Ir
DUKE NORTH ANCILLARY SECTION — Standing about halfway between the Schcx)lof Nursing
and the Bell Building, one can get this view of Duke Hospital North. To the left at ground level is
the site of the future emergency entrance. Radiology offices will be in the section in the right
foreground. Visible above the top of the hospital's ancillary section are the tops of the central core
and the north bed tower. IPhofo hu Thml SpttrksI
Duke University
Medical Center
Intercom
VOL. 25, NO. 44
NOV. 3, 1978
DURHAM, N.C.
Searle Center dedication set
Off TO THE RACES—This August scene is presented not as a contrast to November's crisp weather,
but to draw attention to November's designation as National Diabetes Month. This canoe race took
place this summer at the Carolinas'Camp for Diabetic Children (see Intercom, 81111176). It was one of
a number of contests staged between the medical staff and the program staff, to the delight of the
campers, children with diabetes. The campers, however, were seldom just spectators. For more
about the camp and about National Diabetes Month, see photos on page 3.
The Searle Center for Continuing
Education in the Health Sciences will be
dedicated next Thursday (Nov. 9). The
Dean's Hour lecture v^^ill follow the
dedication ceremony.
Coffee and tea will be available at 4 p.m.
in the foyer of the Searle Center, on the
ground level of the Seeley G. Mudd
Building.
The dedication ceremony will not
exceed 30 minutes.
Dr. E. Harvey Estes, professor and
chairman of the Department of
Community and Family Medicine, will
deliver the Dean's Hour Lecture at 5 p.m.
in the same setting.
Estes was chairman of a national
committee sponsored by the National
Academy of Sciences and the Institute of
Medicine on the future of primary health
care in the United States.
The committee's report has generated
lively discussion in the past and is
4
Speaker says screening procedures abused
By Parker Herring
Is the annual Pap smear necessary?
How about the annual physical and the
routine electrocardiogram?
A guest speaker at a recent family
medicine conference here thinks not, and
his views are certain to be at some conflict
with those of other members of his
profession.
The speaker. Dr. Paul Frame, practices
family medicine in New York state. He
addressed the Symposium on Screening
and Health Maintenance at the Family
Medicine Center on Crutchfield Street
Oct. 20.
Slow process
"The U.S. medical establishment firmly
believes women should have a Pap smear
every year," he said. "But I think there is
substantial evidence which proves Pap
smears are only necessary every two
years."
Frame cited medical evidence which
indicates that cervical cancer is a slow-
growing process.
"That is my whole point," Frame said.
"All of the evidence shows that it takes
between five and 15 years for cervical
cancer to become an untreatable or
noncurable malignancy." Therefore Pap
smears are only necessary every two
years, he said
Longer intervals favored
"The American College of Obstetrics
and Gynecology (ACOG) recommends an
initial smear at age 18 or when a woman
first becomes sexually active," he said.
"The ACOG recommends that a Pap
smear be repeated in six months and then
repeated every year."
British and Canadian medical
establishments both favor much longer
intervals between Pap smears. Frame
said.
"The British National Health Service
recommends starting Pap smears at age
25, repeating the smear the next year and
then doing another Pap smear every five
years until the woman is 70 years old," he
said.
Frame pointed out that Canada's health
service recommends an initial smear at
age 18 or whenever a woman becomes
sexually active, repeating a smear every
three years to age 35 and then repeating
the smear every five years to age 65.
"The British and Canadians are more
cost-conscious than Americans," he said.
"The U.S. tends to study health screening
(Continued on page 3)
expected to do so following Estes’
presentation.
The Searle Center was established with
a $1 million grant from the G.D. Searle &
Co. Its purpose is to help physicians and
other health care professionals keep up
with the knowledge explosion in the
health care field.
Upon announcement of the Searle gift
in July 1977, Dr. William G. Anlyan, vice
president for health affairs, said, "The
center not only will be a local and regional
resource, but also will be available for
national and international meetings
whenever appropriate."
The Wakeman Award international
conference on neurobiology was held in
the center last month (see intercom,
10/6/78), and it has been the setting for
numerous other meetings this fall. Most
of next week's Medical Alumni Weekend
activities also will be held there (next
week's Intercom will carry a story about the
weekend).
The Searle Center, which occupies
most of the ground floor of the Mudd
Building, includes a 250-seat lecture hall,
several smaller meeting rooms, a
projection room and closed-circuit
television capability.
United Way goes
over the top
The university and medical center went
well over the 1978 United Way campaign
goal of $97,500.
"As of today (Oct. 31) total
contributions are $101,015.00," Larry
Blake, chairman of the university-wide
campaign, said. "The medical center
contributed nearly $40,000 of that
amount."
Blake, Duke's fire safety officer, said he
(Continued on page 4)