Wake Forest Baptist Nurse Anesthesia Program Awarded Accreditation from IFNA
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Jan. 30, 2013 – The Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center Nurse Anesthesia Program has been awarded full accreditation from the International Federation of Nurse Anesthetists (IFNA).
Currently ranked as the #7 program in the country, the nurse anesthesia program is the first in the United States, and only the second in the world, to achieve this level of international accreditation.
This accreditation validates that the program demonstrates excellence, compliance with the educational standards of the IFNA and the commitment and support of global health and education.
“Our vision of Creating Excellence in Nurse Anesthesia includes that we will educate graduates to appreciate their role of advocate in the wider context of healthcare, instead of just preparing them to perform a job,” said Program Director Michael Rieker, DNP, CRNA. “Therefore, undertaking the effort to achieve IFNA accreditation was a way of demonstrating a tangible commitment to those values.”
Learn more about the IFNA accreditation process.
Wake Forest Baptist’s CenteringPregnancy™ Program Receives Centering Health Institute Recognition
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Jan. 30, 2013 – CenteringPregnancy™, a program offered at the Downtown Health Plaza (DHP), part of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has been awarded approval from the Centering Health Institute as an official Centering site.
“Site approval reflects not only DHP’s commitment to the Centering model, but also to the women we care for,” said Karen Gerancher, M.D., assistant professor and section head of general gynecology.
CenteringPregnancy™ is an innovative, evidence-based approach to prenatal care which is offered nation-wide. Women, who are due around the same time, are seen in groups of 8-12 and receive assessment, education and support at each visit.
Research shows this program model to be highly successful in reducing the pre-term birth rate among participants by 33-41 percent, as well as improving breastfeeding rates and patient satisfaction scores.
This DHP and Medical Center program has been offered to women since 2011 and is supported by the March of Dimes and Forsyth Medical Center.
Learn more about CenteringPregnancy™ at www.centeringhealthcare.org or contact Mary Fitzmaurice, CNM, program coordinator, at 336-713-9800.
Wake Forest Baptist Clinical Trials Listed on Website
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Jan. 30, 2013 – Detailed information about clinical trials at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is now available on the Web.
This new section of Wake Forest Baptist’s website, called Be Involved, was developed by the Medical Center’s Translational Science Institute to provide people interested in participating in clinical trials easy access to information about available studies.
Visitors to www.wakehealth.edu/beinvolved/ can find details about each trial at Wake Forest Baptist that is actively seeking participants, including a brief description of the study’s purpose, the eligibility criteria, what is required of participants, the compensation (if any) and contact information for the study coordinator.
The Be Involved pages also offer general information about clinical trials, answers to frequently asked questions and secure ways to volunteer for a particular study or to sign up for email alerts about future trials.
Information about clinical trials at Wake Forest Baptist can also be obtained by calling 336-716-1195 or by sending an email to beinvolvedregistrar@wakehealth.edu
St. Baldrick’s Foundation Extends Support for Childhood Cancer Research Trials at Wake Forest Baptist
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Jan. 30, 2013 – A grant of $49,794 from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation will help expand childhood cancer research trials at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
Wake Forest Baptist is one of 34 institutions to receive funding through St. Baldrick’s fall 2012 infrastructure grants, which total more than $2.1 million. This year marks the fourth year that the foundation has provided a grant to the Medical Center.
“Several scientific studies have shown that children treated on clinical trials have a better outcome—greater rates of survival—than those not treated on clinical trials,” said Thomas W. McLean, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, who applied for the grant. “So it is no exaggeration to say that the money raised by St. Baldrick’s is saving lives. “This grant helps us cover the gap between federal funding, which is never enough, and the real cost of clinical trials.”
During the past year, McLean estimates that previous funding from the foundation provided an additional 15 to 20 children with access to clinical trials at Wake Forest Baptist. Without the support, he said those patients would have had to travel to other sites to gain access to such trials or not had any access at all.
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is the world’s largest volunteer-driven fundraising charity for childhood cancer research. Since issuing its first grants as an independent charity in 2005, St. Baldrick’s has awarded more than $100 million to support life-saving research, making it the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants.
Wake Forest Baptist Faculty Member Recognized by NIH
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Jan. 30, 2013 – Barry Freedman, M.D., FACP, Nephrology, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, gave a presentation and was recognized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with a certificate of appreciation at the NIH Director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series (WALS) on Jan. 9.
WALS is the highest-profile NIH lecture program where those in the biomedical and behavioral research field present the latest information on discoveries and important studies. The certification that he received from Drs. Francis Collins, director, NIH, and Griffin Rodgers, director, NIDDK, acknowledges his outstanding scientific accomplishments and his contributions to the medical research field.
Freedman’s presentation focused on the “Genomic factors impacting health in peoples of African descent.” Watch the lecture here.
Wake Forest Baptist Faculty Member Named ABP President
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Jan. 30, 2013 – Patrick E. Lantz, M.D., professor of pathology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has been named president of the American Board of Pathology (ABP).
The ABP is the certifying board for physicians seeking or maintaining a specialty certificate as a pathologist.
Wake Forest Baptist Faculty Member Receives Voices Against Brain Cancer Grant
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Jan. 30, 2013 – Glenn J. Lesser, M.D., Hematology and Oncology, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, is the winner of a grant from Voices Against Brain Cancer, a foundation working to find a cure for brain cancer by advancing scientific research and increasing awareness within the medical community.
Voices Against Brain Cancer held a social media contest on its Facebook page to accept nominations for a neuro oncologist and a social worker to be recognized for their efforts. Lesser, who is the director of Medical Neuro-Oncology and clinical program director of the Brain Tumor Center of Excellence at Wake Forest Baptist, will receive a $10,000 grant to help fund studies.
Wake Forest Baptist Faculty Member is Awarded UKIERI Grant
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Jan. 30, 2013 – Zhongyu John Li, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of orthopaedics at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has been awarded an $80,000 grant from the UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) for his research that is part of the UKIERI’s Trilateral Research Partnerships.
By collaborating with researchers from Leeds University, UK and Indian Institute of Technology, Li and his Wake Forest team will be “performing a translational multidisciplinary research project using stem cell therapy, novel biomaterial scaffold and clinically relevant in vivo models to enhance peripheral nerve regeneration in vitro and in vivo with the long term aim of clinical translation.”
As a sub-group of UKIERI, the Trilateral Research Partnerships’ goal is to support research collaborations between higher education institutions in India, the United Kingdom and United States.
Learn more about UKIERI.
Wake Forest Baptist Faculty Member Elected Vice Chair of National Accreditation Commission
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Jan. 30, 2013 – Judith Messura, DMD, an associate professor of dentistry and the director of resident education and hospital dental services for the Department of Dentistry at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has been elected vice chair of the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), which is responsible for accrediting dental training programs throughout the country.
Messura was elected by the 30 members of the CODA Board of Commissioners and partner organizations, including the American Dental Association, American Association of Dental Boards, American Dental Education Association and others.
She also serves as the chair and a commissioner for the Review Committee on Postdoctoral General Dentistry which oversees the following programs:
- Advanced education in general dentistry
- General practice residency programs
- Advanced general dentistry education programs in dental anesthesiology
- Advanced general dentistry education programs in oral medicine
- Advanced general dentistry education programs in orofacial pain
CODA works to maintain the highest professional and ethical standards in the nation's dental schools and programs and evaluates more than 1,300 dental education programs nationwide, including dental schools, specialty programs, clinical fellowships and allied dental training programs.
Media Relations
Megan Lee: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587
Mac Ingraham: mingraha@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-3487