Disabled GIVEN ACCESS
The ACCESS Miami Resource Guide, a comprehensive booklet for people with disabilities, was distributed by the Jay Weiss Center for Social Medicine and Health Equity at the VA Healthcare System Community Resources Information Fair in July.
Shelly Baer, LCSW, clinical supervisor at the Jay Weiss Center, created the guide to help people with physical challenges access resources that can be difficult to find. The booklet includes information in categories such as employment, advocacy, sports and recreation, wheelchair van rentals, and more.
The Weiss Center is now sponsoring future editions of ACCESS Miami; a third edition is expected to be published within the next year. For more information, contact Shelly Baer at 305-243-8893 or rbaer@med.miami.edu.
Miller School Welcomes Largest Freshman Class
The Class of 2012, which includes 48 students at the regional campus at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, is the Miller School’s largest and most qualified yet, with grades and résumés that made them stand out among 4,500 applicants.
Faculty and staff welcomed the 198 new students to campus on August 8 and 9 during an orientation where they were introduced to the curriculum, extracurricular activities, policies, and strategies for living a balanced life while pursuing their degree.
UM Hospital Thanks Teen Volunteers for Service
State Senator Frederica S. Wilson visited University of Miami Hospital on August 15 to congratulate 25 teens who participate in the hospital’s Come Grow with Us volunteer program, created and led by Sonia Martinez, director of consumer relations and volunteer services at UM Hospital. The program develops leadership and professional skills in young people and encourages them to pursue a career at the hospital. At a luncheon and awards ceremony, CEO Anthony Degina presented the Diamond Teen Awards for excellent service to high school seniors Julian Joseph and Israel Ugalde, who volunteered in the ER.
Awards for the most volunteered hours went to Jacqueline Lozano for 107 hours of service in the child care department, and to Michelle Perez, who served 226 hours in regulatory compliance and safety.
Edwin Ruel, who has volunteered every summer since 2004, received the program’s Certificate of Merit award and a scholarship of $1,000 from the hospital’s auxiliary volunteer committee.
Glaser Awards
The annual Stanley J. Glaser Foundation Awards reward promising faculty researchers with $26,000 in direct research support. The benefactor, Stanley Glaser, was a visionary philanthropist in South Florida and longtime supporter of the University of Miami.
The 2008 awardees are, from left, Yanbin Zhang, Ph.D., biochemistry and molecular biology; Antonio Barrientos, Ph.D., neurology; Ana Diez-Sampedro, Ph.D., physiology and biophysics; Zhibin Chen, M.D., Ph.D., microbiology and immunology; and Hermes Jose Florez, M.D., medicine and epidemiology. (Not pictured: Victor Perez, M.D., ophthalmology.)