Satellite Facility at the Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center
A satellite to the CTRC was developed at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) next to the University of Cincinnati campus in 2003. This clinical research unit was designed specifically to study participants who could not be studied at the Children's Hospital because of medical or psychiatric instability which required supporting medical expertise that exceeded what was available there. In addition, this unit offers specific capabilities for studying adults with cardiac, pulmonary and sleep disorders. Since opening the VA Clinical Research Unit (CRU) has supported studies from investigators in Psychiatry, Cardiology, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Surgery, Endocrinology, Infectious Diseases, and Pulmonary Medicine.
The VAMC CRU consists of 3,000 sq. ft. of dedicated research space located on the fourth floor of the VAMC. The unit is adjacent to an outpatient clinic and one floor below the inpatient service. Included in the VAMC satellite are two inpatient rooms with cardiac monitoring capabilities. In addition, these rooms are fitted with the necessary equipment for performing sleep studies. There is a fully equipped cardio-pulmonary physiology laboratory with a C-arm and related equipment to support procedures such as pain management and bronchoscopy. There is a pulmonology lab with exercise bike and metabolic cart for measurement of energy expenditure and pulmonary outcomes. The unit has four outpatient exam rooms fitted with computers that link to CPRS (computerized patient records system), three procedure rooms, an investigational pharmacy, a phlebotomy and sample processing laboratory with refrigerated centrifuge, –70ºC and –20ºC freezers and a nurses station. The unit is staffed by two full time RN research nurses and two research assistants who have been with the unit since inception.
The satellite uses the VAMC R&D Committee to provide scientific review, and the University of Cincinnati IRB for ethics review. The unit is open to investigators across the Academic Health Center. For investigators outside the VA credentialing is through the Office of Research at the VAMC. Research subjects can be drawn from patients attending the Cincinnati VAMC for their health care, and from outside the VA.
Investigators interested in using this facility may contact the administrator for the facility, Mary Colleen Rogge, BSN, RN, CCRC, MaryColleen.Rogge@va.gov 513-475-6478 for more information.
