The Wayne State University Karmanos Cancer Institute announced yesterday that it has acquired its clinical facilities from the Detroit Medical Center, effective May 1, 2005. The agreement includes inpatient and outpatient cancer facilities on the medical center's main campus as well as the Lawrence & Idell Weisberg Cancer Treatment Center, in Farmington Hills.

“The outstanding faculty, who represent nearly all of the Karmanos physicians, will be the driving factor in the success of this new, independent initiative,” said medical school Dean John Crissman. “The quality of the physicians will ensure the evolution of KCI into one of the country’s premier comprehensive cancer centers.”

The DMC and Karmanos Cancer Institute have jointly managed the cancer facilities since 1994. The boards of the institutions believed that independent ownership would allow the facilities to thrive and also create new opportunities for philanthropic investment in Karmanos Cancer Institute's programs and services.

Specifically, the institute is purchasing cancer hospital space on the fifth, eighth, ninth and 10th floors of Harper University Hospital's Webber North wing as well as outpatient clinical service that includes the Vic Wertz Clinical Cancer Center, Alexander J. Walt Comprehensive Breast Center, the adjoining atrium area, connecting structures and associated office areas. The hospital space includes 122 licensed beds.

The institute will lease the space it occupies in the Harper Professional Office Building and obtain rights to the adjacent surface parking lot facing John R, where a new, $47 million clinical cancer center is planned as part of renovation and construction work to begin next year. The new facility will house six operating rooms and a cancer-specific diagnostic imaging center. In the meantime, the institute will continue to use the DMC's operating rooms, diagnostic imaging and other services.

The two institutions have agreed to a long-term lease for the Gershonson Radiation Oncology Center. The institute will lease the readiology equipment therein, including two linear accelerators, a Gamma Knife and a total body irradiator with the intent to purchase these assets in the future. The institute will also lease with the intent to purchase the Weisberg Cancer Treatment Center, an outpatient facility built in Oakland County in 2001.

In addition, the institute is purchasing the first and second floors of the Hudson Webber Cancer Research Center and will lease space for employee and patient parking in the DMC's north parking deck, adjacent to the cancer hospital.

"The future of cancer research and patient care in Michigan is brighter, and the Detroit Medical Center is healthier today as a result of an agreement reached between the boards of the DMC and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute. This new partnership will further cement the research and clinical affiliations of both organizations with Wayne State University and its School of Medicine," Dr. Crissman, Karmanos President John Ruckdeschel and DMC CEO Mike Duggan wrote in a joint letter.

 

 

 

The lives of twice as many heart-attack victims were saved by volunteers using automated external defibrillators than those using traditional cardiopulmonary resuscitation methods, according to a nationwide study reported in the Aug. 12 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Robert Zalenski, M.D., WSU professor of emergency medicine, led research efforts locally, in one of 24 North American study sites.

"We succeeded in doubling survival by having defibrillators in public places, like museums and Meijer stores," Dr. Zalenski said. "Detroit was one of the most successful of the 24 sites."

The implications of the study are far reaching; about one-quarter of the 300,000 people who die from cardiac arrest annually are outside the home.

As part of the two-and-a-half-year study, which was coordinated by the University of Washington at Seattle, employees of 40 Meijer stores, the Museum of African-American History and the Detroit Institute of Arts were instructed to use defibrillators or rapid-response CPR in case of cardiac arrest.

The low-energy defibrillators were voice-prompted and guided by a "smart computer" that would not allow a shock unless it detected a grossly abnormal heart rhythm. Each store randomly assigned to use defibrillators were provided four instruments so that they would be within a three-minute reach of anywhere in the store.

Nationwide, more than 19,000 volunteer responders from 993 community locations participated. Both those in the CPR and defibrillator groups had similar location, volunteer and patient characteristics, but 30 people who suffered heart attacks and were treated with defibrillators and CPR survived as opposed to only 15 treated with CPR alone.

"Training and equipping volunteers to attempt early defibrillation within a structured response system can increase the number of survivors to hospital discharge after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in public locations," according tot he Public Access Defibrillation Trial Investigators. "Trained laypersons can use AEDs safely and effectively."

 

Talk therapy in combination with antidepressants works best in treating adolescents who suffer depression, according to a nationwide study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. David Rosenberg, M.D., WSU professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience and Miriam L. Hamburger Chair of Child Psychiatry, led the 12-week study locally.

Seventy-one percent of patients who used combined treatment methods showed substantial improvement on a depression rating scale. In comparison, similar improvement was noted in only 61 percent of those who used Prozac alone, 43 percent of those who used talk therapy alone and 35 percent of those who received a placebo.

Although there were no suicide attempts during the study, suicidal tendencies were reported in nine patients receiving Prozac, six in the talk-plus-Prozac group and four receiving a placebo. Because only 24 out of 439 patients exhibited these tendencies, it's unclear whether the differences in therapy are significant. The study excluded adolescents at high risk for suicide based on recent behavior or thoughts.

WSU was one of 13 sites nationally that participated in the study and is considered a center of excellence in the research and treatment of mood and anxiety disorders among children and adolescents. With funding from the NIH, Dr. Rosenberg's group is currently investigating various therapies, including medical antidepressants, in mood and anxiety disorders in children, as well as studying changes in brain chemistry using sophisticated brain imaging.

 

WSU School of Medicine Dean John Crissman addressed several ongoing concerns at a recent faculty and staff forum. Issues covered included plans for renovations in Scott Hall, efforts to improve research administration, formation of a single clinical practice group and ongoing contract negotiations with the Detroit Medical Center. The following provides highlights of the Dean's talk.

enovations in Scott Hall: Although engineers have begun assessing Scott Hall's heating, cooling and electrical systems, no specific plans have been made regarding renovations. Floors four through nine are scheduled to be renovated, however the $25 million provided through a university bonding effort will not be sufficient to complete the project. It is anticipated that a single quadrant, possibly the building's southeast quadrant, will be selected. The school also is looking at which researchers work in Scott Hall, which ones are funded and how much space is allotted to researchers in general. Once all assessments are complete, the Dean's Office will meet with individual departments to develop a plan for renovations.

"There are no final plans," Dr. Crissman said. "Certainly, we are trying to minimize problems caused to investigators."

Research Administration: Dr. Crissman has appointed a committee to evaluate how the School of Medicine's research enterprise and ways the university's research administration can be streamlined to improve service to investigators. Bruce Berkowitz, Ph.D., WSU associate professor of anatomy and chair of the Faculty Senate's research committee, will lead the group in cataloging ongoing problems and suggesting solutions. The action follows a white paper written by John Oliver, Ph.D., WSU vice president for research, demonstrating a need for increased support.

"It's very clear from the way research administration works in this school, it's very clear from the way research administration works in the university: It leaves much to be desired," Dr, Crissman said.

Formation of a single, multidisciplinary practice group: Chairs of WSU School of Medicine departments have been asked to sign non-binding letters of intent to explore the possibility of establishing a single, multidisciplinary practice group. Dr. Crissman said this structure is the model for academic medicine and will allow WSU physicians to compete as an efficient and effective practice group. Although he acknowledged that forming a single practice is "a little controversial," Dr. Crissman said that several of the existing groups will go ahead and form the group.

"These groups will be the ones in on the ground floor defining what this model is," he said. "The others will ultimately see the wisdom and join the single group; this clearly is the direction we all have to go."

 

DMC partnership: The School of Medicine has entered negotiations with the Detroit Medical Center for the first time under CEO Mike Duggan's leadership. Dr. Crissman said that he is hopeful. Although five WSU practice groups were once in dire straights, none are in such a position today, although Internal Medicine continues to struggle. He said he is confident that the DMC will recognize, as the Institute of Medicine has, that academic medicine holds the advantage in the marketplace of providing multidisciplinary patient care.

"Our partnership, while far from being perfect, is starting to grow," Dr. Crissman said.

 

Wayne State University's Karmanos Cancer Institute recently received a copy of the draft National Cancer Institute site visit report for the Cancer Center Support Grant application, which rated the institute "outstanding to excellent." This rating, an "A" to "B+" rating, is the highest KCI has received.

Dean John Crissman, M.D., will host a forum for faculty and staff at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 5, in Scott Hall's Blue Auditorium. Topics for discussion will include status of negotiations with the Detroit Medical Center; a progress report on developing a single-group practice; and research strategies, including lab renovations in Scott Hall. All faculty, staff and students are welcome to attend.