Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation

On November 17, 2011 Benn Grover was a guest speaker on an Emerson talk radio program that focused on the health and development burden of non-communicable diseases in developing countries.

Shannon Brownlee, author of Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine is Making Us Sicker and Poorer, Acting Director of the New America Health Policy Program, and Co-Director of the 2012 Avoidable Care Conference, spoke at the Lown Foundation on November 11, 2011. The title of her talk was: “From stents to PSA tests: Involving patients in decisions that matter most to them.”

Dr. Charles Blatt was a guest speaker at Temple Emanuel in Newton, MA on November 8, 2011. The topic of his talk was heart health prevention.

Benn Grover also facilitated a concurrent session, titled The world mobilizes for non-communicable disease prevention: The NCD Alliance and the UN Summit, during the 9th National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention in Maryland on September 22-23, 2011.

Benn Grover represented ProCor and the Lown Foundation at the United Nations High-level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases in New York City on September 19- 20, 2011. Advocating for action on non-communicable diseases: Leveraging technology and social media, a report he coauthored, was presented during a side event hosted by the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, Global Health Council, Young Professionals Chronic Disease Network, and PAHO.

On September 14, 2011 Dr. Vikas Saini spoke at Mercy Hospital’s annual leadership event held in Portland, ME. His talk, “Navigating the channel: Avoiding avoidable care in a cost-conscious era” was part of an event that brought together providers, friends, and leadership of Mercy Health Systems of Maine.

Dr. Vikas Saini attended the National Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases in New Delhi, India on August 23-24, 2011. The theme of the meeting was “Universal coverage and NCDs” and Dr. Saini was a speaker for the panel discussion on “Service needs to tackle NCDs: Prevention and Control.”

Life in the Balance: A Physician’s Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss with Parkinson’s Disease and Dementia, is now availabe for purchase through the Barnes & Noble NOOK. For more information or to purchase a NOOK book copy, please visit the Barnes & Noble website.

On August 11, 2011, Dr. Vikas Saini was interviewed by Maryann Napoli, the Associate Director of the Center for Medical Consumers in New York City. Dr. Saini discussed his opinion of the new cholesterol-lowering drug, Lovaza. The interview can be found on the Center for Medical Consumer website.

Dr. Vikas Saini addressed the Belmont Council on Aging community on August 4, 2011. The topic of his talk was Second Opinions and Overtreatment.

Dr. Sara Russell received the second annual Bernard Lown Award for Excellence in Teaching at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. A graduate of Tufts and Columbia Universities, Dr. Russell is the Surgical Director of Cutaneous Oncology and Melanoma at the Dana Farber and is involved in various teaching and mentorship activities with third and fourth year medical students.

The Lown Foundation welcomed two ProCor interns during the Summer 2011:

Heidi Chase studied art and social action at George Mason University and received a Masters in Public Health from Boston University. She has worked as an educator, community artist, and public health consultant with programs designed to influence behavior, initiate conversation, and promote change.

Jocelyn Sterling is a graduate student in the Health Communication program at Emerson College. She co-hosts and produces a health-focused program at Emerson’s talk radio station. Jocelyn previously worked as a marketing intern at Horizon West Healthcare in California. She has a Communication Studies and Journalism degree from the University of Portland.

Dr. Bernard Lown was featured in the Spring/Summer 2011 Harvard Public Health Review. To read the article please visit the Harvard School of Public Health website.

On June 4, 2011, Dr. Vikas Saini and Dr. Fred Mamuya spoke at the second annual health expo, VivaFest, in Hyannis, MA, on the topics of healthy aging and heart disease prevention and screening athletes for cardiac health. The event drew an estimated 1200 people and featured speaker workshops, an indoor farmers market, healthy lunch sampling, and yoga and tai’chi sessions. Please visit the Cape Cod Times website for more information.

Dr. Tom Graboys was recently interviewed by Dr. Peter Rabins for the Spring 2011 issue of the “Johns Hopkins Bulletins: Memory Disorders”. The interview can be found on Dr. Graboys' website.

Dr. Brian Bilchik has been nominated to serve another two years on the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Physician Council.

Mychal Voorhees, a graduate communications consultant working with the Lown Foundation, gave a presentation on the outreach and marketing campaign she developed for ProCor at Emerson College on April 26, 2011. The campaign seeks to engage African medical school students and professors in ProCor’s global network.

On March 1, 2011 Dr. Tom Graboys participated in Brigham and Women’s Hospital Center for Faculty Development & Diversity “Let’s Prepare” Forum for Caregivers of Older Adults. Dr. Graboys discussed his memoir Life in the Balance on April 6, 2011 at the Atrium at Drum Hill, an assisted living facility in North Chelmsford, MA.

Dr. Fred Mamuya was a guest speaker at Linden Ponds Retirement Living in Hingham, MA on March 7, 2011. More than 50 people attended this lecture where he discussed the topic of Second Opinions.

ProCor and Lown Foundation staff attended the conference: “The long tail of global health equity: Tackling the endemic NCDs of the bottom billion” at Harvard Medical School on March 2-3, 2011. The conference was hosted by the Harvard School of Public Health, Partners in Health, the NCD Alliance, and the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Please visit the ProCor website to learn more.

The Lown Center physicians regularly give lectures to community groups and organizations on heart health topics such as nutrition, exercise, coping with stress, second opinions, and alternatives to surgery. Dr. Vikas Saini spoke at the Goddard House in Brookline on January 24, 2011 and at the Watertown Mall on February 4, 2011. Dr. Brian Bilchik was a guest speaker during the Brookline Adult & Community Education winter semester. He also addressed the Brookline Rotary Club on February 10, 2011.

In January, the Foundation welcomed graduate consultant, Mychal Voorhees. She is a graduate student in the Health Communication program at Emerson College. Since moving to Boston in August 2009, Mychal has served as a communications intern with the EPA and Health Resources in Action. Before moving to Boston to pursue her graduate degree, Mychal worked in the press office at The Carter Center, a non-profit organization founded by President Carter, in Atlanta. Mychal will research successful communication strategies and create an outreach and marketing campaign for ProCor that targets medical school students and professors in developing countries.

Are you a patient who visited the Lown Center for a second opinion? We are in the process of gathering patient stories and would love to hear yours. Please send your story to info@lownfoundation.org.