Fall 2018: Annual Report (Issue One, Winter 2018), Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medic

LIBERTY MEDICINE

Annual Report Issue One, Winter 2018

GROUNDBREAKING TO GRADUATION

A themed report for Liberty’s medical milestone

BRINGING HEALING TO THE HURTING

Medical outreach across the world

GROWTH & LEADERSHIP

A new foundation, a legacy continued

AFFILIATES & ELECTIVES Advancing the osteopathic profession

STRATEGIC PLAN

Where we’ve been and where we’re going

RESEARCH

Student projects advance LUCOM’s mission

ADMISSIONS

Application cycles, recruiting future doctors 1

Groundbreaking atop Liberty Mountain On Friday, Nov. 12, 2012, Liberty University broke ground on the new Center for Medical and Health Sciences, the new home of Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) and the School of Health Sciences. The facility would soon sit atop Liberty Mountain overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains. Liberty University President Jerry Falwell called it “the last piece of the puzzle” of his father’s vision to build a world-class university that would Train Champions for Christ in all professions.

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Special Keynote Address for Inaugural Class On Saturday, May 19, 2018, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson gave a special keynote address to Liberty’s first graduating medical class.“It’s an amazing day, and I am glad to make this direct connection with all of you who will carry medicine into the future. Many said that a world-class osteopathic medical school built on a faith-based curriculum along with the accepted academic standards of science and medicine could not be created. Today this graduating class stands as a testament to Liberty’s courage and resolve and to the power of God. Never let anyone shake that.”

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LIBERTYMEDICINE Annual Report | Fall 2018 Lead Designer and Editor Christopher Breedlove Contributing Writer Asa Keimig Photographers Shelley Basinger Christopher Breedlove Troy Burnett Joel Coleman David Duncan James Hancock Ty Hester Asa Keimig Cali Lowdermilk Les Schofer Leah Stauffner

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP Jerry Falwell David Corry Scott Hicks Ron Kennedy Ian McCaw David Nasser Randy Smith Laura Wallace

LUCOM ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP Peter A. Bell, DO Chad K. Brands, MD, CPE, SFHM Joseph W. Brewer, PhD Kevin D. Corsini, PhD David F. Klink, DO Timothy Leonard, MD, PhD Gary L. Patton, PhD, LPC, NCC Michael Weigner, MD Jason E. Wells, PhD

ON THE COVER LUCOM Dean Peter A. Bell, DO, pictured with Isaac and Mindy Prows, inaugural graduates of the Class of 2018.

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In this ISSUE 08

Message from the Dean

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Groundbreaking

20

Growth and Leadership

24

White Coat Ceremonies

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Community Partners Moving Forward

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Charting Tomorrow’s Course Today

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Bringing Healing to the Hurting

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Helping Hands Gala

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Match Day 2018

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Spreading Christmas Cheer for All to Hear

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Center for Research

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Two Accreditations in One Year

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Service to the Community

84

Advocating for the Osteopathic Profession

86

Graduation

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MESSAGE from the DEAN

PETER A. BELL DO, MBA, FACOEP-dist, FACEP Dean Professor of Family and Emergency Medicine Health Policy Fellow

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I joined Liberty University on April 10, 2017, to begin my new role as Dean for the College of Osteopathic Medicine. The medical school and university, as well as the city of Lynchburg, quickly became a home for my wife, Irene, and me.

My short tenure so far has been nothing short of special and exciting. I have witnessed two White Coat Ceremonies (Classes of 2021 and 2022) and the inaugural class of 2018 opening their Match letters and shortly thereafter graduate. Our students have traveled around the world building medical relationships with clinical partners. They have strengthened the university’s connection with the Virginia Tobacco Commission and furthered LUCOM’s mission of serving their fellow man wherever they go. I am blessed to be in this leadership role at LUCOM for such a time as this.

My vision for LUCOM is to become an instigator and indicator of progression.

Dr. Bell welcomes a new student-doctor during summer orientation.

This college and its student-doctors place an emphasis on the underserved/tobacco region of Virginia. The faculty, in collaboration with our clinical affiliates, are training Liberty medical students in the areas of advanced technology treatments previously reserved for major medical centers. I often imagine a LUCOM student-doctor walking into a clinical service with a level of confidence that other students lack because we offer them more opportunities for preparation.

I have a goal of engaging more residents and clinical faculty preceptors, training them and providing them with faculty development opportunities and Continuing Medical Education (CME) that offers them more expertise and better qualifications than those at larger institutions.

Together with selfless faculty and staff, LUCOM can fulfill the request of our President Jerry Falwell to train our students, residents, and preceptors with the skills and knowledge that puts them on equal footing with the big teaching centers. Together our objective of serving those in need throughout our region has only just begun for a bright future.

Dr. Bell pictured with Mickey Guridy, senior associate athletics director for Internal Operations (left), and Ian McCaw, director of Athletics (right).

I could not be prouder of LUCOM’s faculty development office and could not be more excited about ramping up our clinical opportunities. The recent accreditation of LUCOM’s Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine (ONMM) Residency program will help take our college to a new level.

As we close 2018 and begin 2019, I am thankful for the support and commitment of LUCOM’s faculty and staff as well as Liberty’s Provost office and its executive leadership. Together, LUCOM’s story is spreading, and the osteopathic profession continues to advance.

Dr. Bell presenting on LUCOM’s core values during the Class of 2021 orientation.

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Groundbreaking A look back on the beginning of Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine

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The sun was illuminating Liberty Mountain on Nov. 9, 2012, six years ago, when representatives of Liberty University and the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission officially broke ground on the Center for Medical and Health Sciences.

With the Blue Ridge Mountains as a beautiful backdrop, special guests included Liberty’s Board of Trustees, members of Lynchburg City Council and Campbell County Board of Supervisors, Del. Kathy Byron, Del. Scott Garrett, executive leaders of Centra Health, and many of the design architects and contractors from English Construction Company Inc., were present.

Maria Harris, executive director of the Virginia Osteopathic Medical Association, was also in attendance.

“I remember the day when so many of us who support the osteopathic profession gathered up on Liberty’s mountain to thank God for the new osteopathic medical school to come.

I knew then how fast LUCOM would grow and how quickly the Virginia Osteopathic Medical Association would start to see Liberty medical students out in the field,” she said.

“We are so proud of LUCOM’s accomplishments and of their

contribution to the continued growth of the osteopathic profession.”

History was unfolding for Liberty University with so many there to offer their support and partnerships.

“This medical school is not something you can start until you have all the pieces in place,” Liberty University President Jerry Falwell said that day. Referencing his father’s vision, he also called it the “last piece of the puzzle” in building a world-class university that would Train Champions for Christ in all professions.

“We knew the time had come to do this because there were so many signs that were providential — the right people were sent here, the Tobacco Commission so graciously helped us out … all the factors came together,” President Falwell said. “It couldn’t have happened without everything falling into place, without God’s intervention.”

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Del. Byron, a member of the Tobacco Commission, was one of the key supporters in bringing one of the commission’s largest investments to LU. “Today we mark the beginning of something that will be of great and lasting benefit to the people of our region and improve our community’s quality of life for generations to come,” Byron said.

“The new center will be a magnet for a burgeoning healthcare industry, providing for the needs of our region, and attracting more here. We’ll touch and improve the quality of life for those who receive treatment from its graduates.”

Together, Del. Bryon and the commission’s Vice Chair, Sen. Frank Ruff, presented a check for the commission’s total planned contribution of $20.5 million.

She also called the project a testimony “to the vision of Liberty University’s leadership, its board, and the entire campus community.”

Until that day, only a handful of faculty and staff were hired to

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lead Liberty’s medical program and the new center, one of which was LUCOM’s founding dean, Ronnie B. Martin, DO. Addressing the crowd, Dr. Martin said, “Recognizing that 67% of the patients in Southern Virginia live in medically underserved areas, that the economies of the regions have suffered since the decline of tobacco, textile, and coal over the past two decades, and that the nation is facing a shortage of up to 220,000 physicians by 2030, all these visionaries also believe that the college will make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens, and that our graduates will contribute not only to the quality of life for the people they serve but to the economy of the regions they serve.”

Dr. Martin served as dean for LUCOM for several years prior to stepping down in 2016.

“I am confident that there will not be a better designed, equipped, or more technologically advanced medical college in the

United States than what we’re developing right here on this campus,” Dr. Martin said that day. “I promise you that none will exceed what we will be able to offer our students.”

With a significant crowd atop Liberty Mountain witnessing the momentous occasion, President Falwell and his wife, Becki, along with Dr. Martin, Del. Bryan, and Sen. Ruff, joined Rev. Jonathan Falwell, many members of Liberty’s Board of Trustees, and its Executive Leadership, as well as members of the Tobacco Commission at the front. Each took a ceremonial goldencoated shovel and symbolically turned the dirt. “Today is a historic day here at Liberty,” said President Falwell. “It goes back to the earliest days of the school and took 41 years to get to this point.”

Liberty’s Center for Medical and Health Sciences was officially completed fall 2013.

Today, over 100 faculty and staff positions are in place at LUCOM with new physiology, pharmacology, and pathology positions recently opened.

CENTER for MEDICAL and HEALTH SCIENCES Houses the College of Osteopathic Medicine and the School of Health Sciences.

144,000-square-feet across four floors Jeffersonian, state-of-theart design Center for Research and Center for Standardized Patients & Simulation Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine and Clinical Medicine & Anatomy Labs Modern medical library 16 study group rooms, 12 conference rooms, and 2 high-end auditoriums

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THE FIRST ORIENTATION, CLASS OF 2018 Liberty’s first class of medical students began their journey on Wednesday, July 30, 2014.

Their first full week consisted of presentations, a baseball outing at the Lynchburg Hillcats Calvin Falwell Field, a family picnic, and an afternoon with the local youth of Lynchburg. The week concluded with the first LUCOM White Coat Ceremony. The top five states represented in the inaugural class were Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, California, and New York. The inaugural class included 79 male students and 82 female students.

Dedicating a New Medical Facility The Center for Medical and Health Sciences was dedicated on Friday, Aug. 22, 2014. An outdoor ceremony took place in the front courtyard with Lynchburg government officials and friends of the university in attendance. The inaugural Class of 2018 sat together and were later joined by Jerry and Becki Falwell as well as Dr. Ronnie Martin and his wife, Sherri, for a group picture.

“I look forward to the day that my own medical care will come from doctors trained right here,” said President Falwell. “I am hopeful that my health will remain solid until you students have some experience under your belts.”

Special guests included Lynchburg Mayor Michael Gillette, Del. Scott Garrett, and Terry Kilgore, chairman of the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification

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and Community Revitalization Commission. Offering a challenge to all in attendance, he said, “The structure behind me, alone, will not improve public health, expand access to healthcare, or promote wellness. Its strength and its stability will not be measured by the tensile strength of concrete and steel but rather by the commitment of the hearts, the minds, and the hands of those here today and those that will follow.”

