e-Update

April 1, 2002
Weekly News Briefs

e-Update is distributed weekly to keep faculty and staff at the University of Miami School of Medicine up-to-date on news at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center. To submit news for publication, e-mail items to update@med.miami.edu.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

--Traveling Expo Highlights Work and Mission of Doctors without Borders
--Calder Library Exhibit Chronicles Career of Dermatology's Founding Chairman
--Operational Telephone Procedures on Tap for Review of UMMG Standards
--Testing Center Still Accepting Completed Faculty Surveys; Deadline Was Friday
--Drug Abuse and AIDS Research Center Calls for Proposals to Receive Funding
--Human Resources Releases Revised Form for Performance Appraisals
--Yoga Classes on Medical Campus Offer Mental and Physical Relief
--Upcoming Calendar Events

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS TRAVELS TO
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE FOR SPECIAL EXHIBITION

The international humanitarian organization Doctors without Borders will visit the School of Medicine next week to present its Access to Essential Medicines EXPO. Access EXPO is a cross-country exhibition tour advocating the improvement of medical care in poor countries. Each year, more than 2,500 volunteer doctors, nurses, and other health professionals join the organization to provide emergency medical aid to victims of armed conflict, epidemics, and natural disasters in more than 80 underdeveloped countries. The exhibit will be on the medical campus April 10 - 12, open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the Schoninger Research Quadrangle, 1450 N.W. 10th Street. Multimedia and personal testimonies will inform visitors on the dearth of care in impoverished countries for diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, sleeping sickness, kala azar, and HIV/AIDS. The Access EXPO exhibit is free, wheelchair accessible, and open to the public. Special presentations on the Doctors Without Borders mission and volunteer opportunities will be held April 11, 6 to 8 p.m., at the Whitten University Center, Flamingo Ballroom, on the Coral Gables campus; and April 12, noon, in the Rosenstiel Building, third floor auditorium, on the medical campus. For more information on Doctors without Borders, visit http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/events_accessexpo.shtml.

CELEBRATE THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF DERMATOLOGY'S
DR. HARVEY BLANK AT CALDER LIBRARY EXHIBIT

This is the final week you can visit the Louis Calder Memorial Library to view the memorial exhibit celebrating the life of Harvey Blank, M.D., founding chairman of the Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery. Featuring original photographs, historic images, and memorabilia, the exhibit moves decade by decade through the life and work of Blank, a teacher and humanist, physician and scientist, whose early contributions at the School of Medicine brought international attention to Miami. Among his many acheivements, Blank developed griseofulvin, the first oral antifungal agent, and characterized the herpesvirus under the electron microscope. Designed and installed by Prudence Y. Gill, curator on loan from The Ohio State University, the display is co-sponsored by the Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery and the Louis Calder Memorial Library. For inquiries, call the library at 305-243-6424.

UMMG SERIES CONTINUES WITH STANDARDS
FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE ON THE TELEPHONE

Customer service begins with the telephone call each patient makes to the medical center. In its continuing series on Professional Practice and Patient Access Standards (PPPAS), the University of Miami Medical Group (UMMG) outlines operational procedures for the telephone. Every attempt must be made to answer calls before the fourth ring. Any staff member who takes phone calls is expected to manage the patient's call through to satisfactory completion. Telephone calls should not be answered on speaker phones in public or clinical settings; staff members should use headsets for hands-free operation. Minor Anderson, managing director of the UMMG, and Leo Twiggs, M.D., PPPAS committee chairman, are available to attend departmental meetings and discuss these and other practice standards. To schedule a session with Anderson or Twiggs, call 305-243-7100.

FACULTY SURVEYS DUE LAST FRIDAY,
BUT YOU CAN STILL SUBMIT YOURS

The Faculty Survey deadline was Friday, March 29. If you have not already completed your survey and returned it to the Testing Center, Ungar 341, locator code 4222, please do so as soon as possible. Your feedback is important. Questions? Call Mary Sapp at 305-284-3856.

UM RESEARCH CENTER WORKS TO "SHARE"
KNOWLEDGE WITH HEALTH CARE COMMUNITY

The UM Drug Abuse and AIDS Research Center and the Miami-Dade County Health Department, Office of HIV/AIDS Services, have joined forces to bring research innovations to community providers through a new campaign called Project SHARE -- Sharing HIV/AIDS Research Efforts. This bimonthly seminar series will bring documented, successful HIV intervention programs to public health clinics, grassroots providers, and social service agencies. An expert panel will discuss how these interventions can be adopted in South Florida. The first speaker in the series is Ann O'Leary, Ph.D., behavioral scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She will discuss a trial that used a small group, risk reduction program and reduced HIV-related sexual risk behavior among low-income women and men receiving care in public health settings. The seminar will be held April 5, noon, at the Faculty Club on the Coral Gables campus. Space is limited. Call Molly McShane at 305-243-3470 to reserve a space and to inquire about details on future installments.

