Surgical Resident Workspace Honors Rosato Family and Dr. Karen Chojnacki

In October 2020, the Department of Surgery unveiled the newly constructed surgical resident workspace on the fourth floor of the Gibbon Building in Center City. The dedicated, multi- use space is designed to give residents a comfortable environment that promotes their well-being. “A surgical residency is rewarding and exhilarating, but it can also be stressful and exhausting,” says Gerald A. Isenberg, MD, Vice Chair for Education and President, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Medical Staff. “This ‘home away from home’ gives our trainees space and time to create the healthy habits that will help them perform at their best during residency and throughout their surgical careers.” The RRC Surgical Resident Workspace offers personal lockers and comfortable seating areas, television monitors for Jefferson employee announcements, eight individual computer stations and a full-length conference table. The kitchenette features a full-sized refrigerator, coffee maker, microwave, cabinet storage and a sink. Chief Resident Zachary Callahan, MD, explains, “The RRC has quickly become home base for our surgical residents with the emphasis on ‘home.’ Having a beautiful, secure location to discuss patient care, complete with the latest technologies, has had a profound positive impact on resident camaraderie and affords us the resources to provide excellent care to our patients.” Following a devastating health diagnosis for Ernest L. “Gary” Rosato, MD, last fall, an anonymous donor provided a naming gift for the space, now called the Rosato, Rosato, Chojnacki (RRC) Surgical Resident Workspace. In addition to memorializing Gary, the gift recognizes the significant contributions of his father, Francis E. Rosato, Sr., MD, who was Chair of Surgery from 1978 until 2000, as well as their practice colleague, Karen A. Chojnacki, MD, the second Francis E. Rosato Professor of Surgery, following Gary. At the time of publication, more than $210,000 has been raised for the project in Dr. Rosato’s honor. To make a gift in memory of Dr. Rosato, contact Kelly Austin at 215-955-6383 or kelly.austin@jefferson.edu