JAHVH FORUM

Telling stories of family life, lessons from U.S. history and personal anecdotes to make his points, the new top Administrator of the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa greeted his employees on April 11th in the hospital auditorium. Less than two months later, Stephen M. Lucas was officially named the Hospital Director.

Mr. Lucas came to the Tampa VA from the Miami VA Medical Center and Clinics where he was appointed as Director in September 2003. He transferred to Miami from his previous post as Director at the Dublin, GA., VA Medical Center.

The U.S. Navy veteran began his first Town Hall meeting by thanking and congratulating employees for the “remarkable work you’re doing for our veterans.” He also talked about his background to include the fact he was born on Feb. 19, 1945 which, he explained, was also the first day of the Battle of Iwo Jima. This is significant, he said, because exactly 20 years later, he was serving on-board the U.S.S. Iwo Jima battleship. Mr. Lucas was in the Navy from 1965 to 1967 and served in the Vietnam Theater of Operations.

Mr. Lucas began his VA career in May 1974 as a vocational rehabilitation specialist at the VA regional office in Pittsburgh, PA. He was also a staff assistant to the director at the VA in St. Cloud, MN; New York, N.Y., and Jackson, MS. From 1989 to 1995, he served as the associate director at hospitals in Tomah, WS and Brooklyn, NY, and in 1995, he was named Medical Center Director at the Erie, PA, VA Medical Center. The following year he was appointed Director at the VA Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

In 1978, Mr. Lucas earned his Master of Public Administration from Edinboro State University. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, and is a member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers. He also has significant high-level experience in private sector healthcare.

On a more personal note, Mr. Lucas shared with his audience that he has been married for 38 years to high school sweetheart Sherry Lucas and together, the couple has three children. The audience would hear more about his youngest child in particular—the precocious Tommy Lucas—who the Director referred to several times as he wove humor and story-telling together to illustrate the Principles that guide him and the way he thinks about things.

Flexibility is his first guiding principle, Mr. Lucas said. He lauded staff for their recent “marvelous” move from Floor 2 to 5, noting it took “great flexibility.”

“Be Brilliant at What You Do” was the second guiding principle. Mr. Lucas told the audience to “do what you do and do it well…but let go of those things we don’t do so well or find a different way of doing them” and finally, “know the difference between the two.

He illustrated his third guiding principle: “Have the Guts to Set Bold Goals” with a story of the U.S. Race to Space and U.S. President John Kennedy’s goal in 1962 to put a man on the moon and bring him back safely.

Simplify, he also told the audience. “Find the one thing that makes a difference to a veteran and dance to it,” he said, drawing laughter. “Do it, expand it, or eliminate it” he said.

Exceeding our veterans’ expectations is vital to the work we do, according to the Director who said, “attitude is not a four-letter word.” When hiring someone, he said, “Hire the Heart” and then train the brain. “Because, with the right attitude, people can be educated, trained to do almost anything…but without the right attitude, no amount of training on earth will get the person to where they need to be,” he said.

Mr. Lucas, a 33-year VA employee, also talked about Leadership. “Inspire your team to care more by caring more about your team” he advised. He said that when our people need us, we need to be available to them…sometimes, just to talk,” he said.

His last principle was to “Hang onto the Kid in You,” and he encouraged the audience, as they struggled with the always increasing work load that a world class VA hospital like James A. Haley brings, to return to a source of pure challenge and joy such as the first time they were able to “conquer” and ride a two-wheel bicycle.

“We have a singular mission,” he said, “to care for him who has borne the battle.” In that sense, he continued,, we are one with our veterans. “We have a chance to make a difference in their lives and to make memories for them. I thank you for the memories that you are creating for them each and every day,” he concluded.

Fisher House Dedication

Caring for the Families of America’s Heroes: ‘Home away from Home’ is dedicated

The Department of Veterans Affairs is now better able to care for the families of injured military servicemen and women recuperating at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital. The newest Fisher House, dedicated August 6th, 2007 on the grounds of the Tampa VA Hospital, provides families free lodging, making it easier to participate in the care and recovery of their loved ones.

“This new Fisher House gives military families a safe, comfortable, home-like environment, allowing them to be near their loved ones during their recoveries. We are pleased to lighten the burden by offering accommodations for the families,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson.

More than 400 invited guests, including the four-star military commanders of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command, elected officials, members of veteran service organizations, community leaders, and veterans attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony in which Nicholson transferred ownership of the Tampa Fisher House to the VA. The VA will operate and maintain the home at no cost to its residents.

