CORE - Winter 2013

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Winter 2013

A P U b l i C A T I O N O F T H E C O R E I N S T I T U T E

Cutting-Edge Innovations From The CORE Institute Back to Being Dad, Thanks to The CORE Institute

Meet the Foot and Ankle Team!

Race to Live:

A Doctor’s Survival Story

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A P U b l iIC A T I O N O F T H E C O R E I N S T I T U T E

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VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 Winter 2013 To register for the free CORE Ink mailing list, e-mail your name and address to marketing@thecoreinstitute.com.

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1.866.974.2673 CENTRAL PHOENIX

1820 W. Maryland Ave., Ste. 2 Phoenix, AZ 85015

GILBERT

3420 S. Mercy Rd., Ste. 200 Gilbert, AZ 85297

Gilbert Spine Center

2680 S. Val Vista Dr., Bldg. 9, Suite 146 Gilbert, AZ 85295

Mesa

1450 S. Dobson Rd., Ste. B-122 Mesa, AZ 85202

NORTH PHOENIX

2730 W. Agua Fria Freeway, Ste. 100 Phoenix, AZ 85027

PEORIA

10494 W. Thunderbird Blvd., Ste. 102 Sun City, AZ 85351

Peoria Spine Center

10494 W. Thunderbird Blvd., Ste. 108 Sun City, AZ 85351

SUN CITY WEST

14520 W. Granite Valley Dr., Ste. 210 Sun City West, AZ 85375 THE CORE INSTITUTE Director, Marketing & Community Relations The CORE Institute® Allison M. Vasconcellos CLINICAL FACULTY Joshua Abrams, DO Damon Adamany, MD Sarim Ahmed, MD Jocelyn Alloway, PA-C Kareem Anderson, PA-C Ali Araghi, DO Arash Araghi, DO Clifford Baker, MD Melissa Barrett, PA-C Robert Beckenbaugh, MD Harvinder Bedi, MD David Ben-Aviv, MD Scott Bleazey, DPM Kyle Brooks, PA-C John Brown, MD Mark Campbell, MD Robert Cercek, MD Aaron Clare, PA-C Lisa Cote, ARNP-BC Amalia De Comas, MD Summer Dehnert, PA-C Mark Dekutoski, MD Hilary Delis, PA-C Eric Feldman, MD Benjamin Geer, MD Matthew Hansen, MD Michael Harris, MD Jessica Hepburn, PA-C Michelle Hitchcok, PA-C Lawrence Huff, Jr., MD David Jacofsky, MD Marc Jacofsky, PhD Sheila Janisch FNP-BC Nathan Jeppesen, DPM John Kearney, Jr., MD Sarah Kocisky, PA-C

Rene Lucas, MD Michael Manning, DO David Martineau, MD Mona Mhatre, MD Andrew Morchower, MD Steven Myerthall, MD Murray Nance, PA-C Tony Nguyen, MD Janet Orozco, PA-C Frank Raia, MD Cathleen Raimondi, PA-C Vimala Ramachandran, MD Guy Reyes, Jr., MD Nathan Richardson, MD Brook Rogers, PA-C Jason Scalise, MD Jennifer Schaeffer FNP-BC Joseph Scoggin, MD Ryan Scott, DPM Scott Siverhus, MD Anna Stelter, PA-C Matthew Stonestreet, MD Peter Strang, PA-C Geoffrey Streeter, PA-C Travis Swift, PA-C Bradford Tenney, PA-C John Thompson, DO David Tom, MD Ejovi Ughwanogho, MD Bryan Wall, MD Jennifer Watry, PA-C Matthew Weichbrodt, DO S. Douglas Werner, DO Christina Willman, PA-C Christina Wooldridge, PA-C Nicolas Zastrow, PA-C

from the Chairman Happy Birthday to Us! With this issue of CORE Ink, we celebrate the 8th anniversary of founding The CORE Institute. Since The CORE Institute’s inception in 2005, we have expanded from four providers to over 85.

This growth has been built on a platform of evidence-based medicine and meticulous outcomes tracking managed by a proprietary IT platform. Literally hundreds of thousands of patients, from all 50 states and eight countries, have given us the privilege to care for them at The CORE Institute.

In 2012 we added 10 new physicians and grew by approximately 18 percent, adding over 36,000 new patients to our clinics. For the second year in the row, we were recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in the Valley by Phoenix Business Journal. In 2013, you can expect news of expansion outside of Arizona. In this issue, you will find a very special feature story, not written by one of our providers, but about one of our physicians who faced health challenges himself. In addition, we bring you education around advancements in sports medicine, an introduction to our new foot and ankle team, and a technology roundup.

The CORE Institute hopes that you agree that we have achieved our mission of bringing a new standard of excellence to surgical care in Arizona. Higher patient satisfaction, greater standardization using evidence-based best practices, better clinical quality, and more efficient performance have contributed to the rapid growth and ongoing success. The tools The CORE Institute has developed, the protocols we have advanced, and the marketing processes we have created all combine to contribute to the overall superior performance of the practice. The CORE Institute now looks forward to scaling best-in-class patient care around the world.

On behalf of all of our physicians, providers, and staff, The CORE Institute appreciates your continued support.

Keep Life in Motion!®

David J. Jacofsky, MD Chairman and CEO

CREATED BY REPUBLIC MEDIA CUSTOM PUBLISHING FOR THE CORE INSTITUTE General Manager: Cami Kaiser/cami.kaiser@pni.com Mgr. Creative Development: Isaac Moya/imoya@republicmedia.com Editor: Jim Williams/JLWilliams@republicmedia.com Managing Art Director: Tracey Phalen/tphalen@republicmedia.com Design: SW!TCH Studio/rmcp@switchstudio.com Photography: CDP Photography

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Cover Story A Doctor’s Survival Story Dr. John Kearney, a Sports Medicine Physician at The CORE Institute, lived a healthy and active life.

But a sudden heart condition changed that, and he was in a battle to survive. Read more on page 14.

Ta bl e of Contents Depar tmen ts New Providers

Patient Care

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8: Exciting news: Ten new physicians joining The CORE Institute team.

What’s New? 9: In an effort to provide best-in-class orthopedic care at more convenient times, The CORE Institute has expanded our clinic hours.

Patient Care 10: After years of pain and frustration, former athlete now living life to fullest thanks to The CORE Institute.

Specialty Spotlight 11: Meet The CORE Institute Foot and Ankle team.

Ask the Expert Community Relations

Feature Committed to Staying Active and Healthy The CORE Institute physical therapist Dan Neal practices what he preaches.

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12: Sports Medicine field dedicated to maintaining athletes’ best.

Community Relations 19: The CORE Institute is proud to support the community.

Research 20: 2012 Technology Round Up: The CORE Institute researchers awarded two utility patents by United States Patent and Trademark Office.

CORE Candid 21: For the second consecutive year, The CORE Institute has been selected as one of the 2012 Best Places to Work in the Valley!

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New providers

New Providers

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The CORE Institute is pleased to announce the addition of ten new physicians to our provider team practicing at The CORE Institute.

Sarim Ahmed, MD is a fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon specializing in primary and revision joint arthroplasty of the hip and knee as well as arthroscopy and reconstruction surgery of the shoulder and elbow.

Harvinder S. Bedi, MD is a fellowshiptrained orthopedic spine surgeon specializing in cervical, thoracic, and lumbar disorders of the spine, including degenerative disorders, spinal trauma, deformity, minimally invasive surgery, artificial disc replacement, and computer-assisted navigation.

Scott Bleazey, DPM is a fellowship-trained foot and ankle surgeon, specializing in advanced reconstruction including total ankle replacement surgery. He is experienced in all facets of foot and ankle care including sports injuries, trauma, limb salvage and pediatric conditions and board qualified in both foot surgery and rearfoot/ankle surgery.

Benjamin Geer, MD is a fellowship-trained surgeon specializing in orthopedic trauma.

Dr. Geer has authored peer-reviewed publications, a book chapter, and presented on scientific topics and created exhibits focusing on orthopedics.

Nathan Jeppesen, DPM is a podiatric foot and ankle surgeon, specializing in diabetic limb salvage and reconstruction, forefoot reconstruction, pediatric deformities, sports medicine, lower extremity biomechanics, primary podiatric medicine, with special training emphasis on foot and ankle deformity reconstruction and trauma.

Michael Manning, DO is a fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon specializing in primary and revision joint replacement of the hip and knee, as well as treatment options for the younger patient with arthritis.

Guy Reyes, Jr., MD is a fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon specializing in foot and ankle reconstruction practicing in our Sun City West location. Dr. Reyes plays an active role in researching, publishing and lecturing in the field of orthopedics.

Joseph Scoggin, MD is a board certified orthopedic surgeon with more than 15 years of clinical experience. He has expertise in general orthopedic practice including adult and pediatric fracture care, sports medicine and arthroscopy, and joint reconstruction surgery.

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what’s new

Ryan T. Scott, DPM is a fellowship-trained foot and ankle surgeon, specializing in total ankle replacement, extensive reconstruction of the forefoot and hindfoot, sports medicine, circular frames, and trauma. He is also certified on INBONE and S.T.A.R. total ankle replacements.

S. Douglas Werner, DO is a fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon specializing in primary and revision joint arthroplasty of the hip and knee.

Dr. Werner completed the Otto E. Aufranc Fellowship in Adult Reconstruction at the New England Baptist Hospital in Boston.

New hours to serve you better We know it may become difficult to find time to take care of yourself and your family. In an effort to provide best-in-class orthopedic care at more convenient times, The CORE Institute – North Phoenix has expanded our clinic hours to 7 a.m. through 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. Complementing our expanded clinic hours, we are now providing orthopedic care in Mesa! We are proud to announce that our new Mesa, Arizona location opened

in fall 2012! At 5,000 square feet and equipped with on-site X-ray, we are pleased to be able to better serve our patients in the area!

For more information or to schedule an appointment, please contact The CORE Institute 24/7 at 1.866.974.2673.

patient care

Back to being ‘dad’ After years of pain and frustration, former athlete now living life to fullest thanks to The CORE Institute

By Gremlyn-Bradley Waddell Around age 25, longtime athlete Rob Hadley suddenly faced a life no longer filled with sports.

Training as a professional wrestler on Indiana’s indie wrestling circuit, he was executing a spinning back kick when he realized the timing was off. His right leg landed at an odd angle and his knee buckled inward.

“I started screaming, and everyone thought I was ‘selling’ it,” says Hadley, now 34, recalling the enthusiastic reaction from the crowd and his fellow wrestlers.

Hadley saw a doctor that evening and was told he’d probably suffered a severe sprain. But the pain continued and, after he lost his job because of his injury and pain, he and his wife, Sherri, moved with their son Jordan to live with family in Michigan. Convinced his knee still needed work, Hadley again sought medical advice. Arthroscopic surgery revealed damage to his meniscus, the tissue that cushions the knee, and that was repaired, but he was told his anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, was fine. Weeks afterward, he had his doubts, and an attempt to wrestle again left him discouraged. He became resigned to a life on the sidelines.

Getting strong for Jordan In 2007, the family moved to Mesa, where he and Sherri welcomed daughters Bayleigh, 5, and Caylee Faith, 3. It was after retrieving one of the girls’ toys

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one day – when a small jump caused his knee to slide in and out of place – Hadley realized he’d had enough. For years he’d believed his ACL was torn, and it was time to find out. At the least, he needed to be strong for Jordan, who’d been diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Now 9 years old and 60 pounds, Jordan lost the ability to walk about three years ago, he says, and uses a wheelchair. But he also needs to be carried frequently, and that was Hadley’s concern.

“If I drop him, he can’t support himself,” he says.

Hadley was referred to Dr. Matthew Hansen of The CORE Institute. He laughs as he remembers how Hansen, a former college basketball player, filled the room upon entering it and how he wondered why the doctor was examining his left knee.

