F E AT U R E D
SERVICES
N E W FAC U LTY
Martin Setliff, MD, has joined the
PM&R faculty as assistant professor and
UAB Hospital trauma team liaison. A
graduate of Louisiana State University
(LSU) Health Science Center, Shreveport,
he completed an internship at LSU and
a physical medicine and rehabilitation
residency at UAB. His focus is on
inpatient rehabilitation with interest
in traumatic brain injury, spinal cord
injury, and burn rehabilitation as well as
the coordination of patient and family
education concerning rehabilitation
issues and the prevention of secondary
complications early in the acute phase
of care.
Amy Knight, PhD, a clinical
neuropsychologist, has joined the UAB
PM&R faculty as assistant professor.
She earned her PhD in clinical
psychology from the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee and completed an
internship in behavioral medicine and
psychiatry at West Virginia University
School of Medicine, Morgantown. She
completed a postdoctoral fellowship
in clinical neuropsychology at UAB
in the Department of Neurology.
Her clinical specialization includes
neuropsychological assessment and
therapy for medically complex patients,
including both older and younger
adults with a wide range of disorders
including neurodegenerative disease,
movement disorders, epilepsy, multiple
sclerosis, trauma, brain injury, and stroke.
Knight’s research explores the neural
and cognitive components critical to
independent financial functioning in
aging adults and the causes of financial
decline and loss of independence in the
presence of injury or disease.
UAB MEDICINE NEWS
Moving Beyond Stabilization:
Trauma Team Adds Physiatrist
A physiatrist from the Department of Physical Medicine
and Rehabilitation has joined UAB Hospital’s busy Trauma
Service in an effort to improve patient flow and the transition
to rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injuries, traumatic
head injuries, and polytrauma. The inpatient rehab specialist
will help monitor 10 to 15 patients daily to help prevent
secondary complications, coordinate therapy teams, and
provide enhanced patient and family education.
“This partnership of PM&R, the hospital administration, and
the trauma service is an extension of our patient-and-familycentered principles. We are focusing on how we can better guide
the injured and their families through the initial emotional haze
and uncertainty that comes with catastrophic injury,” says PM&R
Chair Amie Jackson, MD.
Martin Setliff, MD, who joined the PM&R faculty this year
to become UAB’s first rehabilitation-trauma specialist, says,
“Providing our specialty’s perspective on a daily basis will provide
the trauma team the opportunity to move beyond stabilization. We
will champion consideration of early interventions in the acute
stage, such as initiating range of motion; opportunities for bracing,
such as for foot drop; and medications and medical equipment
that can lead to early mobilization. As the only member of the
hospital team to be a constant presence from the intensive care
units to rehabilitation and discharge, we also anticipate seeing
more consistent support from families for our philosophy of
rehabilitation.”
A specialized set of eyes on the patient daily, efficiencies in
staff time, optimization of mobility and function, and lowering
the number of complications such as bowel and bladder problems
and decubitus ulcers will prevent delays in the patient’s transfer to
Spain Rehabilitation Center or another facility, he says.
UAB Trauma Team members observe physical therapy at UAB Hospital’s
Trauma Burn Intensive Care floor. From left are surgeons Chris Richardson and
Sherry Melton, physiatrist Martin Setliff, and surgeon Loring Rue.
The 49-bed Spain Center, a member of the federal SCI model
care system, is part of 1157-bed UAB Hospital. The hospital,
the only one in Alabama accredited by the American College of
Surgeons as a Level 1 Trauma Center, sees a large population of
patients with spinal cord or head injuries or multiple trauma.
Trauma surgeon Sherry Melton, MD, firmly supports the new
program. She says: “Trauma recognizes the importance of building
a relationship with the patient and the family. The rehabilitation
perspective will be very helpful in helping them know what to
expect and enlisting them in supporting the goals of the treatment
plan.”
Previously, designated faculty attending physiatrists provided
consultation services upon request, usually for rehabilitation
evaluation when patients neared discharge, but the team was
responsible for the entire hospital and usually would be unfamiliar
with the patient. The Trauma Service was one of the primary
requestors for rehab consultation. The new program carves out
A Clinic for Women With Disabilities
Spain Rehabilitation Center’s monthly Reproductive Health
Clinic for women with neurological disabilities is one of few
such services in the nation and the only one in Alabama. The
clinic provides rehabilitation, medical, and gynecological
care for women for whom routine doctor visits often present
special problems. For patients in wheelchairs, a special pelvic
examination chair lowers for easy transfers, and a wheelchairaccessible scale is available. More than 40 babies have been
delivered to clinic patients over the years. Medical Director
Amie Jackson, MD, heads a staff trained in performing pelvic
(including Pap smears) and breast exams and in addressing
sexuality, marriage, birth control, and pregnancy issues in
women with disabilities. She says, “It’s essential that women
with disabilities receive adequate information, education, and
support to make informed choices about their reproductive and
general health care.”
Fast Forwarding Functional Neuro-Recovery
UAB has initiated a Functional Neuro-Recovery (FNR)
Program to accelerate the flow of basic science discoveries to
clinical practice and provide practical training for researchers,
particularly in brain and spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis.
