Fall 2006 - North Dakota Medicine

We were able toshow excellent treatmentresults, he said. Ourresults of success andtreatment are as good orbetter (than the traditionalregimen). We are able totreat many more peopleand bring more effectivetreatment to morepeople.Even if we haventchanged behaviors, theinmates weve treated --when theyre released --wont be able to infectanyone else, heemphasized.The group is pleasedthat initial findings havebeen well-received. Datacollection is ongoing andthere are plans to submitfinal results forpublication. Really a team effortIts a wonderfulpartnership, saidBachmeier, who championedthe project and requestedthe state legislature to fund it. Theprison couldnt have done it alone.This is really a team effort... Wevedone all this with no extra money. Itstarted from very, very humble, modestbeginnings.We work with people who reallywant to change their lives, she said.We want to be good stewards of thestates money; we select prisoners whoare compliant with the drug andalcohol treatment and are stableemotionally, based on psychiatricassessment. Prisoners must go throughsix months of close monitoring beforeever entering into treatment.In what might be described as asnowball effect, Martin and Hostetterwere invited to present their findings at ameeting of the American CorrectionsAssociation in August at Charlotte, NC.And the CDC has approached theresearchers about putting our programon their Web site as an outstandingBeth Taghon, a nurse at the state penitentiary, gives inmate Stuart Kelly an injection of consensusinterferon, an alternative treatment for hepatitis C.prisons hepatitis C model, Hostetter said.A resouce for the stateOne of the roles of physicians,residents and faculty in state-supportedacademic medical institutions is to be aresource for the state, Hostetter said.This is the perfect setting where theUND Department of Family andCommunity Medicine can assist anotherstate agency by utilizing our resourcesto enrich their programs.It is important for residentphysiciansto be involved in research inorder to teach them how progress inmedicine is truly made, he emphasized.Most significant medical advances canbe traced to community clinicians whohave made astute observations thatresearchers have only furtherelucidated.It is important for faculty to giveresidents the skills to function in thisarena of family medicine as well asday-to-day clinical practice.-Pamela D. KnudsonNORTH DAKOTA MEDICINE Fall 2006 19