MUSC Catalyst

December 16, 2011 MEDICAL UNIVERSITY of SOUTH CAROLINA Vol. 30, No. 18

Fairy Tale Magic

See Magic on page 8

13

3Enhancing

coMMunication

MUSC was thesite for the first

scientific meetingfor autism

researchers inthe state.

Epic systemwill replace

PracticePartner toimprove

quality ofpatient care.

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159 Fairy tales sometimes still do happen. Four-

year-old Brianna Causey got to find that outDec. 9 at the MUSC Holiday Parade.

Experiencing a pageantry fit for a princess,Brianna navigated hospital hallways in her light-up slippers to meet up with Cinderella and catcha carriage ride in the parade.

Her grandmother, Nancy Moore, held her pinkprincess blanket and watched from the sidelines.She said she was overwhelmed by the outpouringof support for her family. Her husband, Jeff, isbeing treated at Hollings Cancer Center for renalcell carcinoma and her daughter, Tiffany Causey,

28, has leukemia and underwent a bonemarrow transplant Aug. 18.

“She did great at first and then all of asudden, she took a turn for the worse.” Herdaughter wanted to take Brianna to DisneyWorld because she’s all into the princess stuff,but she’s not up for the trip. When Tiffany’snurse learned of Brianna’s interest, she passed italong to the hospital’s Angel Tree board.

It started a magical cascade of support.MUSC employee Lori Stivers in Ambulatory

Care read the email, and knew what she had todo. Stivers lost her mother at age 5 and still canremember the wonderful things that people did

By Dawn Brazell

Public Relations

Employees, Lori Stivers and CindyKramer, right, enjoy the magic.

Cinderella presentsBrianna Causey with ayellow rose before theytake their carriage ride.

2 The caTalysT, December 16, 2011

Moderator for the panel discussion on successful community-basedprograms for sustaining and strenthening health communities, Dr. SabraSlaughter, second from left, listens while Dr. Thomas Ellison, speaks Dec.2 at the National Conference on Health Disparities. Right of Slaughter isDrs. Windsor Sherrill and LaVerne Ragster.

Every person deserves to be as healthyas possible. Unfortunately, not everyperson has this opportunity. Wherepeople live, how much money theymake, personal behaviors and ethnicityimpact individual health beyond theusual focus on access to care or geneticpredispositions.Through the continued efforts of a

group of medical and policy experts, TheFifth Annual National Conference onHealth Disparities provided participantswith a forum to discuss systematicand evidence-based ways to addressworse health outcomes for disparatecommunities across the country.

The conference was held at theCharleston Marriott Hotel from Nov. 30through Dec. 3.

Participants focused on ways to targetdisparities through policies and programswhich address social determinants.Those disadvantages include lack ofinsurance coverage or financial resources;legal barriers, structural barriers (ex:transportation), scarcity of providers;lack of health literacy, age; and lack ofhealth care workforce diversity.

“If we are serious about reducinghealth disparities, then we must focus onand address these social determinants,”said David Rivers, conference organizerand MUSC public information andoutreach director.

On Dec. 1, U.S. Health and HumanServices Secretary Kathleen Sebeliusaddressed members of the media tohighlight the conference and toutthe gains made regarding healthdisparities. “Since President Obamatook office, we’ve undertaken the mostcomprehensive federal agenda to reducehealth disparities in history. One ofthe ways we have done so is throughthe passage of the Affordable Care Act(ACT), which is the most powerful lawfor reducing health disparities sinceMedicare and Medicaid,” she said.

Conference attendees not onlydiscussed the implications of ACT,but highlighted programs throughoutthe country that are working to reducebarriers to care for minority populations,and thus having an impact on disparitiesin those areas. MUSC played a largerole in providing those examples, as partof the university’s mission is dedicatedto the reduction of disparities plaguingSouth Carolina.

Congressman Jim Clyburn was eagerto welcome the conference back toCharleston. “South Carolina and MUSC

are a real epicenter in the fight to reducehealth disparities, and are makingreal progress through the biomedicalengineering and pharmaceutical researchtaking place in the university’s new state-of-the-art facilities,” he said. “Investing inthe technology and research of tomorrowwill make significant strides in closingthe gaps in our health care deliverysystem.”

