News Briefs

New AMS General Director Named

Jose Garcia Jr., M.D., vice chair of the Department of Pediatrics at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, has been named the general director and financial officer of Affiliated Medical Services, a non-profit corporation established to provide medical and surgical services to the patients of the Harris County Hospital District.

AMS acts as the contractual organization for faculty and resident physicians from both The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and Baylor College of Medicine to provide services to the hospital district.

“It is with exhilaration, excitement and humility that I undertake the responsibility the AMS Corporation has entrusted to me,” Garcia said. “I look forward to working closely with both medical schools and the hospital district to provide quality care to the citizens of Harris County.”

Class of 2007 Earns High Scores

The scores are in from the National Board Dental Examination Part I for the D.D.S. class of 2007 at The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston. The class scored well above the national average, both in overall average and in each individual section.

Thirty-nine percent of the class scored 90 or above on the examination. On the Dental Anatomy section, 66 percent of the students scored 90 or higher.

Dental Branch Dean Catherine Flaitz, D.D.S., expressed special thanks to Jay Ferguson, D.D.S., associate professor of restorative dentistry and biomaterials, and the other faculty members who prepared the students for the exam this summer.

Nursing Students Pass Exams

The University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston had a 100 percent pass rate on exams for two groups of students who graduated in May – the first class in the fast-track bachelor’s degree program and the nurse anesthesia students.

All 10 graduates of the first class in the Accelerated Bacc2 program passed the National Council Licensure Examination for licensure as Registered Nurses. The fast-track Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program condenses what is usually a 20-month course of study to 12 months. It is designed for students who already have earned a bachelor’s degree in another area of study and have demonstrated the ability to learn at an elevated rate of speed.

All 14 graduates of the Master of Science in Nursing degree program in nurse anesthesia passed the National Certification Examination. Rodney C. Lester, Ph.D., is director of the school’s Nurse Anesthesia Division.

First Delta Gamma Fellow

Richard S. Ruiz, M.D., chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, has announced the appointment of Peter R. Hurlbut- Miller, M.D., as the first holder of the Houston Delta Gamma Foundation Fellowship in Ophthalmology.

The Hermann Eye Fund provided matching funds on a onefor- three basis to establish this fellowship, which provides research and travel funds to a young ophthalmologist during fellowship training.

Miller is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worchester. In July 2002, he began his residency training at the Hermann Eye Center, where the faculty appointed him chief resident in July 2004. Having finished his residency training, Miller now begins his one-year fellowship in vitreo-retinal surgery.

Founded in 1972, Houston Delta Gamma Foundation is an allvolunteer organization that supports research, education and other programs to enhance the lives of the blind and visually impaired in the greater Houston area.