News

UAHN Named Ebola Treatment Center by CDC

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has named the University of Arizona Health Network one of 55 Ebola Treatment Centers in the United States. The Maricopa Integrated Health System in Phoenix also was named.

“It’s a great honor to be selected and it comes with a lot of hard work by our Highly Infectious Disease Response Planning Team,” said Andy Theodorou, MD, UAHN chief medical officer and a professor in the University of Arizona Department of Pediatrics. “This CDC designation represents a great responsibility. We consider it part of our mission as an academic medical center to provide cutting-edge medical care, research and leadership in any public health emergency.” 

“We’d like to thank the UA  Health Network and MIHS for stepping up to ensure appropriate treatment is available to Arizonans when faced with any infectious disease,” said Cara Christ, MD, chief medical officer, Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). “Their ability to implement...

UA College of Medicine – Tucson’s Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) Program Chosen to Join the National Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation Care Center Network

The Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) Program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson has been selected as a member of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) Care Center Network. 

As part of the PFF Care Center Network, the Interstitial Lung Disease Program will have access to a wealth of resources for both patients and caregivers and will collaborate with 20 other academic institutions across the nation to advance the care of patients with pulmonary fibrosis (PF). 

“We are honored that the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation has recognized the quality of our programs and the expertise our physicians have in diagnosing and treating patients with fibrotic lung disease,” said Gordon Carr, MD, director of the UA ILD Program and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, UA College of Medicine – Tucson. Dr. Carr also is medical director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at the University of Arizona Medical Center (UAMC), soon to be Banner...

Tucson Rodeo Clowns to Entertain Patients at Diamond Children’s

WHEN:  WEDNESDAY, FEB. 25, 2 to 3 P.M.

WHERE: The University of Arizona Medical Center – Diamond Children’s, 1501 N. Campbell Ave. (lobby)

In celebration of Tucson Rodeo Week, clowns from the Tucson Rodeo will entertain patients at Diamond Children’s on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 2 p.m., in the Diamond Children’s lobby.

Justin Rumford (clown and barrelman), Andy Burelle (bullfighter), Wacey Muncell (bullfighter) and Dusty Tuckness (bullfighter) will entertain patients as they share funny and exciting stories about what they do in a rodeo as they protect the bull riders.

UA Medical Center Recognized for Quality in Transplant Care

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona today  recognized University of Arizona Medical Center—University Campus (UAMC) with a Blue Distinction Center® designation for delivering quality transplant care as part of the Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care® program.  Blue Distinction Centers are hospitals shown to deliver quality specialty care based on objective, transparent measures for patient safety and health outcomes that were developed with input from the medical community. 

In 2006, the Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care program was developed to help patients find quality providers for their specialty care needs while encouraging health-care professionals to improve the care they deliver.  To receive a Blue Distinction Centers for Transplants® designation, a hospital must demonstrate success in meeting patient safety criteria as well as transplant-specific quality measures (including survival metrics).

“UAMC is proud to be recognized by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona for meeting the rigorous selection criteria for transplants set by the Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care program,” said Deborah Maurer, UAMC associate vice...

UAMC, UA College of Medicine Adult Diabetes Program Recognized by ADA

The University of Arizona Medical Center’s adult diabetes education program, based in the Abrams Public Health Center adjacent to UAMC - South Campus, recently received recognition by the Education Recognition Program (ERP) of the American Diabetes Association. 

The UAMC - Diabetes Physician Offices there joins the Angel Wing for Children with Diabetes & Endocrine Disorders in achieving this honor. The Angel Wing for Children at UAMC - University Campus was awarded ADA ERP recognition for pediatric diabetes education in 2009. 

The recognition was awarded based on the program meeting ADA-endorsed National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support programs. The ADA ERP is one of two certifying bodies deemed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for Diabetes Self-Management...

‘Osteoarthritis Under the Microscope,’ March 4

“Osteoarthritis Under the Microscope,” an inside look into the latest advances in prevention and treatment of the most common form of arthritis, will be presented Wednesday, March 4, 6-7:15 p.m., at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson (formerly University of Arizona Medical Center-University Campus), DuVal Auditorium (Room 2600), 1501 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson.