By collaborating with their colleaguesfrom throughout the country on thesame mission to eliminate those barriersaffecting minority populations and theirhealth care, MUSC experts continuetheir front-runner status in tackling thecomplex issues surrounding disparities inSouth Carolina.

Citing the long-standing history ofhealth disparities in South Carolina,MUSC President Ray Greenberg,M.D., Ph.D., stated the university’sresponsibility to reducing andeliminating those gaps.

“Through telemedicine, our doctorsare reaching out into rural communitiesto provide specialty care that is otherwisenot available to them. We are workingon new ways to help educate the publicabout health issues and to promotehealthy lifestyles, and we are conductingresearch to better understand the causesof health disparities and how they maybe eliminated.”

Health disparities experts tackle pressing questions

Providing a multidisciplinary focus and a higher levelof quality patient care are some of the changes that willbe the result of MUSC moving forward in embracingthe patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model.

In early November, MUSC’s Division of GeneralInternal Medicine and Geriatrics achieved thehighest recognition (Level 3) as a Physician PracticeConnections PCMH from the National Center forQuality Assurance (NCQA).

This is the second MUSC program to receive theNCQA Level 3 designation as a PCMH rating. MUSCDepartment of Family Medicine received this rating lastspring.

Bill Moran, M.D., General Internal Medicine andGeriatrics division director, said that the team-basedmodel will allow practitioners to spend more time

helping patients understand their disease and thedisease process, plus incorporate preventive services thatwill maximize a patient’s overall health outcomes.

“This will be a constantly changing process that willimprove how our patients receive medical care andmove through our clinics.”

The division committed to the PCMH concept inMay. Moran credits a group of specialists and staffinvolved in this effort including Kim Davis, M.D., clinicdirector; Tamela Sill, R.N., nursing director; LauraFulk, program manager; and Justin Marsden, programassistant.

The NCQA is a private, non-profit organizationdedicated to improving health care quality. The NCQA-PCMH standards were established to help cliniciansand practices support the delivery of quality health care.

General internal medicine recognizedas patient-center medical home

The CatalystEditorial of ficeMUSC Office of Public Relations135 Cannon Street, Suite 403C, Charleston, SC 29425843-792-4107Fax: 843-792-6723

Editor: Kim [email protected]

Catalyst staff:Cindy Abole, [email protected]; Dawn Brazell, [email protected]

The Catalyst is published once a week. Paidadver tisements, which do not represent anendorsement by MUSC or the State of SouthCarolina, are handled by Island Publications Inc. ,Moultrie News, 134 Columbus St. , Charleston,S.C., 843-849-1778 or [email protected].

The caTalysT, December 16, 2011 3

By cinDy aBole

Public Relations

There’s a change in the air that MUSC expects willimprove clinical services and enhance patient care.

By spring, MUSC clinicians and staff will be usinga new electronic medical record (EMR) system thatprovides more comprehensive and efficient tools tobetter manage patients’ care. This Ambulatory EMR isexpected to heighten the delivery of quality patient care,safety and improve clinical research.

On March 22, MUSC will launch the EpicAmbulatory EMR as a replacement to the currentsystem, Practice Partner.

MUSC Vice President for Medical Affairs andCollege of Medicine Dean Etta D. Pisano, M.D., statesthat the implementation of Epic is critical for MUSC’sclinical enterprise. The project’s implementation isbeing managed by the college’s new chief medicalinformation officer, Bob Warren, M.D., professor ofpediatrics, and by leadership from MUSC medicalcenter, Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO)and University Medical Associates (UMA).

Pisano said the new system will provide manychanges. It will help improve quality of care andpatient safety, efficiency and effectiveness and patient

New EMR system to enhance best patient care

communication and engagement. “It will enrichclinical research by standardizing patient data collectionand analysis and help us meet ‘meaningful use’requirements.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Actof 2009 describes meaningful use as health careorganizations that embrace the use of electronic healthrecords (EHR) and related technology to manage andmeasure a patient’s health care.

