Purchasing staff receive service kudos
The University Hospitals and Health System Awards Team recognized three purchasing employees for providing exceptional customer service during the monthly UHHS Leadership Meeting March 15 in the Classroom Wing.
Katie Bryant, left, associate director of purchasing; Dianne Shoemaker, right, buyer; and Renee Lee, not pictured, buyer, were honored for expediting a capital purchase request that resulted in a $250,000 discount on mechanical ventilators.
“Many people thought it could not be done,” said Pamela Moore, education coordinator who initiated the request, “but I knew Katie and her team would give it their best effort. They managed to get the P.O. cut . . . just under the wire.
“I appreciate the attention they give to all of us who depend on them to get our requisitions processed. I could not ask for a more professional, congenial group.”
Radiation oncology faculty welcome Giri
Dr. Shankar P. G. Giri has joined the Medical Center faculty as a professor of radiation oncology. Giri also serves as chief of radiation therapy at the G. V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center.
After graduating from St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore, India, with a degree in biology in 1967, Giri earned the medical degree at St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore, in 1973. Giri then had an internship in internal medicine from 1973-74 and residency training in internal medicine from 1974-76 at St. John’s Medical College. Giri also had residency training in therapeutic radiology from 1976-80 and served as chief resident from 1979-80 at the Medical College of Virginia, Richmond.
Giri joined the faculty at St. Louis University as an assistant professor of radiation oncology in 1980 before starting a long working relationship with the University of Kansas Medical Center, where Giri served as an assistant professor of radiation oncology from 1981-84 and as an associate professor of radiation oncology from 1984-99. Giri left Kansas to become professor and chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology and Biophysics at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, from 1999-2005. He then served as chief of radiation therapy at the Michael DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas, and professor of radiation oncology at the Baylor College of Medicine. Since 2010, Giri has served as a consultant in Bangalore.
Listed among the Best Doctors in America from 2009-10, Giri is an active member of several professional organizations, including the Radiological Society of North America, the American College of Radiology, the American Society of Oncology and the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. He serves on the executive committee of the Head and Neck Committee of the National Cancer Institute and the Radiation Therapy Committee of the Southwest Oncology Group.
Giri has made more than 100 presentations nationally and internationally and is the author or coauthor of more than 100 published abstracts and articles in professional publications and one book chapter. Giri has conducted approximately 17 institutional and national cooperative group research studies related to radiation therapy.
Third quarterly blood drive slated March 26-30
Mississippi Blood Services personnel will visit the Medical Center March 26-30 for the third of 
UMMC's quarterly blood drives in 2011-12. All donors will receive an MBS T-shirt. Identification is required to donate blood. Times, dates and places for the drive include: 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, March 26, between the Guyton Research Center and the School of Medicine and at the University Hospital entrance; 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, March 27, between the Guyton Research Center and the School of Medicine; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday, March 27, at the main entrance to the Central Billing Office in Clinton; 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, between the Guyton Research Center and the School of Medicine; 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday, March 29, at the Batson Children's Hospital entrance; from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday, March 29, in the Community Meeting Room at the Jackson Medical Mall Thad Cochran Center; and from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, March 30, at the University Hospital entrance. For more information about UMMC's blood drive, call Renee Howard at 4-2884 or send her an e-mail at rhoward@umc.edu.
Correction
Dr. John W. Bethea was incorrectly identified in the article “Bethea to lead multicultural affairs council” which appeared in the March 12 This Week at UMMC e-newsletter. Bethea, former director of the Medical Advanced Skills and Simulation Center, is an assistant professor of anesthesiology, director of medical student education for anesthesiology, and content expert and instructor in the Medical Advanced Skills and Simulation Center. The editors regret the error.
UMMC staff receive service recognition
The Medical Center is proud to acknowledge those employees who will celebrate service anniversaries this week:
25 Years
* Juanita Ward, patient services coordinator in Admissions
15 Years
* Carolyn Chaffin, ambulatory coder for University Physicians
* Lori Tyson, nurse in the MICU
10 Years
* Linda Cousin, associate director of revenue cycle management in Executive Leadership
* Valerie McNair, nurse in Digestive Diseases
* Elizabeth Rainer, nurse in the Batson Children’s Hospital
* Jeraline Sims, clinical research nurse in the Jackson Heart Study
5 Years
* Dr. James Brock, house officer in Pediatric Medical Education
* Renee Eady, standardized patient in the Medical School Dean’s Office
* Christine Lara, inpatient nurse in University Hospital
* Olivia Morgan, inpatient nurse in the Winfred L. Wiser Hospital for Women and Infants
* Delia Owens, clinical research nurse in Pediatric Infectious Diseases
* Madalyn Roach, care coordinator in University Heart Support
Sohrabji to present pathology rounds talk
Dr. Farida Sohrabji, professor and associate department head of neuroscience and experimental therapeutics and director of the Women's Health in Neuroscience Program at the Texas A&M Health Science Center, will give a presentation during Pathology Grand Rounds, "Stroke and the Aging Brain: A Neuroendocrine Perspective," from 4-5 p.m. on Monday, March 19, in the Carl Evers Conference Room (room R227) in the Department of Pathology. All Medical Center faculty, staff and students are invited. For more information, call Brenda Stamper at 4-1879.
Murray to give anesthesia conference
Dr. W. Bosseau Murray of Pennsylvania State University will present the anesthesia clinical conference, "Anesthesia Education: Past, Present, Future," at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 21, in classroom 3A. For more information, call Kathy Wade-Butler at 4-5914.
Welch to present physiology seminar
Dr. William J. Welch, professor of medicine in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Georgetown University, Washington, D. C., will present "Regulation of Renal Function by Adenosine" from noon-1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21, in room CW 308 in the Classroom Wing. All Medical Center faculty, staff and students are invited. Refreshments will be available on a first-come basis. The seminar is presented by the Department of Physiology and Biophysics. For more information, call Courtney Graham at 4-1820.
Mitchell to host UP town hall meetings
Dr. Marc Mitchell, University Physicians president, and other UP leaders will present a town hall meeting for UP staff from 3-4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21, in the Community Meeting Room at the Jackson Medical Mall Thad Cochran Center. The presentation will provide important updates from UP leadership. Door prizes and refreshments will be available. For more information, call Christa Vutera at 4-5167.
Akingbemi to present Cancer Institute Seminar
Dr. Benson T. Akingbemi, associate professor of anatomy, physiology and pharmacology at Auburn University, will present the Cancer Institute Seminar, "Endocrine Disruptors, Metabolic Syndromes and Endocrine Function of the Testis," at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 27, in room G-151 on the first floor of the Guyton Library. All Medical Center faculty, staff and students are invited. For more information, call 5-6802.
Friends of RML to host used book sale
Friends of the Rowland Medical Library will host a used book sale from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, April 17-20 and a reception from 2:30-4 p.m. Thursday, April 19, in the second-floor foyer of the Verner Holmes Learning Resource Center. Records, framed art, paperbacks and hardback books will be available for sale, and the event will include a silent auction and a drawing. For more information, call Linda Bouchillon at 4-1290.