Emory Division of Hospital Medicine (EDHM) 2023 Awards Banquet and Year-End Celebration

On Saturday, January 21, more than 50 members of the Emory Division of Hospital Medicine (EDHM) gathered at the Goizueta School of Business to celebrate their Annual Celebration and Awards. EDHM recognizes a wide range of excellence during this festive event, including mentor/mentee awards, recognition for years of service, and peer-elected division-wide awards. 

Though the Division has only been in existence since 2014, it has grown into the largest academic hospital medicine program in the United States, growing and flourishing through the challenges of the past few years, which have included COVID-19, multiple floods, and leadership transitions. Division Director Dan Hunt, MD, welcomed EDHM members for the award celebration, which was hosted by John Vasquez, MD, with EDHM’s own Khaalisha Ajala, MD, DJing the party. The evening was brought to life by EDHM’s amazing admin team of Jesmine Clarke, Temekia Cotton, Margaret Denson, Keisha Dozier, and Sheila Harris. 

EDHM has hospitalist physicians and Advanced Practice Providers at ten Emory Healthcare hospitals in Metro Atlanta. The director of each site nominated a hospitalist who embodies excellence in clinical care and collegiality. 

 

Site Director Awards 

• Kany Aziz, MD, Emory Decatur Hospital and Emory Long Term Acute Care, presented by Site Director Matt Hogan, MD
• Jean-Gustave Shoumou, MD, Emory Hillandale Hospital, presented by Site Director Ovid Barrow, MD
• Babar Junaidi, MD, Emory University Hospital and Emory University Orthopedic and Spine Hospital, presented by Site Director David Krakow
• Erica Han, MD, Emory University Hospital Midtown, presented by Associate Director Yoo Mee Shin, MD
• Deepa Nagarajan, MD, Emory Johns Creek Hospital, presented by Site Director Mohamad Moussa, MD
• Nader Aboujamous, MD, Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital, presented by Site Director Dhaval Desai, MD
• Minh Hang, MD, Atlanta VA Medical Center, presented by Site Director Joyce Akwe, MD
• Sherri Bogard, MD, Grady Memorial Hospital, presented by Site Director Joanna Bonsall, MD

Division Awards 

For EDHM’s Division Awards, the entire division votes on the candidates for EDHM awards with a survey, and the top nominee overall receives the award in each category. 

The Education Award is given to a hospitalist who has made a substantial contribution in furthering the educational mission of the Division. This hospitalist is not only a good educator, but has also introduced new programs or improved existing programs that help others further their education and/or careers in education.

• Winner: Erin Kim, MD, Atlanta VA Medical Center, presented by Dan Dressler, MD

The EDHM Research/QI Award is given to a hospitalist who has made a substantial contribution in the field of research or Quality Improvement in the past year.

•  Winner: Onyinye Iheaku, MD. Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital, presented by Dan Hunt, MD 

The Mentoring Award is given to a hospitalist who has made a significant impact in the careers of others through mentorship.

•  Winner: Yoo Mee Shin, MD, Emory University Hospital Midtown, presented by Annie Massart, MD

The J. Allen Garner, MD Memorial Humanitarian Award is given to a hospitalist who is involved in significant community service projects outside of current clinical/job responsibilities.

• Winner: Abhisake Kole, MD, Grady Memorial Hospital, presented by Dan Hunt, MD

The Clinical Staff Award is given to a member of the division clinical staff who has contributed significantly to the mission and support at their site through excellence.

• Winner: Hasset Kiflay, NP, Emory Hillandale Hospital, presented by Ovid Barrow, MD 

The Advocacy Award is given to a hospitalist who has committed themselves to support and advocate for a meaningful cause above and beyond their defined role. These efforts have been made with the intention of creating meaningful change and engaging others in these efforts with positive outcomes.

• Winner: Rajasree Roy, MD, Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital, presented by Dan Hunt, MD 

The Non-Clinical Staff Award is given to a member of the non-clinical staff who frequently “goes the extra mile” to help the team achieve educational and/or research missions.

• Winner: Mary Ann Kirkconnell Hall, MPH, presented by Lance Clark, Administrator 

The Daisy Grover, PA Excellence in Patient and Family Centered Care Award is given to a hospitalist who has consistently demonstrated patient-centered care, and who routinely goes “above and beyond” to help patients and their families.

