what it means to be allied page 20 the impact of distance … · 2018-09-27 · the new school of...

The new School of Allied Health Professions building will unify faculty, staff and

students for greater success

2016Allied Health

VCU

Alumni Magazine

PAGE 18 What it means to be allied PAGE 20 The impact of distance learning PAGE 24 Partnering around the globe

REACHING NEW HEIGHTS

Letter from the dean ........................... 3Ruminations on the state of the school and its stakeholders

News ................................. 4Latest initiatives, scholarships, awards and research endeavors

Alumni news and achievements .........28Honors, accomplishments and noteworthy events

Philanthropy ...................34The generous and humbling support we receive

Flashback .......................37A peek into the archives

VCU ALL IED HE ALTH ALUMNI MAG A Z INE TABLE OF CONTENTS

12

Features Departments

Be a part of Allied Health!

REACHING NEW HEIGHTSWith a new state-of-the-art building, a unified School of Allied Health Professions is poised to drive education, innovation and research even further. 24 GLOBAL INFLUENCE

International partnerships integrate unique learning opportunities with multicultural experiences.

18A PATIENT’S JOURNEYNo discipline holds a monopoly on patient care. See how every allied health profession impacts a patient from before admittance to well after release.

COVER

This magazine’s for you, as a member of Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Allied Health Professions. But, try as we might, we can’t keep you abreast of all the latest happenings in one single issue. So, don’t be a stranger.

Head on over to sahp.vcu.edu, check us out on Facebook and LinkedIn, and stay on top of the latest news, research and advances happening every day.

And support the School of Allied Health Professions by visiting support.vcu.edu/give/alliedhealth.

sahp.vcu.edu

20EXPANDING AND

ENHANCING OPPORTUNITIESThrough robust distance-learning initiatives, the School

of Allied Health Professions reaches more students and drives education and patient care forward.

Summer 2016

1

Dean and ProfessorCecil B. Drain, Ph.D.

Senior Associate Dean and the Katherine I. Lantz Professor

Alexander F. Tartaglia, D.Min.

Associate Dean for Research and ProfessorBrian T. McMahon, Ph.D.,

C.R.C., N.C.C., C.C.M.

Associate Dean for Fiscal AffairsDebra A. Ropelewski, M.B.A.*

Assistant Dean for Development and External Affairs

Jessica F. Gurganus, M.A., M.A.Ed.

Assistant Dean for Students and Community Engagement

Angela Duncan, Ph.D.*

DepartmentsDepartment of Clinical Laboratory Sciences:

Teresa Nadder, Ph.D.*, associate professor and chair

Department of Gerontology: E. Ayn Welleford, Ph.D.*, associate professor and chair

Department of Health Administration: Carolyn Watts, Ph.D., professor and chair

Department of Nurse Anesthesia: Michael D. Fallacaro, D.N.S., CRNA, FAAN, professor and chair

Department of Occupational Therapy: Al Copolillo, Ph.D., associate professor and chair

Department of Patient Counseling: Russell Davis, Ph.D., professor and chair

Department of Physical Therapy: Mary Snyder Shall, P.T., Ph.D.*, associate professor and chair

Department of Radiation Sciences: Jeffrey S. Legg, Ph.D.*, associate professor and chair

Department of Rehabilitation Counseling: Amy J. Armstrong, Ph.D., C.R.C.*, associate professor and chair

Ph.D. in Health Related Sciences: Paula K. Kupstas, Ph.D., associate professor and director

Virginia Center on Aging: Edward F. Ansello, Ph.D., professor and director

Magazine committee membersBeth Williamson Ayers*, Mark Crosthwaite, Cecil Drain, Alma Hassell*, Paula Kupstas, Catherine MacDonald*, Katherine Prentice*, Debra Ropelewski*, Shawne Soper, Alexander Tartaglia, Jodi Teitelman*, Mary Tucker*, Leland Waters*

Editorial, design and photographyHeather E. Millar*, magazine committee chairVCU University RelationsVCU Allied Health is published annually by the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Allied Health Professions.

Send address changes or comments to:VCU Allied HealthVirginia Commonwealth UniversitySchool of Allied Health Professions1200 East Broad StreetP.O. Box 980233Richmond, Virginia 23298-0233Or visit us online: sahp.vcu.edu/alumni

sahp.vcu.edu

SUMMER 2016, VOL. 5, ISSUE 2

©2016, VCU School of Allied Health ProfessionsAn equal opportunity/affirmative action university002007-01

Allied HealthVCU

Make it ambitious.The largest fundraising campaign in Virginia Commonwealth University’s history …

Make it timely.… is launching this September.

Make it matter.Join us as we kick off this momentous occasion with a celebration of how VCU makes it real.

Make it real.A daylong showcase of VCU’s finest talent, past and present.

Mark your calendar. Sept. 22-24, 2016

Generously sponsored by the MCV Foundation and the VCU Foundation.

an equal opportunity/affirmative action university

LE T TER FROM THE DE AN

Unified for greater impactDE A R A LU MNI A ND FR IENDS,

It is with a tremendous amount of excitement and gratitude that I formally announce the approval of a new building for Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Allied Health Professions! Slated to open in 2019, the new building will be located at 10th and Leigh streets, across from the MCV Campus bookstore and the Larrick Student Center. Construction on the new building will begin this summer. We couldn’t be happier to finally have a unified, designated space for one of the most successful allied health schools

in the country. Thanks to each of you for your support and patience along the way. And a special thank you to VCU President Dr. Michael Rao for his wonderful support throughout the entire approval process. Please enjoy reading about the new building in our feature article on Page 12.

In an effort to help inform students and alumni how the disciplines in the School of Allied Health Professions align with one another in the health care industry, I hope you’ll enjoy learning about “Jane” on Page 18. Jane is a fictional 72-year-old patient who is rushed to the ER with a badly broken ankle. Jane takes us along her journey through the different allied health professions.

For more than 20 years, the School of Allied Health Professions has led the way for several diverse, distance-learning initiatives. The Department of Rehabilitation Counseling has educated hundreds of distance students over the years, in 31 states. The Department of Health Administration was the second program in the country to offer a distance-learning program for health administration. Learn more on Page 20 about our distance-learning programs, and how our school provides a powerful economic impact across the commonwealth.

I am also very excited to share numerous faculty and staff news and successes, along with several alumni success stories. We couldn’t be more proud of where we stand today!

Thank you for your continued support and commitment to the School of Allied Health Professions. I continue to be humbled by your generous support. Please stay in touch and “like” us on Facebook so you can keep up with our latest posts. We’d appreciate it!

Sincerely,

Cecil B. Drain, Ph.D.Dean and Professor

* VCU alumni

Summer 2016

3

Coalition aims to stop elder abuse in Southwest VirginiaElder abuse can take a variety of forms beyond just physical violence. Victims can have caregivers, family members or even friends and neighbors who may steal from their accounts, try to manipulate who they see, what they do and where they go, and even threaten pets and withhold food and medication.

With the aging of the Baby Boomer population, incidences of elder abuse have continued to climb, and southwest Virginia — whether due to higher rates of abuse or increased levels of report-ing — has outpaced the state in both substantiated cases and higher rates of service to older adults by sexual and domestic violence agencies.

However, through the Abuse in Later Life Project (ALLP), coordinated by the

Virginia Center on Aging in the School of Allied Health Professions and funded by a federal grant to the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, communities like Bristol and Washington County are marshaling the necessary resources to fight elder abuse.

Through a multiagency and multijurisdictional approach, the VCoA and its community partners in the ALLP aim to improve victim safety and hold offenders accountable, providing more than 1,330 hours of training for criminal justice professionals, victim advocates, gov-ernment workers and caregivers in addressing abuse of older adults. In addition, the ALLP funded a community needs assessment, established an emergency fund for victims in immediate danger and fostered the creation of an abuse in later life specialist position to manage care and coordinate services.

Since the ALLP’s initial funding grant runs out in September, however, the VCoA and the ALLP are currently seeking new funding to keep the project going. For more information, or to support the Abuse in Later Life Project through the VCoA, visit sahp.vcu.edu, click on departments and then on Virginia Center on Aging.

Cloud technology enhances CLS students’ lab experienceTo keep pace with technological advances in clinical laboratories, the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences has integrated cloud technol-ogy into the student laboratory, allowing students to better record and manage

data using Google Drive during laboratory sessions. Through their use of mobile devices, students record, manage and analyze data from different devices and locations. Instructors can then access the student data, provide immediate feedback and enter laboratory report grades.

Since the introduction of Google Drive in laboratory sessions, preliminary findings indicate increased student organization, reduced transcription errors, improved understanding of data findings and quicker grading turnaround time. In addition, students have expressed their excitement about having access to familiar technology in the CLS student laboratory.

Fallacaro named fellow at American Academy of NursingOf the more than 3 million licensed practicing nurses in the United States, only 163 were named 2015 fellows at the prestigious American Academy of Nursing.

Michael D. Fallacaro, D.N.S., CRNA, FAAN, of the School of Allied Health Professions was one of those select 163.

Fallacaro joined the school in 1998 and became the school’s Herbert T. Watson endowed professor in 2013. He is a tenured full professor and chair of the Department of Nurse Anesthesia.

Fellows in the American Academy of Nursing are selected based on sponsorship by two AAN fellows as well as evidence of significant contributions to nursing and health care.

Fallacaro’s notable contributions to nursing and health care stem, in part, from his tenure at VCU, where he established the nation’s first Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice degree, developed anesthesia outreach training to rural parts of the country and established cultural exchanges between VCU and university partners in China.

“Dr. Fallacaro’s educational outreach to rural Appalachia resulted in a pipeline preparing nurse anesthetists for medically underserved areas and increasing access for those in desperate need of anesthesia and pain management services,” wrote Maura McAuliffe, CRNA, Ph.D., FAAN, professor and director of East Carolina University’s College of Nursing, in her nomination letter to AAN.

As a fellow, Fallacaro adds the credential FAAN (Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing) to his name. The AAN tracks trends in health care and creates policy initiatives to help reform the health care system.

Blind athlete keeps running after visit to VCU RUN LABSeventy-two-year-old Charlie Plaskon, a legally blind retired teacher, began running at the age of 55 and hasn’t looked back. He has competed in more than 45 marathons and triathlons, including the grueling Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, in 2007.

Nothing could slow Plaskon down until he suffered a back injury in 2015 that put his running career on hold. He was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the vertebral canal that compresses the spinal nerves and can cause leg pain and difficulty walking. After a success-ful laminectomy, or decompression surgery, followed by rigorous rehabilitation and physical therapy, he was ready to start running, swimming and biking again.

But in order to find out how far he could push him-self and whether he could regain his prior form and compete again, Plaskon enlisted the help of D.S. Blaise Williams III, Ph.D., director of the VCU RUN LAB, who specializes in 3-D biomechanics as it relates to injury and recovery from running and landing injuries.

“That’s why I’m here,” Plaskon says. “I want to see what the next level is. Can I compete like I used to?

I want to find out exactly what’s left after 72 years.”The VCU RUN LAB — a collaboration between the

Department of Physical Therapy in the School of Allied Health Professions and the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences in the College of Humanities and Sciences — is a national leader in running analysis, and Williams began by taking extensive measure-ments of Plaskon before putting him on the RUN LAB treadmill, which is elevated and surrounded by 3-D cameras to capture the intricate movements of the runner, who is fitted with numerous sensors.

Though he had never been on a treadmill before due to his visual impairment, after a little practice and a warm-up run, Plaskon was ready for the 30-second test, and at the end of the assessment, Williams told Plaskon what he wanted to hear.

“You have enough raw material to keep running and be competitive again,” Williams said, and while the data still needs to be analyzed and sent to Plaskon’s doctor and physical therapist to allow them to make adjustments as needed, Plaskon is ready to hit the pavement once more.

Bobbie Berkowitz, Ph.D., RN, NEA, FAAN, president of the American Academy of Nursing (left), and Michael D. Fallacaro, D.N.S., CRNA, FAAN

The Abuse in Later Life Project aims to improve victim safety and hold offenders accountable

THE E X TR A MILE

“That’s why I’m here. I want to see what the next level is... I want to find out exactly what’s left after 72 years.”

– CHARLIE PLASKON

News Who’s making waves? Well, we are of course. Here’s just a taste of the awards, publications and research news generating buzz around the School of Allied Health Professions and beyond.

Charlie Plaskon (middle) is coached by D.S. Blaise Williams III, Ph.D. (right).

#1 Nurse Anesthesia #3 Health Administration #4 Rehabilitation Counseling #17 Occupational Therapy #20 Physical Therapy

The VCU School of Allied Health Professions has some of U.S. News & World Report’s highest ranked programs in the country. Check out our 2016 rankings:

We’re No. 1! (And No. 3, No. 4...)

