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Dr. Linda G. Phillips, chief of Plastic Surgery, has been elected a member of the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons.
The Board of Regents formulates policy and directs the affairs of the ACS. It has 23 members, 22 of whom are elected by the Board of Governors for three-year terms. The 23rd Regent is the president of the ACS. Regents may serve three consecutive three-year terms. The Board of Regents is assisted in its work by numerous committees, councils and advisory groups.
Phillips specializes in the healing of difficult wounds, body contouring after massive weight loss, reconstructive and aesthetic breast surgery, as well as cosmetic facial and body contouring. Throughout her career, Phillips has received a number of accolades. She is regularly included on the list of Best Doctors in America, the Guide to America’s Top Surgeons and Texas Super Doctors. She was honored with the “Young at Heart” award from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons for her membership, and the Distinguished Service Award from the Plastic Surgery Foundation. She is the past chair of the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the Residency Review Committee for Plastic Surgery, as well as the past president of the Plastic Surgery Foundation, among other organizations. She was certified by the American Board of Surgery in 1984 and the American Board of Plastic Surgery in 1986. She joined UTMB in 1988.
Josette Armendariz-Batiste has been selected by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses as a 2016 Circle of 
Excellence award winner. The AACN selects only 25 nurses from across the country for this award, which recognizes outstanding caregivers who achieve excellent outcomes in the care of acutely and critically ill patients and their families. Armendariz-Batiste will receive a plaque, a $1,000 honorarium and membership in the Circle of Excellence Society.
UTMB President David L. Callender and Dr. Ben Raimer, senior vice president of Health Policy and Legislative Affairs, recently presented Doug Matthews, assistant vice president of Government Relations, with a U.S. flag and two Congressional recognitions for his work on behalf of UTMB and the community to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth held this past summer in Galveston. Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19 that the Union soldiers landed in Galveston with news that the Civil War had ended and that the enslaved were now free.
UTMB students and faculty were recognized at the annual American Society of Tropical Medicine 
and Hygiene (ASTMH) meeting in Philadelphia in October. Dr. Lynn Soong, professor of Microbiology and Immunology, was elected fellow of the ASTMH. Albert Auguste, postdoctoral fellow, was awarded the American Committee for Arthropodborne Viruses travel award and received the ASTMH Young Investigator Award—Honorable Mention. Jesse Erasmus received the ASTMH Young Investigator Award—First Tier Mention. Samantha Nava received the ASTMH Young Investigator Award—Honorable Mention.
Staff members in UTMB’s Echocardiography Laboratory celebrated Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month in October. The 
Echo Lab has been at the forefront of technology in ultrasound, performing more than 10,000 procedures a year, including transthoracic, transesophageal and stress echocardiography. Under the direction of the medical director, Dr. Masood Ahmad, the team has performed, presented and published pioneering work in 3-D echocardiography. The lab supports the rapid discharge unit (RDU) in the Emergency Department by providing stress echo services on Sunday for patients presenting with chest pain. This service has streamlined the disposition of patients from RDU and assisted in selecting appropriate admissions for inpatient care. At the most recent national meeting of the American Society of Echocardiography, the team presented “Dynamic Three Dimensional Strain during Dobutamine Stress Echocardiography in Detection of Ischemia.”
Several UTMB Correctional Managed Care employees presented educational sessions at the 2015 National Conference on Correctional Health Care in Dallas, Oct. 17–21. Dr. Joseph Penn, director of Mental Health Services, presented “An In-Depth Look at NCCHC’s 2015 Standards for Health Services in Juvenile Facilities,” as well as “Medical Conditions that Present as Psychiatric in Nature.” Beverly Sloan, PsyD, senior mental health manager, Estelle Unit, presented “Continual Process Improvement: Identifying Mental Illness at Intake.” Cynthia Myers, mental health manager, Dominguez Unit, and John Tejada, mental health manager, Connally Unit, presented “Addressing Self-Injurious and Suicidal Behavior Through Use of a Suicide Risk Assessment.” Kelly Naramore, mental health manager, Hodge Unit, presented “Assessing and Addressing the Needs of Prison Inmates with Developmental Disabilities.”
Megan Swonke, first-year School of Medicine student, was elected one of two Medical Student Section Region 3 liaisons to the 
American Medical Association Foundation. She will be responsible for region communication and increasing students’ participation in the foundation’s fundraising and community service activities.
Joint Commission 2015: The long-awaited Joint Commission surveyors, seven in all, visited UTMB Nov. 2–6. They reviewed John Sealy Hospital, Angleton Danbury Campus, many of the off-island clinics, all of the island clinics, the Clinical Services Wing, John Sealy Annex and Hospital Galveston. In every instance, the surveyors commented on how engaged our staff were, how knowledgeable and competent everyone is, and how welcomed they felt. Thank you to all who rounded with the surveyors every day, to the physicians and staff who were part of rounding and formal interviews, to those who ensured the facilities were clean and ready to be surveyed, and those who worked so hard behind the scenes.