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VOLUME 15. NUMBER 5
JUNE. 1968
DURHAM. NORTH CAROLINA
DR. SESSOMS NAMED NEW DIRECTOR
Dr. Sessoms
activities.
Duke Hospital will have a new director August 1. He is
Dr. Stuart M. Sessoms, deputy director of the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md., for the past
six years. In addition to the directorship. Dr. Sessoms
also will be a professor of medicine and associate dean
for clinical sciences in the School of Medicine. He will
succeed Dr. Robert Whalen,
director since last year,
who has asked to return to
his fulltime duties in car
diology.
Meanwhile, in another ad
ministrative change, Ralph
E. Jennings has been promoted
from assistant administrative
director to associate direc
tor for administration. In
the new post he will be in
charge of all hospital opera
tions other than nursing
service and medical staff
Mr. Jennings will report to Dr. Sessoms, who
in turn will be responsible to Dr. William G. Anlyan
Dean of the Medical School. Mr. Charles H. Frenzel,’ad
ministrative director of Duke Medical Center since 1964
will continue in that capacity. (A chart outlining the’
aaministrative structure for the Medical Center is up-
coming in the future.) Dr. Sessoms, 46, grew up in Rose-
boro, N.C., and earned a bachelor's degree in pharmacy at
UNC. He received his M.D. at the Medical College of
Virginia. In 1954, Dr. Sessoms first went with NIH,
serving as a member of the clinical medicine and surgery
branch of the National Cancer Institute. Over the next
several years he served in a number of capacities with NIH
including acting chief, general medicine branch of the
National Cancer Institute; assistant director of the NIH
Clinical Center; assistant director of the National Cancer
Institute; chief of the institute's Cancer Chemotherapy
National Service Center; and as associate director for
collaborative research at the cancer institute.
Dr. Sessoms has been active
in PTA work and with Cub
Scouts, and he is a member of
the Presbyterian Church. He
and his wife have two child
ren, Stuart M. Jr., 20, and
Christ! Kay, 17.
Mr. Jennings, a native of
Kingsport, Tenn., received
bachelor of arts and bachelor
of science degrees .with honors
at East Tennessee State Univ
ersity, and received a certi
ficate in hospital adminis-
Continued on page 6
Mr. Jennings
Radio-Paging Comes to Duke
In JUIy
July 1, 1968 is the date when the radio-paging system
will be put into operation at Duke Medical Center? Ap
proximately 70 pocket-clip pagers will be distributed to
various members of the house staff. The primary reason
for utilizing radio-pagers is that house staff members
and certain key personnel in Nursing or Housekeeping
often find themselves in places that are inaccessible to
conventional corridor paging. Personal radio-pagers
carried by house staff members will permit:them to com
municate instantly with the hospital switchboard opera
tor. The switchboard operator will be the control center
for radio-paging, for she will be able to contact all
persons with radio-paging units. Further, radio-paging
will make communication between Hospital Personnel much
faster and more convenient. Radio-paging will supple
ment but, by no means eliminate, conventional.paging in
the hospital. The number of pocket size units in service
increase from 70 to approximately 150 in
Several other benefits will be provided by radio-pag
ing. The hospital will be quieter due to decreased
usage of corridor paging; there Will be 100% coverage,
since radio waves penetrate all sections of the hospi
tal, including elevators and radiology; and in the event
of disasters or public emergencies* radio-paging will
provide commuhications when phone service is out. Also
messages will be received within a ^0 mile radius of
Duke Hospital, in the homes and cars of house staff
members.
The plastic pocket size units are manufactured by
Motorola, weigh 8 1/2 ounces, are approximately 5" x
2 1/2 X 1" in size, and operate on rechargeable batter-
Dr, Don Miller, Junior Resident is
shoun using a Radio-pager,