Summer 2004
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Beard Award Recipient Balances Education, Service
DR. PERRY E. SHEFFIELD, who never missed an opportunity to serve the most vulnerable members of society amid the rigors of earning a medical degree, is the Medical College of Georgia’s 2004 recipient of the John F. Beard Award for Compassionate Care.
The $25,000 award is presented annually by William Porter “Billy” Payne and his wife, Martha, to a graduating MCG student who exemplifies caring and compassion in health care. Mr. Payne established the award in 1998 to memorialize his father-in-law, who died of cancer in 1997.
The award honors MCG President Emeritus Francis J. Tedesco and Mr. Beard’s physician, Dr. Mark F. Williams, a 1988 graduate of the MCG School of Medicine.
Teachers and peers cited numerous examples of Dr. Sheffield’s altruism in nominating her for the award. “Her track record of service already exceeds what most people achieve in a lifetime,” wrote Dr. Kim J. Masters, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and health behavior.
Before beginning medical school, Dr. Sheffield, who earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in environmental science from Brown University, conducted a biogas feasibility study in Madagascar as a Fulbright Fellow.
“Her international experience in Africa made an indelible imprint on her mind and heart and was a seminal event in shaping her career aspirations,” according to Dr. Sheffield’s nomination letter. “Perry chose a career in medicine that is well-conceived in her steadfast commitment to working in underserved populations locally and internationally.”
While earning her medical degree, Dr. Sheffield undertook extensive volunteer projects, including walking door to door in impoverished Augusta communities to help enroll uninsured children in the state’s PeachCare program. She also directed the American Medical Women’s Association Free Women’s Clinic in Vidalia, Ga., and served on the board of Health Students Taking Action Together, an advocacy group regarding issues of uninsured children and childhood obesity.
Dr. Sheffield served as vice president for community service and academic vice president for her medical school class for three years. She used her multilingual skills to spearhead efforts to enhance communication with non-English-speaking patients. Dr. Sheffield also helped renovate a house in Dearing, Ga., for use as a free health clinic, staffed by MCG faculty and students.
“Whenever I became completely overwhelmed by a project and thought I could never convince people to volunteer their time, I knew that Perry would be jumping in with both feet, full of practicality and reason and compassion,” wrote classmate Sarah Matteson, who worked with Dr. Sheffield on many volunteer projects, including “putting the roof on the Dearing Clinic.”
Her teachers noted that she forged lasting bonds with patients and families during her clinical rotations. “I am gratified to have watched her development as a student doctor; to say it has been a privilege to be her teacher is an understatement,” wrote Dr. Robert A. Pendergrast Jr., associate professor of pediatrics.
Dr. Sheffield began a pediatrics residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore this summer.
“In years to come, I would bet that we will see many creative care projects in which Perry will be involved,” wrote Dr. Masters. “What greater honor could there be for the donors of this prize than to have recognized and supported these talents early in a recipient’s career?”
Hamilton Jordan Receives Honorary Doctorate
MEDICAL COLLEGE OF Georgia President Daniel W. Rahn presented an
honorary doctorate to former White House Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan during
MCG’s 2004 commencement ceremony May 7.
“You have given much, and you have made a marked difference in the lives of many,” President Rahn said in presenting the doctorate. “Now, on a day when we send forth our graduates to make a difference in the lives of their fellow man, it is our privilege to welcome you warmly into the MCG fellowship.”
President Rahn noted Mr. Jordan’s accomplishments in many fields, including public service, business and health care advocacy.
“You are a dynamic and impressive entrepreneur and political strategist, but today we gather to celebrate and honor your public service, particularly the extraordinary impact you have had on the lives of Georgians with cancer,” President Rahn said.
Mr. Jordan’s health care initiatives include founding Camp Sunshine, a retreat for children with cancer, in 1982; founding Camp Kudzu for children with juvenile diabetes in 2000; lobbying national leaders for increased support for cancer research funding; and founding the Georgia Cancer Coalition, a $1 billion public-private collaboration to make Georgia a national leader in cancer research and treatment.
