PICTURESOF HEALTH
SPRING 2002
A pub l icat ion fo r f r iends o f t he Un iver s i ty o f Minnesot a
Teens’ WeightyIssuesPage 6
Rural HealthSchool
Page 10
AffordablePrescriptions
Page 15
Mentoringprograms in the
AHC promotesuccess. Garrett
Peterson’s advicewas indispensable
for Katie Brownas she prepared
to launch hernursing career.
Page 8.
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Pictures of Health is published four times a year for friends of the AcademicHealth Center. Suggestions and letters are welcome. Please send to Pictures ofHealth, Academic Health Center, MailCode 735, A-395 Mayo Building, 420Delaware St. S.E., Minneapolis, MN55455, or to [email protected]: 612-624-5100
For more information about the Academic Health Center and its sevenschools and colleges, refer to the Web site at www.ahc.umn.edu.
EditorAllison Campbell
PhotographyRichard Anderson (unless noted),Allison Campbell, and Renee Knoeber
Graphic Designk. sheahan graphic design
Publications ManagerMark Engebretson
Director of CommunicationsMary Koppel
Associate Vice President Terry Bock
Senior Vice President forHealth SciencesFrank B. Cerra
School of DentistryPeter Polverini, Dean
Medical SchoolAlfred Michael, Dean
School of Medicine, Duluth Richard Ziegler, Dean
School of NursingSandra Edwardson, Dean
College of PharmacyMarilyn Speedie, Dean
School of Public HealthMark Becker, Dean
College of Veterinary MedicineJeffrey Klausner, Dean
PICTURESOF HEALTH
The promise of pharmacogenomics will be tempered
by the reality that individualized therapies are still a
distant goal, said Jeffrey Kahn, director of the Center for
Bioethics, at the Feb. 26 conference, Pharmacogenomics:
the Legal, Ethical, and Clinical Challenges.
To download conference video from the Web, go to
http://www.jointdegree.umn.edu/conferences/ .
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PICTURESOF HEALTH
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
MEDICAL STUDENT REHANA AHMED, AT RIGHT, WAS MATCHED WITH
PRE-MEDICAL STUDENT CLOUA VANG THROUGH A MINORITY-STUDENT
MENTORING PROGRAM. PAGE 8.
NURSING STUDENT LAURIE KING ENHANCED HER BOOK LEARNING WITH
REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE IN THE RURAL HEALTH SCHOOL. PAGE 10.
GREG VERCELLOTTI TALKS WITH PRODUCER TONYA FEMAL AS LUKE LOGAN
PREPARES TO TAPE “HEALTH TALK & YOU.” PAGE 16.
MAKING CONNECTIONS 8Mentoring bolsters education, boosts careers, and buildsfriendships among faculty, students, and community members.
COUNTRY ROADS 10The Rural Health School brings the latest in interdisciplinaryhealth-professional education to Minnesota’s small towns.
FIELD STUDIES 12A new program uses technology and innovation to conveymuch-needed public health education to practitioners aroundthe Midwest.
PETCARE UNLEASHED 13From silly jokes to guidance on choosing a pet, a popularCollege of Veterinary Medicine Web site has something foreveryone.
FIRST IMPRESSION 14The School of Dentistry’s new partnership in a Hibbing clinicbenefits the community as well as students.
NEEDS-BASED PRESCRIPTIONS 15Prescribing drugs to patients with little income and skimpyinsurance takes sensitivity and creativity.
4A quick look at news from the Academic Health Center.
SNAPSHOTS+
DISCIPLINESCROSSING
Back Page: Focal Point
EDUCATION
BRIDGING THE GAP 5Latinos in Minnesota contributed to a report on healthdisparities and ways to overcome them.
THE FIT CLUB 6If teens now are less fit than they used to be, what does it mean for their health as adults?
ALTERNATE ROUTE 7Understanding of stem cells continues to grow, as aresearcher shows that it might be possible to use adultstem cells in gene therapy.
OUTREACH
REEARCHSEARCH
“Health Talk & YoU” has a new look.
4
The School of Nursing expands to Rochester in fall 2002 with anew Bachelor of Science program. “The expansion of the Bachelorof Science in Nursing is part of the University of Minnesota’scommitment to the state to address the health professionalworkforce shortage and meet the health care needs of the 21st
century,” says SandraEdwardson, dean ofthe School of Nursing.The Rochesternursing program, ajoint effort with theMayo Clinic, willadmit up to 30nursing students ayear. Students willearn a University ofMinnesota degreefrom the oldestcontinuinguniversity nursingprogram in theUnited States.
TheOccupationalTherapyprogramrecentlyestablished anew fellowshipfund, thanksto alumRichard J.McCauley.McCauley,class of ’52,laid the
foundation for the BorghildHansen Memorial Fellowship with a $25,000 challenge
grant, which was more than matched in December 2001 by giftsfrom friends and alumni. The total will be doubled again by aGraduate School program. The memorial funds will help recruitexcellent students to the program, which was founded in 1946 byHansen. The firstawards were madethis February tostudents entering inthe fall. OccupationalTherapy preparesstudents to work withchildren and adultswho have physical,cognitive, oremotional disabilitiesthat interfere withtheir ability toengage in life’stasks.
Jonathan Ravdin has been elected a fellow in the American Associationfor the Advancement of Science inrecognition of more than 20 years ofresearch into treatment and preventionof the tropical disease amebiasis.Ravdin, who is chairman of the MedicalSchool’s Department of Medicine,continues to direct a research team on amebiasis, a form of dysentery.“Jonathan Ravdin’s research in thisarea is of vital importance in improving
the lives of millions of people living in the Third World,” saysMedical School Dean Alfred Michael.
The workings of a molecularmotor that packages viral DNAhas been described by DwightAnderson, School of Dentistrymicrobiologist, and researchassociate Shelley Grimes.Working in conjunction withUniversity of Californiaphysicists, Anderson andGrimes found that one simplevirus packs its genetic materialso forcefully into a protein shellthat great pressure builds up.Then, this internal force may beunleashed to inject the geneticmaterial into a susceptible hostcell. Anderson and Grimes’sfindings may have implicationsfor treating similar humanviruses that cause herpessimplex, chicken pox and shingles, by interfering with the viralDNA–packaging process. Their study was reported in the Oct. 18,2001, issue of Nature.
