Core Priorities in a New Era
Frank Cerra, Senior Vice President for Health Sciences
October 22, 2002
Welcome to the Fourth Annual State of the Academic Health
Center presentation--our opportunity to pause and reflect on the year past--and
to refocus on our forward momentum. This year provides an especially poignant
opportunity for reflection--last year, we met as a community on Sept. 12, just
a day after this country was changed forever.
For the past month or so, we've paused, as a nation, to
reflect on the changes caused by Sept. 11. In this institution and in the
country at large, we did what our disciplines and our training--as well as what
our history and tradition--have prepared us to do. We returned to our core
values and sought to enhance the meaningful. Here at the University, we focused
on our unique or significant roles within this new era. We've learned that what
we do here matters--and the way we do it matters, as well
There are the obvious changes that have been implemented
specifically because of the events of that day. We began intense work around
security for our people, security for our buildings and labs, security for the
people we serve, as well as security for our data and information. We're
redirecting resources to fund more locks and secured access to formerly open
facilities. We've learned the difficult lesson that the same chemical and
biological agents we use to develop treatments and cures for disease can also
be used to scare and hurt the public. We are taking precautions to lock those
substances down, preventing their misuse.
In this institution--whenever we focus on our areas of core
concern--the needs of our students quickly come to the forefront. We are, after
all, schools and colleges committed to preparing the next generation of health
professionals on behalf of Minnesota. And students come into our programs with
the anticipation that they will help them perform successfully on behalf of
their patients and with their colleagues when they leave here.
This year, we have accomplished much for students to meet
those expectations. Under the leadership of Dr. Barbara Brandt and her team
within the Office of Education, we've worked with numerous groups and
individuals throughout the AHC and University. These include academic deans,
student services directors, experiential education directors, and individual
faculty members within each school, to enhance the tools and resources we
provide our students.
Some of the work is very tangible--like the soon-to-open
Intercollegiate Education and Resource Center. In 1999 an AHC-wide task force
recommended this Center to serve as a resource on interdisciplinary education
and clinical skills. This Center will house 18 fully equipped, state-of-the-art
exam rooms designed to provide students with a facility in which to learn and
be assessed on their professional knowledge and skills.This facility is where
the concepts of treating patients become the reality of actually doing so. We
already have more than 2,200 students scheduled to work in this space through
the end of the academic year.
Another tangible facility for students reaches into
undergraduate and high school programs--it's the Health Careers Center that
introduces the potential and possibility of health professional careers to students
still exploring their future goals. This is a collaborative effort that began
this fall with our colleagues throughout the University--in CLA, CBS, and even
Admissions. As soon as Coffman Union reopens, and the bookstore leaves the 2nd
floor of Moos Tower, the new Center will really begin to take shape.
Some of our work for students moves beyond any one facility,
which is important since we have students in nearly 500 different affiliated
locations around the state. I'm speaking of the work to protect our students
from blood born pathogens--or other types of potentially dangerous biological
exposure. The response policy has been in effect for about one year and we are
working on an immunization registry with Boynton Health Service. That will allow
us to comply with the federal privacy regulations by moving personal
information out of individual schools. Overall, the policy provides clarity
around the steps to take when a needle stick or other exposure occurs.
Concerns about bioterrorism and the food chain, along with
shifts in funding priorities by federal agencies, have refocused interest into
these areas. These are not new areas of academic interest for this institution.
Before Sept. 11, we were gathering significant expertise in infectious diseases
and in the policy surrounding public health responses. Our Center for Animal
Health and Food Safety, as well as the Center for Infectious Disease Research
and Policy, were established in the summer of 2001 to add to the existing
strength present in the School of Public Health's epidemiology division as well
as the Medical and Veterinary Schools' infectious disease faculty. Since 9/11,
both centers have drawn significant national attention through their aggressive
efforts on behalf of the public's health. And now, as some Minnesotans
nervously prepare for hunting season, our Vet Med students have been called to
help the Department of Natural Resources as they gear up to test for Chronic
Wasting Disease in the state's deer population. That's an important recognition
of the role our Veterinary Medicine school plays on behalf of Minnesota's
health.
The final change I've observed this past year connected to
the events of Sept. 11 involves a change in culture. I need to clearly state
that culture changes very slowly in this--and other academic institutions. In
fact, much of the intrinsic value of this and other academies stems from our
ties to the past and to tradition. Yet, the attitudes and culture of this large
research University are beginning to shift. Once it seemed a normal course of
business to prop open lab doors, or disable keyed locks so that a student or
lab assistant could easily get in. That's no longer true. We do seem to be more
conscious of what each of us can do to make things more secure. Now we're
working to expand that consciousness to our computer data and information. The
issue of personal privacy has been of significant concern for the public for
several years.