Finding answers When Hadley mentioned his right knee

was the injured one, he says Hansen replied, “I know, but I need to know how your knee feels with a healthy ACL.” Within 30 seconds, Hadley says, Hansen gave him the answer he’d long suspected: his ACL was torn and had been awhile. In June 2012, Hadley underwent surgery to repair it and was in and out of surgery in less than an hour. After four months of rehab, his strength and mobility have returned and he can be the dad he needs to be.

“I couldn’t ask for anything more,” he says.

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specialty spotlight

The CORE Institute Foot and Ankle Specialty Team Leading-Edge Treatment with a Personal Approach

By Beth Lipham

Your feet are actually really quite amazing! Did you know the average person’s feet log 1,000 miles per year.

They also act as shock absorbers for your entire body, cushioning up to one million pounds of pressure during one hour of strenuous exercise. Your feet and ankles deserve the best possible medical care, now available through the services of The CORE Institute foot and ankle team.

Our group of specialists, The CORE Institute foot and ankle team, are solely focused on the performance, treatment, and healthy maintenance of the foot and ankle. They practice innovative patient care by utilizing advanced approaches to evaluation, diagnosis, treatment plans, and rehabilitation.

With five foot and ankle surgeons on board, the team is founded on a strong commitment to education, training, and medical excellence. Two of the foot and ankle surgeons at The CORE Institute, Drs. Scott Bleazey and Ryan T. Scott mastered the most advanced current treatments and protocols by completing an additional year of postresidency training. During their fellowships, they worked under the close instruction of leading foot-and-ankle surgeons, studying complex pathology and mastering specialized surgical procedures. Both physicians have served as researchers, presented at key conferences and continue to make national presentations as experts not only in Arizona, but around the world.

“We have a comprehensive practice, seeing patients of all ages and with all conditions,” Dr. Bleazey said.

“As specialists, we tailor a broad spectrum of treatment plans to suit a particular patient including a scale

DR. RYAN T. SCOTT

of options such as orthotics, bracing, at-home exercise programs, steroid injections, and formal physical therapy in advance of surgery.” While the team features accomplished surgeons, alternative strategies are tailored and recommended based on a patient’s individual situation. The team treats a wide range of needs, from ankle strains and sprains to fractures, tears in the achilles tendon, arthritis, and total ankle replacement.

The CORE Institute uses leadingedge equipment and diagnostic tools to evaluate a patient’s condition.

Successful treatment is designed to provide optimal mobility; one piece of diagnostic equipment utilizes an advanced computer system to generate a pressure map of the patient’s foot during movement and weight bearing activity. “By measuring how the foot moves through walking, we can evaluate gait and mobility to a far greater degree to determine a best course of treatment,” Dr. Bleazey added.

When surgery is the best course of action, patients trust in the confi-

DR. SCOTT BLEAZEY

dence of fellowship trained, foot and ankle surgeons who use the newest diagnostic tools - ultrasound, X-ray, MRI, and CT scan technology – and the latest surgical protocols. “We are currently using a computer-guided surgical approach to total ankle replacement, allowing for more precision when compared to the traditional approach. The result is a better surgical outcome and higher patient satisfaction,” Dr. Scott said.

The CORE Institute foot and ankle team partners with the on-site physical therapy, crafting personalized rehabilitation plans and overseeing patient’s progress through the healing process.

When putting your best foot forward becomes a challenge; take a step in the right direction with the expert care of The CORE Institute.

For more information about foot and ankle conditions, please email us at contactus@thecoreinstitute.com or call 1.866.974.2673.

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ask the expert

The Other Team of Talented Professionals Sports Medicine Field Dedicated to Maintaining Athletes’ Best

By John A. Brown, M.D.

When you watch teams of Olympic athletes in action, it’s easy to forget the team of highly skilled experts behind them who help maintain their peak performance. We’re talking about the sports medicine team, an integrated group of professionals who work together to maintain an athlete’s health or fix a problem quickly and return the athlete back to the field of play.

The team consists of an orthopedic surgeon, a primary care sports medicine physician, a physical therapist and an athletic trainer. With this lineup in place, an injured athlete is diagnosed, surgically repaired, physically rehabilitated and returned to full activity.

