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Black America Web
3 days ago
- Health
- Black America Web
Memorial Honors Bruce Tucker, Black Man Whose Heart Was Taken Without Consent In Virginia's 1st Transplant
Source: Mininyx Doodle / Getty The family of Bruce Tucker gave their loved one the home-going service he deserved after years of pain. According to ABC 8 News , on May 30, relatives of the 54-year-old gathered together at a private ceremony organized by Virginia Commonwealth University Health (VCU Health) to honor Tucker, who died in 1968, following a severe head injury from a fall. Tragically, what followed the death of the Stony Creek native was equally heartbreaking. On May 25, 1968, physicians at the Medical College of Virginia (now VCU Health) declared him dead. Without notifying or obtaining consent from Tucker's family, surgeons—acting with a medical examiner's permission—removed his heart and kidneys. His heart was then transplanted into a white man in what became Virginia's first and the world's 16th recorded heart transplant. In response, Tucker's brother William filed a wrongful death lawsuit. However, in 1972, the jury ruled in favor of the defendants after being instructed to consider the concept of brain death, despite it not being recognized in the Code of Virginia at the time. To honor Tucker's legacy, VCU Health established a historical highway marker in the Stony Creek area of Dinwiddie County. The marker details the events surrounding Tucker's case, a gesture hospital officials say is part of an ongoing effort to acknowledge and address the violations of his medical rights and privacy. 'The marker now serves as a public reminder of the importance of informed consent and transparency in health care,' Gayle Turner, a representative for the Tucker family,' said, according to ABC 8 News. 'It also serves as a permanent acknowledgement and memorial tribute to the life and legacy of our beloved Bruce Oliver Tucker and the impact his story continues to have on medicine and ethics today.' Notably, on May 24, 1968, Tucker was taken—unconscious and unaccompanied—to the Medical College of Virginia, after he suffered his fall in Richmond, according to VCU Health's official website. The American Journal of Transplantation noted that the working-class Virginian fell off a three-foot wall. Doctors diagnosed him with a basilar skull fracture, a subdural hematoma, and a brain stem contusion. He underwent emergency surgery to relieve pressure on his brain and received a tracheostomy to help him breathe. As Bruce Tucker lay in critical condition, members of the hospital's transplant team began to consider him a potential organ donor. Unable to locate his next of kin, and with a white patient in need of a heart transplant, the surgeons proceeded. Though Virginia's 'Unclaimed Body Act' required a 24-hour waiting period before declaring a body unclaimed, this protocol was not followed. Within hours of his death being pronounced on May 25, 1968, surgeons removed Tucker's heart and kidneys, without the knowledge or consent of his family. His heart was transplanted into a wealthy white businessman named Joseph Klett in what became Virginia's first heart transplant and the 16th worldwide. Klett died six days later due to organ rejection. Tucker's family only learned of the organ removal after his death. His brother, William Tucker, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the surgeons and medical examiner involved. The case went to trial in 1972, but an all-white, all-male jury ruled in favor of the hospital. The case raised serious questions about medical ethics, racial injustice, and the need for clear consent protocols in organ donation. Thankfully, VCU Health is taking meaningful steps to acknowledge and address the injustice done to Tucker. In addition to the newly installed historical marker, the hospital unveiled a commemorative mural in honor of the 54-year-old in March, ensuring that his legacy will not be forgotten. The mural, titled Humanity of the Heart , was designed by students from VCU's mOb studiO and brought to life by Richmond-based artist Hamilton Glass. SEE MORE: New Project To Move Unmarked Black Graves In Virginia Family Of Henrietta Lacks Reach Private Settlement Deal With Thermo Fisher SEE ALSO Memorial Honors Bruce Tucker, Black Man Whose Heart Was Taken Without Consent In Virginia's 1st Transplant was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Pending law could allow anesthesiologist assistants to work in Va., bolster health care workforce
Anesthesiologist adjusting anesthesia machine during surgery in operating room of hospital. (Photo by) Ricky Miller would like to come home to Virginia. He's been in Indiana practicing as a Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant and finished his schooling to do so there because he couldn't in Virginia. This type of medical worker is involved in placing patients under anesthesia for surgeries. The Virginia Beach native's passion for the work first formed when he was earning his bachelor's degree at Radford University in Southwest Virginia because it fused his interest in physiology and chemistry. Though he's enjoyed his time in the Midwest, he said he misses his home state with its mountains and beaches. When his grandfather became ill and needed surgery, he longed to be closer to home and more easily able to see family. A bill now under review by Gov. Glenn Youngkin could make it possible for Miller, and other health care professionals like him, to live and work in Virginia. When hospitals conduct