Text of Awards

John Condemi, M.D., recipient of the Albert D. Kaiser Medal

citation presented by R. John Looney, M.D.

I am delighted to present Doctor John Condemi with the 2009 Kaiser Award, the Rochester Academy of Medicine’s highest honor. John has been a compassionate, skillful, resourceful, and brilliant physician, and a role model for all the physicians trying to follow in his footsteps.
John Condemi, the son of Italian immigrants, was born in New York City in 1931. He grew up in the Bronx, and on the streets of this diverse borough he learned to relate to all different types of people. His undergraduate studies were in the Ivy League at Columbia University and he received his medical degree from Albany Medical Collage. John met his wife Carol when he was a medical student in Albany. They have now been married for 54 years. Together they raised 5 sons in a big, chaotic house in Brighton.

John first came to Rochester in 1957 for Internal Medicine training at Rochester General
Hospital. He then left Rochester for Fellowship in Boston at the Lahey Clinic. In 1961 he came to the University of Rochester and worked with John Vaughn in the county’s first Clinical
Immunology Unit. He joined the faculty in 1963 and rose through the academic ranks to become a tenured, full Professor in 1973. For many years John directed the Clinical Immunology service and the Allergy Immunology Fellowship. He became very active in national organizations and was especially interested in Fellowship training, chairing both the American Board of Allergy and Immunology and the Allergy Immunology Residency Review Committee. In 1985 with Robert Schwartz and Donald Pulver, John founded Allergy, Asthma, Immunology of Rochester (AAIR), one of the premier Allergy Immunology groups in the country, and one of the very few private groups combining Allergy and Rheumatology. This practice has been and remains the principal clinical training site for the Allergy and Immunology Fellowship.

On top of excelling in clinical practice and teaching, John has also excelled as a scholar and clinical researcher. He has more than 100 publications and astoundingly, over 350 clinical trials. Highlights from his publications include: reviews on Allergy for the Annals of Internal Medicine and on Autoimmunity for JAMA, a seminal work on the validity of penicillin skin testing, a case series investigating the role of leukotriene inhibitors in Churg-Strauss syndrome, the development of anti-IgE for allergic diseases, and Asthma and Immunotherapy Practice Parameters for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. His clinical trials have helped speed medications out of the laboratory and into clinical practice. For example, he was the very first physician to use an antibody against B cell Growth Factor to treat systemic lupus erythematosus.

In summary, John Condemi has been a gifted physician, accomplished researcher, outstanding clinical immunologist, and an inspiration for the many physicians he has taught. Thanks for all your hard work and dedication. Thanks for all you have given to your patients, students, and colleagues. And above all, thanks for being the kind of physician we all aspire to become.

******

citation presented by John L. Green, M.D.

Members of the Rochester Academy and guests, good evening. It is my privilege and honor this evening to introduce Dr. Anne Francis, distinguished pediatrician extraordinaire. Anne consistently demonstrates a model for every practicing physician to emulate — showing what it takes to be successful and to be admired by peers, parents and children of all ages.

Anne was born and raised in Elmwood City Penn. She attended Thiel College in Penn, Medical School at the University of Pittsburgh and internship and residency in pediatrics at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. I recruited her to join the Elmwood Pediatric Group in 1976, and thankfully she has remained at this practice site for now 33 years and still going strong. Anne proved her administrative and organizational skills early on, becoming the managing partner for a busy office for over 20 years. She has always believed in, and practices, the three sides of the triangle of what makes an outstanding group practice — doing ongoing clinical research, teaching and precepting medical students and resident house staff, and practicing her specialty in an active clinical setting. She has grown, as pediatrics has grown, mastering the new pediatric practice world of psychosocial medicine as a superb counselor, including the management of ADD, obesity and mental health issues.

Anne is married to Dr. Charles Francis, Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester and an internationally known hematologist. They have three wonderful self sufficient children — the oldest currently completing an ENT residency in Seattle - and just this past year they welcomed their first grandchild. She is a long standing elder at the First Presbyterian Church in Pittsford, and has served on the Board of Directors at the Rochester Ronald McDonald House, the Brain Injury Association, the Hearing and Speech Center of Rochester, and is currently a member of the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Quality Assurance Committee at Strong and since 2002 a member of Strong’s Board of Directors.

Her primary and ongoing focus besides the practice of pediatrics has been her continued involvement the past 20 years with the American Academy of Pediatrics. Her clarity of speaking and her organizational skills have thrust her into a leadership role nationally. She has been Secretary, Vice President, and then President of the New York State Chapter, and has been a past member and chair of numerous advisory and work group committees. She currently chairs the Academy’s Private Payer Advocacy Committee, the Practice Management on line Committee and the Section of Administration and Practice Management. She is this year one of the two finalist candidates for the office of President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, an organization with now over 45,000 members. Her focus has always remained on what is best for children — locally and on a national level.

When I asked Dr. Francis her view about Universal Health care, her measured thoughtful response was "we need accessible quality care in a medical home for all children — how we get there will be the tricky and difficult task".

