Hennepin County Medical Center’s Whittier Clinic and its downtown clinic campus will both be enrollment sites for the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3). The 20-30 year study gives participants the unique opportunity to help researchers better understand the genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that cause – or prevent – cancer. This understanding could lead to interventions that may save lives.

“It’s amazing to imagine a future without cancer,” explains Dr. Douglas Rausch, Medical Director of HCMC’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. “This is a great opportunity to be part of a study that just might produce the information needed to eliminate this widespread, life-threatening and deadly disease.”

Participation in the study is easy. The initial enrollment requires just two easy steps, which include completing a comprehensive survey. Your actual appointment will last approximately 20-30 minutes and includes a brief survey, waist measurement, and a small blood sample.

The CPS-3 study is open to anyone who:

·         Is willing to make a long-term commitment to the study, which means completing periodic follow-up surveys at home for the next 20-30 years.
·         Is between 30 and 65 years old.
·         Has never been diagnosed with cancer (not including basal or squamous cell skin cancer).

HCMC is offering two enrollment dates at two of its clinic locations. On Tuesday, June 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., enrollment appointments will take place at Whittier Clinic located at 2810 Nicollet Ave. in Minneapolis.

On Wednesday, June 26, appointments will take place at HCMC’s main campus in the Shapiro Building from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Those interested in participating at either site can schedule their enrollment appointment online using this link: http://www.cancermw.org/cps3/TwinCities/TwinCities.html

“Just think – your participation may be instrumental in your family’s future generations not even having to be affected by cancer. They could be depending on YOUR help to find a cure,” encourages Dr. Rausch. “And I can’t think of a better way to honor a loved one than to join in this fight.”

Online enrollment is strongly encouraged, but participants are welcome to bring a friend to the enrollment events where some walk-in appointments will be available. For more information about the CPS-3 study go to http://www.cancermw.org/cps3/TwinCities/TwinCities.html

Andrew Schmidt, MD, is president of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA). The association promotes excellence in care for the injured patient through scientific forums and support of musculoskeletal research and education.

Dr. Schmidt is also a leading researcher in traumatic and cause-complicated extremity injuries, and was quoted in a recent USA Today article about injuries incurred in the Boston Marathon bombing. Dr. Schmidt leads HCMC’s participation in a research partnership sponsored by the Department of Defense that brings many civilian trauma centers together to work with military surgeons to study battlefield injuries and improve care for injured military personnel. The results of this important research is also applied to improve treatment of civilian trauma.

Joan Bechtold

Joan Bechtold, PhD, is president of the Orthopaedic Research Society. With a membership of 2,800 clinicians, engineers and biologists, the society strives to be the world’s leading forum for the dissemination of new musculoskeletal research findings. Bechtold is Director of the Orthopaedic Biomechanics Laboratory at Excelen Center for Bone and Joint Research and Education, and a researcher at the Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation, and Gustilo Professor of Orthopaedic Biomechanics Research at the University of Minnesota.

Bechtold’s main research focus is on improving the bone-implant interface in revision joint replacement, for which she has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 1995. With Department of Defense and Orthopaedic Trauma Association support, she investigates bone healing in musculoskeletal infection and trauma.

David Templeman, MD, is the chair-elect of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Board of Specialty Societies. The Board of Specialty Societies brings together the leaders of musculoskeletal societies to address issues of mutual concern such as advocacy, continuing medical education, research, and residency and fellowship issues. The board also serves as a resource and advisory entity to the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

A leading pelvic trauma surgeon, Dr. Templeman serves as a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, and as a reviewer for the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, the Journal of Trauma, and the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. He also served as president of OTA in 2009.

HCMC’s long history of orthopaedic leadership and innovation began with Dr. Ramon Gustilo, MD, a pioneer in orthopaedic research and care, who was the first OTA president in 1985. Richard Kyle, MD, Chief of Orthopaedics, was also one of the founding members of OTA and served as its president in 1991. He also served as the president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery from 2006-2007.

The Orthopaedic Department’s legacy of  leadership is one of innovation and excellence that continues today with Dr. Kyle and the rest of HCMC’s orthopaedic team as they make a difference in the lives of patients every day.  For more information about HCMC’s Orthopaedic Department, go to hcmc.org.

The annual philanthropy engages participating sororities in competition throughout the week, which began Monday, April 15. PIKE partners with the Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD), the Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) and the Hennepin Health Foundation (HHF) to run the events.

U of M President Eric Kaler will kick off the final event, Field Day, which takes place Saturday, April 20 at 1 p.m. at the Bierman Athletic Building, 516 15th Ave. S.E., Minneapolis. Participants will compete with each other on various “challenges” like “Benjamin Franklin’s Bucket Brigade” where teams must transfer water from one bucket to another (using only the equipment provided); a tug of war, “Save the PIKE” game and other fantastic feats.

Joining Kaler will be:  Dr. Jon Pryor, HCMC CEO;  Suzanne Begin, HHF president; Tom Pint, HCMC Burn Unit Director; Jane Lieberman, HHF Event and Social Media Manager; and members of the MFD.

During the week, sororities competed in a spirit day, a blood drive, and a karaoke night sponsored by Toppers Pizza.  This year, the week was preceded by three percentage nights at Noodles & Co. in Stadium Village.

A full schedule of events can be found here.

PIKE intends to continue to partner with these organizations in the years to come to continually host its two major philanthropies – the Fire Truck Pull in the fall and the Firefighter’s Challenge in the spring.

