FSU to Host Statewide Maternal Mental Health Conference
Dec 04, 2023
Tarah Jean, Tallahassee Democrat
Maternal mental health is known to be a crisis across Florida — and throughout the nation.
That's why Florida State University's College of Medicine and the Florida Maternal Mental Health Collaborative (FLMMHC) will host the state’s eighth annual Perinatal Mental Health Conference this Thursday, Dec. 7, and Friday, Dec. 8.
The conference will be at the FSU Alumni Center, 1030 W. Tennessee St. in Tallahassee. This year marks the conference's first time taking place here since 2015. The annual event is also the state’s only conference that focuses on perinatal – the weeks right before and after birth – and maternal mental health.
“Every year, we identify what the needs are in the state and we mobilize stakeholders from the organization to see what we can do to address them,” said FLMMHC Co-Founder Heather Flynn, also an FSU professor and chair of the College of Medicine’s Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine.
FSU professor Angelina Sutin is part of a team of researchers who have identified a potential low-cost method for predicting if a person is at risk of developing dementia
Researchers at the Florida State University College of Medicine have identified a potential low-cost method for predicting if a person is at risk of developing dementia.
By analyzing data from nearly 13,000 subjects who participated in a long-term aging study, FSU researchers found that a cognitively healthy person’s memory capabilities successfully predicted the likelihood of developing or not developing dementia over a 15-year period.
“Our findings show that interviewers were able to detect deficits in the memory of participants that predicted higher risk of developing dementia over time,” says research author Angelina Sutin, professor of behavioral sciences and social medicine.
The study surveyed a representative sample of adults aged 50 and older about their health, financial situation and well-being every two years for as long as they choose to remain in the study.
Participants’ memory acuities were rated over time by interviewers on a 1-to-5 point scale, with a score of 1 exhibiting no memory impairment and 5 exhibiting great difficulty.
They found that each 1-point increase toward poor memory, as rated by the interviewer, was associated with a 40% increase in risk of developing dementia or cognitive impairment at some point over the long-term follow-up periods.
Maternal mental health is known to be a crisis across Florida — and throughout the nation.
That's why Florida State University’s College of Medicine and the Florida Maternal Mental Health Collaborative (FLMMHC) will host the state’s eighth annual Perinatal Mental Health Conference this Thursday, Dec. 7, and Friday, Dec. 8. The conference will be at the FSU Alumni Center, 1030 W. Tennessee St. in Tallahassee. This year marks
the conference’s first time taking place here since 2015. The annual event is also the state’s only conference that focuses on perinatal – the weeks right before and after birth – and maternal mental health.
“Every year, we identify what the needs are in the state and we mobilize stakeholders from the organization to see what we can do to address them,” said FLMMHC Co-Founder Heather Flynn, also an FSU professor and chair of the College of Medicine’s Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine.
The Homeless Outreach Medicine and Education (HOME) program, student-run by the College of Medicine's School of Physician Assistant Practice, is providing medical assistance to the unhoused community in Tallahassee..
"A lot of times when unhoused patients come into the ER or somewhere like that, they feel judged," explained Sam Mankus, the HOME president and a member of the PA Class of 2024. "[HOME] helps build a more positive relationship between healthcare providers and the unhoused community."
Over the last year the HOME program student volunteers, joined by a social worker and a licensed medical professional, make weekly rounds at a local encampment, where they measure vital signs, listen to the health concerns of individuals and provide advice and recommendations for further care.
Florida State University College of Medicine researcher Antonio Terracciano, Ph.D., who recently published research linking loneliness and Parkinson's disease, contributed to a Wall Street Journal story on the negative effects of loneliness.
"This uncomfortable, distressful feeling of being lonely over time has a negative effect," said Terracciano, a professor in the Department of Geriatrics. "You are in a state of stress, and over time this can increase vulnerability to disease."
College of Medicine residency, medical students win ACP Florida competitions
Two Florida State University College of Medicine Internal Medicine Residency Programs and a third-year medical student from the Sarasota Regional Campus turned in winning performances at a recent competition held by the Florida Chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP).
The TMH IM Residency team won the "Doctor's Dilemma" competition
The internal medicine residency team at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, composed of Drs. Gizem Rehanoglu, James Brown, Joseph Tubito, and Mohsan Khan, won the “Doctor’s Dilemma” team competition, which tested their collective medical knowledge. They were under the guidance of program director Claudia A. Kroker-Bode, M.D., Ph.D., and Vincent Riesgo, M.D., who served as the team’s coach and mentor.
Andrew Win, M.D., representing FSU’s internal medicine residency program at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, collected top honors in the Resident Scientific Poster Competition. Win was the principal investigator on the project titled: Complete Blood Cell Count Parameters Differentiate Mortality Risk in Sepsis. Karen Hamad, M.D., is the Sarasota program director.
Brittany Long was the Medical Student Clinical Research Poster Session winner for her submission titled: “Two Minutes for Plants” – Changing the Health of Type 2 Diabetic Patients with a Brief Plant-Centered Intervention in a Non-Primary Care Practice. Long collaborated with Sarasota faculty member Allison Menezes, M.D., on the research project.
The TMH team, Win and Long advanced from regional competition as finalists for the Oct. 28-29 event, held in conjunction with the Florida ACP chapter’s 55th Annual Scientific Meeting at The Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. With their respective victories, they will represent the Florida Chapter at the ACP National Competition in Internal Medicine, scheduled for April in Boston.
(Caption: Left, Andrew Win, M.D., representing the internal medicine residency program at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, won the Resident Scientific Poster Competition. Right, third-year medical student Brittany Long, from the Sarasota Regional Campus, was the Medical Student Clinical Research Poster Session winner.)
The Florida State University College of Business is bringing together healthcare leaders from throughout Florida and the U.S. for a comprehensive one-day forum to address the industry's most pressing workforce, policy, financial and technology issues.
The Business of Healthcare Summit, scheduled for Jan. 26 at the Augustus B. Turnbull Conference Center, will examine healthcare operations in the state and nation from the perspective of hospitals, private practices, health systems, policy boards and other professional organizations.
