Henry Ford News

Rationale behind Beaumont-Henry Ford merger still alive (Detroit News)

2013-05-24 00:00:00.0

Metro Detroit’s mega-hospital merger may be dead, but the forces that pushed Beaumont Health Systems into the arms of its larger rival, Henry Ford, are very much alive. Full Story

Henry Ford, Beaumont $6.6-billion mega merger is called off (Detroit Free Press)

2013-05-24 00:00:00.0

After six months of planning and one delay, Henry Ford and Beaumont health systems called off their planned $6.6-billion mega merger today that would have created one of the largest hospital systems in Michigan. Full Story

Where do you hold your cellphone? Your brain decides (Today Show)

2013-05-24 00:00:00.0

When you talk on the cellphone, do you hold it up to your right ear or left? A group of researchers at the Henry Ford Health System in Michigan suggest that how you hold your phone could give away the dominant half of your brain. Full Story

Consumer Watchdog: most sunscreens meet FDA standards, but questionable SPF ratings persist (Washington Post)

2013-05-24 00:00:00.0

Sunbathers headed to the beach this summer will find new sunscreen labels on store shelves that are designed to make the products more effective and easier to use. But despite those long-awaited changes, many sunscreens continue to carry SPF ratings that some experts consider misleading and potentially dangerous, according to a consumer watchdog group. Full Story

Anjelina Jolie Gets Double Mastectomy (WJBK-TV)

2013-05-24 00:00:00.0

Dr. Maria Worsham, a researcher at Henry Ford Hospital, discusses Anjelina Joli's decision to have a preventive double mastectomy on Fox2's Health Works. (Video) Full Story

Study: Obese men at higher risk for prostate cancer (UPI)

2013-05-24 00:00:00.0

Obese men are more likely to have precancerous lesions detected in benign prostate biopsies and are at a greater risk for prostate cancer, U.S. researchers say. Full Story

Doctor Is In: Thyroid Q And A (WJBK-TV)

2013-05-24 00:00:00.0

Dr. Michael Singer, director, Division of Thyroid & Parathyroid Surgery, Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery at Henry Ford Hospital, joins Fox 2's Deena Centofanti to offer insight into thyroid disease. (Video) Full Story

Couple undergoes same heart valve replacement surgery (Macomb Daily)

2013-05-24 00:00:00.0

Some couples do everything together from hobbies to careers. Betty and John Fennell of St. Clair Shores have taken togetherness a step further now that they both have undergone transcather aortic valve replacement (TAVR) surgery at Henry Ford Hospital. Full Story

Study Links Timing of ER Visit to Prostate Cancer Survival Odds (HealthDay)

2013-05-24 00:00:00.0

Men with prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of their body are more likely to die after visiting an emergency department on the weekend rather than a weekday, a new study finds. Full Story

Billions Wasted in the Emergency Room (EverydayHealth)

2013-05-24 00:00:00.0

ER treatment for urinary tract infections alone costs roughly $4 billion per year, finds a new study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. If more people saw primary care doctors for common complaints like UTIs rather than going to the ER, the potential savings could be huge. Full Story

New Patient Gown (Ellen)

2013-05-24 00:00:00.0

Ellen DeGeneres features the new patient gown from the Innovation Institute at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. (Video) Full Story

Childhood food, skin allergies on the rise (CNN)

2013-05-24 00:00:00.0

Scientists are still trying to figure out where allergies come from, and why they’re on the rise in the United States. Internal bacteria, genetics and environment may all play a role, says Dr. Edward Zoratti, head of the allergy and immunology division at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Full Story

Gut bacteria may affect heart (WWJ-AM)

2013-05-24 00:00:00.0

Dr. William O'Neill, medical director of the Center for Structural Heart Disease at Henry Ford Hospital, comments on a new study that shows a connection between gut bacteria and heart attacks. (Audio) Full Story

Potential Treatment for Stroke-Related Disabilities

2013-05-23 00:00:00.0

May 23, 2013

DETROIT – A study by researchers at Henry Ford Hospital found “substantial evidence” that a regenerative process involving damaged nerve fibers in the spinal cord could hold the key to better functional recovery by most stroke victims.

The findings may offer new hope to those who suffer stroke, the leading cause of long-term disability in adults. Although most stroke victims recover some ability to voluntarily use their hands and other body parts, about half are left with weakness on one side of their bodies, while a substantial number are permanently disabled.

The study is published in Stroke and is available online at http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/early/2013/05/21/STROKEAHA.113.001162.abstract.html?ijkey=vRk14HxuNKPaw51&keytype=ref. Discovering a treatment to improve or restore this lost motor function in stroke patients is a holy grail for neurologists, because none exists, primarily due to unsolved mysteries about how the brain and nerves repair themselves.

The new Henry Ford research was intended to solve some of those mysteries. It focused on changes in axons – the fibers, the nerve signal “transmission”lines within the spinal cord that affect voluntary movement after stroke.
Researchers used genetically modified mice in which the axons in the corticospinal tract, a bundle of nerves carrying signals from the brain to the spinal cord, were “stained” with fluorescent matter visible under a powerful microscope.

The researchers noted that Henry Ford’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee approved all the experimental procedures.

The mice were trained for five days to use their left front paws to retrieve food pellets from a dispenser designed to test their dexterity. They were also given a “foot-fault test” to see how well they could walk on an unevenly spaced grid.

Next, the mice were divided into four groups. In one, the carotid arteries were blocked with a suture for one hour, much as a blood clot blocks the flow of blood to the brain in a stroke. After the suture was removed and blood flow was restored, they were given additional surgery to sever the axons of the corticospinal tract. The other groups were either given no surgery or “sham” surgery so they could be used as control groups for comparison to the first.

The single-pellet and foot-fault tests were then given three days after surgery, then weekly for 14 to 28 days to reassess dexterity, the amount of “stroke” damage to voluntary movements and the degree of recovery from the lab-induced “stroke.”

“In both behavioral tests used in this study, the mice need to control the paw movement,” explains Yi Li, M.D., a Henry Ford neuroscientist and lead author of the study. “Severe behavioral deficits of the left forepaw were evident in all of the mice three days after stroke.

“All animals showed significant improvement 14 days after surgery. This recovery progressed in those mice whose axons were not severed. However, in those whose axons had been eliminated, there was no significant recovery.”

The researchers concluded that in the early stages after stroke, improvements in voluntary movement can be attributed to a reduction in brain swelling because of the trauma and other spontaneous repairs, while later improvements result from “neuronal plasticity” – the reorganization or regeneration of nerve cells within the spinal cord in response to changes in the nerve network.

This “axonal remodeling in the spinal cord” may provide “a treatment target to develop rational therapeutic approaches to enhance neurological recovery for the mass of chronic stroke patients,” says Dr. Li.

If such a treatment can be developed, it would address the single biggest concern of stroke victims, as well as those with chronic spinal cord damage.

The researchers cited a survey of such patients showing that “regaining arm and hand function is considered the highest priority for improving the quality of life.”

Funding source: American Heart Association and National Institutes of Health (R01AG037506 and R01NS066041)

Merger Announcement

2013-05-22 00:00:00.0

May 21, 2013

The following message is from Nancy Schlichting, chief executive officer, Henry Ford Health System:

Dear HFHS Team Member,

After much deliberation, the Henry Ford Health System Board of Trustees has voted to allow the Letter of Intent with Beaumont Health System to expire at the end of this week and to not continue further discussions.

This decision was made because it became apparent that two very different perspectives had emerged for the new organization between Henry Ford and Beaumont. As a result, many of the foundational elements in the Letter of Intent, including preserving two academic medical centers in Detroit and Royal Oak, were no longer supported by some leaders at Beaumont.

This Due Diligence period is exactly for this type of discovery, and we are taking the lessons learned and moving forward in a strong, positive direction. For the 10th consecutive year, the $4.5 billion Henry Ford Health System experienced positive revenue growth and net income in 2012, and we expect to do the same in 2013.

I am so grateful for all of the contributions of our team members during this process, and have learned a great deal that will help us as we pursue our vision. Throughout the entire merger process, people repeatedly commented on the professionalism, expertise and engagement of our staff, and I am so appreciative of all of your efforts.

Our commitment to serving the needs of the people of Detroit, Southeast Michigan and beyond is unwavering. We will continue to be part of the economic revitalization of the region and are excited about continuing to lead this state and this country in meeting and exceeding the needs and expectations of our customers.

Regards,

Nancy

Cooking to Lower Cholesterol and More

2013-05-20 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2013

WEST BLOOMFIELD — Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital is offering healthy cooking classes for those looking to improve or maintain their health.

Mediterranean Cooking
Tuesday, June 4, 6:30 - 8 p.m.
$19 per person
Mediterranean food is a visual delight, as well as tasty and good for you. Discover techniques and ingredients to create classic Mediterranean dishes.

Basic Knife Skills
Friday, June 7, 2 - 3:30 p.m.
$15 per person Limited to 25 guests.
Learn basic techniques from a chef on how to slice, dice, julienne and chiffonade fruits and vegetables. Bring your knives, a cutting board and an apron. Find out how to garnish dishes for a beautiful presentation, and how to keep your knives sharp.

Cholesterol: the Best 5 Ingredients to Lower Your Numbers
Tuesday, June 11, 6 - 7:30 p.m.
$19 per person
Food selection can play an important role in lowering your cholesterol. Join guest Chef Luciano DelSignore of Bacco Ristorante, and a Henry Ford dietician, to discover five ingredients that can help decrease your cholesterol level and protect your heart. The discussion will include high-fiber foods, fish and omega-3 fatty acids, nuts, olive oil and more.

Grill Like a Pro: Make it Tasty, Filling, Healthy, and Fast
Wednesday, June 12, 6 - 7:30 p.m.
$19 per person
Learn trade secrets to grill any kind of food from Isabella Nicoletti, personal chef to Florine Mark, president and CEO of Weight Watchers Group.

Senior Healthy Living
Thursday, June 13, 11:30 a.m – 1 p.m.
$19 per person
Come enjoy an afternoon filled with food, fun and community. Discover healthy twists to traditional favorite recipes with a cooking demo, food sampling and a tour of award-winning Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital.

Food and Your Mood
Wednesday, June 26, 5 - 6:30 p.m.
$19 per person
Some food can alter mood by influencing the level of chemicals in the brain. Some food can increase concentration and enhance memory. Others can be calming or reduce anxiety. Join us to prepare and taste good-mood food, and laugh along with radio personality Lisa Barry.

Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital is located at 6777 W. Maple Road, in West Bloomfield. The Demonstration Kitchen is off the main lobby.

Space is limited and classes fill quickly. Registration is required and closes 72 hours before the start of class.

For further information, or to register, please call (248) 325-3890, or email dk@hfhs.org.

www.henryfordwestbloomfield.com/demonstrationkitchen

Brain Makes Call on Which Ear Is Used for Cell Phone

2013-05-17 00:00:00.0

May 16, 2013

DETROIT – If you’re a left-brain thinker, chances are you use your right hand to hold your cell phone up to your right ear, according to a newly published study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

The study – to appear in the May issue of JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery – shows a strong correlation between brain dominance and the ear used to listen to a cell phone. More than 70 percent of participants holding their cell phone up to the ear on the same side as their dominant hand, the study finds.

Left-brain dominant people – who account for about 95% of the population and have their speech and language center located on the left side of the brain – are more likely to use their right hand for writing and other everyday tasks.

Likewise, the Henry Ford study reveals most left-brain dominant people also use the phone in their right ear, despite there being no perceived difference in their hearing in the left or right ear. And, right-brain dominant people are more likely to use their left hand to hold the phone in their left ear.

“Our findings have several implications, especially for mapping the language center of the brain,” says Michael Seidman, M.D., FACS, director of the division of otologic and neurotologic surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Henry Ford.

“By establishing a correlation between cerebral dominance and sidedness of cell phone use, it may be possible to develop a less-invasive, lower-cost option to establish the side of the brain where speech and language occurs rather than the Wada test, a procedure that injects an anesthetic into the carotid artery to put part of the brain to sleep in order to map activity.”

He notes that the study also may offer additional evidence that cell phone use and tumors of the brain, head and neck may not necessarily be linked.

Since nearly 80% of people use the cell phone in their right ear, he says if there were a strong connection there would be far more people diagnosed with cancer on the right side of their brain, head and neck, the dominant side for cell phone use. It’s likely, he says, that the development of tumors is more “dose-dependent” based on cell phone usage.

The study began with the simple observation that most people use their right hand to hold a cell phone to their right ear. This practice, Dr. Seidman says, is illogical since it is challenging to listen on the phone with the right ear and take notes with the right hand.

To determine if there is an association between sidedness of cell phone use and auditory or language hemispheric dominance, the Henry Ford team developed an online survey using modifications of the Edinburgh Handedness protocol, a tool used for more than 40 years to assess handedness and predict cerebral dominance.

The survey included questions about which hand was used for tasks such as writing; time spent talking on cell phone; whether the right or left ear is used to listen to phone conversations; and if respondents had been diagnosed with a brain or head and neck tumor.

It was distributed to 5,000 individuals who were either with an otology online group or a patient undergoing Wada and MRI for non-invasive localization purposes.

On average, respondents’ cell phone usage was 540 minutes per month. The majority of respondents (90%) were right handed, 9% were left handed and 1% was ambidextrous.

Among those who are right handed, 68% reported that they hold the phone to their right ear, while 25% used the left ear and 7% used both right and left ears. For those who are left handed, 72% said they used their left ear for cell phone conversations, while 23% used their right ear and 5% had no preference.

The study also revealed that having a hearing difference can impact ear preference for cell phone use.

In all, the study found that there is a correlation between brain dominance and laterality of cell phone use, and there is a significantly higher probability of using the dominant hand side ear.

Studies are underway to look at tumor registry banks of patients with head, neck and brain cancer to evaluate cell phone usage. Controversy still exists around a potential association of cell phone use and tumors. Until this is fully understood, Dr. Seidman advises using hands-free modes for calls rather than holding a phone up to the side of the head.

Along with Dr. Seidman, study authors from Henry Ford are Bianca Siegel, M.D.; Priyanka Shah; and Susan M. Bowyer, Ph.D.

Funding: Henry Ford Hospital

Boost Your Sports Conditioning for Upcoming Season

2013-05-15 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2013

DETROIT – To prepare local athletes for the upcoming sports season, Henry Ford Hospital is hosting a sports conditioning program June 17-Aug. 19 that focuses on improving strength, speed, agility and flexibility.

Participants will train two days a week and can choose from two conditioning tracks – Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays. Workouts are two hours and can be isolated to the upper or lower body. It is geared for athletes ages 12 to 24.

The program is led by nationally certified and state licensed athletic trainers from Henry Ford’s Sports Medicine division.

“This program is a great way to stay in shape over the summer, refine your skills or return from injury,” says Henry Ford athletic trainer Kelly Weir. “Right now, during the offseason, is the best time to work on their weaknesses and improve their overall fitness.”

Cost is $175 per participant and includes an individualized evaluation and 15 customized workout sessions.

The program is being held at these locations:

Monday & Wednesday track
Henry Ford William Clay Ford Center for Athletic Medicine, 6525 Second Ave, Detroit
Tuesday & Thursday track
Henry Ford Medical Center – Columbus, 29450 12 Mile Rd, Novi

To register or for more information, call (313) 972-4167. Deadline for registration is June 1.

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Henry Ford is 1st in Michigan to Join National Hospital Healthy Food Initiative

2013-05-10 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 10, 2013 DETROIT – Henry Ford Health System is the first health system in Michigan to join a new national initiative to provide healthier food options for its patient room service and cafeterias. For its participation in Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), Henry Ford pledges to boost the number of nutritional food options in the next three years at Henry Ford Hospital, Henry Ford Macomb Hospital, Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital and Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital. This includes: • Labeling items with calories per serving in patient menus and the cafeteria, and displaying only health-promoting food options. • Removing all fryers and deep- fat fried foods. • Boosting the percentage of fruits and vegetables purchased by 20 percent. • Offering a daily wellness meal that meets healthy nutrition standards and is priced less than or equal to other meal options. • Ensuring that at least 60 percent of a la carte entrees and side dishes meet healthy nutrition guidelines. • Increasing the percentage of healthy beverages purchased to 80 percent, e.g., water, 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice, unflavored milk and unsweetened non-dairy milk, unsweetened teas and coffee. “Making healthy foods easily available for our patients, employees and guests is part of our overall commitment of providing quality health care,” says Bethany Thayer, a registered dietitian and director of Henry Ford’s Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. “We’re proud to help set a national benchmark for serving healthy food options in our cafeterias.” Henry Ford is one of 16 health systems nationally representing more than 150 hospitals to team up with the PHA’s Hospital Healthy Food Initiative. First lady Michelle Obama serves as honorary chair for the three-year program. To ensure its partner hospitals meet their pledges, the PHA requires that pledges carry time-sensitive deadlines and be verified by an independent third party. Henry Ford’s participation in the PHA is the evolution of its culinary wellness model established five years ago to deliver healthier food options. For instance, deep fryers and fry shortening already have been removed for meal preparation, cafeterias are serving leaner meats, and fresh produce and other food products and purchased from local merchants. In 2011 alone, Henry Ford removed more than 13,000 pounds of fat from its meals by removing deep fryers and fry shortening, purchasing leaner cuts of meat and using less fat in food preparation. It saved more than $28,000 by just cutting out fry shortening. Thayer says food selections are prepared healthier, without compromising taste and nutrition, and patient meals are tailored to medical conditions. Henry Ford also allows hospitalized patients to place meal orders from their room, enabling them to choose tasty, healthy foods whenever they want. This makes getting good food convenient for patients while reducing food waste. ###

Some Prostate Cancer Patients More Likely to Die After Weekend ER visits

2013-05-08 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 5, 2013

DETROIT– Patients with prostate cancer that has metastasized, or spread, to other parts of the body face a significantly higher risk of dying when visiting a hospital emergency department on the weekend, instead of on a weekday, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

The new study focused on metastatic prostate cancer in examining the so-called “weekend effect” of higher patient mortality, subject of numerous studies for about a decade.

Results from the study were presented May 5 at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association in San Diego.

Khurshid R. Ghani, M.D., of Henry Ford’s Vattikuti Urology Institute and lead author of the study, said he and his colleagues can only speculate on the reasons why this phenomenon appears to affect metastatic prostate cancer patients.

“Our data clearly show they have higher mortality rates after weekend visits to emergency departments,” Dr. Ghani says. “But as to why, there is only a suggestion that they’re more likely being treated at hospitals outside of metropolitan areas, places that may have limited access to advanced care.”

The researchers identified their study group – metastatic prostate cancer patients who visited emergency rooms from the beginning of 2006 through the end of 2009 – in the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, the largest such database in the U.S., approximating about 20 percent of hospital-based emergency departments across the country.

Of the 15,365 men in this group, 3,943 made weekend visits to emergency departments and 11,422 went on weekdays. A total of 8.1 percent in the weekend group died after their visit, compared to 7.7 percent after a weekday visit.

The data also showed that patients seen on the weekend were:

• Older, with a mean age of 75.1 versus 74.1.
• Healthier, having fewer additional diseases or disorders.
• More likely to visit a non-metropolitan hospital, 19.5 percent versus 14.1 percent.
• Less likely to be suffering acute renal failure, 14.7 percent versus 16.6 percent.
• More likely to have blood in their urine, 18.8 percent versus 17.2 percent.

“After adjusting for age and the presence of disease or disorders other than metastatic prostate cancer, weekend visits were associated with a 23 percent increased likelihood of death,” Dr. Ghani says.

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Kidney stone surgery: More women, more complications with minimally invasive procedure

2013-05-08 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 7, 2013

DETROIT – While the number of people – especially women – who have a minimally invasive procedure to remove kidney stones has risen in recent years, so has the rate of complications related to the surgery, according to a published study by Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

The research, from Khurshid R. Ghani, M.D., of Henry Ford Hospital's Vattikuti Urology Institute, is in press in the Journal of Urology. Those findings were presented May 7 at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association in San Diego.

The focus of the investigation was the procedure, percutaneous nephrolithotomy, or PCNL, in which a surgeon removes medium to large kidney stones through a small incision in the back using a hollow scope.

Minimally invasive procedures used for treating a wide range of medical conditions have increased in recent years, and the Henry Ford researchers set out to find how much and to what effect this is true for this specific procedure.

"What we found is that the use of PCNL in this country has increased," Dr. Ghani says, "and more women than men have the procedure.

"We also discovered that while the rate of PCNL-related death is low and has remained so, incidence of blood infection and overall complications has increased."

It was used in this study to identify patients who underwent PCNL between 1999 and 2009. A weighted sample was then formulated to estimate utilization rates across the country.

