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THE UNivERSiTy of MiSSiSSiPPi MEdical cENTER
STEMMING
an emergency helicopter trip in
May that brought a stroke patient
from forrest General Hospital in
Hattiesburg landed the clarke county
resident the first spot in a clinical trial
at the University of Mississippi Medical
center for stem-cell therapy.
The new therapy could prevent
further brain injury following the
June 25, 2012
STROKE
New clinical trial tests efficacy of stem-cell therapy for stroke
By Jack Mazurak
dr. alexander P. auchus, professor and Mccarty chair of
Neurology; Marcia Bankston, left, clinical research coordinator,
and Margaret lamb, senior medical technologist
initial stroke, preserve vital motor
and cognitive abilities and shorten
recovery times.
The stem-cell treatment also
could add a full day to a
narrow four-and-a-half-hour
window when current drug
treatments work best.
coNTiNUEd oN PaGE 7 Ò
New dentistry lab p. 3 Retirees reflect pp. 4-5 SHRP program reinvents itself p. 6

2
CENTERVIEW
INCIDENTMANAGED MANAGED
New LANDesk system provides top-notch IT service
through Epic transition . . . and beyond
By Bruce coleman
In the days following the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s transition
to an electronic health records system, the flurry of activity that was the Division of
Information Systems’ Epic Command Center in the LC Building on Lakeland Drive
would have reached critical mass but for a single piece of software infrastructure.
As the number of UMMC employee requests to the DIS Service Desk exploded
from an average of 250 a day to close to 15,000 a day after the Epic switch was pulled
June 1, a brand-new incident management system was given its greatest challenge.
Communications flowed so smoothly that no one outside of the command
center would have suspected that DIS had implemented the LANDesk incident
management system a mere four days before the Epic transition had taken place.
“We had a very short amount of time to get an incident management system
up and ready to be able to handle the amount of resources needed for Epic,” said
Brindley Kuiper, director of IT operations. “We wanted a clean system, so we
started from scratch, adding people to the system and configuring it. We didn’t
import anything from the old system to the new one.”
According to Kuiper, the decision to convert to the LANDesk system so close
to the organization-wide electronic health records implementation was bold, yet
calculated.
“Going into Epic created a lot of change,” he said. “We needed to be able to
manage that change much more efficiently. We were using another version of a service
desk management tool, but it was about five or six years old. There was a need
to upgrade that system due to its age and the
vulnerability of that system.
“Knowing that Epic was
coming, we thought
it would be a
good
Chancellor
University of Mississippi:
dan Jones, M.d.
Vice Chancellor for
Health Affairs:
James E. Keeton, M.d.
cENTERVIEW | June 25, 2012
Editor:
Bruce coleman
Staff Writers:
Patrice Sawyer Guilfoyle,
Jen Hospodor, Jack Mazurak,
Matt Westerfield
June 25, 2012
Published by the Division of Public Affairs at the University of Mississippi Medical Center
Photographer:
Jay ferchaud
Support Staff:
lynn Griffin, Peggy Wagner
Chief Public Affairs and
Lead Designer:
To browse archives or read
the most current CenterView,
visit the Public Affairs website
Communications Officer:
Tom fortner
derrick dyess
http://publicaffairs.umc.edu
— CenterView is printed by the UMMc department of Printing —
For more news and information of interest to the Medical Center family, visit Medical Center News online (http://info.umc.edu/)
time to look at some of the different customer service tools that were available to
help us manage the EHR transition.”
DIS leadership landed on LANDesk, not just for what
it could provide IT staff during the Epic transition, but also
for how it would help them manage Service Desk queries
in the future.
Medical Center employees may continue to access the
Service Desk by calling 4-1145 or e-mailing servicedesk@umc.
edu. But the centerpiece of the new system is a state-of-theart
in-service portal that provides employees unprecedented
Kuiper
access to their Service Desk queries 24 hours a day, seven days
a week.
“There’s a lot of automation behind LANDesk,” Kuiper said. “One of
the most important aspects of this new system is the ability for end-users to
log into their “myservicedesk” portal, where they can log new incidents and
review existing tickets without having to call or e-mail the service desk.
“It’s mobile device-aware, it integrates with our other infrastructure
technologies and it seems to be a very easy system to learn and to manage.”
The portal also notifies employees of any system outages without having to call
or e-mail the service desk.
