Arizona

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — September 19, 2012.  Mayo Clinic has assembled the nation's leading experts including professional sports league representatives to discuss the clinical and scientific aspects of concussions and the related growing public health concerns at the Symposium on Concussion in Sport, Sept. 28–29, at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. The symposium will be held at the Mayo Clinic campus in Scottsdale, 13400 East Shea Blvd., from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 28 and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 29. Among the experts scheduled to present are concussion representatives from each of the major professional leagues: National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer. The symposium is designed to help physicians recognize the signs and symptoms of a concussion, evaluate athletes, recognize when it is safe to return to play, and understand the short- and long-term neurological consequences of concussion. "Concussion is a major public health priority that transcends age, gender and sport," says David Dodick, M.D., a neurologist at Mayo Clinic and director of the symposium. "The underreporting and recognition of concussion and the potential for short-term catastrophic consequences and disabling long-term neurological impairment from repeated concussions have prompted the passage of legislation in many states that requires the immediate removal from play of an athlete suspected of having a concussion; mandatory concussion education of all those who intersect with an athlete; and return-to-play clearance by a qualified health care provider."

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — September 11, 2012.  Pinal County residents in need of emergency medical care for a stroke may benefit from a Mayo Clinic "telestroke" program that will now be available at Casa Grande Regional Medical Center (CGRMC). A recent agreement between Casa Grande Regional Medical Center and Mayo Clinic in Arizona means the service featuring a portable, self-propelled robot will start in Casa Grande as early as October. Mayo Clinic pioneered clinical research in Arizona to study telemedicine as a means of serving patients with stroke in non-urban settings. Today, Mayo Clinic serves as the "hub" in a network of 10 other "spoke" centers, all but one in Arizona. Casa Grande Regional Medical Center will become the 11th hospital to be part of the telestroke service from Mayo Clinic. When Mayo Clinic began its stroke telemedicine program in 2005, statistics revealed that 40 percent of residents in Arizona lived outside an area with immediate stroke expertise. In telestroke care, a telestroke robot located in a rural hospital allows a stroke patient be evaluated in real time by a neurology specialist at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. The Mayo Clinic stroke neurologist, whose face appears on the screen of the robot, consults with emergency room physicians at the rural site and evaluates the patient. Patients showing signs of stroke can be examined by the neurologist who may use a computer, smart phone technology, portable tablets or laptops. In addition to assessing the patient, the neurologist can view scans of the patient's brain to detect possible damage from a hemorrhage or blocked artery. A major benefit of the collaboration is that patients with stroke symptoms who meet the criteria can often be administered clot-busting medications within the narrow window of time necessary to minimize permanent injury to the brain. "Excellent, capable emergency physicians at Casa Grande Regional Medical Center can ring the telestroke hotline and be instantly connected with Mayo Clinic's stroke experts," says Bart Demaerschalk, M.D., Professor of Neurology, and medical director of Mayo Clinic Telestroke. "Urgent and immediate virtual care can be provided to patients — collaboration between stroke neurologists and physicians at the remote sites has resulted in 96 percent accuracy in diagnosing stroke." Rona Curphy, President and CEO of CGRMC, says, "We are proud to bring this advanced service to our community, allowing our patients the benefit of immediate evaluation in the case of a stroke without requiring them to leave our community. We know that this technology will save lives and reduce the damage a stroke patient might experience by decreasing response times. In the case of a stroke, time is a critical component and telestroke medicine buys us time for our patients." To date, more than 1,000 emergency consultations for stroke between Mayo Clinic stroke neurologists and physicians at the spoke centers have taken place. Such comprehensive evaluation techniques, leading to appropriate life-saving treatment for stroke, have resulted in significant cost reductions in terms of ground and air ambulance transfer of the patient to another medical center. Dr. Demaerschalk explains that telestroke robot technology is not intended to replace in person, face-to-face communication with patients. "But our research strongly suggests that the technology can enhance evaluation and treatment for patients in rural areas, as well as peer-to-peer collaboration among physicians," he says.

PHOENIX — September 4, 2012.  The Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Mayo Clinic in Arizona recently reached a milestone by performing its 1,000th adult ...

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — August 23, 2012.  Mayo Clinic in Arizona has been designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology. By awarding facilities the status of a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence, the ACR recognizes breast imaging centers that have earned accreditation in mammography, stereotactic breast biopsy, and breast ultrasound (including ultrasound-guided breast biopsy). Mayo Clinic in Arizona provides comprehensive diagnostic breast imaging services including: Screening and Diagnostic Mammograms Breast Ultrasounds MRI of the Breast Stereotactic Breast Biopsies Ultrasound Breast Biopsies MRI Breast Biopsies Seed Localizations Peer-review evaluations, conducted in each breast imaging modality by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field, have determined that Mayo Clinic in Arizona has achieved high practice standards in image quality, personnel qualifications, facility equipment, quality control procedures, and quality assurance programs.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — August 22, 2012.  One of the most unpleasant aspects of colorectal cancer screening for many patients is the amount of laxative they must drink the night before. Some become so anxious about drinking so much liquid that they avoid the entire procedure, putting them at risk of undiagnosed cancer. Under a new practice at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, four pills replace the multiple liters of laxative for people having a CT colonography also known as a virtual colonoscopy. Colonoscopies, in which a tiny camera is inserted into the body to examine the bowels, and virtual colonoscopies, in which a CT scan is used to provide three-dimensional imaging of the colon and rectum, are commonly performed for early detection of colon cancer in people over 50. Both colon exams require the use of a laxative to empty the colon. In the new Mayo protocol that began this summer, patients having virtual colonoscopies simply take four tablets of the cleansing agent bisacodyl. "Our hope is that this will make people less anxious and more likely to get screened and will ultimately result in fewer deaths from colorectal cancer," says C. Daniel Johnson, M.D., chair of the Department of Radiology at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Click here for a video of Dr. Johnson talking about the new protocol. The development of the new protocol was based on a study co-by Dr. Johnson and published in Abdominal Imaging journal last year. The study found that the new four-tablet procedure worked as well as the standard liquid laxative for virtual colonoscopies. The new protocol is not intended for standard colonoscopies because the cleansing requirements between the two procedures differ. Virtual colonoscopy was found to be highly accurate for detection of intermediate (6-9 millimeters) and large (greater than 1 centimeter) polyps. Because the majority of patients will not have a polyp, no further workup is necessary. Only the 12 percent of patients identified with a polyp during a colonography would then need to have a colonoscopy. Because most colon cancer arises from preexisting polyps, detection and removal of these lesions can help eradicate it. Dr. Johnson says that how people get screened should be an individual decision, based on discussions with their medical providers. Virtual colonoscopies may be considered for patients who: Have had a difficult time with previous colonoscopy procedures Are on anti-coagulant drugs Have a colon obstruction Prefer not to have a standard colonoscopy.

PHOENIX, Arizona — August 20, 2012.  Mayo Clinic has been granted approval for construction of a 217,200 square-foot building on its Phoenix campus, a major expansion that will create a single-site, integrated Cancer Center. Mayo Clinic Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center with a multi-site, national presence, which allows us to serve a broad and diverse group of patients. The $130 million facility features three additional floors of clinical and office space that will be built above the first level of Mayo Clinic's Proton Beam Therapy Building currently under construction. Proton beam therapy is a precise form of cancer treatment that allows greater control over radiation doses, using pencil-beam scanning. Project design and programming for the new building is expected to take three years, with staged occupancy expected in 2015. The project signals a significant milestone for Mayo Clinic in Arizona in that it creates a consolidated and integrated Cancer Center on one campus, providing enhanced convenience for cancer patients and their families. Pivotal to that consolidation will be the relocation of the Hematology/Oncology Department from its current location on the Scottsdale campus to the new building on the Phoenix campus. Other cancer-related units such as Bone Marrow Transplant, Chemotherapy Infusion and Research will also transfer to the new building. Consolidation to one campus will also include relocation of 32 chemotherapy infusion stations currently located on the Scottsdale campus to the new cancer facility, as well as the planned addition of 18 more infusion stations. The vertical expansion project will also include three outpatient operating rooms, expanded space for Transplant and relocation of some clinical units from the adjacent Mayo Clinic Hospital to create 12 more inpatient hospital beds. Future plans include moving other units from the hospital to create space for 24 additional hospital beds. Exam rooms in the new cancer building will feature a new design concept intended to accommodate the integrated team care concept for the evaluation and treatment of patients. Also planned for the convenience of patients are kiosks that will allow virtual check-in and access to timely information.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — July 17, 2012.  U.S. News & World Report has again named Mayo Clinic's campus in Arizona to its annual list of "Best ...

