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2021 Leaders in Clinical Excellence Awards

2021 Leaders in Clinical Excellence Awards

Published on: By: Jan Jarvis

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2021 LCE Event Header
Spouses in Clinical Excellence: Dr. Hicham Ibrahim (left) – as leader of the UT Southwestern Outpatient Psychiatry Multi-Specialty Program – won a 2019 Program Development Award, and his wife, Dr. Lina Chalak, was a winner this year in the Mentoring Award category.

Our cameras were busy on Dec. 1 at the 2021 Leaders in Clinical Excellence Awards ceremony. We caught the winners, along with their families and colleagues, at the event held in the Tom and Lula Gooch Auditorium and at the reception outside on McDermott Plaza. Scroll through the photos below for a sampling of this year’s event.

Select an image to begin the slideshow.

Program Development Award for the CUH COVID ICU team
Dr. Diane Twickler’s esteemed Patricia and William L. Watson Jr., M.D. Award for Excellence in Clinical Care
Program Development Award winners Drs. Nicholas Haddock and Sumeet Teotia of the Breast Reconstruction Program, pictured with Dr. W. P. Andrew Lee, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost, and Dean of UTSW Medical School
Some of the evening’s winners watching the ceremony and celebrating their colleagues. From left: Dr. Nina Sanford, Rising Star Award recipient, and daughter; and Mentoring Award recipients Dr. Lina Chalak and Dr. Sunati Sahoo.
Dr. Lee presents Rising Star and Mentoring awards.
Dr. Emily Adhikari, recipient of a Rising Star Award, reminisces on her early memories of “Take Your Child to Work Day” in the Fischer-Lindahl lab with her father, as she speaks about being a part of the UT Southwestern community.
Dr. Lee presents Dr. Reuben Arasaratnam with his Rising Star Award.
Dr. Dharam Kumbhani is all smiles while accepting his Rising Star Award from Dr. Lee.
Dr. Nina Sanford, upon receiving her Rising Star Award, says, “This award represents a shared achievement between myself and the outstanding team I get to be a part of every day.” She then thanks her husband, Dr. Ethan Sanford, for keeping her balanced and positive while also caring for their three daughters.
Dr. Lina Chalak, Mentoring Award recipient, thanks leadership for “giving us these moments of joy in the middle of everything that we’ve faced the past two years.” She also expressed how important it was to have a partner who supported her academic journey.
Dr. Sunati Sahoo proudly accepts her Mentoring Award from Dr. Lee.
Dr. Sunati Sahoo smiles and embraces Dr. Lina Chalak as she returns from the podium.
Dr. William Turner, Mentoring Award recipient, shares how the skills taught to him by his parents while growing up on the family farm helped shape his career. He noted that being a teacher and watching his residents progress is one of “the most rewarding things that I do.”
Dr. John Warner, Executive Vice President for Health System Affairs, presents awards in the categories of Patient and Family Recognition and Program Development.
Patient and Family Recognition Award winner Dr. Becky Ennis expresses her gratitude for her dedicated team as she shares the difficulties families experience while having a baby in the NICU.
Dr. Becky Ennis’ NICU team surprises her with a large sign of support that they proudly displayed during her acceptance speech.
Dr. Warner presents Dr. Nisa Kubiliun with her Patient and Family Recognition Award.
Dr. Padmaja Reddy, upon receiving her Patient and Family Recognition Award, thanks her Palliative Care and ICU colleagues for their remarkable commitment to their COVID-19 patients and families this year. She says the generosity and never-failing desire to serve and do the right thing impacted thousands of people in our community.
Dr. Nicholas Haddock expresses his gratitude for the team behind him and for Dr. Teotia, who contributed to the Breast Reconstruction Program, a winner of the Program Development Award.
Dr. Sumeet Teotia, co-leader of the Breast Reconstruction Program, jokes about coming from the East Coast to Texas, saying he promised himself to only stay for two years, until meeting the two most important people in his life: his wife, Dr. Stephanie Teotia, and Dr. Nicholas Haddock, both of whom he credits with much of the program’s success, thanks to their support, love, and ability to keep him grounded.
One of two Program Development Awards this year went to an amalgam of teams that compose the COVID-19 ICU Response Teams. Dr. Corey Kershaw was one of two leaders appointed to give remarks. “Providers from virtually every clinical department made essential contributions to the care of these very complex patients,” he said. “We’d like to specifically acknowledge the CUH COVID ICU Communications Team, comprised of clinicians from both Palliative Care and Psychiatry, who provided important status updates and emotional support for the families of our critically ill patients and in doing so allowed the rest of us to focus on patient care. We thank each and every one of you.”
