-- USF one of 2 sites chosen for national safety study --

Tampa, FL (July 30, 2007) – Physicians at the University of South Florida Department of Pediatrics have begun a clinical trial of a topical vaginal microbicide that holds great promise for preventing the sexual transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Microbicides are substances designed to reduce or prevent the sexual transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) when applied topically to the surface of the vagina. With almost half of all people infected with HIV/AIDS being women, and the alarmingly steady increase in HIV rates among women younger than age 25, researchers have focused their attention on this population.

To that end, the Microbicide Trials Network (MTN), an HIV/AIDS clinical trials network established by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is partnering with the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN), which is funded by the NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. MTN and ATN will test the microbicide SPL7013 Gel (VivaGel™) in sexually active young women. VivaGel is being developed by Starpharma Pty.Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia. The study of the product’s safety, acceptability and ease of use, known as MTN-004, is being conducted at USF and the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan, chosen from among 15 current ATN sites.

According to Dr. Diane Straub, chief of Adolescent Medicine at USF Health and USF principal investigator for the study, USF was chosen because of its extensive experience conducting research, including clinical trials.
“Dr. Patricia Emmanuel, who serves as the co-investigator on this study, is the principal investigator for several federally-funded research grants related to pediatric/adolescent HIV/AIDS at USF, including the Adolescent Trials Network, the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group, and others,” Dr. Straub said. “Also, the USF Student Health Services clinic provides outstanding medical care for thousands of patients per year. They have an excellent women’s clinic staffed by experienced practitioners, a professionally run laboratory and very competent support staff.”

For the microbicide trial, Dr. Straub, associate professor of pediatrics, and Dr. Emmanuel, professor of pediatrics, are collaborating with Egilda Terenzi, MD, medical director for Student Health Services.

The MTN-004 study at USF will enroll approximately 20 sexually active, HIV-negative women between 18 and 24 years old. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two study groups, with neither the researchers nor the participants knowing their assignment. One group will apply VivaGel™ twice a day for two weeks, while participants in the other group will apply a placebo gel with no active ingredients. All women in the study will be provided condoms to be used with each act of sex.

Researchers will assess the safety of VivaGel™ compared with the placebo gel through laboratory tests and regular clinical examinations of study participants. Web-based questionnaires will also provide information about the product’s acceptability, such as what participants liked or disliked about using the gel, how their sexual partners felt about its use and how likely they are to use microbicides in the future.

Key to the success of the trial will be the recruitment of the participants, and Dr. Straub hopes the study will appeal to women’s sense of altruism.
“Microbicides could one day provide an opportunity to cost-effectively stem the tide of the scourge of HIV/AIDS, especially among the most disenfranchised members of our society,” Dr. Straub said. “Getting the chance to contribute to microbicide development and thus empowering women to protect themselves is, we think, a powerful incentive for participation.”

Participation in the study lasts three weeks, including the two-week period that gels are used. Participants will receive financial compensation for their time and effort.

Whether microbicides will alter the course of HIV by preventing its transmission is still an unknown, Dr. Straub said. The current study of VivaGel is a Phase I study, which evaluates for safety and acceptability. If the product is deemed safe and acceptable for use, subsequent trials will test its effectiveness.

“The pioneering studies undertaken by Dr. Straub and her colleagues at USF/USF Health are very important in establishing the safely of this microbicidal agent in successfully preventing the transmission of HIV in sexually active individuals,” said Abdul S. Rao, MD, MA, DPhil, senior associate vice president for USF Health and vice dean for research and graduate affairs at the College of Medicine. “This is an area of research that is strategically important for USF Health and is a critical component of its Interdisciplinary Signature Program in Allergy, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases.”

For more information about participating in the USF study, please call Silvia Callejas at (813) 417-5095 or Priscilla Julian at (813) 957-3158. All inquiries will be confidential.