NEWS

4

VCU Allied Health Summer 2016

5

Two students receive VCU Black History Maker awardsChelsea Perry, a student in the Department of Health Administration, and Dexter Honora, a student in the Department of Patient Counseling, received VCU Black History Maker awards in a February ceremony. The award is presented by the Department of African American Studies.

Daryl Dance, the distinguished scholar of African-American and Caribbean literature who served as program coordinator during the 1983-84 academic year, founded Black History in the Making in 1983 to acknowledge the achievements of

African-American students.Dance invited academic units and organizations to

“recognize a student who has made an important con-tribution.” The nominating units established criteria for selecting recipients. Since 1983, more than 50 departments and organizations have recognized more than 550 students. Nominees generally have stellar academic records; a history of community service; and intern, professional or work experiences that place them at the forefront of their careers.

Program helps visually impaired students prepare for a future in laboratory sciencesFor the second straight summer, the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University hosted visually impaired high school students to help them prepare for college and the intricacies of working in a lab. The Learning Excellence in Academics Program, which is offered through the Virginia Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Vision Impaired, allows students to participate in college-level courses while testing their college-readiness skills and familiarizing themselves with the demands of campus life.

During lab sessions in the five-week summer program, the students performed hands-on techniques such as pipetting, reagent strip testing, venipuncture and streaking agar plates. In addition, students learned the blood donation process in a role-playing lab.

“So many of us think you have to be able to see chemical reactions to perform them,” says Lisa Perkins, MS, MLS (ASCP), a department instructor. “But there is so much more to science than what we can see, and these students remind us that sight is only one of our senses.”

According to Melody Roane, director of the Virginia Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Vision Impaired, by working in a campus setting for a summer, the students become more attuned to the reality of maneuvering and succeeding on a college campus.

“Before attending the LEAP program, some of our students had false confidence in their abilities to deal successfully with the demands of

college,” Roane says. “After attending the LEAP program, these students replaced that false confidence with a certainty based on experience that they could successfully navigate the expectations of college life.”

Faculty and Staff National Awards

Health AdministrationLaura McClelland: 2015 Award for Outstanding Reviewer, Health Care Management Division, Academy of Management

Jessica Mittler: 2015 Award for Outstanding Reviewer, Health Care Management Division, Academy of Management

Carolyn Watts: Dr. Watts and Dr. Jami DelliFraine’s chapter, “A Business Planning Model to Identify New Safety Net Clinic Locations,” published in Advances in Health Care Management, received the Outstanding Author Contribution in the 2015 Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence.

Nurse AnesthesiaMichael Fallacaro: 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Nursing

Michael Fallacaro: Fellow, American Academy of Nursing

Patient CounselingAngela Flack: 2015 Emerging Leader Award, Association for Clinical Pastoral Education

Physical TherapyCheryl Ford-Smith: 2016 Minority Initiative Award, American Physical Therapy Association

Peter Pidcoe: Invited to the Smithsonian to demonstrate his invention in fall 2015

Shawne Soper: 2016 Lucy Blair Service Award, APTA

D.S. Blaise Williams III: Fellow, American College of Sports Medicine

Radiation SciencesTimmerie F. Cohen, Jeffrey S. Legg: 2015 J. Warren Perry Award,

Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions, for peer- reviewed article of the year, “Factors Associated with HPV Vaccine Use Among Hispanic College Students”

Timmerie F. Cohen, Jeffrey S. Legg, Melanie C. Dempsey: 2016 Harold Silverman Distinguished Author Award, ASRT, for peer-reviewed article of the year (2012-13), “The Effect of Vertical Off-Centering on Breast Dose During CT Simulation of Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation Planning”

Melanie Dempsey: Fellow, American Association of Medical Dosimetrists

Jeffrey S. Legg: Fellow, American Society of Radiologic Technologists

Rehabilitation CounselingChristine Reid: Lifetime Achievement Award, International Symposium on Life Care Planning

GerontologyGendron, T., Pryor, J., and Welleford, E.A. (2016). Lessons learned from a program evaluation of a statewide continuing education program for staff members working in assisted living and adult day centers in Virginia. Journal of Applied Gerontology. Published online before print, Feb. 22, 2016, doi:10.1177/0733464816633124.

Gendron, T., Welleford, E.A., Jensen, C., and Myers, B. (2016). Teaming as a mechanism to pro-mote professional identity. Clinical Gerontologist, 39(3):252-259.

Cotter, J.J., Gendron, T., Kupstas, P., Tartaglia, A., and Will, L. (2015). Perceived benefits of mobile learning devices for doctoral students in a school of allied health professions. Journal of Allied Health, 44(4):29-35.

Gendron, T., and Lydecker, J. (2016). The Thin-Youth Ideal: Should we talk about aging anxiety in relation to body image? International Journal of Aging and Human

Development, 82(4):255-70. doi: 10.1177/0091415016641693.

Health AdministrationOzcan, Y., and Khushalani, J. (2016). Assessing efficiency of public health and medical care provision in OECD countries after a decade of reform. Central European Journal of Operations Research.

DePuccio, M., and Ozcan, Y. (2016). Exploring efficiency differences between medical home and non- medical home hospitals. International Journal of Healthcare Management. Published online Jan. 7, 2016.

Highfill, T., and Ozcan, Y. (2016). Productivity and quality in pioneer Accountable Care Organization hospitals. International Journal of Healthcare Management.

Liu, X., Oetjen, D.M., Oetjen, R.M., Zhao, M., Ozcan, Y., and Ge, L. (2015). The efficiency of ophthalmic ambulatory surgery centers. Journal of Medical Practice Management, 31(1):20-25.

McCue, M.J. (2015). Assessing the financial performance of health insurers paying a rebate under ACA. Journal of Health Care Finance, 42(1).

McCue, M.J. (2015). The impact of Medicaid expansion on Medicaid focused insurers in California. Inquiry, 52:1-4. http://inq.sagepub.com/content /52/0046958015595960.full.pdf+html.

Mobley, L., and Bazzoli, G.J. (2016). Modeling “dependence of relevant alternatives” in consumer choice: A synthesis from disparate litera-tures. In Frank M. Howell, Jeremy R. Porter and Stephen Mathews (Eds.), Recapturing Space: New Middle-Range Theory in Spatial Demography. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer Press International.

Kazley, A.S., Schumacher, E.J., DelliFraine, J., Clement, D., Hall, R., O’Connor, S., Shewchuk, R., and Stefl, M. (2016). Competency development and validation: An update of the collaborative leadership model. Journal of Health Administration Education, Winter:73-93.

“There is so much more to science than what we can see, and these students remind us that sight is only one of our senses.”

Chelsea Perry Dexter Honora

Publications, Peer-Reviewed Journals and Book Chapters

Clinical Laboratory SciencesCabral, G.A., Ferriera, G.,

and Jamerson, M. (2015).

Endocannabinoids and the

immune system in health

and disease. In R. Pertwee

(Ed.), Cannabinoids. Lansdale,

PA: Springer.

Rule, J.A., Hynan L.S., Attar, N., Sanders, C., Korzun, W.J., and Lee, W.M. (2015). Procalcitonin identifies cell injury, not bacterial infection, in acute liver failure. PLoS One, 10(9):e0138566.

Sisler, J.D., Morgan, M., Raje, V., Grande, R.C., Derecka, M., Meier, J.,

Cantwell, M., Szczepanek, K., Korzun, W.J., Lesnefsky, E.J., Harris, T.E.,

Croniger, C.M., and Larner, A.C.

(2015). The signal transducer and

activator of transcription 1 (STAT1)

inhibits mitochondrial biogenesis in

liver and fatty acid oxidation in adi-

pocytes. PLoS One, 10(12):e0144444.

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NEWSNEWS

Patient CounselingDavis, R. (2015). The middle years. In Felicity Kelcourse (Ed.), Human Development and Faith: Life-Cycle Stages of Body, Mind and Soul. St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press.

Tartaglia, A., Ford, T., Dodd-McCue, D., Demm, C., and Hassell, A. (2016). A chaplain documentation and the electronic medical record: A survey of ACPE residency programs. Journal of Healthcare Chaplaincy, 22(2):41-53.

Cotter, J., Gendron, T., Kupstas, P., Tartaglia, A., and Will, L. (2016). Perceived benefits of mobile devices for doctoral students in a school of allied health professions. Journal of Allied Health, 44(2):e29-33.

Fitchett, G., Tartaglia, A., Massey, K., Jackson-Jordan, B., and Derrickson, P. (2015). Education for professional chaplains: Should certification competencies shape curriculum? Journal of Healthcare Chaplaincy, 21(4):151-164.

Faircloth, A.C., Dubovoy, A., Biddle, C., Dodd-McCue, D., and Butterworth, J.F. IV. (2016). Perceptions of acupuncture and acupressure by anesthesia providers: A quantitative descriptive study. Medical Acupuncture, 28(2):79-86.

Physical TherapyBowman, D.H., Ferber, K.L., and Sima, A.P. (2016). Inter-rater agreement on final competency testing utilizing standardized patients. J Allied Health. 45(1):3-7.

Michener, L.A., Elmore, K.A., Darter, B.J., and Timmons, M.K. (2016). Biomechanical measures in partici-pants with shoulder pain: Intra-rater reliability. Man Ther. 22:86-93.

Darter, B.J., Sinitski, K., and Wilken, J.M. (2015). Axial bone-socket displacement for persons with a traumatic transtibial amputation: The effect of elevated vacuum suspension at progressive body-weight loads. Prosthet Orthot Int.

Dusing, S.C. (2016). Postural variability and sensorimotor

development in infancy. Dev Med Child Neurol. 58 Suppl 4:17-21.

Pavão, S.L., Silva, F.P., Dusing, S.C., and Rocha, N.A. (2016). Clinical tools designed to assess motor abilities in children with cerebral palsy. Dev Neurorehabil. 1-11.

O’Grady, M.G., and Dusing, S.C. (2016). Assessment position affects problem-solving behaviors in a child with motor impairments. Pediatr Phys Ther. 28(2):253-8.

Dusing, S.C., Brown, S.E., Van Drew, C.M., Thacker, L.R., and Hendricks-Muñoz, K.D. (2015). Supporting play exploration and early development intervention from NICU to home: A feasibility study. Pediatr Phys Ther. 27(3):267-74.

Kardouni, J.R., Pidcoe, P.E., Shaffer, S.W., Finucane, S.D., Cheatham, S.A., Sousa, C.O., and Michener, L.A. (2015). Thoracic spine manipulation in individuals with subacromial impingement syndrome does not immediately alter thoracic spine kinematics, thoracic excursion, or scapular kinematics: A ran-domized controlled trial. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 45(7):527-38.

Kardouni, J.R., Shaffer, S.W., Pidcoe, P.E., Finucane, S.D., Cheatham, S.A., and Michener, L.A. (2015). Immediate changes in pressure pain sensitivity after thoracic spinal manipulative therapy in patients with subacromial impingement syndrome: A randomized controlled study. Man Ther. 20(4):540-6.

Dumke, E.K., Vander Wielen, L., Harris, K.A., and Ford-Smith, C.D. (2016). Interprofessional education in an enrichment programme for prospective health sciences students. J Interprof Care. 30(2):245-7.

Wares, J.R., Hoke, K.W., Walker, W., Franke, L.M., Cifu, D.X., Carne, W., and Ford-Smith, C. (2016). Characterizing effects of mild traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder on balance impairments in blast-exposed service members and veterans

using computerized posturography. J Rehabil Res Dev. 52(5):591-603.

Rumsey, H.E., Aggarwal, S., Hobson, E.M., Park, J., and Pidcoe, P. (2015). Anxiety’s effect on muscle activation and fatigue in trumpet players: A pilot study. Med Probl Perform Art. 30(4):203-10.

Riddle, D.L. (2016). Consequences of randomized clinical trial design decisions need to be clarified. J Clin Epidemiol.

Riddle, D.L., and Perera, R.A. (2016). Potential limitations of newly pro-posed knee osteoarthritis composite symptom score. Arthritis Rheumatol.

Riddle, D.L., and Makowski, M. (2015). Knee pain patterns and associations with pain and func-tion in persons with or at risk for symptomatic radiographic osteoar-thritis: A cross-sectional analysis. J Rheumatol. 42(12):2398-403.

Riddle D.L., Makowski, M., and Kong, X. (2015). Knee osteoarthritis wors-ening across the disease spectrum and future knee pain, symptoms, and functioning: A multisite prospective cohort study. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 67(12):1722-9.

Chevan, J., Riddle, D.L., and Reed, S.D. (2015). Out-of-pocket spending for ambulatory physical therapy services from 2008 to 2012: National panel survey. Phys Ther. 95(12):1680-91.

Hinman, R.S., Buchbinder, R., Craik, R.L., George, S.Z., Maher, C.G., and Riddle, D.L. (2015). Is this a clinical trial? And should it be registered? Phys Ther. 95(6):810-4.

