Astronaut - Dr. Rhea Seddon to Address Rutherford CABLE

Celebrated astronaut and prominent physician Dr. Rhea Seddon will address RutherfordCABLE members and guests at the organization’s February 14^th breakfast meeting at Stones River Country Club.  The title of Seddon’s address is “Follow Your Heart”.

A veteran of three space shuttle flights, Dr. Rhea Seddon spent 19 years with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).  In 1978 she was selected as one of the first six women to enter the astronaut program. She flew aboard her first shuttle flight in 1985, deployed two satellites, operated the Remote Manipulator Arm, and performed the first echocardiography in space.  In 1991, she was selected to serve as a mission specialist on the first shuttle flight dedicated entirely to life sciences research, Spacelab Life Sciences 1, and in 1993 she was the Payload Commander in charge of all science activities on Spacelab Life Sciences 2.  In all, Seddon spent a total of 30 days in space.

After leaving NASA, Dr. Seddon served as the Assistant Chief Medical Officer of the Vanderbilt Medical Group in Nashville, Tennessee and as Assistant Professor of Medical Administration and Education at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine for 11 years. There she led an initiative aimed at improving patient safety, quality of care, and team effectiveness by the use of an aviation-based model of Crew Resource Management. Now with LifeWings Partners, LLC, she teaches this concept to healthcare institutions across the United States. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in physiology, Dr. Seddon received her M.D. degree from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, where she completed her residency in General Surgery.

The format of the RutherfordCABLE meeting provides time for informal networking at 7:30 a.m.  Dr. Seddon will speak when the meeting begins at 8:00 a.m.  Tickets for this event are $15 for members, and $20 for guests; registrations must be made no later than February 9^th.  To register online, please visit rutherfordcable.org, or contact Brenda Bruce at (615)504-0000.