School of Medicine receives award for exceptional service for Katrina efforts
APRIL 20, 2006--The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has awarded national recognition to the UTMB School of Medicine—as a member of the Alliance of South Texas Academic Health Centers—for the assistance it provided to the Tulane University School of Medicine and to the academic community at-large following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.
The “Award of Exceptional Service to Academic Medicine” honors UTMB’s outstanding leadership in providing facilities, resources, and personnel to support displaced Tulane University medical students and faculty.
“The warm Texas welcome and the unwavering support that the Tulane academic family received from UTMB exemplified the highest standards of professionalism and was a remarkable demonstration of service in the national interest,” said AAMC President Jordan J. Cohen, M.D.
Dr. Valerie Parisi, dean of medicine and chief academic officer, said it was a privilege for UTMB to be able to provide a temporary academic home for Tulane students, residents, and faculty.
“As a gulf coast community, we are sensitive to the annual threat of severe hurricane damage, and know that Tulane would have done the same for us,” Parisi said. “We learned so much from our Tulane colleagues, as they enriched our academic environment, and their leadership taught us many valuable lessons that we were able to apply in our own response to Hurricane Rita.”
The Alliance of South Texas Academic Health Centers was formed in the weeks following Hurricane Katrina to offer organized support to Tulane University. This extraordinary collaboration among institutions ensured the continuity of Tulane’s medical school operations and allowed its students, residents, and faculty to continue their education, training, and research.
Other members of the alliance also received awards for their exceptional service: Baylor College of Medicine, Texas A&M University System Health Science Center College of Medicine, and University of Texas Medical School at Houston.