Wake Forest Baptist April Awards and Recognitions

April 30, 2015

Wake Forest Baptist Names New Microbiology and Immunology Chair

Martha A. Alexander-Miller, Ph.D., a member of the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center faculty since 1997, has been appointed chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

A nationally recognized expert with more than 20 years of experience in respiratory immunity and infectious diseases, Alexander-Miller has served as the department’s interim chair since July of last year.

At the Medical Center she also is director of the Wake Forest Vaccine Center, the Flow Cytometry Core Research Facility and a National Institutes of Health-funded training program in immunology and pathogenesis.

Her laboratory research is focused on two major areas, the development of vaccines suitable for use in newborn children and the regulation of T-cell responses during co-infection.

Wake Forest Baptist Department Chair Named Member of National Association

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 30, 2015 – Rahn Kennedy Bailey, M.D., chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has been elected a member of the American College of Psychiatrists.

Members have demonstrated excellence in the field of psychiatry and achieved national recognition in clinical practice, research, academic leadership or teaching.

The American College of Psychiatrists is a nonprofit association dedicated to providing continuing education to its members, promoting the latest advances in the specialty and supporting the highest standards in psychiatry.

Wake Forest Baptist Professor Appointed Deputy Editor of National Publication

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 30, 2015 – Michael Fitch, M.D., Ph.D., professor and vice chair for academic affairs in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has been appointed as the new deputy editor for MedEdPORTAL Publications by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

In the role, Fitch will work to maintain a rigorous peer-review process for submissions based on standards used in the scholarly publishing community.

MedEdPORTAL is a free publication service provided by the AAMC in partnership with the American Dental Education Association. It aims to promote educational scholarship and collaboration by facilitating the open exchange of peer-reviewed health education teaching and assessment resources.

Wake Forest Baptist Assistant Professor Named Traveling Fellow by National Organization

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 30, 2015 – Michael T. Freehill, M.D., assistant professor of orthopaedics at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has been selected by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) to participate in its traveling fellowship.

The fellowship program is an annual scientific and cultural exchange among orthopaedic sports medicine physicians in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Traveling fellows have the opportunity to present their research, witness emerging orthopaedic sports medicine techniques from around the world and take part in a culturally rich academic program.

AOSSM is a leader in sports medicine education, research, communication and fellowship.

Wake Forest Baptist Receives Recognition for Stroke Care from National Organization

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 30, 2015 – Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite recognition.

The Medical Center earned the recognition for meeting stroke quality measures that reduce the time it takes for an acute ischemic stroke patient to receive tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), a clot-buster medication.

Target: Stroke is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s quality improvement initiative focused on improving acute ischemic stroke care by reducing door-to-needle times for eligible patients being treated with tPA.

Wake Forest Baptist Fracture Liaison Service Recognized by International Organization

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 30, 2015 – The Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, part of the Medical Center’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, has been recognized as a best practice site for post-fracture osteoporosis treatment by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF). It was the first FLS in North Carolina to be honored and remains the only FLS in the Piedmont Triad region to receive this distinction.

The goal of the FLS at Wake Forest Baptist is to assist fragility fracture sufferers in reaching and maintaining bone health to help prevent future fractures. To be recognized as a best practice site, Wake Forest Baptist underwent a thorough evaluation by the IOF based on an international benchmark that defines the essential and aspirational elements of service delivery.

IOF is a nonprofit foundation working to promote bone, muscle and joint health.

Wake Forest Baptist Joins State Alliance to Increase Minority Representation in Health Professions

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 30, 2015 – Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is one of 20 colleges, universities, organizations and agencies to join a statewide alliance to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the North Carolina health care workforce.

Formally created in March with the help of the Sullivan Alliance, the new partnership – The North Carolina Alliance for Health Professions Diversity – aims to create a health care workforce that is proficient in cross-racial and cross-cultural interactions.

The Sullivan Alliance is a national nonprofit organization committed to achieving racial and ethnic diversity in health professions.

Media Relations

Erin Harris: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587

Shannon Putnam: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587