“You have worked with diligence and focus to make the Georgia Cancer Coalition a reality,” President Rahn said. “You personally battled three types of cancer before the age of 50, but you said you didn’t push for a greater focus on cancer research and care for your own sake, but rather the sake of your children.”
Mr. Jordan earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia in 1966. After graduating, he served a year in South Vietnam with International Voluntary Services. He then successfully managed the gubernatorial and presidential campaigns of Jimmy Carter, serving as his chief of staff during both tenures.
Mr. Jordan has served as a private consultant overseeing strategic planning, communications and branding strategies for national and international companies included Nike and Coca-Cola. In 1987, he founded the ATP Tour, the Global Men’s Professional Tennis Tour, leading to his being named Sports Executive of the Year in 1991.
In 1990, he co-founded Touchdown Jacksonville!, the owners’ group awarded the National Football League franchise of the Jacksonville Jaguars. For the past decade, he has served as a founder, investor and/or advisor in various medical and biotech companies, including Greenway Medical Technology, Proxima Therapeutics, CTI Molecular Imaging and GMP Companies.
He has written two best-selling books, Crisis: The Last Year of the Carter Presidency and No Such Thing as a Bad Day! This year, he was named to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Board of Directors.
In 2002, he received the Public Service Award from the American Association of Cancer Research, the James Ewing Public Service Award from the Society of Surgical Oncology and the National Public Service Award from the American Cancer Society.
Commencement Speaker Recounts Cancer Battles
HAMILTON JORDAN counts many world leaders among his friends, but a
little boy named Cory is the one who springs to mind as his source of
inspiration.
Mr. Jordan, who served as chief of staff for the Carter White House, met Cory at Camp Sunshine, a camp for children with cancer founded by Mr. Jordan and his wife, Dorothy. Despite his cancer, Cory always had a smile on his face.’s cancer was treated, but by age 15, he was diagnosed with a recurrence so virulent that his doctor doubted he would live to see the next Thanksgiving. “Cory told him, ‘I don’t care what you say, Doc. I’m gonna live one more year so I can go to Camp Sunshine and tell my friends goodbye,’” Mr. Jordan recounted.
And he did. Cory, too weak to leave the hospital for more than a few hours, was flown by helicopter to the campsite, where his friends were assembled. They said their goodbyes, then Cory flew back to the hospital. He died peacefully that night in his sleep.
Mr. Jordan shared the story as guest speaker for the 175th commencement of the Medical College of Georgia. “The power of the human spirit can overcome something even as powerful as cancer,” he told the university’s 670 graduates.
Mr. Jordan drew from Cory’s strength when he received his own cancer diagnosis shortly after the child’s death. He was given a 20 percent chance of living another five years. “I wondered if I would live to see my little boy grow up or even see him reach his first birthday,” he said.
Mr. Jordan spent about a day feeling sorry for himself, at which point his doctor told him to pull himself together and fight for his life. He recalls days feeling so weak from chemotherapy that his wife had to roll him out of bed in the morning. “No matter how bad I felt, the memory of Cory kept me going,” he said. “This cancer would not define who I was. This cancer would not defeat me.”
Not only did he overcome the cancer, but he stymied his doctors’ predictions of sterility by fathering two more children.
The experience steeled Mr. Jordan for more battles ahead; shortly after his first cancer was declared in remission, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, then melanoma. Each fight, he said, has made him stronger and more determined to help others with the disease. His efforts have included lobbying national leaders for increased support for cancer research funding and spearheading the Georgia Cancer Coalition, a $1 billion public-private collaboration to make Georgia a national leader in cancer research and treatment.
Mr. Jordan urged MCG graduates to seize every opportunity to help those in need. “And remember that you can’t take care of others if you don’t first take care of yourself,” he said.
His resounding message was to never take a single day for granted. “My life has never seemed more precious,” he said, “than when I was fighting for it.”
Did You Receive History Publication?
