President’s Cabinet Awards 

Frederick Ditmars (MS3 student)
N. Miles Farr, MD, MPH
John Sealy School of Medicine

This project builds upon a 2021 award and will implement evidence-based screening and treatment protocols for hypertension, type II diabetes melliltus, coronary artery disease and early stage heart failure. An interprofessional team of students will identify high-risk patients and provide them with social and medical services. To complement the program, an AI-assisted bedside ultrasound machine will be purchased and used to screen for early-stage heart failure and more health maintenance equipment (glucometers, blood pressure cuffs, etc.) will be added to inventory./p>

Dr. Premal Patel
John Davis, PhD student
Manasa Kanukurthy, School of Medicine Student
Naim Mekdessi, School of Medicine Student
Zhihao Zhu, School of Medicine Student
Internal Medicine

Currently, St. Vincent's Clinic does not have the necessary infrastructure or resources to screen patients for HIV/AIDS according to the guidelines of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). Because of these limitations, the decision to order HIV testing is often based on patient requests and clinical intuition. The development of a pilot HIV screening program at St. Vincent's will improve adherence to USPSTF guidelines, provide linkage to care for a vulnerable populations likely to be at high-risk for transmissions and serve as a platform for incorporating comprehensive preventive medical care and establish population health monitoring.

Joseanne Smathers
Jacob Moran, GSBS Graduate Assistant
Justine Sheu, MS4 Student
School of Medicine

The medical clinics at the St. Vincent’s House Clinic in Galveston are undergoing significant changes including adjustments to clinical space and the implementation of a new Electronic Medical Record system. These changes resulted in the need to relocate old paper medical records. Temporarily placed in plastic containers on the property, these records need to be digitized for long-term storage and efficient navigation. By purchasing scanning equipment, establishing a temporary manager of records, and providing incentives to student volunteers this project seeks to complete digitization of paper charts by September 2021.

Kelli Gilliam, MS2
Brian Liao, MS3
John Sealy School of Medicine

An influx of referrals from St. Vincent's primary care providers to the vasectomy clinic highlighted the growing demand for services within the community and underscored the necessity of proposed enhancements to meet the need effectively. Through this President's Cabinet project, enhancements to the clinic include broadening diagnostic and treatment capacities, transportation, lodging support and health education materials.  The clinic will have the ability to perform more procedures per month, allow for unexpected costs, and expand the diagnostic and treatment capabilities for general urology patients.

Martha T. Garcia (MS3 student)
Ayeesha Mohammed (MS4 student)
Jacob Moran (MD/PhD student)
Otto Pantoja, MD
Nathan Smith (MS4 student)
Lucy Villarreal, MD
Jerome Yaklic, MD, MBA
Obstetrics and Gynecology

A recent survey of females in the St. Vincent’s community revealed a strong need for breast and cervical cancer screenings and family planning services. This award will help revitalize the St. Vincent’s Gynecology Clinic with new equipment, instruments, supplies, the creation of a robust training curriculum and revised operating procedures for women’s health screening. The goal is to increase screening rates for cervical cancer, breast cancer and intimate partner violence by 30%.

Cara Pennel, DrPH, MPH
Science Education

A recent survey administered by the UTMB Office of Educational Outreach to area students in grades 6-12 revealed a lack of age-appropriate information regarding COVID-19 and ways to stay safe. To help address this need, UTMB Graduate School of Biomedical Research students will design public health and basic science materials and activities that are scientifically accurate and age-appropriate for elementary, middle, and high school levels. A series of free professional development workshops will be held to recruit Galveston County teachers, provide training, and obtain educator feedback. Teachers who implement the materials will be given a small stipend and all necessary supplies and provisions, including pre-post tests to determine student comprehension.

Rimma Osipov
Christine Horstmeyer
School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Health Professions and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

Lack of coordination between student-led patient care initiatives can cause patients to be lost to follow-up and therefore decrease service effectiveness. Students Together for Service will establish a coordinating board for the UTMB student service organizations and integrate the work of St. Vincent’s Clinic, Frontera de Salud, S.I.G.H.T. and the student service associations of the School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Health Professions and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. This consolidated effort will avoid redundancy of services, bring greater efficiency to the allocation of materials and volunteers and enrich educational opportunities for students from all four schools.

Jaquelyn Svoboda
School of Nursing

The Baby and Mother Bonding Initiative (BAMBI) at UTMB offers pregnant offenders the opportunity to live with their babies after delivery, rather than sending them away to family or foster care. Typically, mothers in this program have had inadequate breastfeeding education and resources and therefore have low rates of breastfeeding. This School of Nursing initiative seeks to improve maternal bonding through student-led educational sessions that will improve the offender mother’s knowledge of prenatal health and infant care. Nursing students will be paired with mothers to provide support during labor, delivery and postpartum and assist with the facilitation of bonding and breastfeeding.

Rebecca Castro, LCSW
Savannah Parks, MEd, LBSW
Health Resource Center

Unexpected health crises often mean patients and their families are unprepared for hospital stays, and many find themselves in need of food, clothing, personal hygiene products and laundry services.  Through the creation of The Care Closet at the John Sealy Annex, patients will have access to such items and will be provided with information and referrals to community resources.  Two adjoining rooms will be dedicated within the hospital for laundry services and food storage.  The project will be sustained through partnerships with the Galveston County Food Bank and the Salvation Army of Galveston County.

Meredith Masel, PhD
The Oliver Center for Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare

Each year more than 700,000 people in the United States fall in the hospital setting and over 1.7 million develop sepsis. Many of these cases are preventable with good patient safety programs.  This initiative will co-develop videos for patient safety with The Care Partner Project.  These visual demonstrations, coupled with clear explanations, will enhance comprehension and retention of key patient messages (how to prepare for a hospital stay, how to track details during a hospital stay, infections, falls, discharge, daily living needs, etc). Ten videos will be produced and made available on UTMB websites and on TV monitors in patient rooms.

