Melissa Dzierlatka was tired of feeling invisible. Weighing more than 365 pounds, people would rarely look her in the eye when they passed her on the street. Along with her mental health, Melissa’s physical health was suffering. When she was diagnosed as borderline diabetic, she knew things had to change. That’s when she went to see physician assistant Bradley Biskup with Calhoun Cardiology’s Lifestyle Medicine Program. He helped Melissa lose weight, improve her health, and feel like herself again.
UConn Health’s Dr. Biree Andemariam Honored as Outstanding Role Model
Dr. Biree Andemariam, director of UConn Health’s New England Sickle Cell Institute was honored at the 100 Women of Color Gala recently held in Hartford. The 100 Women of Color award recognizes women who are leaders in their community and are a positive role model for young women. A portion of the proceeds from this annual event supports scholarships for young women who graduate from high school and plan on attending college, leadership and mentorship programs.
New England Sickle Cell Institute Nurses Present at National Meeting
Nayre Greene, RN, BSN
Nayre Greene, RN, BSN, and Elizabeth Brookshire, MSN, BSN, RN, recently represented UConn Health’s New England Sickle Cell Institute at the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc.’s 43rd Anniversary Convention in Maryland. Greene, NESCI nurse coordinator, was the moderator for the meeting’s nursing symposium that highlighted five peer-reviewed oral abstracts presented by leaders in sickle cell disease nursing care and research from around the country. Greene’s talk highlighted multidisciplinary efforts at UConn Health in coordinating safe maternal-fetal outcomes among pregnant women living with sickle cell disease.
Elizabeth Brookshire, MSN, BSN, RN
Brookshire delivered a powerful talk titled, “The Nurse’s Role in Caring for the Patient with Sickle Cell Disease: Utilizing Katherine Kolcaba’s Theory of Comfort as a Guide.” Brookshire is the assistant nurse manager of John Dempsey Hospital’s oncology unit.
“NESCI is proud of the role that UConn Health nurses play on a daily basis in providing evidence-based and compassionate care to our patients living with sickle cell disease,” says NESCI director Dr. Biree Andemariam, “and now this work is known across the country.”
Study nurse Carlene Bartolotta applies a bandage after giving the flu shot to Nick Cesaro, who regularly has participated in the UConn Center on Aging’s flu vaccine research for a decade. “We’re really dependent on one another, it’s as simple as that,” Cesaro says. “I’ve lived long enough to have the opportunity to help, and it’s nice to be able to help.” (Tina Encarnacion/UConn Health)
Now is the time to get the flu vaccine, especially if you’re older.
UConn Health researchers urge those who haven’t gotten this year’s flu vaccine yet to consider coming to the UConn Center on Aging to receive the vaccine as a participant in a flu shot study.
“Every older person should be getting the vaccine,” says Dr. George Kuchel, director of the UConn Center on Aging. “By volunteering for one of these studies, you do what’s good for you anyway, it doesn’t cost you anything, and at the same time you contribute to helping us develop vaccines that are going to work better in future years.”
Kuchel says most flu-related deaths in the U.S. each year are among the elderly. He and professor of immunology Laura Haynes, also an investigator in the Center on Aging, are leading two studies. One focuses on the differences in the way younger people and older people respond to the traditional flu vaccine. The other compares the traditional flu vaccine to the high-dose vaccine, which has four times the antigen. Both vaccines are proven effective, but the degree of their effectiveness varies by individual.
Dr. George Kuchel is director of the UConn Center on Aging. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)
“The purpose of that study is to identify—using very innovative blood tests, some of which were first developed here, and also frailty measurements—the older adults who require the high-dose vaccine, as opposed to those who’d do better with the regular vaccine,” Kuchel says. “As we age, we get more and more different from each other, with some people remaining very robust and highly functional, other people becoming frail and even disabled, and everything in between. We know that on average, the high-dose vaccine may be better for the elderly. What we don’t know is, who are the people who get that greater benefit?”