Kuiper said LANDesk also provides a dynamic inventory management tool that
uses bar-code readers to help track inventory.
“We can track inventory from the time it’s ordered until we deliver it to the
customer, and help manage it during its life cycle,” he said.
Employees can access the portal by typing “myservicedesk” into their Internet
address bar and entering their UMMC login credentials.
DIS staff have embraced LANDesk with gusto. The enhanced automation
allows for less hands-on ticket processing from their end, while UMMC employees
can manage their own incidents and request certain software installations to their
workstation automatically. The system provides DIS staff greater access to their
assigned incidents due to cross-platform compatibility.
“We’re still in the midst of the Epic transition, and that continues to be our
main focus,” said Kuiper, who noted the Epic Command Center will continue to
field EHR calls well into July. “But the service desk could not have handled the
Epic transition as well without the conversion to LANDesk. The old system was
very hardware-intensive and the extra load of incidents would have made it difficult
at best to maintain a stable system.”
“Going forward, LANDesk will allow us to focus more of our resources on the
end-user rather than having to manage the system.”
For more information about LANDesk, visit http://servicedesk.umc.edu/.
centerview, published every other week, is
the internal publication of the University of
Mississippi Medical center, the state’s only
academic health sciences center. content
features news of interest for and about Medical
center faculty, staff and students. content may
be reprinted with appropriate credit. ideas for
stories are welcome and may be submitted
by e-mail to bcoleman@umc.edu or
delivered to:
division of Public affairs
The University of Mississippi Medical center
2500 North State Street
Jackson, MS 39216-4505
(601) 984-1100

Restoring
RENOVATION
New SOD lab represents
technological leap into ‘digital dentistry’
By Matt Westerfield
Counting those who marched in last month’s commencement, the School of Dentistry
has reached a landmark by graduating more than 1,000 dentists since enrolling its
first class in 1975. And virtually every one of those graduates has worked in the original
restorative clinic laboratory to build crowns, bridges and dentures for their patients.
But it’s the start of a new era at the school: Current students will learn to build their
restorations in a newly renovated, state-of-the-art laboratory loaded with cutting-edge
equipment, flat-screen TVs and a brand-new student lounge. The lab is located on the
fourth floor.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception is scheduled from 3-4:30 p.m. on
Friday, July 13, in the new lab.
“This is where they spend the majority of their time during their third and fourth
years,” said Dr. Larry Breeding, professor and interim dean of clinical affairs. “I think that’s
why we were able to get so much donor support — they all remember working in it.”
Current students who have been displaced to other lab space around the school
during construction began using the new lab last week.
Construction on the new lab began
last summer, following a fundraising
campaign to supplement the $2.4
million price tag, much of which was
funded through a state appropriation.
Thanks to alumni support, the EXCEL
Campaign raised more than $400,000,
exceeding its original goal by $100,000.
Marla Martin, director of clinical operations,
said that money paid for the lab’s
upgraded equipment.
The new lab features 40 workstations
— including four that were de-
dr. larry Breeding displays the cadent
signed to be compliant with Americans
iTero digital impressions system. with Disabilities Act standards — a new
digital CAD/CAM room, workspace
solely for the dentistry technicians on staff, and a student lounge and coffee bar overlooking
the northeast corner of campus.
The lab makeover also reflects the school’s leap into the digital age of dental
restoration. Although Dr. Breeding and the staff have made some use of computer-aided
design and computer-aided manufacturing technology, new equipment representing the
future of the industry will dramatically aid students in keeping on the forefront of digital
dentistry.
After 27 years of service as a faculty member, Dr. Gary Reeves was
named dean of the School of Dentistry in May.
Reeves, who served six years in the U.S. Army before coming to the
school as a student in 1980, has served as interim dean since 2010. He
took the School of Dentistry helm after the previous interim dean, Dr.
Butch Gilbert, retired in February 2010. Reeves is the school’s first dean
since Dr. James Hupp, whose tenure lasted from 2002-08.
Dr. James Keeton, vice chancellor for health affairs, said he is
thrilled to have someone as respected as Reeves lead the school.
