Keck Medicine Acquires Verdugo Hills Hospital

Keck Medicine of USC has expanded with the acquisition of Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale,California.Effective July 16,the purchase integrates the 158-bed local hospital into the constellation of Keck Medicine world-class medical institutions,which include the Keck School of Medicine;Keck Hospital of USC;and USC Norris Cancer Hospital,as well as USC Care Medical Group and other assets. Verdugo Hills Hospital has served the Foothill communities of Los Angeles County for 40 years.It offers a primary stroke center;cardiac rehabilitation;diagnostic/imaging services;and a maternity department. According to Tom Jakiewicz,President of USC Health,this was the right move for both organisations,particularly in light of the changes that are transforming health care and how it's delivered.Bringing together these two very strong provider communities creates a unique opportunity for residents of the Foothill communities to receive exceptional patient care from the physicians they know and trust,and from those who bring additional medical expertise from one of the world's leading academic medical centers. The realities of health care reform are feeding a national trend of consolidation of health care providers into large networks,in a quest to achieve greater efficiency and better clinical outcomes for patients,with an eye to reducing costs. Len LaBella,CEO of USC Verdugo Hills Hospital,added that the affiliation enables us to provide key services and advantages that not only help us remain viable,but to thrive in a challenging health care environment that demands constant evolution. Cosmetic improvements such as new signage,better landscaping and refurbished interiors have already been achieved since the deal closed-the first of many steps of the integration.

A Match Made in Medicine:From Student to Resident

On March 15 at 9am,over 150 medical school students at the USC Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles received envelopes containing their residency assignments-the final phase of their medical training when they will be mentored into their chosen specialty.For Veronica Ramirez,the daughter of Mexican immigrants,Match Day,as the occasion is known, was a day of mixed emotions,but overall very exciting.
As she read her letter,the petite,slender brunette dissolved into a big smile,then hugged her parents,with a high five for her Dad.She had gotten her second choice assignment:USC+LAC Medical Center,a Los Angeles County hospital where she has worked before.
Ms.Ramirez will be joined by 45 of her classmates at USC+LAC.Others will report to 20 states plus the District of Columbia.
One of the things that drew the articulate student to Keck was its growing emphasis on primary care.A very small but very strong group of Keck students wanted to go into primary care.Emergency and internal medicine,a primary care specialty,were the most popular specialties for her class,with 28 students each.Unfortunately,the number of new residents nationwide is down this year,from 16,528 to 16,008,in a nation that needs more of them,not less-especially in primary care.
Ms.Ramirez saw a lot of uninsured and underinsured patients at the L.A. County hospital.Their serious,advanced illnesses could have been prevented with proper primary care,a fact which strongly motivates her to go into the field,she noted.The youngest of four children,her three brothers also attended college and were incredible role models for her.She is the first in her family to go into medicine.
Medical school students across the country gather to learn where they will spend their next 3+ years on this annual ritual of Match Day.

Keck Hospital Installs Latest Toshiba Ultrasound Technology

The Keck Hospital of USC in Los Angeles has installed two Aplio(TM)500 ultrasound systems and a Viamo(TM) ultrasound system by Toshiba American Medical Systems,Inc.
The Aplio 500 provides advanced visualisation capabilities such as Fly Thru,a groundbreaking 4D technology which images interiors of ducts and vessels for improved exploration of masses and lesions,and assists in the planning of interventional procedures.Fly Thru provides an inside-out view of anatomical structures and was evaluated by Edward G. Grant,MD,professor and chairman,Department of Radiology at the Keck School of Medicine.
The Aplio 500 system comes standard with enhanced workflow tools and ergonomics such as the iStyle(TM) Productivity Suite.
The Viamo is a laptop ultrasound system providing a new level of advanced imaging in a hand-carried system,in terms of both image quality and its penetration of up to 40cm.
The new systems will be used for a broad range of patient exams.The Aplio 500 Fly Thru technology will enable anatomical views never seen before in ultrasound,while the Viamo will be useful for general exams such as traditional radiology,according to Tomohiro Hasegawa,director of Toshiba's Ultrasound Business Unit.
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SU2C Grant Funds Promising USC Cancer Research

