Winter 2019
Faces and Places
Mar. 1, 2019—
Outgrowing Childhood Diseases
Mar. 1, 2019—Before the 1950s, it was rare for a baby born with cystic fibrosis (CF) to survive to more than 5 or 6 years of age. In 1962 the median survival was about 10 years with few surviving into their teen years, according to the National Institutes of Health. During the 1980s, the average lifespan increased...
Flu: An old, but unconquered enemy
Mar. 1, 2019—One hundred years ago, multiple “waves” of a deadly flu swept across the world. Ultimately, the 1918 flu, which lingered into 1919, infected most of the world’s population and killed 50 million people. At the time, the cause of the flu outbreak was not understood, and there were no antibacterial medicines, ventilators or intensive care...
A Delicate Dialogue
Mar. 1, 2019—When Nashville, Tennessee, resident Judy Williams recently had a replacement battery for her car installed, she left the service man a bit speechless after he explained the new part’s warranty. “I came home and immediately sent an email to my kids and to a few friends, and I said, ‘I told him my new car...
Handle with Care
Mar. 1, 2019—Neonatologist Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH, cares for one of the unintended consequences of the rampant opioid crisis — babies born with drug withdrawal — and he’s on a quest to reduce that part of his practice. He’d prefer not to treat babies with drug withdrawal, or neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), but it’s part of the...
Vaccinating the Vulnerable
Feb. 28, 2019—On Halloween morning, a patient nervously listened to Greg Fricker, fourth-year medical student from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, as he explained the importance of receiving an influenza vaccine. Fricker told the patient that roughly 80,000 people died last year due to complications from the flu and confidently reassured him that getting the vaccine could...
Directing our own health care paths
Feb. 28, 2019—Clinicians and patients typically agree there are advantages to having medical wishes clearly documented in advance of a health crisis. Despite this understanding, and an abundance of cautionary anecdotes to serve as examples, why do conversations about end-of-life decisions remain so difficult? According to research published in July 2017 in Health Affairs, nearly two-thirds of...
Class Notes
Feb. 28, 2019—1950s Clifton Meador, MD’55, HS’60, FE’61, FAC’00, BA’52, has published a revised edition of his book “A Little Book of Doctors’ Rules III, for Oslerian Clinicians.” His rules are drawn from extensive reading and more than 60 years of teaching and practicing internal medicine. 1960s Alan Graber, MD, HS’63, FE’64, FAC’06, has authored the...
Letter from Ann Price, MD
Feb. 28, 2019—Dear Vanderbilt University Medical Alumni, Vanderbilt Medical Alumni Reunion 2018 Many thanks to all of you who attended our Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) Reunion 2018 in October. With over 1,000 attendees, this was one of our largest VUSM Reunion events ever. I hope you enjoyed your time back on Vanderbilt’s campus. A...
Losses
Feb. 28, 2019— Blair Batson, MD’44, HS’45,’50, FAC’52, BA’41, died Nov. 26, 2018. He was 98. Paul Bennett Jr., MD, FE’88, FAC’00, died May 14, 2018. He was 64. Dr. Bennett is survived by his sons Patrick and Christopher and two grandchildren. George Booze, MD, HS’73, FE’75, died Sept. 1, 2018. He was 78. Dr. Booze is...
Alumni Profile: Nancy J. Gritter, MD
Feb. 28, 2019—In a league of her own Nancy J. Gritter, MD, grew up in Indiana, and while she roots for the Indianapolis Colts somewhere deep inside, she is fully devoted to the Carolina Panthers. The NFL franchise is more than a Sunday afternoon hobby; it is one of her full-time jobs. The players are not simply...
Giving in Action: The Cycle of Giving
Feb. 28, 2019—Perseverance runs through Ellen Hrabovsky’s blood. Throughout her life, she’s experienced many obstacles, but through it all, she’s remained strong and loyal — serving her patients, animals and the environment to her fullest. Now, Hrabovsky, MD’69, BS’65, is giving back to the school that helped prepare her for a groundbreaking career in pediatric surgery through...
Success Built on Trust
Feb. 28, 2019—As of Dec. 5, 2018, the VUMC Street Psychiatry team had encountered 151 unique individuals experiencing homelessness during 19 weeks at 15 different sites. Within that population, 89 patients reported being unvaccinated against hepatitis A, while 63 patients reported having already received the vaccine. Of the unvaccinated cohort, 75 patients (84 percent) agreed to the...