Singh, J.A., Dohm, M., Sprowson, A.P., Wall, P.D., Richards, B.L., Gossec, L., Hawker, G.A., Riddle, D.L., and Buchbinder, R. (2015). Outcome domains and measures in total joint replacement clinical trials: Can we harmonize

2015 School of Allied Health Professions grant awardsFor the 2016 fiscal year, faculty members in the School of Allied Health Professions secured more than $3.5 million in grant fund-ing for research, training and other initiatives to enhance knowledge and spur discovery in a variety of fields — from mental health services and geriatric pain medication management to prosthetic attachment and autism.

Clement, D.G., Curran, M.A., and Jahn, S.L. (2015). Employee benefits. In Bruce J. Fried and Myron Fottler (Eds.), Human Resources in Healthcare (4th ed.). Chicago, IL: AUPHA/Health Administration Press.

White, K.R., and Clement, D.G. (2015). Healthcare professionals. In Bruce J. Fried and Myron Fottler (Eds.), Human Resources in Healthcare (4th ed.). Chicago, IL: AUPHA/Health Administration Press.

Steckler, L., Feldman, S., and Watts, C. (2015). A physician-led Accountable Care Organization: From award to implementation. American Journal of Accountable Care. Published online September 24, 2015, www.ajmc.com/journals/ajac/2015/2015-vol3-n3/A-Physician-led-Accountable-Care-Organization-From-Award-to-Implementation.

Vogus, T.J., and McClelland, L.E. (2016). When the customer is the patient: Lessons from healthcare research on patient satisfaction and service qual-ity ratings. Human Resource Management Review, 26(1):37-49.

Rathert, C., May, D.R., and Chung, H.S. (2016). Nurse moral distress: A survey identifying predictors and potential interventions. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 53:39-49.

Clement, J.P., and Khushalani, J. (2015). Are publicly reported quality measures aligned with nursing home prices? Journal of Health Care Finance, 42(1).

DeShazo, J.P., and Hoffman, M. (2015). A comparison of a multistate inpatient EHR database to the HCUP nationwide inpatient sample. BMC Health Services Research, 15(1):1.

DeShazo, J.P. (2016). Information systems. In John Shiver and John

Contello (Eds.), Managing Integrated Health Systems. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Nurse AnesthesiaSnoots, L., and Wands, B. (2016). Use of personal electronic devices by nurse anesthetists and the effects on patient safety. AANA Journal, 84:2-6.

Greenwood, J., and Biddle, C. (2015). Impact of legislation on the scope of practice among nurse anesthetists. American Journal of Nurse Practitioners, 11(5):498-504.

Faircloth, A., Dubovoy, A., Biddle, C., Dodd-McCue, D., and Butterworth, J. F. (2016). Perceptions of acupuncture and acupressure by anesthesia providers: A quan-titative descriptive study. Medical Acupuncture, 28(2):79-86.

Biddle, C. (2015). I just gave blood to my patient: Besides infectious disease, what can go wrong? Current Reviews in Clinical Anesthesia, 38:41-52.

Biddle, C. (2015). Anesthesia alert: An infection at the head of the table? Outpatient Surgery, 16(12).

Conley, A., Biddle, C., and Baker, B. (2016). A tour of autonomic reflex activity of relevance to the anesthetist. AANA Journal.

Biddle, C., Gay, B., Verhulst,

B., Robinson, K., Pike, B., and Kammerman, M. (2016). Tracking surrogate pathogenic material transmission in the anesthesia workstation a randomized controlled trial. Amer J Infect Control.

Occupational TherapyGentry, T. (2015). Mobile technol-ogies as vocational supports for workers with cognitive-behavioral challenges. AOTA Technology Special Interest Section Quarterly, 25(3).

Moore, T., Verno, T., Werntz, A., Dillon, P., Gentry, T., Walters, V., Hursh, S.R., Roma, P.G., Rybarczyk, B., and Svikis, D. (2015). Relationship between sleep problems and heavy/problem substance use in primary care patients. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 146:e45-46.

Reynolds, S., Pfeiffer, B., and Miller-Kuhanek, H. (2016). Effectiveness of frequency modulation (FM) to improve academic performance in children with auditory pro-cessing difficulties: A systematic review. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 70(1).

Reynolds, S. (2015). Successful management of Barth syndrome: A systematic review highlighting the importance of a flexible and multidisciplinary approach. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 8:1-14.

Deboth, K.K., Lane, S.J., and Reynolds, S. (2016). Innovative uses of physiolog-ical measures in sensory processing research and practice. SIS Quarterly Practice Connections, 1(1):7-9.

Deboth, K.K., Benevides, T., Lane, S.J., Reynolds, S. (2015). Using physiological measure-ments in sensory processing and integration research. Sensory Integration Special Interest Section Quarterly Newsletter, 11:1-4.

Lane, S.J., Mailloux, Z., Reynolds, S., and Smith Roley, S. (2015). Patterns of sensory integration dysfunction in specific populations: Evidence-based identification. OT Practice 20(17).

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NEWSNEWS

them? An OMERACT collaborative ini-tiative. J Rheumatol. 42(12):2496-502.

Riddle, D.L., and Dumenci, L. (2015). Modeling longitudinal osteoarthritis data to identify homogeneous subgroups: Opportunities and challenges in a burgeoning literature. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 23(7):1035-7.

Riddle, D.L., Perera, R.A., Nay, W.T., and Dumenci, L. (2015). What is the relationship between depressive symptoms and pain during functional tasks in persons undergoing TKA? A 6-year perioperative cohort study. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 473(11):3527-34.

Luedke, L.E., Heiderscheit, B.C., Williams, D.S. III, and Rauh, M.J. (2016). Influence of step rate on shin injury and anterior knee pain in high school runners. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 26.

Kline, P.W., Williams, D.S. III (2015). Effects of normal aging on lower extremity loading and coordination during running in males and females. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 10(6):901-9.

Luedke, L.E., Heiderscheit, B.C., Williams, D.S. III, and Rauh, M.J. (2015). Association of isometric strength of hip and knee muscles with injury risk in high school cross-country runners. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 10(6):868-76.

Williams, D.S. III, and Welch, L.M. (2015). Male and female runners demonstrate different sagittal

plane mechanics as a function of static hamstring flexibility. Braz J Phys Ther. 19(5):421-8.

Powell, D.W., and Williams, D.S. III (2015). Athletes trained using stable compared to unstable surfaces exhibit distinct postural control profiles when assessed by traditional and nonlinear measures. Hum Mov Sci. 44:73-80.

Radiation SciencesCohen, T., Legg, J.S., and Dempsey, M. (2015). The effect of vertical off-centering on breast dose during CT simulation of accelerated partial breast irradiation planning. Radiation Therapist, 24:122-130.

Cohen, T.F., Legg, J.S., Hutchinson, J., Levy, J., and Bosher, W. (2015). Factors influencing HPV vaccine use among racially diverse female college stu-dents. Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, 8:75-88.

Johnston, J.N., and Fauber, T.L. (2015). Essentials of radiographic physics andimaging (2nd ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby/Elsevier.

Rehabilitation CounselingYates, C.M., Holmes, C.M., Coe Smith, J.C., and Nielson, T. (2016). The benefits of implementing a feedback-informed treatment system within counselor education curriculum. The Professional Counselor, 6(1):22-32.

Holmes, C.M., and Kozlowski, K.A. (2015). A preliminary comparison of online and face-to-face process groups. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 33(3):241-262.

Reid, C., and Riddick-Grisham, S. (2015). The importance of work or productive activity in life care planning and case management. NeuroRehabilitation, 36:267-274.

Preston, K., and Reid, C. (2015). Revision process for the standards of practice for life care planners. Journal of Life Care Planning, 13(3):21-30.

Miller, E., Gonzalez, R., and Kim, J.H. (2016). Vocational rehabilitation outcome among older adults with diabetes. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 44(1):109-121.

Kim, J.H., McMahon, B., Hawley, C., and Brickham, D. (2016). Psychosocial adaptation to chronic illness and disability: A virtue-based model. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 26(1):45-55.

Kim, J.H., Reid, C., McMahon, B., Gonzalez, R., and Lee, D.H. (2016). Measuring the virtues special and character strengths of rehabilitation clients: The adaptive inventory of virtue and strengths. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 26(1):32-44.

McMahon, B.T., and Kim, J.H. (2015). Foreword to special issue on the

interface of positive psychology with rehabilitation research and practice. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 26(1):1-3.

Lee, D.H., Kim, S.K., Cho, Y.H., and Kim, J.H. (2015). Analysis of research trends on disaster psychology in Korea. Journal of Rehabilitation Psychology, 22(1):41-58.

Griffin, C.L., and McMahon, B.T. (2015). Explaining ADA employ-ment discrimination charges over the business cycle. University of Cincinnati Law Review, 83(3):1-44.

Cichy, K.E., Li, J., McMahon, B.T., and Rumrill, P.D. (2015). The workplace discrimination of people with older disabilities: Results from the National EEOC ADA Research Project. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 43(2):137-148.

Shamburger-Rosseau, A., Conyers, L., and Armstrong, A.J. (2015). Rehabilitation service utilization among African-American women living with HIV/AIDS. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 1-13.

Virginia Center on AgingCoogle, C.L., and Owens, M.G. (2015). Interprofessional training on brief intervention for older adults. Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice, 10(2):1-11.

Coogle, C.L., Hackett, L.P., Owens, M.G., Ansello, E.F., and Mathews, J.H. (2016). Perceived self-efficacy gains following an interprofessional faculty development program in geriatrics education. Journal of Interprofessional Care. Published online at http://www.tandfonline.com.proxy.library.vcu.edu/doi/full/10.1080/13561820.2016.1177003.

Brown, K.W., Coogle, C.L., and Wegelin, J. (2015). A pilot randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction for caregivers of family members with dementia. Aging and Mental Health, http://www.tandfonline.com.proxy.library.vcu.edu/doi/full/10.1080/13607863.2015.1065790.

New faculty and staff membersPatricia Laverdure, OTR/L, O.T.D., joined the Department of Occupational Therapy as its new fieldwork coordinator in July 2016. Laverdure comes to the department following a full career in practice and academia, most recently as program manager for Physical and Occupational Therapy Services in the Fairfax County (VA) Public School System. She chairs the Early Intervention and Schools Special Interest System of the American Occupational Therapy Association. She coordinates all aspects of level II fieldwork for the department and teaches courses with pediatrics content.

Courtney O’Hara, M.S., is the project manager for the Central Virginia Task Force on Domestic Violence in Later Life, a part of the Virginia Center on Aging. A local partnership of organizations working since 1998 to raise awareness and improve the community response to women aged 50 and older who experience domestic, sexual or family violence, the task force works directly with four cities and counties and offers technical support statewide. O’Hara works with multidisciplinary teams in three jurisdictions and does training statewide. Some of the workshops she’s conducted locally have been on such topics as community partnerships, protective orders and dynamics of domestic and sexual violence.

Brenda Wands, Ph.D., CRNA, joined the Department of Nurse Anesthesia in September 2015 as the director of interprofessional education. In this role, she works collaboratively across disciplines within as well as beyond VCU focusing on patient safety initiatives related to anesthesia delivery. Wands teaches M.S.N.A., D.N.A.P. and Ph.D. students and plans to expand her current clinical research. Her research interests include ethics and adult education.

Retiring faculty and staffTerri L. Fauber, Ed.D., R.T. (R)(M), associate professor and chair of the Department of Radiology Sciences, retired this summer after 31 years of service at VCU. Fauber has more than 25 years’ experience as a radiographer and educator. She is the author of the textbook “Radiographic Imaging and Exposure,” co-author of the textbook “Essentials of Radiographic Physics and Imaging,” member of the editorial board of the international journal Radiography and trustee to the ASRT Foundation Board. She has authored several manuscripts covering both technical and professional topics and is a recipient of the Distinguished Author Award.

Marjorie Goodwin retired from the Department of Nurse Anesthesia in December 2015 after 21 years with VCU. (See Page 36 for more details.)

Jayne T. Shepherd, M.S., associate professor and assistant chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy, retired after 30 years with VCU. Her professional interests included school-based occupational therapy, collaborative teamwork, transition planning for adolescents with disabilities, assistive technology in pediatrics, fieldwork education and development of professional behaviors.

Faculty and staff news

Patricia Laverdure

Courtney O’Hara

Brenda Wands

Terri Fauber

Marjorie Goodwin

Jayne Shepherd

#DISRUPTAGEISM: VCU Department of Gerontology chair E. Ayn Welleford, Ph.D., is committed to ending ageism in Richmond. “Elderhood is a life stage beyond adulthood that we should all be preparing for and anticipating with a positive mind,” she says.

Gerontology department celebrates milestone anniversaryCelebrating its 40th anniversary in 2016, the VCU Department of Gerontology has grad-uated more than 500 students from the master’s degree program and awarded graduate certificates in aging studies to gerontology practitioners from across the commonwealth.