Ben McKinley, fourth-yearmedical student, examinesthe knee of a StandardizedPatient. After the exam, thepatient steps out of his tightlyscripted role and, along witha faculty member, providesfeedback to McKinley. Theyare taking part in theObjective StructuredClinical Examination. Asimilar exam was once a riteof passage, says Ilene Harris,director of Medical Educationand Development in theMedical School; now theresults contribute to thegrade for the Primary CareClerkship course. To measurestudents’ ability to assess and manage primary-care patients, theysee 15 patients, for only 10 minutes each, including a Hmong childwith pneumonia, a person with hypertension, and a diabetic whowants help choosing a health plan. Says Harris: “It’s a very toughday in the clinic.”
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SNAPSHOTS+
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Dear Friends of the Academic Health Center,
I’d like to thank you all for your continued support
for our work in preparing the new health professionals
for Minnesota. Thanks to your support, the Legislature
maintained the AHC Education Endowments funded
through tobacco settlement payments.
This year, our state joins many others in facing
unprecedented budget deficits and has had to make
tough financial decisions with long-term consequences.
The University will absorb nearly $25 million in cuts—
cuts that will be felt here within the schools and colleges
of the Academic Health Center.
However, the AHC Education Endowments help
provide a much-needed resource to fund the rebuilding
of our faculty, education, and research within the health
professional schools. That means we’ll be able to con-
tinue our work improving health and discovering and
delivering new treatments and cures on behalf of
Minnesota. We look forward to better economic times
when the state will be able to restore the University’s
budget cuts.
Frank B. Cerra
5
RE SEARCHSEARCH
Minnesota’s economic health has benefitedgreatly in recent years from an influx ofLatino immigrants. Once facing labor short-ages, such core industries as food processingand retail services in rural and urban areashave hired Spanish-speaking laborers indroves. But a recent checkup shows thathealth of that growing Latino populationmay be in jeopardy.
Minnesota Latinos face significant hur-dles in accessing health care, according to astudy recently completed by Lynn Blewett, aSchool of Public Health assistant professor.Though this burgeoning population grew 166percent during the 1990s and now tops morethan 143,000 individuals, nearly one in everyfive Latinos living in Minnesota is withoutinsurance. Language, of course, is oneimpediment, but additional barriers alsoaffect the group’s ability to seek and obtainproper care and adequate coverage.
For starters, many Latinos come fromcountries with nationalized health care systems. “New immigrants don’t have a concept of what insurance is,” says Blewett,who is in the Division of Health ServicesResearch and Policy. “They go to a clinicand think they’re covered.” Some may haveemployers who provide health insurance, butthe concept of co-pays and deductibles isbaffling to many new immigrants. And those
without work-related coverage face a dizzy-ing array of options: Medicare, Medicaid,MinnesotaCare.
Using roughly $75,000 infoundation and governmentgrants, Blewett worked with the Hispanic Advocacy andCommunity Empowermentthrough Research (HACER) and several other Latino-affiliatedorganizations to develop a com-munity-based research methodology. Over aperiod of two years, she met with dozens ofLatinos in focus groups across the state.“The individuals who were interviewed forthis report wanted to tell somebody whattheir issues were with regard to health care,”says HACER director Claudia Fuentes.
Participants told stories of the high costof care, confusion over coverage and bene-fits, and frustration with the lack of materialavailable in Spanish. Many Latinos werereluctant to sign up for state and federalprograms, expressing a distrust of the U.S.government largely fueled by deportationworries. Others indicated they’d ratherspend money on food than medical cover-age: If they needed medicine, for example,relatives in Mexico could obtain it for freeand send it through the mail.
Blewett’s report, “Disparities in HealthAccess: Voices from Minnesota’s LatinoCommunity,” recommends a number ofchanges to remedy such access problems.She advocates for the creation of “welcomecenters” around the state that could test newimmigrants for disease and provide preven-tative screening tests for such ailments as
diabetes, which is widely prevalent in theLatino community. These welcome centers,set up in locations other than governmentcenters, would be safe havens where individ-
uals could ask questions aboutinsurance programsand learn about the U.S. health caresystem, too.
The study also calls for the development of “enroll-ment specialists” who would be based in neighborhood community centers andspeak Spanish to facilitate enrollment inMinnesotaCare and other public programs.
Additionally, the report proposes usingMinnesotaCare and State Children’s HealthInsurance Program funds to subsidize premi-ums offered by low-wage employers toincrease access to private insurance.
Given recent cutbacks in state governmentspending, Blewett isn’t optimistic that suchchanges will happen this year. But the studycould provide leverage in the years ahead forchange at the Legislature or in the departmentsof Health and Health and Human Services.Fuentes says Latino groups are eager to sharethe recommendations with state leaders.
“I really feel like we’ve opened up a dis-cussion about what are some of the concernsabout public health and access to coveragein the immigrant community,” Blewett says.“This is about providing a bridge to the newcountry, and giving Latinos the tools theyneed to be successful.”
■ Joel Hoekstra
ONE OF LYNN BLEWETT’S PARTNERS IN RESEARCH
ON LATINO HEALTH WAS CLAUDIA FUENTES
(AT RIGHT) OF THE HISPANIC ADVOCACY AND
COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT THROUGH RESEARCH.
“New immigrants goto a clinic and think
they’re covered.”—Lynn Blewett
Latinos inMinnesota contributed toa report on their barriersto good health care—andhow to overcome them.
GAPBridging the
6
Paul Moor’s four children areactive, athletic, and eat healthyfoods. In America today, how-ever, Moor’s children arebecoming the exception.
Supersize sodas, fast food,and our culture’s fascinationwith the Internet, video games,and television contribute to theincrease in overweight children.In December, then SurgeonGeneral David Satcher declaredthat obesity is reaching“epidemic proportions”in the United States,and could soon causeas much preventabledisease and death ascigarette smoking.
That’s not news toAlan Sinaiko, professorof pediatrics in theMedical School.Sinaiko has workedsince the early 1980s onstudies of cardiovascularrisk factors in children. In studies of Minneapolis publicschool children, he found that,on average, children measuredin 1996 have higher blood pressures and a greater bodymass index than those measuredin 1986.
Sinaiko’s research teamcontinues to follow samples ofthe two groups and the familiesof the 1996 group, which includesthe Moor family of Minneapolis.Most troubling of his findings:These overweight adolescentslikely are tomorrow’s heart-attack,stroke, or diabetes patients.
“The goal of this study is to determine the relationship ofhigh blood pressure and choles-terol and obesity to somethingthat’s called the insulin resist-ance syndrome,” says Sinaiko.
In his 1996 study of 287Minneapolis school children,Sinaiko used what’s called an“insulin clamp” procedure tomeasure the way the bodyprocesses insulin. He tested each
child twice—at age 13 and 15—to see how muchglucose wasmetabolized bythe body. Insulinresistance resultswhen the bodytakes up too littleglucose.
