Vital Signs

Worthy of Note: Honors, awards, appointments, etc.

A former and a current member of the Dartmouth College Board of Trustees were recently elected to the prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM). Susan Dentzer, a DC '77 and the editor-in-chief of the journal Health Affairs, became only the second journalist in history elected to the IOM. She was a Dartmouth Trustee from 1993 to 2004 and chaired the Board from 2001 to 2004—the first woman to do so. She is currently a member of the DMS Board of Overseers. Also tapped by the IOM was John Rich, M.D., a DC '80 and a Dartmouth Trustee since 2008. He is a professor of health management and policy at Drexel University's School of Public Health.

Matthew Friedman, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry, received the 2009 Public Advocacy Award from the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies. He is executive director of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Paula Schnurr, Ph.D., a research professor of psychiatry, received the Robert S. Laufer Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement, also awarded by the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies. She, too, is affiliated with the VA's National Center for PTSD, serving as its deputy executive director. The center is based at the DMS-affiliated White River Junction, Vt., VA Medical Center.

Clifford Belden, M.D., an assistant professor of radiology, led a team that developed two award-winning exhibits for the annual meeting of the American Society of Neuroradiology. An exhibit titled "Hypopharynx: Detailed Imaging Anatomy with Clinical and Pathologic Correlation" received Summa Cum Laude honors, while "Hypopharynx: Patterns of Cancer Spread" garnered Magna Cum Laude honors.

Robert Tortolani, M.D., an adjunct assistant professor of medicine, was named president of the Vermont Medical Society.

Lynn Feenan, M.S., a pediatric pulmonary / allergy clinical nurse specialist, received the Robert B. Kerr Award from Breathe New Hampshire.

Jeannine Mills, an oncology dietitian, received the 2009 Connie San Andres-Robles Distinguished Service Award from the American Dietetic Association.

DHMC received redesignation as a Magnet hospital from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association.

Advance for Nurses, a New England nursing magazine, recognized DHMC for having a "best working environment for nurses."

DHMC received a Health Devices Achievement Award for excellence in health technology management from the ECRI Institute, a nonprofit health-care technology research organization.

Thomson Reuters again recognized DHMC as one of the top 100 U.S. hospitals for cardiovascular care in its 2009 ranking.