Reno internist T. Brian Callister is the newly named northern Nevada district president of the American College of Physicians.

Reno internist T. Brian Callister, MD, FACP, FHM, has been named president of the American College of Physicians (ACP) northern Nevada district.  Dr. Callister is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.  He served as the chair of the ACP Council of Hospitalists and was the 2011 ACP Nevada Chapter recipient of the Volunteerism and Community Service Award.

Dr. Callister has served for more than a decade as national medical director for LifeCare Hospital, overseeing more than 5,000 physicians practicing at 27 hospitals in 10 states.  He is a clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Nevada and professor of medicine at Touro University.   He is also the current president of the Nevada State Medical Association, representing more than 2,000 physician and medical student members of Nevada’s oldest and largest physician advocacy organization.  In addition, he serves on Medicare and Medicaid’s Technical Expert Panels on quality for both long term acute care and inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. 

Dr. Callister frequently speaks at medical conferences and facilities around the nation on health-related education topics including improving relationships in healthcare; quality outcomes; body, mind and soul; and end of life issues.

The American College of Physicians is the national organization of internists – physicians who specialize in the prevention, detection and treatment of illnesses in adults.  ACP is the largest medical specialty organization and second-largest physician group in the US.

T. Brian Callister, MD, FHM, became president of the Nevada State Medical Association (NSMA), and Beverly Daly-Dix became president of the NSMA Alliance at the group's 107th annual conference.

Dr. Callister’s involvement in physician leadership groups has spanned more than three decades. He is Nevada chair of the American Medical Association’s Organized Medical Staff section and past president of the Washoe County Medical Society and the Governor’s Council for the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Callister received the Volunteerism and Community Service Award at the 2011 American College of Physicians Nevada Chapter scientific meeting in Las Vegas. The recognition is given to a physician who has shown outstanding volunteerism and community service and has raised the level of awareness and promoted dialogue and action in volunteerism within his or her region.

Dr. Callister has served for more than a decade as National Medical Director for LifeCare Hospitals and has directed its medical staff leadership for fifteen years. He is a past Chief of Staff and a current board member of Catholic Healthcare West’s Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Reno. He is a frequent national educational lecturer on topics including improving relationships in healthcare; quality outcomes; body, mind and soul; and end of life issues.

As the chair of the clinical committee of the Acute Long Term Hospital Association, Dr. Callister led the initiative to develop and release the first-ever clinical outcomes benchmarking study in the long-term acute care field.

Sierra Health Mart Pharmacy continues a decades-long history of service at three Reno-Tahoe locations under the ownership of David Vasenden, RPh, and Brant Skanson, RPh, along with Terry Vasenden and Julie Skanson

Sierra Health Mart is inviting the community to celebrate the new name and meet its staff at events at all three pharmacies. A new name celebration and ribbon-cutting reception will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday, May 4 at Sierra Health Mart Pharmacy-South Reno, 8040 South Virginia St. New name celebration and customer and medical partner appreciation open houses will be offered from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday, May 6 at Sierra Health Mart Pharmacy-Downtown Reno, 501 Ralston St. and Sierra Health Mart Pharmacy-Incline Village, 898 Tanager St.

“We’re excited to unite our three pharmacies under the Sierra Health Mart Pharmacy banner,” said Terry Vasenden, who shares ownership of the group with her husband, pharmacist David Vasenden, along with pharmacist Brant Skanson and his wife, Julie Skanson. “We’re still locally owned, and Brant and David still are available in our pharmacies, dedicated to providing the best possible patient care,” she added.

Sierra Health Mart has been growing and recently has increased its staff, now totaling more than 40 employees. The three pharmacies for several years have been under common ownership and affiliated as locally-owned franchisees of Health Mart Pharmacy, a leading national network of independently-owned pharmacies. The oldest pharmacy in the group, Don’s Pharmacy, has a 40-year tradition in downtown Reno. Terry Vasenden said the new name achieves a more unified identity and also helps patients locate the three pharmacies when directed to a Health Mart Pharmacy by insurance providers.

