5 AUGUST 1999 • Volume 1 • Number 21

Bartholome remembered as advocate for children’s rights, palliative care

For more than three decades, William Bartholome, MD, MTS, was a pediatrician, medical ethicist, teacher, and nationally known spokesman on a variety of health care issues. When he was diagnosed with metastatic esophageal cancer in 1994, he used his personal experience with a terminal disease to educate students, health care providers and the public about the issues surrounding dying and how to live life fully—even in the light of death.

William Bartholome 1944-1999

Among his publications were a series of three articles in Bulletin (later named KU Med) the KUMC alumni magazine. In one article, “Living in the Light of Death,” he characterized his diagnosis as “a gift” that has had “a powerful effect on me, my perspective on the world and my priorities.”
On Aug. 2, 1999, Dr. Bartholome died at his home. He was 55.
“Bill had an overwhelming sense of honesty and a profound interest in the patient as opposed to the disease,” said Jameson Forster, MD, associate professor of surgery. “I counted him as a friend, and I’m saddened at his passing.”
Born in Helena, Mont., in 1944, Dr. Bartholome grew up in Kansas City, Mo. He earned his undergraduate degree from Rockhurst College in 1965 and his medical degree from the KU School of Medicine in 1969. After completing a pediatrics residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1972, he was awarded a Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Fellowship from Harvard University where, in 1976, he completed his Masters of Theological Studies in Ethics.
After practicing pediatrics and teaching ethics at the University of Texas Medical School, Houston, and Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, Ill., he returned to KU Medical Center in 1986 to become professor of pediatrics in the Department of History and Philosophy
of Medicine.
His early clinical experiences in pediatrics led Dr. Bartholome to become committed to children’s rights, and he became a leader in establishing ethical guidelines that respect and protect children. He was one of the founding members of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Bioethics. As the primary author and champion for the AAP policy statement on informed consent, parental permission, and assent in pediatric practice, he worked to make medicine and medical research safer and friendlier for children.
“Dr. Bartholome will long be remembered as an advocate for children’s rights,” said Noreen Thompson, RN, MSN, CS, psychiatric clinical nurse specialist. “Any of us who have children, or work with children, are in his debt.”
While at KUMC, Dr. Bartholome also became interested in how physicians care for dying patients. He helped develop many programs in clinical ethics, and pioneered the idea of palliative care, in which dying patients are made as comfortable as possible. He led the development of KU Hospital’s ethics handbook, now in its fifth edition. He also chaired the Hospital/Medical Staff Ethics Committee and the Pediatric Ethics Committee, and served a 10-year stint as chairman of the Human Subjects Committee.
Outside KUMC, he was active with community organizations that promote ethically informed health care decision-making. He served on the board of Midwest Bioethics Center in Kansas City since it was created in 1985, and received their Founders’ Award in 1995.
In honor of his achievements, the KU School of Medicine has established the William G. Bartholome Distinguished Professorship in Ethics and Children’s Health. Gifts to support the professorship may be sent to the Endowment Association.
Dr. Bartholome is survived by his wife, Pam Roffol-Dobies, three daughters and a stepson.

Dr. Bartholome’s concern for young people showed in his practice and his trademark children-themed neckties. A collection of his ties will be displayed in the new Pediatrics Pavilion.

Executive Forum

Following nursing’s leadership

For a long time, we will continue to discover the contributions Ann Babb has made during her 18-year tenure at KU. As Vice President for Patient Care and Chief Nurse Executive, Ann has established practices which have improved patient care and increased efficiency. Most of us recognize that she led the recent, successful JCAHO survey. She convinced all of us that we were going to “Shine in ’99” and we did.

