VCU Surgery Newsletter, December 2019

Volume 30 | December 6, 2019

Surgical Notes

Letter from the Chair

Dear colleagues and friends,

As 2019 comes to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their incredible effort this year. We have come out stronger than before thanks in large part to the dedication and determination of you, our people.

We’ve welcomed over 15 new faculty and APPs as well as an array of staff including Katie Golob and other administrative leaders. A few of our talented faculty and our administrative staff have moved on to other leadership roles. We are proud of their accomplishments and wish them the very best for the future.

We have proudly watched our residents as they took their next steps in their surgical careers and have welcomed new residents to our terrific surgical education programs.

We’ve brought in over $11 million in research funding and $5 million in clinical trial funding thanks to the dedicated leadership of Drs. Mangino and Klausner in ORBIT. Additionally, over $4 million was raised in philanthropic funding for the Sanger 9 renovation and other programs.

Many innovative and patient centered programs were launched this year and our clinical foot print continues to expand. More is to come in the next year as we get into the implementation of our strategic plans in alignment with our health system leadership's priorities.

I hope each of you enjoy all that this holiday season has to offer with your family and friends. Please take time to reflect and be thankful for all that we have, all that we've done, and all we will do in the future.

Warmest Wishes and Happy Holidays,

Leadership Announcements

Congratulations to the following faculty for their recently announced leadership positions.

Anthony Cassano, MD

Associate CMO

for Surgical Services

David Lanning, MD

Interim-CMO

VCU Medical Center

Rachit Shah, MD

Section Chief for Thoracic & Foregut Surgery

Silver Beacon Award for Excellence

Congratulations to the Acute Care Surgery Unit, led by Emily League, MS RN, Nurse Manager and Amy Sims, MS RN, Nurse Clinician, who were recently awarded their third Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.

The Beacon Award for Excellence, a significant milestone on the path to exceptional patient care and healthy work environments, recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards. Units that achieve this three-year, three-level award with a gold, silver or bronze designation meet national criteria consistent with Magnet® Recognition, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the National Quality Healthcare Award.

VCU Health has 13 units who have achieved this award. The acute care surgery team has received this award now 3 times. Their team is committed to maintaining the high standards set forth by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, and they are to be commended for their commitment to excellence.

Department of Surgery Service Awards

At this year's town hall held on November 21st, nominees and winners of the First Annual Department of Surgery Service Awards were recognized.

Congratulations to the following team members (bold denotes winners):

Excellence in Patient Care

Hannah Sadek, NP

Travis Sullivan, MD

Jennifer Rhodes, MD

Erin MacMillian, PA-C

Giao Phan, MD

Service Excellence

Jatori Robinson, NP

Alan Rossi, MD

Malerie Everhart

Amanda Jabri

Amy Hall

Innovation & Impact

Chandra Bhatti, MBBS

Martin Mangino, PhD

Susan Haynes

Nominations for next year's service awards will open Summer 2020. More to come!

Congratulations team!

In Case You Missed It

The department recently released a variety of new promotional videos to include one for our general surgery residency program.

A link to the recruitment video (written, directed, and produced by our very own Joe Morris!) can be found here .

VCU Health: The Future of Surgery Today can be found here .

Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition

Congratulations to General Surgery resident Ashley Rosenberg, MD (PGY4) and Dr. Jeff Haynes (Pediatric Surgery) for their recently accepted publication in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.

Their paper titled, "Management of Ingested Lead Pellets with Elevated Blood Lead Levels in a Pediatric Patient," reviews the case of a pediatric patient who ingested lead pellets.

Their paper can be read in its entirety by clicking here .

2020 STS Looking for the Future Scholarship

Congratulations to General Surgery resident Renee Cholyway, MD (PGY2) for being one of the 2020 Society of Thoracic Surgeons Looking to the Future Scholarship winners.

This scholarship program recognizes surgical trainees with cardiothoracic training exposure and covers registration and other travel expenses for the upcoming STS annual meeting.

Well done, Dr. Cholyway!

The Life of the Wedding Party

"The big day was finally here. Danielle Morris was going to marry the love of her life.

Months of planning were coming together. The flowers were on display, the guests arriving and the wedding party assembled.

This day would have been challenging for Morris to visualize just a year ago when she was suffering from end stage renal disease.

'It was really difficult to dream when I was sick,' she said.

The Chesterfield County resident’s journey began with a trip to the hospital at age 22 that brought her kidney disease to light. Her illness forced her to move back in with her mother. She spent three years on dialysis, all the while getting sicker on the transplant waiting list.

But that was all behind her as she stood in front of her family and friends at St. Joseph’s Villa, holding her soon-to-be husband’s hands. She was happy, healthy and getting married..."

To continue reading this story written by Dan Carrigan, click here .

Photo credit: M.Photo Photography

Career Day at Southside Elementary

General Surgery residents Wayne Tse, MD (Research) and Ashley Rosenberg, MD (PGY4) joined by ID fellow Pamela Bailey, MD made the day for quite a few K-5 students at Southside Elementary in Dinwiddie County.

As part of their career day program, Drs. Tse, Rosenberg, and Bailey talked to the children about careers in medicine, providing kids with the opportunity to ask questions and don surgical caps and masks.

Thank you to the team at Southside Elementary for letting us participate in such an awesome program.

To check out a few pictures from the event, click here .

Resident Meet & Greet

Meet Dr. Isaiah Brown (PGY5)! Dr. Brown has been with Surgery for six years as a general surgery resident. With regards to this program, he hopes to gain the knowledge and skills to allow his patients to have the best outcomes as well as to develop as a surgeon leader within the health care system, hospital, and community.

When asked about the most challenging part of his role, he responded, "the most challenging part is adapting during surgery due to new pathology noted or variant anatomy." His greatest satisfaction comes from his patients and their ability to overcome their problems with his support and assistance.

Outside of work, Dr. Brown enjoys exploring Virginia wineries and attending various festivals. He loves to try new restaurants and explore the James River.

SOCRA Certification

Congratulations to clinical research coordinator, Nathan Brigle, for successfully completing his SOCRA Clinical Research Professional Certification exam.

SOCRA, or the Society of Clinical Research Associates, is a non-profit organization "committed to providing education, certification, and networking opportunities to all persons involved in clinical research activities." Completion of their internationally recognized exam credentials clinical research associates as Certified Clinical Research Professionals.

Congratulations Nate!

Staff Feature

Meet Amy Hall, newly promoted Division Supervisor for the Division of Acute Care Surgical Services. Amy joined Surgery in 2017 as an administrative assistant. In that role as well as her new role, she provides incredible support to the faculty within ACSS along with being responsible for the day-to-day operations across the division.

When asked about the most exciting part of her job, she responded, "working with great surgeons that save lives every day." What gives her the greatest satisfaction? Being able to help patients and their families in times of need. She writes, "Trauma is unexpected and can cause drastic burdens on the day to day lives of our patients. To be able to support the division that saves these patients' lives is very rewarding for me as an employee."

Outside of work you can find Amy spending time with her family and 4-year-old son who brings great joy to her life.

Monthly Wellness Note

VCU RAMSTRONG has a pretty full schedule for the December Well-Being program. Topics include building a better meal as well as a holiday survival guide.

To see the full schedule, click here .