UTHSC Faculty Honored at Health Care Heroes Awards Competition

 

            Memphis, Tennessee (September 10, 2004) -- Three University of Tennessee Health Science Center faculty members were honored Thursday, September 9 as award recipients for the Health Care Heroes Awards competition, sponsored by the Memphis Business Journal. Seven others affiliated with UTHSC were honored as finalists.   

University Distinguished Professor Emeritus, John W. (Bill) Runyan, Jr., MD, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. A native Memphian, Dr. Runyan joined the UT faculty in 1960.  He founded and led the Division of Endocrinology for a decade and served as professor and chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine from 1972-94. His interest in the care of patients with chronic disease led to the development of the Memphis Chronic Disease Program, a county-wide network of neighborhood health clinics that made primary care and chronic disease care accessible and affordable to those who might not otherwise have access to such care. Dr. Runyan changed the way care was provided in the Memphis area; his nationally recognized nurse-run, physician-backed, and community-based system was one of the first reorganizations of health care delivery that demonstrated a reduction in morbidity and mortality in the population.

Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism for Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center, George Burghen, MD, was the recipient of the Health Care Provider – Physician Award.

Soloway Chair of Excellence, Mitch Steiner, MD, was presented with the award for Health Care Innovations. Dr. Steiner is founder and vice chairman/CEO for GTX, Inc. The Men’s Health Biotech Company.

UTHSC faculty and/or affiliates who were finalists include:

 

Lifetime Achievement Category – Jerre Minor Freeman, MD, Ophthalmologist, Memphis Eye & Cataract Associates; Marcus J. Stewart, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Campbell Clinic; Robert R. Waller, MD, former President and CEO, Mayo Clinic

 

Health Care Provider – Physician – Dennis R. Schaberg, MD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine; Andy Spooner, MD, Director of General Pediatrics and Buckman Associate Professor of Pediatrics

 

Health Care Innovations – Duane Miller, PhD, Chair, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Van Vleet Professor

 

Community Outreach – Phyllis Richey, PhD, assistant professor of Preventive Medicine

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