(From left to right: Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH,  Russell Rothman, MD, MPP,  David R. Posch,  Surgeon General Jerome Adams,  Consuelo H. Wilkins, MD, MSCI and  Pam Jones, DNP, RN, NEA-BC
Dr. Rothman, Dr.Ehrenfeld, Mr. Posch, Dr. Wilkins and Dr. Jones were in attendance for a meeting with Surgeon General Jerome Adams
Deonni Stolldorf, PhD & Sunil Kripalani, MD at the award ceremony
Dr. Kripalani accepts the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Service to Faculty and Students from Dean Linda Norman


Sunil Kripalani, MD was honored with the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Service to Faculty and Students.
Deonni Stolldorf, PhD, received the Dean’s 2018 Award for Recognition of Faculty Achievement in Research Endeavors.

The Center for Health Services Research would like to thank Dr. Gurjeet Birdee and his research staff Andy Coppola and Katrina Nelson for all of their contributions to research and to our HSR community, and wishes all the best in their next steps in pursuit of endeavors outside of academia. 


From left to right: Dr. Gurjeet Birdee, Andy Coppola, Sujata Ayala and Katrina Nelson
Dr. Gurjeet Birdee, Assistant Professor and Vanderbilt Center for Health Services Research Scholar and his research staff are leaving Vanderbilt in pursuit of endeavors outside of academia. Dr. Birdee and his team have examined mind-body practices and their physiological effects in a multitude of studies. Some of Dr. Birdee's work ncludes yoga interventions for dialysis patients (END-IDLE) and the validation of the Yoga Self- Efficacy Scale and the Self-Efficacy for Mindfulness Practice Scale. Most recently, Dr. Birdee et al. conducted a randomized clinical trial among 100 adults to measure the effects of focused breathing on health and well-being. His group investigated the physiological and psychological effects to increase efficacy for health prevention and chronic disease management. This work was funded by the National Institute of Health (1R61AT009340). 
Digna R. Velez Edwards, PhD

Dr. Velez Edwards named to Women’s Health Research leadership


Digna R. Velez Edwards, PhD, has been named Director of Women’s Health Research, succeeding longtime Director and founder, Katherine Hartmann, MD, PhD, Associate Dean of Clinical and Translational Scientist Development and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Stacie Dusetzina, PhD

Generic Drugs Don't Always Push Prices Down


Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, Associate Professor of Health Policy, is looking at Gleevec prices after generic competition entered the market.
"Most estimates of price reductions due to generic entry assume prices will drop by as much as 80 percent. Obviously, we aren't even close to that mark," Dr. Dusetzina said.
Hillary Tindle, MD

Risk of Incident Lung Cancer Drops by 39% Five Years After Smokers Quit


Hilary Tindle, MD, Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Tobacco, Addiction and Lifestyle, found the risk of lung cancer drops substantially within five years of quitting smoking but, even 25 years after quitting, lung-cancer risk remained over threefold higher compared to people who had never smoked.
“If you smoke, now is a great time to quit,” said Dr. Tindle in a statement.
Stephen Patrick, MD

Vanderbilt Researchers Find Tennessee Hospitals May Send Opioid-Dependent Babies Home Too Quickly


"As we're increasingly focusing on efficiency and making sure that we're doing the best care, I think that we have to keep in mind that our outcomes don’t just need to be on the length of stay in the hospital," Stephen Patrick, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics said in his report to WPLN Nashville Public Radio on how to treat opioid addiction in infants.
Melinda Buntin, PhD

Health Care Costs Could Be Shrunk By Curbing Hospital Consolidation/Out-Of-Network Fees, Senate Told


Melinda Buntin, PhD, Chair of Health Policy, was quoted in a Forbes piece about the role of hospital consolidation and out-of-network fees on health care costs.



Shari Barkin, MD

“Tennessee kids are now the heaviest in America. And it’s getting worse.”


Shari Barkin, MD, William K. Warren Foundation Professor of Medicine, is quoted: “By gaining weight in childhood, you become at risk for all of these correlating conditions, even if you later lose the weight as an adult,” Dr. Barkin said. “Why? Because timing matters. You are changing your physiology, and that’s not just something that affects you in childhood. It affects you in adolescence and adulthood, too.”

UPCOMING EVENTS !

"Improving Outcomes for Families Affected by the Opioid Epidemic", a 

panel discussion with U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brett Giroir, MD is scheduled for July 24, at noon in 202 Light Hall

The event is sponsored by Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy. CME credit is available.

Vanderbilt Center for Effective Health Communication (CEHC)

A call for Pilot Grant Funding


The Center for Effective Health Communication (CEHC) supports health communication research, education, and practice to improve patients’ knowledge, self-management, and health outcomes. Health Communication is a broad field that includes health literacy, numeracy, risk communication, medical decision making, patient centered communication, cross-cultural communication, and other related areas.

The CEHC Health Communication Research Grant Program will support the development, implementation, and evaluation of research projects or training activities that involve health communication. The goal of these pilot grants is to foster additional health communication research at VUMC that will ultimately benefit patient management and outcomes.

This program will support up to 2 research projects with up to $7,500 each. For guidelines on the application process and eligibility criteria click here 
The submission deadline is midnight CST July 31st, 2018.

Volunteer with the Center for Health Services Research on Sept 8th!


The Center for Health Services Research is continuing to bring our faculty and staff affiliated with the Center together to volunteer and support community activities across Nashville. We will be volunteering at the Second Harvest Food Bank on September 8th.
The mission of Second Harvest is “to feed hungry people and work to solve hunger issues in our community.” Last year, Second Harvest distributed more than 32 million pounds of food to more than 490 Partner Agencies, providing more than 26 million meals of food to hungry children, families and seniors throughout a 46-county service area.

Who: You will be surprised at what a huge difference a little bit of your time can make!
When: Saturday, September 8th  from 1-4pm
Where: The Second Harvest Food Bank, Martin Distribution Center; 331 Great Circle Road, Nashville, TN 37228
What you’ll be doing:  Evaluating, sorting non-perishable food donations from supermarkets & stores; Assembling food boxes and bags for schools and senior feeding programs; Bagging bulk produce into family-sized portions

Please let us know if you can Join the HSR Team  to give back to our community on September 8th, from 1-4pm.
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