GHSUpdate - March 2012

INSIDE: Consolidation work group named

GHSU pdate

PRESIDENT’S

MARCH 2012

Dedication of the Gilbert Manor Monument

March is starting with a bang

Ricardo Azziz, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A. President, Georgia Health Sciences University and CEO, Georgia Health Sciences Health System

n February was a great month at Georgia Health Sciences University.

We moved full speed ahead on our consolidation plan with Augusta State University (see asughsu. org for the latest updates) and we ended the month on a high note with the dedication of a monument to the former Gilbert Manor neighborhood (more on that story inside).

Now we are starting March with a bang as we prepare to launch our long-term strategic plan: Transformation 2020.

The plan, to be unveiled in document form on March 9, will serve as our roadmap to achieving our goal of becoming a top-50 research university.

The plan will not only guide our academic health center to excellence, it will help solidify GHSU’s role in ensuring that we meet Governor Nathan Deal’s eight-year vision for improving health professions education and health care in Georgia.

You can learn more about our transformation efforts in the April issue of President’s GHSUpdate and get real-time updates at georgiahealth.edu/ transformation2020.

Thank you for your continued support. It’s a pleasure accompanying you on the journey. l

Our vision: To be a globally recognized research university and academic health center, while transforming the region into a health care and biomedical research destination.

John Wesley Gilbert

Monument honors Gilbert n On Feb. 25, Georgia Health Sciences University dedicated a monument where the Gilbert Manor public housing complex once stood.

The monument design, a semi-circular cast stone bench, was selected by a committee of community leaders and incorporates materials salvaged from the original Gilbert Manor neighborhood, including bricks, a marble sign and two bronze plaques.

The neighborhood was named after John Wesley Gilbert, a prominent black teacher, administrator and classical scholar born to slaves in Hephzibah. He was the first student to enroll at nearby Paine College and was the school’s first graduate. He went on to be the first black student to receive a master’s degree from Brown University and is regarded as the first black archaeologist.

Gilbert Manor was built in 1941 to provide lowincome housing to the citizens of Augusta. In 2008, the 15-acre property was gifted to the university by the city of Augusta to provide a location for a new clinical research building for the College of Dental Medicine.

The five-story, 269,000-square-foot building is about 100,000 square feet larger than the school’s previous home and allowed the college to increase class sizes to accommodate Georgia’s growing oral health care demands. It is also slated to be the future site of the GHSU Education Commons building, a state-of-the-art classroom facility that will be shared with the Medical College of Georgia. l

Ronald McDonald House to locate near Children’s Medical Center n Family members of children undergoing treatment at Georgia Health Sciences Children’s Medical Center will soon be able to make their visits without having to step foot in a car each and every time.

The University System of Georgia Board of Regents recently approved a plan for Georgia Health Sciences University to lease a half-acre section of campus, currently occupied by the Center for Telehealth building, to Augusta’s Ronald McDonald House to use as its new location.

The new home, which will be located next to the parking deck due east of the Children’s Medical Center’s main entrance, will replace the current Ronald McDonald Home on Greene Street in downtown Augusta, which is more than a mile and a half away from the GHSU campus.

The board of the Augusta Ronald McDonald House has sought an on-campus location since 2007, Executive Director Betts Murdison said.

“We have been in our current location on Greene Street for 28 years and have wanted to move onto campus for a very long time,” she said. “Our families will only be steps away from their critically ill child and I know that will bring incredible peace of mind to everyone.”

The Center for Telehealth building, built as the residence of the university’s first president, will be demolished and replaced by a 22,500-square-foot, handicap-accessible home capable of housing up to 22 families. Murdison said the current 11-bedroom Ronald McDonald House cared for the families of 477 Children’s Medical Center patients during 2011.

David Hefner, Executive Vice President for Clinical Affairs and CEO of Georgia Health Sciences Medical Center and Medical Associates, said he is pleased the property will be better utilized.

“This arrangement will help us take our patient- and family-centered pediatric care to an even higher level,” he said. “Knowing that their loved ones are only a few steps away will not only improve the patient experience, but ease the burden on family members during a stressful period.” l The Center for Telehealth building currently occupies the leased site

Consolidation News

For additional information, please visit usg.edu/consolidation.

