Nick's Blog

FOR SALE

Before the rumor mill kicks in, I thought I'd take a minute to let you know that our daughter is having baby number two in November and Grandmother wanted to be closer than twenty minutes away from the little ones - So, when you see for sale signs on Carpenter's Park Road after 25 years, it's because we've found a house across from the vacant lot that will soon be the site of our daughter's new home.  So, if you are from WRI, save your moving boxes. If you're from Davidsville - watch for the giant garage sale... and if you're from Adams Township feel confident that your new neighbors will be quiet and low key - but the third generation will be wild!

State of the Union

It's been almost four years since we have held a public "State of the Union" session for both the hospital and the research institute.  So, on Wednesday, June 29th at 7:00 PM, we are going to do just that.  It will be held at the historic Arcadia Theater on Graham Ave in downtown Windber. 

For that evening and that evening only, we plan to bring out the dog and the pony for a show, but, because you are intelligent enough to use this blog for information, we will give you a sneak preview.

On August 3rd, 2005 our dedication and ribbon cutting for the new Windber Research Institute will take place at or around 11AM.  Along with dozens of other dignitaries, U.S. Congressman John Murtha, PA Secretary of Community and Economic Development Dennis Yablonsky and possibly Governor Edward Rendell will be present.  This is a wonderful, landmark day for the organizations.

On the hospital side of the street, we will get back plenty of parking places that have created some degree of chaos as we take away the rented office trailers and move the scientists to St. Mary's Byzantine Church lot. 

On the WRI side of the street we will gain approximately 36,000 sq. ft. of research space, six times our present area.  There will actually be restrooms, conference rooms, and even a kitchen. 

What else is happening?  Oh, yes, Ryan Skrack, a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and currently a graduate student at St. Francis University, is serving as an intern for our Human Resources Department this summer. (Gotcha, Ryan.)

Our Gynecological Disease research is progressing, but our Principal Investigator, Lt. Col. Larry Maxwell, has been deployed to Iraq.  (That's the problem with getting military scientists.)  We also have been informed that our Principal Investigator, for Breast Cancer studies, Dr. Craig Shriver, is being deployed to Central America.  The good news is that Craig will be directly connected to us, and Larry has a research partner who can provide us with coverage as well.

Through our research efforts, we have also secured additional equipment for the breast center, a 4D ultrasound system, along with the digital mammography equipment, the digital iCAD for electronic mammography reading, the 3T/HD- MRI for breast research, and algorithms from the Air and Space Missile Defense Command for the merging of ultrasound and mammographic images combine to represent just a few of the new technologies available at the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center.

What else is happening?  Well, we have  Col. Kim Marley, MD, joining us from Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  Kim is in charge of minimally invasive surgery at Reed, and will open, among other services, a bariatric center here at WMC.

There will also be a new piece of equipment at the research center that we affectionately refer to as "the beast."  It is for proteomic analysis, costs nearly $1 Million, and is one of the most effective pieces of equipment of this type in use anywhere in the world.

We are also beginning plans to expand our surgery suites and to develop a wonderful room for large meetings, children's activities and educational lectures. This center will be called WindberPlace™.

The Healing Hillside is also moving forward with plans to expand outpatient PT/OP (physical and occupational therapy) and our integrative health program through a Mind Body Institute.

The Ornish program is moving to the new building, and all of the scientists and clinical people will be present there for a more comprehensive approach to discovering the impact of behavioral modification on health.

So, that's just a sneak preview... Come on down for a very informative evening with some special surprise announcements and guests.

Interns Interns Everywhere

In case you're wondering about all of the new smiling faces, there are over a dozen summer interns with WRI and a few more at WMC.  The students at WMC are:  Nicole, Jen and Acacia from Robert Morris, Penn State and Slippery Rock. They are here in Healthcare Administration and Marketing and are working with Cindy Lecomte, Vicki Meier, Lisa Skotnicki, and yours truly.  (There's also a new HR intern working with Tonia Gordon who didn't make it into this blog because it's 11:30PM on Sunday night, and I can't call anyone to get his name.  So, I'll start the next blog with him!)

For those of you who know my background or are one of my former students, you know that education is now and always will be an important part of my life.  Next year we will be able to accommodate over 35 students during any given semester.  So, be it elementary, junior high, senior high, college or post graduate students, we will welcome them to WRI. 

The following is our 2005 list of WIndber Research Institute interns.  Please welcome them to our facilities.

1	Sameer	Pennsylvania State Univ	Pre Med	Hai Hu w/Susan
2	Megan	Susquehanna University	Bio-Chemistry	Rachel
3	Jennifer	Juniata College	Biology	Cindy Ru
4	Bernard	UPJ	Biology	Darrell
5	Valerie	Juniata College	Biology	Tapan
6	Michael	UPJ	Biology	Henry
7	Lynn	University of Pittsburgh	Biology	Tapan / Kumar
8	Erik	Mercyhurst College	Pre Med	Hai Hu
9	Elizabeth	Alfred University - Grad	Biology	Yaw-Ching
10	Elizabeth	Temple University	Biology	Darrell
11	Seykyo	Drexell University	Bio-Medical Eng.