“We already see more than 32,000 patients here each year, and we anticipate that number growing,” said Joern Soltau, chair of the UofL Health – Eye Institute and the University of Louisville Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. “The best part about having such a variety of expertise with our physicians is that no matter your vision issue, we have an expert to help and it’s all here under one roof.”

The newly formed institute is located within the Kentucky Lions Eye Center building and expands on the 50-plus-year legacy started by the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation to improve eye care access and make vision services affordable to all.

“UofL Health and the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation share a passion for serving our community and breaking down barriers to care,” said Tom Miller, chief executive officer of UofL Health. “This eye institute is another example of our commitment to increase access and grow points of care. We’ve done that for emergency care, cancer care, heart care and many more. Today we dedicate this institute because healthy vision is such an important part of healthy living.”

The Eye Institute is home to nationally renowned eye care specialists who are dedicated to serving their patients, from routine eye care, glasses and contact lenses with the assistance of Korrect Optical, to treatment for complicated eye diseases or conditions.

Some of the key services and treatment options provided include:

• Cornea and external disease
• Refractive surgery (laser vision correction)
• Contact lenses
• Advanced cataract surgery
• Glaucoma
• Retina and vitreous
• Electrophysiology
• Uveitis
• Oculofacial and plastic surgery
• Neuro-ophthalmology
• Optical shop
• Ocular prosthetics

Located within UofL Heath’s downtown academic medical campus, the Eye Institute serves as the hub for today’s vision care and the treatments of future. In partnership with the UofL School of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, nearly 300 residents and fellows train here to care for patients across the state.

“We are advancing a facility that has been and will continue to be on the forefront of ocular health for decades to come,” said Toni Ganzel, dean of the UofL School of Medicine. “I view milestones such as this through the lens of how we extend the education and training of our students, residents and fellows. And by extension, how these efforts contribute to the care of our patients through clinical care and research.”

The UofL Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences currently has basic science research grants totaling $3.14 million from sources that include:

• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• S. Department of Defense (DOD)
• Research to Prevent Blindness Foundation
• Foundation Fighting Blindness
• Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence
• Robert W. Rounsavall, Jr. Family Foundation

On April 21, UofL Health announced that three primary care providers who are UofL School of Medicine faculty along with eight first-year resident physicians are opening a new office in Medical Plaza 1, Suite 306, 4402 Churchman Ave.

The new office becomes a second location of UofL Physicians – Family Medicine at Cardinal Station on Central Avenue.��

“This is a great opportunity to increase access and health services to an underserved population,” said Jonathan Becker, chair of the Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine at the UofL School of Medicine. “The immediate benefit is to south Louisville, but long term, the impact is much larger as our future physicians share best practices developed here with other communities and the state.”

“Expanding the School of Medicine’s Family Medicine Residency Program is good for UofL and UofL Health and mostly, good for the people served by Mary & Elizabeth Hospital,” said Toni Ganzel, dean of the UofL medical school and vice president for academic medical affairs at UofL. “In 2019, with the help of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, UofL and UofL Health took on a struggling health care system and promised that it would not close but would, in fact, grow.

“This expansion is another example in that continued growth and represents our ongoing commitment to providing high quality care to the people of Louisville today as we educate and train the health care workforce for tomorrow.”

“Mary & Elizabeth Hospital provides services for a population that has tremendous need for accessible primary care,” said Melisa Adkins, chief executive officer at UofL Health – Mary & Elizabeth Hospital. “The community we serve has above-average rates of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. The opening of this clinic with 11 new family medicine providers will have immediate positive impact on the health care of our south Louisville community.”

Current patients can move their care to the Mary & Elizabeth Hospital location or continue to receive health care services from other providers at the Cardinal Station location, Suite 100, 215 Central Avenue.

In honor of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, UofL News talked with Ganzel about her journey into medicine and science.

UofL News: Tell us about your journey into medicine.

Toni Ganzel: I didn’t grow up with the goal of going into medicine. In fact, my first life aspiration that I can remember was wanting to be Wonder Woman because I fancied the idea of flying around the world and saving people. And I also was fond of the red high heel boots and the outfit.

The sixth grade was a pivotal time in deciding what career to pursue because it was then that I fell in love with science. Science mesmerized me – especially biology – and I was fascinated by how the body worked. So, what I thought I wanted to do then was to be a high school biology teacher. My other two areas of avid interest in middle school and high school were cheerleading and student government. This led to deciding my dream job was to be a high school biology teacher, cheerleading coach and student government sponsor.

