About the HELP Center
The HELP Center was established as part of a National Institute of Nursing Research/NIH funded project and is approved to bill third-party payers for medically indicated services. Dr. Osama Gaber, chief transplant surgeon at UTHSC, has been actively involved in the HELP Center's development and is the medical director. Donna Hathaway, Ph.D., now dean of the College of Nursing, was initially awarded the NIH grant that established the HELP Center. Dr. Hathaway remains an active faculty participant and mentors students, clinicians, and novice investigators. She has extensive interdisciplinary research experience and examines quality of life issues for the Center.
The HELP Center consists of 3600 sq. ft divided into three patient exam rooms, a procedure room, a counseling area, a group therapy room, a waiting area, a receptionist's area, a patient interview area, storage rooms for filing patient records, and seven offices. It is conveniently located for research subjects and clinical patients at 920 Madison, where many university health care providers have offices.
The HELP Center has quickly grown and has evolved into a self-supporting College of Nursing research center. Since its establishment in just a relative short time ago, more than 20 researchers have engaged in collaborative research at the Center. Scholarly outcomes include 7 funded studies resulting in nearly 100 publications and more than 125 presentations.
Personnel
The HELP Center has seven employees; a director, a family nurse practitioner, a research nurse, a basic science researcher, a business manager, a receptionist/patient account specialist, and a technician.
Equipment
- Recorders/microphones
- Electrogastrography recording equipment
- Marquette Ambulatory ECG Analysis and Editing System
- Continuous heart rate monitoring
- Pipettes
- Tilt table
- 12 Lead EKG with report
- Automated blood pressure monitoring
- Venipuncture Supplies
- Teleconferencing Capabilities
- Computers
- Centralized Medical Records
- Autonomic nervous system software and hardware
- Neuropsychological equipment (Reitan finger tappers, stopwatches)
- VO2 Max equipment
- Digital Holter monitors 24-hr EKG recording
- Scales appropriate for obese patients
- MARS PC ECG monitoring system
- Centrifuge
- Exercise Tolerance testing equipment
- Infra-red photoplesymography for determining capillary blood flow
- -86oC Freezer
Services
Depending on available funding and reimbursement potential The Help Center can provide both clinical and research support, in addition to space. The following can be negotiated:
- Scheduling during business hours
- Cleaning of room at the end of the day
- Insurance Billing
- Clinical Profile
- Demographic Database
- Repository Consent
Key Points
Interdisciplinary
- Obesity Research and Transplant Research
Research and Practice
Students
- Graduate Nursing Students
- Nutrition
- Medical Students
Chronic Illness
- Common denominator in our studies and practices
Self-supporting
Convenient location/accessible
Contact the HELP Center
920 Madison Avenue
Suite 507N
Memphis, TN 38103
Phone: 901-448-1584
Toll free: (877)329-0004
Fax: 901-448-1762
Contact Information
UTHSC College of Nursing
877 Madison Avenue
Memphis, Tennessee 38163
901-448-6128
Fax: 901-448-4121
Toll Free: 800-733-2498
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