Cecelia Hutto, M.D., professor in Department of Pediatrics, has been awarded the senior faculty 2021 Dean’s Excellence Award for Service. Throughout her career, she has been committed to helping her patients and colleagues and her outstanding leadership was highlighted more than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hutto earned her M.D. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1977 and completed her pediatric residency and pediatric infectious disease fellowship training at UAB in 1985. She was a faculty member in the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Miami until she was recruited back to UAB in 1998 to establish a pediatric hospitalist service. After the successful creation of the service, she joined the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases where she has had a leadership role in the Pediatric HIV Clinic and provides mentorship and teaching to all fellows on the management of pediatric HIV patients.
Hutto has been the director of Infection Control at Children’s of Alabama since 2012 and has shown over the past year why she is the perfect person for this role. She has shown outstanding leadership, navigating UAB Department of Pediatrics faculty and Children’s of Alabama leadership through the COVID-19 pandemic. She worked hard to ensure Children’s of Alabama was in compliance with constantly changing CDC guidelines and provided calm, thoughtful advice whenever called upon. The department is grateful for her outstanding leadership and guidance during this challenging time.
Hutto is equally committed to providing the best possible care for her patients and their families. She is an excellent clinician and demonstrates the highest ethical standards centered around helping her patients. Her exceptional care has inspired several trainees to go into pediatric infectious diseases to carry on her legacy of outstanding patient care. She is a dedicated teacher to medical students, residents and fellows and is integral in training the next generation of pediatric infectious disease physicians.
“The compassion and dedication that Dr. Hutto shows her patients and colleagues are unsurpassed,” said Mitch Cohen, M.D., chair of the Department of Pediatrics. “She is able to see things at an individual and system level simultaneously and always ensures that system level changes improve the outcome for every child and family. She is the epitome of someone committed to service and is a well-deserved recipient of this award.”
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