PLEASE CONTACT THE MCG Publications Office if you did not receive a copy of our history publication, Moments in History, last spring. Some copies were misdirected, and we will be happy to mail one to you. Contact:
Christine Hurley Deriso, Publications Editor
FI-1040
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta GA 30912
(706) 721-2124 (phone)
(706) 721-6397 (fax)
(e-mail)
Mr. Henson Named Director of Alumni Affairs
SCOTT HENSON, director of special events at the Medical College of
Georgia since July 2001, has been named director of alumni affairs.
He succeeds Tammy Berry, who has assumed a part-time role in special events.
“Ms. Berry did a superb job representing and supporting our alumni during her
17-year tenure,” said L. Keith Todd, vice president for university advancement.
“She is cutting back on her hours to spend more time with her family, but we’re
delighted she’s still a part of the MCG community, and Mr. Henson is very
well-suited to assume her role in alumni affairs.”
Mr. Henson earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and political science from East Tennessee State University and a master’s degree in education from Augusta State University. Before joining MCG, he was the catering manager for Augusta’s Radisson Riverfront Hotel.
“Ms. Berry and I have worked closely together at MCG, so this is a natural progression,” Mr. Henson said. “I’m anxious to step up my involvement with MCG’s alumni and to provide the best service I possibly can.”
Alumni can reach Mr. Henson at (706) 721-4416 or .
Several MCG Classes had reunion dinners at Augusta's Radisson Riverfront Hotel during Homecoming 2004
Homecoming 2004 (April 22-25, 2004) Photo Gallery
Class Notes
| School of Allied Health Sciences |
Barbara Tanenbaum (Department of Dental Hygiene) has been named interim special assistant to the vice president for academic affairs at Armstrong Atlantic State University. She continues to serve as head of the Department of Dental Hygiene, a position she has held since 1993.
Dr. Hamilton Boone (Department of Physician Assistant, ’80), is CEO and founder of Physician Assistant Services in Melbourne, Fla. Physician Assistant Services provides surgical physician assistants to surgeons/hospitals in most specialties, with concentration in neurosurgery, general surgery, obstetrics/gynecology and orthopedics. Areas of emphasis include total joint replacement, spine surgery, cage placement and stealth technology.
Deborah J. Wallace (Department of Occupational Therapy, ’82), Macon, Ga., has received a master of divinity degree from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology.
David M. Furukawa (Department of Physician Assistant, ’94) has been
elected a trustee of Atlanta’s Center for the Visually Impaired. The center
offers comprehensive services to promote independence and self-worth for the
visually impaired. Mr. Furukawa is a physician assistant at Emory Eye Center and
a support group facilitator
for the Atlanta Chapter of the Foundation Fighting Blindness. He is the
education chair and historian for the Southeast Chapter of the Japanese American
Citizens League and is a member of the Living Historians, which re-enacts Civil
War, World War I and World War II military experiences.
Brandon Pletsch (Department of Medical Illustration, ’03), received the first Award in Interactive Medical from the National Science Foundation Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge. The international contest, which debuted last year, recognizes outstanding achievements by scientists and engineers in using visual media to promote understanding of research results. The award honored Mr. Pletsch’s animation, “Auditory Transduction,” which he created while earning his MCG degree. His major advisor was Steve Harrison, chair of the Department of Medical Illustration.
Obituaries
James Ralph Jesse, a 1978 graduate of MCG’s dental lab technician program, died Feb. 18, 2003 at age 64. He was a retired U.S. Army master sergeant and worked as a dental lab technician at MCG for 19 years.
| School of Dentistry |
Dr. L. Travis Smith (’74) has joined the MCG faculty as assistant professor of oral rehabilitation and director of dental faculty practice after practicing dentistry in Tifton, Ga., for almost 30 years.
Dr. W. J. “Jimmy” Walker, Jr. (’75), Augusta, was re-appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue for a second term on the Georgia Board of Dentistry; he has served six years on the board by appointment of former Gov. Zell Miller. Dr. Walker holds fellow ships in the Academy of International Dentists and the American College of Dentists and serves as a dental consultant/dentist for the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice.
