News
Department Presents Posters at PGA 2019
L to R: Drs. Patrick Garcia, Amanda Deis, and Beverly Pearce-Smith with their poster at the 2019 PGAMembers of the department presented posters at the PostGraduate Assembly in Anesthesiology (PGA), December 13-17, 2019 in New York City, NY. The annual PGA is sponsored by the New York State…
Terri Sluganski and Kirsten Radaker Receive ESGR Patriot Award
Congratulations to nurse anesthetists Terri Sluganski and Kirsten Radaker, UPMC Mercy Clinical CRNA Director and Assistant Clinical CRNA Director, respectively, who received the Service Member Patriot Award from ESGR (Employer Support of the Guard and the Reserve). The award is given…
WESA Interviews Dr. Ajay Wasan About Medical Cannabis
Poster by Dr. Sean McDermott Selected as Winner for AAPM 2020 Annual Meeting
Congratulations to resident Sean McDermott, MD, whose poster “Applying Machine Learning to Decrease Research Chart Reviews of Electronic Health Records: A Method of Automated Opioid Medication Classification for Pain Medicine Research” was selected as a winning poster for the American…
Spirits High at 2019 UPMC Presbyterian CRNA Holiday Breakfast
Our UPMC Presbyterian CRNAs continued their annual holiday breakfast tradition for 2019. Every year, CRNA clinical site directors Helen Defranco, Dale Fleck, and Debbie Weimer host this event to thank the Presbyterian CRNAs for their continuous hard work, dedication, and contributions…
Allison Lewis Appointed UPMC Passavant CRNA Clinical Director
Congratulations to Allison Lewis, MSN, CRNA, who has accepted the role of CRNA Clinical Director for UPMC Passavant (comprising the McCandless and Cranberry campuses), effective December 22, 2019.
Allison has been a CRNA at UPMC Presbyterian/Montefiore since 2012, where she…
Dr. Gregg Homanics Honored with Pitt Innovator Award and Invited Presentation
Gregg E. Homanics, PhD, received a Pitt Innovator Award from the University of Pittsburgh Innovation Institute at their 14th annual Celebration of Innovation on November 20.
Dr. Ted Sakai Completes Visiting Professorships in Japan
Tetsuro Sakai, MD, PhD, MHA, FASA recently completed a series of visiting professorships in Japan, presenting the following lectures:
Visiting Professor Lecture Series, University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine. Postgraduate Medical Education Program at Okinawa…
Operation Walk Anesthesia Team Returns to Guatemala for Medical Mission Trip
In late September 2019, Operation Walk Pittsburgh celebrated its 10-year anniversary with a return to where the organization got its start, Antigua, Guatemala. Operation Walk Pittsburgh serves the mission of providing life-changing education, service, and surgery completely free of…
Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Established
The goal of the center, under the directorship of Jacques E. Chelly, MD, PhD, MBA, is to develop research and implement new clinical services to assess the role that complementary and alternative medicine can play in care for surgical patients.
Dr. Grace Lim to Receive CTSI Funding to Study BRIDGE Device
The project “BRIDGE Device: Alternative Postpartum Analgesia” was selected for funding by CTSI’s Research Initiative for Special Populations Pilot Program.
Dr. Ajay Wasan Addresses Back Pain in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
CRNAs Present at Student Mentoring Program
Our CRNAs at UPMC East participated in the hospital’s annual Gateway School District Student Mentoring Symposium. CRNAs Cheryl Baluh, Cindy McGettigan, and Tara Schaaf presented to the group, and as you can see by the comments, their presentations were very well-received!
Dr. Jacques Chelly Signs Agreement to Conduct CBD Cream Pilot Studies
Jacques E. Chelly, MD, PhD, MBA and collaborators signed a $250,000 agreement with the company PureForm Global to study the clinical analgesic properties of their cannabidiol cream.
Clinical Team Spreads Halloween Cheer to Patients at UPMC Children’s Hospital
Our CRNAs Melissa Dupilka, Jen Kundick, Leslie Wylie, and Michael Scott from UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (CHP) participated in the facility’s annual trick or treat event by passing out small gifts to the children who had to spend their Halloween in the hospital. Funds from…