Chief’s message:

March Madness ended tonight for Blue Devil nation, and I am aware of some people that were fortunate enough to get to the game (see the photo of Schuyler and his son Andrew that got to the game at the end of a Spring Break week). Part of the wonder of Duke Basketball is that there are always extremely high expectations  — championship or bust — and they often get close to or achieve the goals.  Nevertheless, there is clearly joy in the way the game is played and the journey through the tournament.  It’s with this background that we want to thank our Physicians on the weekend of Doctors Day to say thanks for all that you to do to set the clinical, educational, research, and most importantly the professional standard for cardiovascular medicine that we continue to strive to.

Highlights of the week:

Vemulapalli to Lead Duke Echocardiography Lab/Cardiac Diagnostic Unit

We are excited to announce that Sreekanth Vemulapalli, MD, assistant professor of medicine in cardiology at Duke, has agreed to lead the Duke Echocardiography Laboratory and the Clinical Diagnostic Unit. The Echo lab faculty and staff have a long tradition of ensuring the highest quality clinical care and research, and we look forward to having Sreek continue this tradition and take us to new heights as we transition to more personalized and efficient cardiovascular care. The selection committee and review group found Sreek to have a clear vision of how we can evolve echocardiographic imaging at Duke to ensure we continue to innovate and provide the very best care for our patients. He began this role effective Monday, March 25.

Vemulapalli’s clinical practice and research endeavors have centered on structural heart disease. He currently serves as medical director for the Vascular Imaging Lab in the Duke Cardiac Diagnostic Unit and leads the interventional echocardiography group within the Cardiac Diagnostic Unit. He serves as co-principal investigator for the Society of Thoracic Surgeons/ American College of Cardiology Transcatheter Valve Therapies Registry (STS/ACC TVT) Analytic Center housed within the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) and as co-principal investigator for the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Data Warehouse and Analytic Center, also at DCRI. Through these positions, Vemulapalli has led efforts to integrate echocardiographic data into the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute Network’s Common Data Model and merged echo data with electronic health records and STS/ACC TVT Registry data at multiple institutions across the US. He also serves as associate director for Healthcare Delivery Transformation at Duke Forge (Duke Center for Health Data Sciences) and is leading efforts to apply machine learning and computer vision techniques to the interpretation of echocardiograms at Duke.

We thank John Alexander, who graciously served as our interim Echo and CDU director through this transition. John demonstrated consistent selflessness and has been a proponent for the faculty and staff. We also thank Dan Mark who served as chair of the selection committee.

Please congratulate Sreek as we welcome him to this new role.

Mock Cardiac Arrest/Resuscitation Drill Held

Our first simulated cardiac arrest with drone AED delivery to the scene was conducted on Friday; this is the focus of a grant from the Chancellor that was awarded to Monique Starks. The research team includes members from Durham EMS, NC State School of Engineering, Duke Pratt School of Engineering, Duke Social Science Research Institute and Duke Department of Community and Family Medicine.

The photo here shows the drone and some of the team members who attended this first mock arrest/resuscitation.

Starks’s grant involves studying simulated cardiac arrests with drone AED delivery and volunteer bystanders to explore the human factors of this technological innovation and see what barriers are going to impede the effectiveness of resuscitation with bystander AED use. The team will be conducting focus groups to explore these issues. Really interesting work and we look forward to learning more!

Grant Funding Awarded

Congratulations to Jenn Rymer, Angela Lowenstern, Sunil Rao, and Schuyler Jones – they learned recently that they will receive $83,000 from the ACC Quality Improvement Initiative to launch the Duke Renal Impairment Program in the Duke Cath lab to reduce the risk of contrast nephropathy.

Heart Warming Moment of the Week!

Congratulations to first year cardiology fellow Navid Nafissi who got engaged to Haley Lloyd at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens last weekend. We are so excited for you both!

Nursing Highlights

On March 22, former and current Central Monitoring staff and nursing leadership gathered together for a celebration in honor of that team. Central Monitoring will be closing in a few months after the transition to local monitoring is fully established across Duke University Hospital. We thank each of these team members for their dedication to our Duke Heart patients over the years.