In addition, Henry Ford researchers tracked and analyzed trends in patient age; complications before, during and after the procedure; other disorders or diseases that existed at the time of the surgery; and in-hospital deaths.

A total of 80,097 patients over the age of 18 and with a median age of 53 were found to have undergone PCNL during the study period, during which the number of times the procedure was performed climbed by 47 percent.

The results showed:

    PCNL use rose from 3.0 to 3.63 per 100,000 men, and from 2.99 to 4.07 per 100,000 women during the study period. This represented a 0.03 percent increase in men who underwent the procedure compared to a 2.54 percent increase in women.
    Co-morbidity, or the presence of other disorders or disease at the time of surgery, increased during the study time-span.
    At the same time, overall complications increased from 12.2 percent in 1999 to 15.6 percent in 2009.
    Significantly, the incidence of sepsis – or blood infection – doubled, rising from 1.2 percent to 2.4 percent.
    The rate of PCNL-related death remained essentially unchanged at 0 to 0.4 percent.

Dr. Ghani and his associates concluded that patients were at higher risk of developing complications if they were older, sicker and treated in more recent years. And though the rate of deaths associated with the procedure remained statistically flat, those cases that did occur were found with older patients.

"We believe the broad use of this procedure, especially in older and sicker patients, may be the reason for these changes," Dr. Ghani says.

Diagnosis, Treatment of Common Outpatient Disorder Adds $238 Million a Year in ER Costs

2013-05-08 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4, 2013

DETROIT – A relatively common urinary tract disorder that can usually be managed in an outpatient setting is adding an estimated $238 million a year to the cost of emergency room visits in the U.S., according to two new studies from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

Hematuria, or blood in the urine, adds a “considerable” and “substantial” economic burden on already strained hospital emergency departments, says Khurshid R. Ghani, M.D., of Henry Ford’s Vattikuti Urology Institute and lead author of the studies.

“Our findings suggest that hematuria ED visits could be used as a measurable indicator for the quality and type of care in Accountable Care Organizations,” Dr. Ghani adds, referring to the health care networks included in the Affordable Care Act, which are intended to reduce costs while linking reimbursement to the quality of care for Medicare patients.

Results will be presented May 4 and 6 at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association in San Diego.

The studies set out to determine how often hematuria was the primary reason for emergency room visits, how much they cost and what part of that cost involves imaging – radiography, ultrasound, CT and MRI scanning and other costly diagnostic tests.

Drawing on data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, which contains as many as 30 million records for ED visits to more than 950 U.S. hospitals, the researchers identified 718,914 patient visits from the start of 2006 through the end of 2009 in which hematuria was the primary diagnosis.

Among these, 94,978 patients – or 13.2 percent – underwent an imaging procedure while in the emergency room. The researchers also found that the incidence of imaging for hematuria during the four-year study period rose from 6.56 to 9.39 per 100,000 person years.

Further, Dr. Ghani and his colleagues assembled all reimbursement claims for diagnostic imaging related to those visits.
They found that emergency department costs for hematuria patients, adjusted for inflation, were estimated at more than $237 million a year. The median charge without diagnostic imaging was $1,138 compared to $4,300 with imaging.

“Imaging alone was associated with an increase in ED charges of more than $75 million per year,” Dr. Ghani says.
The researchers also learned that patients were less likely to undergo imaging if they were seen at hospitals outside of metropolitan areas and at hospitals in the Midwest, and if they were covered by Medicaid and Medicare rather than private health insurance.

Noting that the Henry Ford study of imaging incidence and costs in hospital emergency departments is a first, Dr. Ghani says, “The economic burden is substantial and a cause for concern.

“Hematuria constitutes a considerable burden on economic resources in the ED, and it will require concerted efforts by all stakeholders to reduce both the use of imaging in diagnosing the disorder in that setting, and the costs associated with it.”

More African Americans Have Kidney Transplants, But Few Are From Live Donors

2013-05-08 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 8, 2013

DETROIT – While the percentage of kidney transplants involving live donors has remained stable for other minority populations, African Americans have seen a decline in live donors even as more of them receive kidney transplants, according to a study by Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

Those findings were presented May 8 at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association in San Diego.

“African American race has been associated with disparities in care at every step of the kidney transplant process,” says Jesse D. Sammon, D.O., a researcher at Henry Ford’s Vattikuti Urology Institute and lead author of the study. “This is particularly striking in the use of transplant kidneys from living donors.”

“Live-donor kidney transplant offers a patient the best chance for long term survival off dialysis and African Americans have been found to have barely half the odds of other racial groups of getting live-donor kidney transplant.”

So the Henry Ford research team set out to look at trends for donor nephrectomy – or the removal of a kidney to donate for transplant – as a percentage of kidney transplants within minority populations.

Using data drawn from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, which includes discharge statistics from more than 1,000 U.S. hospitals in 44 states, the Henry Ford research team found an estimated 205,984 kidney transplants (KT) were performed between 1998 and 2010.

At the same time, data showed 72,352 live-donor nephrectomies (LDN) for a comparative percent overall of 35.12, which remained consistent during the study period. Within the overall study population, the rate for Hispanics also was consistent and averaged 30.3 percent, and rates for other minority groups, too, remained stable and averaged 26.33 percent.

“But African Americans averaged only 18.6 percent LDN to KT ratio, and that fell over the study period,” Dr. Sammon says.

Noting that abundant research has found much higher levels of certain serious diseases among African Americans, for a variety of reasons that remain at least partially unclear, Dr. Sammon says that may well explain the disparity in live-donor kidney transplants.

“It likely reflects a lower number of potential donors in the social networks of African Americans due to higher prevalence of obesity, hypertension and diabetes, as well as social/cultural impediments to live donation,” Dr. Sammon says.

Together: Husband and Wife Have Same Heart Valve Replacement

2013-05-08 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 8, 2013

DETROIT – Doctors at Henry Ford Hospital have replaced heart valves in a St. Clair Shores couple – the first couple in the U.S. to have the same procedure.

“We do everything together,” says Betty Fennell, 86. “We both had cancer in the ‘80s, and we both had heart bypass surgery in 2000.”

Betty Fennell had a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in August, and her husband John had the same procedure last week.

“Neither of them were candidates to have open-heart surgery again, which both had undergone in 2000,” says Mayra Guerrero, M.D., the lead cardiologist on the multi-specialty team who did both procedures.

TAVR is a minimally invasive procedure, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for patients with severe narrowing of the aortic heart valve who cannot undergo open-heart surgery. Doctors use a catheter to thread the replacement valve from a blood vessel in the leg to the heart’s failing aortic valve, and replace it with a new artificial valve. Before the availability of TAVR, these patients had few treatment options.

Team members for the procedure included specialists in interventional cardiology, cardiac surgery, advanced cardiac imaging, vascular surgery, and cardiac anesthesia.

Retired carpenter John Fennell, 89, had a valvuloplasty, which opens a heart valve with a balloon through a catheter, a few days before his TAVR procedure.

“John Fennell was having great difficulty walking,” adds Dr. Guerrero. “He would take a few steps and faint. His heart condition did not allow enough blood flow to his brain. It was imperative for him to have the valvuloplasty to stabilize his condition until he was ready for the TAVR procedure.”

“Before I had the TAVR procedure, everything was an effort to do,” says Betty Fennell. “I couldn’t walk very far and it was hard to breathe. After my procedure, I was home in three days and I’m driving again.”

For more information on heart valve replacement, or an appointment, call (313) 916-1534.

Surgical Volume Should be Considered When Judging Value of Procedures

2013-05-07 00:00:00.0

May 5, 2013

SAN DEIGO – The volume of cases performed at an institution each year has a direct effect on the outcome of surgical procedures, and should always be considered when looking at the benefits of a technique, according to a team of researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

Those conclusions will be presented May 5 at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association in San Diego and is published in the April issue of Journal of Urology.

The starting point of the study was the rapid increase in the use of surgical robots to assist in radical prostatectomy, in which the entire prostate gland and some surrounding tissue are removed to treat prostate cancer.

“This has happened in spite of a lack of randomized controlled studies to measure the superiority of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, or RARP, over traditional open surgery to treat prostate cancers,” says Jesse D. Sammon, D.O., a researcher at Henry Ford’s Vattikuti Urology Institute and lead author of the study.

“There have been some studies recently that suggested an advantage for RARP in terms of complication rates from the time a patient is admitted for surgery, through the operation itself and until time of discharge from the hospital.”

Dr. Sammon continues: “But these studies didn’t take into account the relationship between surgical outcomes and the volume of surgery performed in a given institution. We set out to fill that void while comparing outcomes for RARP and open radical prostatectomy, or ORP.”

Tapping data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample – a set of databases maintained for researchers and policymakers to find and address trends in U.S. health care – the Henry Ford researchers identified 77,616 men who underwent radical prostatectomy in 2009. Of them, nearly 64 percent had RARP and about 36 percent had ORP.

The study then compared rates of blood transfusion, complications during and after surgery, prolonged length of hospital stay, elevated hospital charges and mortality within the test group.

“Overall, RARP patients experienced lower complication rates than those treated with ORP,” Dr. Sammon says. “However, the picture changed when we factored in whether the procedures were done at very high-volume medical centers or low-volume institutions.”

Low-volume centers averaged 26.2 cases of RARP and 5.2 of ORP, while the highest volume centers averaged nearly 579 RARP cases and 150 ORP cases per year.

When these caseloads were taken into account, the researchers found that among equivalent volumes, RARP results were generally favorable; ORP, however, at very high-volume centers, had lower complication rates after surgery and comparable rates of blood transfusions relative to RARP at low-volume centers.

“So, regardless of the approach – whether RARP or ORP – low-volume institutions experienced inferior outcomes when compared to the highest volume centers,” Dr. Sammon says.

Funding Source: Supported in part by the Vattikuti Urology Institute

ER Visits for UTIs Add Almost $4 Billion a Year

2013-05-07 00:00:00.0

May 6, 2013

SAN DIEGO – Giving patients better access to primary health care could save nearly $4 billion a year in unnecessary emergency room visits for a single common complaint – urinary tract infections – according to a study by the Vattikuti Urology Institute at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

The study set out to determine the economic burden of 10.8 million patients, with a primary diagnosis of urinary tract infection, who went to U.S. emergency rooms for treatment from the beginning of 2006 to the end of 2009.

The findings will be presented May 6 at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association in San Diego.

“The cost of treating urinary tract infections in an outpatient clinic has already been estimated at under $200 per episode, including the office visit and lab fees,” says Jesse D. Sammon, D.O., a researcher at Henry Ford’s Vattikuti Urology Institute and lead author of the study. “In this study, we set out to compare that to the cost of treating this common disorder in hospital emergency departments.