Art of medicine What’s new in the field of sports medicine — the “art of medicine” dedicated to the treatment of the athlete? If we compare where we are today to where we were a short 20 years ago, it’s clear how impressive the specialty has become.

Today, in our modern operating suites, we utilize high-definition video equipment that allows us to visualize and appropriately treat even the smallest defects in human anatomy. It allows us to discern normal tissue from injured tissue quickly and accurately, decreasing surgical times and patient complications.

Without this technology, many injuries would go undetected and lead to eventual breakdown of the athlete’s health.

We can reconstruct ligaments in the knee, tendons in the shoulders and cartilage tears in the hip through micro-incisions. Using these minimally invasive techniques we are able to reduce surgical trauma, leading to faster recoveries and better patient outcomes. The real benefit to these

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Dr. John A. Brown

Sports medicine is an extremely rewarding field.

It provides the opportunity to allow people to maintain an active life whether it is their livelihood or just a part of who they are.” arthroscopic techniques is an essentially bloodless surgical field that enables us to carefully and directly assess injured and repaired tissue.

Expanding biologics In repairing tissue, like a torn rotator cuff or an anterior cruciate ligament, the field of biologics is rapidly expanding.

Biologics comprise several new technologies that have demonstrated promise in promoting and speeding the process of healing repaired tissue in a more natural

state. They are used during the surgical procedure in an attempt to augment the repaired tissue. Examples of biologics are platelet-rich plasma and stem cells.

Both of these products are rich in natural healing factors and are directly applied to the surgical repair site. The clinical data on the effectiveness of these products is still being collected and researched so we are not sure what the actual benefit is of these products. However, from a biologic standpoint, and from the early data, the outlook is encouraging.

Several very promising techniques are currently being used to regenerate the cartilage of the joint. Today, we can regenerate and rebuild cartilage defects of various joints that years ago would have rapidly progressed to arthritis. In some cases, even small areas of actual degenerative cartilage can be resurfaced with small custom metallic and plastic implants. Unfortunately, current technologies are unable to turn back the clock when the majority of the joint becomes arthritic and we then must rely on more traditional means of treating arthritis, such as a joint replacement.

However, we anticipate that in the future new cartilage healing and regeneration technologies will emerge that will obviate the need for joint replacement.

Sports medicine is an extremely rewarding field. It provides the opportunity to allow people to maintain an active life whether it is their livelihood or just a part of who they are. The field is rapidly changing with a focus now more than ever on restoring the joint to its normal form and function. Our ability to fix an injury is rather sophisticated. The ability to maximize or compensate for a patient’s biology and perfect the healing process is the new challenge…and we welcome it.

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COVER

The CORE Institute Sports Medicine Physician, Dr. John Kearney’s Story of Life

By Dolores Tropiano

Dr. John Kearney was the kind of doctor who practiced what he preached.

For the past six years, Kearney roused himself out of bed at 5 a.m. twice a week and biked up and down the nearby foothills with friends.

The former nutrition major made eating right a regular routine (except on birthdays or holidays, he confesses), had perfect cholesterol levels, and loved his job practicing primary care sports medicine for The CORE Institute in Phoenix.

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COVER A Doctor’s Sur vival Stor y

The last thing Kearney, 37, expected this past June, was to find himself flat lining for 20 seconds in an ICU bed at a local hospital.

But that is exactly what happened.

“I was shocked because, given my overall health, I didn’t think it would be possible to develop heart disease at my age,” says Kearney, who got his undergraduate degree from Arizona State University and his medical degree from University of Arizona. “I thought I would have lived to be 200 years old before I got heart disease.”

Kearney’s story contrasts with that

It All Started…

Kearney first started noticing something amiss while biking up a hill in March. It was the same hill he had launched himself up 100 times but suddenly, during this particular ride, he began to develop chest pains.

“It was something I had never felt before,” recalls Kearney, the assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix. “I tried to blow it off and in fact, I said to my friend, ‘Don’t worry, I am not having a heart attack.’”

I was shocked because, given my overall health, I didn’t think it would be possible to develop heart disease at my age.

I thought I would have lived to be 200 years old before I got heart disease.”

