21 honored for patient care, strategy, safety, and service

Lifetime Achievement award, to Jerome L. Gottschall, MD, for his leadership and service with distinction over the years as a member, vice chair, and currently chair of the Transfusion Medicine Resource Committee.

Dr. Gottschall is a senior medical director at BloodCenter of Wisconsin. He is a professor of pathology at Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, where he is medical director of the transfusion service at Froedtert Hospital.

Lifetime Achievement award, to Michael J. Mitchell, MD, for his contributions to the CAP, specifically lending his expertise as a microbiologist as chair, vice chair, and member of the CAP Microbiology Resource Committee.

Dr. Mitchell is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester. He also serves as scientific director of microbiology for Quest Diagnostics, New England Region.

Lifetime Achievement award, to William P. Newman III, MD, for his longtime support of the CAP as a regional commissioner for the Laboratory Accreditation Program. He was also recognized for his distinguished service as a professor of pathology at Louisiana State University School of Medicine, during which he played an integral role in the pathology education of medical students, residents, and fellows.

CAP Foundation Leadership Development award, to Melissa M. Blessing, DO, honoring her goal to serve as a lifelong public advocate for the specialty. In her first two years of residency, she served on the CAP Political Action Committee as a junior member, attended the Residents Forum as one of her program’s delegates, participated in CAP inspections, and contributed to various CAP publications. Dr. Blessing is a third-year resident in anatomic and clinical pathology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

CAP Foundation Leadership Development award, to Eric Q. Konnick, MD, MS, for his engagement in health care policy at the state and national levels. Dr. Konnick will apply the award to attend the 2015 CAP Policy Meeting in Washington, DC. He is a molecular genetic pathology fellow at the University of Washington, Seattle.

CAP Foundation Leadership Development award, to Patricia M. Raciti, MD, for her commitment to deepening her understanding of the forces shaping the specialty. The award gave her the opportunity to attend CAP ’14 and will make it possible for her to attend the 2015 CAP Policy Meeting in Washington, DC. She is a resident in anatomic and clinical pathology at New York Presbyterian-Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.

Laboratory Improvement Programs award, to Patrick L. Fitzgibbons, MD, for his contributions to patient care and safety—specifically for his chairing the development of the CAP guideline “Principles of Analytic Validation of Immunohistochemical Assays.”

Dr. Fitzgibbons was honored also for his service as chair of the Cancer Biomarker Reporting Committee and as member of the Council on Scientific Affairs. He is a pathologist at St. Jude Medical Center, Fullerton, Calif.

Laboratory Accreditation Program Service award, to Frank R. Rudy, MD, for his dedication to the CAP’s accreditation program. He is the former chair of the Commission on Laboratory Accreditation, which he now serves as advisor. He is the former vice chair of the Council on Accreditation.

Dr. Rudy is the former chair of the Department of Laboratories at PinnacleHealth System and former president of Pathology Associates of Central Pennsylvania, both in Harrisburg, Pa.

Excellence in Teaching award, to Kim A. Collins, MD, for her innovative and engaging teaching techniques as faculty for the CAP annual meeting, the Engaged Leadership Academy, and the Multidisciplinary Breast Pathology Advanced Practical Pathology Program.

Dr. Collins is medical director of LifePoint, South Carolina’s organ and tissue donation procurement service.

Excellence in Education award, to Eric F. Glassy, MD, for his expertise and contributions to CAP Learning, CAP Press publications, and education across the College.

He is a member and past chair of the Publications Committee and a past member of the Council on Education and the Education Committee.