In today's society--with the ease of sharing information
over wires and waves--Americans are very interested in controlling who knows
what about them. The Minnesota Department of Health recently experienced that
concern when they moved to collect health information about all insured
Minnesotans. It didn't work the way they'd hoped. At the national level, public
concerns have led to new federal laws that impose significant penalties on
individuals who violate the confidentiality of private information. Those new
regulations go into effect next April and are contained within the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act--or HIPAA, as it's called. We're
working to make certain all of you know about HIPAA , and the responsibilities
you take on with the knowledge of someone else's personal health information.
Ross Janssen is leading that charge for the AHC and the University.
Let me state this quite clearly--this University's Academic
Health Center is committed to maintaining the privacy of personal information
and the confidentiality of private information. And we're backing up that
commitment by developing privacy training for faculty and staff, as well as
curriculum for students.
That HIPAA law contains one of the key words driving much of
our energies over the past several years. That word is "Accountability." As we know
very well--accountability simply means doing what you say you're going to do.
In today's society, the responsibility contained within the idea of
accountability has great resonance and meaning--particularly for people who've
put their trust in you.
This University--this Academic Health Center is fortunate to
have a number of friends and partners who have put significant trust in our
ability to follow through on our promises. That trust is embodied in this very
building that was built through public bonding authority granted to us by the
Minnesota Legislature--and authorized by the signatures of Governors Carlson
and Ventura. I'd like to publicly thank the Legislature and both governors for
their trust in our follow through. With that trust comes a significant set of
expectations.
I believe we've met the first expectation hurdle--this
building was completed on time and on budget--and is housing who we said it
would house, and facilitating the type of research we promised during project
hearings. The remaining expectations require us to provide excellent education
to students from the College of Biological Sciences and from medicine well into
the future. In addition, I suspect the public would like a few major
discoveries to come out of the labs housed upstairs. Based on what I've seen so
far, I suspect we can meet that accountability measure as well.
And now I'd like to move to another set of expectations
we've been working to fulfill over the past several years within the AHC--the
strategic vision and plan that has charted the major framework of the course
we're on. Our vision--of preparing the new health professionals who can improve
the health of our communities and families, who can discover and deliver new
treatments and cures, and who will enhance the economic vitality of our health
industries--has definitely moved closer to realization over the past year.
A quick review of the work of our plan shows the momentum.
We're a little more than two years into our six year plan and we've made real progress.
The first area involved balancing the operating budget of the Medical School.
Why only the Medical School? Quite simple, it was most at risk two and a half
years ago. Now, however, thanks to the funds generated from the AHC Education
Endowment established in 2001 with tobacco settlement proceeds, the Medical
School is on stable ground. Having said that--I don't want to imply that all is
financially rosy for any of our programs. In fact, we have a significant amount
of work to do as we wrestle with the best way to fund health professional
education in the future.
A significant source of that income is generated from the
clinical practice of our faculty. One of the most developed practices, is the
University of Minnesota Physicians. UMPhysicians is moving quickly towards a
spring deadline to take over the management of their clinics, on its way to
ownership. Our dental clinics are reaching out to underserved communities
through targeted services--as well as through our new mobile dental van. And we
can't forget the clinical enterprise of the vet med school--there are 72
million animals to be served in this state--and we're determined to treat them
all.
Our second area of emphasis involves gaining broad
community--and legislative--support for increased funding for health
professional education and research. We've been pleased with the number of
friends of the Academic Health Center who have been willing to step to the
plate on our behalf and work with us to gain the support we need. Our friends
and you--our faculty, staff, and students--have been strong advocates and
ambassadors for the value of the work we do in this state--and I'd like to take
this opportunity to thank all of you once again for all you do and continue to
do. Thanks--and to be clear, we will be calling shortly as we definitely need
your support in the year ahead. This next year will require significant work on
everyone's part with the tough fiscal situation in the state's budget--and with
all the newly elected officials to educate and inform. We're just glad you,
too, believe that the work we do is important for the health of Minnesota.
Our third area of emphasis is the implementation of
interdisciplinary health professional education opportunities that truly build
on the strengths of each discipline on behalf of the health of our families and
our communities. To do that means we have to work closely with care communities
throughout the state. This year, through an effort lead by Jeny Stumpf Kertz,
we successfully competed for an AHEC grant, which stands for Area Health
Education Center. Those federal dollars will strengthen our ability to work
with providers in the Northeastern and Southwestern parts of the state to
recruit students from those areas, educate and train them in those communities,
and, hopefully, have them stay and practice in those communities.
In addition, we're working closely with several city
neighborhoods on sustainable models of community-based, experiential education.
The beauty of these models is that they simultaneously serve underserved
families while providing interdisciplinary work opportunities for students.
Great work, and, I believe for us, part of the definition of a land grant
institution.
