2015 Dean’s Awards honoree: Paula Anne Newman-Casey, M.D., M.S.
Her post-college experiences heightened her awareness of not only the local need for volunteer work, but also the global need for it
When Paula Anne Newman-Casey, M.D., M.S., began exploring colleges, she wanted to see the world outside of her native Michigan. After starting her studies at Columbia University in New York, then completing them across the country at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, she still had an itch to see more of the world before committing to medical school.
She has long had a desire to help others, as she learned from watching how her parents interact with the world. In addition, her post-college experiences heightened her awareness of not only the local need for volunteer work, but also the global need for it.
She returned home for medical school at the University of Michigan, but her travels had lit a fire in her to help. During her fellowship, she established the Department of Ophthalmology’s collaboration with Hope Clinic to provide sub-specialty care for Hope Clinic’s patients. The Hope Medical Clinic is a local non-profit clinic that provides about 11,000 free medical and dental visits to 37,000 uninsured, low-income patients every year in Washtenaw County
Newman-Casey received the 2015 Medical School Local Community Service Award on Nov. 4 at the annual Faculty and Staff Awards Dinner: