Author: Jill Clendening
Pseudoislet system expected to advance pancreas and diabetes research
Jul. 30, 2020—The multicellular, 3-D structure of human pancreatic islets — the areas of the pancreas containing hormone-producing or endocrine cells — has presented challenges to researchers as they study and manipulate these cells’ function, but Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers have now developed a pseudoislet system that allows for much easier study of islet function.
Study challenges idea that lower BMI shields smokers from fat-associated health risks
Jul. 28, 2020—While some smokers might rationalize continuing to smoke because of the lower weight often associated with the habit, Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have determined that even with a lower body mass index (BMI), smokers have a higher risk of depositing fat in and around organs and tissues compared to those who never smoked.
StrategyShare 2020 to proceed in virtual sessions
Jul. 15, 2020—New dates and a revised, virtual format have been announced for StrategyShare2020, with the first session on Sept. 29.
Coordinated care network ensures COVID-positive patient makes recovery
Jul. 9, 2020—On March 27, Nashville resident Bill Boyce, 73, earned the unwelcome distinction of becoming the first patient intubated on Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s dedicated COVID-19 unit.
Bereavement calls helping to aid grieving families
Jun. 4, 2020—There has been nothing normal about the COVID-19 pandemic, and grieving the loss of a life at a time when families have been unable to gather beside a bedside to say goodbye, or to even hold a traditional funeral, has been one of the worst consequences of this health crisis’s uncharted territory.
Forbes named new chief of Division of Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation
May. 27, 2020—Rachel Forbes, MD, MBA, associate professor of Surgery, has been appointed chief of the Division of Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation in the Department of Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, effective June 1.
Telehealth transforms VUMC patient-provider connections during pandemic
May. 14, 2020—At the time Tennessee’s first case of COVID-19 was reported on March 5, direct-to-patient telehealth visits averaged just 10 a day at all of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s outpatient clinics; less than a month later, outpatient telehealth appointments had skyrocketed to more than 2,000 per day.
Price’s old laboratory recipe book proves to be invaluable
Apr. 30, 2020—Howard Price has a decades-old green notebook he keeps in his office at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and when a shortage of a critical laboratory supply nearly brought testing for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to a halt at the Medical Center, the notebook’s contents quickly became invaluable.
Adult Primary Care clinics receive recognition for quality
Apr. 30, 2020—The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recently announced that all Vanderbilt Medical Group (VMG) adult primary care practices have received NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on coordinated care with the goal of improving outcomes.
VUSM students help patients, clinicians with telehealth
Apr. 23, 2020—When in-person visits to Vanderbilt Eskind Diabetes Clinic needed to be quickly converted to telehealth appointments in response to COVID-19, a novel solution was hatched to bring both clinicians and patients up to speed on videoconferencing.
Vanderbilt team develops COVID-19 predictive model for Tennessee
Apr. 6, 2020—A team including health economists, epidemiologists and a biostatistician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University are amassing and processing data to develop a complex predictive model of the spread of COVID-19 within Tennessee, with region-specific projections, as well as a model of projected resource use during response to the pandemic.
Physicians, engineering students, families and friends construct DIY face shields
Apr. 2, 2020—As the number of COVID-19 infections continues to grow, Nashville resident Kobie Pretorius was searching for some way to provide meaningful help to others. And she realized her apprehension was spiking each morning as her husband went out the door for work.
