Long-time readers of MD-Update may recall that we traditionally publish our Heart & Lung, aka cardiology and pulmonology, issue in February. This year we postponed those topics until April/May because one of our featured physicians, Jonathan Kraut, MD, thoracic surgeon for Baptist Health Louisville, was on a four-month deployment with the 691st Forward Surgical Team’s (FST) Gold Hour Offset Surgical Team (GHOST) in Afghanistan. The golden hour being the first hour after a traumatic injury occurs, this meant that Kraut and fellow GHOST members were close to combat and Special Forces soldiers, operating in tents, helicopters, or huts, as needed.
Thank you for your service, Dr. Kraut. We’re glad to have you back in Kentucky, serving your patients in Louisville. See the full story on Kraut and his colleagues Robert Linker, MD, Baptist Health Louisville, and Michael Bousamra, MD, Baptist Health Floyd, in the cover story beginning on page 10.
The Bad News/Good News
We’ve heard it hundreds of times that Kentucky ranks at the top or near the top in national rankings for morbidity in heart disease and lung cancer. The good news is that there’s a new generation of providers committed to changing those rankings. In addition to this issue’s cover story on thoracic surgery and lung cancer treatment at Baptist Health Louisville and Baptist Health Floyd, lung screening is being advanced by the Kentucky LEADS Collaborative team at U of L, promoting LDCT screenings to primary care physicians and now specialists.
There is a new Structural Heart Center at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, part of KentuckyOne Health, and a new Structural Heart Program at Owensboro Health in Owensboro. Prevention, treatment, and cost-savings have gained national attention at the Graves Gilbert Clinic in Bowling Green. The congenital heart program at Children’s Hospital at UK HealthCare is growing is volume and complexity. The Have a Heart Clinic in Louisville’s downtown, serving Old Town and the West End, is bringing cardiovascular care to a population that otherwise may be untreated.
I invite you to dive into this issue of MD-Update. It’s full of great stories about Kentucky and Southern Indiana doctors. What’s your story? Give us a call.
As always, all the best,Gil Dunn, Publisher
Send your letters to the editor to: jnewton@md-update.com, or (502) 541-2666 mobile Gil Dunn, Publisher: gdunn@md-update.com or (859) 309-0720 phone and fax