Frank Rutar is not a traffic cop, although he is always on ‘patrol.’
Rutar’s expertise is dealing with radioactive materials that are used for research or medical treatment.
As UNMC’s chemical and safety radiation specialist, his role is to help UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, comply with the state’s radiation safety regulations, which fill a two-inch thick, yellow binder in Annex III.
For his outstanding performance and service, Rutar has received the Chancellor’s Gold ‘U’ Award for June. “It’s humbling and incredibly gratifying,” he said of the monthly award. “The people who nominated me are people I would nominate.”
“Frank is attentive to the medical and emotional aspects that come with the issues of radiation safety,” one nominator said. “His knowledge of radiation and radiation safety make him one of our best resources.”
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At UNMC, Rutar has worked diligently with the radioimmunoconjugate team to provide information about the safe application of these therapies to health care workers, patients receiving the therapy, and their caregivers. He helps patients understand safety aspects of radiation treatments – even giving them his pager and home phone number, in case they have after-hour concerns regarding radiation exposures or other safety issues.
Rutar’s workday activities are as diverse as the state’s landscape and include calibrating instruments, handling radioactive waste, auditing a research lab, providing radiation safety training, helping administer radioactive materials for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes, and handling badges that detect levels of radiation.
A native of Omaha, Rutar graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in chemical engineering. He did radiation calculations at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant for 12 years, where he became the resident expert on radiation. He earned his master’s degree in health physics from Georgia Tech before joining Dave Jacobson at UNMC in 1995. Jacobson, who also had worked at the nuclear plant, is director of chemical and radiation safety at UNMC.
“This has just been an incredible experience,” Rutar said. “Dave always told me how exciting it was to work here and I always got excited listening to this.”
Rutar also serves as radiation safety officer for the hospital.
“He always finds solutions to problems,” one nominator said. “As an example, he helped to develop a landmark patient-release program for the medical center. It allows patients to receive radioactive therapies on an outpatient basis. They can be released to their homes with specific instructions that, when followed, keep radiation exposures to their families and caregivers at a minimum. This also reduced medical expenses, as well as decreased radiation exposures to health care workers since these patients are not occupying hospital beds.”
Although Rutar knows the dangers of radiation, he says following regulations greatly minimizes any detrimental effects. “We try not to police areas,” he said. “We want to be proactive and make sure researchers and physicians use radiation properly. Most people want to do it right and we try to be part of the team to help them.”
Rutar and his wife, Joy, have two children, Reid, 8, and Grant 5. Outside the office, Rutar is actively involved in coaching his children’s activities and enjoys running, working out and playing golf. “My goal is to run a 10K race in my 70s,” he said. “But, ultimately I want my kids to grow up and have happy, healthy lives.”