Commonwealth Medical college taken off probation

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Jason FArmer / Times-Shamrock The Commonwealth Medical College and the University of Scranton are extending an agreement to talk affiliation until May 18.

The Commonwealth Medical College moved a step closer to full accreditation on Thursday when it announced the national medical school accrediting body has lifted the college's probationary status and granted it provisional accreditation.

The advance comes a year after the Liaison Committee for Medical Education placed the school on probation largely because of concerns about its financial stability.

With the new status - a rung higher than the school's preliminary accreditation before the probation period - the accrediting body also determined that the college has the resources to expand its class size from 65 to 100 medical degree students beginning in 2013.

"This is an external statement by an accrediting body that this school is solid," Lois Margaret Nora, M.D., the college's interim president and dean, said. "For anyone who has any questions about permanence, this is just a major statement."

The LCME's deliberations are private, Dr. Nora said, but the committee performed a comprehensive review of databases, student surveys and the college's self-study and spent three days on site evaluating the school.

The committee has asked for a status report in February on two areas that require continued monitoring: the college's permanent leadership and its long-term financial stability. But Dr. Nora noted that it did not ask for follow-up reports on the strength of the teaching and student programs at the core of the school's mission.

"This is a very solid school from the perspective of its core business: growing physicians and other health professionals," she said.

Dr. Nora, who will be replaced by Robert Wright, M.D., as interim president and dean when she leaves the college at the end of June, said the school has largely addressed the leadership question by permanently filling several key chairman and dean positions that were previously vacant or temporary.

The college has identified "excellent" candidates in its national search for a permanent CEO and dean and will hold a second round of interviews before the end of the month, Dr. Wright said.

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JMU Hosts Medical School Program for High School Students

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James Madison University hosted a three day medical school for local high school students interested in the field. The event was called the "Careers in Health and Medicine Program."

It gave the students a sample of what health professionals do. Many speakers from the health care industry spoke and the high school students took advantage of opportunities for hands on experience. They learned how to dress wounds and take blood pressure readings.

Organizer, Erika Kancler described how the program's first year went.

So far, so good, said Kancler. We've had some technical difficulties. I'm learning how to use the simulated patient myself but I think it's going very well. So far, the response has been extremely favorable.

Those in charge of the program hoped that the three day event would help the students realize what job opportunities are available to them.

Copyright 2012 WHSV / Gray Television Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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JMU Hosts Medical School Program for High School Students

OSF teams up with medical school on training project

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June 11, 2012 Updated Jun 11, 2012 at 7:30 PM CDT

PEORIA,Ill --OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria is teaming up with the University of Illinois College of Medicine to enhance training and performance of health care professionals.

The partnership will bring a new Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center to the hospital campus.

On Monday morning, construction crews put the last beam in place on the 51million dollar facility. Officials are planning on training up to 30,000 healthcare professionals including doctors in the first year after its opening next April.

"This is a much safer environment than doing training out in the field. We can carefully control the circumstances and we can allow for training in an environment where no patient can ever receive an injury," said OSF Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Vozenilek

The six story building will include an education center, a virtual intensive care unit, and an innovation laboratory plus other training features.

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UMass Medical School Enrolling Patients in Study of Tissue Expansion for Breast Reconstruction

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WORCESTER, MA--(Marketwire -06/13/12)- The University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) and UMass Memorial Medical Center have enrolled their first participant in a clinical study designed to evaluate a new tissue expansion method for breast reconstruction after a mastectomy. The randomized, controlled clinical study is designed to directly compare the outcomes of the traditional saline tissue expansion method to an investigational, remote-controlled, needle-free, tissue expansion system known as The AeroForm Patient Controlled Tissue Expander System.

Tissue expansion is a process required to stretch the skin and tissue at the site of a mastectomy so that a standard saline or silicone breast implant can be placed.

"Traditionally, women undergoing breast reconstruction have had to endure a long process of inconvenient and often painful inflations using conventional saline expanders to create a pocket for a standard implant following a mastectomy," said John Castle, MD, clinical assistant professor of surgery at UMMS and plastic surgery director at the UMass Memorial Comprehensive Breast Center. "This investigational system eliminates the need for saline injections by allowing the patient to trigger the release of small amounts of compressed carbon-dioxide through the valve of a tiny chamber located inside the expander. The patient uses the remote control to gradually inflate the investigational expander in small, pre-set amounts on a daily basis at home, eliminating the need for weekly doctor visits."

