LECOM Connection Summer 2020

CONNECTION Magazine of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

SUMMER 2020

LECOM Responds to the Pandemic of the Century

CONNECTION Magazine of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

John M. Ferretti, DO President/CEO Silvia M. Ferretti, DO Provost, Senior Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs Eric Nicastro Institutional Director of Communications and Marketing Stephanie Bruce Senior Communications and Marketing Specialist Sheena Baker Communications and Marketing Specialist Rebecca A. DeSimone, Esquire Chief Writer, Editor-in-Chief Copyright Š 2020 Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine To submit editorial material or change address/unsubscribe: LECOM Communications & Marketing Department at (814) 866-6641 or communications@lecom.edu

MISSION STATEMENT The mission of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine is to prepare students to become osteopathic physicians, pharmacy practitioners, and dentists through programs of excellence in education, research, clinical care, and community service to enhance the quality of life through improved health for all humanity. Serving as a guiding light and cornerstone in medical education and true to the core principles of its founders, the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine has expanded its reach to include exceptional programs in graduate studies designed to provide scholars superlative education in the respective areas of study. The professional programs are dedicated to serve all students through innovative curriculum and the development of postdoctoral education and interprofessional experiences.

John M. Ferretti, DO - President/CEO 02 LECOM CONNECTION | SUMMER 2020

IN THIS ISSUE FEATURE 06

The Masked Crusaders: Vanquishing the Virus

03

Message from the President

04

Credos of Our Calling – Loyalty

05

LECOM Professor Finds Gems in Brain Research

09

LECOM in the Epicenter

12

LECOM Meets the Moment

14

Preparing the Pivot

15

LECOM Scholars Examine Key Aspects of COVID-19 Related to Older Adults

16

LECOM at Seton Hill Medical Student was Embedded with CDC Response Team

18

Virtual Volunteers

19

Former Golfer and LECOM Alumnus on the Frontline of Coronavirus

20

LECOM Alumnus Approved by USFDA for Convalescent Plasma Research

21

An Ounce of Prevention

22

James Lin, DO, AGS Clinician of the Year

23

Dr. Richard Terry Receives AOGME Award

25

Profiles in Courage

26

LECOM Alumna Named United States Defense Health Agency Director

27

Harvard Fellowship Selects First Ever DO

28

In Memoriam

29

Music with a Mission

30

Student, Faculty and Alumni Notes

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Meeting the Moment Medics were with them then, physician warriors who risked all to save many.

John M. Ferretti, DO - President/CEO

There are moments during the course of our shared humanity that eclipse others, emblazoned upon our minds; moments of supreme challenge, of intense and daunting trials. It is those moments that we are transformed. It is by our deeds, during those moments, that we are defined. For the Augean task put to us, calls us to find courage, to summon strength, to seek our better angels, and to call upon our God. We have before us, in this moment, an ordeal of the most dreadful kind. Before us lay many arduous months - months of suffering and of loss.

Our lives, forever changed by a virus that emanated stealthily from Wuhan, China, are now the battlefront of a global war.

In moments such as these, we harken to the wisdom of the ages, for as a nation, we have been at war before.

Then, our soldiers fought tyranny and oppression, seeking and ensuring freedom and liberty. Their courage was found on the front lines of battle in places named Passchendaele, Verdun, and Gallipoli. They summoned strength over Berlin, Midway, and Okinawa. In the whirlwind, their better angels found them on Bloody Ridge and in Inchon; and they called upon their God in La Drang and Saigon.

Now, as a nation we face a new enemy. Our President has aptly named it, “The Invisible Enemy,� for though we know its origin, we know not its campaign of battle.

What may be our action then? As healers, we are called by name to fight this battle, to answer this call, to vanquish this virus. The sick make their entreaty to us, much like the hope of freedom called to our warriors of decades past.

It is then our mission, our healing oath, our pledge before God to wage war against this enemy.

Our outrage at its origin and its encompassing devastation is met in this moment by our medical might, our scientific knowledge, our superlative training, our courage to face the enemy, and our strength as a people guided

by Providence to defeat it.

Our goal is victory; triumph in spite of all travail. The path ahead will be fraught with fear, but victory over vicissitude is the hallmark of Americans.

Our medical community is answering the call. Our healers are serving, at this moment, in hospitals that in years hence, will be remembered as offensives against the virus in much the same way as were the bloodied battlefields of the world wars and armed conflicts.

imbue knowledge and to hone the character of many of the warriors who are now engaged in this fierce COVID combat.

As many LECOM alumni, residents, faculty and staff face the months to come, they take with them our prayers, our pride, our profound gratitude. Theirs is the calling that will meet the moment, for our people are unabashed, unbowed, and unyielding.

The conflict in which we are now engaged has inflicted profound hardships upon our nation and upon our families.

Yet, in our soaring spirit, proud patriotism, and strength of character, we endure as one family, bound together by love and loyalty, timeless traits entirely exemplified by the unfathomable circumstances in which we now find ourselves.

Through the courage of our physicians, nurses, and healthcare professionals; through the knowledge possessed by our scientists, pioneers, and innovators; through the assiduous resolve of the American people, and through the grace of God, we shall win this battle.

And, in a moment, not too distant from this one, when we achieve our victory, our nation will emerge triumphant, more united than ever before for having met this moment.

As President and CEO of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, I am proud of our institution, of our peerless ability to educate and to train the healthcare professions, to

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CREDOS OF OUR CALLING

Loyalty•

The intense and ineffable feeling of allegiance and solicitude toward a person or organization in recognition of attractive qualities or a sense of underlying oneness constitutes the invaluable virtue of loyalty. While it embodies a steadfast affection of spirit to a nation, an organization, or a person, most often, loyalty suggests a kinship of ideals, customs, causes, or duties.

Famed self-help author, Napoleon Hill, explained that the lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life.

Regrettably, modernity has portrayed loyalty as an increasingly less valuable virtue. One may observe this trend reflected in many areas of life, from employment, where the last generation worked for a single company for their entire lives to the current job tenure of less than five years; to the world of sports where athletes regularly change rosters; to communities where the average American moves twice each decade; to declining customer loyalty in business and brands.

Loyalty, is however, a seminal virtue. It is not passé nor is it to be cast aside, for unless one can find some aspect of loyalty, one cannot find stability and peace in active living. Loyalty is a feature of one’s character that inspires boundless hope.

Indeed, the virtue of loyalty encompasses a disposition to be willing to accept duties and challenges that benefit that person or organization, for the kindred spirit underpins a sincere motivation.

English-born American biographer, James Parton explained that “Loyalty is seven-tenths of business success.” Those in the healthcare professions recognize this key attribute as an instrumental one, both in the educational arena and in the nurturing of the patient experience.

The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) has long embraced the virtue of loyalty, exhibiting an enduring and vibrant allegiance to its students and its alumni, an authentic relationship that has been reciprocated in firm and constant continuation. Proverbs reminds one that leaders who sacrifice for their followers receive the gift of loyalty.

Loyalty does not waver. It is focused upon action versus inaction and it does not thrive upon mere verbal assurances. Loyalty is a willing decision, demanding yet wholly rewarding.

The word loyalty calls to mind a profound sense of belonging and solidarity. With it comes the notion of a reliable fidelity coupled with unyielding dedication and duty.

“Loyalty is the sister of justice.”

– Horace 04 LECOM CONNECTION | SUMMER 2020

The medical profession finds its place among those who draw strength from loyal relationships and who find a reinforcement of spirit and a compassionate comfort in the quiet recesses of a healing heart.

For those who carry forth a belief in the possible and whose character is shaped by pure and honorable virtues, an indispensable Credo of our Calling always will be Loyalty.

LECOM Professor Finds

Gems in Brain Research Within one’s reach sits a gem of knowledge, waiting to be discovered. The passion to pursue these gems guides the mission of countless medical professionals who devote themselves to a life of formalized inquiry. Time, talent, and training burnish the profoundly purposed pursuit of discovery.

With that discovery in mind, and once again placing itself in the forefront of meaningful endeavors, LECOM is honing its research sector.

Chief among the noteworthy team of researchers at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) is Bertalan Dudas, MD, Assistant Dean of Research and Scholarship, Institutional Director of Research, and Director of the Neuroendocrine Organization Laboratory (NEO).

Dr. Dudas is unremitting in his probative studies of the human brain. For more than a decade, the renowned researcher has been producing high-value articles published in well-respected medical journals concerning his innovative and inceptive findings.

The articles are a result of his extensive research and exploration at the Laboratory of Neuroendocrine Organization, a research center of which Dr. Dudas is founder and

director. The innovative research hub focuses upon studies of the hormone producing systems of the human brain.

Studies at NEO have analyzed the way in which stress affects reproduction and growth; and have produced work centering upon advancing the understanding of Alzheimer’s disease.

Venerated peer-reviewed journals including Neurobiology of Aging and Neurobiology of Disease have published Dudas’ articles based upon his comprehensive studies dealing with several new neuroprotective compounds that appear to protect against lesions of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Numerous other research papers based upon results at NEO have been published in top neuroendocrine journals.

Dr. Dudas received his MD degree at Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical University, Szeged, Hungary in 1993. He obtained his PhD in Neuroscience (summa cum laude) at the University of Szeged in 2007 – the same university where Albert Szent-Györgyi worked when he received his Nobel Prize for his studies involving the roles of vitamin C. Dr. Dudas has worked with LECOM since 2003, and in addition to his key role in LECOM research, he also serves as Professor of Anatomy.

During the past five years, Dr. Dudas has published several books on the topic of human neuroendocrinology. One of these volumes entitled, The Human Hypothalamus: Anatomy, Functions and Disorders, published

by NOVA Scientific Inc., is a comprehensive work that analyzes a particularly important part of the brain involved in the regulation of almost all of the functions and processes that are crucial for the survival of the individual.

Currently, Dr. Dudas is furthering his studies of the human hypothalamus and putting forth his most recent work, a color atlas that will be issued by the noted publisher, Elsevier.

Dr. Dudas is a consummate professional and his passion about his work is palpable.

Dr. Dudas echoes the view of the LECOM leadership who understands that such research can have far-reaching positive implications for public health.

“The LECOM administration is extremely supportive of all of my work at NEO,” stated Dr. Dudas, “and they are continually seeking to advance scholarly investigation into innovative areas of research.”

LECOM is delighted to recognize Dr. Bertalan Dudas and his assiduous efforts in a field that will transform and deepen the understanding of the human brain.

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FEATURE

The Masked Crusaders Vanquishing the Virus The unprecedented and challenging events thrust upon America and the world have not been seen since the World Wars.

Then as now, doctors, nurses, and medics were on the front lines saving lives.

For more than a quarter century, the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) has been training superlative doctors and healthcare professionals.

In support of the Erie community and during the height of the pandemic, the LECOM Institute for Successful Aging opened a dedicated unit to respond to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic.

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The Command Center coordinated needs, both for employees and patients, including community preparedness and communication, staff management, supply inventory, facility readiness, finance, and public education.

The dedicated unit remains able to accommodate a surge of postacute care patients from partnering hospitals.

The stand-alone wing offers a separate entrance for new admissions.

It also houses a screening station with a thermal-imaging camera to check the temperature of new patients and staff. In addition, there is a station supplied with personal protective equipment for staff to don before they enter the unit.

The 10-room unit can accommodate up to 14 patients and as many as 20, if necessary. A new air-handling system produces negative pressure in two rooms to ensure safeguards regarding disease transmission.

In addition to the meaningful efforts exhibited by the LECOM Institute for Successful Aging, LECOM leadership fully engaged in the battle.

John M. Ferretti, DO, LECOM President and CEO, joined with community partners in an effort that began at Gannon University to create critical face shields to protect local doctors and nurses who treat patients with the Coronavirus. He donated $5,000 to the face shield project.

The Gannon University engineering lab used 3D printers to craft plastic face shields, an apparatus shown to be a very useful piece of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). Shields provide critical protection for health care professionals, safeguarding the eyes and face from possible virus exposure.