Tampa’s Fisher House Makes Life Easier For Families

The new Tampa Fisher House built by the Fisher House Foundation is the 38th comfort home and the ninth operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Ground breaking on the facility was in the Fall of 2004, and nearly three years later, in June 2007, residents began moving in. At 16,000 square feet, the Tampa Fisher House is among the largest of these comfort homes which can accommodate up to 21 families.

The professionally decorated and furnished home has spacious bedroom suites with private baths; a communal kitchen; large community dining, family and living rooms; family-style laundry facilities; in-room telephone; flat screen TV/DVD player and computer access.

There is never any cost for families of injured service members and veterans to stay at the Fisher House.

Focus On Employees

Meet Peggy Mikelonis, Women Veterans Program Manager & Hospital Activator

Celebrating her 35th year of employment with the VA at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, is Peggy Mikelonis, Women’s Program Manager for the Tampa VA and VISN 8 facilities in Florida and Puerto Rico. As one of the first hospital employees, Peggy is a hospital “Activator” who began working for the Tampa VA in August 1972, the year the hospital first opened.

Education

Military Service

Rank when left active duty

I returned from Vietnam in the Spring of 1972 and started that August at the Tampa VA hospital. When I first arrived, I was told I had to be certified to start an IV on a patient. They gave us a fake rubber arm, and said, “okay, here’s how you do it.” It was laughable really, and frankly, a little demoralizing. As a nurse in Vietnam, we did it all—sutured, put in chest tubes, large needle IVs, you name it. When you’re in a war zone, you learn by doing. We were all young nurses—in our 20s, right out of nursing school. But back in the states, nobody wanted to know what I was doing the last year of my life. Unfortunately, life in America was like that in the Vietnam era.

Lots. I started out as a staff nurse on Floor 4 South from 1972-1981. From 1981-1983, I worked in SICU, first as a staff nurse and then as assistant head nurse there. Then, from 1983-1988, I worked on 4 South (surgery/ENT/vascular) and eventually became head nurse there. I also worked on 3 South in orthopedics. From 1988-1993, I was the evening nursing care coordinator. And from 1994 to present, I have served as Women Veterans Program Manager for Tampa and outlying clinics as well as a Nurse Practitioner/Primary Care Provider in the Women’s Center. In January 2004, I also assumed the role of Lead Women’s Center Program Manager for VISN 8. And August 27th, 2007, I became the Acting Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom Program Manager for VISN 8.

What was one of the most memorable things that happened to you as a new employee at James A. Haley?

The hospital wasn’t officially seeing patients until October of 1972 so busloads of us from Nursing Service would travel to Bay Pines VA Medical Center to work with potential nursing assistants and teach them skills. Among those employees were two other activators—Art Nelson, who works in Medical Media now, and Blanche Gathers, who works in outpatient radiology. We had fun times riding those buses…we would sing, laugh….and tell stories. Art had just come back from Vietnam too and we would share our war stories.

What has been one of your more memorable customer service experiences as an Activator Nurse?

In the early days, there were fewer patients and we were able to spend very special moments with them. I remember my time with one patient, “Sal” in particular, who was dying. This was a time of truly hands-on, compassionate care.

I’ve had a variety of educational and career opportunities. I used my GI bill to get my Bachelor of Science degree and the VA enabled me to get my Master’s Degree. I’ve had a wonderful variety of positions over the years, and being able to work with women veterans has been especially rewarding. In this job, I really feel like I’m making a difference. It hasn’t always been easy, especially getting a Women Veterans program going in the VA. Fortunately today, the focus as changed as more and more women vets are serving in the military.

The Tampa VA’s Women Center

Women Vets Take Center Stage

When 31-year-old U.S. Army veteran Shannon Hutchison hears a loud noise, it sometimes makes her nervous, very nervous. “My first thought is that it’s a bomb. It was worse when I first got back from Iraqi,” she says.

Shannon, a married mother of two who lives in Tampa, is an Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF) veteran who joined the U.S. Army in 1997 right out of high school. She left the service in April 2006 after serving a year at a U.S. Army trauma center smack in the heart of the turbulent Iraqi battlefield.

The things she saw and experienced in Iraq as a combat medic continue to occupy her thoughts at times. “It’s hard to talk about because no one really understands. These images of pain and suffering are in my mind forever,” she says.

