for is the latest addition to the Department of Fully staffed by USC faculty, the center is able to young children with hearing loss in the world. John Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, which test the degree and type of hearing loss a child may Tracy Clinic’s integrated services include pediatric recently recruited four physicians specializing have; fit assistive devices such as hearing aids, bone audiology, community hearing screening, parent-infant in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders that conduction devices and cochlear implants; and assess programming, an auditory-verbal preschool, counseling affect hearing, balance, speech, swallowing, sleep listening and communication skill development. It and child development, parent distance education, and and facial function. The department is home also will participate in various National Institutes of an accredited master’s degree and credential program. to preeminent surgeons who have unparalleled Health-funded research projects that focus on hearing “Without the John Tracy Clinic, we could never experience in cochlear implantation — Niparko and speech development, in hopes of developing have gotten up and running so quickly,” said and Rick A. Friedman, MD, PhD, together innovative technologies and procedures for people Rodgers. “We’ve already seen patients at the JTC have performed nearly 2,000 cochlear implants with profound hearing loss. facilities, and we are now building a full audiology — including advanced surgical techniques and “With the right care, young children with hearing clinic on-site with four hearing booths, family therapy multidisciplinary approaches to rehabilitation. loss can achieve developmental, academic and social rooms and a second floor with offices for research “Keck Medicine of USC is growing its network outcomes commensurate with their hearing peers,” facilities and staff, all due to open Jan. 1, 2014.” and expanding its reach to meet the needs of the said John K. Niparko, MD, professor and chair of “We are pleased to have our two remarkable community at large,” said Tom Jackiewicz, MPH, the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck institutions under one roof,” added Gaston Kent, senior vice president and CEO of USC Health. “We are Surgery. “Our center fills a regional gap, integrating president and CEO of John Tracy Clinic. “Our pleased to have these hearing and speech specialists join research, clinical services and education to serve proximity will be a tremendous asset to children the Trojan Family. Their expertise and experience in families with special needs.” with hearing loss and we look forward to a long and clinical care and research will be invaluable in building a The center is located on the first floor of John collaborative relationship.” first-class center for patients with hearing loss.” Dermatologist discusses the science of cellular water at USC The Weekly NEWSMAKERS By Amy E. Hamaker Murad explained that his science of Hydration is vital for a well-functioning cellular water theory states that people go A Sept.