Jeannie F. Rivers, MD, sister to President Falwell and the first female Liberty graduate to attend medical school, encouraged the new class to commit to a balance of family and work and to always view medicine as a ministry. “Strive to be the best that you can as you go forth, and most importantly, keep God first in your lives and in your practice...” She also reminded Liberty’s medical students of their

influence in life. “You need to be careful, while technology can be such a wonderful thing, that you don’t lose sight of why you’re in medicine and focus on the patient. Sometimes you can get so caught up in all the technology that you forget … you’re not treating diseases, you’re treating patients.”

Del. Kathy Byron, representing the Tobacco Commission, also returned to share a few words. “The Commission participated in this project because the respective visions of the college and the Commission are so closely aligned.

The College of Osteopathic Medicine presented the rare opportunity to fulfill the needs of our region.”

LUCOM is the second osteopathic college in the state of Virginia and the 30th in the country.

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SNAPSHOTS: The First Class, the First Y

Year

The first academic year, 201415, established a foundation for the LUCOM culture. On week one, the Class of 2018 didn’t hesitate to start a student-led Convocation to mirror what Liberty’s main service does for undergraduate students.

It quickly became an annual/ weekly component of LUCOM that’s lasted since the beginning.

Throughout their first year, student-doctors volunteered at numerous organizations in the City of Lynchburg, such as the Lynchburg Habitat for Humanity ReStore, the Runk & Pratt Senior Living Communities, and the Bedford Domestic Violence Services. They also assisted in fundraising items for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA).

The class always celebrated national awareness months, such as October’s Breast Cancer (pink) and February’s Heart Disease (red).

In March, they wore yellow to show support for immunodeficiency.

Canned food drives for local nonprofit organizations were a favorite among the class, as well as providing small sessions on CPR during Liberty’s football games.

The LUCOM Ladies Soccer team quickly grew as a competitive force on the Liberty intramural field, and several students competed in Lynchburg’s very first HeartChase, sponsored by the American Heart Association.

To close out the first year, the faculty and staff hosted a Hawaiian themed farewell to the first class as they departed on their first summer break.

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Growth and Leadership Setting the Foundation, Continuing the Legacy

RONNIE B. MARTIN PharmD, DO, FACOFP-dist

DAVID F. KLINK DO

In 2012, Liberty University welcomed Ronnie B. Martin, PharmD, DO, FACOFP-dist, as the founding dean of Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM). With a servant’s heart and working endlessly behind and in front of the scenes, he set the foundation and pace for LUCOM to be the college it is today. He believed that the opportunity provided

by Liberty University President Jerry Falwell and the university’s Board of Trustees, to establish an osteopathic college, came at just the right time. Together, they saw the limits and disparities growing in quality health access as well as a concern for an inadequate number of physicians in multiple specialties throughout the state of Virginia. Prior to taking the helm at LUCOM, Dr. Martin served numerous roles at Virginia’s first osteopathic medical school, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) in Blacksburg, Va.

train our students so they are qualified to go into any specialty they want to enter. We will try to influence them by the design of our curriculum, and the role models and mentors that we will put in front of them, to go into what we feel are the needed specialties for this country: primary care and preventative medicine, as well as ‘first point of contact’ specialties, such as general surgery or emergency medicine.”

Together with his wife, Sherri, who served early on with accreditation standards and agreements, recruited the first members of the administration, staff, and faculty – quality men and women who not only shared his vision and belief in the mission of Liberty, but also the developing plans for the college.

“We have a responsibility to

LUCOM opened its doors for the first time to welcome its inaugural class on July 29, 2014.

Since his first week on campus, Dr. Martin was often seen at numerous student events both on- and offcampus and also traveled with the first class on LUCOM’s first international medical outreach trip to Guatemala, July 2015. He advanced the college’s mission by organizing health clinics in Southern and Southwest Virginia as well as secure partnerships with health systems throughout the state.

Dr. Martin also worked closely to form the Liberty Mountain Medical Group, which now houses LUCOM’s first-ever Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine (ONMM) Residency program.

He also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) in 2015, for his career-long service

PETER A. BELL DO, MBA, HPF, FACOEP-dist, FACEP

to family medicine and osteopathic profession.

the

Dr. Martin led the venture for LUCOM to get through the first initial phases of earning accreditation from the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. It was four years of service later, and shortly before LUCOM earned its initial accreditation, that Dr. Martin decided to step down.

Commenting on his meticulous leadership, then Provost Ron Hawkins, DMin, EdD, said, “Dr. Martin played an indispensable role in setting the medical school on a good course. He led us through the initial phases of accreditation, hired a highly competent team of faculty and staff, and established the med school curriculum.”

“My time at LUCOM was the highlight and the peak of my career,” Dr. Martin said. “God had been leading me to Liberty for many years, and I finally listened and followed where He was leading me. It was absolutely a joy to myself and to my family.”

It was an important time for LUCOM with several classes enrolled, faculty teaching, staff continuing in their administrative roles, and clinical >>>

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>>> relationships beginning. Still, LUCOM needed a captain. A leader to help maintain the college’s strategic trajectory toward accreditation and graduating its first class.

After serving a short while as an associate professor of Ophthalmology and chair of the Department of Specialty Medicine, David F. Klink, DO, was asked to navigate the waters as Interim Dean. Serving a little more than a year as LUCOM’s captain, Dr. Klink always found time to participate in medical outreach trips, both locally and internationally, and he was often seen at student-doctor events inside the COM. Utilizing Carter Baldwin, a professional search team to initiate a national search for a new dean, Dr. Klink manned the helm and just before his interim dean status was complete, the COM’s faculty and staff awarded him with the Captain’s Anchor Award in grateful appreciation of his dedication and leadership.

On April 10, 2017, the search for LUCOM’s next dean was complete as Peter A. Bell, DO, MBA, HPF, FACOEP-dist, FACEP, took his first steps inside the Center for Medical and Health Sciences.

Coming from Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-HCOM), Dr. Bell would maintain the course for LUCOM in achieving accreditation, graduate its first class of osteopathic physicians, and move forward in the next chapters of its strategic plan.

Dr. Hawkins was part of the hiring process in bringing Dr. Bell to Liberty. “I believe that Dr. Bell incarnates all of the traits that I envisioned finding in a new dean. He combines a passion for osteopathic medicine with the depth of experience, knowledge, and spiritual sensitivity required for leading LUCOM forward into what I believe will be a very bright future.”

Much like Dr. Martin, Dr. Bell has also been recognized for his outstanding contributions throughout his academic and medical career such as receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 for his contributions to emergency medicine from the American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians (ACOEP).

In 2017, he received the Ohio Osteopathic Association’s (OOA) Legacy Award. He also served as Chair of the Board for the Centers of Osteopathic Research and Education (CORE) at OU-HCOM. When Dr. Bell first joined LUCOM, he said, “I’m ready to serve God’s greater purpose as a steward of the college. Together we shall pursue excellence with a servant’s heart.”

Admissions

BY THE NUMBERS

YEAR ONE

Class of 2018 YEAR TWO

Class of 2019 YEAR THREE

Class of 2020 YEAR FOUR

Class of 2021

Females

Males

51%

49%

44%

56%

48%

52%

48%

52%

Top States Represented

Virginia New York

Florida

California

Pennsylvania

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WHITE COAT Ceremonies YEAR ONE Class of 2018

YEAR TWO Class of 2019

YEAR THREE Class of 2020

YEAR FOUR Class of 2021

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On Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014, LUCOM commemorated the beginning of the inaugural class’ medical career with its first-ever White Coat Ceremony. LUCOM honored over 160 students with keynote speaker Dr. David Stevens, chief executive officer of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations. Dr. Stevens offered a challenge to Liberty’s first medical class to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humblyprinciples found in Micah 6:8.

On Saturday, Aug. 1, 2015, the symbolic tradition continued with a new class. Osteopathic surgeon William G. Anderson, DO, delivered the keynote address. “Liberty University is a dynamic place. The vision from the beginning was to have a world-class university, including a top-ranked medical school, and would produce excellently trained physicians, who would positively impact the world. As members of only its second class, you are a testament to that vision.”

On Saturday, July 30, 2016, T. Scott Garrett, MD, Virginia’s 23rd House District Delegate, spoke to Liberty’s third medical class on how to overcome challenges. “People won’t always remember what you did, but they will remember how you made them feel.” Delegate Garrett strongly urged student-doctors to not be helicopter doctors and simply hover from one patient to the next, but to be a bedside doctor and care for people.

On Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, Liberty’s fourth medical class was the first class to welcome LUCOM’s second dean, Peter Bell, DO. As an advocate of health issues, Dr. Bell invited friend and colleague Geraldine N. Urse, DO, MEd, CRN, FACOFP, to lead the keynote address. Board-certified by the American Osteopathic Association and the American Board of Osteopathic Family Physicians in Family Medicine, Dr. Urse is one of LUCOM’s most prestigious speakers.

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MOVING FORWARD WITH PARTNERSHIPS Tobacco Grant Paves the Way for Core Rotation Sites

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Sept. 29, 2011, was the day when the Virginia Tobacco Commission officially announced its approval for a $12 million grant for the university to establish a college of osteopathic medicine. A short time later, the grant was approved up to $20.5 million thus making it the largest grant ever authorized to a medical school by the commission.

As part of the agreement, the leadership of Liberty’s osteopathic college would strive to improve healthcare, including the establishment of clinical rotations in Southern and Southwest Virginia.

Considering the location of LUCOM in Campbell County, one of the traditional textile and tobacco areas of the state, LUCOM would also emphasize the development of communitybased physicians as part of LUCOM’s mission to provide quality medical access for underserved patients.

Since then, LUCOM has provided multiple opportunities to benefit tobacco region communities as well as for its medical students to practice and develop their clinical and patient interaction skills.

Two of the bigger events are the Community Care Collaboratives in Lynchburg and Martinsville, Va. The community collaborations are typically six-to-eight hours and are established as a free health clinic to the public. Under the supervision of LUCOM physicians, students provide general health screenings for dozens of individuals in a patient-centered atmosphere.

“The incredible growth of Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine along with the clinically-based opportunities that have come our way over the last five years would have never been possible without the substantial investment from the tobacco commission,” said Peter Bell, DO, dean of LUCOM. “I am thankful for not only their faith in our efforts to produce quality and competent osteopathic physicians and send them back out into the communities, but also appreciative for the university’s support in our endeavors moving forward to establish a supply chain of qualified men and women that will serve others before themselves.”

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CORE ROTATION SITES Within the last few years, LUCOM has built a strong list of education partnerships to serve as clinical affiliates and preceptors in the City of Lynchburg, Central Virginia, and around the country.

