The National Institutes of Health has awarded the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation a five-year, $3.1 million grant for research aimed at reducing the main cause of death from infection.
OMRF scientist Florea Lupu, Ph.D., hopes his research leads to a new therapeutic treatment for sepsis, which kills about 270,000 people per year in the United States — more than lung cancer, breast cancer and drug overdoses combined.
“We are targeting a specific part of the immune system called the ‘complement system,’ which helps clear away bacteria in early sepsis but then becomes detrimental and contributes to organ failure,” Lupu said.
Sepsis occurs when the immune system overcompensates for an underlying infection, most commonly in the lungs, urinary tract, skin or gastrointestinal tract. If not treated early, this overcompensation causes widespread blood clotting and ultimately septic shock, which is characterized by severe loss of blood pressure leading to multiple organ failure.
According to the World Health Organization, globally, sepsis accounted for 11 million or 20% of all deaths in 2017, the most recent year for which data is available.
Lupu’s lab will build upon his prior research of the complement system’s role in sepsis. The work will focus on two infections that often trigger the condition: E. coli and staph.
The complement system is a large protein network in plasma. Those proteins are activated to form a cascade response to fight infection. However, one of these proteins, known as C5, morphs from friend into foe during sepsis by killing healthy cells and causing inflammation.
Lupu hopes to pinpoint the moment when C5 turns traitor and then target it with a drug that inhibits activation.
“The timing for an inhibitor is crucial,” Lupu said. “If you try to block C5 too early, you also block the clearance of bacteria. If you go in too late, it’s probably not helpful because the damage is already done.”
Lupu also hopes to determine the value of treating sepsis early with a blood thinner before shifting to a C5 inhibitor. Both drugs would be used in tandem with antibiotics, Lupu said.
“Sepsis progresses very quickly,” Lupu said. “Once it reaches the point of septic shock, the odds of survival decrease by 8% for each hour of delay in treatment. So that’s the biggest challenge – finding that narrow window to a successful outcome.”
The grant, 1R01AI168355-01, is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

INTEGRIS Hospice and Palliative Care Services is hosting a free Grief Support Group facilitated by Chaplain Kelly Russell.
The next series will be on Thursdays from 6:30 – 8 p.m., from March 3 through April 7, 2022. The meetings will be held in the INTEGRIS Health Hospice Administration Building, located at 5710 N.W. 130th Street in Oklahoma City.
If you have lost a loved one, grief is a normal and natural response. Sharing your grief with others and listening to the experiences of others can help you to be heard and know you are not alone in your grief. The program is free of charge, but space is limited. To enroll, please call 405-609-4578 or register online.
To register online, click here: Grief Support Group | INTEGRIS Health (coursestorm.com)
To learn more about our grief support program, click here: https://integrisok.com/locations/hospice-and-home-care/integris-hospice-in-okc/grief-recovery-resources

