Dr. Rita M. Patel has been named as a winner of UPMC's Award for Commitment and Excellence in Service(ACES) for Fiscal Year 2004. This is a great honor, as fewer than one percent of all of UPMC staff are annually chosen for this reward.

Dr. Patel exemplifies what this award is about. She has consistently placed the school and department's needs before her own; she has dedicated her career to the education of physicians; her focus on residency education has vaulted our own residency to one of the top ten in less than four years and she is now extending this to the GMEC as well. A stellar and supernoval example!

John P. Williams, MD, Peter & Eva Safar Prof. and Chair
Department of Anesthesiology
University of Pittsburgh