Campus briefs

Government investigates UNC Hospitals controversy

The federal government is reviewing whether UNC Hospitals violated federal law by refusing care to a toddler from rural Bladen County whose fingertip eventually had to be amputated.

In March, Claudine Lee rushed her 20-month-old son, Marcus, to Bladen County Hospital after the boy's finger had been crushed in a door.

The tip of his right pinkie was hanging by a flap of skin. The emergency physician, Dr. Vicki Lanier, said the boy needed care at a larger hospital with surgeons who could repair it.

Lanier tried UNC Hospitals, but a doctor there refused to see the child. She tried Duke University's medical center, where a doctor agreed to treat Marcus after arguing that UNC should have.

A Duke surgeon stitched Marcus's finger back together more than seven hours after the accident, but the tissue died and his fingertip was removed.

UNC Hospitals turned down Lanier's transfer request because she had said the child was a possible candidate for reimplantation and the medical center doesn't do such procedures, said Karen McCall, spokeswoman for UNC Hospitals' parent, UNC Health Care.

Reimplantation involves reconnecting nerves and repairing blood vessels and muscle.

State regulators who investigated Marcus' care recommended that the federal government find UNC in violation of the federal emergency care law.

A decision by federal regulators could take months or years. UNC could be fined as much as $50,000 and threatened with the loss of its Medicare contract.

In the future, McCall said, UNC will accept transfer requests even if there is debate about whether UNC is the best place for the patient to receive care.

 

Moeser to serve on newly established advisory board

Chancellor James Moeser has been selected to serve on a National Security Higher Education Advisory Board created by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The creation of the board was announced Thursday and is designed to foster outreach and promote understanding between higher education institutions and the FBI.

Presidents and chancellors from at least 15 prominent universities will assist in the development of research, degree programs, course work, internships, opportunities for graduates and consulting opportunities for faculty relating to national security.

 

Law school to host panel for Constitution Day celebration

The UNC School of Law will host a panel discussion today to help the University community celebrate Constitution Day.

The discussion, "Confirming Justice: The Supreme Court Confirmation Process," will take place at 4:30 p.m. in the Law School Rotunda on Ridge Road.

All faculty, staff and students are welcome.