Press Release 
The Florida State University College of Medicine on Wednesday will unveil an exhibit related to the historic passage of Medicare and recognize retired Tallahassee physician Charles Mathews, who donated several items.
 
Mathews attended the first meeting on Medicare at the White House with President Lyndon Johnson in 1966 and recently donated the materials provided for that meeting. Other items on display are the pen President Johnson used to sign the Medicare bill, and historic photos and documents from the Claude Pepper Papers, housed at the Claude Pepper Library. The items will be permanently housed at the university’s Claude Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy. 
 
In addition to Mathews, others scheduled to participate in the unveiling ceremony are College of Medicine Dean John P. Fogarty; Dr. Ken Brummel-Smith, chair of the Department of Geriatrics; and representatives from the Pepper Institute. The event will take place:
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 15
 
10 A.M.
 
FSU COLLEGE OF MEDICINE ATRIUM
 
TALLAHASSEE

The University of Florida and the Florida State University College of Medicine jointly received $600,000 from the Board of Governors of the State University System of Florida to strengthen research, education and service efforts in public health and to boost economic growth.

The Department of Health faces a March 1 deadline for releasing a wide-ranging report that includes justifying its divisions and recommending ways to reduce and restructure parts of the agency. Lawmakers required the report this spring, after a tumultuous legislative session in which House leaders targeted the department for revamping --- and shrinking.

Bethann Mohamed, president of FSUCares, also entered some of her fudge in the 2010 Fudge Cook-off. The event raised more than $1,600 for the outreach organization.

Nearly 12,500 Hispanic residents live in Leon County, and on Friday community organizations are working together to hold the 2010 Hispanic Health Care Conference. It's designed to address issues facing the Hispanic community and health care. Dr. Jose Rodriguez, an associate professor at Florida State University's College of Medicine and  the conference's keynote speaker, said the event is about community education.

Together, ProPublica and Health News Florida, identified 62 physicians in Florida who have recently received more than $1.1 million from drug companies despite having a serious blotch on their records. The discovery is troubling, said Ken Brummel-Smith, chair of the Department of Geriatrics at Florida State University College of Medicine. FSU College of Medicine has adopted a zero-tolerance policy for drug-company payments and gifts to its professors and students, he said. But outside of academia, there has been little official scrutiny. 

Press Release
  Highlights from the 2010 socio-economic impact study prepared for the Florida State University College of Medicine by MGT of America Inc.

Press Release   The Florida State University College of Medicine and the University of Florida have jointly received $600,000 from the State University System of Florida Board of Governors to strengthen research, education and service efforts in areas of public health and to boost economic growth.

This is a profile of Aloknath Pandya, one of 40 Florida State University College of Medicine students from the college’s first full class. The Florida State University model of community-based medicine, begun 10 years ago, was the first U.S. medical college founded in 25 years. And it is unique in partnering third- and fourth-year students one-on-one with doctors in practice. Between doctor-mentors and the professionals reviewing their work, there are 200 local clinicians involved in the training of these students.

Press Release Dance Marathon at Florida State University and Children’s Miracle Network at Shands Children’s Hospital at the University of Florida will present a $211,000 check to the Florida State University College of Medicine for the benefit of children throughout Gadsden and Leon counties.
 
The proceeds are part of the record $451,000 raised in 2010 by Dance Marathon, the largest student-run philanthropy on the Florida State campus

Press Release Darrell Kirch, guest speaker at the College of Medicine’s capstone 10th-anniversary event Oct. 7, offered congratulations for 10 years of innovation – and challenged his audience to join him in transforming the nation’s health system into one that truly responds to patients’ needs. Kirch took his listeners, both on the main campus and by webcast at the college’s regional campuses, on a lively tour of the past century of American health care. He showed how the U.S. – despite great advances in medical knowledge and education – has created a culture that discourages patient-centered care. Darrell Kirch's keynote address Read Kirch's keynote address View anniversary slide show

This is a guest opinion from The Dayton Beach News-Journal written by Dr. P.T. Fleuchaus. Dr. Fleuchaus, of Ormond Beach, is a former member of the Volusia County Council and serves on the Beach Advisory Board. The column discusses the, “very strong effort to remove or fire Dr. Kent Sharples, the president of Daytona State College.” Dr. Sharples, along with Dr. T.K. Wetherell, the former president of FSU, developed the Daytona Beach Regional Campus for The Florida State University College of Medicine.

