Inpatient Services
The hospitalist group within the Division of General Medicine provides comprehensive in-hospital care for patients admitted to the internal medicine service at University Hospital. This group specializes in all aspects of inpatient internal medicine and are continuously available to patients and their families during hospitalization. The group also provides consultation throughout the hospital on issues of perioperative management, anticoagulation care, and diabetes management.
University Health Care Hospitalists
Stephen Bekanich, M.D.
Dr. Bekanich is a hospitalist and Medical Director of Palliative Care Services at the University Hospital. He grew up throughout New York State. His undergraduate degree is from the University of Scranton. Medical school was completed at the State University of New York and internal medicine residency at the University of Utah.
William Howell, M.D.
Dr. Howell trained at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland and then moved to Boston to be a resident and Chief Resident in the Tufts Program at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. After residency he worked for four years in out-patient Internal Medicine practice and then helped found the Hospitalist program at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eugene, Oregon. After more than five years experience as a hospitalist including serving as Head of the department he joined the faculty at the University of Utah to pursue interests in teaching residents and medical students the gentle art of physical diagnosis and medical management. Outside of the university - snowboarding, browsing in second-hand bookshops and ceramics keep him busy.
Sara Lamb, M.D.
Dr. Lamb is a Clinical Instructor in the Divisions of General Internal Medicine and the Division of Inpatient Pediatrics and is a combined internal medicine and pediatric hospitalist at the University of Utah and Primary Children's Medical Center. She completed her undergraduate education at Albion College in Albion, Michigan and went onto complete her medical training at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. She has been at the University of Utah since 2000. She completed her combined residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Utah and has been the Program Director of the Combined Med-Peds Residency Program since 2004.
Robert Pendleton, M.D.
Dr. Pendleton is a full time clinical hospitalist at the University of Utah Medical Center and is director of the University Hospital Anticoagulation Services. Dr Pendleton was born and raised in Logan, Utah where he graduated from Utah State University. He completed his medical school training at Baylor College of Medicine and then completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Utah. He joined the faculty in 2000 in his current position. Academic Interests include prevention, diagnosis and management of venous thromboembolism and resident/student education. Outside interests include reading, cooking, skiing, golfing, and being an avid college football fan. Go UTES!
Matthew Rondina, M.D.
Dr. Rondina was raised in Boston, Massachusetts and completed his medical school and residency training at the University of Utah. After completing a position as Chief Medical Resident, he joined the Division of Internal Medicine as a Hospitalist in July 2007. He is also Co-Director of the University Health Care Thrombosis Service. Dr. Rondina's academic interests include the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic disease, novel platelet synthetic functions, and beta-blockers in congestive heart failure. His current research includes clinical projects within the Division of Internal Medicine and translational projects in collaboration with the Program in Human Molecular Biology and Genetics. His outside interests include skiing and cycling.
Michael Strong, M.D.
Dr. Strong is a full time clinical hospitalist. He founded and is current director of the hospitalist program at the University of Utah. Dr. Strong was raised in San Diego, California and graduated from Brigham Young University. He received his medical school training at Baylor College of Medicine and then did his residency training at the University of Utah. He also served as the Chief Medical Resident. He had a successful private practice in Salt Lake City as a General Internist for 2 years but was asked to return to the University of Utah to develop the hospitalist program in 1999. He is actively involved in the development of the computerized order entry system for the University Hospital. His other interests include fine dining, golf, watching college football, and the Boston Red Sox (and any team who beats the New York Yankees).
Russell Vinik, M.D.
Dr. Vinik has been working as a full time Hospitalist in the Division of General Internal Medicine since 2002. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas Austin. He subsequently went to medical school at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. His internship in Internal Medicine was done at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and he completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Yale-Greenwich Hospital in 2002. In addition to practicing and teaching medicine on the wards at University Healthcare, he is interested in improving care of hospitalized patients with diabetes. His other interests outside of medicine include biking, sailing and skiing.
Nathan Wanner, M.D.
Dr. Wanner, M.D. is a full-time clinical hospitalist. He was born and raised in Indiana, and graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois. Dr. Wanner received his medical degree from Indiana University then obtained his internal medicine residency training at the University of Utah. He also served as Chief Me cdical Resident at Utah prior to beginning his current job in the summer of 2005. He has always enjoyed the challenge and variety of inpatient medicine and specifically values the opportunities his job provides for teaching and mentoring medical students and residents. Dr. Wanner is assisting with projects related to inpatient anticoagulation and long term effects of weight loss surgery. He also is working with the Division of Geriatrics as part of the Reynolds Grant to improve the teaching of geriatrics at the University of Utah. His personal interests include playing basketball, hiking, skiing, reading, and spending time with his family.