-- Story by Sheryl Kay

- USF -
The University of South Florida is among the nation's top 63 public research universities and one of 76 community engaged universities as designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. USF was awarded more than $310 million in research contracts. The University offers 217 degree programs at the undergraduate, graduate, specialty and doctoral levels, including the doctor of medicine. The University has a $1.6 billion annual budget, an annual economic impact of $3.2 billion, and serves 44,038 students on campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and Lakeland. USF is a member of the Big East Athletic Conference.- Microbicide Trials Network -

- Microbicide Trials Network -
The Microbicide Trials Network (MTN) is an HIV/AIDS clinical trials network established in 2006 by the Division of AIDS, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The MTN brings together international investigators, community and industry partners who are devoted to reducing the sexual transmission of HIV through the development and evaluation of microbicides, working within a unique infrastructure specifically designed to facilitate research required to support licensure of topical microbicide products for widespread use. Based at the University of Pittsburgh and Magee-Womens Research Institute, MTN’s principal investigator is Sharon Hillier, Ph.D. MTN’s core operations are supported by a network laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh, a statistical and data management center housed within the Statistical Center for HIV/AIDS Research & Prevention at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Family Health International, a global organization with expertise conducting clinical protocols. It receives its funding from three NIH institutes: NIAID, the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. For more information about MTN-004 and other MTN studies, please go to www.mtnstopshiv.org

- Adolescent Medicine Trials Network -
The Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN) has long been the only national network focused on studying the emerging HIV/AIDS epidemic in teens infected through sex or injecting-drug behaviors. The information derived from this network informs the nation’s adolescent-specific HIV/AIDS scientific agenda to improve efforts for prevention of HIV infection among at-risk adolescents and to optimize the medical management of HIV-infected teens. Funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health, the primary mission of the ATN is to conduct research, both independently and in collaboration with existing research networks, such as the Microbicide Trials Network, on promising behavioral, microbicidal, prophylactic, therapeutic, and vaccine modalities in HIV-infected and HIV-at-risk adolescents, ages 12 through 24 years. Based at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, ATN’s principal investigator is Craig M. Wilson, M.D. www.atnonline.org

Patient care & safety improve as USF Health goes live with Electronic Health Records.

Few projects benefit across the board.

But it seems that all the constituents of the USF College of Medicine – patients, faculty, students, staff and residents – will benefit with the switch from paper to electronic health records.

“This is one of those endeavors that is truly worth the effort,” said Bryan Bognar, MD, interim vice dean for Educational Affairs for the College of Medicine and probably the longest standing champion of the electronic health records effort at USF.

“EHR improves the quality of care we can give our patients, including increased safety and continuity of care.”

Medical records are files that include medical histories, test results and treatment reports for patients. These paper-filled folders crowd large rooms (and many storage facilities) for most medical practices and each patient’s file must be located and physically brought to the clinical site for each appointment.

Electronic health records, or EHR, are electronic versions of these files. They are called up on computers in examination rooms, at nurse stations and even on physicians’ home computers. But more than just mirror images of their paper kin, EHR also taps into real-time technology, offering an interface among physicians, nurses, schedulers, laboratory staff and other health care professionals. The result is an all-encompassing approach to managing a patient’s course of treatment that is not only more efficient, but increases patient safety and quality of care.

EHR at USF is not all that new. For more than 10 years, USF physicians have had access to some level of technology for dictation, test results and other medical data. And five years ago, medical students began using PDAs (personal digital assistants) as reference tools in their internal medicine clerkships.

But now EHR is mandatory at USF Health, a move that helps USF Health keep pace with the strong national trend.

"EHR is another beautiful example of how USF is pushing medical education," said Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, dean of the USF College of Medicine and vice president for USF Health.

"Not only are we incorporating leading technology into our own medical practice to benefit our patients, but we're teaching medical students EHR in their first year with us, giving them an incredible advantage when they enter their residencies and start practicing. Few medical schools give their students this kind training and it will, in the end, give our graduates the edge."

More and more clinics and hospitals are implementing EHR so exposing and training residents and students early will increase their effectiveness in a paperless environment and negate the need to change established habits.

