By: DOM Interim Chair Dr. Mark Dransfield 

All across the enterprise, people are taking on new leadership roles. Our new slate of “chief” leaders has changed lots of boxes in our administrative org chart:

• Chief Executive Officer for UAB Medicine Dawn Bulgarella, MSHA, CPA,
• Chief Human Resources Officer John Petrov,
• Chief Operating Officer Lou Baverso,
• Chief Financial Officer Susan Jennings, and
• Chief Physician Executive Cheri Canon, M.D.

And speaking of change, I guess that list includes me now, too, as DOM Interim Chair.

As many of you know, I have been in pulmonology at UAB my entire career. I’ve had a chance to get to know many of you as trainees and colleagues. It’s been a privilege to work with you, and at UAB. I’m humbled and honored to be trusted with this role for the DOM and the people that have done so much for me.

I look forward to working with Ryan Kraemer to support the residency program, and to help him further build our reputation for excellence without ego. Training doctors to meet the ever-changing health care needs of our patients is an exciting responsibility.

We’ve also got a brand-new hospital system coming into the UAB fold. The Ascension St. Vincent’s acquisition promises to bring us plenty of changes in the next couple of years as we figure out how to best integrate operations between an academic enterprise and a community hospital with an open medical staff. I am optimistic about finding synergies that can help us better serve our community.

After months of hard work and planning, the Division of General Internal Medicine and Population Science (GIMPOP) made its official debut on October 1, 2024, creating a new unified division where two strong individual divisions previously existed. The merger is going even better than expected, as we combine the strengths of general internists and population scientists to improve health outcomes, particularly in disadvantaged populations.

We’re also celebrating two new division directors, both of whom were Tinsley Chief Medical Residents in their day. Martin Rodriguez now directs the Division of Infectious Diseases and Andrea Cherrington is division director for GIMPOP. These individuals have been strong leaders in their respective fields for years, and we are fortunate to have them building on the foundations in ID, GIM and preventive medicine.

With all the winds of change blowing, it’s both a challenging and exciting time to work at UAB. True transformation begins when we embrace the unknown, moving out of our comfort zones to create the future. And we do bravely, knowing that whatever changes happen across our city, state, and nation, we will never change our resolve to treat everyone with full respect, no matter their background, ideology, role, or circumstance. We rely on each other to advance our important mission to provide life-changing care today, with education and research that transforms tomorrow.

I hope you enjoy the articles in this issue, and I look forward to keeping in touch. You have a standing invitation to drop by any time to see all the new (and old!) faces that make our residency a brilliant place to train.

Sincerely,
Mark Dransfield, MD
Interim Chair, UAB Department of Medicine
Director, UAB Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine