Each University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health graduating class has one or more class representatives who play an integral role in working with the Wisconsin Medical Alumni Association (WMAA) to plan class reunions. Those featured here hope classmates will join them at their reunions in fall 2018.
Patrick J. Fahey, MD ’73
What type of practice are you in now, and where?
In 2015, I retired from the faculty of Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University in Chicago. For 35 years, I practiced in the pulmonary and critical care medicine division. I was the chair of the Department of Medicine for 11 of those years, as well as chief of the medical service at the affiliated Hines Veterans Administration Hospital for five years. I now work part time as the chief medical officer at another affiliated facility, RML Specialty Hospital, which provides long-term acute care.
What are your hobbies/interests?
My wife and I recently purchased the Main Street Inn, a bed and breakfast inn in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, 50 miles south of St. Louis on the Mississippi River. The eight-room inn was built in 1880 and has been completely restored in the French second-period style.
What are your plans for your reunion?
I am looking forward to seeing many classmates at our 45-year reunion this October. I hope many of you can make it!
Other news
I have kept my Wisconsin roots nourished with a home on Washington Island in Door County for the past 25 years. It’s a beautiful setting. Also, my 98-year-old mother still lives in Madison, so I visit regularly.
Susan Isensee, MD ’83 (PG ’86)
What type of practice are you in now, and where?
After I completed my family medicine residency in the UW Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, I worked at Dean Medical Center in Madison for nearly 31 years. I practiced family medicine there for 25 years, and I split my time between family practice and weight management for 12 of those years. For the last five years before I retired in May 2017, I practiced exclusively weight management.
What’s your fondest memory of medical school?
I have three favorite memories: neuroanatomy class with Dr. John Harting; anatomy lab with Dr. James Pettersen; and my class’ third-year skits.
What are your hobbies/interests?
I enjoy spending time with my family, including my husband, Glenn Isensee, and our son and daughter: Chris, age 30, and Molly, age 27, as well as our extended family. I also like to spend time reading, sewing, fishing, exercising, watching the Badgers and Packers, walking my dogs, getting together with friends, gardening and cooking.
What SMPH faculty do you remember the most, and why?
See the list in my fondest memories.
What are your plans for your reunion?
In addition to attending the WMAA’s events planned that weekend — the reunion event at DeJope Hall, the tailgate party at Union South and the football game — we are making plans for our class to spend another evening together at The Edgewater.
Also, it will be fun for everyone to see the exciting changes on the UW–Madison campus. The awesome WMAA staff works hard to organize reunions. Let’s show them that we are still one of the best classes ever!
Message to your classmates?
We are a great class — and it’s been an amazing 35 years since we graduated. We are getting older, and it will be wonderful to reconnect in the great city of Madison and give back to our incredible school. Our goal is to increase our contributions toward the Class of 1983 endowed scholarship.
I have been honored to serve as WMAA president for the past two years, and to meet many students who are very appreciative of what alumni do for them, from giving them stethoscopes, contributing to scholarships and so much more. Thank you.
Ann Liebeskind, MD ’98, FAAP, FNLA
What type of practice are you in now, and where?
I completed a residency in internal medicine and pediatrics, as well as a certification in lipidology. After a few years working in a health care system’s cardiology department, I now run a private-practice lipids clinic for adults and children in Neenah, Wisconsin. I also have a growing corporate wellness business, which has been a lot of fun.
What’s your fondest memory of medical school?
I relish the friendships that still endure today.
What are your hobbies/interests?
Anything I can do with my kids and husband makes me happy. We especially love to travel, so we are always planning our next vacation.
What SMPH faculty do you remember the most, and why?
Dean Philip Farrell was such a great advocate for students, and he was fun to hang out with.
What are your plans for your reunion?
I am hoping to attend our reunion and would love to see as many classmates as possible. I’m looking forward to some great Badgers football.
Message to your classmates?
If you haven’t been back to Madison in a while, you’ll be shocked at how it has grown and changed. It is still a great town — just bigger and busier. Some things don’t change though. We’ll always have State Street, Bascom Hill and the Memorial Union Terrace!
Gregory Horwitz, MD ’03
What type of practice are you in now, and where?
I am a urologist in a private practice in Kansas City, Missouri.
What’s your fondest memory of medical school?
I miss the glory days of playing drums with the SMPH rock band, The Arrhythmias, and hanging out with good friends. I’ve had to start a new band with my three children (ages 10, 7 and 6), who play guitar, drums and piano. My new family band is not quite ready to play the Madison bar scene, but we have a lot of fun practicing together.
What are your plans for your reunion?
I can’t wait to see all of my classmates, hang out on State Street and jealously explore all the new locations Madison has to offer.
Jaime Hook, MD ‘08
What type of practice are you in now, and where?
I am an assistant professor of medicine in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. As a faculty member of the Columbia Lung Transplantation Program, I spend 20 percent of my time caring for patients before and after their lung transplants. I dedicate my remaining time to developing my research program, which incorporates live imaging of mouse and human lungs to understand lung physiologic responses to inhaled pathogens.
What’s your fondest memory of medical school?
I have so many—attending farmer’s markets, stopping for coffee and studying at Barriques, and attending Medical Student Association and Wisconsin Medical Society events. One of my favorite memories came from first-year cardiovascular physiology. Dr. Richard Moss asked the class to identify the EKG rhythm on the lecture hall screen. When no one answered, he smiled and—from over his shoulder, leaning on a desk, facing the opposite direction—quietly used his laser pointer to circle the single, tiny, telltale QRS complex. It was such a suave move from a master professor. I still swoon over it.
What are your hobbies/interests?
My 3-year-old son is obsessed with baseball, so my husband and I have recently been spending all our free time pitching and catching. He’s gotten surprisingly good at hitting without a tee. We’re pretty proud of him.
What SMPH faculty do you remember the most, and why?
I try to channel Dean Patrick McBride when I interact with trainees. He always seemed to have time for students, no matter what pressures or stresses he was feeling. I really admire that about him. I’m still terrible at doing it myself, but I’m working on it.
Message to your classmates?
Stay tuned for reunion info! It will be nice to catch up with everyone.