“The EHR train left the station with debit cards and electronic banking,” said Jay Wolfson, DrPH, JD, coordinator of USF’s interconnectivity efforts with the community and one of four members of the executive management team for Tampa Bay Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO). The RHIO is one of several national collaborations implementing health care data exchange programs so patient information can be securely stored in the local community, but is electronically accessible to those providing care in another community.

“Health care has been a generation behind the quality and use of essential data that are routinely used in care and services,” said Dr. Wolfson, Distinguished Service Professor at USF and associate vice president for USF Health.

“Some physicians will balk and some support staff will feel they will not be able to adapt. But all of the evidence indicates that the transition will be less complicated than any naysayer claims. Physicians will recognize the value that EHR brings to improved safety, quality and outcome management and malpractice liability management.”

In January, three sections within the USF Department of Internal Medicine went “live” with EHR: general internal medicine, orthopedics, and cardiology. In March, the USF Department of Surgery took its turn.

Much of the schedule for the rollout has been based on the completion of the Centers for Advanced Healthcare. Those divisions to go live first were those going into the South Tampa Center next to Tampa General Hospital on Davis Islands, which is opening next month. Thus, General Internal Medicine, Cardiology, and Orthopaedics within the Department of Internal Medicine, the Department of Surgery, the Department of Ob/Gyn and the Department of Pediatrics were up first. All are live except Pediatrics, which is still being trained. Coming up next will be those going into the Morsani Center on the USF campus and the USF Medical Clinic.

If all goes according to schedule, all clinical departments should be live by next summer.

How is the transition going? Truth be told, the switch to EHR holds trepidation for some: Change isn’t always easy. But hands-on training for faculty, staff and students, and universal usage are keeping apprehension to a minimum.

“There is a strong learning curve but, overall, the response has been really pretty good,” Dr. Bognar said.

Charles Nofsinger, MD, assistant professor of orthopaedics and sports medicine, who was part of the surgery team that went live earlier this year, said that the benefits of EHR are exceeding his expectations.

“The documentation is available at any place, to any (credentialed) physicians, at any time,” Dr. Nofsinger said.

“Ordering is accurate, as opposed to paper legibility issues. Ordering can be tailored to the diagnosis making implementations of pathways practical and efficient. And data collection for research is much improved.”

So what’s the downside? “There are many challenges as well, such as patient interaction and the time overhead to use the EHR,” he said.

The bottom line is that patients are benefiting the most with EHR, Dr. Bognar said.

“When we tell patients about EHR and explain why we’re using a computer during their appointments, their responses are very positive,” he said. “They say they see it as greater access for them anytime, anywhere, regardless of the clinical site.”

In addition to that access, Dr. Wolfson said, “EHR means less redundancy, more uniformity and completeness of clinical and demographic data; reduced loss of records, charts, test results and films; and greater continuity of care within and between providers.”

Beyond to recording patient visit information, the system can be used to send electronic prescriptions directly to pharmacies, send lab orders directly to laboratories, set up health maintenance reminders for flagging tests when they come due, and even provide warnings for prescription dosage mistakes and conflicts.

-- Story by Sarah Worth

Dr. Murray Shames (left), residency director, with Dr. Ezequiel Parodi, the first resident in USF's new integrated vascular surgery residency.

USF Health began a five-year Integrated Vascular Surgery Residency on July 1. The program is one of the first accredited integrated vascular surgery residencies across the country and the only one in Florida. The only other programs like the one at USF are located at the University of Michigan, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Dartmouth, Stonybrook NY, and the University of Rochester.

“Vascular surgery has become more popular as a specialty with advances in technology and the rapid increase in endovascular techniques such as angioplasties, stent placement, and endovascular treatment of aneurysms," said Murray Shames, MD, associate professor of surgery and program director for the new residency. “The integrated residency will help meet the need for more vascular surgeons in Florida.”

