Dr. Bruce Cairns named 'Physician of the Year' by North Carolina State Society for Respiratory Care

Sept. 7, 2005

Dr. Bruce Cairns named 'Physician of the Year' by North Carolina State Society for Respiratory Care

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Dr. Bruce Cairns, associate director of the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center and director of the Burn Intensive Care Unit at UNC Hospitals, has been named "Physician of the Year" by the North Carolina State Society for Respiratory Care.

Cairns was chosen to receive the award in recognition for his support of respiratory care, both at UNC Hospitals and on a national level through the American Association for Respiratory Care. He will receive a formal recognition at the NCSRC's annual educational meeting at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7 at the Embassy Suites hotel at 201 Harrison Oaks Blvd. in Cary.

"While I truly appreciate and am honored by this award," Cairns said, "it really is more of a reflection of the outstanding Respiratory Therapy Department we have at UNC Hospitals than anything I have done. These consummate professionals provide the most sophisticated respiratory care available today and it is this that allows the Burn Center to provide the best possible pulmonary care to some of the most critically injured adult and pediatric patients.

"I believe my greatest contribution is recognizing the absolutely vital role of respiratory therapists and then working with them in a collaborative and collegial way to provide the best possible care for our patients," Cairns said.

Kathy Short, director of Respiratory Therapy at UNC Hospitals, said Dr. Cairns' support had helped respiratory therapists gain national recognition for the care they provide at the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center and the research they do in the management of critically ill patients who require mechanical ventilation.

"His recognition of the vital role of respiratory therapists in the management of critically ill patients and the commitment to the collaborative approach to caring for these patients makes him worthy of this award," Short said. "We truly appreciate everything that he has done for us and especially appreciate his pure and true respect for our profession."

Cairns, an assistant professor in the UNC School of Medicine's Department of Surgery, earned his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1989. He also has deep roots in Chapel Hill and at UNC. He grew up in this area and graduated from Chapel Hill High School in 1981. His father, the late Distinguished Professor of Psychology Dr. Robert Bennett Cairns, taught at UNC for 26 years and was the founding director of the university's Center for Developmental Science.

Bruce Cairns is a veteran of the U.S. Navy's medical corps. While stationed in Guam, he directed the care of burn patients injured in the crash of Korean Air flight 801 on Aug. 5, 1997. At UNC Hospitals, he played an active role in the care of burn patients injured in a collision between an F-16D fighter and a C-130 transport at Pope Air Force Base on March 23, 1994, and following the explosion at the West Pharmaceuticals Chemical Plant in Kinston, N.C., on Jan. 29, 2003.

A photograph of Cairns is available for downloading at http://www.unchealthcare.org/site/newsroom/cairnsbruce.jpg.

ABOUT UNC HEALTH CARE:
The UNC Health Care System is a not-for-profit integrated health care system owned by the state of North Carolina and based in Chapel Hill. It exists to further the teaching mission of the University of North Carolina and to provide  state-of-the-art patient care. UNC Health Care is comprised of UNC Hospitals, ranked consistently among the best medical centers in the country; the UNC School of Medicine, a nationally eminent research institution; community practices; home health and hospice services in seven central North Carolina counties; and Rex Healthcare and its provider network in Wake County.

Media contact: Stephanie Crayton, (919) 966-2860 or scrayton@unch.unc.edu