In addition to being the area’s only locally-owned pharmacy group, Sierra Health Mart Pharmacy is distinguished in being a compounding pharmacy. “Our pharmacists and staff have advanced training in compounding, allowing us to offer customized medications,” said Brant Skanson, RPh. “We can create specialty preparations and custom medications to solve medication challenges by adding flavoring, removing dyes or lactose, changing dosage forms and making medication easier to administer – even for pets,” he added.

“It’s rewarding to be part of a business that can work together in getting Reno and Tahoe healthier – one patient at a time,” said David Vasenden, RPh. “We enjoy giving back to our community through the organizations and charities we’re involved with, as well as providing our free women’s wellness seminars – a Party with a Purpose,” he added. Sierra Health Mart also is unique in offering a nurse educator who provides consultations for women experiencing the effects of perimenopause and menopause.

For more information about Sierra Health Mart Pharmacy, compounded medications or a Party with a Purpose, please call 853-3500 or visit www.SierraHealthMart.com.

How did PACT select BHGI for this partnership?
Dr. Samiei: For us, it’s important when selecting a partner that they have a plan that fits our goals. BHGI’s focus on low-resource countries was important. They also met our primary goal of cancer control. There was a synergy between our two organizations: BHGI’s focus on breast cancer in developing countries, their reputation and their development of guidelines that are being adopted. Together, we have a better chance of succeeding. I’ve been meeting with Ben Anderson for the past three or four years; this close contact has helped us better understand each other.

At PACT, we need to bring in the right partners to implement complete cancer programs. Since we’re creating base programs in countries, we’re always looking for partners. BHGI is an important example of a partner that can deliver – providing concrete guidelines for planning and then delivering breast cancer control. Guidelines on their own are fine, but at the end of the day, someone must implement them.

As a program manager, I see we have all the theory, but when it comes to designing a program, many areas need much more detail. For example, in pathology, how many lab services are needed? You need to work in real conditions of low-resource countries to decide what works and what needs to wait until later stages.

Where do you see PACT being of greatest benefit in the partnership?
Dr. Samiei: As part of IAEA, are door openers at the highest levels, so we’re able to engage at the top levels of government. BHGI is exposed to the realities of countries at the institutional levels, and now also at the highest ministerial levels. We’re global, and BHGI will have exposure to more countries to get feedback from across the globe. In particular, we have eight pilot projects, PACT model demonstration sites: Albania, Ghana, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Vietnam and Yemen. The idea is for everyone who comes in to demonstrate what can be feasible and successful, what guidelines will work in our model sites. We’re expanding to another four countries, so the total will be 12 countries.

BHGI will participate as a partner in all of these to the extent that their resources will allow. Breast cancer is the highest priority in some of these sites, including Mongolia, Vietnam and also Nicaragua. BHGI has the chance to bring its guidelines and expertise to all of these countries.

Does PACT provide equipment to these areas?
Dr. Samiei: In these model countries, we include all of the areas. We do an assessment and recommend what is needed in terms of equipment, finances, outreach. Based on these recommendations, the countries develop an action plan. With those having breast cancer as a priority, imaging, pathology, treatment all have to be analyzed. BHGI would be a partner to advise ministries what is needed. Is mammography needed? Should we do mobile mammography? The recommendations are based on research and scientific evidence, not someone’s opinion. That’s a very valuable input to the programs we’re running. It must be scientifically advisable and credible. I need something with support, based on results. That’s what BHGI provides.

What are the next steps for the BHGI-PACT partnership?
Dr. Samiei: Immediate steps are to start joint activities in Ghana. We’d like to support the training course BHGI is doing there. This is a great opportunity to get together and link up. PACT has three cancer centers in Ghana, a $22 million program, in Kumasi, Accra and Tamale. One component is breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. We could benefit from working with BHGI and with the government to plan expansion of services.

The next step in our collaboration is to engage BHGI in PACT’s virtual network, VUCCnet. The program was launched recently, and the idea is to train and while keeping people at home. It’s designed to provide training, partially distance learning and partially continuing professional development. We need to offer content from providers, adopt curriculum that can be placed on a website and determine how much should be done in person. This can be extended to oncology, pathology, surgery, radiation oncology. We’d like this virtual university to deliver; we have lots of interested parties that the World Health Organization is supporting. BHGI is developing training materials for those delivering cancer care, so this is a valuable partnership.

The virtual network already has been launched in Ghana. The target countries are four now in pilot phase for VUCCnet: Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The mentor countries used as support are Egypt and South Africa. We’re hoping to link with others and that BHGI will be a link to benefit us with distance learning as they have access to education in the U.S. to help us in our programs in Africa.

Virtual University in its first phase will take three years to implement in four countries. We will analyze capabilities in each of the countries and try to assess their needs. They will expand so they can train their own personnel and decide whether their own hospitals have the resources to do the training. We could have trainings for breast cancer treatment and diagnosis that BHGI could provide for Ghana and then other countries could adopt them for their trainings.

We could expand our collaboration to a regional basis for other countries. We could collaborate in other regions. If there is opportunity, we should join together. We are door openers, and BHGI has an important message: develop clear guidelines for low- and middle-resource countries. It’s a long-term goal, and certainly we should be able to take advantage of this agreement and go forward.

Participants in the Ghana breast cancer training course, January 2010, co-sponsored by the Breast Health Global Initiative and Ghana Breast Cancer Alliance.

Worldwide, breast cancer is a growing epidemic as women are living longer and communication and awareness of the disease increases. An estimated 1.5 million new cases will be diagnosed this year. Depending on where the woman lives, that may or may not be tantamount to a death sentence.

Founded almost a decade ago by breast cancer surgeon and University of Washington School of Medicine professor Dr. Ben Anderson and medical school program manager Leslie Sullivan, the Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI) seeks to bring a higher standard of breast healthcare to the world using an innovative model of collaboration with the best minds in breast cancer across the globe.

Communicating with clinicians in far-flung countries in Africa, Asia, South America and Europe, they have developed workable guidelines that match resources on the ground – however limited those resources may be.

The Breast Health Global Initiative is achieving groundbreaking goals in developing realistic guidelines matched to countries’ specific existing resources – from low- to mid-levels of services that might be accessible in developing countries. Much of the work of the Breast Health Global Initiative also involves education: overcoming stereotypes and dismissive attitudes about women’s health that keep a woman with a lump silenced in fear of losing her husband and children. Changing cultural stereotypes and introducing breast self-examination to low-income countries are just the beginning.

The Global Summit on International Breast Health, June 9-11, will bring together in Chicago doctors, nurses, public health educators and administrators from 40 countries and six continents. Co-sponsored by BHGI and the Latin American and Caribbean Society of Clinical Oncology, led by Dr. Eduardo Cazap, the Summit will assess best practices and surgical techniques for low-resourced locations and diagnostic tools where mammography and ultrasound may be far-fetched fantasies for the near future.

Dozens of scientific poster presentations at the Summit will allow clinical providers from around the world to show their research and outcomes – ideas that have worked in their corners of the globe and which may inspire others to try something new that may save more women’s lives. The Summit will bring together national and international organizations from around the world to address a central theme: to produce scientific and clinical publications that will serve as medical tools for low- and middle-resource countries in perpetuity, freely available via the internet.

The spirit of ingenuity and generosity that is at work in the Global Summit is exemplified in leaders such as Dr. Ben Anderson, Dr. Eduardo Cazap, Leslie Sullivan and others around the world who see a problem, overcome barriers and engage with counterparts across borders to work on real solutions.