Insulin resist-ance is associatedwith type 2 dia-betes and heart
disease in adults. By age 13, forboth males and females, higherinsulin resistance was alreadyassociated with higher cholesterollevels, high blood pressure, andtotal body fatness, Sinaiko says.
“The reason that that is soimportant is that we know thatobesity is associated with thedevelopment of type 2 diabetesand we know that there is anincreasing incidence of type 2 diabetes in children.”
What’s unique aboutSinaiko’s study is that it’sbelieved to be the only study in the world using the
insulin-clamp study on such alarge group.
“I had always thought theconcepts of cholesterol andblood pressure were importantfor the heart, but I wasn’t awarethat those factors could lead todiabetes,” says Moor. It wasimportant information for hisfamily, since a relative of Moor’swife died from diabetes. Still, hischildren didn’t need to modifybehaviors since they are activeand eat healthy foods. “For themost part we were doing kindof the right things anyway.”
Many aren’t—even thoughthe evidence is overwhelmingthat regular exercise and healthyfoods will lead to healthier bodies.
“Kids are getting less exercisetoday,” says Russell Luepker,professor of epidemiology in theSchool of Public Health, who hasworked with Sinaiko. He saysschools don’t require as muchphysical education and kidsaren’t getting exercise at home,either. “Parents don’t send theirkids outside to play anymore ashappened when we were kids.”
It’s not just lack of exercise.
Our culture does notencourage healthy dining. “Let’sface it, to eat healthy can cost alot of money,” Sinaiko says. “Asfar as I know there aren’t anytake-out, fast-food restaurantsthat serve healthy food.”
While exercise and sensibleeating is key, Sinaiko adds thatthere’s more to be learned.“There’s been a lot of publicityabout obesity,” he says, “but thefact is that we’re just gettingaround to studying it in children.”
Satcher calls for moreresearch funding dedicated toeradicating obesity. Sinaiko saysresearchers need to understand“how people become obesebesides eating. And we needmore money to understandwhat kind of interventions areeffective and for whom they are effective.”
■ Mark Engebretson
Teens are heavierthan they used to be,which bodes ill fortheir adult health.
We’re justgetting
around tostudying
obesity inchildren.
—Alan Sinaiko
TheFit Club
ALAN SINAIKO’S RESEARCH INDICATES THAT OVERWEIGHT ADOLESCENTS
LIKELY ARE TOMORROW’S HEART-ATTACK, STROKE, OR DIABETES PATIENTS.
7
RE SEARCHSEARCH
Stem cells present one of the more frus-trating ethical dilemmas biomedical researchhas had to face in recent years. In the late1990s, scientists discovered that certain cellsfound in human embryos can produce avariety of tissue types—bone, blood, brain,and more—when grown in the laboratory.That amazing ability gives the cells, knownas embryonic stem cells, potentialfor contributing to the cure of allkinds of ailments, from Alzheimer’sdisease to diabetes. But because theprocess of harvesting stem cells killsthe embryo, research and applica-tion have been dramatically limitedby ethical concerns.
Catherine Verfaillie, director ofthe University of Minnesota StemCell Institute, and colleagues are hot on the trail of a bypass to thisdilemma. They are finding ways to make stem cells harvested fromadults—with no harm done to thedonor—perform the same kinds ofquick-change magic that embryonic stem cells do.
The researchers took a giant leap for-ward in November when they announcedtwo breakthroughs related to stem cells theyhad harvested from adult bone marrow inhope of being able to grow bone tissue. First,they were able to keep the cells alive andthriving in the laboratory for more than sixmonths. Second, they discovered—to theirown astonishment—that the cells could giverise to a whole spectrum of tissue types,including cartilage, fat, skeletal muscle, andsmooth muscle.
“We found it sort of accidentally,”Verfaillie says. “We were trying to just make bone.”
The process Verfaillie and colleaguesused to get the cells, which they call multi-potent adult progenitor cells (MAPCs), tothrive and differentiate is not unlike theprocess you might use to persuade African
violets to bloom:learn as much as youcan about their basicneeds, then playaround with timingand quantities ofnutrients, moisture,light, and heat untilyou find the rightcombination.Working with stemcells donated by morethan 30 volunteers,the researchers,through educatedtrial and error,
eventually came up with a mix of conditionsthat did the trick. The cells have now thrivedfor more than a hundred generations without degenerating.
In January, the researchers reported yetmore exciting news: Under certain condi-tions, the MAPCs can be coaxed to transforminto cells that lead to the production ofblood vessels. This finding suggests that theymight one day find use in wound healing, intreating disorders of the circulatory systemsuch as atherosclerosis (in which plaquesnarrow the arteries), and in sabotaging thegrowth of blood vessels that feed tumors.
According to Verfaillie, in addition totheir ability to address some ethical qualms,adult stem cells have other potential advan-tages over embryonic stem cells. Stem CellInstitute researchers have found that, unlikethose derived from embryonic stem cells,tissues derived from adult stem cells whengrafted onto mice take quite well. And theapparent versatility of adult stem cells meansthat someday researchers may be able to cre-ate replacement parts for an ailing individualfrom his or her own body tissue, eliminatingthe problem of transplant rejection.
Verfaillie is particularly excited aboutMAPCs because they appear to be permeableto retroviruses, which can be used as tinytaxicabs to carry replacement genes into cellswith genetic defects. This brings hope thathereditary diseases such as Hurler’s syn-drome, muscular dystrophy, and hemophiliamight be cured by removing stem cells,doctoring them, and returning them to theailing individual.
“Because adult stem cells can be selected and expanded under conditions that should be readily adaptable to produc-tion by clinical good manufacturing processand are easily transduced with retroviral vectors,” Verfaillie says, “they may be anideal source of cells for therapy of a widevariety of diseases.” This summer,researchers at the Stem Cell Institute willbegin to compare the differences betweenadult and embryonic stem cells, to determinewhich are the most effective in treating andpreventing disease.
■ Mary Hoff
“Adult stemcells…may be an ideal
source ofcells for
therapy of awide variety
of diseases.”— Catherine Verfaillie
CATHERINE VERFAILLIE’SRESEARCH ABOUT THE
CAPABILITIES OF ADULT
STEM CELLS BRANCHES OFF
FROM HER EMBRYONIC
STEM CELL RESEARCH.
AlternateRoute Stem cell therapy using adult as well as embryonic
cells might be feasible, new research shows.
8
CROSSING
Making
A push in the right direction—that’s the gift Katie Brownreceived. During her final yearin the School of Nursing, shewas matched with mentorGarrett Peterson, then a nurse inan intensive care unit. Petersoninvited her to come work withhim for a day.
