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1985-03 BUSM News & Notes: March 1985 no. 85

https://hdl.handle.net/2144/22078 Boston University News & Notes Boston University School of Medicine

March 1985 Issue #85

BUSM FORMS NEW AFFILIATIONS Joseph J. Vitale, Sc.D., M.D., associate dean WITH CHINA AND ISRAEL for international health and director of the BUSM Nutrition Education Program, recently spent several weeks in northern China to finalize an affiliation between the School of Medicine and several medical centers there. Vitale visited the medical schools and hospitals of participating medical centers in the provinces of Liaoning, Heilongjiang and Jilin.

In addition, an affiliation has been developed between the School of Medicine and the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem, Israel. Vitale, Dean Sandson, Ernest H. Blaustein, Ph.D., associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and Leonard S. Gottlieb, M.D., a professor and chairman of the Department of Pathology, participated in the ceremony establishing the affiliation held at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Both affiliations will allow an exchange of students and faculty, and will promote the joint sponsorship of continuing medical education conferences and research activities. The exchange programs are similar to ones already in place between BUSM and medical schools in Egypt, Columbia (South America), Ireland, and Mexico.

LOWN TO SPEAK ON NUCLEAR Bernard Lown, M.D., president of MENACE AT ALUMNI MEETING International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and founder and first president of Physicians for Social Responsibility, will be the keynote speaker at the BUSM Alumni Association's annual meeting and banquet to be held May 11 at the 57 Park Plaza Hotel. According to S. Donald Kaufman '60, president of the Alumni Association, Lown will speak on "The Moral Imperative Confronting Physicians," a subject that has commanded his interest for many years. Lown currently is a professor of cardiology and director of the Cardiovascular Research Laboratory, Department of Nutrition, at Harvard School of Public Health.

The annual Alumni meeting and banquet is a highlight of Alumni Weekend, May 10 and 11, when BUSM alumni come together to celebrate their five-year reunions. Other activities on May 11, to which all BUSM alumni and faculty are invited, will include the presentation of scientific papers by members of the Class of 1960, followed by a luncheon in the Hiebert Lounge.

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BUSM RECEIVES BEQUEST FROM Boston University School of Medicine has ALUMNUS HAYES' ESTATE received a large bequest from the estate of John J. Hayes, M.D., Class of '32, to establish the John James Hayes and Olive Johnston Hayes Student Revolving Loan Fund, to be used primarily to finance the education of first- and second-year BUSM medical students. The Fund is one of the largest gifts made to the School of Medicine by an alumnus.

Hayes, 80, of Pound Ridge, N.Y., died on Jan. 15, 1985, following a long illness. Hayes completed his internship at Memorial Hospitals, now University Hospital, and was a resident in pathology at the University of California following his graduation from BUSM. Hayes also served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

CONN NAMED MEDICAL DIRECTOR Alasdair K. Conn, M.D., a recently appointed OF NEW ENGLAND LIFE FLIGHT associate professor of surgery at BUSM and trauma surgeon at University Hospital and Boston City Hospital, has been named medical and executive director of New England Life Flight, a new Boston-area emergency helicopter service. NELF is a joint project of University Hospital, Boston City Hospital, the Longwood Area Trauma Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Center of New England Medical Center.

New England Life Flight will be a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week service staffed by highly trained pilots, paramedics and critical-care nurses under Conn's direction. Prior to becoming medical director of NELF in January, Conn served as medical director of field operations of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medicine, considered to be a model trauma and emergency program for the country.

The jet-boosted helicopter will carry monitoring and other advanced life-support equipment, and will be used primarily to respond to the scenes of accidents inaccessible to ground ambulances because of traffic, bad weather or terrain. When not involved in emergency service, NELF will carry out inter-hospital transfer of patients in need of specialty care.

HOME MEDICAL SERVICE Over the next three years, the Home RECEIVES GRANT RENEWAL Medical Service of University Hospital, a required rotation for BUSM students, will use a $500,000 renewal grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to develop and implement a new data-based system to coordinate care for homebound elderly patients. Under the recent grant renewal, information obtained from standard medical histories and physical examinations, functional assessments and the patient's demography will be included in a comprehensive data base that can be used to determine the best overall treatment plan for a patient. The project is co-directed by R. Knight Steel, M.D., a BUSM professor of medicine and director of HMS; Anna Bissonnette, R.N., M.S., assistant director of HMS; and Alan Rosenfeld, Ph.D., director of regional services at UH.

Home Medical shares responsibility for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation project with the Visiting Nurse Association of Boston, the Laboure Visiting Nurse Service, the Southwest Boston Senior Services, Central Boston Elder Services, Resthaven Nursing Home, Jewish Memorial Hospital and Senior Home Care Services.

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GERIATRIC EVALUATION UNIT The Geriatric Evaluation Unit (GEU) of Boston RECEIVES $75,000 VA AWARD Veterans Administration Medical Center recently received an award for $75,000 a year, renewable indefinitely, from the VA's central office in Washington, D.C. The VA geriatric program began in 1983 and is an important part of BUSM and of BVAMC's department, which is headed by Robert Feldman, M.D., also a professor and chairman of the Department of Neurology at BUSM.

The program provides focused geriatric and gerontological training for physicians, nurses, social workers, therapists and psychologists. According to Janice E. Knoefel, M.D., GEU director and a BUSM instructor in neurology, the 1985 award will be used to increase the unit's professional staff, allowing it to serve more veterans needing comprehensive geriatric assessment and treatment.

The GEU uses an interdisciplinary team approach to treat veterans over age 60 who have problems related to , Parkinson's disease, walking, fainting, incontinence, poor nutrition, multiple drug usage, arthritis, osteoporosis or psychological conditions affecting their ability to live independently. Problems are identified through a comprehensive patient assessment by each team member. The resulting treatment, rehabilitation planning and resource mobilization helps patients function at a highly independent level, reduces hospitalizations and decreases the need for nursing home care.

BCH CENTER TO START SEXUAL- The Massachusetts Department of Social ABUSE TREATMENT PROGRAM Services recently awarded a contract for approximately $130,000 to the Family Development Center of Boston City Hospital to create a program for the diagnosis, evaluation and long-term treatment of families in which there has been sexual abuse of children. The program will be directed by Robert Reece, M.D., director of the Family Development Center and an associate professor of pediatrics and socio-medical sciences and community medicine at BUSM.

"All cases will be referred to us by the DSS after they have been deemed in need of treatment for the problem," Reece said. The Family Development Center will evaluate each case for the extent and type of maltreatment and for design of therapeutic programs, including long-term counseling.

In addition to Reece, the program staff includes Laurence Miller, M.D., an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and chief of psychiatry at BCH. The staff also will include a psychiatric nurse coordinator, a full-time psychiatric nurse or medical social worker, and a social worker. The program will be housed initially at the Pediatric Walk-in Clinic on Children's 2 and 3 at BCH.

SANDSON TO SPEAK AT Dean Sandson will moderate a seminar on MEDICAL ETHICS SEMINAR "Judaism and Contemporary Medicine: Confrontation or Accommodation?" at Temple Emeth in Chestnut Hill on March 24. Other speakers include Mitchell T. Rabkin, M.D., president of Beth Israel Hospital, and Rabbi David Feldman, Ph.D., chairman of the Committee on Medical Ethics of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies. The seminar follows a short service at 8:30 a.m. and breakfast at 9:15 a.m.

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RYAN ADDRESSES BYPASS SURGERY Boston University Today recently reported AND TRANSPLANT ISSUES Thomas Ryan, M.D., a BUSM professor of medicine and president of the American Association, as saying that more doctors today are choosing to treat patients with medications and new procedures, such as balloon angioplasty, rather than with coronary bypass surgery. Ryan attributed the change in part to the fact that a bypass is a "palliative rather than a curative procedure" and said that grafted veins may develop their own blockage problems.

While the number of bypass procedures being done continues to increase_^ with about 170,000 operations done in 1982, Ryan said, "there may be a plateauing of bypass surgery" since the rate of the increase has declined. The percentage of increase from the previous year was 20 percent and 16 percent in 1980 and 1981 respectively, and only 7 percent in 1982.

In addition, the Boston Globe reported Ryan to be among heart specialists discussing issues related to "Baby Fae" at an annual AHA seminar. According to the Globe, Ryan and Aldo R. Castaneda, M.D, of Children's Hospital in Boston, are opposed to another animal-to-human heart transplant until there is evidence that the recipient of the next transplant will live longer than Baby Fae. This argument bears particular weight in light of recent improvements in the survival rate of infants undergoing a new corrective operation to treat the hypoplastic left heart syndrome that afflicted "Baby Fae."

HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE HOOPATHON Basket-shooters or general helpers are SCHEDULED FOR APRIL welcome to participate in the fifth annual — barsketball Hoopathon, to be held April 11 and 12 at the Mental Health Center gym. The event is held annually to support efforts to cure Huntington's disease. May Long is coordinator for the event, which is sponsored by the Massachusetts Chapter of the Huntington's Disease Foundation of America.

Hoopathon events will run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 11, and from 3:30 to 9 p.m. on Friday, April 12. Participants shoot as many baskets as possible in a 15-minute free-throw event. All shooters receive free Miller Beer Hoopathon T-shirts. An autographed Celtics basketball will go to the top shooters and $25 gift certificates are awarded in other categories. To schedule shooting time or volunteer your services, contact Long at x5049.

CLEMMONS APPOINTED BUMC John Clemmons, M.B.A., was appointed safety SAFETY DIRECTOR director for the Medical Center in response to a "right-to-know" law that took effect in Massachusetts last fall. In compliance with the new statute, Clemmons is responsible for providing employees with safety information and appropriate training on the handling of hazardous substances used at BUMC. Clemmons, who holds a degree in civil engineering and is a certified safety professional, came to BUMC after 12 years as safety engineer at Harvard Medical School.