“His loyalty to the school and his reputation are beyond
reproach,” Keeton said. “Dr. Reeves has devoted his entire professional
career to this school, and he knows every aspect of it. As
dean, he is committed to addressing the oral-health challenges in
Breeding says the lab now boasts two different systems for taking digital impressions:
the Cadent iTero and the CEREC AC Connect, both of which are portable units
that can be wheeled to the bedside and capture 3D virtual impressions by putting a
special camera in the patient’s mouth.
“The other thing we have is a printer that will print out an actual plastic pattern that
can be cast in metal, as opposed to using wax,” said Breeding. “That’s getting to be a big
thing in the industry because dental techs are in short supply.”
Breeding said the lab will still emphasize the traditional processes for making
crowns, bridges and dentures, “but what we’re doing now with this new technology will
allow us to move into the digital age,” he said. “The industry is moving in that direction,
driven partly by the technology and shortage of dental technicians.
“And one of the side benefits is you can look at the 3-D image on the screen and get
instant feedback. With the traditional system, it will take two or three hours before you
can see what the cast looks like. From a teaching standpoint, it’s good for students to see
that instantly so they can see exactly what they need to fix.”
Dr. Gary Reeves, dean of the School of Dentistry, agreed with Breeding on the lab’s
benefits for students.
“This new clinical laboratory has the latest cutting-edge technology for the
fabrication of dental restorations,” Reeves said. “The training our graduates receive
here will allow them to continue to be some of the best-trained clinicians in the
country.
“This space is also a lot more pleasant for our students to spend the many hours that
are necessary to be there.”
Interim dean takes School of Dentistry’s helm
Mississippi and to producing highly qualified
dentists to meet those needs.”
Reeves became professor of care planning
and restorative sciences in 1996, was named
associate dean for clinical affairs in 2003 and
served in Iraq with the Mississippi Army National
Guard, Dental Corps, in 2004.
Reeves
Keeton said Reeves will be instrumental
in helping to keep UMMC well-positioned for future changes to the
health-care industry.
“He understands how health care is evolving in America, and he
will make certain the dental school can adapt to any changes and
remain true to UMMC’s overall mission,” Keeton said.
June 25, 2012 | cENTERVIEW
3
CENTERVIEW

4
CENTERPIECE
Juergens
TENURE TRACKS
Retirees recall experiences of a lifetime at UMMC
Call them the 40-and-over Club. The University of Mississippi Medical Center honored 67 retirees who have
25 or more years of service to the institution at a ceremony on June 22, and of those employees, four had a
career that spanned 40 or more years. Who are they? What motivated them to stay? These are their stories.
Librarian counts friendships
among greatest collections
By Patrice Sawyer Guilfoyle
In 44 years, David Juergens has collected
enough memories and stories to fill several
shelves in the Rowland Medical Library where
he spent his entire Medical Center career.
There’s the conversation he had with Dr.
Arthur Guyton, former professor and chair
of physiology, about finding a tombstone of
a possible Guyton ancestor in one of the
cemeteries on the Medical Center property.
As a history buff, he spent many a lunch
hour walking through historical cemeteries
that border the Medical Center, reading
gravestones and identifying other signs of
graves such as depressions in the soil.
“It’s the living you may have to
fear, not the dead,” he said.
He worked with Dr. Robert E. Blount, Medical
Center director from 1971-73, to find information on a family matter.
He assisted the first School of Nursing dean, Christine Oglevee, with
developing the first SON Humanities Collection when nursing students
lost library privileges at Millsaps College.
When Juergens detected a physical ailment in 1982 that concerned
him, he reached for the phone and called a friend – Dr. James D. Hardy,
professor of surgery and first chair of the Department of Surgery. Hardy
made an appointment for Juergens to see him in his private office, and
he confirmed Juergens’ suspicions.
“He set up the surgery within a few days after that,” Juergens said.
“All of these experiences and others like them, such as hunting for
treasure at Goodwill Industries in Jackson with Dr. T.D. Lampton, former
director of student/employee health, and experiencing the many expressions
of generosity given the library and kindnesses toward me by Dr. Julius M.
Cruse, professor of pathology, have meant a great deal to me,” he said.
These interactions are examples of the professional and personal
friendships Juergens formed with library colleagues, faculty and staff
from Mississippi and beyond. At 75, Juergens, UMMC’s first collection
development/acquisitions librarian, has decided to retire, “while I still
feel at the top of my game,” he said.
Juergens will pursue such activities as genealogy, gardening, collecting
and restoring found treasures and some traveling.