“She liked the intensity ofthe unit and the fast pace,” hesays. “Although she was afraidto start in the ICU, I could tell—just from talking with her, fromhaving her come in that day,from her past experience working as a nursing assistant—that she would be able to handle it.” Given the currentshortage of nurses, he also
figured that she would have agood chance of being hired inone right out of school. He wasright. After she graduated inspring 2001, Brown became an ICU nurse in the Fairview-University Medical Center.
Peterson’s encouragementwas crucial, Brown says. Hecoached her not as a teacher but as a peer, with the under-standing that arises from sharedinterests and from real-worldexperiences. In comparison,she says, “school is like fantasynursing; it’s the ideal. It’s notnecessarily the reality, the thingsyou really need to know and whatto expect when you get there.”
Peterson and Brown’sexchanges are the sort of sup-port aimed for by those whorun mentor programs. “Theissues can be a lot broader thantalking about a specific jobmatch,” says Judy Anderson.“What kind of education dothey need? What kind of lifechoices will they need to make?
What are the internal politics of organizations? Learning howthose kinds of things work areimportant.” Anderson heads the Mentor Connection for theUniversity of Minnesota AlumniAssociation, which facilitatesmatches for 350 Academic HealthCenter students among nearly1,500 students campus-wide.
“Mentoring could open awhole new door to you,” saysAnderson, “or it could showyou what you don’t want todo.” Through the College ofVeterinary Medicine mentoringprogram, for example, HeidiMagnuson discovered a large-animal specialty she was consid-ering was not for her. “I’mreally glad that I did that,” shesays of meeting with a veterinar-ian who treats horses. “Thatequine vet was wonderful butit’s not the lifestyle that I want.”
Mentoring also benefits the mentor. “They learn fromyou and you learn from them—it’s a two-way street,” says
Ozoemezine Eneanya. Sincegraduating from the College of Pharmacy more than twodecades ago, he has served as amentor for many. Occasionallyone of his protégés will drop by,call, or send an e-mail. “That’sthe reward,” says Eneanya. Headds: “The U was good to me,personally, so if I can do any-thing for the U, I’m glad to.”
While it began as a volun-tary program of the PharmacyAlumni Society, says BruceBenson, associate director ofprofessional relations in theCollege of Pharmacy, mentoringwas seen as so worthwhile thatit became a required part of thecurriculum. Mentoring, Bensonsays, also links alumni and community pharmacists back to the college.
Professionals simply find it satisfying to guide students,says Jack Davis, CEO of theHennepin Medical Society.Since the Hennepin and RamseyCounty medical societies, in
HELPING MORE
MINORITIES
MAKE IT INTO
MEDICAL SCHOOL IS
THE GOAL
OF A PROGRAM
THAT INVOLVES
THIRD-YEAR
MEDICAL STUDENT
REHANA AHMED,AT RIGHT, AND HER
UNDERGRADUATE
PROTÉGÉ CLOUA
VANG.
Through mentor programs,students, faculty, alumni, andcommunity members bolster
education, boost careers, and build friendships.
Connections
9
DISCIPLINES
collaboration with the AlumniMedical Society and the MedicalSchool, started encouragingmembers to mentor medical stu-dents two years ago, they havehad more than enough physi-cians volunteer. This year, 119first-year students were matchedwith community physicians.
For first-year medical studentAnn Knapp, “it means havingsomeone to turn to when ques-tions arise in the next four years.”She’s paired with obstetrics/gynecology physician Elisa Wright,who decided that now that herchildren have left home, she wouldhave leeway in her schedule.
Mentors must give of them-selves. “It did take some time,”says Steve Shuman of mentoringDerek Grabowski. “It wasn’tsomething to take lightly.” Four years ago, Shuman, aSchool of Dentistry professor, andGrabowski, then a high-schoolsenior, were introduced througha community-based program.By lining up opportunities in theschool to shadow dental residents,arranging clinic experiences, andsteering research for a majorposter project, Shuman aimed tomake the twice-weekly meetingsproductive for the younger man.
Shuman was partly motivatedby memories of his own teenyears, when he’d thought he’dbecome a physician but thenvolunteered in a dental clinic.“Dentistry was perfectly suitedto what I like to do,” saysShuman. “It’s hands-on, withpeople interaction, and the den-tal professionals I encounteredclearly loved what they weredoing.” Without that experience,he might not have become adentist, as he had no other sig-nificant exposure to the profes-sion, such as a dentist in hisimmediate family. Neither did
Grabowski.“I was luckyto have thatprogram, toexplore,”saysGrabowski.He has keptup contactswithShuman and is now a first-yeardental student.
Studentsalso mentorstudents.Through themulticulturalStudentNationalMedicalAssociationprogram,third-year medical student Rehana Ahmed this yearcommitted to advise Cloua Vang,an undergraduate in biochem-istry. They are one of 30 pairs ofminority students who meet atleast once a month.
Mentors do not replaceundergraduate advisors, saysAhmed, who is a co-chair of theprogram. Instead, they provide a bridge by explaining to under-graduate students of color thefuture importance of activities,volunteering, research jobs, andfinding physicians to shadow.“We even help through theapplication process,” says Ahmed.
She and Vang regularlymeet off-campus for coffee ordinner. They talk about Ahmed’sexperiences in studying for anM.D./Ph.D. and discuss howVang can best prepare for med-ical school and such long-termgoals as traveling to Thailand to learn from her grandfather, asavant in Asian herbal medicine.
Vang appreciates the doorof opportunity that Ahmed’smentoring has opened for her asa Hmong and a minority. Shealso is pleased that she is gain-ing much more than informa-tion, that she has theopportunity todevelop a per-sonal relationshipwith Ahmed.
The personalaspect also isimportant to KimWicklund, analum who hasbeen both a pro-tégé and a mentorin the School ofPublic Health’sprogram. “I’vemade some realstrong friendshipsand professionalcontacts,” shesays. Last year,she was matchedwith TaimurMalik, a medical doctor fromPakistan who came here tostudy public health administra-tion. “The day I met her, I toldher I wanted to go to the UnitedNations for an internship,”Malik says. “She utilized all herconnections and resources tohelp me.”
They also became buddies.“We got along well togetherbecause of our internationalinterests,” says Wicklund, whopreviously served in the PeaceCorps. “We did a lot of fun
things.” As a newcomer to theUnited States, Malik appreciatedWicklund’s perspective. “I thinkthe Pakistani and American cultures are a world apart—likethey’re apart on the globe, soare the cultures,” he says. “She
helped me to adapt.”
