Tampa, FL (Feb. 2, 2012) — USF Health’s Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation doesn’t officially open until Monday. But on Thursday, USF Health hosted its first public event at CAMLS: a visit from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in Tampa to tout the benefits of the federal Affordable Care Act.  She was welcomed by USF President Judy Genshaft and City of Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. “This is an amazing university, and this facility will be on the map across the country and across the world,” […]

Medical students who practiced on a patient simulator before assisting in real-life vaginal deliveries scored significantly higher on their final examinations than did students receiving a lecture only at the start of an obstetric clerkship. Results of the University of South Florida randomized, controlled trial appear in the September 2011 issue of the high-impact journal Obstetrics & Gynecology. From left, fourth-year medical students Krystle Hunt, Nathaniel Walsh, and Anna Wouters, and Dr. Shelley Holmstrom. The USF researchers also found that students receiving simulation training were initially more confident of their […]

USF-Moffitt study reports certain settings and racial/ethnic parity strengthen beneficial effect Tampa, FL (June 23, 2011) – Education, referrals, support and other interventions by community health workers improve rates of screening mammography in the United States – especially in medical and urban settings and among women whose race and ethnicity is similar to that of the  community health workers serving them. Researchers at the University of South Florida, Moffitt Cancer Center, and Georgia Southern University reported these findings earlier this month in an online first issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers […]

City of Tampa proclamation kicks off the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology’s Resident Research Day L to R: USF President Judy Genshaft, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Dr. Stephen Klasko, CEO of USF Health and Dean, College of Medicine Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn kicked off the USF Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology’s 2011 Resident Research Day by recognizing USF Health for providing superior women’s care across the region and proclaiming June 17, 2011, as “Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery Day” in the City of Tampa. Buckhorn read the proclamation […]

Dr. Robert Yelverton, affiliate associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at USF Health, was named June Volunteer of the Month by the Florida Chapter of the March of Dimes. Dr. Yelverton, chief medical officer for Women’s Care Florida, was recognized for his work to improve birth outcomes for mothers and babies by preventing elective deliveries before 39 complete weeks of pregnancy (a normal pregnancy lasts 40 weeks). He has volunteered many hours helping to create the Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative, serving in a leadership role as founding member of the March […]

TAMPA, FL (May 13, 2011) — The Hearing the Ovarian Cancer Whisper (H.O.W) organization announced today that they have awarded a $100,000 fellowship grant to a team of researchers at USF Health and Moffitt Cancer Center. Doctors Mitchel Hoffman, Nadim Bou Zgheib and Johnathan Lancaster will study a genetic pathway that causes ovarian cancer cells to stop responding to chemotherapy. “Ovarian cancer is the most deadly gynecologic cancer,” said Dr. Hoffman, USF professor, director of Gynecologic Oncology, and associate vice president for Cancer Services. “Patients lose their battle with the […]

USF Health physicians performed the first single-site minimally invasive procedure combining general surgery and fertility-promoting surgery April 14 at Tampa General Hospital  The two-hour combined surgeries involved laparoendoscopic removal of the gallbladder, two ovarian cysts and pelvic scar tissue. All this was done with one incision through the belly button, compared to a possible 10 surgical sites if done through traditional methods. Sharona Ross, MD, director of Surgical Endoscopy at USF and TGH, and Shayne Plosker, MD, division director of IVF and Reproductive Endocrinology at USF Health, collaborated on the […]

For some women, it’s a matter of convenience. For others, the reasons are more pressing – a spouse about to be deployed, an obstetrician’s scheduled vacation, or the availability of a relative to provide childcare. But whatever the reason, early elective deliveries – deliveries scheduled before a baby reaches a full 39 weeks gestational age without a medical reason – are on the rise. It’s a trend researchers say can lead to serious consequences for babies including severe respiratory distress, learning disabilities, problems breastfeeding, and time spent in the neonatal […]

When the Tampa Bay area’s first baby of 2011 made her debut at 12:01 a.m. and 32 seconds Saturday, Jan 1, it was University of South Florida physicians who were front and center for her delivery at Tampa General Hospital. Dr. Susan Smith, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at USF Health, was the attending physician at the birth of the 5 pound, 8-ounce baby girl, Samantha Marilyn Rodriguez. The baby was delivered by Dr. Angela Gonzalez, a USF Ob-Gyn resident. Melissa Rodriguez of Tampa holds her new daughter  Samantha Marilyn Rodriguez, […]

           USF Health has selected Dr. Jerry Yankowitz, a well-known expert in maternal-fetal medicine, as the new chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology for the USF College of Medicine.                 Dr. Jerry Yankowitz, professor and director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, will join USF by March. He also will hold the Ingram Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology.          “We look forward to his enthusiastic leadership to help us reach new heights in research and clinical care, as well […]