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University of Washington School of Medicine
Online News
Vol. 12, No. 33
August 15, 2008
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To view an archived version of Online News on the UW
Medicine Web site, visit:
http://www.uwmedicine.org/Global/NewsAndEvents/somnews/index.htm
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This week’s news:
* Bradley Anawalt named new medicine service chief at UW Medical Center and vice-chair of Department of Medicine
* Classes for UW medical and dental students start classes at new Spokane WWAMI site
* UW Medicine physicians receive national recognition on diabetes care
* National Library of Medicine traveling exhibit, Opening Doors: Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons, is at UW Health Sciences Library until Sept. 26
* Photography of Lee Talner, professor emeritus of radiology, featured in exhibit at Seattle City Hall
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BRADLEY ANAWALT NAMED MEDICINE SERVICE CHIEF AT UWMC
William J. Bremner, chair of the Department of Medicine, has announced the appointment of Bradley D. Anawalt as the new medicine service chief for the UW Medical Center and vice-chair of the Department of Medicine. Anawalt is a professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine, and is associate chief of medicine and associate care-line manager of primary and specialty care at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System.
Anawalt will assume his new position in November. He will join Virginia C. Broudy and Thomas R. Martin as department vice-chairs.
As the UWMC medicine service chief/vice-chair, Anawalt will have responsibility for inpatient and outpatient clinical activities performed by Department of Medicine faculty at UWMC. The position will report to the chair of medicine and to the UWMC medical director. Responsibilities include administrative oversight of clinical activities and associated educational and research efforts. The medicine service chief will interact with UWMC administration, clinical and academic leadership, residents, and nursing staff to ensure quality of patient care, educational experiences, service, and compliance with standards. The position will also have responsibility for patient satisfaction and risk management, UWMC medical staff leadership, communications with Medicine Service physicians, faculty recruitment and retention, and issues surrounding clinical and teaching space.
Anawalt has been associated with the UW Department of Medicine for 19 years. He entered the department residency program following medical school at the University of California, Davis, and was chief resident at the Seattle VA in 1993. Following an endocrinology fellowship at the UW, he joined the faculty, attaining full professorship last year. For the past seven years he has served as associate chief of medicine and associate care line manager of primary and specialty care at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. For six years he directed resident ambulatory-care training at the VA and was associate director of the Department of Medicine residency program for four years.
Anawalt has achieved an exemplary record as a clinician, educator, administrator, and investigator, Bremner noted. He has served in leadership positions in UW Medicine and professional societies, and has been recognized for his teaching of students, residents, and fellows. He studies male reproductive endocrinology, and has received awards recognizing his outstanding research.
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SPOKANE WWAMI SITE STARTS CLASSES FOR MEDICAL AND DENTAL STUDENTS
Classes began this week at the new Spokane site of the WWAMI Medical Education Program and Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE) program. The Spokane site is a partnership of the UW Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, Washington State University, and Eastern Washington University. It is headquartered at the WSU-EWU Riverpoint Campus.
The School of Medicine's WWAMI program is a regionalized medical education program in the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho.
The Spokane site includes 8 dental students in the RIDE program and 20 medical students in the WWAMI program. Medical students at the Spokane site, like those at other WWAMI first-year sites, will take their first-year curriculum in Spokane before coming to the main UW campus in Seattle for their second year of study. They would then return to clinical training sites in the WWAMI region for their third and fourth years. The program is aimed at addressing the shortage of medical professionals in rural areas of the Pacific Northwest.
The medical and dental students in Spokane will study together, taking classes such as introduction to clinical medicine, anatomy, histology, and microbiology and infectious disease. The students were introduced to each other and to the program faculty at an orientation ceremony Aug. 11, led by Ken Roberts, director of the WWAMI program in Spokane.
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UW MEDICINE PHYSICIANS RECEIVE NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR DIABETES CARE
Twenty-eight UW physicians working at the UW Medicine Neighborhood Clinics have achieved recognition in diabetes care from the National Commission on Quality Assurance (NCQA). NCQA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. The NCQA seal is a widely-recognized symbol of quality, and physicians who obtain this level of recognition must pass a rigorous, comprehensive review, and must annually report on their performance.