John W. Davis, MS2 Student
Loree Pryor, OTD, OTR
Internal Medicine / PMPH / Occupational Therapy

To better educate uninsured patients about heart failure (HF), its complications and how best to manage the condition, this project will support the infrastructure of a comprehensive care clinic at St. Vincent’s House Clinic in Galveston. Post-discharge HF patients will be provided bi-weekly interprofessional services (medical, respiratory, nutrition, occupational therapy, etc.) by supervised UTMB students who will also monitor vitals, confirm medication adherence, discuss diet, and engage in supervised exercise. This project provides comprehensive care for heart failure patients as well as substantive practice experience for students across multiple education programs.

Mona Singh, MD, MPA, PGY4
Lance Lyons, MD, PGY3
Jed Assam, MD, PGY2
Misha Syed, MD, MEHP
Mary Schmitz Brown
Ophthalmology and Visual Science

Building on the success of a 2011 President's Cabinet Award that provided hundreds of patients in the greater Galveston area with sight-saving diabetic retinopathy treatment and follow-up exams, this new award will expand vision services to a large economically disadvantaged population that depend upon the St. Vincent's Eye Clinic for their complete eye care. Award funds will be used to upgrade and purchase new equipment, broaden services, supply patients with quality eyeglass prescriptions, provide testing modalities and treatment avenues for patients with glaucoma and develop charity cataract surgery services.

Oma Morey, PhD
Office of Educational Development

Without a cure or prevention, it is estimated over 14 million Americans will be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease by 2050. To increase the awareness about the trials and tribulations of caring for a loved one with dementia or Alzheimer's, this project weaves the personal stories of several caregivers into a theatrical production to humanize their feelings of guilt, frustration, anger and angst. In addition to eight community presentations, a DVD and teaching guide will be developed for use by other health care and community organizations.

Souby George, MSN, RNC-MNN, CKC
Sara Nowakowski, PhD, CBMS
Obstetrics and Gynecology

In an effort to provide mental health treatment for new mothers who may be experiencing perinatal depression, the Mother and Babies Course will launch a new clinical service within UTMB's pediatric clinics.  This course will be facilitated by psychologists, nurses and lactation consultants trained to address issues surrounding motherhood.  President's Cabinet funds will be used to purchase instructor manuals, equipment, supplies and marketing materials.

Rebecca T. Walsdorf
Ted Hanley
Office of Health Policy and Legislative Affairs

While major pharmaceutical retailers have developed low-cost prescription programs for generic and common over-the-counter medications, it is difficult to determine which retailer offers the best price and which drugs are covered under what plan.  To help uninsured and under-insured patients find specific medications at the lowest possible cost, the Jesse Tree organization developed and piloted a database of best-price providers. Using this Best Cost Formulary database, the Jesse Tree was able to fill prescriptions or find less costly alternative medications for more than 100 people in a six-month period.   Due to its huge success, this collaboration with UTMB’s Office of Health Policy and Legislative Affairs will provide for updates to and maintenance of the database; develop training materials and expand access to prescription assistance; and create a prescription assistance fund for patients without financial means.

Rebecca Trout Unbehagen
Ashley Adair
Strategic and Business Planning

This project builds on an existing partnership between UTMB and the Friendswood Independent School District (FISD) and will support the education of high school students enrolled in a new dual-credit Emergency Medical Technician certification program at College of the Mainland. By purchasing an ambulance simulator, FISD health sciences students will be exposed to emergency medical concepts, procedures, and skills while developing their ability to communicate and work as a team in a medical crisis. The simulated ambulance will be equipped with flashing lights, life support and narcotics cabinets, attendant seat, oxygen outlet, IV hanger, disposable sharps container and an overhead camera system and monitor to allow instructor review and feedback.

Dr. J. Michael Leger
Dr. Maureen Biggs
School of Nursing

Transitional Care Management (TCM) programs have proven effective in bridging gaps across health care settings, particularly for patients deemed at high risk for poor medical outcomes. With an estimated 3,000 patients seeking medical treatment at the St. Vincent's House Nurse Manage Clinic annually, more than 17 percent of these patients are considered at-risk and often "fall through the cracks." To help with this problem, this project will provide for the services of a nurse transition care manager to facilitate a TCM program at St. Vincent's. The objective is to build a rapport with patients, provide disease-specific education to facilitate self-management, perform medication reconciliation, confirm follow-up appointments, and provide care management to support treatment.

Dr. Kanika Bowen-Jallow
Surgery

Contributing factors of the growing adolescent obesity epidemic include biological, behavioral, cultural and sociopolitical aspects. While there are currently no pediatric clinics dedicated to the workup, management and implementation of a weight loss program for children (ages 12-17), this project proposes the establishment of a single location multidisciplinary clinic at UTMB where adolescents and their parents can meet with a nutritionist, pediatric gastroenterologist, pediatric surgeon, and a personal fitness instructor. Participants will also receive consultations to psychiatry and pediatric endocrinology when necessary.

Rebecca Castro, LCSW
Savannah Parks, MEd, LBSW
Care Management

Building upon the success of a 2018 President’s Cabinet Award, this project seeks to establish similar Care Closest at UTMB’s Angleton-Danbury, League City and Clear Lake campuses. Patients and families experiencing unexpected and long hospital stays will have access to clean clothing, personal hygiene products and food. Dedicated spaces at each campus have been identified and will be sustained by clothing and food drives and partnerships with community agencies.

Semira K. Solomon, GSBS student (MPH Program)
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences / Preventive Medicine & Population Health