The funds were earmarked to create masks for every possible health care provider in Erie County and in surrounding counties.

LECOM affiliated physicians committed themselves fully to the fight as well. Seth Carter, DO, and Anthony Ruffa, DO, participated in community call-in phone-bank programs. They, along with physicians from two other Erie hospitals answered questions from a concerned

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FEATURE community. The program entitled, Ask the Expert was facilitated by Erie News Now (WICU/WSEE).

Dotting the map in urban centers and rural towns across the nation, LECOM alumni and residents were actively engaged in the throes of the health crisis caused by the virus. One such graduate, Melodie Miller Chludzinski, DO, MHSA is an urgent care physician. Dr. Chludzinski was graduated from the College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2002; and she returned to LECOM for her Masters in Health Service Administration, earning her degree in 2017. Her typical work schedule involves ten 12-hour shifts each month, but during the height of the pandemic, she added a further ten shifts within the same month. Away from her family for multiple weeks at a time, her husband cared for home and hearth, working full time and caring for the couple’s 13-year old son and their college-age daughter. Pressing concerns wrought by the highly communicable viral contagion separated the family as Dr. Chludzinski sought to protect her loved ones by staying away from them. “I never imagined that I would feel such a strong need to be away from my family to be of help for my occupation,” noted the dedicated physician.

As LECOM alumni and residents served in the arena of battle, social media was teeming with tweets and videos depicting scenes of dedication from overloaded hospitals. The world of social media was constantly energized throughout the whole of the crisis, during which time LECOM participated in multiple live-stream events in conjunction with the Jefferson Education Society. Each of the 45-minute programs featured a panel of LECOM Health experts who discussed the latest updates on the pandemic and who answered questions directed to them from the anxious public. The forums were broadcast on Facebook.

As notes of encouragement and gratitude flowed to the medical world, many of the posts on social media included photos of exhausted doctors, nurses, and hospital staff – many of their faces, bruised and marked from hours of wearing tight-fitting masks. Other posts depicted workers dressed head-to-toe in protective gear huddled together, sleeping in hallways. Physicians and healthcare professionals spent countless hours on the front lines saving lives, healing, and serving their fellow man.

Providing essential child care services to the healthcare community became the primary focus of the group. Other initiatives included delivering critical medications and needed resources to community members. The delivery efforts allowed patients to continue receiving their medications during the pandemic thereby reducing their risk of presenting to an emergency room.

The scourge of the Coronavirus and its perfect storm of disruption laid bare the illusion that people can be self-sufficient; instead it found all citizens of almost every nation fragile, disoriented, and mindful of each other's help and comfort.

Chief among those offering help and comfort, providing the succor and life-sustaining support were those men and women of healthcare. Of all of the weapons that they take into battle, none is more powerful than the mind, for it holds their training, instinct, their strength of character, and their commitment to excellence.

Indeed, the imprimatur of achievement does not result from undertaking easy work, rather it results from triumph over difficult tasks that demand one's best.

LECOM has ever sought exceptionalism for the betterment of its students, never forgetting that it is up to our educators, heirs of a glorious past and a heritage of inestimable value, to remain committed to transmitting the lamp of learning to future generations.

The upward course of an institution is due in large measure to the educational excellence and strength of its alumni.

Those within its reach are grateful for the blessing of LECOM, for the length of its life, for the good that it calls its progeny to find. LECOM leadership and educators pledge to do their utmost to preserve and improve it so that in another quarter century, LECOM doctors and healthcare professionals will endure to fight the battles of a new era.

LECOM salutes its alumni and their colleagues as they have worked tirelessly to vanquish this virus.

It is a truism that transformative moments call people to find their better angels, and those people have the power to change lives.

Throughout LECOM history, its people have committed themselves to community, and in times of challenge they have stood together, proclaiming a proud heritage and securing the future.

LECOM scholars eagerly sought out ways to assist in the battle.

Collaborating with medical students from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, a group of LECOM students joined forces to support the frontline healthcare workers.

The collaborative worked to offer support to the families of those in healthcare, addressing their very real needs, from undertaking child care, to food and medication delivery, to contact tracing through the county health department. The dedicated medical students applied their skills to care for others during wholly unprecedented times.

Mark Samarneh, MD, Nephrology, Adjunct LECOM Faculty

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LECOM in the Epicenter Healthcare Community Responds to the Gravity of the Moment its way into cities and towns across Europe, and the insidious disease became a pandemic, leadership at St. John's Riverside began preparing, and preparing vigorously.

Michael A. DiGiorno, DO, is a LECOM Regional Dean and an administrator at the hospital. He is a Class of 2000 LECOM graduate with more than 20 years of diverse experience, and he is board certified in internal medicine and nephrology. Dr. DiGiorno is charged with the integral role of advancing the LECOM education program.

As the rapidly evolving public health situation deteriorated, leadership at St. John’s implemented precautions to safeguard its patients and staff, including limiting access to areas deemed high risk for potential exposure. These areas included the emergency department and medical intensive care unit (ICU).

After consultation with clinical leadership at LECOM, St. John’s leadership decided to suspend clinical assignments for students on emergency medicine and medical ICU rotations for the remainder of the rotation block. LECOM students continued to attend all didactic conferences and workshops and maintained all aspects of an expanded online curriculum.

Clearly, something was brewing. One could feel it; the sense of urgency was bubbling just below the surface. Continual communication was underway between LECOM and principles at St. John’s Riverside Hospital. Ronald J. Corti, President and CEO of the St. John's Riverside Hospital teamed with Dr. DiGiorno to keep LECOM apprised of the daily changes.

Michael A. DiGiorno, DO, LECOM Regional Dean and Administrator of St. John's Riverside Hospital.

Physicians understand urgency. They train for urgent situations. They prepare for the worst case scenarios. Their minds – skilled, alert, and competently honed – comprehend the gravity of a moment.

For more than three grueling months, the medical teams at St. John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, New York found themselves in the epicenter of the Coronavirus pandemic. St. John's Riverside Hospital is a Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) regional campus staffed with a comprehensive network of medical professionals, including faculty and residents (many of them LECOM alumni and scholars) dedicated to a tradition of service that spans generations. The hospital is a leader in providing quality, compassionate health care utilizing the latest, state-of-the-art medical technology.

Several months ago, no one would have believed that the dire situation that happened in cities across the globe could happen in a place such as St. John’s Riverside Hospital. As the Coronavirus made

As the LECOM students transitioned into remote access learning, limiting their potential exposure to the virus, their offsite training reduced the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), that the hospital staff would need desperately in the coming days.

As the situation devolved and New York State displayed the greatest number of Coronavirus cases in the country, Westchester County, (the county in which Yonkers is located), recorded the greatest number of cases in a single day, 98 out of 142 confirmed cases.

As St. John’s Riverside Hospital began to see a rapidly increasing number of upper respiratory infection cases in their emergency department and outpatient facilities, Dr. DiGiorno reached out to LECOM for support. “Despite strict policies on usage, we are struggling to maintain adequate stock of critical supplies, such as ventilators, surgical masks, hand sanitizer, and N-95 masks,” he wrote.

LECOM has a large number of clinical sites and affiliates, many of which were not facing the same virus numbers. LECOM began reaching out to assist in gathering supplies for St. John’s Riverside Hospital. “We know that every healthcare institution likely will face

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Coronavirus to some extent. If your LECOM sites are able to spare some of these supplies, we would be appreciative and work to ensure replacement or reimbursement of PPE as soon as possible,” Dr. DiGiorno explained.

The gravity in Dr. DiGiorno’s missive was evident. The LECOM administration immediately responded with supplies and PPE, and the urgently needed ventilators.

Throughout the event, the medical leadership at St. John's Riverside took the time to talk to the leaders at LECOM and LECOM Health hospitals to share their experiences and best practices, even while they themselves were in the midst of the COVID-19 war.

In mid-March, following the first major Coronavirus-related address to the nation by President Trump, the level of concern and anxiety clearly had risen among the staff at St. John’s Riverside Hospital.

Concern about delay in access to tests and results increased as well. The hospital also increased its negative air pressure capacity to contain the spread of the virus in the event of the patient surge that would surely arrive. They also placed 13 members of their staff under quarantine out of an abundance of caution. “Our physicians and staff have risen to the occasion,” noted Dr. DiGiorno.

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With the aggressive help of LECOM, Dr. DiGiorno became a key member of the hospital task force response team, addressing PPE acquisitions and proper sanitizing. A daily increase in intensive care patients soon followed and everyone realized that the hospital inexorably would reach saturation, given the average length of stay of each patient.

St. John’s Riverside Hospital was prepared, having acquired necessary PPE, organizing departments, studying the curves, and taken containment measures, but within weeks, Dr. DiGiorno and his team found themselves facing a looming catastrophe. More than the lack of equipment or space in the intensive care department, the exhaustion of the staff, as well as the unexpected severity of the disease made the St. John’s Riverside medical teams fear the worst.

Coronavirus became a disease of intensive care. Suddenly, the intensive care specialists were faced with patients’ rapid decline and death as the disease proved to be one for which the treatment was a respirator. Medical teams employed high-flow oxygen with some success, saving many intubations with this procedure, but regrettably, there were many patients who were not able to oxygenate. LECOM Clinical Faculty, Dr. Raj Rampersaud and Dr. Richard Wu led the charge in the ICU.

Professionals also fell ill from the virus with the cases among the caregivers creating absenteeism. The medical staff was not invulnerable to this disease, and fears of a catastrophic scenario began to occupy the foremost place in everyone's minds. The fatigue of caregivers was overwhelming as healthcare professionals slept in hallways and at desks to avoid returning to their homes in fear of carrying the contagion to their loved ones. Loss and heartache enveloped the hospital and, for the intensive care specialists, the repetition of that loss and heartache jarred morale.

Even as the weeks passed and early April admissions decreased minimally, the hospital still recorded almost 200% capacity and many deaths. Still the sirens persisted and the respirator pumps clicked and hissed.

“We plan to get tested, but are waiting for the antibody tests to become available here,” commented Dr. DiGiorno. “Many of our colleagues have been sick around us, I cannot imagine that I have not been exposed,” the courageous doctor noted.

In late April, a slight decrease gave the medical teams at St. John's Riverside cause for hope. The number of admissions decreased slightly, and more patients were discharged each day. “We are intubating fewer patients, but unfortunately, extubations remain challenging and there have been many deaths,” Dr. DiGiorno reported. “Once a patient is intubated, the prognosis becomes very poor. There has been a high degree of renal failure and hemodialysis. We began using convalescent plasma and we are appealing to several bodies to access investigational therapies,” Dr. DiGiorno stated. “The treatment remains mainly supportive care,” he continued.

LECOM third-year medical resident has been in the heat of the battle, caring for critically ill patients. “I cannot express my gratitude strongly enough for the wonderful and caring partners at LECOM,” he averred.

“As we slowly lumber our way to the light at the end of the tunnel, I want to express how very grateful we all are here at St. John’s Riverside Hospital for the amazing support that LECOM has given us,” echoed Dr. DiGiorno.

The brave heart of this dedicated physician is a testament to all that is LECOM. His soul and spirit are reflective of the sentiment of the entire medical team of healthcare professionals at St. John’s Riverside Hospital.

LECOM leadership offers a collective and profoundly heartfelt nod of approval to all of the dedicated healthcare professionals who were determined to bend adversity to their will, who sacrificed, suffered silently, and who boldly answered the noble call to heal. To the LECOM alumni on the frontlines of a grave and transformative moment in history, yours is the victory of the ages.

Late in April, cautious optimism began to stir within the halls of St. John’s Riverside with the sense that the cases had peaked. Like everyone else, the medical team at the hospital was unsure about the way in which resolution would come about, causing experts in the field to believe that widespread antibody testing would reveal the actual number of people exposed to the virus. “Many of us have had a few headaches and isolated coughing, but otherwise we feel well.

We are curious to see if these were mild cases. Testing is supposed to start in the coming days,” commented an increasingly hopeful Dr. DiGiorno. “The medical staff has checked on one another in an incredible display of camaraderie,” he added.

