Noteworthy: Wilfong recently won the Benjamin Rush Individual Award from the Allegheny County Medical Society for her work at the STAR Center at Allegheny Health Network. Since its inception in 2007, the STAR Center has educated more than 89,000 people — from physicians to EMS personnel to high school students — through medical simulation techniques. Students learn various skills, including how to perform a lumbar puncture, deliver bad news and perform neonatal resuscitation.
Residence: Fox Chapel
Age: 61
Family: Husband, Dr. Donald Wilfong; sons, Dr. Joshua Wilfong, 33, Jordan Wilfong, 30, and Jake Wilfong, 24.
Occupation: Corporate Vice President of Interprofessional Education at Allegheny Health Network; founder and director of STAR Center.
Background: Wilfong and her husband learned about medical simulation while attending a conference in New York. She began researching and writing grants. In 2006 she received a $500,000 grant from the Highmark Foundation, leading to the creation of the STAR (Simulation, Teaching and Academic Research) Center.
Quote: “I'm honored and humbled to receive this award on behalf of Allegheny Health Network. It's a privilege to serve our staff, our patients, their families and our community. Our mission is to consistently deliver safe, compassionate, quality health care by treating the whole person: mind, body and spirit.”
