Librarian Axel Borg to receive Academic Federation's highest honor.

By Dateline staff

UC Davis’ Nathan Trauernicht has been installed as president-elect of the California Fire Chiefs Association.

He is assistant chief of administration for the campus and city of Davis fire departments. He joined the campus Fire Department in 2008 as assistant chief of operations and training, and served as interim chief during the period between Joe Perry’s retirement in April 2010 and the campus-city fire management consolidation in September 2010.

Trauernicht, a member of the CalChiefs board of directors since last year, is due to serve for three years as president-elect before taking the reins as president for a two-year term. He previously served as president of the association’s Fire Operations Section.

The 650-member association promotes progressive leadership in standards and training, legislation and public awareness, all aimed at preventing, controlling or reducing the impacts of fire and medical emergencies, and natural and man-made disasters.

The association boasts a membership of 1,500 people in eight sections: Fire Operations, Fire Prevention, Training, Emergency Management, Administrative Support Services, Communications, Fire Mechanics and Emergency Medical Services. CalChiefs also maintains a legislative task force.

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Linda Barter of the School of Veterinary Medicine is the recipient of a 2011 Pfizer award for distinguished teaching. The pharmaceutical company sponsors the awards annually, presenting them to one faculty member each at the nation’s 28 veterinary schools.

Barter is an assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Surgical and Radiological Sciences and a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologists.

Her status as a junior faculty member makes her award particularly notable, said Jan Ilkiw, associate dean of Academic Programs, commenting on Barter’s having already earned a reputation as a talented classroom and clinical instructor.

Barter teaches the techniques involved with anesthesia and pain management at the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.

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The Packer newspaper, which covers the fresh produce industry, has put UC Davis’ Roberta Cook in the “Packer 25,” an annual list recognizing leadership contributions to the industry.

Cook is a Cooperative Extension marketing economist in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. She joined the UC Davis faculty in 1985 and has studied many different commodities, and studied a variety of issues, from the changing competitive landscape in the United States, to sales, international market conditions, food safety, labor and the greenhouse industry.

She provides information to produce growers and shippers, and speaks at industry meetings in the United States and abroad. She directed the California Agribusiness Executive Seminar in Monterey for eight years.

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The UC Davis Health System’s M. Eric Gershwin has been named a Master of the American College of Rheumatology. The college’s board of directors confers the title on members who are 65 or older and who have made outstanding contributions to the field of rheumatology through scholarly achievement and/or service to their patients, students and profession.

Eighteen members received the “master” designation Nov. 4 at the college’s annual scientific meeting, held this year in Chicago.

Gershwin is chief of the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology and the Jack and Donald Chi Professor of Medicine.

Gershwin joined the UC Davis faculty in 1975 and, two years later, founded the Allergy and Clinical Immunology Program for children and adults. Today, he leads a team of researchers and clinicians who offer the latest treatments for immune diseases of the liver, bowel, skeletal system and lungs — including lupus, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis — and who are actively investigating new treatment options in their labs.

Gershwin's own research focuses on primary biliary cirrhosis, which is characterized by progressive obstruction of the bile ducts of the liver.

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The Joint Commission has recertified the UC Davis Medical Center as an advanced primary stroke center.

The certification, first awarded in 2009, recognizes the medical center’s exceptional efforts to foster better outcomes in stroke care. Such certifications customarily last for two years.

The commission, an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies more than 17,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, sent a surveyor to the medical center on Aug. 15, for the recertification process, and subsequently notified UC Davis that it had been recertified, with no recommendations for improvement.

“We achieved this recognition because of teams throughout the medical center — from emergency medicine to neurology to physical therapy — who use their expertise to meet the special needs of stroke patients and reduce their chances of long-term disability,” said Ann Madden Rice, the medical center’s chief executive officer.

Earlier this year, UC Davis received a Get With the Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award from the American Heart Association-American Stroke Association — honoring the university for its commitment to and success in implementing excellent care for stroke patients.

“Our goal is to assure that stroke patients immediately receive state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment followed by intensive, thorough support for recovery,” said Piero Verro, professor of neurology and director of the Stroke Program. “This latest achievement proves we are achieving that goal.”

Stroke center certification is associated with improved outcomes, decreased costs and reduced recurrences. Guidelines from the Sacramento County Office of Emergency Medical Services direct ambulances to transport patients with stroke symptoms to hospitals certified as primary stroke centers.

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The UC Davis Health System has received its first “Most Wired” designation from Hospitals & Health Networks magazine.

Only five California institutions made this year’s list, based on an assessment that took in nearly 1,400 institutions around the country.

The annual survey examines how hospitals use information technology to address and enhance patient safety and quality of care, public health, administrative processes and work force decisions.

The UC Davis Health System’s paperless, computerized environment includes digital clinical results and images, computerized physician order entry, sophisticated pharmacy systems, and online documentation and care plans.

UC Davis’ digital environment also includes MyChart, which allows patients to review a wide range of information about their health and health care, including test results, clinical appointments and medications, and to exchange secure messages with their physicians and care teams.

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David Tom Cooke, assistant professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the UC Davis Health System and Cancer Center, has been named to the Esophageal Cancer Education Foundation’s Medical Advisory Committee.

Cooke, who specializes in esophageal cancer surgery, will advise the nonprofit organization on esophageal cancer research grant funding, and continue to bring awareness and educate the public about esophageal cancer risk factors and treatment options.

He already has contributed to the development of the foundation’s Esophagectomy, Post-Surgical Guide, Questions & Answers, due to be released to patients in the coming months.

“Esophageal cancer is no longer considered a disease of older men or confined to a certain ethnic population,” Cooke said. “Women shouldn’t think they are immune, either, as it is increasing throughout the country, proving to be a very fast killer. There are rarely, if any, symptoms until it is usually difficult to treat effectively.”

Cooke, associate program director of the cardiothoracic surgery residency, specializes in noncardiac general thoracic surgery, thoracic oncology, surgical treatment of malignant and benign esophageal disease, and video-assisted thoracic surgery. His research interests include clinical trials of new drug treatments, surgical outcomes research, translational research, surgical education and medical social media.

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Dateline UC Davis welcomes news of faculty and staff awards, for publication in Laurels. Send information to dateline@ucdavis.edu.