As on the battlefront of a military campaign, the swirl of emotions underscored with the sense of pride in serving a greater cause.

“Having my son on the front lines has made me proud, but as a parent, it has made me extraordinarily anxious at the same time,” commented St. John’s Riverside President, Ron Corti. His son, a

Internal Medicine residents on rounds at St. John's Riverside Hospital.

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LECOM Meets the Moment Preparedness, Planning, and Prescience Ensure Uninterrupted Training The COVID-19 virus that engulfed the whole of the world causing doctors, nurses, and medics to rush into action to confront the devastating disease and placing on hold almost every country on the map. The momentous and unprecedented travails thrust upon America and the world have been transformative; but through the many challenging weeks, the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) stood strong and stalwart, successfully adapting to the unfolding situation and continuing to serve its students.

To be clear, although the pandemic may have caught most of the world unaware, LECOM had been prepared for disaster situations from its very inception.

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As the first LECOM class began its studies in 1993, the College was already converting to digital technologies, implementing a fully hardwired computer system and a highly competent Information Technology (IT) team.

LECOM leadership was presciently aware of the changing times, adapting its curriculum and platforms to reflect the burgeoning Information Age. To that end, LECOM class structures were highly digitalized, with the Jenzabar Learning Platform, Polycom Communications, and online examination modalities included as part of normal educational operations. Distance education has long been incorporated into the LECOM curriculum for program disciplines, with

the School of Pharmacy and the Masters Programs utilizing the systems routinely. Add to the mix that early on, LECOM preparedness addressed concerns about hurricane season affecting the Bradenton, Florida campus, resulting in extensive planning for sudden disaster situations. Within its first years of operations, the Bradenton campus endured five hurricanes with no interruption to student education.

For almost three decades, LECOM has been training superlative doctors and healthcare professionals, preparing them for the calling of a lifetime and graduating those scholars on time, armed with medical knowledge and

clinical competencies necessary to thrive in a new age. Of all of the weapons that they take into battle, none is more powerful than the mind. It holds their knowledge, training, strength of character, and their commitment to excellence.

The upward course of an educational institution stems from its commitment to educational excellence. To maintain and ensure the continued and uninterrupted education of its students, LECOM activated its plan for COVID-19 Temporary Distance Education.

During the time of uncertainty, the entire LECOM administration was mission driven as it implemented provisions that fulfilled students' educational goals with as little interruption as possible while complying with local, state, and federal government mandates and continuing to monitor the pandemic situation.

The administration’s foundational pre-planning and preparedness allowed the institutional response to COVID-19 and the ensuing curricular changes to take place rapidly and in a well-conceived fashion. Aided by a strong Information Technology Department, one that has demonstrated experience in successfully delivering online curricula in a variety of LECOM programs, the College launched a seamless online curriculum to its students across the campus locations. The remote access plan was activated virtually overnight as the pandemic began to affect the nation.

LECOM online learning delivered virtual instruction to students separated from the campus locations and supported regular and substantive interaction between the students and instructors. The internet, augmented by transmissions through the Zoom conferencing system, the Online Learning Management System (LMS) - Jenzabar, telephone conferencing, and pre-recorded and newly recorded presentations provided solid educational support.

Didactic courses employed a combination of these technologies based upon the needs of the course directors, lecturers, speakers, and faculty. All LECOM courses included the use of the Jenzabar Learning System to post

course materials and assignments and the Zoom conferencing to deliver synchronous instruction.

the Master of Science in Biomedical Science Doctoral Programs were moved seamlessly to distance education operations.

The content depth, breadth, rate of education were maintained without interruption and student interaction was continued during the regular course schedule. Didactic assessment (examinations) were delivered through a recognized program known as Exam Soft.

Throughout the upheaval caused by the pandemic the LECOM response was effective, efficient, calm, and organized. Laboratories and workshops converted to online learning sessions. Live and online question and answer sessions were offered with faculty; and faculty accessibility and availability to answer questions was actively maintained throughout online interactions. The faculty advisors interacted more frequently with scholars via email or in person online.

The College of Osteopathic Medicine moved all campuses and pathways to its online curriculum for the first- and second-year didactic training; and moved all third- and fourth-year students to an online clinical curriculum for core and elective rotations.

The LECOM School of Pharmacy utilized its previously established four-year Distance Education Pathway and required no changes to its learning format, however third- and fourth-year didactic curriculum was moved to the online format.

Experiential learning was moved online where possible and some students on rotations remained at their clinical sites unless released by their preceptors or by request of the student due to Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) guidelines on minimum contact hours required for graduation.

The LECOM School of Dental Medicine transferred its didactic instruction to distance education, suspended simulation technique exercises until permissible, and transferred third- and fourth-year dental students currently on clinical rotations to online education where possible or on modified clinic sessions based upon state and federal guidelines.

LECOM leadership responded proactively ensuring that clinical education was not permanently disrupted.

On March 15, 2020, LECOM Provost, Vice President, and Dean of Academic Affairs, Silvia M. Ferretti, DO, notified affected students that rotations would cease and LECOM would convert to a cyber-based educational experience.

LECOM administration and faculty worked diligently to ensure that students would remain on track to graduate, leveraging the strong online curricular components in clinical education to best serve the students academically.

Perhaps now, more than ever before, the nation and the world recognize the value of medical training. The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine remains unbowed, pledging through its educational bounty to continue to create superlative healthcare professionals that better the world.

The LECOM Graduate School of Biomedical Science Master of Science in Medical Education along with the School of Health Services Administration (SHSA) Masters in Health Services Administration (MHSA), Masters in Public Health (MPH), and Master of Science in Biomedical Ethics (MSBE) previously had established a distance education program, so no changes were required to facilitate uninterrupted Student education. The Master of Medical Science and

@1LECOM | LECOM CONNECTION 13

Preparing the Pivot: IT Ensured Student Success

As COVID-19 made its way around the globe, preparedness measures within the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) Information Technologies (IT) department, including the audio-visual (AV) team, were already underway. While medical professionals were moving rapidly into action to confront the virus, almost every non-essential business and enterprise was being halted by state government mandates, placing on hold nearly every conceivable public and private activity, including LECOM classroom and onsite clinical studies.

The transformative events were daunting - national uncertainty and frustration abounded - but throughout those early days, and seemingly overnight, the LECOM IT team successfully adapted to the developing situation, making the comprehensive system and learning format changes necessary to ensure that no educational interruption would affect the LECOM students.

LECOM was determined to graduate its Class of 2020 fully prepared and on time and the whole of the IT team ensured that the goal became a reality.

For more than a quarter century, LECOM has been training superlative doctors and healthcare professionals, fully skilled with clinical competencies and prepared for board examinations; the Coronavirus would not daunt the determined IT Department.

To maintain and ensure the continued and uninterrupted education of LECOM students, the mission driven individuals of IT implemented provisions that fulfilled students' educational goals as the College launched a seamless remote access plan to present the online curriculum to students across all campus locations.

The superlative organization of the AV team was key to the effectuation of the pivot to online learning; and collectively they stepped out of their normal duties and roles to make it happen. The LECOM family, faculty and staff, is known for its consummate performance, yet in this highly unexpected and challenging moment, this devoted group exceeded expectations.

The IT Department wished to draw particular attention and note to the members of the group that have come to be known as the AV team: John Nielsen, Russ Bidwell, and Andrew Jack. These dedicated LECOM staffers were key to facilitating the transition

14 LECOM CONNECTION | SUMMER 2020

to online learning. They worked as a cohesive unit to develop new procedures, while simultaneously ensuring proper support of existing systems. Each member played a self-motivated and integral role, affecting the pivot almost independently of management oversight.

John Nielsen, who reviewed conferencing options and balanced the needs of executing the plan quickly, provided an industry leading solution with Zoom conferencing. He created user documentation and conducted training classes for the faculty and staff, and he continues to review Zoom security releases, updating documentation and implementing security features to safeguard the system while maintaining a high level of accessibility.

Russ Bidwell, who as LECOM progressed into the online venture, worked with faculty to determine innovative solutions to embed videos into tests and to address faculty concerns with the technology. He provided support to users having technical issues with systems other than audio visual technology.

Andrew Jack, instrumental in LECOM success, linked the new and old technologies.

Without direction, he immediately recognized the important purpose to hold the line in supporting old technologies thereby allowing his peers the freedom to work on developing new methodologies such as Zoom conferencing and embedding videos within tests. Andrew selflessly held the course, ensuring that there were no gaps in support.

He moved seamlessly into the role of primary support for new users of a virtual private network (VPN).

It is true that the courage of doctors and healthcare professionals have won the moment; indeed, they have defined the moment in this battle, and because of the responsive and successful work of the IT Department, a new generation of LECOM medical professionals stands ready to face the challenges of this new age.

It is not the glittering weapon that fights the fight, but rather it is the hero's heart. This aphorism is aptly reflective of the collective efforts of the band of brothers in the IT and AV Department.

LECOM extends its grateful appreciation to the dedicated force that planned the pivot and ensured that every LECOM scholar was graduated fully prepared and on time to fight the medical battles of a new age.

Zainab Shahid

Brendan McClafferty

Douglas Kepko

LECOM Scholars Examine Key Aspects of COVID-19 Related to Older Adults Fourth-year, LECOM at Seton Hill medical student, Zainab Shahid, teamed with Brendan McClafferty and Douglas Kepko, third-year medical students at LECOM Erie, to publish a review article addressing the transmission, symptomatology, and mortality of COVID-19 as they relate to older adults.

Zainab Shahid, a native of Queens, New York, completed her core clinical rotations at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, New York. This summer, she will begin her residency training in internal medicine at Rowan University in Stratford, New Jersey.

Hailing from Bethesda, Maryland, 27-year-old Brendan McClafferty met Kansas City, Kansas native, Douglas Kepko while studying in the Problem Based Learning (PBL) Pathway at LECOM. The two have worked closely ever since.

McClafferty is undertaking clinical rotations at the Western Maryland Health System. Shahid was introduced to McClafferty and Kepko by an attending physician who also works at the Western Maryland Health System. The trio was keenly interested in the alarmingly high mortality rate of COVID-19 in older adults; and together, they decided to review the current literature and distill from it a concise review of the topic.

The report, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and entitled, COVID-19 and Older Adults: What We Know, cogently summarized a broad range of Coronavirus studies that show worse outcomes and higher mortality rates in older adults and in those with comorbidities such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and chronic kidney disease. A significant percentage of older American adults have these diseases, placing them at a higher risk of infection.

examined promising treatment options that are currently under investigation in the United States.

The abstract further assessed the fact that many adults with hypertension, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease are placed on angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs). The report highlighted studies that have shown that these medications increase the processing rate of the ACE-2 receptor, the very receptor that the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus uses to enter host cells, which places older adults at a further increased risk of infection.

Speaking to the important impact that LECOM has had upon her education, Shahid noted, “I believe studying independently and working in small groups through the Problem-Based Learning Pathway at LECOM at Seton Hill helped me to develop important leadership, critical thinking, and organizational skills.

Furthermore, the great mentors at my clinical core site taught me how to develop thoughtful clinical questions, conduct literature reviews, and prepare manuscripts.�

In abbreviated format, the article clearly delineated the symptoms exhibited by affected individuals and the attendant percentages of those presenting with those symptoms. In the article, the co-authors

The pandemic resulted in daily flurries of information and medical discoveries about the new and deadly disease. The work undertaken by the trio of LECOM medical scholars was most useful in culling key aspects of the virus and stating them in one source comprehensively, a skill made all the more effective as a result of their involvement in the LECOM Problem-Based Learning Pathway.

It is decidedly true that the most assiduous of souls find great purpose in their missions.

For decades, LECOM progeny have proven this concept time and again; and the College extends a laudatory nod to these three dedicated scholars.

