News


Following the annual Nicholson Scholar Grand Rounds presentation, Dr. Danielle Kay (PGY 5) was recognized as the 2020 recipient of the Charles H. Nicholson Clinical Tour Fellowship and Dr. Brent Hillard (PGY 4) is the 2019 recipient of an Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST) travel scholarship. Dr. Andrew Bernard, section chair of Trauma, Acute Care, and Critical Care Surgery, presented the awards.

By Nancy Galvagni
The National Institute on Drug Abuse ranks Kentucky among the top 10 states with the highest opioid-related overdose deaths, and Kentucky’s hospitals are on the frontline in the fight to help the state recover. To assist the state’s hospitals in this battle, the Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) is partnering with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services as part of the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort (KORE) to launch the Kentucky Statewide Opioid Stewardship (KY SOS) program.

The division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Kentucky recently welcomed Dr. Suresh Keshavamurthy, MD, FACS, FRCS Cardiothoracic surgeon, as the newest member of its faculty.
Dr. Keshavamurthy brings to UK over 20 years of experience in Cardiac surgery practice and teaching from a number of leading national and international institutions.

Click Here for In The Loop article and slideshow
UK Healthcare recently celebrated the many facets of quality patient care its staff practices during the 2019 presentation of the Saha Awards for Patient Centered Care, which were established through a generous donation from Dr. Sibu Saha, a professor in the division of cardiothoracic surgery.

The Lexington Herald Leader recently posted a video featuring Dr. Avinash Bhakta and his research on the impact of the Affordable Care Act on Colorectal Screening in Kentucky.
Click here to view the video.

James Liau, MD, and Duane Wang, MD of UK Plastic Surgery were among several Kentucky physicians featured in a front page story of the Sunday, February 19 Louisville Courier-Journal. The story reports on the mission work that Lexington-based Children of the Americas (COTA) extends to children in Guatemala. Dr. Liau is a UK Plastic Surgery faculty member and an alumnus of the UK plastic surgery residency program. He volunteers annually to work with COTA missions. Dr. Wang is in his chief year with the UK residency program.


Dr. John Draus, MD, FACS has been selected as the Division Chief of Pediatric Surgery, according to a recent announcement by Dr. Jay Zwischenberger, Chair of the Department of Surgery.
In this role, Dr. Draus has been charged with maintaining the excellent clinical outcomes of the division, building the division through targeted recruitment, fostering a strong educational and academic mission, and strengthening relationships with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

In January, Department of Surgery Administrator Shawn Coffey officially welcomed Mandy Bucy as the new division administrator for Cardiothoracic Surgery, Plastic Surgery, and Dermatology.
She joins the Department of Surgery administrative team which, in addition to Coffey, includes associate administrator Dijana Zaimovich, and fellow division administrators Sally Grasch and Pete Rogers.

Dr. Sibu Saha, a professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic (CT) Surgery at the University of Kentucky, accepted an invitation this January to serve as one of the senior editors of the International Journal of Angiology. The invitation came from the journal’s Editor-in-Chief, Dr. John Elefteriades, who also serves as director of The Aortic Institute at Yale University.

Though she be but little, she is fierce. From the moment she was born, Audrey Armstrong defied every expectation.
The Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction (SUFU), the premier specialty society for female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery, recently announced Deborah Erickson, MD, assistant dean for preclinical education, as the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award winner.
The SUFU Lifetime Achievement Award, established in 1986, is presented annually to an individual who has made continuing and progressive contributions that have had a significant and lasting effect on the field.

UK HealthCare
By Hilary Brown
Link to original UKnow article.
For plastic surgery resident Dr. Ashley Boustany, spending a week in a hospital in Ecuador working with surgeons and dentist on cleft lips and palates was the best week of her entire residency.
"And after five years of residency," said Boustany with a laugh, "that's really saying something."


Dr. Joseph Kim, chief of surgical oncology, is the latest provider to be featured on MAKING THE ROUNDS, an interview series produced by UK HealthCare for the Health Matters blog.
CLICK HERE FOR THE MAKING THE ROUNDS FEATURE

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEOS OF THE 2018 SCHWARTZ SYMPOSIUM LECTURES
CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO PAGE OF THE 2018 RICHARD SCHWARTZ MEMORIAL LECTURE AND SURGICAL SYMPOSIUM

The General Surgery residency programs at the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville competed in a resident skills competition during the annual meeting of the Kentucky Chapter of the American College of Surgeons on Friday afternoon, October 12. The University of Louisville prevailed as overall competition champion, but individual winners were evenly split between the two programs.

Link to the UKnow article.
By Hilary Brown