ing the BCRP and serving as division of pediatric emergency medi- cine and the Pediatric Emergency Fellowship. "Bob wears three major hats, with more underneath," says Barbara L. Philipp, MD, professor of pediatrics, BUSM, and medical direc- tor, The BirthPlace, BMC. colleague could certainly evoke Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat: a remarkable juggler, with a keen sense of humor and a gift for brightening children's lives. "He works very hard, and he gets things done because he is very connect- ed and respected and thoughtful," says Dr. Philipp. "He puts lots of effort and thought into things, so when he sug- gests something different or new, peo- ple listen. He takes an idea and makes life better for lots of people." Vinci led the creation of the pediatric emergency medicine program, fol- lowed two years later by the introduc- tion of another of his innovations, BMC's fellowship in pediatric emer- gency medicine. "Establishing a divi- sion of pediatric emergency medicine created greater awareness of the role of specially trained faculty in provid- ing care to acutely ill children," says Dr. Vinci. "It provided the opportuni- ty to develop and provide the special skills necessary to meet the needs of children with complex disease and to understand the priorities for the man- agement of children in emergency departments, while understanding the special role of educating families." Fellowship program at BMC. She now serves on the faculty at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mas- sachusetts, practicing pediatric emer- gency medicine and teaching emergen- cy medicine residents as well as resi- dents in pediatrics and fellows in pedi- atric emergency medicine. "but he's a daunting teacher, because he seems to remember not only every detail of every patient he ever saw, but also everything about your patients. Every case becomes an opportunity to review current evidence-based medi- cine and best practices. three seconds to gain the trust of the family of your patient. As an experi- enced clinician who still values the importance of bedside care, Bob is very effective in modeling this unique skill." As a beginning fellow, Dr. Prentiss was both astonished and delighted when Dr. Vinci offered to be her research mentor. "With everything else he had to do, it was still very important to him to continue to teach "He always made you feel like you were the only person on his agenda for the entire day." focused programs, The Kids Dr. Vinci's belief that "service is an important part of what physicians do." Kids Fund, a fundraising organization that works in collaboration with the hospital's Office of Development. Over the years, the fund has helped patients in a wide range of ways: pro- viding nutritional support for a patient's family; paying for a taxi ride home from the hospital; buying anti- biotics, eyeglasses, or a medical de- vice; or providing partial tuition for a city-bound child to go to summer camp. "This program continues as largely unsung in a city where the Jimmy Fund is much better known," says Dr. Pelton, "but it provides for very real, everyday needs for children in providing care to acutely ill children. It provided the opportunity to develop and provide the special skills necessary to meet the needs of children with complex disease and to understand the priorities for the management of children in emergency departments, while understanding the special role of educating families." |