@1LECOM | LECOM CONNECTION 15

LECOM at Seton Hill Medical Student was Embedded with CDC Response Team

Max W. Jacobs, a fourth-year LECOM at Seton Hill medical student, always has been interested in the areas of infectious disease, public health, and disaster response. This penetrating interest led him to envision a career at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Max W. Jacobs

Understandably, Jacobs was thrilled to be accepted into the Epidemiology Elective Program (EEP), an eight-week rotation available to fourth-year medical students who are interested in public health. It mirrors the format of one of the CDC flagship offerings, the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), a two-year field training program for epidemiologists, clinicians, and veterinarians.

Students are matched with a specific division, but they may be deployed into the field in certain situations. Jacobs’ rotation within the Influenza Division, part of the National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), positioned him within the core of one of the seven centers that comprise the CDC. Known as Disease Detectives, the EIS places first responders into areas around the world that are experiencing the most pressing public health issues. The EIS is considered by many within the field as the most elite training that a public health professional can receive.

Jacobs’ EEP cohort included 25 students from locales across the United States; and 19 of them were assigned to various divisions at the Atlanta headquarters.

Jacobs’ orientation on January 13, 2020, would prove to be for him the start of an enlightening experience. As his team

16 LECOM CONNECTION | SUMMER 2020

worked through the orientation, touring the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and learning about the CDC response to public health crises, the team shared their eagerness to be deployed during the rotation.

Jacobs’ experience was to be further advanced. On the day before his orientation, the sequence for SARS-CoV-2 was published.

The terms SARS-CoV-2 and COVID had not been coined at this point, but the group was well aware of the virus’ origins.

One week later, as Jacobs was designing projects with his team in the Influenza Division, COVID-19 became the watchword of nearly every conversation.

On January 20, 2020, the first case of COVID-19 in the United States was identified and one day later, the CDC activated the EOC response. By the end of the week, several of Jacobs’ EEP team were tasked to the EOC to assist in the response.

“How quickly can you be on a plane to Chicago?” The question from his EIS leadership would place Jacobs into a whirlwind of medical training.

Jacobs arrived at the hospital of “COVID-19 Patient #2” located in the Chicago suburbs. He worked with a team of CDC staff as well as with local and state health departments, including many current and former EIS officers. The epidemiologists rapidly developed a containment strategy by drawing upon their personal experiences with SARS, Ebola, Measles, and other disease outbreaks. “The group worked around-the-

LECOM Scholar Joins the Global Battle of the Century His partnered research resulted in a salient piece entitled, First Known Person-to-Person Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the USA. The investigation took place before the existence of published CDC guidance that classified exposure risk among contacts of patients with COVID-19. It was, therefore, a groundbreaking study as it meticulously detailed the exposure rates of the contagion.

clock, tracing known contacts, identifying persons-under-investigation (PUI), setting up testing, speaking with response teams from around the country, and uncovering the basic epidemiology of the disease,” the LECOM at Seton Hill scholar explained.

Jacobs’ team ultimately reported the first human-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States, the report of which was published in The Lancet.

Upon returning from deployment, Jacobs completed COVID work while continuing influenza projects that had been placed on hold. “The 2019-20 influenza season followed several uncharacteristic trends and I was able to contribute to the only regularly scheduled outbreak response in the nation,” noted Jacobs. He initiated a systematic literature review, led medical training for surveillance officers, and used statistical software for several data projects. “The influenza surveillance system for which my team was responsible, FluServ-NET, was being adapted and leveraged to assist in COVID surveillance,” Jacobs expounded.

Jacobs feels incredibly fortunate to have worked with highly motivated students from around the nation who shared his interest.

The human loss and economic devastation wrought by the pandemic has been immeasurable, but the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity experienced by a profoundly inquisitive scholar, that of working at the CDC during the developing outbreak of a virus from across the globe, proved an experience of great educational value.

Jacobs co-authored the work that was published in The Lancet, one of the oldest, most prestigious, and best known general medical journals in the world.

Until recently, viruses and anti-human microbes never had inflicted a significant and debilitating impact upon the American way of life. In only a few short months, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) transformed America and the world as globalization quickly facilitated the descent of the highly infectious disease upon the citizens of almost every nation.

As the United States called to mind the stoicism of the greatest generation, heralding the blitz spirit, and summoning the unbowed might of America, the whole of the medical community took its place on the front lines to battle the infectious disease of the century.

Early in the study of the virus, a Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) scholar joined those battle lines to understand and to conquer the spread of the virus.

Max W. Jacobs was involved in the COVID-19 response and investigation as part of his recent rotation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Jacobs' efforts suggest that challenges, once overcome, allow one to gain knowledge and find victory over them.

The LECOM spirit, bold in its origin, visionary in its growth, strong in its rise to prominence, and ever triumphant over momentary vicissitudes, is reflected in the successes of its progeny, scholars like Max Jacobs, who have set out to face and to conquer an invisible foe.

Articles

First known person-to-person transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the USA Isaac Ghinai*, Tristan D McPherson*, Jennifer C Hunter, Hannah L Kirking, Demian Christiansen, Kiran Joshi, Rachel Rubin, Shirley Morales-Estrada, Stephanie R Black, Massimo Pacilli, Marielle J Fricchione, Rashmi K Chugh, Kelly A Walblay, N Seema Ahmed, William C Stoecker, Nausheen F Hasan, Deborah P Burdsall, Heather E Reese, Megan Wallace, Chen Wang, Darcie Moeller, Jacqueline Korpics, Shannon A Novosad, Isaac Benowitz, Max W Jacobs, Vishal S Dasari, Megan T Patel, Judy Kauerauf, E Matt Charles, Ngozi O Ezike, Victoria Chu, Claire M Midgley, Melissa A Rolfes, Susan I Gerber, Xiaoyan Lu, Stephen Lindstrom, Jennifer R Verani, Jennifer E Layden, for the Illinois COVID-19 Investigation Team†

Summary

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), first detected in China in December, 2019. In January, 2020, state, local, and federal public health agencies investigated the first case of COVID-19 in Illinois, USA. Methods Patients with confirmed COVID-19 were defined as those with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test. Contacts were people with exposure to a patient with COVID-19 on or after the patient’s symptom onset date. Contacts underwent active symptom monitoring for 14 days following their last exposure. Contacts who developed fever, cough, or shortness of breath became persons under investigation and were tested for SARS-CoV-2. A convenience sample of 32 asymptomatic health-care personnel contacts were also tested.

Findings Patient 1—a woman in her 60s—returned from China in mid-January, 2020. 1 week later, she was hospitalised with pneumonia and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Her husband (Patient 2) did not travel but had frequent close contact with his wife. He was admitted 8 days later and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Overall, 372 contacts of both cases were identified; 347 underwent active symptom monitoring, including 152 community contacts and 195 health-care personnel. Of monitored contacts, 43 became persons under investigation, in addition to Patient 2. These 43 persons under investigation and all 32 asymptomatic health-care personnel tested negative for SARS-CoV-2.

Interpretation Person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurred between two people with prolonged, unprotected exposure while Patient 1 was symptomatic. Despite active symptom monitoring and testing of symptomatic and some asymptomatic contacts, no further transmission was detected.

Funding None.

Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction In January, 2020, a novel virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified as the causative agent for a cluster of pneumonia cases initially detected in Wuhan City, Hubei province, China.1 SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease now named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), had spread throughout China and to 26 additional countries as of Feb 18, 2020.2 Phylogenetic data implicate a zoonotic origin,3 and the rapid spread suggests ongoing personto-person transmission. Several studies offer additional insight into person-to-person transmission.4–9 However, substantial knowledge gaps remain regarding the transmissibility between humans, including the level of exposure to a confirmed case at which transmission is more likely to occur.

On Jan 23, 2020, Illinois, USA, reported the state’s first laboratory-confirmed case (index case) of COVID-19 in a traveller who returned from Wuhan in mid-January, 2020.

Subsequently, the first evidence of secondary transmission www.thelancet.com Vol 395 April 4, 2020

in the USA was reported on Jan 30, when the husband of the index patient, who had not travelled outside the USA, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Public health authorities did an intensive epidemiological investigation of the two confirmed cases.

This Article describes the first person-to-person transmission of COVID-19 in the USA, including the clinical and laboratory features of both patients and the assessment and monitoring of several hundred individuals with potential exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

Methods

Epidemiological investigation The Illinois Department of Public Health, Chicago Department of Public Health, Cook County Department of Public Health, and DuPage County Health Department consulted with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for technical assistance and invited a CDC field team to assist with onsite investigations after laboratory confirmation of the first case of COVID-19.

Lancet 2020; 395: 1137–44 Published Online March 12, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/ S0140-6736(20)30607-3 See Comment page 1093 *These authors contributed equally †Memberrs of the Illinois COVID-19 Investigation Team are listed in the appendix (pp 1–2) Epidemic Intelligence Service (I Ghinai MBBS, T D McPherson MD, H E Reese PhD, M Wallace DrPH, V Chu MD), Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (J C Hunter DrPH, S A Novosad MD, I Benowitz MD), Division of Viral Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (H L Kirking MD, M Wallace, V Chu, C M Midgley PhD, S I Gerber MD, X Lu MS, S Lindstrom PhD), Division of Bacterial Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (H E Reese, J R Verani MD), Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (M W Jacobs BA, M A Rolfes PhD), One Health Office, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (V S Dasari MPH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA; Illinois Department of Public Health, Springfield, IL, USA (I Ghinai, D P Burdsdall PhD, M T Patel MPH, J Kauerauf MPH, E M Charles BA, N O Ezike MD); Chicago Department of Public Health, Chicago, IL, USA (T D McPherson, S R Black MD, M Pacilli MPH, M J Fricchione MD, K A Walblay MPH, J E Layden MD); Cook County Department of Public Health, Oak Forest, IL, USA (D Christiansen DrPH,

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@1LECOM | LECOM CONNECTION 17

Virtual Volunteers: LECOM Bradenton Students Battle COVID-19 Quarantine with Compassion and Ingenuity

Reddy, the current President of the LECOM Bradenton Sigma Sigma Phi (SSP) organization, recalled a program begun five years ago, by Manjunath. The then student at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, New York, developed a community-service project known as Seniors with Skills (SWS).

LECOM School of Medicine first-year student, Shannon Hodges, visits online with senior buddy, Patty.

The extreme social distancing measures recently in place to combat the COVID-19 Virus have proven daunting for most Americans. Indeed, isolation can lead to adverse psychological and physiological effects.

The ramifications of social isolation upon bodies and minds have been studied in a variety of groups, from astronauts to inmates, from the immunocompromised to remote researchers in tundra and desert areas, and to the senior population.

While the negative feelings and experiences associated with prolonged isolation are palpable to many, the greatest harm falls upon the elderly. They are the group least likely to maneuver the world of social media.

Enter Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) student, Sriya Reddy. The first-year organizer reached out to his friend, Jaya Manjunath, to undertake a project to combat isolation in seniors.

18 LECOM CONNECTION | SUMMER 2020

“The Alpha Alpha Chapter of SSP is collaborating with Seniors with Skills to connect seniors who are currently selfquarantining in retirement homes,” explained the Chapter Secretary, Shyam Patel, who remained in Bradenton, Florida throughout the pandemic.

“The COVID-19 crisis has led to further isolation of senior citizens; so, to help them remain socially active during an unprecedented time, SWS began online volunteering sessions. During the sessions, student volunteers spent time in conversation with seniors, discussing current events, university life, sharing humorous stories, and teaching seniors in the use of video-calling resources,” he furthered. “It is an onlinebuddy project,” commented Reddy.

“My senior buddy is Patty, from Buffalo, New York,” added LECOM School of Medicine first-year student, Shannon Hodges, the Service Chair for SSP who sequestered in her Bradenton apartment.

“Patty said that celebrating Easter was definitely different this year, but that she still was able to watch Mass on TV and to have a good day. She also loved virtually meeting my dog, Leo,” Hodges noted. “Patty told me that her husband and one of her daughters visited her through the window of the rehabilitation

hospital where she was recuperating; and on several occasions, they dropped off her favorite spaghetti for lunch,” continued Hodges.

“It was meaningful to chat with Patty and to learn about her family and her former career; and she asked me questions about medical school,” Hodges concluded.

The Seniors with Skills Program requires volunteers to complete training prior to the actual online volunteering session.

“We have helped seniors to become involved with knitting, technology, and making cards,” expounded Reddy, who quarantined in her family home in Clarksburg, Maryland.

SWS participants also designed and created encouraging cards and crafted signs to send to area nursing homes.

The successful Sigma Sigma Phi virtual volunteering effort also expanded into new facets of application. In addition to its senior services arm, the project was further developed to tutor LECOM Master of Medical Science (MMS) students in anatomy.

Reddy explained, “It was very different to move from undergraduate study into anatomy.

The volume of information was substantial. It helped me to teach it to someone else and to provide resources to others.” The virtual study group tutorial sessions have been well received by fellow LECOM scholars.

“If you cannot explain it simply, you do not understand it well enough,” remarked Reddy quoting Albert Einstein.

– Continued on page 34

Thomas Oliver, DOAlumnus Former Golfer and LECOM Medicine Internal Medicine on the FrontlineHospital of Coronavirus Thomas Oliver, DO PRACTICE NAME

Hospitalist Medicine Services

OFFICE LOCATIONS

Lankenau Medical Center 100 East Lancaster Avenue Wynnewood, PA 19096 Thomas Oliver, DO, the acclaimed 2006-09 Purdue golfer, is applying the medical skill that he gained at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) to battling Coronavirus at Main Line Health Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. The skilled physician sees about 100 COVID-19 patients on a daily basis. Dr. Oliver, a 2016 LECOM at Seton Hill graduate, is Chief Resident and an academic hospitalist in his final year of residency at the medical center.

MEDICAL SCHOOL

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

RESIDENCY

Lankenau Medical Center

About a decade ago, the Nottingham, England native attracted national attention in America when he made a hole-in-one while on the Purdue University Boilermakers golf team. During a major tournament in Alabama, the young golfer stepped up to Par 3 to sink the hole more than 200 yards away from him. An All-Academic, All-Big Ten golfer with the Boilermakers, he posted four top 10 finishes during his golfing career.

While a junior in the school of health sciences at Purdue University, Oliver’s interest turned solidly to medicine.

From there, the scholar attended LECOM, where his highly honed training has since brought him fully into his ultimate calling.

TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT, CALL OR VISIT: Dr. Oliver now oversees about 65 trainees 1.866.CALL.MLH and he is working directly with patients, MAINLINEHEALTH.ORG

some of whom are in the intensive care unit, on ventilators, intubated, or are otherwise critically ill.

“We have been hit quite hard, but we have managed to flatten the curve a little bit,” the 32-year-old physician noted.

Along with taking care of patients, Dr. Oliver builds out surgical schedules during this rapidly changing time in medicine. His days in the Coronavirus battle are arduous - stressful and seemingly endless - but drawing upon his LECOM training, Dr. Oliver manages the uncertainty with a high degree of capable calmness.

His day begins around 6 a.m. as he and other medical professionals enter the health facility through a designated entrance where he dons his mask and he has his temperature taken.

Dr. Oliver faces exposure to the virus with each patient that he sees, but he exhibits the professional and compassionate character that is the hallmark of LECOM graduates. “You want to take care of the patients, you want to be in the room with them and make your clinical judgments,” he explained.

After completing his residency, Dr. Oliver will travel to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona where his focus will shift to working in the areas of leukemia, hematology, and oncology.

Until then, Dr. Oliver will continue his dedication to combating the deadly virus and relying upon his exceptional LECOM medical training to save lives.

@1LECOM | LECOM CONNECTION 19

LECOM Bradenton Alumnus Approved by USFDA for Convalescent Plasma Research As most leaders will agree, the finest eloquence is that which gets things done; for that which one accomplishes in this lifetime will echo into eternity. This noted truism is an appropriate one indeed as a virus that began on the other side of the globe has propelled the whole of the medical community into unremitting action.

Convalescent donor plasma is collected from an individual who has been infected by COVID-19 and who has recovered from the virus. The plasma contains antibodies that identify the virus and that stimulate the body’s immune system to remove it. This technique is the basis for immunotherapy, using the body’s own immune system to combat an illness.

The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) takes great pride in, and offers its deep appreciation to, Brian Patrick Peppers, DO, PhD, a LECOM Bradenton Class of 2011 honors graduate working on the cutting edge of COVID-19 research.

“The aim of this study is to determine if it will help promote health for those with this specific infection,” explained Dr. Peppers. “Similar pilot studies for the treatment of COVID-19 have shown positive results,” he noted.

The pediatric medicine specialist was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to undertake and complete a study into the protocols for convalescent plasma for COVID-19-affected patients.

Having almost a decade of diverse experiences in the healthcare field, especially in pediatric medicine, allergy, and immunology, Dr. Peppers serves as a faculty member of the West Virginia University Health System, in Morgantown, West Virginia and he is affiliated with University Hospitals Richmond Medical Center in Richmond Heights.

His application to the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, under the USFDA, for study of an investigational new drug was approved for a convalescent protocol entitled, Convalescent Plasma Collection from Individuals that Recovered from COVID-19 and Treatment of Critically Ill Individuals with Donor Convalescent Plasma.

20 LECOM CONNECTION | SUMMER 2020

The long-term goal of his investigation is to develop an enriched and purified antibody medication to use against the virus.

Dr. Peppers completed his residency training in 2014 at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio; and in addition to many awards, honors, and a plethora of journal publications, he completed a pediatric and adult allergy and immunology fellowship at Cleveland Medical Center and a pediatrics residency at University Hospitals, Cleveland.

“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” So said American astronomer and scientist, Dr. Carl Sagan. This relevant commentary underpins the very motivation of countless medical professionals such as Dr. Brian Peppers, who dedicate their time, talents, and training to the profoundly purposeful pursuit of discovery. To him, and to those who commit themselves to the noble battle against the ravages of a deadly virus, LECOM offers its proud and hearty commendation.

An Ounce of Prevention

Noted American statesman, scientist, and inventor, Benjamin Franklin, once stated that, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It is a metaphor not lost on James Lin, DO, Geriatric Medicine Specialist and President of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) Institute for Successful Aging, who, in the early days of the deadly Coronavirus pandemic, made the difficult, but prudent, decision to lockdown the LECOM long-term care facilities to outside visitors. His decision, though seemingly controversial as reported by local media, was, in fact, prescient and necessarily protective of the residents. Though other care homes across the state and nation were ravaged by the virus, the LECOM Senior Living Center, the LECOM Health Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, and LECOM at Village Square remained insulated. Dr. Lin made the call to close the doors to protect the residents with the care, compassion, and competency that is the hallmark of LECOM. It seems that James Lin, DO, has lived by that hallmark. His is a life committed to worthy accomplishment, a testament to action, to objective, to purpose. Dr. Lin’s objective has been to empower the aging population to live vigorous, medication-free lives through natural osteopathic care and healthful lifestyles.

Indeed, Dr. Lin is known for providing the full continuum of care for geriatric patients. He serves as President of the LECOM Institute for Successful Aging, the leading academic center of excellence providing education, research, and clinical services throughout the region.

As a graduate of LECOM and specialist of Internal and Geriatric Medicine, Dr. Lin finds

the purpose of his calling in working with the increasingly older populace of Pennsylvania and as such, he has been instrumental in the advancement of geriatric medicine.

Known for providing appropriate, compassionate, and effective patient-centered care for the treatment of health problems and with a view toward the promotion of health, Dr. Lin’s motivation to close the centers to visitors was “to protect the most vulnerable and to be ahead of the game.” The March 10, 2020 temporary visitor ban ensured that the beloved residents of the facilities were safe from the virus that so devastatingly affected seniors.

Dr. Lin was well ahead of the developing onslaught of disease long before the situation devolved. He had equipped the senior centers with N95 masks, knowing their superior quality and that they would become scarce as the events worsened. He led and participated in educational community seminars to inform Erie County citizens about proper protocols and procedures to protect themselves against Coronavirus. Dr. Lin's comprehensive Coronavirus preparedness plan included his rapid creation of several well-conceived educational videos that were made available to the public and to the senior centers informing them about the virus and the best ways to stay healthy and safe from infection.

Moving through the developing early stages of the pandemic, Dr. Lin prepared the facilities under his auspices as would a skilled general, leading those in his charge to safety. Having been in Taiwan during the SARS outbreak in 2003 to care for his ailing father, Dr. Lin was very familiar with rapidly moving viruses; and the Coronavirus flagged his attention early on.

He was instrumental in creating a dedicated unit to respond to Coronavirus. The Command Center was the coordination point for employees and patients as the unit addressed community preparedness, supply inventory, and public education. The fully dedicated unit remains able to accommodate post-acute care patients from area hospitals.

The stand-alone wing with its separate entrance for new admissions houses an initial screening station, complete with a thermalimaging camera for checking the temperature of incoming patients and staff as well as a station supplied with personal protective equipment for staff to don before they enter the unit. A highly effective negative pressure air-handling system ensures safeguards regarding disease transmission.

In addition to temporarily banning visitors to the centers, LECOM Health skilled-nursing facilities also restricted any unnecessary vendors and required vendors to wear face masks while on-site. Residents were requested to wash and sanitize their hands frequently and they were issued face masks to wear if they so desired.

The sound decision made by Dr. Lin to protect those in his care demonstrated that he places the health and wellbeing of those in his charge above all else.

Dr. Lin receives from the people that he serves and from the community that he cherishes the sacred trust of the eldest of its inhabitants. There is no greater testament to a man’s purpose and no greater tribute to a doctor’s calling.

@1LECOM | LECOM CONNECTION 21

2020 Clinician of the Year

James Lin, DO The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) takes great pride in announcing that the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) has named James Lin, DO, as 2020 Clinician of the Year. Dr. Lin serves as President of the LECOM Institute for Successful Aging in Erie, Pennsylvania. He will be honored at the AGS 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting to be held from May 13-15, 2021, in Chicago, Illinois. The 2020 AGS Annual Meeting was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

As one explores the many accomplishments of Dr. Lin throughout his medical career, it is readily apparent that this doctor is a man committed to advancing whole body health as evidenced by his full spectrum approach to his geriatric practice. This national award further evinces that profound commitment.

Dr. Lin’s objective to empower the aging population to live vigorous, medication free lives through natural osteopathic care and healthful lifestyles has been a consistent mission throughout his life. Dr. Lin earned his medical degree from LECOM in 2002. He is board certified in internal medicine, geriatric medicine, and in hospice and palliative medicine. After completing a geriatric

22 LECOM CONNECTION | SUMMER 2020

fellowship at the University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey, Dr. Lin joined LECOM as President of its Institute for Successful Aging.

The LECOM Institute for Successful Aging is the leading academic center of excellence in providing education, research, and clinical services throughout the region. Dr. Lin often notes that “the LECOM Institute for Successful Aging comprises one of the first health systems in the northwestern Pennsylvania region to provide the full spectrum of geriatric care.”

Dr. Lin has worked vigorously to advance that spectrum of care. In collaboration with LECOM, Millcreek Community Hospital, and the whole of the LECOM Health System, Dr. Lin not only developed a robust geriatric service at LECOM, but also championed transforming that standard of care into training for future health professionals.

Instrumental in establishing the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship, a program designed to create an organizational structure of academic, clinical, and technical criteria to facilitate the education of geriatric medicine fellows, the group stresses cost-effective, quality health care for patients.

Dr. Lin’s many standout undertakings include the success of a Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) affiliated with LECOM. Dr. Lin secured a $7 million federal grant that tasks local experts with developing grass-roots solutions to geriatric care within their communities. The LECOM-led Lake Erie Integrated Geriatric Health Team (LIGHT) Grant facilitated by Dr. Lin is preparing 7,000 health workers across the Lake Erie region to adequately care for the increasing older adult population.

