Here are this week’s Accolades, a roundup of some of the honors and accomplishments of College of Medicine and UAMS faculty, staff, residents, fellows and students I’ve heard about recently!
Spotlight on Excellence
Earlier this week I shared our first “Spotlight on Excellence” video, an interview with Dr. John Dornhoffer, Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. I greatly enjoyed talking with Dr. Dornhoffer about his program’s latest national recognition – being named as one of the top 50 ENT programs for the third year in the row – and other recent developments. Dr. Dornhoffer did a fantastic job explaining what the recognition from U.S. News & World Report signifies for Arkansans. And that is one my goals for future videos in this series: to not only recognize the programs and team members who are helping us make our mark around the country, but also to discuss why their accomplishments matter for our state. If you haven’t had a chance to watch the video yet, click here to check it out. And watch for new videos about once a month!
Seven Days
“7 Days: The Opioids Crisis in Arkansas” is a new documentary whose title was inspired by a stunning quote from Dr. Johnathan Goree, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Director of the Chronic Pain Division, and stemming from research by Dr. Brad Martin, a Professor in the College of Pharmacy, and Dr. Corey Hayes, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Informatics. Dr. Goree noted that if an individual is given opioids for seven days, there is a 1 in 10 chance of them being on opioids a year later.
The documentary includes interviews with Dr. Goree and Dr. Michael Mancino, Professor of Psychiatry and Program Director of UAMS’ Center for Addiction Services and Treatment. The documentary premiered last week at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. Dr. Goree and Dr. Mancino will be among the panelists discussing the film and the crisis on “Arkansas Week” on Arkansas PBS this Friday evening. The film will air on Oct. 25 in addition to being shown in public schools next week. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom. Out thanks to these outstanding colleagues for their dedication to Arkansans who are struggling with addiction.
ENT Well Represented
The Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery was well represented at the recent American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Annual Meeting, the premier education and networking event for the otolaryngology-head and neck surgery community. The Residency Program had eight posters and six scientific oral presentations accepted for presentation by faculty members including Drs. Adam Johnson, Larry Hartzell, Andre Wineland, Gresham Richter, Alissa Kanaan, John Dornhoffer, Ozlem Tulunay-Ugur, Deanne King, Mauricio Moreno, Emre Vural, and Jumin Sunde.
Poster presenters included residents Drs. Sriram Navuluri, Blake Hollowoa and J. Reed Gardner, along with pediatric fellow Dr. Mary Timbang and research fellow Dr. Kyle Davis. Medical students Carolina Coleman, Samantha Mohler and Emily Ray each co-authored a poster. Residents Drs. Tyler Merrill, J. Reed Gardner and Anvesh Kompelli delivered oral presentations Medical students Michael Powell and Tariq Salem also gave oral presentations.
COVID & Aspirin
Cardiology fellow Dr. Dinesh Voruganti is the first author, and Distinguished Professor Dr. J.L. Mehta is the senior author, of an editorial published in Heart, a leading international cardiology journal. “Does aspirin save lives in patients with COVID-19?” examines studies into the use of aspirin as an antiplatelet agent for preventing thrombotic complications, including findings by Dr. Francesco Santoro and colleagues at the University of Foggia in Italy that were published in the same issue. The editorial described the study as a step in the right direction for potentially improving outcomes of patients with COVID-19, who may benefit from the use of aspirin without increased risk of side effects such as bleeding. Well done.
Putting Patients First
It’s always a great day when thank you notes from patients and excellent patient survey comments make it to my desk. A recent letter from a patient’s spouse expressed gratitude for Dr. Frits van Rhee, Professor and Clinical Director of the Myeloma Center, and hospitalist Dr. Yetunde Ogunsesan, and team for their expert and compassionate care. “Having committed and dedicated people like Dr. Ogunsesan and Dr. van Rhee at your institution who believe that ‘service truly is above self’ is much appreciated,” the letter said.
Another patient recently commented on the Neurology team, praising Lucas Nalley, APRN, and Dr. Karthika Veerapaneni, Assistant Professor. “Every procedure, test and outcome was thoroughly explained,” the patient wrote. “Lucas is a very caring and calming individual; he is excellent. I have nothing but praise for the entire unit.”