Participants in this clinical trial will undergo outpatient surgery to have the investigational tissue expansion device implanted. They will then use a wireless dose controller to trigger the release of small, regulated amounts of carbon-dioxide to fill the tissue expander, according to a protocol directed by their surgeon. Once the tissue is adequately expanded, participants will return to UMass Memorial Medical Center to have the implant surgically inserted. During earlier feasibility trials, the average expansion time associated with the remote-controlled tissue expander was 15 days, a fraction of the time required using traditional expanders which can take months to achieve full expansion.

Patients in the study will be randomly selected to receive the investigational expander or a traditional saline expander. The patients who receive the investigational expander will use a wireless remote control to trigger the release of small, regulated amounts of carbon-dioxide to fill the tissue expander, according to a protocol directed by Dr. Castle. Once the tissue is adequately expanded, the patient will return to have the expander removed and a standard implant placed.

The current standard of care in tissue expansion involves implanting a saline expander under the skin and pectoral muscle following a mastectomy procedure. The patient returns to her doctor weekly for bolus saline injections, which many patients say is the most painful, difficult part of the reconstruction process. The traditional saline process can take as long as five to six months.

UMass Memorial Medical Center and other hospitals across the U.S. are participating in the study. Enrollment will continue until a total of 92 AeroForm expanders and 46 saline expanders have been implanted in patients. AeroForm will be evaluated based on its ability to successfully and safely expand the tissue to the point that the expander can be replaced with a standard breast implant. Secondary measurements will include the average number of days needed to achieve the desired expansion, total reconstruction time, pain and patient satisfaction.

The AeroForm Patient Controlled Tissue Expander was designed and manufactured by AirXpanders, a medical device company in Palo Alto, CA. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted AirXpanders an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) to conduct the study and it has been approved for enrollment by the U Mass Memorial Medical Center Review Board.

For more information on the study, please visit clinicaltrials.gov. (NCT01425268) If you or someone you know is interested in joining the study, please call 508-334-7692.

About the University of Massachusetts Medical SchoolThe University of Massachusetts Medical School, one of the fastest growing academic health centers in the country, has built a reputation as a world-class research institution, consistently producing noteworthy advances in clinical and basic research. The Medical School attracts more than $270 million in research funding annually, 80 percent of which comes from federal funding sources. The mission of the Medical School is to advance the health and well-being of the people of the commonwealth and the world through pioneering education, research, public service and health care delivery with its clinical partner, UMass Memorial Health Care. For more information, visit http://www.umassmed.edu.

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UMass Medical School Enrolling Patients in Study of Tissue Expansion for Breast Reconstruction

Groundbreaking AIDS Researcher Dies at 62

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Harvard Medical School professor Norman L. Letvin 71, who was renowned as one of the scientific communitys leaders in the quest to develop an AIDS vaccine, was remembered after his death last month for not only his groundbreaking research but also his welcoming demeanor, musical gifts, and devotion to family.

Letvin, a pioneer in the use of non-human primates in AIDS vaccine research, died of pancreatic cancer on May 28 at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He was 62.

After graduating summa cum laude from Harvard, Letvin earned his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1975. Whilecompleting post-graduate training at the University of Pennsylvania, Letvin married Marion Stein 71, a fellow doctor. The two returned to Boston, where Letvin completed his senior residency at Massachusetts General Hospital.

In the early 1980s, Letvin discovered simian immunodeficiency virus, a virus similar to HIV that causes an AIDS-like illness in monkeys. That momentous finding led to a workable way for scientists to test HIV vaccines.

From 1994 until his death, he served as chief of the Division of Viral Pathogenesis at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He also edited the AIDS section of Science for 13 years.

Those who knew Letvin remembered his stunning intuition as a scientist.

I think he just had a natural talent for asking the right questions in science, his wife Marion said. He knew how to set up experiments in a way that whatever the results were, the data would be useful.

Though his laboratory at Beth Israel Deaconess was at the forefront of vital AIDS research, Letvin did not foster a tense working environment, colleagues recalled.

His door was always open. He made everyone feel that he was extremely approachable, said Wendy W. Yeh, a Medical School professor who worked in Letvins lab.

