2021-2022 Annual Report

It is with great pride that I share the University of Wisconsin Department of Pediatrics 2022 Annual Report. Inside you will find highlights of the extraordinary clinical care, research activities, and educational milestones that took place in the department between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022.

The 2022 academic year was one filled with great accomplishments and achievements. We saw a more than 12% increase in the number of patient visits over the previous year, partly a rebound from pandemic-related declines but about half from new growth. We ranked 7th in the nation among pediatric departments receiving research funding from the National Institutes of Health. And we received accreditation for a new Pediatric Hospital Medicine fellowship.

One initiative I am especially proud to share with you is the introduction of five new departmentwide directorships. When we initiated our strategic planning process in the summer of 2018, leaders determined there were some broad areas of concern relevant across all of the department’s 16 divisions. They created five directorships to develop, initiate, and oversee strategic improvements in these areas, and appointed faculty to those areas.

The directorships and their inaugural directors are listed below:

• Director of Advocacy Laura Houser, MD, professor, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and Division of Global Health. The department includes “vigorous advocacy” as essential to its purpose. Speaking and acting on behalf of children, who have no voice or agency in the wider world, faculty connect with schools, legislative bodies, and other communities to promote children’s health and safety. This directorship’s purpose is to spotlight existing advocacy efforts in the department and facilitate effective participation in new areas.
• Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Mary Ehlenbach, MD, associate professor, Division of Hospital Medicine. This area focuses on the need to make the department an inclusive and equitable place to work, addressing racism, sexism, and other destructive biases both in the workplace and in society at large. This work is essential in advancing child health and the field of pediatrics.
• Director of Professional Development Mala Mathur, MD, MPH, associate professor in the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Professional development is a robust program with a long history within the department. Its many offerings include Pediatric Grand Rounds, Seminars in Pediatrics, Research Week, workshops, a professional development series, and an increasing number of lectureships.
• Director of Quality Improvement Scholarship Kristin Shadman, MD, associate professor, Division of Hospital Medicine. An overarching purpose of this directorship is to encourage and support scholarly work in QI within the department. Those who develop innovative methods to improve patient care must be able to present their work as a recognized and appreciated scholarly product.
• Director of Well-being Sarah Webber, MD, associate professor, Division of Hospital Medicine. Well-being of staff,
  faculty, clinicians, and trainees is a priority across our institution. This position was developed in order to encourage and facilitate a systems approach to worker well-being within the department.

Please enjoy reading about the department and learning about the work of our faculty, staff, and trainees. I take pride in their remarkable accomplishments, incredible talents, and inspiring commitments to our patients and families. I hope you do too.

Ellen R. Wald, MD
Professor and Chair
Alfred Dorrance Daniels Professor on Diseases of Children