FUNDING AWARDS AVAILABLE FOR
RESEARCH ON DRUG ABUSE AND AIDS

The Drug Abuse and AIDS Research Center (DAARC) of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health is accepting applications for developmental awards to support new investigator research on drug abuse and AIDS. Funds will be provided for up to 12 consecutive months of research. These grants aim to support the collaborative efforts within the University that will lead to National Insitutes of Health (NIH) funding of new research grants. A condition of the awards will be a commitment to apply for an NIH research grant within one year of the end of the UM-funded project period. Full-time University of Miami regular, research, and clinical faculty members who are initiating research in drug abuse and AIDS and have not previously received RO1 or equivalent awards in the field are eligible to apply. Four or five projects will be awarded funding, with a maximum award of $25,000 for an individual project. Applications should be submitted to Sarah Messiah, Highland Professional Building, room 335, locator code D-93, or by e-mail to smessiah@med.miami.edu before 4 p.m. on May 1. Awards will be announced June 15. For questions and application procedures, contact Sarah Messiah at 305-243-3488 or via e-mail.

TAKE NOTE OF REVISIONS MADE TO HUMAN
RESOURCES PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FORM

The Performance Appraisal form has been modified, effective March 2002. In the new form, the employee's Social Security number has been replaced by the UM ID, both the names of the reviewer and supervisor are now included on the form if they differ, and Career Development (part D) has been modified to include several new training sessions; some sessions also have been removed. The revised form is available at the Human Resources Forms web page at http://www.miami.edu/hr/forms or through the Fax Warehouse at 305-284-1087. It no longer is available through Apricot Office Supplies. All earlier versions of the Performance Appraisal form are no longer valid and should be discarded. Departments using an approved Performance Appraisal form that is different from the UM standard form must include the UM ID, name of the supervisor, name of the reviewer (if different from supervisor), and the Career Development plan (part D of the UM form) as an attachment.

STRETCH YOUR BODY AND YOUR
MIND AT DAILY YOGA SESSIONS

Relieve stress, treat depression, or simply improve your posture with mental and physical therapy through yoga. Classes last around 45 minutes and are offered Monday through Friday, 1 p.m. Note that the location has been changed to the center court under the shaded tent behind the Ortho-Rehab Building on Mondays and Tuesdays, and Mailman Center, Room 7046, Wednesday through Friday. Sessions beginning at 5:15 p.m. have been added on Mondays and Wednesdays and are held at the Winn Dixie Hope Lodge. Ten-session passes are available for $50. Other issues addressed in class will include pregnancy, increasing stamina, and muscle strength and tone. For more information or to sign up, contact Vilma Robles at 305-243-3663 or e-mail vrobles@med.miami.edu.

QUESTIONS ABOUT COMPLIANCE?
TWO UM HELPLINES CAN ASSIST YOU

Medicare and billing concerns? Address questions to Third Party Reimbursement/Office of Compliance at 305-243-HELP or 877-415-HELP. For information about this helpline or training programs offered by the compliance office, contact Gemma Romillo at 305-243-5842. Research integrity concerns? Report concerns regarding research integrity and adherence to federal or University regulations directly to the Office of the Vice Provost for Research at 305-243-6415, or you can call the University's toll-free compliance hotline at 866-YOURCALL.


MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

CENTER MARKS SLEEP AWARENESS WEEK
TO HELP YOU "SLEEP FOR SUCCESS"

Do you toss and turn at night? Do you wake up each morning and still feel tired? This week you'll get the chance to find some solutions and be on your way to a restful night's sleep. The Center for Sleep Disorders will set up displays around campus in recognition of National Sleep Awareness Week, April 1 - 7. Get a free consultation with a sleep specialist, pick up helpful brochures on sleep disorders, or take a free Sleep IQ Test. The exhibits will be up from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute lobby on April 1, Jackson's breezeway on April 2, the Park Plaza West breezeway on April 3, and the UMHC lobby on April 4. Exhibits on April 5 will be up from 8 to 10:30 a.m. in the lobby of the Professional Arts Center and from noon to 2 p.m. in the UM/Sylvester lobby. For more information, visit www.miami.edu/sleep-disorders and click "National Sleep Awareness Week 2002."

