MUSC Children's Hospital - December 2006 Newsletter

We're all about children!

December 2006

This edition:

Download this month's
Kids Connection as a PDF

Letter From Our Chair
Feature Story
Message From Our Medical Director
Update From Our Administrator
Darby Children's Research Institute News
Evidence-Based Tip

Letter From Our Chair

L. Lyndon Key, MD
Professor and Chairman
Department of Pediatrics

Dear faculty, Children's Hospital staff and other friends,

On December 1, the Division of General Pediatrics held the Frontiers in Pediatrics Course. This was an excellent CME event for pediatricians and provides a marvelous opportunity to get to meet the pediatricians that refer patients to MUSC. I would like to congratulate Dr. Reigart and his division in putting on this outstanding event.

[read more]

Feature Story

State's only pediatric rheumatologist joins MUSC

Natasha Ruth, MD

When Natasha Ruth was a high school student, her mom was diagnosed with a chronic rheumatologic disease called systemic scleroderma. The teen often drove from Hilton Head to MUSC with her mom for treatment.

It was an experience that would affect her career choice.

"Growing up with her, I realized how difficult these diseases are," she says. "Though rare, they can be severe and very difficult for the patients who suffer from them."

Today, Natasha Ruth is the only fellowship-trained pediatric rheumatologist in South Carolina.

[read more ]

Message From Our Medical Director

J. Philip Saul, MD
Medical Director
Director, Pediatric Cardiology

Our feature story this month highlights our new pediatric rheumatologist, Natasha Ruth, MD, who has joined MUSC as a joint faculty member in the departments of medicine and pediatrics. As the article states, Dr. Ruth is the only pediatric rheumatologist in the state of South Carolina, which is indicative of the general shortage of pediatric sub-specialists that exist today. It seems that there are simply not enough doctors being trained in a variety of pediatric medical fields, including rheumatology, nephrology and gastroenterology. The problem is even more acute in the pediatric surgical sub-specialties, with very few trainees in most areas, including general pediatric surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedics and urology. Apparently, the funding mix of our pediatric patients, along with the longer time necessary to deal with the emotional and medical complexities of their problems makes the reimbursement relatively low compared to similarly trained physicians for adult patients. When combined with the market forces which result from a reduced number of trainees, the low reimbursement creates a significant funding gap for the hiring of these specially trained doctors. Every children's hospitals depends on these doctors and the staff at MUSC Children's Hospital is dedicated to finding creative ways to fill the gap through lobbying, contracting and providing direct support when necessary. No matter what the barriers, we are committed to recruiting and retaining the specialists we need.

Update From Our Administrator

John Sanders, MHA
Administrator
MUSC Children's Hospital

Another Year to Remember
As we come to the end of 2006, I think it is worth reviewing some of the things that have been accomplished at the MUSC Children's Hospital. The Medically Fragile Children's Program really moved into high gear this year. Now providing care for over 25 children, the program is a model for the country. They have been published on the NACHRI website and have presented their accomplishments at the national annual meeting in Boston. This program will continue to grow and develop in its own way providing great care for a very needy population.

[read more ]

Darby Children's Research Institute News

Bernard L. Maria, MD, MBA
Executive Director
Darby Children's
Research Inst.

Inderjit Singh, PhD
Scientific Director
Darby Children's
Research Inst.

Lab searches for cause and cure for lupus
Lupus is one of the most common rheumatic diseases that affect children, and Dr. Gary Gilkeson's lab in the DCRI is determined to find help for those who suffer from it.

One of two rheumatic diseases labs in the DCRI, Dr. Gilkeson's lab supports the clinical work of the state's only pediatric rheumatologists, Drs. Richard Silver and Natasha Ruth.

The lab has three major focuses, says Dr. Gilkeson, with a principal goal of controlling the gene expression of lupus.

[read more]

Perry V. Halushka Student Research Day
Student Research Day 2006 was very exciting for the DCRI. Congratulations and job well done to the young investigators who were awarded first place for their presentations!

Jason Curry
John T. Lucas
Tara A. Burns
Srinivasan Shanmugarajan
Ravinder Pannu
Ching Zhu
Danielle Thibault

Evidence-Based Tip

Laura Cousineau, MLS
MUSC Library
Dept. of Pediatrics EBM Faculty

Applying the Evidence: The Patient-centered approach
Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) has its critics. Some even like to refer to it as a fascist movement, where evidence rules absolutely and physician experience is not valued. In a recent editorial in U.S. News & World Report, Bernadine Healy, a former head of NIH, even claims that EBM has "its own ideological and political agenda separate from its clinical purpose."

[read more]

A special thanks to the following individuals for their efforts in putting together Kids Connection each month.

Editor: Bernard L. Maria, MD, MBA
Publisher: Jennifer Cherock (Trio Solutions Inc.) and Jessica Munday (Trio Solutions Inc.)
Web design: Brian Dadin (Trio Solutions Inc.)
Feature Writer: Mary Sue Lawrence, Trio Solutions Inc
Contributing Writers: Lyndon Key, Bernard Maria, John Sanders, Inderjit Singh, Laura Cousineau