Monhtly Memo - July 10, 2007

Jennifer Petrie from Laramie presented Implementation of Appointment-based Lab Services in a Free Clinic during the American Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting and Exposition held in Atlanta

Mary Burman

Monthly Memo from the Desk of
Dean Robert O. Kelley
72nd Edition
July 10, 2007

A Message from Dean Kelley
Wyoming residents can now have their dental school costs forgiven under a new program—the Dental Student Loan Repayment Program (WY-DENT)—approved by the Wyoming State Legislature and UW's Board of Trustees. With this plan intended to address the shortage of dentists in Wyoming, as many as 10 students will be eligible to enroll in dental school this fall at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Lincoln or Creighton University in Omaha. A student who enrolls in dental school under this program must agree to practice within the state of Wyoming for three years or reimburse the state for dental education costs, with interest, within five years after entering the program. With 10 seats per year and a dental program of four years, we will be able to carry about 40 students when the program is fully operational. The plan, which will be administered by the college, is an exciting prospect for the students and the state and will be similar to the college's WWAMI program for medical education partnered with the University of Washington. WY-DENT is another instance of the college's dedication to expanding the medical care and welfare of the citizens of Wyoming.

News from the Divisions
Kinesiology and Health
Our faculty are dedicated to providing valuable research experience for their students. Todd Bartee, Associate Professor, and Derek Smith, Assistant Professor, mentored six students who presented their work at the Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine in Colorado Springs: Luc Carr from Laramie discussed "The Effect of an Internet-based Physical Activity Behavior Change Program on Physical Activity and Disease Risk"; Allison Coffey from Colorado Springs and Janalee Dayton from Laramie presented "Energy Intake Is Influenced by an Internet-based Physical Activity Behavior Change Program"; Christopher Dorozynski from Laramie talked about "The Efficacy of a Theory-driven Internet-based Physical Activity Behavior Change Program"; and Christy Lohof from Sheridan and Jill Korenke from Casper discussed "The Effect of an Internet-based Physical Activity Behavior Change Program on Self-efficacy and Physical Activity." At the meeting, Beth Young from Laramie, who was mentored by Brandon Alderman, Assistant Professor, presented "State Anxiety and Blood Pressure Responses to Resistance Exercise of Different Intensities." These students, along with Anthony Schamber from Laramie, also participated in UW's 2007 Graduate Student Symposium.

Pharmacy
Two faculty members from the School of Pharmacy received awards during the recent Wyoming Pharmacists' Association meeting in Casper. Jaime Hornecker, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Casper's Family Practice Residency Program, was honored with the "Young Pharmacist of the Year Award," and Amy Stump, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Cheyenne's Family Practice Residency Program, received the "Innovative Pharmacist of the Year" award. Kudos to these two fine representatives of UW's pharmacy program.

Jennifer Petrie from Laramie presented "Implementation of Appointment-based Lab Services in a Free Clinic" during the American Pharmacists' Association Annual Meeting and Exposition held in Atlanta. The purpose of the lab clinic, which is staffed by pharmacy students in their second and fourth professional years, is to provide pharmaceutical care and clinical pharmacy services for established patients receiving care through Laramie's Downtown Clinic. The lab clinics have reduced direct costs by almost 50 percent and provide an educational setting for pharmacy students to give immediate information to patients and thereby potentially improve patient outcomes. Jennifer's co-writers were Mary Burman, Professor of Nursing and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and the Downtown Clinic's Letha K. Buller, RN.

Wyoming Health Fairs
The 2007 blood draw schedules have been announced. In Laramie, the draws will be held in the Half Acre Gym from 7-10 am on September 19th, October 25th, October 26th, December 4th, and December 5th. (For locations statewide, please call 800-979-3711.) The following tests will be available:

Blood Chemistry Profile ($20)—This is a full 31-level screening for bone and electrolyte levels, along with heart and kidney functions and liver and lipid functions with cholesterol, protein, iron, glucose, and thyroid levels. The patient is required to fast for 12 hours unless he/she is a diabetic and is advised to drink plenty of water and take medications as usual. (Great West covers the chemistry panel once a year.)

Hemogram ($10)—A complete blood count (CBC) of red and white blood cells and platelets will be reported. The test also screens for anemia, leukemia, and other disorders affecting blood cells.

PSA for Men ($20)—This screening is for prostate cancer in men over age 50. If there is a family history of prostate cancer, it is recommended at age 40.

Hemoglobin A1C ($20)—This test measures historical blood sugar control up to 3 months and is recommended twice a year for diabetics.