Shannon is one of 2,711 unique female veterans who were seen in FY06 at the busy Women’s Comprehensive Health Center at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa. Like many women vets, she visits the Women’s Center for routine gynecology and other checkups as well as for Primary Care services.

“The care I get at the Women’s Center is good and the people are friendly,” Shannon, a Florida native, says. “It’s not hard to call and get an appointment like some places.”

Retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Deborah Foreman, 56, agrees. “I’ve been coming to the Women’s Center since 1999 and I couldn’t ask for better care,” the soft-spoken veteran says. “In 2003, I was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer and the VA took great care of me from the initial diagnosis to a referral for surgery in the private sector to absolutely excellent follow up care, including chemotherapy. I’ve also been hospitalized twice at the hospital for other medical issues. The VA leaves no stone unturned—they are incredibly thorough.”

Maude Rhodes at the Tampa VA with caregiver

“I have gotten the very best care by the VA.” - US Air Force veteran Maude Rhodes

U.S. Air Force veteran Maude Rhodes, 75, has been coming to the Tampa VA Hospital since 1989. Besides annual checkups at the Women’s Center, the VA has replaced her knee, repaired her broken shoulder and kneecap, and treated her for pelvic cancer diagnosed in 1998. The New Port Richey, FL resident joined the Air Force in 1953, the same year this photo of her in uniform was taken.

The largest Women’s Center in the VA, the Tampa facility has more than 20,000 enrolled women veterans in their catchment area and caters exclusively to them. But it wasn’t always that way, according to Peggy Mikelonis, Women Veterans Program Manager at the Tampa VA Hospital. Mikelonis started working at the hospital in 1972 when it first opened. A U.S. Army nurse in Vietnam in the early 1970s, she says women vets are historically less inclined to use VA facilities and services which have been typically geared to male veterans who make up most of the overall veteran population.

“For example, it wasn’t that long ago that there were no female shower facilities in the hospital. We had to hang a sign outside the door telling people there was a woman inside,” she recalls.

That all changed in 1992 with passage of the Veterans Health Care Act, landmark legislation authorizing VA to provide gender-specific health care services, general reproductive health care and sexual trauma counseling to eligible women vets. As part of that legislation, eight Women’s Comprehensive Health Centers were authorized and funded in Boston, Southeast Pennsylvania, Durham, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and in Tampa, which opened its doors for business in 1993.

Today, the Tampa VA Women’s Center and other such centers in Florida VA hospitals lead the nation in the number of women veterans being seen at VA facilities. The Tampa Center provides one-stop shopping for women vets including well care and routine checkups for pap smears and mammograms, cholesterol, colorectal and diabetes screening, and specialized gyn procedures like colposcopy, endometrial biopsy, and loop electrosurgical excision (LOOP).

Under the supervision of Medical Director Dana Glenn, M.D., the Center’s interdisciplinary staff of almost 20 includes nurses, physicians, a social worker, psychiatrist, psychologist and clerical employees. Together, they work as a team to treat the whole person. Once enrolled in the VA system, every woman veteran is screened for physical and emotional health problems, including sexual trauma, depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Offcer Deborah Foreman and caregiver

“The Women’s Center was a ghost town when I started coming in 1999—there were only a few of us. Today, there are lots more women vets, and it’s grown by leaps and bounds. All the people I talk to say they get excellent care there. I know I have.”

For those who need it, individual, couples and group counseling and treatment is provided. Hospital case managers help women vets apply for benefits; do vocational screening; prepare, interview, and be placed in jobs; live independently; go back to school; and more.

Members of the all-female Color Guard at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital are veterans and hospital employees. Each is proud of the role they played—and continue to play—in serving their country.

Women vets whose medical conditions are connected to their military service—and those whose income is low—have the highest priority for care and pay nothing for it. Returning service members who served on active duty in a combat area are eligible for health care for two years following discharge. Regardless of when or how they served, some women vets return to civilian life with problems and the VA wants to be there to help.

Of the nearly 26,000 women vets returning from combat areas like Iraq and Afghanistan in 2006, about 36 percent were treated by the VA for mental disorders, according to a VA Environmental Epidemiology Service report published in November 2006.

“A lot of the women vets we see have PTSD and sexual trauma issues, some have depression and substance abuse problems, others have bad family relationships, many can’t find jobs,” says Carol Griffiths, psychiatric nurse practitioner and clinical coordinator of the VA Homeless Women Vet Program in Tampa.

Griffiths says her program’s current caseload is about 70 women vets. “We try to help them keep body and soul together…find a job, get them into a treatment program, locate housing. These women are all different and unique, many have children, and it’s rewarding to see them get back on their feet working, supporting their families and becoming more independent,” she says.