By Jon Jackson
Senior Vice President and COO, KU Hospital

In May, as we began developing a hospital-wide “customer service” campaign, Ann established a nursing committee to specifically address and improve patient satisfaction with nursing care. As a result, there has been a concerted effort to improve the patient satisfaction of nursing care. As part of the strategy, nursing communicated its goal, raised the awareness level and discussed “how” to improve . . . individually, by unit and by division.
And, it’s working. The patient satisfaction for nursing has been improving. In the survey, there are nine criteria for nursing. Nursing is rated by patients based upon its nursing care skills, friendliness, courtesy, promptness in answering the call light, attitude, attention provided patients, keeping patients informed, and overall care on each shift. In July, there was improvement made in every category.
That’s tremendous progress in a short period of time, and an example that should motivate the rest of us to work and improve the care we provide our patients, visitors and other customers.
Next month, the hospital will be starting a significant customer service education program that will prepare us for the future and position us to be recognized as a “premier health care organization.” It is not enough to deliver the highest quality of technical care; we must also attend to the service we provide our patients. With this initiative, which has the Hospital Authority Board’s support, all employees will participate. It will be an educational process to identify, train and develop skills to provide excellent customer service.

Ann Babb

As the hospital begins the customer service program, we should look to the progress made by nursing. We need to notice how they raised awareness, changed processes and motivated staff to be friendlier, more attentive and helpful. And, no doubt, we will be recognizing the contributions of Ann Babb. Her spirit, knowledge, management and leadership will be missed in the future. However, Ann’s contributions to KU Hospital will be lasting.

Dr. Bartholome’s enduring legacy

Even though we have been prepared, the words and reality have been difficult. Dr. Bill Bartholome died on Tuesday and was buried Friday. We are saddened and grieve our loss.

By Donald Hagen, MD
Executive Vice Chancellor, KUMC

Dr. Bartholome has established a great legacy at KUMC. He was passionately dedicated to ethical issues relating to health care. He gained national recognition for his work in medical ethics and was one of the founders of the Midwest Bioethics Center. In June 1994, Bill learned he had cancer of the esophagus. Through his journey, he eloquently wrote about the “angel of death” and chronicled his “five-year course with a terminal illness.” In the summer issue of KU Med magazine, there is a copy of his Hixon Hour lecture on April 15, “More lessons of the Angel of Death.” It is inspiring and emotional reading, for all of us.
When I asked him how he would like to be remembered, he stated he would like to have an endowed professorship at KUMC, which would focus on children’s ethics. We have established a fund in the KU Endowment Association to develop such a professorship.
He shared moments and wisdom about his terminal illness and his dying. Bill said, “I began to wonder what is the relationship between being terminal and being mortal? What I figured out was that the only difference between being terminal and being mortal was the time frame. Existentially they are the same damn situation.”
Bill related how knowing one is dying can be extremely valuable information. He said, “Yes it involves major stress and will precipitate radical change in the patient’s world . . . but that doesn’t mean it’s not an incredibly valuable thing for them to come to know.”
We will miss Bill, but he has prepared us to meet many of the challenges in the future. Now we must move forward.

Holcomb wins ‘Nursing: The Heart of Healthcare’ award

Susan Holcomb, a nurse practitioner in the KU School of Medicine, has been chosen one of 10 winners of a Nursing: The Heart of Healthcare award.
Holcomb was among the 477 registered nurses from throughout the metropolitan area and across Kansas nominated for the 10th annual awards. Thirty-seven of the nominees were from KU Medical Center.

Susan Holcomb

Established as a public service of the KU School of Nursing in 1989, the program recognizes the contributions of outstanding RNs to their patients, communities and profession.
A selection committee composed of previous winners and civic, health care, and business leaders selected this year’s winners, who will be honored during a banquet Sept. 18 at the Marriott Muehlebach Towers, Kansas City, Mo. Every nominee will receive a certificate of recognition.
This year’s program is sponsored by Hoechst Marion Roussel and the Kansas City Regional Home Care Association. For tickets, call Kari Ziblut, ext. 1616.

Front & Center

School of Allied Health students Kim Traub, left, Jackie Kerscher and Rebekah Scholl take a break after anatomy class July 30.

Keeping the elevators running smoothly every day are Dan Schorr, left, and Bill Sawyer. Both work for Montgomery KONE, but are regularly assigned to KUMC to service elevators and maintain operations.