C-Reactive Protein (CRP) ($20)—CRP is an inflammatory marker, a substance that the body releases in response to inflammation. CRP levels can provide physicians with information about a patient's risk of heart disease. (Patients must not consume caffeine prior to this test.)

Ferritin ($15)—Ferritin indicates the level of stored high iron and can be useful in screening for hemochromatosis, anemia, and some liver diseases.

ColoKit ($5)—This is a take-home test to screen for the risk of colon cancer.

WWAMI Medical Education Program
At the Wyoming Medical Society (WMS) meeting held in early June at Jackson Lake Lodge in Teton National Park, WWAMI student Luke Goddard from Buffalo was the surprised recipient of the first endowed WMS Centennial Scholarship. With help from state matching funds, the WMS established the scholarship well ahead of its target date. Luke will have an extra $1,000 to take to Seattle as he begins his second year of medical school.

Sarah Durney, a fourth-year Wyoming WWAMI student from Basin, joined Jamie Broomfield, M.D., Director of the Cheyenne Family Medicine Residency Program, Mike Jording, M.D., WMS President and WWAMI preceptor, and Jake Donaldsen, a fourth-year Montana WWAMI student, to give a panel presentation on the challenges facing rural primary health care. Sarah and Jake spoke about their passion for rural health care but cautioned that many involved in medical education discourage students from taking on the challenges of primary care. Doctors Broomfield and Jording urged the audience to consider new cultural influences that impact recruitment and retention for rural medicine and suggested that new educational and practice strategies will be necessary for rural communities to be able to maintain high quality health care.

Center for Rural Health Research and Education (CRHRE)
The CRHRE is having a busy summer. Rex Gantenbein, Director, was on the road much of May and June, attending a health information technology (HIT) meeting in Salt Lake City called by the regional director of the US Department of Health and Human Services, participating in the Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration directors' meeting in Chicago, addressing the Wyoming Medical Society at Jackson Lake Lodge, and presenting on Wyoming's efforts in HIT at a rural technology summit in Billings. Rex was also asked by Governor Freudenthal to join a task force to help set priorities for HIT activities in the state. The task force had its first meeting June 11th in Casper.

The CRHRE is also working with Cheyenne Regional Medical Center to develop the Southeast Wyoming Telehealth Network. The center received a network planning grant from the US Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Rural Health Policy to support the project. Administrators from the seven hospitals in the region (Cheyenne, Laramie, Rawlins, Lusk, Douglas, Wheatland, and Torrington) attended the first board meeting in late June. CRHRE staff involved in the project are Britnee Brost, Bob Wolverton, and Ryan Sandefer.

The center continues to head the Wyoming Network for Telehealth (WyNETTE) project. Thanks to support from the Wyoming Legislature, CRHRE will continue through June 2008 as the state's primary source of expertise in telehealth technology with the Wyoming Department of Health. The WyNETTE crew includes Jennifer Earls, CRHRE Assistant Director, research scientists Barbara Robinson, Bob Wolverton, and Tom James, and graduate assistant Tony Wallace.

Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing (SON)
The SON has just been awarded a continuation of its Leadership Education to Advance Practice (LEAP) program for $800,000 for another three years by the Health Resources and Services Administration. This is great news for the school and the state because with LEAP, rural students in Wyoming have the opportunity to address significant health care needs on a local level by becoming public health leaders in their own communities. Preparation in the new program reaches beyond education in traditional public health nursing to provide students with training in leadership competencies that will apply across all health care settings. The innovative program makes it easier for nurses in rural Wyoming to complete their BSN degrees in their home areas.

The RS/BSN faculty and staff, along with Dean Clarke, held their yearly retreat at the Saratoga Inn. The group was joined by professional facilitators from the School of Social Work at CSU and completed a new vision and goals for planning for the upcoming school strategic planning process.

Beginning in 2015, the doctorate of nursing practice (DNP) will be the required degree for all newly graduating advanced practice nurses, including nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse midwives, and certified registered nurse anesthetists. On June 22nd, faculty members from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Regis University, and the University of Northern Colorado met with SON faculty in Cheyenne for a regional discussion of the DNP program. All attending faculty members renewed their commitment to work collaboratively with each other in the move toward the DNP.
Congratulations, Mary Burman! Mary, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Nursing, has just been accepted into the 2007 class of the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program, an advanced three-year leadership program for nurses in senior executive roles who aspire to lead and shape the future US health care system. After a rigorous application process, only 20 nurses in various executive positions across the country were accepted. Mary and her colleagues will begin the program with an intensive session in July.

Posted on Tuesday, July 10, 2007