A grant awarded three years ago by Stand Up To Cancer,a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation,is having a positive effect on research at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and USC Norris Cancer Hospital,Los Angeles.Five Dream Teams of researchers received the initial funding from S^2C.
We've made great progress.We could be looking at some major breakthroughs,said Peter Jones,PhD,DSc,Director of USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and a Distinguished Professor at the Keck School of Medicine.
The researchers have been studying epigenetic therapy and cancer management in cancers of the lung,breast,colon and blood.Epigenetic research examines the way genes are switched on and off,and how this results in cancer.
The S^2C grant is being shared with the Johns Hopkins University Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center,Baltimore.It has brought together clinicians and basic scientists for the first time at USC,providing a framework for thinking collaboratively about how to bring lab discoveries to the clinical setting.
The USC research has yielded promising new approaches in clinical trials that combine epigenetic therapy with immunotherapy and/or chemotherapy for a better patient response to treatment.
Founded in 2008,Stand Up To Cancer has awarded 109 million dollars for 33 grants,funding 350 scientists.It aims to accelerate innovative cancer research that will get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now.

Grateful Patient Helps New Doctors

Five USC Keck School of Medicine graduates who are going into the primary care field have been awarded scholarships of 25,000 dollars each.The scholarships were provided by Carlton and Nancy Spencer.Mr.Spencer has wanted to assist primary care residents since he was diagnosed with a heart condition by his primary care physician,himself a Keck School alumnus,a few years ago and referred for emergency open heart surgery.
Primary care residents typically have a mountain of medical school debt to pay off with only modest earnings.Elizabeth Ortega,one of the recipients and a family medicine resident,said it's amazing.The scholarship just makes such a big difference.Other recipients include three other family medicine residents,as well as an internal medicine resident.
These are the first Keck School scholarships designated for certain primary care residencies.Primary care is seeing a growing shortfall of doctors as medical school graduates gravitate toward the more lucrative fields,at least partially in consequence of the need to retire their student loans.
The average cost of a medical degree,including room and board,has been estimated to be on the order of 150-300,000 dollars.
Founded in 1885,Keck is the oldest medical school in Southern California.It is located on the USC Health Sciences Campus,which is just east of downtown Los Angeles,and has an enrollment of 1200 students.

Philanthropy Today:Keck Foundation Key to USC Medicine

The vast complex of institutions comprising the USC medical enterprise is to be renamed Keck Medicine of USC in recognition of its major benefactor,the W.M. Keck Foundation.The foundation,established in 1954 by oil magnate William Myron Keck,funds science,engineering,medical research and undergraduate education,as well as community service projects and programs in Southern California.
The Keck Foundation has just made a 150 million dollar gift to the USC medical enterprise,which comprises two private hospitals,a doctor group,medical school and several research institutes,as well as community outreach programs.The USC Norris Cancer Center Hospital will retain its current name,but many of the other constituents of the medical enterprise will have the Keck name applied to them.
USC President C.L. Max Nikias described the new gift as a catalyst for dramatic discoveries and developments in medical research,teaching and patient care.It is helping USC's academic medical center take a momentous leap forward in its efforts to improve and advance the human condition.
USC's Keck School of Medicine had previously recieved a 110 million dollar gift from the Keck Foundation in 1999.Robert Day,CEO of the 1.2 billion dollar foundation,said the new gift reflects their commitment to bringing cutting edge science,medicine and engineering together to find new and better ways forward.
William Myron Keck,who created the foundation bearing his name,was founder of the leading U.S. independent oil producer,Superior Oil Company,which operated from 1921-84.It was eventually absorbed into Exxon Mobil.
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A Special Day in L.A.:From Intern to Resident

