Stephan Bass, MD
LACMA member since 1978
Stephan Bass, MD, chief medical officer of Long Beach-based Universal Care (dba HMO California), is proposing to expand the health plan's Brand New Day Program, which currently serves dual-eligible patients, to also include Medi-Cal-only patients. Brand New Day is a recovery program for individuals attempting to overcome severe mental illness. Dr. Bass would like to partner with the California Department of Health Services and Los Angeles and Orange County mental health agencies to launch a pilot with the Medi-Cal population.

"Many severely persistent mentally ill patients are out on the street during the day, without appropriate medical care or any care at all," Dr. Bass says. "Our primary goal is to prevent these patients' conditions from deteriorating so they don't get incarcerated or engage in criminal activity. We offer patients medical and psychiatric care, and vocational training. Because of our services, we have seen a huge decrease in hospitalizations."

Eighty percent of Brand New Day patients had the same or fewer emergency room visits from 2004 to 2005, with an average reduction of two visits, according to recent Universal data. In addition, 85 percent had the same or fewer psychiatric bed days, with an average reduction of 11 days. Dr. Bass says the length of Brand New Day enrollment contributes to the program's success, with 71 percent of patients enrolled for two years or more, enabling patients to participate in all aspects of the rehabilitation.

Those who have completed the Brand New Day program have been able to use their medications, live independently and keep jobs, Dr. Bass says. The success is the reason he wants the program to include Medi-Cal-only patients. For information, call 562/981-5016.

Robert Gorab, MD
OCMA member since 1974
Gorab, an orthopedic surgeon at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, was featured in an Orange County Register article in November 2006 for sharing surgical techniques with visiting Iraqi surgeon Avadis Muradian, MD. Dr. Muradian's trip to Orange County was sponsored by Buena Park-based Global Operations and Development and a group of surgeons from the Orthopaedic Education and Research Institute of Southern California, where Dr. Gorab is a board member. The two organizations have created an ongoing medical exchange program, so more Iraqi doctors will visit Orange and Los Angeles Counties next month.

"We taught the Iraqi surgeons recent, modern surgical techniques," Dr. Gorab says. "We also showed them how to use orthopedic instruments and tools and prosthetics. It was a very rewarding experience working with the Iraqi surgeons. They are all outstanding physicians and they need to be, because as far as instruments go, they have so little to work with."

Dr. Muradian works at Basra General Hospital in Iraq, where he treats children who are injured, for example, when grenades explode in their hands. Unlike American surgeons, Iraqi physicians can't send these patients home with much mobility because prosthetic fingers and hands aren't available.

Through Global Operations, Dr. Gorab and St. Joseph Hospital donated several shipments of spinal instruments, retractors and fracture fixations to Dr. Muradian and other Iraqi hospitals.

"There is all kinds of equipment in hospitals across the country that never gets used," said Vance Gardner, MD, executive director of the Orthopaedic Education and Research Institute, in the article. "It's sitting in basements. The [Iraqi physicians] are thirsty for it."

Don Schiller, MD
LACMA member since 1978
Schiller, director of the Continent Ostomy Program at Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, will be expanding the program under the leadership of new CEO Howard H. Levine, appointed in November 2006. This is one of the many significant changes that Levine will help implement at Brotman Medical Center this year.

"Starting in January, we will double our patient accommodations and train four more nurses to staff the program," Dr. Schiller says. "We are also expanding our interactive Internet capabilities by adding webinars and chat rooms to our Web site."

Brotman Medical Center will host a grand opening celebration in honor of its new Southern California Spine Institute this month. The hospital also recently established a skilled nursing facility and an acute medical rehabilitation program, where physicians can refer joint replacement, stroke and trauma patients. Other new developments include a minimally invasive surgery program, a primary stroke center and a skull-base surgery program.

"It is my extreme pleasure to serve as chief executive officer of Brotman Medical Center and help usher in a variety of vital new programs to better address the needs of Culver City families," Levine says. "I intend not only to deliver new programs, but to greatly enhance the hospital experience for our patients, physicians and employees."

Mark Linskey, MD
OCMA member since 2006
Linskey, co-director of the UC Irvine Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center Neuro-Oncology Program, began utilizing a new intraoperative, magnetic resonance imaging (iMRI) scanner in October 2006, designed to improve health outcomes for brain surgery patients. This technology enables surgeons to pinpoint more precisely a tumor's location before, during and after the operation. As a result, patients undergoing brain surgery will experience faster recovery times; better, safer outcomes; and a greater chance of more complete tumor resections.

"Because brain tissue is soft, it can shift during surgery," says Dr. Linskey, associate professor and chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery, UC Irvine Medical Center. "Detecting where tumor growth ends and healthy tissue begins can be challenging, but the new detailed images provided by the iMRI will make complete and safe tumor extraction more likely."

The new technology's improved surgical navigation and precision will help ensure that healthy tissues and other critical structures in the brain remain intact. The iMRI will reduce the need for multiple procedures because surgeons will be able to assess the extent of tumor resection before completion of the surgery, Dr. Linskey says.

"Being able to verify that the entire tumor has been taken out before a patient leaves the operating room will reduce the need for secondary, follow-up procedures," Dr. Linskey says. "This will save time, but more importantly, it will grant patients quicker recoveries and fewer complications."

Pedram Salimpour, MD, and Pejman Salimpour, MD
LACMA members since 2006 and 1998
Pedram and Pejman Salimpour, Sherman Oaks pediatricians and owners of Plymouth Health, signed a definitive agreement in October 2006 to purchase Alvarado Hospital Medical Center in San Diego, from a subsidiary of Tenet Healthcare Corp. The sale or closure of Alvarado Hospital was required by the San Diego U.S. Attorney's office and the Office of Inspector General in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as part of a settlement agreement to end more than three years of prosecution of the hospital and its former CEO regarding certain physician relocation agreements.

The Salimpours formed Plymouth Health specifically to acquire and operate Alvarado Hospital.

"We feel we can now put to rest any uncertainty about the hospital's future," says Pejman Salimpour, MD, professor of clinical pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for Alvarado, and we are pleased that we have been selected to continue the hospital's mission of caring for patients in San Diego."

Plymouth's purchase of Alvarado Hospital will ensure the facility's continued participation in state and federal healthcare reimbursement programs, including Medicare. The company will continue operating Alvarado Hospital as an acute care facility and maintain its 24-hour emergency room services.

The Salimpours also own CareNex Health Services, a healthcare technology and client-services organization. From 2001 to 2005, the Salimpours operated NexCare Collaborative, a nonprofit organization and professional call center that helped more than 100,000 Los Angeles families with children gain access to free or affordable health insurance.