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ChristianaCare Names Its Breast Center: The Tatiana Copeland Breast Center
ChristianaCare has named its Breast Center The Tatiana Copeland Breast Center at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute in recognition of Gerret and Tatiana Copeland’s generous financial support. The Copelands, local philanthropists and business entrepreneurs, provided a $1.2 million gift to the Graham Cancer Center in 2019 for breast cancer prevention and research for underrepresented women. Tatiana Copeland previously provided $800,000 to fund the purchase of two 3D mammography units. As a result of their philanthropic leadership, the Graham Cancer Center was one of the first facilities in the nation to offer 3D mammography. “ChristianaCare is deeply grateful to the Copelands for their generous support of the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute,” said Janice Nevin, M.D., MPH, ChristianaCare president and CEO. “They have made a tremendous difference in the lives of so many women in and around Delaware. We are deeply honored to name the Breast Center after Tatiana.” In a private event celebrating the naming, Dr. Nevin read a personal letter from President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden that was sent to Tatiana about her support of the Breast Center. “Tatiana is a woman with extraordinary vision and a compassionate heart,” wrote President Biden. “As a breast cancer survivor, she has taken her pain and turned it into purpose, ensuring that all those who come in for testing at the Breast Center will receive extraordinary care. She has put lifesaving and life-altering care within the reach of those who need it most. And through it all, she has pushed for progress, fought for patients and kept hope alive.” “The Copelands share our commitment to providing our patients with the very best breast care, diagnosis and treatment,” said Nicholas J. Petrelli, M.D., Bank of America endowed medical director of the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute. “Their generous gifts have enabled women from Delaware and surrounding communities to receive expert, compassionate care right here at the Breast Center without ever having to leave the state. The Copelands have a way of discovering a need and then making the impossible possible.” “As longtime Graham Cancer Center supporters and as a breast cancer survivor myself who received wonderful treatment here, we are confident our investment in the Breast Center will continue to enable women to receive the same care that I did,” Tatiana Copeland said. “The atmosphere of the Breast Center is very comforting — like a nurturing hospital,” she said. “Everybody is very caring and attentive. Dr. Petrelli has created a team effort that is truly admirable. We hope our support inspires others to join us in the fight against cancer.” At The Tatiana Copeland Breast Center, patients are supported by an exceptional care team that includes radiologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, genetic counselors and support staff. On-site capabilities include: 3D mammography. Digital mammography. Dedicated breast MRI. Breast ultrasound. Minimally invasive breast biopsies. Financial resources. Delaware’s first Center for Breast Reconstruction. According to the Delaware Division of Public Health, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among women in Delaware and the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the state after lung cancer. The Graham Cancer Center conducts community outreach to educate women about the importance of breast cancer detection and early prevention, including specially designed programs for underrepresented communities, including Black, Latinx and Asian women. “The Copelands’ ongoing generosity and support have helped us elevate the level of care at the Breast Center,” said Dia Williams, vice president of Philanthropy at ChristianaCare. “This gift will have an impact for generations to come.” To learn more about ChristianaCare’s philanthropy opportunities, visit https://christianacare.org/donors.
How to keep up with continuous and sudden demand?
