I am pleased to announce that Dr. James Kempton has been named Vice Chair for Veteran Affairs in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.
As you know, Dr. Kempton is the Director of Eye Care Services for VA Connecticut. This important resource delivers the full spectrum of eye care to countless veterans in Connecticut and is an important and integral piece of our residency training program, providing a robust surgical experience for our trainees. Importantly, Dr. Kempton has been involved in several important leadership initiatives within our department, where he serves as Associate Director of the Yale-New Haven Hospital Residency Ophthalmology Program as well as the Associate Director of the Vitreoretinal Fellowship Program.
Dr. Kempton is one of the few physicians nationwide who are double board certified in Internal Medicine and Ophthalmology. He joined the Yale University School of Medicine in July of 2009 as an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology specializing in Vitreoretinal Diseases and Retinal Surgery. He received his undergraduate degree with honors at Ohio State University where he stayed and completed medical school in 1997. He did his Internship in a Combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Program at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. He completed his residency in the Yale University Internal Medicine Primary Care Program, and then served as a Chief Resident in Internal Medicine at the Hospital of Saint Raphael before working as a hospitalist for two years in Connecticut. Dr. Kempton then completed a second residency in Ophthalmology at Yale University. In his senior year, he served as the first full-time Chief Resident in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science. At the completion of the three-year program, he was recognized and honored by the faculty with the Marvin L. Sears Award for Clinical Excellence. Dr. Kempton remained at the Yale Eye Center where he completed a two-year fellowship in Vitreoretinal Surgery.
Dr. Kempton has an interest in diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, retinal detachments, macular holes, and vitreoretinal diseases associated with trauma. His research interests include a systems approach in the delivery of medical education. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Kempton for leading the VA in Ophthalmology, and in his expanded role within our growing department.