A search for a new career opportunity led Juergens to UMMC. He
has a master’s degree in psychiatric social work and previously worked
for the Kentucky Department of Mental Health.
In 1968, he answered an advertisement by the Medical Center
for an acquisitions librarian with a behavioral and social sciences
background.
Juergens has led or assisted in numerous library projects, including
managing the used book sales for Friends of Rowland Medical
Library for 16 years, helping to identify and document more than 180
Mississippi women in the health sciences for the Changing the Face of
Medicine national traveling exhibit in 2008, and establishing the first collection
of dental books at UMMC in time for the opening of the School
of Dentistry in 1975.
Dr. Helen Turner, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, said
she was grateful for Juergens’ 44 years of dedicated service to UMMC.
“During this time he has worked tirelessly to improve the Rowland
Medical Library collections and archives for the benefit of our students,
faculty and patients,” she said. “We wish him well in his retirement.”
Of all of his accomplishments, what does Juergens consider his greatest
achievement?
“Organizing, managing and serving patrons who use the UMMC
institutional and library archives,” he said.
Operations supervisor transforms
temp work into SOD career
By Morgan Lee
What began as a
summer job in 1973
turned into a 40-year
career for Linda
Cook.
“I started working at
UMMC and planned on
it just being a summer
job, but I liked it so
much and opportunities
opened and I just didn’t
want to leave,” said Cook,
supervisor of business operations in the School of Dentistry.
“I’ve met a lot of great people here and have seen many of
them go.”
Cook received the B.E. from Mississippi State in 1973. That summer,
she took the advice of her father, Clyde Harrison, who was then director
of television at UMMC, and worked as an ob-gyn business administrative
secretary for a government-funded nurse midwifery program at the
Medical Center.
When the funding for that program ran out in 1985, Cook began
working as supervisor of business operations in the School of Dentistry.
While working at UMMC, Cook met her husband, Dave. Like her
father, Dave worked in television.
Cook has post-retirement plans to work part-time at a catering
company. She also plans to spend more time playing tennis and visiting
family.
Jacque Lynch, director of business operations in the School of Dentistry,
called Cook a “great co-worker.”
“Linda has a great work ethic and anyone who knows her understands
what a wealth of information she can provide regarding UMMC
policies and processes,” Lynch said. “She is extremely knowledgeable
and conscientious and, regardless of what is going on, Linda always
smiles.
“We are going to miss her more than she realizes, but we are happy
that she will have time to enjoy herself.”
Cardio tech known for putting
patient safety, satisfaction first
CENTERVIEW | June 25, 2012 February 27, 2012 | CENTERVIEW
By Morgan Lee
In the 1970s, Sherline Wilson remembers installing an artificial heart
into a calf named Alice, whom she grew to love.
Wilson began researching artificial hearts and lungs at UMMC as a
noninvasive cardiology technician right out of high school. She has been
in the heart station working with X-rays, EKGs and heart ultrasounds for
nearly 45 years.
“Out of all the years
I’ve worked here, I can
truly say I have enjoyed
every minute,” Wilson
said. “When I brought
my mom here to receive
a pacemaker, it was like
coming home again.
“I’ve worked
with a great group of
people and I have
been blessed. I have
learned a lot and I
am going to miss
UMMC.”
She retired in May, but Wilson
still wakes at 5 a.m. every day. She plans to visit her son and grandchildren
in Memphis and spend more time fishing. Her main goal is to
explore Mississippi, the place she has lived all of her life.
By the time Dr. Thomas Skelton, professor of cardiology, started
medical school at UMMC in 1977, Wilson had been working almost 10
years.
“As a cardiovascular technician in various roles, you can just imagine
how much new information, new technology and new work skills she
has had to understand and develop over 45 years,” Skelton said. “I’ll
CookWilson
remember her as someone whose diagnostic work was done professionally
and with the right priorities: Patient safety, comfort and satisfaction
always came first.”
Skelton said that if Wilson saw something of concern on one of the
studies she performed, she was quick to get confirmation with one of the
cardiology staff.
“For many of us at all levels, she taught us from her experience and
by her actions,” he said. “We celebrate 25- and 30-year careers all the
time at UMMC, but it’s just phenomenal to celebrate a lifetime career of
45 years.”