Learn about how the team at Grand River & St. Mary’s General Hospital are keeping up with demand for Radiology services using the RealTime Medical Teleradiology solution. Watch our interview with Dr. Darren Knibutat, Staff Radiologist at Grand River & St. Mary's General Hospital, to see how they manage a demanding workload, hold the line on costs and deliver improved patient care. Find the full interview here: https://youtu.be/lScHwliTnXY Visit our website: www.realtimemedical.com #Teleradiology #Radiology #DiagnosticImaging #PatientCare
Aston University and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (BWCH) have pledged to work together to address health provision in the city by signing a Memorandum of Understanding to co-develop paediatric health initiatives and the health services workforce of the future to deliver them. The strategic partnership between the University and BWCH aims to develop the health services workforce of the future together (particularly focusing on course development and delivery, including placements). It will also invest in shared posts that support closer links between academic, education and healthcare provision and support honorary appointments and initiate collaborative projects including joint research, to develop world-leading research and provision in the field of paediatric health and wellbeing. The partnership will make the most efficient use of resources and reduce duplication by providing a range of shared services, as well as continuously developing new ways to work together, with a view to supporting innovation in the field of healthcare. These activities will build on the existing joined up work taking place between Aston University and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, such as shared use of the MRI scanning services in the Aston Institute for Health and Neurodevelopment and joint research projects examining topics including epilepsy in children, eating behaviours and neurodevelopment. Both organisations are also members of Birmingham Health Partners, the city’s clinical-academic research alliance, which includes maternal health as one as its key strategic focus areas. Professor Anthony Hilton, pro-vice-chancellor and executive dean of the College of Health and Life Sciences at Aston University, said: “The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding formalises the existing relationship between our two organisations and represents a strong joint commitment to improving healthcare provision in our city. “Working collaboratively enables us to bring together world-leading research with outstanding clinical provision, for the benefit of our students, patients accessing BWCH services and our city and region. I look forward to developing the many ways in which our organisations can work together to improve healthcare provision in Birmingham.” Matthew Boazman, deputy chief executive officer of Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The partnership between BWCH and Aston University represents a wonderful opportunity for us to ensure that Birmingham has access to world-class healthcare provision and that those entering the workforce are as ready as they can be.”
Why was teleradiology right for our group practice?
Learn about how Dr. Darren Knibutat and the team at Grand River & St. Mary’s General Hospital are implementing RealTime’s radiology collaboration services to help manage a demanding workload, hold the line on costs and deliver improved patient care. Learn more here: https://realtimemedical.com/radiology-services/ See more Customer Stories: https://realtimemedical.com/about-realtime-medical/what-customers-are-saying/ #radiology #teleradiology #diagnosticimaging
What We Experience - Turnaround Time Within Minutes
Learn how radiology collaboration services have improved ER efficiency and patient experience from Tabitha Kearney, VP Clinical Services, Deep River & District Hospital. Learn more here: https://realtimemedical.com/radiology-services/ See more Customer Stories: https://realtimemedical.com/about-realtime-medical/what-customers-are-saying/ #radiology #teleradiology #diagnosticimaging
West Grove Campus Awarded $2.5M Grant from Chester County for Capital Improvement Projects
Funds earmarked for information technology, medical equipment and facility upgrades The ChristianaCare West Grove campus has received a $2.5 million American Rescue Fund Plan Act (ARPA) grant from the Chester County Government for capital improvement projects related to information technology, medical equipment and facility renovation. ChristianaCare finalized the purchase of its West Grove campus (formerly Jennersville Hospital) from Tower Health in June 2022. The hospital has been closed since Dec. 31, 2021. “We are enormously grateful to the Chester County Commissioners for this generous grant,” said Douglas Azar, MHA, ChristianaCare senior vice president, Strategic Clinical Integration. “Our assessment and inventory of the facility indicate that while it contains some usable equipment, including hospital beds and some imaging and diagnostic equipment, there is a lot of work to be done in many key areas. For example, the building currently contains no information technology infrastructure and no laboratory equipment. This funding will provide much-needed help as we build out these critical areas,” he said. “This grant is a tremendous resource as we plan next steps for the West Grove campus,” said Heather Farley, M.D., MHCDS, FACEP, ChristianaCare’s co-lead for the campus development strategy. “Ensuring that the facility has the very best technology and medical equipment will enable us to provide expert care to our neighbors in southern Chester County for many years to come.” The Chester County Commissioners approved ARPA grants to 73 groups and organizations totaling close to $40 million last month, following recommendations by six independent review teams. The teams, comprised of county residents and county government staff, developed a system that followed ARPA guidelines to review proposals and address priorities for funding. “These funds represent a substantial investment in much-needed local programs and