Joe Freudenberger, Dr. Ed Uthman and Barry Beard.
Dr. Ed Uthman, OakBend’s Laboratory Medical Director, has been named OakBend Medical Center’s 2015 Physician of the Year. The presentation was made at the annual physician party held at the home of Dr. Amitabh Shukla.
The Physician of the Year award, OakBend’s highest recognition, is presented annually to one outstanding physician who possesses significant practice experience, compassion, kindness and sincerity that translate not only to patients, but to nurses and other staff members who work closely with them. These physicians look and act professional at all times and are role models both professionally and personally.
The hospital received several nominations for the award. Colleagues, nurses and patients praised Dr. Uthman for his support to OakBend Medical Center and its staff and for being a true patient advocate who is warm and friendly to everyone he encounters.
According to Madilyn Zbranek, an RN at OakBend, “Dr. Uthman exemplifies commitment to OakBend Medical Center. His focus is on quality and efficiency in all areas of patient care and operations. He is first to be called to ‘get that quorum!’ He attends willingly and with deliberation. He is one of the most participative physicians at OakBend Medical Center. He is always willing to give you an opinion and point you in the right direction while keeping his focus and the facts intact.”
Dr. Uthman is on the board of directors at OakBend Medical Center and is a former two-time chief of staff. He is a native of Nashville, Tennessee, but has lived in Texas since 1986. He has worked in the health care field since 1968, beginning as an emergency room nursing assistant at age 16. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Rhodes College in 1974 and his MD degree from the University of Tennessee – Memphis in 1977.
Uthman is currently an adjunct professor of pathology at the University of Texas Health Science Center School of Medicine and participates in the lecture series in the sophomore pathology course for which he has received an additional three teaching awards. Dr. Uthman served as the Deputy State Commissioner for Inspections and Accreditations of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) for nine years. He maintains a website containing numerous original pathology-related documents and is the co-owner of PATHO-L, the longest-running online discussion group for pathologists. Dr. Uthman is the author of the book Understanding Anemia, published in 1998 and still in print. He served as president of the Houston Society of Clinical Pathologists in 2006-07 and as president of the Texas Society of Pathologists in 2014-15. He is a long-time photography enthusiast whose images of medical and non-technical subjects have been published in a variety of books, magazines and blogs. He is married to Margaret Uthman, MD, Professor of Pathology and Associate Dean at the University of Texas Medical School, Houston.
Shocked and surprised by the award, Dr. Uthman stated, “I am greatly flattered to receive this award from the community hospital that has been the focus of my practice for the past 26 years. It is OakBend’s dedication to excellence in patient care that has made my work here especially fulfilling. While I always enjoy the diagnostic challenges in pathology and laboratory medicine, it is the attitude, diligence and talent of the doctors, nurses, technical staff and administrators of OakBend that keep me coming to work every day.”
“Dr. Uthman is an outstanding doctor and very deserving of the Physician of the Year Award,” stated Joe Freudenberger, CEO of OakBend Medical Center. “His dedication to his field of work is unsurpassable. We are honored to have him serve at OakBend not only as our Laboratory Medical Director but on our board of directors.”
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