Previous Winners

Previous Winners

1988 1989 1990 1990 1991 1991 1992 1992 1993 1993 1994 1994 1995 1995 1996 1996 1997 1997 1998 1998 1999 1999 2000 2000 2001 2001 2002 2002 2003 2003 2004 2004 2005 2005 2006 2006 2007 2007 2008 2008 2009 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Tom Sheehy, MD, FACP Basil I. Hirschowitz, MD, FACP Henry M. Gewin, MD, FACP Stanley S. Kahn, MD, FACP Jack J. Kirschenfeld, MD, FACP John M. Packard, MD, FACP John F. Burnum, MD, FACP S. Richardson Hill Jr., MD, FACP Samuel Eichold II, MD, FACP William W. Winternitz, MD H. Hamilton Hutchinson, MD, FACP James A. Pittman Jr., MD, MACP Dick D. Briggs Jr., MD, FACP Irving A. Koffler, MD, FACP Alan M. Siegal, MD, FACP Robert H. Lokey, MD, FACP J. Claude Bennet, MD, MACP John McDuffie McGehee, MD, FACP Wilmer J. Coggins, MD, FACP Richard H. Esham, MD, FACP Charles G. Cobbs, MD, FACP Richard O. Russell Jr., MD, FACP John B. Bass Jr., MD, MACP Peter W. Morris, MD, FACP Max Michael III, MD, FACP Keehn W. Berry Jr., MD, FACP William A. Curry, MD, FACP Arthur L. Ennis, MD, FACP William E. Dismukes, MD, MACP Pink L. Folmar, MD, FACP Paul W. Burleson, MD, FACP Edwin A. Rutsky, MD, FACP Ben V. Branscomb, MD, FACP John M. McMahon, MD, FACP Roy F. Roddam, MD, FACP Frank D. Sutton Jr., MD, FACP James R. Bonner, MD, FACP Stephen Alvin Davis, MD, FACP Dennis G. Delgado, MD, FACP Billy Willard Boyd, MD, FACP Wickliffe J. Many Jr., MD, FACP Robert M. Centor, MD, FACP Maryella D. Sirmon, MD, FACP Gustavo Heudebert, MD, FACP William J. Koopman, MD, MACP Ross Vaughn, MD, FACP Anupam Agarwal, MD Lourdes C. Corman, MD, FACP, FACR Charles Seth Landefeld, MD, FACP Charles Michael Soppet, MD, FACP Bernard H. Eichold II, MD, DrPH, FACP

CHS8137

Alabama Chapter 2019 Laureate Award

Alabama Chapter 2019 Laureate Award Vera Bittner, MD, MSPH, FACP

The 2019 Alabama Laureate is Vera Bittner, MD, MSPH. Dr. Bittner is a cardiologist, researcher, and educator at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). After her initial medical education in Frankfurt, Germany, she received her MD from the University of South Alabama in 1981. Her internship and residency in internal medicine were at Bowman Gray in WinstonSalem, North Carolina, followed by a Fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease at UAB from 1984 to 1987. She also earned her Master of Science in Public Health from UAB in 1995. Dr. Bittner holds board certifications in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, and clinical lipidology.

Dr. Bittner joined the cardiology faculty at UAB at the conclusion of her fellowship, advancing steadily from assistant to associate to full professor of medicine. Along the way, she has achieved a remarkable career as master clinician, acclaimed educator, and accomplished research scientist. Her achievements have been truly impressive and diverse. She led the establishment of the cardiac rehabilitation program at UAB in 1996, serving as director for 23 years. She served as director of the UAB cardiology fellowship program for 13 years, after which admiring fellowship alumni funded and named an award in her honor. Indeed, training and mentoring young physicians has been one of her most distinctive accomplishments. Dr. Bittner has taken UAB's programs in preventive cardiology to a national level through leadership positions in the National Lipid Association, American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. She has made significant contributions to the literature of her field, with more than 300 peer-reviewed publications, editorials, and clinical guideline statements for cardiovascular prevention and wellness. Much of this work forms the basis for our everyday practice of medicine. In addition, she has been a member of the editorial boards of major journals, such as Circulation, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and American Heart Journal, and a reviewer for Annals of Internal Medicine, JAMA, Lancet, and others.

Dr. Bittner is no stranger to honors and awards. She has received recognition for excellence in teaching, clinical care, scholarship, and research from UAB, the American Heart Association, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. In 2007, she was selected as a Fellow of the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Program for Women. She has been active on many hospital and medical school committees and a loyal member of ACP, receiving fellowship in 1990.

As a clinical cardiologist, Dr. Bittner is highly respected for her knowledge and clinical judgment; however, two roles in particular illustrate her willingness to move beyond the typical duties of an academic attending physician. The first is her position as Medical Director of the UAB clinic for uninsured and underinsured patients with heart failure, known as the HRTSA (Heart Failure Transitional Care Services for Adults) Clinic. The HRTSA Clinic, using an interdisciplinary care model, has for the past four years proven effective and cost-saving for patients in whom both disease and social factors are highly challenging. Her second innovative role was as Medical Officer of the Day in the university emergency department. From 2014 to 2017, she served as a still point of sound judgment, arranging practical and effective alternatives to hospital admission.

When asked what matters most in her work, she says, "I like taking care of patients and teaching clinical reasoning to students, residents, and fellows. There is nothing better than to walk a trainee through a case by asking strategic questions and see the `light go on' when they connect the dots."

Dr. Bittner's private time includes snow skiing and digital photography. She and her husband, Gary Alexander, especially enjoy time with their two grandchildren.

As a consummate physician, teacher, and scientist, Dr. Vera Bittner embodies the ideals and standards of the College and of the profession of medicine. In recognition of her outstanding work, the Alabama Chapter is pleased to present her the Laureate Award for 2019.

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