The integrated program gives medical students who want to study vascular surgery the opportunity to complete a specialty-specific residency in five years -- in lieu of the traditional seven-year track consisting of a five-year general surgery residency followed by a two-year vascular surgery fellowship.

USF will continue to offer its established vascular surgery fellowship in addition to the new integrated residency program, which Dr. Shames said has drawn inquiries from across the country. (USF and the University of Florida offer the only two vascular surgery fellowships in the state.) The vascular surgery residency, approved for five residents, is expected to attract medical school graduates who want to focus on advanced vascular surgery, he said.

The integrated program includes core general surgery and surgical subspecialty training, with the final (chief resident) year dedicated to vascular and endovascular rotations. Residents will work out of James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and Tampa General Hospital, including experience in the TGH Vascular Center staffed by both vascular surgery and vascular interventional radiology faculty.

The program’s first resident is Ezequiel Parodi, MD. His father Juan Carlos Parodi, MD, professor and director of endovascular surgery at the University of Miami, was the first physician in the world to use an endovascular repair technique he developed to prevent a patient’s aortic aneurysm from rupturing.

For more information on the new Integrated Vascular Surgery Residency, contact Syrae Henning at (813) 259-0956 or shenning@health.usf.edu.

Story by Anne DeLotto Baier
Photo by John Lofreddo/USF Health Media Ctr.

USF nursing professor Susan McMillan, PhD, ARNP, FAAN, received a prestigious publishing excellence award from the Oncology Nursing Society, the world's largest professional oncology association.

Dr. McMillan was awarded the 2007 Excellence of Scholarship and Consistency of Contribution to the Oncology Nursing Literature Award at a publishing reception this spring. She was honored at the Mandalay Bay Convention center during the 2007 ONS Annual Congress in Las Vegas, NV, with a $4,000 stipend and photo display of her contribution to the field of nursing.

“It’s a great honor, a fairly limited number of oncology nurse researchers have been honored in this way” said Dr. McMillan, who holds the Lyall and Beatrice Thompson Professor of Oncology Quality-of-Life Nursing at the USF College of Nursing.

The award is given to ONS members who demonstrate longevity, consistency, breadth and depth of professional writing in a variety of forums: peer-reviewed journals, books, book chapters, monographs, editorials, book reviews, etc. Recipients also support professional development of colleagues and write materials that are frequently used and cited by other authors.

Dr. McMillan has contributed an invaluable amount of research and knowledge to nursing oncology. Recently she was published in the journal Cancer, the Oncology Nursing Forum and the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine for her research with others on using COPE intervention to improve symptoms of hospice homecare patients and the spiritual needs of people with advanced cancer.

Her research into pain and quality of life at the end of life is ongoing. Dr. McMillan is currently funded for two large studies sponsored by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) -- a four-year $1.65 million project titled Systematic Assessment to Improve Hospice Outcomes and a $1.7 million, four-year project at Moffit Cancer Center titled Caregivers of Cancer Pain Patients: Coping Intervention.

“I hope to improve cancer patients' quality of life through direct care, by working through nurses. The research is supportive of that,” Dr. McMillan said.

Story by Ashlea Hudak, College of Nursing Communications

The USF Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery has begun offering reduced-fee cosmetic surgery for patients as part of its fully accredited training program for residents.

Patients who elect to go this route will receive a 50-percent discount on physician fees for all cosmetic procedures, including breast augmentation, liposuction, rhinoplasty and face lifts. Patients can also receive injectibles, peels, dermabrasion and other cosmetic enhancements.

Dr. David Smith, Director of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

“It allows our chief residents, who will be practicing on their own in a year, to learn cosmetic surgery under the direct supervision of a board-certified plastic surgeon in a program approved by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education,” said David J. Smith, MD, professor and division director. “The attending faculty surgeon oversees every aspect of the surgery.”

Cosmetic surgery is typically not covered by health insurance.
“Our program offers patients who might not otherwise be able to afford cosmetic surgery, an opportunity for the services,” Dr. Smith said.