The AGS Clinician of the Year Award recognizes exceptional health professionals who deliver outstanding care to older adults and who model the importance of geriatrics for the nation. Truly, Dr. Lin’s unyielding dedication to lifelong learning, to the osteopathic philosophy, and to the betterment of geriatric medicine have been his hallmark. This estimable award is bestowed upon a most deserving recipient and LECOM could not be more proud of Dr. James Lin.

AWARDS 2020 AOGME LEADERSHIP AWARD

THE AACOM ANNUAL CONFERENCE MARCH 25-27 | VIRTUAL EVENT

Richard Terry, DO, MBA Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

Dr. Richard Terry Receives AOGME Award Richard Terry, DO, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) at Elmira has received the 2020 Assembly of Osteopathic Graduate Medical Educators (AOGME) Leadership Award. The award, presented by the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM), is bestowed upon an individual who has shown exemplary leadership and who has made exceptional contributions to the osteopathic profession.

Dr. Terry has been instrumental in improving osteopathic medical education through his noteworthy innovation and creativity.

The honor was conferred upon Dr. Terry during the online awards presentation at the

Educating Leaders 2020 Virtual Event held on Friday, March 27, 2020.

Dr. Terry joined the LECOM faculty in 2012 as LECOM Assistant Regional Dean of Clinical Education. He was instrumental in expanding student clinical rotation sites across east and central New York State, and his four-year effort contributed greatly to the establishment of the new LECOM at Elmira School of Medicine, of which he is now the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.

As the former President of the New York State Osteopathic Medical Society, Dr. Terry possesses a robust background in clinical aptitudes that will assist the College in

increasing clinical education opportunities across the East and Central regions of New York State.

With the influential and sweeping view of LECOM peering ever-optimistically into the future, the growth of the College is an enduring and continual initiative, and one that Dr. Terry has taken to heart.

LECOM takes profound pride in congratulating Richard Terry, DO in his receipt of this estimable award.

@1LECOM | LECOM CONNECTION 23

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Profiles in Courage: The Heart of a Firefighter and the Soul of a Physician

Two days after receiving her LECOM acceptance, Crotty suffered serious back injuries while on a fire call. Concerned that surgery and rehabilitation would delay her ability to begin medical school, she worked assiduously to join her classmates on time when classes began in July of 2016.

True callings of noble and estimable value are possessed of familiar, but often hardwon characteristics and virtues. Crotty’s perseverance and unyielding efforts have stood out as particularly emblematic profiles in courage.

In bygone eras, men gazed upon the stars, proclaiming their heroes in the constellations.

In this age of modernity, heroes are found in the hearts and souls of men and women who rise to a calling greater than themselves.

Megan Crotty, a Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) fourthyear medical student is one who has been selflessly devoted to such callings.

Growing up in the Erie suburb of Lawrence Park, Crotty witnessed everyday profiles in courage as her father and members of her extended family served as volunteer firefighters in the community. The commitment to serve was imbued within her as Crotty became a fifth-generation firefighter.

She and her cousin, Michael, dreamed of one day joining the Fire Department of the

City of New York, the largest municipal fire department in the country. Everything changed in April of 2008, however, when Michael was killed on the scene of a fire.

The loss of her cousin and best friend profoundly affected Crotty, drawing her to a career in medicine. She spent six years serving as a registered nurse in the emergency department of an Erie-area hospital. It was during this time that her experience working with one particular trauma patient solidified Crotty’s decision to continue her education as a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine.

Possessed of the physical courage required to battle a fire, Crotty also displayed the courage of character required to create teamwork, build trust, and foster interpersonal relationships.

Earlier this year, Crotty was selected as a finalist in the Nexstar Media Remarkable Woman Contest, which recognizes women for their community contributions, selfachievement, and family impact. As a finalist, Crotty was featured during a televised news segment on WJET Erie, Pennsylvania. She was among 460 women across the United States who were considered for the Nexstar Woman of the Year Award. In March of 2020, each regional winner was to have received a free trip to New York City where Nexstar Media had planned to reveal the national winner. Unfortunately, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic altered those plans.

Despite the setbacks, Crotty’s message is a sound one. “I hope that my story will inspire others to find time to give back and to pay it forward when they can,” offered Crotty. “I would like everyone to know that you can change career plans, take a little bit longer to find your passion, get knocked down mentally and physically, and still be able to accomplish everything you seek in life,” the resilient scholar expounded.

As the first physician hailing from an extended family of firefighters, Crotty evokes the parallel virtues shared by both callings. As she seeks to heal, cure, care for, and comfort,

– Continued on page 34 @1LECOM | LECOM CONNECTION 25

Lt. Col. Alice Briones, DO

LECOM Alumna Named United States Defense Health Agency Director Lt. Col. Alice Briones, DO, Armed Forces Medical Examiner System (AFMES) Deputy Director, has been named Director of AFMES, making Dr. Briones the first female to serve as Director of the System.

The 2005 Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) graduate was appointed

by Defense Health Agency Director, United States Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place to serve in her new position. She is advancing from her former post as Deputy Director of AFMES, an assignment that she held since April 2017.

“Dr. Briones brings a tremendous level of experience and capability to AFMES,” affirmed Lt. Gen. Ronald Place. “She has done an outstanding job serving as Deputy Director and I look forward to her continued leadership in the role as Director. AFMES does so much to positively impact our nation,” the Lieutenant General added.

As Director of AFMES, Dr. Briones now leads an assemblage of approximately 300 military, civilian, and contractor personnel who provide comprehensive services in forensic pathology, forensic toxicology, DNA technology, identification, and mortality surveillance to the Department of Defense.

“It is an honor to be selected as the new Director of AFMES; there is no greater place

26 LECOM CONNECTION | SUMMER 2020

to work than beside the men and women of AFMES,” stated Dr. Briones.

In 1990, Dr. Briones enlisted in the United States Army, serving as a Combat Medic. She completed basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. In 1994, she earned the Bachelor of Arts in Clinical Laboratory Medicine from the University of Maine.

She also earned a Medical Technologist Certification. In 1995, Dr. Briones was commissioned in the United States Air Force as a Biomedical Sciences Corps Laboratory Officer.

Throughout her career, she has served in many roles, notably Chief of Laboratory Operations and Squadron Section Commander at Luke Air Force Base (AFB), Arizona, and Chief of Laboratory Operations at Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts.

“I hope to be an inspiration to all women in the military, science, and medical fields as well as to working mothers,” Dr. Briones remarked.

Dr. Briones received the Health Profession Scholarship from the Air Force and she attended LECOM in Erie, Pennsylvania where she was graduated in 2005 with a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Degree. Dr. Briones undertook her residency in Clinical

and Anatomic Pathology at the University of Rochester Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York, and she completed a Forensic Pathology Fellowship with the Office of the Medical Examiner in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2010.

Following her residency and fellowship, Dr. Briones served AFMES as Deputy Medical Examiner in Rockville, Maryland and Dover AFB, Delaware, and she was appointed Director of the Department of Defense DNA Registry in 2014.

“I look forward to leading this great organization into the future and to exceeding the standard in forensic sciences for our greatest stakeholders – the families,” avowed Dr. Briones.

LECOM, as heirs of a glorious past and a heritage of inestimable value, commits itself to transmitting the Lamp of Learning to future generations; to support through its educational bounty, the opportunities that change people, and people who change lives.

United States Air Force Lt. Col. Alice Briones, DO, is one such person, and one of whom LECOM is unequivocally proud.

Harvard Fellowship Selects First Ever DO Arianna Gianakos, DO

Hospital Foot and Ankle Fellowship is one of the most highly regarded fellowships in the United States.

A bevy of important research has buoyed Dr. Gianakos’ success. To date, she has submitted 31 orthopedic surgery peer-reviewed publications, eight orthopedic surgery book chapters, 15 podium presentations, and 27 poster presentations.

She was the lead author of a piece entitled, Sex-Specific Analysis in the Orthopaedic Literature as a feature article in the journal, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research.

Her work analyzed and evaluated gender disparity in orthopedic surgery.

In this issue of the LECOM Connection, we have met Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) scholars and alumni, practitioners and professionals, who, in their academic achievements and explorations, and in their daily work stir the heart of their Alma Mater with great pride.

In that continued spirit, LECOM extends congratulations to Arianna Gianakos, DO, a 2016 graduate of LECOM Bradenton and currently an orthopedic resident at Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health Medical Center in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Recently, Dr. Gianakos matched into her top choice fellowship at Harvard-Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

The fellowship is a foot and ankle specialty.

Dr. Gianakos is the first Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine ever selected for the prodigious program. The Harvard-Massachusetts General

Dr. Gianakos also was lead author of an article entitled, Microfracture May Reduce Radiologic and Clinical Outcomes of Ankle Distraction Arthroplasty at Medium Term Follow Up, featured in a podcast series offered by the journal, Foot and Ankle International.

Dr. Gianakos was named Resident Scholar in several estimable medical organizations, including the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society (RJOS), the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS), and the Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA).

As a life-long learner, Dr. Gianakos recognizes the importance of her role models and mentors; leaders in medicine from LECOM and throughout the country who have become the pillars of her career.

“Moreover, I am deeply grateful to wonderful professors who helped guide my medical school training so that I would be confident in myself as a physician as I entered residency,” averred the LECOM alumna. “Dr. Richard Heibel, my LECOM Bradenton supervisor and

mentor played a very key role in supporting me throughout my medical school training.

He continues to stay in touch with me to help guide me as I progress through residency and into fellowship; and it is this relationship that is a testament, both to him as a mentor and to LECOM as an institution,” she affirmed.

Dr. Gianakos recalled very fond memories of her time spent at LECOM Bradenton. “The Problem-Based Learning curriculum focusing upon case-based presentations prepared me well for my residency so that I was accustomed to situations that I would encounter during my professional career,” explained the accomplished graduate. “LECOM Bradenton also was incredibly flexible and supportive when I opted to take a year off between my third and fourth year of medical school to pursue a Metabolic Bone Disease Research Fellowship at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City,” she furthered.

LECOM has been ever committed to advancing the educational paradigm, an objective highly praised by Dr. Gianakos. “I believe that education always should be evolving.”

Motivated by three factors that make a great orthopedic surgeon – a foundation of sound medical education, clinical knowledge, and research – Dr. Gianakos explained that her goal as a rising foot and ankle fellow is to utilize the skills that she has gained as a physician-scientist to continue her commitment to remain in the forefront of research in the field of foot and ankle surgery.

There exists a tight-knit community with a common history and a shared purpose at LECOM; one that takes keen note of its progeny. Dr. Arianna Gianakos’ dedication to a life of service and a willingness to take an oath to that mission are evocative of that proud history. @1LECOM | LECOM CONNECTION 27

In Memoriam Daniel Manganaro The whole of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) family has been shocked and saddened by the sudden loss of Daniel S. Manganaro, a fourth-year medical student from LECOM. The 27-year-old scholar from Chemung County, New York died in a mid-April mishap while canoeing with a friend on Seneca Lake.

Daniel Manganaro was a respected and highly capable LECOM student. Word of his loss has affected the College deeply. He was an enthusiastic and energetic force, a compassionate medical scholar, and he possessed a clear passion for his calling. His absence leaves a vast hole in the fabric of the LECOM family.

Recently, Daniel had matched into an orthopedic residency and he was eager to begin the calling into which he had been envisioning since his earliest pronouncements as a first-year student. He was described by Richard Terry, DO, LECOM Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, as “an exceptionally competent, compassionate, and caring

28 LECOM CONNECTION | SUMMER 2020

scholar with a true medical heart and spirit and an obvious zest for learning.” A noticeably anguished Dean Terry, offered abundant praise of his student, recalling Daniel’s passion to become an orthopedic surgeon as “evident from the start.”

The Manganaro family has long been a part of the LECOM family. Daniel’s brother, Mark, also a LECOM medical student, recently matched into a radiology residency and the brothers’ father, Stephen Manganaro, MD, is a founding faculty member of the Arnot Ogden Emergency Medicine Residency Program at Arnot Ogden Medical Center, a LECOM clinical campus since 2013.

The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine offers its deepest condolences to Daniel’s family and friends in the loss of a cherished scholar and colleague. LECOM remains grateful for the life of Daniel Manganaro. His is a legacy that will remain as a testament to those who seek to work for the betterment of others. May the light of his all too brief life bring a sense of hope and purpose to others as his mission lives on in that which he leaves behind.

Music with a Mission Hershey S. Bell, MD, Dean of Developing Initiatives, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Clinical Professor of Family Medicine is a physician-educator with a resume rife with accomplishments. His awards, honors, and distinctions are many. As the first physician dean of a school of pharmacy in the United States, Dr. Bell brings an interprofessional education focus to the forefront of medical instruction. Truly, Dr. Hershey Bell is a man of achievement.

Aleksandr Sinelnikov, M.D. Clouds have gathered over the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) as the college family takes a heart-heavy note of the loss of Aleksandr Sinelnikov, M.D. who passed away on May 16, 2020. LECOM collectively extends its profound and most sincere condolences to the entire Sinelnikov family.

Dr. Sinelnikov was a long-time faculty member on the LECOM Bradenton campus, joining the LECOM family in 2007; he served most recently as Professor of Anatomy and Pathology. His energy and buoyant optimism propelled LECOM students to benefit greatly from his skilled experience. A native of Ukraine, Dr. Sinelnikov held American greatness close to his heart, becoming an American citizen in 2000. Perhaps it is not surprising that his birthday was July 4. After receiving his degree in medicine from the Kharkov Medical Institute in Ukraine, Dr. Sinelnikov pursued his residency training at the University of Tennessee in the Department of Pathology. He later served as Forensic Pathology Assistant at the Regional Forensic Center in Memphis, Tennessee. Not only a

great man of science, but one steeped in the full understanding of the osteopathic principles, Dr. Sinelnikov demonstrated a steadfast and positive demeanor. His stalwart heart and dignified grace demonstrated to all who knew him, both sides of the patient care experience, proving that hope and determination are powerful tools in the human condition.

He sought nothing more highly than to continue to share his knowledge with his students as an anatomist and researcher.

A stream of condolences and anecdotal notes from LECOM scholars and colleagues echoed a unified and resounding sentiment – one of a master educator and of a caring and fully engaged mentor and friend who inspired the pursuit of knowledge and the betterment of humanity.

In the joys of his achievements, in the students that he touched with his gift of knowledge, and in the family that is LECOM, Dr. Aleksandr Sinelnikov will leave his legacy.

Perhaps, however, few within the LECOM nexus are aware of the prodigious musical talents possessed by this distinguished man of medicine.

A self-described “home studio musician,” Dr. Bell joined with fellow School of Pharmacy faculty member, Dr. Dan Austin, and an international group of musicians to create an extended play collection entitled, San Ysidro. The musical array, an eclectic mixture of five selections, was the result of a songwriting course undertaken by Dr. Bell with accomplished Nashville musician, Joe Gilder. Arranged, produced, and mixed in Tennessee, the finished recording was mastered in the United Kingdom.

From the inception of the project, Dr. Bell’s mission was to create a fundraiser for the LECOM Student Scholarship Fund and to support students in their pursuit of professional degrees in medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry.

Released as a CD, San Ysidro debuted on all major music services earlier this year and it is now available through Nimbit for $6.00 (or $7.00 as a personally autographed copy), with all proceeds supporting the LECOM Student Scholarship Fund.

Just as Dr. Bell’s calling of purpose has been carried forth by his passion for education, his musical passions are furthering that mission. lecom.edu/alumni/fundraising-activities/san-ysidro

@1LECOM | LECOM CONNECTION 29

NOTES

STUDENT NOTES College of Medicine First-year LECOM at Seton Hill students, Elizabeth Arbuckle and Sarah Markland, have been selected as 2020-2021 participants of the Pittsburgh Schweitzer Fellowship Program. Through this fellowship, Arbuckle and Markland will work with adolescents and young adults with special needs to help them develop independent living skills thereby creating in them an improved sense of autonomy. When Arbuckle and Markland finish the program in April of 2021, LECOM will boast 26 students having completed the Pittsburgh Schweitzer Fellowship Program, including 25 from LECOM at Seton Hill.

Fourth-year students, Justine Bensur and James Dreer, announced their engagement on May 13, 2020. The two met during their first year of medical school at the Erie campus and this summer, they will be starting residency programs at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Jennifer Lenchner, OMS3, contributed an article entitled, Health Meets Food: Bridging the Gap in Nutrition Education, published on BridgingMedicalGaps.org. In the article, Lenchner discusses the Health Meets Food Program at Arnot Ogden Medical Center in Elmira, New York, and LECOM medical students’ participation in the hands-on nutrition education modules.

Matt Myers, OMS4, was the subject of an article entitled, Shikellamy Grad Wrapping Up Career as a Paramedic to Work in Harrisburg ER, published in the Sunbury, Pennsylvania, Daily Item.

This summer, Erin Ritzer, OMS1, is participating in the eight-week Student Injury Research Training Program at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Under the auspices of Drs. Gary Smith and Ginger Yang, Ritzer will be analyzing data from the High School RIO database, studying overuse vs. acute injuries in high school athletes, testing hypotheses about the occurrence of each, and making projections about trends that may occur in the coming years.

30 LECOM CONNECTION | SUMMER 2020

Benjamin Wise, OMS2, has announced his engagement to Kathryn Straatmann.

The couple is planning a September 2021 wedding.

Ryan Zimmerman, OMS3, has received the LECOM Student Researcher of the Year Award. Julie Webster, OMS1, earned runner-up honors. Through this first-time competition, organized by Yusra Mansour, OMS3, students submitted applications detailing their research experience, including publications, awards, presentations, abstracts, and they answered prompts related to research in medicine. Applicants with the best scores were then invited to present a talk about a subject of their choice.

School of Pharmacy George McConnell, P4, wrote articles entitled, Can ACE Inhibitors Lower Type 2 Diabetes Risk; Effects of Metabolic Bariatric Surgery on Adolescents With Severe Obesity; Why CGM?; and HIIT Provides Multiple Advantages in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes, published in Diabetes in Control.

Nicholas Miles, P3, and Daniel Austin, PharmD, Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, received a $1,000 scholarship through the AACP Walmart Scholars Program.

Mit Suthar, P4, contributed a series of articles to Diabetes in Control. The pieces are entitled, Deadlier Strokes in Patients with Alzheimer’s and Diabetes; Empagliflozin Produces Liver Fat Reduction in Randomized Control Trial; Brush Your Teeth for Decreased Risk of New-Onset Diabetes; New Technology in Insulin Pumps Will Shape the Future; 40% of American Patients With Diabetes Report Financial Hardship; Air Pollution Alters Gut Microbiome and Increases Risk for Diabetes; NHS Audit Reveals Two-Thirds of Critical Coronavirus Patients Overweight; Diabetes Pay-ForPerformance Programs Reduce All-Cause Mortality; and Can Exenatide Improve Glycemic Control in Type 1 Diabetes?

Chardae Whitner, P4, wrote articles entitled, Evolving Benefits of Using Continuous Monitoring Blood Glucose Devices; Comparisons of GLP-1 Agonists; Which

Fat is Best in Predicting Diabetes; The Use of Exenatide in Adolescents Suffering from Childhood Obesity; Predicting Vision Loss in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes; Metformin Used to Reduce Complications from Glucocorticoid Therapy; and Reducing New-Onset Type Diabetes with Dalcetrapib, published in Diabetes in Control.

School of Dental Medicine Ly Ngo, D4, earned the grand prize in the American Dental Association (ADA) 2019 Student Ethics Video Contest for his video entitled, Dental Things. Ngo’s piece explores the five tenets of the ADA Code: Veracity, Nonmaleficence, Beneficence, Justice, and Patient Autonomy.

FACULTY NOTES College of Medicine

Roger Biringer, PhD, Associate Professor of Biochemistry, authored an article entitled, The Enzymology of the Human Prostanoid Pathway, published in Molecular Biology Reports.

Anupam Bishayee, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology, 2019 LECOM alumnus Joshua Pumarol, MMS, and second-year medical students, Bilal Mirza, Courtney Croley, and Maha Ahmad, contributed to an article entitled, Mango (Mangifera indica L.): A Magnificent Plant with Cancer Preventive and Anticancer Therapeutic Potential, published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition.

Devora Cohen-Karni, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, contributed to an article entitled, Toward Next Generation Biohybrid Catalysts Design: Influence of Degree of Polymerization on Enzyme Activity, published in Bioconjugate Chemistry.

James Gnarra, PhD, Director of the LECOM Master of Medical Science Program, has been appointed Assistant Dean of PreClinical Education at LECOM Bradenton.

NOTES

Randy Kulesza, PhD, Associate Dean, LECOM Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, co-authored an article entitled, Mechanisms Underlying Auditory Processing Deficits in Fragile X Syndrome, published in The FASEB Journal. Dr. Kulesza co-wrote a second article entitled, Three Dimensional Reconstructions of the Superior Olivary Complex from Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder with Yusra Mansour, OMS3. The article was published in Hearing Research.

Christine Lomiguen, MD, Assistant Professor of Pathology, and Mark Terrell, EdD, Assistant Dean of Medical Education and Professor of Anatomy, co-authored an article entitled, Perceptions of the Osteopathic Profession in New York City’s Chinese Communities, published in the Journal of Family Medicine and Community Health.

Dr. Lomiguen co-authored a second article entitled, Unmasking Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans: Case Report of an Atypical Presentation Complicated by Post-surgical Excision, published in the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports. She contributed to a third article entitled, Atrial Invasion and Showering Phenomenon in Primary Lung Cancer: A Case Report, published in Respiratory Medicine Report.

Santiago Lorenzo, PhD, has been promoted from LECOM Assistant Professor of Physiology to Associate Professor of Physiology.

Steven Ma, DO, Assistant Course Director of Osteopathic Principles and Practice, has been appointed Assistant Dean of Clinical Education at LECOM Bradenton. Additionally, Dr. Ma and Tyler Long, OMS4, contributed to an article entitled, Platelet-rich Plasma in Noninvasive Procedures for Atrophic Acne Scars: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.

The National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) has named Richard Ortoski, DO, LECOM Regional Dean and Clinical Professor of Family Medicine/Human Sexuality, to several of its committees, including the COMLEX-USA Examination Committee, Nominating Committee, Standards and Assurances Committee, and he is Chairman of the Awards Committee.

Additionally, Dr. Ortoski and Mohammed Razzaque, PhD, Professor of Pathology, were co-authors of an article entitled, Effects of Sunlight Exposure and Vitamin D Supplementation on HIV Patients, published in The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Amitabha Ray, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Anatomy, contributed a chapter entitled, Enhancing Dietary Constituents in Cancer Prevention to the book entitled, Functional Foods in Cancer Prevention and Therapy.

Diana Speelman, PhD, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Director of College of Medicine Research, Stephanie Bouwer, OMS4, and 2019 alumni, Christian Menezes, DO, Heather Menezes, DO, and Vishesha Patel, DO, co-authored an article entitled, Regular Mindful Yoga Practice as a Method to Improve Androgen Levels in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Randomized, Controlled Trial, published in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. Dr. Speelman co-authored, with third-year medical students, Grei Shele and Jessica Genkila, a second article entitled, A Systematic Review of the Effects of Exercise on Hormones in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

The item was published in the Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology.

Richard Terry, DO, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for LECOM at Elmira, and Constantino Lambroussis, DO, Assistant Professor of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, co-authored an article entitled, Primary Care Recognition and Treatment of Methamphetamine Use Disorder, published in Osteopathic Family Physician.

School of Pharmacy Daniel Austin, PharmD, Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, presented a lecture to undergraduate chemistry students at the University of Rochester (New York) and he discussed pharmacy career opportunities.

Rahul Desmukh, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, contributed to an article entitled, Resistance to Checkpoint Inhibition in Cancer Immunotherapy, published in Translational Oncology.

