Children's of Alabama Honors Long-Time Board Members, Physicians with Endowed Chairs

BIRMINGHAM (April 14, 2021) – Children’s of Alabama, the state’s only freestanding pediatric hospital, has honored four long-time members of its Board of Trustees with the establishment of endowed chairs in their names.

The board members honored for their 20 years of service to Children’s are Raymond J. Harbert, Donald M. James, W. Charles Mayer and Temple W. Tutwiler III.

“These business and community leaders have had tremendous impact on ill and injured children through their dedication to the Children's of Alabama Board of Trustees,” said Children’s CEO and President Mike Warren. “Their leadership puts us in the position to provide outstanding medical care to our patients, establishing Children’s as a leader in pediatric healthcare in our state, the surrounding region and beyond. The same applies to the four physicians who now hold these chair distinctions. Their commitment to groundbreaking research and exceptional clinical care will continue to advance the reputation of Children’s of Alabama as well as the endowed chairs namesakes.”

Jeffrey Blount, MD, is the first holder of the Raymond J. Harbert Endowed Chair in Pediatric Neurosurgery. Dr. Blount is the division director and chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Children’s. He is also the medical director of the Spina Bifida Clinic and surgical director of the Pediatric Surgery Epilepsy Program.

Santiago Borasino, MD, MPH, is the first holder of the Donald M. James Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care. Dr. Borasino serves as an attending physician in the Children’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, section head of the cardiac intensivists team and medical director and attending physician of the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit.

David Askenazi, MD, MSPH, is the first holder of the W. Charles Mayer Endowed Chair in Pediatric Nephrology. Dr. Askenazi serves as the medical director of numerous critical hospital programs, including the Pediatric Home Hemodialysis Program, the Pediatric Acute Kidney Injury Survivor Clinic and the Pediatric and Infant Acute Nephrology program (PICAN), a program he conceived and founded.

Drew Davis, MD, is the first holder of the Temple W. Tutwiler, III Endowed Chair in Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine. Dr. Davis is the medical director for the division of pediatric rehabilitation medicine at Children’s as well as the Children’s of Alabama Early Intervention Program. He is a member of the hospital’s Comprehensive Spina Bifida Program and Muscular Dystrophy Care Center.

Children’s of Alabama has been served by a volunteer Board of Trustees since its founding in 1911.

About Children’s of Alabama

Since 1911, Children’s of Alabama has provided specialized medical care for ill and injured children, offering inpatient, outpatient and primary care throughout central Alabama. Ranked among the best children’s hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Children’s serves patients from every county in Alabama and nearly every state. Children’s is a private, not-for-profit medical center that serves as the teaching hospital for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) pediatric medicine, surgery, psychiatry, research and residency programs. The medical staff consists of UAB faculty and Children’s full-time physicians as well as private practicing community physicians.

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