Related Links

• Pi Kappa Alpha Firefighter’s Challenge: http://pikappaalpha-betachi.celect.org/firefighters-challenge
• Office for Fraternity and Sorority Life: http://www.fsl.umn.edu/

The Burn Center at Hennepin County Medical Center
Serving Minnesota and the Upper Midwest for more than 30 years, HCMC’s Burn Center is one of 57 centers across the country designated by the American Burn Association as Verified Burn Centers. Comprised of an 17-bed inpatient unit and the Acute Burn and Wound Clinic, the Burn Center occupies a 16,000-square-foot space on HCMC’s downtown Minneapolis campus.  The highly trained, multidisciplinary Burn Center team works closely with patients and families in a supportive, state-of-the-art environment to meet their unique needs and achieve the highest level of functioning. Treating an average of 10 inpatients per day and 20+ patients per day in the clinic, HCMC’s Burn Center is one of the busiest centers in the nation. 

Dr. Andrew Schmidt

As Dr. Andrew Schmidt, President of the Orthopedic Trauma Association (OTA) prepares to leave for Boston to attend a previously scheduled OTA meeting, his thoughts are with the victims who were injured from the April 15 explosions  – as well as the trauma surgeons at Boston’s hospitals who are caring for them.   Accounts indicate that improvised explosive devices (IEDs) caused the devastating blasts, because surgeons report that they were removing shrapnel, ball bearings, and other metallic material from the limbs of their patients.

“Bone and tissue are no match for materials projected from an IED,” explains Dr. Schmidt. “Blast injuries are extremely traumatic and cause complicated extremity injuries. Bone loss, muscle and nerve damage, and vascular injury are very common in these cases. Orthopedic surgeons must rely on every aspect of their training to salvage as much of the extremity as possible.”

Dr. Schmidt has seen firsthand the effects of these types of injuries and the damage they inflict when he volunteered at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany where military patients from Iraq and Afghanistan were transferred.

“Those IEDs were often packed with rocks, nuts, bolts and even animal manure, which made infection another complicating factor.”

Lessons learned from past military conflicts have always led to improvements in medical care. In recent years, extensive research sponsored by the Department of Defense for the purpose of studying battlefield injuries has helped improve care for injured military personnel, and that research is also applicable to civilian trauma.

“Our military colleagues have been facing these sorts of injuries every day for the past decade,” Dr. Schmidt points out. “The prevention and management of infection, compartment syndrome, and the combined reconstruction and rehabilitation of these mangled limbs has been a major effort of military medicine.”

Thanks to a novel research partnership sponsored by the Department of Defense, many civilian trauma centers – including those in Boston and Minneapolis – have been working with military surgeons to improve the care of these injuries. 

As the patients in Boston recover from their injuries, they will have to go through extensive physical and occupational therapy;  some of them having to learn to live with the loss of an extremity.

“What happens in a fleeting moment has lifetime consequences,” explains Dr. Schmidt. “This is a very difficult transition for many patients, and it can be a very long road. But thanks to advances in research, surgical care and prosthetics, there’s more hope than we’ve ever had before.”

The Mother-Baby Program at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) is the first of its kind in Minnesota, offering a range of mental health services to support women and families. Only three other programs of this type  exist nationwide.

With a mission to support families by strengthening the emotional health and parenting capacity of mothers, this unique program includes outpatient psychiatry services, a HopeLine triage and resource line, and a day hospital for pregnant women and mothers experiencing depression, anxiety, or other emotional distress.

“Debilitating depression and anxiety can begin during or after pregnancy and can affect on average 1 out of 8 women,” explains Dr. Helen Kim, Medical Director of the Mother Baby Program.  “To support healthy brain development, babies and young children need to feel safe and secure in relationship with their primary caregiver.  By strengthening the emotional health and parenting capacities of distressed pregnant women and moms, we are supporting the health of their babies.”

The Mother-Baby Program at HCMC includes:

Hennepin Women’s Mental Health Program – 612-373-1851 (to schedule an intake for new patients) Outpatient psychiatry and psychotherapy services for women with depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric concerns before, during or after pregnancy.

The Mother-Baby HopeLine – 612-873-HOPE (4673)  Not a crisis line — the HopeLine is a free, telephone triage and resource line for families experiencing stress or challenges related to mental health symptoms during and after pregnancy, or parenting of young children.  Providers may also call with questions related to the diagnosis and treatment of perinatal and maternal mental health.  Callers can leave a voicemail and a mental health staff member will return calls within two business days.

The Mother-Baby Day Hospital – 612.873.MAMA (6262) A short-term, intensive outpatient mental health treatment program for pregnant women and mothers with young children who are experiencing depression, anxiety, or other emotional distress that impact their ability to:

• Function at home or at work
• Take care of themselves or their baby
• Bond and connect with their baby

 Important information about the Mother-Baby Day Hospital:

• Women must meet criteria for admission and cannot be adequately treated through traditional outpatient services;
• Mothers with babies less than one year old are encouraged to bring their baby with them and either keep their baby in their arms or allow them to sleep in the nursery that is connected to the group room;
• Day Hospital hours are 10 am – 3 pm, Monday-Thursday, and average length of stay is 3 weeks;
• Treatment includes: group and family psychotherapy; support for mother-baby bonding and connection; health education about the transition to motherhood, grief and loss, caring for a baby or young child, relaxation and mindfulness; and medication evaluation and management.
• Services are billed to a patient’s insurance provider.   If a patient does not have medical insurance, HCMC will work with them to discuss options.

 Hennepin County Medical Center is a Level 1 Trauma Center and public teaching hospital. The centerpiece of Hennepin County’s clinical health services, HCMC offers a full spectrum of inpatient and outpatient services.