UCSF Fresno Associate Dean Lori Weichenthal, MD, championed physician wellness throughout her career — long before it became a priority in the medical field. Three years after passing, she remains a prominent figure in physician wellness. Community Regional Medical Center and UCSF Fresno leadership recently renovated space in her honor at the downtown Fresno hospital, creating a special place for residents to rest, relax and decompress.
Colleagues from Community and UCSF Fresno gathered Feb. 10 to reflect on Weichenthal’s legacy and to dedicate the Weichenthal Wellness Room. Those attending the dedication from UCSF Fresno included Vice Dean Jose M. Barral Sanchez, MD, PhD; Chief of Emergency Medicine Danielle Campagne, MD; and former Chief of Emergency Medicine Jim Comes, MD; Stacy Sawtelle Vohra, MD, UCSF Fresno Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education; and Weichenthal’s husband Dan Wolfe.
Current UCSF Fresno Emergency Medicine residents and staff members attended as well as Program Director Rawnica Ruegner, MD, and Associate Program Director Lily Hitchner, MD, who led the dedication.
From Community, Jeff Thomas, MD, Vice President, Chief Medical & Quality Officer at Community Regional Medical Center; Mary-Ann Robson, MN, RN, Executive Director, Clinical Education, Community Health System, and D. Rochelle Tarascou, MSN/MBA-HCM, RN, Director, Medical and Allied Health Education, Clinical Learning Environment, participated. In addition to leading the redesign of the wellness space, Tarascou, Gabriella Ortiz, and Jamie Sotelo from Community’s Clinical Learning Environment team organized the event.
Sawtelle Vohra recalled Weichenthal’s devotion to emergency patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, even as she was battling cancer and undergoing treatment.
“Her commitment to UCSF Fresno and the work that we are doing here at the hospital, I haven’t seen anything like it,” said Sawtelle Vohra, who is an Emergency Medicine physician.
Weichenthal was a trailblazer in many ways, including being one of only two women in the UCSF Fresno Department of Emergency Medicine when she began residency training in 1994. She joined the Emergency Medicine faculty in 1998 as a clinical instructor and was quickly promoted to UCSF assistant clinical professor, associate clinical professor, and in 2014, to UCSF professor.
Sawtelle Vohra noted that the dedication of the wellness room was very close to the anniversary of Weichenthal’s passing. She passed on National Women Physicians Day on Feb. 3, 2023.
During her career at UCSF Fresno, she gained high regard as an innovator, leader and role model in the fields of Emergency Medicine, Wilderness Medicine and as a champion for physician wellness and women in academic medicine. She received many awards and honors including being inducted into the UCSF Academy of Medical Educators, receiving an Excellence in Teaching Award in Medical Education from the Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Fresno-Madera Medical Society.
Weichenthal was a mentor and friend to many who followed in her footsteps, including Sawtelle Vohra and Hitchner.
“Lori created a culture of wellness that transcended our program and impacted the broader community and nation,” said Hitchner. “She was a trailblazer. This space will carry forward her vision of holistic wellness, encouraging us and our trainees to care for ourselves and each other in meaningful ways.”
Thomas illustrated her impact, “Imagine 100 new residents each year, and 60% of them rotate through the Emergency Department. That’s a significant impact over her 30 years.”
Sawtelle Vohra thanked Wolfe, a retired City of Fresno police officer, for his tireless support of Weichenthal and his ongoing support of the Department of Emergency Medicine and UCSF Fresno.
It was Wolfe who drove Weichenthal to and from her treatments and back and forth to work. When Weichenthal started the UCSF Fresno Emergency Medicine Wilderness Medicine Fellowship in 2008, Wolfe helped by collecting and borrowing much needed gear. He was by her side when Weichenthal, an avid runner, started volunteering as medical director in 2012 for the annual Two Cities Marathon in Fresno and Clovis. It is a tradition that Emergency Medicine residents continue today.
Weichenthal, in turn, supported his affinity for NASCAR and baseball.
As comments subsided at the dedication, ambient nature sounds could be heard in the background. Dim lighting, earth-toned décor, and inspirational prints on the wall contribute to a relaxing environment.
A bronze plaque stands out. The plaque features a photo of and quote from Weichenthal, “Happy doctors lead more contented lives and are vital to improved patient outcomes.”
Her words serve as a perpetual reminder of the interconnectivity between physician and patient wellness and pay tribute to a woman physician whose legacy lives on, touching the lives of residents she has never met, reminding them to take care of themselves with as much compassion as they give patients. Weichenthal’s contributions will always be remembered.
