Next month the School of Medicine will host an event to honor authors of health and medical books to inspire other health professionals to become authors and share their knowledge of important medical topics.

“A Salute to Medical Literacy,” sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceutical, will be held Thursday, Dec. 5, from 7–10 p.m. in WHSCAB. The medical community and the public are invited.

The holiday celebration will highlight some of the doctors, nurses and other health professionals who have contributed to medical literacy. J. Willis Hurst, professor emeritus of cardiology, former president of the Ameri-can Heart Association, personal cardiologist to former President Lyndon Johnson and author of the international best-selling text The Heart, will be featured at the event.

The invitee list of health professionals also includes:

• Scott Isaacs, author of the newly released Hormonal Balance, a consumer’s tour through endocrinology.

• Pulitzer Prize nominee (and 1945 School of Medicine alumnus) Ferrol Sams, author of a number of acclaimed novels, such as The Whisper of the River and When the World Was Young, that both entertain and educate.

• former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher.

• John Stone, published poet, associate dean and professor of medicine, and editor of an anthology of literary works related to medicine, distributed to all medical students in the United States.

“A Salute to Medical Literacy” is being hosted by Neil Shulman, associate professor of medicine and author of Doc Hollywood (later made into a major motion picture), as well as 17 other books including the newly released consumer information guide, Your Body Your Health.

The program will be followed by a reception with food, drinks and book signings. For additional information, call 404-429-6637 or e-mail edaoust2000@yahoo.com.