In his spare time, John Lohnes, Duke orthopaedic physician assistant coordinates REMEDY at Duke, a volunteer program that collects surplus medical supplies from the health system to donate to medically under-served areas overseas. In 1996, several Duke medical students began collecting usable surplus from Duke Hospital to donate to various charities doing overseas work. In 2004, interested staff, students and administrators reviewed the safety, compliance and liability issues associated with this effort and the Health Center approved a more formal process for handling surplus supplies. At that time the program adopted the name “REMEDY at Duke”, using the REMEDY model developed at Yale University currently in use at many hospitals throughout the United States. In recent months John has been working with Duke employees from Liberia and Sierra Leone to coordinate shipments to west Africa to help with the Ebola outbreak.

With the added help of Duke warehouse staff and student volunteers they have to date sent over 30 pallets of surplus supplies, including masks, gloves, gowns, and antiseptics to Sierra Leone and Liberia. These are all materials that otherwise would have been discarded.

John encourages others in the Orthopaedic Department to consider volunteering some of their spare time to the REMEDY program, not only related to the current Ebola outbreak in Africa, but for the many other global health projects the program supports throughout the year. Any of our medical providers may request supplies for global health projects they are involved with.

For more information on the REMEDY program as well as how to volunteer, please contact John Lohnes or visit their blog at http://sites.duke.edu/remedy.

Announcement from Dr. Ben Alman 10/21/2014:

I am pleased to announce that after a national search, Sam Wellman, has been appointed the inaugural Associate Chief of Surgery for VISN Networking in Orthopaedics and the Head of Orthopaedic Surgery, at the Durham VA. In this position he will be developing a strategic vision and plan for orthopaedic care in our VA ​Network, as well as developing an academic and clinical leadership team at the Durham VA. Sam graduated from Duke University School of Medicine, did his orthopaedic surgery residency training at Duke before completing an adult reconstruction fellowship in Boston at the New England Baptist Hospital. He currently is a faculty member in Orthopaedic Surgery at Duke, and also works at the Durham VA, where his practice focuses on hip and knee replacement. Sam is a highly rated educator in the Duke residency training program, and has published extensively on the outcomes of total joint surgery, including on processes to improve postoperative management to decrease length of stay. Sam enjoys cycling, building furniture, and in the past had built a boat in his home workshop. However, he and his wife Danielle, a radiologist in Raleigh, are quite busy with their two young children, Jack and Greta, so his hobbies are on the back burner for now.

Also, please join me in thanking Bill Hardaker for serving as head of orthopaedics at the Durham VA for the past several years. Bill has been a tireless advocate for providing a high level of orthopaedic care for veterans, and he built the Durham VA into a top rated educational site for our trainees. Bill will continue in his clinical and teaching roles at the VA.

Congratulations to Sam on this new position, and thank you to Bill Hardaker for his many years of service.

Commitment to inspiring young women to be leaders in the field of Orthopaedic Surgery and Engineering is the mission of the Perry Initiative.   This is accomplished through outreach programs across the country for women students in high school, college, and medical school.  On Nov 7-8, Duke Orthopaedics hosted a Perry Outreach Program.  In attendance were medical students from Duke, UNC and Brody Schools of Medicine and high school students from all over North Carolina.  Students enjoyed inspiring talks from the speakers and participated in ‘hands-on’ workshops on fracture repair, scoliosis, knee arthroscopy and suturing.

Thanks to the many clinical and research faculty that donated their time:
Dr. Ben Alman
Dr. Nancy Andrews
Dr. Brian Brigman
Dr. Bruce Browner
Dr. Melissa Erikson
Dr. Robin Queen
Dr. Rachel Reilly
Dr. Erica Taylor-Webb

The workshop would also not have been possible without the many volunteers who also helped: Amber Collins, Jing Han, Kelly Kimmerling, Kristin Kimmerling, Elizabeth Leimer, Chia-Lung Wu, Whasil Lee, Ali Ross, Katie Glass, Reid D’Amico, Asli Unal and Heidi Williams.

The coordination behind this event was led by Dr. Diane Little – a major undertaking but worth the investment in these you students!

Link and pictures from the Duke Orthopaedics Perry Outreach Program can be found at https://twitter.com/PerryInitiative/media and https://www.facebook.com/perryinitiative

Additional information regarding the Perry Initiative can be found at http://perryinitiative.org

The Chairman of the Committee Appointment Program (CAP) from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, David D. Teuscher, MD, has appointed Dr. Robin Queen to serve as the ORS Representative on the Women’s Health Issues Advisory Board. This is a two-year term and will begin at the close of Annual Meeting in 2015 and conclude at the close of Annual Meeting in 2017.

Congratulations to Dr. Queen on this appointment as it is a great opportunity! We are grateful for her commitment and appreciate her time, efforts and dedication to the AAOS.

Duke scientists are closer to understanding how cartilage senses injury-causing mechanical strain at the cellular level: a pair of channels that work together to cause cartilage cells to die off in droves. Using a substance found in tarantula venom to block these channels, the researchers have prevented cell death caused when cartilage cells detect mechanical strain. The findings could lead to drug targets for protecting joints and preventing the pain associated with cartilage injuries.

A molecule found in tarantula venom, the peptide GsMTx4, protects against cell death in a tissue model of cartilage injury.  (Left) Injury to the cartilage causes cell death, shown in red. (Right) GsMTx4 significantly reduces cell death.
(Photo credit – Guilak and Liedtke laboratories)

Read more about this finding at http://today.duke.edu/2014/11/cartilage