services including support for public health,” said County Commissioners’ Chair Marian Moskowitz. “Being able to financially assist ChristianaCare as they work toward bringing hospital services back to southern Chester County firmly met ARPA guidelines and was very important to us.” (From left) Bettina Tweardy Riveros, Chief Health Equity Officer and Senior Vice President, Government Affairs and Community Engagement at ChristianaCare, Marian Moskowitz, Chair of the Board of Commissioners of Chester County, Michelle Kichline, Chester County Commissioner, Heather Farley, M.D., MHCDS, FACEP, ChristianaCare’s co-lead for the campus development strategy and Douglas Azar, MHA, ChristianaCare senior vice president, Strategic Clinical Integration Commissioner Josh Maxwell added that “when ChristianaCare stepped up to take over Jennersville Hospital and bring health care services back to the county, we pledged to support them in those efforts in ways that we, as county government, can. The ARPA program has provided us with the opportunity to fulfill that pledge, with funding that might otherwise be cost-prohibitive.” ChristianaCare is reimagining health care at the West Grove campus and is taking a phased approach to the opening of services. The first phase will be to re-establish emergency services. Subsequent phases are still under consideration. Due to required facility upgrades and plan development, it is unlikely that any services will open within the next 12 months. Since June, Azar, Farley and others at ChristianaCare have participated in meetings and listening sessions with community leaders and small groups to gain input into planning for services at the campus. They have met with local and state government officials, school officials, chambers of commerce, nonprofit organizations, emergency responders, faith leaders and employers in the area. Commissioner Michelle Kichline noted the correlation between ChristianaCare’s focus on meeting community needs and the county’s focus on community involvement in the ARPA grant review process. “Having county residents involved in reviewing and recommending our ARPA applications has been exciting and rewarding,” she said. “They know their local communities best and evaluated and selected projects that address needs across the county. “We know that ChristianaCare is doing the same and see the $2.5 million ARPA grant as a smart investment in restoring crucial health care services to our residents.” The West Grove campus represents a significant expansion and commitment of ChristianaCare to provide health services to communities in southern Chester County. Since 2020, ChristianaCare has added three primary care practices located in Jennersville, West Grove and Kennett Square. Combined, these three practices are now the “medical home” for 22,000 residents in these communities.
New center helps meet growing need for pediatric care in our community Families in northern Delaware and surrounding areas have a new option for pediatric care. Today ChristianaCare opened a new 14-bed Pediatric Care Center that provides 24/7 combined short-stay inpatient and emergency care for children and teens. The new center is located on the first floor of the Center for Women’s & Children’s Health on ChristianaCare’s Newark Campus. “This new facility is an exciting step in our continued journey to create the absolute best care for children and families in our community,” said David Paul, M.D., chair of the Department of Pediatrics. “The Pediatric Care Center will significantly improve access to care for children, enhance the patient experience and address the needs of families who want high-quality care in a child-friendly environment.” The 24-hour Pediatric Care Center will be able to evaluate and manage 90% of the pediatric cases currently seen in the Christiana Hospital Emergency Department. The center expects to care for an estimated 6,300 patients the first year, with volume projected to grow 5% each year. The Pediatric Care Center also provides expert care to children and adolescents with behavioral health emergency needs and appropriate referral sources for follow-up care. “Our new Pediatric Care Center makes it easier than ever for families and children to receive excellent care when they need it, in a special space designed just for them,” said Sharon Kurfuerst, Ed.D., OTR/L, FACHE, system chief operating officer at ChristianaCare and President, Union Hospital. “The center will care for the special needs of pediatric patients, making it convenient for them to receive dedicated, expert resources for hospital-based, non-trauma emergency and inpatient care all in one location.” The 8,400 square-foot facility provides 14 beds for emergency and short-stay inpatient and observation care. “We offer 24/7 pediatric emergency care 365 days a year,” said Megan Mickley, M.D., MBA, FAAP, FACEP, medical director, who is board certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Medicine and fellowship-trained in Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Emergency Ultrasound. “The Pediatric Care Center team is a diverse, multidisciplinary group led by pediatric physicians trained in a variety of backgrounds, including emergency medicine and hospital medicine,” she said. “Our goals are not only to provide exceptional quality of care for children, but also to improve access to and expand pediatric care services for our neighbors. We look forward to being a trusted partner for pediatric care in our community.” About the Center for Women’s & Children’s Health The Center for Women’s & Children’s Health, which opened in a state-of-the-art facility in 2020 on ChristianaCare’s Newark campus, represents a new standard of care for our community. It is the region’s only National Community Center of Excellence in Women’s Health and offers innovative, patient-centered care for mothers, babies and families. The center provides private rooms for mothers and families after delivery and is one of the only hospitals in the United States to provide couplet care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, keeping mother and baby together even if they both require medical care.