But when I got to college and took more advanced sciences, I realized that teaching high school biology may not challenge me enough and I considered medical research instead. A friend suggested I take the MCAT and go into medicine, which is something I hadn’t considered. I took the advice, took the MCAT, applied to medical school, got accepted and have never looked back. I can’t imagine any other profession bringing me the joy and fulfillment that being a pediatric ENT surgeon and medical educator did. And for the past 10 years, being the dean is equally rewarding and has been an amazing opportunity to help shape the future of the institution and to work every day with talented students, residents, faculty and staff.

My path to medicine was almost serendipitous and I tell students today that path doesn’t necessarily work for everyone, that more intentionality is needed. As I take a step back and think about how to find the sweet spot of a career, it’s marrying your goals and passions and seeking opportunities to bring those two things together. I loved science, loved helping people and loved learning. Medicine was the perfect marriage.

UofL News: What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced in your career?

Ganzel: The biggest challenge was and is the time commitment. The time challenge started in medical school and has continued ever since. While I try and make a conscious effort to balance work and family, it’s always a struggle.

UofL News: What has been your most rewarding moment in medicine?

Ganzel: Rather than a single moment, it has been a series of moments and it’s on really two tiers – thinking about being a physician versus thinking about being dean. My field of training was ENT surgery and specifically pediatric ENT, so I did lots of tonsils and tubes and airway work and every one of those was so rewarding. I probably did 15,000 tubes and 10,000 tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies, and never got bored. Children had repeated ear infections and hearing loss and they nearly always got better when they got tubes. Children snored and obstructed at night from large tonsils and adenoids, and they nearly always got better when they had their tonsils and adenoids out. It was so gratifying to be able to improve the quality of life of not just the children, but their families as well.

Then, when I think about being the dean, and previously the student affairs dean, it has been so rewarding to touch students’ lives and watch their own professional growth and development. I had the joy of teaching students and then watching them develop incredibly successful careers as physicians and as leaders. Now, as dean, I not only get to work with students and trainees, but with incredible faculty and staff and fantastic colleagues and leaders across the institution and across the country. I am very blessed to be able to do work that I love.

UofL News: What would you tell other women interested in joining the medical field?

Ganzel: If you love science, if you love learning, if you love helping people, it is a wonderful field. However, you also need to be mindful of the time commitment because it’s a big one. And while work-life balance will be a challenge, it is a profession that will bring you great joy, humility and gratification.

UofL News: What is one thing you wish you could tell your past self during medical school?

Ganzel: I would tell myself to remember that medical school is not a destination, but it’s part of a career journey. And on those days that feel daunting, to keep the long view in mind and take time to remember why I chose this life career.

UofL News: What do you like to do outside of work?

Ganzel: I love spending time with my family and my dogs. I like to exercise, my husband and I like to travel and we love mountain sports of hiking, skiing and mountain biking. And while we like to be active, we also enjoy reading and relaxing as well.��

UofL News: What is your hope for the future of medicine?

Ganzel: That this pandemic gets over. It has been a nightmare. But I’m proud of the way that we have risen to the occasion and the resilience that we have shown.

Another hope for the future of medicine is that our increased focus and commitment around health equity will result in better health care and better health for all. Finally, I hope that our research discoveries will continue to lead to new cures and healthier people.

The University of Louisville School of Medicine’s has been established by several department chairs to address systemic racism. This is in response to asking for ideas and support in making UofL the nation’s premier anti-racist metropolitan research university.

“I am proud and deeply grateful for the leadership of these faculty who are using their philanthropic and other financial resources to create a fund that will promote diversity at the School of Medicine both now and for the future,” said Toni Ganzel, dean of the .

The endowment has been established by: 

• Sean Francis, chair of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Women’s Health
• Ronald Gregg, chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
• William Guido, chair of Anatomical Sciences & Neurobiology
• Irving Joshua, chair of Physiology
• Maureen McCall, professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
• Craig S. Roberts, chair of Orthopaedic Surgery

“This might have more impact at UofL than anything else I have done,” Gregg said.

The endowment is expected to be used for scholarships, resident stipends, faculty recruitment and retention packages and other unforeseen opportunities. A dean-appointed selection committee composed of diverse members of the School of Medicine faculty, staff and students will help guide spending decisions.

