Newsmakers in Health & Wellness

Terri Stafford was named regional programs manager for Region 4 of the American Lung Association. Region 4 is based in Springfield and comprises southwest Missouri. Stafford holds a bachelor’s degree in English and journalism from Southwest Missouri State University. Prior to joining the American Lung Association, she served as education director of the Stalnaker Unit of the Boys & Girls Club.

Patrick Walsh was named vice president of planning and marketing at CoxHealth. Prior to joining CoxHealth, he was vice president of planning at Via Christi Regional Medical Center in Wichita, Kan. His previous experience also includes serving as senior vice president of strategic planning with Sisters of Mercy Health Corp. and vice president of planning, project management and business development with Carondelet Health System. Walsh holds a bachelor’s degree from Benedictine College and a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science in public health from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Dr. Julie Penick of Shealy Wellness Center presented a paper at the annual meeting of the Southern Medical Association. Her paper summarized the results of treating 30,000 patients with depression. The paper addressed the 85 percent success rate of Shealy Wellness Center’s treatment method, which includes safe electrical stimulation, photo stimulation and education.

Dr. C. Kevin Burlison, with the Woman’s Clinic of Bolivar, passed his oral examination and is now board-certified by the American Board

of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Board certification takes several years and includes several levels of testing. To graduate from an Ob-Gyn program in the United States, doctors must first complete four years of medical school and four years of residency training. During medical school, students take three main licensure tests and about 100 smaller tests. Residency requirements include numerous in-training exams. Burlison earned a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from Northeast Louisiana University. He attended medical school and completed residency training at Louisiana State University Medical Center.

Dr. Wade Ceola of Springfield Neurological and Spine Institute performed the first lumbar disc replacement using the Charité artificial disk in December at CoxHealth’s south hospital. He is one of seven Missouri physicians trained to perform the procedure with the Charité artificial disc. It is a device made of two metal end plates and a moveable, high-density plastic center. Once implanted, it is designed to help align the spine and to preserve its ability to move.

Parkview Healthcare Facility, an affiliate of Citizens Memorial Healthcare in Bolivar, achieved gold status in the Primaris Quality Partner program. The distinction is given to health care organizations that participate in the Nursing Home Quality Initiative, sponsored nationally by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The honor signifies that the facility is operating better than the state and national averages. Only 38 Missouri long-term care facilities, or 7 percent, were named gold partners.

Ruby Gideon, of Reeds Spring, was elected secretary of the Missouri State Council of the National Emergency Nurses Association for 2005. Gideon, a nurse in the emergency department of Skaggs Community Health Center in Branson, recently completed a term as president of the Ozark Chapter of the Emergency Nurses Association. The Missouri State Council focuses on injury prevention efforts, continuing education in adult and pediatric trauma care and professionalism in emergency nursing.

Dr. Charles Mace of Springfield Neurological and Spine Institute presented early findings of the Prestige Artificial Disc Study to the 54th annual meeting of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, held in October in San Francisco. SNSI is one of 30 sites participating in the study. The Prestige artificial disc, developed by Medtronic Sofamor Danek of Memphis, is designed to replace a diseased disc in a patient’s neck while maintaining motion that is absent when a traditional fusion surgery is done. The first surgery in the study took place Jan. 17, 2003, in Springfield at Cox South. Results from 47 patients, including pre-operative through 12-month follow-up analysis, were reported by Mace. Early results show that patients treated with the Prestige disc showed improvement similar to that of patients who received traditional fusion surgery, but they also maintained movement at the treated level. Early radiographic evidence shows maintenance of motion at a rate of nearly 100 percent among patients treated with the Prestige discs.

Ann Erving, infection control practitioner at Skaggs Community Health Center in Branson, was selected to serve on the 15-member Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Infection Control Advisory Panel. The panel comprises four physicians, four infection control practitioners, a medical statistician, a clinic microbiologist, two public members and three nonvoting representatives from DHSS. The panel is assisting with the implementation of several sections of the Missouri Nosocomial Infection Control Act of 2004, which focuses on improving infection control practices in hospitals and other health care facilities to reduce the incidence of preventable infections.

Dr. D. Shelly Meents joined the Woman’s Clinic of Bolivar, an affiliate of Citizens Memorial Healthcare. Meents is a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist, providing prenatal through postnatal care and gynecological services. Meents graduated summa cum laude from SMSU in 1990, with a Bachelor of Science in education and biology. She earned her medical degree from St. Louis University School of Medicine in 1996 and completed a residency at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis. She previously was on staff at St. John’s Mercy, a teaching hospital in St. Louis. Her private practice experience includes high-risk obstetrics, operative laparoscopy, vaginal surgery, infertility and adolescent gynecology.

Dr. Frances A. Radkey joined the internal medicine department of Ferrell-Duncan Clinic. Radkey completed her medical degree and residency at the University of Nebraska. She previously practiced in Mountain Home, Ark. She is board-certified in internal medicine.

Bernie Dana, assistant professor of

business at Evangel University, was a co-presenter at the 55th annual convention and exposition of the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living. The event was held Oct. 3-6 in Miami Beach, Fla. Dana co-presented “Quality Leadership for Today and Tomorrow,” with Doug Olson of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The presentation was the result of a research project on which they collaborated to identify the common characteristics of high-performance long-term care facilities.

Dalen Duitsman, Ph.D., director of SMSU’s Ozarks Public Health Institute, and Delores Joyce, project coordinator of the institute’s Tobacco Use Prevention program received a $75,000 grant from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The money will be used to fund the ongoing TUP program as part of the statewide “Breathe Easy Missouri” campaign. The TUP program focuses on Christian, Greene and Webster counties, promoting the right of all citizens to breathe clean, smoke-free air and to live free from addiction to tobacco products.

Antionette Anderson, patient access manager and outpatient coordinator for Skaggs Community Health Center in Branson, was appointed to the National Association of Healthcare Access Management Board of Directors. The association is dedicated to promoting excellence in the management of patient access services in all areas of health care. Anderson fills a new board position, in which she chairs process improvements and facilitates collaborative efforts and other special projects.

Dr. Stan Hall and Dr. Jody Vance were recently inducted as fellows into the American College of Dentists, which promotes excellence, ethics and professionalism in dentistry. Hall is a founding member of Parkcrest Dental Group. Vance, a periodontist, practices in Springfield and St. Robert.

Dr. Paul N. Arnold of Arnold Vision recently published the book, “The ABCs of ASCs.” The book provides information about starting, operating and maintaining an ambulatory surgery center. It also reviews the essential steps needed to construct an ambulatory surgery center.

Dr. Leo T. Neu III of Mattax Neu Prater Eye Center, will begin treating patients with Macugen, a recently approved drug for macular degeneration, as soon as the drug becomes available. Its projected availability date is in February. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved Macugen for treatment of the “wet” form of age-related macular degeneration, an eye disease that destroys central vision. Macugen is designed to preserve vision and to limit progression to legal blindness.