Well, the final quarter of 2014 is almost complete, and I find it hard to believe that this will be
my last Newsletter entry as President of the Texas Chapter of the Society of Critical Care Medi-
cine. What a year it has been. . .
As I reflect on our accomplishments, I begin to appreciate how productive the Chapter and our
membership have been in 2014. This year marked the 1st time the Chapter took the sympo-
sium “on the road”, and to sum it up, it was a huge success. Dallas / Fort Worth rose to the
occasion, welcoming us with an excellent turnout including ~40 new TSCCM members. Over-
all, the 2-day program was highlighted with 25 speakers, 12 industry exhibitors, 7 research
posters, and provision of continuing education for almost all major disciplines in critical care.
In addition to the symposium, the Chapter was fortunate to host a guest lecture on the topic of
disaster management by Dr. Charles Sprung, a world-renowned critical care practitioner. It
should be emphasized that both of these events were in addition to regularly scheduled edu-
cational programming on a monthly to quarterly basis in Houston, Dallas / Fort Worth, and the
San Antonio regions. The Chapter is proud of the exceptional educational activities we were
able to facilitate for our membership!
This year also marked the development of two new benefits / opportunities offered for the
membership: formal recognition of accomplishments via our newly established Awards Com-
mittee and development of the TSCCM Research Consortium. If you haven’t heard about the
Awards Committee as of yet, I would encourage you to visit the chapter website for details. The
TSCCM Research Consortium has been a large undertaking, and we are currently still laying
the foundation. Patience is a virtue, and we are hopeful that the planning and organization
conducted this year will forge many years of success and collaboration amongst the vast num-
ber of practitioners across Texas. The leadership of the Texas Chapter is committed to seeing
this through in 2015 and beyond.
The list of items the Chapter should be proud of this year goes on and on, of course including
recognition as the 2015 recipient of the SCCM Chapters Alliance Excellence Award. I want to
emphasize, however, that all Chapter accomplishments would not be possible without the re-
lentless dedication of the TSCCM Committee Chairs and continued oversight by the Board of
Directors and Executive Council. The Chairs of all seven committees, specifically the Member-
ship, Program, Communications, Research, Symposium, Nominations, and the newly estab-
lished Awards committee were challenged this year to solidify committee representation and
create the infrastructure necessary for continued success. I am happy to say that all Commit-
tee Chairs willingly stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park. Thank you! Thank
you to the Board of Directors for your insight and willingness to accept change as we forge
ahead for the better of the Chapter and its members. Thank you to the Executive Council for
our countless meetings and productive dialogue regarding how best to meet the needs of our
members (and of course, for keeping me in line)! Lastly, thank you to the members for staying
engaged and continuing to support your Texas Chapter!
In summary, I would just like to say that it has been a pleasure and an honor to serve as Presi-
dent of the Texas Chapter of the Society of Critical Care Medicine. I want to express my sin-
cere gratitude to everyone for your support. I look forward to witnessing the continued growth
of the Texas Chapter and contributing for many years to come.
Kind Regards,
Jeff Bruno
2014 President, Society of Critical Care Medicine Texas Chapter
I N S I DE T H I S I S S U E :
President’s Corner 1
Committee Update 2-5
RSVP Requests 5
Annual Congress 6
Communications
Update 6
Society of Critical Care Medicine - Texas Chapter
Critical Care Corner D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4 - V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 4
ED U C A T I O NA L
P RO G RA MS H O U S T O N
2 / 4 / 2 0 1 5
D A L L A S / F O R T W O R T H
1 / 2 2 / 2 0 1 5
S A N A N T O N I O
1 / 2 1 / 2 0 1 5
For more details, go to
the Chapter Events page at
Sccmtexaschapter.org
Sccmtexaschapter.org
SCCM Texas Chapter
Mailing Address:
TSCCM, 2429 Bissonnet Suite 461, Houston, TX, 77005
President’s Corner (Jeff Bruno, PharmD, BCPS, BCNSP)
P A G E 2
Program Committee Update Brian Dee, PharmD, BCPS, BCNSP
The Program Committee closed out 2014 with several exciting
chapter meetings in November and December! World renowned
researcher and clinician Charles Sprung, MD, presented
“Preparing Your Hospital for Multiple Casualties” to our Houston
membership on November 4th. Our group in San Antonio had the
opportunity to learn about “Managing Stroke Risk in Patients with
Non-valvular Atrial Fibrillation” from Michael Cox, MD, on Novem-
ber 12th. Gary Weinstein, MD, discussed his experiences with
treating the Ebola virus at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital dur-
ing “Ebola: The Dallas Perspective” on December 4th. Additionally,
he has graciously allowed us to post his presentation on our web-
site, so that our entire membership may benefit from his expertise.
