9:00 p.m.

Working late into the evening, graphic artist Ian Reynolds puts the final touches on a scientific poster session to be displayed at a national conference.

 

 f one word were to best describe the professionals in M. D. Anderson’s Medical Graphics and Photography, it would have to be “creative.”

Every day, they are designing printed materials, assisting with institutional web sites, making slides for presentations, drawing medical and scientific illustrations, and taking photographs for faculty and staff.

Last year alone, the department’s Computer Graphics Imaging Services unit produced 58,236 slides, while the Medical Illustration and Graphic Design group completed 1,325 projects. More than 7,800 work requests for prints, slides and film processing were filled by Medical Photography and Photography Laboratory Services, resulting in 102,887 units produced.

The team of 23 full-time employees is a valuable resource to M. D. Anderson, says Mary Dorta, director of medical graphics and photography. “We pride ourselves as being experts in the fields of medical and scientific art and photography, and being able to meet the diverse needs of our clients.”

9:40 p.m.

D. Anderson operates the busiest hospital-based pharmacy in the world.

Last year, 139 pharmacists and 145 support personnel accounted for 4,769,226 drug doses administered to inpatients, 603,000 medication doses given in the Ambulatory Treatment Center and 177,500 prescriptions filled for outpatients.

Pharmacists have had pivotal roles in helping clinicians evaluate investigational chemotherapy agents, develop an array of portable drug infusion pumps, and counsel patients and families.

“Over the years, we have found that it is extremely important to have pharmacists and pharmacy locations as close as possible to patients when they require drug therapy. This is especially true for patients in the critical care units,” says Roger W. Anderson, head of the Division of Pharmacy.

New dedicated satellite pharmacies for the intensive care unit (ICU), the operating rooms, and pediatric and hematology inpatients were opened earlier this year in the Albert B. and Margaret M. Alkek Hospital. Four other satellite units are available in strategic locations.

Pharmacy technologist Jeri Prados (forefront) checks a chemotherapy solution, while pharmacy supervisor Margaret Reilly readies a patient’s prescription in the new ICU satellite pharmacy. It is open 16 hours a day.

 

1:00 p.m.

 Larry Lindsey comforts his wife, Linda, a leukemia patient from Memphis, Tennessee, while nurse Mary Joseph monitors her condition during a recent visit to the Emergency Center. Open around the clock, the 23-bed Emergency Center is part of M. D. Anderson’s pioneering Ambulatory Treatment Center.