As the only university in Virginia to offer a Master of Science in gerontology, VCU attracts the future leaders of the field. Approximately 10 students graduate from the master’s degree program each year, and VCU is committed to ensuring that each of those students has a role in shaping the future of the discipline. As the U.S. population continues to age, the field will continue to grow.

One of the department’s primary goals for 2016 is to fight ageism.

Photo Tom Nash

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NEWSNEWS

The new School of Allied Health Professions building will unify faculty, staff and students for greater success

REACHING NEW HEIGHTSB Y A N N E D R E Y F U S S

In the winter, first-year physical therapy student Carlin Tettelbach often only sees sunlight for an hour of her day.

“We are pretty happy and positive people, but it can be gloomy at times,” the 24-year-old says of herself and her classmates who spend weekdays together at the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Physical Therapy, which is housed in the basement of West Hospital on the MCV Campus. The perpetually cold and windowless basement is prone to flooding and often smells of mold. “It is a little dreary and very old, but we deal with it because we have such great profes-sors and great classmates,” Tettelbach says.

For 16 years, students have endured the dark, damp and dreary environment in exchange for the opportunity to learn from the world- renowned faculty that the department recruits, but soon students will not have to sacrifice sunlight for academic pursuits. Last spring, the Virginia legislature and the VCU Board of Visitors approved plans for a new School of Allied Health Professions building that will bring all 11 of the school’s units under one roof. Construction for the new building is slated to start this fall, and it is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2019.

“I have always had it as my goal to get a building,” says School of Allied Health Professions Dean Cecil B. Drain, Ph.D. “It is a phenomenally deserving school.”

A HISTORICAL UNDERTAKING When Drain began leading the School of Allied Health Professions in 1997, the previous dean showed him an architectural rendering of a new building for the school that was drawn in 1985. “That was the last time we had a shot at a new building,” Drain says.

Soon after starting as dean, he developed the school’s motto “Strength through diversity,” as the first step toward uniting the various departments. Drain also established the school’s grand rounds, which occur four times a year at the Egyptian Building. During grand rounds, students are presented with a complex patient case, and they take turns presenting to one another on how they would help the patient based on their individual disciplines. “The students started to figure out that it is all one team working together,” Drain says. “That was a method of madness on my part to try to draw them together on the one-building concept.”

Creating a unified space for the school and its top-ranked programs is a priority in VCU’s Master Site Plan, which was developed by university officials with stakeholder input. The plan includes development, renovation and construction on the MCV Campus that enhances academic instruc-tion and health sciences research.

VCU began planning for the new build-ing in the fall of 2013 with a study led by a school-appointed committee that includes faculty, staff and student representatives. In 2014 they conducted a preliminary study to develop a conceptual design of the building. Support from university leadership provided the necessary boost to turn the plan into a reality.

“Our nationally premier School of Allied Health Professions needed space that matched the remarkable talent of the faculty, staff and students who comprise it,” VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., says. “Having these renowned researchers, educators and practitioners together under one roof will foster the interprofessional collaboration that represents the future of health care.”

School of Allied Health Professions Dean Cecil B. Drain, Ph.D., and VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., discuss the architect’s model of the new School of Allied Health Professions building.

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The new $87.3 million facility will unite the school’s academic units, the dean’s office and the Virginia Center on Aging, which have occupied 13 buildings in the past 45 years and are now scattered among five buildings on

two campuses.“With the new

building, we will be a unified force,” Tettelbach says, adding that the only time she interacts with students from other departments is during monthly student executive board meetings. The majority of her classmates never meet students from other

departments. “It will be a great way for students to interact interprofessionally and be able to practice what the professors are preaching to us about working with other professions.”

THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM The 154,100-square-foot School of Allied Health Professions building will be located at 10th and Leigh streets, across from the MCV Campus bookstore and the N Deck in the space currently occupied by the aging Bear, Rudd, Warner and McRae residence halls. The LEED Silver-designed building is going to be L-shaped, with a west-facing eight-story wing and a south-facing four-story wing.

Each of the building’s eight floors will feature two casual spaces with tables, chairs and electrical outlets where students can mingle. “We will have numerous places for interaction among various disciplines,” Drain says. “When these students graduate and start working in hospitals and other health care settings, they will be prepared for working with other occupations.”

The building will also feature plentiful outdoor space, with a deck and garden on the fourth floor that will be open year-round for students to meet and study together. The dean’s office will be housed in one of the lower levels, and individual departments will largely be collected on the upper floors.

“The hidden curriculum of this building is to bring people together so that they have a chance to understand one another’s profession,” Drain says. “One of the major goals of the building is to facilitate interactions among the various professions.”

The first-floor lobby will feature an open-concept space with a student-centric focus and an auditorium capable of fitting 160 students. Classrooms will be furnished to maximize flexibility to accommodate various teaching styles and methods. They will have tables and chairs on wheels so that people can change the architecture depending on individual needs for each class. “The old-style classroom is a thing of the past,” Drain says.

In addition to being adaptable, the new classrooms will have advanced telecommunications technologies,

including two-way synchronous video conferencing and satellite downlinks. The school is a recognized leader in distance education both within the VCU community and nationally, having offered distance-learning pro-grams for the past 20 years. Full programs are available in eight of the school’s nine departments, and all departments have courses that are available to distance learners. The plethora of new classroom technologies will increase the school’s distance-learning capabilities and make it even more appealing for students who don’t live in Richmond to enroll in VCU’s programs.

The technological advances will extend beyond the classrooms with a state-of-the-art simulation center that will include operating rooms, recovery rooms and patient exam rooms. The simulation center will have lifelike mannequins that simulate heartbeats, breathing and other vital signs to replicate real-life patient care situations.

“We wired the new building to be as high-tech as it could be,” Drain says.

A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT Suggestions for new technologies, as well as other input for the building’s design, came directly from students and faculty, who

have been involved in planning from the beginning. “They listened to us, and they know what we would

like to have and what would benefit us,” Tettelbach says. She would advocate for physical therapy students’ needs during the monthly student executive board meetings. During the meetings, she would suggest the type of furniture they wanted in the classrooms and prefer-ences for the layout on each floor. “Dr. Drain is always sharing updates about the building with us, showing us pictures and getting our input,” Tettelbach says.

The school also sought faculty input during the archi-tectural planning process. “I wanted to make sure that the needs of our students and faculty were met and to ensure that there would be room for our programs to grow,” says Teresa Nadder, Ph.D. (B.S., ’78; M.S., ’88; Ph.D., ’98). The chair and associate professor in the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences has been involved in planning from the beginning. She helped with developing the proposal

that was sent to the Virginia General Assembly two years ago and has met with the building’s architects once a month for the past year to advocate for the specific needs of students and faculty from her department.

The predominant benefit of moving to the new building will be for students and faculty to have the oppor-tunity to interact with other departments, Nadder says. The Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences has been housed at Randolph Minor Hall for more than 50 years. The historic building, which was constructed in the 1800s as the first African American Baptist church in Richmond, is located at the farthest edge of the MCV Campus at 301 College St. “In our current space, the CLS students have very

The new $87.3 million facility will unite the school’s academic units, the dean’s office and the Virginia Center on Aging, which have occupied 13 buildings in the past 45 years and are now scattered among five buildings on two campuses.

“With the new building we are going to be able to play in the big leagues in terms

of faculty recruitment.”— SCHOOL OF ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONS

DEAN CECIL B. DRAIN, PH.D.

From the outset, students, faculty and staff played an integral role in planning the school’s new LEED Silver-designed home, creating a space capable of meeting individual departmental needs and fostering collaboration.

At top: first-floor lobby designed to welcome and spark interaction. Above: one of many multipurpose spaces capable of hosting class-room lectures, guest speakers and other forums. Right: a rear-facing view of the building, as seen from Larrick Student Center.

Summer 2016

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VCU Allied Health

few opportunities for interaction with students from other departments,” Nadder says. “The new building will be a wonderful opportunity for them to meet other students.”

Interactions among departments will benefit students from other departments as much as it will benefit clinical laboratory sciences students. The department has the expertise to conduct clinical laboratory testing on research studies that students and faculty from other departments might be working on. “We can be helpful with any type of research project that may involve correlation of laboratory results with patient diagnosis, prognosis or treatment moni-toring,” Nadder says. “But we have to advertise what skills we possess and what services we can offer to other departments. This task will be easier when we are in one building.”

ROOM TO GROWAs with every other department in the school, the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences will benefit not only from the change in location, but also from the increased space of the new building. The new building will allow for separate instructional and research spaces, which currently overlap in the department’s 7,000-square-foot facility. A recent study by an outside firm recommended an increase to at least 11,000 square feet for the department to adequately meet the existing need. “Being in the new building with more space and laboratory equipment will make it more attractive for students to conduct research,” Nadder says.

The increase in space will provide room for the department to grow as well. As the Master of Science in clinical laboratory sciences has continued to evolve over the years, the program has outgrown the available lab space at Randolph Minor Hall. “We don’t have the space

downstairs to comfortably accommodate our master’s students,” Nadder says, adding that the program will go from having 32 bench spots to 48 when they move to the new building.

Drain estimates that the school will have about 20 percent more assignable space with the new building than it currently occupies across its myriad homes. The increase in space will help to expand enrollment, which is limited primarily by space restrictions. The Department of Health Administration, which is now housed in the William H. Grant House on the MCV Campus, is limited literally by the number of chairs that can fit into the classrooms. “There are just enough chairs there to fit the number of students in the program,” Drain says. “They cannot physically fit in one more chair.” With the new building, the department will be able to increase enrollment by 10 percent.

The appeal of the new building combined with the ability to accept more students will augment the school’s capability to attract and retain the best students and faculty in a variety of health sciences fields. “We get the top students now, but we are going to get even better students with the new build-ing,” Drain says. “We are going to be able to play in the big leagues in terms of faculty recruitment.”

Five of the school’s nine programs are ranked among the nation’s top 50 by U.S. News & World Report, including nurse anesthesia at No. 1, health administration at No. 3 and reha-bilitation counseling at No. 4. The benefits of consolidating into one building will bolster the success of those programs, while further improving the other departments that are housed at the school.

“Having the new building is going to enhance the stature of the school immensely,” Drain says. “We are headed into exciting times.”

Where did the design inspiration come from for the new School of Allied Health Professions building?

The design concept stemmed from the idea of reinforcing a diagonal pedes-trian path from the northwest corner of the site to the southeast corner. A big aha moment was when we developed a strategy that created an eight-story tower to the west and a four-story podium to the east, which allows for more daylight from the south to make its way into the new courtyard created by the structure.

How will the building’s design support key values of the school such as interprofes-sionalism and community engagement?

The goal from the onset of the project was to avoid planning one level that was all offices and one level that was all classrooms. This motivation to mix up the different user groups in the building is intentional because it reinforces academically effective collisions among students, faculty and staff. We want people to run into each other a lot in order to avoid the ivory tower effect and promote alliances among all users. Another aspect of the design that supports collaboration is a number of more casual meeting areas that we located throughout the build-ing. These spaces come in the form of living rooms, break rooms and seating nooks that are equally distributed throughout the building. The street-level design is also very important to the mission of the school. Considering the recent and future development in

this area of Richmond, we wanted to make sure the new School of Allied Health Professions building would be a good neighbor to its surroundings. The street level is intentionally transparent to ensure that when pedestrians are passing the building, it is warm and inviting. This transparency also serves to take advantage of the new courtyard green space that will be an amenity to the entire precinct.

How do you expect the new building to improve the academic experience for students and faculty at the School of Allied Health Professions?

One of the key project goals was to fulfill the academic promise of bringing together so many different departments that often have been working in isolation in order to provide new research and learning opportunities. An example of this is the shared simulation spaces that will be available for all the departments to use. The simulation spaces will feature state-of-the-art equipment and fully immersive environments where students can practice varying forms of health care delivery and therapeutic care. Trends in health care and the education of health professionals are toward team-based care, and the design of the new building fully facilitates that. The building will significantly help to further modernize VCU’s approach to the teaching of the allied health professions in a beautiful, well-lit, convenient, state- of-the-art new facility.

Photos Eric Levin Photography

Jennifer Amster Rob McClure Eric Kern

Meet the architectsA Q&A with EYP Architecture & Engineering project designer Rob McClure, academic planner Jennifer Amster and project director Eric Kern

Lobby and prefunction gathering area

Gallery

Multifunction classroom

Lecture hall

Classroom

Classroom

Classroom

Open study area

Conference room

Level 1 Plan

F L O O R P L A N S

Having so many diverse disciplines housed under one roof meant designing a building that could balance individual departmental needs for lab work, simulation and research, while simultaneously promoting cohesion and collaboration. Along with casual spaces to promote interaction, including an outdoor deck and garden on the fourth floor, each floor features flexible classrooms designed to accommo-date a variety of discipline-specific set-ups and functions, as well as faculty and administrative offices, multipurpose areas and conference rooms — all equipped with the latest technological capabilities.

