By Mickey Barley
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Dr. Anne Hill retires. |
On Friday evening last September 11th, the Kuenzel Room of the Michigan Union was the gathering place for alumni, friends and present members of the U-M Department of Anesthesiology. Their purpose was two-fold, to enjoy the company of old friends at a reunion dinner, and to honor Anne Hill, M.D., on the occasion of her retirement after 27 years of service with the Department of Anesthesiology in the University of Michigan Health System. The evening was warm and through the open windows the sounds of a pre-game pep rally could be heard in the distance, including the U-M band parading on State Street and the cheers of students from a nearby party.
After dinner, Dr. Paul Reynolds, Associate Chair, welcomed all to the reunion and the 18th Annual Robert B. Sweet, M.D. Memorial Conference scheduled for the next day Saturday, September 12th. Among the dinner guests were returning alumni and friends of Dr. Hill, including Edward Scott, James and Martha Split, An-Chi Wu, Alena Fabian, and Elizabeth Mavromatis. Timothy Rutter, M.D., Associate Chair, talked of Dr. Hill’s contributions during her career of 36 years in Anesthesiology. He recognized her in-depth medical and technical knowledge, her warm relations with her colleagues and coworkers, her concern for patients and families, her calmness in trying situations, and her unfailing honesty and ethical behavior. He thanked her for her years of unselfish dedication to the Department and presented her with a gift, a coveted University of Michigan chair. He also gave her a beautiful basket of flowers from her friends at Marquette Hospital, and voiced the unending thanks of all her friends and colleagues.
Dr. Hill thanked everyone who had held her in thought over the years. She thanked the Department as it exists today under the leadership of Kevin K. Tremper, Ph.D., M.D., FRCA, R. B. Sweet Professor and Chair. She recalled how it grew and changed under the leadership of past chairs: Drs. Georgine Stude, Jay Finch, Thomas DeKornfeld, Peter Cohen, and finally back to the days of the first Chair and founder of the Department, Dr. Robert B. Sweet. She told stories of the early days here and how she was determined to come to Ann Arbor from Belfast, Ireland in 1971, on the recommendation of her Departmental Chairman, Professor John W. Dundee, who was a colleague of Dr. Sweet. She told us of her reply when her mother asked where Ann Arbor was, “How the heck should I know, mummy, we’ll look it up in the atlas!” She especially thanked her husband, Bruce, for his unfailing support over the years. The audience responded with a rousing round of applause and the evening concluded with renewing of acquaintances and socializing.
On Saturday, an audience of 60 attended the R.B. Sweet Conference. Our objective this year was to promote the understanding of anesthesia management with emphasis on maternal and child health from labor and delivery, through the management of three special areas of pediatric anesthesiology. Our guest speaker was Gilbert J. Grant, M.D., Director of Obstetrical Anesthesiology at New York University Medical Center, speaking on “The Role of Epidural Anesthesia for Labor.” Presenting pediatric topics were members of the University of Michigan section of Pediatric Anesthesiology. Celia D’Errico, D.O. discussed “Pediatric Out-Patient Surgery,” Lori Riegger, M.D. spoke on “Pediatric Difficult Airway,” and Shobha Malviya, M.D. lectured on “Pediatric Deep and Conscious Sedation.” Drs. Grant, D’Errico, Riegger, and Malviya participated in a lively panel discussion moderated by Dr. Reynolds.
After the conference, the group reconvened at the tailgate celebration of University of Michigan Medical School’s 150th year, which was an all-class alumni barbecue at the U-M Golf Course, under enormous tents. Then, for the majority, it was on to the Michigan-Syracuse football game, which started the home season for Michigan in the newly refurbished U-M Stadium. It was a disappointing day for the U-M football team, but the stadium itself lived up to its advance billing. As always, the weather had been specially ordered for the Sweet Conference weekend, clear and amazingly warm for September, reaching the high 80s. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend to remember and repeat next year, with the19th Robert B. Sweet, M.D. Memorial Reunion and Conference scheduled for October 1st and 2nd, when the Michigan Wolverines will meet Purdue.