About UH

CLEVELAND – President George W. Bush announced the appointment of Michael R. Anderson, M.D., pediatric critical care specialist at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, as a member of the National Commission on Children and Disasters.

The Commission, established in 2007, will be comprised of 10 members and is charged with conducting a comprehensive study to examine and assess the needs of children in preparation for, response to and recovery from all hazards, including major disasters and emergencies. A final report will be submitted to the President and Congress with specific recommendations to address the needs of children.

“It is imperative that we take a closer look and become more adequately prepared to handle the unique needs of children in future disasters, and I am honored and thrilled to be named by the President to this Commission,” said Dr. Anderson. “This crucial initiative by the Bush Administration and Congress will help insure the safety and future of our nation’s most important asset – our children.”

CLEVELAND – Matthew Kraay, MD, Director of Joint Reconstruction and Arthritis Surgery at University Hospitals Case Medical Center (UHCMC) and Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, is the recipient of the Kingsbury G. Heiple, MD, and Fred A. Lennon Professor of Orthopaedics Endowed Chair.

The Fred A. Lennon Charitable Trust created the Heiple-Lennon Chair to support research and technology advancements in orthopaedics at UHCMC and Case, while honoring Dr. Kingsbury Heiple, former chairman of the UHCMC Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, for his numerous contributions to the hospital. Fred A. Lennon was the founder of the Swagelok Company, a privately held company that designs, manufactures and delivers an expanding range of the highest-quality, fluid system products and solutions.

CLEVELAND –  University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine announce the results of a first-ever study that bolsters findings of a national study confirming the viability of older corneas for transplant and complements today’s news of the NIH/NEI decade-long Cornea Donor Study (CDS). The unique five-year Specular Microscopy Ancillary Study (SMAS), carried out in Cleveland, analyzed 347 patient images from 80 sites across the United States of those patients who had not experienced graft failure after corneal transplantation.

The results were analyzed at the Specular Microscopy Reading Center (SMRC) located at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center that uses a specialized microscope and techniques to count cells. SMRC was the central reading center involved in the national CDS that followed recipients of cornea transplants. The Cleveland study measured a key layer of cells (endothelial cells) in the back of the cornea responsible for keeping the cornea clear by drawing out water.

CLEVELAND – Robert B. Daroff, M.D., the Gilbert W. Humphrey Professor and former chairman of the Department of Neurology at University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University, will receive the 2008 A.B.Baker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Neurologic Education from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). The award is among the most prestigious that a neurologic educator can receive.

Dr. Daroff has been recognized for his national and international contributions to neurologic education. He will receive the award during the AAN’s 60^th Annual Meeting being held from April 12 through 19 in Chicago.

CLEVELAND – University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital is expanding its services for psychiatric patients, thanks to a $5 million grant from The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation. The gift, received in 2004, included funds for an inpatient psychiatric unit in the Horvitz patient tower at Rainbow and for research to advance treatment. The inpatient unit construction is now complete, and ready to serve this important patient group.

The new 14-bed unit led by Noah Miller, MD, director of inpatient psychiatry, will feature a partitioned activity/dining area, group therapy room and two patient lounges to be used in a variety of program tracks depending on patient need. Admission to the unit requires patients to meet specific diagnosis and acuity criteria and/or court-ordered inpatient treatment.

“The inpatient unit adds significant opportunity for us to help those children most at need for psychiatric help,” said Dr. Miller. “Unfortunately, more and more children and teens are requiring more in-depth psychiatric services and hospitalization. We know this unit will fill-up quickly, and adding this hospitalization option to our current psychiatry program integrates superior patient care, training of future mental health professionals and pioneering evidence-based clinical research to advance treatment outcomes.”

CLEVELAND – The Coleman family has donated more than $3 million to further advance cancer clinical trials at the Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals Case Medical Center. In honor of her late husband, Lester, Kathleen Coleman has made a $1.5 million gift commitment to establish the Kathleen A. and Dr. Lester E. Coleman Clinical Research Suite to be built in the future Cancer Hospital at University Hospitals Case Medical Center. This gift is in addition to the $1.5 million Dr. Lester E. Coleman, Jr. Chair in Cancer Research and Therapeutics, established by Mrs. Coleman in 2003.

Dr. Coleman, the former CEO of The Lubrizol Corporation, was a patient at the Ireland Cancer Center and participated in a clinical trial. “Les was grateful for the care he received at the Ireland Cancer Center and enjoyed greater quality of life thanks to the clinical trials program,” said Mrs. Coleman, a member of UH’s National Cancer Leadership Council, a group of volunteers who serve as advocates for the Ireland Cancer Center. “This gift honors his wishes, as a grateful patient and scientist, to support the advancement of clinical trials for patients. It is made with the deepest appreciation to the wonderful physician-scientists of Ireland Cancer Center, who have a profound impact on people’s lives every day.”

CLEVELAND – University Hospitals Medical Practices (UHMP) is on the leading-edge of introducing a new technology to make time in the waiting room a lot less boring and a more entertaining, educational, and productive experience. At two UH locations, patients have a chance to try out the new InfoSlates, which are thin, handheld computer devices that let patients connect to the Web, check out their email, look up biographical information about their doctors, learn more about procedures, and complete medical histories and questionnaires.

Scott Zimmer, M.D., Medical Director of Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery for UHMP, is an adviser for the company that has developed InfoSlate. He was introduced to InfoSlate’s president and developer, Kyle Piechucki, by a mutual friend.

Piechucki, now a father of two who lives in Oyster Bay, N.Y., had grown tired of the waits he had to endure when taking his kids to the doctor. He got the idea of InfoSlate to relieve the tedium.