A Culture of Comfort: Palliative Care at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (32 KB PDF)
Inter-Action: Jefferson Creates New Center for InterProfessional Education
(Published: 01-24-2008) Thomas Jefferson University has announced the creation of the Jefferson Center for InterProfessional
Education. This new center, one of only a few in the nation, is dedicated to improving patient care through coordination,
implementation and evaluation of a team-based education curriculum. This curriculum will include medical, nursing, occupational
therapy, physical therapy and pharmacy students, as well as physicians receiving advanced residency and fellowship training
at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Christine Arenson, M.D., director of the Division of Geriatric Medicine in the Department
of Family and Community Medicine at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and Molly Rose, F.N.P., Ph.D.,
professor in the School of Nursing will serve as co-directors of the new center.
Jefferson’s Rural Physicians Program Expands into Delaware
(Published: 01-11-2008) Three-year grant will support nationally and internationally recognized program.
Survey Points Out Need for Education for Primary Care Physicians on Rarely Seen Cancers
(Published: 12-10-2007) any primary care physicians may lack the necessary knowledge when it comes to recognizing the signs,
symptoms and making proper diagnoses in cases of blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, a recent survey indicates.
Jefferson Researchers Find that Personalized Interventions are Key to Improving Colon Cancer Screening Rates
(Published: 09-24-2007) One of the best ways to encourage an individual to get screened for colorectal cancer is to use a
personalized approach, according to researchers at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. A new study shows that simple,
personalized interventions that guide recipients through the screening process can significantly improve colorectal cancer
screening rates in primary care practices.
Jefferson Scientists Use Gene Therapy to Reverse Heart Failure in Animals
(Published: 05-23-2007) Heart researchers at the Center for Translational Medicine at Jefferson Medical College have used
gene therapy to reverse heart failure in animals. In addition, they found that this gene therapy strategy had “unique and
additive effects” to currently used, standard heart failure drugs called beta-blockers.
What Pregnancy is Like -- A Women’s Perspective
(Published: 04-25-2007) A free seminar to assist a woman to better understand what her body and mind will experience during
pregnancy is being offered at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
Mental Health Training of Psychiatrists in the 21st Century Focus of 2007 Biele Lecture at Jefferson
(Published: 04-23-2007) Joel Yager, M.D., Professor and Vice Chair for Education and Academic Affairs at the University of
New Mexico School of Medicine, a well-recognized expert in academic psychiatry will present “The Practice of Psychiatry in
the 21st Century: Implications for Psychiatric Education,” at the 2007 Albert M. Biele, M.D. Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the Department
of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Thomas Jefferson University.
Holistic Medicine Pioneer, Rachel Remen, M.D., to Present ‘Becoming a Blessing: Living as if Your Life Makes a Difference’
(Published: 04-06-2007) Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., nationally-recognized pioneer in the mind/body holistic health movement
and one of the first to recognize the role of the spirit in health and the recovery from illness, will present a benefit lecture
for the Jefferson-Myrna-Brind Center for Integrative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital on Friday, April 20.
Treatment of In-Hospital Cardiac Patients is Focus of Jefferson University Presentations
(Published: 03-27-2007) The following summaries are based on presentations by Thomas Jefferson University researchers at the
American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) 56th Annual Scientific Sessions in New Orleans.
Targeting the Adrenal Gland Could Be Key Strategy Against Heart Failure, Jefferson Scientists Show
(Published: 02-18-2007) Scientists at the Center for Translational Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia
have staved off heart failure in animals by using gene therapy to shut down the adrenal gland’s excessive output of fight
or flight hormones such as epinephrine and norepinephrine. By blocking GRK2, an important regulatory enzyme, they cut the
hormone production that forces the heart to pump too hard, leading to heart failure. Such a novel approach – targeting the
adrenal gland in addition to the heart – provides a potential new strategy against heart failure, and could lead to a new
class of drugs.
Richard C. Wender, M.D. to be honored by American Cancer Society
(Published: 10-03-2006) Richard C. Wender, M.D., Chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Thomas Jefferson
University and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, will be honored by the American Cancer Society, Pennsylvania
Division, Southeast Region. At the October 19 event, he will be presented with the Cancer Control Award.