The USF College of Medicine began its plastic surgery residency program three years ago, and now has a full contingent of 18 residents in training.
In 2006, surgeons completed nearly 11 million cosmetic surgery procedures in the United States, up 7 percent from 2005, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

For more information of the reduced-fee program, please call the Division of Plastic Surgery at (813) 259-0964 or (813) 259-0842.

Dr. John Sinnott

John T. Sinnott, MD, James P. Cullison Professor and Director of the Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine at USF Health, received the 2007 Leadership Florida Distinguished Member Award on July 1.

The award recognizes a Leadership Florida graduate whose leadership activities exemplify the highest standards of Leadership Florida and have achieved results or set an example of statewide influence. Dr. Sinnott is a 2003 graduate of the 900-member Leadership Florida Institute, an organization created by the Florida Chamber of Commerce in 1982 to identify and train leaders who will collectively create a powerful resource for the state.

“Today we honor an outstanding member of Leadership Florida whose example may both humble and inspire the rest of us. He is a man of rather ordinary origins – a small-town boy from Alabama,” said Paul Tash, editor and CEO of the St. Petersburg Times, who presented Dr. Sinnott the award at the Institute’s annual meeting July 1 in Palm Beach. “But by squeezing the full potential from life’s possibilities, he is now widely recognized as an extraordinary physician, scholar and teacher, and he has become a citizen of the world.” (Read full text of Mr. Tash’s remarks.)

Dr. Sinnott is chief of Infectious Disease at Tampa General Hospital, and served from 1994-96 as the first university physician ever elected chief of staff at TGH. He initiated a longstanding collaboration between USF and the Florida Department of Health that has led to a nationally recognized model of academicians providing HIV care at local health departments. This model was adopted across Florida, and Dr. Sinnott received the Florida HIV/AIDS Red Ribbon Excellence Award from the Bureau of HIV/AIDS, Florida AIDS Action in 2003.

A professor of global health, Dr. Sinnott has worked with colleagues at USF and in the community to develop an AIDS education program in India. He co-directs the USF Center for HIV/AIDS Research and Training in India program, which taps into capacity building to enhance medical care and AIDS prevention in India. He also founded the Florida Infectious Diseases Institute, which provides initiatives in response to emerging infectious diseases threatening Floridians and visitors to the state.

Dr. Sinnott, board certified in both medicine and infectious diseases, is a fellow of the American College of Physicians. He has received many local and national awards, including Outstanding Clinical Professor - College of Medicine, an award that has been retired and named in his honor; the Florida Medical Association Award for Leadership in Medical Education; the Ciba-Geigy Education Award; the NBI Award for Humanism in Medicine; and is an honorary alumnus of the USF College of Medicine. He was a finalist for the Association of American Medical Colleges Humanism in Medicine award, and is listed in Who’s Who in America, International Who’s Who, The Best Doctors in America and Tampa Bay’s Best Doctors.

Dr. Sinnott has been inducted into the Leon G. Smith Infectious Disease Institute Hall of Fame, has served on more than 40 local, regional, and national health care committees, and has published over 180 letters, articles, and textbook chapters. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the peer-reviewed journal Infections in Medicine.

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Dr. Robert Hauser directs the USF Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center of Excellence.

Tampa, FL (July 18, 2007) -- The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) has awarded Robert Hauser, MD, director of the University of South Florida Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center of Excellence, $124,996 to identify different forms of Parkinson’s disease based upon patterns of long-term outcomes in patients.

Dr. Hauser, principal investigator, will collaborate with co-principal investigator Michael P. McDermott, PhD, of the University of Rochester. USF was among seven research teams worldwide receiving $710,000 in total funding for projects to initially characterize Parkinson’s disease subtypes – distinct forms of the disease that may differ in onset, progression and response to treatment. All seven studies will leverage existing data and patient populations.

