Dear CHOP Alumni Family,

I have decided to begin each installment with a reminder of our motto for the column, straight from Dr. Pat’s old files: Keep … Tradition, Keep … in Mind, Keep … in Touch!

The motto is wonderful, has the added benefit of organizing my thoughts and information, and makes writing his column just a little easier! And so I begin:

Keep … Tradition: The summer is a relatively quieter time for alumni events, although now that the new year is upon us, we will begin planning for 2017’s many alumni events.

We are sad to announce that Dr. Peter Berman, who served as our Chief of the Division of Neurology for many years, died suddenly on Sept. 1, 2016. Dr. Berman started at CHOP in 1969 and was an extraordinary neurologist, teacher and friend. He has left an indelible mark on all who were fortunate enough to have known him. Donations may be made to the Philadelphia School, c/o Genvieve Goldstein, Associate Director of Development, 2501 Lombard St., Philadelphia, PA 19146.

As for Keep … in Mind: I’m delighted to announce the launch of our new Alumni Organization website! I encourage you to explore the new content, including news and articles as well as information about upcoming Grand Rounds presentations and other events. And now, getting involved with the Alumni Organization has never been easier, more rewarding, and impactful! You can sign up to volunteer and can even share your story — if you have any news about yourself or any other CHOP alum, please email alumni@email.chop.edu. I hope you’ll consider making a gift, as well. Your support of the Alumni Giving Fund will ensure that special education programs, such as Grand Rounds, travel stipends, networking opportunities, and achievement awards, will be sustained year to year. Visit chopalumni.org today.

And finally, Keep ... in Touch: We continue to collect great images for our educational effort, “Dr. Pat’s Pics,” which has gotten enthusiastic feedback from students, residents, and attending physicians. If you have some great photos to share, please consider sending them our way. Here’s how Dr. Pat’s Pics works: Each week, clerkship students are sent a classic photograph of an interesting pediatric problem. Some are photographs of rashes or other diseases; some are radiographs or pathology specimens. Our students present the photo and a short discussion of the problem on rounds, educating themselves, our residents, attending pediatricians and others! If you would like to participate, please send me (christian@ email.chop.edu) a quality photograph (with the appropriate consent) along with a one- to two-sentence description, and we will add it to the Dr. Pat teaching library. I welcome your contributions.

If you have any news about yourself or your CHOP friends, please share with me so that I can spread the word in this column.

That’s it for this issue, but I’m looking for exciting announcements to include in my next column. So please email me at christian@email.chop.edu, and you too, can be famous (i.e., mentioned in this column).

Best wishes always,

Cindy Christian, MD
Alumni Editor