During aChristmas visitto her familyhome in St. Peter,Wicklund’sfather askedMalik howlong heexpected therelationshipwith Wicklundto last. Maliksays heansweredquickly, with-out thinking:“She’s goingto be my
mentor for my life.”
Wicklund agrees that theywill keep in touch always andperhaps switch roles. Whateverhappens, the connection thathas been forged is deep. Like the original Mentor who, whileOdysseus was away for years,advised the hero’s sonTelemachus, Wicklund hasbecome Malik’s respected and trusted friend.
■ Allison Campbell
“The issues can bea lot broader than
talking about aspecific job match:
What kind ofeducation do they
need? What kind oflife choices will
they need to make?What are the
internal politics oforganizations?”
—Judy Anderson
KIM WICKLUND, AT RIGHT, AND TAIMUR MALIK WERE
MATCHED LAST YEAR THROUGH THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC
HEALTH’S PROGRAM AND HAVE KEPT IN TOUCH.
MENTORING BY STEVE
SHUMAN OF THE SCHOOL
OF DENTISTRY, AT LEFT,HELPED CONFIRM DEREK
GRABOWSKI’S AMBITION
TO BECOME A DENTIST;HE’S NOW A FIRST-YEAR
DENTAL STUDENT.
10
Country RoadsIn places like Paynesville, health profes-sional students in the Rural Health Schoolcan take advantage of the latest training. Inthat central Minnesota town of about 2,300,a team of physicians, pharmacists, nurses,and dietitians work together with diabeticpatients to set goals and determine the besttherapy. “It is one of the few Minnesotarural diabetes education and managementteams accredited by the American DiabetesAssociation,” says Todd Lemke, site coordi-nator for the AHC’s Rural Health School.
Operating in seven sites throughoutgreater Minnesota, the RHS is a leading-edge education program where studentsfrom a variety of health disciplines immersethemselves in a hands-on, real-world experi-ence that incorporates the latest in health-practice protocols. They use electroniccommunication technologies for educationand patient care. They also model the kindof interdisciplinary teamwork that otherprograms can only aspire to. And with theaddition of veterinary medicine and dentistrystudents this spring, and the past participationof the School of Public Health, the RHS nowincludes all the AHC disciplines, offeringeven greater benefits to students and thecommunities they serve.
The program was established by theMinnesota Legislature in 1996 to deploy
health care practitioners to underservedsmall towns in Minnesota. Since then it hastrained 197 students from medical school,nursing, pharmacy, social work, and otherdisciplines, of whom more than 65 percenthave chosen to practice in rural areas, saysVickery French, RHS program coordinator.Some of those graduates, like Todd Lemke,take positions at the very sites where theywere trained.
“The Rural Health School program wasan important part of my decision to practicein a rural environment,” Lemke says.“Seeing interdisciplinary practice both inPaynesville and Moose Lake, where Iattended RHS programs, enhanced mydesire to work in a rural setting.”
Communities benefit from students intraining because part of the 12-week pro-gram includes community service learningprojects. In 2000, a New Ulm team com-posed of a medical student, pharmacy stu-dent, and physician assistant created abrochure addressing the growing use ofherbs and nutritional supplements. “Wefound that frequently, patients would cometo the clinic and be taking many over-the-counter herbal supplements but would notmention them,” says Mark Alexander, themedical student. “The idea behind thebrochure was to give information to both
Boundaries
fall and
opportunities
arise for
students who
take part in the
Rural Health
School.
DURING THEIR ORIENTATION IN DULUTH THIS WINTER, RURAL HEALTH SCHOOL STUDENTS (FROM LEFT)JENNIFER HANSON, LAURA CARLSON, AMY HUSEBY, AND PAULA EARP PRACTICED COLLABORATION.
Rene
e Kn
oebe
r
11
patients and providers on some of the mostcommonly used herbal supplements.” Suchbrochures are distributed in all seven sites of the RHS.
In Moose Lake, a team of studentsworked with businesses to underwrite thecost of leasing a blood pressure machine inthe local grocery store. “The RHS studentssigned on 12 community busi-nesses, one to sponsor the costsfor each month of the year,”French says. “The machine hasbeen in place for about 18months and gets used regularlyby the community.”
It is the interdisciplinarypractice that is perhaps the mostsignificant way in which this pro-gram benefits both students andpatients, and leads the way to thefuture of medicine as well. In anarticle in Minnesota Medicinelast June, nursing professorsLinda Lindeke and Derryl E.Block stressed the importance ofteamwork in future health care practice.“Well-functioning teams increase communi-cation across systems, improve care coordi-nation, decrease duplication of services, andfocus system efforts on patients,” they wrote.
“Health professionals must work sideby side in practice for the best interests ofthe patients they care for,” Lindeke explains,
“but experiences during their educationalyears that prepare them to do this are virtu-ally nonexistent in most health professioncurriculae. There are no similar programs [to that offered by the RHS].”
Interdisciplinary training is extremelyvaluable to students regardless of where theyend up after graduation. Except in the Rural
Health School, saysLemke, “never in mythree years of phar-macy school did I discuss a case withmedical, nursing,social work, or other students.”
The addition ofvet med and dentistrystudents this springenhances the interdisciplinary nature ofthe program. Dentistrystudents will participatein case studies, com-munity service proj-
ects, interdisciplinary Objective StructuredClinical Examinations, and communicationand telemedicine technologies such as inter-active television (ITV), videoconferencing,and Internet learning modules.
In addition, vet med students addressissues of diseases common to both animalsand humans at a time when rabies, Lyme
disease, West Nile virus, and anthrax regu-larly appear on the evening news. “As anexample, anthrax is a key bioterrorism agentin humans, yet occurs in Minnesota cattle ona sporadic yet ongoing basis annually,” saysScott J. Wells of the College of VeterinaryMedicine. “The college has long-establishedemphases in infectious disease research,diagnosis of agents (some of which could be used in bioterrorism), and training veterinarians to rapidly identify clinical diseases of importance.”
The veterinary school will also join theeffort to combat the growing problem ofdrug-resistant bacteria and its relationship to the use of antibiotics in farm animals.
The inclusion of both veterinary medicine and dentistry to the Rural HealthSchool ensures that the program remains onthe leading edge of health practice for manyyears to come.
“Through efforts like the Rural HealthSchool collaboration,” Wells says, “we canbetter assure that health professionals incommunities across Minnesota will takeadvantage of the knowledge, skills, andexperience of each other in dealing withthese various health issues in the future,therefore better serving Minnesota’s health needs.”
■ Sharon Parker
“The RuralHealth Schoolprogram wasan important
part of mydecision topractice in
a ruralenvironment.”