— Dr. John Kearney, The CORE Institute

of your donut-devouring couch potatoes (with extra gravy, thank you) who, save from banging the buttons on their remote, keep their movement to an absolute minimum. Those people might expect a day of reckoning.

But in Kearney’s tale is a lesson less told. That is that even the healthiest among us can be subject to serious sicknesses. And it is that healthy lifestyle that can ultimately save us. It’s the one thing Kearney credits with keeping him alive.

But he was, in fact, close to the heart of the matter. The next and subsequent times he came to the same point in the road, he had to stop and walk his bike because of the pain. Sometimes being a doctor can be detrimental to one’s health.

He attributed his pain to exerciseinduced asthma.

“I blew off the symptoms because I knew I had no real risk factors for heart problems,” Kearney says.

Painful Truth In May, he was preparing for a halfmarathon with his wife. The pain returned during training, but then went away. He considered going to a cardiologist, but again, put it off. At this point Kearney, who passionately preaches the importance of preventative health to his patients, paid little attention to his own ongoing advice.

On Memorial Day weekend, Kearney was at a restaurant with his family when the pain returned, this time, without the presence of any exercise or exertion.

“That made me very nervous. I almost went to the emergency room but it went away and I thought it was indigestion,” Kearney recalls. “But it scared me enough that I was nervous about our Saturday morning run.”

Kearney promised himself that if the pain returned he would go to the emergency room. “Sure enough it came on very strong. I felt nauseated and almost threw up,” he says.

Kearney went to the hospital, had a catheter put in and tests indicated that he had a 99 percent occluded main blood vessel commonly called the widow maker and had a heart attack.

“If you have that much blockage, you usually end up dead,” he says.

That experience touched his heart.

“I was just thankful to be alive,” he says. “I definitely had a new appreciation for life and simply being a father and husband. Above all, I realized that the gift of life is very precious.”

After reviewing his case, Kearney’s cardiologist said he shouldn’t change a single thing about Kearney’s lifestyle. “Even though I focused on diet and exercise and healthy weight, it was probably a genetic quirk or infection that caused the problem,” he explained.

One-, Two-, Three-Step Program The United States Attorney General reports that today’s children will have a shorter life expectancy than today’s adults because of chronic disease related to inactivity, obesity and overindulgence.

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COVER A Doctor’s Sur vival Stor y Kearney helps his wife and three children keep healthy habits by following three basic principles.

“First I see food as sustenance, not a daily pleasure,” says Kearney, who tries to eat seven to ten servings of fruits and vegetables daily. “I try to only eat food I know is healthy with only occasional indulgences.”

And he doesn’t eat just to eat.

“Second, I think Americans, myself included, eat too much,” says Kearney, who is double board certified in family and sports medicine. “It’s ok to go through life a little hungry and unhealthy to go through life full.”

Thirdly, he shells out a little more money for select foods.

“We don’t mind spending extra money and budgeting for healthy food,” he said. “And we make a decision to spend more eating out at healthy restaurants.”

“It’s cheaper than diabetic medication,” he jokes.

Doc on a Bike Kearney also continues to invest his time in exercise. Yes, the doc is back on his bike grooving through the gravel with his buddies and encourages his patients to do the same. He reminds them that the American Heart Association says one hour of exercise translates to two hours of extra life.

And finally, Kearney is serious about his stress level, which he manages with regular massages, maintaining a Sabbath and finding time for fun with his family.

“I needed to build in more downtime to relax,” says Kearney, a sports fan who leaves the television off saying he’d rather play football with his kids than watch it.

All of these things Kearney concludes helped save his life. “I probably should have died,” he says.

“I’m lucky I was in shape.”

Kearney recommends that people not ignore warning signs, take preven-

tative steps, do wellness checks and follow age appropriate health screens.

“Don’t take your health for granted,” he advises. “I honestly believe if I wasn’t in such good shape, I would not have survived.”

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DAN NEAL INTERVIEW

Committed to Staying Active and Healthy

Dan Neal, running in downtown Phoenix.

