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Geriatric Researcher’s Study Could Lead to More Effective Flu Shot

Posted on December 20, 2018December 27, 2018 by Chris DeFrancesco

Jenna Bartley, Ph.D. — UConn Health geriatrics researcher Jenna Bartley (UConn Health photo)

UConn Health geriatrics researcher Jenna Bartley has won a $120,000 grant from the American Federation of Aging Research for her study of the effect of a diabetes drug on the immune system.

Bartley, a new assistant professor in the UConn Health Center on Aging and Department of Immunology, was one of eight postdoctoral fellows in the United States to receive a 2018 Irene Diamond Fund/AFAR Postdoctoral Transition Award in Aging.

She is preparing a study of the drug metformin, approved by the Food and Drug Administration to influence metabolism in people with type 2 diabetes, to determine its potential relationship to immune response.

“I will explore how altered metabolism contributes to poor immune responses in older adults, as well as explore a potential therapeutic intervention to improve flu vaccine responses in this vulnerable population,” Bartley says. “Since methods to enhance vaccine efficacy in older adults are limited, this research could provide the groundwork to develop metabolic adjuvants to improve vaccine responses and reduce infectious disease related morbidity and mortality in this population.”

Related:
‘In Discovery: Fortifying the Flu Shot’
UConn Health Blog

Early next summer, Bartley will start recruiting older adults who don’t have diabetes or prediabetes. The study will randomly place each participant in one of two groups: One group will receive metformin and the other will receive a placebo.

The Irene Diamond Fund/AFAR Program provides full-time research training and flexible and portable grant support to senior postdoctoral fellows as they transfer to faculty positions.

New England Sickle Cell Institute News

Posted on October 19, 2015October 6, 2016 by Christine Kaminski

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

Photo of Nayre Greene, RN, BSN (J. Gelineau/UConn Health — 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 (Janine. Gelineau/UConn Health) — 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.”

UConn Health Honored for Heart Attack Care

Posted on June 18, 2015April 4, 2018 by Chris DeFrancesco

UConn Health is a 2015 winner of the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline Gold Receiving Quality Achievement Award for treatment of heart attack patients at John Dempsey Hospital.

UConn Health’s John Dempsey Hospital has received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® Gold Receiving Quality Achievement Award for its treatment of heart attack patients.

The award recognizes hospitals, emergency medical services, and referring centers for their efforts to improve quality care for those who suffer severe heart attack, or ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

“UConn Health is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our patients who suffer a heart attack, and the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program is helping us accomplish that goal through nationally respected clinical guidelines,” says John Dempsey Hospital CEO Anne Diamond. “We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in cardiac care, and I am very proud of our team.”

UConn Health earned the award by meeting specific criteria and standards of performance for the quick and appropriate treatment of STEMI patients by providing emergency procedures to re-establish blood flow to blocked arteries when needed. The gold award level recognizes two consecutive calendar years of meeting these criteria.

“We commend UConn Health for this achievement award, which reflects a significant institutional commitment to the highest quality of care for their heart attack patients,” says Dr. James G. Jollis, chair of the Mission: Lifeline Advisory Working Group and president of the North Carolina Chapter of the American College of Cardiology. “We applaud them for their commitment to quality and timely care.”

The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program’s goal is to reduce system barriers to prompt treatment for heart attacks, beginning with the 9-1-1 call and continuing through hospital treatment. The program helps hospitals and emergency medical services develop systems of care that follow proven standards and procedures for STEMI patients. It works by mobilizing teams across the continuum of care to implement American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation clinical treatment guidelines. For more information, visit heart.org/missionlifeline and heart.org/quality.

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Allen Meckowski Honored as Husky Hero

Posted on May 22, 2015October 27, 2016 by Chris DeFrancesco

Dr. Andy Agwinobi presents Allen Meckowski with the Husky Hero Award. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)

Allen Meckowski, a clinical coordinator in the UConn Health Department of Dermatology, has been recognized as a Husky Hero.

Meckowski is one of 23 UConn Health employees or volunteers who received a Human Resources PAWS award, which stands for:

Part of a team,
Awesome attitude,
Wonderful work ethic, and
Superior service.

PAWS awards honor those who consistently perform above and beyond the expectations of their job. Four-time PAWS recipients earn the distinction of Husky Hero.

HR’s Pride in People subcommittee presented PAWS awards at a reception Thursday in the Onyiuke Dining Room:

Danielle Andrews, CMHC – Hartford – Medical
Ronald Arnone, Dermatology Clinic
Nancy Baccaro, Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center
Joan Blythe, Procedure Center Unit
Barbara Baron, Medicine 4
Barbara Bowman, Cardiology
Francis Couillard, Information Technology – Network Services
Charlene DeCampos, CMHC – MYI – Medical
Michael Deckers, Volunteer
Patricia Lane, UMG – Internal Medicine – Canton
Meghan Laughlan, Intensive Care Unit
Cindy Letavec, CMHC – Cheshire – Medical
Sean Macrae, CMHC – Osborn – Medical
Joan Montgomery, JDH – Organizational & Staff Development
Robert Ramonas, CMHC – Osborn – Medical
Jessica Reyes, Patient Access
Luann Satherlie, UMG – Administration
Jennifer St. Onge, Dermatology Clinic
Bryan Wasik, Dermatology Clinic
Robert Wilkie, Information Technology – Network Services
Heidi Whiteley, CMHC – MacDougal/Walker – Medical
Sohrab Zahedi, M.D, CMHC – Hartford – Mental Health

AMA Honor for UConn Medical Student

Posted on May 20, 2015April 30, 2018 by Chris DeFrancesco

Harrison Hayward, UConn School of Medicine Class of 2017, is a recipient of the American Medical Association Foundation Excellence in Medical Leadership Award. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)

The American Medical Association Foundation has presented one of its 2015 Excellence in Medicine Leadership Awards to Harrison Hayward, a second-year student at the UConn School of Medicine.

Hayward is one of 10 medical students in the United States to receive the honor, which recognizes “strong, nonclinical leadership skills in advocacy, community service, public health and/or education.”

“I am endlessly grateful to the AMA for extending me this award, and to my family, friends, and medical school for all the support they’ve given me along the way,” Hayward says. “It’s an enormous honor to receive this recognition. I look forward to learning what I can from it and developing the right connections in order to be an even better physician in the future.”

The AMA Foundation recognized Hayward for founding a recreational support group for persons with disabilities and their families in the greater Hartford community, and for establishing himself as local Special Olympics program leader.

The award also acknowledges Hayward’s work abroad last summer. He was part of the Himalayan Health Exchange, a group that provided medical care to villagers in remote southern Himalayan settlements.

“We dealt with all sorts of things: infectious diseases, dermatological conditions, dental work, orthopedics, etc.,” he says. “The expedition really solidified my passion for global health initiatives and has been a potent motivator for my work ever since.”

Hayward also is a board member of the UConn School of Medicine Outreach Clinic at the South Park Inn, which provides free primary care medical services to the transient residents of the South Park Inn Shelter in Hartford.

Hayward is pursuing a career in surgery, and aspires to couple that with his interests in global health and care for the mentally disabled to be come a physician, educator, and leader in global health policy.

This year’s recipients of the AMA Foundation Excellence in Medical Leadership Award also included two residents, two early-career physicians, and one fellow.