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A Year in Review CLINICAL A new surgical treatment for tremor—an involuntary rhythmic shaking of the limbs—is now being performed at MUSC. During the procedure, called deep brain stimulation (DBS), in which a thin, insulated wire or deep brain electrode is inserted into a very specific area of the thalamus that is responsible for the tremor. When small electrical impulses are passed through the wire, the abnormal brain signals are blocked and the tremor stops, indicating that the wire is in the proper location within the brain. Deep brain stimulation is primarily used in patients with essential tremor—the most common movement disorder in the United States—and in patients with Parkinson’s disease in whom the tremor is the most predominant and disabling symptom. Full story Once again, the voice of Lowcountry consumers has spoken, praising MUSC as their most preferred hospital and winning the 2000 Consumer Choice Award by the National Research Corporation (NRC). This is the third consecutive year that MUSC has earned this distinguished honor. At right,  W. Stuart Smith, vice president for clinical operations and executive director, MUSC Medical Center, displays the Consumer Choice Award. Full story For the fourth straight year, US News & World Report has ranked gastroenterology at MUSC among the best in the nation. This year, MUSC advanced from 32nd to 26th best hospital in the nation in gastroenterology. This is the sixth straight year MUSC has been included in the annual rankings of 17 specialties. Full story MUSC’s medical transport service, MEDUCARE, has met the strict standards required for accreditation and joined the ranks of 77 other accredited transport programs across the nation.  “The Commission for Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) sets the standards of medical transport based on personnel, safety and patient care protocols,” said Karen Driggers, MEDUCARE program director. “We put ourselves against those standards and met them.” Full story RESEARCH MUSC’s Division of Developmental Pediatrics is $300,000 richer thanks to the award of a three-year federal grant from the Department of Education. It will support Lowcountry parents and individuals with disabilities. The federal grant is one of three awarded nationally by the Department of Education. Full story If there’s a biomedical research heaven, you could listen to Dennis Watson, Ph.D., and Nabil Bissada, M.D., and believe they’ve found it. On earth, in Mansoura, Egypt. It’s where the latest equipment and lab space is available, where the time-consuming data collection has already been done, and where a predictable, early onset cancer cows the local population. It’s where the adventure of investigation and discovery into the uncharted mechanisms of human cells can thrive without many of the space-equipment-money limitations that dog scientists in academic medical centers like MUSC. Full story An intensive, five-year study of cancer incidence among residents of 22 counties along both sides of the Savannah River has found no surprises, but underscores the need to identify and prevent two specific cancers (esophageal and cervical) far too common in African American men and women. “We compared the region’s cancer rates with other parts of the country with regards to risks from radiological and hazardous materials,” said MUSC epidemiologist Dan Lackland, Dr.PH.  With the support of a $12.6 million, five-year grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA),  MUSC joins Yale University, Johns Hopkins University and several other leading institutions in an effort to bring rapidly moving promising science-based drug addiction treatments into community settings.  PUBLIC SAFETY MUSC employees and students are in the process of updating employee identification badges for a more convenient-sized universal identification card currently  being issued by the Department of Public Safety. The business-sized card will allow employees to access buildings and secured areas, manage timekeeping and payroll and perform library services. Lead-footed motorists, beware! Public Safety’s newest “employee” is watching, monitoring and most of all, showing you how fast you’re going. At left, is the speed monitor. PATIENTS Happy Wheels is a program to circulate a stocked cart of new toys and books for Children’s Hospital patients to select from. The program allows a child to choose an item from a cart—divided into four shelves: up to 3 years old; 4 to 6 years old; 7 to 11 years old; 12 years old and above. At right, stem cell transplant recipient Taylor Wilson and her mother Tammy select a game from the Happy Wheels cart while project coordinator Larissa Allison looks on. Full story Clinicians in Pediatric Cardiology have high hopes for a desperately sick premature newborn, just the kind of infant the telemedicine project of MUSC’s Children’s Heart Program of South Carolina was designed to care for. Weighing less than two pounds and his twin brother having already died, the tiny preemie clung to life as MUSC pediatric cardiologist Girish Shirali, M.D., directed the performance of an echocardiogram by a technologist at