Freischlag Recognized among “Women Hospital CEOs to Know” by Becker’s Hospital Review
Dr. Julie Freischlag, CEO and chief academic officer at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, chief academic officer and executive vice president at Advocate Health and executive vice president for Health Affairs at Wake Forest University, has been recognized on Becker’s Hospital Review’s “Women Hospital CEOs to Know” list for 2024.
Freischlag has more than 30 years of experience leading patient care services at hospitals across the nation and specializes in the surgical treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome.
This year’s edition highlights the increasing presence of women in leadership roles within health care. Their contributions bring diverse perspectives, better patient experiences and improved health equity.
Terry Hales Recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review
Terry L. Hales Jr., executive vice chief academic officer, administration and chief operating officer, Health Sciences System, was recently named one of “60 academic medical center chief operating officers (COO) to know” by Becker’s Hospital Review.
Academic medical center COOs are committed to streamlining operations to offer high-quality patient care using research and innovation. COOs leading academic medical centers and health systems across the nation are tasked with leading operations, expanding service lines, allocating resources and more.
Hales has served in a variety of leadership positions at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, including vice chief financial officer and executive vice dean.
Professor Begins Term as President of Association of Community Cancer Centers
Nadine J. Barrett, professor of social sciences and health policy and senior associate dean for community engagement and equity in research at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, has begun her term as president of the Association of Cancer Care Centers (ACCC).
A medical sociologist by training, Barrett is a health disparities researcher, expert equity strategist and a nationally recognized leader in facilitating community/stakeholder and academic partnerships to advance health equity and developing training and methods to address implicit bias and structural and systemic racism that limits diverse participation in clinical and translational research and access to quality health care. Her goals are to integrate diverse stakeholder engagement in the research process and quality improvement efforts in health care systems, enhance enrollment and retention of underrepresented groups in research through innovative interventions and diversify the health care workforce to advance health equity.
Before joining Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Barrett served as co-director for equity and stakeholder strategy at Duke’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute and founding director of the Duke Center for Equity in Research, leading Duke Health’s efforts to enhance trustworthiness in their health care and research. She was also founding director of and the Duke Cancer Institute’s Office of Health Equity, where for eight years she led a team to create a nationally awarded community engagement model to advance health equity through patient navigation, nationally funded pipeline training programs for underrepresented race and ethnic groups, and authentic community partnerships to inform and drive research and quality health care as advisors, experts, and participants. Her leadership in both nonprofit and academia spans local, national and international partnerships to better serve and engage historically marginalized and underserved populations.
The ACCC is a community of more than 34,000 multidisciplinary practitioners and 1,700 cancer programs and practices nationwide. Founded in 1974, ACCC brings together health care professionals across all disciplines in oncology to promote quality cancer care. It is estimated that 65 percent of the nation’s cancer patients are treated by a member of ACCC.
Assistant Professor Awarded for Counseling and Hospital Based Violence Intervention Program
Yasmin Evette Gay, assistant professor of trauma surgery at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, recently received the Innovation and Creativity Counseling Award at the 2024 North Carolina Counseling Association Conference (NCCAC).
Gay was recognized by counseling professionals for her work in developing the Hospital Based Violence Intervention (HBVI) program at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, which addresses gun and interpersonal violence.
The program was created in collaboration with the city of Winston-Salem and works to mitigate patients coming into Wake Forest Baptist’s Level I trauma center again after experiencing trauma (such as a gunshot wound or assault). The HBVI program is designed to prevent the patient from requiring trauma-level care a second time by providing trauma informed counseling and case navigation to address social determinants of health, while also communicating with them on whether they feel their injury would result in retaliation.
The North Carolina Counseling Association is a state branch of the American Counseling Association and represents professional counselors in various work settings.
Associate Professor Named Fellow of Explorers Club
Dr. Seth Collings Hawkins, associate professor of emergency medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, was recently inducted as a fellow of The Explorers Club. The Explorers Club was founded in 1904 and supports scientific expeditions of all disciplines.
Hawkins is the associate director of the wilderness medicine fellowship at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and has published widely in the wilderness medicine literature, including as coauthor of several Wilderness Medical Society clinical practice guidelines. He is an anthropologist, writer and physician, double-boarded in both emergency medicine and EMS (field medicine).
Additionally, Hawkins serves as a medical advisor and director for the North Carolina Outward Bound School, N.C. State Parks, the Student Conservation Association, Recreational Equipment Inc. and the National Association for Search and Rescue. He is also the local emergency medical advisor for all U.S. Forests in N.C. and the National Park Service Outer Banks (Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras National Seashores).
He has directed the Carolina Wilderness EMS Externship every year since 2011. This program takes two medical students/resident physicians and intensively trains them in
wilderness EMS tactics and expedition medicine over a one-month residential period. The program originated in Burke County, N.C. as a county-based program, but in 2021 became expeditionary and now uses the entire state as its classroom.
Associate Professor Honored by World Asian Medical Journal
Dr. Chi-Cheng Huang, associate professor of internal medicine and senior hospitalists was recently recognized by the World Asian Medical Journal (January 2024 issue) as the Inspirational Asian Healthcare Leader.
Huang is prominently featured on the cover of the journal and his cover story encompasses an in-depth interview highlighting his contributions as a health care leader, involvement in philanthropy and nonprofit organization and dedication to promoting health care equity, serving as an inspiration to aspiring young clinicians.
The World Asian Medical Journal is a quarterly journal that is distributed globally to a diverse readership which is comprised of medical doctors, health care service practitioners and industry executives from various countries.
Professor Receives American Academy of Dermatology Presidential Citation
Dr. Joseph Jorizzo, professor of dermatology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, has been awarded a Presidential Citation by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD).
Jorizzo was recognized for his excellence in education and complex medical dermatology. He was the founding chair of the Department of Dermatology at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist.
The AAD was founded in 1938 and is the largest dermatologic association. With a membership of more than 20,500 physicians worldwide, the AAD is committed to advancing the diagnosis and medical, surgical and cosmetic treatment of the skin, hair and nails; advocating high standards in clinical practice, education and research in dermatology; and supporting and enhancing patient care for a lifetime of healthier skin, hair and nails.
Professor Delivers Congressional Talk on Tuberous Sclerosis Complex
Kimberly Raab-Graham, professor of translational neuroscience at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, was invited by the Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) Alliance to give a talk on her recent TSC findings at a congressional briefing in honor of the 50th anniversary of the TSC Alliance in Washington, D.C.
Raab-Graham recently published a paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) where she and her team helped determine a common mechanism that is disrupted in TSC and Alzheimer’s disease. Findings from this paper suggest that preclinical models of TSC will be broadly applicable to other neurological disorders.
TSC is a rare disorder that involves multiple systems. In the brain, TSC can manifest in the form of epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder and other neuropsychiatric disorders.
The TSC Alliance is an internationally recognized nonprofit committed to improving the lives of people with TSC.
PNAS is one of the world’s most cited and comprehensive multidisciplinary scientific journals. It is a peer-reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences and is an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans the biological, physical and social sciences.
Professor Named to Exceptional Women in Medicine List
Dr. Stacey Quintero Wolfe, professor of neurosurgery at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, was recently selected as an Exceptional Woman in Medicine for 2024 by Castle Connolly.
Wolfe specializes in neuroendovascular and cerebrovascular/skull base surgery and served as Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy before joining Wake Forest University School of Medicine as the residency program director for neurological surgery and director of neurointerventional surgery for the Wake Forest Stroke program. Wolfe is site co-PI of NINDS StrokeNet and has a translational lab investigating neuroinflammation and genomics surrounding hemorrhagic stroke and aneurysms. Wolfe serves on the American Association of Neurological Surgery Board of Directors, the Society of Neurological Surgeons Executive Committee, the Journal of Neurosurgery Editorial Board, and the Cerebrovascular Section Executive Board. She has served as Chair of Women in Neurosurgery and on the Joint Guidelines Committee. Wolfe has received the Young Neurosurgeons Public Service Citation and the national ACGME Courage to Teach Award.
Castle Connolly’s mission is to help people find the best health care by connecting patients with premier health care providers. Their list, which covers all 50 states and all major specialties, is based on nominations from doctors themselves.
Media contact: Jenna Kurzyna, jkurzyna@wakehealth.edu