Two Local Physicians Honored for Service to the Community
Two physicians at St. Joseph Health, Santa Rosa Memorial (SRMH)—Adam Kaplan, M.D. and Alan Shotkin, M.D.—were honored for their service to the hospital, their patients and the community during an annual medical staff recognition event on June 13, 2019.
Dr. Kaplan, a urologist with St. Joseph Health Medical Group, was named the recipient of the Surgeon Champion of the Year Award. This award is given to a surgeon who consistently demonstrates commitment to St. Joseph Health’s values of compassion, dignity, justice, excellence and integrity and lives our mission to serve the community, especially those who are poor and vulnerable.
Dr. Kaplan was one of eight surgeons nominated for this award. According to the caregivers who nominated him, Dr. Kaplan is a highly-skilled physician and valued colleague who always provides compassionate care by being patient, personable, kind and understanding. One caregiver shared, “He tailors the patient’s surgical plan to [the patient’s] life situation. His ability to listen with empathy and display love for his patients, their families and our community makes him an excellent champion of the hospital’s mission.”
Dr. Shotkin, a neonatologist in the hospital’s Level III University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Intensive Care Nursery and UCSF faculty member, received the Dr. Frank Norman award. This award was created in memory of one of the first great leaders in SRMH’s history, Frank Norman, M.D. to acknowledge great men and women in the physician community. Dr. Norman was a family medicine practitioner for over 40 years at SRMH and delivered the first baby born at the hospital. The Dr. Frank Norman award recognizes physicians for their dedication, compassion, and exemplary practice of medicine.
Upon receiving the award, Dr. Shotkin shared, “While I did not know Dr. Norman, I do know he was a pioneer for Memorial Hospital, and that his legacy was service to the entire Santa Rosa community. Having my name associated with his is quite an honor.”
Dr. Shotkin was recognized by his colleagues for the instrumental role he has played over the last 15 years in both enhancing the hospital’s neonatal intensive care services and his advancing public health in Sonoma County. A professor at UCSF, Dr. Shotkin played a pivotal role in strengthening our UCSF Intensive Care Nursery partnership which has enhanced the hospital’s ability to provide outstanding care to fragile, critically-ill newborns.
Dr. Shotkin was recruited to serve on the Sonoma County Substance Exposed Newborns Workgroup and has provided education to foster parents on how to care for babies born to mothers with substance abuse issues. He also supports SRMH’s annual infant and child loss memorial service. These are just a few examples of how Dr. Shotkin’s kindness and expertise has helped improve the lives of individuals in our community.