Medical school students across the country have learned where their first phase of medical practice,or residencies,will occur.At 9 a.m. on March 17,the anxious seniors received their letters of acceptance with tears and cheers.The National Residency Matching Program matches these applicants with positions.This year,there were 16,554 applicants for more than 26,000 positions.
Among the applicants were students from USC's Keck School of Medicine.Several of them expressed satisfaction with their matches and the hands-on training they had received at Keck.As one student put it,she was a doctor from day one at Keck.Of the 163 Keck students who participated in the NRMP,116 will spend at least part of their residencies in California.Fifty of those will serve the underpriveleged at LAC+USC Medical Center,a public hospital that is the largest provider of health care in Los Angeles County.
The most popular residency among Keck students was internal medicine(29),which is encouraging,given the national shortage of primary care physicians.Other favored specialties were emergency medicine,psychiatry and pediatrics.
Residency occurs after internship and the granting of the MD degree.It is then that persons are called doctors,practicing in clinical settings under the supervision of experienced physicians in their chosen field.In the UK,residents are known as registrars.
It is a day of joyous emotion for the seniors as they see their careers unfold after many and costly years of preparation.

Frontiers in Medicine:USC's Stem Cell Center Opens Soon

On October 29,the Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC will open in Los Angeles.The 80 million dollar center,much of which was funded by the Broads' generous gift,will house up to 18 principal investigators and their research teams.
Consisting of 87,500 square feet on five stories,the center is characterized as an integral hub for stem cell research in Southern California by businessman and philanthropist Eli Broad(rhymes with "road").It is built to silver LEED standards-a mark of high environmental integrity-and will take its place alongside several other institutes on the USC Health Sciences Campus.
The center is led by Keck School of Medicine Professor Martin Pera,PhD,who describes its purpose as research aimed at the treatment of a vast spectrum of diseases.It will enable USC researchers and their colleagues to convert exciting fundamental discoveries into new therapies.The center focuses on liver disease;diabetes;heart,eye and blood diseases;as well as cancer.
Dr.Pera,a pharmacologist,is a graduate of George Washington University and Oxford University.Principal donor The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation supports progress in education,science and the arts.

From Lab To L.A.:Keck School Uses NIH Award

USC's Keck School of Medicine will be putting a 58 million dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health to good use in the communities of the Los Angeles Basin.The Clinical and Translational Science Award supports and promotes scientific discoveries and their health care applications in the real world.The Keck School will focus the award on the health problems of people in the densely populated urban environment of the Los Angeles Basin.The Clinical and Translational Science Institute already exists at Keck,presided over by Dr.Thomas A. Buchanan,Associate Dean for Clinical Research at Keck.USC competed with 38 other institutions for one of the nine awards.
Clinical and translational research connects basic scientists to clinical and community researchers and practitioners with the goal of accelerating the translation of lab discoveries into practical help for citizens.It can take up to 20 years for such discoveries to make their way into communities without the benefit of the perspective of clinical and translational research..Some of the many problems Keck and its several partners in academia,government and other realms are addressing include:
1.Relationship between childhood obesity and leukemia;
2.Disparities in health outcomes between sickle cell disease patients in L.A. and those elsewhere;and
3.Relationship between air pollution and the prevalence of chronic disease in urban communities.
Besides other professional schools at USC,among Keck's research partners are Kaiser Permanente of Southern California,the L.A. County health system and Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

Getting Organized:Frontiers In Critical Care

Since October of 2009,critically ill patients in the Los Angeles area have had access to a new rapid transport service.A specially outfitted ambulance rushes them to USC University Hospital for the special care they need that isn't available at their hospitals of origin.The effort was spearheaded by Dr.Ray Matthews,Professor of Clinical Medicine at USC's Keck School of Medicine,who had encountered similar programs at other hospitals.Noting the increasing usage of the service,Dr.Matthews expressed satisfaction and confidence in its continued growth.The service is presently used by USC's cardiovascular medicine,vascular surgery,cardiothoracic surgery and neurology programs.
USC University Hospital contracted with a local ambulance company to transport the patients,had its logo painted on the ambulance,and implemented rapid admission procedures for these critically ill souls.A large organizational effort was required to provide the extra care,involving systems integration and learning to work together for the greater good of the patients,Dr.Matthews explained.
It has gone so well,there are plans to expand the service to urgent,non-emergency patients across the USC Health Sciences Campus.