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Groundbreaking AIDS Researcher Dies at 62

Ohio University to operate medical school at Cleveland Clinic's South Pointe Hospital

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WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS, Ohio -A new medical school, an extension of Ohio University's Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, will open at Cleveland Clinic's South Pointe Hospital.

The Clinic and OU, which announced the affiliation Monday, will invest a combined $49 million to address the growing shortage of primary care doctors in Ohio.

The agreement builds upon a long-standing relationship between the Clinic and the Athens-based medical school, which have partnered to train physicians for the past 35 years. South Pointe Hospital is one of the largest osteopathic teaching hospitals in the state and OU students have done third- and fourth-year clinical rotations there for decades.

The school also further enhances the reputation of northeast Ohio as one of the nation's leading medical centers.

The first class of 32 medical students is scheduled to begin August 2015, assuming approvals by the American Osteopathic Association Council on Osteopathic College Accreditation and the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association.

Osteopathic physicians and medical doctors both attend four years of medical school. They complete their training during the same residency programs and pass the same licensing exams. The difference is in the teaching style and focus during medical school.

Osteopathic schools instruct students to look at the whole patient, not just symptoms, an approach now embraced by medical schools. Osteopathic students also are educated in osteopathic manipulative treatment, which involves manual diagnosis and treatment. Not all osteopathic physicians use that in their practice.

Most osteopathic doctors specialize in family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics, OU officials said.

OU will spend $36 million, which includes renovating 60,000 square feet in a clinical and office building on the South Pointe Hospital campus and hiring faculty and staff. The Clinic's contribution of $13 million will go toward building renovations as well as medical education support. That amount includes $5 million from the private, non-profit Brentwood Foundation, which is dedicated to the advancement of osteopathic medicine. The foundation is also providing a $6 million grant for graduate medical education.

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Ohio University to operate medical school at Cleveland Clinic's South Pointe Hospital

OU to open med-school branch near Cleveland

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By Encarnacion Pyle

The Columbus Dispatch Tuesday June 12, 2012 6:58 AM

People who want to attend medical school in the Cleveland area soon will have another choice.

Ohio University and the Cleveland Clinic announced yesterday that they are teaming up to open a $49.1 million medical-college campus in the Cleveland suburb of Warrensville Heights to fill a growing need for primary-care doctors in northeastern Ohio.

The extension campus will be developed in a building of the Cleveland Clinics South Pointe Hospital, a 179-bed, acute-care community teaching hospital that has served the citys southeastern suburbs since 1957. Ohio University and the Cleveland Clinic have worked together to train physicians for the past 35 years, and this agreement will build upon that relationship, officials said.

Together, we are striving to be the best at what we do, and we think this will help both of us do just that, OU President Roderick J. McDavis said.

The campus is expected to open with 32 students in July 2015.

Instead of having to take their first two years in Athens, students will be able to complete all four years of their medical education in northeastern Ohio, said Dr. Jack Brose, dean of the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.

It makes sense for the university to expand into northeastern Ohio because more than a quarter of its medical-school applicants come from the Cleveland area, Brose said. About 80percent of the schools graduates practicing primary care in the area also are trained there.

OU is working on a similar, $24 million medical college campus in Dublin with OhioHealth.

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Medical school breaks ground on $5M expansion

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Medical school breaks ground on $5M expansionBy Molly RosbachYakima Herald-Republic

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences is breaking ground this morning on a 22,000-square-foot expansion that's set to be completed by next summer.

The $5 million "Phase II" addition to Butler-Haney Hall has been planned since the university was first founded, and is being paid for by donors, like the rest of the school. The added space is required for the medical school to receive full accreditation and to expand its current 75-student enrollment by up to 60 students per class.

"Phase II was always planned, from the time we built Phase I. We probably would have built it much earlier, except for the economy changing," said Dr. Lloyd Butler, president of PNWU. "Now, we're in the wonderful position where the school and the community support are ready for us to complete this Phase II expansion in preparation for our request to increase our enrollment."

So far, about $1.5 million is paid for: $1 million from the Osteopathic Foundation of Central Washington and more than $500,000 from community donations. School officials expect to have the full cost of the building raised by August 2013.

The expansion is set to be finished next May followed by some separate remodeling on the interior of Butler-Haney Hall during the summer.

