Announcing our 2009 Salute to Service Winners
1 August 2009
The following indviduals have been selected as the 2009 recipients of the Foundation's Annual Salute to Service Awards. They will be honored at the upcoming Physicians' Gala at the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia. For more information about the 2009 MSV Annual Meeting and the Physicians' Gala, please visit:
www.msv.org/annualmeeting
2009 Award Recipients
Senator Ralph S. Northam, MD
Norfolk
Service on Behalf of all Virginians
Parker C. Dooley, MD
Nassawadox
Service to the Uninsured and Underserved
Mark H. Ryan, MD
Richmond
Service to the Medical Profession
John Gerard Kenerson, MD and Lisbet M. Hanson, MD, FACOG
Virginia Beach
Service to the International Community
P. Brody Wehman
Richmond
Service by a Medical Student or Resident
Senator Ralph S. Northam, MD
Norfolk
Service on Behalf of all Virginians
As both a member of the State Senate and a practicing pediatric neurologist, Dr. Northam has provided a tremendous contribution to the health of citizens living in the Commonwealth. Serving as a new voice for health care in the General Assembly, he has impacted issues of great importance to public health. Most notably, as chief patron of SB1105, he was instrumental in the passing of a law, which beginning December 1, 2009 will prohibit smoking in restaurants across Virginia. The detrimental health effects of secondhand tobacco smoke have been well documented for years and this legislation will significantly reduce the public’s exposure. In addition to tackling anti-smoking legislation, Dr. Northam has taken the lead in addressing childhood obesity by introducing SB112, which enabled the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation to direct resources toward this growing health crisis. As a member of the Senate Education and Health Committee, as well as the Joint Commission on Health Care, Dr. Northam will continue to have a significant influence on public health and health care policy in Virginia.
"During the prolonged efforts to secure passage of legislation to prohibit smoking in Virginia restaurants, Senator Northam's dedication, integrity and courage to do the right thing were instrumental in enabling me to proudly sign SB1105 into law." - The Honorable Timothy M. Kaine, Governor of Virginia.
Parker C. Dooley, MD
Nassawadox
Service to the Uninsured and Underserved
In 1978, Dr. Dooley came to the Eastern Shore of Virginia as a National Health Scholar working in an underserved area. In the thirty years since, he has become an integral part of the Eastern Shore community serving thousands of underserved and uninsured patients as both a private practice physician and as a physician & Medical Director for the Eastern Shore Rural Health System. Under Dr. Dooley’s direction, Eastern Shore Rural Health has added the Chincoteague Island Community Health Center, begun providing dental services at several locations, and, thanks to Dr. Dooley’s prolific grant-writing, expanded its existing community health centers. As a strong advocate for the consolidation of data, Dr. Dooley was instrumental in Eastern Shore Rural Health’s implementation of electronic health records.
Dr. Dooley’s service also extends to the regional, state-wide and national level. He is a former president of the Accomack County Medical Society and has served as a Board Member and Clinical Representative for the Virginia Primary Care Association where he was recognized in 2000 as the “Provider of the Year”.
“Dr. Dooley has been an incredibly effective clinician and community leader, and he has dedicated his life to the service of our rural area. His work over the years has improved the quality of life for countless patients and he has done this for the love of medicine and the love of the people of the Eastern Shore.” – Thomas G. Hollandsworth, MD
Mark H. Ryan, MD
Richmond
Service to the Medical Profession
Dr. Ryan has served the medical profession by mentoring, recruiting, and engaging its future physicians through his international work with William and Mary. Dr. Ryan currently serves as medical director of a student-organized project in international medical service called Student Organization for Medical Outreach and Sustainability (SOMOS). With his guidance and direction, SOMOS students purchase prescription and non-prescription medications to use in bi-annual week-long clinics in the Dominican Republic. In addition to organizing the medical operations while supervising undergraduate students (mostly pre-med), medical students, and medical residents, Dr. Ryan personally sees approximately 150 patients during each clinic. Dr. Ryan was one of the founding members of the initiative, which began in 2005 as a "duffle bag" medicine project. Since then, the clinic has grown from one physician (Dr. Ryan) in the first year to last year’s cadre of seven medical providers, one PharmD, 2 upper-level pharmacy students, and a nurse. He is also working with William and Mary to develop a program serving underserved communities in Nicaragua.
Dr. Ryan has presented papers to the American Academy of Family Physicians to describe the international outreach medical efforts, and to examine and extend discussions about community-oriented primary care. His service has not only positively impacted underserved patients of the Dominican Republic, but has also profoundly educated students considering a career in medicine.
“Dr. Ryan was eager to teach us, because he saw the importance of us and our interest in the future of the project. We weren’t students; we were potential physicians that could help the project thrive. It was these moments that actually started my interest in medicine . . . Dr. Ryan showed me how you learn about people through medicine, and how you can use that information to affect their lives.” –Luke Neilans, Medical Student, Howard University
John Gerard Kenerson, MD and Lisbet M. Hanson, MD, FACOG
Virginia Beach
Service to the International Community
Both graduates of University of Vermont Medical School, Drs. Kenerson and Hanson are a rare couple united by their commitment to improving health care and living conditions in one of the poorest and hard to reach areas of Haiti. For the past seven years, they have provided Haitians with needed medical supplies and services, including medicines, hospital facilities, and personnel. Despite the challenging physical and political environment of Haiti, they have had great success in creating collaborations which facilitate care. They have partnered with the International Society of OB Gyn Ultrasound and GE to initiate an OB ultrasound training program, allowing week-long training for physicians and nurse midwives. They were also able to secure two high-level Vivid cardiac machines from GE and will be training Haitians to perform advanced cardiac ultrasound. In addition, in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health, Partners in Health, and their church community, they led the development of medical facilities at Baptiste in Central Haiti. Recognizing the need in Baptiste for clean water, Drs. Kenerson and Hanson have been collaborating with the Haitian Government to construct a pipeline to bring clean potable water to the local population.
“Their contributions are significant, extremely effective, and combine individual dedication, clinical commitment, as well as persistent, determined leadership and innovative collaboration with other critically influential partners in the care of the poorest people in the Western Hemisphere. I know of few individuals who have excelled in so many ways to create success in an environment where failure and non-sustained programs are the norm.” – Kurt Elward, MD, MPH
P. Brody Wehman
Richmond
Service by a Medical Student or Resident
As a third year medical student, Mr. Wehman has been an exceptional volunteer with the Mission of Mercy (MOM) Project at the Eastern Shore. MOM is a weekend-long dental clinic that provides free dental care and a small amount of medical triage services to over 1,000 children and adults. As a volunteer, Mr. Wehman has helped take medical histories and perform blood pressure and glucose screening at the triage station. He has also worked with the student-run pharmacy to hand out antibiotics and pain medications. Recognizing the large number of MOM patients without a primary care physician, Brody developed a plan to work with the community health board linking those individuals with the nearest possible provider. In addition to serving as a volunteer, he has played an integral role in getting other medical students involved in the initiative, and has signed on to coordinate all medical student activities in conjunction with this next year’s project.
Before entering medical school, Mr. Wehman traveled to Kenya, where he volunteered in a hospital, taught HIV awareness, and assisted a midwife delivering babies. Throughout his undergraduate studies, he was an active volunteer with the James Madison University Best Buddies program and the Harrisonburg Children’s Museum. He is a graduate of James Madison University, where he received both a BA in Psychology and a MS in Integrated Science and Technology.
“Brody is very dedicated to learning more about caring for the uninsured and hopes to some day practice medicine in an area of need in Virginia. . . I look forward to his leadership for the Eastern Shore project next spring." – Michelle Whitehurst-Cook, MD, Associate Dean for Admissions, VCU School of Medicine.