“Statistics show that physicians are likely to practice in an area where they trained. When we consider all of our affiliates and hospital systems that we’re connected with, I firmly believe that we are placing our medical students in areas where they can do a lot of good for others.”

Michael Weigner, MD, FACEP, associate dean of Clinical Education

Each fall, LUCOM’s Office of Clinical Rotations hosts a Hospital Site Day for rising third-year studentdoctors to meet representatives from LUCOM affiliate hospitals and clinics as well as learn more about the available resources each site provides. “It is incredibly helpful to have our affiliates visit LUCOM on Hospital Site Day. Our students are eager to get out of the building – they are eager to get past lectures and exams and step outside and embrace their calling into medicine,” said Chaka Burnett, director of Clinical Rotations. “Our list of core rotation sites is vast and each one offers a unique component to our student’s education. Year three helps set the pace for the next several years for them.”

LUCOM is thankful for each core rotation site and the staff support they provide.

Third-year for Liberty medical students takes them out of the classroom and into four-week clinical rotations off-campus. LUCOM has partnered with seventeen medical facilities throughout the state of Virginia, Illinois, and Texas for Core Rotation Site. Third-year provides a clinical focus on the core disciplines of medicine, such as Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Surgery.

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St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital (Effingham, Ill.)

SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital (Mt. Vernon, Ill.)

Centra Southside Community Hospital (Farmville, Va.)

Centra Virginia Baptist Hospital (Lynchburg, Va.)

Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital (Portsmouth, Va.)

Clinch Valley Medical Center (Richlands, Va.)

LUCOM is thankful for each Director of Student Medical Education (DSME) Danny Bowman, DO (Texas) Paul Braunstein, MD (Va.) Bonnie Burnham, DO (Va.) Amber Fedin, DO (Va.) Dean Gianakos, MD (Va.)

Daniel Hoffman, MD (Ill.) Charles Ives, MD (Va.) Suresh Jayatilaka, MD (Va.) Ryan Jennings, MD, (Ill.) John Lewis, DO (Va.)

Palestine Regional Medical Center (Palestine, Texas)

Centra Bedford Memorial Hospital (Bedford, Va.)

Centra Lynchburg General Hospital (Lynchburg, Va.)

Chesapeake Regional Medical Center (Chesapeake, Va.)

Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center (Norfolk, Va.)

Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center (Newport News, Va.)

Danville Regional Medical Center (Danville, Va.)

Memorial Hospital of Martinsville and Henry County (Martinsville, Va.)

Twin County Regional Healthcare (Galax, Va.)

Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital (South Boston, Va.)

Wythe County Community Hospital (Wytheville, Va.)

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FOURTH-YEAR ELECTIVE ROTATION SITES The map below highlights LUCOM’s current fourth-year elective rotation sites – these hospital sites are not required. The fourth-year lasts 11 months with several four-week rotations. The purpose of the fourth-year is to prepare a medical student for residency following graduation. Their clinical and academic experiences are similar to the third-year, but they have more freedom in choosing their schedules and allows them to prepare for medical exams required to pass before graduation. LUCOM has a total of 351 fourth-year sites throughout the United States.

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2 8

1 2

3 3 24

3

2

8

11

13

10

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The map below indicates which states have elective rotation sites established and how many within the state.

1 1 5 3

2 4 2

27 21

1

20 23 11

5

2

4

14

21

6

2

9 1 1

11

11 2

4 4

7

9

3 18

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CLASS OF 2019 ORIENTATION Continuing the tradition set forth by the first-class, LUCOM welcomed the class of 2019 on Aug. 3, 2015.

Activities included academic presentations, a family-style cookout, and an afternoon with the local youth of Lynchburg. It all concluded with the annual White Coat Ceremony. The top five states represented in the second class were Virginia, Texas, Florida, California, and Utah.

The second class was made up of 89 males and 71 females.

SNAPSHOTS

Looking back on LUCOM’s second year (2015-16)...

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Snapshots key: (1) LUCOM Student Services hosts first Club Day, (2) students wear blue in honor of Organ Donation Awareness, (3) American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOOG) sponsors blood drive for the American Red Cross, (4) Student National Medical Association (SNMA) host first Cultural Potluck celebrating diverse cultures, (5) Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons (AMOPS) raise money for local veterans, and (6) students offer Free Health Clinics during Liberty home football games.

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SNAPSHOTS

...featuring the Class of 2018 and 2019.

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Snapshots key: (7) students run in support of CASA Superhero Run, (8) Student Services invites Lynchburg Humane Society for a puppy play day, (9) students wear red in honor of American Heart Association “Heart Month,” (10) LaHaye Recreation & Fitness Center offers group exercises, (11) students wear blue for support of Child Abuse Awareness, (12) LUCOM hosts medical outreach fundraiser “Stars for Guatemala,” (13) students treat patients at public OMM clinic and (14) offer health services at a Sentara Healthcare event, (15) students compete again during HeartChase, (16) Student Services hosts an end-of-the-year basketball tournament, and (17) an awards ceremony was held to close out the academic year.

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CHARTING TOMORROW’S CHARTING TOMORROW’S COURSE TODAY COURSE TODAY Strategic Planning | Propelling Forward

LUCOM’s founding dean, Dr. Ronnie Martin, set the stage and pace (April 2012) for LUCOM to be the college it is today. He believed that Liberty University establishing an osteopathic college came at just the right time to address health service needs and the concern of physician shortages throughout the state of Virginia.

As he brought on LUCOM’s first team of academic leaders, faculty, and staff, a course was charted to bring LUCOM not only up to par with other medical institutions in record time but also to surpass them in offering opportunities for studentdoctors to develop their skills and to advance graduate medical education positions to meet the needs of osteopathic and allopathic graduates, especially in Virginia and its Southeast region.

No easy task to be sure, though LUCOM’s leadership studied and set the strategic plan in motion.

In just four short years, LUCOM achieved initial accreditation, welcomed a new dean, Peter A. Bell, DO, MBA, and graduated its first class of osteopathic physicians in 2018. Phase One of LUCOM’s Strategic Plan has been dynamic and successful from the beginning.

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From inclusive committees, to surveys and cataloging accomplishments, to collecting data, to drafting and redrafting plans, to collaborating with emerging resources, to securing faculty appointments with healthcare systems (local and outside Virginia), to recruiting quality students that would advance the mission of LUCOM and Liberty University, to graduating the first medical class with the goal of placing the majority of all classes (20182021) in primary care residencies and community-based practice

settings, to growing a world-class research facility, to developing governmental support to strengthen LUCOM and setting undeniable priorities – these last four years have been vigorous.

This is only a brief snapshot of the initiatives from the past four years since LUCOM officially opened, and sometimes you have to look to the past to gain perspective on where you’re going. Sometimes you have to look beyond what you see to know where you’re headed.

Accomplishments (2014-2018) Graduated 126 students from the inaugural class. Over 98% successfully matched into Graduate Medical Education (GME) residency programs, higher than the national average.

Achieved initial, full accreditation from its programmatic accreditor, the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA).

Earned initial accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for its new Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine (ONMM) Residency.

Awarded Sponsoring Institution status from ACGME in record time.

Achieved Continuing Medical Education (CME) accreditation with commendations from the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).

Partnered with the Community Access Network to establish a pediatric clinical service to assist the underserved children of Lynchburg and surrounding areas and to provide outstanding educational opportunities for our students.

Senior Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs, David F. Klink, DO, was appointed to the board of directors of the Free Clinic of Central Virginia, expanding LUCOM’s involvement in community health.

LUCOM faculty presented research in faculty development and the integration of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) across all four years of the college’s medical curriculum during the 2018 American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) conference.

Received provisional accreditation status with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).

For the 2017-18 academic year, 67 LUCOM students participated in international medical service events in four countries, and 236 students participated in domestic medical service events sponsored by LUCOM.

Expanded core clinical training opportunities for its students by adding two new clinical rotation sites: Mount Vernon, Ill., and Chesapeake, Va.

Twelve LUCOM students participated in fourweek international clinical rotations, several of which were funded through Samaritan’s Purse and MAP International.

Integrated two faculty members into the Lynchburg Family Medicine Residency program, facilitating expansion from six to nine residents per year and increasing local residency training opportunities for our graduates.

LUCOM faculty received one Center for Innovative Technology extramural research grant, published 15 articles and 14 abstracts for scientific and clinical conferences, and mentored 30 LUCOM students and four Liberty University undergraduate students in research projects.

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Phase Two of the Strategic Plan Launching LUCOM to new heights to achieve new goals.

Starting this fall, LUCOM’s academic leadership, with Liberty’s supporting offices, will implement seven initiatives – cornerstones to maintain LUCOM’s foundation and propel forward into 2025.

to TRAIN

exceptional physicians ten years from matriculation

to SET

practical academic goals to develop statistical profiles that advance LUCOM within the top quartile of U.S. medical schools

to BUILD

a value chain of exceptional osteopathic doctors to fill in the gaps of physician shortages across the country and within Virginia’s tobacco region

to ENHANCE

LUCOM’s research and scholarship opportunities to exceed accreditation standards

to DEVELOP

a cost savings plan to LU Health and establish an Integrative Wellness Center of Excellence

to PLAN

new health degree programs atop Liberty Mountain

to EXPAND

clinical collaboration and education domestically and internationally through relations with other partners LUCOM is privileged to be where it is both in location and in status.

Its academic leadership, consisting of deans and departmental chairs, have set the bar high.

In 2025, it should be no surprise to look back to see exponential growth and Liberty University associated with quality, well-prepared osteopathic physicians serving across the globe and medical research advancements that originate from LUCOM.

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Academic Leadership Introducing the Deans

CHAD K. BRANDS MD, CPE, SFHM Associate Dean, Graduate Medical Education

JOSEPH W. BREWER PhD Associate Dean Research / Associate Professor, Immunology

KEVIN D. CORSINI PhD Senior Associate Dean, Operations and External Affairs

DAVID F. KLINK DO Senior Associate Dean, Clinical Affairs / Associate Professor, Ophthalmology

TIMOTHY O. LEONARD MD, PhD Senior Associate Dean, Academic Affairs / Associate Professor, Pathology

GARY L. PATTON PhD, LPC, NCC Assistant Dean, Admissions and Student Services

MICHAEL B. WEIGNER MD, FACEP Associate Dean, Clinical Education/ Associate Professor Emergency Medicine

JASON E. WELLS PhD Assistant Dean Academics (Year 1 and 2)/ Chair and Associate Professor of Neurosciences

Introducing the Department Chairs CARL R. HOEGERL, DO, FACP Associate Professor, Neurology Chair, Internal Medicine

LINDA S. MINTLE PhD Director, Strategic Development for Clinical Affairs / Chair, Behavioral Health

JOHN G. PIERCE JR. PhD Associate Professor, Chair Women’s Health

JAMES W. KRIBS DO Associate Professor, Chair Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine

OLUBUKOLA I. OJUOLA MD, MPH, PGDEpid Assistant Professor, Chair Pediatrics

R. JAMES SWANSON PhD Professor, Chair Anatomical Sciences

JOHN R. MARTIN PhD Professor, Interim Chair, Integrative Physiology and Pharmacology

RAENA M. PETTITT DO Chair and Assistant Professor, Family Medicine

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Bringing

H E A L

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To The Hurting LUCOM is advancing its mission by sending student-doctors to Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, and the Dominican Republic.

