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UI mini medical school aims to spur careers in health care

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Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies merges with Western Michigan University School of …

Updated: February 3, 2012, 4:57 PM ET

STORRS, Conn. — University of Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun is taking an indefinite medical leave of absence, the school announced Friday.

The Hall of Fame coach, who turns 70 in May, has been suffering for several months from spinal stenosis, a lower back condition that causes him severe pain and hampers mobility, according to the release.

O'Neil: UConn at Crossroads

The unexpected news that Jim Calhoun is taking a leave of absence puts the onus directly where it should have been all along: on the players, writes Dana O'Neil. Blog

“Last summer, Jim had some significant back pain and has seen two excellent back specialists,” said Dr. Peter Schulman, Calhoun's primary care doctor. “The initial approach recommended to him was stretching, physical therapy and exercise, and that was successful for several months. It turns out that there is some degenerative problem in the lumbar vertebrae and it's impinging on the nerves.”

Calhoun talked to the staff Friday and reiterated that he wants to beat this injury and return, but he will listen to his doctors and heed their advice.

Calhoun says in a telephone interview with The Associated Press, “I'm hurting.” He says “bottom line is I'm going to need some work done.”

George Blaney, the team's associate head coach, will lead the team in Calhoun's absence. The Huskies (14-7, 4-5 Big East) have lost four games in a row. They host Seton Hall on Saturday before traveling to Louisville on Monday.

The school confirmed that Calhoun will miss at least those two games.

“Jim has been able to manage it with the physical therapy and stretching, but over the last several days, things have become worse and he is not able to deal with this on a day to day basis, so other options need to be considered,” Schulman said. “Right now, he is physically unable to coach.”

According to a source, Calhoun was in intense pain during the Georgetown game Wednesday night and on the flight home from Washington D.C., and as a result has been bedridden the past two days as his family and doctors decide the correct course of action.

Surgery is a possibility, the source said, as the back pain, which started over the summer, has intensified in the past 72 hours.

Calhoun has expressed to those close to him his frustration that this occurred during a time when the team needs him most.

Former GW coach Karl Hobbs, who has been an administrative assistant, is likely to have coaching duties during Calhoun's absence, according to the school.

The staff has former head coaches in Hobbs, Glen Miller and interim head coach Blaney.

Assistant Kevin Ollie is privately being groomed to replace Calhoun, according to multiple sources.

Calhoun has had a history of health problems. He is a three-time cancer survivor, overcoming prostate cancer in 2003 and skin cancer twice, most recently in 2008.

Calhoun has either missed or left the bench in 28 games due to medical reasons as UConn's coach. The Huskies are 20-8 in those games. His last extended medical leave came in 2010, when he missed seven games with stress-related issues.

Calhoun is No. 6 on the all-time wins list with 867. He has won three national championships at Connecticut and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005. He coached the team to its fourth Final Four and third national title last April. Only Bob Knight (1,273) has coached more games in Division I than Calhoun (1,240).

The subject of Calhoun's tenure is not new. He said last month he decided to not retire after last year's national championship in large part because he wanted to see through the NCAA sanctions leveled on him and his program for recruiting violations. The NCAA required Calhoun to sit out wins over South Florida and St. John's and a loss to Seton Hall for violations that included a finding that the coach had failed to maintain “an atmosphere of compliance” in the program.

He told reporters that the idea of bringing closure to that issue was a “major, major factor” in his decision to come back this season.

In August, Calhoun said through the assistant director of athletics that he informed university president Susan Herbst he would coach during the coming season.

Sources close to Calhoun say he wants to continue coaching and see the program through the current probation and into a proposed new practice facility.

In June, he said he felt good, worked out and spent a lot of time riding his bike. Each year, he rides between 25 and 50 miles at his annual Jim Calhoun Cancer Challenge Ride and Walk. In 2009, he broke several ribs and was hospitalized after falling during the charity event.

Information from ESPN.com's Andy Katz and The Associated Press was used in this report.

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UConn's Calhoun on medical leave indefinitely

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UConn's Calhoun taking indefinite medical leave

But as the sole medical provider for seven schools in the west Stanislaus County district–where about 70 percent of the 2,841 students are Latino and about 75 percent of students receive free or reduced-price meals–Arnett's job has been far from simple.

“It is a kaleidoscope,” Arnett said one Tuesday afternoon in January, between providing ice packs to two boys injured on the basketball court and helping a girl with type 1 diabetes maintain her blood sugar.

“We can plan, but we just never know what the day is going to throw our way,” Arnett added.

Today’s Nurses Spread Thin

Years ago, school nurses were stationed at a single school and were mainly responsible for monitoring student immunizations, screening students for scoliosis and vision and hearing problems, and providing students with first aid and medications.

Today's school nurses do that–and more.

Due to previous budget cuts, nurses in San Joaquín Valley school districts are spread thin. They oversee more schools and treat more students with severe health problems, at a time when struggling families have less ability to access medical care.

