Terrell Smith, left, VCH administrative director, and Heidi Buschmann, director of Clinical Programming Development, talk with new VCH CEO Jim Shmerling at a breakfast reception last week. (photo by Dana Johnson)
Candidates to meet Vanderbilt community July 24
The Community, Neighborhood and Government Relations office is sponsoring a meet-the-candidate picnic on Wednesday, July 24 on Ambassador Lawn from noon to 1:30 p.m. Dudley Concourse (southeast side of football stadium) will serve as the rain site.
Candidates for governor, U.S. Senate, Congress (5th district), state and local offices will attend and meet with Vanderbilt employees.
Call 322-6511 for more information.
VUMC faculty named Council, Senate members
Six Vanderbilt faculty members were recently elected as representatives to the Medical School Advisory Council and University Senate.
Advisory Council members are Drs. Agnes B. Fogo and James O’Neill Jr.
University Senate representatives are Drs. Jacek Hawiger, Anne Neff, Jason Morrow, and Marshall Summar.
Class teaches proper response to terrorism
Vanderbilt University Medical Center will host a class on Emergency Medical Service Operations and Planning for Weapons of Mass Destruction, July 23-25.
The free class, offered by Texas A & M University’s National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (NERRTC), is part of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium’s curricula to improve the abilities of jurisdictions to combat domestic terrorism. Emergency Medical Services Operations and Planning for Weapons of Mass Destruction, an operations or technician-level course, is one of several taught by the NERRTC and funded by the Department of Justice.
The course will equip medical professionals with the skills needed to ensure proper patient triage, transportation and treatment in the event of exposure to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) or biological, nuclear, incendiary, chemical, and explosive (B-NICE) weapons. Exercises conducted in a WMD scenario will reinforce classroom lectures and interaction.
Participants will use their training to demonstrate proper techniques for detection and monitoring, triage, mass decontamination, treatment and stabilization. In addition, course participants will receive training on the proper techniques for protecting themselves and limiting cross-contamination.
The class is limited to 40 students. To register contact Jerry Jones at 322-4747 or jerry.jones@vanderbilt.edu.
People needed for smallpox vaccine at VUMC
Volunteers, ages 18-32, are needed to study the effectiveness of an investigational (not FDA-approved), smallpox vaccine produced in the 1950s.
Naturally occurring smallpox is a virus that was eliminated by vaccine in the last 30 years, but may pose a threat as a biological weapon.
Participants will be compensated. Contact Jennifer Bristol, RN, BSN, 322-2477, for more information.
Respiratory Care no longer setting up devices
Beginning this week, Respiratory Care will no longer set up bedside humidification devices. The devices have shown to harbor and disperse organisms and do not improve humidity levels in patients’ rooms .
Respiratory Care will set up a nebulizer for patients requiring additional humidity to the airway. Call 322-0697 for more information.