Physician Matthew Wynia, of the University of Chicago Hospital, treats patients with infectious diseases. But he spends at least as much time worrying about ethical dilemmas, such as balancing the best medical treatments against the costs to patients, insurance companies and taxpayers when those treatments are costly.
Wynia says he was drawn to the job in Colorado in part because of what he calls CU's dedication to engaging the public in thorny ethical dilemmas.
The center he will lead, which is housed the new Fulginiti Pavilion on the Anschutz Medical campus, features a theater in the round. When Wynia first saw the space, he dreamed of staging forums on various public policy issues for CU students and professors, and for the public.
Wynia imagines fashioning the forums like the PBS Fred Friendly seminars he watched as a child, in which experts explored the consequences of hypothetical ethical dilemmas revolving around subjects as varied as end-of-life care and politics and the press.
Wynia also hopes that in his new role in Colorado he'll be able to tackle issues involving the ethics of health care teams, medical decision-making and inter-professional education.
