Grand Rounds Chattanooga May on Nashville Medical News

Grand Rounds Chattanooga May

Erlanger Health System welcomes James F. Hora, MD, PhD

CHATTANOOGA — Erlanger is pleased to announce the addition of James F. Hora, MD, PhD to Erlanger's growing Neuroscience program.

Hora earned his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Vermont and his MD from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine. In addition, he completed his residency at Duke University Medical Center and has earned fellowships in molecular biology at the Mayo Clinic and neuromuscular disease at Duke University.

Stacy Park joins Cannon Medical Practice

CHATTANOOGA—Stacy Park, MSN, Family Nurse Practitioner, has joined Dr. Don Cannon and Dr. Allison Cannon's Medical Practice located at Memorial Medical Building West.

Park is a licensed Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner with experience in family practice, geriatrics, homecare, pediatrics, corrections and community health. She completed her Master of Science in Nursing degree in 2007 and graduated from Middle Tennessee State University.

Hutcheson's New Moms Helped by Community Project

FORT OGLETHORPE — As the Cloud Springs Elementary Leadership Team focuses on community service each year, they have kept new moms and babies at the top of their list. For the last eight years, this team of fifth-grade students has held a baby shower at the school, collecting baby items from local businesses and personally donating items to fill baby care bags for new moms.

On April 2, more than 75 bags filled with baby care items and books for the new moms were delivered to Hutcheson by the Cloud Springs Elementary Leadership Class. As the students carried the bags to the Women's Center, they were able to personally deliver a bag to the Carmon family. Law Carmon, born in April, and his mom Cierra Carmon received the bag from the 10 students involved in the program this year.

Safe & Sound Family Fair on Saturday, May 16

CHATTANOOGA — Safe & Sound, an injury prevention service of T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital at Erlanger, will host their annual Safe & Sound Family Fair, Saturday, May 16, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. along the Chattanooga Riverfront.

This year's event, made possibly by a generous donation by Unum, will feature safety tips and activities for the whole family. Professionals from various local and regional organizations will provide information on how to keep your family safe and healthy. Safety topics will include: fire, auto, home, pedestrian, water, sports and recreation, poison prevention and more.

The lawn in front of Blue Plate Diner will be transformed into center court for over 25 vendors including: Tennessee Highway Patrol, Read 20, Chattanooga Zoo, Beat the Heat Racing Team, Tennessee Wildlife Association, Northshore Yoga, YMCA, Kids on the Block, Coast Guard, and much more.

Safe & Sound is a prevention service of T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital at Erlanger and is an affiliate of Safe Kids Worldwide, the first and only nonprofit organization dedicated solely to the prevention of unintentional childhood injury.

Chattanoogans Receive TMA Awards

NASHVILLE–Two Chattanooga physicians and a local faith-based free clinic were honored by the Tennessee Medical Association on April 4 during TMA's 174th Annual Meeting in Nashville.

TMA awards presented:

R. Phillip Burns, MD, Chattanooga, Outstanding Physician Award;
David R. Collins, MD, PC, FACP, FACG, Distinguished Service Award; and
Volunteers in Medicine, Community Service Award.

The Outstanding Physician Award is presented annually by the TMA House of Delegates to member physicians who have made their own personal mark on the profession of medicine in Tennessee and on those whom they have worked with and known during their illustrious medical careers.

Burns was nominated by the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society for his steadfast commitment to medical education and innovation and unprecedented longevity in serving as the surgical chairman at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Chattanooga.

The Distinguished Service Award has been presented annually since 1963 by the TMA Board of Trustees to exemplary members of the Association for their notable achievements during the last calendar year.

Collins was nominated for the Distinguished Service Award by the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society (CHCMS) for his inspiring leadership and involvement with Project Access, a program to provide healthcare services to low-income uninsured residents of Hamilton County.

Two Free First Swing Adaptive Golf Clinics Presented by Siskin Hospital & The First Tee of Nashville

CHATTANOOGA—Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation and The First Tee of Nashville are presenting two free First Swing Adaptive Golf Clinics this May. The clinics will be held at Vinny Links Golf Course in Nashville on May 5th and 6th and Moccasin Bend Golf Club in Chattanooga on May 8th.

The First Swing Adaptive Golf Clinics are for individuals with a disability, as well as Golf Professionals and Recreational, Physical, and Occupational Therapists. The First Swing Program is designed to instruct therapists and other rehabilitation team professionals to teach and encourage people with disabilities to learn or re-learn the game of golf.

Siskin Hospital and The First Tee of Nashville are pleased to have Bob Wilson, a double below the knee amputee, instruct the Adaptive Golf Clinics. Wilson is the National Amputee Golf Association (NAGA) Executive Director and founder of the First Swing program.

On all three days, healthcare professionals can earn Continuing Educational Unit (CEU) credits for $30. Golf Professionals can also earn one point per hour of participation for free, as part of the First Swing program.

The clinics will take place from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with designated morning and afternoon sessions. Participants should bring comfortable clothes and golf clubs.

The Adaptive Golf Clinics work in conjunction with Siskin Hospital's Adaptive Sports Program. The Adaptive Sports Program is designed for individuals with disabilities to be trained by professionals to learn or re-learn a sport, such as golf, tennis, or basketball.

Pre-registration is required by May 1st for the Nashville and Chattanooga clinics. To register or find out more information, please contact Lisa Morgan, First Swing Clinic Coordinator, Recreational Therapy at Siskin Hospital, by phone at 423-634-1674 or by email at Lmorgan@SiskinRehab.org. Participants may also go online to register at www.SiskinRehab.org.

Erlanger Public Relations & Marketing picks up five awards

CHATTANOOGA–Erlanger Health System Public Relations & Marketing recently received five state awards for advertising and marketing materials created in 2008.

The Tennessee Society for Healthcare Marketing and Public Relations recently held their annual "Prism Award" ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee. This annual competition recognizes outstanding achievements in healthcare marketing and public relations and recognizes two entries in each category, the "Prism" recognized as first place, and a citation as second. Erlanger Health System received five awards.

Prism – "Ethan and Cody at T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital" – photography
Citation – Erlanger Magazine – external publication
Citation – "28 Greats in 2008" – Internal Public Relations Campaign
Citation – February 2008 "Health News" – Print Paid Advertising – Single
Citation – "Boomer Basics" – Direct Mail

New Pediatric After Hours Service Offered at T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital at Erlanger

CHATTANOOGA—Tri-state residents needing after hours care for their infants, children and adolescents now have a new treatment option at T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital at Erlanger.

The new urgent care service, T.C. Thompson Children's Care Center, is adjacent to the Children's Hospital Emergency Department (ED) and is staffed by the same physicians and staff who provide pediatric emergency services in Children's Hospital.

Open from 6 p.m. to midnight, seven days a week, the new pediatric urgent care center serves walk-in, physician referred urgent care patients and those redirected from ED's who do not require emergency care.

This new after hour's service, made possible by a grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), serves young patients who need either urgent or non-emergent care in the evenings – but who may not necessarily require the services of a fully-equipped pediatric emergency department.

Ambulance Donations Build Fleet for North Georgia

FORT OGLETHORPE — Hutcheson officials announced the donation of their fleet of nine ambulances to Catoosa, Dade and Walker Counties and one smaller unit to Northwestern Technical College. The ambulances were donated after Hutcheson made the decision to discontinue its ambulance service this past December.

"We made the decision to discontinue our service for what we felt was best for patient care and for financial viability of the hospital. Now by providing these ambulances to the counties we believe a more extensive service can be available for the communities we serve. We want to help with the transition of the service as much as we can," said Charles Stewart.

Walker County has received four units and combined with others they acquired, the county will now have a total of nine ambulances in operation. While Catoosa and Dade counties contracted with private companies to provide the service, both were interested in accepting the donation of the ambulances. Hutcheson donated three ambulances to Catoosa, two to Dade County and one was given to Northwestern Technical College for training purposes.

"It is gratifying to see these trucks remain within the area and put to good use. We first considered selling the units but thought they could serve a better purpose by giving them to our counties. We want to be good partners with our counties and the private EMS companies in providing emergency services to our citizens. We hope that this donation is a sign of our commitment and desire to be good partners in delivering quality health care," said Stewart.