Tampa VA Case Manager Deborah Gano has been at the Tampa VA since 1982. A former U.S. Army Vietnam veteran, she also manages the cases of 70 women vets. Gano receives her care at the Women’s Center and says there are many more programs and health benefits in place now for women veterans than when she returned from Vietnam.

“The best thing we can do is to give these women a positive sense of direction. And unlike the private sector, they can come back again and again as we work together to meet their individual needs,” she says.

“My care at the Women’s Center is better than the GYN private sector’s. I like it because it’s military oriented. There are lots of VA employees who have served in the military. Veterans understand other veterans.” - US Army Veteran Ayanna Salmon

Veterans and sisters Ayanna Salmon, 33 (left) and Tanya Salmon Pye, 32 get their care at the Tampa VA Women’s Center. Ayanna is a Detention Deputy and Tanya is a Child Protection Investigator. Both are employed by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the latest VA statistics available, there are almost 24 million veterans living in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Of these, 1.7 million (7.2 percent) are women, and of that number, nearly 133,000 live in Florida, a state that ranks third in the nation behind California and Texas for numbers of women vets.

Included in these numbers were 10,536 outpatient visits by female vets to the Tampa VA Women’s Center in 2006.

It’s an unhappy fact of life that because of the sheer number of veterans and limited resources, not every woman who wore a uniform qualifies for care and can be seen by the VA, according to Mikelonis, who is also the VISN 8 lead for Women’s issues.

“I’ve been in this world since 1983, and I’ve seen such growth in how we care for women vets. We’ve come a long way baby, but we’ve still got a long way to go,” she says.

Women Veterans—A Snapshot

Fiscal Year 2006

VA Mail Call

Recently we received a survey request regarding my husband's hospitalization between March 19, 2007 and May 7, 2007 when he was released to Valencia Nursing Home in Lakeland, Florida. As we went through the survey, answering the questions, we realized this survey did not adequately cover the care my husband received.

Ron is a kidney transplant patient who has been under the Primary Care of Dr. (Colleen) Ward since we moved to Florida in 2001. The care he has received .from the VA has been outstanding since day one.

It would take a book to tell you of the many wonderful people you have working at the Tampa VA. My husband was near death when we arrived at Dr. Ward's Office on March 19, 2007. Dr. Ward's quick action began his road to recovery. Ron was immediately taken to the ER where treatment for Meningitis began. As the days passed, Ron developed severe heart problems, making it necessary to have triple by-pass surgery. Before long the Cardiac Team, the Medical Team and the Nephrology Team worked fervently together to save my husband's life.

Ron was a patient in the ER, 5W, 68, ICV, SIC V, and MICU, therefore we had the opportunity to observe many locations in your hospital. Each and every floor ran like clockwork, never skipping a beat when it came to not only Ron's care and treatment, but the concern and caring shown to our family by not only keeping us updated on every change in his condition, taking the time to explain what they were going to do and why was a wonderful comfort to us during this extremely difficult time. Dr. (Robert) Geck, Dr. (James) Obney, and Dr. (Alfredo) Peguero are just a few of the names that come to mind, although there were many others working together to help my husband through these medical emergencies.

Everyone we encountered throughout Ron's 50 days in the hospital was wonderful, from the first lady Jean at the admitting desk in the ER, the men who clean the rooms and the grounds, the nurses, the doctors, the technicians, the radiology department and the people working at the front desks. I could go on forever praising each and every employee of the Tampa VA.

Every time one of our family members came to the hospital, we would fill out a "Star Card" for someone. When a facility works as well as yours does, it is obvious to all just how much effort is put in by everyone from the top down.

We, the family of Ronald W. Post, would like to take this opportunity to thank you and your staff for a job well done.

New Assistant Director On Board

Michael C. Jorge, Ph.D., (pronounced HOR-HEI) is the new Assistant Director for the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the operations of six service lines and 215 full-time employees. Services include Canteen, Nutrition & Food Service, Patient Advocate, Police, Prosthetics and Voluntary.

Dr. Jorge’s broad background as a VA hospital administrator, health systems specialist, staff psychologist and organizational development consultant, make him well suited to manage the operations of one of the largest VA healthcare systems in the country.