 

Two members of the Heart nursing leadership team presented posters at the North Carolina Organization for Nurse Leaders Annual Membership Meeting and Conference, which took place on March 21. Meg Wood, BSN, RN presented Orientation to the CICU: The Need for Evidenced-Based Education and the Implementation of the Onboarding Process to Improve the New Graduate Nurse Experience and Lindsay Botzenhart, BSN, RN, PCCN presented Optimizing Meaningful Recognition to Increase Nurse Satisfaction. Thank you for representing Duke Heart at this conference!

Also on March 21, Kelsey Ignat, BSN, RN, CCRN-CMC presented her poster entitled Getting to the Heart of the Matter:  Reducing Burnout and Increasing Resilience in the CICU at the 14th Annual Duke Health Patient Safety and Quality Conference. Nice job!

 

Your ACC 2019 Highlights

We had a great showing at the ACC Scientific Sessions in New Orleans! Thanks to those of you who took some time this week to drop us a note with photos and summaries about what you enjoyed the most. Great job, everyone!  We likely didn’t get it all but will keep sharing all of the ACC presentations and science.

AUGUSTUS

Renato Lopes, MD, PhD presented the results in the late breaking clinical trials session on Sunday. AUGUSTUS was a 2 x 2 factorial design randomized clinical trial of apixaban vs. warfarin and aspirin vs. placebo in patients with atrial fibrillation and either acute coronary syndrome or undergoing PCI. The main findings were that apixaban caused 31 percent less bleeding and reduced hospitalization compared with warfarin and that aspirin caused 89 percent more bleeding than placebo. There was no difference in ischemic events with apixaban vs. warfarin or aspirin vs. placebo. The investigators concluded that, “In patients with atrial fibrillation and a recent acute coronary syndrome or PCI treated with a P2Y₁₂ inhibitor, an antithrombotic regimen that included apixaban, without aspirin, resulted in less bleeding and fewer hospitalizations without significant differences in ischemic events than regimens that included a vitamin K antagonist, aspirin, or both.” The study was simultaneously published in the NEJM. AUGUSTUS provides critical data on how best to treat our patients who need both oral anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation and antiplatelet therapy for an acute coronary syndrome or PCI. Amit Vora, Chris Granger, and John Alexander were other Duke cardiology fellows/faculty involved with AUGUSTUS. Great job to all!

Race and Sex-Based Disparities Persist in the Treatment of Patients With Severe, Symptomatic Aortic Valve Stenosis – Poster presentation

Using a large nationwide claims-based database, Angela Lowenstern and team found that only approximately one third of patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis undergo treatment with AVR. While disparities in the treatment of non-hispanic black patients have improved over time, female patients still undergo treatment with AVR less often than male patients. Unsurprisingly, untreated patients in each group had poor outcomes. However, survival among female patients who underwent treatment was also worse than treated male patients, driven by higher mortality in the SAVR group.

Patient Perceptions and Management of Cholesterol Among Individuals With or Without Diabetes in Community Practice: Results From the PALM Registry – Moderated Poster presentation

Using the PALM registry, Angela Lowenstern and team examined statin prescriptions and patient perceptions among patients with and without diabetes. We found that a large proportion of high-risk patients remain untreated or under treated based on the 2013 ACC/AHA guideline recommendations for management with statin medications. Diabetic patients were more likely to perceive themselves to be at higher risk for future cardiovascular events and more likely to worry about these potential events. There remain significant gaps in guideline-recommended statin therapy use in patients with diabetes, despite objective and patient-reported assessment of higher risk and patient willingness to consider treatment with a statin medication.

Jimmy Tcheng was active in the innovation space at ACC.19. According to Jimmy, he had the most fun serving as a judge at the Artificial Intelligence “Shark Tank” competition Sunday morning in the Future Hub space. He also was a panelist on the Heart to Heart stage discussing artificial intelligence approaches in cardiovascular imaging, clinical risk prediction, and in reducing clinician burden.

Picture – left to right: Issam Moussa (Urbana-Champaign, IL), Jimmy Tcheng, Dipti Itchhaporia (Newport Beach, CA), Tom Maddox (St. Louis, MO)

Manesh Patel was interviewed by Dr. Gibson & the CTR team. His interview can be found here:  www.clinicaltrialresults.org or at the following link: http://tv.clinicaltrialresults.org/play.php?submission_id=2296.

Manesh enjoyed catching up with Bill Smith and Chris Cabell

Rob Mentz was awarded the W. Harvey Young Teachers Award. Well deserved!

