USA physicians included in book/
USA physicians are 'Top Doctors'
Mobile Register, August 31, 2004 Section: B Page: 3
Author: Monique Curet

Four physicians affiliated with the University of South Alabama Health System - Drs. Johnson Haynes Jr., Arnold Luterman, John F. Rothrock and Velma P. Scantlebury - were in the most recent version of "America's Top Doctors," a reference book that includes doctors considered the best in their specialties.

This is the fourth year in a row that USA doctors have been chosen for inclusion in the book, according to the university.

"Selection of physicians for the book is based on a rigorous research process that begins with mail and phone surveys of board-certified physicians," according to the university. Training and credentials also are reviewed.

"Only 521 hospitals across the nation are published in our book," said William Liss-Levinson, vice president of business development for Castle Connolly Medical, the book's publisher. "With four physicians (in the book), USA ranks in the top 350 hospitals in the nation."

Haynes, director of the USA Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, is studying the use of a medication traditionally used for asthma to treat sickle cell disease. He also is a professor of internal medicine and physiology at the USA College of Medicine.

Luterman is the Ripps-Meisler Professor of Surgery at the USA College of Medicine and medical director of the USA Burn Center and the USA Wound Care Center. He helped establish the burn center more than 20 years ago and is "a nationally known burn care expert," according to the university.

Rothrock, a professor of neurology, serves as associate dean of clinical research at the USA College of Medicine and medical director of the USA Headache Center. He is the editor of Headache, the official journal of the American Headache Society.

Scantlebury is a professor of surgery at the USA College of Medicine and director of USA's Gulf Coast Regional Transplant Center. She was the nation's first black female transplant surgeon and also is listed as one of the "Best Doctors in America."

This article reproduced with special permission from the Mobile Register.