UAB Anesthesiologist Receives Calverley Fellowship
Mark Mandabach, MD, assistant professor of anesthesiology at UAB, has received the 2007 Calverley Fellowship from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) for his project “The History of Anesthesia in Alabama.” The ASA’s Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, in Park Ridge, Illinois, awards several fellowships each year, providing chosen researchers access to its extensive collection of anesthesia history materials.
“I will focus my research on the development of anesthesiology in Alabama and how that impacts the history of our department,” Mandabach said. “We’re going to celebrate our 60th anniversary at UAB next summer. We hope to look at our roots and assess where we came from and where we are today.”
Tilt Named to Kidd Chair
The University of Alabama System Board Of Trustees has named Douglas Carroll Tilt, MD, a UAB internal medicine physician, the first recipient of the Eleanor E. Kidd Chair.
Tilt joined the UAB faculty in 1991 as a professor of medicine and the clinical director of internal medicine at The Kirklin Clinic. He now serves as the medical director of the UAB Camellia Medical Group. Tilt received his medical degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and completed his residency at UAB Hospital. In addition, he served as lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
OSA Hosts Open Houses
The Physicians of Orthopaedic Specialists of Alabama (OSA) are enjoying an eventful summer in celebration of new clinic and office space at both their Trinity Medical Center and UAB West locations. OSA hosted two open houses in June to welcome the medical community from all over central Alabama.
The evenings took place at UAB West in Bessemer (hosted by OSA physicians Donald Autry, MD, Dory Curtis, MD, Joe Gerald, MD and George Hill, MD) on June 7, and at 720 Montclair Road (hosted by Andrew Cordover, MD, Stephen Cowley, MD, Donald Deinlein, MD, Karl Hofammann, MD, Eli Hurowitz, MD, Todd Smith, MD and Michelle Turnley, MD) on June 27th.
Those attending these events brought along their families and staff (and their appetites!). The physicians and staff of OSA were delighted to tour everyone who came. Along with new clinic space, both offices showcased their new therapy rooms where both physical and occupational therapy are carried out on site.
The Bessemer event featured a fabulous buffet by Majestic Catering, while the group at Trinity threw an old-fashioned crawfish boil, complete with Cajun and Creole favorites. Guests enjoyed touring the building(s) and meeting the physicians and staff.
Future events are slated for fall and into 2008 as OSA continues to re-model their offices at Medical Center East and Shelby County locations.
UAB, UA Researchers Earn Grants for Collaborative Effort Against Parkinson’s
The Michael J. Fox Foundation has awarded two research grants to UAB researchers to study novel approaches to treat Parkinson’s disease. UAB scientists will collaborate with researchers from the University of Alabama (UA) on one of the two grants.
The first award of $250,000 will be split between David Standaert, MD, PhD, professor of neurology and Director of the UAB Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics, and Guy Caldwell, PhD, and Kim Caldwell, PhD, faculty members in biological sciences at UA.
The project is based on previous work by the Caldwells. Using a worm known as C. elegans, the Caldwell lab discovered that a protein called VPS41 prevented neurons, which produce dopamine, from dying.
The second UAB grant, also for $250,000, goes to Jianhua Zhang, PhD, assistant professor of neuropathology. Zhang will investigate an enzyme called Cathepsin D, which also seems to have a protective effect in brain cells.
Alabama Hospital Association Honors Health Care Leaders
The Alabama Hospital Association (AlaHA) recognized several Birmingham-area health care leaders at its annual meeting.
Glenn Sisk, CEO of Coosa Valley Medical Center was named secretary/treasurer of the association. Joel Tate, FACHE, president of Walker Baptist Medical Center, was elected as a board member representing the Birmingham Regional Hospital Council. Phillip Pope, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, received the Alabama Hospital Association’s Distinguished Service Award. Tom Shufflebarger, FACHE, COO of Children’s Health System, Birmingham, was honored with the American College of Healthcare Executives’ Senior-Level Healthcare Executive Regent’s Award.
Sisk has previously served on the AlaHA Board of Trustees and is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He worked at Baptist Medical Center Montclair and Cullman Regional Medical Center before joining Coosa Valley Medical Center.
Tate served as CEO at McAlester Regional Health Center in McAlester, Oklahoma., before joining Walker Baptist Medical Center. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, United Way, and the Lions Club.
Pope began at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama as an accountant in 1971. He currently serves as chairman of the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and as a board member of the Salvation Army and the A.G. Gaston Boys and Girls Club.
Shufflebarger, who has spent the past 15 years at Children’s Health System, currently serves as a board member for the Birmingham Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Lakeshore Foundation and is chair-elect for Magic Moments.
Clinical Image Management Systems Opens Hoover Office
Clinical Image Management Systems, a medical digital imaging integration company has opened a southeast regional office in Hoover. G. Dell Pickett BS, RT, MPH, a graduate of the UAB School of Radiology, will lead the Birmingham management team. Pickett is the former Director of Radiology at UAB Hospital and Baptist Hospital in Montgomery. He brings more than 30 years of imaging expertise to CIMS.
CIMS provides affordable digital x-rays products like CR, DR, PACS, RIS, off-site disaster recovery, consulting and EMR/HMR to all size medical facilities throughout the world.
August 2007