The final chapter meeting of the year was a presentation by Kathe-
rine Perez, PharmD, on “The Application of Rapid Diagnostics in
Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs” in Houston on December
16th. Be sure to check out our website and reserve your spot at an
upcoming chapter meeting as we move into 2015!
I want to take a moment and recognize all the committee members
who contributed to a successful year for the Program Committee in
2014. With the help of Brian Burleson, Savannah Murphy, Awung-
jia Leke-Tambo, Amaris Fuentes, Anne Rain Tanner, Kristen Hesch,
Lyndsay Sheperd, Sue Smith, Rebecca Attridge, Casey Drawert,
and Patrick Cullinan, the Program Committee organized 22 chapter
meetings in San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston, as well as the Mem-
ber Reception at the 43rd SCCM Critical Care Congress in San Fran-
cisco. A special thanks to Casey Drawert and Rebecca Attridge as
they complete their service as Program Committee Coordinators in
San Antonio for the past three and four years, respectively!
If one of your resolutions in 2015 includes being more involved in
professional organizations, feel free to contact pro-
[email protected] for more information on becoming
an active member of the Program Committee.
Membership Committee Update Maggie Ma, PharmD, BCPS
To wrap up 2014, the membership committee is proud to announce that our
membership has grown significantly throughout the year to a little over 450
members! Our membership composition broken down by discipline and city
are shown in the graphs below. Of note, our representation in Dallas in-
creased from 18% this time last year to 25% currently!
As a reminder, our referral program will resume on January 1st, 2015. Each
member who refers 3 new members to the chapter will receive a free 1-year
membership (for members who are not national SCCM members, you must
refer 4 new members for a free 1-year membership). If you’re not currently a
national SCCM member, it is easy to join. Visit www.sccm.org to sign up. To
refer a new member, please have them fill out an application form on our
website at www.sccmtexaschapter.org under the “Membership” tab. This
will directly link them to PayPal where they can pay for their dues. Alterna-
tively, new members can sign up for both national and Texas membership
through the national SCCM website. In this case, please have the member
email the membership chair at [email protected] for noti-
fication of the referral.
We would also like to acknowledge Phyllis
McCorstin for her tremendous membership
recruitment efforts. Throughout the year,
Ms. McCorstin referred 7 new members to
our chapter! She will be awarded with a free
1-year membership and a Texas SCCM
Polo. Our chapter is only able to grow
through the dedication and recruitment ef-
forts of our members, so keep up the good
work!
Phyllis McCorstin,
MSN, APRN, CNS, CCNS, CCRN
Critical Care Services, Texas Health Dallas
P A G E 3
Research Committee Update Tami N. Johnson, PharmD, BCPS, FCCM
TSCCM Research Network The Research Network group has been working hard on collecting information
on hospitals in Texas. They’re currently looking for contacts in major hospitals
throughout Texas to help with surveys and snapshots to answer specific critical
care questions. If you or someone at your hospital is interested in helping
please email [email protected].
Alan I. Fields Scholarship Award Please join us in congratulating the 2014 Alan I. fields Award winners listed
below! Both award winners will receive $1000 each to go towards the 44th An-
nual SCCM Congress meeting held in January. Both recipients will present
their scholarly work at Congress and at the SCCM Texas Chapter February
meeting.
Less than 2 years of Experience:
Effect of Delirium Motoric Subtypes on ICD-9 Documentation of Delirium in
the Intensive Care Unit – Lan N. Bui with Houston Methodist Hospital.