Visit: https://www.tealridge.com/

Check your pride at the door

by James Coburn – Staff Writer

Wendy Young knew she wanted to be a hospice nurse before attending nursing school. She has been with Frontier Hospice for nearly five years and serves as a case manager in the Oklahoma City metro.
“Everybody said, ‘Oh, you’re going to change your mind. You’re going to learn about all these different types of nursing and change your mind.’ I never did, but one thing you ran into at that time was you had to have nursing experience before you could be considered for a position,” said Young, a registered nurse.
She began her career in health care after earning her LPN credentials at Canadian Valley Technology Center in El Reno. After serving as an LPN for three years she earned her Associate in Applied Science degree to become a registered nurse after graduating from Oklahoma City Community College. Her nursing experience includes working for the Veterans Administration in Norman, and workers compensation. Having served as director of nursing at Shannon Springs Nursing Home in Chickasha helped her move to hospice care, she said.
“I have a strong belief that none of us are brought into this world alone and none of us should leave this world alone,” Young said. “I think that for families it can be one of the hardest things they ever do — being with a family member and going through that in a home setting — it can also be one of the most beautiful and precious things they can ever do for a loved one. I think being in an environment where you’re familiar with the smells and the sounds and the people that you love — I hope when it’s my turn that my family will give me that gift.”
Young’s mother was one of 12 children. So, she has many uncles and aunts who are elderly. Being a hospice nurse serves mostly older adults, but also younger people. Young embodies a natural affinity with the elderly. She affectionately calls them her LOLs and LOGs, meaning little old ladies and little old guys.
One of her opportunities she is most proud of by working for Frontier Hospice is they will go above and beyond in helping a patient or family in need.
“We have several non-funded patients that Frontier covers the cost of their care,” Young explained. “If you have entered that time of your life where you’re at the end of your life, it shouldn’t matter if you have insurance or Medicare or what not. That brings in a human aspect for me that we are all people, not just names and numbers.”
Young is grateful for the caring hearts of her coworkers that compliments her need to be compassionate as well, she said.
Her advice to anyone considering a career in hospice is to be in touch with your compassion. Be prepared with the technical aspects of palliative care, but at the end of the day a hospice nurse should always share their love with people, she said. It’s vital to willingly accept people where they are in their life’s journey.
“This is not my story. This is their story,” she said. “And I’m just being allowed to be a part of that story.”
A hospice nurse needs to check their pride at the door, shine with unconditional love and understand they are becoming part of their patient’s lives.
A hallmark of Frontier Hospice is offering holistic care for the entire person. Nursing support involves 24/7 care. Young is always a phone call away for those needing help. Nurse aides provide hygiene care for people. A non-denominational chaplain service is available for anyone seeking spiritual support. Social workers help families navigate helpful sources to ease life.
“If their goal is to stay in the home, we try everything we can to make that happen for someone,” Young said.
She has a support team out in the field whenever she has a concern. But the work is not drudgery. Young believes she works with one of the most loving groups of nurses in the state of Oklahoma. Nurses discuss their patients’ individual needs during staff meetings. The nurses share their stories of humanity.
“I know that in the field if I have a problem that needs solving, I have five or six people I can immediately call,” she added. ”I admire that a lot, and everybody knows that we are all a team.”
The question of why hospice was recently asked of the nursing staff to explain at a recent meeting.
“To my knowledge I’ve never had a family member on hospice services,” she said.
Young recalls hearing the term, hospice, mentioned for the first time at the VA.
“Outside of that I just knew. I know that I am called to this field. I believe when it gets down to it, this is one of the purest forms of nursing. I’m not trying to fix anybody, I’m just trying to care and help keep people comfortable,” Young said.
The goal of hospice is comfort and quality, she pointed out.
“I feel really blessed and that’s something I am sure of,” Young said.
For more information visit www.frontierhospice.com or call 405-789-2913 (Moore location) or 405-395-2184 (Shawnee location).

story and photos by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

It was mid-February and the conversations next door to the Tealridge Retirement Community dining room flowed like water.
Daily laughter and connection aren’t uncommon occurrences at the all-inclusive Edmond retirement community, but this day something was different.
On this day, residents had the undivided attention of a group of Oklahoma Christian University students hoping to cull a lifetime of experience and knowledge to help them on their educational journey.
For a minimum of eight hours during the spring semester, nearly 40 college students from multiple disciplines are involved with a program that pairs them with a Tealridge resident.
Leading the program is Dr. Tina Winn, professor of psychology.
Dr. Winn said psychology students and family science majors both are gaining the benefit of the living history lessons they receive during each meeting.
For the students, it’s a chance to learn and grow.
For residents, it’s a chance to share their legacy.
“We’re studying it out of the book. Now they get to take that and put it into context and personalize it,” Winn said. “My goal is for them to take the theories and the ideas and apply them in a way that it’s meaningful. It’s going to enhance their understanding and break down some of the myths and increase awareness and comfort levels among the generations.
“It’s one thing to learn it out of the book but then when it gets applied and contextualized it becomes meaningful and something that can be used.”
Winn’s doctorate is in counseling and student personnel. She’s taught in psychology and family science areas since 1998.
She’s taught at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha and Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva.
She says this program is one of the most meaningful she’s participated in because of the chance for both sides to benefit and share.
“At the end (of the course) my ultimate, bottom line hope is for them to have a deep understanding of people in this stage of life but also in themselves and how they see themself progressing,” Winn said. “Once we break down some of the myths it really impacts how we live today even if we are not in late adulthood we are heading there.”
Facilitating the program is Tealridge Executive Director Melissa Mahaffey, MHA.
“Each retiree has a wonderful story to tell,” Mahaffey said. “Each individual – both students and residents – will be blessed beyond measure for the time that they will be able to spend with one another.”
“We have residents that have life experiences that are unmatched to any textbook at any level of education. Each participant will no doubt have a better understanding of what was life some six decades ago or even longer. Socialization, meaningful interactions and purposeful life is what it is all about. We are very fortunate to be able to partner with such a great professor and students.”
Each student is paired with a resident for the entirety of the semester. Over the course of the semester, weekly meetings will occur.
Winn said one of the goals is to reinforce how active of a demographic the senior population represents. Learning from that group and getting feedback on issues ranging from government policy to religion to family values will be vital to students as they begin their careers in their chosen fields.
Every day in the U.S., 10,000 people turn 65, and the number of older adults will more than double during the next several decades to top 88 million people and represent more than 20 percent of the population by 2050.
“I strongly believe that communication and knowledge are important for all generations,” Mahaffey said. “Each generation has something to share with each other – whether it be a skill, true historical accounts of memorial events, or just a way to share knowledge about an important event in someone’s life. Bridging the gap between generations will absolutely be a meaningful memory for both resident and student.”
And it all starts with a conversation.

