News from Lifespan

CVI Cardiologist Athena Poppas, M.D., appointed chair of American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Sessions

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Athena Poppas, MD, director of the echocardiography laboratory at Rhode Island Hospital and director of cardiovascular imaging at the Cardiovascular Institute, has been appointed chair of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Annual Scientific Session, effective 2015. The chair is charged, during a two-year term, with overseeing the Annual Scientific Session, the educational flagship event of the ACC.

“This is the biggest of the big for cardiologists,” said Samuel Dudley, MD, director of the Cardiovascular Institute of Rhode Island and The Miriam hospitals. “This appointment is a well-deserved recognition of Dr. Poppas and her ongoing research and clinical contributions to cardiology. She is a leader in every sense of the word, and I have no doubt she will be an effective and engaging chair for the college’s flagship event.”

For more than 60 years, the Annual Scientific Session has brought together the best minds in cardiology, the latest groundbreaking clinical research and unprecedented educational opportunities. Each year, the session attracts more than 1,700 faculty from academic medical centers around the country, who deliver more than 3,200 presentations in nearly 500 sessions. Abstract submissions range from 4,000 to 5,000 requiring between 800 and 900 reviewers; and more than 1,800 posters are presented.

Both the chair and vice chair positions fall within a new governance policy for the leadership of the ACC Annual Scientific Session that was recently developed by a presidential task force.

“I personally can’t think of anyone better than Dr. Poppas to fill this new and vitally important role at the college," said ACC President John Gordon Harold, MD, MACC. "In order to continue to meet the needs of the entire cardiovascular community during a time of rapid and constant changes in health care delivery, digital technology and education, it's critical that the college have strong and consistent leadership to ensure the meeting is in line with the college’s overall strategic planning.”

In addition to her new role with the ACC, Poppas also serves as a member of the ACC board of trustees and chair of the ACC Sections Steering Committee. She is also an associate professor of medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Her clinical and research expertise is in echocardiography, valvular heart disease and heart disease in women.

Telephone Counseling Plus Physician Advice Key To Motivating Breast Cancer Survivors To Exercise

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Miriam Hospital researchers say integrating exercise into cancer follow-up care can improve recovery

Rhode Island Hospital Will Join National Research Study on Promising Treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Study requires Exception from Informed Consent due to eligible participants’ level of injury

Testosterone 101: Miriam Hospital Experts Set the Record Straight

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

June 10-16 is National Men’s Health Week

Ikenna Okereke, MD, Named Chief of Thoracic Surgery

Tue, 4 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Ikenna Okereke, MD has been appointed chief of thoracic surgery at Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital.

Stay Healthy and Fit This Summer: Experts at The Miriam Hospital Share Their Top Tips

Wed, 29 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Leading nutrition and exercise experts at The Miriam Hospital share their top tips for staying fit and eating healthy while still having fun in the sun!

Join Us for a Live Chat on Twitter About Eating Healthy During the Summer

Tue, 28 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Kimberly Maloomian, RD, LDN and Sara Metro, RD, LDN, dietitians with The Miriam Hospital’s Center for Bariatric Surgery, will be live on Twitter to share some of their favorite healthy summer treats and how to avoid some of the common summer eating pitfalls (ice cream and clam bakes, anyone?)

Want to submit your questions in advance? Tweet your questions to @MiriamHospital. And please join us for the chat on Wednesday, May 29 at 12PM by following the hashtag #WtTip.

The Miriam Hospital offers the area’s most comprehensive obesity treatment program with expertise in all aspects of weight control, including bariatric surgery, medical weight management and behavioral research.

Hasbro Children’s Hospital Urges Caution to Families Using All-Terrain Vehicles

Tue, 28 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

As the weather continues to warm and families are spending more time outdoors, Hasbro Children’s Hospital has experienced an unsettling increase in the number of children coming in to the hospital with severe injuries sustained from all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Unfortunately, these types of injuries are not new. In the past five years, 29 children between seven and 16 years old were admitted to Hasbro Children’s Hospital following ATV accidents. Three of those admissions have occurred within the past few weeks.

ATVs are powerful, motorized vehicles that can weigh several hundred pounds and reach speeds of more than 60 mph. Even experienced drivers can lose control of ATVs, or suffer accidental collisions or rollovers. Children are at a higher risk of accidental injury because they are frequently passengers on these vehicles, which are meant for single riders.

Physicians at Hasbro Children’s Hospital are now hoping to educate families that ATVs are much more dangerous than they may seem, and that when injuries do occur, they can be very serious.

“Families need to understand that significant injuries can occur as a result of an ATV accident,” said Jonathan Schiller, M.D., a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. “In the past month alone, three children have required hospital admission due to injuries sustained while riding an ATV. Their injuries included severe bleeding in the brain, and spine and long bone fractures. All required surgery and in one instance, multiple trips to the operating room and continuing care in a rehabilitation facility.”

Dina Morrissey, M.D., program coordinator at the Injury Prevention Center at Hasbro Children’s Hospital added, “The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that no one under 16 years old ride ATVs or other motorized vehicles; and manufacturers warn that full-sized ATVs are not toys, and are not designed to be operated by those younger than 16. But, yet, about one quarter of the fatalities seen nationally as a result of ATV injuries are children who are 16 or younger.”