Now, school nurses–who earn significantly less than registered nurses at hospitals–visit multiple schools in one week–or even in one day. Beyond the typical headaches and bellyaches, they are also responding to an increase in students with chronic diseases that require regular care, such as diabetes, asthma, allergies and seizures.

In California’s Central Valley–a rural region marked by crippling poverty, unemployment levels above the state average and high levels of the medically uninsured–school nurses are also facing greater challenges in linking families with medical care.

Sometimes, nurses provide bus tokens–out of their own pockets–to ensure families reach doctors' offices. Other times, nurses will simply transport families themselves.

Too often, school nurses have become families' medical safety net.

“Things that should be easy to take care of have gotten much more complicated, and that is because families are losing their access to health insurance,” said Aurora Licudine, who chairs the school nurses association for Modesto City Schools.

Often Students’ Only Health Provider

“Sometimes, we are the only health care providers that these students and their families see,” Licudine observed.

?Although she had received an insulin injection after lunch, a young girl with type 1 diabetes–who sported a pink backpack and pink sneaker–returned in the afternoon to Arnett's office at Newman's Hurd Barrington Elementary School with complaints of shakiness.

The girl pricked her finger and then tested her blood sugar: Her monitor read 78, indicating her blood sugar was too low.

Arnett handed the girl an string cheese, a sugar-free cookie and apple juice, all of which would help raise her blood sugar.

About 15 minutes later, the girl tested her blood sugar again. It had returned to healthy levels, and the girl skipped back to class.

California schools do not keep a database of student health conditions, but Katy Waugh, president of the California School Nurses Organization, said diabetes–as well as asthma, allergies, seizures and obesity–are some of the biggest health challenges students currently face.

Nurses agree there are more students with these conditions than in years past.

“It just seems there are more in general–there are more kids that have more severe health problems,” said nurse Linda Trujillo Cayabyab, who oversees licensed vocational nurses at 13 sites within Modesto City Schools.

But school nurses are unsure whether this is because students are less healthy now, or because more students with chronic conditions now attend school with their peers.

More with Chronic Illness

“We feel there are more students [with chronic illness,] but I don't know if it is because they didn't come to school in the past,” said Patti Cassinerio, director of health services for Stanislaus County Office of Education. Her office employs 11 full-time equivalent school nurses to serve about 16,000 students in 15 schools.

“We just know that we need to make the accommodations” for students, she said.

Caring for students with health conditions also means working closely with families — sometimes overcoming language barriers and cultural differences — to ensure students are healthy, safe, and succeeding in school.

“When you see a child, you are not just seeing a child, you are seeing a whole family,” said nurse Sandy Dutch, who works in seven schools in the Tulare County Office of Education, where 64 percent of district students are Latino, and 67 percent of kids receive free or reduced-price meals.

“You don't just take care of that child, you help the parent take care of that child, and you help the parent find resources,” Dutch said.

That was evident early on a Tuesday morning in January, as Cayabyab analyzed the care plan for a student with seizures.

One to three times a day, the student closes his eyes, falls asleep and slumps in his chair, a licensed vocational nurse, stationed at a Modesto area elementary school, told Cayabyab. The seizures typically don't last more than three minutes, she said.

“We need to find out when mom wants us to call 911,” Cayabyab said.

After speaking with the child's mother by phone, Cayabyab updated the child's care plan: The licensed vocational nurse would call 911 only if the student's seizure lasted longer than four or five minutes.

When young students complain of being tired or fall asleep in class, Arnett, the nurse at the Newman-Crows Landing Unified, occasionally provides them with a glass of milk, graham crackers and a pillow to cuddle with in her office.

The snack and rest, she said, often serve as a short-term solution to a deeper problem at home. Sometimes, children are not sleeping well due to living in an overcrowded home, domestic violence or the stress of living amidst a dysfunctional family.

But as she is providing students with some immediate comfort and care, Arnett is also collaborating with school officials, counselors and area nonprofit organizations to ensure the students and their families don't fall through the cracks.

Poverty Aggravates Existing Problems

Across the Valley, school nurses are attempting to keep students healthy, while battling the barriers posed by poverty, stress and limited access to medical care.

In some homes, poverty can aggravate existing health conditions. For example, in some families, a lack of transportation makes it difficult for children with poor vision to get the glasses they need.

“Because of limited economic resources, some of our families are burning wood in their homes to provide heat, and that makes many of these kids who have asthma have a flare up,” said Licudine, of Modesto City Schools, which employs more than 16 full-time-equivalent school nurses to serve about 30,000 students across 34 schools.

Sometimes, poverty and stress create other health challenges. When parents lose their jobs and health insurance, and there is not enough food on the table, students manifest that stress– maybe as stomach aches, headaches or general complaints, such as, “I'm not feeling well,” Licudine said.

These conditions also makes it more difficult for families to access medical care.

“There are less resources in the home, because of a variety of reasons, and it is harder to get them into care, and harder to get the things they need,” said Dutch, of the Tulare County Office of Education. Tulare employs five full-time and two part-time school nurses, who serve about 14,600 students across 35 rural school districts.