Crossing the bridge over the RĂ­o Patagua to San Pablo, a small village in Zacapa, Guatemala.

From the beginning, LUCOM’s mission has been to serve the underserved. In doing so, it would prepare future physicians to provide excellent and compassionate osteopathic care for their fellow man. The summer of 2015 was only the beginning in taking the mission past the borders of Virginia, past the borders of the United States, and into Guatemala, a country desperate for quality medical care.

Nearly 50 medical students went that summer on LUCOM’s first international medical outreach trip and what began as a summer opportunity would only continue with each following year.

The concept was simple: place medical students into specific villages within the province of Chiquimula and Zacapa, Guatemala, to provide care. For the last three years, LUCOM has collaborated with the nonprofit organization Hope of Life International to strategically

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select those villages; such as El Arco, El Ingeniero, Las Carretas, Los Limones, Pueblo Del Rio, Pueblo Modelo, San Antonio, San Pablo, Santa Cruz, and Shororuguá. Throughout the last four years, over 200 students have participated.

Each trip, under the supervision of LUCOM faculty, studentdoctors provided osteopathic medical care for men, women, and children. Patients were examined, treated, and then educated with a goal of improving their health and wellness. Students also provided diagnostic studies that included ultrasound and bedside laboratory procedures, distributed medicines to treat and control acute and chronic disease, provided vitamins and minerals to foster improved nutritional status; and ultimately, left a positive and memorable impact by sharing the hope and love of Jesus Christ.

Most trips, over 1,500 patients were seen in one week.

Hope of Life International (HOLI) was an important partner due to a shared vision of rescuing future generations of Guatemalans through the power of the Gospel while meeting both physical and spiritual needs.

HOLI provided logistical support for each outreach event, including translators, meals, transportation, and accommodations. Another key component to each trip was establishing a connection to resources and follow-up care for each patient seen.

“Our goal was to set the stage for ongoing care,” said Kathy Bogacz, MD, FACP, assistant professor of Internal Medicine.

“We aimed to build a bridge in the medical care of all patients that we saw. They would receive care while we were there and see our endorsement of their local providers.”

Class of 2018 graduate David Winston said his experience was a way to keep his >>>

>>> perspective not only just in medical school but also in life. “Seeing people live day-today without the comforts that are so routine here in America, people who live with daily pain or disability without remedy, is a true reality check.”

Class of 2019 student Eloisa “Michelle” Amaya spent much of her week [Summer 2016] providing pediatric care for infants and maternal exams for expecting mothers. “My expectations were exceeded in observing the quality of care our professors gave patients, their level of expertise in their fields, and their gift and ability to teach us,” she said.

Guatemala was declared a “state of public calamity” in 2009 which brought attention to a severe hunger crisis. Ever since, the rise of malnutrition and economic turndown has plagued so many inhabitants.

With a chronic undernutrition rate of nearly 50%, Guatemala is

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the most undernourished country in Latin America and the fourth highest in the world.

“I knew I would encounter poverty and disease, but I didn’t understand how much their [citizens] reality would affect mine. The challenges we faced were innumerable; from needing more time with patients, to needing more tools and testing equipment, and needing more medicine,” Audrey Harris, Class of 2018, said. “Seeing how our physicians [faculty] overcame the challenges showed their level of expertise in medicine.

Shadowing them and applying their instructions taught me a lot about how to handle situations that are out of my control.”

LUCOM students were exposed to a variety of medical and physical issues during each outreach trip; most common were malnutrition, musculoskeletal pain, and women’s health. A key component to the education that

Liberty medical students receive is the use of manual medicine.

Utilizing palpatory examinations and the evaluation of structural abnormalities in a patient expands a student’s ability to diagnose and treat their patients.

“One of the most beneficial aspects was to see how valuable osteopathic manipulative medicine [OMM] was for immediate healing, pain relief, and in situations when we had nothing else to offer,” said Harris.

“I love the profession I’ve chosen and so excited to use it to benefit others seeing them happy, healed, and whole, as we ultimately affect their mind, body, and spirit.”

A unique component to the medical outreach trips was the use of ophthalmology stations for eye screening services. Utilizing state-of-the-art instruments, such as a Plusoptix SC 12 vision screener, students could assess vision in pre-verbal children while providing data on the refractive

error in each eye. “On most trips, we were able to screen up to 70 children a day and identify the few who required full examinations. This allowed us to be much more efficient utilizing our resources, reserving lengthy, complete examinations for those children who truly needed them.

Students catch on quick when using instruments for the eye, often becoming screening experts and allowing more interaction with their patients,” said David F. Klink, DO, senior associate dean of Clinical Affairs and associate professor of Ophthalmology.

“Our students never cease to amaze me with how fast they learn and adapt to new technology and procedures in patient care.”

For most Liberty medical students, traveling to another country to offer medical care was not only an opportunity to put their skills into practice but also a chance to contribute to the quality of life in others. “My medical outreach trip was amazing. I came

down here with open expectations – wasn’t sure what I would see.

The people of Guatemala have been so thankful. What moved me, I felt that God spoke to me about my role in medicine,” said Jeremy Jones, Class of 2021.

“What a privilege it is to be healers, to make a difference, not just physically but spiritually. In LUCOM we talk about those. On these trips, you see it live; we took care of them, we prayed with them. We saw their emotions, and it was our goal to help connect them with follow-up care from Hope of Life International.”

The holistic philosophy of LUCOM’s mission is not only to treat the body and mind, but also the spirit.

“Every patient we’ve prayed over, I feel that was received well.

You can always tell when a patient is in pain, and we try to help as much as we could. One patient had her toe amputated recently, and the wound needed to be cleaned.

You could tell she was in a lot of pain during the process. We asked the translators to tell her that was she was doing great and that she is very strong; she pointed to us and then pointed upward. She recognized that her strength came from the Lord,” Emily Heuker, Class of 2021. “Most, if not all, of the patients were accepting of our Christian beliefs and allowed us to pray over them.

The work that LUCOM has been able to do internationally these last three years would not have been possible without strong partnerships – one in particular – El Centro Universitario de Oriente (CUNORI), a Guatemalan medical university which educates the students in the eastern half of the country, Chiquimula.

CUNORI medical students began serving alongside LUCOM in 2016 and during the Spring 2017 trip, LUCOM was in a unique position to visit CUNORI’s campus and attend a >>>

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>>> one-day symposium. In their lecture auditorium, CUNORI faculty physicians presented their research on treatments for specific viruses and proper techniques on splinting infants born with disabilities. Closing out the symposium, Liberty medical students also received a tour of their facility.

That following summer, CUNORI medical students visited LUCOM students on the property of HOLI and together, led a day-long interprofessional education event.

LUCOM students taught CUNORI students basic osteopathic manipulative techniques (OMT) to help their future patients and vice-versa with CUNORI teaching LUCOM on women’s health and birthing difficulties.

The partnership continued into the spring and Summer 2018 trips where again LUCOM and CUNORI medical students visited villages and provided compassionate, competent, and quality medical care to those in need.

“Too many groups visit Guatemala, and other countries, and do not work with the local healthcare system nor medical and educational resources and there is a lack of continuity of care. By working with CUNORI, our sum is greater than the parts involved,” said Sydney Coffey, Clinical Collaboration and Education Coordinator.

On the last day of the Summer 2018 trip, LUCOM joined the leaders and medical students from CUNORI one last time for a special presentation. Certificates were distributed to the volunteers, translators, and faculty from both schools recognizing all for their tireless efforts in providing care for the underserved.

“We were once told we couldn’t collaborate with an international medical school,” said Dr. Klink.

“Without CUNORI and even Hope of Life, the amount of

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people we’ve seen together and the lives we touched, none of that would have been possible.

We were colleagues first – we’re friends always – and we’re family above all.”

LUCOM’s Office of Clinical Collaboration and Education, the coordinating office for each medical outreach trip, presented CUNORI with a portable ultrasound machine to help the school further their medical training. The machine would also be used to help screen pregnant patients at a medical clinic on CUNORI’s campus.

“When things like this happen, we are speechless, and we thank you for the machine. We lack many things but we have staff, teachers, clinic rooms, and our patients are not short for attention.

We have a family clinic, and we get a lot of pregnant women. We cannot follow up because we do not have an ultrasound machine.

We can now,” said Dr. Ronaldo Retana, an OB Gynecologist and faculty member at CUNORI. “We support our students in training, and we will support them in learning this machine. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

CUNORI is your home; come often and thank you.”

Partnering in Guatemala with both Hope of Life International (HOLI) as well as CUNORI these past four summers has been a key building block to set the stage for ongoing care of patients.

“Starting with our work in Guatemala, we have used this model in other countries where we send teams as well as regionally when we provide health care,” said Dr. Bogacz. “It’s not enough to stop by a village or town for a day, see hundreds of patients, and then leave. The care we provide needs to address the whole patient: emotional, social, psychological, physical, and spiritual needs are all aspects to be addressed as possible. Then,

enabling ongoing care after we leave is absolutely critical.”

LUCOM advances its mission of providing medical care in underserved communities around the world simply by collaborating with local medical providers and connecting the patients to those local providers – that is the blueprint.

“Without our partners, we could not achieve our goal of establishing a bridge for quality medical care to those in need – whether here in Virginia or internationally,” said Dr. Bogacz.

LUCOM also partnered with several outside organizations each year and for each trip that helped advance the mission.

Medicines and vitamins as well as medical supplies were donated from philanthropic organizations such as the American Osteopathic Foundation, Heart to Heart International, Brother’s Brother Foundation, Kingsway Charities, Blessings International, and +MAP International (Medical Assistance Programs).

Additionally, Glad provides Ziploc plastic bags to package and distribute medication to the patients. At the end of each trip, the remaining medications and medical supplies were either donated back to local medical providers or to CUNORI’s medical clinic to help them in their endeavors of supporting those that are hurting and in need.

“What a privilege it is to be part of the LUCOM medical outreach team – we are servants.

We come alongside those already working to care for their people.

Our role is to assist them in their ministry and at the same time, educate our students as they work in areas of great need,” added Dr. Bogacz. “One day, many of these students may return and serve in similar areas, in shortterm and long-term capacities.