Equal to or greater than 2 years of Experience:
RCT of Chlorhexidine vs. Soap & Water Bathing for Prevention of Hospital-
Acquired Infections in SICU –Joshua Swan, PharmD with Houston Method-
ist Hospital
Congratulations to both award winners. We look forward to your presentations.
Fellowship in the American College of Critical Care Medicine (FCCM)
Application Mentorship PUT YOUR TSCCM MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS TO WORK FOR YOU!
Need guidance with your FCCM Application? Not sure if you are even eligible?
Your TSCCM Chapter is here to help!
1. Are you an active member of SCCM for at least 2 years?
2. Are you currently licensed in your field (if applicable)?
3. Are you spending at least 50% of your time to critical care in practice, re-
search, administration, or teaching?
If you answered YES to all 3 questions, you may be eligible to apply for FCCM.
As a benefit of membership in TSCCM, you can receive valuable services in the
preparation of your application, including (but not limited to):
Help accessing the application and the criteria.
Guidance and Mentorship from current FCCM members through the ap-
plication process.
For more information, please contact the TSCCM Research Committee at
[email protected]. Next year’s deadline is mid-March.
P A G E 4
Can’t make the meeting?
Don’t forget to cancel your RSVP!
We would like to provide a friendly reminder regarding the RSVP process for chapter
meetings. While our “no-show” percentage (i.e. those who submit an RSVP but do not
attend the meeting) has historically been 20%, we have seen an increase upwards of
40 to 60% this year in all three cities. Please be aware that we collect RSVPs in order
to provide our meeting sponsors with an expected turnout. Failure to meet that ex-
pected turnout can adversely affect our sponsors’ budget and ability to support future
meetings. If you RSVP for a meeting and later realize you will be unable to attend,
please cancel the reservation through our website. Doing so allows our members on a
waiting list to attend, as well as helps us provide the sponsor with an accurate ex-
pected turnout. Thank you!
SCCM Meetings Attendance Rate - Year of 2014
P A G E 5
Society of Critical Care Medicine - 44th Annual Congress
January 17th - 21st, 2015 - Phoenix Convention Center
Events at the Meeting:
Texas Chapter Business Meeting
Sunday, January 18th, 2015, 9:30AM - 10:30AM
Phoenix Convention Center - Room 128
Professor Walk Rounds - Alan I. Fields Award Winner
“Effect of Delirium Motoric Subtypes on ICD-9 Documentation of Delirium in the
Intensive Care Unit“, abstract #141
Sunday, January 18th, 2015, 12:45PM-1:45PM
Phoenix Convention Center - Poster Hall, Section: Administration 1
Oral Presentations - Alan I. Fields Award Winner
“RCT of Chlorhexidine vs. Soap and Water Bathing for Prevention of Hospital-
Acquired Infections in SICU”, abstract #4
Sunday, January 18th, 2015, 3:45PM-5:45PM
Phoenix Convention Center - Room 101, Section: Acute Care Surgery
Texas SCCM Member Reception
Sunday January 18th, 2015, 7-9PM
Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel (Headquarters Hotel)
340 N. 3rd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, Room Encanto B
Light refreshments will be served & a drink ticket will be provided
The Critical Care Corner Newsletter is the official quarterly newsletter of the Society of
Critical Care Medicine—Texas Chapter. It is published online at
www.sccmtexaschapter.org.
Editors: Brian Burleson, PharmD, BCPS; Matthew Wanat, PharmD, BCPS; Lan Bui,
Pharmacist Intern
Have an idea for the newsletter? Are you doing something unique in your ICU or want
to share the results of your research? Email [email protected] to
have your work included in the next newsletter...we want to hear from you!
Communications Committee Update Brian Burleson PharmD, BCPS & Matthew Wanat, PharmD, BCPS
The communications committee is responsible for the dissemination of informa-
tion between our chapter and its members, and this is primarily done electroni-
cally via our chapter website, email communication and social media with our
Facebook account. The committee now has 8 members including our 2 co-
chairs, our social media coordinator and newsletter coordinator, and now 4 new
volunteers to help with the work load and communications to our members.
Thank you volunteers! As the new year begins the communications committee
will be hard at work with announcements for our upcoming regional meetings –
stay tuned!
P A G E 6