FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact:

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Sheila Champlin - (901) 448-4957, schampli@uthsc.edu

Some 25 Medical Students and Residents Enrolled at

The University of Tennessee College of Medicine

Distribute 7,000 Chocolate Kisses in Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga for

Third Annual National Day of Solidarity for Compassionate Patient Care

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Memphis, Tenn. (Feb. 15, 2013) - On Feb. 14, some 25 medical students and resident physicians, as well as several faculty members at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine joined medical schools throughout North America to observe the Third Annual National Day of Solidarity for Compassionate Patient Care. The designation for this day grew out of the January 8, 2011, shootings in Tucson, Ariz., that critically injured then Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, injured 13 others and killed six people. The UT College of Medicine is part of the UT Health Science Center, the state's only public academic health science facility, which trains the majority of health care providers for the state and region.

The first trauma surgeon to treat Giffords, Randall Friese, MD, struck a chord when he stated to the press that his most important actions that terrible day were "holding her hand, speaking to her, and reassuring her that she was in the hospital and would be cared for." For the third consecutive year, medical schools and institutions across the United States and Canada stood in solidarity on Feb. 14, paying tribute to all compassionate caregivers like Dr. Friese and the University Medical Center team in Tucson who cared for the wounded and dying that day.

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation and its national Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) Chapters established the Annual National Day of Solidarity for Compassionate Patient Care. The GHHS Chapter at the UT College of Medicine, and the Transitional Year Residents at the UT College of Medicine, Chattanooga, distributed 350 special GHHS Solidarity buttons and more than 170 gold bags, filled with 7,000 chocolate kisses, to many of their colleagues at all three UTHSC major educational and clinical sites in Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga. UTHSC students also set up poster displays at each location to honor health care team members who exemplify the ideals of GHHS through consistent demonstration of high-touch skills, empathy, compassion, and patient-centered care.

The Gold Humanism Honor Society recognizes individuals who are exemplars of humanistic patient care. The power of the organization brings them together to sustain their own humanism and to inspire and nurture humanism in others. Begun in 2002, the GHHS nationwide has ninety-five medical school chapters and more than 13,000 members. For more information about GHHS and the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, visit www.humanism-in-medicine/ghhs.org.

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service. Offering a broad range of postgraduate and selected baccalaureate training opportunities, the main UTHSC campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. UTHSC also educates and trains cohorts of medicine, pharmacy and/or allied health students - in addition to medical residents and fellows - at its major sites in Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Nashville. Founded in 1911, during its more than 100 years, UT Health Science Center has educated and trained more than 53,000 health care professionals in academic settings and health care facilities across the state. For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

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