Dr. Jorge comes to the Tampa VA from a position as Director of Health Services at Western Carolina University. Before that, he was the Assistant Director for the Miami VA Healthcare system where he began his VA service as a psychology intern in 1991. In 1995, after two years as a Behavioral Medicine psychologist at the Miami VA, he transferred to the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Outpatient Unit of the Brecksville, OH, VA Medical Center. In 2001, he accepted a position as a project manager at the Cleveland Employee Education System, where he was employed until 2003 when he returned to the VA.

From 2003 to 2005, Dr. Jorge was a staff psychologist at the Veteran Health Administration’s National Center for Organizational Development (NCOD), a recognized team of internal VHA consultants focused on improving the workplace climate. It was in 2003 that he was selected for VHA’s Executive Career Field, enrolling in the Associate Director career track. In November 2005, he was named Assistant Director at the Miami VA.

Dr. George holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Florida International University. He also earned a master’s degree in education and a doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Miami.

VA Secretary Praises Tampa Pain Center

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson praised the Department of Veterans Affairs’ acclaimed Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program at the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital as a shining example of VA's world-class health care.

"The program at the Tampa VA Medical Center is the largest and most comprehensive pain center in the VA system,” Nicholson said. “We’re meeting the challenges of treating wounded service members returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, while providing top-notch care to older veterans with chronic medical problems.”

Nicholson noted the Tampa pain program was one of six facilities—and the only VA facility—earlier this year to receive the American Pain Society's first “Clinical Centers of Excellence in Pain Management Awards,” honoring the nation’s outstanding pain care centers.

The Society recognized programs that help pain patients enhance overall functionality and quality of life through integrated care across medical disciplines. Patients in the VA pain program have, on average, a 50 percent reduction in pain during treatment. More than half of polytrauma patients leave the facility free of prescribed pain medications, while others have substantially reduced dosages.

The Tampa VA Medical Center hosts one of VA's major polytrauma centers that receive the most severely wounded veterans of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. “We’re treating patients with significant head injuries who are transferred to our Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center from military treatment facilities. Many wouldn’t have survived their injuries in Vietnam or the Gulf War,” said Michael Clark, Ph.D., Clinical Director of Tampa’s Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program. Pain management for these patients is particularly challenging because many have cognitive impairment and multiple complex injuries. Patients often arrive on high doses of narcotics, which can interfere with their rehabilitation.

The journey in Tampa actually began over 15 years ago when the hospital began developing a national model for managing chronic pain, and, as a result, won the VA Secretary’s Olin E. Tague Award in 2004 and the VA’s 2006 Office of Nursing Service’s Innovations Award. The facility has devised a pain assessment questionnaire used by more than 800 clinicians and researchers in 36 countries.

The Tampa pain center's core team includes doctors and nurses from a variety of disciplines, pain psychologists, a registered dietician, rehabilitation therapists and a social worker, with occasional assistance from a chiropractor, acupuncturist and pharmacist.

In its recognition of the Tampa center, the American Pain Society highlighted programs that reach beyond drugs to other approaches such as cognitive behavioral and physical therapy to treat the whole person, not just the pain. According to the Society, the Tampa facility had demonstrated that integrated, multidisciplinary pain care yields the best medical, psychological and social outcomes.

Tampa VA Wins Outstanding Canteen Award

Tampa’s Veterans Canteen Service has been selected as the winner of the Outstanding Canteen award for 2006. The awards are presented annually by the Veterans Canteen Service; the Tampa facility won in the category of large VA canteens.

“It’s a wonderful honor being selected as the Outstanding Canteen for 2006,” said Carol Sarnowski, Canteen Chief. “I’m so proud of our hard working Tampa Canteen staff. And the real winners are the veterans, their families and the employees who helped us win this award by supporting Veteran’s Canteen Services.”

For Veteran Russell & Velma Clark:

Every Day is a Blessing

The date was Oct. 5th, 2006. The exhausted Tampa VA cardiac surgeon emerged from the operating room, dripping with sweat, his surgical mask dropped to his chin. “Mrs. Clark, I need to speak to you. Please sit down,” Dr. James Obney said somberly.

Suddenly, Velma Clark, wife of 60-year-old Vietnam veteran Russell Clark, felt afraid, very afraid. Another doctor had told her what seemed just moments ago that her beloved husband of 25 years had a “0 percent” chance of surviving the heart surgery he was still undergoing.

“Well, Mrs. Clark,” Dr. Obney said. “Your husband is fine. You’ll be able to see him in recovery shortly.” Velma Clark breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Today, Mrs. Clark credits the 40-year-old heart surgeon with giving her husband another chance at life. And Russell Clark, a former U.S. Army Vietnam vet, agrees. “Dr. Obney is an excellent doctor—he saved my life,” he said.

