Plastic Surgery & Skin Care, Pediatrics, Patient Stories
General Page Tier 3
AAMC Plastic Surgeon Gives Back Through Volunteer Work Overseas
Blog
Imagine you’re able to use your gifts to offer life-altering surgeries to children in developing countries. Anne Arundel Medical Center plastic surgeon Devinder Singh, MD, has done this through his work with the international charitable group Changing Children’s Lives.
Doctors volunteering with Changing Children’s Lives have performed free reconstructive surgeries on more than 1,000 children in countries including Thailand, Vietnam, Colombia, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Honduras and Uganda.
Dr. Singh, AAMC’s chief of plastic surgery and medical director of AAMG Plastic Surgery, says a typical mission includes upward of 25 people and takes a year or more of coordination to pull together.
“But the return on investment is just amazing,” Dr. Singh says. “We can help as many as 50 kids with cleft lip or palate in just one week.”
Surgical procedures include cleft lip and palate repairs, as well as treatment of congenital and traumatic facial deformities, burn scars and congenital hand deformities.
“We also teach the hosting country’s plastic surgeons, so our work can continue after we leave,” he adds.
Dr. Singh thanks AAMC for its unwavering support.
“This is a hospital with a heart,” he says. “I appreciate that AAMC allows me to donate my time to help others.”
Dr. Singh says his goal is to give back, whether it’s repairing a child’s cleft lip or advancing the field of medicine.
He’s the former chair of the Maryland Board of Physicians and was recently elected into the exclusive American Association of Plastic Surgeons. He’s published 65 peer-reviewed scientific articles. Plus, he’s received invitations to deliver more than 100 academic lectures throughout the world.
Dr. Singh looks forward to his next trip with Changing Children’s Lives, scheduled for Thailand early next year.
”My mission is to serve people who can benefit most from what I’ve learned during my many years as a plastic and reconstructive surgeon,” he says. “I love what I do for a living!”
Like AAMG Plastic Surgery on Facebook for the latest updates from the practice’s medical team.
0
News & Press Releases, Stroke Care
General Page Tier 3
AAMC Recognized for Quality Heart and Stroke Care
Blog
Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) is among an elite group of hospitals recognized by the American Heart Association (AHA) for meeting the highest quality standards for treating patients who suffer severe heart attacks. AAMC has achieved the AHA’s Mission: Lifeline® Silver Plus STEMI Receiving Award and Bronze NSTEMI Award.
This year, AAMC was also recognized by the AHA and American Stroke Association (ASA) for meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients. AAMC earned the AHA/ASA Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite.
AAMC qualified for these awards by meeting specific criteria and standards of performance for the quick and appropriate treatment in these medical emergencies. Eligible hospitals must adhere to these measures at a set level and duration.
“For heart attack and stroke patients, quick actions can save lives,” says Jerome Segal, MD, medical director of Cardiovascular Services at AAMC. “These emergencies require seamless coordination with our Anne Arundel County partners in the Emergency Medical Services Division — a team of top-notch emergency technicians — as well as multiple departments within the hospital. We are proud to say that we have extremely efficient systems, and we are pleased to be recognized for our commitment to delivering advanced heart attack and stroke care quickly and safely.”
Services for stroke, heart attack patients
Hospitals that meet AHA/ASA quality standards not only know the importance of treating quickly and safely, but they also follow evidence-based research that helps to determine why a patient had a heart attack or stroke in the first place.
To learn more about AAMC’s stroke services, visit www.askAAMC.org/stroke, and for more information about AAMC’s heart services, visit www.askAAMC.org/heart.
0
Community, News & Press Releases
General Page Tier 3
Recognizing a Hero of the Opioid Epidemic
Blog
“I heard a radio playing, I knocked and nothing…I opened the door and found him lying there,” said Austin Wilson, 17, describing the scene where he found an overdose victim in the bathroom of the Glen Burnie, Md., 7-Eleven where he works.
Austin had previously graduated from a prevention and education course provided by Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) Pathways. He immediately recognized the signs and symptoms of opioid overdose and quickly called 911. He never imagined the skills he learned would one day save a person’s life.
In June, State’s Attorney Wes Adams, along with Keisha Brooks and Amanda Larkins, both of Pathways, surprised Austin at the 7-Eleven. Austin received a citation in recognition of his actions.