The Central Florida college has joined in the growing trend of medical schools across the country that are providing advanced mobile devices to medical students. Florida State University also gives iPod touches to med students, and Stanford University in California is distributing much-larger Apple iPads to its future doctors.   

The Central Florida college has joined in the growing trend of medical schools across the country that are providing advanced mobile devices to medical students. Florida State University also gives iPod touches to med students, and Stanford University in California is distributing much-larger Apple iPads to its future doctors. 

In 2000, Florida State University bucked conventional wisdom to start an unconventional medical school. Thursday, the Treasure Coast contingent of the faithful gathered at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce to commemorate the school’s 10th anniversary.

Darrell Kirch, M.D., president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges, will help the Florida State University College of Medicine celebrate its 10th anniversary Thursday. Kirch will deliver a webcast keynote address from the College of Medicine’s main campus in Tallahassee as part of a simultaneous celebration with the College of Medicine’s Fort Pierce Regional Campus.

Older adults with Parkinson’s disease as well as those without neurological problems are at increased risk of injury-causing falls when walking and talking at the same time, a study shows. Researchers at Florida State University say Parkinson’s disease alters gait, stride length, and step velocity. It also alters the ability of older people to stabilize themselves on both feet when asked to perform increasingly difficult verbal tasks while walking. A surprising finding of the study was that even older adults who do not have a neurological impairment also have trouble walking and talking at the same time. The study is published in the October issue of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. “These results suggest that it might be prudent for health care professionals and caregivers to alter expectations and monitor cognitive-linguistic demands placed on these individuals while they are walking, particularly during increased risk situations, such as descending stairs, in low-light conditions, or avoiding obstructions,” study researcher Charles G. Maitland, MD, of Florida State University’s College of Medicine, says in a news release.

The Fort Pierce campus of Indian River State College is celebrating its 50th anniversary. One of the most significant facilities on the campus is the Brenda and Vernon Smith Center for Medical Education, a branch of the Florida State University where the university’s medical students come to complete their training to become doctors.

In recent human trials for a promising new class of drug designed to target the hepatitis C virus (HCV) without shutting down the immune system, some of the HCV strains being treated exhibited signs of drug resistance. In response, an interdisciplinary team of Florida State University biologists, chemists and biomedical researchers devised a novel genetic screening method that can identify the drug-resistant HCV strains and the molecular-level mechanisms that make them that way –– helping drug developers to tailor specific therapies to circumvent them. Florida State biology doctoral student Feng Yang led the research team. The award-winning scholar earned her Ph.D. in August 2010 and is now a postdoctoral associate at Yale University. Yang designed the CoFIM screening methodology with fellow FSU graduate students, postdoctoral associates and distinguished faculty colleagues –– including Associate Professor Tang; chemistry/biochemistry Professor Timothy M. Logan, director of FSU’s Institute of Molecular Biophysics; and Research Assistant Professor Ewa A. Bienkiewicz, of the FSU College of Medicine, where she directs the Biomedical Proteomics Laboratory. Also featured on: 9/29/2010 - Hepatitis C Research and News Blogspot 9/30/2010 - RedOrbit.com

One of the most significant facilities on the campus is the Brenda and Vernon Smith Center for Medical Education, a branch of the Florida State University where the university’s medical students come to complete their training to become doctors.

Press Release A new Florida State University study found that older adults with Parkinson’s disease altered their gait — stride length, step velocity and the time they spent stabilizing on two feet — when asked to perform increasingly difficult verbal tasks while walking. But the real surprise was that even older adults without a neurological impairment demonstrated similar difficulties walking and talking.
A disruption in gait could place Parkinson’s patients and the elderly at an increased risk of falls, according to the Florida State researchers.

Gerry Maitland, professor of neurology in the College of Medicine, is one of the Florida State University researchers behind a new study of how talking while walking can challenge older adults, with or without a neurological impairment. Read full story.

Local physician James "Trey" Falconer, M.D., has been named the prestigious Guardian of the Mission award recipient, presented by the Florida State University College of Medicine. The award recognizes a physician whose activities have furthered the college's mission to "educate and develop exemplary physicians who practice patient-centered health care, discover and advance knowledge and are responsive to community needs, especially through service to elder, rural, minority and underserved populations."