If heart surgery can be called routine, Mr. Clark’s coronary bypass operation had started out routinely enough and seemed to be going well, according to Dr. Obney who is the Chief of Cardiac Thoracic surgery at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, one of the VA’s busiest heart surgery centers. The surgeon said Russell needed the bypass surgery urgently because life-threatening blockages in his heart were not responding to medical treatment. Coronary bypass surgery reroutes or “bypasses” blood around the heart’s blood vessels, improving blood flow and oxygen delivery to the heart.

Mr. Clark had had his share of serious health problems that year. The father of three and grandfather of three more had a stroke in May of 2006 and had a series of progressively serious heart attacks not too long after that. He also suffers from Charcot-Marie Tooth disease, an inherited condition that weakens and atrophies hand and lower leg muscles. That disease has left him with an amputated left leg and the loss of two toes on his right foot due to poor circulation.

Collectively, these problems resulted in a lengthy stay at the Tampa VA Nursing Home and Hospital where he has received his medical care since retiring from the U.S. Army in 1989 after 21 years of military service.

“Problems arose at the very end of the bypass operation as we were trying to wean him off the heart-lung machine,” said Dr. Obney, a former U.S. Army surgeon. “He was anemic and had been in the hospital a long time, so the decision was made to give him a blood transfusion which is not uncommon, especially for chronically ill patients who have been hospitalized.”

But after the blood transfusion, something went terribly wrong, according to Dr. Obney, who has performed heart surgery for the last 10 years. “His lungs became bright red and filled with fluid, impairing the lungs’ ability to pick up and carry oxygen.” The veteran’s heart ballooned and filled with blood, losing its ability to function properly.

Things didn’t look good. The veteran had developed acute massive pulmonary edema, his condition was rapidly deteriorating, and Dr. Obney was puzzled. “I was faced with a condition I’d never seen before and didn’t know how to treat it; I thought we were going to lose him.

“I’d seen Pulmonary Edema numerous times—but not this rapidly, and certainly not after someone has had a seemingly routine, successful bypass operation,” the physician said. “So I called some consultants into the operating room.” The Tampa VA consulting team included pulmonary specialist John Brown, MD; cardiologist Maqsood Siddique, MD (now acting chief of cardiology); thoracic surgeon Reginald Penniston, MD, then chief of surgery (now retired); several anesthesiologists; and the nursing staff. The group feverishly worked together on a strategy to save the veteran’s life.

It was during this time that Dr. Penniston slipped out of the room to talk to Mrs. Clark about her husband’s condition. Faced with the prospect that Russell may not survive the operation, the surgeon asked if she wished to have her husband put long-term on a respirator (breathing machine). She initially said “no,” but later changed her mind after talking to her family. Thankfully, that decision was never needed.

What happened in the OR during this time, according to Dr. Obney, was nothing short of a miracle. “There was a lot of thinking, a lot of hand wringing, lot of interaction between the surgeons and nursing staff. Outside the operating room, there was a lot of praying going on,” Dr. Obney recalled.

“We kept Mr. Clark on the heart-lung machine for roughly an hour. We gave him medication and diuretics to try to get rid of all the excess fluid and I also inserted a device that made it easier for his heart to pump.” Miraculously, Russell responded to those strategies and recovered, according to Dr. Obney. “In the next 24 to 48 hours, he was doing well, breathing on his own, and you’d never know this had happened. I truly think there was some divine intervention,” he said.

Dr. Obney said they later discovered the veteran had a condition called Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury or TRALI, a rare, life-threatening complication of blood transfusion. “There were a lot of very tense moments during all of this,” he said.

Ask Dr. Obney and he may tell you the saving of Russell’s life was a team effort. Ask Russell and Velma Clark and they’ll tell you there’s no better medical care than that provided by the VA.

“Tampa is the best VA hospital and nursing home in the country. We had a chance to move my husband to another VA hospital closer to our home in Atlanta, but we chose to keep him here. The care here is so personal, so wonderful, it’s like my husband has his own private duty nurses. He’s treated like a king here,” said Mrs. Clark. “We will never be able to thank Dr. Obney and the entire staff enough for what they’ve done for him.”

The Clark’s recently celebrated their silver wedding anniversary with a big party attended by family and friends—and Dr. Obney was there to share the special moment. When asked why he attended and spoke at Russell and Velma’s private party, his answer was simple: “Because they invited me,” he said.

