News briefs

Sarah Richards, MD

Dr. Richards appointed to Society of Hospital Medicine's Patient Experience Committee

Sarah Richards, M.D., a hospitalist in the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine's Division of General Internal Medicine, has been appointed to the Society of Hospital Medicine's Patient Experience Committee for the April 2018-March 2019 term.

The charge of the committee is to support hospitalists in efforts to improve and demonstrate patient-centered service behaviors and communication skills, as well as develop, implement, and assess the success of strategies to improve the patient experience and patient-centeredness of care.

Rachel Thompson, M.D., chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine in the UNMC Division of General Internal Medicine, said Dr. Richards was selected after a rigorous application and selection process.

Incoming UNMC medical student, Chris Weber, receives Wayne Duke Award

Chris Weber of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has been selected as one of recipients of the Wayne Duke Award for 2018. A $10,000 scholarship recognizing one male and one female Big Ten senior pursuing a postgraduate degree, the award is given for achievements in academics, athletics, extracurricular activities and leadership.

This marks the 10th anniversary of the scholarship. The Wayne Duke Postgraduate Award is named for the late Big Ten Conference commissioner who served from 1971 to 1989 and passed last March. While leading the Big Ten, Duke spent much of his time working to improve academic standards and graduation rates for students competing in conference athletics.

Weber started out as a football walk-on for Nebraska in the linebacker position and made his way up the ranks. He became a scholarship student-athlete in 2016 and was a captain for the 2017-18 season. Off the field, Weber majored in nutrition science with minors in mathematics and business. Currently, he’s holding a 3.96 grade point average and plans to continue his education at the UNMC College of Medicine beginning this August.

Outside the classroom and off the field, Weber spent some of his time with doctors over the last couple of the years gaining skills that will be applicable this upcoming fall. For the past four years, he acted as the president of the Nebraska Uplifting Athletes program and helped raise nearly $125,000 for pediatric brain cancer research.

Emily Mills, a senior golfer at Rutgers University, was the female recipient of the Wayne Duke Postgraduate Award.

Mills and Weber will be recognized in Indianapolis during the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday, March 3.

ALS Association Mid-America Chapter donates money to UNMC/Nebraska Medicine

The Mid-America Chapter of the ALS Association has donated $25,000 to the ALS Treatment Center at Nebraska Medicine. The center has been designated a Certified Treatment Center of Excellence by the ALS Association.

ALS Association representatives came to campus on Feb. 16 to present a check to Matthew Rizzo, M.D., professor and chair of the UNMC Department of Neurological Sciences.