Arizona - February 2015 Archives

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A. Keith Stewart, M.B., Ch.B., has been appointed medical director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine. Dr. Stewart is a consultant in the Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine. “I am honored to have this opportunity,” says Dr. Stewart. “We will build on the excellent work of the center to date, with a renewed focus on helping our clinicians access genomics based diagnostics and therapeutics on a routine basis to improve patient care. The integrated complex care delivered at Mayo Clinic provides a unique ability to lead in the development of precision medicine advances with global impact.” Dr. Stewart’s own research and clinical interest is in translational genomics in multiple myeloma, including both basic and clinical research to identify novel targets for therapy in multiple myeloma. A diversity of public and private institutions currently support this work: the National Cancer Institute, Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, and Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, as well as numerous partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry for clinical trials. MEDIA CONTACT: Sam Smith, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu

PHOENIX — The Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees welcomed Gianrico Farrugia, M.D. ,as a new member, re-elected two internal trustees and one public trustee, and also recognized three recipients of Mayo Clinic named professorships at its board meeting today. Dr. Farrugia was named Mayo Clinic vice president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Mayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonville, Florida, in August 2014. He replaces William Rupp, M.D., who retired at the end of 2014 and was elected as an emeritus trustee. Michael Powell, who joined the board in 2011, was re-elected as a public trustee. Powell, who is president and CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), was chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 2001 to 2005 and a member of the FCC for eight years. The board re-elected two internal trustees: Veronique Roger, M.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist in the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases with an appointment also in the Department of Health Sciences Research. Dr. Roger also holds the Elizabeth C. Lane, Ph.D., and M. Nadine Zimmerman, Ph.D., Professor of Internal Medicine. Dr. Roger will serve a four-year term. Pam Johnson, R.N., chair, Mayo Clinic Department of Nursing. Ms. Johnson will serve a one-year term. The Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees also recognized three new named professorships, the highest academic distinction for faculty members at Mayo Clinic.

Henderson, Nev. – Southern Nevada residents in need of emergency medical care for a stroke may benefit from a Mayo Clinic “telestroke” program that is now available at all three campuses of Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican (Rose de Lima, Siena and San Martín). A recent agreement between St. Rose and Mayo Clinic in Arizona means the service featuring a portable, self-propelled robot has begun in southern Nevada. This service will compliment and augment the already robust certified stroke centers at all three campuses and Dignity Health is the first to partner with Mayo on this project in Nevada. In telestroke care, the use of a telestroke robot located in a hospital lets a stroke patient be seen in real time by a neurology specialist at Mayo Clinic located in Phoenix. The Mayo stroke neurologist, whose face appears on the screen of the robot, consults with emergency room physicians at the sites and evaluates the patient. Patients showing signs of stroke can be examined by the neurologist via computer, smart phone technology, portable tablets or laptops. In addition to assessment of the patient, the neurologist can view scans of the patient's brain to detect possible damage from a hemorrhage or blocked artery.

PHOENIX – While surgical outcomes have improved nationally over time, surgical outcome reporting does not necessarily lead to better outcomes, according to a Mayo Clinic study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Systems that capture, analyze, and report surgical outcomes are an increasingly important part of the quality improvement movement in health care in the United States.  Within the U.S., the most widely used surgical outcomes reporting system is the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP), which is coordinated through the American College of Surgeons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Derkrd6Isc The study analyzed data regarding surgical outcomes — complications, serious complications, and mortality — in over 345,000 patients treated between 2009 and 2013 at academic hospitals throughout the United States.  Of these patients, approximately half were treated at hospitals that participated in the NSQIP.  The study showed that surgical outcomes significantly improved overall in both study groups during the period of analysis. MEDIA CONTACT: Jim McVeigh, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu