OKC Medical Briefs: April 11, 2001

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Apr 11, 2001 by Kirby Davis

Bedlam bragging rights rarely extend into the health care field. The 2002 Best Graduate Schools edition of U.S. News and World Report has changed that, ranking Oklahoma State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine among the nation's top 40 medical schools.

As the Tulsa school's public relations department noted, OSU is the only nationally ranked medical school in Oklahoma - a sharp jab at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, home to University Hospital and the OU College of Medicine.

The magazine, known for its educational institutional rankings, considered the nation's 144 medical schools in several specialties. OSU ranked 16th in rural medicine, 23rd in family medicine and 37th in primary care.

ZymeTx

On April 23, ZymeTx, the maker of the ZstatFlu influenza test kit and operator of www.fluwatch.com, will present a workplace influenza disease management program at an Occupational Health Association meeting in San Francisco. Managing influenza is becoming a hot topic in the occupational health area as companies search for tangible and immediate ways to trim health care costs and raise overall productivity, said Don Hamer, an executive vice president at Edwards Medical Supply, the medical supply distributor that selected ZymeTx for the presentation. Added Dr. Robert J. Hudson, medical director for Oklahoma City-based ZymeTx, the direct and indirect costs of flu on the American economy are estimated at $12 billion annually. A great deal of that cost is occurred in the workplace from the productivity losses of absent employees stricken by influenza.

A work-place influenza management program could save companies billions of health care dollars for America's business community, predicted Hamer. A comprehensive approach to flu management takes on even greater importance when one understands that the new flu treatment drugs are only effective when flu is detected through diagnosis and treatment begins within 48 hours of the onset of the initial symptoms.

Business

After an initial application was denied, Integris Baptist Medical Center has received certificate of need approval to add 41 child psychiatric beds at its Spencer campus at a cost of $116,000.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health has denied Rosewood Nursing Home Inc. its bid to lease the Rosewood Manor Nursing Center in Norman.

The Eckerd Corp. foundation has given a five-year monetary donation to the OU College of Pharmacy.

People

The Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality has named LaWanna Halstead manager of its Health Care Quality Improvement Program and Kathy Clark its project coordinator. Both are registered nurses.

Halstead, a graduate from OSU-OKC and OU, is responsible for the national and local quality improvement projects involving the Medicare program. Clark, a 30-year vet, will assist Oklahoma hospitals with the implementation of Medicare quality improvement projects dealing with pneumonia and stroke. She has degrees from Oklahoma Baptist University and OU.

Etc.

Edmond Medical Center has paired with an ophthalmologist from Edmond Regional Eye Associates to participate in the Mission Cataract Campaign, which provides free cataract surgeries to those with financial needs.

Midwest Regional Medical Center has a series of support groups and educational classes planned for April, with topics ranging from breast cancer and diabetes to arthritis and infant death. For details, call 610-3627.

From 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Friday, the OSU-OKC Nurse Science Program will host Potpourri 2001: As Good as It Gets - Putting a New Face on Aging. Keynote speaker will be Joseph Weber. The cost is $20 for student nurses, $49 for all others. For details, call 945-3278.

On Tuesday, as part of Palliative Care Week, the OU colleges of drama and medicine will present two readings of Margaret Edson's play Wit, which tells of one woman's struggle against ovarian cancer. The first reading will begin at noon in the Children's Hospital Center for Continuing Education Auditorium. The second reading, scheduled at 7 p.m., will be in the Integris Baptist Medical Center James L. Henry Auditorium.

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Oklahoma Center for Neuroscience will sponsor a panel discussion on The Brain and Aging at the Westminster Presbyterian Church. To learn more on the free session, call 271- 6267.

At 7 p.m. April 20, the American Cancer Society will kick off the Edmond Relay for Life, a fund-raiser that will honor those fighting cancer as well as those who have fallen. This year's event will include a luminary ceremony. For details, call 359-5438.

At 6:30 p.m. April 24, the father of the world's first living and healthy suptuplets, Kenny McCaughey, will address the Deaconess Heritage Council Recognition Dinner at the Northwest Expressway Marriott. Tickets cost $35. To learn more, call 604-4225.

On April 28-29, the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services will take volunteers for training to staff the Teenline hotline. For details, call Coordinator Julie Geddes at 522-3835.