Epic will begin in five pilot clinics — UniversityInternal Medicine, Pediatric Cardiology, Carolina

Family Care Practice (Two Island Court, MountPleasant), Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and EastCooper OB/GYN in late March. All other usersof Practice Partner will switch to Epic May 17. It isexpected to affect as many as 5,000 users.

Many academic medical centers and hospitals acrossthe country are making the switch in their currentclinical software and information technology systems.More than 260 academic and health care systems areusing Epic’s health information technology. Accordingto Kim Davis, M.D., co-chair of the committee and oneof the physician champions, about 35 to 40 percent ofthe U.S. population is in an Epic system nationwide.

In mid-February, MUSC and UMA signed a contractwith Epic Systems Corporation to acquire EpicAmbulatory software.

A 21-member multidisciplinary Ambulatory EMRImplementation Oversight Committee was formed inApril to manage the changes. This work group, whichconsists of MUSC and Epic Systems Corporationliaisons, has met regularly to plan the conversion.

The project is supported by meaningful use fundingto eligible professionals and hospitals that adopt orupgrade to EHR technology. These stimulus funds,which are intended to support EMR implementation,

See elecTronic on page 14

Members of the nine-person Epic ProjectManagement Team include UMA’s MikeBalassone, from left; co-project director; Dr.Bob Warren, chief medical information officer;and Dave Northrup, OCIO, co-project director.

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A collaboration between two colleges at MUSChas delivered a significant return as the institutionwas awarded a $10.5 million research grant from theNational Institutes of Health (NIH). Funding for theCenter of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE)in oxidants, redox balance and stress signaling began inSeptember and the project period runs through August2016.

COBRE’s primary functions will be to develop orrecruit faculty and to build up essential research cores,creating a center of specialization in redox biologyand stress signaling that creates jobs, draws potentialentrepreneurial investment and brings nationalprominence.

The grant, the first major inter-collegiate grant of itskind at MUSC, is a joint effort between the Collegeof Medicine and the South Carolina College ofPharmacy (SCCP) that splits equally all costs, creditsand administration. The highly-unusual arrangementinvolves a cluster of five projects and four cores with fiveestablished scientists from six academic disciplines, withproject directors from two different departments in twocolleges.

“The principal investigators were highly creative indeveloping a proposal that leverages multiple resourcesto advance the research as efficiently and expedientlyas possible,” said Joseph T. DiPiro, PharmD, SCCP

executive dean. “This grant will go a long way to help ussupport and train the best junior faculty members andprovide them with excellent research equipment.”

The principal investigator (PI) is Kenneth Tew,Ph.D., D.Sc., professor and chair of the Departmentof Pharmacology in the College of Medicine; the co-PIis Rick Schnellmann, Ph.D., professor and chair ofthe Department of Pharmaceutical and BiomedicalSciences in SCCP.

“This award adds over $2 million of annual funding,helping to expand the ever increasing funding basefor the university and creating a substantial numberof support jobs for the Charleston area,” said Tew,the John C. West Endowed Chair in Cancer Researchat MUSC’s Hollings Cancer Center. “Moreover, therecruitment of talented academic investigators fulfillspart of the mandate of the SmartState initiative andbrings additional opportunities to garner furtherfunding and extend efforts into possible entrepreneurialendeavors.”

COBRE will establish independent careers for at leastfive junior investigators and assist in the recruitmentof up to six additional investigators with expertise inthe area. The grant permits recruitment of junior,unfunded investigators and provides them an idealizedenvironment to succeed in the early stages of careerdevelopment. As they secure their own funding, they

rotate off and other new investigators can rotate on.The grant’s scientific focus is researching oxidative

stress signaling. Oxidants and the resulting stresssignaling promote diverse responses including cellinjury, death, survival and carcinogenesis (creation ofcancer). Oxidative stress can result in acute and chronicdiseases of the cardiovascular and nervous systems,diabetes, cancer and aging.

“Redox biology and stress signaling are relevant tomany diseases,” Schnellmann said. “If you use oxygen,you create oxidants, and they can be harmful. We wantto discover how oxidants cause problems and how tostop initiation or progression of disease. This researchbridges the divide between basic and applied research.COBRE gives us the opportunity to develop the fieldof oxidative stress signaling and apply it to the study ofimportant causes and potential cures.”

Funding will also go to develop and expand essentialresearch cores (proteomics, metabolomics and confocalmicrsocopy/imaging) that will be of critical use not onlyto COBRE investigators but to many others’ areas ofresearch.

“Since the grant is not restricted to particular diseasesites, a confluence of researchers may study cancer,diabetes and other diseases that have a heavy impact onSouth Carolinians,” Tew said.

For information, visit http://cba.musc.edu/COBRE.

MUSC lands $10.5 million research grant from NIH

Every Wednesday evening, eight to 10medical students volunteer at the CrisisMinistries’ Homeless Health Clinic totreat patients with a variety of illnesses,such as sore throats and ear infections.

According to Grace LeSueur,Touchpoint Communications, studentsare not required to volunteer, butenjoy the experience that a free clinicprovides.

Crisis Ministries, South Carolina’slargest homeless shelter, conducts morethan 1,700 visits at the clinic annuallyand focuses on prevention and long-term solutions. In addition to studentvolunteers, a Volunteer PhysiciansProgram was established in 2008 toprovide primary and speciality careonsite by using retired and practicingphysicians once a month.

Crisis Ministries broke ground on

a new, 28,000-square-foot facility inOctober, which will expand servicesand increase the number of guestsserved. The new shelter is being builtadjacent to the existing shelter complex,with completion expected in 18 to 24months. The facility will feature a healthclinic with exam rooms, a dental roomand nurses’ station.

Students or physicians interestedin volunteering may contact StephenCarek ([email protected]) or CaseyHolmes ([email protected]).

Medical personnel who wishto volunteer may contactSelena Wilson at [email protected] (723-9477x113) and general volunteers maycontact Bradford Cashman [email protected] 723-9477 x124).

Ted James (left), a third-year student in the College of Medicine(COM), and Andrew Seymore, a COM first-year student, treat a patientat Crisis Ministries's Homeless Health Clinic.

Med students, physiciansneeded at homeless shelter


Meet Irfan

Irfan RhemtullaCollegeCollege of Medicine, third-year studentLast book read“Outliers” by Malcolm GladwellUnique talentI disc jockey part time and have played atseveral venues around town.Dream jobTo take over for Dr. Sanjay Gupta as themedical correspondent for CNN. If thatdoesn’t work out, then I would love to ownthe world’s largest funnel cake factory.Favorite restaurantAnywhere that serves Thai foodFavorite place in the worldHuddled under my covers when it’schilly...best feeling in the worldBest thing about living in CharlestonI get to bike everywhere.Dream vacationExploring Banff (Alberta, Canada)Favorite quote“I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000ways that won’t work.” — Thomas EdisonMust-haves in the pantryCheez-Its and OreosMeal you love to cookFajitas

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With all of the acronymsfloating around, it maysometimes seem like they’renothing but the result ofa spilled bowl of alphabetsoup.

The acronyms in themedical and professionalworld can be particularlyconfusing as it seems as ifevery medical conditionand professional organization has itsown unique acronyms that frequentlyoverlap with one another. There is anactual rhyme and reason behind theseacronyms, however, and they often helpto explain an organization’s mission andbackground.

The American Dietetic Association(ADA), is one such organization. ADAis the largest worldwide organizationrepresenting food and nutritionprofessionals, such as registered dietitians(RDs), dietetic technicians, registered(DTRs), dietetic students, educators, andinternational members. ADA managesthe educational training of RD eligiblestudents through a subsidiary calledthe Commission on Accreditation forDietetics Education (CADE).

The basis for ADA’s founding in 1917was inspired by the commitment tohealthfully feed the troops in World WarI. It then evolved into “improving thenation’s health and advancing the fieldof dietetics through research, education,and advocacy” and that commitmentstill exists. According to http://www.eatright.org, the vision statement is:“Optimizing the nation’s health throughfood and nutrition.” However, much

of the public is stillunclear on what the term“dietetics” encompasses,along with the lack of theword nutrition. Hence,ADA has recognized thisproblem and responded ina noteworthy way.

Effective Jan. 1, theADA will become theAcademy of Nutrition and

Dietetics, or AND. ADA President SylviaA. Escott-Stump, RD, announced thename change to members in September:“An academy is a ‘society of learnedpersons organized to advance science.’... By adding nutrition to our name, wecommunicate our capacity for translatingnutrition science into healthier lifestylesfor everyone. Keeping dietetics supportsour history as a food and sciencebased profession. ... The name changecommunicates that we are the nutritionexperts.”

As a result, CADE’s name willchange to the Accreditation Council forEducation in Nutrition and Dietetics,or ACEND, an acronym securing theprofessional training and educationalstandards of registered dietitians.

Dietetics, the science of food andnutrition as it correlates to health,continues to advance, and it seemsfitting that its governing organizationwould advance along with it. It isexpected that the transition to AND willchange the public’s perception of thefield, and command more respect for theknowledge of dietetics professionals.

For information, visit http://www.eatright.org.

Acronyms change with mission

Nutritionmatters

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for her at that time. She decided she wanted Briannato have her own authentic Cinderella costume so shecontacted Disney officials and had them FedEx thewhole princess ensemble to Myrtle Beach, where shebought the outfit as well as a Cinderella Barbie.

Even though it was stormy weather, Stivers was notto be deterred. “I cried all the way to Myrtle Beach andback. I’m so excited. It’s what the season is all about.It really touched my heart. She needed to have the realdeal.”

The real deal included a Cinderella to ride with her.Enter stage right, Cindy Kramer, R.N., a blood and

marrow transplant coordinator, who was blonde andtaller than 5-foot-seven, the height needed for a HokusPokus costume that was being donated for the occasion.Kramer then found herself booked for a donated“updo” Cinderella hairstyle at Strawberry Blonde Salonand a professional makeup job by skin therapist JoannaRobbs.

Her stylist, Jessica Cantey, didn’t have to Google the

Cinderella hairdo to know how to style Kramer’s hair.“When I was young, for three years that’s all I had inmy movie player,” she said, grinning, thrilled to be ableto help out for the occasion.

Other businesses joined in to create the magic. TigerLily Florist donated two dozen yellow roses and OldTowne Carriage Company charmed crowds with adelicate white princess carriage.

Kramer, who has a 3-year-old daughter who lovesprincesses, said she was excited to play the part andeven watched the movie again the night before theride to make sure she had all her princess moves right.Before she knew it, she had several other appearancesfor the afternoon requested by patients who areimmunosuppressed and unable to leave their rooms.

Loving her job as a transplant nurse, Kramer said thenurses really get to know the families because it takes awhole family bonding together to get patients throughsuch a tough time. “We’re there to help them have anopportunity to find a cure to the end. We support themthrough the good times and the bad.”

Moore said she’s so thankful for the support. Her

daughter found out she was pregnant with Brianna amonth after her diagnosis with leukemia in 2007. Sheand her husband had been trying to have a family,but hadn’t been able to. Doctors described the risks,but Tiffany opted to go forward with the pregnancy,reducing some of her cancer drugs until the end of herpregnancy. She resumed her treatment full force afterher daughter was born and is putting up a tough battle,said Moore.

“She is the strongest person. She has had so muchfaith from the very beginning. She’s fighting with all hermight.” Her seven-year wedding anniversary was Dec.11.

“It’s been the hardest thing of my life. I’m trying tobe strong.” She has taken a leave of absence from herwork, and is grateful to be next door to her daughter’sfamily in Loris, near Myrtle Beach. Her daughterwatched Brianna in the parade through an iPad Liveprogram. Meanwhile, Moore and Brianna’s father racedalong with the carriage.

“I know it’s making Tiffany happy to know her littleprincess is doing well.”

Magic Continued from Page One

Brianna’s grandmother, Nancy Moore, enjoysthe padgeantry.

Cindy Kramer gets a Cinderella updo fromstylist Jessica Cantey.

The two Cinderellas take a private momentbefore they take their carriage ride.


2011 hEart Walk

MUSC President Dr. Ray Greenberg, left photo, presents Heart & Vascular administrator BillSpring with a medal following the 2011 Lowcountry Heart Walk, held Sept. 17. MUSC recruited203 teams (1,239 walkers) and raised $209,921 to benefit the American Heart Association.

photo by Priscilla Parker

q Chair massages: Free massages areoffered to employees on Tuesday nightsand midday Wednesdays. Look forbroadcast messages for locations andtimes.

q Mobile Mammograms: The HollingsCancer Center Mobile Van will beconducting digital mammograms from 9a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 20 nextto the Basic Sciences Building loadingdock behind the College of DentalMedicine. Call 792-0878 to schedule anappointment.

q Employee Fitness Series: A freeSpin class will be held at the MUSCWellness Center on Wednesday, Dec. 21from 4:15 to 4:45 p.m. Participants willreceive a free day pass to the WellnessCenter. Email [email protected] register for this class.

q Happy Healthy Hour: Are youlooking for a convenient weight lossprogram that is right here on campus,won’t interfere with your work hours,

and really works? If so, considerenrolling in the newest weight lossprogram offered by MUSC WeightManagement Center — Happy HealthyHour.

What: A 10-week lifestyle changeweight loss programWhen: Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:30p.m. The next class will start on Jan.19.Where: Suite 410, Institute ofPsychiatry, 67 President St.Cost: $98, payroll deduction availableWhat this includes: 10 groupsessions, weekly food diaries, programmanagement and expert advice fromMUSC professionalsHow to register: Email Josh Brown,Ph.D., at [email protected].

Contact Susan Johnson, Ph.D.,wellness program director, [email protected] to becomeinvolved in employee wellness atMUSC. Events, speakers, classesor any other ideas are welcome.

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A pilot research study featuring anew insulin spray inhaler is showingpromising results in delaying memoryloss and other symptoms associated withearly stage Alzheimer’s disease.

The original research was conductedby geriatric psychiatrist SuzanneCraft, Ph.D., professor of Psychiatryand Behavioral Sciences, Universityof Washington. Craft is now activelycollaborating with Jacobo Mintzer,M.D., vice-chair of clinical research,Department of Neurosciences, in thedevelopment of the follow-up multi-sitestudy taking place around the country.

“It is very exciting to live in a timewhen new discoveries to appropriatelytreat Alzheimer’s disease are withingrasp. I am proud that the MUSCteam is at the heart of that effort,” saidMintzer, professor of neuroscience andpsychiatry.

The team is investigating the use ofan insulin spray to delay the onset ofAlzheimer’s disease in people diagnosedwith an early stage of this progressivebrain disorder. To date, there are nodrugs available to halt, prevent or reverse

Researcher involved in therapies to slow Alzheimer’s

the onset of this disease. According tothe Alzheimer’s Association, about 5.4million Americans are diagnosed eachyear with Alzheimer’s disease or a formof dementia. Today, scientists are makingprogress in diagnosing this disease earlierand finding more effective treatmentsand medications to delay the progress.

Mintzer, Craft and other researchersare exploring cell function including howbrain cells use sugar and produce energy.More specifically, their focal area is the

brain’s ability to process insulin.Craft's preliminary study featured 104

participants but offered a safe and cost

effective measure to slow the disease’sprogress in its early stages. After twomonths, participants treated with 20milligrams of insulin demonstratedan improved performance on memorytests. People who received a higher doseof insulin showed no change in theirmemory abilities. Insulin is a metabolichormone that’s effective in treatingdiabetes. The pilot study was fundedby the National Institute on Aging andthe National Institutes of Health andPrevention.

Other projects led by Mintzer includea gene transfer study as well as howgenetics correlate to treatment responsein Alzheimer’s patients and therapiesthat increase the immune response tothis disease.

Mintzer joinedMUSC in 1991.His interest ingeriatric psychiatry,Alzheimer’sdisease andpsychopharmacologyof Alzheimer’sdisease and mentalhealth in theelderly led him topartner with David Bachman, M.D.,also a professor in the Department ofNeuroscience, to establish the MUSC

Alzheimer’s Research and ClinicalPrograms, which is supported bythe departments of Psychiatry andNeurology.

