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Congratulations to  Eric B. Chandler Health Center , which has been recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) for all three patient care sites. PCMH recognition is granted for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated care and long-term, participative relationships. The George Street location’s recognition was renewed in August; locations at Church Street and Somerset Street were granted recognition in January of this year.

 

Congratulating the team at Chandler Health Center, Steven Levin, MD , associate professor of family medicine and community health and director of the center, said,  “ It is no small feat to receive this recognition and it will require continued diligence and attention to our PCMH policies and procedures to maintain the recognition.”

Catherine Thomas , ambulatory care supervisor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, was named Employee of the Month for January. She is currently acting as interim office manager for Family Medicine at Monument Square.

A 20-year employee of the medical school -- 15 of which were with Family Medicine at Monument Square -- Catherine received more than a dozen enthusiastic nominations that praised her dedication, professionalism, positivity and ability to handle and diffuse difficult situations, as well as lauding her as a role model for others.

"She walks the walk and demonstrates unfailing support of the staff and the physicians, always looking to see how she can be helpful and solve problems. She is wonderful with our patients, seeking solutions to help everyone she encounters. She is not only a team player -- she is the creator of the team, the coach, and the cheerleader," said Barbara Jo McGarry, MD, associate professor of family medicine and community health, in her nomination.

"She has been a leader: she ensures that patient care is the priority, keeps the practice flowing in a very stressful environment, demonstrates professionalism in challenges," noted Karen W. Lin, MD, professor of family medicine and community health and assistant dean for global health. "She is the creative soul of the practice, bringing spirit and warmth from the bottom of the heart.... She cares about patients, cares about families, cares about human beings. This is the dream employee for every practice!"

Congratulations, Catherine, on this well-deserved honor!

Congratulations to our 2020 Central New Jersey Regional Brain Bee winner and finalists (pictured below with members of the Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology , including Distinguished Professor and Chair Cheryl Dreyfus, PhD , far right)!

After several rounds of written and oral examination, the top three finalists were:

1st Place: Gad Raganas from Biotechnology High School, Freehold

2nd Place: Ellie Patterson from Matawan Regional High School, Matawan

3rd Place: Annabelle Jin from Moorestown High School, Moorestown

This year, 74 contestants from throughout the state participated in the competition, hosted by the medical school's Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology on Saturday, Feb. 8, in Piscataway. The regional event has been held at the medical school for the past decade, attracting students from central and southern New Jersey in a test of their knowledge in the field of neuroscience.

The top three finishers received cash prizes. In addition, as the first-place winner, Gad earned an all-expense-paid trip for two to compete in the USA Brain Bee Championship, March 27-29, at Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown, Ohio. Best of luck in the national competition!

Women with high blood pressure in their first pregnancy are four times more likely to suffer a heart attack or cardiovascular death, according to a study by researchers at the medical school's Cardiovascular Institute of New Jersey and Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences.

Researchers analyzed cardiovascular disease in 6,360 women, age 18 to 54, who were pregnant for the first time and diagnosed with preeclampsia in N.J. hospitals from 1999 to 2013 and compared them to pregnant women without preeclampsia. In addition to the increased cardiovascular risks, the women with preeclampsia were more than two times more likely to die from other causes during the 15-year study period, according to the study findings, published in the Journal of Women's Health.

Researchers included lead author Mary Downs Gastrich, PhD, EdD, adjunct associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences; Stavros Zinonos, research/teaching specialist at the Cardiovascular Institute; Gloria Bachmann, MD, professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences; Nora M. Cosgrove, nursing care coordinator; Javier Cabrera, PhD, professor of statistics and biostatistics at Rutgers and a member of the Cardiovascular Institute; Jerry Q. Cheng, PhD, clinical assistant professor of medicine; and John B. Kostis, MD, DPhil, John G. Detweiler Professor of Cardiology, associate dean for cardiovascular research and director of the Cardiovascular Institute of New Jersey.

Read more in Rutgers Today .

In the future, robots could take blood samples, benefiting patients and healthcare workers alike.

