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Researchers at Renown Seek Convalescent Plasma Study Participants
Physician researchers seek to understand how the immune system responds to COVID-19 and create a healthier Nevada. During the early stages of the pandemic, convalescent plasma was considered the only viable treatment option available for patients with COVID-19. Convalescent plasma is the component of the blood from recovered patients that may contain COVID-19 antibodies that help fight the infection. The National Institutes of Health has since developed treatment guidelines for COVID-19 based on clinical trial data and many studies are still underway worldwide assessing various additional treatment options. Convalescent plasma was in high demand but difficult to locate for COVID-19 patients in the northern Nevada area. A 24-year-old nursing assistant, Austin Meegan, was hospitalized and spent weeks staving off kidney and lung failure before learning he was eligible for an experimental blood transfusion that showed promise in treating COVID-19. Los médicos estimaron que Meegan solo tenía un 3 % de posibilidades de encontrar un donante compatible con su raro tipo de sangre. A COVID-19 survivor, Thomas Gibson, a Texas resident with the same blood type, traveled to Reno to donate his viral antibodies and a convalescent plasma donation credited with helping to save Meegan’s life. Physician clinical researchers and scientists at Renown and the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med) knew they needed to create better options for patients and physicians. Clinical researchers developed a study to help other patients like Austin, and pleaded for donations from recovered COVID-19 patients to donate their convalescent plasma. The researcher teams looked to understand how the body’s immune system responds to the virus over time, to aid them in developing new treatments for COVID-19. “The world’s capacity to get through the COVID crisis will depend on four things — science, technology, innovation and partnerships, says Tony Slonim, MD, DrPH, President and CEO of Renown Health. “Taking lab bench discoveries to the bedside of patients in an efficacious and timely manner is not easy, but with UNR Med and our partners, we are making great strides in advancing clinical research which has the power to save lives and to create a healthier Nevada.” “It’s tremendously promising to partner on clinical research that will not only help us better understand the disease, but help inform treatment for those combatting COVID-19 that has had such a devastating impact on Nevadans, our nation and the world,” says UNR Med Dean Thomas L. Schwenk, MD. Renown, UNR Med and other area health care partners collaborated with Vitalant to collect plasma from recovered donors for a study on the treatment's efficacy. Los donantes elegibles tenían al menos 18 años, pesaban más de 110 libras y estaban sanos. Donors had fully recovered from a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. Project coordinators at the Renown Research Office were overwhelmed by the community’s support and plasma blood donations. Las asociaciones adicionales con el Distrito de Salud del Condado de Washoe, el estado de Nevada y la Oficina del Gobernador, Saint Mary’s Medical Center, Northern Nevada Medical Center, Carson Tahoe Health y VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System, junto con muchos proveedores de atención médica del área, ayudaron al equipo a alcanzar sus objetivos de inscribir a 120 participantes elegibles en el estudio. “Our success in this study rests heavily on the support of our great community, as well as the innovation and collaboration demonstrated by Renown and UNR Med,” said Sara Healy, MD, MPH, principal investigator of the study and a pediatric infectious disease physician at Renown Children’s Hospital and UNR Med. “We are proud to be at the forefront of conducting essential research during such a pivotal time in history, and look forward to our continued partnership as we continue this important work.” “The control of COVID-19 in our communities relies on testing. The study that is being launched to develop a sensitive, specific and easier way to collect specimens (blood) is advancing the field and brings promise towards getting to our common goal of having the right diagnostic test for the right clinical