For more information about Tealridge Retirement Community visit: https://www.tealridge.com/ or call 405-608-8020.

Story and photos by Darl Devault, Feature Writer

After retiring, do you have to choose between being a serious artist or an art teacher? The answer is no if you are genuinely talented at both for Susan Cromer Yback, 64, as she now teaches youth and adults art after teaching elementary school art for a career.
She is now interrupting her retirement and a fulfilling second career as a full-time artist to teach art again. Yback first became retirement privileged after teaching elementary art in the Putnam City School District for 30 years.
She transitioned from teaching full time and began full-time production of her original works after retirement. Now teaching art on a much more personalized level, she sells her art at 2927 Paseo Drive. Yback’s classes and art have become a mainstay of Paseo Gallery One near the southern edge of the historic Paseo Arts District N.W. 27th & 30th Streets and Walker & Hudson in Oklahoma City.
She keeps busy as both a painter in acrylic and a clay artist. Her last decade of creating in the Paseo Arts District has led her to see art differently than during her decades in public school art education. She says she has learned to practice her authentic artistic process while integrating technical and conceptual skills to share a clear message with her students.
“I am excited to begin every class where I can express my creative energy in teaching—an art form in and of itself!” Yback said. “Although I love traditional art, I like to change things up, take a different approach to present an image.”
During her classroom years, Yback participated in many workshops for teachers at the Oklahoma Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain in southwest Oklahoma. There she learned or developed skills such as printmaking from master artists from all over the United States.
She also teaches a pottery class on Saturdays at the House of Clay at 1100 Northwest 30th Street. She teaches artists of all ages pottery hand building. Yback fires the pottery for the class of eight to 10 students each week.
While interviewing her at the Paseo Galley One, observing her teaching a class and talking about her work hanging in her studio/gallery there, it is difficult to determine where she lands on the artist/art teacher continuum.
“Now I find my creative spark as an artist is most important,” Yback said. “But I sure like sharing my love of art with my students.”
At the Paseo Gallery One location on Tuesdays and Thursdays, she instructs children through high school age in acrylic painting. “I am often pleasantly surprised by my young student’s wide scope of educational art experience,” Yback said. “I enjoy guiding students through the creative process, empowering them to create unique and meaningful artworks.”
As she has grown and developed as an artist, she is stretching her emphasis to embrace her husband’s influence, a member of the Great Sioux Nation. Her latest adventures include paintings of Native American themes in what has always been a career where collectors see varied techniques and styles in her paintings.
She often paints scenes with horses or bison in vibrant acrylic as the central theme while working in depictions of people. One of her latest is a realistic portrait of a bison embedded in an earthy abstract work. This masterful artistry is subdued, yet the bison stands out while looking at the viewer depicted in a unique background blend of abstract organic and brown acrylic colors.
She says she was heavily influenced by Henri Matisse and how Pablo Picasso tore things apart and then put them back together. Her painting mentioned above is all of that. In other Native American-themed art, she has channeled the way Joan Miro employed abstraction with extensive use of swaths of color lines in her paintings.
Yback credits Katherine Liontas-Warren, a former professor at Cameron University in Lawton, Okla. as a primary influence. “My art education classes, especially with Oklahoma Art Education Association, have always been a solid foundation, although my interest in expressing my artistic energy might shift from day to day, month to month, through the years,” Yback said. “I like to work quickly. I have learned more ways to do that since retirement.”
Western and Native American art themes run through her work. Yback points to her husband David for that influence. “He is a member of the Great Sioux Nation. Over the years, I have become really interested in his heritage,” Yback said. “He is a descendant of a Lakota Sioux Chief Many Horses. I have worked on researching David’s lineage and often portraying his heritage in my work.”
She is usually present at the studio during the First Friday Gallery Walk, with the next one 6-10 p.m. Friday, March 4, Yback says, “First Friday has become a wonderful tradition for all of us who work along the Paseo, and I love it.”
The Gallery Walk will have more than 20 galleries featuring more than 80 artists who will host opening receptions, promising something for everyone.
Accepting commissions in an accessible and engaging manner, Yback says her original works vary in price. Her more significant pieces fall within the range of serious collectors. She may be contacted at s[email protected] or by phone/text at 405-662-6551.