Chancellor appoints implementation work group n University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank M. Huckaby appointed the following individuals to the implementation work group that will oversee the process of consolidating Augusta State University and Georgia Health Sciences University: Dr. Michael Brands, Professor and Director of Medical Physiology, GHSU Clint Bryant, Director of Athletics, ASU Philip Howard, Vice President of Facilities Service, GHSU Kerry Cartledge, Employee Advisory Council Chairman, GHSU Dr. Gretchen Caughman, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, GHSU Dr. Sandra Freedman, Alumna, GHSU Dr. Rich Griner, Chairman and Associate Professor of Biology, ASU Dr. W. Kent Guion, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, GHSU Patricia Harris, Human Resources Specialist, ASU Jeff Heck, Associate Director/Associate Professor, Reese Library, Faculty Policies Chair, ASU Jim Hull, Principle, Hull Storey Gibson Retail Group Cedric Johnson, Senior Vice President and Community Development Officer, First Bank of Georgia Dr. Joyce Jones, Vice President for Student Services and Dean of Students, ASU Barinaadaa Kara, SGA President, ASU Caitlin Madigan, SGA Humanitarian, GHSU Will McKnight, Community Member Robert Osborne, Georgia Bank & Trust Executive Vice President of Wealth Management Dr. Carol Rychly, Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs, ASU Dennis Roemer, Interim Senior Vice President of Finance and CFO, GHSU Phil Wahl, Incoming Foundation Chairman, ASU, and Augusta City President

Clinical Spotlight n Cochlear implants may be a safe, effective option for some organ transplant patients who’ve lost their hearing as an unfortunate consequence of their transplant-related drug regime.

A study by Dr. Brian J. McKinnon, an otologist and neurotologist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Health Sciences University, and Dr. Kenneth C. Iverson, Chief Resident in otolaryngology, showed patients can restore their hearing without additional health risks if they wait at least six months after the organ transplant and take the right antibiotic before and after the cochlear implant procedure.

Antibiotics and immunosuppressive drugs required by organ transplant patients can cause deafness by destroying the metabolically active cells in the inner ear that convert sound waves to neural impulses the brain can interpret.

Cochlear implants are less than an inch in diameter and are placed behind the ear in between the scalp and skull.

Georgia Health Sciences Health System has a cochlear implant program for adults and children.

For more information, call the MCG Department of Otolaryngology at 706-721-6100. l

Commercial Relationship Manager, First Citizens Bank

Victoria Worsham, Accountant, Bookstore / Staff Advisory Council, ASU l

Drs. Kenneth C. Iverson (left) and Brian J. McKinnon

Georgia Bio honors telemedicine company created at GHSU n REACH Health Inc., a telemedicine company developed by the Department of Neurology, received a 2012 Georgia Bio Community Award Jan. 26 for its significant contributions to Georgia’s life sciences industry.

The company provides internet-based stroke-diagnosis services to more than 100 hospitals throughout the country, Dr. David Hess enabling physicians to more rapidly administer stroke medication during the narrow window in which it is effective.

“It’s an immediate, collaborative consultation in the cloud,” said Dr. David Hess, a REACH Health co-founder and Chairman of the Department of Neurology at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Health Sciences University.

Georgia Bio is a private, non-profit representing universities, medical centers, companies and others involved in developing products that improve the health and well-being of people, animals and the environment. l

Upcoming Events March 3

American Heart Association Heart Walk Help Georgia Health Sciences Health System meet its goal of $50,000 to help fight cardiovascular disease.

Learn more or register at www.csraheartwalk.org

March 7

President’s Lecture Series Dr. Jonathan Braun, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine Georgia Health Sciences University Lee Auditorium, Noon

March 23

College of Dental Medicine Hinman Reception Atlanta, Der Biergarten Restaurant, 5-7 p.m.

March 29

MCG Alumni Regional Reception Athens, home of Dr. and Mrs. Mark Ellison, 6 p.m.

April 26-29

GHSU Homecoming 2012: Rich Heritage – Dynamic Future Augusta, Georgia 800-869-1113

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage

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Augusta, GA Permit No. 210

Office of the President 1120 15th Street, FI-1033 Augusta, Georgia 30912 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Wrong address? Need to update your information?

Tell us by email at: updateinfo@georgiahealth.edu Go online to: www.georgiahealth.edu/updateinfo Or call us at: 706-721-4001

GHSU ‘Gives Kids a Smile’

More than 80 local elementary school students receive free treatment

n Students from Georgia Health Sciences University’s Colleges of Allied Health Sciences and Dental Medicine provided free treatment to more than 80 first-, second- and third-graders from Richmond County’s Wheeless Road Elementary School on Feb. 3 as part of the national Give Kids a Smile Day. The American Dental Association-sponsored event was created in 2003 to provide care and highlight the importance of access to dental care for low-income children.

“This is truly one of our favorite days of the year,” said Dr. Tara Schafer, Interim Chairwoman of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry. “GHSU students, residents, faculty and staff, along with dentists from the community, come together to

provide dental care to children in need.” l

College of Dental Medicine Dean Connie Drisko welcomes students from Wheeless Road Elementary

Sculpting in Clay: Reflections on Leadership and Transformation GHSUpdate is a monthly publication from the office of President Ricardo Azziz. For additional insight and timely updates, please follow his blog at: azziz.georgiahealth.edu