Pulse

Volume5/2003_February24February 24, 2003 PULSE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER Engineering Academy Elects Kim, Two Other U Professors Sung Wan Kim, Ph.D., distinguished professor of pharmaceutics and pharmaceutical chemistry, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering along with two other Univer-sity of Utah professors. The academy announced Feb. 14 Sung Wan Kim it had elected 77 new mem-bers and nine foreign associates, including Kim, R. Peter King, Ph. D., professor ot metallurgical engineering, and Adel F. Sarofim, Ph. D., presidential professor of chemi-cal and fuels engineering. " This is a great tribute to the quality of our faculty and shows how they are respected well beyond Utah's borders," said J. Bernard Machen president of the University of Utah. " It's fantastic," said Ray Gesteland Ph. D., the U's vice president for research and a distinguished professor Continued on back Kjeldsberg Wins Entrepreneur of Year Carl R. Kjeldsberg M. D., has been named 2003 Entrepreneur of the Year by the MountainWest Venture Group and was the keynote speaker at its annual awards luncheon recently in Park City. Kjeldsberg, president and CEO of ARUP ( Associated Regional and University Pathologists, Inc.), also is professor and chair of the U's Department of Pathol-ogy, which owns ARUP. Anthony Sansone; MountainWest Venture Group, said, " Dr. Kjeldsberg is a visionary who has inspired others to participate in the risks and rewards of building a successful company and who continues to remain personally involved in seeing those ventures fluorish." Under Kjeldsberg's guidance since 1992, ARUP has received numerous awards for being a quality work-place, including a place on Fortune magazine's 2003 list of America's 100 Best Companies to Work For. U Hospital, Doctors Inform Staff Of UnitedHealthcare Coverage Changes If you're insured by UnitedHealthcare ( UHC), or if you have a family member with UHC, coverage options are about to change. Beginning July 1, 2003, the University Health System's 850 board- certified physicians will no longer be able to treat United patients. This decision by the University Medical Group ( UUMG) follows UnitedHealthcare's December announcement that its enrollees will no longer be able to choose University hospitals, clinics and affiliated facilities such as the Moran Eye Center, Huntsman Cancer Institute, and the Utah Diabetes Center for their care. Visits with UUMG doctors and procedures at Univer-sity facilities will be covered by United through June 30. " Our doctors feel strongly that we cannot place patients in a situation that is confusing and inconvenient or that compromises the highest standard of care," said Patrick C. Cartwright M. D., chair of UUMG's con-tracting and payor relations committee and associate professor of surgery at the medical school. " To tell patients they can see our doctors but then send them elsewhere for medical tests, x- rays and hospitalization is not the right way to give care." UH Executive Director Rick Fullmer said, " Not only is it impractical to make available one without the other, it's unfair to the tens of thousands of patients who had opted for care from physicians they trust at a medical center that is recognized as one of the top 100 in the country." Should you, as a UHC enrollee, decide to switch to an insurance plan that allows you to see University doctors at University facilities, you can do so through Human Resources during the University's next open enrollment period in April. The University Health System accepts most health-care plans, including U of U Health Plan ( UUHP), Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah, ALTIUS Health Plans, CIGNA HealthCare, and others. For more information, call UHC customer service, 800- 824- 9313, or the UUMG call center, xl- 2897. Daffodils to Support Cancer Society The American Cancer Society is selling daffodils until Feb. 27 to benefit its research, education and patient- and family- care programs. Ordered daffodils will be delivered during Daffodil Days, March 10- 14. U Hospital's Social Activities Committee and the Office of Public Affairs will coordinate daffodil orders. Forms have been distributed through campus mail. Call Jackie Ward or Lanaya Wright, xl- 7387, to receive an order form by fax. Please return the forms to Public Affairs by Feb. 27 with cash or checks made to the American Cancer Society. The flowers will be delivered to Public Affairs during Daffodil Days and can be picked up at UH A045. Web Center Posts Site Numbers The UUHSC Web site recorded 81,819 visits to the Web page during the week of Feb. 9- 15. The health sciences Web Resource Center reported that 63 percent of these hits came from outside the University. One of the top referral sites that direct visitors to the UUHSC page is NLM and NIH's site MedlinePlus, which has more than 12 million page views every month. The health sciences Web section most visited during the week was Health Informa-tion with 46,409 visits. Spanish topics received the next highest number of views with 22,456 hits. For weekly statistics go to uuhsc. utah. edu/ wrc/ stats. Engineering Academy Honors continued of human genetics. " This is spectacular- yet another tribute to our wonderful faculty." " Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded an engineer," the group said in a news release. The academy said it elected Kim " for the design of blood- compatible polymers with human applications, including drug- delivery systems." Such polymers some-day may help target not only medicines to the right part of the body but also could carry insulin- making islet cells to the pancreas to treat people with diabetes and deliver genes into the body to replace disease- causing mutant genes. Kim, who obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry at Korea's Seoul National University, earned a Ph. D. in chemistry at the U in 1969 and has worked for the university ever since. Twenty- five present or former U faculty members have been elected to one of the prestigious national academies. C PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER Utah Power Gives Gift to Burn Unit Lezli Matthews R. N., left, accepted a $ 5,500 check to help patient care needs at the hospital's burn unit Feb. 14 from Utah Power's Curt Mansfield. The gift came from donations given by managers of PacifiCorp, the parent company of Utah Power that serves a six- state region. The group also presented a similar gift to a burn unit in Portland, Ore. Support-ing burn care is important for the company because of the inherent dangers in the electrical industry, Mansfield said. " It's important for our employees that we donate and help this service in our community." UH Offers Clinical Education Session U Hospital's Clinical Staff Education office is present-ing " Values, Perspectives and Issues Across the Genera-tions: Implications for Healthcare Organizations" in Classroom D, March 4. Breda Bova, Ph. D., associate dean of the University of New Mexico's College of Education, will deliver the 90- minute lecture three times, at 8 a. m., 11 a. m., and 4 p. m. The presentation targets clinical staff, but faculty, students and others interested in the topic are welcome. HR Launches New Web Site Human Resources has a new Web site located at www. hr. utah. edu. This user- friendly site has a new look and has improved site navigation and organiza-tion, up- to- date information, and added search capabilities such as a site map and search tools. Visitors can apply for jobs directly online, find the latest HR News and Announcements on the main page, and find a listing of department HR represen-tatives to answer questions concerning general services, compensation, employee relations and OEO/ AA. u u h s c . u t a h . e d