John Serfas presented a poster entitled “Adults and Adolescents with Congenital Heart Disease: Who are we Losing to Follow Up?” We took a look at a database of North Carolina congenital heart disease patients seen at one of four centers in NC (Duke, UNC, Wake Forest, and ECU), and looked at rates of follow up at 1 and 2 years from an index encounter. We discovered that more than 40 percent of patients do not follow up within two years, and that Black race, Hispanic ethnicity, and less severe congenital heart disease are associated with lower rates of follow up.

Haider Warraich designed and led a session on the intersection of palliative care and cardiovascular disease, giving a presentation that provided an overview of end of life care for patients with heart disease.

Many Twitter posts with great photos – many comments from the team on how great it is to catch up with old friends at ACC!

Michael Nanna presented his work from the PALM registry as a moderated poster on Sunday, March 17 highlighting practice variation in lipid treatment and achieved lipid goals across U.S. community practices. Additionally, he presented his abstract demonstrating the lack of association between LDL-C and cardiovascular events in older adults free of cardiovascular disease from the pooled cohorts as a moderated poster on Saturday, March 16. Nanna presented this work again on Sunday as an invited oral presentation at the 2019 Geriatric Cardiology Section Poster Session, which was selected as the winning abstract in the Clinical/Translational category.

CVRC Hosts Field Trip for 8^th Graders Interested in STEM

This week, the Cardiovascular Research Center hosted a field trip of 8^th grade girls who participate in the Women and Mathematics Mentoring Program here in Durham. The girls are interested in studying STEM as they get older. The CVRC is interested in supporting local and regional efforts of schools and other organizations working to build a pipeline for the next generation of physician scientists. During the visit, CVRC staff members emphasized that our faculty are both seeing patients and conducting cutting-edge research, and we encouraged them to pictures themselves in this role. As the next step, the girls were invited to come back and do volunteer research in our CVRC labs when they get to high school.

Neil Freedman and Dennis Abraham offered terrific tours of their labs for the students; everyone had a great time! Many thanks to the CVRC for participating in this great opportunity to grow awareness of STEM careers for girls. What a great way to showcase our basic science labs while also helping our community by inspiring others!

 Asher Rosenberg had his Bar Mitzvah this weekend

Cary and Paul must were very proud to celebrate Asher’s Bar Mitzvah this weekend.  Some fun pictures included from the 80s themed event.

Thompson Earns PhD via Duke SON

Congratulations to the newly minted Dr. Shelley Thompson, one of our cardiac nurse practitioners, who successfully defended her doctoral thesis this past Wednesday (March 20) for her program within the Duke School of Nursing. The title of her thesis is Impact of a palliative care education module in patients with heart failure. Her team is really proud of her and we hear she did an amazing job. Shelley is shown here with her committee members: Tony Galanos, Midge Bowers and Cary Ward. Way to go, Shelley!

Cardiac Nurse Featured by Duke SON

Brooke Moyer was recently featured on the Duke SON website: https://nursing.duke.edu/brooke-moyer. Congrats and way to represent!

Doctors Day 2019

We are a little early, but wanted to wish all MDs throughout Duke Heart (all current and former!) a very happy Doctor’s Day which takes place on Saturday, March 30.

Duke Heart Grows by One!

We are delighted to share the news that Chelsey Moore, PA, a co-team lead of our cardiac APP’s, and her family have welcomed a baby girl. Ava Cathryn Moore was born on Monday, March 18 weighing in at 8 lbs, 2 oz and measuring 20 inches. Mom and baby are doing great. Congrats, Chelsey!!

Ava’s arrival coincided with the birthday of Annette Sullivan, assistant to Peter Smith, chief of the division of CT surgery – a belated happy birthday to her!

Speaking of birthdays… we hear via the Twitter-verse that today is Sunil Rao’s birthday – happy birthday, Sunil!

ACC Legislative Conference Scheduled for November 2-5, 2019

Last November, Jamie Jollis was among a number of North Carolina cardiologists who visited with Senator Richard Burr during the 2018 ACC Legislative Conference. In face-to-face meetings with members of Congress and other policymakers on Capitol Hill, more than more than 400 cardiologists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and nurses discussed their experience providing quality, evidence-based care. Discussion topics included opportunities and needs to improve the system, electronic health records, supporting NIH funding, excluding type 2 MI from hospital mortality measures, and extending cardiac rehabilitation supervision to advanced practitioners.