A new Florida State University study found that older adults with Parkinson’s disease changed their gait—stride length, step velocity, and the time they spent stabilizing on two feet—when asked to perform increasingly difficult verbal tasks while walking. In a study that will be published in the October issue of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, FSU professor Leonard L. LaPointe and co-authors Julie A.G. Stierwalt and Charles G. Maitland, The Florida State university College of Medicine, outline their findings. ALSO FEATURED IN: The Times of India – 9/23/2010 Talking while walking bad for Parkinson's patients Medical News Today – 9/24/10 Talking While Walking Puts Parkinson's Patients At Risk For Falls MedIndia.net – 9/25/2010 Parkinson's Patients Have Trouble Walking and Talking

Press Release Paola Dees, M.D., is among the residents and physicians quoted in a Sarasota Herald-Tribune story detailing how well the College of Medicine’s distributed model produces top-notch doctors.

Paola Dees, M.D., shown here as a medical student in 2006, is among the residents and physicians quoted in a Sarasota Herald-Tribune story detailing how well the College of Medicine’s distributed model produces top-notch doctors.

One of the groups most affected by the changes in the new health law are medical school students. When they graduate – and complete the hospital residencies that follow – they will begin practice under a system that will be significantly different than when they began college. With millions more people expected to have health insurance, demand for primary care physiciansis expected to go way up. Allison Fero, of Kaiser Health News, recently sat down individually with four medical students, including Marco Ferrera of The Florida State University College of Medicine, to discuss their career expectations, their concerns about the changing environment for doctors and their assessments of how the new law will affect the practice of medicine.

A new medical school model is providing quality physicians for Florida communities. This is an experiment that began only five years ago here. But early indications suggest that the Florida State College of Medicine's regional campuses and unconventional teaching methods are not only meeting the school's goal of producing primary care physicians who will practice in Florida communities -- but also consistently generating that elusive commodity every patient looks for: a really good doctor.

Florida State University's College of Medicine paid tribute Thursday to two area physicians who are among the hundreds of community doctors playing an important role at the 10-year-old school. Dr. James "Trey" Falconer, with the MacIntosh Clinic in Thomasville, Ga., was presented with the "guardian of the mission" award for his work with third- and fourth-year students. Dr. Jesse Judelle, who has been with the Southern Medical Group adjacent to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital since 1972, received the "outstanding clinical faculty educator" award.

View the Webcast Celebrate with us by viewing a College of Medicine premiere and hearing a dynamic speaker "What if we thought of academic medicine as a fully loaded Boeing 747, taking off down an undetermined length of runway? Are we so focused on preserving the excellence we have built, that we find ourselves waiting until the last possible moment to lift off into what will be a dramatically changed health care future? And by lingering on the runway, are we missing opportunities that might allow us to use our unique capacity to lead?" Those are the attention-getting words of Darrell G. Kirch, in the July issue of the AAMC Reporter. As president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges, he spends an extraordinary amount of time pondering the future of medical education and health care in America. On Oct. 7 he will be here, discussing the College of Medicine's pioneering role in that future. Kirch will be keynote speaker at the Oct. 7 celebration of our 10th anniversary as the first new medical school of the 21st century. The title of his address is “Defining the Century: Florida State University and the Future of Health Care.” Also on the program is the premiere of a 20-minute video charting the extraordinary creation of the College of Medicine. People who have little patience with most public speakers say without hesitation that Kirch is dynamic and memorable. Anyone who is connected with the College of Medicine will want to hear what he has to say about this time in history, this profession and this school. We hope to pack the auditorium. Arrangements also are being made for people at our regional campuses to tune in his speech from their location. This will be an unforgettable way to wrap up our 10-year anniversary. Please plan to participate. Date: Thursday, Oct. 7
Time: 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Place: College of Medicine main campus, 1115 W. Call St. in Tallahassee, and at various venues for our regional campuses
RSVP or questions: 850-645-9428 or alexa.vonstaden@med.fsu.edu 

Florida State University researcher Mohamed Kabbaj was recently awarded a five-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to investigate the sex differences in anxiety. Anxiety disorders afflict women twice as often as men, but estrogen might not be the reason. Testosterone, though, could be. That is one of the preliminary findings in the lab of Florida State University researcher Mohamed Kabbaj, associate professor in the College of Medicine. He recently was awarded a five-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to investigate the sex differences in anxiety.

Scientists wondered why is it that women tend to be more anxious than men, and they found out that a possible cause might be the level of testosterone. Florida State University researcher and associate professor in the College of Medicine, Mohamed Kabbaj, was recently awarded a five-year $1.8 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, to carry out a research on sex differences in anxiety.

