Hillsborough Circuit Judge Gregory Holder, left, and Chief Circuit Judge Manuel Menendez, right, donned white coats to help Dr. Steve Klasko, CEO of USF Health and dean of the USF College of Medicine, into a black judicial robe.

     Lawyers and doctors came together in Tampa Oct. 6 for USF’s Black Robe Program, an event intended to bridge gaps between medicine and the law. The program allowed our USF Health faculty members to learn more about the legal system from those who know it best – Hillsborough County judges and lawyers.

Rhea Law, chair of the USF Board of Trustees, participated in the Black Robe program.

      The program was designed by Rhea Law, chair of the USF Board of Trustees; Hillsborough Circuit Judge Gregory Holder; and Dr. Steve Klasko, CEO of USF Health and dean of the USF College of Medicine, to emulate the concept of the White Coat program at Tampa General Hospital.

Dr. H. James Brownlee, Jr., chair of family medicine at USF, makes a point during the Black Robe Program.

     Faculty physicians, along with a few medical students, met with judges Wednesday and then spent the day shadowing a judge, learning up close how the legal system works. The day also featured a discussion of health issues in the judicial and legal process.

Black Robe Program participants inluded, L to R: Judge Menendez; medical student Anna Wouters; medical student David Sindler; Dr. Klasko; medical student Lisa Daniels; Rhea Law; Dr. Alicia Monroe, vice dean for educational affairs; Judge Holder; and Jay Wolfson, associate vice president for health law, policy and safety.

     -- Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications