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Medical Center and College of Medicine showcase appointments and awards

To recognize the achievements of faculty, staff, students and volunteers at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine, the following list of appointments and awards that may be of public interest has been compiled for August 1 – October 31, 2016. Photos may be available upon request.

APPOINTMENTS

  • Ostrov named associate dean for faculty and professional development. Barbara E. Ostrovhas been named associate dean for faculty and professional development at Penn State College of Medicine. Ostrov will also continue her clinical work as a pediatric rheumatologist and serve as a leader in quality and safety in the Department of Pediatrics. Ostrov came to Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and the College of Medicine in 1991. She founded the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology and has served as division chief for pediatric and adult rheumatology. Ostrov served as interim chair of the Department of Pediatrics in 2006, and as vice chair of the department from 2007 until being named to the interim chair position again in 2014.
  • Medical Center names new chief nursing officer. Judy Himes, who had served as interim chief nursing officer at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center since February, has accepted the role permanently. Himes has played an active leadership role in the Medical Center's successful designation and reaccreditation as a Magnet organization. As director of nursing for critical care services, she was the nursing lead for Tele-ICU implementation and other telehealth initiatives in the organization, and she played a role in the successful Joint Commission disease-specific reviews for ventricular assist device and comprehensive stroke programs. She previously served as director of nursing for medicine, neuroscience, the Cancer Institute and orthopaedics.
  • Mets named officer to international board. Berend Mets, chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, has been appointed to a four-year term as an officer to the board of the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA). Mets has served the WFSA in various capacities over the last 16 years and as a council member over the last four years. In addition, Mets served as the Committee Chair for the American Society of Anesthesiologists, a 35-person delegation to the WFSA World Congress of Anaesthesiologists held in Hong Kong in September. Mets also serves as the chair of the American Society of Anesthesiologists Global Humanitarian Outreach Committee.
  • Armstrong named director-elect of American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.   April Armstrong, professor of orthopaedics and rehabilitation at Penn State Bone and Joint Institute, has been chosen as director-elect of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, which consists of 21 members. All members serve one 10-year term, while the public member director serves a three-year term. Armstrong specializes in shoulder and elbow surgery at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, where she has worked since 2003. Her current roles include vice chair of clinical affairs and quality for the Department of Orthopaedics and associate designated institutional official for the Graduate Medical Education Office.

AWARDS

  • Dias recognized for work in preventing shaken baby syndrome. Mark Dias, director of pediatric neurosurgery at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital, was honored by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome (NCSBS) for 25 years of work in helping infants and children who have been abused through violent shaking. Dias received the award at the group's 15th International Conference in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in September. Dias pioneered a statewide hospital-based prevention program in New York before coming to Pennsylvania where he remains an outspoken advocate for protecting infants from abuse.
  • Espenshade wins volunteer services award. Sue Espenshade, manager of volunteer services at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, has received the 2016 Evelyn Burston Award. The honor is given by the State Association of Directors of Volunteer Services at its annual state conference to a director who best exemplifies Burston’s vision, energy and professionalism. Burston's career in volunteer services and public relations spanned 20 years from 1957 through 1977. Espenshade, a registered nurse, has worked at the Medical Center for more than 34 years. Her career in volunteer services leadership began in 2008. She has held positions in the local, state and national Volunteer Services Society including treasurer at the regional and state levels.
  • Leapfrog Group recognizes Medical Center with ‘A' grade. Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center’s ongoing commitment to safe, high-quality care has once again been recognized with the highest rating from the Leapfrog Group. Hershey Medical Center earned an “A” rating on Leapfrog's latest hospital safety report, which assigns letter grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals, assessing medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections. The Medical Center also received an “A” last year. Read more about Leapfrog's rankings here.
  • Hennrikus honored with Distinguished Service Award. William Hennrikushas received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) Section on Orthopaedics. Hennrikus is distinguished professor of pediatric orthopaedic surgery at Penn State College of Medicine and medical director of the Pediatric Bone and Joint Center at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital. The AAP's section on orthopaedics works to improve the health care of infants, children and adolescents by providing educational forums for the discussion of problems and treatments related to orthopaedics. Hennrikus received his award at the group's national conference in October.
  • HEED Award recognizes Medical Center's diversity efforts. Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center recently received the 2016 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. The national honor recognizes U.S. medical, dental, pharmacy, osteopathic, nursing and allied health schools that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. The Medical Center will be featured, along with 30 other recipients, in the December issue.
  • Hershey Medical Center receives award for quality leadership performance. Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center won the 2016 Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Award for superior performance as measured by Vizient's annual Quality and Accountability Study. This year, more than 100 academic medical centers and 124 community hospitals were included in the study, which reviewed performance data from a variety of sources, including Vizient's Clinical Data Base and Core Measures Data Base, the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Healthcare Safety Network.
  • Cancer Institute recognized by Becker's Hospital Review. Penn State Cancer Institute has been named among the “100 Hospitals and Health Systems With Great Oncology Programs” by Becker's Hospital Review, a leading source of business and legal information for health care industry leaders. According to Becker's, hospitals included on the list offer patients comprehensive cancer care involving teams of specialists, participation in clinical trials and personalized treatment programs. The editorial team at Becker's selected hospitals for inclusion based on accreditations earned and recognitions received.
  • Medical Center recognized for excellent grounds maintenance. The Professional Grounds Management Society recognized Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center with an Honor Award for exceptional grounds maintenance in the Society’s 2016 Green Star Awards®.

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