1961

Alan Orschel reports a recent conversation with Jim Baum in Morris, I11. "It became apparent that he has become very involved, nationwide, in the survivability of small businesses and had lectured and consulted extensively. In fact, he's published a book on the role and survival of small businesses."

The Alumni Fund is drawing to a close, and as of the last report, in March, we still had a way to go. Head agent Pete Bleyler, who is reporting regularly on the class Web page, listed a total of $102,000, or 59 percent of our $175,000 goal. Participation stood at 30 percent; our goal is 61 percent. Last year we raised $170,000 with 57-per- cent participation. If you haven't given yet, please do so speedily. For the latest report, consult the Web page.

Our two class Dartmouth Medical School secretaries continue to help keep up with those classmates who went to the medical school. Ted Tapper reports that DaveHeisterkamp is treasurer of his 50-person anesthesiology group in Denver, which covers four major hospitals. "Dave's practice is heavily impacted by the insurance industry and HMOs, making for many unwanted hassles on a daily basis." And Ted relates that Doug Zipes recently reported in the journal Circulation that it is safe for people with implantable defibrillators to walk through (but not linger in) an electronic surveillance system—the type found in stores or libraries. That has been a long- standing concern for many with the devices, and Doug's research at Indiana University provided the evidence for the article. Incidentally, we at Wake Forest rate Circulation as one of the top 10 medical journals.

Mike Norman is now serving on the Dartmouth Medical School alumni council. He says John Baldwin, new dean of the Medical School, "pointed out with a good deal of satisfaction that he found a rurally based medical school that is nonetheless financially healthy, highly competitive for biomedical research dollars and very attractive to budding medical students (based on the number of applications received for the class of 1999)." We've got a lot of physicians in the class—many of them at academic health centers, and some of them have had rough going recently. How many of them can match the report from Dartmouth? I can say that Wake Forest is among those alive and well, with a successful recent capital campaign, a new curriculum in the medical school, a $67- million research initiative that will result in the hiring of 62 new faculty, etc.

Speaking of things medical, I know we spent a lot of time at our San Francisco reunion talking about prostate cancer and the successful escapes of a number of class- mates. How many of you already have cataracts? I do, and I'm about to get them fixed. I thought 60 was young to have cataracts—most people seem to be in their late 70s or 80s. Perhaps the old theory about computers leading to cataracts is true—since I have used computers daily since 1972, when my department at the Observer was the first to go on them. Or perhaps it really is the extra UV rays acquired from training and participating in all those triathlons. Any thoughts?

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1015; rconn@wfabmc.edu

Doug Zipes reports that people with implantable defibrillators can safely walk through electronic surveillance systems. BOB CONN '61