Ann Babb, vice president of patient care services and chief nurse executive, talks with Tammy Peterman, RN, BSN, at Babb’s farewell celebration Aug. 2 at Californos.

Jon Jackson, senior vice president and COO, presented Babb with a gift in recognition of her dedicated service at KUMC over the years.

Dan Hightower, facilities management director, and his wife Jennifer, far right, join DeeDee Attebery, left, and Rhonda Bailey of University Human Resources for some fun and fellowship at Hightower’s welcome reception Aug. 2.

Mary Anne Rizzolo, EdD, RN, of Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, left, was one of the distinguished speakers at the Second Annual Developing Web-Based Courses Summer Institute July 29-30. With Rizzolo are Carol Smith, PhD, RN, center, and Helen Connors, PhD, RN, of the School of Nursing, a co-sponsor of the event.

Jeff Henning and Robbie O’Brien, were among the scores of incoming medical students taking part in a welcome luncheon Aug. 2.

Matt Foster, Darren Farley and Jolene Moore enjoyed the festivities and got to know fellow students.

Among those attending the July 27 School of Allied Health Achievement Celebration, which recognized departmental accomplishments for the 1998-99 academic year, were:
Joan McDowd, PhD, left, Daofen Chen, PhD, PT, and
Patricia Pohl, PhD, PT.

On-demand, closed-circuit TV system will enhance KUMC patient education

Ruth Mehring, unit educator, shows Kristine Cooper
of Odessa, Mo., how to select a video.

Rachel Pepin, RN, left, Jane Perkins, RN, and Diane Todd, RN, received staff training on the new system last week.

Ongoing changes in health care delivery continue to challenge practitioners to help patients learn more about their health and health care decisions. KU Hospital recently responded to this growing need for patient education by installing the first digital video-on-demand system in the metro area.
The new closed-circuit TV system, which debuted Aug. 2, delivers educational video programming to patients through the hospital’s TV and telephone systems. The system was developed after the Interdisciplinary Patient Education Team identified a need for visual learning resources that would serve all patients, especially non-English speakers and those with low literacy.
“In today’s society, the need to know among patients is really growing,” said Noella McCray, MN, assistant director of nursing and project team leader. “When you’ve been diagnosed with something new, people want to learn everything they can to understand it.”
The videotapes are digitized and stored on the system from a central control room. Patients may access the video library 24 hours a day by dialing ext. 8735.
“Family members can also watch the tapes at any time,” McCray said. “It’s even possible to reserve a tape if you have someone scheduled for a visit.”
McCray added that she can track video usage and interest, and generate weekly, monthly and yearly reports to help determine preference and frequency.
Future plans include using the system for chaplain services, spiritual guidance and staff education. Although the video library will continually expand, tapes are now available on diabetes, general topics, kidney conditions and lung conditions. If you would like to recommend a topic or a specific video, contact McCray, ext. 3036.

Korentager’s successful scalp replantation surgery brings hope for Air Force worker

Thanks to an uncommon scalp replantation procedure performed by Richard Korentager, MD, assistant professor of plastic surgery, 36-year-old Kristi Wheeler has hope for the future.
Wheeler, an Air Force base worker from Haysville, Kan., caught her hair in a hangar door June 28 and lost more than one-third of her scalp and forehead. Dr. Korentager performed a four-hour surgery to reattach the tissue. The case was unusual because Wheeler had no veins available, only two arterioles .5 mm in diameter.
“In the past 10 years, there have been only 13 cases of successful scalp replantation reported,” said Dr. Korentager. “And no one has ever used the same blood vessels we reconnected here.”

Dr. Korentager examined Kristi Wheeler’s progress during a July 29 follow-up visit.

Dr. Korentager said more than half the replanted scalp survived with the remaining areas being skin grafted. Wheeler’s prognosis is very good, and she plans to return to work soon.

