Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., the outgoing Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College, left, and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Executive Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees Dr. Herbert Pardes receive acknowledgment from the NewYork Weill Cornell Medical Center Alumni Council during its annual awards dinner in November.
The NewYork Weill Cornell Medical Center Alumni Council (CAC) honored 30 physicians and health care professionals last month for exemplary service to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
The recognition, which came during the Center Alumni Council's annual awards dinner on Nov. 3, paid tribute to service through leadership, clinical work and research, and philanthropy. Among those honored were Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., the outgoing Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College, and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Executive Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees Dr. Herbert Pardes, formerly Hospital president and CEO.
For more than a decade, these two extraordinary men have led major advances at their respective institutions. Together, their partnership and collaborations on behalf of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College have propelled these outstanding institutions into the top tier of hospitals and medical colleges throughout the country.
The following are the awards and honors that were presented during the dinner:
- The 2011 Outstanding Service Award, established in 2005 and awarded every two years to recognize an individual who has made a significant contribution through his or her years of service to the Medical Center, is a CAC member and a current member of the faculty or staff.
This year's recipient is Dr. Mark W. Pasmantier for his nearly 40 years of service to the Hospital and Medical College. Dr. Pasmantier, board certified in internal medicine, hematology and oncology, joined the Medical College as a fellow and rose through the ranks to become clinical professor of medicine, while serving in various leadership positions at the Hospital.
- The Medical Center Circle, a group of CAC members who have made a significant philanthropic commitment to the future of patient care, physician training and medical research at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center by making a gift or pledge of $25,000 or more. Four new members of the Medical Center Circle were recognized at this event:
Robert T. Grant, M.D.
Catherine C. Hart, M.D.
Peter N. Schlegel, M.D.
Robert B. Snow, M.D.
The 2011 Distinguished Housestaff Award recipients, chosen by department chairs and residency program directors for all-around excellence.
- The Distinguished Housestaff Awards, presented annually to one member of the housestaff from each department and one member of the Housestaff Quality Council for all-around excellence. Recipients are chosen by department chairs and residency program directors. There were 22 award recipients this year:
Michael J. Alfonzo, M.D., Department of Pediatrics
Samantha Brenner, M.D., M.P.H., Housestaff Quality Council
Nicholas Connors, M.D., Department of Emergency Medicine
Michael B. Cross, M.D., Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Timothy M. D'Alfonso, M.D., Department of Pathology
Claire E. Fraser, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Ophthalmology
Nathan Joseph Hahn, M.D., Department of Anesthesiology
Katarzyna Ibanez, M.D., Department of Rehabilitation Medicine
Makoto Ishii, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Neurology & Neuroscience
Steve Chi-Young Kim, D.D.S., Department of Dentistry
Jamie Kramer, M.D., Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
John Lee, M.D., Department of Transplantation Medicine
Eugene Licht, M.D., Department of Medicine
Michael Loftus, M.D., Department of Radiology
Neal Luther, M.D., Department of Neurological Surgery
Puneet Masson, M.D., Department of Urology
Saral Mehra, M.D., Department of Otorhinolaryngology
Tarek Mikati, M.D., Department of Public Health
Kristen Parker, M.D., Department of Plastic Surgery
Cameron Thompson Stock, Jr., M.D., Department of Surgery
Tamar Zapolanski, M.D., Department of Dermatology
Matthew David Zimmerman, M.D., Department of Psychiatry
- A posthumous tribute to William Teich Greene, who served on the council's Board of Trustees as a trustee from 2004–06 and as treasurer from 2006–10, and became a member of the Medical Center Circle in 2006. Mr. Greene died May 24.
Mr. Greene served the Hospital for more than 34 years and helped found the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Emergency Medical Services Department in 1981. He held numerous posts in Hospital management, most recently as vice president of operations.
The Center Alumni Council was established in 1976 to strengthen the bonds of fellowship among health care professionals at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. It seeks to support and promote the educational, research and clinical missions of the medical center while building a sense of community among current and former faculty and staff at the Hospital and Medical College.