The holiday season is upon us. Unfortunately,
it always seems to be a time of joy as well as sorrow. We’ve all experienced these mixed emotions during the months of November and December. |
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- We lost a loyal and great friend on November 29, 2005, with the death of
Dr. Haragopal (“Harry”) Thadepalli.
As I mentioned in my all-campus email message on December 1, 2005,
Dr. Thadepalli did many “firsts” for Drew during his 32 years as a faculty and
staff at Drew and King-Drew Medical Center, respectively. He started the Infectious Disease Division, and its
first fellowship; he started Drew’s first Division of Geriatrics, and also its first fellowship; and he was the first (and I believe only) faculty who had a son in Drew’s medical school and a daughter in the residency program at Drew. We will miss
Dr. Thadepalli.
- On December 1, 2005, Dr. Curly Bonds was appointed the new Chair for the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Bonds comes to us from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in the Department of Psychiatry. He had an outstanding record of clinical care and teaching while at UCLA. We look forward to him bringing these skills and experiences to Drew and King-Drew Medical Center.
- Last month, my message focused entirely on presenting you our annual budget. I failed to welcome our new Chief Executive Officer of KDMC, Ms. Antionette Smith-Epps—my apologies. In a brief period since her start at KDMC in mid-October, Ms. Smith-Epps has already made her presence felt in a very positive manner. She brings extensive skills, knowledge, and experience to our medical center, as well as an upbeat and optimistic personality. However,
Ms. Smith-Epps is a “no non-sense” type of individual who expects commitment, excellence, hard work and compassion for our patients—my kind of person!
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- This year Drew is focusing on helping our community as part of our celebration of the holidays. We’ve asked faculty, staff, students and others to bring several unwrapped new toys for children ages 3-5 years by December 9, 2005. We need at least 2,000 toys. We will distribute these to our Head Start children at the various sites, as well as children in our Pediatric inpatient units at KDMC.
- Let me end by reminding all faculty, students, residents, and staff at Drew and KDMC to join us at Drew for our Winter Festival on Friday, December 9, 2005 at 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm in the Cobb building. We will have lighting and ornamentation of the “Tree of Health and Unity,” great food, entertainment, and a silent auction. Bring an ornament representing your department and place it on the tree. This event is free and you need not bring anything but yourself and friends, and the warmth, kindness, and friendship of this holiday season.
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The Board of Trustees, Mrs. Yoshikawa and I, the staff in the President’s office, and the President’s Executive Council wish you and your loved ones happy holidays and a healthy and prosperous New Year in 2006. |
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"We make a difference" |
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Thomas Yoshikawa, MD
Provost-COO/Acting President |
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