Departmental News

UVM Larner College of Medicine Clinical Chairs’ Letter to the Community

July 23, 2018 by UVM Larner College of Medicine Clinical Chairs

On July 18, 2018, UVM Larner College of Medicine clinical department chairs issued a letter to the community.

On July 18, 2018, UVM Larner College of Medicine clinical department chairs issued a letter to the community that was shared with local Vermont media outlets. The content of the letter is included, below.

As clinical department chairs at the UVM Larner College of Medicine, we have responsibility for fulfilling the education, research and patient care missions of the College and of our partner, The University of Vermont Medical Center. As physicians, each of us has taken an oath to serve our patients and our community, and we take that promise very seriously. We believe it is an honor and a privilege to care for people when they need us the most, armed not only with the tools of modern medicine but also with open hearts and listening minds. While the events over the last weeks involving the nursing union and strike have been difficult, we want to assure you that we, along with our health care teams across the institution, are fully committed to ensuring that our patients and their families continue to receive safe, effective, high quality, collaborative, compassionate care – no matter what. Our tenets that follow remain strong and reflect why each of us takes great pride in being able to work and live here.

We are a team. At the core of our clinical and academic mission is the care of our patients and their families, and this is a team effort. We support and appreciate every member of the patient care team, including not only the faculty physicians, nurses, social workers and technicians you may interact with, but also the pharmacists, schedulers, laboratory scientists, culinary workers, office managers, and hundreds of others who dedicate their workday to ensuring that our patients receive the care they need, when they need it.

We are teachers and scientists. Our medical center is a vibrant classroom for medical students, nursing students, pharmacy students, laboratory science students, residents, advanced practice nurses, fellows and more. Biomedical research is also thriving here, with many breakthrough discoveries and treatments that are making a difference in the lives of people we care for locally and in turn can then be shared around the world. Studies show patients benefit when receiving care at an academic medical center teaching hospital, from the strength of the health care team to having access to the latest treatments and clinical trials. 

We are your neighbors, colleagues, and friends. This is one of the nation’s best places to live, by many measures, and we share your commitment to living and raising our families here. As members of this community, each of us has a responsibility to serve it in the best way we can. For all of us involved in the health care mission, it is a privilege to care for you and your family as compassionately and effectively as we care for our own.

We will be here when you need us most. We are proud of the professionalism and commitment of our teams who care for our patients and their families. Every hour of every day, in every department throughout the hospital, and in every clinic across our community, we will continue to focus on caring for you and the members of our community who need us most. This is at the heart of our mission as an institution and in the heart of every person who has chosen this career.

Again, we are fully committed to ensuring that our patients and their families continue to receive safe, effective, high quality, collaborative compassionate care – no matter what. We promise to be vigilant in our efforts to support, encourage, and inspire our teams to keep patients at the center of all we do, as we honor and celebrate the commitment to service and the deeply personal connections that are the hallmark of our profession.

Sincerely,

The UVM Larner College of Medicine Clinical Department Chairs:

Ira M. Bernstein, M.D.
John Van Sicklen Maeck Professor and Chair of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences

Kristen K. DeStigter, M.D.
Professor and Chair of Radiology

Lewis R. First, M.D.
Professor and Chair of Pediatrics

Gregory L. Holmes, M.D.
Professor and Chair of Neurological Sciences

Debra G. B. Leonard, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Donald M. Mathews, M.D.
Professor and Chair of Anesthesiology

Claude E. Nichols, III, M.D.
Professor and Chair of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation

Mitchell C. Norotsky, M.D.
Associate Professor and Stanley S. Fieber, M.D. Chair in Surgery

Polly E. Parsons, M.D.
E.L. Amidon Professor and Chair of Medicine

Thomas C. Peterson, M.D.
Professor and Chair of Family Medicine

Robert A. Pierattini, M.D.
Professor and Chair of Psychiatry

Announcements

 

We are excited to welcome to our department two new faculty: 
-Karen George, MD, Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences (Division of General Obstetrics and Gynecology).  Dr. George is also Associate Dean for Students at Larner College of Medicine

-Amanda Kallen, MD,  Associate Professor of of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences (Division of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility)

Anne Dougherty, M.D., Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences has now accepted the enhanced role of ODEI Director for Gender Equity.

In this new role Dr. Dougherty will continue her current coordination of workshops, speakers and awards related to the LCOM Gender Equity Initiative.  She will also develop new mentoring and resource programs for women and underrepresented minorities in medicine, participate in analysis and tracking, and collaborate on efforts to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion in faculty recruitment. As ODEI Director for Gender Equity, Dr. Dougherty will report directly to Margaret A. Tandoh, M.D., FACS, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.   Congratulations to Anne on her new role!

