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• Alum Receives AMA Leadership Award

Alum Receives AMA Leadership Award
Cited for Work on Behalf of Persons with Developmental Disabilities

From the March-April 2008 issue of UCHC e-link.

Theodore A. Kastner, M.D. ’81, M.S., Founder and President of Developmental Disabilities Health Alliance (DDHA), a New Jersey health care organization exclusively for individuals with developmental disabilities, has been named a recipient of the American Medical Association’s (AMA) 2008 Leadership Award.

The award provides medical students, residents. fellows and physicians from around the country with special training to develop and enhance their skills as leaders in organized medicine.

Kastner was among 56 individuals nationwide honored by the AMA Foundation at its annual Excellence in Medicine Awards ceremony on March 31, in Washington, D.C. Presented in association with the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative, recipients of the award are recognized for demonstrating outstanding non-clinical leadership skills in advocacy, community service and education.

In addition to the training and award recognition, Kastner sees a great benefit from the honor, by meeting other doctors who may be able to provide insight into how he can improve his own professional skills.

He says that UConn’s affordability allowed him to pursue the path he’s taken since graduation.

“I’m grateful for the education I received at UConn, and that my family did not have to go into debt for me to obtain a medical degree,” Kastner says. “I obtained my degree at UConn and was still able to afford to go into primary care, which has led to a long and interesting career.”

Throughout that career, Kastner has focused on a chronically underserved population: people with developmental disabilities. DDHA began as a single office in 1997 serving 200 patients; today, it has six offices across New Jersey providing comprehensive health-care services to more than 3,000 patients and health-care management to 3,400 patients. The organization was created in 1997 to address the unmet physical and mental health care needs of people with developmental disabilities. It provides primary care, mental health services, seizure management, case management, behavioral consultation, family support and managed-care services.

“Being a leader in a field that is generally underfunded and presents many challenging clinical problems can be a difficult and frustrating experience,” says Kastner. “But I have come to believe that being a physician does not only mean treating the symptoms of my patients. It also means advocating for systems of care that enhance personal well-being and quality of life.”

The AMA Foundation, a nonprofit organization, is the philanthropic arm of the AMA. It seeks to invest in the health of America by supporting a broad range of programs including scholarships for medical students, grants for medical research and community service and initiatives for improving the health of all Americans. The Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative is a research and education program committed to understanding and strengthening the patient-physician relationship.