That is our ultimate goal.”

SPRING BREAK IN HONDURAS A new location for medical outreach

This past spring, LUCOM sent four medical students to Roatán, Honduras, to volunteer and see patients at the Clinica Esperanza.

The not-for-profit clinic, located in Sandy Bay, sees on average 100 patients daily and is the primary medical provider for hundreds of families throughout the island of Roatán.

Much like those who went on the Guatemala trips, these studentdoctors to Honduras were able to observe and treat young children in the pediatric wing of the clinic as well as provide general medical care to men and women.

Fadi Tahhan, Class of 2020, said he was excited to be a part of the continuity of care that Clinica Esperanza provides.

“They’ve [clinic staff] really made a difference to the islanders because health care is not always accessible in this country. I got to see patients with diabetes, pediatric patients and also help with women’s health. This trip taught me more than just medicine and for that I am grateful.”

Tahhan was also able to provide Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) alongside two of his classmates at the same time.

“We treated a man who suffered

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from chronic back pain for a few years and at one point all three of us were treating different areas of his back and legs. We communicated well and gave efficient care,” he said. At the end of the session, the man was able to sit upright without pain and gave the students a thumbs-up.

patients with lower back pain and headaches and how OMM is a treatment and diagnostic modality tool.”

A unique component to the trip was the daily Lunch and Learn sessions where physicians from the clinic offered to help LUCOM students understand how the clinic operates, how the patients are diagnosed, how the clinic staff provides follow-up care, and even hear personal stories from the main attending pediatric doctor.

Christopher Benhatzel, Class of 2020, was able to demonstrate a few basic OMM techniques to the clinic physicians with hopes they could adopt into their patient care.

Near end of the weeklong trip, the student-doctors spent an afternoon delivering the feminine products and providing check-ups and vitamins for the children.

“The presentation was about 20-minutes demonstrating OMM as well as explaining the five tenets of OMM and how it relates to patient intervention.

The doctors and nurses seemed to love the information and was followed with 10 minutes of questions,” said Benhatzel. “The chief medical officer was really enthralled by the presentation as I directed him toward treating

LUCOM also received funds to purchase Gleaning for the World Wings Kits for students to distribute while in the country.

“The Wings Kits are reusable feminine hygiene kits that are sustainable for up to three years.

This is especially important for women in underserved areas who do not always have easy access to hygiene products,” said Mariam Asper, Class of 2020. “It was such a rewarding experience to raise the funds and hand deliver the kits to the women in the community, who were very grateful to receive the products.”

During this same week of Spring Break, the Office of Clinical Collaboration and Education returned to Guatemala for the sixth time since 2015 and for the first time, sent student-doctors to Peru and the Dominican Republic.

Commenting on the spiritual component of the trip, Class of 2018 graduate Joshua Reynolds said, “It was always hard knowing that each day was limited and that any form of medical care we provided was temporary. But, if you can give spiritual care; if a patient comes into a relationship with Jesus, then they’re taken care of for eternity, so that’s really the goal.”

The Helping Hands Gala A Black-Tie Event to Support Domestic and International Medical Outreach

LUCOM’s Office of Clinical Collaboration and Education (OCCE) charges ahead each year planning and coordinating local and international medical outreach events. Much of their work is dependent on building partnerships throughout the community and overseas. As a way to foster and strengthen those relations, LUCOM OCCE has hosted an annual black-tie event – the Helping Hands Gala – since 2016.

A fundraising event, the gala includes students sharing their outreach experiences and a keynote presentation from a highprofile speaker. All proceeds go directly into the operational and outreach budget to help OCCE continue its mission of reaching out to communities that would normally have little to no access to medical care.

“The purpose of the Helping Hands Gala is to raise awareness of the medical needs of the unserved populations both locally and internationally,” said Sydney Coffey, Clinical Collaboration and Education Coordinator.

For the last three years, the gala has welcomed guests and LUCOM partners from all over Lynchburg along with Liberty’s Schools of Government, Law, and Nursing.“When I was applying to medical schools, Liberty caught my eye specifically for their heart for medical missions because I felt like that was what the Lord was calling me into,” said Victoria Gerthe, LUCOM Graduate Assistant.

The gala this past May featured keynote speaker, Darryl Strawberry, former professional baseball player, Christian author, and minister. The night of the event, Strawberry said, “It’s always great to come back to Liberty University. This place, this city, is part of my history, all the way back to 1981. I’m just a representative for our Lord, Jesus

Christ, and it’s great to be here for LUCOM and it’s incredible to see what everyone at LUCOM is doing for the idea of Helping Hands.”

Strawberry had great success as a professional baseball player with four World Series titles (New York Mets ’86 and the New York Yankees ’96, ’98, ’99), a Hall of Fame nomination in 2004, and countless home runs, RBIs, and leading percentages since the early 80s. Though his professional career was thriving, his personal life was plagued with addictions, abuse, cancer, divorce, and even jail time.

“When people look at my life back then, it’s easy to assume I had it all together. But, I was broken and it led to destructive behavior,” said Strawberry that evening. “But then God used it – he used me for His glory. My life was empty, and I tried areas to fill it. It took many years to come to a life of purpose that only Christ could provide.”

Strawberry also said that night, “When you learn to help others and you know it’s not about you and it’s about making that difference for someone else – it is amazing.

This is from the Lord Jesus, that we are able to serve others. This is the mission of Helping Hands.

This is the purpose.”

The 2017 gala featured Lance Plyler, MD, as the keynote speaker. Dr. Plyler, an Internal Medicine Specialist, serves as the medical director of Disaster Response at Samaritan’s Purse.

He was also joined by Phiona Mutesi, international speaker and chess champion from Uganda.

Dr. Plyler spoke on traveling to Liberia after learning that a fellow colleague and friend had contracted the Ebola virus and was quarantined. He shared as he defied the odds, relying on his personal faith, to help save his friend, Kent Brantly, MD.

His story and Samaritan’s Purse efforts are told in the film, Facing Darkness.

Phiona Mutesi was born into Katwe, the largest slum in Uganda, Africa. Overcoming personal tragedy, she has become a worldwide speaker offering hope and inspiration to young women.

Mutesi is most commonly known as a chess champion and for the recent Disney film about her life, Queen of Katwe. Alongside Mutesi was Robert Katende, her chess coach. He also spoke about the knowledge and skills that are used to mentor youth and build character through the game of chess and how God continues to transform lives in Uganda.

With Mutesi’s accomplishments throughout international chess tournaments, she gave praise to her coach and how chess has motivated her to pursue a degree in sociology. “My personal story has inspired people and their stories have allowed me to better connect with them. I love people.

I want to continue teaching kids, especially young women. Life can be so hard, especially for women in Uganda.”

Encouraging those in attendance, Mutesi added, “We need to be strong…be hardworking. Always have hope.

Dream big. Everyone is called and we don’t always listen. It is up to us to respond and make our lives better.”

The first Helping Hands Gala, 2016, featured 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner and the only Nobel Laureate from Guatemala, Dr. Rigoberta Menchú Tum. Throughout the last several years, she has become widely known as a leading advocate of women’s rights, indigenous people’s native rights and ethno-cultural reconciliation in Guatemala, Central America and across the Western Hemisphere.

The proceeds from the 2016 >>>

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>> gala were given specifically toward the establishment and operation of a comprehensive medical and healthcare clinic in Zacapa, Guatemala, through a joint collaboration with Hope of Life International.

“The last three years of generosity from our friends and partners during the Helping Hands Gala have truly demonstrated all of our intentions of improving healthcare throughout underserved areas across the globe,” said Coffey.

A component to each gala is the special LUCOM recognition of organizations that have come alongside OCCE. One unique award is the Ecclesiastes Award.

Inspired by Ecclesiastes 4:12, it is given to an organization or person that has helped advance the mission of LUCOM and shown dedication to excellence in serving their fellow man and the advancement of medical knowledge. Recipients have been Blessings International; Centra Health Systems; Richard Lane, MD; John and Annyce Maddox;

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Hôpital Baptiste Biblique; Johnson Health Center; Samaritan’s Purse; MAP International; First United Methodist Church - Martinsville; and Hope of Life International.

Another unique award is the Onesiphorus Award inspired by 2 Timothy 1:16. Onesiphorus, the Greek word for ‘refreshed’ is used as an example of when a mother cools her baby with a fever by blowing on his/her forehead. This award is given annually to one recipient who made a tremendous impact in serving others in the spirit of fellowship and kindness; their actions refresh and revive.

It is the highest award from the LUCOM OCCE. The recipients have been Thomas Road Baptist Church, Liberty University School of Nursing, and Rebekah A. Naylor, MD. The third and final award is one that is directly connected to LUCOM – the Ronnie B. Martin Award. Established in 2017 and given to its namesake that first year, the Ronnie B. Martin Award was awarded in 2018 to Kathleen P. Bogacz, MD, FACP, for her role

as a student-doctor mentor. She was also recognized for her work within International Medicine as well as medical outreach always portraying discipleship, knowledge, and love.

LUCOM currently has fourthyear clinical rotation sites in Africa, Central America, and South America with the availability for LUCOM students to travel to 45 hospitals around the world.

OCCE along with the Office of Clinical Rotations (OCR) have begun working on a faculty and student exchange program(s) that will have a specific focus on collaborative medical education.

“I don’t know of any other event on campus that highlights the specific medical component of missions and outreach. We have a very unique opportunity in the OCCE to spearhead that calling and mission for Liberty University,” said Coffey. “I think the gala (both now and in the future) can really serve as a clarion call for taking the mission and vision of LUCOM and LU to the ends of the earth through medical outreach.”

Clinical Collaborations Outside of the United States LUCOM builds new partnerships with Samaritan’s Purse (SP) and the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE) to create fourthyear international elective rotations. Liberty medical students now have the option to take their commitment to serve their fellow man and pursue excellence in osteopathic medicine into Africa.

Partnering with SP and ABWE was a joint collaboration between LUCOM’s Office of Clinical Collaborations and Education (OCCE) and the Office of Clinical Rotations. Building a direct relationship with SP placed LUCOM in a unique position as the only osteopathic college to have a direct connection to their international operating sites.

“Outside of ABWE and Samaritan’s Purse, students have to self-fund their international rotations – LUCOM is in an incredible position where these two organizations actually fund those that participate directly with them,” said Michael B. Weigner, MD, FACEP, associate dean of Clinical Education. “This only reinforces our like-minded missions.” The ultimate goal for OCCE and OCR is to expand on these new international relationships and

hopefully lead into post-residency programs.

“This is part of what we [LUCOM] want to be known for – as a Christian medical school that encourages and influences our students and graduates to become medical missionaries. This is part of our strategic plan and what emphasizes our Christian culture,” said Dr. Weigner.