PRESS RELEASE Anxiety disorders afflict women twice as often as men, but estrogen might not be the reason. Testosterone, though, could be. 
That is one of the preliminary findings in the lab of Florida State University researcher Mohamed Kabbaj, associate professor in the College of Medicine. He recently was awarded a five-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to investigate the sex differences in anxiety. His research team also is working to identify the role of a gene called zif268.

Thomasville Medical Center's Stroke Center has added a new tool in responding to emergency stroke and critical neurology care, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, as part of the new teleneurology medicine program with Forsyth Stroke & Neurosciences Center and the Novant Neurosciences Network Solution. The new program will link Thomasville Medical Center and Specialists On Call (SOC), a Joint Commission-accredited organization of board-certified, specialty trained, community and university neurologists. SOC neurologists have a minimum of 10 years in clinical practice and include nationally recognized physicians affiliated with departments of neurology at world-class medical centers, including The Florida State University College of Medicine.

Watching 120 students put on coats might not sound like a memorable Friday night. But if those are new medical students slipping into physician’s white coats, and if the audience is filled with the people who love them, then suddenly it’s an unbeatable event. It’s called the White Coat Ceremony, and the College of Medicine’s Class of 2014 got to experience it August 20th. White Coat Ceremony Speeches: John P. Fogarty, M.D., Dean, The Florida State University College of Medicine [pdf] Robert Watson, M.D., Executive Associate Dean for Administrative Affairs [pdf] Curtis C. Stine, M.D., Associate Chair, Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health Director of Clinical Programs [pdf] Komal R. D'Souza, Class of 2011 [pdf]    

First-year students at The Florida State University College of Medicine will receive the white coats symbolic of their unofficial entry into the field of medicine during a ceremony Friday evening.

Commentary by Shawn Shah, 23, student at the Florida State University College of Medicine. He is Medical Student Council president. “I spent almost two weeks in Ghana this past July, alongside nine other medical students from Florida State University and a team of physicians from the medical outreach organization Hearts Afire. We were able to provide free medical care to more than 2,000 Ghanaians…”

This week, TMH and the Florida State University College of Medicine announced that it will start a residency program in internal medicine, and this is great news for not only our community, but also the state. As we've pointed out before, in-state residencies are too limited given the increasing number of students graduating from Florida's medical schools.

The Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Board of Directors and the Florida State University College of Medicine announced plans to pursue a joint internal medicine residency program for the Big Bend region. The Tallahassee Memorial and Florida State University Internal Medicine Residency Program would be housed at Tallahassee Memorial's main campus and The Florida State College of Medicine would be the institutional sponsor.

Florida State University's College of Medicine and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare announced Wednesday that they are planning to start a new residency program in internal medicine. It will be the second residency program based at TMH — it already has a family medicine program — and the first sponsored by FSU's 10-year-old medical school.

Until now, the only residency program option for students graduating from Florida State's College of Medicine was family medicine, but that's about to change. A new partnership between Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and FSU's College of Medicine hopes to keep graduates here by introducing n internal medicine residency program. The residency program will be established by 2012 and many graduates of the college of medicine say this residency program is long overdue.

The Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Board of Directors and the Florida State University College of Medicine today announced plans to pursue a joint internal medicine residency program for the Big Bend region. The Tallahassee Memorial and Florida State University Internal Medicine Residency Program would be housed at Tallahassee Memorial’s main campus and The Florida State College of Medicine would be the institutional sponsor. The program could begin accepting applications for resident physicians as early as fall 2011.

Press Release After a national search, The Florida State University College of Medicine has hired Ricardo J. Gonzalez-Rothi, M.D., as professor and chair of the Department of Clinical Sciences.

Press Release The Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Board of Directors and the Florida State University College of Medicine today announced plans to pursue a joint internal medicine residency program for the Big Bend region.

John Leonard Franklin, MD John Leonard Franklin, MD, 41, of Kingsport, Tennessee, passed away suddenly on August 5, 2010. He attended Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences. Upon graduation, he entered the University of Florida's PIMS (Program in Medical Sciences) Program in Tallahassee, Florida, for 1 year and then completed his medical degree with honors at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida.

School-based health centers, which provide comprehensive medical care to students beyond the standard school-nurse clinic model, are awaiting a big boost from the federal government under the law overhauling the nation’s health-care system. Dr. Maggie Blackburn, the director of rural health for the Florida State University College of Medicine, in Tallahassee, said the capital-improvement money could help the system open a new clinic in Havana, Fla., a town of 1,700 about 16 miles northwest of
Tallahassee.