Topics at a glance: President’s Town Hall Meeting About the new building, UT branding … and a budget in the black ...Online registration system offers patients another way in ...Endodontics resident sets new standard with pledge ...Dr. Buja to step down; Dr. Valenza named to search committee...Dr. Flaitz honored with Jack Harris Award...Drs. Koh, Jeske collaborate on book chapter...Venissa Davis of Prosthodontics offers thanks for help after fall..

President’s Town Hall Meeting
About the new building, UT branding … and a budget in the black

By Rhonda Moran, Dental Branch

President Larry R. Kaiser, M.D. (left) and Interim Dean John A. Valenza at the Dental Branch June 12 after a town hall meeting. Photo by Rhonda Moran.

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston President Larry R. Kaiser, M.D. made a special trip to the Dental Branch Friday to talk about the future of the school and to answer questions on a wide variety of topics, including the school’s building project, the university’s branding initiative, the recession and other topics.

He also expressed support for Interim Dean John A. Valenza, D.D.S., and said the search for a permanent dean would begin in about six months. The delay will allow the Dental Branch’s building project to undergo final review by the UT System Board of Regents, and if approved, to move into the construction phase. FULL STORY. Editor’s Note: The town hall meeting was recorded for podcast. UTHSC-H employees can view it on the Intranet.

Online registration system offers patients another way in

Among the key personnel who helped plan and implement the new online patient registration system were (from left) Kristine Estes, Kim Chambers, Duane Crawford, Loraine Alexander and Lottie Francis.

People interested in getting dental care at The University of Texas Dental Branch can now seek appointments online by visiting the school’s Web site, www.db.uth.tmc.edu, as an alternative to scheduling an appointment over the phone. Online visitors should click on “Student Clinic Appointment Request” at the bottom of the home page. A series of questions will help direct potential patients to most appropriate care, said Patient Services Director Kim Chambers. People who try to defeat the online screening by giving answers they think the system prefers may be wasting time, since they will be evaluated in person before being fully accepted as patients. The system has also been programmed to recognize repeat callers who try to change their answers. But accidentally entering the wrong information may not be the end. “If they can’t get through online, they can still pick up the phone and call,” Chambers said. FULL STORY.

Endodontics resident sets new standard with pledge

Yong “Jay” Kim, D.D.S.

Yong “Jay” Kim, D.D.S., a resident in the Endodontics program at the Dental Branch, has set a new standard for giving with his pledge of $10,000 toward the John R. Ludington Jr. Distinguished Professorship in Endodontics. It is believed to be the first such pledge from a current student in residence in the school’s Endodontics program, said John Greer, UTDB development director. Kim, a University of California at Los Angeles dentist who entered the UTDB Endodontics program in 2008, said the idea to contribute to enhancing education has been on his mind since he was a dental student at UCLA, and hearing a presentation by Stephen Schwartz, D.D.S. led to making the commitment sooner, rather than later. Schwartz, an endodontist and UTDB alumnus, is volunteer chair of the school’s Open to Health fundraising initiative. FULL STORY.

Dr. Buja to step down; Dr. Valenza named to search committee

John A. Valenza, D.D.S.

Interim Dean John A. Valenza, D.D.S., has agreed to serve on a committee that will work to identify the best possible candidate for the position of executive vice president and provost at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. President, Larry R. Kaiser, M.D., organized the committee after Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs L. Maximillian Buja, M.D., announced plans to return to his full-time professorship at the UT Medical School Department of Pathology.

