Winter Commencement Held

UTHSC awarded 94 degrees during its 2022 winter commencement ceremony in Memphis.

UTHSC Chancellor Peter Buckley conferred the degrees to 17 students from the College of Graduate Health Sciences, nine students from the College of Health Professions, 30 students from the College of Medicine and 38 students from the College of Nursing.

UTHSC Team’s COVID Data System Serves as National Model

Dr. David Schwartz, professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology in the UTHSC College of Medicine, led the initiative to begin a drive-through COVID-19 testing site, which provided the data for the Memphis Pandemic Health Informatics System.
Dr. David Schwartz, professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology in the UTHSC College of Medicine, led the initiative to begin a drive-through COVID-19 testing site, which provided the data for the Memphis Pandemic Health Informatics System.

In a report recently published in the journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, a team of UTHSC researchers outline how they created a unique, community-focused COVID-19 data registry intended to serve as a national model to guide public-health policies and community campaigns.

The team, led by Dr. David Schwartz and Arash Shaban-Nejad, used data from a drive-through COVID-19 testing site at the Mid-South Fairgrounds in Memphis, an initiative led by Schwartz, to create the Memphis Pandemic Health Informatics System (MEMPHI-SYS).

MEMPHI-SYS provides a platform for patient information to be collected, analyzed and compiled on a HIPAA compliant dashboard, where health-care providers, community partners, public officials and other stakeholders can access it. The registry not only serves as a robust tool to combat infectious threats in the future, but it also is being used to help improve population health surveillance and reduce health disparities in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Hershel “Pat” Gave Lifetime of Service

At UTHSC, Hershel “Pat” Wall held many roles, including student and pediatric resident, faculty member, division chief of general pediatrics, interim College of Medicine dean and interim chancellor.
At UTHSC, Hershel “Pat” Wall held many roles, including student and pediatric resident, faculty member, division chief of general pediatrics, interim College of Medicine dean and interim chancellor.

Dr. Hershel “Pat” Wall, who served as chancellor emeritus since 2012, died Dec. 16, after more than 50 years of service to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

Wall was lauded as an exceptional academician, clinician and leader for the university he loved and the community in which he lived and raised his family.

Several individuals from UTHSC, including Chancellor Peter Buckley, attended a celebration of life ceremony Jan. 4, reflecting Wall’s stature and legacy at the university that was his life’s work.

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