Resources at Emory

The SCCOR clinical protocols will be performed at three of the Emory-affiliated Hospitals: Grady Memorial Hospital, Crawford Long Hospital , and Emory University Hospital . Grady Memorial and Crawford Long are located in downtown Atlanta . Emory University Hospital is located a few miles away. Grady Memorial Hospital is a 1200-bed facility with 70 ICU beds, including a 10 bed coronary care unit (CCU), a 20 bed surgical/trauma unit, a 10 bed neurosurgical unit, a 20 bed medical intensive care unit (MICU), and a 10 bed intermediate MICU. Grady Memorial Hospital serves as the major trauma center for the city of Atlanta and surrounding areas. Crawford Long Hospital is a 583-bed community hospital that is closely affiliated with Emory University . Crawford Long has 48 ICU beds that are divided into four 12 bed units, which includes a medical, surgical, cardiac, and cardiothoracic ICU. Emory University Hospital is a 587-bed facility specializing in the care of the acutely ill patient and serves as a tertiary referral center for the entire Southeastern part of the United States . There are 35 medical ICU beds and an additional 20 bed mixed medical/surgical ICU are actively screened for patients with acute lung injury and ARDS by the Emory ARDS research group. All three hospitals have CT scanners, routine chest radiology equipment, and full pulmonary function equipment.

By nature of the regional demographics, the Emory-affiliated hospitals care for a unique and diverse population of ARDS patients. For example, the racial make-up of patients enrolled in ongoing trials at Emory has consisted of 51% Afro-Americans and 11% Hispanics. Furthermore, a significant number of patients entered in these trials have developed ARDS as a result of trauma or surgical causes, rather than medical causes of ARDS. Thus, the inclusion of the Emory-affiliated hospitals provides for a patient base that nicely compliments the patient population seen at the University of Michigan .

In addition to a robust hospital system and ideal patient population, Emory University has a well-developed infrastructure in which to perform clinical trials in ARDS . Over the past 10 years, Emory has developed an impressive infrastructure which allows for the screening, recruitment, and follow-up of large numbers of patients with ARDS. This infrastructure includes research nurse coordinators, who actively screen, enroll, and follow patients on a daily basis, as well as a broad base of ancillary staff. Emory has also put in place a comprehensive patient database that allows for accurate data entry, data sharing, and data analysis. The clinical trials infrastructure is currently supported, in part, by an Alcohol Center Grant (David Guidot, M.D., Program Director) and independent NIH grants.