We honor Dr. Ann Francis this evening and we honor the Academy as well in bestowing to her this 2009 Academy award of Merit.

******

citation presented by Philip P. Bonanni, M.D.

James MICHAEL Haley was born in New Jersey, the son of two hard-working parents who were only high school graduates. He is the youngest of 4 children and the first to go into medicine.

When he graduated from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry with a Doctor of Medicine with Honors degree in 1985, Jim gave the commencement address and he received the Bryce Collier Award for Devotion and Compassionate Care of the Sick. Among the many awards Jim has received, most have prominent physicians’ names attached to them: Dr. Larry Young, Dr. Larry Kohn, Dr. Jim Stewart, and Dr. Victor Emmel. The awards reflect Jim’s high quality patient care and his devotion to the importance of education in medicine.

After Jim completed his residency at Strong Memorial Hospital, he served a year as Chief Resident at St. Mary’s Hospital. His greatest reward came on his very last day of his Chief Residency year, he met his wife, Rita, who was working in the Emergency Department as a nurse. Something clicked right away. Perhaps, it was the fact that Rita has the very same birth date as Jim!

His dedication to patients was clearly evident from the start. So, too, was his teaching time - as he taught not just students and residents, but patients, families, colleagues, and the community.

Jim continued to practice for 12 years and during the last couple of years, Tim McCormick and the Unity Health System, sought him out to take over the chairmanship of the Department of Medicine at Unity. It was a very difficult decision. But Jim decided it was time to begin a new phase of his professional career.

As the Chairman of Medicine at Unity Hospital, Jim constantly focuses on providing the best possible health care for all. He encourages everyone to embrace the personal high quality, patient-centered, care that Unity has come to be known for. This year, the Department of Medicine received a 5-year accreditation for their Internal Medicine Residency Program. This 5-year accreditation is the most any program can receive. It is a result of the folks that Dr. Haley has put into leadership positions in the training of young doctors.

Jim has served as the president of Rochester Academy of Medicine. He has worked with the Monroe County Medical Society and has contributed to their Community-Wide Guidelines Committee as well as their Medical Board.

And, often behind every great physician, is a great wife and family. Jim can take pride in that. I’ve known Rita for almost has long as I have known Jim. She’s a perfect match for him. Their 3 fine children, Matthew, 16, who is at McQuaid, and looking forward to going into medicine; Kelly, at age 15, is at Mercy; and Jimmy, age 13, at McQuaid, are all avid baseball fans. They are Yankee fans. That’s Jim’s doing. He, too, is an avid baseball aficionado. He follows his children’s games and little league activities regularly. He’ll often be racing from the office to a game and then back for a meeting. It’s remarkable how he does it. Not only is he a fine physician, but he is a wonderful husband and father. The Academy proudly presents him with the Award of Merit.

******

citation presented by Peter H. VanBrunt, M.D.

Dr. Loomis is a family man. Devoted husband, father, grandfather, he has cultivated all that is good about family. His career path in Family Medicine followed his education at Oberlin College, State University College of Medicine at Syracuse and post graduate training. He practiced Family Medicine in Ontario, NY for over 40 years. He also sewed 2 years in the Navy on active duty in 1945-46.

In a remarkable career he has sewed patients, profession, community, and family at county, state and national levels in a phenomenal number of ways.

lie is a member of the Wayne County Medical Society and was President 1968-69, and President of the Medical Staff at Myers Community Hospital 1968-1970.

He was Chief of the Dept of Family Practice of RGH for an astonishing 28 years. He served on the Medical Board all those years and the Executive Committee of the Medical Board for an unprecedented 12 years.

A lifetime member of the American Academy of Family Practice and NYS Academy of Family Physicians, his Presidency in 1977-78 gained the recognition of Family Practice as a specialty by the MSSNY, defining and improving the relations between Family Practice and Internal Medicine. He is a member of the AMA and the MSSNY serving as President of the 7th District branch, 1986-87.

His faculty appointments include the University of Rochester in Family Practice, Pediatrics, and Family Practice Residency. He has instructed and mentored countless medical students and residents.

He was the leader of the first 10 Family Physicians to receive U of R faculty appointments in 1965, Department of Pediatrics.

A charter Diplomat of the ABFP he found time to be recertified 3 times.

He served on the Board of Directors of MLMIC 1986-2007.

His community involvement is no less: a volunteer in Heart to Heart International with Humanitarian Mission to Siberia in 1999; Physician at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic Games; Plant Physician, Ginna Nuclear Power Plant for 30 years and formulator of the original emergency response plan; member of Rotary International; founder of the Ontario Volunteer Ambulance Corps; Health Officer for the town of Ontario since 1954 and the Wayne Central School Physician for over 40 years.

Dr. Loomis’s colleagues have said his lifetime of service really adds up to several lifetimes. He has been a role model for all who followed him. He has "clarity" in his notion of, and "zeal" for, his specialty. The very existence of the Department at RGH is attributed to his "iron will". He is still highly influential in retirement.

He is kind, calm, with unimpeachable character. Honest, patient, principled, always helpful, he is a physician of the highest order. He has advanced the well-being of the lives of countless people, his profession, and his community. Those who have had contact with him are indeed fortunate. We are also humbled by his example. We have found a man to emulate. A man truly committed to family, community and profession. We are all deeply indebted to him.

******

Try reshaping a culture. It takes time, relentless rowing and enough longevity that you can outlast clinician habit and engrained policy. Alternatively, it takes Richard H. Sterns.

This is a credibility issue. Dr. Stems’ CV reads like a history of medicine in Rochester. For the past 32 years, having arrived directly out of Nephrology fellowship from The University of Pennsylvania, he has continually molded Rochester General Hospital shepherding the faculty and residents, negotiating crises in difficult times and cultivating a sense of pride in who we are and how we must care for patients. Dr Sterns has been on or chaired no fewer than 81 committees at RGH. Genesee and Strong Memorial Hospital, and helped select 10 department chairs, chief executive officers and residency program directors. He has been Department Chair at both Rochester General and The Genesee Hospital and has dramatically changed the way patients are admitted, medically managed and discharged. Dr Sterns can actually establish a consensus in a single multi-disciplinary meeting. But his administrative excellence and people skills are a natural outgrowth of his clinical skills.

Internal Medicine residents actually quote Dr Sterns on rounds. No wonder, as he is still at it, attending morning report every third month, spontaneously choreographing case presentations at professor rounds every Friday, and teaching physiology to medical students. Dr. Sterns remains strictly hands on as the oldest card-carrying member of The Society of Hospitalist Medicine, and while on service observes directly how his administrative changes have faired. In any clinical venue, the final frump card in arguing differential diagnosis is that Dr Stems agrees with you.

Many of you know that his medical career has been modern medicine’s approach to treatment of osmotic disturbances of the brain, and I assure you that there are scores of patients alive today with in tact grey matter because of what Dr. Sterns has preached. He in fact coined the term "osmotic demylination syndrome" and has been invited to speak on this and other sodium-related subjects in over 50 academic centers. Establishing the benchmark of treatment of hyponatremia was no easy task as it broke with customary standards set by very vocal, but equally incorrect, recognized nephrologists at the time. What is little known is that Dr Stems’ earliest research resulting in the first of his 33 original articles and 28 book chapters, and published in 1978 in The NEJM was on defense against hyperkalemia. In fact, although famous with issues of sodium regulation now, Dr Stems was recognized early on in his career for his expertise on potassium regulation. He presently serves as a senior editor on electrolytes for UptoDate and the Nephrology Self-Assessment Program.

In closing, I’d add from my 14 years working alongside Dr Stems, that it is his sense of purpose as a professional, even greater than his outstanding "triple threat" accomplishments, that drives him to establish our culture of patient care with dignity and progress for The Department of Medicine. The Rochester medical community is indeed fortunate to have a man of his caliber to call our own. On behalf of Rochester General, The Academy and the medical community at large, congratulations on this prestigious award.

******

citation given by Jacques Lipson, M.D.

I am honored that Maggie Brooks requested that I be the one to present this citation to her. Our relationship goes back many years and is renewed at events such as this and on social occasions.

Maggie has lived and worked in this community for many years. She has a deep understanding of the diversity, cultural offerings, and educational opportunities that exist within our community.

She raised her family here and had a successful career in the television industry. She left broadcasting to pursue politics and community service, When she was County Clerk she promoted a new concept: Customer Service.

She became our County Executive in January of 2004. In this position she has developed alliances and has led strong initiatives to attract jobs to our area and promote our community. She works closely with the Mayor of the City of Rochester, officials from town and village government, New York State leaders, local businesses, and families.

She has fostered new ways to manage our tax dollars with a strong emphasis on fiscal responsibility and restraint. She has made Monroe County job creation her top priority. She has been an advocate in the development of green energy resources and conservation.

Maggie has the ability to see beyond party affiliation and lead collaborative efforts to bring positive change to business, the arts, and health care and to promote job growth. Many of the constituents get a seat at the table.

Maggie has been a guiding force behind the construction of a brand new facility to house both the Starlight Pediatrics Clinic and the County’s foster child visitation services.

In her spare time Maggie’s is involved with the boards of: Alternatives for Battered Women, Lifespan, Society for the Protection and Care of Children, United Way of Greater Rochester, Imagination Soar Day Care, Webster Avenue Family Resource Center, Monroe Community Hospital, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Big Brothers- Big Sisters of Rochester and Women’s Healthsource of Highland Hospital.

Whenever our community has a function, press conference, a news release, or a community event Maggie is there in person or via her representative. She resides in Webster with her husband Robert Wiesner and is the mother of two daughters Julia and Jensen. Dawn and I have had the privilege of developing a relationship with Maggie and Bob. That relationship cows at events such as this and in the arena of golf when I carefully instruct them on how not to play.

We are all fortunate to have you as our County Executive.

************