October 2001

ACCOLADES

Sandeep Bhargava, M.D., assistant professor, has joined the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division, Department of Internal Medicine. After receiving his medical degree from Delhi University in India, he completed an internal medicine residency and a gastroenterology fellowship at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University in Providence. Dr. Bhargava then served a hepatology/transplant hepatology fellowship at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University, where he was most recently a clinical instructor of gastroenterology/hepatology/liver transplantation.

Anissa Buckner, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow, Arkansas Center for Eye Research (ACER), received the Minority Access Alumna Role Model Award from Minority Access, Inc. at a national conference in Washington, D.C. A native of Texarkana and a University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff graduate, Dr. Buckner received her doctorate degree from Purdue University and has conducted research for the gene therapy division of Baxter Health Care Corporation in Illinois. She joined the ACER team last spring.

Edward P. Buerkle, P.D., was named Preceptor of the Year by UAMS’ Charles M. West Student Chapter of the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA). Dr. Buerkle will receive the award at the NCPA annual meeting in Philadelphia this month. He has been a student preceptor for the UAMS College of Pharmacy for 12 years and currently serves as preceptor for senior students in the College’s Community Clinical Clerkship. Buerkle is the owner of Buerkle Drugs, a community pharmacy in Stuttgart begun by his father in 1947.

Ann Coleman, Ph.D., R.N., was named “Outstanding Alumnus of the Decade” by the school of nursing at the University of Mississippi. A scholarship was named in her honor to be given annually to a student in that program.

John F. Eidt, M.D., professor, director, Vascular Surgery Division, Department of Surgery, recently completed an endovascular surgery fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

Charles R. Feild, M.D., M.P.H., chief, Community Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, associate professor, vice chair, Department of Maternal and Child Health, UAMS College of Public Health, has been named by the Board of the American Academy of Pediatrics to the academy’s standing Committee on Community Child Health Services (COCCHS). He will serve as liaison to COCCHS from the academy’s section on Community Pediatrics and on the section’s executive committee. Dr. Feild will also be a site visitor for the Healthy Tomorrows grant program, co-sponsored by the academy and the Federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

Scott F. Ferguson, M.D., is the 2001 Pfizer Scholars in Urology Grant recipient of the UAMS College of Medicine. Dr. Ferguson was nominated by Alex E. Finkbeiner, M.D., of the Department of Urology to receive this year’s grant. The award honors an outstanding physician who has made important contributions to research and patient care in urology.

Sam Giannavola is the new director of Media Services. Giannavola joined UAMS Media Services in 1979 as a medical photographer. His strong interest in the department and its clients propelled him rapidly up the departmental ranks. Giannavola, who officially assumed the duties of director on Sept. 4, has been interim director since June 18. He is a certified public manager and a registered biological photographer, and is a member of the BioCommunications Association and the Association of Biomedical Communications Directors.

William E. Golden, M.D., professor, director, General Internal Medicine Division, Department of Internal Medicine, has received the national “Healthcare Quality Improvement Excellence in Physician Leadership Award.” Presented to him at the American Health Quality Association’s recent annual session, the award is sponsored by the James Q. Cannon Memorial Endowment. Dr. Golden is the vice president for clinical quality improvement at the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care and has also lent his expertise in this special area of health care to many national professional organizations. His efforts have resulted in improvements in stroke prevention; heart attack treatment; and better rates for preventative services, such as adult immunization and mammography.

V. Suzanne Klimberg, M.D., professor, director, Breast Surgical Oncology Division, Department of Surgery, has become a member of the Breast Health Advisory Council of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. This special council guides the foundation’s national staff members and volunteers on breast health issues.

Joe P. Nolen, M.Ed., R.T.(R)(ARRT), instructor, clinical coordinator, CHRP Department of Radiologic Technology, AHEC-Southwest in Texarkana, was appointed by Governor Mike Huckabee to serve a one-year term on the Medical Ionizing Radiation Licensure (MIRL) Board. The MIRL Board of the Arkansas Department of Health oversees the licensure of radiographers, radiation therapists, and nuclear medicine technologists.

Barbara Wright, A.B.O.M., manager, Optical Shop, Jones Eye Institute, has been designated “Master in Ophthalmic Optics” by the American Board of Opticianry. Nationwide there are fewer than 400 master certified opticians, and currently in Arkansas there are only two such opticians. Wright earned this distinction through completion of a program that included an examination and the acceptance of an original research paper on a technical aspect of opticianry. The honor is awarded to an experienced practitioner who has demonstrated ability on an advanced level of opticianry, as well as the ability to communicate that knowledge to others.

The Department of Radiology was selected as one of the top three performers in Radiology by the University Healthsystem Consortium. The department was named one of the “Better Perfoming Organizations” among teaching hospitals across the country. The award designates the department as one of the country’s leaders among teaching hospitals in providing quality and cost-effective radiology services.