TUCSON, Ariz. – Among recent awards, honors and new hires at the University of Arizona Health Sciences in the College of Medicine – Tucson are the following items:
Dr. Weinstein Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award
Ronald Weinstein, MD, director of the national award-winning Arizona Telemedicine Program and a professor of pathology, was recognized with a lifetime achievement award by the Phoenix Business Journal at the 2020 Health Care Heroes virtual event Nov. 9.
An international pioneer in the field of telemedicine, Dr. Weinstein founded the Arizona Telemedicine Program in 1996. Early this year, the program went into overdrive, offering training and assistance to medical professionals in how to develop and expand telehealth opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Weinstein told the Phoenix Business Journal the number of telehealth cases has grown 25% annually since 1995, when there were 500,000 telehealth visits. Last year, there were 37 million telemedicine cases, he said, adding that figure could rise to one billion this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Weinstein joined the UArizona faculty in 1990 as chair of the Department of Pathology. He has been president of five professional societies, including the American Telemedicine Association.
Others recognized at the Nov. 9 event include: 2020 Health Care Hero Physician Francisco Arabia, MD, a professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix and member of the UArizona Sarver Heart Center; and Jeffery Hanna, MPH, a finalist for Health Care Educator honors.
Dr. Keim Elected to ABEM Executive Committee
Sam Keim, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, was elected by his peers to serve as secretary-treasurer of the American Board of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Keim is director of the statewide Arizona Emergency Medicine Research Center and has served in national leadership posts with the American Board of Medical Specialties, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and Emergency Medicine Council of Residency Directors.
In other news, the department welcomes three new faculty members:
- Rachel D. Munn, DO, clinical assistant professor, recently completed an Emergency Medical Services Fellowship at the University of New Mexico. She earned her doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from Ohio University and did her residency training at the OhioHealth Emergency Medicine Doctors Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
- Priti Rawani-Patel, MD, clinical assistant professor, served at the Los Angeles County USC Medical Center and was chief resident in the Combined Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics Residency Program at UArizona. Dr. Rawani earned her medical degree from St. George’s University College of Medicine in Granada. Her interests include pediatric emergency medicine and pediatric critical care.
- Adrienne A. Yarnish, MD, clinical assistant professor and assistant ultrasound program director, received her medical degree from the UArizona. She completed her residency training at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, and served 10 years in various emergency departments across urban and rural Southern Arizona before completing an Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship at the UArizona. For a Q&A with Dr. Yarnish, click here.
Dr. Elizabeth Lee Joins UArizona/Banner Health as Plastic Surgeon
Elizabeth Lee, MD, has joined the Department of Surgery’s Division of General Surgery – Surgical Oncology as a clinical assistant professor and member of the Banner – University Medicine reconstructive and cosmetic surgery team. Dr. Lee specializes in plastic surgery reconstruction to optimize cosmetic outcomes for breast cancer patients, as well as other elective services. She did her undergraduate and medical studies, and her general surgery residency training, at the UArizona Health Sciences. She completed a plastic surgery residency at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. A prolific researcher, Dr. Lee’s work has been published in multiple peer-reviewed journals and presented at numerous national meetings. Learn more.
Family Medicine’s Dr. Aldulaimi Readers’ Choice as ‘Best Primary Care’ Doc
Sommer Aldulaimi, MD, an associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and associate program director of the South Campus Family Medicine Residency Program, won the 2020 Arizona Daily Star Readers’ Choice Award for Best Primary Care Physician. A College of Medicine – Tucson alumnus, Dr. Aldulaimi joined the faculty in 2014 after working in rural Alaska. She did her residency training at Banner – University Medical Center South (then UArizona Medical Center South Campus) and served as co-director of a global health track she developed, building upon rotations she had done as a medical student in Mexico and Honduras. In September, Dr. Aldulaimi and Jerome Koleski, MD, presented on the track at the American Academy of Family Physicians Global Health Summit. Learn more.
In other Department of Family and Community Medicine news:
- Associate professor Carlos Gonzales, MD, co-authored an article, “How Should Health Professions Schools Partner With AI/AN Communities?” published in October in the AMA Journal of Ethics. The article weighs health profession schools’ responsibilities to offer students clinical rotations on tribal lands and recruit American Indian/Alaskan Native students, and it offers an adaptable roadmap for building such partnerships.
- Celia Hildebrand, DAOM, joins the faculty as research assistant professor. Her investigations focus on acupuncture techniques to treat chronic pain and neuropathy, reduce dependence on opioids and steroids, and increase emotional and physical resiliency. She’s especially interested in conditions experienced by vulnerable and underserved populations, including Native Americans, ethnic minorities and the elderly.
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About the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson
The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson is shaping the future of medicine through state-of-the-art medical education programs, groundbreaking research and advancements in patient care in Arizona and beyond. Founded in 1967, the college boasts more than 50 years of innovation, ranking among the top medical schools in the nation for research and primary care. Through the university's partnership with Banner Health, one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country, the college is leading the way in academic medicine. For more information, visit medicine.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn).
About the University of Arizona Health Sciences
The University of Arizona Health Sciences is the statewide leader in biomedical research and health professions training. UArizona Health Sciences includes the Colleges of Medicine (Tucson and Phoenix), Nursing, Pharmacy, and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, with main campus locations in Tucson and the Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix. From these vantage points, Health Sciences reaches across the state of Arizona, the greater Southwest and around the world to provide next-generation education, research and outreach. A major economic engine, Health Sciences employs nearly 5,000 people, has approximately 4,000 students and 900 faculty members, and garners $200 million in research grants and contracts annually. For more information: uahs.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn | Instagram).