Dr. Isaac Holton (’76), an Augusta orthodontist and assistant clinical professor of orthodontics, received the 2003 MCG School of Dentistry Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Dr. Bruce Ashendorf (’81) is the immediate past president of the Thomas P. Hinman Dental Society, an organization that develops and fosters scientific dentistry and dental education through regular meetings and sponsorship of the Thomas P. Hinman Meeting.
Dr. Greg Goggans (’84) has announced his bid for Georgia’s District 7
senate seat being vacated by Peg Blitch. The district encompasses Atkinson,
Bacon, Berrien, Clinch, Coffee, Echols, Lanier, Pierce and Ware counties and
much of Cook County. Dr. Goggans has been a full-time orthodontist since 1996,
operating offices in Douglas
and Fitzgerald, Ga.
Dr. David Carter (’91) practices orthodontics in North Augusta, S.C.
Dr. Tina Moses (’99) joined the MCG faculty after earning her dental degree and is completing MCG’s pediatric dentistry residency part time.
Dr. Heather Watkins (’01) is completing a periodontics residency at
MCG and placed
first in a Southern Academy of Periodontology research competition. The 2003
Billy M. Pennel Research Competition, named for a former MCG Department of
Periodontics chair, is open to periodontics residents and graduate students in
training programs in nine southeastern states. Dr. Watkins’ entry compared
healing rates of
HIV-positive adults to HIV-negative adults following scaling and root-planing
therapy.
Dr. Rhoda Joyner (’03) practices general dentistry in Evans, Ga.
| School of Medicine |
Dr. Curtis M. Phillips (’43), Jacksonville, Fla., made a $2.15 million gift to the University of Florida Center for the Performing Arts which now bears his name. His gift was eligible for state matching funds and is expected to create a total endowment of $4.3 million for the Phillips Center. Dr. Phillips completed his residency at MCG in 1947 and served as an assistant professor of pathology until 1952 and as a surgery resident until 1957. He was a fellow in oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Center in New York, and served as oncologist, back-up pathologist and chief of cancer surgery at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville. Two of his children and his granddaughter are University of Florida graduates.
Dr. Irving Victor (’44) received the first honorary doctorate awarded by Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Ga. Dr. Victor attended the institution in 1939 when it was a junior college. He continued his education at the University of Georgia and the Medical College of Georgia, then, as a urologist, studied in Minnesota under Dr. Frederick E.B. Foley, inventor of the Foley catheter. Dr. Victor has served as chief of staff for all three Savannah hospitals, helped establish the Chatham County Emergency Medical Services and has led various Armstrong Atlantic foundation and alumni organizations, including chairing the Armstrong College Commission which oversees a $350,000 endowment fund. Georgia state universities are authorized by the Board of Regents to award up to two honorary degrees per year. Dr. Victor was cited for his service to the community as well as to AASU.
Dr. Frank C. Wilson (’54), Kenan professor and emeritus chief of orthopaedics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, received the second annual American Orthopaedic Association Smith & Nephew Distinguished Clinician-Educator Award at the association’s June meeting. The national award, presented by the association and the Smith & Nephew Co., honors outstanding contributions to orthopaedics in the roles of clinician and educator.
Dr. Charles Dean Ray (’56) of U.S. Surgical Corp. and Raymedica Inc. has received two awards for his research, development and clinical application of a unique prosthesis to replace the painfully degenerated human spinal disc. He was named Gold Winner of the Medical Design Excellence Award for 2000, presented by CanonCommunications, LLC. He also received the R&D 100 Award for outstanding medical device development for 2000. He also received one of three R&D 100 Best of the Best Awards for the product with the most humanistic application.
Dr. Jerome H. Siegel (’60), New York City, is clinical professor of medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He received the 2001 Master Endoscopist Award from the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and was listed in the 2001 Castle-Connolly Top Doctors in America as a gastroenterologist-endoscopist.
