Category: Education

UofL Medical School On Academic Probation.

Not All Details Made Public. School Minimizes Significance.

The headline above appeared in two local news outlets yesterday and is exactly the kind of publicity the University of Louisville does not need. The story was broken by David Mann of Business First reacting to a news release from the University. In a subsequent interview, Medical School Dean Toni Ganzel outlined some nine areas of concern to the Liaison Committee On Medical Education (LCME) that oversees the accreditation of American Medical Schools. It is by no means clear that all identified problems or their severity have been made public.

As it is, the deficiencies that were identified are fundamental to the basic mission of a medical school: teaching facilities were inadequate, the method of teaching was behind the times, the curriculum needed review, evaluation of students was uneven without appropriate feedback to the students, cooperation among different medical and scientific disciplines was not sufficient, faculty integration with off-campus teaching sites was sub-optimal, and academic affiliations with hospitals were not clear. What else is there to go wrong?

I have always admired Dean Ganzel. She did not create this embarrassing problem, but she was left holding the bag, probably without the authority or the resources to fix it. Control of the Medical Center, including its clinical activities, rests in the President’s office. She obviously needs to minimize the damage and present the matter honestly and in the best possible light. She was effective to the point that the Courier-Journal printed a sub-headline quote: “I don’t think this decision is based on the overall quality of the educational experience.” A medical student volunteered that “she had a good experience.” Would a student have dared say anything else?

Not a big deal?
The school’s understandable impulse is to make it sound like this is no big deal, and that most of the remedies have already been made or are on track. This self-portrait is belied by the language used by the LCME itself.

“Accreditation with probation is an action based on determination by the LCME, … that an accredited program is not in substantial compliance with accreditation standards. Such a determination may be based on the LCME’s judgment, … that the areas of noncompliance have seriously compromised the quality of the medical education program, or that the program has failed to make satisfactory progress in achieving compliance after having been granted ample opportunity to do so.”

We do not yet know whether or not the University of Louisville’s Medical School was placed on probation because of serious compromise of quality, or because it did not make satisfactory progress after having had a chance to do so. Which possibility is worse? Continue reading “UofL Medical School On Academic Probation.”

Kentucky Children’s Hospital in Lexington Restarts its Pediatric Heart Surgery Program.

Implications for Louisville’s Kosair Children’s Hospital and the University of Louisville.

The pediatric cardiac surgery program at the University of Kentucky has seen a steady stream of negative national publicity over the last year.  Following the death of several babies with congenital heart defects, the University suspended its pediatric cardiac surgery program in 2012.  The institution announced a desire to improve its outcomes and established an internal review process.  Its pediatric cardiac surgeon left for elsewhere. Few details were available.

CNN reported last Friday that Kentucky Children’s Hospital had resumed its pediatric heart surgery program as of the New Year.  Much of the news report centered on parents’ dissatisfaction that the internal report released last September “doesn’t explain why the babies died,” and with the hospital’s apparent reluctance to provide more specific mortality rates.  In an article  charged with emotional comments, Executive Vice President For Health Affairs at UK, Dr. Michael Karpf, was not cast in a particularly favorable light.  In responding to concerns that there seemed to be no medical governing body needed to sign off on the decision to reopen the unit, Dr. Karpf is heard saying, “The only person I need permission from is me.”  I believe this arrogant-sounding statement was unfairly taken out of context.

The Report Was Not Glowing.
Actually, the 102 page report released last September provides a considerable amount of information about the hospital’s pediatric cardiology services. The report addresses recommendations regarding the future, and was not intended to be a review of past clinical outcomes. Nonetheless, in my opinion, it supports concerns that the hospital may not have been fully prepared to offer the most complicated cardiac procedures to children.  In fact, given that the report was prepared with “extensive input and guidance from legal counsel,” the document is refreshingly and commendably frank. Continue reading “Kentucky Children’s Hospital in Lexington Restarts its Pediatric Heart Surgery Program.”

Baptist Healthcare Spreads its Wings Statewide.

University of Louisville’s Dream Partner?

A notice in yesterday’s Courier-Journal announced that the Baptist Healthcare System was changing its name to Baptist Health as it acquires the Pattie A. Clay Hospital in Richmond KY. The shorter name is a little punchier and more touchy-feely: this in keeping with the hospital system’s warm and fuzzy marketing themes. Why not?

What I had been overlooking this past year was Baptist’s expansion of influence throughout the state. If all goes as seems planned, Baptist will finalize a full acquisition in October of the Madisonville Regional Medical Center and Trover Clinic, all soon to become Trover Health. This is a prestigious high-quality acquisition for Baptist Health and I congratulate them. Baptist now has mainline hospitals in cities across the entire state including Paducah, Madisonville, Elizabethtown, Louisville, La Grange, Lexington, and Richmond. In fact, I am unaware of any other hospital system in Kentucky so well represented statewide. Continue reading “Baptist Healthcare Spreads its Wings Statewide.”

Another Turnover of Deans at the University of Louisville.

Enrollment Management at UofL.

I am getting  a lot of new material from Insider Louisville. I envy their information network! (Hint. Hint.) Friday’s content included notice of the fact that following a five-year tenure, Dean Jim Chen of the University of Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law had left his position. This appeared to be a surprise to some because, among other achievements, he had been very successful in raising both money and the status of the Law School. Dean Chen will take a year of administrative leave and retain his faculty appointment. Dean Chen is a lot younger than me. If this was his career decision, I congratulate him and wish him well. However, in the secretive world of intrigue that is the University of Louisville, my default skepticism stirs. Continue reading “Another Turnover of Deans at the University of Louisville.”