Barb Cramer
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) recently recognized Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Department of News and Public Affairs for excellence in news.
The Video News Release Project, a monthly communication program, was awarded a gold medal from CASE Circle of Excellence Awards Program. The VNR project provides a collection of stories ranging from medical research to patient care, new medical techniques to educational topics. Designed to run as health reports on commercial TV newscasts, these news releases are broadcast throughout the nation and world, reaching more than four and a half million viewers.
The winning VNR entry included a story on larygneal pacemaker which was developed by VUMC researchers and helps patients with paralyzed vocal cords breathe normally; a story about a new deep brain stimulator that eases tremors and other symptoms of Parkinson’s disease; and a general education story about a new pap smear test (ThinPrep) that helps find cervical cancer earlier.
Barb Cramer is the director of Video News Services for Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Cramer, a former television and radio journalist, began working at VUMC in 1990.
House Organ, edited by Wayne Wood, was also recognized by CASE, receiving two silver medals. In the Internal Audience Periodicals category, House Organ was ranked second out of 66 entries. The monthly magazine also competed in the Periodical Special Issues category against 56 publications, winning a silver medal.