February 2023

VA Spinal Care Injury 

Christopher L. White, MD. Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

The team at the Zablocki VA Spinal Cord Injury Center have been busy with change. We said goodbye to Stan Rintelman, NP at the end of December and Linda Daufenbach, NP in mid January.  Both of our SCI NPs had been a part of our team for decades- Stan for almost 20 years and Linda for 40.  We have been recruiting for Nurse Practitioners to fill their places and have recently started onboarding Sarah Gray, NP. Our second recruit is still in the works. Additionally, our longtime Pharmacist, Mirella Sabol, moved to a new position within the VA. Dr. Sabol was responsible for starting Pharmacy Services in the Spinal Cord Injury Division and will be missed. Her replacement, Dr. Erin Stoop, is set to start soon. Residents and fellows, make sure you say hi to our new people! 

We are also actively preparing for the VA switch of the EMR from CPRS to Cerner. Dr. White is our Provider Champion and has started attending workshops and seminars to plan for the transition to Cerner. The unit is presently evaluating our workflow, order sets, and documentation to better prepare and streamline this transition. 

Dr. Lee and his team are actively planning for the upcoming busy adaptive sport summer season with local tournaments and planning for the National Veterans Wheelchair Games which will be held in Portland, OR this July. Many of our residents, fellows, and staff will be attending to help provide medical coverage and to complete research projects. Our current SCI Fellow, Dr. Shah, will be accompanying Dr. Lee to Miami later this spring to speak at an adaptive sport conference as well. 

Change is occurring. We are embracing it and looking forward to what 2023 has in store!

PM&R Residency – Excellence in Education

Recruitment
We extend a special thank you to our Recruitment Committee, Drs. Braza, Goodfriend, Ketchum, Kotsonis, White, Cheng, Connelly, Ball, Wineman, Ng and Shuda who put in a tremendous amount of work from September through January, reviewing applications, conducting interviews and preparing for the ranking meeting to be held early February. To all our residents who spent many evenings meeting with applicants during virtual recruitment socials. We appreciate all of you!

Match Day is March 17^th!

Fellowship Match
We would like to congratulate our PGY4 residents on their Fellowship match!

• Akash Jindal, DO – Pain Medicine – Medical College of Wisconsin
• Chris Ng, MD, MBA – Sports Medicine – Wayne State University – Detroit, MI
• Mateo Nicholson, DO – Spinal Cord Injury Medicine – University of Minnesota
• Tyson Sessions, DO – Sports Medicine – University of Arizona – Phoenix, AZ
• Lauren Shuda, MD – Spinal Cord Injury Medicine – Medical College of Wisconsin

Didactics
The following didactic series were completed during the first half of the academic year. Thank you to all series directors for creating valuable learning experiences.

• MSK Sports – Dr. Heather Curtiss – Series Director
• Spinal Cord Injury – Dr. Chris White – Series Director
• Traumatic Brain Injury – Dr. Anjum Sayyad – Series Director
• Acquired Limb Deficiencies – Dr. David Del Toro – Series Director

The schedule for January through June is as follows:

• Pediatrics – Dr. Karin Goodfriend – Series Director: Jan 4-25
• Rheumatology – Dr. Mark England – Series Director: Feb. 1-8
• Stroke – Dr. Erin McGonigle - Series Director: March 1-22
• Cancer Rehab/Cardio Rehab – Drs. Oksana Sayko and Jeff Cheng - Series Directors: March 29 – April 19
• Spine Didactics – Dr. Andy Nelson – Series Director: April 26 – May 17
• Geriatrics – Dr. Jennifer Yacub Martin – Dr. Jennifer Yacub Martin - Series Director: May 24-31
• Pain – Dr. Vlad Suric - Series Director: June 7-28

February Medical Students

Please welcome the following M3 medical students who will be joining us in February. 

Stroke Survivor Recruitment Database continues growth

The Stroke Survivor Recruitment Database (SSRD), a key piece of research infrastructure that PM&R developed in 2017 to facilitate enrollment of stroke survivors into clinical research studies, continues to grow in importance. The SSRD was created as a primary initiative of Dr. Diane Braza’s Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment-funded research project “Optimizing Functional Outcomes of Stroke Survivors Through Translational Research.” It draws from approximately 500 new stroke cases each year at Froedtert Hospital, and from the approximately 400 chronic stroke patients treated annually by MCW’s PM&R Department. To connect stroke survivors to other academic research teams in the Greater Milwaukee Area, PM&R last year opened the SSRD to member institutions of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) of Southeastern Wisconsin.

To date, 374 stroke survivors have been recruited into the SSRD. Of those who are enrolled, more than 300 have been contacted to participate in research studies, and more than 100 have enrolled in studies – with some individuals participating in as many as six unique studies. Studies have been led by more than 10 research groups, including PM&R, Neurology and Neuropsychology at MCW; Physical Therapy, Biomedical Engineering, and Speech Pathology and Audiology at Marquette University; and Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The SSRD has been leveraged into significant NIH funding for stroke researchers at MCW and Marquette University. Four multidisciplinary clinical trials have been funded by the NIH that rely heavily on the SSRD for recruitment, including a five year NIH R01 award co-directed by Dr. Durand, and Dr. Allison Hyngstrom at Marquette University.

NIH Research Awards 

Dr. Karin Goodfriend and Dr. Sam Nemanich (Marquette University) received an American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine Research Grant, funded by the NIH through the National Pediatric Rehabilitation Resource Center. Their project, “Corticospinal Organization and Bimanual Coordination in Children with Hemiparesis,” seeks to determine whether atypical cortical organization contributes to impaired bimanual coordination in children with hemiparetic cerebral palsy; They will use a pedaling paradigm to measure and manipulate upper limb movement, while examining cortical activity.

Dr. Erin McGonigle and Dr. Nicholas Ketchum recently contributed to a publication within the Achieves of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation journal entitled "A Virtual Reality Platform to Facilitate Training on Treatment of Lower Limb Spasticity With OnabotulinumtoxinA".  Please congratulate both doctors on their accomplishment! 

Dr. Carley Sauter and Dr. Sarah Wineman recently published a chapter within the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Pocketpedia, Fourth Edition, "Chapter 14: Effects of Debility and Immobility". Please be sure to congratulate both doctors on their accomplishment! 

Dr. Mary Elizabeth Nelson recently had a research report published within the Frontier of Rehabilitation Sciences August journal entitled "Building PRM in sub-Saharan Africa". Please be sure to congratulate Dr. Mary Elizabeth Nelson on this accomplishment! 

Congratulations Jay Kumar, MHA!

Please help us congratulate our department Business Manager, Jay Kumar and his family for welcoming their baby girl Hazel Kumar on 01/07/23! 

PM&R Holiday Party at Whirly Ball

This year's PM&R holiday party was held at WhirlyBall in Brookfield on Saturday, January 7th. The attendees enjoyed great food, fun games, laser tag and even better company! The department is already looking forward to next year's holiday party. A special thanks to Rhiannon and Monika for coordinating the event! 

The answer to this riddle below will be provided in next month's newsletter. Riddle courtesy of Alan Young, Clinical Research Coordinator:

"I am easy to lift, but hard to throw. What am I?"

Answer to last month's riddle:  "nothing"

Monthly Wellness Feature: Computer Eye Strain – Tips for Relief

You probably use screens for just about everything – to work, to relax, or just to keep up with daily life. Studies show that eye strain and other bothersome visual symptoms occur in 50 to 90 percent of computer users/workers.

Here are simple steps you can take to reduce your risk of computer eye strain:

1. Take a break – Use the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away.
2. Blink frequently – it moistens your eyes to prevent dryness and irritation.
3. Keep your monitor bright – this reduces the flicker rate of the computer and reduces fatigue
4. Minimize glare – clean your monitor regularly to remove dust and consider an anti-glare screen
5. Adjust the text size and contrast – usually, black print on a white background is the best combination for comfort.
6. Use proper lighting – use incandescent lighting and avoid high-intensity lamps, which cast shadows and create glare.

Benefits reminder:  If you are covered under the VSP vision plan through MCW, you can receive an annual routine vision exam for only a $10 copay.  Network providers can be found by going to the VSP Website and selecting the VSP network or calling VSP at (800) 877-7195.

Sources:

• allaboutvision.com
• visionsource.com

February is Black History Month!

First created by Carter G. Woodson in 1926 as a week-long event, Black History Month celebrates the contributions of Black people and Black culture to the American story. With the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and the opposition to critical race theory, understanding Black history is essential in promoting racial equity throughout society. You can learn more and discover how Milwaukee is celebrating the month by clicking on the links below:

https://africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/

https://mkefilm.org/black-history-month-2022-milwaukee-film-(1)

Resources provided by our own MCW Office of Diversity and Inclusion: https://www.mcw.edu/departments/office-of-diversity-and-inclusion/resources

Other February Celebrations:

• Valentines Day (February 14th)
• Presidents Day (February 17th)
• Mardi Gras (February 21st) 

Medical College of Wisconsin |  8701 Watertown Plank Road  |  Milwaukee, WI 53226
You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to PM&R emails.
 © 2022 Medical College of Wisconsin. All rights reserved.

MCW.EDU     |     INFOSCOPE     |     CONTACT US

Connect to MCW on Social