Shenandoah University Health Professions News: Fall 2019
Faculty participate in an international delegation and students provide assistance to the community and peers
Assistant Professor and Director of the Division of Occupational Therapy Cathy Shanholtz, OTD, and Director of Graduate Public Health Programs Michelle Gamber, DrPH, were part of an international delegation to Spain hosted by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD). The international delegation included 20 invited guests hailing from the United States, Canada and Argentina. The delegates engaged in a series of professional seminars where ideas and experiences were exchanged regarding intellectual and developmental disabilities, with a goal of establishing opportunities for collaboration and further research with the host country. Delegates visited Madrid, Bilbao and Barcelona.
Shenandoah’s School of Health Professions was well represented at the American Physical Therapy Association Education Leadership Conference, where faculty from across Shenandoah programs traveled and learned together. Associate Professor of Physical Therapy Lisa McVey, t-DPT; Dean of the School of Health Professions and Professor of Physical Therapy Karen Abraham, Ph.D.; Director of Pre-Health and Interprofessional Education and Associate Professor of Physician Assistant Studies Anne Schempp, Ed.D., PA-C; Associate Professor of Physical Therapy A.J. Lievre, DPT; Associate Professor of Physical Therapy Aaron Hartstein, t-DPT; Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy Kate Divine, DPT; and Associate Professor of Physical Therapy Melissa Wolff-Burke, Ed.D., presented. Dr. Wolff-Burke also received the Outstanding Poster Presentation Award.
The student organization Primary Care Progress spearheaded an effort that led Bombas to donate 1,000 pairs of socks to patients and homeless people at the Sinclair Health Clinic and the Winchester Rescue Mission. Faculty advisors for this student organization are Director of the Division of Physician Assistant Studies Tony Miller, M.Ed., PA-C; Associate Professor of Pharmacy Jeremy Fox, Pharm.D., and Associate Professor of Physical Therapy Lisa McVey, DPT.
Virginia First Lady Pam Northam spoke at Shenandoah University during the fall 2019 semester to occupational therapy students about her career as an occupational therapist and the importance of environmental stewardship, and encouraged others to consider service in their communities.
Shenandoah University’s Division of Occupational Therapy sent a student research project, “Parent Concerns About Interactions of First Responders with Children with Autism” to the OCALICON conference in Columbus, Ohio, in November 2019. Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy Alicia Lutman, OTD, mentored second-year occupational therapy students through the project and had the pleasure to present it at OCALICON, the nation’s premier autism and disabilities conference.
Shenandoah University Student Occupational Therapy Association members volunteered with the Foundation for Rehabilitation Equipment and Endowment (F.R.E.E.) in September to help clean, organize, inventory and learn more about rehabilitation equipment. F.R.E.E. is a nonprofit organization that helps to provide equipment such as walkers and wheelchairs to low-income community members.
Second-year physician assistant (PA) studies student Abby Sekulich planned an October workshop for Shenandoah University Physician Assistant Student Society (SUPASS) officers, aimed at reducing PA program burnout. This event was funded through the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) Health Foundation‘s Be the Change Grant.