One of the locations available through the SP partnership is Bomet, Kenya. LUCOM class of 2018 graduates, Alex and Shannon Hamilton, were the first studentdoctors to complete this specific international rotation at the Tenwek Hospital. “We were excited to be used by the Lord to make a path for other students called to medical missions to follow in,” Shannon said. “LUCOM’s commitment to medical outreach, both locally and

internationally, is incredible, and we’re blessed to be a small part of it.” LUCOM OCCE and OCR work collaboratively together to discover new – and build upon – existing medical missions like work that sends Liberty studentdoctors onto the field. “LUCOM would continue to exist and work without these partnerships, but it is these uniquely-Christian opportunities that sets us apart from other medical schools,” said Dr. Weigner.

Throughout the past year, over 15 student-doctors in the graduating class, the first class to have this international elective available to them, traveled to the following countries for an international elective rotation: Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Togo, Guatemala, Panamá, Peru, Rwanda, Zambia, and Kenya.

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CLASS OF 2020 ORIENTATION LUCOM welcomed its third class on Aug. 3, 2016.

Introducing the new students to the culture of LUCOM, this was the third and final class to be welcomed by founding dean, Dr. Ronnie Martin. Orientation is structured to reflect community; they are presented with academic presentations, join their family and friends for an indoor cookout, enjoy time with the local youth of Lynchburg, and then bring it all together for the annual White Coat Ceremony. The top five states represented in the third class were Virginia, California, Pennsylvania, New York, and Texas. The third class was made up of 83 male students and 78 female students.

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Snapshots key: (1) students educate the community on Type 1 Diabetes, (2) the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians (ACOP) hosts David Meyer, DO, for an autism seminar, (3) students color butterflies as a mental break, (4) faculty, staff, and students gather for prayer on National See You at The Pole Day, (5) the Student Advocates Association (SAA) hosted a medical marriage seminar, (6) students provide public outdoor CPR training on Liberty’s campus, (7) faculty and students gather to pray on National Veteran’s Day, (8) students train with Liberty student-nurses on giving flu shots, (9) Student Services hosts a Chili Cook-Off, (10) guest Noel Yeatts speaks during Convocation addressing humanitarian needs around the world, (11) faculty, staff, and students gather for prayer on National Day of Prayer, (12) the Medical Outreach Interest Groups (MOIG) hosted a dodgeball tournament, (13) Carl Hoegerl, DO, leads the first Grand Rounds held at LUCOM, (14) Student Services hosts National Pizza Day, (15) School of Law Dean Keith Faulkner leads Convocation, (16) Prof. Grant Rost presents a medical deposition, and (17) an open house is held to showcase the OMM lab.

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SNAPSHOTS

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Snapshots key: (18) Student Services hosts annual Puppy Day in partnership with Lynchburg Humane Society, (19) guest Robert Brennan, MD, visits LUCOM for Clinical Pathology Conference, (20) Student Osteopathic Internal Medicine Association (SOIMA) packs lunches for children of Heritage Elementary School, (21) the Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA) teaches third-graders the importance of maintaining a healthy heart, (22) Student Services hosts basketball tournament, (23) the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians (ACOP) participates in the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Great Strides Walk, (24) Student Services hosts an Easter egg hunt along with (25) a Horse Therapy Day, (26) a service day is held at the Jamerson YMCA, (27) Student Services hosts an ice cream social and (28) closes out the year with a picnic, (29) and the annual Awards Celebration is held honoring the Class of 2019 and 2020.

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MATCH DAY 2018

Impacting Tomorrow’s World

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Match Day occurs the third Friday in March each year. The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) matches student applicants for residency training after graduation and creates a binding contract between the student and the participating institution.

At LUCOM, the Match and Scramble process was led under the direction of Michael B. Weigner, MD, FACEP, associate dean of Clinical Education, and Chaka Burnett, director of Clinical Rotations. Leading up to Match Day, LUCOM student-doctors applied to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) match, the military match (for those graduates with military service commitments), the San Francisco match, and the NRMP. Match Day 2018 was yet another significant milestone for LUCOM as it celebrated its first successful Match with an overall pass rate of 98%.

124 out of 126 LUCOM student-doctors matched into residency programs.

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Spreading Christmas Cheer for All to Hear Faculty and Staff Perform Holiday Productions For the last four years, LUCOM faculty and staff have poured into the lives of their student-doctors.

Through academic counseling, prayer, meals, tailgating, off campus events, and more, it could most certainly be said that LUCOM maintains a familylike culture. One event that started winter 2016 with its parttwo continuation winter 2017 was a Christmas production appropriately called Osteopathic Merry Melodies (OMEL).

The idea for OMM originally came from Chris and Kristen Breedlove Fall 2016 when inaugural student-doctor Dusty Eck came to their minds. At the time, Eck experienced a significant family tragedy when his wife and two children were involved in a tragic car wreck traveling to visit family. The accident left his wife and daughter injured while taking the life of his son. The Breedlove’s knew that Christmas would never be the same for the Eck family, and it was their hope that joy, if even a little, could be brought into their lives during what would be a very difficult holiday season.

“My wife and I took a stroll around the LUCOM parking lot one afternoon after learning of the tragedy. We couldn’t imagine

the pain of their loss, and we hoped there could be a creative and meaningful way to bless their family and bring a little happiness to all of LUCOM,” said Chris Breedlove, director of Marketing for LUCOM. “Kristen said, ‘How about a Christmas show?’ and I jokingly replied, ‘Perfect. We could call it Osteopathic Merry Melodies.’ The name definitely stuck and ideas were blossoming left and right.”

The Breedlove’s spent October and November immersing themselves in the creation of the Christmas show, bringing in help from the faculty and staff. Kristen did all the creating, planning, and designing while Christopher focused on recording, editing, and producing the visual components of the show. “When the Lord lays something big on your heart, and He begins to show you how the pieces of His plan will fit together, you can always know that God will provide all the tools needed,” said Kristen. “Medical School is grueling for student-doctors, the faculty, and even the staff, but we hoped the show would be an outlet of escape for a few hours and provide an experience full of joy and laughter.”

Tickets went on sale near the end of October for a suggested donation of $5/ticket. The onenight performance of OMEL welcomed over 400 guests and raised more than $2,100 in ticket sales alone. All the proceeds went directly to Dusty Eck and his family.

OMEL was a Christmas show unlike any other with random, energetic, and comedic acts that featured the faculty and staff.

Acts included a Rock N’ Roll Air Band, a Wellness workout routine featuring “Jimmy” Simmons, the Department of Anatomical Sciences performing a choreographed hip hop dance, a tribute to medical outreach through live singing, and a special shadow-dance illustrating the reason for the season – Jesus Christ. A special character, Lefty the Elf, played by Isaac Altizer, a LUCOM student worker, and Dr. Patton, played by Gary L. Patton, PhD, assistant dean of Admissions and Student Services for LUCOM, shared the lead roles.

The story began with Lefty the Elf: a clumsy little Elf that lost Santa Claus the night before Christmas. The audience followed Lefty as he went on a >>>

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>>> whimsical adventure hoping to reunite with Santa, all the while learning the true meaning of Christmas. “The beauty of Osteopathic Merry Melodies was the relationship between the audience and the cast,” said Altizer.

Guests laughed their way through a night filled with comedy and incredible memories, though the show would not end that fateful winter’s night. Fall 2017 brought requests for an encore performance. “Osteopathic Merry Melodies was so much fun that first year. We honestly didn’t anticipate nor plan for a second one,” said Chris. “Both Kristen and I would get stopped in the halls with students asking, some even begging, for another Christmas show. Before we knew it, we were back to the writing and planning.”

The winter 2017 show picked up where the previous year ended with the audience once again caught in a comical story following Lefty the Elf. This time he was joined by his elf cousin, Righty the Elf, a curious and glitter-crazed elf that desperately wants to find her place at Santa’s workshop. Righty the Elf was played by Leslie Hammer, PhD, assistant professor of Anatomy.

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After test flying Santa’s sleigh, Lefty and Righty crash land into the Center for Medical and Health Sciences and navigate their way through LUCOM’s Center for Research. Righty sees a glowing white coat developed

by LUCOM’s research faculty and puts it on. Every time she wears it she experiences courage and learns how to dance, while thinking the white coat makes her special. Throughout the story, Righty learns that the white coat was not meant for her, but for someone else.

“When writing the second show, it was my desire to feature a message that would resonate deeply within the hearts of Liberty’s medical students,” said Kristen. “So much is required of them, especially near the end of the first semester, and I wanted to offer a little hope, a little reminder of why they chose to practice medicine and provide care for others.”

Near the end of Righty’s adventure, she learns that the white coat she found is a symbol of great responsibility while simultaneously learning that it is Jesus Christ within her heart that gives her the strength to overcome life’s greatest challenges. “We really wanted to have the second

show to focus more on the students and what it means to be a doctor as well as remind them that the love and faithfulness of Jesus is with them always,” said Chris.

Year two of OMEL welcomed new acts, featuring more faculty and staff than before as well as a special beachball ballet with the LUCOM deans. The Department of Anatomical Sciences returned for an encore performance of their dancing skills. The Center for Research faculty played a key role in the show, and administrative staff performed an electric hula hoop number. A comical penguin act was even mixed into the show, and for the first-time, students were involved with a wellness workout dance and stand-up comedy.

Osteopathic Merry Melodies serves as a valuable lesson that peoples’ hearts, and even minds, need to be reminded that there is a bigger picture. It’s more than simply finishing the next task or assignment, but putting someone else’s needs before your own and being a giver.

Both Christmas shows were inspired by a verse found in Proverbs, “Because a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up bones.” (17:22)

CENTER for RESEARCH Expanding Opportunities for Students, Monthly Expert Presentations

Pictured right: R. James Swanson, PhD, assists student-doctors Netsanet Zewdu, Class of 2022, and Kane Smith and Joseph Carter, Class of 2021, in evaluating embryo development after exposure to various concentrations of vaping compounds from electronic cigarettes.

IGNITING a PASSION for WISDOM Faculty are currently conducting research in the following areas: GASTROINTESTINAL PHYSIOLOGY led by Anthony J.M. Bauer, PhD HUMAN PROVIRAL GENE EXPRESSION led by Yinnguang Liu, PhD IMMUNOLOGICAL MECHANISMS led by Joseph W. Brewer, PhD RENAL PATHOPHYSIOLOGY led by Joseph C. Gigliotti, PhD REPRODUCTIVE PHYSIOLOGY led by R. James Swanson, PhD

Joseph C. Gigliotti, PhD, shares a humorous moment with student-doctors Daniel Quan, Juhie Patel, and Kristin Wiley (2021) on using ultrasounds to study kidney health.