Jefferson Scientists Find Boosting Protein Levels Staves Off Heart Failure
(Published: 09-20-2006) Boosting levels of a protein in the heart might help protect against the development of heart failure,
particularly in those who have had heart attacks.
Featured in the Media
Ugandan girl needs help to finish mending
(Published 9-11-06, Philadelphia Inquirer) Jennifer Anyayo has one more round to go. Then, if the planets are in alignment
or God is watching - or if bad men just choose to stop fighting - Jennifer will go home to a land at peace.
That would be a first for the 15-year-old victim of war. Jennifer suffered serious burns to her face, chest and arm that received
little medical attention for years. Folks who read her story wanted to help. In December, she arrived in the United States
to live, mainly, in Philadelphia and undergo surgery. Let me first update you on the Jennifer Anyayo Fund to which readers
already have contributed so generously. Your donations have paid for living expenses, including clothing and food. The money
has bought some medications, though James Plumb and medical students at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital raised money
to pay for most prescriptions.
We also need to reserve as much as $15,000 to buy a high-quality prosthetic to cover Jennifer's left hand, now only a bent
stump that ends at her metacarpals. A. Lee Osterman, a top Philadelphia hand surgeon, has generously donated his services,
as has Jefferson Health System's Methodist Hospital, to straighten her hand so it can be fitted with the prosthetic.
Media Coverage:
Philadelphia Inquirer
Inpatient Palliative Care Service Available at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
(Published: 09-11-2006) A new service, created to aid chronically or terminally ill patients, has been introduced at Thomas
Jefferson University Hospital. Known as the Palliative Care Service, “this innovative program represents a truly interdisciplinary/interdepartmental
effort involving physicians and nurses,” says Christine Arenson, M.D., director of the division of Geriatric Medicine in the
department of Family Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. “The goal is to focus
on a patient’s symptoms and quality of life rather than a cure.”
Jefferson Master of Science Program in Public Health Receives National Accreditation
(Published: 07-18-2006) Program to Hold Open House July 26 from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
U.S.News & World Report Ranks Jefferson’s Family and Community Medicine Department Among the Nation’s Best
(Published: 05-17-2006) U.S.News & World Report has ranked Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University as one
of America’s best medical schools in 2006 to offer a family medicine program. Jefferson was recognized for having one of
the top 20 primary care programs at a medical school in the United States.
“To Make a Difference in Someone’s Life”
(Published: 05-01-2006) Inspired by her family, her life experiences, her faith and nurse-heroine novels, Nurse Rae Fierro
found her niche in mid-career when she decided to pursue what turned out to be her true life’s work, focused on breast health
patients at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
Family Doctor Devoted to Improving Care in Rural America Named Garber Professor at Thomas Jefferson University
(Published: 02-20-2006) Howard K. Rabinowitz, M.D., a family doctor who has been a member of the Jefferson Family Medicine
faculty for 30 years, has been named the Ellen M. and Dale W. Garber Professor of Family Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University
in Philadelphia.
Featured in the Media
Not a Place for Asthma Sufferers
(Published 2-9-06, The Philadelphia Inquirer) The Philadelphia region is the third-worst place to live if you are one of the
nation’s 20 million people suffering from asthma, according to a new study by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
The Philadelphia area was worse than average in nine of the 12 factors examined in the study and while many communities have
enacted public smoking bans in the past year, Philadelphia has yet to do so.
“Whether Philadelphia is third or 30th, asthma is still a significant problem that needs to be addressed better and differently
than we have in the past,” said Michael P. Rosenthal, M.D., professor of family and community medicine at Thomas Jefferson
University.
“We know how to treat asthma,” Dr. Rosenthal added. “The problem is identifying people with the condition, helping them treat
it and addressing the environment in which they live to reduce the triggers” for an attack.
Media Coverage:
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition and Pennsylvania Department of Health Present Income Tax Check-Off for Breast Cancer
Research Grant to Jefferson Researcher
(Published: 01-24-2006) Pat Halpin-Murphy, Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition president and founder, along with Pennsylvania
Deputy Secretary of Health, Joanne Grossi, will present this year’s Income Tax Check-Off for Breast and Cervical Cancer research
grant to Julie Becker, Ph.D., MPH, research assistant professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Thomas Jefferson
University. Dr. Becker’s project is titled “Health Information Seeking Behaviors of Long-Term Breast Cancer Survivors Using
a Self-Management Model.”