In October, Mintzer was namedpresident of the InternationalPsychogeriatrics Association.

As part of the Department ofPsychiatry and Behavioral SciencesGrand Rounds, held Oct. 7, Mintzerspoke about the progress of Alzheimer’sdisease and new treatments, scientificstudies and therapies being conductedby MUSC researchers.

Mintzer

Holiday BreakThe Catalyst will not be published Dec. 30 or Jan. 6 and will resume

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Seeing Double

By Dawn Brazell

Public RelationsSpeaking to a packed house at the Autism Spectrum

Disorder Scientific Meeting, keynote speaker LorriShealy Unumb warned researchers and clinicians thatthere’s a huge autism tsunami getting ready to hit thestate.

In many ways, she was preaching to the choir.MUSC hosted Nov. 9 the first scientific meeting

of autism researchers in the state. The meeting, heldin Gazes Auditorium, was sponsored by the SouthCarolina Clinical and Translation Research Institute(SCTR), the MUSC Autism Strategic PlanningCommittee and a grant from the S.C. DevelopmentalDisabilities Council.

The meeting, which included an overview of theSCTR Pilot Project Program by Perry Halushka, Ph.D.,dean of the College of Graduate Studies, featured 17presentations by autism researchers from ClemsonUniversity, Furman University, Greenville Children’sHospital, Greenwood Genetics Center, University ofSouth Carolina, and the departments of pediatrics,psychiatry and neurosciences at MUSC.

Unumb, an attorney and vice president for stategovernment affairs for the advocacy group AutismSpeaks, thanked the researchers, clinicians andadvocates in attendance for helping address the growingnumbers of people affected by autism. Autism affectsone in 110 children and one in 70 boys.

“We need to educate the medical community. Westill see a lot of pediatricians who don’t know what it isor who see signs and don’t act on it right away.”

Unumb’s keynote address titled “What a ParentWants from Autism Research” praised research effortsbeing made, adding that parents desperately are seekingthe most effective treatments and need a clear course ofaction that is not experimental.

Her son, Ryan, who is now 10, was diagnosed withautism at 22 months of age with medical professionalsgiving her no direction about the next best course ofaction. “It was basically, ‘Good luck with that.’”

Even today, many medical professionals are notcomfortable recommending a course of treatment,with part of that reluctance based on the unavailabilityof insurance coverage for certain treatments. “Theinsurance companies are waiting to see if the autismcommunity is ready to fight back, and right now we’renot.”

She’s working to change that. Unumb got into theautism insurance reform movement as she encounteredstruggles in getting treatments funded for Ryan. Shewrote ground-breaking autism insurance legislationfor South Carolina called “Ryan’s Law” that passed in2007 and served as a catalyst for the national movement

toward autism insurance reform. Legislative advocacywork by Autism Speaks is making headway, but there’sstill significant resistance from legislators who don’tunderstand autism spectrum disorder.

There also is a need for more research that providesevidence-based treatments. Unumb said she can’toverestimate the importance to parents of researchbeing done. “I love looking at the agenda and seeingall the exciting research you’re doing today,” she said.“I implore you to give us studies on older children andadults, too.”

Walter Jenner, a member of the Autism andDevelopmental Disabilities Monitoring Program withthe division of developmental pediatrics, said themeeting was a huge success with organizers getting afavorable response. Autism prevalence has increasedrapidly during the last two decades from one in 1,000 to

one in 100. There is no absolute known cause althoughstrong evidence exists for genetic determinants andpossible environmental triggers, he said.

“This was the first scientific meeting to gather SouthCarolina researchers together to further research effortsin autism spectrum disorders.”

At the end of September, Congress passed theCombating Autism Reauthorization Act promising$231 million a year for the next three years for autismresearch, screening, education and treatment.

“The objective was to stimulate new collaborativeresearch projects among clinical and basic scienceresearchers, other health professional researchers andthe community that would lead to productive pre-clinical, clinical or translational research.”

One of the research presenters, Laura ArnsteinCarpenter, Ph.D., associate professor of pediatrics, saidthe scientific meeting was an amazing experience.