Loofburrow Wetch Architects worked on the building design for much of the past year, and the project went out to local contractors to bid in mid-April. In mid-May, G H Moen LLC was selected for the job.

In the addition, the school will have two new, 150-seat auditorium classrooms, which open up to form one 300-seat classroom. There will also be more office space for professors and support staff, a small prep kitchen and additional student spaces, such as an atrium, a food vending area and several bathrooms.

"This expansion will allow us to better meet our mission of producing primary care physicians for the Pacific Northwest," Butler said.

The added space will also make it easier for the university to host community functions and hold classes for continuing medical education, which all providers must take to stay up to date on new and developing medical procedures and technologies.

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SafeStitch Medical®, Inc. Will Attend the Abdominal Wall Reconstruction Conference to Present the AMID™ Hernia …

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MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

SafeStitch Medical, Inc. (SFES), will attend the Abdominal Wall Reconstruction Conference (AWR) in Washington DC, June 14-16, 2012 to present the AMID Hernia Fixation Device (AMID HFD).

We are excited to be exhibiting at the AWR this year. The AMID Hernia Fixation Device is used for both inguinal and ventral hernia surgeries. We believe the ventral hernia repair market can benefit from the AMID HFD, said Jeffrey Spragens, President and CEO of SafeStitch Medical.

For inguinal hernia repair using the Lichtenstein method, the innovative design of the AMID HFD fixates mesh by delivering staples in a parallel plane to the femoral vessels, which may help avoid vascular injury. The AMID HFD allows for mesh manipulation, mesh fixation and skin closure.

Ventral hernia repair can be complex and time consuming. The AMID HFD is easy to use, has a stapler counter and mesh manipulators that position the mesh before staple firing. We believe the AMID HFD avoids the need for suture placement and tying and may make large ventral hernia repair simpler, said Dr. Charles Filipi, Chief Medical Officer of SafeStitch Medical.

The Abdominal Wall Reconstruction Conference is being held at the JW Marriot in Washington DC, June 14-16, 2012. Please visit booth #302 in the Capitol Ballroom to learn more about the AMID Hernia Fixation Device.

The AMID Hernia Fixation Device is sold nationwide.

About Dr. Charles Filipi

Dr. Charles Filipi is SafeStitchs Chief Medical Officer and Professor of Surgery in the Department of Surgery at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. He has published 101 peer reviewed articles and 50 book chapters. He has been the inventor on over 15 patents and five years ago became medical director of SafeStitch Medical, Inc. Dr. Filipi continues to see patients one day a week and devotes five days a week to research. His primary interests are intra-luminal surgery for the correction of gastroesophageal reflux disease and obesity, Barretts esophagus mucosal excision, stapled inguinal hernia repair and esophageal force feedback dilation.

About SafeStitch Medical, Inc.

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SafeStitch Medical®, Inc. Will Attend the Abdominal Wall Reconstruction Conference to Present the AMID™ Hernia ...

MindChild Medical, Inc., Announces Results of National Fetal Monitoring Market Survey

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NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

MindChild Medical, Inc., today announced results of a recently sponsored national survey of hospital administrators and obstetricians (NSFM3) focused on trends in fetal monitoring. Recent fetal monitoring literature suggests that of the 4.3 million US live births recorded in 20074, 1.4 million, or over 30%5, occurred where the mother had a BMI (Body Mass Index) exceeding 30kg/m2 considered the effective limit for existing non-invasive fetal monitoring technology6.

Key findings of the NSFM Survey included:

Michael G. Ross, MD, MPH7, Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA commented, Noninvasive FHR monitoring may result in inadvertent monitoring of maternal heart rate, which can be mistaken for fetal heart rate, particularly in obese patients. The increase in maternal BMI seen nationally over the recent past is a troubling trend that has significant negative implications for the accuracy of existing non-invasive FHR monitoring technologies. The use of non-invasive surface electrodes can potentially improve in the monitoring of fetal heart rate and aid in prevention of adverse outcomes associated with mistaken maternal heart rate monitoring.

