Mario Zuccarello, MD, a high-profile cerebrovascular neurosurgeon with a quiet, avoid-the-limelight personality, clearly didn’t see it coming. Seated in a conference room packed with distinguished peers, he listened as Brian Gibler, MD, President and CEO of UC Health’s University Hospital, began the 7 a.m. meeting with an apparently perfunctory outline of the events surrounding National Doctors’ Day, which would be celebrated the next week. A complimentary breakfast would be served to physicians, and five special awards would be given.“The awards will be announced on March 30,” Dr. Gibler continued, “but we want to present these awards to the physicians before March 30 so that we can recognize and honor them in front of their colleagues and co-workers. I am here today to present the Clinical MVP Award, which is presented to the attending physician who has a highly productive clinical practice with good patient outcomes and high patient satisfaction. The award recognizes the physician, regardless of specialty, who makes a significant contribution to our inpatient, outpatient, and/or procedural volumes.”
“I am honored to present the Clinical MVP Award to Dr. Mario Zuccarello.”
Taken completely by surprise, Dr. Zuccarello started, shook his head and began smiling as Dr. Gibler listed his bona fides. Ultimately, he found himself basking in the applause and smiles of his peers as he stepped forward to accept his plaque. “This is a very nice way to start the day,” he said.
Dr. Zuccarello, a native of Italy, is in the prime of a career defined by consistent excellence in clinical care, research and education in the area of cerebrovascular disease and stroke. He has published more than 175 peer-reviewed papers and 10 book chapters, has received more than $17 million in research funding, and has been named to Top Doctors in Cincinnati (2005-2012) and Best Doctors in America (2006-2011). In 2010 he was named the Frank H. Mayfield Professor and Chairman of the University of Cincinnati Department of Neurosurgery.
Dr. Zuccarello chaired and brought “Vasospasm 2011: The 11th International Conference on Neurovascular Events after Subarachnoid Hemorrhage” to Cincinnati. And try as he might to stay out of the limelight, the limelight has found him through a series of dramatic success stories involving young people who recovered from life-threatening cerebrovascular events: Pediatric resident Alison Delgado, MD, Xavier University basketball star Amber Gray, and American Heart Association advocate Christine Phan.
“In addition to his responsibilities as Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery and chairman of multiple committees in the UC Neuroscience Institute and the University Hospital, Dr. Zuccarello is one of the busiest surgeons at the University Hospital,” Dr. Gibler said. “Those that know Mario know that he is indefatigable, sincere, passionate, erudite, skilled and, above all, compassionate. It is for these reasons that I am happy to award him the Clinical MVP Award for 2012.”
The physicians, managers and associates of the Mayfield Clinic salute Dr. Zuccarello for this significant and much deserved honor.
— Cindy Starr