HUMAN RESEARCH SUBJECTS
ARE TOPIC OF WEEKLY SEMINARS

The program of weekly small-group seminars on topics that pertain to the protection of human subjects continues this week with "Genetics," presented by Lisa Baumbach, Ph.D., research associate professor of pediatrics, neurology, and biochemistry, April 2, noon to 1 p.m., at the Mailman Center, Room 3023. Future seminars are scheduled, featuring such topics as "History of Human Subjects Protection." The full calendar of seminars may be viewed at http://www.miami.edu/research/lectureseries. For more information or to register for any of these weekly seminars, call Katherine Morales at 305-243-2311 or e-mail kmorales@med.miami.edu. RSVP is required.

ANNUAL GOLF CLASSIC TO BENEFIT RESEARCH
AND TREATMENT OF LOU GEHRIG'S DISEASE

Hit the greens for a good cause on April 6 for the sixth annual Jose A. Perez ALS Golf Classic at the Doral Resort. Proceeds from the event will benefit the University of Miami ALS Center, a clinical and research facility at the School of Medicine that treats patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and also works toward finding its cure. Registration for the tournament will begin at 11 a.m. For more information, contact Julie Steele at 305-243-7424. You also can e-mail jsteel@med.miami.edu or rrawson@med.miami.edu for details.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE
HIGHLIGHTS DIVERSITY ON THE JOB

Learn how your interactions with others are influenced by today's changing demographics, the connection between diversity and the success of the organization, and attitudes toward differences at "Workplace Diversity." This course will be held April 9, 9 a.m. to noon, in the Dominion Parking Garage, Suite 155. To register, call 305-243-3090.

FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CONDUCTS INDIVIDUAL
SESSIONS TO ANSWER FINANCIAL QUESTIONS

A representative from Fidelity Investments will visit the medical center on April 16 to conduct individual financial counseling sessions and address your financial concerns. Appointments will be held at the Dominion Parking Garage, Suite 155. To schedule a session, call 800-642-7131.

SHOW YOUR STAMINA
FOR BREAST CANCER RESEARCH

Challenge yourself and celebrate life April 19 - 21, at the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day walk from Boca Raton to Miami. While walking and camping for three days and two nights, participants will be raising dollars to fund access to care and find a cure for breast cancer, which is the mission of the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade. The park opens and registration begins on April 19 at 8 a.m., followed by an opening ceremony at 9 a.m. Walkers pay a $75 participation fee, while crew members, who eat and camp overnight with the walkers, pay $150. There is no cost to half- and full-day volunteers, whose help primarily is needed at the opening and closing ceremonies. If you want to join the UM/Sylvester team as a walker, or sponsor one of the walkers, call Susan Martin at 305-243-4909. If you are willing to serve as a crew member or volunteer, call Sue Radcliffe at 305-243-3663 for more details. UM/Sylvester will pay the fees for all crew members.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR GOLF CLASSIC
TO BENEFIT UM PEDIATRIC RESEARCH

The Department of Pediatrics will host the second annual Children's Million-Dollar Celebrity Golf Classic at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa, April 26 - 28. This tournament is geared toward business and professional leaders in the community to generate support for clinical and medical research programs housed in the School of Medicine's Batchelor Children's Research Institute. Hundreds of volunteers are needed for the event's Nike Golf Ball, a fashion show and related auctions, as well as for both days of the tournament. If you are interested in volunteering, contact the Department of Pediatrics Development Office at 305-243-3956 or e-mail Evntures@aol.com.

TEAM UM RECRUITS YOU TO JOIN PRESIDENT
SHALALA FOR THE 2002 CORPORATE WALK/RUN

Join Team UM for fitness and fun at the 18th annual Corporate Walk or Run. Mark your calendar and plan to attend this fun event on May 2, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami. This is a great teambuilding opportunity for you and your co-workers as well as a chance to "rub elbows" with University President Donna E. Shalala. The department with the most participants (family and friends are welcome) will win a pizza party, compliments of Pizza Hut. The cost is $16 if registration is received on or before April 14. Your entry fee includes the race, two T-shirts, and a post-race party. All proceeds benefit the Leukemia Society of America. If you have not received an application, logon to www.miami.edu/wellness or call 305-243-3209.


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