Previous Announcements

On February 22, 2012, MindChild reported formation of a Clinical Advisory Board for the MERIDIAN Line of Non-Invasive Fetal Heart Rate Monitors

On February 6, 2012, MindChild reported filing of a 510(k) Pre-Marketing Notification Application with the US Food and Drug Administration for the MERIDIAN Line of Non-Invasive Fetal Heart Rate Monitors

About the MERIDIAN Non-Invasive Fetal Heart Rate Monitor

MERIDIAN is a fetal monitor that non-invasively measures and displays Fetal Heart Rate (FHR). MERIDIAN acquires and displays the FHR tracing from abdominal surface electrodes that detect the fetal ECG signal (fECG). MERIDIAN may also be used to measure and display FHR using a Fetal Scalp Electrode (FSE). MERIDIAN is designed for women who are at term (> 36 completed weeks), in labor, with singleton pregnancies, using surface electrodes on the maternal abdomen. MERIDIAN is intended for use by healthcare professionals in a clinical setting.

About the Fetal Heart Monitoring Market

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MindChild Medical, Inc., Announces Results of National Fetal Monitoring Market Survey

OU, Cleveland Clinic announce new medical-school campus

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By Encarnacion Pyle

The Columbus Dispatch Monday June 11, 2012 3:40 PM

Ohio University and the Cleveland Clinic announced this afternoon that they have agreed to develop a $49.1 million medical-school campus to help fill a growing need for primary-care doctors in northeast Ohio.

Ohio University will contribute $36 million towards the extension campus that will be at the Cleveland Clinics South Pointe Hospital, a 179-bed acute-care community teaching hospital that has served the citys southeast suburbs since 1957, officials said at a news conference.

The Cleveland campus is expected to open with 32 students in July 2015.

Cleveland Clinic and the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine share a dedication to excellence in patient care, research and medical education, Dr. Toby M. Cosgrove, the Cleveland Clinics president and CEO said in a news release. This collaboration will help improve quality for patients, stimulate medical innovation and improve the economic health of our communities.

OU is working on similar, $24 million medical college campus in Dublin with OhioHealth.

The Dublin City Council unanimously voted in April to give the Athens university 70 acres surrounding the property and two buildings that OU is buying at 7001-7003 Post Rd., just off Rts. 161/33 interchange. The college is expected to open with at least 50 students in fall 2014.

The money from Ohio University for the Cleveland project will be used to renovate a building on the South Pointe campus, as well as pay for staff, faculty and operations costs for the campus. The Cleveland Clinic will provide $13.1 million for capital improvements and renovations to the building and staff and operational support.

Cleveland Clinic officials also have committed to increasing its post-graduate residency and fellowship positions for students. After graduation, young doctors are required to do three to seven years of residency training under the supervision of more-experienced physicians before they can take medical-board exams and go into practice.

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Ohio University to open medical school at Cleveland Clinic's South Pointe Hospital

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WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS, Ohio --A new medical school, an extension of Ohio University's Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, will open at Cleveland Clinic's South Pointe Hospital.

The Clinic and OU, which announced the affiliation today, will invest a combined $49 million to address the growing shortage of primary care doctors in Ohio.

The agreement builds on a longstanding relationship between the Clinic and the Athens-based medical school, which have partnered to train physicians for 35 years. South Pointe Hospital is one of the largest osteopathic teaching hospitals in the state and OU students have done third- and fourth-year clinical rotations there for decades.

The first class of 32 medical students is scheduled to begin July 2015, assuming approvals by the American Osteopathic Association Council on Osteopathic College Accreditation and the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association.

An osteopathic physician and a medical doctor both attend four years of medical school. They complete their training during the same residency programs and pass the same licensing exams.

The difference is in the teaching style and focus during medical school. Osteopathic schools instruct students to look at the whole patient, not just symptoms, which is now being embraced by medical schools. Osteopathic students also are educated in osteopathic manipulative treatment, which is manual diagnosis and treatment. Not all osteopathic physicians use that in their practice.

OU will spend $36 million, which includes renovating a building on the South Pointe Hospital campus and hiring faculty and staff. The Clinic's contribution of $13 million includes the building renovations as well as medical education support. The Brentwood Foundation, a nonprofit, private foundation that advances osteopathic medicine, is providing a $5 million grant to South Pointe Hospital and $6 million to graduate medical education.

"Cleveland Clinic and the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine share a dedication to excellence in patient care, research and medical education," said Dr. Toby M. Cosgrove, Cleveland Clinic President and CEO in a news release. "This collaboration will help improve quality for patients, stimulate medical innovation and improve the economic health of our communities."

