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Blake Norman, M.D., CMQ, has been named the inaugural Chief Value Officer for the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine. The appointment reports to the office of the UAB Medicine Chief Medical Officer and will better align the department’s quality initiatives with the institution.

Congratulations to our outgoing class of CA-3s. The department joined the class of 2023 along with their families on June 23 at B & A Warehouse to celebrate. We appreciate all of their hard work and dedication and cannot wait to see what all they accomplish in their careers!

The pandemic challenged our clinical faculty with exhausting workloads and depleted resources. Leadership recognized early on the acute need to find better ways to support our clinicians and engaged faculty for input and advice. As a result, a restructuring workgroup was formed, and this committee aimed to create a new internal model that would deliver on all aspects of our mission, including better supporting the academic endeavors of our faculty.

Photography by MUSC photographer Brennan Wesley

Nicole McCoy, M.D., an alumnus of the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, credits her training at UAB for developing her into the physician she is today.

Stacy Wade, M.D., CMQ, has been named the inaugural Director of Faculty Retention in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine.

Jean-Francois Pittet, M.D., DEAA, has been named Distinguished Professor in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine.

A Fresh Take on Faculty Recruitment

On March 23, 2023, the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine celebrated the advanced practice providers (APPs) of the UAB Preoperative Assessment, Consultation, and Treatment (PACT) Clinic. From the PACT Clinic, 10 APPs have achieved more than 10,000 preoperative evaluations. Their success was built upon incredible support from PACT nurses, techs, and hospital leadership. 

The following is a message from Professor Ahmed Zaky, M.D., MSc, MPH, MBA, CMQ, FASA.

The holy month of Ramadan is a major celebration for Muslims worldwide. It is the month when the holy Quran, the Muslims’ holy scripture, was presented to Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) through Angel Gabriel. Muslims celebrate this month by fasting from food, drinks, and all unkind behaviors. Fasting begins each day at sunrise and lasts till sundown.

The following is a message from Stacy Wade, M.D., CMQ.

Easter brings to mind my childhood and the windy, chilly Easters we spent in Chicago. I remember pretty new dresses in pastel colors, bountiful Easter baskets, and my sister and I fighting over who had the biggest chocolate bunny. But the most exciting events of the day were always church and the amazing Easter meal that followed. 

The following is a message from Alfred Habeeb Professor and Chair Dan Berkowitz, M.D.

Passover is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the Israelites' liberation from slavery in Egypt more than 3,000 years ago. During the 8-day festival, Jewish families gather to retell the story of the exodus through a special meal called the Seder. The Seder includes the recitation of prayers, the reading of the Haggadah (a book that tells the Passover story), a festive meal with the consumption of special foods such as matzo, and the singing of songs.

Sadis Matalon, Ph.D., Dr.Sc. (Hon.), FAPS, Distinguished Professor and Alice McNeal Endowed Chair in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and Director of the Pulmonary Injury and Repair Center in the Heersink School of Medicine, has received a four year $2.6 million R01 grant for his ongoing research regarding mitochondrial DNA injury as a key contributor to the development of chemical lung injury.

Colleagues,

I am delighted to announce that Kevin S. Harrod, Ph.D., will serve as the next Vice Chair of Research in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine. 

Amandiy Liwo, M.D., MSPH, co-authored a paper with her statistical mentor Mark Beasley, Ph.D., from the UAB School of Public Health Department of Biostatistics entitled "Generalized Collinearity Diagnostic Revisited" that was accepted by the 2023 American Educational Research Association (AERA) and will be presented.

Our anesthesia care team constantly invests in creating and supporting health care leaders. Recently, Amandiy Liwo, M.D., MSPH, and Jeff Simmons, M.D., MSHQS, FASA, co-mentored John North, MS4, of the UAB Heersink School of Medicine through project collaboration with Dale Parks, Ph.D., CMQ, Joyce Crump, DNP, MSN, MBA, N.P., R.N., CMQ, and Dave Benz, B.S., utilizing data from the Anti-Delirium Perioperative Risk Optimizing and Management Planning Tool (PROMPTs) that looked at the effects of perioperative Midazolam on perioperative delirium in the elderly.

The UAB Heersink School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine has been named an active member of the Multicenter Perioperative Outcomes Group (MPOG).

“This endeavor highlights the value that all members of the department and its affiliates serve to successfully accomplish this national honor,” says Joyce Crump, DNP, MBA, N.P., R.N., CMQ.

Matt Sherrer, M.D., MBA, FASA, FAACD, assistant professor in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, was recently featured in the March 2023 edition of ASA Monitor, the official news source of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. 

Click here to read "Anesthesiologists as Chief Experience Officers."

Colleagues,

I am honored and pleased to announce that Promil Kukreja, M.D., Ph.D., CMQ, FASA, will serve as our inaugural Vice Chair for Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine.

Presented by Dan Berkowitz, M.D., and Marie-Carmelle Elie, M.D., FACEP, FCCM, FAAEM, RDMS

Among the many progressive innovations we can celebrate during Black History Month, one that stands out as having a profound and sustained impact is the contribution to the birth of modern day pre-hospital medicine. 

Colleagues,

An endowed professorship is one of the highest academic honors that a faculty member can receive. It is my pleasure to announce that Brant M. Wagener, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed to the Simon Gelman, M.D., Endowed Professorship, effective Feb. 3, 2023.