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

texaschapter.sccm@gmail.com

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-

grams@sccmtexaschapter.org 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 membership@sccmtexaschapter.org 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 research@sccmtexaschapter.org.

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

research@sccmtexaschapter.org. 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 newsletter@sccmtexaschapter.org 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