LEVEL 2 PLANDean’s Office and Hospital Suite ALD Apartment

LEVEL 3 PLANNurse Anesthesia and Radiation Sciences Simulation Center Imaging

LEVEL 4 PLANPhysical Therapy

LEVEL 5 PLANOccupational Therapy

LEVEL 6 PLANClinical Lab Sciences

LEVEL 7 PLANVirginia Center on Aging Gerontology Patient Counseling Rehabilitation Counseling

LEVEL 8 PLANHealth Administration

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A PATIENT’S JOURNEY THROUGH ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONS

A llied health professions are just that — allied — with each other, with the health care industry as a whole and, most importantly, with patients.

Sixty percent of any hospital’s staff is made up of allied health professionals, offering the most qual-ified, efficient care possible. At Virginia Commonwealth University, our allied health students are educated in some of U.S. News & World Report’s top-ranked programs

in the country, including VCU’s No. 1-ranked nurse anesthesia program, No. 3-ranked health administration program and No. 4-ranked rehabilitation counseling program. Our goal is to get patients healthy, on the road to full recovery and back home with their loved ones.

To get a sense of what the patient experience is like in a clinical setting, follow along as our fictional patient, Jane, finds health care allies at every step of her journey.

Physical therapists will play a critical role in Jane’s post-surgery recovery, restoring function, improving mobility, relieving pain and mitigating permanent disability based on a detailed plan of care.

When working directly with Jane, an applied gerontologist may advocate for her and help her connect with a wide range of community resources to support her during and after recovery, including those related to Jane’s physical functioning, intellectual and emotional health, social and spiritual connections and understanding of her future. When working behind the scenes, a research gerontologist may be pursuing and disseminating evidence-based research on optimal

aging and supporting other allied health disciplines to provide quality, non-

discriminatory care to all older adults.

Before Jane goes to surgery, certified clinical laboratory scientists working in the areas of clinical chemistry, hematology/hemostasis, immunology/transfusion medicine, microbiology and molecular diagnostics will perform laboratory testing to provide the information necessary for an accurate diagnosis or best course of treatment. Common laboratory tests ordered for a patient scheduled for surgery include a comprehensive metabolic profile; a complete blood cell count; and blood typing, antibody screen and crossmatch in case a blood transfusion is needed.

Clinical Laboratory Sciences

The certified registered nurse anesthetist is tasked with caring for Jane while she cannot care for herself during surgery. First, the CRNA will conduct a comprehensive pre-operative evaluation, review Jane’s medical history and current medications, discuss the risks and benefits of different types of anesthesia and obtain her consent for the anesthetic. During surgery, the CRNA will administer a cadre of anesthetic agents and adjunct therapeutics to render the patient unconscious, amnestic, immobile and pain free, while exercising extreme vigilance in providing blood and fluid replacement, as well as adequate oxygenation to ensure patient safety.

Nurse Anesthesia

Patient counselors are critical in assessing patient (and family) spiritual and emotional concerns and providing a calming, compassionate presence should Jane feel anxious or distressed before surgery. Afterwards, they participate in patient discharge, identifying needs for home-based care and referring support resources.

Patient Counseling

VCoA’s Virginia Geriatric Education Center works with faculty from across disciplines to ensure practitioners are responding to patients like Jane with cutting-edge practices. And, by working to increase awareness of the prevalence of elder abuse, the VCoA can assist providers in screening for and reporting abuse accordingly. Victims of abuse are three times more likely to be admitted to the hospital, and learning to spot signs that Jane may be suffering from neglect or improper treatment is crucial to ensuring her continued well-being.

Virginia Center on Aging

Gerontology

Physical Therapy (PT)

OT can comprise acute intervention if there are complicating health and behavioral issues, but in Jane’s case, therapeutic goal-directed, task-oriented lifestyle activities that enhance independence and function will build on the PT success she’s already established.

Occupational Therapy (OT)

B Y M I C H A E L M I T C H E L L

After a successful surgery

and focused, customized

counseling and therapy, Jane is

heading home with a plan — and

resources — to continue her

care and recovery.

the

Rehabilitation counseling is focused on helping Jane adjust to any challenges by maximizing her sense of well-being, independent living and community inclusion. Individualization and a holistic approach to services, as well as full client participation, will get Jane back on track as quickly as possible.

Rehabilitation Counseling

Jane heads into surgery

comfortable, confident and with

a great prognosis for recovery

thanks to the continuing

therapy she’ll get.

Meet Jane, a 72-year-old

woman who slipped at home

and was rushed to the ER

with a badly broken ankle.Health administrators work behind the scenes to coordinate day-to-day operations of complex health care organizations and ensure that the services of all departments are delivered with efficiency and cohesion. These skilled leaders are adept at crafting and overseeing implementation of the various policies and procedures needed to provide high-quality, collaborative patient care, including safety protocols, staff training and support systems, regulatory reporting and sound fiscal management.

Health Administration

The team in Emergency Department radiography performs a front line investigation and gets Jane into medical imaging. Her compound fracture is immobilized, and she is made comfortable until surgery.

Radiation Sciences

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When it came time for Mary Culshaw, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’15/HRS), to defend her

doctoral dissertation, rather than come to campus, she adjourned to her living room in Alberta, Canada. There, she was able to log onto GoToMeeting, connect with her chair and committee members from across the globe and defend her original research one last time.

Does the work represent a meaningful contribution to the field? Was the research conducted and interpreted soundly? These are the types of questions any doctoral candidate must address. However, as Culshaw presented her answers, she found herself briefly interrupted by her son arriving home from school, who took a moment to offer a few words of encouragement before ascending the staircase.

According to Paula Kupstas, Ph.D., director of the Ph.D. Program in Health Related Sciences in the School of Allied Health Professions, Culshaw’s situation was unique, since most distance learners come to campus for their dissertation defense.

EXPANDING AND ENHANCING OPPORTUNITIES

Even though it was uncommon, the scene served as a poignant reminder of the power and scope of not just her program’s distance-learning initiatives, but those of the entire school — a concrete example of how the school works to establish and provide diverse ways to connect with those who may not be able to come to campus full time.

As an umbrella term, distance learning encompasses a wide range of educational experiences. It can consist of online coursework, sup-plemented with discussion boards and on-campus sessions. It can entail establishing satellite sites for instruction to meet workforce demands in various industries. And it can mean crafting new and flexible approaches for delivering curriculum to meet the ever-changing needs of the allied health industry.

But regardless of the forms distance learning may take, the School of Allied Health Professions was one of the first in the country to recognize its value and place in higher education, and the school continues to lead the way in developing new approaches.

A PIONEER AND A MODEL MOVING FORWARDIn the mid-1980s, the Department of Health Administration began asking a few simple questions: Why should full-time working professionals have to leave their jobs to continue their education? Why couldn’t they instead continue to work in their respective fields and apply cutting-edge concepts and skills while they were learning them?

By 1988, the answers to those questions helped lead to the creation of only the second health admin-istration graduate program with a distance-learning component in the country at that time — one that continues to draw a diverse array of students and combines six intensive weeklong, on-campus sessions with rigorous off-campus scholarship.

While in Richmond, students establish connections with their classmates, engage with faculty and tap into the school’s extensive on-campus resources. Then, through enhanced distance-learning technol-ogies, the Master of Science in Health Administration program is able to create electronic classrooms for each of its courses, where students can view

seminars and lectures (either in real-time or asynchronously), collaborate on projects and communicate with faculty and other students about various concepts, developments in the field and even personal experiences encountered in the workplace. This allows students to tailor a schedule and approach that best fits their needs, while also keeping them engaged with their classmates.

From the outset, this model proved effective, and in the mid-1990s, Cecil B. Drain, Ph.D., dean of the School of Allied Health Professions, saw an opportunity to replicate its success and meet the need for more highly trained researchers and professionals throughout the allied health industry.

Structured in much the same way as the M.S.H.A. program, the school launched the Ph.D. Program in Health Related Sciences in 1998, which draws students from the nine departments of the school — each with their own experiences and research interests — into cohorts.

As with the M.S.H.A. program, the Ph.D. Program in Health Related Sciences enables students to remain in their professional fields without having to leave their

current positions or uproot their families, through a blend of online coursework and on-campus sessions.

“Being on campus at the beginning and end of each semester really gives them the chance to connect with each other, our doctoral program staff and the faculty in their specialty tracks in a way that would be much more diffi-cult in a solely online program,” says Kupstas. “It’s important for them to bond in that way, because that’s where a lot of their support will come from.”

And for students like Culshaw, that support lives on long past graduation.

This is because her cohort included not only occupational therapists like herself, but also people in the fields of health administration, nurse anesthesia, rehabilitation counseling and others. As such, Culshaw says she was exposed to so many nuances of the health care system that she would not normally encounter, which led to vibrant discussions and relationships she still taps for insight.

However, getting those discus-sions to take off when students might be on opposite ends of the globe requires commitment and showcases just how dedicated the

program’s distance learners truly are, which Kupstas sees whenever she monitors a discussion forum.

“There’s a perception that ‘online’ means ‘easier,’” Kupstas says, “but I’ll see students weighing in on a problem or topic very late at night, or very early in the morning. Plus, it’s a continuing dialogue throughout a weeklong discussion forum, which I think affords them the time to really ponder, think deeply about an issue and have a rich dialogue.”

In a cohort like Culshaw’s, which included students from Washington, Baltimore and even as far away as Ireland, it’s paramount that the education they receive dovetail with their personal and professional lives, she says. But more than that, it’s the nurturing atmosphere of the program and the entire school that allows non- traditional students like her to thrive.

“They really took care of us,” Culshaw says. “There was a point where, for per-sonal reasons, I had to take a semester off, and they really helped me sort that all out. So, it wasn’t just the final defense that was a feat, but the last four years, being part of a hybrid program and performing good research.”

For more than 20 years, the School of Allied Health Professions has spearheaded diverse distance learning initiatives to impact more students and drive education and patient care forward 2nd24%

university in the U.S. to have a distance- learning program for health administration

Rehabilitation Counseling has educated more than 300 distance learners from 31 states

of rehabilitation counseling students are distance learners Nurse Anesthesia

graduated 115 distance- learning students who tend to stay and work in the areas in which they were educated

115 31statesB Y A N D Y B A T E S

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CONNECTING WITH COMMUNITIES IN NEEDThat drive to connect with students like Culshaw where they live spans all of the school’s distance-learning initiatives, and it’s this core principle that enables students to impact the communities they call home. For the past 15 years, for example, regis-tered occupational therapists have been able to take advantage of the Department of Occupational Therapy’s online post-professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy program. Like the two aforementioned programs, the O.T.D. area of study not only allows students to gain an education while they work, but also encourages them to tailor their capstone leadership projects to their interests and passions, which most often stem from the unique environments and patient populations they work in and with every day.

In this way, even as they learn, these students often find ways to improve patient health care services on the ground, which is also one of the main impetuses behind the Department of Nurse Anesthesia’s efforts in 2004 to spearhead its first distance-education site at the Southwest Virginia Higher

Education Center in Abingdon, Va. At that time, says Corey Davis,

Ph.D., CRNA (Ph.D. ’11/HRS), assis-tant professor in the Department of Nurse Anesthesia, health care centers throughout rural portions of Southwest Virginia were experiencing difficulty recruiting and retaining health care professionals, particularly in the field of nurse anesthesia.

However, through enhancing the technological capabilities at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, department faculty were able to deliver curriculum using two-way high-definition videocon-ferencing, allowing people who call Southwest Virginia home to stay in the area, receive training and serve residents in their communities.

“I’m the poster child for why this is so important,” says Davis. “I grew up just outside of Martinsville, Va., came to college in Richmond right after high school, and I’ve never returned. This is a way for me to give back and a way for others to make a difference in their hometowns.“

Within a few years of graduating its first class from the Abingdon site, the department was approached

to extend its services to Roanoke, Va., and then to Northern Virginia, which means that a professor like Davis can give a lecture in Richmond and have an audience at three other sites across the state.

Since 2004, the department has graduated 115 students from these distance-learning sites, with 87 percent of those students staying within the region where they were educated. This measurably impacts their communities, Davis says, with the economic impact alone of graduates staying in the Abingdon area totaling millions of dollars.

But it isn’t just in the field of nurse anesthesia that the School of Allied Health Professions has made inroads in these communities. Through another partnership with the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences is now in its second year of offering its undergraduate program to students in the Abingdon area.

According to the American Society for Clinical Pathology, rural areas served by smaller hospitals and health centers are finding it

increasingly difficult to recruit and retain qualified laboratory personnel, which negatively impacts the delivery of health care services across the spectrum and has contributed to deteriorating health conditions for residents in these areas.