As the other spokesman for the COVID-19 ICU Response Teams, Dr. Matt Leveno thanked, among many others, our patients and their families. “You showed us grace, and in your most desperate times, you showed us the best of humanity,” he said. “As we move forward, we must seek ways to recuperate and to heal. There will be times when we question ourselves. It is in those moments that I will find strength by reflecting upon what this team has done. I'm proud to have been a part of it.”
UT Southwestern Preside Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky presents the 2021 Institutional Service Awards, The President’s Award for Diversity and Humanism in Clinical Care, and Watson Award.
Dr. James Griffin receives an Institutional Service Award from Dr. Podolsky. After thanking colleagues and family, Dr. Griffin added: “I'd like to thank the 50-plus UT Southwestern Anesthesiology faculty that show up at Parkland Hospital each and every day, 24 hours a day, and provide high-quality, safe care. The citizens of Dallas County, especially southern Dallas County, appreciate your expertise and dedication.”
Dr. Robin Novakovic-White, winner of an Institutional Service Award, thanks UTSW leaders and colleagues for their guidance and collaboration, as well as her children (who were watching the event via the livestream) and her husband, Dr. Jonathan White. “And,” she added, “a special thank-you to all of the patients and family that really serve as an inspiration to work harder and to do better.”
Dr. Novakovic-White watches the ceremony alongside her husband, Dr. Jonathan White.
Upon receiving the President’s Award for Diversity and Humanism in Clinical Care, Dr. Cindy Darnell Bowens said: “When you're taking care of families who are having the worst day of their lives, and you can make that day just a little bit better, the gratification that comes with that is tenfold what you’ve given to them. And that's what makes me keep coming back.”
Dr. Diane Twickler receives the 2021 Watson Award from UTSW President Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky.
In her acceptance remarks, Dr. Twickler noted that some audience members might know her husband, Dr. George Wendel, for his three decades of service at UTSW in the Department of Ob/Gyn. “It was George who encouraged me to choose a career in academic medicine here,” she recalled. “Besides saying yes and marrying him, my career at UT Southwestern is one of the best decisions I ever made. Thank you.”
Applause for all the winners!
Audience members included Dr. John Mansour (in yellow mask), Co-Chair of the Leaders in Clinical Excellence Awards Selection Committee.
Executive Recruiter Brittanny Anderson brought her vocal stylings to the post-ceremony reception on McDermott Plaza.
The event was accented with a sky-high dose of holiday cheer.
Scenes from the tree-lit reception on the plaza.
Soaking up the twinkling atmosphere at the post-ceremony reception
Rising Star Award winner Dr. Reuben Arasaratnam with his family
Awardee Dr. Nisa Kubiliun shares a light moment with Drs. Mack Mitchell (left), Professor of Internal Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs, and Neil Rofsky (right), Professor and Chair of Radiology.
Mentoring Award winner Dr. William Turner (second from left), with his wife, Toni (far left), and friends including Sandra Snyder (far right), widow of Dr. Turner's mentor, the late Dr. William B. "Bill" Snyder III
From left: Patient and Family Recognition Award recipient Dr. Nisa Kubiliun, pictured with her supportive family
2021 Watson Award recipient Dr. Diane Twickler (center) with Dr. Christina Herrera (left), Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Dr. Quyen Do (right), Instructor in Radiology
Dr. Twickler with her husband, Dr. George Wendel
A terrific trio from the Department of Radiology (from left): Dr. Travis Browning, Dr. Cecelia Brewington (a 2020 Institutional Service Award winner), and Dr. Ivan Pedrosa
Dr. Matt Leveno (center) with Dr. Lauren Ward (left), a Senior Resident in Internal Medicine and Dr. Elsia Pichlinski, fellow in Infectious Diseases
From left: Dr. Cindy Darnell Bowens (President’s Award recipient), Dr. Maeve Sheehan (Faculty Awards Committee Co-Chair), Dr. Ethan Sanford, Dr. Nina Sanford (Rising Star recipient), and Dr. Reuben Arasaratnam (Rising Star)
From left: Dr. Catherine Spong, Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Rising Star Award recipient Dr. Emily Adhikari, and her husband, Dr. Soumya Adhikari
Dr. Lina Chalak (center) celebrates with colleagues.
Call them … Spouses in Clinical Excellence? Dr. Hicham Ibrahim (left) – as leader of the UT Southwestern Outpatient Psychiatry Multi-Specialty Program – won a 2019 Program Development Award, and his wife, Dr. Lina Chalak, was a winner this year in the Mentoring Award category.
Dr. Marc Nivet, Executive Vice President for Institutional Advancement, Dr. Maeve Sheehan, and Dr. John Warner, smile for the camera.
Dr. Becky Ennis, winner of a Patient and Family Recognition Award, and members of the NICU team bask in a gorgeous December night on McDermott Plaza.
Dr. Becky Ennis celebrates with her family on McDermott Plaza.
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