Beyond The ER Hassle

Teams of USC nurses are now evaluating and treating after-hours patients,or those who otherwise need prompt and sophisticated outpatient services,at the Evaluation and Treatment Center in USC University Hospital.The teams consist of an RN and a Licensed Vocational Nurse-formerly called LPNs.The patients are referred by USC physicians,typically Keck School of Medicine professors,who may meet their patients at the facility.The ETC will soon be a year old.
The 20 full-time nurses who staff the ETC are from critical or urgent care backgrounds.Skilled in disciplines from cardiovascular to oncology,they are treating 100-120 patients a month,broadening and deepening their expertise as they encounter a wide range of cases.The ETC is especially helpful to post-operative patients.
No walk-ins are accepted,and only private patients are seen at the ETC.Expansion plans are already being drawn up for the facility,which averts the stress of emergency room visits and insures continuity of care.

USC Hospitals Mark Transition

The staff of two USC hospitals,USC University Hospital and USC Norris Cancer Hospital,celebrated the University's acquisition of the two institutions from Tenet Healthcare a year ago April 1.Together with the L.A. County-USC Medical Center,Healthcare Consultation Centers I and II,the Doheny Eye Institute and the Keck School of Medicine,the hospitals comprise a veritable medical city within the city of Los Angeles.The two private academic hospitals were purchased for 275 million dollars.More than 620 employees were added,and around 40 million dollars in capital improvements have been committed to.There are plans to hire 340 more staff members.
At the main commemoration of the anniversary,a noontime Trojan Fiesta for more than 2,000,a huge cake was cut by CEO Mitch Creem and two hospital staffers.Members of the USC Trojan band performed,and a letter of congratulations from L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was read.
Integration of the hospital staffs into the academic community and with each other is an ongoing project.Motivational speaker Donna Tyson gave two programs for them to help the process along.Ms.Tyson said change represents positive opportunities.Just because you loved one chapter of a book,doesn't mean you shouldn't read the next chapter.She cited a novel by Don Miguel Ruiz,"The Four Agreements,"which contains four beliefs for stress management and personal growth:telling the truth;not taking things personally;not making assumptions;and always giving your best.Several employees said they were touched by the programs.
USC University Hospital won the Top Ranking among L.A. hospitals from Consumer Reports magazine.Morale at the two recently acquired facilities is on the upswing.The turnover rate has fallen from 20% to 8% in the year since they were bought from Tenet Healthcare.

Women Having More Strokes

Women aged 35-64 are about three times more likely than men of that age to have a stroke,says a new study by researchers at USC's Keck School of Medicine.They found that women had better blood pressure,homocysteine and triglyceride levels than men.On the other hand,61.9% of the women had abdominal obesity-a known stroke risk factor for women-while 50% of the men in the study did.Other stroke risk factors for women are elevated homocysteine-an amino acid-in the blood,as well as a history of heart attacks and diabetes mellitus.
Amytis Towfighi,principal investigator of the study,an assistant professor of neurology at Keck,said further investigation is needed to understand this sex disparity in mid-life stroke prevalence,which has apparently sharpened in recent years,judging by the results of an earlier study.Better management of coronary artery disease,diabetes and abdominal obesity may help middle-aged women to avoid strokes.
The study was presented at a February conference of the American Stroke Association in San Antonio,Texas.The Keck School of Medicine is a world leader in medical research and education,as well as clinical practice.

USC's Medical Mecca

The University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine is a vast,world class system of institutions involved in education,research and patient care.It is a beehive of medical activity of all kinds.The underserved are cared for along with private patients.Research activities range from cancer studies to stem cell research.The latter is funded by noted businessman and philanthropist Eli Broad and his wife Edythe.
Keck's sprawling domain encompasses two private hospitals and a network of outpatient clinics staffed by USC doctors.Keck also partners with a number of other entities on medical facilities and programs.The range of its activity is so extensive,it's difficult to get your arms around at first.
USC is the largest private employer in Los Angeles.It brings more cash flow into the city than any other private institution or corporation.A magnet for foreign students,it is a co-founder of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities,a consortium of 42 leading research universities.USC employs about 3,000 full-time faculty and trains more than 900 medical residents.It has been recognized for its service to the surrounding communities by Time Magazine and the Princeton Review.