The affiliation shows how public and private collaborations can create jobs and improve the quality of life for Ohioans, OU President Roderick McDavis, said in a release.

"Our medical students will be offered expanded education opportunities with world-renowned experts at the Cleveland Clinic," he said. "With our partners, with this additional site, we are a university of promise for our students and for the citizens of our great state."

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Ohio University to open medical school at Cleveland Clinic's South Pointe Hospital

Hospital awards Jami Grimes-Flannery scholarship to attend medical school

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Mt. Carmel native and MCHS graduate Jami Grimes-Flannery has been awarded a scholarship from Wabash General Hospital to attend medical school beginning in August.

Ms. Grimes-Flannery recently graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in biology and in February was accepted into Medical School at the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Medicine.

According to WGH CEO Jay Purvis the signing of the scholarship agreement took place recently at the hospital. The agreement states that after completing medical school and residency requirements Ms. Grimes-Flannery will return to become a member of the Wabash General Hospital medical staff. At this time her plans are to pursue a career as a general surgeon.

Ms. Grimes-Flannery graduated from Wabash Valley College in 2010 with an Associate in Science degree and then continued her college studies at USI graduating this spring. She was the recipient of several awards and participated in a wide variety of activities during her college years. Jami also was an employee of Wabash General Hospital during her years at WVC and USI. Her cumulative GPA at these schools was 3.89.

Jami is the daughter of Dr. W.R. and Rebecca Hardy of Mt. Carmel. Her first year of medical school will be at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana campus beginning in mid-August. Subsequent years will be at the Rockford Campus of the University of Illinois.

With some 300 employees, a 10-year analysis of expanding Wabash General Hospital services, including the opening of a new Medical Office and Rehabilitation Building in 2011, was reviewed by Wabash County Council and termed an economic engine for Wabash County by Commission Chairman Charles Sanders.

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Hospital awards Jami Grimes-Flannery scholarship to attend medical school

Emergency Medical Associates to Deliver Emergency Department Management Services to Two-Hospital System in Rhode Island

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LIVINGSTON, NJ--(Marketwire -06/08/12)- Emergency Medical Associates was selected by CharterCARE Health Partners, headquartered in Providence, R.I., to provide emergency management services to Our Lady of Fatima Hospital and Roger Williams Medical Center.

Emergency Medical Associates began staffing the emergency department at Our Lady of Fatima in North Providence on April 19, and will begin staffing Roger Williams Medical Center on June 20.

"Emergency Medical Associates is excited to begin our first client relationship in New England," said Raymond Iannaccone, MD, FACEP, chief executive officer of Emergency Medical Associates. "The CharterCARE System is a growing, vibrant care provider, and we're proud to begin serving its patients."

"The delivery of high-quality care is our primary objective in the emergency department and throughout our health system," said Kenneth H. Belcher, president and chief executive officer of CharterCARE Health Partners. "Our partnership with Emergency Medical Associates will provide our affiliate hospitals with direct access to best practices in emergency care and assure our patients with superior quality."

Our Lady of Fatima Hospital is a 269-bed hospital sponsored by the Diocese of Providence. The hospital includes one the region's most advanced surgical facilities, a recognized critical care pavilion, a range of outpatient diagnostic and specialty services, and dedicated programs in behavioral health and rehabilitation. The hospital's 33-bed emergency department sees close to 30,000 patients annually.

Roger Williams Medical Center is a 220-bed hospital affiliated with Boston University School of Medicine. It operates several residency and fellowship programs, including programs in internal medicine, infectious disease, hematology/oncology and surgical oncology. The medical center provides a full complement of inpatient and outpatient services, including a Joint Commission-accredited visiting nurse service. Its 27-bed emergency department sees 25,000 patients annually.

About Emergency Medical AssociatesEmergency Medical Associates (EMA) is a physician-led, physician-owned medical practice that specializes in emergency, hospitalist and urgent care medicine. Dedicated to providing exceptional solutions for the measurable success of our hospital partners, EMA is recognized for clinical excellence, quality service and sustained improved patient satisfaction. For more information, visit http://www.ema.net, http://www.facebook.com/EMANews or http://www.twitter.com/EMANews.

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Emergency Medical Associates to Deliver Emergency Department Management Services to Two-Hospital System in Rhode Island

Former refugee graduates from medical school, plans career in western Virginia

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ROANOKE, Va.

Edi Berbic plans to practice medicine in southwest Virginia. That's not surprising, perhaps, for a graduate of William Fleming High School and the Edward Via School of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg, but his journey to Roanoke began in war-torn Bosnia, and included three years in a refugee camp in Croatia.

Berbic lived on Eden Drive for just three months, but the Roanoke neighborhood still holds a special place in his heart. "It represents the starting point for me and my new life here in the U.S.," Berbic told us. "You were living by yourself with your family and not sharing a bathroom with 50 other individuals. So it was very peaceful. It felt at home."

Earlier this month, Berbic received his degree from the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine. He leaves next week for a three year residency in New Jersey. Not bad for a kid who couldn't speak English when he arrived in Roanoke in 1995.

"I didn't know a bit of English, so me starting 5th grade, it was very difficult because you see kids talking about you, making fun of you, laughing at you," he said. "So for me it was very difficult understanding what they were talking about and as a kid you take that to the heart."

Berbic credits his teachers, and the close relationship he shares with his parents and his brother Elvir. "To be honest, he was my role model at some point," Elvir Berbic told us, "because while he was working on his doctorate, I was just finishing up my bachelor's degree. A younger brother can definitely be a role model as well," he said.

The brothers hope their experiences will encourage others to follow their dreams.

"If I can do it," Edi Berbic said, "you can do it as well. So please have that goal and that determination."

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Former refugee graduates from medical school, plans career in western Virginia

Students at Antioch medical high school ready to make mark

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ANTIOCH -- They were Dozier-Libbey Medical High's first students to struggle through a rigorous medical-themed curriculum, figure out how to make wearing scrubs a fashion statement and make the daily drive down a long two-lane road to the secluded campus.

Now the school's first graduating class is about to embark on their next pathway.

The 127 seniors at the Antioch magnet school finished their time as student trailblazers Friday afternoon, receiving their highly sought diplomas.

Just before the tassels were turned to the left and caps thrown into the air, Alexa Gordon spoke about how her class was a group of pioneers.

"We've been living in a fish bowl, being judged and surveyed. The way of the pioneer is tough, but we beat the odds," Gordon said.

"It's been really great, just to be that class that kind of sets the tone and a high standard," senior Seth Martinez said during Thursday's graduation practice.

"At times we felt like the guinea pigs, but I think it's definitely prepared us for college."

Added senior Raymond Maciel: "There is definitely more of a drive here, to strive to get into a college."

About half of the Dozier-Libbey graduates are attending four-year colleges, while the rest are enrolled in two-year colleges, entering trade schools or enlisting in the military. Additionally, over 80 percent of the seniors earned the Dozier-Libbey Certificate of Excellence, a distinction given to students

Principal Nancie Castro is excited for the graduates' futures but sad to see the kids go. It was just five years ago when the district broke ground on a former cow pasture for the school, she said.

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Students at Antioch medical high school ready to make mark

Monkey injured in new incident at Harvard Medical School research facility

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By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe Staff

A rhesus monkey escaped from its cage in late April at a Harvard Medical School animal research facility and injured a pig-tailed macaque while it roamed the room, according to a federal inspection report and a spokesman for the US Department of Agriculture.

The May 16 inspection report, posted online Thursday by the agency, cites the school for directly harming or endangering an animal and states that staff had not latched the cage properly.

The report says Harvard gave additional training to staff, and new procedures were put in place to prevent future problems. It said the injured monkey was recovering, but did not describe the extent of its injuries.

The incident occurred at a primate research facility in Boston. It is just the latest incident at a Harvard Medical School research facility. Over the last two years, four monkey deaths related to problems in animal care have been cited by the USDA at the New England Primate Research Center, the institutions Southborough research facility. The school was also cited for a primate death due to an overdose of anesthesia at the Boston research facility last year. Harvard Medical School has now been cited for a total of eight separate instances of directly endangering animals health or welfare in two years. In comparison, there were 25 such direct noncompliance incidents at research facilities nationwide in fiscal year 2011, according to David Sacks, a spokesman for the USDA.

The agency has been investigating other incidents at Harvard related to animal care, which could result in fines or warnings. Sacks said the agency plans to further investigate the new incident.