The CORE Institute Physical Therapist, Keeping Life in Motion by Dolores Tropiano When Dan Neal was growing up in Iowa, his best friend had cystic fibrosis. A physical therapist dramatically changed the quality and length of his friend’s life by encouraging him to stay active. Neal chose a career in physical therapy with hopes of having the same impact on the lives of others.

At the time, most doctors discouraged physical activity for those with cystic fibrosis. At the urging of his physical therapist, the friend played and excelled in football, basketball, and track and lived twice as long as was expected.

Real-Life Lessons “He is the real reason I am in physical therapy,” said Neal, 37, Vice President of Physical Therapy at The CORE Institute, where he treats people with orthopedic injuries. “I was hoping I could affect patients and really help them out in the same way.”

Neal was active in sports as a young boy and continues to stay on the move as an adult. He hikes, bikes and

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even packs a pair of running shoes to squeeze in a few treks around the building at work. On the weekends, the Scottsdale resident routinely runs up and down one of the local mountains and advocates these kinds of activities for his patients.

Neal recently honed in on three simple habits that help him stay healthy and hopes others will incorporate them into their lifestyle.

Steps to a Healthier Lifestyle The first is to have a moderate calorie breakfast that includes a low calorie protein shake with 20-30 grams or protein. “It gives people nice energy and helps them to maintain lean body tissue,” said Neal.

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The second is to carve out 30 minutes daily for some form of physical activity.

“Studies have shown that 30 minutes a day would change the overall health picture for the country,” he said.

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And finally, don’t close your eyes to the importance of a good night’s sleep and watch the intake of sugars and fats before bed.

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Attitude is Everything Neal emphasized the importance of having the right attitude about making long-term changes saying that many people expect results too fast and don’t give themselves and their bodies a chance to make changes.

“It has to be a priority and can’t be something that you do one day and let go of another day,” he said. “It takes eight weeks to start a habit. Give it a chance to work.”

And when it does, it may mean much more than just weight loss.

“Exercise affects a person’s entire sense of well-being,” Neal said. “It helps manage stress and impacts skin, the brain and has many other benefits. It’s one of the few things we can do that positively affect our entire body.”

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community relations

Proud to be in the Community The CORE Institute takes great pride in the community. If you are an Arizona State University Sun Devil fan like we are, you may have noticed The CORE Institute at Sun Devil Stadium during pregame celebrations and on the video board after a Sun Devil touchdown.

In addition, we are honored to support Sun Health, a medical nonprofit organization in Arizona that is committed to building programs that enhance the lives of everyone it serves. Through their annual golf tournament and their Healthy SUNsations 2012 - “One Hip Party,” they support advancements in orthopedic care and services at Banner Boswell and Banner

Del E. Webb Medical Centers. We are excited to participate in Sun Health Foundation’s “The Heart of Fashion” event at the Wigwam Arizona Resort.

Our staff also had the privilege to provide on-site medical care during the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Cup Championship at the beautiful Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. in November.

We look forward to expanding our community involvement in 2013.

For more information or if you have an event you would like us to participate in, please contact us at communityrelations@ thecoreinstitute.com

research

Cutting-Edge Technology: 2012 Roundup

The CORE Institute Researchers Awarded Two Utility Patents

by United States Patent and Trademark Office

By Dr. Marc Jacofsky The CORE Institute prides itself on being at the forefront of technological innovation in healthcare delivery. The physicians and researchers at The CORE Institute not only test cutting-edge technologies developed by medical device manufacturers, but also design, develop and pursue commercialization of their own device designs.

The Research and Development Division of The CORE Institute is proud to announce that its physicians and researchers have been awarded two patents in calendar year 2012.

Pedicle Screw The first patent was officially issued on May 1, 2012 to inventors Marc C. Jacofsky, PhD and A. Joshua Appel, M.D., and is titled Modular Pedicle Screw System (US Patent #8,167,912).

Dr. Jacofsky is The CORE Institute’s Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Dr. Appel is a former CORE Spine Surgeon, now in private practice in Florida.

A pedicle screw is a device placed into a patient’s spine along with a connecting rod to stabilize the movement between two adjacent vertebrae. They

are most commonly used for spinal fusion surgery to address degenerative disk disease or advanced stenosis, as well as for restoring alignment in cases of spinal deformity, such as scoliosis.