KUMC beats the heat
During the past week, KUMC has dimmed corridor lighting and turned up thermostats in all parts of the campus, except patient care areas, to conserve energy during the recent heat wave. Although this week has been cooler, the forecast is calling for hotter weather, in which case KUMC would need to continue energy conservation measures through the end of next week. KUMC administrators are in daily contact with Board of Public Utilities (BPU) officials to determine the electrical system loads for the upcoming days and weeks. BPU may have partial use of its Nearman Power Plant by mid-August, putting an end to these extraordinary measures.

Ventilation symposium
The Respiratory Therapy Services Department will present “Issues In Critical Care Ventilation” Friday, Sept. 3 in Battenfeld Auditorium. Registration for the annual symposium is $35 if received by Aug. 25, or $50 at the door. The fee includes course materials, refreshments, lunch and record of attendance. For advance registration, contact Dan Conyers, ext. 3335.

Chinese poster exhibit

Chinese public health posters dating from 1937-1950 are on display on the second floor of the Robinson Building, next to Clendening Amphitheater, through the end of September. The posters portray in both language and illustration the life cycle of common infectious diseases, advise how to avoid becoming infected and show what to do if you do become ill. The first in a series to be displayed on the second floor of Robinson, the exhibit was produced by the Clendening History of Medicine Museum, KUMC Archives and the Department of History and Philosophy of Medicine.

New fire alarm testing
Although the new fire alarm system for KU Hospital is now operational, the Facilities Management staff will continue testing it through August. Employees are asked to be patient during this transition as both systems are operating in parallel. For now, the old system is still active. If you are unsure whether it’s just a test or an actual fire alarm, call the operator.

Weight Watchers At Work
The Weight Watchers At Work Program will be offered Aug. 5-Oct. 14 in the Kirmayer Fitness Center Auxiliary Room. Held every Thursday 11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. or 12:30-1 p.m. , the program costs $89.50 for a 10-week session plus one free week ($10 additional charge for non-members). For more information, call Lynette Henkel, ext. 7706.

Volunteers needed
The new Children’s Center Family Room is open, and volunteers are needed afternoons or evenings to help support the families of pediatric patients. If interested, call Susan Mong, ext. 6528.

FOR SALE:
Queen mattress & box, 2 years old, w/metal frame, box never used, 15-year warranty, $260. Call 671-7930.
Small dining room table, great for breakfast nook, hunter green base w/dark wood top, comes with 2 chairs, just need a little touch up, $125,. Call Jennifer, 753-2084, leave message.
Heavy-duty KitchenAid mixer, dough hook, exc. cond., new $267, sale $75; antique trunk, wood strip sides and flat top, refinished, $150; vintage black curly lamb fur coat, 1939, exc. cond., $40; other vintage clothes. Call 438-5043.
Hogan Edge irons, 3-PW, never used, retail $350, $80; Tour Model II irons, 3-PW, Ping look alikes, used 1 season, $50. Call 362-1029.
Sony WebTV, 1 mo. old, w/cordless remote and keyboard, $60 OBO. Call Kevin, 444-3953.
Large rolltop desk, cherry finish w/locking rolltop and filing drawers, $350. Call Todd/Becky after 5 p.m., 422-5756.
TV stand w/revolving top, computer desk w/bookshelf, chair and floor mat, dining table w/chairs, solid oak. Call 814-7384.
Church rummage sale, 6101 Nall Ave., Mission, Aug. 4-6, Wed. and Thurs. 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Call Linotte, 362-5966.
Sale of the century, anything you may want or need, we’ve got, Aug. 7, 7 a.m.-3 p.m., 4214 Thompson.
Call Porshia, 384-3487.
AUTOMOTIVE:
1976 CJ5 Jeep, 2nd owner,130K orig. mi., runs great, needs body work, $1,500 negotiable. Call Todd/Becky after 5 p.m., 422-5756.
1988 Dodge custom minivan, power steering, brakes, windows, locks, 4 flexsteel captains chairs, rear folding seat, tow package, 71K orig. mi., must see to believe, $8,500. Call Todd/Becky after 5 pm, 422-5756.
1998 Ford Tempo, off-white, 96K mi, new trans., auto. locks, tilt whl, AM/FM, exc. heater, rear defroster, interior in mint condition, $1,450. Call Larry, 342-5356.
HOUSING:
For Sale: 3BD, 1BA house, 2-car garage, exc. cond., PV location, 6 mi. from KUMC, $119,800. Call 648-6155.
Roommate Wanted: To share quiet 3BD, 2BA Mission home, just 8 min. from KUMC, $350/mo., includes utilities, cable, use of laundry and garage, furnished or unfurnished bedroom, no deposit, must love animals. Call 236-7407, leave message.
Homeshare: Education professional looking to share home w/medical or graduate student, exc. loc. (63rd
& Main) in Brookside, perfect for quiet study w/fully furnished bedroom, priv. bath, kitch. and ldry, walk around the corner to restaurants, shops and bars, looking for someone who is non-smoking, neat, and must like my dog, $450/mo., utilities included.
Call 444-4644.
PARKING:
Off-street parking for 2 cars, $15/mo., 7 min. walk from KUMC off 42nd Ave. Call 384-1629 after 5:30 p.m.
PETS:
Free: Min pin pups, two red females. Call Amy,
980-2923.

coming
UP

Monday, August 9:
•    Alzheimer’s Disease Support Group,
noon-1:30 p.m., Cottonwood Room,
Delp Cafeteria.
•    “Body and Soul” Weight Management Program, 6:30-8 p.m. Community Room, KU MedWest.
•    National Stuttering Project (NSP) Support Group, 7-9 p.m., 1018 Orr-Major.

Tuesday, August 10:
•    Cognitive Therapy Addiction Treatment,
1-2:30 p.m., Family Medicine.
•    Burn Survivor Support Group, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Hurlbut Recovery Pavilion.

Wednesday, August 11:
•    Diabetes Self-Management Series, 9-11 a.m., 1107 KU Hospital.
•    KUMC Interfaith, noon-1 p.m., 3041 Wescoe.
•    Free Breast Cancer Awareness Program, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Creekwood Family Care.
•    Hepatitis Support Group, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Delp Cafeteria, Prairie Room.
•    “Boning Up On Osteoporosis,” 7-8 p.m. Community Room, KU MedWest.

Thursday, August 12:
•    Research Seminar, “How Well Are We Caring For Our Dying Patients,”
noon-1 p.m., G567 KU Hospital.
•    Alzheimer’s Disease Caregiver’s Information Workshop, 4:30-7:30 p.m., Cottonwood Room, Delp Cafeteria.
•    Breast Cancer Support Group, 5:30-7 p.m., Radiation Oncology Conference Room.
•    Burn Patient Family Support Group,
6-7 p.m., Burn Center Waiting Room.
•    “Teen Scene: Good Nutrition,” 7-8 p.m., Community Room, KU MedWest.

IN THE CENTER
Donald Hagen, MD - Executive Vice Chancellor KUMC
Irene Cumming - CEO and President KU Hospital
Ken Arnold - Editor
Leslie Champlin - Writer
Jim Burton - Graphic Designer

IN THE CENTER is the employee and student publication of the University of Kansas Medical Center. It is published weekly by the office of Public Relations and Marketing. The deadline for submitting news briefs is noon on the Thursday before they are to appear. Send story ideas to Ken Arnold, editor, G114 Hospital, or e-mail: <karnold> or call ext. 1298.

Ad Policy
Send or bring your ad to G114 KU Hospital, or fax to ext. 1225, or e-mail: <karnold> by noon Thursday of the week before it is to run. Ads run free of charge for employees, students and volunteers. For-sale ads are limited to three items. All ads must include the advertiser’s name and work extension (or medical student box number) for verification. Only home phone numbers–no pager numbers or KUMC extensions–will be published. No ads for commercial services or pets for sale will be accepted. Ads will not be taken by telephone. Only one phone number per ad. Ads may be held a week of space is limited.

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