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Please Welcome

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Adam Bodzin, MD, has joined the Division of Transplant Surgery. Dr. Bodzin completed the General Surgery Residency Program at Jefferson in 2013 and a Transplant Surgery Fellowship at UCLA Medical Center. He sees patients at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Lankenau Medical Center

Hien Dang, PhD, has joined the Division of Surgical Research. Dr. Dang received a PhD in Molecular Medicine from Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. Most recently she was a Postdoctoral Fellow supported by a Cancer Research Training Award at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. There, she worked in the …

Rosalind Page Doesn’T Give Up — She Gives Back

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

The 67-year-old Philadelphia native actively manages a number of chronic conditions, including asthma, high blood pressure and spinal pain. And she’s a two-time champion, beating breast cancer in 2006 and again in 2015. Since February 2016, she has expressed her appreciation for the Jefferson Breast Care Center through monthly gifts supporting two of her providers: surgical oncologist and high-risk breast specialist, Adam Berger, MD, FACS, and radiation oncologist, Nicole L. Simone, MD.

She lauds all her Jefferson physicians for their expertise as well as their care and concern, noting that she especially values how they speak with her and address …

Awards & Accomplishments

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Geno Merli, MD, is the 2018 recipient of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College Career Educator Award.

Drs. Melissa Lazar, Joshua Marks, David Rittenhouse, and Alliric Willis, each received a Sidney Kimmel Medical College Dean’s Award for Excellence in Education.

Scott Cowan, MD, was appointed Medical Director of Quality and Safety at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Gerald Isenberg, MD, has been named President-Elect of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Medical Staff.

Lisa Bevilacqua, MD (PGY1), received the Patricia Numann Medical Student Award from the Association of Women Surgeons (AWS). Named in honor of the founder of …

Jcirp Achieves Global Reach And Local Impact

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Since its launch in 2014, the Jefferson Center for Injury Research and Prevention (JCIRP) has been designed on the model for Injury Control Research Centers (ICRCs) put forth by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As one of just 30 ICRCs in the U.S., JCIRP remains committed to addressing the challenges outlined in the CDC Injury Research Agenda for 2009-2018 and the Pennsylvania Injury Prevention and Control Plan. “We are making great strides in fostering interdisciplinary collaboration across campus and community borders – all with the goal of saving lives and reducing disability,” says Stanton Miller, MD, MPH, …

Meet The Interns

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

The Department has welcomed an impressive group of categorical interns selected from over 1350 applicants to our program. These doctors, who matched with Jefferson, started on June 20, 2018. Please welcome (from left to right):

Prashanth Palvannan, MD Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Lisa Bevilaqua, MD Stony Brook University School of Medicine

Brian Till, MD College of Medicine at University of Vermont

Uzma Rahman, MD Stony Brook University School of Medicine

Walker Lyons, MD Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University

Devon Pace, MD University of Illinois College of Medicine

We are also pleased to welcome the following preliminary …

Department Of Surgery Launches Opioid Reduction Initiative

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Fourth year general surgery resident Megan Lundgren, MD, and a team of researchers led by Scott Cowan, MD, FACS, Vice Chair for Quality for the Department of Surgery, initiated a project aimed at examining Jefferson’s opioid prescribing practices in the perioperative period. The team surveyed more than 400 patients who had undergone general surgery procedures at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. After identifying how many opioids each had been prescribed, they interviewed patients to understand how many they actually took, how many pills were left over and how the leftover pills were being stored and/or disposed of.

“The results of that …

1968 - Fifty Years On..., Charles Yeo

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

As a senior member of the surgical community here at Jefferson, I have immense faith in our future. It is worth underscoring the famous quote of George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Events this year have prompted me to recall the crucial events of my teenage years, specifically the year 1968. Three sources have served to underscore my memories: a CNN special, the Jan/Feb issue of Smithsonian entitled “The Year that Shattered America,” and an exhibit at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul, MN. Seismic events occurred in 1968: (1) in January, …

A Bold Benchmark

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Richard W. Hevner served in the U.S. Marines and is an executive with Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC. While he may not seem an obvious choice to spearhead a bold breast cancer initiative, that’s exactly what he’s doing as part of his role on the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center Advisory Council.

Known as Project 200K by 2024, the initiative aims to increase mammograms within the Jefferson Enterprise to 200,000 per year in just six years. It’s a goal that Hevner is passionate about achieving: “By increasing the number of mammograms, we can also perform more biopsies and surgical procedures and, ultimately, …

Jefferson Breast Care Center Offers Innovative And Comprehensive Care

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

In honor of October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Jefferson Breast Care Center recently hosted a Breast Cancer and Related Diseases Symposium for patients, families and other members of the public. On Saturday, October 20, they gathered in the Dorrance H. Hamilton Building on Jefferson’s Center City campus to learn about some of the latest advances in clinical treatments and research into breast cancer.

The Jefferson Breast Care Center now offers patients a seamless experience from diagnosis to treatment—weaving together breast imaging, pathology, radiation and medical oncology, and surgical oncology, along with the region’s leading plastic surgeons for cosmetic mastectomies …

Full Issue: Volume 13, Number 2 - Fall 2018

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

A publication for friends and colleagues of Jefferson’s Department of Surgery

In This Issue

Clinical Integration

Department of Surgery Launches Opioid Reduction Initiative - Page 2

Changing Lives Through Research

JCIRP Achieves Global Reach and Local Impact - Page 3

Awards & Accomplishments

Page 3

Those Who Give

Rosalind Page Doesn't Give Up - She Gives Back - Page 4

News In Brief

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Congratulations to Scott Cowan, MD, FACS, and Francesco Palazzo, MD, FACS, on their inductions into the Society of University Surgeons.