The increase in serious health issues, coupled with the tough economy, requires school nurses–more than ever–to act as community liaisons, connecting families with Medi-Cal or low-cost insurance, doctors and dentists and free backpacks and clothing.

As school nurses, “our common goal is to remove the barrier that is keeping these kids from being successful,” Arnett said.

Call to End Budget Cuts for Nurses

These compounding challenges underscore the important role school nurses play in the lives of San Joaquín Valley students. For Licudine, of Modesto City Schools, they also emphasize why nurses should be protected from further budget cuts.

“I think that in general, school nurse shortages will only make the problem bigger,” she said. “School absences will cause students to be less academically successful, and that limits the economic future of students, and limits their access to health insurance.”

“By removing the health barriers that will make children academically successful, [nurses] can directly impact their academic future and their earning potential,” she said.

Cassinerio, of the Stanislaus County Office of Education, summed up school nurses' responsibilities to students and their families.

School nurses, she said, “are really advocates for students, so they can succeed in school, and work in the community,” she said. Nurses “have to work closely with their families and the community and all the health care providers in the community.”

“Liaison,” said Cassinerio , “it is a small word, but it is a big job.”

Send e-mail to: rplevin@vidaenelvalle.com

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School Nurses Become Medical Safety Net

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UCF medical-school hospital raises concerns

JANESVILLE — The Janesville and Beloit area is among eight locations the Medical College of Wisconsin is considering for a community-based medical education program designed to address Wisconsin’s impending physician shortage.

The private college in Milwaukee is studying the feasibility of placing a community-based medical school focused on primary care medicine in one or more locations in the state. Curriculum would focus on practicing in rural or urban areas that are underserved.

Administrators are hoping to complete the studies by the end of March and focus on one or two sites by spring or early summer, said Dick Katschke, associate vice president for public affairs.

The goal is to launch the first program as early as 2014 and no later than 2015.

Other regions under consideration are: Fox River Valley (Appleton, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac) Green Bay, Eau Claire, La Crosse, north central Wisconsin (Wausau, Stevens Point, Marshfield), northwest Wisconsin and Racine/Kenosha.

The Wisconsin Hospital Association projects that the state will need to add 100 physicians annually to avoid a shortfall of 2,000 physicians by 2030.

In this region, the southwestern counties of Grant, Iowa and Lafayette have been federally designated as physician shortage areas.

The goal for the program is to partner with local colleges and universities, local health systems and local government, Katschke said.

Doctors in Janesville or Beloit, for example, could be among the instructors, and students would be on clinical rotations within the local health care facilities, he said. The college also will be studying the expertise available at local universities with the potential that professors could teach some basic science courses, he said.

A typical medical school program is four years, and the plan would be to have students complete all four years in the community along with a residency, he said.

“The reality is wherever you do your residency training is the best predictor of where you’re going to practice medicine,” he said.

“One of the things we’d be looking at in the process is the enthusiasm and commitment of local hospitals/health systems to develop residency programs,” he said. “It’s not enough if we offered medical education in the Janesville area but then have no residency positions.”

The average medical student graduates with $150,000 of debt, he said, so the college also is looking at possibly developing a 3.5-year model to cut tuition costs.

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Kannur, Kerala, Feb 1 : As part of its outreach activities, Indian Naval Academy (INA), under the aegis of NH Ezhimala and INS Zamorin, organised a one-day medical camp for students at Government UP School, Nallilamkandam, Cheruvathur in Kasargod District on January 29.

The camp marking the start of the Golden Jubilee celebration of the school, would extend over an entire year.

It was inaugurated by Surgeon Captain S C Verma, Commanding Officer (Design) NH Ezhimala.

A total of 170 students and 90 adults were examined by a team comprising six medical officers, three nursing officers and 20 medical assistants.

As part of health education, a lecture on cancer screening and immunisation practices was organised for parents.

All students were screened for malnutrition, anaemia, hearing and visual capacity,dental and dermatological infections.

A detailed systemic evaluation for preparation of a comprehensive health card was done and cases referred when required, an INA release said here today. (UNI)

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Yearly Horoscope of 2012 for the Zodiac Sign:

Sagittarius     Scorpio     Libra    Virgo    Leo     Cancer     Gemini     Taurus     Aries     Pisces     Aquarius     Capricon

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INA holds medical camp for school kids

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Medical School: Turn Off the Dark! – Video

The University of Missouri medical school is teaming up with a Kansas City high school in a bid to boost minority enrollment in health care and science.

The medical school hopes its partnership with the national Cristo Rey network will broaden the educational opportunities available to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Cristo Rey group consists of 24 Catholic college preparatory high schools across the country, including Kansas City.

The effort builds on a program started in 2008 that brings Cristo Rey students from Kansas City to Columbia for several days each summer as part of an annual health professions summit. That program will now expand to include students from other Cristo Rey schools.

The university is one of nine higher education institutions teaming up with the national Cristo Rey network.

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