Influenza manifests itself differently in older patients than in younger ones. Although the symptoms in older patients usually are actually milder, that brings other problems.
Laura Haynes studies the efficacy of the flu vaccine in older patients at the UConn Center on Aging. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)
“When older people get the flu, it’s much more serious,” Haynes says. “Since the symptoms are less severe, people may not go to the doctor, they may not take the care that they need to when they get sick. This is even more problematic with the older population because they’re going to have more co-morbidities. They’re going to have more secondary infections that would then develop, which is really what the issue is, especially secondary pneumonia after flu. And that’s really what leads to death.”
“Dr. Haynes’ work is the first to show that a type of blood cell called T-lymphocyte plays a role in the declining ability of the aging body to respond to flu infection,” Kuchel says. “Because of that, we still need to give the vaccine to the elderly. If we want to make more progress, prevent more death, and prevent more hospitalization, we need to get even better vaccines.”
While the researchers don’t expect their studies to lead to the perfect vaccine for everyone immediately, participants at least can expect an immediate benefit this flu season.
“Even though the flu vaccine doesn’t work as well in older people as it does in younger people, using it becomes even more important in the elderly as a way helping to stay out of the hospital,” Haynes says.
The UConn Center on Aging flu vaccine studies are not limited to older patients. Researchers are seeking study volunteers as young as 20 years old. All participants receive an FDA-approved flu shot at no cost to them, nominal compensation for their time, and free, convenient parking for study visits. To learn more about the studies, call 860-679-3043.
Dr. Denis Lafreniere, medical director of UConn Health's outpatient services and associate dean for clinical affairs; and Anne Diamond, chief executive officer John Dempsey Hospital, at the Canton medical facility ribbon-cutting celebration. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)
Dr. Frank Lasala, medical director of UConn Health's Urgent Care Centers in Canton and Storrs; and Dr. Bruce Liang, dean of the UConn School of Medicine and director of the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center, speaking to a guest at the Canton medical facility ribbon-cutting celebration. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)
Dr. Denis Lafreniere and Anne Diamond welcome Michael D'Apice to the Canton ribbon-cutting celebration. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)
Dr. Denis Lafreniere is joined by several lawmakers, UConn Health faculty and staff, and guests at the Canton medical facility ribbon-cutting ceremony. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)
Dr. Denis Lafreniere is joined by several lawmakers, UConn Health faculty and staff, and guests at the Canton medical facility ribbon-cutting ceremony. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)
Dr. Denis Lafreniere is joined by several lawmakers, UConn Health faculty and staff, and guests at the Canton medical facility ribbon-cutting ceremony. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)
UConn Health held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of its new medical facility and Urgent Care Center at 117 Albany Turnpike in Canton on Tuesday.
“Our mission at UConn is to take care of the citizens of the state of Connecticut and we are very proud and happy to be here,” said Dr. Denis Lafreniere, medical director of outpatient services and associate dean for clinical affairs. “This expands access to quality health care for the citizens of Canton and the surrounding towns,” added Lafreniere.
Patients from over 100 towns and communities have been seen at UConn Health Canton since it opened in the spring, with the majority of patients coming from Canton, Avon, New Hartford, Simsbury, Torrington and Winsted. Located at the corner of Lawton Road and Route 44, the two-story building consists of 17,000 sq. ft. and 27 employees. Services offered at the Canton location include internal medicine, primary care, cardiology, dermatology, MOHs surgery, a blood draw station, and X-ray services.
The Urgent Care Center, open seven days a week, is staffed by certified advanced practitioners and board-certified emergency medicine or family practice physicians that can treat a range of health issues that are not life threatening, but need prompt attention.
Several lawmakers attended the ceremony including Canton First Selectman Richard Barlow who said the new facility is a welcome addition to the town of Canton and “provides valuable services that the town desperately needs.”
State Sen. Kevin Witkos (R-Canton), also welcomed the new UConn Health facility located at the gateway to northwest Connecticut. “UConn has been such a great partner in everything we do at the state level, from the facility up at Storrs, to the John Dempsey Hospital in Farmington, and now the facility here in Canton,” said Witkos.