Heather Jones, PhD, Associate Professor of Physiology, reviewed two papers for Advances in Physiology and Education. The papers were entitled, Vertical Integration and Reinforcement of Basic Concepts in an Engaging Clinically Oriented Physiology Pharmacology Session (COPPS) and TESO: A Teaching Modality Targeting the Learning Obstacles in Global Medical Education. Dr. Jones also was appointed to the Physiology Educators Committee of the American Physiological Society.

Abbey Krysiak, PharmD, Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice, was featured on the Fit Pharmacists podcast to discuss mental health.

Michael Mueller, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice, has been named President-Elect of Phi Lambda Sigma, the Pharmacy Leadership Society. Dr. Mueller will serve as President-Elect for one year before becoming President of the organization.

Stephanie Peshek, PharmD, Professor of Pharmacy Practice, co-authored a book entitled, A Practical Guide to Pharmacoeconomics, with 2015 LECOM graduate, Jennifer Morrison, PharmD. Victoria Reinhartz, PharmD, Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice, received the Chief’s Commendation Award for outstanding achievement that causes a positive or dramatic change within the Department of Public Safety and the community.

Lillian Smith, PharmD, Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice, LaToya Cuyler, P4, and Aquaiel Troupe, P4, co-authored a piece entitled, Firvanq: The First Oral Solution for the Treatment of C. Difficile, published in P&T Community.

Rebecca Wise, PharmD, Director of Admissions, Accelerated and DE Pathways, and Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice, attended the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association Mid-Year Conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She presented a Continuing Education Lecture entitled, Immunizations to Go! An Innovative Way to Vaccinate Your Community.

@1LECOM | LECOM CONNECTION 31

NOTES

School of Dental Medicine Nader Abdulhameed, PhD, Simulation Clinic Assistant Professor, co-authored a piece entitled, Quantitative Fractography as a Novel Approach to Measure Fracture Toughness of Direct Resin Composites, published in Journal of Mechanical Behavior and Biomedical Materials.

Thanhphuong Dinh, DMD, Director of Curriculum and Assistant Professor of Restorative Dentistry, and Thomas Yoon, DDS, Director of Research and Director of Specialists and Assistant Professor of Periodontics, co-authored an article entitled, A Comparison of Dentin Tubule Occlusion Properties of Dipotassium Oxalate Against Potassium Nitrate: An In Vitro Study, published in The Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice.

Purushottam Lamichhane, PhD, Assistant Professor of Microbiology/Immunology, Tayanna Richardson, PharmD, and Rahul Deshmukh, PhD, co-authored an article entitled, Colorectal Cancer and Probiotics: Are Bugs Really Drugs? with 2018 graduate, Stewart Umbela, PharmD, 2019 graduate, Hasain Alnafoosi, PharmD, and fourth-year pharmacy students, Morgan Maiolini and Nevien Alla. The article was published in Cancers. The review was dedicated to the memory of LECOM School of Pharmacy faculty member, Kenneth Bauer, PharmD, who died in April of 2018 from injuries suffered in a traffic accident.

Dennis Youngblood, DDS, Director of Patient Care Services, and Stacey Lubetsky, DMD, Assistant Professor, of Pediatric Dentistry, along with fourth-year scholars, Eliza Kim and Edmund Whitson, co-authored a piece entitled, Pediatric Ameloblastic Fibroma: A Case Report. The article was published in The Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice.

ALUMNI NOTES Class of 1999 The Pennsylvania Medical Society recognized Frank McLaughlin, DO, with its Everyday Heroes Award. The honor showcases talented physicians who, although they do not view themselves as heroes, are nonetheless heroes to their patients. Dr. McLaughlin was recognized for championing the development of the Meadville Flu Evaluation Center, the first outpatient COVID-19 testing site in the region. He has worked at Meadville Medical Center for almost 18 years, and serves in several leadership roles, including as Director of Community Health.

Class of 2001 John Wat, DO, has joined the staff of Lewis County Family Practice in Lowville, New York. Dr. Wat is certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians and he is a Major in the United States Army Medical Reserve.

Class of 2002 Gwen Breuer, DO, has been named Medical Director of Hospital Medicine, at UPMC St. Margaret and as Medical Director of Hospitalist Telemedicine Services at the University of Pittsburgh Physicians Center for Community Hospitalist Medicine, both in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Class of 2003 April Vukelic, DO, has joined Pittsburgh Recover From Mold, a practice committed to treating patients affected by biotoxin illness, cognitive decline, and autoimmunity.

Class of 2004

School of Health Services Administration

Karissa Misner, DO, has been named Medical Director of Center for Hospice Care in Mishawaka, Indiana.

Marcos Sanchez-Gonzalez, MD, PhD, Adjunct Professor of Health Services Administration, co-authored an article entitled, Quercetin for COVID-19, published in Diabetes Complications.

Class of 2007

32 LECOM CONNECTION | SUMMER 2020

Cmdr. David Mann, DO, has retired from the United States Navy after almost 26 years of service. During his military career, Dr. Mann served as a Naval Flight Officer for 11 years.

He is certified, both in family and sports medicine, and he will be relocating to Texas from Beaufort, South Carolina, to practice sports medicine.

Class of 2008 Daniel Harmon, DO, has joined the Joint Replacement Institute in Naples, Florida.

Dr. Harmon is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in adult reconstruction of the hip and knee. After being graduated from LECOM Erie, he completed an orthopedic residency at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation/ South Pointe Hospital in Ohio, as well as a fellowship in adult reconstruction of the hip and knee at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Class of 2009 Pravin George, DO, appeared on an episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan to discuss working in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taras Gulyanich, DO, has joined the emergency medical team at the University of Rochester – St. James in Hornell, New York.

Class of 2010 During an interview on Pittsburgh station WTAE, Justin Berthold, DO, explored the advantages of patients using telemedicine.

Dr. Berthold is board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation and he is the founder of Rehabilitation Physicians of Pittsburgh located in Forest Hills, Pennsylvania. Dr. Berthold is also a faculty member at LECOM at Seton Hill.

Deborah Nunziato-Ghobashy, DO, has received the degree of Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians (FAAFP). Dr. Nunziato-Ghobashy is a family medicine physician with Scarsdale Medical Group serving Westchester and Fairfield Counties and the surrounding Hudson Valley in New York.

Class of 2014 Sheldon Stevenson, DO, has been named System Chief of Emergency Medicine at Central Maine Healthcare in Lewiston, Maine. Dr. Stevenson previously served as Emergency Room Medical Director at Bridgton Hospital in Bridgton, Maine.

Class of 2016 Kristin Juhasz, DO, and her husband, Aaron Stitt, welcomed a daughter, Kennedy Alexandra Stitt, in December of 2019.

Catherine Patrick, DO, was featured as one of the Influential Women of NEPA (Northeastern Pennsylvania) in the April issue of Happenings Magazine. Dr. Patrick is a board-certified family medicine physician practicing with PrimeMed Medical Group in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Class of 2018 Tyler Phillips, DMD, is leading the team at a new Aspen Dental office in Cape Coral, Florida.

Class of 2019 Carly Chamberlain, DO, and Aleksandra Dukhan, DO, joined LECOM Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Richard Terry, DO, in writing The Impetus Behind Choosing a Medical Specialty, published by the American Medical Student Research Journal.

Chris Kordick, DO, and Elly Kordick, MHSA, welcomed a son, Mason Ferguson Kordick, in May of 2020.

Jim Maloney, DMD, was the subject of a feature article in the May issue of Hamiltonian Magazine.

Thomas Rowell, DMD, has joined the Watson Family Dentistry team in Milton, Florida. Dr. Rowell joins his uncles, Dr. Bruce Watson, DMD, and Dr. Brett Watson, DMD, in the practice.

James Wright, DO, and Molly Martin, DO, have announced an October 2020 wedding in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Wright is completing his internal medicine residency in the Philadelphia area.

Help Make Doctors

This year, the LECOM Student Scholarship Fund Drive 2020 replaces LECOM’s two largest fundraisers – gala-style auctions held each fall in Erie, PA and Bradenton, FL. The fund drive will enable aspiring medical professionals to receive a world-class education and the necessary training to emerge as the healthcare providers of tomorrow. Here is how you can help.

Amazon Smile LECOM Finish Line for Frontline Virtual 5K Through July 31, 2020

Erie Gives

August 11, 2020

16th Annual LECOM Health Golf Scholarship Classic September 3, 2020

SAVE THE DATES: LECOM Student Scholarship Fund Auctions Bradenton – October 16, 2021 Erie – November 13, 2021

The

LECOM St u d e n t S c h o l a r s h i p Fu n d

Details on these and other fundraising efforts are available at

LECOM.edu/alumni

@1LECOM | LECOM CONNECTION 33

NOTES

LECOM Connection wants to hear from

YOU! Send us

career updates, recent appointments, residencies, fellowships, research or student activities, award or honors, or other

important life events.

Please contact the LECOM Communications & Marketing Department at (814) 866-6641, 866-6641 or email communications@lecom.edu. communications@lecom.edu

All submissions are subject to editing for clarity and length.

34 LECOM CONNECTION | SUMMER 2020

– Continued from page 18

– Continued from page 25

“I had asked my student to email her questions to me prior to the session so that I could ensure the best way to present the information to her and to facilitate her easily understanding the concepts,” Reddy noted.

“It was interesting because the questions that she sent to me were some of the same questions that I had when I took anatomy last year,” recalled the first-year scholar.

“They were successful sessions; and I could not be more pleased with the rapid planning and implementation undertaken by SSP to make the online-tutoring service come to life during the COVID-19 crisis,” Reddy stated.

The combined efforts of the senior services and the tutorial sessions have made the virtual volunteer program a welcome ray of sun breaking the shadows of an uncertain time. While the pandemic proved an extreme event, the sort of seclusion that affected people during those months is common. Truly, the good that has been done by LECOM scholars in combating radical solitude has illuminated the path forward.

The importance of remaining connected as a people and to have compassion and empathy for one another are universal principles, perhaps borne out in the early months of 2020 more clearly than in recent decades.

If it is true that every cloud has a silver lining, then perhaps derived from the isolation, devastation, and loss of a ravaging pandemic may come the hope that compassion and a sense of American unity may thrive again in the days to come.

Crotty will continue her training through a general surgery residency program at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio; and she hopes to continue to serve as a volunteer firefighter. “It is deeply rewarding to have found what I am truly passionate about and to have been able to take my learning to the highest level.”

LECOM scholar and community servant, Megan Crotty, possesses the heart of a firefighter and the soul of a physician as she continues her journey.

LECOM Virtual Summer CME Conference August 17-20

Join Us

This year, the 2020 LECOM Summer CME Conference will be offered in a virtual conference format entirely online through the Zoom platform.

This conference offers a unique learning experience for physicians and health care professionals seeking the opportunity to learn the latest information on medical advancements and treatment options.

Topics for this year cover cardiovascular issues, two hours devoted to Florida law requirements, integrative medicine, orthopedics and so much more!

LECOM clinical faculty will present topics from the perspective of a primary care physician.

Lecture Schedule

To view the lecture schedule, go to lecom.edu/cme.

Registration Information

To reserve your virtual seat for the LECOM Summer CME Conference, go to lecom.edu/cme to register.

Registration Fee: $550

CME Credits

LECOM anticipates AOA and AAFP approval for 20 Category 1-A Credits. All lectures will be held between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Contact Us

0 1858 West Grandview Blvd., Erie, PA 16509 ! (814) 860-5125 ĂŻ www.lecom.edu/cme % cme@lecom.edu

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SHOW YOUR LECOM PRIDE! LECOM License Plates Now Available in Pennsylvania

LECOM alumni and friends of the college can now display their LECOM pride wherever they drive.

A purchase of a LECOM license plate supports the LECOM Student Scholarship Fund.

Standard plate: $125.* Personalized plate: $230.*

VISIT LECOM.EDU/ALUMNI/LICENSE-PLATE TO ORDER YOUR PLATE * Price includes PA license registration and production fees and a tax-deductible donation to the LECOM Student Scholarship Fund.