situation at the right time,” says Mark Riddle, MD, DrPH, FISTM, associate investigator of the study and associate dean for clinical research and professor at UNR Med's Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Research. The research team is now asking area residents to participate in a study to analyze the efficacy of two COVID-19 tests. Participants will undergo two blood tests: one being a finger stick to provide results for a rapid test, and the other is a traditional venipuncture draw confirming the presence or absence of COVID-19 antibodies. This study is a collaboration with InBios International, Inc., a leading biotechnology company based in Seattle. Researchers are seeking: Individuals who have confirmed positive for COVID-19 and who have recently recovered from the virus. Los participantes del estudio deben estar en un período de entre 7 y 28 días posteriores al inicio de sus síntomas. Individuals who have recently tested negative for COVID-19 and have never tested positive. Los interesados en participar en el estudio pueden ponerse en contacto con los coordinadores del proyecto en la Oficina de Investigación de Renown al (775) 982-3646, o por correo electrónico a covidplasmascreening@renown.org, de lunes a viernes, de 7:30 a.m. a 5:00 p.m. Se anima a las personas de entre 18 y 75 años con buena salud en general a que consideren la posibilidad de participar en este estudio en curso. There is no cost to participate in this study and participation is voluntary. An individual’s decision to participate will not affect their current or future relations with their health care provider(s), health district, or the community. Those who decide to participate are free to withdraw at any time. “Time is of the essence with COVID. If we can get test results to people and their clinicians in a more timely way, we can make a faster diagnosis of a patient's condition, says Christopher M. Kozlowski, MD, MHA, Renown's institutional research officer and Medical Director/VP of Renown Institute for Heart & Vascular Health. “As we refine the accuracy of our testing; we are applying sensitivity and specificity testing for true negative and true positive results. This provides people with more timely and accurate results and better quality care.” Acerca de Renown Health Renown Health es una red de atención médica integrada de administración local y sin fines de lucro que brinda servicios al norte de Nevada, Lake Tahoe y el noreste de California. Renown es uno de los mayores empleadores privados de la región y cuenta con una fuerza laboral de más de 7,000. It comprises three acute care hospitals, a rehabilitation hospital, the area’s most comprehensive medical group and urgent care network, and the region’s largest and only locally owned not-for-profit insurance company, Hometown Health. Renown tiene una larga trayectoria y un compromiso de larga data con la mejora de la atención y la salud de nuestra comunidad. About the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med), Nevada’s first medical school, is a community-based, research-intensive medical school with a statewide vision for a healthy Nevada. Fundada en 1969, la UNR Med está mejorando la salud y el bienestar de todos los residentes de Nevada y sus comunidades mediante excelencia en la educación estudiantil, capacitación de posgrado y atención clínica, investigación con impacto local, nacional y global y una cultura de diversidad e inclusión. For more information, visit med.unr.edu.
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Healthy Veggie Chili, Ready to Eat in Less than an Hour? Yes Please!
We’re always in search of cozy comfort foods for crisp winter evenings, but you know what’s even better? When the recipe takes less than an hour, start to finish. Here’s a recipe for healthy vegetarian chili that you can customize with your favorite beans. Remember those Choose Your Own Adventure books you used to read as a child? Well here’s a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-inspired veggie chili. The adventure: Customizing it with your favorite beans! And once your selections are made and the veggies are chopped, this recipe should take about 40 minutes to prepare, from beginning to satisfying end. Vegetarian Chili Feeds the Crowds Here’s the recipe, which is fully customizable based on bean preferences and can also be adapted to slow cooking.
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Vacunas de refuerzo contra la COVID-19, lo que debe saber
Getting the COVID-19 booster is the best way to protect yourself from severe illness or death due to COVID-19, and both the CDC and the FDA have approved booster shots for people ages 18 and older. So, with the holidays right around the corner and infection rates on the rise both in Nevada and nationally, the best thing you can do to prevent the continued spread of this deadly virus is to get boosted today. The Basics: Who: It is recommended that everyone 18 years or older get a COVID-19 booster shot. When: At least 6 months after completing your primary COVID-19 vaccination series. What: Any of the COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States. The CDC allows for mix and match dosing for booster shots. How: To make an appointment for your COVID-19 vaccine booster, please visit vaccines.gov today. Appointment Reminders: Don’t forget to bring your CDC vaccination record card to your appointment. Refresh yourself on the potential side effects and remember that these are normal signs your body is building up protection. Commonly Asked Questions: Q: Does anything change if I received the Johnson & Johnson as my first COVID-19 vaccine? A: If you received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, you are elidable for a booster two months after completing your primary vaccine. Q: Is the formula the same for the boosters as it was for the primary vaccine? A: COVID-19 booster shots are the same formulation as the current COVID-19 vaccines. However, in the case of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine booster shot, it is half the dose of the vaccine people get for their primary series. Q: Am I still considered “fully vaccinated” if I don’t receive a COVID-19 booster shot. A: Yes, everyone is still considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose in a two-shot series, such as the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as the J&J/Janssen vaccine. All information courtesy of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. All information courtesy of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention
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Wholesome Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
There is no shortage of sweet treats during the holiday season, making it hard to keep our health on track. With all of the delicious aromas mixed into holiday cookies -- vanilla, peppermint, molasses, ginger, pecans and chocolate --the dessert table could use a healthy makeover that doesn’t compromise flavor. We challenged Caitlin Bus, Registered Dietitian with Renown Healthy Heart Program, to come up with a healthier cookie recipe to share with your family and friends this holiday season. These vegan thumbprint cookies are soft, slightly chewy, nutty and sweet, made with almond flour, a hint of maple flavor and topped with raspberry jam (or the jam of your choice). Even better, these holiday cookies require just eight simple, healthy ingredients and are gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, oil-free and optionally sugar-free too!
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Tasty Turkey and Veggie Chili with Kale
Meet your new go-to healthy chili recipe for fall. Made to share or freeze the leftovers for an easy lunch or dinner. There’s nothing like homemade chili to warm you up on those cold winter nights. With just the right amount of comforting flavors and garden-fresh veggies, this crowd-pleasing favorite could prove to be your go-to healthy comfort meal.
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Easy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Bread
Pumpkin spice is a wonderful reminder of all things fall and cozy. This tasty pumpkin bread recipe is a favorite of both adults and kids. It incorporates fragrant fall spices – cinnamon, nutmeg and clove into a moist and surprisingly healthy bread. We replace regular flour with ground gluten-free whole grain oats courtesy of a blender. You won’t even notice our healthy substitutions of nonfat Greek yogurt and unsweetened applesauce. You’ll not only love the taste of this pumpkin bread, but also the wonderful aroma as it bakes filling your house with a mouthwatering scent. This generous recipe makes two loaves, one to keep and another to share with a friend or neighbor.
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Oat Flour Pumpkin Bread
Who knew that pumpkin bread can be nutritious and delicious? Caitlin Bus, Registered Dietitian with the Renown Healthy Heart Program shares her expertise on how to make a healthy and hearty pumpkin bread with homemade oat flour and natural substitutes for sugar. Give it a try!
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Bruschetta Chicken Bake
Bruschetta Chicken Bake is quick, affordable, and super easy to prepare on a busy schedule. The best part is that you don’t even have to pre-cook the chicken! Instead, serve this meal with a bagged salad and a crusty loaf of bread, and you’ll have a healthy, homemade dinner on the table in no time!
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Healthy Zucchini Manicotti
Often, when we think of Italian dishes, we think of pasta. In fact, there are more than 600 different pasta shapes, each holding the task of delivering Italy’s flavors. While we all crave pasta, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), a cup of pasta shells contains about 166 calories, 6 grams of protein and 32 grams of carbohydrates. When you add all the other comforting ingredients that comes with cooking Italian, it’s nearly impossible to keep it healthy. Caitlin Bus, Registered Dietitian with the Renown Healthy Heart Program shares a healthier version of an Italian favorite –deconstructed manicotti using zucchini as a substitute for noodles. If you’re looking for a healthier Italian dish and wondering how to use a spiralizer to turn vegetables into noodles, this recipe is for you.
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Citrus Black Bean Quinoa Salad
Looking for the most delicious plant-based, protein-rich salad to add to your recipe repertoire? Look no further. We asked our registered dietitian, Caitlin Bus, with Renown Healthy Heart Program for the one recipe that all her class participants rave about. Caitlin’s popular recipe offers a bounty of fiber and protein. This dish is a showstopper because quinoa is a healthy grain. A cup contains 8 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber, compared to 4 grams of protein and only 1 gram of fiber in a cup of white rice. With the perfect amount of citrus flavor combined with corn, bell pepper, and beans this dietitian approved quinoa salad will be a staple for all occasions. Enjoy!
