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PHMI’s Eckhert delivers commencement to St. Matthews medical graduates
PHMI Director N. Lynn Eckhert, MD, MPH, DrPH gave the commencement address at graduation ceremonies for the St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine in Grand Cayman. More than 100 students received their diplomas at the commencement exercise, held in May, while nearly 100 more students were degree candidates in absentia.
This graduating class began their studies just days before Hurricane Ivan hit Grand Cayman in September 2004. The hurricane caused widespread damage in the islands and left much of Grand Cayman uninhabitable for several months. Many of the school’s medical students had to take classes on the St. Matthew’s campus in Maine while dormitories and facilities were being repaired.
In her address, Dr. Eckhert reminded the students that being a physician meant that their learning was not over because medical knowledge, technology and procedures were progressing constantly. “It means that you will still be studying far into the future and as long as you have a career in medicine,” she said. “Your graduating from medical school is just one more step in your education, for you will need to keep up with the current state of medicine in your area of expertise.”
Veteran U.S. health care executive tapped to head Dubai’s University Hospital
Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) announced that it has appointed James Kingsbury Chief Executive Officer of the recently launched University Hospital.
Mr. Kingsbury previously served as Executive Director and Senior Vice President of the University Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, which is part of the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati. There he oversaw a number of developments, including the implementation of interdisciplinary care teams, physician involvement in management, and new models for chronic care. He led major staff developments, directed the construction and expansion of hospital facilities, and oversaw revisions to residency training programs. Mr. Kingsbury also recently served as the Associate Dean at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, where he directed the implementation and management of clinical programs, services, and recruitment.
Mr. Kingsbury’s first orders of priority are to work with the leadership of DHCC to direct the clinical operational planning and construction of the University Hospital, and to jump-start the hospital’s recruitment of staff. DHCC broke ground on the new academic medical center in October of last year after a unique clinical and architectural planning process led by then-Harvard Medical International.
Partners President & CEO James Mongan named U.S.’s most powerful physician executive
Dr. James J. Mongan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Partners HealthCare, has been named the Most Powerful Physician Executive in Healthcare by Modern Physician, the sister publication of Modern Healthcare, the national health care newsweekly.
Dr. Mongan was cited for his work in helping to advance health care reform in Massachusetts as well as his efforts to improve the U.S. health care system and expand coverage for the uninsured. He serves as chairman of the Commonwealth Fund’s Commission on a High Performance Health System, which has issued a number of reports over the past few years on the U.S. health care system and the need to improve access, quality, safety, and efficiency.
In an interview with Modern Healthcare, Dr. Mongan noted that while the Massachusetts health care reform law is still a work in progress, “The glass is more than half-full. We have added 300,000 people who didn’t have coverage, but we have more people to cover.”
Dr. Mongan was appointed to lead Partners in 2003, following seven years as head of Massachusetts General Hospital.
Article on physician-patient communication wins award
An article that appeared in this publication’s September-October 2007 edition has recently won an award for longtime PHMI freelance writer Natalie Engler. The article, entitled “How Doctors Talk: Improving Physician-Patient Communication,” drew on faculty from Harvard and elsewhere to explore an issue that is gaining increasing attention in medical schools. Ms. Engler was the recipient of the Will Solimene Award, given by the New England Chapter of the American Medical Writers Association for excellence in medical, biomedical, and health communication. PHMI WORLD congratulates Natalie and encourages readers to read all of her work for our publication, including her new article in this issue on advances in neonatal intensive care.
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