Tag Archives: Truman Medical Centers

GHHS students lift patients’ spirits with Valentine’s Day visit

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Members of the School of Medicine’s Gold Humanism Honor Society delivered roses and Valentine’s Day cards to patients at Truman Medical Center. See more photos on our Facebook page.

A Valentine’s Day visit from a group of nearly a dozen UMKC School of Medicine students brought smiles, and often tears, to patients at Truman Medical Center on Thursday, Feb. 14.

The fifth and sixth-year medical students are members of the school’s Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS). They and their faculty advisor, Carol Stanford, M.D., professor of medicine a School of Medicine docent, spent a portion of their morning presenting roses and Valentine’s cards to throughout the hospital.

“This is one of the few times of the year where we stop what we’re doing and just take some time to appreciate the patients,” said sixth-year med student Ami Purohit, a member of the GHHS.

For a number of years now, Stanford and her honor society students have delivered roses and cards to patients on Valentine’s Day as part of the GHHS Solidarity Week for Compassionate Patient Care.

Deven Bhatia, president of UMKC’s GHHS chapter, said the organization purchased 250 roses. Earlier in the week, the students invited others throughout the med school to join them in creating more than 200 hand-made Valentine’s cards.

This was Purohit’s second year to join Stanford and her GHHS classmates on their Valentine’s Day rounds. She said she found the experience rewarding.

“A lot of times our patients are sick and they may or may not have family members coming to see them,” she said. “When you give them their rose and Valentine’s card, I think they feel that the love is mutual and we are here to take care of them. We want to treat them like people and not just a patient room number. They appreciate that.”

Many patients responded with more than smiles. They broke down in tears as members of the group delivered a rose, a card and encouraging words, “Get well soon.”

“They were crying,” Purohit said. “You can see how touched they feel when we hand them a rose and a card. That’s what has made this tradition last. I think it’s going to be around for a long time, just knowing the impact it has on our patients.”

Last year, the School of Medicine received the Gold Humanism Honor Society’s Distinguished Chapter of the Year award. The honor recognizes the chapter’s impact, leadership, service activities and humanistic learning environment.

Stanford said the chapter received the award for its program excellence, which included a national “Thank A Resident Day” that started just two years ago at UMKC.

The GHHS has 150 chapters in medical schools and nearly a dozen residency programs throughout the United States.

Research and education included in design of new outpatient center

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Nelson Sabates, M.D. '86, chair of ophthalmology, spoke at the University Health ribbon cutting ceremony.
Nelson Sabates, M.D. ’86, chair of ophthalmology, spoke at the University Health ribbon cutting ceremony.

A new outpatient specialty and surgery center on Hospital Hill will expand and enhance the learning experiences for UMKC School of Medicine students and residents.

Truman Medical Centers will provide the services at University Health, a 90,000-square-foot facility at 2101 Charlotte St. In addition to clinic space and operating rooms, University Health will house the Vision Research Center, the research arm of the UMKC Department of Ophthalmology, and a 50-seat theater with a 3-D projection system.

“We are excited that our students and residents will have additional opportunities to learn while participating in state-of-the-art outpatient care,” UMKC School of Medicine Dean Steven L. Kanter said. “Resources in the new building that support experiential learning include teaching lab space, an ophthalmology library, a 3-D microscope and work areas for our faculty, residents and students.”

University Health opened Oct. 28 with a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house. Services provided at University Health include ophthalmology, orthopaedics and sports medicine, oral and maxillofacial surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, plastic and reconstructive surgery, urology, otolaryngology, pain management and outpatient surgery.

Mark Steele, M.D. '80
Mark Steele, M.D. ’80

“We’re all very excited and energized by this beautiful new building and the more customer-focused and efficient care it brings to our patients,” Mark Steele, M.D. ’80, chief medical officer and chief operating officer at Truman Medical Centers and executive medical director of University Physician Associates, said at the ceremony. “It also will serve as a model practice for our many learners.”

Nelson Sabates, M.D. ’86, chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and president and CEO of Sabates Eye Centers, said University Health would elevate training as well as the level of health care in the community. “We are going to produce — we are producing — the best doctors that will serve our community for decades to come,” he said. “And that is our legacy here, at Truman Medical Center, Hospital Hill and the UMKC School of Medicine.”

Charlie Shields, president and chief executive officer of Truman Medical Centers, said University Health would provide “specialty care right where people live and work in absolutely state-of-the-art facilities.”

Shields said the University Health name was chosen to emphasize Truman Medical Centers’ status as a teaching hospital. “One of the things we are most proud of is our connection to the UMKC School of Medicine,” he said.

UMKC School of Medicine partners with Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City, Children’s Mercy Hospital, the Center for Behavioral Medicine, the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Research Medical Center, in addition to Truman Medical Centers.

SOM graduate Mark Steele, M.D., appointed Chief Operating Officer for Truman Medical Centers

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Mark Steele, M.D.
Mark Steele, M.D.

Truman Medical Centers President and Chief Executive Officer Charlie Shields has named Mark T. Steele, M.D. ’80, chief operating officer, responsible for the clinical and business operations of TMC.

Steele will continue to serve as TMC chief medical officer. He also serves as UMKC School of Medicine associate dean of TMC programs and University Physician Associates executive medical director.

“I am excited about this expansion of Dr. Steele’s role,” Shields said. “He has served as a dedicated educator and mentor to hundreds of medical students and residents. Perhaps most importantly, Dr. Steele is deeply committed to the success of our medical staff, a commitment I share as chief executive officer.”

Steele said that in his new role he intends to focus initially on quality, productivity, patient safety and satisfaction, and patient throughput.

“I look forward to this new challenge in helping to lead not just the clinical operations of TMC, but also the business side of the organization,” Steele said. “TMC has a long history of serving the people of Kansas City. It has a bright path for growth and prosperity and I am thrilled to help lead us into the future.”

Steele has served on the faculty in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the UMKC School of Medicine/Truman Medical Centers since his graduation from residency in 1983. He is currently a professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and served as the emergency medicine residency program director and as chairman of the department from 1996 to 2000.

Steele is a nationally-recognized emergency medicine physician with many awards and more than 100 published journal articles, 50 of which are in premier emergency medicine journals. His interests have been in the areas of infectious disease, wound care, circadian rhythms, shift work, emergency medicine practice and workforce issues. Steele is a member of EMERGEncy ID NET, a national emergency department-based emerging infections sentinel network. He also served as president of the American Board of Emergency Medicine in 2010.

Among his awards, Steele received the School of Medicine’s 2000 E. Grey Dimond, M.D., Take Wing award, presented to alumni for outstanding achievements in their medical field. He has also been named as one of Ingram’s Top Doctors of Kansas City. Other honors and awards include becoming a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians in 1988, the UMKC Alumni Achievement Award in 1990, induction as a faculty member into Alpha Omega Alpha honorary medical society at the UMKC School of Medicine in 1992, and receiving the UMKC School of Medicine Excellence in Medical Education award in 1992.

He is a member of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, the Missouri State Medical Association, and the American Medical Association. In 2003, Steele was selected to the Board of Directors of the American Board of Emergency Medicine, where he served as President in 2010-2011. He also served the board as an item writer, chief examiner for the oral examination, chair of the Test Administration Committee, and chair of the Emergency Medicine Continuous Certification Task Force. He continues to serve as an oral examiner.