surgery, two key positions other than anesthesiologist doctors can be involved: CAAs — like Miller — or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists. Both workers have medical knowledge and training specific to anesthesiology; VCU Health's program for CRNAs, for instance, touts its decade of ranking high in the U.S. World and Report. While CRNAs need doctoral degrees to practice, CAAs can practice in other states with masters degrees, but they are not able to practice in Virginia due to a lack of licensure. Senate Bill 882 by Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, would establish criteria for professionals like Miller to be licensed in Virginia and would direct the Board of Medicine to adopt regulations to govern the practice. The workforce is in demand and bolstering it was a recommendation from Virginia's Joint Commission on Health Care. Locke's bill cleared the legislature with bipartisan support and now awaits action from Youngkin. Between the governor's expressed support of bringing jobs into the state and his history of supporting licensure bills, advocates for Locke's bill are hopeful he might sign it. 'I'm just happy and just really grateful that, you know, it seems to be something I can go back to,' Miller said of Youngkin's potential to sign the law. The Medical Society of Virginia threw their support behind the bill and wrote a letter to Youngkin recently to explain how CAAs operate under the supervision of anesthesiologists to monitor patients before, during and after surgery. 'By handling routine but critical tasks, including preoperative evaluations, patient monitoring, and postoperative care, anesthesiologist assistants allow physician anesthesiologists to serve more patients, and dedicate more time to high-risk patients, ensuring expert attention is available where it is most needed,' MSV president Joel Bundy wrote in the letter. Bundy noted that 20 states, Washington D.C. and Guam license anesthesiologist assistants and that the Joint Commission on Healthcare found the supply of anesthesia providers is not keeping pace with demand. Some factors to increasing demand include aging populations that could require more surgeries, increasing numbers of elective outpatient procedures and more non-operating room procedures that still require someone to be placed under anesthesia. Virginia Society of Anesthesiologists director Dr. Jeffrey Green concurs. 'Anesthesiologists are the only medical physician group that doesn't have multiple choices of advanced practice providers,' he said. 'CRNAs are the only ones, and so this would essentially be a second group of advanced practice providers for us to have so that we can extend our reach.' For Miller, he said he would come back to Virginia eventually if he would be able to do his job here. While he's enjoyed Indiana, it's 'a little cold' for him in the winters and he's appreciated his home state more since leaving it. 'I just think it's a great opportunity, not only for people who want to come home to Virginia,' Miller said, 'but people who are not even from here to be like 'this is a good place to practice and good place to live.'' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
CHKD to once again offer gender-affirming care for minors
Gender-affirming care will resume for patients at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk, according to a recent announcement from the hospital. CHKD paused hormone therapy and puberty blocker treatments for transgender patients Feb. 3 after an executive order was signed by President Donald Trump. The order aimed to halt the use of federal money to support gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth under the age of 19, and if fully implemented, the order would cut off government health insurance including Medicaid and TRICARE for the treatments. Since the executive order was signed, several states have pushed back against Trump's attempt to end gender care for minors. A federal judge in Washington state issued a ruling Friday that blocks the orders in Washington, Minnesota, Oregon and Colorado — the four states that brought the lawsuit — until the case is resolved. In Baltimore, another federal judge extended a nationwide block to March 5 while he weighs an injunction request. 'We will evaluate each individual situation to ensure that evidence-based care and clinical best practices support the needs of all patients and their overall health and well-being,' the hospital said in a statement. CHKD has never performed surgeries as part of gender-affirming care for transgender youth. Treatments for gender dysphoria at the hospital include hormone therapy or puberty blockers, and other medical conditions that used similar medications were not affected by the pause. The hospital joins other health care systems in Virginia in continuing hormonal care for minors. VCU Health's Children's Hospital of Richmond also announced it would begin gender-affirming care for its patients after a similar pause earlier this year. CHKD said the legal battle is an 'evolving situation,' and patients will be notified if the status of their care changes. Eliza Noe,
Al-Ahram Weekly
02-03-2025
- Health
- Al-Ahram Weekly
How to practice healthy fasting during Ramadan - Health - Life & Style