For Joshua Williams, Ph.D., MLS(ASCP) CM, assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Abingdon program coordinator, some of that shortage can be chalked up to the relative invisibility of the field itself. After all, most people don’t encounter laboratory staff during a doctor’s visit. They may see a phlebotomist draw blood, but that’s usually where the exposure ends. In addition to that lack of recognition, though, Williams also points to a decrease in training programs available for students who are interested in the field as another main reason for the shortage.

“Over the last 40 years, the amount of schools who run clinical laboratory sciences programs has been cut in half,” he says. “There are only a handful of places you can go in Virginia for a good, quality bachelor’s program in this area of study.”

But the Abingdon site is helping to change that, and in order to make it even more appealing to local residents, the department has streamlined the admission process for community college students in the area. This means that if a student finishes an associate degree in a science track, he or she can go straight into the clinical laboratory sciences program to finish his or her bachelor’s degree, which Williams says greatly benefits lower-income residents in the community who may not otherwise be able to fund a four-year degree program.

MEETING NEW DEMANDSSometimes, however, it’s not a short-age of professionals in a certain field that can drive distance learning, but rather a need to enhance the training of those already in the workforce, as was the case with the Department of Rehabilitation Counseling when it

began expanding its distance- learning curriculum in 1999.

At that time, a new federal law put into place by the Rehabilitation Services Administration’s Comprehensive System of Personnel Development mandated that coun-selors must have a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling or be able to obtain their certified rehabilitation counselor credential by a specified date, or risk losing their jobs.

To help with compliance, then-chair of VCU’s rehabilitation counseling department and current associate dean for research in the School of Allied Health Professions, Brian McMahon, Ph.D., entered into agreements with the states of Virginia and West Virginia to fund the education of 90 vocational counselors who were currently working in positions subject to the new law. A similar agreement soon

followed with North Carolina, and over the next decade, the depart-ment received three large grants from the Rehabilitation Services Administration to extend what the department had been doing for counselors in Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina to counselors in need across the country via hybrid distance and on-campus programs, structured in much the same way as those offered in health adminis-tration and health related sciences.

In total, the Department of Rehabilitation Counseling has

secured grants and state contracts of more than $5.5 million since 1999, educating more than 300 distance learners from 31 states, and with the current student body being made up of 24 percent distance learners, the department continues to have a strong hand in educating and training leaders in the field across the country.

Certainly, this level of outreach and expanding sphere of influence is what VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., had in mind during his most recent state of the university address, during which he spoke of “a more relevant university” as one equipped not only to position students for success and solve the challenges of our times, but to be forces of good in communities near and far.

And this is precisely where the impact of the School of Allied Health Professions’ approach to distance learning resides. Through the robust

and diverse programs detailed above, as well as those found throughout the entire school, true success is found not just in the number of degrees and certificates conferred, but in the opportunities afforded to those who might otherwise defer an education. The advances these students go on to make as researchers and scholars are tremendous, impacting both the current state of knowledge in their fields and the lives of those patients they see every day.

Additional research and reporting contributed by Chase Davis.

From her home in Alberta, Canada, Mary Culshaw, a student in the Ph.D. Program in Health Related Sciences, responds to questions during her dissertation defense via GoToMeeting. Top row, from left: Dr. Mary Culshaw, Dr. Tracy Jirikowic, Dr. Shelly Lane; bottom row, from left: Dr. Dianne Simons, Dr. Paula Kupstas, Dr. Henry Carretta

In addition to the distance-learning programs

outlined here, several more departments in

the School of Allied Health Professions offer a variety of distance-

and online-education options. For more information on these

and all of the school’s areas of study, visit: SAHP.VCU.EDU

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GLOBAL INFLUENCEInternational partnerships expand the

School of Allied Health Professions’ reach

B Y S A R A H S T A N L E Y

In 1998, Thomas Wan, Ph.D., then-chair of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of

Health Administration, saw an opportunity to create a vital partnership between two institutions on opposite sides of the globe.

Now, 18 years later, Wan’s vision and work in helping VCU team up with Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan to develop a weeklong workshop aimed at teaching international medical profes-sionals how the United States health care system can be modeled overseas serves as the cornerstone for VCU’s School of Allied Health Professions’ initiative to expand its global visibility and enhance its reputation as a diverse learning environment.

In addition to its individual success, the KMU workshop, which integrates both learning and cultural experiences, has also helped pave the way for two other recently established programs in China — a joint teaching initiative with Shandong University and a student and

faculty exchange with Jiao Tong Medical University in Shanghai — and School of Allied Health Professions Dean Cecil B. Drain, Ph.D., says providing opportunities for such multicultural experiences as part of the school’s integrated curricula is vital.

“In my 27-year career in the U.S. Army, I had the pleasure of serving overseas,” Drain says. “I have experienced firsthand the opportunities offered for cultural exchange that are available to our students and faculty through agreements such as those associated with our partners in Southeast Asia. Those opportunities, bound by the common thread of aca-demics, are what diversity is all about.”

A unique learning experienceAt the time of the KMU partnership’s inception, Wan was consulting with the Taiwanese government over the coun-try’s move to a universal, single-payer health care system and recalls seeing an immediate need for training in the health

Associates from Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan learn the inner workings of an American ambulance.

Summer 2016

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VCU Allied Health

services management industry. And, since he grew up in the city of Kaohsiung and was familiar with the school, he was able to visit often, bringing new ideas, building relationships with the faculty and inviting key players to visit Richmond — all with one goal in mind.

“I wanted the VCU program to be replicated at KMU,” he says.

The first group of KMU affiliates arrived at VCU in 2000, new groups have returned every year since, and last March, 32 Taiwanese graduate students and one professor from

KMU arrived in Richmond to participate in the annual health administration workshop, which featured a well-rounded itinerary combining lectures, hospital visits and a taste of local culture.

For the past four years, Yasar Ozcan, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’88/HA), VCU professor and current M.S.H.A. program director, has worked closely with Wan — who left VCU in 2003 and is now a professor at the University of Central Florida — to keep the partnership thriving through a robust academic portfolio and diverse lecture

had graduated some of its faculty, Shandong University reached out, and although Wan’s influence was somewhat indirect, DeShazo points to a clear connection.

“Having a Chinese-speaking chair of the department at the time made it more attractive for Chinese nationals to get their degree through VCU,” he says. “It helped our presence in China.”

In early 2016, three VCU adjunct professors traveled to China, where they taught half a semester’s worth of classes over the course of one week before returning to campus and leading live, online instruction for the rest of the semester. Over the next two years, Shandong University faculty will gradually take over the bulk of the teaching duties, with VCU faculty assuming more of an advisory role.

Although the teaching arrangement wraps up in 2018, DeShazo says he hopes to continue the relationship between the two schools in the form of faculty and student exchange programs and apply the curriculum in other countries in the future.

“This partnership is an opportunity to create a hospital administration curriculum that transcends a country- specific agenda,” he says. “We’re not teaching them U.S.-specific policy, theory and skills. We’re teaching them international concepts.”

Building relationships overseasHospital administration isn’t the only field making inroads overseas,

however, and Michael D. Fallacaro, D.N.S., CRNA, FAAN, chair of VCU’s Department of Nurse Anesthesia, helped establish a partnership with the Ninth People’s Hospital at Jiao Tong Medical University in Shanghai after he was invited to give a lecture at an international meeting in Beijing in 2009.

Nurse anesthesia is an emerging specialty in China, Fallacaro says, but there is currently no national certification, so the Chinese Ministry of Health is looking to codify a standard, using the U.S. as a model.

“I think the reason we got noticed is that our department has been internationally known for its expertise,” Fallacaro says. At the time, VCU’s nurse anesthesia program was ranked No. 1 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, an honor it recently reclaimed.

In 2013, VCU drafted a letter of intent to cooperate with Jiao Tong. R. McKenna Brown, Ph.D., of the VCU Global Education Office helped develop the exchange agreement, and in August 2015, the two schools formally recognized the agreement during a ceremony and lecture series in Shanghai. Fallacaro, along with faculty member Nickie Damico, Ph.D., CRNA (B.S. ’97; M.S.N.A. ’99/NA; Ph.D. ’14/HRS), spent 18 days abroad, where they were able to tour

series, as well as visits to a mixture of nonprofit, for-profit, government and teaching hospitals. This year’s roundup included trips to the Veterans Administration Medical Center and the Richmond Ambulance Authority, as well as opportunities to tour local cultural and historical sights.

Such visits to VCU are required as part of the first-year curriculum in KMU’s two-year program, which cul-minates in students earning a Master of Science in Health Administration degree, and most of the graduate students are already employed in key management positions in the health care industry. One-third are practicing doctors, Wan says, and others are deputy superintendents, financial managers and insurance managers. As such, he adds, many of the program’s past participants are making big contributions of their own to improve health care management around the globe.

China reaches outSpurred by the success of the KMU exchange, the Department of Health Administration launched another initiative in Southeast Asia: a three-year partnership with Shandong University, which is starting up one of the first master’s in hospital administration programs in China.

A little less than two years ago, China began shifting away from government-run health care delivery toward a market-based approach, and the move has left Chinese health care professionals in desperate need of training, explains Jonathan P. DeShazo, Ph.D., a health care IT professor and the M.H.A. program director.

“The major universities in China are scrambling to set up these programs,” DeShazo says. “The country needs 30,000 to 40,000 trained health care managers.”

Having heard about VCU’s reputation and seeing that VCU

the hospital, go into the operating room and observe anesthesia being delivered, meet with the anesthesia students and consult with faculty and administration, Fallacaro says.

The pair also visited Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in Hangzhou, another institution that has expressed interest in a partnership with VCU.

The program they established with Jiao Tong is a four-to-six-week exchange of three students or faculty members each year, and the first group of VCU affiliates — two graduate students and one faculty member — will visit China in September, with the Chinese affiliates tentatively scheduled to arrive at VCU in November.

Long term, Fallacaro says he hopes to offer courses for Chinese students to take at VCU, but right now the exchange is purely observational, and the visitors do not participate in any hands-on patient care. Rather, this cultural and teaching exchange is a consult on curriculum and an effort to help Jiao Tong gain recognition by the International Federation of Nurse Anesthetists.

“In the future, I see the possibility of collaboration around distance- learning education,” Fallacaro says. “It helps us have diversity in our curriculum and gain national and international recognition.”

As part of the KMU delegation’s visit to Richmond this past year, students were able to see the life-saving techniques of the Richmond Ambulance Authority firsthand.

Michael D. Fallacaro, D.N.S., CRNA, FAAN, and Professor Ruan Hong, chair of nursing at Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital at Jiao Tong Medical University, formalize their

schools’ student/faculty exchange agreement.

“My goal was simple: I wanted the VCU program to be replicated at Kaohsiung Medical University.”

– THOMAS WAN, PH.D., CONSULTANT FOR THE TAIWANESE GOVERNMENT

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1970sDavid L. “Dave” Bernd (M.H.A. ’73/HA) retired from Sentara Healthcare in March 2016. He started as an assistant administrator in 1973 and became CEO in 1985. Under his 31-year lead-ership as CEO, Sentara has become an innovative health system that is nationally recognized for quality and patient safety. Bernd’s commitment to excellence positioned Sentara to be recognized for 15 years as one of the nation’s top integrated health care systems. In his 43-year health care career, Bernd served as chairman of the American Hospital Association board of trustees in 2004 and chaired the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare

Association in 1994-1995. In 2015, he was named by Virginia Business as one of Virginia’s 50 Most Influential Leaders. Bernd has served on a number of professional and commu-nity boards throughout his career.

Michael King, FACHE (M.H.A.’78/HA), who retired from Camden Clark Medical Center in Parkersburg, W.Va., was recognized for his successful career in the health care industry at the VCU Department of Health Administration’s Paul A. Gross Landmarks in Leadership alumni event held April 2, 2015. King serves on the board of governors of the American College of Healthcare Executives and on the VCU Department of Health

Administration’s Alumni Advisory Committee. John Smalley* (M.H.A. ’77/HA) and Christopher Durrer** (M.H.A. ’77/HA) also were recognized at the event for their loyal and consistent 30 years of giving to the department.

1980sHoward Kern (M.H.A. ’81/HA) was named CEO of Sentara Healthcare in March 2016 following the retirement of Dave Bernd. Kern has served as COO of Sentara for the past 18 years.

Daniel Riddle, Ph.D. (M.S. ’86/PT; Ph.D. ’87/E), the Otto D. Payton professor and assistant chair of the Department of Physical Therapy, was selected to serve

Alumni news and achievementsKeep in touch! With so many alumni out in the world doing wonderful things, we need your help to round it all up. Submit a note online at sahp.vcu.edu/alumni or mail your news to Virginia Commonwealth University, MCV Alumni Association of VCU, P.O. Box 980156, Richmond, VA 23298-0156.

as a member of the Neurological, Aging and Musculoskeletal Epidemiology Study Section of the Center for Sci-entific Review from July 2015 to June 2019. Members are selected based on their achievements in their scientific disciplines through research accom-plishments, publications, honors and achievements, and other scientific activities. The Center for Scientific Review is the hub for all research and training grant applications submitted to the National Institutes of Health, ensuring that applications receive fair, independent and timely reviews to fund the most promising research.