“He saved a life…Austin is really a hero,” said Adams. “It’s important for me, as the State’s Attorney, to come out and recognize good deeds because we see so many bad ones.”
Recognizing the signs of an opioid overdose
According to the Maryland Health Department, the state saw 1,468 deaths related to overdoses in the third quarter of 2016 alone.
AAMC Pathways offers prevention education as part of its commitment to community outreach. Courses highlight an assortment of topics.
On July 7, the treatment center is offering a 45-minute training on how to recognize an overdose and administer Naloxone (“Narcan”), an opioid overdose reversing drug available over-the-counter at Maryland pharmacies. Register by emailing [email protected] or sign up online.
If you are ever a bystander at the scene of an overdose, seek immediate medical help. Signs of opioid overdose may include:
euphoria
drowsiness
respiratory depression
nausea
vomiting
constricted pupils
0
News & Press Releases, Weight Loss
General Page Tier 3
AAMC Weight Loss and Metabolic Surgery Program Recognized as Comprehensive Center
Blog
Anne Arundel Medical Center announces its Weight Loss and Metabolic Surgery Program is now accredited as a Comprehensive Center by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP), signifying the program meets the highest standards for patient safety and quality care.
Studies show that patients have better weight loss surgery outcomes in accredited bariatric surgical centers, where the center has undergone and passed rigorous evaluation in accordance with nationally recognized bariatric surgical standards. Accredited centers are also recognized for multidisciplinary teams with experts in areas such as nutrition and psychology, to ensure a patient’s success after surgery.
“This recognition underscores the daily commitment and high quality the AAMC Weight Loss and Metabolic Surgery Program team demonstrates every day in the care of our patients,” says Alex Gandsas, MD, MBA, program medical director.
AAMC’s bariatric surgery center is designated as a Level I facility and was nationally accredited by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) in 2013. The ACS and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) have since combined their respective national bariatric surgery accreditation programs into a single unified program to achieve one national accreditation standard for bariatric surgery centers, the MBSAQIP.
Weight loss surgery options
The AAMC Weight Loss and Metabolic Surgery Program’s re-accreditation proves that it consistently meets the highest quality standards of care for the weight loss operations it performs, including sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, and adjustable gastric band removal and revision.
In the United States, more than 11 million people suffer from severe obesity and an estimated 93 million people are obese. Conditions associated with obesity range from diabetes and heart disease to certain types of cancers. Bariatric surgical procedures have been shown to reduce obesity, improve mortality, and decrease the health risks from chronic diseases such as cardiomyopathy and diabetes.
The AAMC Weight Loss and Metabolic Surgery Program is located in Annapolis and Easton. To learn more about weight loss surgery, attend a free seminar at AAMC. Visit askAAMC.org/WeightLoss for more information or to register.
0
Graduate Medical Education, News & Press Releases
General Page Tier 3
AAMC Welcomes First Class of Residents
Blog
Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) will welcome six general surgery residents this summer. In 2014, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education approved Graduate Medical Education (GME) at AAMC. The GME program at AAMC provides training to doctors after they have completed medical school. This year’s cohort will be the first class of residents for AAMC.
Post-graduate year one (PGY-1) 2017- 2022 residents
Udai Sibia, MD, Avalon University School of Medicine (Curaçao); Abdel-Moneim Elfatih Salah Mohamed Ali, MD, University of Khartoum Faculty of Medicine (Sudan); and Whitney Davidson, MD, University of Kansas School of Medicine.
Post-graduate year two (PGY-2) 2017-2021 residents
Brandon Anderson, MD, Howard University College of Medicine; Shyam Jayaraman, MD, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (New Delhi)/Vanderbilt Medical Center; and Bernardo Diaz, MD, Ross University (West Indies)/UCLA Kern Medical Center.
“Anne Arundel Medical Center is committed to excellence and innovation,” says Barry Meisenberg, MD, designated institutional official of Graduate Medical Education at AAMC. “Graduate medical education at Anne Arundel Medical Center helps us fulfill our role in the larger world of health and medicine. It ensures a future of talented and well-trained doctors. It’s also an opportunity to improve population health, provide better individualized care and help lower health care costs.”
While AAMC has a long history of training medical students, visiting residents, fellows, nursing and medical tech students, this begins a new era for AAMC. The residents will begin residency in July. In addition to general surgery, AAMC will establish future GME programs to include Internal Medicine.
0