Ann Varghese, director of Ambulatory Operations at the Angleton Danbury Campus, was recognized as one of the Brazosport Facts newspaper’s “Leaders Under 40.” Facts editor Yvonne Montz surprised Varghese with a plaque on April 18. Leaders were nominated by the community and were included in a special section of the newspaper on May 15.
The Office of Student Life and
Student Government Association co-hosted the annual “United to Serve” event on April 2. More than 230 students volunteered their time at more than 15 sites around Galveston County, where they cleaned up beaches, assisted with a 5K run, fixed up community gardens, helped at two local free clinics, painted faces and ran games at the Grand Kids Festival, and so much more.
Pamela G. Watson, ScD, vice president for Interprofessional Education and Institutional Effectiveness and dean of the School of Nursing, was honored as one of the “2016 Women of the Year” at the Galveston Chamber of Commerce’s Celebrating Women Conference in April. She was chosen for the incredible work she does to empower and advance the women and business community.
Yolanda R. Davila, PhD, was selected as the 2016 recipient of the Pamela G. Watson School of Nursing Award, which recognizes an outstanding faculty member who has made major contributions through a commitment to excellence in research, publications, education and nursing leadership.
Dr. Robert Tesh, a professor in the departments of Pathology and Microbiology and Immunology, was the keynote speaker at the recent Pan-American Dengue Research Network Research meeting in Panama, where he also received the Gorgas Medal of Honor from the Panamanian government for his longtime efforts to advance science and medicine in the Americas. The medal is named for Dr. William Crawford Gorgas, surgeon general of the U.S. Army who helped create a mosquito-free zone so that workers could build the Panama Canal.
Barbara Bonificio, director of Nursing Excellence, and
Karen Chapman, DPT, director of Rehabilitation Services, presented at the University of Texas System Shared Visions Conference on April 21–22 in San Antonio. They shared their “Get Up and Walk” mobility pilot project, which aims to maintain the mobility of hospitalized patients who were moving around independently prior to admission. Patients who participated in the pilot were encouraged to undergo supervised, scheduled ambulation with a dedicated mobility technician twice a day to minimize the effects of bed rest. The program was successfully piloted on three units from December 2014 through May 2015.
Congratulations to students and staff at
UTMB’s Center for Addiction Research who recently won awards.
Yafang Zhang, a graduate assistant, won the “Best Poster Presentation” award for the second year in a row at the Behavior, Biology, and Chemistry: Translational Research in Addiction conference in San Antonio;
Carrie McAllister, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow, won the “Overall Fellow” award at UTMB’s fourth annual Clinical and Translational Research Forum; and
Maria D. Garcia, senior administrative manager, received the 2016 National Council of University Research Administrators Region V Quinten S. Mathews Travel Award, which provides $1,000 to offset travel expenses for attending the annual meeting in April.
UTMB School of Health Professions’
Respiratory Care Program was among a select group of programs recognized by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care to receive the Distinguished RRT (Registered Respiratory Therapist) Credentialing Success Award. Selected programs met rigorous criteria, including (1) having three or more years of outcomes data; (2) holding accreditation without a progress report; (3) documenting RRT credentialing success of 90 percent or above, and (4) meeting or exceeding established CoARC thresholds for CRT credentialing success, attrition and positive (job) placement. The CoARC views the RRT credential as a measure of a program’s success in inspiring its graduates to achieve their highest educational and professional aspirations. The award will be presented at a CoARC reception in Florida in June.