Category Archives: Change

The Health Wagon: Mobile Rural Healthcare Since 1980



About Our Guest

As a Family Nurse Practitioner and the President and CEO of St. Mary’s Health Wagon, Dr. Teresa Tyson leads a medical nonprofit in Central Appalachia. St. Mary’s Health Wagon exists as the region’s only safety net health care clinic for far southwest Virginia. Tyson leads her clinic in promoting the mission of providing quality, affordable, accessible care to all with an emphasis on serving the medically underserved. St. Mary’s Health Wagon is a free nurse managed health clinic consisting of three stationary and two mobile clinics, serving Lee, Scott, Wise, Dickenson, Buchanan and Russell Counties. St. Mary’s Health Wagon is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, mobile clinic in the United States, serving patients since 1980. In an effort to expand access to primary and specialty health care services, Tyson is currently overseeing the construction of a stationary dental clinic in Wise County. Tyson’s leadership in the healthcare sector has garnered notable recognition including interviews from media that include: 60 Minutes, Nightline, CBS Nightly News, Inside Edition, Washington Post, New York Times along with other extensive media attention, including international press, regarding her efforts to provide access to health care to the poor and marginalized in the Appalachian region. Tyson has presented at the United Nations and the World Health Organization numerous times. Tyson is at the forefront of healthcare innovation. Tyson introduced the first monoclonal antibody infusions and post-COVID clinics to Central Appalachia. This past year, Dr. Tyson initiated a medication-assisted treatment program, addressing the opioid epidemic with an evidence-based integrated treatment model using injectable diversion free medications. Tyson is most proud of the Health Wagon’s renamed annual health outreach, Move Mountains Medical Mission (M7). Following nineteen years of collaboration, Tyson continues to host this event, which she co-founded with Stan Brock of Remote Area Medical (RAM) and Sr. Bernadette Kenny in 1999. Dr. Tyson is a preceptor to medical, nursing and business students from forty-three colleges and universities. In 2015, Tyson was an instrumental partner in the first ever FAA approved drone delivery of medications in the United States, in partnership with Flirtey, NASA Langley and others. The historic drone has been inducted into the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. Tyson is a strong business development professional and is skilled in nonprofit organization management, budgeting, fiscal management, fundraising, capital projects management, communications strategy, strategic planning, project management, grants management, event planning, social media, public speaking, marketing, and healthcare policy. Tyson serves on many healthcare boards, advisory councils, and coalitions. Tyson also serves as a guest speaker on topics such as healthcare access, healthcare disparities, vulnerable populations, mobile health, Department of Defense’s Innovative Readiness Training health expeditions, nurse managed clinics and a variety of other issues. Tyson is the co-founder of Forever Young Aesthetics and Weight Loss Management in Norton, Virginia. Tyson’s medical clinic brought platelet rich plasma therapy – a natural treatment for injured joints – to the area. Tyson is also co-founder of Hettie’s Haven – a specialized residential home designed to assist individuals with intellectual disabilities in Coeburn, Virginia. Tyson is married to Tim Tyson. They are blessed with a family of five wonderful children: two boys and three girls.


A Lifetime of POCUS Learning



Arun Nagdev, M.D., is Exo’s Senior Director of Clinical Education. Separate from his capacity with Exo, he also serves as the Director of Emergency Ultrasound at Highland General Hospital as well as a Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). In his previous academic position, Dr. Nagdev started the point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) program and fellowship at Brown University. Dr. Nagdev is a highly respected international POCUS researcher and educator. He has been a thought leader throughout his career, publishing more than 90 peer-reviewed papers on various aspects of POCUS including pain management, cardiac arrest and volume resuscitation. His work led to recognition and national awards at both the American College of Emergency Medicine (ACEP) and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM). His desire to increase clinical POCUS education for residents and medical students has garnered him numerous teaching awards at Brown University, Highland Hospital and UCSF. Over the course of his career, he has been an invited lecturer for POCUS education at numerous national emergency medicine conferences (ACEP, SAEM, AAEM, etc). He currently serves as president of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) POCUS section and is the incoming president for ACEP Ultrasound section.


Keep exploring point-of-care ultrasound at POCUS.org.