To learn more about UofL’s anti-racism agenda and diversity efforts, please visit the following websites:

Consider making a gift using the secure online giving page, follow .

Faculty and staff have the option to make contributions by payroll deduction to “UofL Endw Excellence Diversity” for instructions for setting up payroll deduction through ULink.��

For questions or to establish a multi-year pledge, please contact University Advancement at 502.852.2794.

Toni Ganzel, MD, dean of the UofL School of Medicine, has received an additional appointment as vice president for academic medical affairs. Reporting to President Neeli Bendapudi and Provost Beth A. Boehm, Ganzel will oversee research activity at the Health Sciences Center, including the centers and institutes. In addition, she will oversee areas including diversity and inclusion, faculty development and student health.

She will work closely with UofL Health CEO Tom Miller to ensure successful teaching and research at the recently expanded UofL Health network.

“Dr. Ganzel has done an excellent job as dean of the School of Medicine,” said Bendapudi. “I value her expertise and her leadership and look forward to continuing to work with her in this new role. She and Tom Miller are a great team to lead medical education, research and care in our community.”

Bendapudi and Ganzel will join nine other individuals from a variety of disciplines on the newly formed UofL Health Board of Directors. The other board members from the university are:

• Kelly McMasters, chair, Department of Surgery
• Diane Medley, member, UofL Board of Trustees
• Fred Williams, physician, UofL Health

Community members include:

• Pat Mulloy, of counsel, Wyatt, Tarrant and Combs
• Ben Breier, CEO, Kindred Healthcare
• Heidi Margulis, retired chief corporate affairs officer, Humana
• Junior Bridgeman, CEO, Bridgeman Hospitality
• William Ballard, attorney and former health care executive
• T. Richard Riney, former executive vice president, CAO of Ventas

“These board members understand the complexities of today’s health care climate and will deliver a vision for the future,” Bendapudi said. “The foundation for UofL Health is strong. This board, along with the continued support of our elected officials in Frankfort, ensures our ability to deliver excellence, innovation and compassionate care for all in the Commonwealth.”

UofL’s Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Dentistry each host a White Coat Ceremony encouraging students to enter into an inner, personal contract, accepting the obligations specific to their practice, as they are cloaked with a white coat.

University of Louisville President Neeli Bendapudi, PhD, gave the keynote address to more than 160 medical students during the School of Medicine Class of 2023 White Coat Ceremony on July 28.

“The ceremony is designed to clarify for students that a physician’s responsibility is to take care of patients, care for the patients and practice humanism in medicine,” said Toni Ganzel, MD, MBA, FACS, dean of the School of Medicine.

Nearly 50 doctorate of nursing practice students will receive a white coat on Aug. 15 during a ceremony on the UofL Health Sciences Center campus. Presiding will be Sonya Hardin, PhD, MBA, MHA, CCRN, NP-C, FAAN, dean of the UofL School of Nursing.

Finally, 120 dental and 30 dental hygiene students will participate in a White Coat Ceremony Aug. 24 at The Palace Theatre for the UofL School of Dentistry’s event.

David C. Johnsen, DDS, MS, dean of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics, will give the keynote, with UofL School of Dentistry Dean T. Gerard Bradley, BDS, MS, DrMedDent, presiding. Johnsen, a pediatric dentist, will speak on critical thinking in learning and professional environments.

The board appointed Brad Shafer vice president for university advancement. Shafer, who holds a juris doctorate from Creighton University School of Law, has served as interim vice president since summer 2018.

The board also formalized the appointment of Rehan Khan as vice provost and chief information officer. Khan earned his MBA at Rivier University.

The board also approved the appointment of Teresa Reed as dean of the School of Music and the continuations of Toni Ganzel and Craig Blakely as deans of the schools of Medicine and of Public Health and Information Sciences, respectively.

Reed, who holds a PhD from Indiana University, previously served as associate dean of the Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tulsa.

Ganzel has served in several roles since arriving at the UofL Division of Otolaryngology in 1983. She has served as dean since 2013. Blakely served as dean, School of Rural Public Health, at the Texas A&M Health Science Center before taking the reins at UofL in 2013.

In other action, the board heard a presentation on UofL’s finances, which included a recommendation that UofL increase tuition by 2.5% for the 2019-20 year. The board also heard a brief presentation on a new internship program that will provide opportunities for 40 UofL students to work with the executive branch of state government, with intent to grow the program to more than 200 in coming years. UofL already has a highly successful internship program with the General Assembly.