Bivalent Boosters are Here: Our Expert Explains What You Need to Know
Updated COVID-10 booster shots are rolling out across the United States, and these new bivalent formulations target the omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants that have become the dominant circulating strains as well as the original form of the coronavirus. UConn Health's Dr. David Banach, an infectious diseases physician and hospital epidemiologist, spoke with UConn Today about the latest CDC vaccination guidelines and the significance of these updated boosters: What’s the difference between the monovalent and bivalent vaccines? The monovalent vaccines are the ones that have been available thus far. They contain a small piece of the mRNA component of the virus based on the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, sometimes termed as the “ancestral strain,” and are designed to generate an immune response to that original virus. We’ve seen with the omicron variant — and specifically with the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, which have appeared most recently — the virus has changed. The bivalent vaccine contains both the portion of the original ancestral virus mRNA as well as a portion of mRNA that is specific for the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants that have been circulating most recently. The hope is, by more specifically targeting the most recent subvariants, the bivalent boosters will reduce the impact of COVID both on individuals who received them as well as the population. Conceptually it’s analogous to what has been done with the influenza vaccine. The technology’s a little different but it’s based on the same idea. It’s targeted against both the original strain and the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of omicron. What becomes of the monovalent vaccine? At this time the vaccination program will be a primary vaccine series with the original monovalent vaccine and booster doses using the bivalent vaccine. Why wouldn’t we just start people with the bivalent vaccine? Data showed the monovalent vaccine upfront provides that high level of protection. The bivalent vaccine has not been evaluated as a primary vaccine candidate, so we don’t have the data to support its use in that context. That’s how it was originally designed, to be a booster. Dr. Banach is a leading voice on the fight against the COVID-19 virus, and he's available to speak with the media. Click on his icon to arrange an interview today.
Research team aims to enhance security of medical devices
Tamer Nadeem, Ph.D., the principal investigator of the VCU-based MedKnights project, explained that the project’s focus is on the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). Nadeem and co-PI Irfan Ahmed, Ph.D., both associate professors in the VCU College of Engineering Department of Computer Science, recently received $600,000 from the NSF’s Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure to put together a framework to improve IoMT security. IoMT devices are used in a range of diagnostic, monitoring and therapeutic applications. IoMT includes patient monitors, ventilators, MRI machines — even “smart beds.” Ahmed cited the internet-connected insulin pump is a good example of an IoMT device. Internet connectivity allows for both monitoring and adjusting the dosage remotely — functions that require a high degree of security for patient privacy as well as safety. All IoMT devices are potentially vulnerable to ransomware, denial of service and other malicious hacker attacks. Nadeem points out that IoMT devices have a higher security requirement than traditional IoT devices such as smart doorbells and smart thermostats in homes. “The most important thing in the medical domain is privacy,” Nadeem said. “For IoT devices in your home, you wouldn’t care that much about privacy, but for medical devices, it is an essential thing. You wouldn’t want anyone to know what your health conditions are, or what problems you might have had.” The work of the MedKnights group is important, as the IoMT domain is expanding; there is growth in terms of types of devices, number of patients using them and number of IoMT vendors. Nadeem added that the COVID pandemic and accompanying quarantine and stay-home orders increased the focus of medical-technology providers on the possibilities of IoMT. “Talking to some of the medical-device providers, I’ve learned that they are considering a line of products where they can remotely monitor patients on those devices, and they also can configure those devices remotely,” Nadeem said. Security is a large concern for the new generation of devices, because the current IoMT devices have been hit hard by hackers, he said. Security is an issue that extends from the individual patient to the institution. “Statistics show there are a lot of ransom attacks being done on the health sectors during the pandemic,” Nadeem said. “That motivated us.” The MedKnights team’s preparation for taking on the dragon of malicious IoMT attacks includes building a “test bed,” an isolated hardware/software assembly that Nadeem says will mimic the internet-enabled hospital setting. “In the hospital environment, there’s set of rooms. Each room has a lot of medical devices; they could be wired, or they could be wireless devices,” he said. “But there is no way that we can do what we want to do in a hospital.” The test bed will incorporate IoMT datasets based on typical device behavior, traffic and known malicious attacks. Nadeem explained that MedKnights will explore vulnerabilities of various IoMT hardware and software by subjecting the elements of the IoMT test bed to a range of attacks. “We will try to see in real time how efficient our technologies to monitor or detect these attacks, then try to intervene if we notice any change in the activities on the network,” he said. “Now, if the attacks manage to get into the device, we would like to also to start to see whether we can monitor these devices and observe abnormality or any misbehavior.” Nadeem said the next step is to isolate the source of fishy activity in the test bed network and begin to reverse-engineer the malware. He explained the group will work on understanding the question by looking for the “hole” that created the vulnerability. Ahmed said the MedKnights will bring undergraduates into the project through DURI, the Dean’s Undergraduate Research Initiative at the VCU College of Engineering. High school students will have an opportunity to join the team through a similar program known as the Dean’s Early Research Initiative, or DERI. DURI and DERI are just two ways of getting younger scientists and engineers involved in actual research. “For the last couple of years, I’ve been contacted by local high schools to host a couple of their students during the summer,” Nadeem added. “The students were really excited about it. We came up with some nice ideas about how to extend that work to their classrooms. As we continue this project, we will reach out to the schools, because we would love having a couple of their students involved.”
Expert Insight: President Biden’s COVID-19 ‘Rebound Positive’
UConn Health’s Dr. David Banach explains how a fully vaccinated and boosted person could test positive, negative, and positive again for COVID-19 within a 10-day span If anything, I would say this situation actually reinforces the importance of vaccination. — Dr. David Banach President Biden is back in isolation, testing positive again for COVID-19 despite testing negative a week after his initial positive test July 21. It may be a puzzling sequence, but there is an explanation. “It’s unlikely this is anything other than the original infection resurfacing,” says Dr. David Banach, infectious diseases physician and hospital epidemiologist at UConn Health. Biden’s physician says the president had been taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid, which is a standard treatment for those with COVID-19 who are considered “high-risk,” including older patients. Biden is 79. “It’s not unheard of for people to take Paxlovid, clinically improve, be antigen-negative, then ‘rebound’ a few days later as antigen-positive,” Banach says. Antigens are substances that cause an immune response. Antigen tests are commonly used in at-home testing and can yield results in 15 minutes by detecting antigens specific to COVID-19. Antigen tests differ from PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, which look for genetic material that indicates a COVID-19 infection. Due to the nature of his position, the president tests routinely. PCR testing generally is not recommended within 90 days of infection because if frequently remains positive positive for a prolonged period of time, even after patients recover and are no longer contagious, so Biden was given antigen testing instead. All signs point to the Paxlovid suppressing the antigens to undetectable levels, resulting in temporary negative results, followed by the “rebound.” As of Tuesday Biden’s only symptoms were a “loose cough,” according to a memo from his physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, who reported, “He remains fever-free and in good spirits.” The White House says the president is fully vaccinated and up-to-date on all his recommended boosters. “While this is another example of someone getting infected despite being is fully vaccinated and boosted, it’s important to understand the vaccines protected the president from serious illness from infection,” Banach says. “If anything, I would say this situation actually reinforces the importance of vaccination, especially for older people, those who are immunocompromised, or those with other health problems that could make them more vulnerable to serious illness.” Looking to know more about this topic - then let us help with your stories and coverage. Dr. David Banach is an expert on infectious diseases and epidemiology and is a leading expert on COVID-19 in America. To book an interview with Dr. Banach, click on his icon today.