UW School of Medicine Online News 1-11-08

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University of Washington School of Medicine

Online News

Vol. 12, No. 2
Jan. 11, 2008
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To view an archived version of Online News on the UW
Medicine Web site, visit:
http://www.uwmedicine.org/Global/NewsAndEvents/somnews/index.htm

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This week’s news:

* Harborview Medical Center receives prestigious Foster McGaw Prize for community service in health care

* UW starts first study aimed at preventing onset of autism

* Elizabeth McCauley and Anna Wald recognized with School of Medicine Award for Excellence in Mentoring Women and Minorities

* Surgery Professor Mika Sinanan named president of UW Physicians practice group

* UW Medical Center and Health Sciences tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. to be held Thursday, Jan. 17

* UW Medicine starts Treat You Well advertising campaign


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HARBORVIEW RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS FOSTER MCGAW PRIZE

Harborview Medical Center has received the prestigious 2007 Foster G. McGaw Prize in recognition of its outstanding leadership, spirit of excellence, and remarkable achievements in its community. The $100,000 prize is one of the highest honors in community service in health care, and honors an organization that provides innovative programs that significantly improve the health and well-being of the community.

Harborview was recognized for its dedication to teaching and providing exemplary patient care, and its devotion to caring for the underserved. The hospital was also honored for its dedication to the discovery of solutions to the social issues that create barriers and disparities in access to health care.

Johnese Spisso, interim executive director of Harborview Medical Center, clinical operations officer for UW Medicine, and vice president for medical affairs for the University of Washington, said that Harborview's initiatives benefit the community by removing barriers to accessing high-quality care and improving health status of thousands of individuals. Spisso added the initiatives could not have been successful without the unwavering support of the Harborview Board of Trustees, King County, and UW Medicine in working with our community on partnerships.

Among other programs, Harborview was recognized for its involvement in:
* Providing health care for the homeless;
* Supporting housing and employment for the mentally ill;
* Working to overcome language and cultural barriers between health providers and patients;
* Providing clinical resources and education for people with chronic conditions;
* Helping to prevent injuries to children through a local coalition.

Harborview has been devoted to serving the poor, homeless, new immigrants, and underserved since its founding in 1877 as the welfare hospital for King County. The hospital continues to provide exemplary care for patients from all walks of life, regardless of their ability to pay. In addition, the UW Medicine faculty and staff based at Harborview are dedicated to discovering solutions to the social issues that create barriers and disparities in access to health care.

The Foster McGaw Prize was first awarded in 1986, and is sponsored by the American Hospital Association, the Baxter International Foundation, and the Cardinal Health Foundation.


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UW STUDY TO TRY TO PREVENT ONSET OF AUTISM

Autism researchers at the UW are taking the initial steps in attempting to prevent the developmental disorder with a new $11.3 million study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Development. The UW Autism Center is looking for 200 Puget Sound-area infants, 6 months old or younger, who have an older sibling diagnosed with autism. They will be part of the first study designed to prevent autism symptoms from developing in children who are at high risk for the disorder.

While the latest research shows that autism affects as many as one in every 150 newborns in the United States, about one of every 20 infants who have an older sibling with autism will develop the disorder.

This study is the first of its kind to attempt treating infants who are at risk for autism, and to intervene at the earliest time that symptoms are present. Other research has shown that early intervention can improve treatment outcomes, so the researchers hope to identify autism as early as possible. That will allow them to intervene while connections in a child's brain are still plastic.

Half of the participating families will be monitored by specialists and referred for community treatment, and the other half will get an intervention at the UW Autism Center. The study intervention promotes first relationships; mothers will be trained to engage their infants in eye contact and each mother and child will be videotaped interacting once a week for nine weeks. The infants will be evaluated at 12 months old, and then will participate in an early intensive intervention until they are 2 years old, when they will be re-evaluated to see if the intervention reduces the symptoms of autism.

Annette Estes, associate director of the UW Autism Center and research assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, will head clinical assessment component of the new study. The study will also include faculty in the Departments of Psychology, Medicine, Speech and Hearing Sciences, Radiology, Educational Psychology, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

For more information, visit:
http://depts.washington.edu/uwautism/


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MCCAULEY AND WALD RECOGNIZED WITH MENTORING AWARD

UW faculty members Elizabeth McCauley and Anna Wald have received the School of Medicine Award for Excellence in Mentoring Women and Minorities.

McCauley, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, studies adolescent depression and anxiety. She is a co-principal investigator of the UW Developmental Pathways Project, which is aimed at understanding and preventing depression in adolescence and childhood.

Wald is a professor of epidemiology and of medicine in the Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. She is the medical director of the UW Virology Research Clinic, and studies the epidemiology and therapy of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections and their interactions with HIV.


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SINANAN NAMED PRESIDENT OF UW PHYSICIANS PRACTICE GROUP

Mika Sinanan, UW professor of surgery, has been named president of UW Physicians, the practice group for the more than 1,500 physicians associated with UW Medicine. Sinanan succeeds Norm Beauchamp, professor and chair of radiology, who has served as president of UWP for the past 18 months.

UW Physicians includes practitioners at UW Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and UW Medicine Neighborhood Clinics. UWP is also led by Rick Deese, the executive director.

Sinanan is the co-director of the Center for Videoendoscopic Surgery in the Department of Surgery, and is the associate director for R&D in the Institute for Surgical and Interventional Simulation. His work focuses on gastrointestinal surgery, surgical simulation, and videoendoscopic surgery.


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UWMC AND HEALTH SCIENCES TRIBUTE TO MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. TO BE HELD JAN. 17

The UW Medical Center and Health Sciences tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. will be held next Thursday, Jan. 17, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. in the lobby of the Health Sciences Center. The event is titled To "Hold These Truths," We Must Challenge Inequality in Health Care.

The program will feature speeches, music, dancing, storytelling, and service award presentations. The keynote speaker is Rachel Chapman, assistant professor in the UW Department of Anthropology, and the student speaker is Carlotto Fisher, a UW medical student. The event will include Jourdan Keith, a storyteller, poet, and naturalist, and performances by the Eckstein Middle School Senior Jazz Band, the Leschi Elementary School Choir, and Meghna Kapadia.

The program is sponsored by the Health Sciences Administration and UWMC. For more information, call 206-543-3620.


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UW MEDICINE BEGINS NEW MARKETING CAMPAIGN

UW Medicine has launched Treat You Well, a new marketing campaign with specific spots for Harborview Medical Center, UW Medical Center and UW Medicine Neighborhood Clinics. The campaign is designed to position UW Medicine as a total health-care system, where top experts make medical discoveries that lead to great everyday care, and to increase awareness of targeted service areas. It will use a layered approach, involving TV, the Web, radio, bus boards, print ads and direct mail postcards.

The campaign includes TV ads for Harborview, UWMC, and the UW Medicine Neighborhood clinics, which will be shown on local television and several cable channels including Bravo, CNN, Discovery Channel, Food Network, and ESPN.

Visit http://www.treatyouwell.org for the latest information on the campaign or to view the TV and print advertisements.


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Justin Reedy, editor:
206-685-0382, jreedy@u.washington.edu

Online News is copyright 2008. All rights, including electronic
redistribution, are reserved.

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