UW Medicine Neighborhood Clinics last year launched an initiative to improve diabetes care for patients. The initiative ties in with goals set by the Puget Sound Health Alliance, a regional effort established in 2004 that was aimed at developing a state-of-the-art health-care system that provides better care at a more affordable cost in the Puget Sound region. Peter McGough, chief medical officer, UW Medicine Neighborhood Clinics, said the national recognition of providers reinforces that the UW Medicine initiative is heading in the right direction.
NCQA, in partnership with the American Diabetes Association, developed the Diabetes Physicians Recognition Program to recognize physicians who use evidence-based measures and provide excellent care to patients with diabetes. The program has 10 measures that cover areas including blood pressure and cholesterol control, eye examinations and smoking status and cessation advice or treatment.
The 28 UW Medicine physicians were among 198 doctors around the state who received the recognition. Here are the UW people recognized:
* Belltown: Cynthia Ferrucci, Rutherford Hayes, Corinne Sue Heinen, Sandra Lord;
* Factoria: Neetilekha Choudhury, Maura Glynn-Thami, Thomas Hei, Lucy Hwang, Peter McGough, Anne Platzner, Pamela Yung;
* Federal Way: John Chaffee, Victoria Fang, Eunjoo Yoo;
* Issaquah: Sandra Anderson, John Gray, Randy Mandell, Patricia Read-Williams;
* Kent/Des Moines: Michelle Depreaux, Michael Lauinger;
* Shoreline: Matthew Jaffy, Julianne Mattson, Thomas Phillips, Sarah Simpson;
* Woodinville: Tim Burner, Danielle Debelak, Stephen Emmons, Sarah Kramer.
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TRAVELING EXHIBIT ON AFRICAN AMERICAN SURGEONS COMES TO UW
Opening Doors: Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons, a traveling exhibit from the National Library of Medicine and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture, has stopped at the UW before continuing to other health sciences libraries across the country. The exhibit can be viewed until Sept. 26 at the UW Health Sciences Library during library hours. The library entrance is T-334, UW Health Sciences Center, 1959 NE Pacific St., Seattle.
The exhibit highlights the achievements of African American academic surgeons from pre-Civil War days to the present, and touches on their history as trailblazers for future health professionals and as advocates for improved health care for African Americans. The exhibit also features four contemporary African American surgeons who are pioneers in their fields and dedicated educators and mentors for African Americans pursuing medical careers.
The UW Health Sciences Library has produced a poster and display case to accompany the Seattle showing. Call 206-543-3390 for library hours and other information.
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PHOTOGRAPHY OF LEE TALNER IN RADIOLOGY TO BE FEATURED AT CITY HALL EXHIBIT
The photography of Lee Talner, professor emeritus of radiology at the UW, is being featured for several weeks in an exhibition at Seattle City Hall. The exhibit, called Moments of Inspiration, features Talner's photos from the UW World Series, an annual arts program that brings some of the best performing artists from around the world to the UW for music and dance performances.
Talner was a longtime faculty member at the University of California, San Diego, before coming to the UW and Harborview Medical Center in 1993. He was director of radiology at Harborview from 1993 to 1999, and still practices as a radiologist there.
For this photography exhibit, Talner took pictures of World Series artists working with local students through an arts education and outreach program called Community Connections. The outreach program is sponsored by Ladies Musical Club and Seattle Music Partners.
The photography exhibit is on display through Sept. 12 at Seattle City Hall's Lobby Gallery and Anne Focke Gallery, 600 4th Ave., Seattle. The exhibit is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and admission is free. The exhibit will also be featured in a free reception at City Hall, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 20. To RSVP for the event, send an e-mail to chanteuse@u.washington.edu or call 206-616-6296 by Monday, Aug. 18.
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Justin Reedy, editor:
206-685-0382, jreedy@u.washington.edu
Online News is copyright 2008. All rights, including electronic
redistribution, are reserved.
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