Tampa VA Hospital Physician is Pioneer in Heart Hormone Research; First VA Employee to Receive ‘Sammie’ Career Achievement Medal for Work in Medical Research

TAMPA – The heart hormone research of James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital physician and researcher David Vesely, M.D., Ph.D., may revolutionize the treatment of cancer, and in the process, save countless lives—not just of veterans, but of people everywhere. Dr. Vesely is the first VA employee to be selected for the highly prestigious 2007 Service to America (“Sammie”) Career Achievement Medal for medical research.

The “Sammies” Career Achievement Medal recognizes federal employees for significant accomplishments throughout a lifetime of achievement in public service and is accompanied by a $10,000 award. Sammies are presented by the nonprofit, nonpartisan, Partnership for Public Service.

A Nebraska native, Dr. Vesely is the Tampa VA’s Chief of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism where he has worked since 1989. He is also professor of Medicine, Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida where he has been a faculty member for the same length of time.

He accepted his “Sammie” at an awards banquet held at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium in Washington D.C. on Sept. 19th. The award is for the physician/researcher’s body of work spanning 25 years which has significant implications for the treatment of several serious, often terminal, diseases. With largely VA-funded research, Dr. Vesely discovered three hormones made by the heart that treat congestive heart failure, kidney failure and cancer. Within a 24-hour period, these hormones are capable of eliminating in test tubes in as many as 97 percent of human pancreatic, prostate, breast, colon and kidney adenocarcinomas—malignant tumors in a gland. Breast, colon, prostate and pancreatic cancers are all adenocarcinomas. Of these, pancreatic cancer is considered the deadliest—patients are expected to live only a few months after the disease has progressed.

Published in the May/June 2007 issue of the medical journal “In Vivo,” Dr. Vesely’s latest research showed that up to 80 percent of adenocarcinomas growing in lab mice can be cured with these hormones. Significantly, of those human pancreatic cancers that can’t be cured, the tumors reduced in size to less than 10 percent of that in untreated mice. Dr. Vesley found that these mice live normal lives, with no recurrence of cancer.

Until 2002, Dr. Vesely’s research focused primarily on congestive heart failure and acute renal failure. It was that year that Clo, his beloved wife of 30 years, died from breast cancer and he expanded his research to cancer. He found that two cardiac hormones he discovered eliminate two of every three human breast carcinomas growing in mice, with the third hormone eliminating 50 percent—all without surgery.

Most funding for Dr. Vesley’s research was obtained through the VA Merit Review program, which is open only to VA employees. The program is operated by the VA’s Office of Research and Development which allocates funds to VA medical facilities for the scientifically meritorious research of its employees related to the high priority health care needs of veterans. VA professional staff are encouraged to conduct medical research that contributes to the Nation’s knowledge about disease and disability.

The father of five children, Dr. Vesely is a 1967 graduate of Creighton University who received his MD and PhD at the University of Arizona—finishing the latter two degrees in three years. He directs the USF Cardiac Hormone Center, a multidisciplinary operation with staff from Molecular Medicine, Internal Medicine, Ob/Gyn, and Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology. He has written nearly 300 peer-reviewed scientific articles and has published three books.

The next steps in Dr. Vesely’s research include beginning clinical trials testing the heart hormones in congestive heart failure and cancer. If these human trials are successful, Dr. Vesley will transform how cancer is treated around the world.

An Interview with Dr. David Vesely

Q – Your discovery of three heart hormones may revolutionize how cancer is treated in the future. How so?

The research thus far has shown that giving these heart hormones to cancer cells eliminates up to 97 percent of all cancers in 24 hours. This includes some cancers that are nearly untreatable or have a very low survival rate, such as brain tumors, and malignant pancreatic and ovarian tumors.

For Pancreatic cancer in particular, infusing these hormones eliminated up to 80 percent of malignant human tumors growing in mice. Significantly, even in the carcinoma it didn’t cure, it decreased the volume of these cancers to less than 10 percent, and the animals didn’t die of cancer—they died of old age. Thus, this is a new concept in cancer treatment. Even if you don’t cure every cancer, some can be treated like a “chronic disease” which ones lives with, but doesn’t die from.

And since these peptide hormones are made by your own body, they have almost no side effects. The body doesn’t recognize them as “foreign” and thus, it doesn’t develop antibodies which can affect a person’s immune system. Also, the hormones don’t have the side effects of cancer drugs currently being used. In the lab, we gave these peptide hormones 24 hours a day for an entire month at the concentration which eliminates cancers growing in living tissue without a single side effect.