“While most people would expect the cost to be higher in an emergency room, we found that it is much higher – more than 10 times the entire cost of treatment in an outpatient clinic.”

The Henry Ford research team drew its study population from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, the largest all-payer database in the U.S., including statistics representing 20 percent of hospital-based emergency departments.

Of the 10,799,345 patients who were seen for urinary tract infections in emergency departments during the four-year study period, the vast majority – 9 million or 83.3 percent, between 2 million to 2.3 million per year – were treated and released, the researchers found.

Compared to those who were admitted for hospital treatment, this group was:
• Younger, with a median age of 32 versus 72.
• More likely female, 86.9 percent versus 73.1 percent.
• On Medicaid, 24.4 percent versus 13 percent; or private insurance, 32.6 percent versus 17.6 percent.
• And more likely to be at the lowest income level, 33.5 percent versus 28.7 percent.

The mean charge for these patients who were treated and released from emergency departments was approximately $2,000 per visit, $1,800 higher than the average cost of treatment in an outpatient clinic, the study found.

“Given these findings, it was not difficult to conclude that improved guidelines for emergency treatment of such a common complaint, and a health care system that offers these patients greater access to primary care physicians could result in a savings of nearly $4 billion a year.”

Robot-Assisted Kidney Cancer Surgery Offers Benefits at a Cost

2013-05-07 00:00:00.0

May 7, 2013

SAN DIEGO – Robot-assisted surgery to remove kidney cancers has seen a rapid increase in use, and has both replaced and proven safer than laparoscopic procedures for the same purpose, according to a study by the Vattikuti Urology Institute at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

However, the study also shows that robotic partial nephrectomy (RPN) – while resulting in fewer complications than both open (OPN) and laparoscopic (LPN) removal of cancerous kidney tissue – also involves more “excessive” hospital charges.

“Excessive hospital charges were significantly higher with robotic partial nephrectomy,” says Khurshid R. Ghani, M.D., of Vattikuti Urology Institute and lead author of the study. “While we can report no cost-savings with the procedure – quite the opposite – the benefits are obvious.”

“It is a safe operation that has rapidly replaced LPN as the most common minimally invasive approach for partial nephrectomy. It has shown superior results compared to open surgery, and was better than laparoscopy in every respect but cost,” he adds.

The findings will be presented May 7 at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association in San Diego.

Dr. Ghani says data was mined from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), which includes inpatient discharge information from 1,044 U.S. hospitals.

Between October 2008 – when the NIS first included an identifier for robot-assisted procedures – and December 2010, the researchers found a total of 38,064 patients who underwent OPN, LPN or RPN to treat kidney cancers that had not metastasized.

Of the total, nearly 70 percent had open surgery, nearly 24 percent had robot-assisted surgery and a little more than 9 percent were treated laparoscopically.

Researchers also noted that while all three forms of kidney surgery had increased in 2010, robot-assisted partial nephrectomy soared by more than 45 percent, far overshadowing the other two types.

Complications were tracked during and after each procedure. The Henry Ford team found:
• Patients undergoing RPN were least likely to receive a blood transfusion, while those who had open surgery were most likely to need one.
• The same was true for developing complications after surgery or requiring a prolonged hospital stay.
• Only those undergoing RPN were less likely to develop complications during surgery.

Funding source: Henry Ford Hospital

Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital Names Director of Retail and Wellness

2013-05-06 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2013

WEST BLOOMFIELD – Ignazio Tatulli has been appointed director of Retail and Wellness at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital.

With a background of more than 20 years in the luxury cruise ship industry as a ship’s captain, Tatulli brings extensive experience in service excellence to the hospital.

His focus will be on creating an exceptional experience for patients, their families, the medical staff and employees, as well as members of the community.

His responsibilities encompass food and nutrition services; retail; Vita, the wellness center and hair salon; and the greenhouse.

Tatulli will lead in continual process improvement and adaptive innovation, in response to the needs of Henry Ford’s customers.

# # #

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ignazio Tatulli is a resident of Novi.

Registration Opens for Stroke Retreat Camp in July

2013-05-03 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 3, 2013

DETROIT – Stroke survivors, family members and caregivers are invited to register for the 19th annual Henry Ford Health System Stroke Retreat. The retreat will be held the weekend of July 26 - 28 at Camp Cavell, a YWCA camp located on the beautiful shores of Lake Huron in Lexington, Michigan.

Activities are planned for a variety of activity levels to involve all participants. Weekend activities include crafts, a bonfire, a hayride, a talent show, canoe rides, beach access via a ramp, exercise, relaxation and friendship.

Trained and experienced volunteers will be present to assist with activities and physical needs of stroke survivors, providing some respite for caregivers. A family caregiver must attend with each stroke survivor, unless the survivor is able to function independently.

The retreat cost is $75 per person, ages 14 and over, with discounts for younger children. Cost includes lodging, meals and activities from Friday evening to Sunday brunch. Lodging is in six- to eight-person cabins, with one bathroom per cabin.

There is also a discounted day rate for Saturday-only attendance. A limited number of scholarships are available, based on financial need.

For further information, or to obtain registration forms, please visit www.henryford.com/strokeretreat or contact Sheila Daley at (313) 575-4373 or sdaley1@hfhs.org.

Henry Ford Physician Appointed Medical Director of Region 2 North Healthcare Coalition

2013-04-30 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 30, 2013 DETROIT – Michael Feld, M.D., a senior staff physician in the Emergency Department at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, was appointed medical director of the Region 2 North Healthcare Coalition. In this role, Dr. Feld leads R2N’s medical surge planning and response efforts for emergency preparedness. The R2N Healthcare Coalition was one of eight coalitions in Michigan created in 2002 in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks to ensure statewide readiness and inter-agency collaboration to respond to public health emergencies. The coalitions are geographically based within the jurisdictional lines of the state’s Emergency Management Regions. R2N comprises Oakland, Macomb and St. Clair counties. Dr. Feld joined Henry Ford as a senior staff physician in 2009. He is board certified in Emergency Medicine. He earned his medical degree from Wayne State University and completed his residency in the Emergency Department at Henry Ford Hospital. He is a member of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians and American Medical Association. ### EDITOR’S NOTE: Dr. Feld is a resident of West Bloomfield.

For 10th Consecutive Year, HFHS Reports Financial Growth

2013-04-25 00:00:00.0

April 25, 2013

DETROIT - For the 10th consecutive year, Henry Ford Health System experienced positive revenue growth and net income in 2012.

Henry Ford reported total revenues of $4.46 billion in 2012, an increase of $490 million from the $3.97 billion total revenues in 2011. Overall, Henry Ford reported $53.1 million net income for 2012, as compared to $62.9 million in 2011, a decrease of 15 percent.

“The net income decrease is related to two factors. The first is an increase in uncompensated care in 2012 for the health system,” says James Connelly, chief financial officer of Henry Ford Health System.

In 2012, the health care system provided $233.6 million in uncompensated care, an 11 percent increase from 2011. This consists of $61 million in charity care, $90 million in unpaid costs of Medicaid and other public programs, and $82 million in bad debt.

“Second, Henry Ford is making a significant investment in state-of-the-art information technology in our clinical, business and insurance operations, which positions us well for health care reform,” says Connelly.

“This consists of a $356-million investment in our new clinical information and revenue system, which includes Epic, our new electronic medical record. This investment represents a true transformation in the way Henry Ford delivers care to our patients and how we operate our business.”

The Epic impact in 2011-2012 was $41.4 million of additional expense. In 2011, the Epic expense was $5 million (project started in Nov. 2011) and in 2012 the expense was $36.4 million for the year.

There also was substantial growth within the health system in 2012.

In its insurance operations, Health Alliance Plan (HAP) and its subsidiaries increased total enrollment to 668,000, an increase of 202,000 members (43 percent) from Jan. 2010 to Jan. 2013. HAP’s current membership is the highest in its history, making HAP the second largest health insurer in Michigan.

Also, Midwest Health Plan, a Medicaid HMO acquired by HAP in 2011, has grown to more than 80,000 members with annual revenue of $275 million.

In October, Henry Ford and Beaumont health systems signed a letter of intent to combine their operations into a new $6.4 billion organization with the goal of designing a national model for health care.

“While we experienced growth in 2012, one of the biggest accomplishments was the talks that led us to announce our intent to merge with Beaumont Health System,” says Nancy Schlichting, chief executive officer, Henry Ford Health System.

“We are looking to the future as we continue our nationally recognized industry leadership in the face of the changing health care environment and its challenges. These include declining health care reimbursement, the growing importance of population health management and the shift toward outpatient services,” adds Schlichting.

Major accomplishments by the health system in 2012 include:

Henry Ford was recognized nationally as the No.1 hospital system in the country by DiversityInc. for the third consecutive year.
Enhanced employee health and wellness through the Health Engagement program. For 2012, more than 80 percent of eligible employees and their spouses/same-sex domestic partners qualified for the Enhanced Plan of HAP’s Health Engagement insurance program.
Henry Ford Health Center Brownstown received Press Ganey’s Summit Award for outpatient services for the fourth consecutive year.
Began the implementation of Project Helios (Epic) – one of the most extensive and fastest implementations ever undertaken by Henry Ford, which is designed to standardize and transform care and business processes System-wide.
Henry Ford Hospital was among 12 hospitals in the United States honored for its efforts to prevent healthcare-associated infections by the Critical Care Societies Collaborative and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The System was awarded $42.5 million in new research grants, a 10 percent increase over 2011, and awarded 10 new grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Henry Ford was selected as “Company of the Year” by the Michigan Chronicle.

Henry Ford Health System, one of the country's largest and most comprehensive integrated health care systems, is a national leader in clinical care, research and education. The system includes the 1,200-member Henry Ford Medical Group, seven hospitals, Health Alliance Plan (a health insurance and wellness company), Henry Ford Physician Network, a 150-site ambulatory network and many other health-related entities throughout southeast Michigan, providing a full continuum of care. The health system also is a major economic driver in Michigan and employs more than 24,000 people. Henry Ford is a 2011 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient. The health system is led by CEO Nancy Schlichting. To learn more, visit HenryFord.com.

Henry Ford Hospital Urologist: Top Resident Teacher Award

2013-04-23 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2012

DETROIT – James Peabody, M.D., a senior staff urologist at the Vattikuti Urology Institute (VUI) at Henry Ford Hospital, has been selected as the recipient of the 2013 Residents Committee Teaching Award by the American Urological Association (AUA).

