The University of New Mexico

NEWS RELEASE

 


Contact: Greg Johnston, 505.277.1816 or gregj@unm.edu

February 10, 2006

UNM Carpenter, Physician Honored for Community Service

Two employees from the University of New Mexico , passionate about their communities, are recipients of UNM's first annual Sarah Belle Brown Community Service Award. Charlie Gallegos and Sam Slishman, M.D., were recognized Feb. 4 during the halftime ceremony at the UNM vs. Utah men's basketball game. Each received a cash award of $2,500.

The awards were created in the name of Sarah Belle Brown, a public servant for more than 30 years. She is the wife of Doug Brown, New Mexico State Treasurer and a former UNM regent.

Charlie Gallegos is a carpenter with the Physical Plant Department, where he has been employed for 23 years. His work includes repairs and construction at the School of Medicine and the Health Sciences Center . As a lay minister, he performs communion and offers spiritual guidance for patients at University Hospital and the Cancer Research and Treatment Center .

“I've met a lot of doctors and nurses who have respect for what I do,” said Gallegos, who also is on call for the UNM Mental Health Center , where he provides Spanish translation.

Gallegos once opened his home to a Mexican family whose relatives were being treated after an automobile crash near Albuquerque . He helped arrange transportation and funding for the family to return home after two of their children died. Gallegos also finds time to help at the Bernalillo County juvenile detention home.

Sam Slishman, assistant professor of emergency medicine, says his personal fulfillment comes through community service and engagement. As a physician, the number of drunks he treated in the University Hospital emergency room troubled him.

He recalled, “Something that bothered me quite a bit was taking care of intoxicated people and setting them loose the next morning. The hospital was struggling with finances and also with the general public waiting to be seen. It seemed like a simple solution to take care of intoxicated people in a separate location.”

In 2002, Slishman formed a non-profit organization, the Endorphin Power Company. The name is derived from the role that exercise plays in lessening the chances of relapse and depression from alcohol.

Slishman learned that Bernalillo County was involved in purchasing the old Charter Hospital on Zuni Boulevard for use as a detox center. “We knocked on every door around the hospital to gather support,” he said. The facility was approved and last October opened as Metropolitan Assessment and Treatment Services.

The owner of a building used as a church near the new center called Slishman and said “‘I heard what you guys are doing. Do you want to buy my building?' “I thought it would be a good idea to renovate it to become a community center, providing services aimed at the graduates of the detox center,” Slishman said. He recruited hundreds of volunteers to spruce up the building and surrounding grounds.

An outreach program has grown out of Endorphin Power Company. Volunteers visit homeless shelters to bring clothing to people and determine needs. A volunteer also provides foot care by treating lacerations and cysts -- common medical needs of the homeless.

“This company and this project makes me feel like I am doing something that improves peoples lives, as opposed to just keeping them alive in the ER,” Slishman said.

 


The University of New Mexico is the state's largest university, serving more than 32,000 students. UNM is home to the state's only schools of law, medicine, pharmacy and architecture and operates New Mexico's only academic health center. UNM is noted for comprehensive undergraduate programs and research that benefits the state and the nation.

www.unm.edu