In a statement, Harvard Medical School said the incident was self-reported.

In keeping with our commitment to continuous quality improvement, we promptly conducted additional training of the laboratory staff and strengthened our procedures, the statement said.

In an e-mail, Jeanne McVey, a spokeswoman for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, said the direct noncompliance with animal welfare laws that Harvard was cited for was serious. She noted the inspection occurred weeks after the incident occurred, and at that time, according to the report, the monkey was responding well to treatment.

That probably means the injured monkey was still recovering after over three weeks, McVey wrote. It was likely a pretty serious injury.

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Monkey injured in new incident at Harvard Medical School research facility

Titan Medical Inc. Announces Addition of Dr. Dennis L. Fowler, MD, MPH as Development Consultant

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TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -06/07/12)- Titan Medical Inc. (the "Company") (TMD.V)(TITXF) announced today that Dr. Dennis L. Fowler, MD, MPH has joined the Company as a consultant for the development of the Company's Insertable Robotic Effector Platform ("IREP") for single-site surgery.

"As a co-inventor of the IREP, Dr. Fowler's in-depth expertise in developing robotic surgical technologies and in performing laparoscopic surgery will be of great value to our team," said Craig Leon, Chief Executive Officer of Titan Medical Inc. "We believe, the advisory role he is going to take in the development of our single-site robotic surgery technology will be essential as we advance the IREP program from the development stage to clinical trials."

Dr. Fowler is Medical Director of the New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia Simulation Center and Director of the Reemtsma Center for Innovation and Outcomes Research in the Department of Surgery at Columbia. He joined the minimal access surgery field in 1990 when laparoscopic technology became available, and developed several new techniques for laparoscopic surgery, including laparoscopic colon surgery. In 2000, New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) recruited him from his directorship of the Allegheny Center for Laparoscopic and Minimally Invasive Surgery in Pittsburgh to lead the newly formed Minimal Access Surgery Center (MASC) at both the Columbia and the Cornell campuses of NYPH. He continued in that role from 2000-2008 during which time he also served as Chief of the Division of General Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College (2002-2004) and Vice President and Medical Director for Perioperative Services at NYPH/Columbia (2004-2008).

While Director of MASC, Dr. Fowler pioneered the field of minimal access surgery as an innovator of both devices and procedures. His work with MASC involved surgical skills training and assessment for Columbia University Department of Surgery residents as well as for licensed practitioners. He has published extensively on the topics of minimally invasive surgery, technology development, and surgical education. In 2008, he received his MPH degree from Columbia University, and now focuses on improving healthcare outcomes through health systems research; designing, testing, and commercializing innovative healthcare technology (e.g., surgical robotics to reduce the complexity of minimal access surgery); and designing, testing, and implementing simulation training for healthcare providers.

At the very beginning of his career, Dr. Fowler was a Surgical Endoscopy Fellow in 1979-80 at the Massachusetts General Hospital after having previously graduated from medical school and having completed a general surgery residency in Kansas City.

About Titan Medical Inc.

Titan Medical Inc. is a Canadian public company (TMD.V)(TITXF) focused on the design, development and commercialization of new robotic surgical technologies. The Company is advancing the development of a robust product portfolio with the objective to meet current needs in surgical procedures which would benefit all stakeholders, including patients, surgeons, and hospitals. The Company's product portfolio includes solutions for both single-site and multi-port surgical procedures that are under-served by robotic and non-robotic minimally invasive techniques. Robotic surgery has developed over the past 10 years into a proven and growing method of treatment. According to a Robotic Surgery Equipment Manufacturing report, industry revenue is projected to increase at an average annual rate of 14.9% to $4.2 billion from 2011 to 2016. For more information, visit the Company's website at http://www.titanmedicalinc.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" which reflect the current expectations of management of the Company's future growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities. Wherever possible, words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "potential for" and similar expressions have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current beliefs with respect to future events and are based on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, those listed in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 30, 2012 (which may be viewed at http://www.sedar.com). Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward looking statements prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. These factors should be considered carefully and prospective investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in the news release are based upon what management currently believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure prospective investors that actual results, performance or achievements will be consistent with these forward-looking statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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Titan Medical Inc. Announces Addition of Dr. Dennis L. Fowler, MD, MPH as Development Consultant