Michael Robinson (M.H.A. ’85/HA) retired in October 2015 after more than 30 years with Bon Secours Richmond. He served as CEO of Bon Secours Regional Memo-rial Medical Center, Richmond Community and Rappahannock General in Kilmarnock, Va.

Marilyn Tavenner** (B.S. ’83; M.H.A. ’89/HA) was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare magazine for the fourth year in a row. The program honors individuals in health care who are deemed by their peers and senior editors of the magazine to be the most influential individuals in the industry

in terms of leadership and impact. Tavenner is CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans, a national trade association representing the health insurance industry.

Henrisa Tosoc-Haskell** (M.S.’88; M.S.H.A.’02/HA) was named director of member quality at the United Network for Organ Sharing. In her new position, she is respon-sible for monitoring the performance of member institutions (transplant hospitals, organ pro-curement organizations and histocompatibility laboratories) and their compliance with Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network policies and bylaws.

Among her specific responsibilities are advancing assessment and improve-ment strategies to improve member program performance, facilitating the effective management of the OPTN/UNOS membership and professional standards committee, and processing potential patient safety incidents.

1990sEsther H. Bucher (M.S. ‘91/OT) has been volunteering in Duc Pho, a town in Quang Ngai province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. This three-year service commitment is under the auspices of the social service organization of her church, the Mennonite Central Committee, and involves providing therapy to individ-uals and families impacted by Agent Orange. This is a natural extension of her long-standing interests in other cultures and desire to be of service. From 1970-74 she volunteered in South Vietnam, both during and after the war, and later provided basic health and nutrition for six years in rural tribal villages of Kalimantan/Borneo, Indonesia. Bucher recently closed her Mechanicsville clinic, Therapeutic Sense Abilities, after 10 years of operation, so she could pursue this major new life adventure.

Neda McGuire (M.H.A. ’93/HA; M.S. ’10/G), owner of Aging Matters in Washington, D.C., volunteered to help Syrian refugees fleeing to Greece and Turkey. McGuire, who speaks Farsi, traveled to the Greek island of Lesbos in December 2015 where she translated to medics the needs of the immigrants. She was moved to help the refugees when she saw a picture of a lifeless toddler whose body had washed ashore after the boat he was traveling on capsized during the crossing from Turkey to Greece.

DegreesA.S. .......... Associate of ScienceB.A. .......... Bachelor of ArtsB.F.A. ........ Bachelor of Fine ArtsB.S. .......... Bachelor of ScienceCert. ......... CertificateD.N.A.P. .... Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia

PracticeD.P.T. ........ Doctor of Physical TherapyDr.P.H. ...... Doctor of Public HealthH.S. .......... House staffM.A. ......... Master of ArtsM.H.A. ...... Master of Health AdministrationM.S. ......... Master of ScienceM.S.H.A. ... Master of Science in

Health AdministrationM.S.N.A. ... Master of Science in Nurse

AnesthesiaM.S.O.T. .... Master of Science in

Occupational TherapyO.T.D. ....... Post-professional Occupational

Therapy DoctoratePh.D. ........ Doctor of Philosophy

Departments and programsCLS ........... Clinical Laboratory SciencesG .............. GerontologyHA ............ Health AdministrationHAE .......... Health Administration ExecutiveHCM ......... Health Care ManagementHRS .......... Health Related SciencesHSOR........ Health Services Organization

and ResearchMRA ......... Medical Records AdministrationMET .......... Medical TechnologyNA ............ Nurse AnesthesiaOT............. Occupational TherapyPC ............ Patient CounselingPT ............. Physical TherapyRC ............ Rehabilitation CounselingRS ............ Radiation SciencesRTE ........... Radiologic Technology

Allied health professions degrees are noted with year and department; other VCU degrees are designated by year.

ABBRE V IAT ION KE Y

Suzanne Wright The Alumni Advisory Council’s Outstanding Alumnus/a Award is presented to a graduate of the VCU nurse anesthesia program who has become distinguished in the nurse anesthesia profession and/or has made impactful contributions to society.

The inaugural awardee is Suzanne Wright, Ph.D. (B.S. ’87; B.S. ’97; M.S.N.A. ’02/NA; Ph.D. ’09/HRS). Wright has spent more than a decade advancing the specialty of nurse anesthesia and the profession of nursing. While she works primarily in academia, she remains a practicing clinician. Her commitment and dedication to the Department of Nurse Anesthesia overly exceeds her job requirement. She crosses professional fields and narrows the gaps among many health care providers from other disciplines by championing patient safety and illuminating mindfulness. She supports and maintains involvement

with the department’s effort to increase international connections and affiliations. She is key in advocating and assisting inner-city youth in the community with the opportunity to visit our department’s high-fidelity human simulation center and to gain exposure to our specialty. Wright is working tirelessly to obtain a significantly funded grant beneficial to the department and profession that promotes interdisciplinary relationships to promote patient safety.

Wright was a speaker at the AANA National Meeting/Annual Congress and delivered a standing-ovation lecture promoting patient safety. She is a leader in crisis management and teamwork training and developed a seminar for continuing education, “Anesthesia Crisis Resource Management,” to foster patient safety. For years, she has been closely involved with Nurse Anesthesiology Faculty Associates,

which provides cutting-edge topics and issues that emphasize current clinical practices and enhances the quality of care for anesthesia patients.

Wright has also established an endowment in the Department of Nurse Anesthesia that supports diversity within the program. She serves as the director of doctoral education, director of the Center for Research in Human Simulation and vice chair of academic affairs. She graduated with an M.S.N.A. from the department and Ph.D. in health related sciences from VCU.

OUTS TANDING ALUMN A

Suzanne Wright, Ph.D.

INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE. The MCV Alumni Association of VCU provides annual cash awards to reward and recognize the ser-vice and accomplishments of future alumni. Awards are presented to one student in each health science division. The Allied Health Professions student recognized in 2016 was James Furstein, Ph.D. in Health Related Sciences. He received a $1,100 cash award and a tote bag. Pictured (left to right) are Suzanne Wright, Ph.D., as-sociate professor in the Department of Nurse Anesthesia; James Furstein; Cecil B. Drain, Ph.D., dean of the School of Allied Health Professions; and Michael D. Fallacaro, D.N.S., CRNA, FAAN, professor and chair of the Department of Nurse Anesthesia.

* Member of the alumni association ** Life member of the alumni association

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ALUMNI NEWS

Jonathan B. Perlin, Ph.D., M.D., FACP, FACMI** (Ph.D. ’91; M.D. ’92; H.S. ’96; M.S.H.A. ’97/HA), president of clini-cal services and chief medical officer at Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA, was elected into the National Academy of Medicine, formerly the Institute of Medicine, in October 2015. Members are elected as recognition for making major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care and public health. Under Perlin’s leadership, research identified clinical practices that reduced bloodstream infections by 44 percent. Perlin also was named one of Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential People in Health-care for the second year in a row. The program honors individuals in health care who are deemed by their peers and senior editors of the magazine to be the most influen-tial individuals in the industry in terms of leadership and impact.

E. Ayn Welleford, Ph.D.** (M.S. ’94/G; Ph.D. ’98), associate professor and chair of the Department of Geron-tology, was honored in October 2015 as a Valentine Richmond History Maker for her work with the Greater Richmond Age Wave, a collaboration

of public and private organizations, businesses and individuals, including older adults, working to prepare for the opportunities and challenges of the region’s growing aging popula-tion. The annual Richmond History Makers Program, sponsored by The Valentine, pays tribute to everyday cit-izens and outstanding organizations that make significant contributions to the greater Richmond region.

2000sMaria Delost, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’05/HRS), received a Distinguished Profes-sorship Award for excellence in scholarship from Youngstown State University, an urban research univer-sity. Delost, a faculty member in the university’s Department of Health Professions, is professor and director of clinical laboratory programs.

Alan Dow, M.D. (M.S.H.A. ’05/HA; H.S. ’04), assistant vice president of health sciences and professor in the Department of Internal Medicine in the VCU School of Medicine, was awarded the Seymour and Ruth Perlin professorship in healthcare quality. The professorship was estab-lished in 2008 to recruit and retain a distinguished faculty member with joint appointments in VCU’s depart-ments of Health Administration and Internal Medicine.

Angela Duncan, Ph.D. (M.S. ’04/PC; Ph.D. ’11/HRS; Cert. ’11/PC), assistant professor and assistant chair of the Department of Patient Counseling, was honored in March 2015 with the Union Presbyterian Seminary Trailblazers Award.

William Haugh (M.H.A. ’08/HA) received Lifepoint’s CEO of the Year award. Haugh is CEO of Lifepoint’s Georgetown Community Hospital in Georgetown, Ky.

Sherrina Sewell (M.S. ’02/RC), a unit supervisor in the Chesterfield office of the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, was named one of two winners statewide of the 2015 Employee Leadership Roy J. Ward Recognition Award from the State Rehabilitation Council. Sewell supervises and leads a team of three

John Tobin (M.H.A. ’59/HA) was playing football during his senior year of high school when a player from the opposing team slammed into his left side during a game, breaking his fibia and tibia. “I didn’t know a thing about X-rays at the time, but I remem-ber going to the hospital and getting X-rays on my leg,” the 86-year-old says. “That’s how I got interested in health care.”

After graduating, John worked as an X-ray technician in Front Royal, Va. It was there that he received word that he would soon be drafted to fight in the Korean War. “I enlisted in the Air Force and ended up being assigned as a medic.”

From 1950 to 1954, John encountered admin-istrators at the hospitals where he served. He admired their comprehensive understanding of hospital operations and decided to pursue a career in health care administration when he returned home. “The M.H.A. program at Virginia Commonwealth University had just

gotten started,” John says of the program that began in 1949. His favorite aspect of the program was learning from hospital administrators who would come to campus to talk to the students about their work. “Hospital administrators who were actually running the hospitals would come in and speak to the class,” he says. “It was very inspirational.”

For nearly 30 years, John served as an administrator at hospitals along the East Coast, eventually retiring as the executive vice president of operations for the Hospital Corporation of America in 1987. That was the same year that his son, Tim Tobin (M.H.A. ’87/HA), graduated from the VCU program. “The program was well-ranked at the time, and my dad talked positively about it,” Tim says. “I thought it would be neat to follow in my dad’s footsteps.”

One of Tim’s favorite classes in the M.H.A. program was organizational design. “We did

a lot of work with architecture and the workflow in a hospital,” Tim says. “That was important to me throughout my career because I did a lot of capital projects.” Over the course of 26 years, Tim led more than $487 million of capital expansions. He attributes much of his success to the education he received at VCU.

When it came time for Tim’s son, Sean Tobin, to decide where to attend graduate school after graduating from James Madison University with a degree in health care administration, the choice was simple. “I saw how fulfilling a career in health care could be from my dad and granddaddy,” Sean says. The 24-year-old student expects to graduate from VCU in 2018 and already knows he made the right decision. “It is really about helping people,” Sean says. “Even though we are not on the actual medical side, it feels like a lot of what we do is helping the patient, and it is always about the patient.”

Three generations in the Tobin family attend VCU for Master of Health Administration degree

B Y A N N E D R E Y F U S S

Keith WrightKeith C. Wright, , M.S., CRC, LPC, born March 3, 1923, in Fluvanna County, Va., formerly of Richmond and Lanexa, died Dec. 16, 2015, at age 92. He was professor emeritus of the Department of Rehabilitation Counseling at Virginia Commonwealth University and a U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II. He served at VCU for 32 years, participating in the founding and development of the department, in what was then the Richmond Professional Institute. This program was the first federally funded graduate program in rehabilitation counseling in the nation. During his career at VCU, Wright served as president or board member of the Virginia Rehabilitation Association; Virginia Chapter of Workers for the Blind; Richmond and state boards of the Virginia Easter Seal Society; State Board of Professional Counseling; Virginia Counseling Association; and the VCU School of Community and Public Affairs. He also served on the boards of Richmond Goodwill Industries and the Mayor’s Commission for the Disabled. In retirement, he served as a fair hearing officer for the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services and the Virginia Department for the Visually Handicapped. Although his list of accomplishments is very impressive, it doesn’t begin to express the impact his life had on the profession of rehabilitation counseling. His legacy lives on in the lives of those students he taught for 32 years and all who were fortunate enough to have worked with him or called him friend.

IN MEMORIAMBRAGGING RIGHTS. The Department of Nurse Anesthesia triumphed in the year’s School of Allied Health Professions annual volleyball tournament. Pictured from left to right are: Vincent Ford, Erin Bianchi, Coffee Bourne, Kathryn Robinson, Brynn Flemming, Jackson Wild and Nicole Lucci.GOOD THINGS

COME IN THREES

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specialty transition counselors in addition to carrying her own case-load. She also co-teaches two courses in new counselor skills training and provides training, support and guidance to vocational rehabilitation staff who serve consumers on the autism spectrum. As an adjunct fac-ulty member of VCU’s Department of Rehabilitation Counseling, she has also taught graduate-level course-work in multicultural counseling.