Oncologist steps aside to step up
funding for endowed chairs
By Patrice Sawyer Guilfoyle
After Dr. Ralph Vance
graduated from Murrah High
School in 1964, he spent a
summer at the Medical
Center working as an
orderly.
“At that time, there
were separate water
fountains with signs for
white people and colored
people and separate restrooms,”
he said. “Thank
God when I came back
after four years at Ole
Miss, those labels were
gone.
“I’ve seen the university, over the
years, make drastic changes for the better.”
On June 29, Vance, professor of medicine and an oncologist, will
cap a 40-year career at UMMC. But don’t expect him to take it easy. He
plans to help the University of Mississippi and the Medical Center in
their efforts to fund endowed chairs and professorships.
“I’ve worked since 7th grade. I don’t know how to sit down,” he said.
For more than three decades, Vance has volunteered with the American
Cancer Society, having served as state division president, the first president
of the Mid-South Division and national president of the society.
When Vance began his fellowship training in hematology-oncology
35 years ago, the overall survival rate of those diagnosed with cancer
was in the mid-30s. Now the survival rate is greater than 75
percent.
“The American Cancer Society has been a huge part of my life,” he
said. “It was a great thing for me.”
For his work with the ACS, the Cancer League honored Vance at its
gala last year.
Vance was instrumental in establishing Camp Rainbow, a summer
camp for children affected by cancer. The camp has welcomed children
for 29 years. Additionally, he has taught dozens of medical students
over the years, and he’s still amazed that physicians around the state
remember him.
Vance and his wife, Mary Douglas, are building a home in Oxford
and plan to move there this summer. It sits directly across from
his alma mater.
Vance
PHOTO OF RETIREES ON PAGE 8
5
CENTERPIECE

6
CENTERLIFE
MlS program staff, from left, dr. felicia Tardy, dr. Stacy
vance, Tom Wiggers, dr. Renee Wilkins, and dr. laToya
Richards
Everything OLD
is NEW again
Medical Laboratory Science Program reinvents itself with new name, new energy
By Matt Westerfield
In some ways, medical laboratory science is one of the youngest and one
of the oldest programs in the School of Health Related Professions.
It’s young in that it is now a stand-alone program, where until recently
it had been grouped with cytotechnology and health sciences under the
Department of Diagnostic and Clinical Health Sciences. It also has a new
name, swapping “clinical” for “medical” laboratory science to more accurately
represent a profession that largely remains behind the scenes.
These changes, along with strong enrollment and increasing awareness,
are helping the program overcome an identity crisis that has shadowed it for
much of its history, dating back to its inception as a hospital-based certificate
program in 1956.
“We’re the hidden profession,” said Dr. La’Toya Richards, associate
professor and program director. “I’m the person who runs all your laboratory
tests, but most people think we are the people who draw blood because those
are the only ones who have face-to-face contact with the patient.
“When people see the face of the lab, they’re looking at a phlebotomist,
when most medical laboratory scientists are degreed individuals who work
behind the scenes.”
The NAMe ChANge is A direCT resulT of the recent merging of
the profession’s two credentialing agencies, the American Society for Clinical
Pathology (ASCP) and the National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory
Personnel (NCA), Richards explained.
Previously, a professional was credentialed either as a medical technologist
or as a clinical laboratory scientist, adding to the confusion. But now that
there’s a single licensure exam, there will only be the MLS credential.
This confusion has contributed to persistent recruitment challenges for
the program ever since it was incorporated into SHRP as a bachelor of science
program in 1977, despite a robust demand for the profession nationwide.
“They really changed the name to clarify the profession,” said Dr. Renee
Wilkins, assistant professor and coordinator of the online progression track.
“That’s why we’ve had recruiting issues because the career has an identity
crisis. It’s gone through three name changes, so people are confused.”
cENTERVIEW | June 25, 2012
Richards, who began as a health sciences faculty member, was named
program director in 2007, about a year after the program became part of
the Department of Diagnostic and Clinical Health Sciences. That move was
prompted partly by low enrollment numbers and partly because of faculty
challenges.
lAsT yeAr, Mls beCAMe iTs owN program again, albeit one that
is temporarily without a chairman.
In fact, Richards and her colleagues all are relatively fresh faces to the
faculty with the notable exception of Tom Wiggers.