The award is presented annually to recognize an outstanding urology educator or program director who has dedicated a portion of his or her career to teaching residents and advancing urology graduate medical education.

It also recognizes an individual who, by example, influences residents to pursue careers in academic medicine and teaching.

Dr. Peabody will receive the award May 4 during the Residents Committee Forum at the AUA’s annual meeting in San Diego.

Since 2001, he has worked with Mani Menon, M.D., director of VUI, and the VUI team on the development of the world’s first comprehensive robotic surgery program.

His interests include urologic oncology and robot-assisted laparoscopic urologic surgery and surgical simulation for training. He has an interest in the teaching of robotic surgical techniques and has lectured and demonstrated robotic surgical techniques around the world.

Dr. Peabody is the director of the Robotic Urology Fellowship Program, and coordinator of the Wayne State Medical Student urology rotations at the VUI and an assistant professor of urology at Wayne State School of Medicine.

He has authored 12 book chapters and more than 70 journal articles, and has more than 130 published abstracts.

Dr. Peabody is a member of multiple professional societies, including the American Urological Association, the American College of Surgeons, the European Urologic Association, and the Societé Internationale d’Urologie, the Michigan Urological Society, the American Medical Association, the Southwest Oncology Group and the Northeast Medical Association.

In addition, he has been active in an obstetrical fistula surgical repair program in Benin in West Africa for the last six years.

Henry Ford Hospital Physician Selected “Top 50” in Two National Rankings

2013-04-22 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2013

DETROIT – William Conway, M.D., has been selected as one of the “50 Most Influential Physician Executives in Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare magazine, the only Michigan physician to be honored.

In addition, he was named one of the "50 Experts Leading the Field of Patient Safety" by Becker’s Hospital Review.

Dr. Conway is executive vice president and chief quality officer of Henry Ford Health System and CEO of the Henry Ford Medical Group.

Organized by Dr. Conway and his team, Henry Ford has won the “triple crown” in health care quality by being recognized with the:

• National Business Group on Health - Patient Safety Leadership Award, which recognizes health systems that are taking a leadership position by visibly displaying their commitment to patient safety through transparency.

• The John Eisenberg Award for the “No Harm” campaign, which has become a national benchmark for patient safety.

• The 2011 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest recognition for business performance excellence.

Dr. Conway is the past chairman of the American Medical Group Association, current chairman of the American Medical Group Foundation, and a founder of the Group Practice Improvement Network.

Dr. Conway joined the Henry Ford Medical Group in 1977 as a senior staff physician in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Since then, he has served in numerous leadership roles, including chief medical officer for Henry Ford Hospital. He completed a fellowship and his residency, including serving as chief medical resident, at Henry Ford Hospital. He earned his medical degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

Medical Geneticist Elected to ACMG Board of Directors

2013-04-19 00:00:00.0

April 19, 2013
DETROIT – Henry Ford Hospital medical geneticist Kristin G. Monaghan, Ph.D., has been elected to the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) Board of Directors.

In her newly elected position, Dr. Monaghan, who is the director of the DNA Diagnostic Laboratory at Henry Ford, will serve as a Molecular Genetics Director from April 2013 to March 2019. She is among six new directors elected to the ACMG Board.

The board members are active in serving as advocates for the ACMG and for advancing its policies and programs.

Founded in 1991, the ACMG advances the practice of medical genetics and genomics by providing education, resources and a voice for more than 1,600 biochemical, clinical, cytogenetic, medical and molecular geneticists, genetic counselors and other health care professionals committed to the practice of medical genetics and genomics.

ACMG’s activities include the development of laboratory and practice standards and guidelines, advocating for quality genetic services in healthcare and in public health, and promoting the development of methods to diagnose, treat and prevent genetic disease.

Active in the ACMG, Dr. Monaghan has served as chair of the ACMG Laboratory Quality Assurance Committee. Additionally, she has served on the ACMG Membership Committee and several ACMG Ad hoc committees.

Dr. Monaghan also served for six years on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Medical Genetics and currently is a member of the American Board of Pathology’s Molecular Genetic Pathology Test Development and Advisory Committee.

Dr. Monaghan, a medical geneticist in the Cancer Genetics and General Genetics Clinics in the Department of Medical Genetics at Henry Ford, also is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics at the Wayne State University School of Medicine.

Dr. Monaghan received her B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Michigan and Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Wayne State University School of Medicine. She completed her Fellowship in Clinical Molecular Genetics and her Ph.D. in Medical Genetics at the Department of Medical Genetics at Henry Ford.

She has published more than 40 scholarly articles primarily focused on clinical molecular genetic testing.

To learn more about the ACMG, visit www.acmg.net.

New Senior Life Options Open in Detroit

2013-04-15 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2013

Rivertown Neighborhood Creates Jobs and New Housing and Health Care Options for Detroit Seniors, Including City’s First Affordable Assisted Living

DETROIT - Three nonprofit organizations with a history of innovation and service in Michigan today announce they have officially opened the Rivertown Neighborhood, a first-of-its-kind collaboration to redevelop a neighborhood, create jobs and fill important health care and living needs for seniors in the City of Detroit.

Henry Ford Health System, Presbyterian Villages of Michigan (PVM) and United Methodist Retirement Communities (UMRC) hosted a Grand Opening today of the first phase of the Rivertown Neighborhood. By the end of 2013, the partners expect 80 residents to live in Detroit’s first Affordable Assisted Living apartments. Additionally, Henry Ford/PVM’s Center for Senior Independence (CSI) is operating its second location inside the building, which once housed Parke-Davis pharmaceutical laboratories, on McDougall Avenue near the Detroit River in a neighborhood in which there is compelling need for affordable senior housing and senior health services.

Philanthropy has helped build a strong base of support for the Rivertown Neighborhood, including support from foundations committed to creating vibrant neighborhoods and economic development in Detroit. The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan made a leadership grant commitment to the project in 2010 through the Detroit Neighborhood Fund. More recently, the development has received grants from The Kresge Foundation and The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, which is based in Maryland and helps older adults live meaningful and engaged lives in their community. The project was further supported by HUD, MSHDA, Wayne County, and the City of Detroit HOME funds, brownfield tax credits, low-income housing tax credits, and the partners’ own equity. Huntington National Bank provided the construction financing for Phase One.

The investment creates approximately 183 ongoing, new economy health care jobs and more than 350 construction jobs. The ripple effect across the economy of the Phase One investment will be approximately $250 million over 10 years.

The partners have also begun to break ground on Phase Two of the Rivertown Neighborhood. Presbyterian Villages of Michigan (PVM) and United Methodist Retirement Communities, Inc. (UMRC) are partners in the second phase, developed in collaboration with Henry Ford, with PVM operating new apartments and leading construction and planning.

The nearly $7 million, 43,000 square-foot Phase Two, which will be built just east of the $27.5 million Phase One development, will include 50 independent living affordable senior apartments, funded in part through a $6.9 million capital advance grant of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The partners are forming a non-profit community board. The second phase should open in the spring of 2014. Eligible residents will be 62 years old or older who meet HUD’s very low-income requirements.

“This partnership allows the Center for Senior Independence to expand its commitment to promoting quality of life for seniors living in their own homes, by offering a team approach to superior care management,” said Michael Karson, executive director, CSI. “Once you are part of the CSI family, you needn’t look any further to have your medical, social and physical needs met. Our new center will provide all the services our participants expect, while opening our doors to help more of the medically underserved in the area.”

Henry Ford/PVM's Center for Senior Independence is part of the national PACE program. PACE, the Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, provides comprehensive medical and social services to frail, low-income seniors with serious health problems. More than 25,000 people are enrolled in 91programs in 30 states.

CSI provides an alternative to nursing home care for frail, elderly people. By bringing together all the care needed, participants are able to remain independent in their own homes and communities. Patients and their caregivers also are provided respite care. The comprehensive care, both medical and social, are provided at CSI and the senior's home, as well as in the hospital or nursing home, when necessary.

For more than 65 years, PVM has served seniors of all faiths and now operates 24 senior living communities in Michigan, including six in the City of Detroit. PVM serves as the developer of the overall project.

"This exciting development is an important step toward effectively addressing the increasing needs of the City of Detroit's rapidly aging population," said Roger Myers, President and CEO of PVM. "This senior population will expand by nearly 20 percent by 2035 and will be the only demographic group experiencing such growth over the next twenty-five years."

Founded in 1906 in Michigan, UMRC has more than 40 years of experience owning and operating senior citizen housing in the City of Detroit. It was just one of just five organizations in Michigan approved by the State to pioneer Affordable Assisted Living and the only one approved for a program in the City of Detroit. In this new collaboration, UMRC is an investor in the project and will also manage the Affordable Assisted Living component.

Affordable Assisted Living provides below market-rate apartments with home care services, paid for by Medicaid. For people of limited means who have exhausted their financial resources, Affordable Assisted Living allows them to receive services in their home as a much less expensive alternative to a nursing facility. Currently, no Affordable Assisted Living option exists in the City of Detroit.

“As mission-driven organizations, we are able to collaborate to fulfill our missions and meet needs in the community,” said John Thorhauer, President and CEO of UMRC. “We see Rivertown Neighborhood as a model in the City of Detroit, the State of Michigan and the nation on how organizations should work together to develop communities.”

Once all phases are complete, the partners expect the Rivertown Neighborhood to serve more than 750 seniors each year.

Henry Ford Health System, one of the country's largest and most comprehensive integrated health care systems, is a national leader in clinical care, research and education. The system includes the 1,200-member Henry Ford Medical Group, five hospitals, Health Alliance Plan (a health insurance and wellness company), Henry Ford Physician Network, a 150-site ambulatory network and many other health-related entities throughout southeast Michigan, providing a full continuum of care. In 2010, Henry Ford provided nearly $200 million in uncompensated care. The health system also is a major economic driver in Michigan and employs more than 24,000 people. Henry Ford is a 2011 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient. The health system is led by CEO Nancy Schlichting. To learn more, visit HenryFord.com.

Presbyterian Villages of Michigan (PVM), headquartered in Southfield, MI, is a faith-based, non-profit, multi-site system that has served seniors of all faiths since 1945. PVM currently serves more than 4,300 seniors and has 24 senior living communities including continuing care retirement communities (apartments, assisted living, and skilled nursing all on one campus), subsidized senior housing, and market rate senior housing. The PVM Foundation advances the PVM mission by providing philanthropic support for benevolent care, innovative services such as Green Houses for the frail elderly and wellness programs for residents and seniors throughout the state. For more information on Presbyterian Villages of Michigan or Presbyterian Villages of Michigan Foundation log on at www.pvm.org.

