Homewood Update Mayor Gives a Peek Into City Workings During State of the City
By Ally Morrison
Journal file photo by Jordan Wald
mayor said. “I want to say a special thank you to Sgt. (John) Carr for his Homewood Mayor Patrick hard work in putting this application McClusky presented the State of the together. The men and women of City address at the Homewood Homewood Police Department work Chamber of Commerce very hard to keep our citluncheon Jan. 18, recapizens and businesses ping last year’s accomsafe, and I am very proud plishments and giving of the work they do each insight into plans for the year.” coming year. Additionally, Going on now, McClusky said McClusky said, the city Homewood has released is leading a campaign to a Citizen Portal, allowing provide comprehensive residents to alert the city geofencing ads during of issues such as power the 2022 World Games. Homewood Mayor outages, sewer and water The campaign aims to issues and traffic conPatrick McClusky make Homewood guides cerns. available to people in all stadiums, The Brookwood Village Mall hotels and venues designated for property has been purchased, and World Games events and provide a McClusky said Homewood officials map with a guide to shopping and are working closely with Mountain dining in Homewood. Brook on its redevelopment. Homewood also is producing Additional companies also will videos to highlight the community be establishing a presence at as part of that effort. Wildwood Centre, including The city recently unveiled its Chipotle, Hibachi and the return of new Homewood Police App, which Chick-fil-A. will be available for use in the near In 2021, Homewood implementfuture, McClusky said. ed a new physical fitness training “We are excited to be rolling out regimen for the Homewood Fire the new Homewood Police App very Department. The department soon so that citizens can easily received the highest rating of 1 by access traffic reports and changes the Insurance Services Office, and and crime statistics, among other the department is expecting to rank things, from their phones,” the just as high during its 2022 inspec-
Grandview Names Homewood Woman Assistant CEO Ashley Mathews has been appointed assistant chief executive officer of Grandview Medical Center. Mathews, a resident of Homewood, has more than a decade of health care experience, including seven years Ashley Mathews at DeKalb Regional Medical Center in Fort Payne. There, she held leadership roles such as executive director of operations and business development, director of professional outreach, marketing director, recruitment director and interim executive director of employed clinics, holding responsibility for overseeing the management of DeKalb’s primary care, neurology, pediatrics, interventional cardiology and orthopedics clinic operations. Mathews also has experience in practice acquisitions and expansions and strategic planning. She began her health care career in Gadsden with Quality of Life Health Services Inc.,
where she was director of marketing and public relations. She earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations with a concentration in management from Auburn University and her master’s degree in health administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Mathews serves on the Forge Breast Cancer Survivor Center’s Leadership Team and is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Medical Group Management Association and the Alabama Rural Health Association.
President & CEO Earns Inspector Award Birmingham Zoo President and CEO Chris Pfefferkorn has been recognized as one of three Accreditation Inspectors of the Year by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Accreditation Commission. The award Chris Pfefferkorn spotlights zoo and aquarium professionals who donate their time to facilitate
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
NEWS tion, the mayor said. Less than 1% of departments across the nation achieve the rank. Last year, Homewood City Schools was named No. 1 in the Best School District in the Birmingham area listing by Niche. “One of the most important aspects of our community certainly is our award-winning school system.” McClusky said. “Our superintendent, Dr. Justin Heffner, and
McClusky said Homewood has released a Citizen Portal, allowing residents to alert the city of issues such as power outages, sewer and water issues and traffic concerns. school board have endured so much over the last year, and I certainly applaud their efforts while undergoing one of the most difficult times in our system’s history. I am very proud of the work he and the board have done making difficult decisions in uncertain and ever-changing times, while also continuing to improve the excellence we have come to expect from the Homewood school system. McClusky said there are a variety of other projects in the works for 2022, and he thanked residents and officials for their support. inspections for fellow organizations and whose work is of exceptional quality. “We are elated that Chris has received this important award,” Birmingham Zoo Deputy Director Lori Perkins said. “It speaks to his professionalism and commitment to our industry. He has dedicated hundreds of hours to helping other zoos attain the highest standards. The Inspector of the Year award demonstrates Chris’ vast experience and professionalism.” Before becoming president at the Birmingham Zoo, Pfefferkorn was senior vice president at the Birmingham Zoo, deputy director of Living Collections at the Oregon Zoo, general curator at the Ellen Trout Zoo and a zookeeper at the San Antonio Zoo. He also has worked with the Chipangali Large Carnivore Project in Zimbabwe, which focuses on leopard and brown hyena conservation. The association is a nonprofit group that grants accreditation to programs, organizations and institutions based on meeting or exceeding established standards and best practices. Fewer than 10% of about 2,800 animal exhibitors licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture acquire the accreditation. The Birmingham Zoo is one of only 235 zoos and the only one in Alabama to receive AZA accreditation.
Photo courtesy UAB
8 • Thursday, January 27, 2022
Dr. Selwyn Vickers is a world-renowned surgeon, pancreatic cancer researcher, and pioneer in health disparities research.
Vickers Becomes CEO of UAB Heath System
Dr. Selwyn Vickers, senior vice president for medicine and dean of the Heersink School of Medicine at UAB, has assumed the role of CEO for the UAB Health System and the UAB/ Ascension St. Vincent’s Alliance. He also will continue in the dean role. Vickers replaces the retiring Will Ferniany, Ph.D., who led the Health System for nearly 13 years. Dawn Bulgarella, previously the chief financial officer for the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System, has taken on the role of senior operational leader and president of the system. She is also the chief financial officer for the UAB/ Ascension St. Vincent’s Alliance and is responsible for combined annual budgets in excess of $5 billion. Reid Jones continues in his role as CEO of UAB Medicine, rounding out the senior management team along with Dr. Tony Jones, chief physician executive. Vickers, a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, is a world-renowned surgeon, pancreatic cancer researcher, pioneer in health disparities research and native of Demopolis. He took on the role of dean in 2013 and was a member of the surgical faculty from 1994 to 2006. He spent the intervening years as chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He earned his medical degrees and completed his residency at Johns Hopkins University. Among Vickers’ priorities is to battle disparities in health care in Alabama by building on UAB’s outreach to provide affordable health care to people throughout the state despite socioeconomic barriers. “From a young age, I knew I wanted to practice medicine; but more than that, I wanted to make a difference in the lives of other people,” Vickers said in a statement from UAB. “Throughout my career, I have been passionate about clinical care, research and education. I have been the medical student, the trainee, the researcher, the
physician, the teacher and the administrative leader. “As we move forward into 2022 and the years beyond, UAB will continue to pursue high-quality patient care and the best possible patient outcomes, and continue to grow our nationally recognized programs to transform this part of the country into a healthier place to live and work.” Vickers was a founder of the UAB Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center and was principal investigator of UAB’s first Specialized Programs of Research Excellence for pancreatic cancer. He was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor, class of 2021. The academy recognizes living Alabamians for their efforts and accomplishments in serving the state and country.
Realignment at UAB
Vickers said aligning the Health System with the School of Medicine in a combined CEO/dean role is common among academic medical centers. “A singular leader can fuse the interests of all groups at our enterprise and take a thoughtful approach to finances, operations and outcomes of both worlds,” he said. Additionally, he said, “Ongoing alignment is achieved through our ability to focus on creating excellence in our individual lanes, then coming together in unity for the shared goal of improving the quality and outcomes for our patients.” UAB President Ray Watts praised Vickers and the rest of the leadership team in the statement. “The selection of Dr. Vickers as CEO of both the Health System and the alliance will ensure a seamless transition of executive leadership and an uninterrupted commitment to excellence,” he said. “We are proud to have this extraordinarily talented team of leaders, who will elevate our ability to provide the best patient care for our community, state, region and nation.”