“It’s quite appropriate as we open this facility to remember other residents on this spot who engaged in the same practice,” said State Rep. Tim LeGeyt (R-Avon, Canton) who also attended the ceremony. UConn Health’s new facility is located where a house once stood that was built in 1796 by a well-regarded Revolutionary War physician and surgeon Dr. Solomon Everest. Everest provided health care to the community for almost 30 years.
UConn Health has a 15-year lease with a private development company, Sard Realty, LLC in Avon.
A recently started smoking cessation program at UConn Health offers individualized treatment as it seeks to treat both the physical and psychological aspects of tobacco addiction.
“Physical dependence plays an important role in smoking cessation, but I think a lot of the difficulty is also related to psychological issues that come up when one tries to quit” says Dr. Jayesh Kamath, psychiatrist and medical director for the Wellness and Smoking Cessation Program.
“It’s important to try to quit, because smoking cessation is one of the most important changes you can make to improve your health,” says Dr. Cheryl Oncken, an internist and scientific director of the program. Oncken is an internationally recognized tobacco researcher who holds several leadership positions at UConn Health including interim chair of the Department of Medicine.
Dr. Cheryl Oncken
The program is part of a grant from the Department of Public Health to the Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center, but anyone who smokes is a candidate to join, either individually or by referral.
Patients begin treatment with pulmonary medicine nurse practitioner Diahann Wilcox, who has specialized training in smoking cessation through the American Lung Association. Kamath provides mental health care when appropriate.
“We start with a very comprehensive assessment to determine the physical and psychological issues related to smoking,” Kamath says. “That will be our guide to determine the course of treatment, including what types of interventions we use and how often the patient needs to come in. We will spend the necessary time with each patient, as the treatment is individualized. We use evidenced-based treatments, but it’s also personalized to the patient depending on co-occurring medical and psychological conditions.”
Diahann Wilcox
The program does not cover the costs of medications that may be prescribed, but participants will be directed to resources that may help cover their costs if not covered by their insurance plans. There is no out-of-pocket expense to patients for office visits.
Participation also can contribute to a greater understanding of tobacco addiction and how to beat it.
“There’s a significant research component to this,” Kamath says. “Patients will be offered to participate in a research project, a data repository. The repository will gather clinical data, genetic samples and certain biomarkers on patients participating in the project. This data will help us investigate which patients respond well to treatment, and for those who have difficulty, what are the reasons?”
To learn more about UConn Health’s Wellness and Smoking Cessation Program or to register, call 860-679-2100.
Projects Focus on Preventing Obesity in Children Birth to 2
CHDI’s report on preventing early-childhood obesity. (Click image to view report.)
The Children’s Fund of Connecticut (CFC) awarded $230,560 to fund four obesity prevention projects in Connecticut, three of which have ties to UConn.
The work will inform and advance efforts to prevent and reduce early childhood obesity by addressing risk factors in the first two years of life.
Four projects were selected from a competitive application process.
Health Messaging: UConn, Department of Nutritional Sciences
Data Development: UConn Health, Center for Public Health and Health Policy
Policy Development: UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy
Baby Friendly Hospitals: The Connecticut Breastfeeding Coalition
The grants were inspired by the Child Health and Development Institute’s (CHDI) IMPACT “Preventing Childhood Obesity: Maternal-Child Life Course Approach.” The IMPACT reviewed scientific research on the causes of obesity and explored implications for prevention and early intervention. Risk factors for early childhood obesity include: maternal pre-pregnancy weight and weight gain during pregnancy, infant feeding practices, weight gain during infancy, and eating habits during toddlerhood and preschool.
“Childhood obesity is a serious epidemic affecting one-third of children in Connecticut and nationwide,” says Judith Meyers, IMPACT co-author and president and CEO of the Children’s Fund of Connecticut and its non-profit subsidiary CHDI. “Research shows that that obesity may be very difficult to reverse if children are obese by 5 years of age. The grant projects funded today will help us get ahead of the curve by preventing the onset of obesity.”
Grant Awards
Health Messaging: $75,700, UConn, Department of Nutritional Sciences
Currently, there is minimal and varying outreach to parents regarding early optimal feeding practices, and the messages that are conveyed are often inconsistent. Effective messages will equip parents and caregivers and providers with the information they need to promote a healthy weight in young children. Principal investigator Amy Mobley, assistant professor nutritional sciences, and her staff will develop and test a set of obesity prevention messages for children birth to 24 months that are parent and caregiver focused, culturally appropriate, at appropriate literacy levels and evidence based, along with information for providers about strategies to disseminate these key messages.
Data Development: $80,000, UConn Health, Center for Public Health and Health Policy
The goal of this project is to establish a single, integrated longitudinal database containing child weight and other relevant data, beginning with the 2009 and 2010 birth cohorts, as a means of demonstrating the possibility of tracking population data for all children in Connecticut. Under the direction of Dr. Robert Trestman and Ann Ferris, this project creates a childhood obesity surveillance database using PATH (a HIPAA-compliant data matching software application) to link birth records from the Connecticut Department of Public Health with electronic health records at Community Health Center, Inc., with 12 sites across the state. Data will be analyzed to identify factors that increase the risk of being overweight at age 5 and to model the development trajectories to determine the probability of being overweight by age 5 based on a variety of factors, broken down by sex and ethnicity/race.
Policy Development: $14,990, UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy
The Rudd Center’s Director of Public Policy, Roberta R. Friedman, will conduct a review of relevant federal and state policies and regulations (Connecticut and elsewhere) to prevent obesity in children birth to 2 years of age. The results will be a database of policy, legislation, and regulation and the development of a Connecticut policy agenda on childhood obesity for children ages birth to 2. The proposed policy agenda will assist academics, practitioners, program staff, community coalitions and advocates committed to preventing and reducing early childhood obesity in Connecticut.
Baby-Friendly Hospitals: $59,870, The Connecticut Breastfeeding Coalition
The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is an international movement launched by the World Health Organization and UNICEF to increase rates of breastfeeding through policy changes in birthing hospitals. Eight of 28 birthing hospitals in Connecticut have achieved this designation. The project goals include: 1) assist Connecticut hospitals already in the process to complete their work and achieve the baby-friendly designation; 2) recruit one or more Connecticut hospital to start the baby-friendly hospital designation process; 3) strengthen the infrastructure to support hospitals moving from start to finish including developing partnerships with physicians, community providers, mothers and families; and 4) report on the sustainability and maintenance of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.
Learn more about CHDI’s work to prevent obesity in early childhood at www.chdi.org. For further information about the “Preventing Obesity in Early Childhood Grants, please visit www.childrensfundofct.org.
UConn Health continues to grow its volume of practitioners in both Farmington and Storrs Center. Here are some of those who’ve recently started seeing patients.
Dr. Hsung Lin, a graduate of the UConn School of Dental Medicine, is back with UConn. She practices family dentistry, including pediatric dentistry, in Storrs Center, where she is the director of dental services. One day a week she sees patients in the dental clinics in Farmington. In addition to general dentistry, she offers services including wisdom teeth extractions, root canals and dental implants. Lin completed her general practice residency at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center. She is fluent in Chinese.
Dr. Lenora Williams, Ob/gyn (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)
Dr. Lenora Williams joins UConn Health at Storrs Center after more than 25 years providing comprehensive individualized ob/gyn care to a diverse population of patients at her private practice in Ellington. Williams’s clinical interests include menopause, reproductive needs, pap abnormalities and HPV, adolescent reproductive health, preconception counseling, PMS and premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and minimally invasive in-office and outpatient procedures. Williams is a graduate of the UConn School of Medicine and the UConn Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program, and is a fellow of the American College of Ob/Gyn. She is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and is accredited in ob/gyn ultrasound by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.