Wiggers, associate professor, was the very first faculty member hired
when the program launched at SHRP in 1977 under its first chairman, Frances
Freeman. He had just earned his master’s degree.
“I laugh at them occasionally,” Wiggers said of his younger colleagues. “I
tell them they don’t know what hard times are. I remember a year that we
graduated three students.
“By the time you add up the (current) traditional and progression students, we
have 62 students in the program. Enrollment is as high as it’s ever been.”
The early days of the program were frankly awful, Wiggers says. It
struggled with little visibility, few students and poor funding. So what was it
that kept him here?
“In those days under Dean Tom Freeland, the feeling of this school was
that you were part of a family,” he said. “You loved coming to work every
day, and it was a wonderful place to be.”
TodAy, wiTh AN eNergeTiC youNg FACulTy, including
Richards and Wilkins as well as Dr. Stacy Vance and Dr. Felicia Tardy — all
former students of Wiggers’ — he says he’s optimistic for the future. In fact,
Wiggers says that family atmosphere has returned to what it was like in those
early years.
“I’ve been around a long time, and this is the best core faculty this program
has had since its inception,” he said. “The current faculty — with the
exception of myself — are all Ph.D.s and all generalists, all certified. We’ve
never had that before.
“It’s the broadest scope of knowledge the faculty has ever had.

coNTiNUEd fRoM fRoNT PaGE Ò
Stem-cell therapy could thwart ‘ischemic cascade’ in the brain
The UMMC Comprehensive Stroke Center is one of 10 U.S. sites enrolling
a total of 120 patients into the study. The center aims for about 12 from Mississippi.
Dr. Alexander P. Auchus, professor and McCarty Chair of Neurology at
UMMC, serves as principal investigator for Medical Center’s portion of the
clinical trial.
“These are pluripotent stem cells derived from adult bone marrow,”
Auchus said. “No fetal or embryo-derived cells were used in making this
treatment.”
“Pluripotent” means the cells can transform into many different types of
tissue: bone, muscle, connective tissue and more. That ability makes stem
cells promising for a wide range of medical treatments.
But for biomedical scientists, precise control and manipulation of the cells’
pluripotency has proved difficult in some circumstances.
“All AdulTs hAve A sMAll AMouNT of stem cells in their bone
marrow,” Auchus said. “These were removed from a donor, grown in culture,
frozen and distributed to the participating centers.”
Study participants get randomized into either a control group, which
receives a harmless placebo, or the test group, which gets the experimental
therapy. At UMMC, Bone Marrow Transplant Lab personnel prepare the
injections.
“This is a collaboration between many players,” said Tereza Holman,
BMT Lab director. “This is more of a straightforward procedure for us than
our normal processing of peripheral blood stem cells and bone marrow for
transplants.
“But at the same time, a clinical trial like this could not have been done if
there wasn’t a lab trained in these preparations.”
Auchus said after a patient consents, the person either gets injected with a
placebo or 2.4 million stem cells in solution, all in one infusion, given over an
hour. The stem cells circulate through the patient’s bloodstream.
Brain cells in the stroke-injured area deploy signaling molecules known as
cytokines that flag down the stem cells. The stem cells – like icing a twisted
ankle – may keep the injured brain tissue from
inflammation, Auchus said.
“This is not about removing the clot,” he
said. “It’s about keeping the brain from swelling,
getting irritated and causing further damage as
the area deprived of blood flow reacts.”
That domino effect, called an ischemic cascade,
can trigger more severe paralysis, speech
and cognitive problems and leave the patient
weaker and more vulnerable to greater injury or
death from another stroke.
Holman
Mississippi rANked 46Th in the nation for stroke deaths between
2005 and 2007, according to the American Heart Association. With 128,842
lives lost in 2009, stroke continued as the nation’s fourth-leading cause of
death behind heart disease, cancer and chronic lower respiratory diseases,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Unhealthy lifestyles, including obesity, tobacco use, hypertension and lack
of exercise, contribute to stroke’s likelihood, along with genetic factors.
Stroke remains a frustrating illness for physicians, Auchus said. In
standard treatment, patients are assessed in an emergency room, get CT scans
from a radiologist and receive a clot-busting medication in consult with a
neurologist.
“The only clot-busting medication is FDA-approved for use up to three hours
from symptom onset but is commonly used up to four-and-a-half hours from
onset,” Auchus said.
If the clot lodges in a reachable blood vessel, neuro-interventionalists can
insert an image-guided catheter into the artery to poke, pop or remove the
blockage. Catheterization is considered viable for up to about six hours following
onset. After catheterization, the patient moves to a neuro-ICU, where
specialists treat and monitor progress.
Auchus welcomed new options, saying stem-cell therapy could extend the
treatment window to 30 hours after symptoms begin.
Ohio-based biotech researcher Athersys developed the experimental
therapy and organized the trial. If this phase II trial proves effective, Athersys
will start a phase III trial with about 600 patients.
“They wouldN’T hAve piCked us if we didn’t have the expertise,”
Auchus said of the Comprehensive Stroke Center.
Last year the center admitted more than 500 patients for stroke. Regardless
of whether patients enroll, and which injection participants receive, all
patients get the stroke center’s standard of care, he said.
Study participants receive follow-up MRIs from the Department of Radiology
to examine the size of the stroke, and exams for function and strength at
seven days, one month, three months and one year.
Auchus said not all stroke patients will qualify for the trial. Among other
factors, candidates must have no cancer history, have their spleen and they
must be enrolled within 30 hours of the onset of symptoms.
Mississippi’s first participant in the study arrived at Forrest General within
two hours of symptom onset, received the clot-buster drug and was transported
via helicopter to UMMC, a procedure commonly called “Drip ‘n Ship.”
For those reasons the Clarke County patient was a good candidate, Auchus
said. Thanks to UMMC’s AirCare, the patient arrived at the Medical Center’s
Emergency Department five hours after onset.
“This is more of a straightforward procedure for
us than our normal processing of peripheral blood
stem cells and bone marrow for transplants.”
— Tereza Holman
“We considered putting in a catheter but imaging showed us the clot
was too far away,” Auchus said. “Although the clot was out of reach, the
brain’s reaction to loss of blood flow was still within the realm of treatment.”
The patient, with family support, decided to enroll in the clinical trial.
Following standard and trial treatments the patient left the neuro ICU on day
three with some minor weakness as the only residual deficit.
“The family was glad to have a center where the patient had options,”
Auchus said. “And the patient is home and continues to improve.”
June 25, 2012 | cENTERVIEW
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CENTERVIEW

8
ceremony honors Medical center retirees
forty three out of 44 retiring faculty and staff members gathered for the University of Mississippi Medical
center’s 2012 Retirement ceremony on friday, June 22, at the Norman c. Nelson Student Union. The
ceremony highlighted retiring faculty and staff with 25 years or more of service to the institution and retiring
department heads with at least 20 years of service.
front row from left: Shurla Mance, Shirley Mcleod, Jan Robinson, leila Sanders, linda Smith, david Juergens,
collett Howard, Thomas Horton, Mamie Henderson.
Second row: challer Pilgram, Paula Stubbs, Betty Mccoy, Renee lloyd, Janet Kellum, dr. J. david duncan,
June Thornton, vickie colbert, linda cook, Pauline darnell, Patricia anderson, alfredia Banks and Jessie Harrison.
Bryant’s 5K run to benefit Batson
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant will host
the first “Gov. Phil Bryant’s 5K Run
for Health” at 8 a.m. on Saturday,
June 30, beginning at the
Governor’s Mansion on capitol
Street in downtown Jackson. The
event will include a 5K run and
a one-mile fun run for children. all proceeds will
benefit the Batson children’s Hospital. for more
information or to register, visit
http://www.governorbryant.com/5k/.
cENTERVIEW | June 25, 2012
Third row: Eula long, dr. William Rock Jr., Judy
Guthrie, donna Trotter, Marilyn Burns and
francine fry.
Back row: alice Mayes, diann Munson, Pierre Smith,
Mildred Smith, Jeffery Simmons, Sherline Wilson,
Bruttie allen, dr. Helen Turner, linder Beasley, cathy
Hansen, Marlon Beckley, Neva Greenwald, Jackie
Green, carolyn Thompson and linda dear.
SUMMERVIEW
With the publication of last issue, centerview has moved to
its once-a-month summer publication schedule. The official
publication of the University of Mississippi Medical center
will be available the week of July 23-27 and the week of
aug. 27-31. centerview will resume its biweekly publication
schedule the week of Sept. 10-14.
RETIREE FEATUES ON PAGE 4 & 5