—Todd Lemke
Nursing students have made good use ofthe Rural Health School, numbering morethan 60 students out of the 197 who havetrained in the RHS since its inception sixyears ago. Professor Linda Lindekeencourages nursing students to participatein the RHS to better prepare them forreal-world work after graduation, includ-ing the opportunity to experience interdis-ciplinary team practice, a relatively newapproach to health care that better utilizesthe wisdom and experience of nurses as equal partners in a team of health care professionals.
For nurse practitioner student LaurieKing, participating in the program atMoose Lake in fall 2001 was valuable. “Ihave enjoyed and learned so much fromthe disciplines within our site’s interdisci-plinary team, as well as those from othersites that we have connected with throughinteractive television,” she says.
King worked with many otherdepartments to hold a Safety Fair for thechildren of Moose Lake, and also withsocial work and pharmacy students todevelop her own educational focus inholistic medicine. Her team met with an80-year-old woman on a weekly basis viavideophone to develop a plan to meet theclient’s health needs long after the stu-dents have moved along. “We have allgrown to know the client very well, todeal with each of her specific needs andconcerns, [and] to develop a plan ofcare,” says King.
Through their RHS experience, nurs-ing students learn about other disciplinesand how they can work together to bettermeet patient needs and generate a moresatisfying experience for the studentsthemselves. “It has been a tremendouslearning experience,” says King, “ as wellas a very gratifying one.”
■ Sharon Parker
Learning Holistic Care
NURSE PRACTITIONER STUDENT LAURIE KING
APPRECIATES THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM HER RURAL
HEALTH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE IN MOOSE LAKE.
EDUCATION
12
EDUCATION
A North Dakota nutritionist teaching seniorcitizens about the link between diabetes anddiet; a small-town Minnesota civil servantinspecting local businesses for safety hazards;a rural Wisconsin school nurse working toprotect children from everything fromskinned knees to AIDS: Each person is carry-ing out the day-to-day business of publichealth. Yet none has advanced education inpublic health.
“Four out of five people going into pub-lic health don’t have formal public healthtraining,” says Jeanne Ayers, executive direc-tor of the Center for Public HealthEducation and Outreach in the School ofPublic Health. “Public health is very interdis
ciplinary, so a person may be hired becausethey are an engineer, nurse, or so on, but nothave the skill set for public health.”
Ayers and colleagues in the School ofPublic Health are doing something to fillthat gap. With the help of amajor grant from the federalHealth Resources and ServicesAdministration, the school last fall launched a five-yearprogram to train public healthprofessionals in the trenches,called the Midwest Center forLife-Long-Learning in PublicHealth (MCLPH).
A collaboration betweenthe School of Public Health andstate health departments in Minnesota,Wisconsin, and North Dakota, the MCLPHseeks “to strengthen the technical, scientific,managerial, and leadership competence ofthe current and future public health workforce in the Midwest,” says director DebOlson, a faculty member in environmental andoccupational health. The center will bring to
practicing public health professionals inremote areas public health education in suchkey topics as assessment, policy development,leadership, and basic public health science.The ultimate goal: fewer teen smokers, saferdrinking water, better health for new momsand infants, improved access to health carefor senior citizens, and improvement in themultitude of other areas in which public healthtouches lives of each one of us each day.
According to Olson, the center—one of13 across the country—is a response to societalchanges that are making public health moreprominent in health care, especially in ruralareas. Specific trends affecting health servicesorganizations include increasing demand forpopulation-level services, increased prevalenceof managed care, and changing demographicstoward an older and more diverse population.“These trends are creating a demand for askill set addressing population-focused careand a systems approach,” she says.
The center’s activities began last fallwith establishment of an advisory coopera-tive of state health department liaisons andpublic health training network coordinatorsfrom across Minnesota, North Dakota, andWisconsin. After the cooperative completesits current work of identifying and prioritizingneeds in each state, the center will identifyeither existing or new opportunities for off-campus classes, teleconferences, andWeb-based courses to deliver the trainingneeded to those who need it at a time andplace that works for them.
In addition to polishing the skills of current public health professionals, organizershope the program will also help interest peo-ple, particularly minority and disadvantagedyouth, in career possibilities in public health.“Many people find public health careersextremely satisfying,” says project adminis-trator Ayers, “but they don’t hear aboutthese opportunities as children.”
Olson, who also chairs the public healthpractice major, expects the MCLPH program
to dovetail nicely with theschool’s newly establishedmajor in public healthpractice, which enrolled itsfirst students this spring.The major trains workinghealth and human serviceprofessionals and medicalstudents in public healthcertificate or degree programsusing distributive methodssuch as the Internet forcourse delivery.
Soon, whether near or far, studying on campus or using distance learning, pro-fessionals and students will be able to takeadvantage of the resources and faculty of the School of Public Health and better serve their communities’ health needs.
■ Mary Hoff
Field StudiesConveying much-
needed public healtheducation to practitioners
around the Midwest calls fortechnology and innovation.
“Four out of fivepeople going into
public healthdon’t have formal
public healthtraining.”
—Jeanne Ayers
TRAINING PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN THE
FIELD IS THE GOAL OF JEANNE AYERS, AT RIGHT,AND DEB OLSON OF THE MIDWEST CENTER FOR
LIFE-LONG-LEARNING IN PUBLIC HEALTH.
Health care, feeding, grooming,education, behavior problems.Pet lovers have many of thesame concerns as new parents—and an equal sense of urgency.
“Animals are increasinglyviewed as membersof the family,” saysBeth Boynton, acommunity prac-tice veterinarian in the College of VeterinaryMedicine. “Peoplewant informationon health care fortheir pets just asthey want it forfamily members.”
That’s whatled to the creation of PetCARE(Companion Animal ResourceEducation), www.petcare.umn.edu,a Web site for owners andadmirers of companion animals.The Minnesota State Board ofAnimal Health conceived theidea in 1996. The state Legislaturefunded the project and veterinaryprofessionals associated with theUniversity’s extension servicewrote the material. The result isa treasure trove of pet informa-tion, from silly to serious.
One can find truly awfulpet jokes (“What animal shouldyou never play cards with? Acheetah.”), dog- or cat-humanage converters and animal trivia.There’s plenty of information on dogs, including behavior andhealth issues for each breed anda personality profile to guidehumans toward the breed bestfor them. PetCARE offers mate-rial for young children and theJunior Scientist section presentsinformation suitable for schoolprojects. The site also provideshealth, nutrition, vaccination,and training information.
Most surprising to siteusers, University veterinary pro-fessionals answer questions viae-mail within two business days.Pet owners send tremendouslyvaried queries, everything from
“What is the average life spanof a cat?” to “My dog was diagnosed with this disorder,can you tell me all about it?”
