1) End of life care in the intensive care unit (ICU): developing interventions for measuring and improving the quality of care at the end of life in the ICU
2)Sepsis: Improving the quality of care that patients with sepsis (severe infections) receive in the ICU
3) Changing clinical practice: developing models that help bedside clinicians utilize the most recent research results to improve patient care
4) Outcomes reporting: Using databases associated with computerized ICU systems to measure and report outcomes of critically ill patients

Institutions

Rih

Research Description

Current Research projects:
1) End of life care in the intensive care unit (ICU): developing interventions for measuring and improving the quality of care at the end of life in the ICU.
2)Sepsis: Improving the quality of care that patients with sepsis (severe infections) receive in the ICU
3) Surviving Sepsis Campaign (executive committee): Changing clinical practice: developing models that help bedside clinicians utilize the most recent research results to improve patient care
3) Computers in the ICU: Testing new computerized clinical information systems for the ICU.
4) Outcomes reporting: Using databases associated with computerized ICU systems to measure and report outcomes of critically ill patients. This includes tracking the impact of protocols on care and the use of clinical decision support for improving care.

Awards

• Phi Beta Kappa, University at Buffalo, 1973
• Magna Cum Laude, University at Buffalo, 1973
• Outstanding Teacher, Dalhousie University (Halifax Infirmary), 1989
• Society of Critical Care Medicine, Presidential Citation Award, 1999, 2000, 2001
• American College of Chest Physicians, Letter of Commendation, The CHEST Foundation, 2000, 2001, 2002
• Society of Critical Care Medicine, Christer Grenvik Memorial Award for Ethics in Critical Care Medicine, 2002
• Rhode Island Hospital Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU) (Director): National Coalition on Health Care and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement recognition as one of top eleven ICUs in the U.S. for exceptional quality of care, 2002

Affiliations

Society of Critical Care Medicine, 1988-present
• Member, Consensus Conference on Humane Caring in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), October 1991
• Society of Critical Care Medicine "Leader," 1992-present
• Chair, Controversies in Critical Care Committee, 1992-present
• "Project Impact" Task Force, 1993-1994
• Member, Multi-Disciplinary Review Course Committee, 1994-1997
• Member, Program Committee, 1997-present
• Vice Chair, Continuing Education Committee, 1997-present
• Member, Education Division
• Chair, Physiology and Laboratory Values
• • Program Chair, 30th International Educational and Scientific Symposium of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, 2001
• Presidential Citation Award, 2001
• Christer Grenvik Memorial Award for Ethics in Critical Care Medicine, 2002
• Elected to Council, the governing body of SCCM, 2002-present

American College of Critical Care Medicine, 1995-present

European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, 1995-present
• Chair, Disease Management Summer Conference: joint effort between the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine for education and critical care, 2001.

American College of Chest Physicians, 1996-present
• Critical Care NetWork Steering Committee, 1996-1997
• Vice Chair Critical Care NetWork Steering Committee, 1997-1998
• Chair, Critical Care NetWork Steering Committee, 1998-1999
• Ex Officio Critical Care NetWork Steering Committee, 1999-2000
• Liaison, CHEST Annual Scientific Program NetWork on Critical Care, 1999-2000
• Letter of Commendation, The CHEST Foundation, 2001
• CHEST Annual Scientific Program, 2001-2002

Chair, Council on Critical Care, 1997-present

Honorary Member of Founding Committee: Tuscany Critical Care Group, Florence, Italy, 1998

Advisory Board Member, National Initiative in Sepsis Education, December 2000-present

Funded Research

1. Principal Investigator: "Work of Breathing as a Weaning Parameter." Bicore Inc: $15,000; 1993-1994.

2. Principal Investigator: "Evaluation of New Weaning Parameters." Allied Health Care: $14,000; 1996-1998.

3. Principal Investigator: "Evaluation of Anti-TNF Antibody in Sepsis," Therapeutic Antibodies Inc: $50,000; 1997-1998.

4. Principal Investigator: "Caregivers' Attitudes Toward End-of-Life Issues." McMaster University and Hewlett-Packard Corp: $12,000; 1997.

5. Principal Investigator: "Low-Molecular Weight Heparin in MICU Patients." Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Pharmaceutics Inc: $70,000; 1997.

6. Principal Investigator: "Phase II Trial of Neutrophil Elastase Inhibitor." Zeneca Pharmaceuticals: $8,000; 1998.

7. Principal Investigator: "Pressure vs Flow Triggering in Mechanical Ventilation." Siemens Corp: $20,000; 1997-1998.

8. Principal Investigator: "Evaluation of the Impact of Antipyretics in the Critically Ill: A Randomized Trial." Unfunded: 07/2000-2001.

9. Principal Investigator: "Efficacy and Safety of r-HuEPO in the Critically Ill Patient: A Randomized Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial." OrthoBiotech Inc: $107,520; 11/2000-06/2001.

10. Principal Investigator: "Multicenter Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Randomized Phase III Study of Tifacogin Recombinant Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor in Severe Sepsis": Chiron Corporation: $90,000; February 2000-Oct 2002.

11. Principal Investigator: "An Open-Label Study of Recombinant Human Activated Protein C in Severe Sepsis." Eli Lilly and Company: $17,097; January 2001.

12. Primary Investigator: "Care Protocols in Intensive Care Project Survey." DEIO Corp: $18,000; June 2001.

13. Principal Investigator: "Increasing Organ Donation by Enhancing End-of-Life Care: A Family Centered, Quality Improvement Program." Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: $125,000; 1999-2002.

14. Principal Investigator: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, "Research Initiative and Identification of Barriers to Optimal End-of-Life Care." The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: $700,000; October 2000-October/2002.

15. "Rationing in Critical Care." Unrestricted education grant, Eli Lilly and Company: $1.8 million. Grant period: 18 months; November 2002.

16. "End-of-Life Care Audit Tool." Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: $150,000. Grant period: 18 months; November 2002.

17. "Early Goal Directed Therapy." Edwards Lifesciences: $30,000; July 2003.

18. Principal Investigator: "Measuring the Quality of Palliative Care in the Intensive Care Unit." The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: $250,000; July 2002-December 2003.

19. "PEEP in ARDS." Siemens Corp: $30,000; September 2003.

20. "A Double Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of E5664, a Lipid Antagonist, Administered by Twice Daily Intravenous Infusions in Patients with Severe Sepsis" (Lipid A Antagonist). EISAI, Inc/PPD: $71,824; Sep 2003.

21. "Evaluation of Efficacy and Safety of Epoetin Alfa in Critically Ill Subjects" (EPO-ICU-002). Johnson & Johnson Interventional Systems/CARESTAT: $225,498; Jan 2004.

22. "Clinical Coordinating Center for a Phase 3, Multicenter, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Three-Arm Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Tifacogin (Recombinant Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor) Administration in Subjects with Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia" (Chiron Coord Center). Chiron Corporation: $401,200; April 2004.

23. "Double-Blind Randomized Study for safety and efficacy of GR270773 in Treatment of Gram-negative Severe Sepsis in Adults." GlaxoSmithKline: $81,832.94; 7/1/04-6/30/05.

24. Principal Investigator: Biomarkers in Sepsis--A predicitive model Biosite Co. Amt pending.

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