News in brief - June 19, 2006

N.C. medical board to address physician role in executions - One hospital room, one patient is new rule of thumb - Medical mentor award winners named - Family board has new leadership

N.C. medical board to address physician role in executions

The North Carolina Medical Board in July will examine the issue of physician participation in executions and consider if the board should adopt policy concerning the matter.

The board is responding to a half-dozen letters it received about physicians taking part in executions. State law says a physician must be present at executions but remain in an adjoining room, board officials said. The AMA says physicians should not participate in executions.

The board's executive committee May 17 referred the issue to the policy committee, which will explore the matter at its July 19 meeting.

One hospital room, one patient is new rule of thumb

New guidelines the American Institute of Architects and the Facilities Guidelines Institute published this month call for single-bed hospital rooms in all new construction unless two beds are absolutely necessary.

The groups' guidelines, which are used as a reference code or standard by 42 state authorities, several federal agencies, the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and health care architects, were last updated in 2001.

The new guidelines were accompanied by a review of research carried out at Vancouver's Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. The evidence showed that single-patient rooms reduce hospital-acquired infections and patient falls, speed recovery times and enhance patient privacy. And while single-patient rooms are initially more expensive, guideline-makers argued that over time they would yield shorter hospital stays.

Medical mentor award winners named

The Joy McCann Foundation in Tampa, Fla., named three winners of its McCann Scholars Program, which rewards faculty who cultivate the next generation of health professionals.

The 2006 recipients are Donald Coffey, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Sherine Gabriel, MD, of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minn., and Glenn Hamilton, MD, of Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio.

"All the inspiring doctors I've known had mentors who helped shape their careers," said Joy McCann Culverhouse, chair of the foundation. "Our foundation strongly believes that our scholars and professors are serving the future by acting as role models for today's students."

The program began in 2003 to encourage mentors in medicine, nursing and science. Each recipient is chosen through an anonymous panel and awarded $150,000 to be used at his or her discretion.

Family board has new leadership

The American Board of Family Medicine elected four new officers and three board members at a spring board meeting.

The new officers are: Karen B. Mitchell, MD, of Rochester, Mich., chair; David W. Price, MD, of Broomfield, Colo., chair-elect; Richard D. Clover, MD, of Louisville, Ky., treasurer; and Joseph Hobbs, MD, of Augusta, Ga., member-at-large, executive committee. Each will serve a one-year term.

The three new members of the ABFM's board of directors are: Thomas P. Gessner, MD, of Latrobe, Pa.; John R. Bucholtz, DO, of Columbus, Ga.; and Craig W. Czarsty, MD, of Waterbury, Conn. Each will serve a five-year term.

Dr. Mitchell is associate residency director of the Providence Family Practice Residency Program in Southfield, Mich. Dr. Price is director of physician education for Kaiser Permanente of Colorado. Dr. Clover is acting dean of the School of Public Health/Health Information Sciences and associate vice president for Health Affairs/Health Informatics at the University of Louisville. Dr. Hobbs is affiliated with the Medical College of Georgia, where his positions include professor in the Dept. of Family Medicine.