Two years ago, the Boardof Animal Healthdropped out becauseof a change in fund-ing priorities. Tokeep the serviceavailable, the Collegeof VeterinaryMedicine andVeterinary TeachingHospital decided to fund the site.“PetCARE is aninnovative way for the College toprovide useful andaccessibleinformation
to pet owners,” saysJeffery Klausner,CVM dean. But like anadopted stray, the siteneeded some TLC.So Klausner askedMargaret Root Kustritz,a clinician in theVeterinary TeachingHospital, and HeatherGeorge, a veterinarytechnician, to take overPetCARE. During thelast year and a half,they have updated andexpanded the site.
Soon, visitors willsee a new design thatincludes more interac-tive elements, such as a featured pet of themonth with story andphoto. “We’re alsoadding a section aboutpet loss and grief,”George says. “Weunderstand how pets arereally part of a family.”Also featured will beadditional informationon more than 30 catbreeds, such “pocketpets” as hamsters andgerbils, and exotic pets.According to George,once the major changesare complete, PetCAREwill seek outside sponsors.
Since Root Kustritz andGeorge took on the project,despite almost no promotion,the number of visitors to the site has doubled. From July toDecember 2001, the site aver-aged 2,831 unique visitors perweek—more than 400 daily.During that time, 15 percent of those visitors came more than once.
The key to PetCARE’s success: solid information.According to Boynton, the sitedoesn’t attempt to offer individ-ual diagnoses of specific prob-lems. It doesn’t compete withthe work of veterinarians, butinstead enhances it.
“We want to provide a reliable source of informationwhere people can get answers tocommon questions right away,”Boynton says. “The Web sitecovers general information,which frees veterinarians toaddress more specific healthissues. With more information,pet owners can be proactiveabout their pets’ care and notwait until their next vet appoint-ment to find answers to theirquestions. It helps us be bettervets and helps them be betterpet owners.”
■ Terri Peterson Smith
PetCAREUnleashed College of Veterinary
Medicine Web site offers a pack of pet information.
“The PetCAREWeb site
covers generalinformation,which frees
veterinariansto address
more specifichealth issues.”
—Beth Boynton
HEATHER GEORGE, WHO WORKS ON
PETCARE, AND HER POMERANIAN
SUNNY, WHO WAS BLINDED BY HER
PREVIOUS OWNER’S OTHER DOG. “SHE
IS AN EVERYDAY REMINDER THAT PEOPLE
NEED HELP CHOOSING AND CARING FOR
THEIR PETS,” GEORGE SAYS.
OUTREACH
13
14
OUTREACH
The pluck of his dentalpatients surprises TimIsaacson. “They come fromSoudan and Tower—halfthe people have to drive anhour.” Fellow fourth-yeardental student Tim Jacobsonadds: “A lot of the patientsare really happy. They tell me: ‘No one else will see us.’”
One January morning,Isaacson and clinic directorJerry Pedersen slide quickly from chit-chatto “open, please.” Jacobson, with the helpof Gustavus Adolphus pre-dental studentKristen Klos, devotes himself to extensiverestoration work for a man soon to be married. Only one week after the opening of the HibbingCommunity CollegeDental Clinic inPartnership with theUniversity of MinnesotaSchool of Dentistry, theplace is abuzz.
The Hibbing clinicgives dentistry students arealistic experience of aprivate-practice clinic.They do everything fromtray set-ups to carrying outsome 10 procedures a dayon patients ages 2 to 80 to handling businessmatters. The community college’s dentalassistant students also train at the clinic,often collaborating with University students.
Although the clinic’s services are available to all at student rates, it primarilytreats patients on assistance programs.These patients typically have trouble finding
fee-for-service dentists willing to take care ofthem beyond emergencies because programreimbursement percentages are low. “Privatedentists will refer these patients to us,” saysPedersen, who practiced dentistry for 25years in Hibbing prior to heading the clinic.
“We’ll take everyone theysend over.”
And they’ll treat them infirst-rate facilities. Located ina building that opened lastfall, the gleaming clinic hasstations for nine patients.Classical music drifts from a boom box while mobiles of multicolored balloons and dolphins float over the squeaky-new chairs and equipment.
Back for a return visit,Florence Vandvin of Eveleth eases herselfinto an examining chair next to Isaacson.“I trust him completely,” she says. “Hemade a good impression on me right away.”Being able to treat patients over time benefitsboth patients who need the care and dentalstudents who appreciate the involvement.“If you see an emergency patient at school,it’s not your patient,” says Isaacson.
Jacobson, whohas taken care ofpatients with press-ing needs in den-tistry’s portableclinic, says that inHibbing, he can domore than end atoothache; he canhelp build a healthymouth. “In the dental school, youcan only learn somuch,” Jacobsonsays. “The visionthat the dean [PeterPolverini] has isgreat, that youalmost need anapprenticeship.”Adds Pederson:“It’s like a mini-residency.”Pederson plans
to introduce the students to local dentists inan effort to integrate them into the regionaldental community.
“I hope these students have a greatexperience,” says Tony Kuznik, president ofHibbing Community College. Perhaps theclinic students living in Hibbing will be per-suaded to choose to practice in rural andsmall-town Minnesota. An avid fisherman,Kuznik adds: “Most of us live here becausewe love the quality of life.”
Looking ahead, the need for rural den-tists will grow more urgent, as many willretire. “There’s a lot of concern out there(among dentists),” Pedersen says: “’When Iretire, will there be anyone to replace me?’”
For a Bloomington native, life in a town of about 18,000 is an adjustment, saysIsaacson. Yet after he completes an oral-surgery residency, he plans to set up practicein rural northern Minnesota. Along with hisregular practice, Isaacson hopes to offer hisservices to underserved people in the area.He says: “There’s a lot of need.” As there is in many other communities in Minnesotawhere people lack access to dental care.
■ Allison Campbell
Impression
The School of Dentistry’s
partnership in aHibbing clinic
benefits the community as
well as students.
“There’s a lot ofconcern out there
(among ruraldentists). ‘When
I retire, will there be anyone to
replace me?’”— Jerry Pedersen
TIM JACOBSON, WHO HAS
ALSO WORKED IN
DENTISTRY’S PORTABLE
CLINIC, SAYS IN THE HIBBING
CLINIC, HE CAN DO MORE
THAN END A TOOTHACHE; HE
CAN HELP BUILD A HEALTHY
MOUTH. HE’S DOING
RESTORATION WORK ON A
PATIENT WITH THE HELP OF
KRISTEN KLOS, PRE-DENTAL
STUDENT FROM GUSTAVUS
ADOLPHUS.