Building on a foundation of more than 100 years of service, United Methodist Retirement Communities is a faith-based, non-profit organization that promotes the wellness, dignity and independence of older adults, by providing high quality, innovative and compassionate senior residential care services across Southeast Michigan. The organization is headquartered in Chelsea, Michigan and is online at www.umrc.com.

Henry Ford Health System Honored As Top Performing Workforce by Gallup

2013-04-11 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 11, 2013 DETROIT – Henry Ford Health System was selected as a top performing workforce by Gallup. Henry Ford received the 2013 Gallup Great Workplace Award, an annual award that recognizes companies that create an engaged workplace culture. A panel of workplace experts evaluates organizations for their best practices and improved business results achieved through building an engaged workforce and evaluate them against criteria of workplace research database comprising millions of work teams in more than 100 countries. “Henry Ford’s greatest strength is our people,” says Henry Ford CEO Nancy Schlichting. “The culture we have created with our workforce has resulted in a unique energy, risk-taking and can-do-spirit this is the foundation of Henry Ford Health System.” To be considered, organizations submit an application that includes a best-practices portfolio with: • A one-page description that explains how the organization has linked employee engagement to business outcomes. Actual analysis is required. • A strategic plan that highlights building employee engagement. • Concrete examples of initiatives that were created or used to enhance employee engagement. • Evidence of dedication at the workgroup level to driving employee engagement. • An example of how engaged employees have a made a difference with customers. Henry Ford Health System, one of the country's largest and most comprehensive integrated health care systems, is a national leader in clinical care, research and education. The system includes the 1,200-member Henry Ford Medical Group, seven hospitals, Health Alliance Plan (a health insurance and wellness company), Henry Ford Physician Network, a 150-site ambulatory network, a $70 million annual research budget and many other health-related entities throughout southeast Michigan, providing a full continuum of care. In 2011, Henry Ford provided more than $200 million in uncompensated care. The health system also is a major economic driver in Michigan and employs more than 24,000 employees. Henry Ford is a 2011 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient. The health system is led by CEO Nancy Schlichting. To learn more, visit HenryFord.com. ###

Henry Ford West Bloomfield Offers Health Programs

2013-04-11 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 11, 2013

WEST BLOOMFIELD — Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital is offering a variety of free health programs for the community in the Demonstration Kitchen.

Although there is no cost to attend, registration is required.

Menopause and Health - Monday, May 6, 5 - 6:30 p.m.
A discussion of major health concerns and how to prevent complications and feel better.

Staying Young Through the Ages - Monday, May 13, 5 – 6:30 p.m.
Learn strategies to maintain and refresh a youthful look.

Strategies for the “Sandwich Generation” Tuesday, May 14, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
How to cope when you are juggling care for children, spouse/partner and parents.

Tips on Bladder Health - Thursday, May 16, Noon – 1 p.m.
Prevention of common problems from a urogynecologist.

The Tobacco-Free Makeover – Thursday, May 23, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
Maximize your well-being, physically and mentally.

Resources for Breastfeeding Support – Wednesday, May 29, 6:30 – 8 p.m.
Learn about breast pumps, returning to work, and the law regarding breastfeeding. Open to mothers-to-be and new mothers.

Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital is located at 6777 W. Maple Road, in West Bloomfield.

For further information, or to register, please call (248) 325-3890, or email dk@hfhs.org.

www.henryfordwestbloomfield.com/demonstrationkitchen

Healthy Spring Cooking Classes

2013-04-11 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 11, 2013

WEST BLOOMFIELD — Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital is offering healthy cooking classes for cooking, seasonings, and dressing your spring table.

Seasoning Without Salt
Thursday, May 2, Noon – 1:30 p.m. $19 per person
The research is in: high-sodium diets are linked to cardiovascular disease. Learn how to flavor your food without extra salt.

Preparation and Serving Techniques
Tuesday, May 7, 5:30 – 7 p.m. $10 per person
In this interactive class, learn how to dress up and decorate your table, as well as how to serve with style.

Mushroom Season in Michigan
Tuesday, May 21, 6:30 – 8 p.m. $19 per person
Mushrooms are not only healthy, they are delicious. Join our chefs as they share some of their favorite mushroom-inspired recipes.

Super Greens for Super Heroes
Thursday, May 30, 1 – 3:30 p.m. $19 per adult (Call for family price.)
Bring the kids! Families learn together how to use local greens in their meals and make their own smoothies.

Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital is located at 6777 W. Maple Road, in West Bloomfield. The Demonstration Kitchen is off the main lobby.

Classes fill quickly, and registration closes 72 hours before the start of class.

For further information, or to register, please call (248) 325-3890, or email dk@hfhs.org.

www.henryfordwestbloomfield.com/demonstrationkitchen

Telemedicine, Space to Earth Project Lands Henry Ford Physician in Hall of Fame

2013-04-11 00:00:00.0

DETROIT – Scott Dulchavsky, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Surgery at Henry Ford Hospital, will be inducted today into the Space Foundation’s Space Technology Hall of Fame for his work training astronauts to use ultrasound technology in space.

Dr. Dulchavsky is among seven people to be inducted at the 29th National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. The Space Technology Hall of Fame recognizes technologies and innovations that have been adapted to improve life on Earth.

Dr. Dulchavsky is being honored as the principle investigator for the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity (ADUM) experiment, a collaboration among Henry Ford Hospital, Johnson Space Center and Wyle Laboratories Inc.

He led a team that used small, portable ultrasound devices to train astronauts aboard the International Space Station from 2003-2005 so they could obtain a wide variety of diagnostic-quality medical images transmitted by satellite to the ground where radiologists can read them. The experiment showed the effectiveness of using ultrasound as a remote diagnostic tool and sending image quality scans over long distances.
Since then, Dr. Dulchavsky has worked with the Detroit Red Wings to test the technology. A portable ultrasound device was placed in the team’s locker room and connected to an ultrasound workstation at Henry Ford Hospital, where a radiologist guided Red Wings trainers to perform ultrasound tests on a shoulder, ankle, knee, hand and foot and to send the images for diagnosis.

Additionally, Dr. Dulchavsky and Henry Ford radiologist Marnix van Holsbeeck, M.D., lead a clinical study to test the effectiveness and timeliness of diagnosing musculoskeletal shoulder and knee injuries on players on the U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Team.

Dr. Dulchavsky, who says the portable ultrasound devices can be used to extend medical care in rural and military locations, is also investigating the use of satellite phone technology for using the portable ultrasound devices in ambulances and at accident sites.

Dr. Dulchavsky joined Henry Ford as chair of Surgery in July 2003. He is board certified in surgery and critical care medicine. He earned his medical degree at Wayne State University, where he also completed advanced medical training. He earned his doctorate from Wayne State.

Goodbye Drafty Backside, Hello Comfort in New Patient Gown

2013-04-08 00:00:00.0

April 8, 2013

DETROIT – The drafty backside is finally gone, replaced with comfort, warmth and dignity in a newly designed hospital gown that blends style for the patient with clinical function for the health care team.

The new patient gown – resembling a wrap-around robe that completely closes in the back and front– is being rolled out on several inpatient floors at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. It is among the first inventions to be made public by the Henry Ford Innovation Institute in collaboration with the College for Creative Studies.

The newly designed gown is:

Completely closed in the back, creating more privacy for patients
Made of a thicker, cotton/polyester blend material, which keeps patients warmer than the previous patient gowns
Double-breasted in the front, using three snaps, instead of ties, to close the gown
Intuitive in design, with different colored snaps and stitching along the left and right sides of the gown, making it easy for patients to put on
Accessible for IVs and other medical lines. The health care teams say it offers them uncompromised clinical access to the patient without needing to remove the gown

“Our No. 1 goal was to close the backside of the gown with our design,” says Michael Forbes, a product designer at the Henry Ford Innovation Institute and graduate of the College for Creative Studies (CCS).
“A simple change can have a large impact on the patients’ stay at a hospital. By creating a hospital gown that is safe, stylish and comfortable, we’ve made the patient feel more at home, like they’re wearing their own garments.”

The gown, which began with a drawing two years ago from CCS students working at the Innovation Institute, is now being tested by patients like Ismail Khalil, M.D., a vascular surgeon from Lebanon who traveled to Henry Ford Hospital for a liver transplant.

Dr. Khalil has the unique perspective as both a physician and now a patient on the design of the new hospital gown versus the traditional hospital gown.

“The new gown is the ultimate in simplicity and sophistication,” he says. “The old gown was uncomfortable with the ties in the back; I did not like it. I’d much rather walk down the hall in the new gown; it fits well and you feel decent. It looks good too. What more could you want?”

The new gown is tailored to fit two patient populations. Using the snaps on either side of the gown, it can adjust from a size large to an extra large, allowing for it to fit more patients with a single design.

The gown is navy and light blue, to coincide with the Henry Ford Hospital colors. The colors, however, can easily be modified for other hospitals to fit their brand.

The goal, Forbes says, is to license the design to an existing gown manufacturer, which would then produce and sell the gown nationally.

The cost to manufacture and purchase the new gown is very comparable to existing gowns, says Forbes. Laundering is exactly the same too; the new gown meets with current national hospital cleaning standards.

Henry Ford Innovation Institute

Established in 2012, the Henry Ford Innovation Institute is the flagship of Henry Ford Health System’s commitment to innovation, and serves as both a physical and virtual resource. It provides System innovators access to an array of intellectual asset-related resources and programs including technological opportunity assessment, engineering services for prototypes, seminars designed to convey opportunities, programs aimed at developing specific medical products, and other educational offerings.

To download high-resolution images of the new patient gown.

Nancy Schlichting Selected as one of Top 25 Women in Healthcare

2013-04-08 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2013

DETROIT – Nancy Schlichting, CEO of Henry Ford Health System, has been selected one of the “Top 25 Women in Healthcare.”

The selection, made by the editors of Modern Healthcare magazine, was to honor executives in all fields of health care “for making a positive difference in the industry.”

This is the third time that Schlichting has received this recognition from the magazine.

“Nancy’s vision, as well as the implementation strategy she has deployed with her leadership team, is the reason Henry Ford Health System is a national benchmark for quality, innovation and diversity,” says Sandy Pierce, chair of Henry Ford Health System.

