Business Notes: April 4

Wauwatosa Curves opens in new location

After more than nine years on North Avenue, the Wauwatosa East Curves has moved to 2669 N. 92nd St. The first day of operation in the new building was Friday.

In other company news, Curves is waiving its joining fee for anyone who brings in a grocery bag full of food through April 16. All food donations will be given to the Wauwatosa food pantries.

Froedtert Hospital ranked first in Milwaukee in new guide

Froedtert Hospital ranks first in Milwaukee in US News & World Report's inaugural "America's Best Hospitals" metropolitan area guide, released March 29.

The new metro rankings cite 622 hospitals in or near major cities with a record of high performance in key medical specialties. To be ranked, a hospital had to score in the top 25 percent among its peers in at least one of 16 medical specialties.

Froedtert Hospital was recognized for 11 medical specialties: gastroenterology; cancer; diabetes and endocrinology; ear, nose and throat; geriatrics; gynecology; heart and heart surgery; kidney disease; orthopedics; pulmonary; and urology.

According to US News, the new metro area rankings are intended to help consumers find hospitals in their own communities that provide first-rate care, even for patients with serious conditions or who require complex procedures. The list appears online at usnews.com/hospitals.

MCW researchers to take part in global AIDS clinical trial

The Medical College of Wisconsin will participate in an international clinical trial to determine the best time for HIV-infected individuals to begin taking antiretroviral drugs. Michael Frank, professor and vice chair for education, and infectious disease specialist, is the primary investigator for the trial at the Medical College.

The new Phase IV study, known as the Strategic Timing of Antiretroviral Treatment clinical trial, seeks to determine whether HIV-infected individuals without symptoms have less risk of developing AIDS or other serious illness if they begin taking antiretrovirals sooner, based on their immune health.

START will enroll 4,000 HIV-infected men and women in 30 countries. The study is co-funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Children's No. 6 for pediatric heart transplant volume

Children's Hospital of Wisconsin ranks No. 6 in the nation for pediatric heart transplant volume in 2010, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.

UNOS is a nonprofit organization contracted with the U.S. government to manage the nation's organ transplant system.

"Not only are we transplanting more patients than ever before, but data shows survival rates of our patients are among the highest in the nation," said Steve Zangwill, program director of Pediatric Heart Failure and Heart Transplantation and a pediatric cardiologist at Children's Hospital's Herma Heart Center. "Centers that have high survival rates for the most complex cases, including transplants, generally have high survival rates for all types of heart procedures."

Children's Hospital transplanted 15 pediatric heart patients in 2010, breaking previous hospital records. Since the heart program's inception in 1991, 103 heart transplants have been performed. More than half of the center's total transplant volume has occurred in the past five years. The youngest transplant recipient was just 7 days old.