Dr. Simonsen discusses reducing medical waste in new paper
Kari Simonsen, MD, chair of the UNMC Department of Pediatrics, is one of the authors of a paper that was featured Tuesday in a panel discussion led by “Health Affairs,” a leading peer-reviewed journal.
Dr. Simonsen spoke about how a circular supply chain in the medical device industry will help protect the environment, as outlined in a “Health Affairs” article she co-authored, titled “Transforming the Medical Device Industry: Road Map to a Circular Economy.”
As the article explains, the one-time use of many medical products has resulted in increased health care expenditures and significant related waste and pollution, with associated public health damage. Barriers to a circular supply loop for the medical supply sector include perceptions regarding infection prevention behaviors of health care institutions, providers and manufacturers, and regulatory structures that encourage disposable medical devices.
One proposed action to tackle greenhouse gas emissions, Dr. Simonsen and her co-authors write, is for the sector to change its procurement policies.
“Large health systems can leverage their purchasing power to reduce waste and limit greenhouse gas emissions,” Dr. Simonsen said. “Additionally, as physicians and scientists, we can continue to research and refine our capabilities for safe cleaning and reprocessing of medical devices to reduce reliance on single-use items.”
Dr. Ramos nominated to be ‘Science Defender’
The Union of Concerned Scientists has nominated Athena Ramos, PhD, to be a “Science Defender.” The organization said she is one of a handful of individuals or groups who took a stand for science for the public good this year. The group cited Dr. Ramos on her work surveying food system workers about safety precautions — or the lack thereof — preventing the spread of COVID-19 in their facilities. Her nomination was grouped with a larger category of COVID-19 data collectors. Read more.
Dec. 16 presentation/demo on solutions for remote training
COVID-19 has brought many challenges into our daily routine, including training future physicians when working from home.
Jared Marx, MD, associate professor, department of emergency medicine at UNMC, will present “Innovative Ultrasound Cloud Simulation: Distance hands-on training in the COVID-19 era,” on Dec. 16 from 1-2 p.m. CT. via Zoom. The virtual session is hosted by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, a non-profit membership society committed to furthering and supporting the science of health care simulation.
Dr. Marx will discuss the challenges of working remotely and solutions for conducting remote training. The presentation will include a live demonstration of 3D Systems’ Simbionix Ultrasound Mentor with cloud-based simulation training.
Dr. Marx will be joined by Ran Weiss, senior product manager with 3D Systems, and Tal Avzizi, director of medical simulation imaging products, Healthcare.
Register for the presentation/demo online.
Retirees announced
Daniel McQuade, who had worked at UNMC for more than 50 years, retired on Nov. 7 from the department of information technology. McQuade, who joined UNMC on May 17, 1969, was the longest-tenured of the retirees announced this month by the department of human resources.
Other retirees were:
- Janet Davis, office of the vice chancellor of research, retired Dec. 4 (start date: July 18, 1994)
- Gail Paulsen, office of regulatory affairs/IRB, retired Nov. 14 (start date: Feb. 22, 1996)