In the summary about Schlichting, Modern Healthcare wrote:

“Nancy Schlichting, 58, joined Detroit’s Henry Ford Health System in 1998 as senior vice president and chief administrative officer, but has served as president and CEO since 2003. She is credited for leading the $4 billion system with more than 23,000 employees through a financial turnaround, helping it to start turning a profit in 2003, after previously posting losses. In 2011, Schlichting accepted the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, largely earned for Henry Ford’s “No Harm” patient-safety campaign.”

The 2013 candidates were judged on five criteria:
• Successfully served as a leader or managed an organization or company.
• Shown the ability or power to effect change in the healthcare industry.
• Demonstrated a willingness to share expertise with others in the field.
• Served as a role model or mentor to other female healthcare executives.
• Assumed a leadership position in the industry outside of the candidates' own organization or company.

Others named include Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Dr. Regina Benjamin, U.S. surgeon general; Leah Binder. president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group; Maureen Bisognano, president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement; Karen Daley, president of the American Nurses Association; Dr. Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration; and Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans.

Brain Cancer Treatment Using Genetic Material from Bone Marrow Cells

2013-03-29 00:00:00.0

April 1, 2013

DETROIT – In a first-of-its-kind experiment using microvesicles generated from mesenchymal bone marrow cells (MSCs) to treat cancer, neurological researchers at Henry Ford Hospital have discovered a novel approach for treatment of tumors.

Specifically, the research team found that introducing genetic material produced by MSCs significantly reduced a particularly resistant form of malignant brain tumor in living lab rats.

“This is the first foray of its type in experimental cancer therapy, and it represents a highly novel and potentially effective treatment,” says Michael Chopp, Ph.D., scientific director of the Henry Ford Neuroscience Institute and vice chairman of the Department of Neurology at Henry Ford Hospital.

The research is published in the current issue Cancer Letters.

“I think this is an important and very novel approach for the treatment of cancers, and in this particular case the treatment of glioma,” says Dr. Chopp. “We have been at the forefront of developing microRNAs as a means to treat disease, such as cancer and neurological injury.

“This study shows it is effective in the living brain, and may even lend itself to specific cancer therapy, customized for the individual patient,” Chopp adds.

Chopp and his colleagues focused their efforts on glioma, by far the most common type of malignant brain tumor and one with a notably poor prognosis for survival.

Tumor cells were surgically implanted in the brains of anesthetized male lab rats and allowed to grow for five days.

The tumors then were injected with exosomes containing molecules of a microRNA called miR-146b – found in earlier Henry Ford research to have a strong effect on glioma cells.

Exosomes are microscopic “lipid bubbles” that once were thought to carry and get rid of “old” proteins that were no longer needed by the body. After they were more recently found to also carry RNA, whole new fields of study were suggested, including groundbreaking work by Henry Ford researchers.

In the rat study, Dr. Chopp and his colleagues used MSC bone marrow cells to produce the exosomes containing the miR-146b they injected into the cancerous tumors.

Five days after this treatment, the rats were euthanized and their brains were removed, prepared for study and examined. Tumor size was measured using computer software.

“We found that one injection of exosomes containing miR-146b five days after tumor implantation led to a significant reduction in tumor volume at 10 days after implant,” Chopp says. “Our data suggest that miR-146b elicits an anti-tumor effect in the rat brain, and that MSCs can be used as a 'factory' to generate exosomes genetically altered to contain miR-146b to effectively treat tumor."

Funding: NIH and Henry Ford Hospital

HPV Improves Survival for African Americans with Throat Cancer

2013-03-28 00:00:00.0

March 28, 2013

DETROIT – Even though the human papillomavirus (HPV) is a risk factor for certain head and neck cancers, its presence could make all the difference in terms of survival, especially for African Americans with throat cancer, according to a newly published study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

The study shows that African Americans who are HPV-positive have better outcomes than African Americans without HPV.

African Americans who are HPV-negative also fared worse than Caucasians both with and without HPV present in oropharyngeal cancer, a cancer that affects part of the throat, the base of the tongue, the tonsils, the soft palate (back of the mouth), and the walls of the pharynx (throat).

The study is published online in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

“This study adds to the mounting evidence of HPV as a racially-linked sexual behavior lifestyle risk factor impacting survival outcomes for both African American and Caucasian patients with oropharyngeal cancer,” says lead author Maria J. Worsham, Ph.D., director of research in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Henry Ford.

The American Cancer Society estimates about 36,000 people in the U.S. will get oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers in 2013; an estimated 6,850 people will die of these cancers. These cancers are more than twice as common in men as in women. They are about equally common in blacks and in whites.

To compare survival outcomes in HPV-positive and HPV-negative African Americans with oropharyngeal cancer, Dr. Worsham and her team conducted a retrospective study of 118 patients.

Among the study group, 67 are HPV-negative and 51 are HPV-positive. Forty-two percent of those in the study are African American.

The study found that:
• African Americans are less likely to be HPV positive
• Those older than 50 are less likely to be HPV positive
• Those with late-stage oropharyngeal cancer are more likely to be unmarried and more likely to be HPV positive
• HPV negative patients had 2.7 times the risk of death as HPV positive patients
• The HPV race groups differed with significantly poorer survival for HPV negative African Americans versus HPV positive African Americans, HPV positive Caucasians and HPV negative Caucasians

Overall, the study finds HPV has a substantial impact on overall survival in African Americans with oropharyngeal cancer

Along with Dr. Worsham, study co-authors from Henry Ford are Josena K. Stephen, M.D.; Meredith Mahan; Kang Mei Chen, M.D.; Vanessa Schweitzer M.D.; Shaleta Havard, AuD; and George Divine, Ph.D.

Study funding: NIH grant R01 DE 15990

Hospital Infections in Cancer Patients Climbed, Deaths Declined

2013-03-26 00:00:00.0

March 26, 2013

DETROIT – In a nationwide study of patients undergoing surgery for cancer, Henry Ford Hospital researchers have found that while infections during hospital stays increased during a 10-year period, the death rate from those infections dropped.

The findings suggest that diagnosis and management of healthcare-associated infection, or HAI, have improved over time.

The study appears in the current issue of the journal Cancer.

“Cancer patients often have surgery as part of their treatment and are at increased risk for developing healthcare-associated infection,” says study lead author Jesse Sammon, D.O., with Henry Ford’s Vattikuti Urology Institute.

“Ironically, they have often been left out of previous studies of healthcare-associated infection following surgery precisely because they’re at higher risk of developing these infections.”

HAIs are one of the most common and dangerous adverse consequences of hospitalization – but they are preventable. Under pressure from growing public awareness, at least 27 states have enacted laws as of 2010, requiring health systems and hospitals to report HAI rates.

This increased public awareness was due in large part to the 1999 publication of the Institute of Medicine’s landmark report; To Err is Human, which compelled medicine to examine the depth and breadth of the HAI problem. And the medical field responded by adopting numerous guidelines and programs to better detect and prevent such infections.

The Henry Ford study suggests that those initiatives are working.

Drawing on the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database, researchers identified more than 2.5 million patients who had major cancer surgery for one of eight types of malignancies between 1999 and 2009. These included colectomy, cystectomy, esophagectomy, gastrectomy, hysterectomy, pneumonectomy, pancreatectomy and prostatectomy.

Among the patients, Dr. Sammon and his colleagues found that the incidence of HAI related to these surgeries increased 2.7 percent per year during the 10-year study period; but at the same time, the rate of deaths linked to the HAIs dropped 1.3 percent per year.

While those results are encouraging, Dr. Sammon said they are tempered by additional findings that socio-demographic factors such as race and insurance status continue to be serious national health policy concerns.

When compared to white patients, African Americans showed a 26 percent increase in HAI.

And if a patient’s health care payments were made through Medicare or Medicaid – or if the patient was uninsured – the odds of HAI went up 18 percent to 67 percent.

FUNDING SOURCE: Henry Ford Health System

Henry Ford Hospital Neurologist Honored for Patient Safety Award

2013-03-26 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 26, 2013

DETROIT – Henry Ford Hospital neurologist Marianna Spanaki-Varelas, M.D., Ph.D., has received the American Academy of Neurology Patient Safety Award for developing an initiative that dramatically reduced patient falls in the hospital’s epilepsy monitoring unit.

Dr. Spanaki-Varelas was presented with the award March 17 at the 2013 American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting in San Diego.

The honor recognizes patient care improvement projects that meet national patient safety goals of the Joint Commission, which accredits more than 20,000 health care organizations in the country.

In response to a falls committee report that showed the epilepsy monitoring unit had a high rate of patient falls due to seizures, Dr. Spanaki-Varelas led a safety initiative that implemented a series of clinical and process improvements. The changes reduced patient falls 15 percent from 2009-2011.

Dr. Spanaki-Varelas is now spreading the safety improvements to other units in the hospital where patients with seizures may be admitted.

Dr. Spanaki-Varelas is board certified in neurology and specializes in treating epilepsy. She earned her medical degree at the University of Patras in Greece, and completed post-graduate training at Eginition Hospital in Greece, Yale University School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

More Women, Complications with Minimally Invasive Kidney Stone Surgery

2013-03-26 00:00:00.0

March 27, 2013

The research, from Khurshid R. Ghani, M.D., of Henry Ford Hospital’s Vattikuti Urology Institute, appears in the current issue of Journal of Urology.

“What we found is that the use of PCNL in this country has increased,” Dr. Ghani said, “and more women than men have the procedure."

“We also discovered that while the rate of PCNL-related death is low and has remained so, incidence of blood infection and overall complications has increased.”

The population-based study looked at data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a database of inpatient hospital stays used by researchers to find, track and analyze national health care trends. The database catalogs some 8 million cases from more than 1,000 hospitals in 44 states. It was used in this study to identify patients who underwent PCNL between 1999 and 2009. A weighted sample was then formulated to estimate utilization rates across the country.

The results showed:
• PCNL use rose from 3.0 to 3.63 per 100,000 men, and from 2.99 to 4.07 per 100,000 women during the study period. This represented a 0.03 percent increase in men who underwent the procedure compared to a 2.54 percent increase in women.
• Co-morbidity, or the presence of other disorders or disease at the time of surgery, increased during the study timespan.
• At the same time, overall complications increased from 12.2 percent in 1999 to 15.6 percent in 2009.
• Significantly, the incidence of sepsis – or blood infection – doubled, rising from 1.2 percent to 2.4 percent.
• The rate of PCNL-related death remained essentially unchanged at 0 to 0.4 percent.

“We believe the broad use of this procedure, especially in older and sicker patients, may be the reason for these changes,” Dr. Ghani said.

