As finalists in a field of outstanding Memphis area health care contributors, three University of Tennessee Health Science Center professors emerged as winners in the Memphis Business Journal’s annual Health Care Heroes Awards competition. Three others were recognized as finalists.
Sheldon Korones, MD, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology in the College of Medicine, was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award; Ann Cashion, PhD, associate professor and chair of the Acute and Chronic Care Department in the College of Nursing, received the Health Care Provider (non-physician) Award; and Bob Moore II, PhD, assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy, took home the Health Care Innovations Award.
Three other UTHSC faculty were also finalists. Rex Amonette, MD, clinical professor of dermatology in the College of Medicine, placed in the Health Care Provider — Physician category; and Phyllis Richey, PhD, assistant professor of preventive medicine and pediatrics in the College of Medicine and Waletha Wasson, DDS, associate professor of restorative dentistry in the College of Dentistry, were both finalists in the Community Outreach category.
Each of these finalists has contributed significantly to UTHSC and to the health care field. As the Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Dr. Korones was recognized for establishing the Newborn Center at The Med, which now bears his name. Under his tenure, 38 physicians have been trained in neonatal/perinatal medicine there. At the helm of neonatal medicine in Memphis and Shelby County for almost forty years, he has managed the care of more than 45,000 sick newborns. Along with 321 scientific articles, Dr. Korones wrote one of the seminal textbooks of his profession: High Risk Newborn Infants: The Basis for Intensive Nursing Care. A national and international visiting professor and invited lecturer, Dr. Korones has received over 60 honors, citations and awards for his contributions to the field of neonatal medicine.
Dr. Cashion’s award recognized her role as a researcher and in improving the health of individuals. As director of the UTHSC College of Nursing Center for Health Evaluation and Lifestyle Promotion (HELP Center), she oversees health promotion management and support for patients with chronic conditions. Since the center was established in 1995, nearly 3,000 Memphians have been impacted by this program. In collaboration with Pedro Velasquez, MD, Dr. Cashion also helped launch the Lifestyle Diabetes & Obesity Care Center, known as LifeDOC. She has garnered several National Institutes of Health grants and has worked extensively with kidney and pancreas transplant patients, focusing on improving negative conditions that occur before and after transplantation.
Dr. Moore received the Health Care Innovations Award for his research and development of two compounds, one that reduces the loss of blood from traumatic wounds, and a second that is used to treat hemorrhagic shock. Through fast-track funding from the Department of Defense, Dr. Moore is working with Greystone Pharmaceutical, Inc. to deliver finished products to the military as soon as possible. The Memphis Business Journal’s assessment of Dr. Moore’s achievement states, “While the military is the first customer, both drugs should soon begin showing up in every ambulance and even industrial first aid kits, as they become the standard of care.”