AUTHORS OF MEDICAL BOOKS Any faculty or staff member interested in FOR THE PUBLIC ARE SOUGHT writing a book for the general public on a medical or a health-related topic should contact Donald R. Giller, director of marketing and public affairs for BUMC,

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at x6659 (247-6659). Giller will put anyone interested in touch with an author's representative in New York.

BOOKSTORE CARRIES EXTENSIVE The Boston University Bookstore at the MEDICAL TEXTS, REFERENCES Charles River Campus now offers BUSM students, faculty and staff one of the largest selections of medical textbooks and reference materials in New England. The Bookstore's Medical Room offers 1,100 titles in 36 subject sections, ranging from anatomy to urology. Titles not in stock may be special-ordered and received within one to two weeks. Throughout the year, the Bookstore offers promotions on selected titles and clearance sales. Phone orders and credit cards are accepted. The Bookstore is open seven days a week and is located at Kenmore Square on the MBTA Green Line.

BUMC SHUTTLEBUS UPDATE FOR The BUMC shuttlebus runs weekdays from the BROADWAY STATION AND "C" LOT Goldman School of Graduate Dentistry (GSGD) and the UH main entrance on Evans Way to the MBTA Red Line at Broadway Station. Morning pickups begin at 6:30 a.m. with the last pickup from Broadway Station at 9:30 a.m. In the afternoon, the first bus leaves the Medical Center at 3:30 p.m. and makes its final run at 6:30 p.m. Riders may either purchase 10 tickets for $2 at the Cashier's Office in UH's Vose Hall or pay 25 cents on the bus. The "C" Lot shuttlebus follows the same schedule, with pickups on East Newton Street and making stops throughout the "C" lot.

CANCER RESEARCH ASSOCIATION "Update: Treatment of Leukemia and Lymphoma" LECTURE SLATED FOR APRIL will be the topic of an April 2 lecture sponsored by the Boston Cancer Research Association to be held at the Countway Library of Medicine in Boston. Herbert Z. Kupchik, Ph.D., an associate professor of microbiology and pathology, is president of the Association and is coordinator of the lecture series. The lecture will feature David Rosenthal, M.D., and Joseph Antin, M.D., both of Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women's Hospital. Category 1 CME credit towards the Physician's Recognition Award of the American Medical Association is available to those who attend. For more information, contact Kupchik at X5961 (247-5961).

APRIL CME COURSES FEATURE Several BUSM faculty will participate in a PEDIATRIC, PSYCHIATRY FACULTY program on "Current Clinical Pediatrics," to be sponsored by the Department of Pediatrics, April 15 through 19 at Sea Pines Plantation, Hilton Head Island, S.C. Stephen I. Pel ton, M.D., a BUSM associate professor of pediatrics, will be course director.

William I. Malamud, M.D., a BUSM professor of psychiatry and chairman of the Department of Social and Community Psychiatry at the Solomon Carter Fuller Mental Health Center, will be course director for "Family Therapy for the Health Professional," sponsored by the BUSM Division of Psychiatry and the Department of Social Service at UH. The program will be held April 15 through 18 at Sea Pines Plantation, Hilton Head Island, S.C, and will provide health practitioners with the latest information on family therapy. Several other BUSM, UH and SCFMHC staff will participate.

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BRIEFLY NOTED William P. Castelli, M.D., an adjunct associate professor of medicine and director of the Boston University/, appeared on WNEV-TV's "Weekend with Dave Finnegan" March 3. He discussed the research with some Framingham, Mass., residents participating in the study....Christian C. Haudenschild, M.D., a professor of pathology, recently lectured on "Preservation of Endothelium in Vascular Grafts" and "Endothelial Cell Motility and Permeability" at the University of Basel, Switzerland, and at the Institute di Anatomia e Istologia Patalogica, University of Siena, Italy....In an essay called "...But It Was Worse in 1784" published in a recent issue of American Heritage magazine, J. Worth Estes, M.D., a professor of pharmacology and associate professor of socio-medical sciences and community medicine, discussed drug treatments of 200 years ago....Charles E. Fiske, associate director of rehabilitation services at the Solomon Carter Fuller Mental Health Center, was featured on the ABC News program "Viewpoint" Feb. 7. The program examined the unique role of the media in reporting medical events and reviewed high-profile medical cases with a panel of medical and media experts. Fiske also recently participated in a conference on medical technology and ethics held in Cherry Hill, N.J. Fiske was a member of the panel on "Ethical Dilemmas in Allocating New Technology: Who Decides?" and spoke about the role of the health-care user as an active participant in the health-care process.

NEWS & NOTES is a monthly publication of the Office of Informational Services. Tf you have news of interest to the BUSM community, call editor Caroline Lupfer at x5606 (247-5606), or write to her at the Office of Informational Services, DOB-600 (720 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02118). Marge Dwyer is managing editor.

S CWS & Votes Nonprofit Organization U.S. POSTAGE c^r'^'J^rT''^ Boston^ Mass. School of Medicine PERMIT NO. 56031 Office of Informational Services 720 Harrison Ave., Suite 600 Boston, MA 02118

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