Also at the meeting, the board:

• Approved creation of a certificate in distilled business spirits (see ).
• Approved creation of the Center for Archeology and Cultural Heritage (CACHe). Located in the new UofL Fine Arts Institute on Rowan Street, the CACHe will serve as home to archaeology labs and collections and participating Anthropology Department faculty.
• Approved the naming of the softball field at Ulmer Stadium after Don Dobina. A former Cardinal football player and well-known supporter of UofL softball, Dobina was president and CEO of MPC Promotions. He also was founder and president of the nationally recognized Louisville Lady Sluggers Softball Club.
• Approved renaming Cardinal Arena to L&N Federal Credit Union Arena. Cardinal Arena houses the offices, training and competition facilities for the Cardinals’ volleyball team. L&N recently donated $2 million to the athletic department, in addition to previous donations of $160,000.

The ribbon-cutting will take place at 12:15 p.m., Tuesday, May 22, at the Medical Mile starting point on the sidewalk next to the Health Sciences Center Plaza near Kornhauser Library, 500 S. Preston St.

The Medical Mile follows a 1-mile path from the HSC Plaza north to East Muhammad Ali Boulevard, east to South Hancock Street, south to East Chestnut Street, west to South Floyd Street, north to East Muhammad Ali again, and finishing up by going south on South Preston back to the starting point. A map of the path can be found . The mile is marked along the way with the Medical Mile graphic image and with one-fourth, one-half and three-quarter mile markers as well.

The creation of the Medical Mile was part of the School of Medicine’s SMART Wellness Task Force and the Being Well Initiative, said School of Medicine Chief of Staff Karan Chavis, and is the product of the work of the committee under the leadership of former co-chair Miranda Sloan and current co-chair Tamara Iacono.

“We know that walking is great physical activity that virtually anyone can do, and with the sidewalks we have surrounding our buildings, we have a ready-made way to create a dedicated walking space for people,” Chavis said. “Through the spring and summer, we are encouraging people to create ‘walking trains,’ picking up people along the way and walking together.”

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The 171,000-square-foot facility will be home to the general pediatrics and the specialty and subspecialty children’s programs of the university. This will include not only caregivers from the Department of Pediatrics, but also from other departments including neurology, ophthalmology and surgery.

“This facility symbolizes the growth of our efforts to meet the health care needs of the children of Louisville, the region, and beyond,” said Gregory C. Postel, MD, interim president of UofL. “Our breadth of services has grown to the point that it makes sense for us to have our own facility, as opposed to locations scattered throughout the Louisville Medical Center.”

“For decades we have provided high quality care to our patients. Now we will be able to bring an equally high quality experience to them and their caregivers,” said Gerard Rabalais, MD, interim CEO of University of Louisville Physicians and former chair of the Department of Pediatrics. “Further, we truly will be able to provide them with a medical home … A home where we are bringing together nearly all of the services we provide to children in an outpatient setting with a truly multidisciplinary approach. This is the future of health care delivery, especially for our children.”

The outpatient services of the Wendy Novak Diabetes Center also will be located in the building. Norton Children’s Hospital also will be providing care within the building, including infusion and laboratory services.

UofL officials anticipate nearly 140,000 patient visits per year. Additionally, approximately 500 employees and learners will inhabit the building.

These people will be there not only to provide patient care, but also because of the educational and training mission of the Health Sciences Center. The multidisciplinary approach to the care provided will carry over into this mission as well.

“Our thinking about how we educate our future health care providers has changed significantly in recent years,” said Toni Ganzel, MD, interim executive dean for the UofL Health Sciences Center. “We no longer provide information in very discrete silos, but rather integrate the information in a multidisciplinary manner. This is applicable not only in the classroom, but also with our clinical training. We have come to understand how important it is for the surgeon to talk with the general physician and the nursing staff and nutritionists so that we have a team approach to patient-centered care.”

“One of our guiding principles in the design and construction of this building is how to make the delivery of care more convenient for our patients,” said Charles Woods, MD, interim chair of the Department of Pediatrics. “By bringing together the specialists who focus on children into a single location, we hope it will transform how care is delivered and education and training are provided. It is very exciting to see this coming together.”

The building is scheduled to open in July 2018.