Next year’s conference will be held November 2-5, 2019, with visits to the Hill on November 5. As the Federal Government funds the largest public health system in the world and decisions by policy makers impact every aspect of patient care and research, all are encouraged to join this important meeting. If you have questions about how to get involved, please contact Jamie. This is a great opportunity to make sure your voice is heard. It’s also a great way to represent Duke!

Best Hospitals Voting Ends Wednesday!

Are you on Doximity? Have you voted yet? Voting for the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals survey closes on Wednesday, March 27. This makes a difference and should take just minutes to complete. Thank you!

Photos of the Week

Magnus Ohman receiving his official “Good Catch” award that we mentioned in last week’s issue of Pulse. Nice Job, Magnus!

This one will never get old! Photo courtesy of one of Magnus’ patients.

Cardiology Grand Rounds – updates

Jim Crowley, president of the Irish Cardiac Society (and former Duke trainee) was our guest this past week. Crowley is professor of cardiology at University of Galway and spoke about his experiences with cardiology training in the US and Ireland. Ireland is a small country with fewer than five million residents; it requires cardiology fellows to seek subspecialty training abroad. Duke has been home to several of those fellows in past years, including Bill O’Callaghan, Peter Quigley, Connor O’Shea, E. Magnus Ohman and Jim Crowley. In his presentation to us, Crowley noted that 70 percent of current cardiology trainees in Ireland are women, and there was an interesting discussion about factors that may be facilitating the “gender flip” in Ireland’s cardiology community. Thanks to all who were able to join us in welcoming Jim back to Duke!

ACC 2019 has been a busy and clearly important meeting for our field with many important late breaking clinical trials, posters, and scientific presentations from fellows, faculty, alumni and colleagues.  We have also had several good times watching duke basketball, at the Duke/DCRI reception, DUCCS meetings, and informal meetings.  Rather than try to capture all the presentations – we provide some photos here to capture the meeting.

 

TJC Concludes Site Survey at Duke Hospital

The Joint Commission has concluded their triennial unannounced visit to survey Duke University Hospital and we are very pleased with the comments site reviewers made regarding all areas related to heart care services. TJC reviewers were impressed by the complexity of the patient cases our teams see on a regular basis as well as the technology we have available to support the care of patients with complex heart disease and other comorbidities. It was evident to the reviewers that our teams are comprised of exceptionally skilled personnel. In particular, the reviewers enjoyed speaking with Ray Kim and learning more about our cardiac MRI suite and the best practices we have developed around safety to protect not only patients but all staff members. They also enjoyed engaging with David Kong and learning about our application of healthcare informatics to patient care and our dedication to continuous improvement. Overall, the visit went very well for each area within Duke Heart.

It takes extraordinary effort to do what we do every day – but a site visit  can add to stress levels and certainly adds to work load while surveyors are on-site. On behalf of Duke Heart’s leadership, thank you for all that each of you did to support this site visit while also delivering outstanding patient care. Special thanks to the members of our leadership team, including the Nurse Managers, for their work to ensure each unit/area was well prepared and for their overall engagement with the surveyors.  Pictured here are our Duke Heart Nurse Managers (left to right): Kasey Williams, Terri DeMuro, Heather McKinney, Monica Harper, Eric McClenny, Lisa Duncan, Kelly Kester and Elizabeth Watts.

March Madness

We love when the ACC Scientific Sessions, the ACC Tournament and Match Day provide a trifecta of opportunity to showcase our Duke (Heart) pride. For all of you who have joined us in New Orleans, we hope you’re enjoying the Sessions and connecting with colleagues and friends – please share your photos and stories with us!

Earlier this week, the rankings for U.S. Medical Schools were released and Duke’s SOM came in at #13 (story here) – which dovetailed nicely with National Match Day, which was Friday.

Speaking of Duke SOM… We thought it would be fitting to share this photo from Tanzania, shared with us by Maitreya Thakkar – that’s his daughter Aarti Thakkar (a Duke medical student) with two of her friends (plus their guide) on the top of Kilimanjaro last month, hoisting a Duke flag. Aarti is on a Doris Duke Scholarship doing clinical research in Eldoret, Kenya under the mentorship of Gerry Bloomfield. She has been there since August and will be back in May. Her friends are Emma Fixsen and Claire Edelman (also Duke medical students) who were on an OB/GYN elective rotation at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center with Emma’s research mentor, John Schmitt (OB/GYN & Global Health) – they were in Tanzania for the month.

