Current, retired UofL faculty to be honored at 22nd Annual Doctor’s Ball

For 22 years, the annual Doctors’ Ball, hosted by the Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Foundation, part of KentuckyOne Health, has honored the service of local physicians and community leaders, and in 2017, four current and two retired faculty members and one alumna of the University of Louisville are among the honorees.

The 2017 Doctors’ Ball will recognize:

Gordon Tobin, MD – Ephraim McDowell Physician of the Year
University of Louisville Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Dr. Gordon Tobin became a surgeon because he was attracted to the challenges of intervening in major illnesses and injuries – addressing acute needs to alleviate pain and suffering. In 1978, Tobin came to the University of Louisville where he established himself as a triple threat: skilled clinician, teacher and researcher developing innovative approaches to problems arising from surgeries to treat cancer and heart disease, and from critical injuries like burns.

Dawne Gee, WAVE 3 News – Community Leader of the Year
Dawne Gee gives time to many causes, hosting as many as 200 charity events in a year. The Louisville native got into TV news more than two decades ago, while also enjoying 17 years in radio, including at WLOU, Kentucky’s first African American station. She currently anchors newscasts Monday through Friday at 5:30, 7 and 7:30 p.m., along with WAVE Country with Dawne Gee weekdays at noon, profiling people working on behalf of the community. Gee has previously suffered from health issues including cancer and stroke, and has used her platform to help educate community members, also connecting them to the proper resources for help.

Valerie Briones-Pryor, M.D. – Compassionate Physician Award
Dr. Valerie Briones-Pryor is described by coworkers as a “team player who advocates for patients, treating them like a member of her own family.” The University of Louisville School of Medicine alumna is not only directing care during a patient’s hospital stay, but also looking after details like transportation, follow-up appointments and funds to cover medications over the long haul. Briones-Pryor continues to see patients in the hospital about one day a week, but her main focus is on the role of hospitalists like herself – physicians who work exclusively in the hospital, quarterbacking in-patient care and serving as liaisons with patients’ private doctors.

David Casey, MD, and Valerie Casey – Excellence in Mental Health
Dr. David Casey, chair of the University of Louisville Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Valerie Casey, director of the University of Louisville Women’s Center, work both separately and together to empower individuals and improve lives, one person at a time. Dr. Casey introduced the field of geriatric psychiatry to Kentucky. Under Valerie Casey’s leadership, the UofL Women’s Center likewise promotes advocacy and empowerment by mentoring and educating women to successfully transition into the workforce. The Caseys have extended their focus on empowerment to victims of human trafficking.

Norton Waterman, MD – Excellence in International Humanitarian Service
Retired surgeon Dr. Norton Waterman died on Oct. 6, but his legacy in the community lives on. Waterman noticed years ago that significant quantities of unused hospital supplies – from scrubs and bandages to wheelchairs and incubators – were getting tossed into landfills or left to gather dust in storerooms. Waterman, a clinical assistant professor of surgery at the University of Louisville, enlisted the participation of Louisville area hospitals and private doctors’ offices, collecting unused supplies, old model beds and medical equipment to send to impoverished countries and overseas doctors. The collection project was later dubbed Supplies Over Seas, which is now one of only 15 medical surplus recovery organizations nationwide. The organization has collected and distributed nearly 1.5 million pounds of medical equipment and supplies since Waterman founded it. At the upcoming Doctors' Ball, Waterman's family will be presented with a posthumous award in his honor – the Excellence in International Humanitarian Service Award – recognizing the impact Waterman had on the community.

Gerald Temes, MD – KentuckyOne Health Excellence in Leadership Award
Former Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson describes Dr. Temes as “a listener who seeks facts” whose “confidence and compassion enable him to lead organizations to the next level.” Temes’ portfolio of community leadership is extensive, including spearheading development and then serving as founding chair of the Jewish Hospital Rudd Heart and Lung Center, two terms on the Louisville Metro Board of Health, and decades of service to the Jewish Community of Louisville. The retired University of Louisville Professor of Thoracic Surgery says he is most proud of the creation of the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence in 2012, when he served as board chair of what was then Jewish Hospital HealthCare Services.

Sarah Moyer, MD – Humana Physician Excellence in Community Health Award
University of Louisville Assistant Professor of Health Management and Systems Sciences Dr. Sarah Moyer loves solving complex problems. Named director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness this past July – just seven years after graduating from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia – Moyer draws a parallel between treating individual patients, which she continues to do one day a week, and looking out for the health of the 750,000 residents of Metro Louisville. Moyer says she went into medicine because she wanted to help people stay healthy, and then became increasingly aware of the impact of social and environmental factors on every individual’s well-being. She went into public health, she says, “because I wanted to go upstream to help make a bigger difference in people’s quality of life.”

This year’s event is planned for Saturday, Oct. 21, at the Marriott Louisville Downtown, 280 W. Jefferson St. The black-tie event will include cocktails and silent auction beginning at 6:30 p.m., then dinner and an awards ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Guests will enjoy a Casino Royale experience during cocktail hour and after the program concludes. Live entertainment will be provided by Stretta. Tickets are $300 each.

Proceeds from this year’s Doctors’ Ball will benefit the Jewish Hospital Trager Transplant Center patient assistance fund. The Trager Transplant Center is nationally recognized for performing Kentucky’s first adult heart, pancreas, heart-lung and liver transplants, as well as the first minimally invasive kidney donation in Kentucky. More than 5,000 organs have been transplanted at Jewish Hospital since 1964 including 500 hearts, 900 livers and 3,000 kidneys.

Tickets for the Doctors' Ball can be purchased online.