While it's safe for most people to fast, planning ahead and keeping nutrition in mind can make the month that much more meaningful, said Elfakhani, a nutrition expert at Pennsylvania State University. Manal Elfakhani looks back fondly on childhood memories from the month of Ramadan. She would break her fast at the mosque with family and snack on sweet semolina flour cookies that she's since learned to bake herself. Ramadan is about spiritual reflection and the value of having enough to eat, she said. For about a month, many Muslims don't eat or drink from dawn to sunset. This year, it's set to begin this weekend. While it's safe for most people to fast, planning ahead and keeping nutrition in mind can make the month that much more meaningful, said Elfakhani, a nutrition expert at Pennsylvania State University. Young children, the elderly and those who are pregnant, menstruating or breastfeeding are exempt from fasting. People with diabetes, heart disease or other chronic conditions should talk to their doctor when deciding to fast, especially if they take medications regularly. 'You should be in a very good, healthy state in order to do this,' Elfakhani said. For the pre-dawn meal called suhoor, nutrition experts recommend fueling up with a variety of food groups. When Sonya Islam was too tired to crawl out of bed for suhoor as a child, her mother would bring her a banana and a glass of milk. Now a dietician at VCU Health, she sees the wisdom in that meal: a combination of fiber and protein. 'Having sustained fuel that can last for as long as possible is critical,' she said. She suggests foods with healthy fats in them — like avocados and nuts — as well as high-fiber, hydrating vegetables and fruits. Sugary foods aren't the best idea since they digest quickly and can trigger cravings. While that cup of coffee or tea may be tempting, experts say it's best to fight the urge. Instead, hydrate with water and non-caffeinated drinks The daily fast's duration can vary by location depending on the hours of daylight. Experts say to take it easy and listen to the body while fasting. Elfakhani tries to slow down during the day in between teaching stints and catches up on work after the evening iftar meal. Going for a short walk or stretching can help boost energy levels and keep the mind active. People who exercise regularly may want to work out right before breaking the fast or later in the evening to avoid dehydration. At the evening iftar meal, avoid overeating as this can make the body feel sluggish. Some choose to break their fast with a glass of water or a hot drink and fiber-rich dates. After that, consider having a few appetizers and a small entree. Wait a few hours and then snack as needed. 'It's more so about mindful eating and listening to when your body's actually hungry as opposed to just overloading,' said Zaiba Jetpuri from UT Southwestern Medical Center. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Asharq Al-Awsat
01-03-2025
- Health
- Asharq Al-Awsat
How to Practice Healthy Fasting during Ramadan
Manal Elfakhani looks back fondly on childhood memories from the month of Ramadan. She would break her fast at the mosque with family and snack on sweet semolina flour cookies that she's since learned to bake herself. Ramadan is about spiritual reflection and the value of having enough to eat, she said. For about a month, many Muslims don't eat or drink from dawn to sunset. This year, it's set to begin this weekend. While it's safe for most people to fast, planning ahead and keeping nutrition in mind can make the month that much more meaningful, said Elfakhani, a nutrition expert at Pennsylvania State University, The AP reported. Young children, the elderly and those who are pregnant, menstruating or breastfeeding are exempt from fasting. People with diabetes, heart disease or other chronic conditions should talk to their doctor when deciding to fast, especially if they take medications regularly. 'You should be in a very good, healthy state in order to do this,' Elfakhani said. For the pre-dawn meal called suhoor, nutrition experts recommend fueling up with a variety of food groups. When Sonya Islam was too tired to crawl out of bed for suhoor as a child, her mother would bring her a banana and a glass of milk. Now a dietician at VCU Health, she sees the wisdom in that meal: a combination of fiber and protein. 'Having sustained fuel that can last for as long as possible is critical,' she said. This article is part of AP's Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health. Read more Be Well. She suggests foods with healthy fats in them — like avocados and nuts — as well as high-fiber, hydrating vegetables and fruits. Sugary foods aren't the best idea since they digest quickly and can trigger cravings. While that cup of coffee or tea may be tempting, experts say it's best to fight the urge. Instead, hydrate with water and non-caffeinated drinks. The daily fast's duration can vary by location depending on the hours of daylight. Experts say to take it easy and listen to the body while fasting. Elfakhani tries to slow down during the day in between teaching stints and catches up on work after the evening iftar meal. Going for a short walk or stretching can help boost energy levels and keep the mind active. People who exercise regularly may want to work out right before breaking the fast or later in the evening to avoid dehydration. At the evening iftar meal, avoid overeating as this can make the body feel sluggish. Some choose to break their fast with a glass of water or a hot drink and fiber-rich dates. After that, consider having a few appetizers and a small entree. Wait a few hours and then snack as needed. 'It's more so about mindful eating and listening to when your body's actually hungry as opposed to just overloading,' said Zaiba Jetpuri from UT Southwestern Medical Center.