And of course we were happy to see that Zion was back in action last week just in time for round three with Carolina!

ICYMI

What other cool thing happened this week? Deepak Voora was at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, for the VA/Sanford Health announcement regarding PHASeR, which he will be leading here at Durham VAMC. Read more here as well as in this week’s news coverage. Way to go, Deepak!

Best Hospitals Voting Ends March 27!

Please take a moment to check your Doximity account and look for your opportunity to vote in the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals survey. Voting will close on March 27. This makes a difference and should take just minutes to complete. Thank you!

Sue Maloney Retirement

It is with mixed emotions that we announce the retirement of Sue Maloney, staff assistant. Sue has dedicated nearly 35 years to Duke, with more than 20 of those in the Division of Cardiology. Her unwavering dedication to Duke, the Division of Cardiology, and each and every one of the individuals fortunate enough to work with her over these years, will surely be missed and not quickly forgotten.

She has undoubtedly made an impact on all of us. Sue has served as an unofficial “face” of the Division for decades and has exemplified what it means to be a Duke Heart colleague and friend.  It would be impossible to highlight the countless contributions that Sue has made to the Division throughout her tenure, but she has most certainly been instrumental in the overall success and growth of the Division of Cardiology. She has supported Kevin Harrison and all of us in a gentle manner.  Her friendly and compassionate team spirit will most definitely be missed in our office.

In speaking with Suzi about her retirement, she describes an excitement for exploring and realizing new passions, and having time for personal dedication. She wrote, “In my 35 years at Duke I’ve had the opportunity to serve patients and our community in many wonderful ways.  I am blessed to have been a part of Duke University Medical Center.  I look forward to the next chapter of my life.”  Suzi has been part of the Duke Heart Family and will be missed.

Her retirement is effective as of Friday, March 8. Consistent with her humble nature, she has asked that no official celebration activities follow this announcement.  The gratitude we have for Sue’s dedication and impact on the Division is immeasurable. We will virtually celebrate and keep constant her legacy of excellence. We sincerely wish her all the best in her future.

ACC Duke Reception

Can you feel the excitement?! ACC.19 is next weekend! We look forward to seeing you at our annual Duke ACC Reception if you’re headed to New Orleans. RSVP, please, so that we have an accurate headcount:  http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=zzog9o7ab&oeidk=a07eg3bfqyh236e1021

Good Catch, Magnus!

A shout-out to Magnus Ohman for catching that a patient with documented aspirin allergy was not correct as the patient had been taking Alka-Seltzer, which contains aspirin.

 

 

Nurse Recruitment Event Draws Hundreds

On March 7, a DUHS RN Open House and Hiring Event was held at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Research Triangle Park, NC. More than 700 nursing candidates were in attendance.  The DUH Heart nursing leadership team was positioned at five tables representing procedural, intensive care, and step-down areas; each team member had the opportunity to interact with many candidates, both experienced and newly graduate nurses. They are hopeful to extend offers to many of these talented candidates to fill all current vacancies. Many thanks to the Duke Heart nursing leadership team and staff for their hard work at the event.

Pictured here (from L to R) are: Heather McKinney, Kasey Williams, Lindsay Botzenhart, Phil Parker, Eric McClenny, Brian Kolodziej, Dustin Tart, Meg Wood, Monica Harper, Terri DeMuro, Brittany Stephenson, Lisa Duncan, Kelly Kester, Elizabeth Watts, Rubena Elahi, and Laura Dickerson.

Great job and we appreciate all that our nursing teams do, including recruitment!

AACN Nursing Conference

On March 4, nurses from across the Triangle area assembled at the Brier Creek Country Club for the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Triangle Chapter and Greater Raleigh Area Chapter 5th Annual Nursing Conference and Celebration of Certification. Pictured here are some of the Duke Heart nursing attendees. Special thanks to the Duke Heart nurses who helped coordinate and plan the event or who presented during the sessions. Congrats to all who were celebrating certification!

US News Best Hospitals Voting is Now Open!

Please take a moment to check your Doximity account and look for your opportunity to vote in the U.S.News & World Report Best Hospitals survey. Voting opened last week and continues for about one month. This makes a difference and should take just minutes to complete. Thank you!

In the Journals

Jordan Pomeroy has a new publication out – be sure to check it out. Biomaterializing the promise of cardiac tissue engineering appears in Biotechnology Advances. His co-authors include Abbigail Helfer (Duke BME) and Nenad Bursac. Congrats!

Voices of Duke Health Features Cardiac Arrest Survival Story

The latest episode of the Voices of Duke Health podcast, titled The Puzzle Pieces, features several of our Duke Heart team members as well as a story of survival thanks to CPR. Don’t miss Adrian Hernandez, Cory Miller and several other interviewees we think you’ll recognize. You can listen right here: https://sites.duke.edu/listening/2019/03/08/episode-twelve-the-puzzle-pieces

MURDOCK Study Celebrates 10^th Anniversary

Congrats to all members (current and former) of the Measurement to Understand Reclassification of Disease of Cabarrus and Kannapolis (MURDOCK) Study team on their 10^th anniversary!

From humble beginnings in a former dress shop with just one Duke employee, the MURDOCK Study has paved the way for Duke’s presence in Kannapolis, NC. Today, 5,000-square-feet of clinical office space and a team of more than 30 Duke employees are co-located in Kannapolis and Durham. Duke Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI) manages the MURDOCK Study and a dozen nested MURDOCK sub-studies, as well as other clinical research projects based in Kannapolis and built on the foundation that has been created by the MURDOCK Study since 2009.

Duke marked the study’s 10^th anniversary with a community celebration at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis on Feb. 16, exactly 10 years after the enrollment of their first participant. During its first decade, the MURDOCK Study Community Registry and Biorepository has grown to more than 12,500 participants and 450,000 biological samples. The community-based longitudinal cohort recruited participants from 20 zip codes in and around Kannapolis and Cabarrus County. The study has more than 50 collaborations, including 150 collaborators across 21 institutions, and 45 peer reviewed publications. More than 100 Duke faculty members have used MURDOCK Study samples and data to explore a broad range of research questions to better understand health and the transition to disease.

Kristin Newby, MD, MHS, director of Duke CTSI Translational Population Health Research (TransPop), serves as principal investigator. The MURDOCK Study and TransPop offer a range of assets and capabilities to investigators and collaborators.

Duke University School of Medicine received a $35 million gift from David H. Murdock, chairman of Dole Food Company, to establish the MURDOCK Study in September 2007.

Upper photo: L. Kristin Newby with Mrs. Bobbie Beam and Dr. Ed Tyson, the first two patients enrolled in the study. Lower photo: Betty Hover, L. Kristin Newby, Mary Lou Perry, Debbie Meylor, Jon’Nita Millhouse.

Shah Named to AHA Board of Directors

Congratulations to Svati Shah for being named to the Board of Directors for the American Heart Association! This is well deserved honor and we are happy that she will be serving in a guiding role within AHA. Svati will begin her term of service in June, 2019.

Way to go, Svati!

AHA Triangle Heart Ball

Several of our Duke Heart team members were able to attend the American Heart Association’s Triangle Heart Ball on Friday evening at the Raleigh Convention Center. Despite the weather and traffic woes, all reported having a great time. The event raised $980K. Many thanks to all who joined us!

6^th Annual Duke Heart Valve Symposium

Duke Heart’s 6^th annual Heart Valve Symposium took place on Saturday in the Great Hall of the Trent Semans Center for Health Education. The symposium was led by Kevin Harrison and Chad Hughes. See the photo of all the past fellows back for the conference with a group dinner at Vin Rouge.  The conference has substantial in-person and on-line attendance and we look forward to continued learning with our colleagues.

 

Older Model CMRI Removed

The CMRI scanner that we are no longer using was ramped down and removed from the 7th floor of Duke University Hospital on Saturday, March 2. This was, of course, a big undertaking. To facilitate removal, a crane was set up on Friday in the space between the Searle Center, the construction area for the new bed tower addition, and the concourse. The scanner was lifted by crane through a roof hatch. Special thanks to our FPDC contact, Dane Van Enwyck for the photos! The FPDC oversaw the project.

 

 

 

US News Best Hospitals Voting is Now Open!

Please take a moment to check your Doximity account and look for your opportunity to vote in the U.S.News & World Report Best Hospitals survey. Voting opened last week and continues for about one month. This makes a difference and should take just minutes to complete. Thank you!