Dr. Philip Blumenshine, psychiatry
Dr. Philip Blumenshine is a psychiatrist specialty trained in psychotherapy, including psychodynamic, brief dynamic, and supportive psychotherapy. He sees patients in Farmington, at both the new Mood and Anxiety Clinic in the main building and at Adult Psychiatric Outpatient Services office, 10 Talcott Notch Road. He also is medical director of psychiatry emergency services. Blumenshine’s training includes a psychiatry residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center and an M.D. from Weill Cornell Medical College.
Dr. Janice Oliveri, primary care (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)
Dr. Janice Oliveri, a member of the UConn School of Medicine faculty since 2000, is now part of the UConn Health primary care practice, seeing patients in the Outpatient Pavilion. Her clinical interests include preventive care, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and common dermatologic problems, and she offers office-based procedures such as joint injections and skin biopsies. She completed an internal medicine residency at UConn Health after earning her M.D. from the University of North Carolina.
Vivan Huynh is nurse practitioner, also in the primary care practice in the Outpatient Pavilion. She sees general medicine patients for chronic conditions, sick visits, urgent care, and preventive health. Huynh is an advanced practice registered nurse in adult gerontology primary care and is licensed to prescribe medications. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Fairfield University and a doctorate of nursing practice from Quinnipiac University. She is fluent in Vietnamese.
LEFT: When possible, removing a window is preferable to smashing it. RIGHT: But that’s not always possible. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health)
As construction of the new hospital building gets closer to completion, UConn Health firefighters are putting some of their focus on how to take the building apart.
With a two-story mock-up created by the contractor to showcase a portion of the tower no longer needed, the UConn Health Fire Department used it as an important training opportunity.
Firefighters Michael Alger and Brian Little breach a wall to find metal studs. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health)
“It’s almost identical in construction to the new hospital,” says Capt. John Kowalski. “It gives us a chance to go over the construction of the building so we know what we’re dealing with if we ever have to gain access, or for ventilation and rescue if we need it.”
That may involve taking out a window or cutting through a wall or roof, using a combination of power tools, brute force, and brain power to gain entry.
The exercise was as much about learning about the structure itself as it was about tactical training.
“Going into to this, we knew there were different materials, like metal and masonry in the walls and metal decking on the roof,” Kowalski says. “This helps us find out what kinds of issues we may encounter and how we can be prepared for them in a real event.”
All firefighters are trained to save lives first and preserve property second. The UConn Health Fire Department has the additional priority of business continuity – enabling the clinical operations to continue when possible.
Ideally if a window needs to go, it can be removed intact rather than smashed. On this building, the firefighters learned that was an option for some windows, but not for all of them.
Still, the destructive nature of this exercise makes it a popular one.
“I never have trouble finding volunteers for this,” Kowalski says.
Firefighter David Demarest scrapes away at insulation. Cutting in a triangular shape can help maintain a wall’s structural integrity. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health)Firefighter Brian Little tests the masonry. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health)Lt. Wendell Cote supervises as a firefighter David Noyes saws into the metal skin of the exterior. The nearby window was removed intact. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health)The mock-up also provides an opportunity to cut through the roof. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health)
Dozens of women to benefit from gift to UConn Foundation
Dr. Bruce Liang, Dean of the UConn Health School of Medicine, Wanita Thorpe, academic administrative manager of the Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center, Sue Tenore and Adam Clemens of the Linda Clemens Breast Cancer Foundation, Richard Carbray Jr. of the Linda Clemens Breast Cancer Foundation, the UConn Health Board of Directors and UConn Board of Trustees, and Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, executive vice president for health affairs at UConn Health. (Photo by UConn Provost Mun Choi).
Up to 60 women who are either uninsured or underinsured will receive free and potentially life-saving mammograms this year at UConn Health, thanks to a recent $6,000 donation from the Linda Clemens Breast Cancer Foundation.
“Many of these women would not go for mammograms otherwise because they have no coverage,” says Richard Carbray Jr., a member of the UConn Health’s board of directors who helped facilitate the gift.
The gift, to be paid in two $3,000 installments, was presented to the UConn Foundation’s Linda Clemens Fund at a recent UConn Health board of directors meeting. The funds will help support the mammogram program.
“We’re trying to reach out to as many as we can in the community, really the Hartford-based community. It’s about trying to get out there and work together to eradicate the disease,” says Carbray, who also sits on the board of directors of the Linda Clemens Breast Cancer Foundation and recently was elected to his second term as a member of UConn’s Board of Trustees.
This is the second year the Linda Clemens Breast Cancer Foundation has made the generous donation to the Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center at UConn Health. The program has already provided 35 free mammogram screenings.
“That means a whole lot to us, just the fact that there were 35 women out there who really couldn’t have afforded it and we helped them,” says Adam Clemens, one of the founders of the Linda Clemens Breast Cancer Foundation.
“Breast cancer survival rates increase exponentially the earlier you catch it,” Clemens says.
Breast cancer survivor Rosanne Palazzolo started the foundation in 2011 with Clemens, who lost his own mother, Linda, to breast cancer when he was 7 years old. Their first fundraiser, the Pink Glove Gala, was so popular it has become an annual event.
About a year ago, with Carbray’s help, the Linda Clemens Foundation asked to meet with leaders of UConn Health’s breast program to inquire about how they could partner together. They decided to focus on early detection through annual screenings for underserved and uninsured women.
“Our comprehensive breast team educates women at various community outreach events throughout the year on 3D mammography and early detection,’’ says Wanita Thorpe, academic administrative manager for the Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center. “But to tell a woman with no insurance we can offer her a free mammogram can be life changing.’’
In addition to funding the mammograms, the Linda Clemens Foundation provides “chemo care bags” for UConn patients that consist of games, lotion, nail care items, hats, and candy.
The foundation has also donated 30 $50 Stop & Shop cards for patients who sometimes fall on hard times during their cancer treatments, Thorpe says.
The Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club of Hartford and New England Sickle Cell Institute faculty and staff pose for a photo at the First Annual Ride for Sickle Cell Research. (Wanita Thorpe/UConn Health)
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited blood disorder that can cause severe pain and permanent damage to the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, bones and spleen. SCD is most common in Africans and African-Americans, however, it is also found in other ethnic and racial groups, including people from South and Central America, the Caribbean, Mediterranean countries, and India.
Individuals who have SCD need multidisciplinary care throughout their lives to treat and prevent complications from the disease and manage their pain. Most institutions provide only pediatric sickle cell treatment. At UConn Health, Dr. Biree Andemariam, assistant professor of medicine, is among a small number of physician-scientists nationally who specialize in caring for adults living with SCD. She leads the only comprehensive adult sickle cell program in northern Connecticut. The team-based approach includes a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, social workers, and community-based patient navigators working together.
The New England Sickle Cell Institute welcomes its newest staff member, nurse practitioner Mary Samson. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)
The New England Sickle Cell Institute (NESCI) attracts patients and families from across Connecticut and beyond. NESCI is also home to basic, translational, and clinical research aimed at elucidating basic mechanisms of the disease and developing novel therapeutic options for this orphan disease. NESCI’s success rests in its unique, heartfelt dedication of it’s staff: nurse coordinator Nayre Greene, social worker Teresa Works, infusion nurse Ruby Faye Noviasky, medical assistant Iris Reyes, clinical research assistant Sasia Jones, in addition to its newest member, nurse practitioner Mary Samson.
“The New England Sickle Cell Institute provides a full range of comprehensive care that focuses on prevention as well as acute care,” says Andemariam. “We are the only site in the region to offer erythrocytapheresis, a procedure commonly used to remove red blood cells in patients experiencing sickle cell crisis,” added Andemariam. “The support of the Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center, John Dempsey Hospital and UConn School of Medicine has been instrumental in our ability to provide desperately needed care for a long-neglected subset of our community. This is evidenced by newly designated space to provide dedicated acute and chronic disease management. With this support, the future of adults living with sickle cell disease is bright.”
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 860-679-2100.