In the near future, we hope to begin the human trials of this research testing the hormones in congestive heart failure and cancer, a very exciting next step.

It will ultimately affect the health of millions of people. Consider the American Cancer Society estimates there will be more than 1.4 million new cases of cancer in 2007 and nearly 600,000 Americans will die of the disease this year, and that’s just in this country. The number of people afflicted by Cancer worldwide is staggering.

Q – After 25 years of medical research, what does this ‘Sammie’ award mean to you?

This award is special since I am being recognized for something I love to do—helping millions of persons I will never meet—and for work I never expected to receive an award for. Of course, an award which is completely unexpected is always special.

News Briefs

Expanded Emergency Department Opens

The grand opening and ribbon cutting of the expanded Emergency Department (ED) took place July 30th, 2007. The project began in Spring 2006 and when completed this summer, the new ED added 15 additional state-of-the art emergency care beds for a total of 23 and 12,012 sq ft of space. Expanded ED capabilities include more patient rooms, new equipment, and specialized treatment rooms for patients.

Joint Commission Has High Praise for Tampa VA

An eight-member survey team from the Joint Commission was at the Tampa VA Hospital and clinics August 6 to 10, 2007. The Joint Commission is an independent organization that accredits and certifies nearly 15,000 U.S. health care organizations and programs, plus others abroad. Joint Commission accreditation and certification is recognized nationwide as a symbol of a healthcare facility’s quality. As a result of the survey, the Tampa VA has received full reaccreditation pending submission of their Evidence of Standards Compliance (ESC) within 45 days of the report. The survey team had high praise for Tampa during their August 10^th outbrief. Surveyor Carol Johnson noted, “I have several veterans in my life…my father, my husband and my 3 sons — and I’m very grateful for the work you do. I will certainly spread the word about the fine care you provide here.” The Tampa VA’s last Joint Commission survey was in June 2004.

New Tampa VA Sailboat for Disabled is Launched

A very special VA sailboat for the handicapped was christened, dedicated and launched June 23rd from the Clearwater Community Sailing Center with injured active duty military service members and veterans on board from the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and Bay Pines VA Medical Center in St Petersburg. The boat, modified to accommodate the needs of disabled veterans, carries the Tampa VA logo on its tail. When not in use by the VA, the new two-seater sailboat will be operated and maintained by the organization Sailability for other disabled persons to enjoy. The VA sailboat has several special modifications including a joystick that electronically controls the sails and rudder by hand, foot, chin or any moving part, especially important for those with various levels of paralysis. Sailing improves a disabled veteran’s quality of life, speeds the recovery and rehabilitation process, and demonstrates that a full enjoyable life is within reach. Sailability operates different kinds of modified sailboats including a special ventilator-equipped boat for those who breathe using a respirator. The Tampa VA was instrumental in getting the sailboat that holds the ventilator.

Valet Parking For Visitors Begins October 1

Beginning October 1, 2007, patients and visitors to the Tampa VA Hospital can either valet or self park their vehicles in the hospital’s parking lots. Valet parking for hospital visitors will start at 5:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal Holidays.

To use the free service, visitors should follow signs to the main hospital entrance where they will be greeted by a valet attendant who will park their vehicle. Contract Traffic Controllers (TCs) will also be strategically stationed in hospital parking lots to ask visitors their parking preference. The TCs will then direct visitors to open parking spaces or to the front of the main hospital for valet parking.

When visitors have completed their day’s visit to the hospital, they should return to the hospital entrance and valet attendants will retrieve their cars.

To make space for valet parking, two parking areas are no longer available for visitor self parking. They are the last four rows of the main hospital parking area, the Diamond Lot, which is adjacent to Bruce B. Downs Blvd, and all of the Opal Lot, next to the Nursing Home. Patients and visitors may self park in other patient/visitor parking areas.

When all valet parking spaces are filled, visitors will be directed by TCs to overflow parking at University Mall, utilizing the VA shuttle that provides free round-trip transportation to the hospital and parking lots.

Valet parking is a free service provided by the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital to veterans and their families. There is no tipping.

Credits

James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital
13000 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33612
813.972.2000

Leadership Team

The JAHVH FORUM is published for employees, patients, volunteers and friends of the JAH Veterans Hospital & Clinics.

Table Of Contents

Fall 2007 Edition

Meet The New Director