July 1, 2014 — Chairman Dr. Joe St. Geme announced that the Department of Pediatrics of the Perlman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, was, again, ranked No.1 among all departments of pediatrics in the most recent U.S. News and World Report rankings of schools of medicine and associated programs. This marks the 11th consecutive year the program has been ranked first or second in the nation. He congratulated the faculty, stating, “This ranking reflects the talent, hard work, collaboration, and productivity of the faculty and staff across the Department, resulting in outstanding patient care, education, and research programs.” To read the full list, go to tinyurl.com/topmedschools2014.

Dr. Steve Altschuler, CEO, announced a new partnership between CHOP and AtlantiCare of southeastern New Jersey. This union will deliver CHOP tertiary NICU services and pediatric and subspecialist support to this community. The agreement further enhances the nation’s largest pediatric care network, the CHOP Care Network. He also announced that CHOP is the No.1 National Institutes of Health-funded children’s hospital.

Congratulations to Dr. Robert Zimmerman, senior neuroradiologist, who received the annual Richard D. Wood Distinguished Alumni Award. “Z” is a pioneer in the development of the science of radiologic imagery, which has contributed so much to the diagnostic methodology and of neurological diseases.

Dr. Chris Feudtner, director of the Department of Medical Ethics and director of research for the Pediatric Advanced Care Team at CHOP, is 1 of 5 recipients of the 2014 Cunniff-Dixon Physician Awards given by the Hastings Center to a mid-career physician “for leadership in promoting better and more patient-driven care for children at the end of their lives, as well as their families.”

We offer condolences to the family of cardiac anesthesiologist Dr. Chad Cripe, who died in February at the age of 45 of a brain tumor. He completed fellowships in Pediatric Anesthesia and Cardiac Anesthesia at CHOP, and, after a brief time at Lehigh Valley, returned to Children’s Hospital in 2010.

We are very interested in any news that you have about yourself and/or fellow alumni. Please contact Barrie Nussbaum, nussbaumb@email.chop.edu. You can find more information about fellow alumni on our alumni website at www.chopalumni.org.

News, Awards, Honors

  • Children’s Hospital has announced the recipients of the 2014 CHOP Mentor Award. The award recognizes faculty mentors who, during the past 3 years, have demonstrated extraordinary dedication to fostering the professional development of other members of the CHOP faculty. Recipients are: Yair Argon, PhD, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, chief, Division of Experimental Pathology; Robert A. Berg, MD, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, chief, Division of Critical Care Medicine; and Sriram Krishnaswamy, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology.
  • Carol A. Ford, MD, chief of the Craig-Dalsimer Division of Adolescent Medicine, assumed the presidency of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM) at the group’s annual meeting in March.
  • Robert W. Doms, MD, PhD, pathologist-in-chief, was recently named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Founded in 1848, the AAAS was the first permanent organization formed to promote the development of science and engineering at the national level and to represent the interests of all its disciplines.

Contributed by: Patrick S. Pasquariello, MD