Paving the Way for POCUS



Becca Davis, MD, is an Internal Medicine physician at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and an assistant professor at Sidney Kimmel Medical College. She completed her medical school training and internal medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania where she went on to be chief resident before making the move to Jefferson. She is currently an assistant program director for the Internal Medicine/Primary Care Residency and associate program director for the Internal Medicine POCUS Fellowship, which just started this year at Jefferson. While she was lucky enough to get some exposure to ultrasound in residency, she really developed her POCUS skill set two years ago when she became an attending. She works closely with the EM and critical care teams to help spread her passion for POCUS across the department and participates in the institutional Point of Care Ultrasound Committee. Primarily, Becca is working to create a formalized POCUS curriculum and electives for the residency and develop a clinical pathway for hospitalists to gain POCUS skills in addition to her fellowship and clinical responsibilities.


Improving Global Health Through POCUS25



Dr. Victor Rao is a radiologist and POCUS pioneer who first introduced POCUS to future medical professionals at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine (USCSOM). Here, he developed the POCUS curriculum, and the POCUS learning and eLearning content geared towards medical and physician assistant students. Dr. Rao went on to present POCUS to the Arusha Lutheran Medical Center in Tanzania and the University of Santo Thomas in Manila, Philippines. His passions are ultrasound and point-of-care ultrasound.


How Technology is Changing POCUS



Thomas Baribeault is the founder of the Society for Opioid-Free Anesthesia (SOFA) and is currently serving as President. SOFA is a non-profit organization dedicated to education and research on opioid-free anesthesia and post-operative pain management. Thomas currently practices in Atlanta, Georgia and is responsible for implementing opioid free anesthesia and post-operative pain protocols. He received a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the Ohio State University, a Master of Science in nursing and anesthesia residency from Case Western Reserve University and a doctorate in nursing practice and pain management fellowship from the University of South Florida.

 

Additional Resources

  1. Don’t miss our blog on how the evolution of POCUS technology continues to advance perioperative care. (need link to blog)
  2. Read the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine’s (ASRA) statement on why POCUS technology continues to be an innovative tool.
  3. Learn about the Top 10 Perioperative Applications of Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Anesthesiologists.
  4. Here are recommendations for Acquiring and maintaining point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) competence for anesthesiologists.
  5. Take a reflective look back at how far we’ve come in POCUS for Perioperative Point-of-Care Ultrasonography.

The Benefits of POCUS in a Family Practice Setting



 

Dr. Nicole Yedlinsky is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, KS. She received her medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, LA. She completed Family Medicine
Residency at Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, NC, and Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship at VCU-Fairfax Family Practice, Fairfax, VA.

She practices family medicine, obstetrics, and sports medicine, and utilizes POCUS daily. She is registered in musculoskeletal ultrasonography (RMSK). Dr. Yedlinsky has established POCUS training for the family medicine residents, teaches MSK ultrasound to the sports medicine fellows, and is
developing curriculum for medical student ultrasound training.


Climate Change Impacts on Patient Healthcare



“The face to me, of the climate crisis, is the little kid struggling to breath, and that, is scary as hell.”

 

Dr. Covert-Bowlds is a family doctor at Kaiser Permanente Northgate Medical Center in Seattle. He has been doing ultrasound for soft tissue diagnosis and treatment, joint and bursa aspirations, and injections. Climate activists with Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility Climate and Health Task Force. He is also a daily bicycle commuter.


POCUS and the Athletic Trainer



“The biggest trend is the innovation that is happening on the clinical side of Athletic Training, right now. It’s integrating a lot of the imaging technology that allows us to do a better job.”- Skylar Richards, Director of Sports Science & Head Athletic Trainer at FC Dallas.

Listen as Skylar Richards discusses his use of point-of-care ultrasound in role as an Athletic Trainer.

Starting in the MLS in 2007, Skylar’s primary focus is not the classic sports science approach but injury prevention through detection and recovery strategies. These strategies focus on increased training availability, not load management. In 2015 he organized various club partnership to open the first US professional soccer recovery lab integrating daily recovery, prevention, integrated soft tissue mobilization, nutrition, and anti-inflammatory modalities. An ATC, FMS, and massage therapist over seeing 4 athletic trainers, sports nutritionist, massage therapists, chiropractors, and sports scientists for all FCD teams, u12-18 Team and the pro team. Career highlights: 2006 Missouri Valley conference championship 2006 Missouri Valley tournament championship 2006 Frontier League Championship 2008 Major League Soccer (MLS) Supporters Shield Championship 2008 MLS Cup championship 2009 MLS Supporters Shield Championship 2016 US Open Cup Championship 2016 Supporters Shield Championship