Ruiz named president of World Psychiatric Association

Being recognized on the national and international levels for his contributions to the field of psychiatry, Dr. Pedro Ruiz recently was elected as the next president of the World Psychiatric Association and recipient of the Irving Blumberg Award for Humanitarian Services from the American Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation.

Ruiz, professor and interim chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, has previously served as president of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He was elected president of the World Psychiatric association in Prague, Czech Republic, with more than 75 percent of the votes.

Serving as president-elect for a three-year term, Ruiz will succeed Dr. Mario Maj, of Italy, as president in 2011. The World Psychiatric Association is comprised of 134 psychiatric societies worldwide, representing more than 200,000 psychiatrists across the world.

“My goals as president include working toward harmonizing the DSM-V and the ICD-11,” said Ruiz, referring to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association, and the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, which is published by the World Health Organization. “I also will advocate for humane care of the mentally ill worldwide, better access to mental health care, parity of care, and maximum collaboration of research and educational efforts and initiatives among countries around the world.”

Having written more than 600 publications, Ruiz’s national and international citations include the Simon Bolivar Award, the George Tarjan Award, the Administrative Psychiatry Award, the Irma J. Bland Award, and a Presidential Commendation from the American Psychiatric Association, also, the Bowis Award from the American College of Psychiatrists, and the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Ruiz received his medical degree from the University of Paris, France, and completed graduate training at the University of Miami Medical School, Florida. He joined the Medical School July 1, 1993.

-D. Brown

Symposium to focus on tuberculosis in Texas

Tuberculosis in Texas will be the topic of a joint symposium hosted by the Medical School and the Methodist Hospital Research Institute (TMHRI) Feb. 7.

Several Medical School faculty will present at the first Texas Tuberculosis Researcher Symposium, including Dr. Robert Hunter, chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine; Dr. Chinnaswamy Jagannath, associate professor of pathology; Dr. Jeffrey Actor, professor of pathology; and Dr. Lisa Armitige, assistant professor of internal medicine. Dr. James Musser, professor of pathology at TMHRI, will co-sponsor the event with faculty at the Medical School.

The purpose of the meeting is to share information on the current status of research and clinical endeavors undertaken to combat tuberculosis across the state. Researchers from UTHSC-Houston, TMHRI, UTHSC-Tyler, Texas A&M University College Station, UTMB, UTHSC-San Antonio, Texas Southern University, UT Southwestern, Baylor, Texas Children’s Hospital, and the Texas Department of Health Services will present and exchange information.

“The symposium is the brainchild of Bob Hunter, stemming from the recent passage of a bill for TB elimination by our local congressman Gene Green,” Actor said. “It is a terrific idea to gather many of the regional TB researchers and clinicians to move forward on common ground. In addition to sharing research findings, another purpose of the symposium would be to elicit ideas for common funding directions that could be submitted as a recommendation to the NIH and the CDC.”

For more information or to register, contact Dr. Jeffrey Actor or Dr. Chinnaswamy Jagannath.

-D. Brown

Senate hears update on LBJ

Increasing patient volumes and growing to fill the needs of the community, LBJ Hospital is on a path of growth and focus, according to Dr. Steve Brown, associate dean for Harris County Programs, who updated the Faculty Senate Jan. 15.

“Things at LBJ are exciting — quite different than it was a decade ago,” Brown said, adding that there has been a huge increase in surgical volumes because of an operating room expansion project that extended OR hours and improved efficiencies in the past two years.

LBJ Hospital is the busiest Level 3 trauma center in the state, Brown reported, adding “for the medical and surgical patients, we are 96 percent full at all times while maintaining a length of stay that is better than the average American hospital according to federal data.”

New and expanded programs include geriatrics, palliative care, a hospitalist service, and an emergency center expansion that will open in 2012 and make the LBJGH EC longer than a football field while allowing the addition of 18 emergency medicine residents to the existing Emergency Medicine residency program.

“The goal of LBJ is to become the elective surgery hospital of choice for the Harris County Hospital District. The UT-H faculty are collaborating with district leadership in the design of a $64 million, 83,000-square-foot ambulatory care and surgery facility that will open in 2013 immediately west of LBJGH,” Brown said. Transfer of ambulatory clinics currently in LBJGH to the new facility could allow the addition of up to 100 inpatient beds.

“In addition to elective surgery, I have recommended to the district leadership that LBJ Hospital focus on orthopaedic surgery, oncology, and women and children’s health and robotics,” he added.

In addition to its clinical operation, LBJ Hospital and the community health programs provide a resource for education and research not only for the Medical School but also for students from the School of Public Health, the Dental Branch, and the School of Nursing.

“The district now provides funding for 216 or 28 percent of all of the Medical School’s graduate medical education positions compared to 112 positions in 1991,” Brown said.

Faculty Senate will meet again at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19 in MSB 2.103.

-D. Brown

Garcia named top volunteer by March of Dimes

Dr. Jose Garcia, professor of pediatrics, received the state 2008 Distinguished Volunteer Service Award for Program Services from the March of Dimes.

Garcia is the vice chair of the Department of Pediatrics and is faculty in the Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine.

Having served with the March of Dimes’ State Program Services Committee for five years, Garcia also is the chair of the organization’s Hispanic Outreach Committee.

“He has been a champion and a leader for outreach to the Hispanic community across Texas,” wrote his nominator. “Through his leadership and dedication to this program, statewide evaluation tools were developed, which are currently being used to measure the impact of the program across Texas.”

He received his M.D. from the University of Minnesota and completed a residency at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash., and a fellowship at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. He also received a master’s of science degree in health care management from Harvard.

He joined the Medical School in 1988, and his clinical and research interests include the sensitivity of positive blood cultures in the newborn population and necrotizing enterocolitis.

-D. Brown

SPH to host panel on healthcare leadership

The School of Public Health’s George McMillan Fleming Center for Healthcare Management will host its third moderated panel discussion 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Feb. 17 in the auditorium of the Reuel A. Stallones Building, 1200 Herman Pressler. The event is jointly sponsored by the American College of Healthcare Executives, Southeast Texas Chapter.

Dr. Osama Mikhail, director of the Fleming Center and senior vice president for strategic planning, will moderate the panel discussion, “Hospital-Medical Staff Relations: Aligning Interests.” The panel of distinguished speakers will include Dr. Marc Boom, executive vice president of The Methodist Hospital; Dr. David Pate, CEO of St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital; and Juanita Romans, CEO of Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center.

The panel discussion is open to the public and lunch will be provided. For information about the event, please call Shannon Larson at 713.500.3252.

-J. Waddy

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