Below are those named to this month’s Internal Medicine Honor Roll—an employee recognition program where team members (clinicians, researchers, educators, trainees, staff, etc.) can recognize other team members who are doing great things.
We are pleased to recognize their contributions!
Stephanie Wellington, Fellowship Coordinator
Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Nominated by Hilary Humphrey and Taryn Owens
Stephanie was given a very tight turnaround deadline for our GI fellowship project, yet she handled the task with exceptional professionalism. Despite the urgency, she remained calm, focused, and efficient, completing all requirements promptly and without any complaints. Her ability to deliver high-quality work under pressure is truly appreciated and demonstrates strong reliability and dedication.
Aly Conrad, Division Coordinator
Hospital Medicine
Nominated by Jeydith Gutierrez
Aly has taken on many new tasks, as the newly appointed division coordinator for hospital medicine. Her organization, communication skills, drive and initiative have already made impacts in our division, including streamlining scheduling process, communication channels and many others. We are happy to have her on our team.
Juno Sung, Resident
Internal Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Juno is an exceptional senior resident who consistently advocates for interns, meets us where we are at in our training, and creates a supportive learning environment grounded in patience and respect. He brings joy and steady leadership to even the most difficult days at the VA, selflessly taking on extra responsibility without hesitation and without ever seeking recognition. As the night resident, when I was handed off an active chest pain patient from another team, he stayed beyond his long-call day shift to ensure I had the resources, guidance, and confidence to manage the night successfully–a true testament to his dedication and character.
Jessie Upah, Nurse Practitioner
Hospital Medicine (Emergency Response Team)
Anonymous nomination
Jessie did an incredible job leading a code blue that was difficult as it was on the gyn floor and not on a registered patient. She helped the room remain calm yet structured despite it being a high-stress situation. ROSC was achieved, and the patient was taken to cath lab and had a good outcome. She lead the rapid team in a way that contributed to saving a young man’s life. Excellent job!
Rishil Chopra, Clinical Assistant Professor
Hospital Medicine
Nominated by Aimee Foster
First of all, look at the guy. He emanates joy. He always has a smile on his face even when he’s having a bad day. He is always willing to lend a hand. He effortlessly lifts up the group, no matter the team he is working on. He has a great sense of humor. He puts up with us calling him Chops. I will say the one thing that’s questionable is his taste in NFL teams. The world needs more people like Chops!
Teresa Ruggle, Senior Designer
Internal Medicine (Design Center)
Anonymous nomination
Teresa is always so helpful at taking an idea and making it into a graphic that conveys an entire page of text. I appreciate how much effort she takes to understand the project to make the greatest graphic representation.
Masa Yamada, Clinical Assistant Professor
Nephrology and Hypertension
Anonymous nomination
Dr. Yamada recently presented his research on improving early kidney disease care at a national nephrology meeting, representing our institution and advancing work that will help improve care for patients with kidney disease.
The Entire Ryan White Program (Tricia Kroll, Mallory Dreasler, Kari Vrban, Viri Estudillo Areguin, Lisa Dye, Megan Mineart, Make Lawler, Bre Brown, Monica Rodriguez, Rina Chaudhry, Mike Bates, Ashley Brennan, Chelsea Gallagher, Quan Kaewpoowat, and Jack Stapleton)
Infectious Disease
Annymous nomination
The Ryan White Program demonstrated the very best of our organization this week, navigating a complex situation with grit, compassion, and unwavering commitment to our clients. Special thanks to our program leaders, Tricia Kroll and Malory Dreasler, for their steady leadership, program nurse Chelsea Gallagher, for tackling a monumental task that only she could do, and to UI’s pharmacy team for stepping up immediately to ensure our clients remained supported. Their responses remind me what is possible when people come together around a shared commitment to care.
Greg Kirkpatrick, Instructor
Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation
Anonymous nomination
Dr. Kirkpatrick is a truly exceptional physician whose contributions to malignant hematology deserve recognition. Delivering complex information with clarity and compassion, he ensures patients and families feel informed and supported even in the most difficult circumstances. Distilling intricate hematologic concepts into language that resonates with learners at every level, he creates an environment where education thrives naturally. Deliberately thoughtful in his communication, he models how to balance medical precision with genuine human connection. Distinguished by his ability to foster understanding across the care team, Dr. Kirkpatrick consistently elevates those around him. Deserving of this honor, he embodies the kind of physician educator that defines the best of Internal Medicine.
Dessie Myers, Nurse Practitioner
Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Occupational Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Dessie Myers is an exceptional clinician with excellent judgment and a clear, thoughtful approach to patient care. She is a fantastic colleague and a genuinely kind person. Today, without being asked, she took over pagers from our respiratory floor to help reduce my workload. We are very fortunate to have her on our ICU team.
MCD Pulmonary/ICU Providers (Mahmoud Abou Alaiwa, Desmond Barber, Kale Bongers, Sydney Bowmaster, Jacob Breitbach, Daniel Cook, Spyridon Fortis, Lily Ganz, Miles Hagner, Nabeel Hamzeh, Joel Kline, Sara Kraus, Alejandro Pezzulo, Charles Rappaport, Rolando Sanchez, Rachael Stadlen, David Stoltz, Roger Struble, Peter Szachowicz, Raul Villacreses, Yana Zemkova)
Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Occupational Medicine
Anonymous nomination
The pulmonary and critical care medicine providers at MCD campus are deserving of recognition for their unwavering commitment to delivering outstanding patient care while also taking the time to teach and mentor family medicine residents. Their prompt, knowledgeable, and genuinely helpful responses when called upon reflect a level of professionalism and collegiality that elevates the entire care team and makes a meaningful difference in the lives of both patients and learners.