Hagberg named chair of anesthesiology

Dean Giuseppe Colasurdo has appointed Dr. Carin Hagberg as the chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, effective July 1.

Hagberg had served in the interim chair role since Jan. 1 and was previously named vice chair of the department, with Dr. Evan Pivalizza, October 30.

“Dr. Hagberg has shown outstanding leadership during this period of transition for the Department of Anesthesiology, and I am so pleased that she will serve as department chair. I am certain that she will continue to advance our clinical and academic programs,” Dean Colasurdo said.

President James Willerson and Juanita Romans, CEO of the Memorial Hermann- Texas Medical Center, said they strongly support Hagberg’s choice as chair.

“Dr. Hagberg is a wonderful physician-scientist who will serve her department and the Medical School well as chair. We are fortunate to have such leadership at our Medical School,” President Willerson said.

"I look forward to our continued partnership, and I am confident that Dr. Hagberg’s dedication and leadership in delivering the highest quality, patient-focused care will help both of our institutions reach great heights,” Romans said.

Hagberg is a 1988 graduate of the Medical School. She completed her residency at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, followed by a cardiovascular anesthesia fellowship at Methodist Hospital and a neuroanesthesia fellowship at Zale Lipshy University Hospital, both in Dallas. She joined the Medical School faculty in 1992.

-D. Brown

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NIH Pathway to Independence Award to help career development, superbug research

Developing new ways to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria are the goals of a recently granted National Institutes of Health K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to Dr. Cesar Arias, assistant professor of internal medicine.

The NIH grant, one of only six expected to be awarded this year, will allow Arias to hone his experience in molecular and translational research through a one-year mentoring phase. The topic of Arias’ research is the antibiotic resistance and molecular pathogenesis of bacteria and his mentor is Dr. Barbara Murray, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases.

“This award is a unique scheme, in that it combines the mentoring K award for one year, with a R01-style independent phase for two years,” Arias said.

Upon successful completion of the mentoring phase of the award, Arias will be eligible to apply for the independent phase, bringing the total award to more than $400,000.

Arias will be studying solutions to combat the multi-drug resistant nature of E. faecium. In animal models, Arias will test the role of individual genes in virulence and explore and expand novel therapeutic alternatives.

“This bacterium is an important clinical problem facing clinicians taking care of critically ill patients particularly in the intensive care, transplantation, and oncology units. For people bombarded with a lot of antibiotics, superbugs, like this one, can cause severe disease leading to the patient’s demise,” Arias said.

The dual-phase grant is a new type of award created by the NIH to foster younger investigators and to encourage their research independence sooner.

Arias joined the Medical School faculty in April after completing his internship, residency, and fellowship in internal medicine with emphasis on infectious diseases, in the clinical investigator pathway, at the Medical School. He received his M.D. from Universidad El Bosque in Bogota, Colombia, MSC from the University of London, and his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

-D. Brown

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New AMS contract in place

Marking the end of a three-year effort, Affiliated Medical Services (AMS) has contracted with Harris County Clinical Services to provide medical care in the Harris County Hospital District.

“AMS is a Texas-certified non-profit health corporation formed by the UT Health Science Center and Baylor College of Medicine. It is the entity by which the two Houston-based medical schools have, for nearly two decades, contracted with the District to provide physician, residents, and other providers’ services. This multi-year agreement provides clinical care to county hospitals and their affiliated clinics. The Medical School serves LBJ General Hospital, and Baylor staffs Ben Taub Hospital,” said Kevin Dillon, executive vice president and chief operating and financial officer.

“In addition to clinical services, Medical School trainees see a diverse patient population at county facilities in support of their clinical education. The new agreement will provide funding for about 216 residents and fellows this year, up from 203 last year. The agreement also includes a 2.5 percent raise for graduate medical education trainees,” Dillon said.

“The Harris County Hospital District is very supportive our new staffing model, and we are engaged with them on strategic planning. We want to improve access to specialists and deliver care at LBJ Hospital that is as good as anywhere in the city, and the HCHD is strongly behind our commitment to quality service and growth,” said Dean Giuseppe Colasurdo.

The staffing model has changed from a fixed, full-time equivalent (FTE) system to a cost-reimbursement contract that involves relative value unit (RVU), productivity factors, and administrative overhead support payments.

“Although it is now a hybrid model, faculty productivity is crucial,” said Dr. Steve Brown, associate dean for Harris County Programs, adding that all faculty are expected to meet median Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) academic productivity benchmarks. “The previous contract was largely a fixed FTE model that often did not meet UT’s actual, full costs for faculty because it was linked to benchmarks that were not typical of Houston costs.”

HCHD also will pay the Medical School for otherwise unfunded patients’ professional services at Medicare rates. “So, no patient is unfunded now,” Brown said.

-D. Brown

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