The USF study will evaluate whether it is possible to identify Parkinson’s disease subgroups based on how patients are faring seven to eight years after initial diagnosis. Some patients experience few symptoms at this stage of the disease, while others have problems with thinking and memory, motor fluctuations, mood, parkinsonism (slowness, stiffness, tremor) or autonomic function (blood pressure, urinary and bowel function).

“Early identification of patients who are anticipated to develop particular patterns of symptoms may allow physicians to select specific therapies that would be most beneficial for a specific type of patient,” said Center Director Robert Hauser, MD, MBA, who is leading the MJFF Parkinson’s Disease Subtypes project at USF. Characterizing disease subtypes could also help delineate genetic and environmental causes of Parkinson’s, Dr. Hauser said.

The USF project will tap into two significant clinical research populations in the Parkinson’s field -- the DATATOP (Deprenyl and Tocopherol Antioxidative Therapy of Parkinsonism) study and the CALM-PD (Comparison of the Agonist Pramipexole with Levodopa on Motor Complications of Parkinson’s Disease) study.

“One of the most frustrating aspects of Parkinson’s disease — for patients, researchers and clinicians alike — is the significant variability in how the disease manifests itself from patient to patient,” said Sarah Orsay, chief executive officer of the Foundation. “The retrospective studies funded under PD Subtypes aim to analyze data already gathered on different forms of the disease. This analysis could yield valuable information with potential to improve clinicians’ ability to treat patients with existing therapies. It could also advance development of new treatments and enable better design of future clinical trials.”

USF was the only institution in the Southeastern United States to receive a MJFF grant to advance the understanding of Parkinson’s disease subtypes. Dr. Hauser is director of the Signature Interdisciplinary Clinical Research Program in Neuroscience at USF.

- About USF Health -
USF Health is a partnership of the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences and physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. It is a partnership dedicated to the promise of creating a new model of health and health care. One of the nation's top 63 public research universities as designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, USF received more than $310 million in research contracts and grants last year.

- About The Michael J. Fox Foundation -
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is dedicated to ensuring the development of a cure for Parkinson’s disease through an aggressively funded research agenda. To date, the Foundation has funded over $94 million in research directly or through partnerships.

Founding chair honored for contributions to Pediatrics

Dr. Barness never ceased to amuse, delight and challenge his students. "I like children. I'm half child myself," Dr. Barness replied when asked why he became a pediatrician.

Lewis A. Barness, MD, founded the USF Department of Pediatrics, made a huge impact on the field of infant nutrition research, counseled many parents as he treated their children, acted as a role model to future physicians, and is a friend to all who meet him.

So it comes as little surprise that the USF Gibbons Alumni Center was packed with fans, friends and colleagues who came to see him and thank him as he heads into retirement.

The July 13 reception was a celebration of the man and his career and featured the accolades and anecdotes of someone who has truly made an impact.

"It is a humbling experience to occupy the same position that Lewis Barness stamped as his own. The contributions he has made to USF and the Department of Pediatrics are part of our DNA that we never want changed. We will continue to follow the blueprint he drew while he oversees our efforts as he assumes the role of Professor Emeritus.”
-- Robert M. Nelson, Jr., MD, professor and chair of Pediatrics

Dr. Barness is regarded as one of the founding fathers for the USF College of Medicine, in the company of Roy H. Behnke, MD, and Donn L. Smith, MD. Many consider him a role model, a friend, and a man deeply committed to the welfare of children.

He became the first chairman of the USF Department of Pediatrics in 1972 and helped recruit faculty to the fledgling medical school, built a curriculum, and attracted many of the best and brightest medical graduates to careers in pediatrics. As a researcher, Dr. Barness made important contributions to the field of infant nutrition, and is recognized as a pioneer in the area.

Dr. Barness has received many tributes for his work.

In February 2002, physicians and researchers from throughout the country attended a weekend-long event in his honor, including a scientific session and a banquet dinner.

Dr. Barness’ remarkable career, which has spanned more than 55 years, is filled with professional accolades and awards, including the prestigious John Howland Medal from the American Pediatric Society, recognized as the highest praise attainable in the field of pediatrics. He has also earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics in recognition of his outstanding teaching. Dr. Barness was awarded a Distinguished University Professorship at USF in 1999.

In addition, Dr. Barness received the Jacobi Medal from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Joseph St. Geme Leadership Award from all the societies of pediatrics.

He has even been inducted into the Pediatrics Hall of Fame, an organization established in Philadelphia, PA, to honor physicians who have made a difference in the practice of pediatrics. Dr. Barness practiced medicine in Pennsylvania form 1944 to 1972, before joining USF.

- Story by Sarah Worth
- Photos by Eric Younghans/USF Health Media Center

-- Tampa General and Moffitt make the grade in U.S. News & World Report --

Tampa, FL (July 16, 2007) – The national reputation of USF Health and its hospital partners received a boost with the release July 13 of the “America’s Best Hospitals 2007” edition by U.S. News & World Report. Tampa General Hospital and H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute – two primary hospital affiliates of the USF College of Medicine – were among 173 hospitals that met the magazine’s standard in one or more specialties.

“Our hospital partners are a major element of achieving national prominence,” said Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, vice president for USF Health and dean of the College of Medicine. “This ranking showed great news: National recognition for programs that previously hadn’t made the chart. It shows the extraordinary change our faculty have made in the college and our hospitals.

“I especially want to recognize the incredible performance of our colleagues in OB-GYN, their chair and their ascension up the national ranks. In addition, the two major USF departments at Moffitt—the DIO at #16 and Ear Nose and Throat at #42. Congratulations to our department of nephrology at TGH which ranked #41 and to our private colleagues at TGH in orthopedics (#24), ENT (#46) and urology (#41).”

For the first time Tampa General Hospital met the U.S News standard of excellence for the specialty of Gynecology, a service headed at the hospital by James Mayer, MD, associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at USF Health. U.S News ranked Tampa General 25th out of the 50 highest-scoring hospitals in the Gynecology specialty category.

With the arrival two years ago of David Keefe, MD, as professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, USF has strengthened its gynecological services at Tampa General. This has included a significant expansion of the department’s reproductive medicine team, which now provides cutting-edge invitro fertilization services. In addition, the department has a superlative new research and treatment team for pelvic floor disorders.

"We are fortunate to have that magical mixture of talented and dedicated doctors, nurses, scientists, and staff, who combine excellence with kindness, to provide the most cutting edge and compassionate care available anywhere,” Dr. Keefe said. “The leadership at USF Health and TGH provided vision and state of the art facilities to make all this possible. We are thrilled that our colleagues across the U.S. have come to realize what a special program USF Ob/Gyn and TGH have built together."

Tampa General also made the magazine’s top-50 honor roll for the specialties of Orthopedics (24th), Kidney Disease, also known as Nephrology (41st), Urology (41st), and Ear, Nose and Throat (46th). Jacques Durr, MD, directs the Division of Nephrology at USF Health, and Stephen Rifkiin, MD, associate professor of medicine, is chief of Nephrology at TGH.

Two major College of Medicine departments based at Moffitt Cancer Center – Interdisciplinary Oncology led by S. Clifford Schold, MD, and Otolaryngology (ENT) headed by Thomas McCaffrey, MD – contributed to Moffitt’s top rankings on the Best Hospitals list.

Faculty in the Department of Interdisciplinary Oncology provide most of the physician care to patients at Moffitt, which ranked 16th out of the 50 highest-scoring hospitals in the Cancer category. Moffitt ranked 42 on the list of top-50 hospitals ranked for the specialty of Ear, Nose and Throat.

U.S. News & World Report evaluated 5,462 hospitals nationwide (excluding veteran and military hospitals) for its 2007 Best Hospitals in America report. Of those, only 173 hospitals made the final overall ranking based on factors such as reputation, death rate, and care-related factors like nursing, advanced technology and credentialing by professional organizations. The hospitals were ranked in 16 specialty areas.

