Full Circle: ACE Unit naming gift honors donor’s family ties

Dr. Sharon Kell (second from right) with her family at a ceremony dedicating the Henderson Family Room, named for her Ruby and Lee, at the Acute Care for Elders Unit.

Sherron Kell, M.D., M.P.H., chose a special place to honor her family at UAB: the site where they welcomed her into the world.  Kell, the vice president for clinical research and development at IMPAX Laboratories in Hayward, Calif., was born in Birmingham at South Highlands Infirmary, which was later demolished and replaced by UAB Highlands. Kell recently named a patient room there for her father and mother. The Henderson Family Room, dedicated to Ruby and Lee Henderson, is located in the Acute Care for Elders Unit on the fourth floor.

“Naming an ACE Unit room in remembrance of my parents is my opportunity to honor their lives,” Kell said. “It is also a means to support the ACE Unit strategy, which is an innovative new concept of medical care for the hospitalized older population.” 

The ACE Unit is a 20-bed unit that serves not only as a geriatric-friendly place for elderly patients with a range of diagnoses, but also as a model for best practices in caring for hospitalized older adults and as a training site for members of the health care team. The ACE concept – pioneered by UAB Department of Medicine Chair C. Seth Landefeld, M.D., during his years at the University of California San Francisco – focuses on meeting the wide range of needs elderly patients bring with them to the hospital. Every aspect of the care plan is aimed at retaining physical and cognitive function during and after the hospital stay.

Learn more about the Acute Care for Elders Unit here.

Funds raised through naming opportunities support the ACE Unit’s efforts to provide care, discover and test new approaches to improve outcomes, and train interdisciplinary teams on leading-edge geriatric practices. 

In addition, the gift highlights Kell’s local connections beyond birth. She was the third graduate of the UAB geriatric medicine fellowship program and served on the Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care faculty for five years. She also was the associate principal clinical coordinator at AQAF, Alabama’s Medicare Quality Improvement Organization.

“When Richard Allman (M.D., director of the UAB Comprehensive Center for Healthy Aging) contacted me, I was delighted to learn of the many important medical outreach programs now available through the Center for older adults,” Kell explains. “I am grateful to UAB for the quality medical education it provided me and for the excellent medical care it provides for the people of Alabama.”