Kim Van Eck, CT, CDP (M.S. ’09/G), serves as community resource specialist for Humana Inc. on the Life Assistance Line of the Humana at Home division. In her role, she conducts research, creates and pro-vides quality assurance for Humana’s Community Resource Directory, and provides phone support to Humana staff and members across the country in navigating community resources at the local, state and national levels.

2010sEnid Walker Butler, CT (M.S. ’14/G), instructor in the Department of Ger-ontology, received her Certification of Thanatology from the Association for Death Education and Counseling.

William Maixner (M.H.A. ’10/HA), associate administrator and director of strategic planning and program development at VCU Health, received the Early Career Healthcare Executive Award presented by the Central Virginia Regents of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Adam Parsons (M.S. ’10/OT) and Nathan March were married in Richmond, Va., on Aug. 1, 2015. Adam is a therapist with All About Care, a Medicare-certified home health company that is part of the Care Advantage program and serves the entire eastern half of Virginia.

Donna Clarkson OdomIt is with great sadness that we reflect on the passing of Donna Clarkson Odom, former chair of the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, who will always be remembered for her kindness, positivity and willingness to help others.

Inducted into the CLS Hall of Fame as part of the department’s 85th anniversary in 2012, Odom began her career as a medical technologist in the chemistry laboratory at VCU Health. She became an instructor of medical technology in 1964 and continued to serve the department for 27 years. She taught a variety of courses, including chemistry, body fluids, parasitology, and education and management, served as chair of the department from 1984 to 1991 and played an integral role in opening options for students to become medical technologists through the categorical track of the master’s program and the B.S. degree-completion program for MLTs.

At the national level, she served on the board of directors for the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science and chaired its judicial committee. In addition, she served as regional director and president of the state society. Upon retirement in 1991, she was appointed associate professor emeritus and remained active within the department, serving on committees such as the Daria Downing Scholarship committee.

VCU Alumni Stars event honors ZambrickiAn alumna from the Department of Nurse Anesthesia was chosen as the School of Allied Health Professions’ recipient for the prestigious VCU Alumni Star Award. Christine S. Zambricki, D.N.A.P., CRNA, FAAN, was honored as the School of Allied Health Professions’ 2015 Alumni Star at a November ceremony.

The VCU Alumni Association honored 16 outstanding alumni for their career and humanitarian achievements as well as the infinite possibilities they bring to the future. VCU Alumni Stars are awarded every two years by the VCU Alumni Association.

Zambricki joined America’s Blood Centers as CEO in 2013, culminating a 30-plus-year career of extensive health care advocacy, association and hospital leadership experience. In the

legislative arena, Zambricki has served, at the governor’s appointment, as chair of the Michigan Board of Nursing and the Michigan Nursing Specialty Task Force. She also served for three years as senior director of federal affairs strategies with the 47,000-member American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. With Zambricki as leader, AANA created a national network of state reimbursement experts to standardize how CRNA services are reimbursed. As a scholar, she has written more than 40 papers and articles focused on education, advo-cacy and safety in the profession. Her dedication to the practice and efforts to further the art and science of nurse anesthesia have earned Zambricki many notable awards, including the profession’s highest award, AANA’s Agatha Hodgkins Award for Outstanding Accomplishment.

Alumni Star

IN MEMORIAM

ACHE honors three health administration professionals with Regent Awards Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association held its spring conference in Williamsburg, Va. At the meeting, the American College of Healthcare Executives held its annual luncheon, which Dolores G. Clement, Dr.P.H., FACHE, Sentara

professor and director of dual degree programs in the Department of Health Administration, organized. Ed Lamb, current ACHE chairman, offered remarks as the keynote speaker. Three ACHE Regent’s awards were presented at the luncheon, and

recipients included two VCU School of Allied Health Professions alumni and a Sentara colleague:

• Wesley S. “Wes” Blankenship, FACHE (M.S.H.A. ’13/HA), serves as regional medical liaison with Novo Nordisk. He is a member of the ACHE board of the Central Virginia Healthcare Executive Group and served as president of CVHEG in 2015.

• Michele Carroll (M.H.A. ’14) serves as director, orthopedic service line, for Sentara Healthcare and received the 2016 Early Careerist Award. She is an active member of ACHE and her local chapter, the Healthcare Administrators of Tidewater.

• William B. “Bill” Downey (M.H.A. ’85/HA), president and CEO of Riverside Health System, was honored with the ACHE Regent’s Senior Executive Award during the Paul A. Gross Landmarks in Leadership alumni event. He has served more than three decades in health care leadership and currently serves on the Regent’s advisory committee. His contributions to ACHE have been exemplary during his entire career, especially in mentoring and supporting many residents and early careerists.

TOGETHER AGAIN. The Master of Health Administration Class of 1976, along with some of their former teachers, were able to reconnect during a reunion. Front row (from left): Larry Prybil (faculty), Bob Halonen (faculty), Jim Dover, David Dunham, Bob Garrison, Pat Ebbett, Rita Hughes and Ramesh Shukla (faculty). Back row (from left): Paul Nusbaum, John Fitzgerald, Jerry Norville (faculty), Art Layne, Jeff Holland.

Alumni star Christine Zambricki, D.N.A.P., CRNA, FAAN, (right) and Michael D. Fallacaro, D.N.S., CRNA, FAAN, chair of the Department of Nurse Anesthesia

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New endowment supports M.H.A. programBill Downey (M.H.A. ’85/HA), president and CEO of Riverside Health System, announced the creation of the Riverside Leadership Endowment at the Paul A. Gross Landmarks in Leadership Lecture Series on Oct. 8. The endowment was established with a generous gift from Riverside and will pro-vide support for the M.H.A. program director.

Riverside Health System has been a long-term sup-porter of the Department of Health Administration,

offering third-year residencies to M.H.A. students and employing many alumni. Downey and other VCU graduates at Riverside have been classroom speakers and have served on the Alumni Advisory Council (formerly the Alumni Executive Committee).

Over the years, Riverside has received numer-ous awards and recognitions for its outstanding commitment to the community, quality patient care and transformational industry leadership.

Philanthropy

Watson honored for lifetime supportThe VCU Founders’ Society Dinner took place at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015, honoring those benefactors who have made commitments of $100,000 or more to any of the university’s foundations. Col. Herbert T. Watson, professor emeritus and past chair of the Department of Nurse Anesthesia, was inducted into the society. In addition to entertainment provided by pianist and alumnus Stephen Steward (B.A. ’15) and the NO BS! Brass, an all-alumni band, guests also viewed artwork by alumnus Willie Anne Wright (M.F.A. ’64) and emeritus faculty member Richard Roth. Pictured above: School of Allied Health Professions Dean Cecil B. Drain, Ph.D., VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., Watson, Monica Rao, VCU Brandcenter director Helayne Spivak and Col. Watson’s daughter, Valerie Caldwell.

Support comes in many forms. Anytime we give something of ourselves, we grow stronger as a whole and stride forward into limitless possibilities. To find out how you can support the School of Allied Health Professions, visit support.vcu.edu/give/alliedhealth.

The new IRA charitable rollover legislationNearly every year since the creation of the IRA charitable rollover in 2006, Congress has revisited legislation to allow a tax-free charitable distribution from an IRA. Last December, President Obama signed legislation making the IRA charitable rollover permanent. It’s a great way for you to make a gift to Virginia Commonwealth University now and into the future.

FAST FACTS• The IRA charitable rollover allows individual donors 70 ½

or older to transfer up to $100,000 directly from their IRA to charity each year.

• It is a tax-exempt distribution. Qualifying individuals can make charitable gifts using pre-tax IRA assets rather than taking a distribution, paying income taxes and using after-tax assets to make a charitable gift.

• It can be used to meet all or part of an IRA-required minimum distribution.

• It gives qualifying individuals certainty, allowing them to better manage their income, taxes and charitable giving.

• It can be used to make a current gift or to satisfy a pledge.

To make a distribution directly from your IRA to VCU, take the following steps:• Contact your IRA plan administrator and ask them to make

a distribution to VCU.• Let VCU know of this request, the amount and how you

want your gift to be used. • Please bear in mind that the gift might not be used to fund

a gift annuity, charitable remainder trust, donor-advised fund or private foundation.

To learn more about making an IRA charitable rollover gift to VCU or any other planned or estate gifts, contact Doug McCartney, J.D., executive director of gift planning, at (804) 828-5563 or [email protected].

WHAT COULD I T ME AN FOR YOU?

Bill Downey (M.H.A. ’85/HA), president and CEO of Riverside Health System, addresses the crowd at the

school’s Landmarks in Leadership alumni event at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in April, with Dolores Clement,

Dr.P.H., FACHE, director of dual degree programs in the Department of Health Administration, looking on.

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Annual MCV Foundation Scholarship Brunch The MCV Foundation’s Scholarship Brunch, held Feb. 28 at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Va., honored the medical campus’ scholarship benefactors and current recipients of endowed scholarships. More than 75 percent of students on the MCV Campus receive some type of financial aid to pursue their dreams of a career in the health sciences. Each year, many of these students graduate with a debt load exceeding $100,000. With the cost of tuition arguably one of the most difficult issues facing today’s students, a scholarship can make the difference between having a dream and living it.

Sean Tobin, a student from the Department of Health Administration in the School of Allied Health Professions, spoke at the luncheon, explaining how he and fellow students are grateful and honored to be scholarship recipients. He said he hopes to be able to give back later to help future students with their education. Tobin shared that his educational experience has been enjoyable and meaningful and that he appreciates the scholarship support. He was joined by his

parents, Tim (M.H.A. ’87/HA) and Sue, who enjoyed conver-sation at the head table with VCU President and Mrs. Rao.

All departments from the School of Allied Health Professions were represented at the luncheon.

Sean Tobin (center) and his parents, Tim and Sue

MORE THAN 100 ALUMNI AND FRIENDS gathered to celebrate Marjorie Goodwin’s retirement celebration on Jan. 21, 2016, at the Boathouse in Richmond, Va. The highlight of the event was the surprise presentation of the Marjorie T. Goodwin Scholarship Fund to Goodwin and her husband, Mike. Goodwin spent 21 years in the Department of Nurse Anesthesia before retiring in December 2015. Pictured are Elizabeth Howell (left) and Marjorie Goodwin.

SCHOOL OF ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONS

NEW NURSE ANESTHESIA FACULTY MEMBER ESTABLISHES ENDOWMENTNew faculty member Brenda Wands, Ph.D., CRNA, and her husband, Ed Woods, M.D., have established the Brenda Wands and Edward Woods Scholarship to provide opportunities for nurse anesthesia students to engage in leadership and professional development within the nurse anesthesia industry. Wands joined the VCU Department of Nurse Anesthesia in September 2015 as the new director of interprofessional education. In this role, she works collaboratively across disciplines focusing on patient safety initiatives related to anesthesia delivery.

Wands teaches M.S.N.A., D.N.A.P. and Ph.D. stu-dents and plans to expand her current clinical research. Wands was most recently an assistant professor at Bloomsburg University and program director for the Geisinger Health System/Bloomsburg University Nurse Anesthesia Program. As a CRNA for 22 years, Wands received her M.B.A. and Ph.D. in higher education administration. Her research interests include ethics and adult education.

Endowments never stop giving. The principal of your gift is invested and grows over time, while a percentage of this income growth is distributed annually to support the purpose you have specified. Endowments provide long-term financial stability, regardless of government funding and changes in the economy. Endowments also create a legacy at VCU in perpetuity. To learn more, visit sahp.vcu.edu/alumni/giving-opportunities.

Flashback

Students learn from beloved professor Sue Hirt, who chaired the physical therapy department from 1948-82. Hirt is remembered for her motivating and attention-grabbing teaching techniques. The Sue Hirt Fund, established after herretirement, assists physical therapy students. To learn more about the fund, contact Debra Ropelewski at (804) 828-7247 or [email protected].

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Non-profit OrganizationU.S. Postage PaidRICHMOND, VAPermit No. 869Virginia Commonwealth University

School of Allied Health Professions

1200 East Broad StreetP.O. Box 980233Richmond, Virginia 23298-0233

Thanks to you, a dream becomes reality.The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Allied Health Professions’ new state-of-the-art facility, slated to open in the fall of 2019, is more than just a building. It’s the product of years of foresight, dedication and input from faculty, staff, students and leaders throughout the university and greater community. It’s an opportunity to shape the future of our industry through streamlined collaboration, cutting-edge technology and enhanced learning and research spaces. It’s the culmination of many voices, forged into a singular vision.

And it quite simply could not have happened without you.

what it means to be allied page 20 the impact of distance … · 2018-09-27 · the new school of...

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