Memorial Health is a two-state healthcare organization serving a 35-county area in southeast Georgia and southern South Carolina. The system includes its flagship, Memorial Health University Medical Center (MHUMC), a 530-bed tertiary medical center. MHUMC is the region’s only teaching and research hospital, the only Level One trauma center, and the home of the only designated children’s hospital. MHUMC was recently named a Distinguished Hospital by J.D. Power and Associates for providing an "outstanding patient experience." It has also been named one of America’s Most Wired hospitals four years in a row by Hospitals & Health Networks Magazine.

At Memorial Health, our mission is simple: we help people feel better. Our vision is to be the healthcare partner of choice, empowering people to achieve physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. To learn more about our world-class facilities, please visit us at www.memorialhealth.com.

There are currently more than 300 studies open at Memorial Health. We participate in more than 50 pharmaceutical- or industry-sponsored studies. Nearly 30 of our studies are comprised of original research being done by physicians and resident physicians.

The Memorial Health Research Center has been managing clinical drug and device trials in phases II through IV, and investigator-initiated research for 15 years. We have experience in the following areas:

• Breast Cancer
• Cardiology/Vascular Diseases
• Colorectal Cancer
• Endocrinology
• Gerontology
• Gynecologic Cancers
• Hematology
• Infectious Diseases
• Lung Cancer
• Lymphoma
• Neurology
• Obesity
• OB/GYN
• Oncology
• Ophthalmology
• Otolaryngology
• Pediatrics/Neonatology
• Pediatric Neurology
• Prostate Cancer
• Psychiatry
• Sleep Disorders
• Stroke
• Cancer Symptom Management
• UGI
• Trauma/Emergency Medicine

We have worked with multiple sponsors, including Abbott Laboratories, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Alliance Pharmaceutical Corp., Amgen, Aventis, Boerhinger-Ingelheim, Boerhinger-Mannheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Elan Pharmaceuticals, Eli-Lilly & Company, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline, Hoechst Group, Human Genome Sciences, Inc., Merk & Company, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation, Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical Research, Pharmacia and Upjohn, Pfizer, Roche, R. W. Johnson, Respironics, Inc., Rhone-Poulenc-Rorer, Schering Plough Corporation, Searle, Shire Pharmaceuticals, SmithKline Beecham, Somnus, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, TAP Holdings, Upjohn, Viropharma, Wyeth Nutritionals, Wyeth-Ayerst, and Zeneca.

Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia, is southeast Georgia's only teaching and research hospital. Located about 30 minutes from an international airport, and just minutes from Interstate roads I-95 and I-16, the 530-bed hospital is the regional referral center for approximately 450,000 people in southeast Georgia and South Carolina. The center offers the full range of tertiary services with the exception of a burn unit and a transplant service. Some of the referral services include a Level 1 Trauma Center, open-heart surgery, high-risk obstetrics, neonatology, pediatric intensive care, pediatric cardiology, pediatric hematology/oncology, adolescent medicine, radiation oncology, sports medicine, rehabilitation services, diagnostic radiology services, and the region’s largest air and ground emergency transport service.

Memorial Health University Medical Center also has a surgical training lab and is well-equipped to conduct clinical trials. The lab maintains a refrigerated centrifuge and a minus 70-degree C freezer for processing and storing PK samples.

Memorial Health has more than 50 physicians in various specialties participating in research. All of our principal investigators are board certified in their specialties, which include:

• Cardiology
• Critical Care Medicine
• Endocrinology
• Hematology/Oncology
• Internal Medicine
• Family Practice
• Gerontology
• Gynecologic Oncology
• Neonatology
• Neurology
• Ophthalmology
• Otolaryngology
• Pediatric Neurology
• Pediatrics
• Pediatric Oncology
• Psychiatry
• Pulmonary Medicine
• Radiology
• Surgery
• Trauma Surgery

Many of our principal investigators have 10 to 15 years of experience in clinical trials.

The Memorial Health Research Center is staffed by a manager, a documents specialist, six clinical research coordinators (5 R.N.s and one LPN), and a doctorate-level pharmacist. One clinical research coordinator (CRC) is certified, and three more are in the process of obtaining certification. The documents specialist has 12 years of industry experience. The CRCs have a combined total of 25 years in research and 85 years in nursing.

Nurses in the intensive care units, cardiac catheterization lab, tumor clinic, neonatal nursery, and other hospital units work closely with the research staff on studies in their areas. Their expertise allows trials to be conducted in multiple specialties.

Memorial Health draws on populations from 35 counties in two states. The patient population spans all ages and socio-economic groups. Due to the mild climate, there is a large population of retirees. There are two military installations and four colleges/universities in the area, so there are also many young people and families. Savannah is in the nation’s hypertension belt and stroke belt. We also see much diabetes, obesity, and psychiatric illness in this region.

Memorial Health’s clinical trials are monitored by two Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). We have both a general board and an oncology board to look at all studies and to protect the safety and welfare of the subjects involved.

To learn more about Memorial Health, please visit our Web site at www.memorialhealth.com. You can reach the Memorial Health Research Center at (912) 350-8707.

CenterWatch is listing the following trials that are actively recruiting patients at this center.

• ACOSOG Z1031: A Randomized Phase III Trial Comparing 16 to 18 Weeks of Neoadjuvant Drugs in Postmenopausal Women with Clinical Stage II/III Breast Cancer
• CALGB 90401: A Randomized Double-Blinded Placebo Controlled Phase III Trial Comparing Docetaxel and Prednisone With or Without Bevacizumab in Men With Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer
• GOG 171. Expression of the MN protein in atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance (Agus or Agcus) as a potential diagnostic biomarker of cervical dysplasia/neoplasia.
• GOG-136: Acquisition of human gynecologic specimens and serum to be used in studying the causes, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cancer
• National Phase 1 / 2 Ovarian Cancer study investigating the effectiveness and safety of ZK-Epo in combination with Carboplatin in women with platinum-sensitive, recurrent ovarian cancer
• National Phase 1 / 2 Ovarian Cancer study investigating the effectiveness and safety of ZK-Epo in combination with Carboplatin in women with platinum-sensitive, recurrent ovarian cancer
• SWOG S0306: A Phase II Study of Irinotecan in Patients with Advanced Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Urothelium

For more information, please contact:

Director of Clinical Research
Memorial Health University Medical Center
4700 Waters Avenue
2nd Floor - Hoskins Center
Savannah, GA 31404 USA
Phone: 912-350-7887
Fax: 912-350-8183