cardiologist for questions. He has an evidence-based approach but it’s very common sense.” A year after he joined the UCSF Fresno faculty, Dr. Wessel earned the Kaiser Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1971. He won those same accolades for teaching another two times. “He’s just a doctor’s doctor and he’s a fabulous teacher,” Dr. Peterson praised. As one of the most beloved and respected teacher’s in the UCSF Fresno Medical Education program, Dr. Wessel has been called a “do-it-all” cardiologist. He has expertise in interventional cardiology, myocardial pathology, congestive heart failure, pacemakers, and pulmonary hypertension. His published articles and book chapters range from outlining when ablation should be considered to treat atrial fibrillation to looking at the effects of cigarette smoke exposure on clotting and pharmacology in the cath lab. Dr. Wessel left teaching to join Kaiser Permanente Fresno as a cardiologist, eventually becoming Chief of Cardiology there. When he retired he came back to teaching helping re-establish
a UCSF cardiovascular fellowship in 2007. Dr. Wessel said he’s grateful he’s been able to continue in a role he relishes – “teaching the residents which I love. I really enjoy watching them grow.” In his spare time Dr. Wessel takes to open water seeking the thrill of heeling his craft with the wind. “I was a sailor but not a racer when I met him,” said Dr. Kallsen, who learned to be one joining Dr. Wessel for the High Sierra Regatta on Huntington Lake. Dr. Wessel sailed on large vessels before his Fresno medical career, most notably the USS Tripoli (LPH-10), which served three deployments in Vietnam starting in 1967. Dr. Wessel was awarded a U.S. Navy commendation medical with combat distinction for Meritorious Achievement as a Medical Officer. Despite the long list of accomplishments, colleagues say Dr. Wessel comes across as humble and approachable. “He’s confident, but really low-key,” described Dr. Peterson. “And he comes across the same way to patients. He really listens and when he’s with you. He’s engaged with you.”
Bringing rare care to Central California
His engagement with patients is what families and his students also rave about with Dr. H. Terry “Hutch” Hutchison. The pediatric neurologist made news headlines this year when he became the first to commercially administer Spinraza for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) to one of his longtime patients, 8-year-old Hayden Calafiore. Touted as a miracle drug that can prolong life and even stop symptoms if given early enough, the drug also was also part of political rhetoric about why healthcare costs are skyrocketing because of drug prices. It costs nearly $20,000 a dose. While other hospitals were struggling with insurance companies to figure out how to make the drug available, Dr. Hutchison moved mountains and worked with Community Regional pharmacists to speed the process up. Patients like Hayden have little time to waste as the disease destroys the nerves that send signals to muscles, robbing them of the power to walk and breathe on their own. She wasn’t supposed to live past 2 years, her mother Jennifer Calafiore said. “Fresno has become a light for the entire world with this
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CENTRAL VALLEY PHYSICIANS
Winter 2018