The Injury Prevention Center at Hasbro Children’s Hospital urges parents to never allow children to drive or ride on ATVs, but offers the following tips for all ATV riders:

Attend an ATV driver’s safety course.
Never use a 3-wheeler. They are unsafe and are no longer manufactured.
Ride an age-appropriate ATV.
Provide constant supervision if a child is operating an ATV.
Never carry passengers. ATVs are designed for one person.
Do not use ATVs on the streets or at night.
Always wear an approved helmet with eye protection.
Wear non-skid, closed-toe shoes.
Wear long pants and a long-sleeve shirt.
Never operate an ATV under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Bradley Hospital launches Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Summer Program

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Bradley Hospital, the nation’s first psychiatric hospital for children and adolescents, has launched a first-of-its-kind summer program for children and adolescents with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Summer Program offers intensive, focused treatment for children 10 to 18 years old who have not responded to traditional outpatient treatment or who lack specialized OCD services where they live.

The program, the only overnight two-week OCD summer program in the country, offers three sessions at Bradley Hospital’s campus in East Providence, R.I. During his or her two-week stay, the treatment team will help each child alleviate OCD symptoms, while still participating in summer fun and activities.

“Childhood and adolescence are typically times of imagination, exploration and possibility; however, OCD can distort a young person’s sense of self and dreams for the future,” said Abbe Garcia, Ph.D., clinical co-director of the Intensive Program for OCD at Bradley Hospital. “This program offers children the boost they need to regain enthusiasm for new experiences and promote further involvement in school, social and family activities.”

The hospital-based program is led by clinicians who have extensive experience treating children and adolescents with OCD, including expertise in the use of exposure and response prevention (ERP). This approach strengthens a child’s ability to manage anxiety by gradually facing fears and reducing the repetitive rituals of OCD.

During the OCD Summer Program, children and teens will participate in ERP exercises that will take place in the context of summer fun activities, including sports, swimming and art projects. Daytrips to the beach, the zoo and other locations across Rhode Island will provide real-world settings for therapy and opportunities to practice new skills in the community.

In addition to ERP exercises, youth in the summer program will also participate in individual sessions with psychologists, daily meetings with a psychiatrist, daily group sessions and other individualized therapies to tailor treatment to each child’s specific needs. Program staff will stay in contact with parents before, during and after their children’s participation in the program, as well as help with referrals to clinicians and local care providers in each family’s community.

The OCD Summer Program’s sessions are offered in July and August. For more information about the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Summer Program, please visit http://www.bradleyhospital.org/oth/Page.asp?PageID=OTHG60239.

“Healthy Beginnings” Study Promotes Healthy Eating, Exercise During Pregnancy

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Researchers from The Miriam Hospital are looking at ways to help expecting moms gain a healthy amount of weight during pregnancy

Rhode Island Hospital Emergency Medicine Physician Calls for Public Health Approach to Gun Violence

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Physicians currently limited in ability to implement evidence-based solutions

The Miriam Hospital Honored wins National Health Care Environmental “Partnership” Award

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Award recognizes Miriam’s Greenways team of environmental champions

Miriam Researchers Explore Link between Obesity, Depression and Weight Loss

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Little is known about how people with major depressive disorder respond to behavioral weight loss treatment.

Bradley Hospital Opens Intensive Program for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Bradley Hospital, the nation’s first psychiatric hospital for children and adolescents, recently launched a new program aimed at helping children with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), a disorder that affects one in 200 children nationwide.

The Intensive Program for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, the first of its kind on the East Coast, uses a milieu-based model to treat kids who experience a significant disruption to their daily lives due to OCD and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders.

The evidence-based program helps children, from five to 18 years old, alleviate symptoms, such as extreme anxiety, unreasonable thoughts and fears, and repetitive behaviors or rituals, all while improving daily functioning. The program also helps kids stay involved in school and family activities.

“For children and teens with severe OCD, the disruption to their daily lives can be profound,” said Jennifer Freeman, PhD, clinical co-director of the Intensive Program for OCD. “This program can be an effective care option for youth who have not responded to traditional outpatient treatment or who lack specialized OCD services where they live.”

In addition to Freeman, the program is led by a team of child behavioral experts, including medical director Brady Case, MD, and clinical co-director Abbe Garcia, PhD. Freeman and Garcia also co-direct the Pediatric Anxiety Research Clinic at the Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center.

Patients are treated utilizing a specific form of cognitive behavioral therapy called exposure and response prevention (EX/RP), which has been found to be the most effective form of treatment for OCD. This therapy strengthens a child’s ability to manage anxiety by helping him or her gradually face fears and ultimately reduce the repetitive rituals of OCD.

Patients in the program receive treatment after school for daily three-hour sessions at Bradley Hospital, as well as twice weekly EX/RP sessions at their home, school and other community settings. The integration of community- and hospital-based treatment helps to avoid academic and social disruption, and help children and teens return to family life as quickly as possible.

“Every day challenges for children and teens with severe OCD can include school avoidance, withdrawal from family and friends, loss of interest in activities and problems eating, sleeping or bathing,” said Freeman. “Being able to offer an intensive intervention that will help these kids go back to ‘just being kids’ as soon as possible is invaluable.”

The Intensive Program for OCD creates individualized, age-appropriate treatment plans for each patient, including individual therapy, and family, group and milieu therapy. Parents and family members contribute to this plan, starting with the patient’s evaluation and throughout treatment. Clinical staff also work closely with the school system to develop reintegration plans for a successful return to school.

Find out more about the Intensive Program for OCD online or call 401-432-1516.

Lifespan and Gateway Healthcare Affiliation Receives State Approval

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Partnership will strengthen coordination of care and enhance access for behavioral health patients