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No-Fuss Lemon Cake
If you’re looking for an easy cake recipe for those last-minute gatherings, give this no-fuss lemon cake a try. By keeping yellow cake mix and lemon jello on-hand, you’ll only need to buy fresh lemons to quickly whip up this tart and tasty treat!
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Viuda de Reno inspira una nueva política de visitantes para Renown
Renown Health is one of the country’s first health systems to lift visitor restrictions for patients with COVID-19 and encourage the family to be at the patient’s bedside. Read Darlene and Dave’s story to understand why we’re updating our visitor policy. Dave and Darlene Randolph found joy in exploring antique shops and garage sales to find damaged or discarded vintage pieces. Dave would spend many hours scraping, cleaning, sanding, and refinishing items, transforming them into functional, beautiful pieces of furniture. Every piece in their home rekindles a memory and has a story to tell. On Thanksgiving, when Dave was too ill to gather around their antique dining room table, Darlene called the ambulance. Ailing with COVID-19 for two weeks, Dave had not been improving. When the EMTs reached her home and asked Darlene what underlying conditions he had, she said, “all of them.” David was seriously ill. Hospitalized for COVID-19, their communications options were limited. The only way Darlene could communicate with Dave was on a video call or by telephone. Dave spent 17 days hospitalized at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno. Darlene spent 17 days waiting by the phone for more information on his condition. Darlene said he had “up days and down days,” but thought he might be home, sitting at their antique dinner table for Christmas. Sadly, Dr. David Randolph lost his battle with COVID-19 on December 13, 2020, and died as he slept in a hospital bed. When Darlene wrote his obituary for the newspaper, she gave thanks to the “tremendous nurses and doctors at Renown Regional Medical Center, for providing his care during a time when the family could not be with him.” Taking Action to Inspire Change Darlene wished she could have been there. Over their 45-year marriage, she had always been there. Darlene said, “I had always been at his bedside, as his advocate, to help communicate and straighten things out.” As a registered dietician, she worked in hospitals, knew the protocol, and knew that Renown had a restricted visitor policy to stop the virus’s spread- to other patients, staff, and their family members. Still, she wished she could have spent more time with him. On Christmas Eve, she sat down and wrote to Renown leadership. “As the wife of a COVID patient who recently passed away in your hospital, I want to express my thanks to you and your staff for the care he received in the last days of his life. I am aware that the nurses and staff are working under dangerous conditions and risking their health and lives by caring for multiple COVID patients. The staff is gracious, concerned, and doing everything they can.” She continued, “I know procedures are changing every hour to try to stay ahead of this dangerous virus, and I am sharing my experiences, hoping they will be helpful when establishing policies that impact families.” Darlene explained that despite receiving assurances that Dave’s nurse or a doctor would call daily, sometimes they would forget. She explains in her letter, “how important it is, in these times when the family cannot visit, and has only infrequent communication and is anxiously waiting at home for information about their loved one, how much it means to get a call from someone caring for him at the hospital. If there is a way you can help assure nurses have time to make calls or assist patients in making calls because it is an important part of patient care.” A Person-Centered Visitor Policy After receiving her letter, Renown leadership called Mrs. David Randolph to thank her, offer his sympathies and ask if Renown could help in any way. Darlene asked if he might reconsider allowing families to visit hospital patients during treatment for COVID-19. As the COVID-19 situation has evolved, the policy has as well. Renown hospitals and medical practices now encourage limited visitors for all patients, including those diagnosed with COVID-19. Renown also has extra safety measures to protect the health of patients, visitors and healthcare employees. Darlene is very pleased that her letter inspired this shift in visitor policies for patients with COVID-19. She says, “I have always tried to think of ways I could help other families. Especially those senior couples where one has been hospitalized and the other is home. My wish is to help others.” Renown Health Visitor Policy Renown Health patients may identify two healthy adult “patient supporters” to accompany them on their hospital stay. For more details, visit our Patient Supporter Guidelines page.
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