CONGRATULATIONS to the following faculty who received promotions (July 2021):
Nathalie Feldman, MD to Associate Professor and Navid Esfandiari, PhD to Professor

Navid Esfandiari, PhD, Professor, REI Division, received the "Star Award" from the 77th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) - October 2021

Congratulations to Justin DeAngelis, MD who was appointed interim assistant dean for students in the Office of Medical Student Education at the Larner College of Medicine, effective March 1. Read more here

A champion for women's health, diversity and science, Elizabeth Bonney, MD recognized in News Spotlight from UVM Larner College of Medicine.  Read the article here.

Navid Esfandiari, PhD, received the “Star Award” from the 76th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) – October 2020

Misty Blanchette Porter, MD, Associate Professor, REI Division, was invited to present at AIUM education webinar - teaching on ORADS and IOTA on the evaluation of adnexal masses – Sept 2020

Justin DeAngelis, MD, Assistant Professor, Ob/Gyn, was selected as Class Mentor to the residency by the class of 2021 and was recently awarded the 2019 APGO Excellence in Teaching Award.

SO PROUD! Congratulations to Katherine Menezes, MD (PGY-3) who was awarded the Clinical Resident of the Year Award by the LCOM graduating Class of 2021!!!!  These are the awards that are given out on Honors Night to and from the graduating class.  Check out the video here.

Marjorie Meyer, MD, Division Director of Maternal Fetal Medicine, was recognized for her work in the treatment of women with opioid dependence during pregnancy in Governor Phil Scott's State of the State address on Jan 9.  Read announcement here

Theresa Ko, PhD (Croucher Fellowship 2006), Assistant Professor in the Division of Reproductive Sciences, was recently interviewed with the Croucher Foundation in December 2019 about her molecular biology quest to reduce maternal deaths.   Read the article here

Elizabeth Bonney, MD, MPH, Professor and Head of the Division of Reproductive Sciences was selected to present the lecture entitled "A Theory of Maternal Immunity" at the 25th Annual Dr. Raymond O. Berry Memorial Lecture on October 18, 2019. Read the announcement here.

Congratulations to Marti Churchill, CNM who received the award for "Excellence in Advanced Nursing" at the Nursing Awards Ceremony  on May 6, 2019.

Congratulations to Tendai Chiware, MD who won the 2019 Beth Fitzpatrick M.D. Citizen of the World Award, awarded by the Global Health Program at UVM LCOM and the Western Connecticut Health Network. 

We are pleased to share news of the appointment of Anne Dougherty, M.D., as Gender Equity Liaison in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) at The UVM Larner College of Medicine.    Read the announcement here.

Cheung Wong, MD was invested in a formal ceremony on June 8, 2018 as the inaugural Berta Pi-Sunyer Williams Endowed Professor.   Read all about it.

The cover photo on the March 2018 issue of the American Journal of Ob/Gyn is from Dr. Kelley McLean's article Mechanical heart valves in pregnancy:  the necessity of appropriate and careful anticoagulation.

Congratulations to Cheung Wong, MD for his recent appointment as the VP for Clinical Affairs for the University of Vermont Health Network.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Bonney, MD and Natalia Gokina, PhD who have won the NIH RO1 funding for "Systemic Vasculature Remodeling Females:  Effects of the Immune System and Experience of Pregnancy".  The application was scored at the 1st percentile!

Our match results are in!  Announcing our newest residents 2018-2022:  Hayley Pierce (Saint Louis University); Allison Walker (Oregon Health & Science University) and Rebecca Zuckerman (University of Chicago).  We look forward to seeing them soon!

We are excited to welcome our new fellows on July 2, 2018 for their 3 year fellowship:  Maximilian Klein, MD (Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility fellow) and Ankita Kulkarni, MBBS (Maternal Fetal Medicine fellow)

Nathalie Feldman, M.D., Educator Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, was recently awarded (along with her colleague, Judy Lewis, MD in the Dept. of Psychiatry) the UVM Larner College of Medicine Teaching Academy's "Educational Scholarship Award" for her work on the learning environment.  

Jenna Flanagan, MD (PGY-3) will be presenting a poster "A Needs Assessment for Somali Women:  Optimizing this Populations' Peripartum Care in a Tertiary Care Center in Vermont" at the North American Refugee Health Conference, June 16-18, 2017 in Toronto, Canada.

Erin Morris, MD, received the 2017 APGO Excellence in Teaching Award.  Dr. Morris is an active clinical member of the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine.  She currently serves as our Associate Ob/Gyn Clerkship Director and the Faculty mentor for the Ob/Gyn Student Interest Group. 

May 15, 2017 - Elise Everett, MD was presented the Clinical Teacher of the Year Award from the Class of 2017 during Honors Night.

CONGRATULATIONS to our new interns starting June 2017: Johanna Kelley, Katherine Menezes & Rebecca Parad.