Dawn Bulgarella, chief executive officer of the UAB Health System and CEO of the UAB/Ascension St. Vincent’s Alliance, and Brenda Carlisle, chief executive officer of UAB Hospital, have been recognized on Becker’s Hospital Review’s list of 177 Women Hospital Presidents and CEOs To Know, 2023.
Among other female executives and leaders in health care, Bulgarella and Carlisle are noted for their roles in expanding access to care, promoting inclusivity and diversity, spearheading new initiatives, and helping to close the gender gap in health care leadership.
“We are fortunate to have two such outstanding leaders as Dawn and Brenda at the helm of UAB Health System and UAB Hospital,” said UAB President Ray L. Watts, M.D. “This national recognition is well deserved and reflects their dedication to delivering accessible, world-class patient care here on our campus and throughout Alabama.”
Bulgarella was unanimously named CEO of UAB Health System and CEO of UAB/Ascension St. Vincent’s Alliance in 2023 after serving in an interim capacity of the role since 2022. A certified public accountant by trade, she brings more than three decades of experience within the UAB system to her CEO role, including formerly serving as president and CFO of the UAB Health System. In this role, Bulgarella is responsible for combined annual budgets in excess of $5 billion. She aims to further expand health care accessibility across the state through affiliate relationships.
“I am honored by this recognition and credit the support of Dr. Ray Watts and Chancellor Finis St. John in giving me the opportunity to lead the UAB Health System,” Bulgarella said. “It is the faculty, staff and students who make up the dedicated workforce in our hospitals and clinics who are the true heroes. Collectively, we recognize that, if we always put the patient first, we will be able to make a difference in health care in the State of Alabama.”
As CEO of UAB Hospital, Carlisle oversees the operations of the eighth-largest hospital in the country. During her tenure, she has maximized operating room utilization from 63 percent to 80 percent, expanded the robotic surgery program, and maintained a $2.93 billion revenue budget and a $160 million Perioperative/Heart and Vascular Center capital portfolio.
“This is truly an important and pivotal time to lead UAB Hospital, and I am truly appreciative of this opportunity,” Carlisle said. “I look forward to using my clinical and leadership experience to assure the highest standards of care, outcomes and innovation, and to create a belonging workplace that will continue to move UAB Hospital forward.”
(Courtesy of UAB)
The University of Alabama at Birmingham and PathCheck Foundation — founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — have partnered to launch a worldwide, interactive, COVID-19 vaccination dashboard. Normally constrained by the fragmented landscape of local systems and data collection processes, the vaccination dashboard will allow the general public, public health officials and researchers to access aggregated vaccination data and visualize information by state, region, and country, all while answering important questions and analyzing trends for the future.
UAB and PathCheck Foundation’s vaccination dashboard was developed and is maintained using complelety anonymous data collected from more than 60 governmental agencies and other publicly available data sources. The vaccination dashboard tracks and updates the quantity of vaccines administered on a state level, as well as with an international view option. Futhermore, the vaccination dashboard shows a breakdown of numbers of a specific brand of vaccine administered, inoculated population percentages, and data broken down into first- and second- dose categories. (more…)
The University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital has received the 2021 America’s Best Hospitals designation from Women’s Choice Award for the practice areas of obstetrics, orthopedics, heart care, stroke care, cancer care and breast care.
These areas were awarded based on the hospital’s outstanding achievement in clinical excellence and patient experience and satisfaction. By appearing on the Best Hospitals list, these UAB clinical areas are considered to represent the top 10 percent of hospital practices across the country. (more…)
Visiting the pool or lake is synonymous with summer fun. As hot weather approaches, parents and swimmers alike are concerned about what COVID-19 means for water-based activities this season. The key question people have is whether COVID-19 can be transmitted through pool water.
“If a pool is maintained with chlorine or bromine and managed, there is a very low chance of getting coronavirus through the water,” said Ellen Eaton, M.D., assistant professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Division of Infectious Diseases. “Years of research around pool maintenance ensures that, if a pool is using the chemicals per standard guidelines, it’s a relatively sterile environment. Although there are some viruses and parasites that are waterborne, coronaviruses are not among them.” (more…)
More than 42 million people were affected by the flu during the 2018-2019 season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Flu season has started in the United States and is expected to run from October through late March.
In response to high flu rates from previous years and in preparation for the peak of the upcoming flu season, the University of Alabama at Birmingham is taking extra measures to promote flu education and prevention through its one-stop flu resource website, uab.edu/flu.
Visitors can find information on uab.edu/flu about where to get the flu shot, what to do if they have the flu, how to avoid spreading it and other frequently asked questions. It also includes resources such as informational “myth vs. truth” videos and posters that can be shared by schools, churches and other public places. The site is UAB’s primary flu resource center and will be kept up to date regularly throughout the season. (more…)
The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry has been awarded a seven-year, $22.4 million grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health, to continue a national dental practice-based research network designed to improve the nation’s oral health.
Since 2012, UAB has served as the National Administrative and Resource Center by NIDCR, leading the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network. The network is a consortium of participating practices and dental organizations committed to advancing knowledge of dental practice and “practical science,” advancing ways to improve it, and further benefiting real-world, everyday clinical practice. (more…)
For 11-year-old Talyn Lewis, playing outdoor sports posed unique challenges. As he was born with albinism, a genetic condition in which a person is born with little to no pigment in their skin, hair and/or eyes, extreme light sensitivity makes it harder for Talyn to play sports outside because he naturally has no melanin in either iris to block the sun.
“The refs didn’t want me to use a tinted visor even though my pediatrician said I could,” Talyn recalled.
University of Alabama at Birmingham optometrists and ophthalmologists who specialize in retina, neurology, low vision and pediatrics worked with lead medical personnel from the Blazers’ athletics department and changed the paradigm for Talyn and other vision-challenged children. Together, they developed a special visor to enable those with medical-related light sensitivity to play football and worked to modify existing restrictions that did not allow for tinted visors or other apparatuses. (more…)
After Kim Bean’s husband Jeremy died in November 2012 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital due to complications from esophageal cancer, she wanted to find a way for her and her two young daughters to give back to the place where they felt a deep connection.
In reflecting on their stay in UAB’s Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Bean realized there were basic comforts and necessities many patient families often do not know they need until they begin to spend an extended time in the hospital. With that in mind, Bean and her daughters, Lilly and Olivia, then ages 6 and 3, respectively, came up with the idea to create “Bean Bags” in memory of their father and husband, Jeremy Bean.
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When Alisha Thompson Congress, D.O., a family medicine physician at Medical West Hospital, an affiliate of University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System, found out she was pregnant, she recalls it as the perfect surprise. After issues with fertility, this pregnancy was “good until it wasn’t,” Congress recounted.
On April 17, 2016, Congress gave birth to a baby boy, Langston Miles, born at 23 weeks and three days’ gestation, or just over five months of pregnancy. A fragile 1-pound, 7-ounce baby, Langston was just a little heavier than a bottle of water.
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Sometimes the hope that someone is looking for comes from an unexpected source. That was the case for Thomas Mackley, 4, who received both hope and a forever bond after a chance meeting with a UAB men’s soccer player.
UAB’s men’s soccer team visits Children’s of Alabama each year leading up to their Soccer for a Cure tournament. It gives the players an opportunity to interact with patients and gain a different life experience. Chandler Stroupe, an information systems major from Birmingham and a defender on the soccer team, noticed a boy visiting with the team and took it upon himself to try to interact.
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