• Winner: Amanda Sanders, MD, Grady Memorial Hospital, presented by John Vazquez, MD 

The Michel Heisler, MD Leadership in Hospital Medicine Award is given to a hospitalist who has demonstrated excellence in leadership. This person has led new initiatives and/or helped others bring about changes that benefit the group. This person also demonstrates leadership qualities in their day-to-day practices.

• Winner: Mohamad Moussa, MD, Emory Johns Creek Hospital, presented by Dan Hunt, MD 

The recipient of the Mark V. Williams, MD Overall Excellence in Hospital Medicine Award demonstrates overall excellence in all missions of Hospital Medicine. This person has contributed substantially to their site and/or Division in multiple ways, and is seen as a “role model” for all.

• Winner: Reena Hemrajani, MD, Grady Memorial Hospital, presented by Dan Hunt, MD 

The EDHM Teaching Award is voted on by the Emory Internal Medicine Residents and given to the hospitalist recognized as the best educator in Hospital Medicine across the four teaching hospitals (Grady, AVAMC, EUH, and EUHM).

• o Winner: Annie Massart, MD, Emory University Hospital, presented by Dan Dressler, MD
   

Mentor/Mentee Awards 

EDHM has a robust mentoring culture, and several groups of mentor and mentees were recognized for their mentoring service during the celebration. 

Senior Mentors: Tracy Vettese, MD; Dan Hunt, MD; Nate Spell, MD; Julie Hollberg, MD; Dan Dressler, MD 

Group Mentors: Hasan Shabbir, MD & Shen Chen, MD, Emory Johns Creek Hospital; Jason Velasquez, MD & John Kim, MD, Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital; Annie Massart, MD & James Kim, MD, Emory University Hospital; and Lena Burklin, MD, Noble Maleque, MD, & Willie Smith, MD, Emory University Hospital Midtown (EUHM) 

1:1 Mentors: Amy Miller, MD; Joyce Akwe, MD; Dhaval Desai, MD; Dustin Smith, MD; Ray Dantes, MD; Ingrid Pinzon Quiroga, MD; John Kim, MD; Noble Maleque, MD; Viniya Patidar, MD; Willie Smith, MD; John Vazquez, MD; Hasan Shabbir, MD; Chris O’Donnell, MD; Yelena Burklin, MD; Ketino Kobaidze, MD; Jason Velasquez, MD; Julie Hollberg, MD; Tracy Vettese, MD; Sara DeCaro, MD; Yoo Mee Shin, MD; Joanna Bonsall, MD; Jessica Nave, MD; Dan Dressler, MD; Annie Massart, MD; Reena Hemrajani, MD; and Manpreet Malik, MD
 

Recognition of Years of Service 

EDHM leadership recognized the following individuals for their years of service to the Division. 

• 15+ Years of Service

o Vanajakshi Bollineni, MD (15 years) 

o Wendy Gelfond, FNP (17 years) 

o Hope Khan, ANP (16 years) 

o Julie Levy, ACNP (17 years) 

o Susan Ortiz, PA-C (21 years) 

o David Tong, MD (15 years) 

o John Vazquez, MD (15 years) 

• 10 to 14 Years of Service

o Elena Belykh, MD 

o Dhaval Desai, MD 

o Stephanie Ellis, NP 

o James Kim, MD 

o Joanna Lariccia, MD 

o Rano Rakhmanova, NP 

o Denise Scott, NP 

o Hafize Ukani, NP 

• 5 to 9 Years of Service

o Khaalisha Ajala, MD 

o James Barker, PA-C 

o Shamekia Browner, NP 

o Ronan Cajimat, NP 

o Jenna Carpinello, NP 

o Hassan Chami, MD 

o Shen Chen, MD 

o Mary Clarke, PA 

o Robert Contino, MD 

o Jyoti Gupta, MD 

o Chandra Godfrey, NP 

o Nicole Hariston, NP 

o Maisha Harvey, NP 

o Reena Hemrajani, MD 

o Yolanda Howard, NP 

o Seraphine Ikwueme, NP 

o Gerty Jean-Louis, MD 

o Babar Junaidi, MD 

o Veda Koneru, MD 

o Melissa Lindsay, NP 

o Amanda Ma, MD 

o Edina Maness, NP 

o Rachel Mather, MD 

o Mike McFarland, NP 

o Elaine Phelps, NP 

o Hemang Shah, MD 

o Julie Yun, MD