Register for Transform 2013 – Speakers Do More Than Just Present!

April 24th, 2013 - 2:58 pm

At Transform, the audience is a dynamic mix of innovators, leaders, designers, entrepreneurs, policymakers and business thinkers — all from inspiring organizations, design firms, technology companies, Web 2.0 startups, investment firms and universities. Speakers are engaged and encouraged to be available to participants for further discussion. John Hockenberry, an award-winning journalist and commentator, will return to moderate Transform 2013. See all 2013 speakers

By Dana Sparks | Posted in Center for Innovation | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Mayo Clinic Named a 2013 DiversityInc Top 10 Hospital System

April 24th, 2013 - 1:03 pm

Different colored stick figures in a circleMayo Clinic has been ranked No. 6 on the 2013 DiversityInc Top 10 Hospital System for its ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion. This is the second year that Mayo has made the list. Last year, Mayo earned the No. 4 position on the Top 5 Hospital Systems list. This year’s rankings were announced at the annual DiversityInc Top 50 event in New York on April 23.

Sharonne Hayes, M.D., director, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, says,”The ability to provide the best health care, tailored to meet each and every patient’s needs, depends on Mayo Clinic having a vibrant, diverse and engaged workforce. We’ve been able to leverage Mayo’s laser focus on our patients, a trait that’s already a part of every Mayo employee’s DNA, to not only improve the patient experience, but to become a more inclusive, equitable and innovative workplace.”

Click here for news release

By Dana Sparks | Posted in Diversity | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

US News, Mayo Clinic, ADA partnering for Twitter chat on childhood diabetes

April 24th, 2013 - 12:09 pm

US News & World Report, Mayo Clinic and the American Diabetes Association are partnering for a Twitter chat on childhood diabetes at 2 p.m. ET Thursday, April 25. Follow the chat using the hashtag: #KidsDiabetes.

The American Diabetes Association estimates the annual cost of diabetes on the health system to be $245 billion. Among people under the age of 20 about 215,000 have diabetes and about 1 in every 400 children and adolescents has diabetes.

During the chat, we’ll be exploring topics such as: the growing epidemic of type II diabetes among youth; innovations occurring in treatment; ways parents can seek support and understanding; lowering the cost of care; and more.

We recommend logging into tweetchat.com to more easily follow the flow of the conversation.

Questions? Contact Nick Hanson at hanson.nicholas@mayo.edu.

By nickhanson | Posted in Children's Center, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Social Media, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Where Are We 10 Years After SARS?

April 23rd, 2013 - 3:06 pm

SARS logo from CDCA decade ago the SARS pandemic hit China and infected over 8,000 people around the world. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was a global outbreak and public health scientists were racing to understand and contain this mystery illness. Gregory Poland, M.D., director of the Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research Group, says this 10-year anniversary is a good reminder of how we improve response to pandemics.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Remembers SARS and CDC response timeline

By Dana Sparks | Posted in Infectious Diseases | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Mayo Clinic Expert to Update U.S. Senate Panel on National Alzheimer’s Project Act

April 23rd, 2013 - 8:57 am

UPDATE: Watch the testimony live here at 2 p.m. ET today.

MEDIA ADVISORY: Mayo Clinic neurologist Ronald Petersen, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Advisory Council on Research, Care and Services for The National Alzheimer’s Project Act, will be in Washington D.C. to testify before the Senate Special Committee on Aging about the status of the act, which aims to effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. Topics he’ll touch on include: funding for Alzheimer’s, its potential burden and cost on the health care system and current research pointing to the benefits of early intervention for care and breakthroughs in treatment. 

WHEN: Wednesday, April 24, at 2 p.m. ET   
WHERE: Dirksen Senate Office Building – Room 106, 20510  

AVAILABILITY: Dr. Petersen is available Tuesday and Wednesday. To set up an interview, e-mail hanson.nicholas@mayo.edu or call 507-266-4945.

 

By Dana Sparks | Posted in Neurology & Neurosurgery | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

More Hispanic Organ Donations Needed

April 23rd, 2013 - 8:48 am

April is National Donate Life Month, held to encourage organ and tissue donation and to celebrate donors who give a new life to others. In the U.S., more than 118,000 people are waiting for organ transplants, and 19 percent are Hispanic. Experts say there is a need for organ donation in the Hispanic community because a transplant recipient is more likely to find a match among donors with the same ethnicity. Mikel Prieto, M.D., surgical director of the kidney and pancreas transplant programs at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, says, “It is always possible to find matches across ethnicities, but all ethnic groups benefit when we increase the number of donors from the same ethnic background.”

Read English for news release:Organ transplant expert alert-EN
Read Spanish news release:Organ transplant expert alert-SP
Donate Life America/Espanol

By Dana Sparks | Posted in Spanish, Transplant | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Survey Says: Attitudes About Organ Donation Are Changing

April 22nd, 2013 - 9:59 am

A Mayo Clinic survey shows that the public’s support for both living and deceased organ donation is increasing.  Eighty-four percent of respondents said they would be likely or very likely to consider donating a kidney or a portion of their liver to a close friend or family member in need. In addition, 49 percent said they would be likely or very likely to consider donating a kidney to someone they have never met, which is often referred to as altruistic or “Good Samaritan” kidney donation.

Click here for news release

By Dana Sparks | Posted in Spanish, Transplant | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

SAVING LIVES WITH GUS: Do You Know How to Do the Heimlich Maneuver?

April 19th, 2013 - 2:26 pm

 

Launched on April 11, 2013, this is the second video in a new video series, Saving Lives With Gus, which is designed to educate, entertain and deliver life-saving tips with high-tech mannequins. Share this video with your networks using #SavingLivesWithGus on Twitter and Google+.  We shared this post on our Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

By Dana Sparks | Posted in Saving Lives With Gus | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

Illinois-based OSF HealthCare Joins Mayo Clinic Care Network

April 19th, 2013 - 12:35 pm

Aerial photo of OSF Healthcare

Mayo Clinic is announcing OSF HealthCare as the newest member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. OSF, the fourth-largest health care provider in Illinois, is an integrated health system owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis. OSF provides state-of-the-art, compassionate care to more than 3.7 million people in the communities it serves throughout Illinois and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Dr. David Hayes (second from right), medical director of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, gets a tour of NorthShore Hospital’s Sim Lab last September. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune / September 18, 2012)

David Hayes, M.D., medical director, Mayo Clinic Care Network, says, “We look forward to continuing our long-standing relationship with this excellent organization and its dedicated staff, working together during the coming years to improve patient care and develop new delivery models.”

Click here for news release

By Dana Sparks | Posted in Mayo Clinic Care Network | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy Linked to Circulation Problems Years Later

April 18th, 2013 - 3:30 pm

High blood pressure during pregnancy puts women at higher risk for a circulation problem years later known as peripheral arterial disease, a Mayo Clinic study shows.

Peripheral arterial disease is a common circulatory problem in which narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to the limbs – usually the legs. This causes symptoms including leg pain when walking.

In the Mayo study, published online Thursday in the journal Atherosclerosis, researchers found hypertension during pregnancy is an independent risk factor for peripheral arterial disease. The study adjusted for such variables as age, race, height, heart rate, smoking history, body mass index and diabetes.  

More study is needed to determine whether peripheral arterial disease screening of women who had hypertension in pregnancy could identify those at greatest risk for heart disease, the researchers say.

The project was supported by grants from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, National Institute on Aging and the Office of Women’s Health Research. 

 

By sharontheimer | Posted in aging, Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery, Nephrology, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Research, vascular, Women's Health | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment