APRNs rally at state house Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) working in Georgia are prohibited by law from signing prescriptions for the medications that they now phone in under a physicianÕs supervision. As it stands, APRNs must have prescriptions signed by a physician. APRNs recently rallied at the state capital to educate the public about the changes they are seeking. A bill allowing APRNs to prescribe medications is on hold until a sponsor can be found. Georgia is the only state that prevents APRNs from signing prescriptions. The Medical Association of Georgia supports the current system. Emory official healthcare provider for Tour de Georgia Emory Healthcare was the official healthcare provider of the 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia. The Emory healthcare team traveled with the cyclists throughout the six-day, 11-city race. The healthcare team consisted of Emory Healthcare emergency medicine, orthopaedic, and sports medicine physicians, trainers and nurses. Emory Flight provided additional support. The Dodge Tour de Georgia drew professional cycling teams from around the world, and 15 international teams competed in the race. Dwozan appointed GHA chairman C. Richard (Dick) Dwozan, president of Habersham County Medical Center in Demorest, was named chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Hospital Association at its annual meeting in Atlanta in February. He succeeds 2004 chairman Don Faulk Jr., president and CEO of the Central Georgia Health System and The Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon. Dwozan has served as president of HCMC since 1989. Mirage Networks offers free assessment to GHA members Austin, Texas-based Mirage Networks Inc. is offering Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) members a complimentary, one-day network assessment using its CounterPoint solution, which locates and exposes threats to the network. In early-2005, Mirage Networks joined the Georgia Hospital Health Services (GHHS) HIPAA Security Roundtable and Vendor Alliance, which allows about 180 hospitals access to firms recommended by GHHS. GHHS is a for-profit subsidiary of the GHA. One goal of the GHHS is to assist member hospitals in selecting vendors that will help in the compliance of HIPAA security regulations. Doctors celebrate tort reform limits On Feb. 16, Gov. Sonny Perdue signed into law a bill that sets a $350,000 cap on non-economic damages in liability lawsuits. Georgia physicians are elated over the passage of the tort reform limits. In recent years, rising medical liability insurance premiums forced some physicians to retire early, leave Georgia to practice elsewhere or stop performing high-risk procedures. The legislation also includes patient safety measures, including reporting all judgments and settlements against physicians by medical liability insurers. It requires the medical board to investigate any physician who has paid three liability claims in 10 years. The Medical Association of Georgia expects the new law to limit liability costs. Consumer groups and trial attorneys contend that insurance companies need to be better regulated and accountable to the consumer if insurance rates are to be decreased. University of Georgia, Georgia Cancer Coalition, Lifeclinic International launch cancer resource kiosk Dr. Robert Galen, a scientist and faculty member at the University of Georgia (UGA) College of Pharmacy, is the principal investigator for a cancer research grant sponsored by the Georgia Cancer CoalitionÕs Regional Program of Excellence and Caregiver Education. Galen is leading the grantÕs team of researchers, consisting of faculty members from four UGA colleges. The grant is designed to provide a common access point for cancer patients who, today, have more treatment choices than ever before. However, the maximum benefits available from the expansion of treatment choices have not been fully realized. Galen and his team selected a kiosk approach to provide convenient, secure, compassionate access to accurate resource information. Public accessibility and comprehensive information are combined with live contact via the American Cancer SocietyÕs telephone hotline. The grant team turned to Lifeclinic International, a supplier of freestanding, automated vital signs monitors, for support and assistance. Dr. Murray Arkin retires after 47 years of practicing in Savannah In 1958, Dr. Murray Arkin set up practice in Savannah as an allergist and internist. Nearly 47 years later, the Savannah native will retire. Arkin treated generations of the same families, and knew and cared about their lives. During his career, Arkin was chief of staff at the Memorial Health University Medical Center, as well as the chairman of graduate medical education, chief of internal medicine and a member of the credentials committee. He also served on the Memorial Health board of directors for 13 years. Doctors plan to buy and rebuild Southwest Hospital A group of 30 black physicians plan to buy Southwest Hospital in Atlanta, which closed in January after filing for bankruptcy in September 2004. The facility has a rich history of serving mostly black patients, training black physicians and becoming the cornerstone of the community. The physician group placed a bid to purchase the hospital on March 30. If the bid is accepted, the physicians plan to tear the facility down and build a new one in its place. The for-profit hospital will be marketed to black patients who live in the area with the intention of attracting insured, wealthy patients, in addition to treating the uninsured patients. They plan to work with an investment group that has a track record of turning around failed hospitals. Baseball legend Henry Aaron was appointed as head of a committee charged with promoting the hospital. Emory cancer treatment uses Varian Medical technologies Emory University School of MedicineÕs Department of Radiation Oncology used a combination of imaging and treatment technologies from Palo Alto, Calif.-based Varian Medical Systems to treat a case of gall bladder cancer with highly precise image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT). The approach was designed to compensate for tumor motion due to the patientÕs normal breathing during treatment, which is often a barrier to using radiotherapy in the treatment of thoracic cancers. The treatment combined use of VarianÕs On-Board Imager device with its RPM Respiratory Gating for synchronizing treatment with the patientÕs respiratory cycle. To prepare the patient, a gastrointestinal surgical oncologist implanted radio-opaque clips into the tumor bed during surgery. Clinicians then used four-dimensional CT scanning to reveal how the patientÕs anatomy moves while he breathes. Woodruff Foundation awards $6 million to American Red Cross The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation in Atlanta awarded $6 million to the American Red Cross. The Red Cross Biomedical Services Strategic Capital Improvement Campaign will receive $5 million to support construction of a state-of-the-art laboratory and blood processing facility in Douglasville, Ga. The remaining $1 million is money that had been pledged to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund to support assistance and services for the victims of last yearÕs hurricanes. The capital improvement campaign is a 10-year national initiative that will consolidate and streamline the Red Cross blood system into a standardized network of blood processing facilities. The new 182,000-square-foot facility will house approximately 450 employees and greatly increase Red Cross Biomedical Services, Southern RegionÕs ability to process and distribute blood components, expanding current capacity from 290,000 to 750,000 units of blood a year. News from Southern Regional Health System Southern Regional Health System in Riverdale was named the "FireStarter Hospital" for the month of January by the Studer Group, a healthcare industry consulting firm. Southern Regional was selected from more than 400 hospitals throughout the United States, and selection was based on patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction and quality-of-care scores from patients. The health system also was ranked 8th among the Top 10 Home-Health Agencies in metro-Atlanta by the Atlanta Business Chronicle for the third time. The Home-Health Agency award recognizes the top licensed agencies with full-service, home-healthcare facilities that are Medicare certified or licensed. Atlanta infertility clinic participates in study Georgia Reproductive Specialists (GRS) joined with Inflexxion, a Boston-based health education and research company, to launch a National Institutes of Health study. The purpose of the study is to improve support for couples coping with the stresses and challenges of dealing with infertility and infertility treatment. The study involves the completion of a series of questionnaires and other tasks on a secure Internet site several times over a period of six months. Microtek Medical announces expected first quarter revenues Alpharetta-based Microtek Medical Holdings Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of product solutions for patient care, occupational safety and management of infectious and hazardous waste for the healthcare industry, announced expected net revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2005, of approximately $34 million. The anticipated net revenues represent an increase of about $4.5 million, or 15 percent, over the first quarter of 2004.

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