Kaiser said the committee will work closely with the executive search firm Spencer Stuart. The firm will conduct a national search to identify exemplary candidates to bring before the committee, chaired by Kevin Dillon, executive vice president, chief operating and financial officer. Other committee members include:

• Dr. Giuseppe Colasurdo, dean, UT Medical School
• Dr. Thomas Cole, director, The John P. McGovern, M.D. Center for Health, Humanities and the Human Spirit
• Dr. Peter Davies, executive vice president for research • Dr. Raymond N. DuBois, provost and executive vice president, UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
• Dr. Lorraine Frazier, Nancy B. Willerson Distinguished Professor in Nursing, UT School of Nursing
• Dr. Osama Mikhail, senior vice president for strategic planning, UT School of Public Health
• Dr. Roberta Ness, dean, UT School of Public Health

Dr. Flaitz honored with Jack Harris Award

Heidi Heath (right) of the Greater Houston Dental Alliance presents the  Jack Harris Award to Catherine M. Flaitz, D.D.S., professor and former dean of The University of Texas Dental Branch. Photo courtesy Greater Houston Dental Society.

The Greater Houston Dental Alliance has chosen Catherine M. Flaitz, D.D.S., professor and former dean of the University of Texas Dental Branch, to receive the Jack Harris Award. The award was named for Harris after his American Dental Association presidency as a way to honor all he had contributed.

Flaitz was honored because of her dedication to the dental profession, community service and exemplary character. The award was presented at the Greater Houston Dental Society officer installation ceremony in May. Flaitz stepped down as dean of the Dental Branch in May to pursue her passion for oral pathology and pediatric dentistry. She is a professor in the Department of Diagnostic Sciences.

Drs. Koh, Jeske collaborate on book chapter

Sheila Koh, D.D.S		Arthur Jeske, Ph.D., D.M.D.

Two Dental Branch faculty members and one former faculty member collaborated on a book chapter that appeared in a recent edition of Dental Clinics of North America. Associate Dean for Strategic Planning Arthur Jeske, Ph.D., D.M.D., and Special Patient Clinic Director Sheila Koh, D.D.S., worked with lead author Kelly P. Halligan, D.D.S., and Dr. Timothy Halligan, USAF, on an article titled “HIV: Medical Milestones and Clinical Challenges.” Kelly Halligan formerly directed the General Practice Residency Program at the Dental Branch.

Dental Clinics of North America is a hardback periodical offering updates on the latest trends in patient management and the newest advances while providing a sound basis for choosing treatment options. Each issue focuses on a single topic in dentistry and is presented under the direction of an experienced guest editor. To see an abstract of the HIV article, CLICK HERE.

Venissa Davis of Prosthodontics offers thanks for help after fall

Venissa Davis, support specialist in the Department of Prosthodontics, is recovering after a fall that caused her to miss the University Classified Staff Workshop June 11 at the UT Brown Foundation Institute for Molecular Medicine.

To My UTDB Family and Extended UT Family:

This is just a short note to say thanks for caring. On Thursday, June 11, I took a bad fall while attending the University Classified Staff Workshop at the IMM building. I missed my step and fell from the patio deck. I was really looking forward to attending the workshop. Unfortunately, the fall prevented that. I really appreciate everyone’s concern, from my supervisor Ed Kelly — who literally had to pick me up from the ground — to the Classified Staff Committee who got ice packs and constantly checked on me, even filling out the necessary paperwork so I could be seen by the physician.

I would like to thank my co-worker Trichinia Wesley, who never left my side and sacrificed the workshop to help me to the doctor’s office and to have X-rays taken, even offering to drive me. Thanks also to the guard at the IMM building, who came right over to see if I needed an ambulance and if I was okay. Most of all, a special thanks goes to Officer Shaw with the UT Police Department. He went out of his way to locate a wheelchair for me. When he found one, he had to go pick it up and come back to the scene. Once he did that, he wheeled me over to UCT to be seen. He did not leave until I was checked in, and he made sure I was okay. Once I was checked in, he left his card with Trich and said once we were done with the wheelchair to call him on his cell and he would meet us to return the chair.

Thank you to everyone who made a call or sent an e-mail just to check on me. I know it could have been so much worse! Besides two scarred up and bruised knees and a bruised right foot, I am doing okay. So again, thanks for being so caring. I’m so happy to be a part of a wonderful family!

                                                                                                                                                                        Venissa Davis

                                                                                                                                                                 Support Specialist
                                                                                                                                            Department of Prosthodontics