January 17, 2020Hello, Welcome to 2020! McGovern Medical School is off to a great start. I was delighted to be a part of the UT Physicians-sponsored Habitat for Humanity home build Jan. 8 with KPRC2. Twenty-five volunteers from UT Physicians and UTHealth spent a beautiful and productive day with the Habitat for Humanity crew putting up the walls of a deserving family’s new home in North Houston. It was so wonderful to watch many of our UT family giving back to the community in such a unique way. In 2017, UT Physicians established the UTP Jensen clinic in an underserved area about 5 miles from the new home. That clinic now has seen more than 17,000 patients, according to Andrew Casas, UT Physicians COO and senior vice president of UTHealth. UT Physicians is an integral part of the community; this is just another example of how we are making a difference. 从构建di的机智和智慧stinguished physician who proudly wears a clown nose and pink flamingo costume.Dr. Carl Hammerschlagpresented grand rounds for the Department of Emergency Medicine, “Saving the Lives of Others (and Your Own)” Jan. 9. No, he wasn’t in costume, but he did share his life story, why he clowns, the importance of connecting with others, his sage wisdom. Dr. Ben Bobrow, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, said, “I am very fortunate to have known Dr. Carl Hammerschlag for over 40 years, first as a family friend, but then as a mentor for the past decade. He has a unique perspective as a Yale-trained psychiatrist who spent decades working with and learning from Native Americans. Dr. Hammerschlag has blended his allopathic and traditional healing studies together and shares his stories in a way that reminds us why we went into medicine. He has a magical way of transforming the ordinary into sacred, and he helps rekindle our dreams and reinvigorate our personal and professional efforts.” Dr. Hammerschlag’s talk was thoughtful and inspiring. In case you missed it, you can get a taste of it from a piece featured in this month’sPsychiatric Times. I also had the opportunity to attend “Optimizing Cardiac Arrest Survival with State-Of-The-Art Post-Arrest Care,” which was put on by course directors Dr. Benjamin Abella, from the University of Pennsylvania, and our own Dr. Bobrow. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a major public health problem in the United States with unacceptable disparities in access to care. As health care leaders, we have a huge opportunity to dramatically improve survival rates in Texas through implementing and continuously measuring life-saving therapies, including bystander CPR, High-Performance Resuscitation by trained rescuers, and state-of-the-art post-arrest care, including targeted temperature management. UTHealth is ideally positioned to help coordinate and drive these pre-hospital and hospital initiatives that save more lives from cardiac arrest in Texas. Dr. Bobrow explained that the explicit purpose of the Optimizing Cardiac Arrest Survival with State-of-the-Art Post-Arrest Care Workshop was to “review and disseminate the science and translate that science into lifesaving action under theTexas-CARESProgram.” I learned so much, including the fascinating backstory of Laerdal products – the company that makes resuscitation products. A Norwegian company that began in 1940 as a children’s publishing and toy company, with its Anne doll a bestseller, it later developed the world’s first patient simulator, Resuscitation Annie. Many of us had our first experience with CPR using Resuscitation Annie. A doll can become a lifesaving device, a physician can become a life-connecting clown, and a group of colleagues can build a home for a stranger. What a great way to start 2020. Warm regards,
Barbara 
|