“There are so many interesting research endeavorsrelated to autism taking place right here in SouthCarolina, from animal research to clinical trials toepidemiology to imaging. I really was struck by therange of activities and by the expertise of the group asa whole. This type of meeting is helpful for connectingbasic and clinical researchers to encourage meaningfultranslational research.”

For more information on Autism Speaks, visit http://www.autismspeaks.org/.

For more information on SCTR, visit https://sctr.musc.edu/.

Autism meeting stimulates research collaboration

Keynote speaker Lorri Shealy Unumb of the advocacy group Autism Speaks addresses the morethan 70 researchers and clinicians gathered for the Nov. 9 Autism Spectrum Disorder ScientificMeeting.

“This was the first scientificmeeting to gather SouthCarolina researchers togetherto further research efforts inautism spectrum disorders.”

Walter Jenner


Kim Davis, M.D., co-chair and physician champion;John Kratz, M.D., co-chair and physician champion;Bob Warren, M.D., chief medical informationofficer; Tim Whelan, M.D., Pulmonary/Transplant;David Soper, M.D., OB/GYN; David Habib, M.D.,Pediatrics; Howard Evert, Carolina Family Care;Barton Sachs, M.D., Orthopaedics and workflowchair; Rosemary Battaglia, R.N., Pediatrics; SherryGillespie-Miller, R.N., Ambulatory Care and nursechampion; Linda Randazzo, Ambulatory Careand workflow project manager; Heather Kokko,PharmD, Pharmacy Services; Julie Acker, UMACompliance; Nancy Reilly Dixon, LaboratoryServices; Linus Brown, Radiology; Sue Pletcher,Health Information Services; Dave Northrup,OCIO and co-project director; Mike Balassone,UMA Information Systems and co-project director;Brett Seyfried, OCIO; Tasia Walsh, UMAInformations Systems and EpicCare applicationmanager; and Jim Smith, EpicCare system manager

Epic oversight committeeelecTronic Continued from Page Three


are available based on criteria that physicians mustmeet by October.

This replacement project was initiated in July 2010when hospital management elected to replace PracticePartner. A committee featuring physicians, nurses andrepresentatives selected EpicCare Ambulatory EMRafter a six-month selection process. MUSC leadershipchose to approve several IT positions prior to February,according to Dave Northrup, OCIO director of clinicalsystems and a member of the committee. Key trainingand certification of a core group of MUSC analystsregarding Epic soon followed. Epic user training fornursing, physician providers and administrative groupswill begin in February.

Northrup and others were pleased with the trialperiod and selection process. “We wanted to learn howa system like Epic works, how we can build upon it andhow it works at other academic medical centers.”

The system features a variety of functions includingimprovements to order entry, physician inpatientdocumentation and the patient portal (MyChart).Physicians and nurses can chart on the same record,conduct medication management using work reviewqueues (InBasket) to sign prescriptions and refills.Tools like abstracting will allow physicians to gatherdetails about a patient’s medications, allergies, medicalissues and health history. The system also provides

“Epic will be a transformingleap in patient care atMUSC.”

Dr. Bob Warren

additional levels of security and authentication forusers and follows Health Insurance Portability andAccountability Act for privacy and compliance.

According to Northrup, Epic is expected to make asignificant change on the clinical workflow that willimpact the system during the first month. To preparefor this, Epic departmental support teams are askedto prepare “slow down” plans throughout the roll outperiod.

Warren said the transition marks an importantmilestone. “Epic will be a transforming leap in patientcare at MUSC.”

Since October, OCIO IT staff and Epic projectliaisons have conducted application testing. Projectleaders have hired trainers to assist with trainingprior to the March 22 go-live event in five pilot cliniclocations.

MUHA and UMA users and super users (physicians,nurses and clinical/administrative staff who receivea higher level of training and system privileges than a

typical user) must complete approximately eight hoursof classroom training (with a test). Other users willreceive two to four hours of training via e-Learningor CATTS. Users must register online for training atlocations in Mount Pleasant, North Charleston andMUSC. For information on training, email [email protected]. For Epic information, visit http://epic.musc.edu.

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