More photos from today’s ceremony are .��

Video from today’s event is below: 

Speakers included Melissa Shuter, conference program chair and executive director of Business Operations; Toni Ganzel, dean of the School of Medicine and interim executive dean for Health Sciences; Dawne Gee, WAVE 3 News anchor and host; and Maryanne Honeycutt Elliott, an instructor in the Delphi Center. Participants were also treated to intermittent mindfulness exercises led by Karen Newton, and a mindfulness workshop, led by Katrina Kaufman, both from UofL Health Promotions.

Toni Ganzel

Toni Ganzel talked about her career path, which led to her becoming the first female dean of the School of Medicine in its 180-year existence. She grew up in an Air Force family, which taught her how to be adaptable. When she was young, she wanted to be Wonder Woman, complete with red boots. When she realized Wonder Woman was fictional, she wanted to be a flight attendant, also complete with red boots.

In seventh grade, however, Ganzel started to become interested in science.

“I didn’t want to go to med school, but I did well on my MCAT so I thought ‘what the heck?’” she said.

Eventually, Ganzel also received her MBA as she thought it would help her better serve patients and the medical field in general.��

When Ganzel was approached to take on the then-interim dean role in 2012, her response was “Who, me?” She said her response would be much different now. “Why not me?” she said.

Ganzel said the sweet spot of leadership is when passion, goals and skillset meet opportunity and timing. She also noted her optimism about the future of UofL.

“We’re at an inflection point,” she said. “Bright days are ahead.”

Dawne Gee

Dawne Gee, who identified as a “proud UofL alum” during her presentation, discussed the challenges she has overcome since fighting a cancer diagnosis in 2014 and experiencing a stroke on Nov. 25, 2016, noting she can stand for about 26 minutes at a time and is still recovering. She said being mindful of her attitude is what has helped her most through these struggles.

“Attitude is like your underwear. You get up, you pick what you’re going to wear and if you don’t like it, you change it. You either put on a pair that is comfy or you put on a pair that rides you all day,” she joked. “Happiness is a choice. The only difference between a good day and a bad day is attitude.”

Gee encouraged attendees to go on a “mental health diet,” in which they go seven consecutive days saying nothing but good things. She admits she starts this diet over all the time.

“If I was still in that place I was in when I had the stroke, when I couldn’t walk … I wrapped myself in depression like a coat,” Gee said, holding back tears. “One day I made a decision to stop. Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right. But you have to claim your ‘I am.’ And I am whole.”

Gee also discussed her career at WAVE, which she joined in 1994. At first, she was told she would never be on TV, but she persisted.

“They didn’t know me. I applied to WAVE nine times,” she said. “Every time I hear someone saying ‘you’re not going to do it,’ I just cut that chatter out. We have to decide for ourselves what we can do.”

Gee also warned attendees to be aware of what others may be going through.

“I guarantee someone in this room – someone at your table – is going through a battle you know nothing about,” she said. “If someone snaps at you, cut them a break. You don’t know what they’re going through.”

Finally, Gee told participants to take care of themselves and “be in the moment you’re in because it won’t come again.”

Maryanne Honeycutt Elliott

Maryanne Honeycutt Elliott guided participants through the DiSC assessments they were tasked with taking prior to the conference. DiSC scores profiles based on a series of questions and ranks them based on potential strengths and weaknesses in Dominance (results-oriented, decisive, independent), Influence (enthusiastic, talkers), Steadiness (stable, agreeable, helpful) and Conscientious (detailed, orderly, persistent).

“We can flex into any style, we just tend to come back to the comfortable domain,” Elliott explained. “DiSC is designed to grow self-awareness. Part of leadership is knowing yourself well. Self-awareness is the key to working effectively with others. Great teams are comprised of people all over the DiSC chart.”

Videos/statistics

The conference also included videos and slides created to make attendees think about perceptions, reality and leadership attributes.

For example, women speak about 20,000 words a day, or about 13,000 more words than men. In 2015, women made, on average, 80 cents to the dollar. The women’s labor force participation rate is projected to be 57 percent by 2020.  

Commercials shown included Pantene’s “Not Sorry Shine Strong;” Always’ “Like a Girl;” and Dove’s “You’re More Beautiful Than You Think.”

Also, Drew Dudley’s “Leading with Lollipops” TEDx talk was shown and is embedded below.

The 6th annual Pathways Women’s Leadership Conference is scheduled for May 18, 2018.��