Alli
son
Cam
pbel
l
First
15
OUTREACH
James Moore knows aboutstruggle. He strives to be a goodsingle parent to his 11-year-oldson. On a limited income, healso copes with diabetes, highblood pressure, and a thyroidcondition. “I have no coverageto pay for my prescriptions,”says Moore, “and my income isonly $300 a month.” Fortunately,he’s a patient at St. Paul’sBethesda Clinic, where IlaHarris helped Moore enroll inseveral programs whereby hegets his prescriptions at nocost. Says Moore: “If it wasn’tfor Dr. Harris, I’d be dead.”
At Bethesda, Harrisemphasizes to pharmacy stu-dents and residents, medicalstudents, and family practiceresidents that they need to askwhether insurance covers pre-scription costs for the patients,many of whom are poor.“Patients have to be able topay for the medicine or theywon’t take it,” says Harris.“It’s as simple as that.”
“Asking that question,and thinking about the cost ofmedicines, is one of the mostimportant things I teach,” saysHarris, an assistant professorwith a dual appointment inthe College of Pharmacy andMedical School. Along withlessons in pharmacology,Harris encourages studentsand residents to find ways tocut costs to patients who can’tafford the prescribed drugsthat they need.
Because many drugsaren’t available as generics,Harris teaches students andresidents to consider othermedicines that might beequally effective—and far lessexpensive. “Every medicinethat’s prescribed needs to becost-effective,” she says.
Harris likewise enrollspatients in and teaches residentsabout pharmaceutical companyprograms that provide free med-icine to indigent patients, whichare particularly valuable forthose who have chronic condi-tions like high blood pressure.She uses the physician’s samplecabinet only as a last resort.“The pharmaceutical companiesuse them [sample closets] to selldrugs,” says Harris, who wroteabout the subject for MinnesotaMedicine. “They know that ifthey give out samples, physi-cians will get in the habit ofusing them.”
Her colleague Todd Sorensenis involved in a nationwide effortto provide affordable prescrip-tion drugs to the poor and unin-sured. The College of Pharmacy
has a $325,000 grant from thefederal government—one of 18 similar grants—to participatein a clinical pharmacy demon-stration project that provides low-costprescriptiondrugs to patientsin medicallyunderservedcommunities.
Aloneamong thegrantees, theCollege ofPharmacy places pharmacy residents, called clinical pharma-cists, at clinics in an effort tointegrate them into primarycare. Sorensen, an assistant professor and the college’sdirector of residency programs,assigned one to each of three
clinics, one in Minneapolis andtwo in St. Paul.
A clinical pharmacist canhelp overworked physicians withpatient education, monitoring,
and otherdrug-relatedtasks. “Andbecausepharmacistscome from adifferent per-spective,” headds, “theymight iden-
tify more or different types ofproblems than those which areidentified by other types ofhealth care providers.” Oneexample: A pharmacist may bebetter equipped—and have thetime—to provide global assess-ments of patients’ drug therapy.
Secondly, the project,which began last fall, distrib-utes low-cost prescriptiondrugs to patients. The federal government hasnegotiated contracts withpharmaceutical companies to sell medications for thisand several other federalprograms at deeply dis-counted prices. The clinicspass the savings along topatients. “We’re trying to set up a unique method forpatients who are uninsuredto get access to medicines,”Sorensen says.
Once these pharmacistsfinish their training, Sorensenhopes, they’ll be better pre-pared to bring the conceptof on-site pharmacy care toother clinics and so producea far-reaching benefit. That’shopeful news to patients likeJames Moore.
■ Frank Clancy
“Thinking about thecost of medicines
is one of the most important things I teach.”
—Ila Harris
AT THE SOUTHSIDE
COMMUNITY HEALTH
CENTER IN MINNEAPOLIS,TODD SORENSEN CONSULTS
WITH PHARMACY CENTER PRACTICE
RESIDENT KATHY OH AND
JIM POLUCHA, DIRECTOR
OF PHARMACY SERVICE FOR
THE NEIGHBORHOOD
PHARMACEUTICAL CARE
NETWORK.
Prescribingdrugs to patients
with little incomeand skimpy insurance
takes sensitivity and creativity.
Needs-BasedPrescriptions
PICTURESOF HEALTH
SPRING 2002
Nonprofit Org.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Permit No. 155
Minneapolis, MNOffice of Communications
420 Delaware Street SE, MMC 735
Minneapolis, MN 55455
change service requested
Reid, while cooking pasta,says he hasn’t felt better inyears and he expects to returnto work soon. A camera isrolling as Tonya Femal listens.Reid is surviving AIDS. Femalis preparing to tell his story,omitting his last name, for aninstallment of “Health Talk &YoU,” the Academic HealthCenter’s weekly health infor-mation television program.
For 14 years, “HealthTalk” was broadcast in a talkshow format from a RarigCenter studio on the U’s West Bank. When thestudio closed last year, Greg Vercellotti—theprogram’s host for the last six years—and theAHC Office of Communications decided tomove the program and the cameras into labs,exam rooms, and even homes of patients.
“The ‘Health Talk & YoU’ team hastaken solid, cutting edge content and con-verted it into very compelling and watchable
television,” says Bill Hanley, executive vicepresident for content at Twin Cities PublicTelevision. “The result is a tremendous ampli-fication of the University’s impact for citizensall across our state.”
Vercellotti says: “The new Health Talk isreally a vehicle for the public to better under-stand how new discoveries are being translatedinto new cures and treatments at theUniversity of Minnesota.”
In Reid’s story, Vercellottiexplains how HIV and AIDS havebeen transformed from a deathsentence to a chronic disease,thanks inpart toresearch at the U of M.Vercellotti,who also isseniorassociatedean foreducationin theMedicalSchool, develops topics and storylines, lines up guests, and providesguidance to Femal, the program’sexecutive producer.
The new show airs the firstFriday of each month at 8 p.m. onTPT channel 17 and is repeated
the following Monday at 2 p.m. on TPT chan-nel 2. In other weeks, classic older episodes arere-broadcast. “The public,” says Vercellotti,“has an insatiable appetite for medical infor-mation.” He and other AHC faculty serve upthe expertise to satisfy that appetite.
■ Mark Engebretson
Focal Point
“The publichas aninsatiableappetite for medicalinformation.”
—Greg Vercellotti
TAKING IT TO THE LABS: HOST GREG
VERCELLOTTI DURING THE TAPING OF
THE NEW “HEALTH TALK & YOU.”
Refreshingchanges to“Health Talk & YoU.”
