MEDICAL CENTER REPORT
01/30/08
Awards go to medical school Web site, writers
The School of Medicine's redesigned Web site has won top honors in a competition sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges. Additionally, two writers from the school's Office of Communication & Public Affairs received awards for magazine stories they wrote.
Ruthann Richter won the Award of Excellence in the general staff writing category for "Fog of war," a story about war-related brain injuries that appeared in the summer 2007 issue of Stanford Medicine magazine. In giving Richter the top writing prize, the judges said the story "painted an effective picture of what it's like to sustain and live with a brain injury."
Tracie White received an Award of Distinction for "Silent inferno," which chronicled the 2006 heat wave in central California that killed 138 people. It was published in the spring 2007 issue of Stanford Medicine.
The school's redesigned Web site captured the Award of Excellence in the electronic communications category. The redesigned site, which launched last April, prominently displays the latest school research, news, faculty profiles and clinical trials. It also features video, audio, RSS feeds and blogs.
"I have seen the future and it is the redesigned Stanford School of Medicine Web site," remarked one judge. Another added, "Any of our colleagues who want to see how the Web can be used to its best advantage should visit med.stanford.edu."
The initial redesign involved producing 20,000 new Web pages, plus overhauling an additional 300,000.
The Web redesign effort began in 2006 under the direction of Michael Halaas, associate chief information officer for Web and systems engineering, and Henry Lowe, MD, senior associate dean for information resources and technology. The project involved staff from the Office of Information Resources & Technology and the Office of Communication & Public Affairs.
Cited in the Web award are Halaas; Richard Renn, director of Web and new media services; Pam Lowney, Web editor; Kevin Boyd, lead Web designer; Koorosh Davoodian, Web support specialist; and Susan Ipaktchian, director of print and Web communications.
The awards were given by the AAMC's Group on Institutional Advancement, a professional society representing communications, development and alumni relations staff at academic medical centers.
Office of Communication
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