Self. The images, transmitted from Greenwood to Charleston, allowed Shirali to peer into those tiny heart chambers and discover a vessel in the heart that hadn’t closed at birth. The baby was flown to MUSC Monday, May 1, underwent a delicate, lifesaving heart operation in the Neonatal ICU on Wednesday and returned to Self Memorial Hospital in Greenwood on Friday with a far better chance of survival, said Andrew Atz, M.D. Full story Looks can be deceiving. Especially when it comes to patients and their true feelings as they deal with the effects of cancer in their life. But at MUSC, men and women have a new way to cope with their specific needs, which ultimately improves their self-esteem and overall daily outlook to life. Earlier this month, Hollings Cancer Center opened the shiny, glass doors to a new facility designed to help patients cope with the life-changing effects of cancer through The Looking Glass at Hollings Cancer Center. Full story Don’t be surprised if your pharmacist asks you to come back next week, even if your prescription won’t need a refill until next month. It’s a trend that may soon be the norm as pharmacists team up with other health care providers to monitor their patients’ progress, evaluate treatment effectiveness and teach patients how to administer their medications. Community pharmacists becoming a part of this trend were at the MUSC College of Pharmacy for two days in January and another weekend session in February to learn how they can assist their customers with their respiratory disease management regimens. Full story MUSC’s Hollings Cancer Center and the American Cancer Society have teamed up to provide Lowcountry area patients, amilies and friends with the latest cancer coping strategies and information through a new health education program entitled, “I Can Cope.”  EDUCATION One area of restorative dentistry that’s hot and in demand is dental implants. Determined to assure that its students are provided with the most up-to-date information, MUSC’s College of Dental Medicine is stepping up its training of young dentists in this field. No longer experimental, dental implants have edged ahead as a preferred option for people needing to replace missing teeth. Thanks to industry improvements and scientific study over many years, dental implants have proven to be very successful.  This year’s Thomas A. Pitts Memorial Lectureship, Issues in Medical Ethics, takes an informative look at who has the power to make health care decisions, particularly in the context of the rapidly changing terrain of medical information and access of information. At left photo, in a world of medical information, easy access raises a world of ethical questions. Full story Randolph D. Smoak Jr., M.D., an MUSC alumnus and president-elect of the American Medical Association (AMA), addressed the graduating class of 2000 at the university’s 171st Commencement May 19. Full story The College of Pharmacy made U.S. News & World Report's rankings of “America’s Best Colleges 2001,” coming in at No. 22 in the nation. Science is doing—discovering new information, not observing, said MUSC physiologist George Tempel, Ph.D. It’s doing science that fuels enthusiasm in the young ninth and tenth graders who gather each summer at Coker College in Lander for the S.C. Governor's School for Science and Math Summer Science Program. FACULTY Elsie Taber, Ph.D., 85, professor emeritus of anatomy at MUSC and among the major contributors to the emergence of the Medical College into a major health science center, died Sept. 5 at the Bishop Gadsden Retirement Community. Full story MUSC lost a highly valued colleague and friend Friday, Oct. 27, with the death of its director of cardiology, Michael E. Assey, M.D. Full story Isaac “Ted” Stevens Halstead Metcalf, Ph.D., MUSC professor emeritus of anatomy, died Nov. 29. He was 88. Full story CLINICAL OUTREACH The 13th Annual Carolina Children’s Charity walk-a-thon, also known as the Strut, netted more than $35,000 to help Lowcountry children with birth defects and disabling diseases. MUSC will direct a multi-center clinical trial on a drug promising to relieve symptoms and halt the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). Medical University basic researchers have already shown the efficacy of a class of drugs known as “statins” in reducing brain-damaging inflammation in cell culture and experimental animals.  After several months of negotiation, the MUSC Family Medicine Residency Program officially became the Trident Family Medicine Residency Program this September. The transfer in administration of the family medicine residency to Trident represented another step in the collaboration between MUSC and other health care providers in the community.  Here’s another mile marker on the road to a changing health care system: It’s Kerr Drug’s Enhanced Pharmaceutical Care Center on Highway 17 in Mount Pleasant. In collaboration with the MUSC College of Pharmacy, Kerr Drug Stores have expanded the role of the neighborhood pharmacist from dispensing and labeling pills to include disease management and health screening. At left, blood pressure checks are among the pharmacy services. SCRIPT's day trip to legendary Daufuskie Island off of South Carolina’s coast marked a defining point in the education of several dozen health care students who were miles away from home and familiar classroom surroundings. Its intent was to introduce basic health care through real-life experiences and interaction with people. Its results helped to teach a modern generation the values of multiple rural cultures and its impact on communities located around coastal South Carolina.  