Key points from today’s guests:

Morning Rounds – Updates on Current News

Dr. Onalisa Winblad, division director, Breast Imaging, The University of Kansas Health System; breast imaging specialist, The University of Kansas Cancer Center

• USPSTF (U.S. Preventive Services Task Force) has lowered the mammogram age, but the new guidelines still do not match the American Cancer Society’s guidance.
• Breast cancer is really common. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime and one in six of those women will be in their 40s.
• In fact, most of the years of life lost due to breast cancer are from women aged 40 to 49.
• New studies show that when women are screened every year beginning at age 40, breast cancer death rate decreases by up to 42 percent. And the taskforce agrees that screening should start at age 40.
• Black women are actually more likely than white women to present at a younger age with breast cancer, they're more likely to have aggressive types of breast cancer, and they have worse outcomes.
• In fact, Black women are 40 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than their white counterparts with breast cancer. So these screening guidelines simply don't go far enough. Patients need to be screened every year.
• I recommend that all women have a breast cancer risk assessment by age 25 to determine if you should start screening before age 40.
• We see male patients with breast cancer and certain male patients with genetic mutations who are at higher risk for developing breast cancer and should have a risk assessment by a provider who can let them know when screening should begin.
• We actually have several male patients at KU who screen every year with a mammogram and that is recommended in certain high risk groups of men.
  
  

Focus Topic

Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer, The University of Kansas Health System

• We're celebrating National Nurses Week and highlighting some of the nurses and nurse practitioners who help keep this health system running.
• In the outpatient world, I work closely with Joyce Funk, who's an outstanding nurse practitioner, and she is the brain, the heart, and the soul of our clinical practice.
• When I'm on the inpatient rounds, Jamie Klamm is a star. She is a nurse practitioner who is caring for cystic fibrosis patients here on the inpatient side of our health system.
• Teamwork is what makes patients better, not any one person.
• Thanks to our nursing teams who do all of the great work for patients.

Bob Harrison, cancer survivor

• Bob has recovered from his cancer journey at the Health System, and he wanted to thank all of his nurses, but in particular, Stephanie Winright.
• He said she was so helpful in getting him back home and able to use the equipment he needed.
• He was impressed with the teamwork and support of the nursing teams.

Karla Oberle, R.N., manager, Wound & Ostomy Team, The University of Kansas Health System

• Bob’s praise is just a testament to how nurses approach this as not just a job.
• The care that each and every one of my nurses provide is elite and I’m so very proud of what they do.
• We have a lot of patients that we see repeatedly, and very often we are the people that hold the understanding from moment to moment from encounter to encounter, and they're the ones they'll say we need to see them because we've had this whole conversation before.
• It's about patience and taking care of people.
• I think there's something innate that many nurses have, as far as wanting to take care of people and being nurturing and I think those are important characteristics to have in nursing.
• I think there's purpose in nursing -- taking care of people and seeing them through their journey. Whether you're in the hospital or the clinic setting, and just watching it from the beginning to end, it’s a rewarding career.

Jennifer Surprise, APRN, clinical nurse specialist, Pain Management, The University of Kansas Health System

• One of the best things my team does is sitting down and listening to our patients, just letting them talk to us because sometimes that's the only way we really can understand what is going on with them.
• Chronic pain management is challenging due to the complexity of the condition and the need to address the underlying cause.
• Using active listening and a holistic approach to understanding the patient's experience, we can better develop an effective treatment plan.
• Empathy and understanding in nursing care is essential.
• Nurses play a crucial role in advocating for patients and providing non-pharmacological treatments.
• We have to bring in the idea of yourself and empowering the patients.

Lance Williamson, R.N., manager, Infection Prevention and Control, The University of Kansas Health System

• Infection prevention and control involves different tasks every day, including construction barrier management and outbreak investigation.
• The team created visual reminders for best practices and PPE use to reduce cross-contamination and protect patients.
• We have extensive preparedness training for emergency situations like Ebola or other contagious diseases.
• We work very closely with public health departments to stay ahead of the curve on infection control and preparedness.
• One after effect of COVID is that the population at large better understands the risk of germ transmission.

‘Hawk Talk’

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control, The University of Kansas Health System

• Over the last couple of years, we have seen increases in syphilis here. But we know around the nation, the numbers have been extremely high the last two or three years.
• This goes for not only syphilis infections by adults, but also unfortunately congenital syphilis infection so when mom can transfer it to baby as well. These infections are on the rise.
• I think a lot of it has to do with public health, infrastructure and funding and the ability to get the education out to people to understand to go get tested on a frequent basis.
• Mpox is also a disease that can be considered a STI or sexually transmitted infection. However, it doesn't have to be. This is a disease that can be spread just by general contact, and also contact with clothing or bedding or anything else of that nature. We do have a vaccine.
• We have seen long COVID continues to be an issue for many people around the country. We know that vaccination helps prevent or decrease the risk of getting long COVID. People are still dealing with this on a daily basis.

Thursday, May 9 at 8 a.m. is the next All Things Heart. Learn how one woman feels better now in her 60s than she did in her 30s.

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