A Rutgers-led team has created a blood-sampling robot that performed as well or better than people, according to the first human clinical trial of an automated blood drawing and testing device; results were published in the journal Technology. Overall success rate was 87 percent for participants whose blood was drawn, and 97 percent for those whose veins were easy to access, the study found.

Enrique J. Pantin, MD, professor of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine, was a co-author on the study, which was reported by Forbes, The Robot Report and TAPInto, among other media outlets.

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Medical students, residents and faculty were well represented at the 40th Annual Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine, held this month in Grapevine, Texas. Second-year student Pooja Desai, fourth-year student Danielle Glassman and OB/GYN resident Caroline Kwon, MD, Class of 2019 (pictured top row, l-r), presented posters on decidual natural killer (dNK) cells, maternal smoking and TeamSTEPPS training, respectively. In addition, Meike Schuster, DO, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences; and Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellows Haylea Patrick, MD, and Jennifer Hill, MD, also presented at the conference.

First-year students Roger Martinez and Minseo Kwak (pictured below) are helping lead a grassroots effort to reinforce value-based health care at the medical school through the Choosing Wisely Students and Trainees Advocating for Resource Stewardship (STARS) program, initially started in Canada and launched in the United States approximately three years ago.

The program seeks to support medical students in leading change within their own institutions, encouraging them to help devise ideas for introducing Choosing Wisely concepts into the curriculum by focusing on value-based health care in education.

To help further the initiative here at the medical school, Roger and Minseo recently attended the Choosing Wisely STARS Leadership Summit in Texas to learn more about implementation strategies and other recommendations. They note: "Early integration of high-value care training in medical education   allows synergy in learning the value of an intervention, alongside its other innate qualities. The establishment of a foundational high-value care education is crucial to allow for specialty-specific value training during residency. By achieving cultural change with emphasis in health care value in the school curriculum, along with implementing specific education strategies in the pre-clerkship, clerkship and elective years of medical school, medical students will be empowered to bring value to the forefront in the healthcare field and improve health care delivery to patients." 

Rutgers University Communications and Marketing has developed a new website to provide additional information about Rutgers University's President-Designate, Jonathan Holloway, PhD, who will begin his leadership of the university on July 1.

The site includes photos and videos from the day of his appointment, a short bio, curriculum vitae, news releases and other articles, as well as social media posts.

If you're interested in learning more, please visit https://presidentdesignate.rutgers.edu

For next week, I highlight the  Department of Pediatrics Grand Rounds  on "E-cigarettes, Cannabis and Adolescents: A Hot Mess." The presentation led by Diane Collelo, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and executive and medical director of the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System, is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 20 , from 8 - 9 a.m. in the Clinical Academic Building, Room 1302.

More details about o ther upcoming CME-accredited activities can be viewed here .

Paul F. Weber, MD, RPh, MBA, Associate Dean, Continuing Medical Education

OBITUARY: Dr. Kenneth W. Faistl, 40-Year Family Physician in Monmouth Co. -- Kenneth W. Faistl, MD -- Freehold Patch

Hope for Repurposing an Anti-Diabetic Drug as a Potential Therapy in Pediatric TBI -- Huaye Zhang, PhD; Mladen-Roko Rasin, MD, PhD; and David Crockett, PhD -- Department of Defense

Presentation, Surgical Management, and Postoperative Outcome of a Fourth Ventricular Cavernous Malformation: Case Report and Review of Literature -- Joel Kaye, BS; Sabrina Zeller, BA; Nitesh V. Patel, MD; Yehuda Herschman, MD; Fareed Jumah, MD; and Anil Nanda, MD, MPH -- World Neurosurgery

Parkinson's: Innovative method stops toxic protein buildup -- M. Maral Mouradian, MD -- Medical News Today

Rutgers wants to open a top cancer hospital, but a local school board may have the final say -- Steven K. Libutti, MD, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey -- NJ.com

Get to Know Your Data Specialists for Love Data Week -- Yingting Zhang, MLS, MA -- Rutgers University Libraries

A Doctor from the Streets Sets Others on the Path to Success -- Rameck Hunt, MD -- U.S. 1

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