First McGovern-Tracy Scholars selected by Family Medicine

The Department of Family Medicine has selected five medical students and three family practice residents as its first McGovern-Tracy Scholars.

Funding for these awards come from a bequest of UW Madison graduate Isabel McGovern Kerr, made in honor of the generations of the McGovern family who pioneered in Wisconsin.

The scholarships also honor Michele Tracy of Middleton, who was killed while participating in an educational service program in Malawi, Africa in July 1999. She was a second-year UW medical student at the time of her death.

Medical School students and residents in the department’s network of family practice residencies are eligible for the award. Scholars are selected based on their activities in community service, outreach and leadership. Recipients receive $1000 for each of their last two years of medical school or their last year of residency training.

The awards will be presented at a dinner in Madison Tuesday, June 12. Recipients are:

— Alexis Cirilli, medical student, for her role in the development of the “Young Parent Connection,” a program to establish mentoring relationships for young teen mothers in her hometown of Rhinelander.

— Bill Kinsey, family practice resident, for his work in the Doctors Ought To Care program, at the Salvation Army and MEDIC clinics, and at a Red Cross Clinic in Honduras.

— Alison Miller, family practice resident, for her work in providing health care to children at a pediatrics hospital in Haiti, to homeless teenagers in Madison, and at a Red Cross Clinic in Honduras.

— Jason Morgenson, medical student, for numerous contributions including the establishment of the Cross Cultural Health Care Interest Group, an organization which prepares medical students to care for a diverse patient population.

— Deanna Sasaki-Adams, medical student, for her role in establishing a clinic at a residential facility for individuals suffering from mental illness, drug and alcohol dependence, and economic hardships.

— Nicole St. Clair, medical student, for numerous activities including the organization of a clinic to provide free sports physicals for teens who wouldn’t be able to participate in athletics otherwise.

— Michael Staudinger, medical student, for his work with multiple projects including the distribution of medical supplies, food and other humanitarian aid to developing countries in Central and South America.

— Lisa Walker, family practice resident, for her role as with the St. Luke’s Diabetic Support Group where her goal is to heighten physician awareness of the needs of patients with chronic illnesses.

For more information, contact Lisa Simonds, special assistant for department and community communications, Department of Family Medicine, (608) 263-3403, lsimonds@fammed.wisc.edu.