Since its founding in 2014, LUCOM’s goal has always been to advance the knowledge and skills of the faculty and students through support of scholarly activity and clinical research. The Center for Research provides faculty and student-doctors with an excellent resource to embrace a scientist’s curiosity.

The Center for Research opened in spring of 2015 with five LUCOM faculty members involved in projects using the lab facilities.

Now, the Center for Research has grown to 15 faculty members engaged in research and other scholarly endeavors, including eight investigators who utilize the labs. Student involvement in research activities has also blossomed from only a handful in 2015 to more than 30 this past year.

“Moving forward, we want to glorify God by developing a national and international reputation for excellent research that advances understanding of the biomedical basis of human health and disease, tackles significant clinical problems, and enhances the educational experience for our students,” said Joseph W. Brewer, PhD, assistant dean of Research.

The Center for Research is approximately 8,500-square-feet featuring a small dedicated animal facility, one large core lab, and five state-of-the-art molecular and cellular research labs. The lab is completely modern and equipped with a CO2/O2 incubator tank, electrophoresis systems, air flow work stations, imaging equipment for microscopy and cytometry, a variety of centrifuges, electrophysiology and ultrasound equipment, and an Olympus confocal microscope.

Led by Dr. Brewer, the Center for Research works closely with Liberty’s Office of Sponsored Programs, the Research Ethics Office, the Institutional Review Board, the Animal Care and Use Committee, and the Institutional Biosafety Committee.

“We are investing in outstanding people with specialized skills and innovative ideas. Specifically, state-of-the-art lab facilities and equipment, together with generous financial support make it possible for our faculty researchers to capitalize on their creativity and expertise,” Brewer said. Every summer LUCOM offers a preclinical research elective for student-doctors that provides hands-on experience in the process and practice of biomedical research.

Through a mentored research project, they are able to participate in hypothesis development, design and perform experiments, collect and interpret data, draw conclusions, and present their findings to peers and colleagues. Their experience in properly using biostatistics, reading and critiquing primary research literature, writing scientifically, and maintaining a safe laboratory environment is instrumental in their growth of scholarly activity.

In addition, student-doctors gain an understanding of key elements of the research enterprise, including manuscript preparation, grant development, and the regulations that govern the inclusion of animal models and human subjects in research projects.

Throughout the elective, scientific integrity and the responsible conduct of research are emphasized.

LUCOM student-doctor Victoria Martin, Class of 2021, reviews microscopic slides studying the potential of preclinical drugs (synthetic Toll-like receptor-9 oligonucleotides) to ameliorate the development of murine postoperative ileus.

“Biomedical and clinical research is the foundation for the improvement of human health,” said Brewer. “Whether it is new diagnostic tools or new treatments, all have their beginning in the minds and hands of curious individuals driven to understand how things work, how to solve problems, and how to make things better.”

A unique lecture series sponsored and coordinated by the Center for Research is the Biomedical Frontiers Seminar Series (BFSS).

Held once a month for one hour, research experts from all over the country speak directly to LUCOM students on molecular and cellular biology, physiology, microbiology and infectious diseases as well as different approaches to health care and health care policies.

“The Biomedical Frontiers Seminar Series began in the 2015-16 academic year and provides a forum for LUCOM students, faculty, and staff to hear biomedical and clinical scientists present cutting-edge research initiatives and discoveries,” said Dr. Brewer. “These presentations foster skills of critical thinking for LUCOM students and demonstrate how the research process advances medical knowledge, ultimately improving the quality of patient care. At the same time, BFSS guest speakers visit LUCOM from a variety of institutions across the country, providing excellent opportunities for LUCOM to expand its footprint by building relationships with the broader academic community.”

Yinngguang Liu, PhD, assists student-doctor Matthew Lee, Class of 2021, with testing the effect of antiviral drugs on breast cancer cells.

Specifically, preparing nutrients to feed the cancer cells.

LUCOM student-doctor Michael Cox, Class of 2021, prepares an assay to measure gastrointestinal transit in mice that had surgery with or without a pre-treatment of intestinal targeted thermal ultrasound.

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Top speakers this past year during the Biomedical Frontiers Seminar Series:

John Robert Perfect, MD

Professor of Medicine

Professor in Molecular Genetics & Microbiology

Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases

Duke University School of Medicine

Paul R. Standley, PhD

Associate Dean – Curricular Affairs & Program Evaluation The University of Arizona, College of Medicine

Gary D. Isaacs, Jr., PhD Associate Professor of Biology Liberty University

Karen T. Snider DO, FAAO

Professor and Assistant Dean for

Osteopathic Principles & Practice Integration

A.T. Still University of Health Sciences

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Warren Kinghorn, MD, ThD

Associate Research Professor of Psychiatry & Pastoral & Moral Theology Duke University Medical Center & Duke Divinity School

P. Gunnar Brolinson, DO

Vice Provost for Research Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine

The Center for Research continues the BFSS for 2018-19 with these speakers:

Phillip Gerk, PharmD, PhD

David Whitcomb, PhD

Kendi Hensel, DO, PhD, FAAO

John, Kopchick, PhD

Stephanie DeLuca, PhD

Lisa M. Hodge, DO

Associate Professor of Physiology and Anatomy University of North Texas Health Science Center

Associate Professor of Pharmaceutics Virginia Commonwealth University

Professor of Medicine, Cell Biology & Physiology, & Human Genetics University of Pittsburgh

Associate Professor Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine

Distinguished Professor & Goll-Ohio

Eminent Scholar Edison Biotechnology Institute

Ohio University - Heritage College

of Osteopathic Medicine

Brian J. Balin, PhD

Professor of Neuroscience and Neuropathology Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Director, VTCRI Neuromotor Research Assistant Professor of Neuroscience Virginia Tech Carillion School of Medicine

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CLASS OF 2021 ORIENTATION In only a few years, LUCOM welcomed its fourth class of student-doctors on July 27, 2017.

Keeping with tradition, they were greeted by faculty and staff, attended academic presentations, spent an afternoon with the Boys and Girls Club and Jubilee Center of Lynchburg at the Liberty Mountain Intramural Complex, gathered with their family members for an outdoor cookout, and were recognized at the White Coat Ceremony. The top four states represented in the fourth class were Pennsylvania, Virginia, California, and New York. Eighty-one male students with 78 female students made up the class.

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Snapshots key: (1) students complete vitals and OMM treatments on pregnant women at the Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center, (2) students are inducted into Sigma Sigma Phi, the original and oldest Osteopathic Honorary and Service Fraternity, (3) members of the Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons (AMOPS) are pictured together, (4) the Center for Standardized Patients and Simulation hosts a hands-on moulage demonstration during National Healthcare Simulation Week, (5) the Student Osteopathic Surgical Association (SOSA) hosts a video game tournament to raise money for hurricane relief efforts, (6) William R. Lile Jr., DO, speaks to student-doctors about specializing in women’s health, (7) Student Interest Group Neurology (SIGN) educates children about the brain during Amazement Square’s Amazing Mile Children’s Run, (8) Student Services hosts an outdoor movie night, (9) Liberty student-nurses train LUCOM student-doctors on giving flu shots, and (10) LUCOM hosts first-ever Flag Football Tournament for study breaks.

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Snapshots key: (11) American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians (ACOP) partners with Liberty’s School of Nursing to host a Teddy Bear Clinic at Jamerson Family YMCA, (12) the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) hosts “A Very Merry Giftmas” at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lynchburg, (13) LUCOM hosts local Brain Bee competition, (14) the Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA) hosts annual “Pancakes for Parkinson’s,” (15) William S. Mayo, DO, the president-elect for the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) visits LUCOM, (16) the Medical Library hosts a Medical Bioethics Symposium “The Necessity and Limitations of Right of Conscience in Healthcare Delivery,” (17) students present their poster “Medical Students as Point-of-Care Ultrasound Instructors (Learners as Successful Teachers)” during the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA) National Conference, (18) another end-of-the-year outdoor celebration hosted by Student Services, (19) the annual awards ceremony, (20) the Orthopedic Sports Medicine Interest Group (OSMIG) hosts a joint injection workshop, (21) the Student Osteopathic Surgical Association (SOSA) hosts Thomas J. Holy, MD, PhD, a board-certified Ophthalmologist with Virginia Eye Consultants, and (22) an ACOP service day in Greater Lynchburg.

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ACCREDITATIONS | Advancing the Mission and Vision On Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017, Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) received recognition from the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) on passing requirements for Category 1 credits. The recognition enhances LUCOM’s Faculty Development Program designed to provide professional development and learning opportunities that support faculty throughout their careers as educators, researchers, and physicians.

LUCOM was also approved for initial accreditation on Thursday, May 10, 2018, by AOA Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA), the programmatic accreditor for colleges of osteopathic medicine in the United States. This status identifies LUCOM as having met the requirements needed prior to graduating its first class. In the years leading up to this historic moment, LUCOM had maintained provisional accreditation status (2013), which allowed the college to recruit and accept studentdoctors, providing an osteopathic education that would lead to a DO (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine) degree. Having initial accreditation status removes the yearly comprehensive on-site evaluations and sets in place a seven-year survey cycle of selfstudy. LUCOM is able to advance its strategic plan and graduate osteopathic physicians. Shortly

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after graduating its first class on Saturday, May 19, LUCOM continued to break down barriers when the college was granted initial accreditation from the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to begin its first and new Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine (ONMM) Residency program. The announcement came on Thursday, June 21.

The newly approved ONMM residency was originally conceived

by Michael B. Weigner, MD, associate dean of Graduate Medical Education, and David F. Klink, DO, senior associate dean of Clinical Affairs. Together they saw a solution to fulfilling a LUCOM accreditation requirement of creating new residency spots where osteopathic medicine and the philosophy is practiced. Up until this past summer, most of the college’s clinical partners didn’t have OMM residents; the new ONMM program addresses that challenge.

In the medical education process, physicians complete medical school first and then receive 3-7 years of training within a residency program. “The ONMM residency is a one-year program that provides training and specialty certification in osteopathic neuromusculoskeletal medicine.

A physician could apply for the ONMM program after completing

an initial residency, such as family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, or obstetrics and gynecology,” said Jim Kribs, DO, associate professor of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine and director of the ONMM Residency Program. “ONMM residents would receive additional training in both an outpatient and inpatient hospital setting, with the primary focus of the neuromusculoskeletal system and its interaction with other body systems.”

There is no question that LUCOM provides an unparalleled curriculum offering an integrated, interdisciplinary, systems-based model with an emphasis on active learning. It is designed to emphasize biomedical and clinical interdisciplinary collaboration, guiding its student-doctors as well as future graduates to develop a holistic, osteopathic approach to medicine centered around a Christian worldview.