The pain and physical limitations caused by osteoarthritis affect nearly 27 million men, women and children, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making it a significant disease. In this special presentation, University of Arizona Arthritis Center Director C. Kent Kwoh, MD, an internationally recognized expert in osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and other joint diseases, will discuss new information on the causes of osteoarthritis and how to prevent the disorder.

Dr. Kwoh will share how this complex condition involves not only the breakdown of cartilage in joints but also changes in the adjacent soft tissue...

Longtime Cardiologist Dr. Frank I. Marcus to Present ‘Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork,’ March 3 in Tucson, March 4 in Phoenix

Sticking to a diet and exercise program is easier said than done! With that in mind, cardiologist Frank I. Marcus, MD, of the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center in Tucson, will discuss the consequences of the obesity epidemic during “Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork,” in Tucson on Tuesday, March 3, at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson and in Phoenix on Wednesday, March 4, at the UA College of Medicine – Phoenix. The presentation is part of the bi-annual Donald K. Buffmire Visiting Lectureship in Medicine series sponsored by the Flinn Foundation.

Studies show that obesity is a worldwide epidemic that leads to several life-threatening conditions, including heart disease, diabetes and cancer. People are bombarded with messaging about high-calorie, less-expensive processed foods; couple that with increased time at the computer, including sedentary games, and the problem increases.

A professor of medicine and cardiology at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson, Dr. Marcus will discuss the challenges associated with the prevention of...

Third Annual ‘ENT in the Desert’ Symposium Draws National Audience and Prominent Ear, Nose & Throat Surgeons to Tucson, Feb. 19-21

In just three years, the “ENT in the Desert: Updates in Otolaryngology Symposium,” hosted Feb. 19-21 at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort by the new Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, has become one of the must-go events in the yearly calendar for otolarynogology and its related specialties. Course registrants include otolaryngologists from across the country, and this year’s event is expected to draw nearly 150 participants.

Officially launched in October 2014, otolaryngology is the first department created at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson since 1990. It’s already in the top 40 in NIH funding for otolaryngology and has earned top-30 rankings nationally as a specialty by U.S. News & World Report, most recently in 2013.

Later this week, UA Department of Otolaryngology  chair and Professor Alex Chiu, MD, will lead the three-day, CME-accredited event. Along with fellow course directors Stephen Goldstein, MD, FACS, director, Facial, Plastic and...

Dr. Charles Cairns Promoted to Interim Dean of UA College of Medicine – Tucson

Charles B. Cairns, MD, FACEP, FAHA, who has served as vice dean of the UA College of Medicine – Tucson since September, has been promoted to interim dean of the college, effective Feb. 16, 2015. 

Joe G.N. “Skip” Garcia, MD, UA senior vice president for health sciences, who has served as interim dean of the UA College of Medicine – Tucson since March 2014, returns full time as UA senior vice president for health sciences, a position he has held since September 2013. A national search for a permanent dean is expected to launch in fall 2015.

Dr. Cairns, who will continue to report to Dr. Garcia, also serves as assistant vice president for clinical research and clinical trials at the Arizona Health Sciences Center. In addition to being an accomplished health administrator, Dr. Cairns is a nationally recognized leader in emergency and critical care research and a professor in the UA Department of Emergency Medicine.

"I am honored to take on this important position at this key time in the evolution of the UA College of Medicine – Tucson, especially in contemplation of the new clinical partnership with Banner Health,” Dr. Cairns said. “I look forward...

Five Ways to Reduce Heart Attack Risk by 80 Percent

If you could do five things to reduce your heart-attack risk by 80 percent, would you take a step to start on this path?

That was a challenge posed by Nancy K. Sweitzer, MD, PhD, as she opened the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center’s Healthy Heart Day 2015. She cited a study from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, which observed 20,721 healthy Swedish men, ages 45 to 79, for 11 years.

The study, published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology, noted that men could reduce their heart attack risk by 80 percent if they made five lifestyle changes. “I believe these also apply to women and Americans,” said Dr. Sweitzer, who is director of the UA Sarver Heart Center and chief of cardiology.

The five recommended changes and their heart attack risk reduction: