Service: a worthwhile endeavor for the new year

I think Richard Bookman said it best when he described the changing relationship between large academic medical centers and their roles in the broader community: the change is based on the growth of the enterprise and the sustainability of their work is evolved in its meaning to the community. Because of academic medical centers are major employers and as such are bringing new, talented people into an area, they are also becoming a source of shift in the communities’ culture by participating in the broader enterprise of community revitalization, growth and support. 

This is where service comes to my mind, because I feel we in UAB Medicine have a greater responsibility to our community beyond our mission areas in educating the next generation of physicians and scientist; advancing discovery and delivering quality patient care. Of course we want to do each of those things well, but we have a commitment to seeing that Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, Huntsville and every other area the UAB School of Medicine reaches is a thriving place to live and work.

To this end, I’m issuing a challenge to each department in the School of Medicine: commit now to use your time, talent, ideas or resources to complete a service project in the upcoming year. My hope is that this time next year, we can truly celebrate service and commitment to our communities because all areas of the School of Medicine have made an impact by serving others.

Happy Holidays

The holiday season is here. This is a wonderful time of year to spend time with our families and friends to celebrate the blessings in our lives.

I’d like to thank each of you for your hard work and dedication in the past year. All of you worked diligently, often in challenging and stressful circumstances. You each have risen above these challenges and created an outstanding era of growth and continued transformation for UAB Medicine.

From my family to yours, I wish you all a happy holiday season and offer best wishes for the upcoming year.