How about some great news? One of our most distinguished faculty members, a member of the Georgia Prevention Institute, Dr. Martha Tingen, has been named to the Charles W. Linder Endowed Chair of Pediatrics at Georgia Health Sciences University.

Martha is a renowned expert on tobacco control, especially as it relates to school and community-based collaborative partnerships. Her current annual grant support exceeds $1.2 million. Dr. Linder has always believed that pediatric faculty should participate in research to improve health care, and Drs. Linder and Tingen share a record of outstanding service to the medical school and university.

The Linder Chair will enable Martha to spend time in scholarly dialogue and the exchange of ideas with practicing pediatricians, as well as make it possible for clinical faculty to participate in ongoing funded community research projects. I am excited for the beloved Dr. Charlie Linder as well as Dr. Martha Tingen who is the first to occupy this prestigious endowed chair. Please give Martha and Charlie your congratulations.

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Bernie Maria

Courtney Mitchell, one of our medical school seniors, was beaming at graduation. She was awarded the Physician’s Physician Award by her classmates and the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award by the faculty, thus making her the first Medical College of Georgia graduate to be recognized for excellence with both prestigious awards.

Also, Courtney was awarded the John F. Beard Award for Compassionate Care. Courtney will be one of our 2011 pediatric interns and I feel certain that her brilliance, personality, dedication, humanity, and humility will set an example for us all. Please congratulate the new Dr. Mitchell for her stellar accomplishments. Children are fortunate to have her as their future pediatrician, and we are very fortunate to have the privilege of mentoring her through postgraduate training.

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Bernie Maria

English is very rich in cleft constructions. An example of a cleft sentence is: “If he wants to be anonymous it’s because he has had a cleft lip and palate.” At this morning’s Grand Rounds, Dr. Jack Yu, alongside his talented craniofacial team, made a profound statement after each of his team members explained their pivotal role in caring for the 7,000 children born (1 out of every 700 births) in the US every year with cleft lip and palate. They demonstrated the power of interdisciplinary medicine and how multiple health disciplines are all thinking about each patient’s problems and offering unique value to the child and family. It was a compelling talk and made us all feel fortunate to have such accomplished colleagues. Dr. Yu said that what children with cleft lip and palate most desire is anonymity. They simply wish to be able to go to the movies looking and feeling like everyone else. It is clear to me that beyond the art of genetics, surgery, orthodontics, audiology, and speech – what his team does that is most important is normalizing children’s lives. Very inspiring teamwork!

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Bernie Maria

In national, regional and local debates surrounding health care for children, I am often struck by the number of people who fail to appreciate the importance of investing in children’s programs. It is often true that health systems recover disproportionate amounts of dollars from caring for adults with heart disease, cancer or stroke than they do in caring for children of families that live in poverty and must depend on Medicaid for any health care. As advocates we must be extremely vigilant in defending children from the siphoning of resources away that address their unique health needs. If medicine were simply a large business like Exxon Mobil, General Electric or Bank of America, then funds would be invested in order to make money. While health care costs must be brought under control for us to be competitive as a nation, we must not forget what John W. Whitehead, founder of The Rutherford Institute said: “Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.”

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Bernie Maria

The children we care for teach us a great deal about ourselves. They inspire us during their journeys to health. We are very fortunate to have caring, competent and passionate children’s doctors on our team such as Drs. Yu and Macomson to serve them. They are supported by outstanding surgical, operating room and critical care teams. Our pediatric intensivists Drs. Pearson-Shaver, Fisher, Mehta, and Sheram make a real difference in the lives of our children and families before and after surgery, sending them home “like new”.

The impact we have has been perfectly captured in a short video about one of our patients, Dakota. I encourage you to view it on our Facebook page.

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Bernie Maria

I wish to congratulate all of you for enabling our department to win this year’s Outstanding Clinical Science Teaching Award. Your sustained passion for educational excellence is what best defines us! I hope you enjoy the insert of the 2010 and 2011 awards, including the fact that our new award is from our renamed university, the Georgia Health Sciences University. I will try to refrain from passing the award around in group meetings, as if sharing the Stanley Cup in hockey, but know that each of you clearly deserve to hold the award sky high!

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Bernie Maria

In the picture shown, Jim Mumford, Sandy McVicker, Kim Aiello, and Kim Basso are enjoying our fourth-floor renovations and the new flooring. While touring the section of our children’s hospital where the first of three phases of the renovation is complete, we heard from Dr. David Freeman how much he appreciated the new milieu.

The attention to maintaining newness in our 13-year-old children’s hospital building is consistent with how we value and serve our families with utmost respect. It improves our own attitudes and mindset to work in a beautiful, bright and modern facility. What makes us better makes our patients better, sooner!

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Bernie Maria

Congratulations to Dr. David Flannery for his election to serve as a member of the executive committee of the Section on Genetics and Birth Defects of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

David continues to be recognized for his national leadership in educating pediatricians about genetic disorders. We are proud to have him as a distinguished colleague on our team.

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Bernie Maria

Next week, many Augustans flock to the beach because the city is swelling for the Masters! To those who haven’t enjoyed the splendor of Augusta National Golf Club during the Masters, just imagine plants with their own ecosystems and unparalleled landscaping. The crowd is learned, reverential and considerate. It is quite an experience to be there and in so many ways the Masters has branded Augusta across the globe; how we treasure open spaces and nature, our history, and our values.

Today, we received our quarterly report card on quality and safety as a children’s hospital. Well, it turns out that the first children’s hospital in the South (founded in 1910) is first once again in quality and safety! In the fourth quarter of 2010, we achieved (for the second time since 2009) the number one ranking out of 111 academic children’s hospitals in the nation. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) report shows that for all of 2010, we ranked third nationally.

To our physicians, nurses and staff: Many thanks for your masterful performance in offering children and families the highest quality care. You are quality masters!