Our fourth emphasis has been on implementing plans to meet the
health professional workforce needs. There are two standouts in this
area--nursing and pharmacy. Our School of Nursing has expanded its program to
Rochester, in collaboration with Mayo and MnSCU. In addition, a creative new
curriculum has been developed for post-baccalaureate students who will receive
a nursing certificate in 16 months. Together, these two programs have drawn 34
new students into the field of nursing so far. For pharmacy, the expansion is
taking place on the Duluth campus of the University where 50 new students are
scheduled to begin studying next fall. Those students represent a fifty percent
increase in the class size of pharmacy and should have a significant impact on
the profession in rural towns and communities.
These two expansions are direct examples of doing what we
said we'd do with the tobacco settlement funds in the AHC Education
Endowment--we said we'd work to meet the health needs of Minnesotans, and we
are. We're doing so through the extraordinary leadership of our faculty and the
strong direction of the deans.
Our fifth area of emphasis involves improving access to AHC
research, information, and new technology. Now here's an area that shows great
momentum. Under the leadership of Mark Paller, our seed grant programs are
showing a 685 percent return on investment. That's right--a 685 percent return.
For every dollar put into seed grants over the past five years, federal grants
worth $7.85 have come back to the institution. At the same time, our
interscholastic faculty research development grants are showing a 228 percent
return. These grants have gone to teams of faculty who needed just a bit of
investment to hone in on an idea to get it ready for prime time. That's a
success story.
And success builds on success--this year, with the advice
and counsel of the AHC Faculty Consultative Committee, we'll be inducting the
first members into the AHC Academy of Research Excellence. This new Academy
will recognize those faculty who have made significant contributions and outstanding
achievements in their field. We're definitely ready for this advance within
this institution--and it's a great example of how effective faculty governance
can work.
As you are aware, the University's campaign is being very
successful. One reason for this, is that the faculty and staff of the
University have contributed $11 million to this campaign to date. That is truly
amazing; I thank each and every one of you.
Another faculty kudo involves the translation of all this
research success. In 2000-2001, there were 100 patents awarded, 152 licenses
granted, and 15 new start-up companies University-wide. Upwards of 60 percent
of these originated in the Academic Health Center. That's true technology
transfer--and it's only one measure of the kinds of information and research
that's regularly being shared with the state and the nation.
Speaking of sharing information with the nation--several of
you have mentioned that we seem to be showing up more often in national
publications of note, such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, PBS,
and NPR. This is not an accident--it's a planned expansion of our effective
regional strategy of telling the stories of our work to the people who need to
know. We've targeted the talents of Sarah Youngerman within the Office of
Communications on this national audience. She's working closely with the
University's Federal Relations team of John Engelen and Marty McDonough to make
certain the expertise of our schools and colleges is well known nationally, in
Congress, and in the agencies.
Finally, our strategic plan focuses on rebuilding the AHC's
research capacity. To do so requires two primary components--space and people.
We've begun hiring the faculty clinician scientists--there are 13 on the docket
for this year alone. And, you should know that we're being successful with our
efforts as we're one of the few institutions with plans for expansion this
year. We're moving forward with the design for the Translational Research
Facility--the University has committed to moving this building forward. And
we'll work to ensure that the new members of the Legislature and our new
governor become conversant with the meaning of translational research--and of
its importance.
However, we can check one thing totally off the list of our
last goal--the completion of this building. We had the opportunity to dedicate
this building just two weeks ago--and the sense of accomplishment was
incredible. For four years, we met to guide the design and building of this
structure. I'd like to thank the patience of our steering committee, and
particularly of Dave Lee and Lorie Wederstrom who bore the brunt of the stress
of the process. Well done all.
And now, I'd like to end where I started. A year ago, I
believed that the events of Sept. 11 heralded a new era for our institution. In
some ways, as I've said, that has been true. But in the core values of what we
do here and of who we are, this new era simply represents a stronger focus on
the importance of our work. What we do here matters. The students we prepare
truly matter. Our world-class interdisciplinary centers--our Center for
Bioethics, our Center for Spirituality and Healing, our Stem Cell Institute,
our Cancer Center--each and all of them matter. In this new era, where the
people of our country are searching for meaning--and are searching to make a
difference--I sincerely hope you share my belief that the work of our schools
and colleges is meaningful and truly does make a difference.
For the coming year--these are the five top priorities:
Number one--continue to improve classrooms, and implement
Technology Enhanced Learning space for students, and offer support for
Web-based instruction.
Number two--improve the safety and security of our
environment, including compliance with the new HIPAA regulations.
Number three--promote the University's legislative request
containing the Translational Research Facility and funds to offset the market
losses in the tobacco endowments.
Number four--develop a vision for clinical research and the
future of graduate level health professional education.
And
Number five--implement several sites of interdisciplinary
education in models of community partnerships.
Thank you.