PHOENIX, Arizona — July 6, 2012.  When minutes matter, Yes is the best answer. And emergency room physicians at Mayo Clinic are finding the YES Board is the place to find answers. In the age of computers, a common problem in many health care institutions is that data come from so many sources that it becomes difficult to track and manage. This problem is acute in emergency rooms where knowing the "real time" status of multiple patients is crucial in determining the care for each patient. "Hospitals have great systems that allow us to focus on one patient; what we don't have is a system that allows us to see all of our patients at once," said Vernon Smith, M.D., an emergency room physician at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. "In a way it was easier when all the information was kept on paper — now with so many sources of data and in different systems, keeping track of real time information in fast-paced place like an emergency room presents challenges." The answer is the YES Board. Dr. Smith, who has a rare combination of specialties — a medical doctor who is also a computer engineer, developed the computerized YES Board patient tracking system over the course of several years and input from "300-400 other doctors, nurses and emergency room staff" while he worked at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. The system displays on 21-inch television mounted in the emergency rooms at Mayo Clinic. The monitors display parallel rows of rectangular boxes that glow red, green, yellow,white and blue. Each colorful box shows a patient's room with icons — hearts, C-clamps, ZZZZ's, pulsing airborne droplets, and several others, which tell providers something about the patients in those rooms. Dr. Smith said that each data point represents a specific request of someone in the emergency room saying "Hey, wouldn't it be great if &" At a glance, physicians and nurses can find out what's going on with all the patients in the emergency room in one place. "It provides overall situational awareness," Dr. Smith said. "All the information feeds in from 15 different data systems and there is no additional input needed to maintain the real time nature of the board. It gives of-the-moment vital information to benefit physicians' in-the-moment decision making."

