Tufts Medical Center News Headlines
Week of February 12, 2007 - February 19, 2007
The following headline stories are re-printed from the Tufts Medical Center News, Tufts Medical Center's weekly publication.
John Schreiber, MD, MPH, Named Floating Hospital for Children’s Pediatrician-in-Chief
John Schreiber, MD, MPH, has been named Pediatrician-in-Chief and chief administrative officer as well as chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the Floating Hospital for Children and Tufts University School of Medicine.
Schreiber will succeed Kevin Petit, MD, who has served as Interim Pediatrician-in-Chief since October of 2005. Petit will continue serving as the Medical Center’s vice chair for clinical affairs in the Department of Pediatrics.
“We would like to extend our heartfelt and deep appreciation to Dr. Petit for his outstanding leadership, dedication and service to Floating Hospital during this transition,” said Tufts Medical Center President and Chief Executive Officer, Ellen Zane.
Schreiber, who will take over his new role in July, joins the Medical Center from the University of Minnesota Medical School, where he served as Pediatrician-in-Chief of the University of Minnesota’s Children’s Hospital and the Ruben-Bentson Chairman of Pediatrics. Previously, Schreiber spent 10 years as Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, and 12 years teaching as a Professor of Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
“We welcome Dr. Schreiber, an exemplary physician administrator with a proven ability to lead the Floating Hospital for Children,” said Zane. “He has developed and invigorated similar academic pediatric programs across the country and we look forward to his strong vision for the Floating Hospital.”
Schreiber received a master’s degree in Public Health from Tulane University School of Public Health and his medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine. He completed his pediatric residency and clinical and research fellowships in Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School. He served in the United States Air Force Reserves for 11 years, including a call up for Desert Storm as a flight surgeon.
Board-certified in Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Schreiber has published extensively, is a member of many professional societies and editorial boards, and has received a number of national awards including the 2004 Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Immunologists for his efforts with science education of undergraduate students. His nationally recognized research interests include investigating the molecular characterization of the pediatric immune response to bacterial polysaccharide conjugate vaccines, which was continuously funded by the NIH from 1988 to 2006.
Schreiber will continue his research investigations at Floating Hospital for Children. “It is a tremendous honor to be asked to lead such a wonderful institution so strongly rooted in tradition,” said Schreiber. “This is an exciting time for the Floating Hospital and the Department of Pediatrics, with the past year bringing extensive recruitment and the development of key partnerships that have already garnered new patterns of referrals. We will continue to build on these strengths, adding momentum to our clinical and academic re-growth to ensure a strong future for the Floating Hospital for Children and the Department of Pediatrics.”
Fourth Annual Rising Stars Gala Honors Wakeley, Pierce and Hynes, Raises Over $450,000 for Tufts Medical Center and Floating
The 4th Annual Rising Stars Gala to benefit the Medical Center took place last week at the Westin, Boston Waterfront, honoring three outstanding individuals within the Tufts Medical Center community and raising over $450,000 for Tufts Medical Center and the Floating Hospital for Children.
This year’s outstanding award recipients were Paul Pierce, captain of the Boston Celtics and five-time NBA All-Star; John B. Hynes III, president and CEO, Gale International; and Katie Wakeley, MD, chief of Tufts Medical Center’s Division of Gynecologic Oncology.
"We are honored to have Paul, John and Katie as members of the Tufts Medical Center community and to recognize their achievements at this year's Gala," said Rising Stars Gala Event Chair Brian Driscoll. "They peronify the commitment, spirit and vision of Tufts Medical Center."
Boston Celtics Managing Partner and Governor Wyc Grousbeck and Boston Celtics legend JoJo White accepted the award on behalf of Pierce, who videotaped his acceptance speech from home just hours after being discharged from the hospital following an elbow injury.
The annual Rising Stars Gala raises vital funds for patient care services and medical research at Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children. Tufts Medical Center physicians and scientists receive the most advanced training and continually break new ground with innovative research and clinical trials. The ultimate goal of the Medical Center’s work is to support the health and well-being of thousands of adults and children world-wide.
Tufts Medical Center to Host Annual Lunar New Year Celebration
Tufts Medical Center is hosting its annual Lunar New Year celebration on Tuesday, February 20, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Atrium Lobby. All hospital staff, community residents and businesses are welcome and invited to join in the celebration.
The first day of the Year of the Pig falls on Sunday, February 18. The Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is the most important festival celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese communities around the world and signifies the end of the long winter and the beginning of spring.
Throughout the Medical Center’s celebration, passersby can enjoy exhibits from local artists and craftspeople who will be demonstrating flour dough figures, Chinese knots, lantern making, as well as Chinese calligraphy. In addition, Boston Asian Youth Essential Service student entrepreneurs will be selling t-shirts of their own creation.
Tufts Medical Center President and Chief Executive Officer Ellen Zane will kick-off the celebration at noon and introduce the the Gung Ho Club’s lion dance performance, which is essential to any New Year celebration. A Chinatown-based language school, the Kwong Kow Chinese School, will offer a variety of performances including dance, martial arts, and dulcimer instrumental entertainment. The Canton Music Club Association will also perform traditional Chinese music and New Year songs and the Medical Center will announce winners in its coloring and drawing contest.
In true Lunar New Year tradition, lucky red envelopes, fortune cookies and oranges — symbols of wealth and prosperity —will be distributed to all attendees.
For more information about Tufts Medical Center’s Lunar New Year celebration, please contact Sherry Dong, Associate Director, Office of Community Health Programs, at sdong@tufts-nemc.org.
Parent Education Group Offered at the CCSN
The Center for Children with Special Needs will offer a parenting group featuring the “Incredible Years” program, beginning the week of Monday, February 26. The group will be offered at nominal cost to employees who have a preschool child, and will meet weekly for 10 weeks. The specific times and days will be decided based on participants’ schedules.
“Incredible Years” is a program with the goal of strengthening parenting skills to prevent and treat behavior problems in young children. Developed by Carolyn Webster-Stratton, MSN, MPH, PhD, Professor and Director of the Parenting Clinic at the University of Washington, the group sessions are a blend of education, skill building and support group. The curriculum is based on a parenting pyramid, which includes components of play and praise, limit setting and consequences. “Incredible Years” parenting groups have been shown to improve children’s behavior and to help parents feel more effective. For more information, on how to enroll in this group, contact Julie Friedman-Weieneth, PhD, at jfriedmanweieneth@tufts-nemc.org.
Tufts Medical Center Celebrates Black History Month
The following profile is part of the Medical Center’s celebration of Black History Month and highlights the accomplishments of an African American within the health care field. All profiles will be included in a historical timeline, which will be displayed in Stearns Auditorium on Friday, February 16.
Black History Month Spotlight
Mary Eliza Mahoney (1845-1926)
Mary Eliza Mahoney, was the first black professional nurse in the United States. Mahoney’s parents moved from North Carolina to Boston, where she was born on April 16, 1845.
Interested in a nursing career from the age of 18, Mahoney served as a nurse for several prominent families prior to entering formal nurse training. On March 23, 1878 she became the first African American girl admitted to the nurse training program at the New England Hospital for Women and Children now known as Dimock Community Health Center. She graduated 16 months later.