Congratulations to four faculty of the BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine who achieved promotion to Professor (Clinical Health Services), indicating their expertise and leadership in the field of emergency medicine and service as educators of the highest rank:
Dr. Sara Damewood is the Vice Chair of Education and inaugural Director for the Division of Emergency Ultrasound, as well as a national leader in using point-of-care ultrasound education and to improve the quality and safety of clinical care. Damewood joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2012. She has developed best practices of care using point-of-care ultrasound from the ground up for the emergency department and many clinical areas, including pediatrics, family medicine, and critical care transport.
Nationally, Damewood is recognized as a leader in the clinical ultrasound community. She served as the co-chair of the ACEP Ultrasound section simulation subcommittee. She has also served as chair of the Society of Clinical Ultrasound Fellowships program development committee, and played a significant role in the development of ultrasound fellowships nationwide. Damewood was the inaugural chair of the Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship Accreditation Council (EUFAC), where she currently serves as a member-at-large.
Dr. Jamie Hess joined the University of Wisconsin Department of Emergency Medicine in 2012 and has served in multiple education leadership roles. She was Director of Medical Student Education and played a critical role in transitioning emergency medicine from an elective to a required component of the ForWard curriculum for all medical students. In 2018, Hess assumed a leadership role at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health as Director for Quality, Patient Safety and Interprofessional Education. In this role, she oversees a team of faculty quality improvement coaches in leading quality improvement projects for students across the state.
Hess also holds several institutional leadership roles at UW Health, including president of UW Medical Foundation, chair of Council of Faculty, and vice chair of the UW Medical Foundation Board of Directors. She works clinically in both the pediatric and adult emergency departments and is part of the core ultrasound faculty.
Dr. Joshua Ross is the Chief Medical Officer for the American Family Children’s Hospital, where he is responsible for integrating clinical services and medical practice across UW Health Kids. He joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2009 and led the opening of the BerbeeWalsh Emergency Department expansion in 2016, which not only realized the needed growth in physical facilities but also implemented innovative workflows to improve patient flow and care.
Ross has multiple grant-funded projects and subsequent publications. He is passionate about simulation, health information technology, patient safety and communication in transitions of care, develop and facilitate simulations optimizing health information technology to improve patient safety and communication in transitions of care for pediatric trauma patients.
Dr. Mary Westergaard joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2011, first serving as Director of Medical Student Education and then Residency Program Director before being appointed the founding Vice Chair of Education in 2018. After serving nationally as Chair of the American Association of Women in Emergency Medicine, she founded and chaired the inaugural Group on Women in Medicine and Science at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. She also founded and chaired the UW Graduate Medical Education Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Subcommittee and the Department of Emergency Medicine DEI Committee.
Additional areas of interest for Westergaard include academic promotions and physician mentorship and coaching. She currently serves as the inaugural chair for the department’s Promotions Committee.