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Carol Angle, M.D. |
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Carl Smith, M.D., chairman of the UNMC ob/gyn department, presents a Legend Award to Joseph Scott Jr., M.D. |
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Walter Friedlander, M.D., gives a Legends award to Scott Skultety, the son of the late F. Miles Skultety, M.D. |
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Deborah Adkins Wigton,M.D., Robert Wigton, M.D., Alice Skultety and Scott Skultety at Monday’s Legends dinner. |
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UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., and Bruce Lauritzen, chairman of First National Bank, at the Legends Dinner. Lauritzen gave welcome speech on behalf of Clarkson Regional Health Services Board of Directors. |
At a private dinner on Monday night, UNMC’s hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, honored this year’s “Legends” for their contributions to the practice of medicine.
“The Legends have not just contributed to the field of medicine, they have advanced the field of medicine,” said Glenn Fosdick, president and CEO of The Nebraska Medical Center. “These individuals represent the foundation that our health care organization is built upon today. The legends give a whole new meaning to self-motivation, drive and passion for work.
“They knew their patients depended on them and they worked tirelessly to help them. I’m most impressed by their quiet determination. They’ve each led by example and the lives they’ve touched will have an impact for years to come.”
The Legends Award recipients were nominated and selected by a committee of fellow doctors. To be nominated and honored as a Legend, individuals had to meet a wide variety of criteria including providing high quality care to their patients, contributing to the growth of the hospital, excellent character and treating nurses and other health care professionals with respect and dignity.
Clarkson Regional Health Services and The Nebraska Medical Center are sponsors of the Legends Award.
The 2008 Legends honorees are:
Carol Angle, M.D.
A professor emeritus for the UNMC Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Angle joined the UNMC medical staff in 1971 and served in a number of roles including chairman of the department of pediatrics. Through much of her career, she has been active in the National Foundation Birth Defects Treatment Center and she also has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Toxicology — Clinical Toxicology and the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health.
Merle Musselman, M.D.
Dr. Musselman is known by his colleagues as an exemplary surgeon, teacher and department chairman. After serving in World War II, during which he was a prisoner of war for three years, he returned to Omaha and graduated from the UNMC College of Medicine. Dr. Musselman joined the surgery staff at The Nebraska Medical Center in 1954 and remained on staff until his death in 1990. He was appointed chairman of the UNMC Department of Surgery in 1956 and was active in many professional organizations including the American College of Surgeons. He was a prolific writer and has published more than 15 books and 70 articles.
Joseph Scott Jr., M.D.
Dr. Scott is known both locally and nationally for his contributions to academic medicine and to the field of obstetrics and gynecology. After serving 31 years on the staff at the UNMC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, he retired in 1995 and was appointed professor emeritus. Dr. Scott chaired the UNMC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and served for many years on the executive council of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
F. Miles Skultety, M.D., Ph.D.
The late Dr. Skultety retired in 1987 after serving 21 years on the UNMC faculty. He played a significant role in the development of neurosurgery as a practice and a field of study at the UNMC College of Medicine and later chaired the department of neurosurgery. He also established the Nebraska Pain Management Center, one of the first in the country for managing chronic, debilitating pain. Dr. Skultety served in many leadership positions including the Shackleford Professor of Neurosurgery and Neuroanatomy, interim chairman and interim dean of the department of neurology. Dr. Skultety died Nov. 3 after a battle with prostate cancer.
Robert Swift Wigton, M.D.
The family of Dr. Robert Swift Wigton is being honored for “Generations of Medicine,” a tribute that recognizes dedication to the medical profession spanning several generations. Dr. Wigton became a member of the medical staff with the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine in 1972, joining his father, Robert Spencer Wigton, M.D., who was a faculty member for the departments of neurology and psychiatry. Grandfather Harrison Wigton, M.D., practiced psychiatry with the department of neuropsychiatry. Dr. Wigton’s brother, James Harrison Wigton, M.D., and wife Deborah Adkins Wigton, M.D., also practiced medicine in Omaha. Other family members in the medical profession include Charles Swift, M.D., maternal grandfather; Charles H. Swift Jr., M.D., uncle; and cousins Sharon Swift Rife — a registered nurse — and Donald Swift, D.O.