Giving in Action: Investing in the Future
Feb. 28, 2019—David Gershenson always knew he’d become a doctor. He spent his childhood tagging along while his father, a general practitioner, made house calls throughout southern Illinois. Gershenson noticed the impact his father had on his patients and their community and resolved to have the same influence one day. Today, Gershenson, MD’71, professor of Gynecologic Oncology...
Alumni Profile: Lt. Col. Wes Abadie, MD
Feb. 28, 2019—Surgeon’s career takes flight Wesley Abadie, MD’03, has accumulated a lot of frequent flyer miles during his career, which probably isn’t unusual for a busy otolaryngologist. What is unusual is racking up a big chunk of those miles in the back seat of a fighter jet streaking across the skies of Afghanistan and Iraq...
Q + A: John “Nicky” Grimes
Feb. 28, 2019—John “Nicky” Grimes, PhD, is a second-year student in Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Medical Innovators Development Program (MIDP), a four-year PhD-to-MD training program tailored to engineers and applied scientists. The first in his family to obtain a traditional bachelor’s degree, Grimes, who holds the Glenn and Virginia Hammonds Scholarship, explains what led him to...
The Emotional Toll
Feb. 28, 2019—Living with a disease for a long time can affect more than just physical well-being, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center psychologist cautions. “Sometimes we see young adults in remission (from cancer) and considered long-term survivors, but they might be having issues with daily life, relationships, obtaining and maintaining gainful employment, and living independently,” said Shari...
Young heart patient, care team bond through music
Feb. 28, 2019—Sydney Andrade-Rubio usually brings her ukulele during hospital stays and clinic visits at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. The 15-year-old likes to pass the time strumming the four-string instrument, humming tunes and sometimes playing along with her cardiologist, Frank Fish, MD. Music has been the bridge Fish used to help him connect with...
Expanding education to help future providers better address tough situations
Feb. 28, 2019—To better prepare future health care providers about issues related to end-of-life care, several courses are offered for both undergraduates and students at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and the School of Nursing. The Clinical Ethics Consultation Service of the Center for Biomedical Ethics & Society also conducts a wide range of educational programs in...
Research roundup
Feb. 28, 2019—Study suggests way to prevent rare lung disease Research by Vanderbilt scientists suggests that it may be possible to prevent or even reverse pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a rare, progressive disease characterized by narrowing of and high blood pressure in the small arteries of the lungs. A key player in PAH is the proangiogenic cell...
Combination therapy improves small cell lung cancer survival
Feb. 28, 2019—Patients with stage IV small cell lung cancer lived longer when given the immunotherapy atezolizumab with chemotherapy, setting the stage for what could become the first new treatment approved in decades for this particularly aggressive form of lung cancer. Results of the study published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that patients...
The CME Transformation
Feb. 28, 2019—In November 2018 Vanderbilt University Medical Center physicians and other clinical team members gathered from specialty services that see patients who are more apt to be gravely ill — trauma, cardiology, gerontology and so on. The occasion was an intensive training session spread over three consecutive days, called Difficult Conversations with Seriously Ill Patients. In...
Brady to succeed Miller as Senior Associate Dean and EVP for Educational Affairs
Feb. 28, 2019— After more than three decades of service to Vanderbilt, Bonnie Miller, MD, MMHC, Senior Associate Dean for Health Sciences Education at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Executive Vice-President for Educational Affairs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has decided to retire from her leadership positions July 1. Miller will be succeeded in these roles...
Antipsychotics ineffective for treating ICU delirium: study
Feb. 28, 2019—Critically ill patients are not benefiting from antipsychotic medications that have been used to treat delirium in intensive care units (ICUs) for more than four decades, according to a study released in October 2018 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Each year, more than 7 million hospitalized patients in the United States experience delirium,...
Kris Rehm, MD
Feb. 28, 2019—Kris Rehm, MD Vice chair of Outreach Medicine and medical director of Hospital Operations for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt Marathon runner; mother to two sets of twins; cancer survivor Attended Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and did her residency at Boston Children’s Hospital “I have the best job in the world!...