February 28th and the days that followed have been very difficult for our department. We are grieving the loss of a talented third year resident, Dr. Jarrod Dye, who was known for his smile and compassion and was to join us as a hospitalist faculty member this summer. Jarrod died of suicide, a manifestation of the disease depression for which he sought and received help. Jarrod’s resident colleagues, our residency program director team, and faculty and staff who worked with him in the outpatient and inpatient settings are devastated and all of us in the department are sad. We will treasure our memories of him as a wonderful young physician and friend. As a department, we commit to honoring the traits that characterized Jarrod’s living – compassion for patients and colleagues, a listening ear, a genuine interest in others, just to name a few. I want to thank the residents for the memorial service that they led. I have so much gratitude for our chief residents, our residency program director team (Drs. Jim O’Dell, Chad Vokoun, Rachel Bonnema, Larry Mitchell, Trek Langenhan, Allison Ashford) and our education staff for all they have done and will continue to do. I am also grateful to our colleagues across the campus who have reached out to support us in our time of loss.
Because of the kind of guy Jarrod was, he would want you to look at all the good news that is lifted up in this newsletter including the many faculty and staff honors and announcements letting you know who is new to the department and that Dr. Kristina Bailey was recognized with a campus-wide research award last month and Dr. Kara Markin with a student mentoring award this month. A select group of our faculty have been acknowledged for their work with National Board of Medical Examiners/USMLE. Dr. Rich Gumina is taking on a new role as the Acting Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine. There are clinical programs (Patient Centered Medical Homes and the Lung Transplant Program) gaining external recognition and more accomplishments in the residency program. Two of our staff, Erin Maxwell-Snow, C-TAGME, and Catherine Hughes-Rose, C-TAGME, are performing roles on the national education stage.
I think we are all more than ready to welcome spring! With that season comes new opportunities to care for ourselves with outdoor activities and plans for vacations and I encourage each of us to take some time for ourselves with family and friends.
With gratitude for our department,
Debra J. Romberger, MD