Dr. A. Bleakley Chandler, professor and chairman emeritus of the MCG department of pathology, and Dr. Robert A. Hand (’61) have authored two research papers on arteriosclerotic heart disease which have been recognized as landmark publications in the November 2002 issue of the international science journal, Nature/Medicine. A 29-member panel of distinguished scientists selected 96 research papers on atherosclerosis published between 1900 and 2000 as classics in the field. Two of the 96 papers from the past 100 years were selected as landmark publications.
Dr. Van Knowles (’66) leads the Southwest Georgia Medical Mission Team, a group of Christian physicians and medical technicians who travel annually from Albany, Ga., to Third World countries. Most recently, the group has focused its efforts on Hindu India where only about 2 percent of the population is Christian and the government won’t allow entry if the mission is to convert people to Christianity. “We do our Christian work by example,” says Dr. Knowles. The group became an independent 501(c)3 corporation in 1993 so it could qualify for donations of medical supplies and equipment.
Dr. Paul E. Stanton Jr. (’69), president of East Tennessee State University, received the 2003 Spirit Award from Mountain States Foundation. Since joining ETSU in 1985, Dr. Stanton has helped develop The Children’s Hospital at Johnson City Medical Center, a pediatric residency program at the hospital, a Ronald McDonald House and the regional Med Tech Center. He is a member of the American Heart Association, Johnson City Area United Way, Boy Scouts of America, Ronald McDonald House Board of Directors, Munsey Memorial United Methodist Church and the Tri-Cities TN/VA Regional Partnership “Vision 2025--From Vision to Reality” Project.
Dr. Jeffrey P. Harris (’72), Winchester, Va., completed his term as chair of the Board of Governors of the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine in April. The ACP-ASIM is the nation’s largest medical specialty society. Its membership comprises more than 115,000 internal medicine physicians and medical students. The Board of Governors, composed of ACP-ASIM governors elected by college members throughout the United States, Canada and Central and South America, advises the society’s Board of Regents. Dr. Harris has practiced internal medicine and nephrology in Winchester, Va., since 1977. He is a clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and serves as a preceptor for third-year students in the university’s community-based teaching program.
Dr. Carl Dohn (’75), an obstetrician in Brunswick, Ga., and experienced amateur woodworker, built the table for the G-8 summit of world leaders June 8-10 on Sea Island, Ga.
Dr. William B. White (’78), Farmington, Conn., is chief of the Division of Hypertension and Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Connecticut Health Center, where he also directs the Clinical Trials Research Unit. His book, Blood Pressure Monitoring in Cardiovascular Medicine and Therapeutics, was published by Humana Press in 2000. He also started a journal devoted to original research, “Blood Pressure Monitoring,” which was indexed by MEDLINE and published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Dr. Chris Cates (’82), director of vascular intervention at Emory University and director of the Vascular Program at the Emory Heart Center at Emory Hospital and Crawford Long Hospital, is the interventional cardiology representative of the American College of Cardiology’s Coding and Nomenclature Committee.
Dr. Joy Maxey (’84) served in 2001 as the first woman president of the Medical Association of Georgia. Her leadership focused on patient rights and safety, challenging legislators, regulators and insurers to ask of every rule, regulation or law, “Is it good medicine?” Dr. Maxey was first introduced to the idea of becoming a physician by an MCG clinical professor who was intrigued by her ninth grade first-place science fair project on acne. She also includes Dr. Joe Bailey as an important mentor during her years at MCG. Dr. Bailey called her attention to the needs for an improved medical care system in the state and nation.
Dr. Kay M. Mitchell (’86), a Jacksonville, Fla., internist and geriatrician, has been elected governor of the American College of Physicians’ Florida chapter through 2008. Dr. Mitchell also is an assistant professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville and a member of the American Cancer Society and Arthritis Foundation. She participates in nurse education and delivers community lectures on health issues.
Dr. Arden L. Levy (’89) of Foothills Allergy & Asthma Associates in Spartanburg, S.C., was included in the 2002-03 Consumers’ Research Council of America’s Guide to America’s Top Physicians.
Dr. Jennifer Garst (’90) has received Duke University’s 2003 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. The award honors professional distinction and outstanding community service. “Dr. Garst has not only excelled as an excellent clinician and an enthusiastic educator, but has demonstrated character, compassion and a sense of community responsibility in her advocacy for oncology patients and their families at Duke Hospital and in Durham and surrounding communities,” said Sam Miglarese, chair of the Duke faculty/staff committee that selected the 2003 recipient.
Dr. John Michael Roach (’95), Eye Consultants of Atlanta, has been named to the Board of Trustees of the Center for the Visually Impaired in Atlanta. Dr. Roach completed his residency in Ophthalmology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and is certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology. He is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Georgia Society of Ophthalmology. The CVI is Georgia’s only comprehensive, fully accredited, private rehabilitation facility and annually provides services to more than 3,500 individuals of all ages who are blind or visually impaired.
Dr. Douglas Y. Roese (’95) has joined Southern Indiana Surgery Inc. to expand the center’s vascular surgery efforts.
Navy Lt. Craig J. Randall (’99) recently participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom while assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit based in Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Dr. Melvin Fussell, who completed a urology residency at MCG in 2002, has joined the Crisp Regional Hospital medical staff in Cordele, Ga.
Dr. Roger A. Ray, who completed a neurology residency at MCG, has been named chief medical officer of Morton Plant Mease Health Care in Clearwater, Fla.
Obituaries
Dr. William T. Steele (’44), Winter Haven, Fla., died March 7 after a short illness.
Dr. Colquitt Sims Jr. (’45), Anderson, S.C., died May 12, 2003.
Dr. Thomas J. Howard (’49) died March 21. He was a U.S. Army captain in Korea and was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. After completing his military service, he maintained a private practice in Augusta and was on the staff of St. Joseph Hospital and University Hospital. Survivors include wife Lura, a daughter, Dr. Monique Howard Lentz and her husband, David Lentz, and a granddaughter, Hilary Howard Lentz.
Dr. Jacob H. Holley (’62), Donalsonville, Ga., died Dec. 11, 2003 at age 69. Dr. Holley, who had a family practice in Donalsonville for many years, was the medical director of the Seminole County Public Health Department and former chief of staff at Donalsonville Hospital. Survivors include wife Betty Neal Holley, four daughters, two sons and 13 grandchildren.
| School of Nursing |
Dr. Jean Sumner (B.S.N., ’73, A.M.S.N., ’74), Wrightsville, Ga., has been named an at-large member of the Georgia State Board of Medical Education. Dr. Sumner, who earned a medical degree from Mercer University, is medical director of the Oconee Health Care Nursing Facility and has a private practice in internal medicine at Washington County Internal Medicine, P.C. She serves on the board of the Georgia Rural Health Association. Dr. Sumner is president of the American Medical Directors Association and chair of the Continuing Medical Education Committee. She and husband Joe have two children.
Dr. Lenette Owens Burrell (M.S.N., ’72), a senior research scientist at the University of Georgia Gerontology Center, has received the 2003 Georgia College and State University Alumni Achievement Award. Dr. Burrell earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgia College and State University in 1966 and a doctorate in adult education from UGA in 1978. She was on the MCG School of Nursing faculty from 1972 to 1998 and has co-authored with her husband four editions of Intensive Nursing Care/Critical Care and two editions of Adult Nursing. She has received an MCG Outstanding Faculty Award and was elected CASE Professor of the Year while at MCG. She and her husband, Dr. Zeb L. Burrell Jr., have four children.
Helen W. Valentine (M.S.N., ’74), although retired, works two days a week as an APN in Hot Springs, Ariz. She works with six internists and sees patients who are depressed, anxious, dealing with stress and/or grief. She divides her two days between the two offices. She is board certified in her specialty by ANCC.
Marlene Jordan Marsh (’76), Evans, Ga., retired May 5, 2000 after 20 years at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Cynthia Captain (’77), Rome, Ga., practices critical care nursing.