- USF Health -

USF Health is a partnership of the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences and physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. It is a partnership dedicated to the promise of creating a new model of health and health care. One of the nation's top 63 public research universities as designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, USF received more than $310 million in research contracts and grants last year.

On July 12, 2007, The University of South Florida's student newspaper, The Oracle, published the following story on approval of the Orthopaedics Surgery Residency Program. The program is to be anchored in the College of Medicine's Department of Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine.

Orthopedics Residency Resurrected
Issue date: 7/12/07
Section: News
By Natalie Gagliordi, Correspondent for The Oracle

Among the many distressing issues of university spending, budget cuts and enrollment caps, one success story stands out with the re-establishment of USF's Department of Orthopaedics and its new residency training program. After nearly 17 years without an established orthopedic department, the College of Medicine has finally healed its largest
deficiency.

The department's ability to rebuild stems from the combined efforts of various University heads and with the cooperation of the Florida Orthopaedic Institute (FOI), which was founded by several of the doctors who left USF in protest in 1989.

Although attempts were made in the past to mend the divide between the FOI and the USF College of Medicine, it took a recent series of good decisions to actually make things happen. According to Michael Hoad, vice president for USF Health, the Bulls athletics were behind the first step.

"The Bulls agreed that USF Health would take care of them as team physicians," Hoad said. "That started the core of rebuilding orthopedics, because orthopedics is so much a part of sports medicine."

The next boost for the development of an orthopedic department came with the attainment of a grant from the Florida Legislature, intended to provide outreach education, sports injury awareness and management of athletes in the region. The SMART (Sports Medicine and Athletic-Related Trauma) grant served as the link between the athletic training program and the need for clinical expertise.

From there, it was the 2004 induction of Stephen Klasko as dean of the College of Medicine that furthered the process. With orthopedics as his top priority, a national search went out for an orthopedic surgeon to head the USF department. That search ended when they found Dr. Robert Pedowitz from the University of California in San Diego.

"In Dr. Pedowitz we found somebody who is also an expert in sports medicine," Hoad said. "That knowledge was needed for the success of the orthopedic department."

Since relocating to Tampa with his family, Dr. Pedowitz has already made immense contributions to the development of the orthopedic department. His efforts were critical in the successful joining of the FOI and USF, as well as fine-tuning the layout of the department and properly applying for the residency program.

According to Pedowitz, the first and most important step to establishing the residency program was receiving the accreditation it needed.

"A national organization comes and reviews your program, critiques it and ultimately decides whether or not to credit you," Pedowitz said. "Without that accreditation, you are not allowed to train orthopedic residents."

After receiving the accreditation, Dr. Pedowitz began to revolutionize the new orthopedic department in its educational ability.

Two weeks ago the decision was made to move the Athletic Training and Education Program into the Department of Orthopaedics.

"This is an extraordinary event because it is the first athletic training program to be housed in the department of orthopedics," Pedowitz said. "The reason why that is so extraordinary is that the field of sports medicine is really very heavily involved with orthopedic surgeons, so this gives us a chance to connect the education for the athletic trainers directly to the clinical providers that they are ultimately going to be working with in their careers."

According to Pedowitz, the department will now be called the Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, and its benefits will be able to reach
undergraduates.

"The benefit of this department is to the students who are going to be part of the athletic training and education program department, which is an undergraduate degree," Pedowitz said. "But also to the medical students because they need to have the exposure and mentorship to all the different areas of medicine that they might choose for their careers."

With the program now active, four residents have already begun their education. Over the next three years, Dr. Pedowitz and his fellow orthopedic surgeons in the department plan to be operating with a total of 20 orthopedic residents, with various University and community partnerships.

"My attitude toward the department is that it is only worth doing if we are doing it with a focus on excellence," Pedowitz said. "I want to make this a great department and it's going to take time and work, but we have the
opportunity."

To see story as it appeared in The Oracle student newspaper, click here.