Alumni Notes Summer 2017

Dear CHOP Alumni Family,

Following our CHOP Alumni motto:

Keep … Tradition: Spring is time for many of our Alumni Organization traditions. In March, we welcomed back Ralph DeBerardinis for the annual Alumni Organization Pediatric Grand Rounds. Ralph, Director, Division of Pediatric Genetics and Metabolism at UT Southwestern, gave a most spectacular talk on cancer metabolism — one that was accessible to all learners, even those who can no longer distinguish the Krebs cycle from the urea cycle! It was wonderful to spend some time with Ralph, who is as kind and generous as he is talented and successful. Also, Dr. St. Geme and I hosted the always-lively CHOP Alumni gathering at the annual PAS meeting. Molly Force, of the CHOP Foundation, put together a great reception that was packed with old and new friends. The Alumni Organization proudly sponsored travel for 2 residents to present their research abstracts:Marissa Orenstein presented a program to return pediatric learners to the bedside, and Michelle Pena presented her work on racial and ethnic differences in fetal deaths among different hospitals.

As for Keep … in Mind: Please remember the Alumni Organization website (chopalumni.org). I encourage you to explore new content, including news and articles as well as information about upcoming Grand Rounds and other events. And now, getting involved with the Alumni Organization has never been easier, more rewarding, and impactful. I hope you’ll consider making a gift, as well. Your support of the Alumni Giving Fund sustains special education programs, such as Grand Rounds, travel stipends, networking opportunities, and achievement awards.

And finally, Keep ... in Touch, titled this issue: “News the Dans!”

Dan Levy, a resident at CHOP 1975–77, is now president of the Child and Teen Wellness Center in Owings Mills, Maryland. Dan has held several AAP leadership positions and is currently District III vice chair. He holds faculty positions at Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland. The MDAAP presented Dan with its Leadership and Pediatrician of the Year awards. His greatest honor has been the esteem of colleagues and patients. Dan has also served as a special consultant to the Maryland Superintendent of Schools and correspondent for ABC News. The best things in his life are his wife Nancy, his two kids, and four grandsons. Dan reports, “CHOP and my mentors from med school through the present helped me to become a solid pediatrician. My patients and colleagues keep me humble. After almost 40 years of practice, I feel like I am midcareer. I thank God every day that He made me a pediatrician.”

And from my dear friend Dan Hyman: “I am now the Chief Medical and Patient Safety Officer and a faculty member in the Division of Hospital Medicine at Children’s Hospital Colorado/University of Colorado School of Medicine. I also serve or served in national leadership roles including the Clinical Steering Team for Children’s Hospitals’ Solutions for Patient Safety, and quality and safety committees for the Children’s Hospital Association. I now co-direct a new Quality Safety Improvement Scholars program for the Academic Pediatric Association. Our hospital was awarded the American Hospital Association/McKesson Quest for Quality Prize in 2015.

“Prior, I was the Chief Children’s Quality Officer and Chief Medical Officer for ambulatory care at New York Presbyterian Hospital. I practiced general peds at CHOP for 13 years after my residency, and during that time helped establish its first ‘accountable care’ entity, Children’s Health Net, and served as medical director for 6 years. My wife, Martha (pathologist, Abington), and I have two grown kids. I am grateful for my years at CHOP and the many lasting friendships from those years.”

Thanks, Dans! Next month, let’s hear from alumni with other names. Please share any news about yourself or your CHOP friends. Email me at christian@email.chop.edu, and you, too, can be famous.

Best wishes always,

Cindy W. Christian, MD

President, CHOP Alumni Organization