The UB honors Virgínia Novel's career by naming the Podiatric Hospital after her
From today on, the Podiatric Hospital of the University of Barcelona is named after Virgínia Novel, emeritus professor of the UB and an undoubtable role model in the field of Podiatry. Today, the rector Joan Elias, together with Virgínia Novel, the director of the Training and Research on Podology Unit, Baldiri Prats;
the project manager of the Podiatric Hospital and head of the Department of Podiatric Surgery, Enric Giralt, plus other academic, institutional and health figures such as the deputy mayor of L'Hospitalet, Francesc Belver, took part in the unveiling of the plaque with the new name for this centre. During the speaking time, the rector Elias highlighted Novel's pioneering spirit and mentioned she had an admirable farsightedness. Also, Joan Elias thanked her, on behalf of the University, for her teaching and research task, both at a national and international level.
From today on, the Podiatric Hospital of the University of Barcelona is named after Virgínia Novel, emeritus professor of the UB and an undoubtable role model in the field of Podiatry. Today, the rector Joan Elias, together with Virgínia Novel, the director of the Training and Research on Podology Unit, Baldiri Prats;
the project manager of the Podiatric Hospital and head of the Department of Podiatric Surgery, Enric Giralt, plus other academic, institutional and health figures such as the deputy mayor of L'Hospitalet, Francesc Belver, took part in the unveiling of the plaque with the new name for this centre. During the speaking time, the rector Elias highlighted Novel's pioneering spirit and mentioned she had an admirable farsightedness. Also, Joan Elias thanked her, on behalf of the University, for her teaching and research task, both at a national and international level.
Virgínia Novel, undoubtable role model
Internationally awarded with several prizes, Novel started her teaching career as a lecturer at the UB in 1976 and became tenured university school lecturer in 1991. She gave lectures in the different degrees that have featured Podiatry at the University of Barcelona: major, diploma, and bachelorʼs degree. “Novel has always been a great representative of the UB. She showed an entrepreneur and visionary attitude that took her to consolidate Podiatry as a medical discipline and made the Podiatric Clinics to be a model and become the Podiatric Hospital”, notes the director of the centre, Baldiri Prats.
Also, Novel has had several institutional positions over the course of her professional career. She was the president of the Official Podiatry School of Catalonia from 1994 to 2009, president of the General Council of Official Podiatry Schools from 1999 to 2012, director of the University Podiatric Clinic of the UB from 1990 to 2012, and director of the Podiatric Hospital of the UB from 2012 to 2014.
Her research career gave her many awards. She is received her honorary doctorate in Medical Sciences from the Pennsylvania College of Podiatric Medicine (Philadelphia, United States) in 1998, and received the Medalla al Treball President Macià in 1999. In addition, she also received the Josep Trueta Medal to health merits in 2010, given by the Catalan Government. In 2011, she received the Lleonard Escachs Prize, for her contribution to Podiatry so it can be a recognized and consolidated profession, given by the Official Podiatry School of Catalonia, and in 2015 she was Honorary Dean of the Podiatry School of the Community of Madrid.
More than 35 years looking after feet's health
The history of the centre goes back to January 1984, when the rector of the University of Barcelona, Josep M. Bricall, enabled the facilities and inauguration of the Podiatry Clinic. “The beginning of the activity of the centre was difficult due to a lack of patients, but with the collaboration from the Town Hall of Hospitalet de Llobregat, two municipal centres could be built to provide care to old people”, notes Prats.
In 2006, the renewal of the centre was carried out in order to adapt its redistribution to a configuration of clinical services, and in 2011 the Podiatric Clinic became the Podiatric Hospital of the University of Barcelona, a change that was authorized by the Directorate-General of Regulation, Planning and Health Resources of the Department of Health of the Catalan Government. This renewal turned the centre in the first university hospital of the country, monographically dedicated to assistance, teaching of bachelorʼs degrees and postgraduate degrees and research in the field of podiatry.
A distinguished specialized care centre
The now Podiatric Hospital Virgínia Novel specialized centre dedicated to the health of feet, which receives about 20,000 visits every year. It has two services: Clinical Podiatry and Podiatric Surgery, which have units such as Clinical Exploration, Biomechanics, Orthopaedics, Paediatrics, Posturology, Physical Podiatry and Podiatry Surgery, and Chiropody or Internal Medicine and Foot Risk.