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The 8th Samuel D. Gross Professor and chair of the Department of Surgery, Charles J. Yeo, MD, FACS, received the Achievement Award in Medicine at the 15th Annual Jefferson Gala on November 28, 2017. The event, held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, set new records for attendance (1,050) and funds raised ($2.1 million) to benefit the Department of Surgery Research and Education Fund and the launch of the Philadelphia Collaborative for Health Equity. Ukee Washington, news anchor …

Staying In Gear: 10 Years Of Raising Funds, Awareness For Colorectal Cancer

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

When it comes to planning and managing events, Maria Grasso is truly a pro. As a Senior Director of National Accounts with the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, she has executed numerous events, including the 2017 NFL Draft, with aplomb.

Outside work, she applies those skills as Executive Director of Get Your Rear in Gear Philadelphia (GYRIG). For Grasso – who lost both her father and grandfather to colorectal cancer – the project is deeply personal.

After learning of the first Colon Cancer Coalition’s GYRIG event in 2005, Grasso was motivated to bring the effort to Philadelphia. She organized the …

On The Job: Betty Coyle

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Step into Suite 605 in the College Building and you’ll receive a friendly greeting from the Department of Surgery’s Administrative Secretary Betty Coyle. Since taking her post 21 years ago, Betty has been making sure the front office is orderly, well supplied and welcoming to staff and guests alike. In addition to those responsibilities, she supports the intensivist group and coordinates the busy schedule of Jonathan Brody, PhD, Vice Chair for Surgical Research.

Betty first joined Jefferson in 1973 as a library technician. She ordered medical books, kept the library’s budget and helped start the Patient Education Resource Collection (PERC) …

Where Innovation Accelerates: Office Of Strategic Business Development & Partnerships

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Innovation is everywhere – from smartphones in virtually every consumer’s pocket to groundbreaking business and operating models shaking up entire industries. How can disruptive innovations make a positive impact on healthcare in general and the Jefferson enterprise in particular?

That’s the central question that the Office of Strategic Business Development & Partnerships at Jefferson, established at the end of last year, is addressing. Rajesh Aggarwal, MD, PhD, FCRS, FACS, serves as Senior Vice President for Strategic Business Development in addition to maintaining his bariatric surgery practice as a Professor of Surgery.

Dr. Aggarwal explains that the Office isn’t facilitating the …

Please Welcome

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

The Department is pleased to welcome 2 new acute care surgeons to the Level I Regional Resource Trauma Center at Jefferson. Both accomplished fellowship-trained surgeons joined the faculty in October as clinical assistant professors. Please welcome:

Neeta Chaudhary, MD, PhD, completed the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Buffalo, a General Surgery residency at Stony Brook University School of Medicine and an Acute Care Surgery fellowship at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She is dual certified in General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care.

Annika Storey, DO, graduated from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, …

Getting ‘Social’: Surgeons Use Online Networks To Share Science, Educate Patients And Improve Public Health

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

When Heather Logghe, MD, emerged as an expert in why and how surgeons can use social media channels, Rajesh Aggarwal, MD, PhD, (See Innovation) recruited her to Jefferson as a Surgical Research Fellow. In addition to founding the #ILookLikeASurgeon movement, Dr. Logghe is a co-author of “Best Practices for Surgeons’ Social Media Use: Statement of the Resident and Associate Society of the American College of Surgeons.” She also serves as the Society’s social media chair.

Dr. Logghe explains that encouraging surgeons to embrace social media is a relatively new trend. In the earliest days of social networks, all physicians …

Joy Of Practice For Surgeons, Charles Yeo, Md, Facs

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Two recent issues of the New England Journal of Medicine caught my attention: January 25 and March 1, 2018. Both issues included thoughtful and provocative discussions of physician burnout and its sequelae.

In the January issue, Wright and Katz discuss the negative impact of electronic health records (EHRs) on patient care and physician satisfaction. Over half of US physicians report symptoms of burnout, such as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization or a poor sense of accomplishment. While primary care seems to be at highest risk, surgeons are heavily affected. Burnout is associated with higher rates of depression, suicidal thoughts and substance abuse. …

Nursing Notes: Helping Patients Soar, Michelle Hughes, Rn

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

“SOAR stands for Survivors Offering Assistance in Recovery – a program of the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors. The Phoenix Society was founded in 1977 by Alan Breslau, a resident of Levittown, PA, who had suffered extensive burns in a commercial airline crash in the early 1960s.

“Through the SOAR program, we’re connecting people who share the experience of a burn injury. That includes burn survivors themselves, as well as their loved ones. Through one-to-one interactions and support groups with survivors, new burn victims are given hope and firsthand information from the only people who fully understand what they are …

Jefferson Burn Center To Set Standard For Comprehensive Care

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

William B. Hughes, MD, and Michelle Hughes, RN, have spent most of their careers caring for burn patients. Since launching the Jefferson Burn Center in November 2017, they have been instilling their unique experience and expertise within Jefferson’s Level 1 Trauma Center – and have a vision to be the region’s premier provider of comprehensive clinical care and related services to burn patients.

Dr. Hughes discovered the burn care specialty during a residency rotation at St. Agnes Hospital, which was Philadelphia’s burn center at that time. The director became his mentor and eventually recruited Dr. Hughes to the hospital. From …

Full Issue: Volume 13, Number 1 - Spring 2018

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

In This Issue

Clinical Integration

Getting ‘Social’: Surgeons Use Online Networks to Share Science, Educate Patients and Improve Public Health – Page 2

Innovation Where Innovation Accelerates

Office of Strategic Business Development & Partnerships – Page 3

On the Job

Betty Coyle – Page 3

Those Who Give

Staying in Gear: 10 Years of Raising Funds, Awareness for Colorectal Cancer – Page 4