Each year, our department personnel gather to celebrate the progress we make together. This year, we reported exciting patient stories, dynamic discoveries, and ongoging excellence in education. We are delighted to share this annual presentation.
Watch the Most Recent State of the Department below.
State of the Department of Medicine - 2024 Summary
On Wednesday, February 14, Seth Landefeld, M.D., Chair of the UAB Hospital Department of Medicine and the Spencer Chair in Medical Science Leadership, presented the annual State of the Department address in person at Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium and via live stream.
Landefeld opened the presentation by celebrating leadership and faculty members, noting not only the diversity found within the department but also within school-wide leadership. He welcomed new department leaders before Landefeld remembered departed faculty lost during the previous year.
Landefeld then summarized the DOM’s overall achieved goals, including the formation of a Wellness Task Force and Council, recruitment of five new DOM leaders, improvement of salary equity for faculty and staff, increased access to clinical programs via 50 new faculty members, and advanced practice providers, commitment of $12M in research development funds to faculty, and the foundation of a research awards program for faculty with greater than 75% funded effort.
Education
Landefeld reviewed the DOM’s recent educational efforts. Over the past year, the DOM has worked with 135 internal medicine residents and 126 subspecialty fellows across 23 programs. 95% of the internal medicine residents passed their board exams, with 98% of fellows passing subspecialty board exams. DOM Faculty earned 9 Argus awards and infectious diseases professor Martin Rodriguez, M.D., was named a 2023 President’s Awardee for Excellence in Teaching. Landefeld also highlighted new teaching roles for experienced DOM educators, a new Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) curriculum for all residents, and the “Legacy Wall,” a new art installation honoring the groundbreaking physician-educator Tinsley R. Harrison, M.D.
Research
The DOM’s research efforts were also covered in the presentation. Landefeld reviewed the 122 NIH-funded DOM investigators, along with the researchers’ $103 million in funding, their 838 grant applications, 23 K awards, and 66 R01 awards. He also reviewed specific research breakthroughs and milestones, like Ellen Eaton, M.D. and her team assembling community harm reduction kits, Surya Bhatt, M.D. discovering dupliumab’s use in modifying the course of COPD, the Intervention to Promote Cardiovascular Health of Mothers and Children led by Gareth Dutton, Ph.D., and the national awards and recognition for Pankaj Arora, M.D., and Jasvinder Singh, M.D.
Clinical Care
The DOM clinical faculty members saw 22,414 patients in UAB Hospital, with 384,725 patients seen in clinics, 2,716 tele-ICU encounters across 11 different hospitals, 31,105 eMedicine visits, 1,198 inpatient eConsults to rural hospitals, and 4,909 intensive critical care unit patients. Landefeld highlighted the recent clinical highlights of a successful baby delivery from a heart and kidney transplant patient, DOM faculty joining the Equal Justice Initiative to care for Alabamians after incarceration, and the opening of an advanced endoscopy suite to provide complex and new procedures like POEM and bariatric endoscopy.
Department Finances
FY23 ended with a total revenue of $306 million, with $110 million coming from federal research support and $96 million generated from clinical treatment. The remaining $100 million came from gifts and endowments, VA Salary, HSOM allocations, the HSOM Academic Enrichment Fund, and other, non-federal research support. The total research expenditures for 2023 were $162 million, with a clinical operating margin of $4 million.
Changes and Growth
Landefeld reiterated the DOM’s commitment to invest in the retention and recruitment of faculty and staff and addressed processes to enhance infrastructure and technology. Specifically, he discussed the growth and impact of AI on treatment, new clinical compensation plans, faculty wellness and development initiatives, upcoming strategic plan updates for UAB overall, and the addition of a new division director for Infectious Diseases, and the new division of General Internal Medicine and Population Health (pending Board of Trustees approval).