Maryland House of Delegates Honors University of Maryland School of Medicine Dean E. Albert Reece and University of Maryland Medical System President & CEO Robert Chrencik

ANNAPOLIS, Md., Feb. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Maryland House of Delegates and House Speaker Michael E. Busch, has announced that University of Maryland School of Medicine Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA and University of Maryland Medical System President and CEO Robert Chrencik, MBA, are recipients of the "Speaker's Medallion," the highest honor given to the public by the leader of the Maryland House of Delegates.

"We are recognizing Dean Reece and Mr. Chrencik for their contributions to our statewide healthcare network and world class trauma system," Speaker Busch said in presenting the award.

University of Maryland Medicine, comprised of UM School of Medicine (UM SOM) and UM Medical System (UMMS), employs more than 30,000 people across the State of Maryland. In 2015, UM recorded 115,000 patient admissions, 395,000 emergency visits and 1.5 million outpatient visits. In addition, residents throughout Maryland now have more access to world-renowned transplant specialists, neurosurgeons and cardiologists, among others, across the System. The UM Cancer Network provides access to cancer services and clinical trials across the region.

The Award also recognizes the significant impact that UM Medicine is having on the State of Maryland as it increasingly becomes a destination for leading programs that are among the top in the nation – including trauma and critical care, transplantation, cancer, cardiovascular medicine and surgery, NeuroCare and Neuroscience, among others. In transplantation, for example UM Medicine has one of the top kidney exchange programs in the world, having performed 5,500 kidney transplants over the past four decades. In 2015 alone, UM Medicine performed more than 500 solid organ transplants (including kidney, pancreas, heart and lung.) The University of Maryland R A Cowley Shock Trauma Center is the leading center of its kind in the world, treating nearly 8,000 severely-injured patients each year.

With "discovery-based medicine" as its key mission, the UM SOM is one of the fastest-growing biomedical research enterprises in the nation, with more than $400 million in total research grants and contracts. The combined UM Medicine budget is in excess of $5 billion, and reports have estimated an economic impact to the State of more than $10 million.

"This is a tremendous honor and recognition for all of our faculty physicians, surgeons and scientists who work collaboratively with the dedicated health care professionals across the UM Medical System to provide the highest level of care to our patients," said Dean Reece, who is also Vice President of Medical Affairs at the University of Maryland and the John Z. and Akiko Bowers Distinguished Professor at the school.        

Added Mr. Chrencik: "This award exemplifies the Power of Partnership between the University of Maryland Medical System and the University of Maryland School of Medicine, along with our employees across the System and the School's faculty, who together ensure the delivery of quality, discovery-based medicine to the citizens of Maryland."

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine
The University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 and is the first public medical school in the United States and continues today as an innovative leader in accelerating innovation and discovery in medicine. The School of Medicine is the founding school of the University of Maryland and is an integral part of the 11-campus University System of Maryland. Located on the University of Maryland's Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine works closely with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide a research-intensive, academic and clinically based education. With 43 academic departments, centers and institutes and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians and research scientists plus more than $400 million in extramural funding, the School is regarded as one of the leading biomedical research institutions in the U.S. with top-tier faculty and programs in cancer, brain science, surgery and transplantation, trauma and emergency medicine, vaccine development and human genomics, among other centers of excellence. The School is not only concerned with the health of the citizens of Maryland and the nation, but also has a global presence, with research and treatment facilities in more than 35 countries around the world. http://medschool.umaryland.edu/

About University of Maryland Medical System
The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) currently includes 12 health systems and hospitals across Maryland including the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center; University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center; University of Maryland Medical Center; University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus; University of Maryland Rehabilitation & Orthopaedic Institute; University of Maryland Shore Regional Health; University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center; and University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health System, as well as the freestanding University of Maryland Shore Emergency Center at Queenstown and the University of Maryland Shore Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Chestertown. UMMS also operates Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital as a joint venture with Johns Hopkins and also operates University of Maryland Medical System Health Plans for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

SOURCE University of Maryland School of Medicine