For many couples, welcoming a healthy baby into their family is easy: They simply let nature take its course. For others, the journey is more difficult, and a healthy baby enters their lives only through the couple’s persistence and taking advantage of the latest scientific advances.

Diabetes can weaken the immune system’s ability to fight infection, increasing the risk of serious complications from the influenza virus. However, by paying extra attention to nutrition habits during flu season, most people with diabetes who do catch the flu can avoid serious complications.

One year ago, we celebrated being one of only 21 health care facilities in the world to have achieved Magnet designation five consecutive times, joining an elite group of fewer than one percent of hospitals nationwide. Watch this video as we celebrate our nurses' hard work, extraordinary efforts, compassion, and organizational contributions.

UAB Medicine chief nursing officer and senior associate vice president Terri Poe was named one of Alabama's top nurses. The recognition, officially called 10 Top Nurses of Alabama 2020, was part of an effort by the news site This Is Alabama to honor health care leaders across the state.

November is pancreatic cancer awareness month, when health care professionals call attention to a disease that affects more than 55,000 people in the United States each year. Pancreatic cancer is an especially deadly cancer because of the way it silently spreads before being detected.

UAB Medicine once again achieved the highly prestigious international Baby-Friendly designation from Baby-Friendly USA, the accrediting body for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) in the United States.

UAB Medicine Nurse Practitioner and UAB School of Nursing alumna Lindsey Harris, DNP, CRNP, FNP-BC, is the new president of the Alabama State Nurses Association (ASNA). Harris’ induction as the first African-American president of the association represents progress in diversity and inclusion, and it provides an example of excellence in leadership and performance.

Each year, the Birmingham lifestyle magazine B-Metro compiles its list of the top women in medicine in the Birmingham area. Included in the 2020 list are UAB Callahan Eye Hospital & Clinics ophthalmologists Virginia R. Lolley, MD, and Ann Marie Arciniegas-Bernal, MD. 

This week is National Pharmacy Week, making it a perfect time to acknowledge the excellent work and dedication of our UAB Medicine pharmacy staff. This annual observation celebrates the accomplishments of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians around the country by recognizing their contributions to health care and the many services they provide for their communities.

UAB Callahan Eye Hospital Clinics is expanding to Trussville, where it will open its 14th location in early 2021 on U.S. Highway 11.

Diabetic eye disease is a group of eye conditions that people with diabetes can develop. If left untreated, these conditions can lead to permanent vision loss or blindness. The longer someone has diabetes, the more likely it is that they will get an eye disease.

We are pleased to announce this month’s UAB Medicine DAISY Award, recognizing the extraordinary care and compassion that nurses provide for patients and families every day. Submissions and stories are reviewed each month, and then the winner is surprised at a special ceremony.