Ten outstanding local health care professionals will be recognized as 2008 Awardees at the May 3 St. Louis American Foundation Salute to Excellence in Health Care recognition luncheon at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis Riverfront Hotel.
The awardees – representing medicine, dentistry, research and allied support services – were nominated by peers and colleagues who respect their professional expertise and admire their commitment to improving the quality of health care in St. Louis.
Melvin S. Blanchard, M.D.
As chief of the Division of Medical Education at Washington University, Dr. Melvin S. Blanchard directs the internal medicine training program, the largest residency program at Washington University School of Medicine – and one of the largest in the U.S. Born in St. Kitts, British West Indies, Blanchard has adopted St. Louis as his home.
He completed premedical studies at Trevecca University and his doctor of medicine degree from the University of Tennessee-Memphis. He continued his medical training at WUSM and Barnes Hospital. Upon completion of his training, Blanchard joined the faculty at WUSM and served as staff physician at the St. Louis VA Medical Center. He also supervises aspects of medical student education and the publication of more than one dozen medical textbooks written at Washington University.
Yolanda Bledsoe, M.D.
A native of St. Louis, Yolanda Bledsoe, M.D. practices internal medicine in North County. After receiving her BS in biology from Fontbonne University, she completed graduate training in biochemistry at Northwestern University and obtained her medical doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She continued her training and residency at Saint Louis University Hospital, where she later served as chief resident of internal medicine. Bledsoe began her career in private medical practice in Alton prior to opening her current practice at Northwest Physicians in Florissant.
Bledsoe places a major focus on the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and the treatment of diabetes mellitus. With the support of Christian Hospital, she gives lectures in the community to increase the awareness of cardiovascular diseases, particularly in women.
Melody Green-Soward
Melody Green-Soward “always wears a smile” when caring for patients as a rehab technician in the SSM Rehab Brain Injury Unit.
Melody Sue Wilson, unit director, said Green-Soward handles all her responsibilities “with grace and professionalism.”
“Our days are much brighter and our workload much easier on days that she is here,” Wilson said. “We feel blessed that she is a part of our team.”
The program serves individuals who have experienced trauma to the brain, whether through accident or disease. The treatment team works with patients and families to develop a rehabilitation program individualized to their needs. It focuses on physical, cognitive, communicative, interpersonal, self-care, behavioral and psychological changes that occur after an illness or injury.
Also important are practicing community reentry skills and addressing pre-vocational needs, school reentry and returning to driving.
Lannis Hall-Daniels, M.D.
Lannis Hall-Daniels, M.D., medical director of radiation oncology at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital and assistant professor of clinical radiation oncology at WUSM, is nationally recognized for her work in the treatment of breast, prostate, and head and neck cancers.
She helped develop the first prostate brachytherapy treatment program in St. Charles County, where her patients have access to state-of-the-art treatments.
She also was recently named cancer liaison physician for the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, where she works with its LIVEN (Lifestyle Intervention through Exercise and Nutrition) program.
It was designed as a therapy to reduce chances of recurrence of cancer. The recurrence rate drops by as much as 50 percent and on average about 30 to 40 percent. Patients who exercise and eat right find the decrease in risk “is the same as with treatment,” Hall-Daniels said.
Hall-Daniels is a graduate of the Howard University Medical School and served her residency at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. She received her MPH degree from Saint Louis University.
Jan L. Hess
Jan L. Hess is vice president at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield. Her administrative responsibilities have included oversight of quality management, case management, social services, community education, medical records and library, human resources, voice services, oncology services and marketing and communications.
She also serves as coordinator for site surveys by the Joint Commission, which awards accreditation to health facilities.
She is the immediate past president of the governance board for the Family Resource Center of St. Louis and serves on its advocacy board. Hess previously served as president for the Missouri Health Information Management Association and on the boards of directors for the Presbyterian Children’s Services of Missouri and the Chesterfield Day School.
Lloyd Logan, R.Ph.
Pharmacist Lloyd Logan, R.Ph. served the St. Louis community for many years as the owner of two pharmacies and hospital management consultant for the Daughters of Charity National Health System.
He is a graduate of the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. In the 1970s, his pharmacies (Mound City Pharmacy and Dome Pharmacy) were among the first in the area to utilize computerized systems.
He said pharmacy continues to be a vocation of opportunity for African Americans.
“It’s not just a profession for men. Women do equally as well as men do. They make the same salaries and hold the same positions,” Logan said.
“There are a lot of different areas for pharmacy and it’s a natural area to move into all different kinds of professions.”
Patricia Polk
Patricia Polk is a breast health outreach coordinator at the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WUSM. As such, Polk coordinates a gamut of services from screening mammography to diagnostic mammography for uninsured, underinsured and underserved women in Missouri.
“My mom used to say it takes a village to raise a child,” Polk said.
“It takes a community of dedicated people to stamp out disparities for the uninsured, underserved and underinsured women in our community.”
Cherilynn Shadding, Ph.D.
Cherilynn Shadding, Ph.D. is director of outreach at the Genome Sequencing Center at WUSM. Shadding said genomics research is an underrepresented area for African Americans and other minorities. She coordinates programs for undergraduate college students to increase the number of minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The Opportunities in Genomics Research program trains students and provides pathways to graduate study in genomics.
She also makes presentations promoting genomics as it relates to health disparities in the community. Shadding said, “I try to promote it in the context that since there are issues that affect ‘us’ disproportionately, it takes ‘us’ to study them.”
Dierdre “Dee” Washington, R.N.
Dierdre “Dee” Washington is lead care team coordinator of surgical services at SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood. She works in the admitting and discharge area and post-anesthesia care unit of surgical services.
A nurse for more than 25 years, Washington is a key member of the hospital outpatient services process improvement team. Washington also will serve on the new outpatient access and surgical services process improvement teams for the new SSM St. Clare Health Center.
St. Joseph’s Hospital reports its post-surgery scores for patient satisfaction improved from the low 70s to the 90th percentile under Washington’s leadership.
Kirk Washington, D.D.S.
New Orleans native Kirk Washington, D.D.S. practices dentistry at the Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Center. He and his family made their home in St. Louis in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. His brought 11 years of private practice in an underserved community in Louisiana to his new home.
In his practice, he explains treatments and procedures to his patients step-by-step in order to remove any anxiety.
“If people are aware of what’s going on, that’s a different kind of fear – you can deal better with the known than the unknown, and I can put them at ease,” he said.
Washington is a member of the Mound City Dental Society and has served as a convention delegate and national committee chair for the National Dental Association.
Tickets for the May 3 Salute luncheon are $75 each for VIP tickets, $50 for individual tickets and $40 for general seating. Tables of 10 are available in each category. For tickets and information, call 314-533-8000, ext 305.