What do an ear surgeon, a pediatric cardiologist, an internist, a pathologist and a nursing professor have in common? All are MUSC-related specialists and caregivers who have found time in their busy schedules to lend their expertise and compassionate efforts to improve lives of people through organized medical mission trips to the Dominican Republic. At left, a member of the Heart Care International team checks a young patient. It was exactly what the American Academy of Physician Assistants and the Association of Physician Assistant Programs had in mind when they visualized Project Access: a group of high school students interested in a health care career gathered around learning what it’s really like to be a health professional. When Ukeme J. Usanga, an assistant professor in the College of Health Professions’ Physician Assistant program, visited Summerville High School in early March, she took along printed information and a video.  CAMPUS It had been in the works for more than a year. The Office of Enrollment Services moved into a new location at 41 Bee Street. Known as the Vince Moseley Building, this new location allows the office to feature one of its newest services: the Visitor Information and Campus Tour Center. The Student Wellness Center replaced the old with new technology as it relates to security and access. Club members have done away with their 20th century magnetic strip access cards for the simple use of their right hand, at left. The result is secured access for more than 7,000 members who use the campus’ popular health and fitness facilities. Full story  To develop culinary skills and to become acquainted with chefs, MUSC’s dietetic interns work in the food labs of Johnson and Wales University, Charleston campus. Culinary skills are essential for registered dietitians. During the experience at Johnson and Wales, the interns change recipes to make them healthier and tastier. UNIVERSITY The MUSC mission “to preserve and optimize human life in South Carolina” was displayed for S.C. Gov. Jim Hodges during his tour of the campus Feb. 4. But it was the presentation of university and medical center goals, concerns and accomplishments during a tightly packed hour and 15 minutes in the president’s board room that likely fixed this academic medical center’s reach for excellence in his mind. Full story In his installation speech March 30, Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D., pledged to place the interest of South Carolinians above all else. On May 18, the MUSC Board of Trustees approved a comprehensive four-year plan to overhaul the parking rates charged by the university to staff, students, patients, and visitors. The rates will enable the university to work towards filling an identified 3,000 parking space deficit.  To align its human resource practices to support the Medical Center’s values and priorities, a recently approved Medical University Hospital Authority, has revised its paid-time-off (PTO) and grievance procedures. The PTO plan was rolled out Tuesday, April 25. Full story TECHNOLOGY He calls it lean and mean, but Geoff Freeman’s Education Technology Services offers a simpler, friendlier way for faculty members to access equipment and technical help in presenting their coursework and lectures. Education Technology Services is a consolidation of MUSC’s Television Services, Audio-Visual Classroom Support and Distance Education, now placed organizationally under the aegis of the Provost’s Office.  The medical record has taken on a new meaning for the Hollings Cancer Center and Hematology/Oncology staff and physicians. In June, OmniVision, the Document Imaging System application from LanVision, was rolled out to the Hollings and Hem/Onc pilot areas. The Document Imaging System, a component of MUSC’s electronic medical record project, EMERALD, has been several years in the making.  The advent of Practice Partner Patient Records has helped make playing the “who’s got the chart?” game much less common in some of MUSC’s outpatient clinics. Practice Partner is an office-based electronic medical record from Physician Micro Systems Inc. that’s being used in a number of clinics within University Medical Associates, including Adult and  Pediatric Primary Care, Pediatric GI, Pediatric Developmental, Pediatric Endocrinology, Carolina Family Care, University Diagnostic Center and Family Medicine. At left, Neurology's Dr. Stephen Haines, right, demonstrates a new, efficient software program called Practice Partner. Full story MUSC will begin offering a simple screening test to predict an individual’s risk of heart attack or other coronary events. The test, known as cardiac scoring, uses an ultrafast CT Scan to quantify calcium deposits in the coronary artery.