Sepsis Therapy Endorsed as National Benchmark

2013-03-25 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2013

DETROIT – An aggressive therapy for severe infection pioneered at Henry Ford Hospital has been endorsed as a national practice benchmark by the National Quality Forum (NQF) to effectively treat patients with the serious medical condition.

NQF-endorsed measures are considered the gold standard for health care measurement by health care providers, federal government and many private sector entities in the United States. The mission of these measures is that patients will not only get quality care, but also cost-effective care.

Unlike national practice guidelines for stroke, heart attacks and trauma, none existed for severe infection, otherwise known as sepsis, which causes the body’s immune system to self-destruct. More people die of severe sepsis every year than those who die from prostate cancer, breast cancer and AIDS combined.

Early Goal Directed Therapy for sepsis was pioneered by Emanuel Rivers, M.D., MPH, vice chairman and research director of Henry Ford’s Department of Emergency Medicine, as part of a three-year research study that culminated with the results being published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2001.

EGDT involves early detection of sepsis, antibiotics and aggressive treatment in the first six hours, entailing a series of steps to restore the supply of oxygen to vital organs as soon as possible. Critical decreases in oxygen supply to vital organs lead to organ failure, amputation and death. The billions of dollars associated with the cost of sepsis complications is significantly decreased with EGDT.

EGDT dramatically reduces the death rate from 40-50 percent to less than 25 percent. In the last decade, the results have been duplicated in more than 50 studies worldwide, saving thousands of patients.

As a result of Dr. Rivers’ findings, Henry Ford implemented EGDT as the standard protocol for treating severe infection in its Emergency Department and Intensive Care Units. Henry Ford is a Level 1 trauma center that specializes in trauma, heart attacks and stroke.

Dr. Rivers is nationally recognized for his research in severe infection, critical care and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In 2005 he was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science – the most prestigious honor in medicine – for his work with severe sepsis.

Dr. Rivers completed a residency in Emergency and Internal Medicine and a Fellowship in Critical Care Medicine. He has been a senior staff physician in the Emergency Department and Surgical Intensive Care Unit since 1988. He is board certified in Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine.

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A World First: Ruptured Heart Repaired Through Catheter

2013-03-20 00:00:00.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2013

A World First: Henry Ford Hospital Repairs Ruptured Heart Through Catheter

DETROIT - A team of doctors at Henry Ford Hospital is the first in the world to successfully repair a hole in the heart and open five blocked blood vessels in a complex, two-stage catheterization procedure.

The initial March 13 procedure used the Impella CP, a left ventricular assist device (VAD), to stabilize the patient and allowed the hole in the heart’s ventricle (lower chamber) to be closed. A VAD is a mechanical pump that helps move blood from the ventricles to the body. VADs are used in patients with weakened hearts or heart failure.

Retired plant engineer Joseph Mehal, 84, of Plymouth, hadn’t been feeling well for more than a week. He had no appetite and thought he might have the flu, but he had no chest pain or other classic symptoms to indicate a possible heart attack.

An emergency department physician diagnosed a heart attack, and Mehal was rushed to the cardiac catheterization lab.

The team was led by Drs. William O’Neill and Adam Greenbaum of the Center for Structural Heart Disease at Henry Ford Hospital.

“The Impella CP device was essential in allowing us to enter the heart and successfully close the defect, and it kept the patient alive while catheters were in his heart,” says Dr. Greenbaum.

Once the hole was closed, the patient returned to the cath lab 36 hours later and had complex stent therapy to open five blocked blood vessels.

“Closing the hole in the ventricle and high-risk angioplasty have been performed successfully before, but never together in one patient who was in cardiogenic shock,” says Dr. O’Neill.

Mehal is recuperating in the hospital and his doctors are optimistic that he will return to normal activity.

“My liver and kidneys were failing,” says Mehal. “Thanks to fast action and expertise, not only was my life saved, but my kidneys have recovered. My nephrologist said I was one day away from needing dialysis.”

Dr. O’Neill is an internationally recognized cardiologist, who was a pioneer in the use of angioplasty for treatment of heart attacks, now the primary therapy used throughout the world. He is the architect of non-invasive heart surgery, performing the first heart valve replacement through a catheter in North America in 2005.

A long list of his career accomplishments includes:

• First in the U.S. to use a heart-cooling procedure to reduce heart-attack damage. Lowering body temperature up to 9 degrees Fahrenheit through a chilled IV solution has shown promising results in protecting a patient from brain damage after a heart stops.
• First in the U.S. to use stem-cell therapy for heart repair.
• First in U.S. to implant donor vein stents through a catheter to repair leaking arteries.
• The only successful triple heart valve repair through a catheter in pregnancy, allowing the pregnancy to continue, which open-heart surgery would not.

“Approximately one quarter of American adults has some type of structural heart defect,” says Dr. O’Neill. “Treating structural heart disease with catheter-based techniques and less-invasive surgeries is the next frontier in cardiology.”

For more information on the Center for Structural Heart Disease at Henry Ford Hospital, visit www.henryford.com/structuralheart .

Nerve Mapping Technology Improves Surgery for Compressed Nerves

2013-03-19 00:00:00.0

March 22, 2013

DETROIT – Nerve mapping technology allows surgeons to determine whether surgery has been effective for relieving pressure from compressed nerves, which often function poorly and cause sciatica or pain and weakness in muscles supplied by the nerve.

In a small study involving 42 patients at Henry Ford Hospital, lead author and orthopaedic surgeon Stephen Bartol, M.D., says that mechanomyography, or MMG, is effective with measuring nerve function and determining whether nerves are compressed.

MMG, which functions by detecting muscle movement and sending real-time alerts to surgeons, measures the performance of nerves during surgery, thereby reducing the risk of inadequate surgery and eliminating the need for additional surgery.

While encouraged by his findings, Dr. Bartol urged caution that more research is needed involving larger patient populations.

“Traditionally, when we operated on someone who has nerve decompression, we didn’t know if we had done enough during the surgery at the time. It was basically wait and see after the patient recovered,” Dr. Bartol says. “With the MMG tool we can differentiate between normal and compressed nerves, and gauge the severity of the compression.”

The study was presented at the American Academy of Orthoapedic Surgeons’ annual meeting in Chicago.

It is estimated that back pain will affect eight of 10 people in their lifetime, and one-quarter of U.S. adults report having back pain lasting at least one day in the past three months. With the rise in minimally invasive procedures, physicians are craving the need for an effective tool to monitor nerve function during surgery.

Conventionally, surgeons assess nerve decompression using direct visualization or a probe called a Woodson elevator, methods Dr. Bartol describes as “purely subjective” and prone to error. Another method electromyography, or EMG, which monitors the electrical response of muscle, is unreliable because electrical noise in the operating room makes it difficult to quantify nerve responses, Dr. Bartol says.

MMG, Dr. Bartol says, monitors the same physiological effects as EMG but uses smart mechanical sensors that are not susceptible to electrical interference. He says clear signals of muscle movement can be detected at low electrical current thresholds.

In the study, researchers sought to test the electrical threshold of stimulation of 64 nerves in 41 patients by direct contact prior to and after decompression, during which a small portion of bone over the nerve root is removed, enabling the nerve root to heal without hindrance. Stimulation started at 1mA electrical current and gradually increased until an MMG response was achieved.

The findings:
• Prior to decompression, 89 percent of nerves had an elevated median threshold of 4.89mA.
• After decompression, nerves had a median threshold of 2.08mA and 70 percent had normal threshold of 1mA.
• After decompression, all 64 nerves had measurable increases in MMG response.
• After decompression, 98 percent of nerves with abnormal pre-compression values had a drop in threshold greater than 1mA.

Dr. Bartol says these findings show that MMG technology “allows the surgeon to make better decisions in the operating room. Inadequate decompression means patients will continue to experience pain after surgery. Better nerve testing during surgery should translate to better outcomes.”

The study was funded by Henry Ford Hospital.

Garbled Text Messages May be the Only Symptoms of Stroke

2013-03-13 00:00:00.0

DETROIT – Difficulty or inability to write a coherent text message, even in patients who have no problem speaking, may become a “vital” tool in diagnosing a type of crippling stroke, according to new research at Henry Ford Hospital.

The case study focused on a 40-year-old man visiting the metro Detroit area on business who showed signs of “dystextia,” a recently coined term for incoherent text messaging that can sometimes be confused with autocorrect garble. But in his case, the man saw nothing wrong with the garble.

The patient had no problem with a routine bedside test of his language abilities – including fluency of speech, reading, writing, comprehension and other factors. However, when asked to type a simple text message, he not only produced garble, but he was unable to see it as such.

Despite showing only slight facial asymmetry and no other symptoms, doctors determined the man had suffered an acute ischemic stroke, in which a clot or other blockage cuts off blood supply to part of the brain. Such strokes usually result in some form of physical impairment and can be fatal.

The report is will be presented March 19th during the annual scientific meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in San Diego.

Omran Kaskar, M.D., a neurologist at Henry Ford Hospital and lead author of the research, said it illustrates how dystextia can be the only symptom of stroke-related aphasia – a partial or sometimes total inability to form or understand language.

“Text messaging is a common form of communication with more than 75 billion texts sent each month,” Dr. Kaskar said. “Besides the time-honored tests we use to determine aphasia in diagnosing stroke, checking for dystextia may well become a vital tool in making such a determination.”

Dr. Kaskar added, “Because text messages are always time-stamped when they’re sent they may also help establish when the stroke symptoms were at least present or even when they began,” a key component in determining inclusion for IV thrombolytic therapy and or acute intervention.

The patient described in the Henry Ford research report had sent a message to his wife shortly after midnight the night before he went to the hospital. She described it as “disjointed, non-fluent, and incomprehensible.”

It said, “Oh baby your;” and was followed by “I am happy.” Two minutes later: "I am out of it, just woke up, can't make sense, I can't even type, call if ur awake, love you."

The next day, after doctors found no visible neurological problems except a slight weakness on the right side of his face, and the patient had no trouble in handling the traditional bedside evaluation of language abilities, he was handed a smartphone and asked to type, “the doctor needs a new blackberry.”

Instead, he texted, “Tjhe Doctor nddds a new bb.” When asked if it was correct, the researchers reported, he did not recognize any typing errors.

Once it was determined that the man had suffered an acute ischemic stroke, the doctors concluded that checking for dystextia may become a vitally important diagnostic tool, particularly for patients who show no other clear symptoms.

Funding: Henry Ford Hospital