Current pedicle screw systems have several shortcomings that the inventors believe are mitigated by using this modular system. Current systems are limited to accept only one-size stabilizing rod, which limits a surgeon’s choice of providing the right degree of stiffness for a specific patient’s needs. The modular system patented by The CORE Institute allows the surgeon to choose the optimal diameter rod for each patient’s anatomy without having to change screw systems.

Additionally, current pedicle screws have limited choices in how the head, which holds the rod, can move with respect to the screw anchored into the bone. The CORE Institute’s modular design allows the surgeon to choose the right direction and degree of movement between different components in the screw. This modularity makes this design a universal pedicle screw system that can address a wide variety of patient care needs and surgeon preferences.

Now that the patent has been officially awarded, The CORE Institute will be validating and testing the design in the laboratory and seeking a licensing partner to manufacture and distribute this novel pedicle screw system.

SURGICAL OPTIONS USING THE PEDICLE SCREW A pedicle screw is a device placed into a patient’s spine along with a connecting rod to stabilize the movement between two adjacent vertebrae.

Electronic Bandage The second patent was awarded to The CORE Institute team on October 16, 2012 and is titled Apparatus and Method for Applying an Electrostatic Field to a Wound or Scar to Promote the Healing Thereof. This patent (US Patent #8,287,475) was awarded to Dr. David Jacofsky, Chairman and CEO of The CORE Institute, along with a team of electrical engineers from Boston Engineering.

The electronic bandage design should reduce the formation and appearance of scars that result from traumatic wounds and surgical incisions. Hypertrophic scars and keloids result from excessive collagen fiber deposition in the skin around a wound that has healed. The cells around a healing wound communicate in several ways, including chemical messengers and electrical gradients.

The electrostatic bandage applies an external electrical field in a very safe manner that can guide the deposition of collagen fibers during, and even after, wound healing. By guiding the collagen to deposit along field lines, scarring may be reduced and wound healing improved.

This bandage may also be useful in helping to heal diabetic and other chronic wounds that fail to heal because the normal electrical gradient is not being sustained by the body. The research and development team plan to produce a new series of prototypes based on this patented design and begin laboratory testing in the coming months.

Medical Illustration © 2013 Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.

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www.thecoreinstitute.com

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The CORE Institute is a Best Place to Work Thanks to the entire team working to create a world-class environment For the second consecutive year, The CORE Institute has been selected as a 2012 Best Place to Work in the Valley! We would personally like to thank all employees for their efforts. Our success is further demonstrated by the supportive and engaged team we have on board. We believe that The CORE Institute is a fun, challenging and rewarding place to work. We continue to strive to achieve our vision of a world-class work environment. As a company, we are stronger and better positioned than ever.

This is in large part due to the work that our staff does each and every day to make our patient experience an exceptional one.

Find out why people love working for the core institute

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What do you love about working for

The CORE Institute

Tanya Burke, Director of Quality “I like working for The CORE Institute because of the amazing opportunities, company values, and dedication to our mission. The CORE Institute has allowed me to grow in ways I couldn’t imagine and continue to make me feel that my professional development is important to them. We are here for the patient and strive for excellence in every experience.”

Nikole Ruiz, Quality Assurance Assistant “I love working for The CORE Institute because of our spirit of unity. I have been with this company for four years now, and I truly feel that I have a second family here. The CORE Institute is not only great because of our commitment to excellence, top notch patient care, or innovations in research, we are great because of all of the hard working employees.”

Randy Currier, Executive Vice President of Organizational Development & Human Resources “I like working for The CORE Institute for a lot of reasons, but if I boil it down, it centers around three themes, themes that have been uncommon in my experience. First, The CORE Institute believes in the inherent “goodness” of our employees, and we act with confidence that they will excel rather than fear that they will do wrong. Second, The CORE Institute acts on good ideas… you don’t need to plow through mountains of red tape and bureaucracy to have good ideas executed. Finally, we are a noble organization, committed to the mission of exceptional patient care, and at the end of a hard day of work, it is gratifying to know that our patients benefit.”

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