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — June 28, 2012.  Twenty-five years ago, in June 1987, a crew of just 47 physicians and 225 allied health employees rallied to formally launch Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Before the doors even opened, 1,800 patient appointments had been booked. Now, at the organization's 25th anniversary, set for Friday, June 29, 470 physicians and scientists and nearly 5,000 allied health employees, including many from the "original crew," will celebrate Mayo Clinic's many successes over the past quarter century of operation. Mayo Clinic in Arizona now spans two campuses, comprising more than 400 acres of land, and has added two research buildings on the Scottsdale campus and, on the Phoenix campus, a 244-bed hospital, a specialty clinic, housing for transplant and cancer patients and leased space for a child care center, a hospice and a hotel. Offsite family medicine practices were also added in Scottsdale and Glendale, Ariz. A visible new development on the Phoenix campus is construction currently under way for the Proton Beam Therapy Program, a precise form of cancer treatment that allows greater control over radiation doses, using pencil-beam scanning. Located just east of Mayo Clinic Hospital, the 100,000-plus square foot facility is expected to open its first treatment rooms by 2016. The center will be the first one in the Southwest. Plans were also announced in September 2011 for development of a branch of Mayo Medical School, called the Mayo Medical School – Arizona Campus, in collaboration with Arizona State University. Expected to open in 2015, the school will offer both a medical degree granted by Mayo and a master's degree in the Science of Health Care Delivery through ASU.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — June 28, 2012.  More than 40,000 student athletes in Arizona have taken advantage of computerized baseline concussion evaluations offered by Mayo Clinic, in the program's first year. That amounts to nearly 40 percent of the state's roughly 100,000 high school athletes. Baseline concussion evaluations measure how the brain is working before injury, and are mandatory tests for professional and college athletes. Mayo covers the cost of the cognitive evaluations for all high school and junior high school-aged interscholastic and club athletes in the state. The program was made possible through the support of benefactors and Mayo Clinic. The test takes 8–15 minutes to complete, and athletes or their parents can share the results with health care providers of their choice. After a concussion, the test can be repeated to determine if there has been a change in the cognitive capabilities of the athlete and, once symptoms have resolved, the test can be repeated to determine whether the athlete has returned to pre-injury baseline. The results of this test, combined with a thorough neurological evaluation, ensure that the health care provider can make an informed and objective determination on when and whether the athlete can safely resume normal activities — and in the case of student athletes, when they can return to their sport. "The diagnosis of concussion, assessment of its severity and knowing when an athlete can return to physical activity, competition, work or school is not always clear," says Mayo neurologist David Dodick, M.D., at Mayo Clinic in Arizona and president of the American Headache Society. "Having a baseline concussion assessment for each athlete will assist in a physician's ability to identify and quantify a change in brain function, and determine if and when the athlete has returned to his or her baseline." After a concussion, if an athlete continues to play or returns to play too early, there is a significant risk of experiencing another concussion. Dr. Dodick adds. "Repeat concussions may take longer to resolve and come with a risk of permanent neurological damage or, rarely, death," he says. Children, adolescents and female athletes appear to be at a higher risk for concussions, and may also take longer to recover. While the importance of baseline testing is clear, the results should be used with a comprehensive neurological evaluation. Although the majority of concussions resolve relatively quickly, some athletes may experience symptoms that may persist for months or longer. The medical care and rehabilitation of these athletes is best achieved by a multidisciplinary team of health professionals with expertise in the evaluation and management of concussions. Providing this baseline assessment also highlights the importance of safeguarding the brain health of young athletes.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — June 26, 2012.  For a significant number of patients, gastric bypass surgery for weight loss can reverse Type 2 diabetes, but a new Mayo Clinic study finds that the disease can return in some 21 percent of patients within three to five years. The recurrence of diabetes was mainly influenced by the patients' longstanding history of Type 2 diabetes, explains Yessica Ramos, M.D., an internal medicine resident at Mayo Clinic in Arizona and study lead. "This suggests that early surgical intervention for obese people with diabetes can improve the chances for remission of the disease." Ramos and colleagues at Mayo Clinic studied records of 72 patients with Type 2 diabetes who had undergone a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure (the most common form of gastric bypass surgery in which part of the patient's stomach is used to create a new, smaller stomach pouch) between 2000 and 2007. Of those patients, 66 (92 percent) experienced reversal of their diabetes at some point following the surgery. However, 14 of those same patients (21 percent) experienced a recurrence of their Type 2 diabetes within three to five years, according to the researchers who studied their blood work. Both groups of patients – those whose diabetes was reversed, and those whose diabetes returned – regained similar amounts of weight post-surgery. Those whose diabetes was reversed lost more weight originally and maintained a lower mean weight throughout the five years of follow-up. The Mayo researchers found that the longer the patients had diabetes previous to their weight loss surgery, the higher the probability that their diabetes would recur. In particular, patients who had diabetes for longer than five years before their surgery were 3.8 times more likely to experience a recurrence of their diabetes, compared with patients who had less than a five-year history with the disease.

PHOENIX, Ariz., — June 7, 2012.  Mayo Clinic Hospital in Arizona scored high marks for safety, earning an "A" Hospital Safety Score by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits. The Hospital Safety Score was calculated under the guidance of The Leapfrog Group's Blue Ribbon Expert Panel using publicly available data on patient injuries, medical and medication errors, and infections. U.S. hospitals were assigned an A, B, C, D, or F for their safety. "Mayo Clinic takes great pride in our commitment to patient safety. Providing the safest, best possible care to our patients is always at the forefront of everything we do," said Wyatt W. Decker, M.D., Vice President, Mayo Clinic, Chief Executive Officer for Mayo Clinic in Arizona. "Being recognized as one of the safest hospitals in Arizona means a great deal to our staff and the patients we serve," Dr. Decker added. "It's The Leapfrog Group's goal to give patients the information they need and deserve before even entering a hospital," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. "We congratulate the hospitals that earned an 'A' and we look forward to the day when all hospitals in the U.S. will earn the highest scores for putting patient safety first." To see Mayo Clinic Hospital's scores as they compare nationally and locally, visit the Hospital Safety Score website, which also provides information on how the public can protect themselves and loved ones during a hospital stay. Calculated under the guidance of The Leapfrog Group's nine-member Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 26 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single score representing a hospital's overall capacity to keep patients safe from infections, injuries, and medical and medication errors. The panel includes: John Birkmeyer (University of Michigan), Ashish Jha (Harvard University), Lucian Leape (Harvard University), Arnold Millstein (Stanford University), Peter Pronovost (Johns Hopkins University), Patrick Romano (University of California, Davis), Sara Singer (Harvard University), Tim Vogus (Vanderbilt University), and Robert Wachter (University of California, San Francisco).