Long COVID is a challenging problem for both patients and clinicians. Like much of this pandemic, our understanding about the long-term effects of COVID-19 is evolving and incomplete. Unfortunately, a number of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 will continue with symptoms that last more than two months after recovery.
Typical symptoms of long COVID include fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, shortness of breath, chest tightness and cough. About one third of patients will experience more than one of these symptoms, and between 10 and 70-percent of patients recovering from COVID will experience multiple symptoms.
Jon Blaschke, M.D., a cardiologist with the INTEGRIS Heart Hospital, says it is common for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 to have clotting issues including clotting in the lungs, heart attacks, strokes and rhythm disturbances. He says inflammation of the heart is seen as well. “However, after the acute phase of COVID, longer-term, serious cardiovascular problems seem to be infrequent.”
He adds, “We do not have information on risk for vascular events long-term, but most patients who have recovered from COVID have no heart issues or residual vascular problems from the virus even though they may have persistent symptoms.”
But he warns certain symptoms should never be ignored. Patients who are experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath (especially with activity), new or severe fatigue, or swelling should be evaluated by a physician. Red flags to look for include episodes of passing out, or symptoms that are worse with activity.
* In general, patients who are still having symptoms after recovery from COVID should start with an evaluation with a primary care provider. Initial evaluation often includes an EKG and a chest x-ray. In many instances this is enough to provide reassurance.
* Most patients with known cardiac injury (atrial fibrillation, abnormal heart enzymes, inflammation of the heart) from COVID warrant subspecialty evaluation and follow-up. These are generally seen in patients with severe illness (requiring hospitalization), and in general, these patients are already established with a cardiologist.
* Patients who had abnormal chest x-rays or were hospitalized warrant follow-up at a minimum with their primary provider, and most need follow-up x-rays or CT scans. Lung function testing may also be indicated.
In conclusion, Blaschke has this advice, “The single thing I tell all of my patients is the best way to prevent both serious illness including hospitalization and death from COVID, and effects from long-haul COVID is to get immunized and boosted. This applies to both the acute illness and to long COVID. We know that fully vaccinated patients are 23 times less likely to be hospitalized or to die from COVID when compared to those who are not immunized.”
He continues, “The health care community is united and the data is clear, we are counting on our patients to do their part to protect themselves, their families and us, so that we can be there for them, if the need arises.”

The Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Central Oklahoma announces new members to its board of directors, Maria Fernanda, and to its advisory council, Jamie Jeter.
Fernanda is the Community Outreach Specialist with Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Oklahoma. She holds a bachelor’s degree in family studies from Southern Nazarene University. She serves on the board of Possibilities Inc.; Calm Waters, serving on the fundraising committee; and the United Way of Central Oklahoma, serving on the allocation committee. She has served as a member of the Calle Dos Cinco civic group and served on the Citizens Advisory Board for the City of Oklahoma City. In addition, she has volunteered with Hilltop Pediatrics and the Integris Mobile Clinic.
RSVP of Central Oklahoma welcomes back seasoned advisory council member Jamie Jeter, who previously served a three-year term on the advisory council. Jeter retired from working in contracting and finance at Tinker Air Force Base after 37 years, serving in management the last eight years of her career. She is an avid volunteer, serving at Alliance Health, Midwest City, as auxiliary treasurer and office manager and a strong supporter of RSVP’s mission.
Since 1973, RSVP of Central Oklahoma has helped older adults continue to live with purpose and meaning by connecting them with rewarding community volunteer opportunities, including RSVP’s Provide-A-Ride Senior Transportation Program. RSVP is a partner of AmeriCorps Seniors and the United Way of Central Oklahoma. To learn more about RSVP of Central Oklahoma, call 405-605-3110 or visit rsvpokc.org. You can also follow RSVP on Facebook at facebook.com/RSVPokc.

An OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center colorectal cancer surgeon will discuss treatment options for all stages of colon and rectal cancers from noon to 1 p.m., Thursday, March 24.
During the virtual presentation, Steven Carter, M.D., will talk about surgical interventions and clinical trials. After a brief talk, attendees will be able to engage in a question and answer session with the doctor.
Carter is part of the colon and rectal cancer surgery program at Stephenson Cancer Center, which is run by a multidisciplinary team of experts who focus on the full spectrum of care, including prevention, detection, treatment and survivorship.
The presentation is offered at no cost to participants. Advance registration is required by going to: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_a4qrWxuCQpW8dDtV8MOVWQ. Registrants will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

*As of 2022-02-26 at 7:00 a.m.