Dear CHOP Alumni Family,

Cindy Christian, MD Cindy Christian, MD Remember our CHOP Alumni Motto: Keep … Tradition, Keep … in Mind, Keep … in Touch! And this issue I have a new addition: Confession! Turns out that I’m late on my submission this round, and my daughter is getting married soon. Between work and family duties, this will be a brief column. Please forgive me!

Keep … Tradition: We do have exciting news, and that is that for the first time in many decades, the Pediatric Academic Society Meeting will be coming to Philadelphia this spring! We are very excited that the City of Brotherly Love will be hosting the meeting, and we can’t wait to highlight our great city—and hospital—for all our pediatric colleagues to see and experience. For those of you who haven’t been back to CHOP or Philadelphia for a while, you will be amazed by the transformation of the hospital and the wonderful vibrancy of the city. On Saturday, May 2, we are offering tours of CHOP for our alumni and will also host a very special reception that evening. Please save the date! I hope many of you will make this the year to attend PAS and return to Philly. Some of our alumni are planning class reunions around this year’s PAS. If you are interested in organizing a class reunion, contact us, as we are happy to help support your efforts.

Keep … in Mind: Getting involved with the Alumni Organization has never been easier, more rewarding, and impactful! I hope you’ll consider making a gift, as well. Visit www.chopalumni.org today.

And finally, Keep ... in Touch! I received a lovely note from Samir Shah. Samir is the Director of the Division of Hospital Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and an infectious disease specialist as well. He was recently named the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Hospital Medicine, the official journal of the >15000-member Society of Hospital Medicine that includes both adult and pediatric hospitalists. In addition, he was recognized as a Master in Hospital Medicine by the Society of Hospital Medicine. Samir is the 29th honoree and just the fourth pediatrician (and the first since 2014) to receive this honor, which was given for his leading role in development of the specialty of pediatric hospital medicine as an academic discipline. Congratulations to Samir on these wonderful recognitions of his talent and efforts!

I hope others (I know you are out there) will share exciting news that we can share with our colleagues. And to all my friends who will be sitting for the first American Board of Pediatrics’ hospitalist boards: GOOD LUCK!!

Until next time, enjoy, work hard, but not too hard, and keep in touch!

Best,
Cindy
Cindy W. Christian, MD
President, CHOP Alumni Association