The University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (UW DFMCH) honored faculty and staff at its annual Renner Hansen awards ceremony on November 11, 2015, at the Pyle Center.

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Education and Entertainment: Renner Award Winner Zorba Paster

Zorba Paster, MD, received the John H. Renner, MD “Wisconsin Idea” award for his long-standing support of the DFMCH and for his work to educate the public on health and wellness.

Watch Dr. Pastor’s acceptance

Dr. Paster and his wife Penny are the driving forces behind the DFMCH’s Compassion in Action awards, which recognize medical students who work to improve health care in medically disadvantaged communities.

Dr. Paster is well known as the host of Zorba Paster: On Your Health, a weekly radio show on Wisconsin Public Radio that attracts nearly 150,000 listeners each week. He also has written three books, appears regularly on WISC-TV, and writes a column each Sunday in the Wisconsin State Journal.

Most recently, Dr. Paster has focused his efforts on improving health in Tibet. He’s the chair of Friends of Delek Hospital, has worked to improve access to care for families there affected by tuberculosis, and is facilitating travel there for four UW School of Medicine and Public Health students.

Embracing Risk: Hansen Lecturer Ildi Martonffy

Andrea (Ildi) Martonffy, MD, received the Marc Hansen Lectureship Award. In her presentation, “Embracing Risk,” she explained how risk makes us feel vulnerable because its connected to what we value.

She then discussed the different ways patients, learners and clinicians approach risk—and how risk can provide hidden opportunities for growth if we take the time to understand it.

“[We should] embrace the risks involved in change, and create ties that create security,” she said.

Watch Dr. Martonffy’s presentation

Commitment to Service: Staff and Researcher Awards

The PA Program’s Joel Hill, MPAS, PA-C, and Erin McCarthy Orth received the Faculty Excellence Award and Robert Drachenberg Staff Excellence Award, respectively. In his introduction, PA Program Medical Director John Beasley, MD, praised them for their dedication to the program, their educational leadership and their outstanding work managing an ever-increasing number of program applicants.

Charlene Luchterhand, MSSW, receive the William Scheckler, MD, Outstanding Research Publication award for her work as lead author on “Creating a Culture of Mindfulness in Medicine”. The article, which appeared in the June 2015 issue of WMJ, describes a systems-level strategy that fostered mindfulness among clinician leaders, thereby promoting health and resilience for clinicians and patients.

Finally, Robin Lankton, MPH, CHES, received the inaugural Chair’s Award for her leadership skills and service to the DFMCH. Robin has been instrumental in our name change and transformation to a department of family medicine and community health, and has worked to establish our new Office of Community Health, which she now co-directs.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Published: January 2016