“Formalizing this program substantially enhances UAB’s
translational research presence in physiatry and rehabilitation
medicine,” says program director Candace Floyd, PhD. Funding
is available for a formal speakers program and for medical
students or postdoctoral trainees to conduct translational
research. Three pilot grants were awarded last year from 12
intramural applications, and one medical student’s project was
presented as a poster at the 2012 National Neurotrauma Society’s
annual meeting. The UAB program melds neuroscience research
She believes this will be the first swine model SCI
Early in 2013, the swine facility will be ready to test
the ability of promising pharmacotherapeutics to promote
The program also will have a strong education
component, including a dedicated Web site for the public
new treatments from around the world. The porcine
damage. “The swine facility will significantly promote
that will include the latest information on SCI research at
SCI model was pioneered by Brian Kwon, MD, of the
increased translational research and reduce the time to
UAB and worldwide; an annual meeting for clinicians,
University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine, who
move treatments from bench to bedside,” says Floyd.
researchers, and the public that will convey state-of-the-art
is a consultant for the UAB lab. The Yucatan pigs are bred
“An international competition will find the most
developments in the field; and scholarship programs for
exclusively for research. UAB will utilize a dedicated
promising compounds from rodent models, and we will
medical students and others desiring to enter SCI research.
veterinary and nursing staff for animal care and make
test at least one in swine each year.”
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The swine lab is only part of the funded program.
A small-animal SCI core will be developed for UAB
Rehabilitation Medicine Research Funding
investigators, who can compete for pilot project funding.
regeneration of spinal cord tissue and attenuate SCI
recovery in this clinically relevant model of SCI.
UAB to Test Concussion Drug for NFL
NFL Charities has funded PM&R research in hope of
ameliorating the risk of cognitive deficit following concussion.
The grant will allow testing of a novel pharmacotherapeutic
hypothesized to be protective of the brain following concussion.
“The underlying mechanisms of cognitive deficit following
concussion are still unclear, but it appears oxidative stress and
activation of the proinflammatory signal nuclear factor kappa
B (NF-κB) are two key pathological events,” says PI Candace
Floyd, PhD. “We have developed and described a catalytic
oxidoreductant compound (MnTE-2-PyP) which both dissipates
reactive oxygen species and inhibits activation of NF-κB.” The
agent potentially could be given acutely after a concussion to
protect the brain and may reduce the heightened risk to the
brain associated with a second or third concussion.
26.4% of all rehab consults.
lab in North America that can be used to test promising
use of MRI and other markers to evaluate lesion size and
Mobile App Streamlines Worker’s Comp Service
The UAB Worker’s Compensation Mobile App allows PM&R’s
Workplace Occupational Health Clinic clients to connect
quickly and efficiently with the UAB emergency department,
which provides the clinic’s after-hours work injury treatment,
drug screening, and breath-alcohol testing. The app allows
business and industry clients to use a smartphone or desktop
computer to send a template e-mail to the ED requesting
services. It also provides the clinic with information to allow
return or follow-up calls to update the client on patient care
status and collect additional information.
those patients with SCI, TBI, and polytrauma, which account for
MEASURES OF SUCCESS
translational tool,” she says.
with the clinical resources of UAB’s Spinal Cord Injury and
Traumatic Brain Injury Model systems and the National Spinal
Cord Injury Statistical Center housed at UAB.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
visit www.uab.edu/medicine/physicalmedicine/
Approved research
funding for PM&R more
than doubled over the
last 2 years, and pending
research funding has risen
significantly.
Orthotics and Prosthetics Lab
The lab evaluates, fabricates, and customfits artificial limbs and orthopedic braces.
The full-service orthotics, prosthetics, and
pedorthics facility offers on-call services for
all UAB-affiliated hospital inpatients.
Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic
The clinic provides rehabilitative services
including medical, neuropsychological, and
orthotic evaluations, PT, OT, speech therapy,
social services, and counseling.
The Workplace Occupational Health Clinic
The clinic cares for nonemergent, on-the-job
injuries and provides work-related injury
treatment, physicals, hazmat physical exams,
audiograms, nerve conduction testing, breath
alcohol testing, and drug screen collection.
Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Program
The program helps improve functional
capacity, reduce symptoms, and improve
well-being for people with impairments due
to disease, disorders, or trauma to muscles
or bones.
Neuro and Clinical Psychological Program
Services assist both inpatients and
outpatients with adjustments to recovery and
ongoing disability associated with traumatic
events.
Spinal Cord Injury Program
An interdisciplinary approach in rehabilitation
is tailored to meet each patient‘s needs.
PM&R operates the National Spinal Cord
Injury Statistical Center, which supports
and directs the collection, management, and
analysis of the world‘s largest SCI database.
Pain Treatment Program
Techniques may include non-invasive
physical, manual, and electrical therapy as
well as minimally invasive procedures such as
ultrasound- or fluoroscopic-guided injections
and specialized electromyography.
Stroke Rehabilitation Program
Patients receive PT, OT, and speech therapy
in daily individual and group sessions. Similar
specialized programs for cardiac, oncology,
Guillain-Barré, and orthopedic rehab
bring together various services to provide
comprehensive care. Behavioral and neurorehabilitative constraint-induced (CI) therapy
also are offered.
Spasticity Clinic
This outpatient clinic cares for patients with
spasticity or increased muscle tone and/or
rigid, hyperactive reflexes, dystonia, spasms
due to TBI and SCI, stroke, cerebral palsy,
multiple sclerosis, and other diseases.
MOR E INF OR M AT ION: uabmedicine.org /physician
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