Jill M. Baren, MD, MBE, and Angela M. Mills, MD
PHILADELPHIA — Two physicians from the department of Emergency Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have received national awards for their contributions to the field from the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. SAEM honored the physicians at its annual meeting in Orlando last month.
Jill M. Baren, MD, MBE, professor and chair of the department of Emergency Medicine, received the John Marx Leadership Award, and Angela M. Mills, MD, vice chair of clinical operations and associate professor of Emergency Medicine, received the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award.
The John Marx Leadership Award honors a person who has “made exceptional contributions to emergency medicine through leadership - locally, regionally, nationally or internationally.” The award recognizes leadership contributions made to emergency medicine organizations and publications, emergency medicine academic productivity, and the growth of the specialty of academic emergency medicine.
Baren is a renowned expert in emergency clinical trials, informed consent, neurologic emergencies as well as pediatric emergency medicine, and was one of the first physicians to hold this subspecialty certification. At Penn, she has built a multidisciplinary research consortium involving numerous clinical departments and more than a dozen regional hospitals across four states. Baren chairs the Human Research Advisory Committee in the Office of the Vice-Provost for Research.
A member of Penn's faculty since 1997, Baren received her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh, a master’s in bioethics from Penn, and her undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Brown University. She completed her residency in emergency medicine and a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Additionally, she completed a fellowship in executive leadership in academic medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine. Widely published, Baren is editor of Rosen’s Emergency Medicine, 9th edition and senior editor of, the leading textbooks in the field, and holds editorial positions with several emergency medicine journals.
The Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award is given to a practicing emergency medicine physician who “exemplifies compassionate, patient-centered care.” Examples include cultural sensitivity, addressing patients’ needs for interpretation of complex medical diagnoses and treatments, showing respect for patients’ viewpoints, and sensitivity to patients’ psychological wellbeing and identifying emotional concerns of patients and family members.
As vice chair of clinical operations, Mills serves as clinical mission leader for the department of Emergency Medicine. Her responsibilities include oversight of clinical policies and procedures and such programs and initiatives as Emergency Department patient flow, quality and safety, a 17-bed Emergency Department Observation Unit, disaster planning and preparedness, advanced practice provider program, clinical information technology, emergency department renovations, and clinical protocol development.
A member of Penn's medical faculty since 2003, Mills received her medical degree from Temple University, completed her residency in emergency medicine at Penn, and is currently completing the Physician Leadership Academy with Wharton and Deloitte. Widely published, Mills’ research expertise includes treatment and evaluation of acute abdominal pain, disparities in emergency care, radiation risk and emergency radiologic imaging, and electronic clinical decision support. She is a member of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine board of directors.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.