“It was through the incredible determination, diligence, and hard work of the newly formed GME team that we earned the ACGME Sponsoring Institution status ... and then by anyone’s account, received initial accreditation for an ONMM Residency … in less than a year,” said Dr. Bell. “This is extraordinary. I am truly thankful to the LUCOM faculty and staff that have poured hours into this endeavor. Praise God.”

LUCOM Tours Bring Liberty Departments Together A building of mystery sits high upon Liberty Mountain. While somewhat secluded from main campus, LUCOM is still very connected to Liberty University.

In an attempt to connect with Liberty’s colleges, departments, offices, and schools, LUCOM created the Talk N’ Tours (TNTs) initiative.

TNTs allow the faculty and staff from all over main campus as well as friends and partners from Central Virginia to tour the Center for Medical and Health Sciences. Ultimately, the goal is to help guests have a better understanding of what occurs at LUCOM, what facilities and resources are available to medical students, and provide education on osteopathic medicine as well as its approach to medical care. TNTs shed light on LUCOM, commonly referred to as the “Mystery on the Mountain.”

Outside guests have included the Carilion Clinic and the Medical Society of Virginia.

“It is my hope that LUCOM’s TNTs help build strong relationships within our Liberty family, Lynchburg, and the surrounding Virginia communities,” said Peter A. Bell, DO, dean of LUCOM. LUCOM has welcomed the following Liberty departments since April 2017: Athletic Department Career Center Center of Multicultural Enrichment Helms School of Government Institutional Effectiveness Jerry Falwell Library LU Send and LU Serve Planned Giving School of Business School of Communication & Digital Content School of Education School of Health Sciences School of Law School of Nursing School of Visual & Performing Arts University Events Email LUCOM@liberty.edu to request a LUCOM Talk N’ Tour.

SERVICE to the COMMUNITY Partnering with local nonprofit organizations, LUCOM provides medical and vision to the rural and underserved areas of Virginia.

Liberty medical students have very little free time. For four years of medical education, their day-to-day schedules are packed though it’s no surprise each year when the majority of each class still makes time to give back to the surrounding communities. A willingness to serve others is one of the main qualities LUCOM looks for in a student. One of the ways they give back is by applying what they have learned during real patient clinic events.

For the past four years, the Office of Clinical Collaboration and Education (OCCE) has partnered with several nonprofit organizations to provide free comprehensive community outreach events called the Community Care Collaboratives (CCC). Primarily in Lynchburg and Martinsville and easily accessible, these day-long clinics provide Liberty medical students an incredible outlet to strengthen their skills.

Most often they encounter patients with chronic arm pain, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. A majority of patients complain about musculoskeletal pain and discomfort, which allow students to apply their Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) techniques under LUCOM faculty supervision.

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“Our students are hardworking and much is demanded of them. Our local medical outreach events, such as the CCC, provide a break from classroom stress and help them remember why they decided to go into the practice of medicine in the first place,” said Sydney Coffey, coordinator of OCCE. “Our hope is to help revive their compassion and servant hearts. These events help foster those qualities in our students for the benefit of our communities, and, ultimately, the good of every individual that they will reach in the span of their careers.”

A unique component to the community clinics is the added benefit of students working alongside multiple nonprofit organizations – partnerships that LUCOM-OCCE has worked to develop since year one. “A goal for our office [OCCE] is to be the bridge of connecting underserved patients with local healthcare providers and to help establish a continuity of care to the uninsured, underinsured, and the homeless in Southwest Virginia,” Coffey added.

Partnerships in Lynchburg include: Anderson Counseling, Centra Congressional Health, Central Virginia Health District, the City of Lynchburg, Community Access Network, Horizon Behavioral Health, Johnson Health Center, Jubilee

Family Development Center, the Lynchburg Daily Bread, United Way of Central Virginia, and the Virginia Department of Health; to name a few. Partnerships in Martinsville include: Piedmont Access to Health Service, First United Methodist Church in Martinsville, the City of Martinsville, Emergency Medical Services, Jones and Deshon Orthodontics, the Martinsville Henry County Coalition for Health and Wellness, the Bassett Family Practice, the Grace Network, the Pregnancy Care Center, Optima Health Family Care, the Salvation Army, the Virginia Department of Health, and Averett University School of Nursing; to name a few.

The Lynchburg College Physician Assistant Program and the Liberty University School of Nursing have also assisted during all of the CCC events. Clinics give many patients not only an opportunity to see physicians for

the first time in a year or more but also a chance to connect with local organizations that provide services such as women’s health, dental, emergency care, laboratory screenings, endocrinology, and non-medical services like job fairs, housing options, clothing, and even adult education.

“What we try to do during community outreach events is established in our mission statement, ‘LUCOM exists as a distinctly Christian medical school, to glorify God through the provision of quality medical care, by developing osteopathic physicians to serve those in need,’” stated David Klink, DO, senior associate dean for Clinical Affairs.

“We can’t do this alone.

It requires partnering with organizations in our communities to comprehensively address the needs of the underserved in our

area, and to demonstrate to our students how a team approach to medicine can improve the health of an entire region,” Dr. Klink added.

The Community Care Collaborative events in Lynchburg and Martinsville have been able to assist more than 1,000 patients collectively within the last four years.

“A driving theme for our office is to provide access to evaluation and treatment resources for the underserved within our own backyard. We aim to provide a continuity of care from our students connecting with a patient and then connecting the patients with a provider within their community,” said Coffey. “We are thankful for our relationship with providers to help the uninsured and underinsured from potentially slipping through the cracks within the health care system.”

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ADVOCATING FOR THE OSTEOPATHIC PROFESSION ON CAPITOL HILL Liberty Medicine Students Meet with Legislators

Liberty medical students choose osteopathic medicine for their career path and to them, a doctor’s white coat is more than a status symbol; it reflects their compassion, their concerns, and their involvement within the healthcare system.

Once a year, in the spring, LUCOM student-doctors join thousands of other osteopathic medical students from across the country to connect with civic leaders and voice their hopes for their profession and shared concerns on the current state of healthcare.

emphasized the role of the federal government on student debt and the need for expansion of Graduate Medical Education (GME) opportunities. In addition, they also shared how the profession is engaged in the processes required to diminish the dependency and complications associated with opioid abuse.

This one-day event, appropriately called, DO Day on the Hill, is sponsored by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).

For Stephen Vetter, Class of 2019, he saw his trip as a way to help spread the word on how osteopathic manipulative treatments (OMT) can serve as a viable treatment for those suffering with chronic pain.

“If people, the U.S. population and patients abroad, were more educated about osteopathic medicine, there would be a greater appreciation for the benefits of the osteopathic philosophy,” he said.

“It was incredible to see over a thousand osteopathic studentdoctors and physicians united in support of our future profession.

I chose to participate in DO Day on Capitol Hill because I wanted to have a voice in my future and in the futures of my colleagues and patients. We need to keep in contact with our representatives and senators to ensure that action will be taken,” said Janae Fry, Class of 2019.

In 2017, LUCOM students partook in sightseeing of national monuments before the AOA’s welcome reception and quickly switched gears to report to the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center for general briefing sessions. They were able to collectively march on Capitol Hill and later met with senators and legislative aids of their respected states and met with Representative Bob Goodlatte.

The logistics of DO Day on the Hill allows medical students to educate members of Congress and their staffs on the roles played by members of the osteopathic profession and advocate for issues that are important to the profession and the patients they will one day serve.

“DO Day equips us with something very important in our medical education; perspective,” said Dr. Anya-Faye Pacleb, Class of 2018. “DO Day opens up our perspective to evaluate what needs to happen for our patients to get access to care, showing us that we can serve their needs beyond what we do in a clinic or hospital.”

In 2015, Liberty medical students met Dr. Joe Heck, an osteopathic physician from Nevada serving on the U.S. House of Representatives. They

That year, the goal was to ask representatives and senators to support the re-authorization of the Teaching Health Center Graduate

Medical Education (THCGME) program, which allows community hospitals in rural and underserved areas to train residents in primary care specialties.

In 2018, students met with legislators to advocate for the Good Samaritan Act and to protect accessibility of student loan programs that are a part of the Higher Education Act. “I genuinely believe that we as future physicians, alongside of current physicians, have the humanitarian duty to advocate for our patients on the political front to provide them with quality and affordable healthcare,” said Krishna Patel, Class of 2020.

As a medical student, Patel sees the bigger picture and believes that the practice of medicine extends beyond a 15-minute consultation.

“The practice of medicine is borderless and I hope to continue advocating for healthcare for Americans, both now as a medical student and later as a physician.”

LUCOM Dean Dr. Peter Bell also traveled to the Capitol with the students. “I’ve been advocating for the osteopathic profession on Capitol Hill for eighteen years and it has always been important to make your voice heard, especially as a member of this profession.

DO Day on Capitol Hill taught Yevgeniy Luts, Class of 2020, about the power of advocacy. He has since become very active in letter writing campaigns on behalf of the osteopathic profession in addition to petitioning his state senators and representatives to continue protecting patient rights and access to healthcare. “I believe every osteopathic student has a role in advocacy,” he said. “Together, we can make a difference.”

GRADUATION

Liberty’s First Class of Osteopathic Physicians Symbolically Hooded Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) achieved an incredible milestone on Saturday, May 19, 2018, welcoming 126 new osteopathic physicians into the profession. This was the first class to graduate since LUCOM opened August 2014. Graduates were symbolically hooded inside the main sanctuary of Thomas Road Baptist Church, the same location as the inaugural White Coat Ceremony.

It was a misty and rainy, early graduation morning last May. Ponchos were quickly needed as an accessory in the regalia attire Though the weather conditions were less than convenient, it didn’t stop the inaugural class from lining up early to be among the first graduates to march across the football field at Liberty’s Williams Stadium.

Commencement at Liberty University is designed to welcome, celebrate, and honor all graduates at every level for one main event. In keeping with tradition, a keynote speaker is invited, and this year was former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

Leaving the graduates with a quote to live by, he said, “There are no limits to our ambition as a human being. We have available to us – every one of us – constant contact with God in Heaven, the Creator of a universe and Creator of each one of us. We have a perfect example to follow if we are in doubt; we just have to remember the perfect life of Jesus Christ.”

Following the university’s Commencement exercises, graduates of each school and program disembarked to their assigned location for ceremonies that directly honor their program.

Liberty’s medical graduates

returned to the main sanctuary of Thomas Road Baptist Church (TRBC), the same location as the inaugural White Coat Ceremony.

Moments before their ceremony, graduates met in the choir rehearsal room of TRBC to have a quick personal greeting and congratulations from their keynote speaker United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and former presidential candidate Benjamin S. Carson, MD. LUCOM’s first-ever Hooding Ceremony was incredibly special as Liberty University President Jerry Falwell joined founding LUCOM dean Ronnie B. Martin, DO, and current dean Peter A. Bell, DO. Special guest was Ronald Hawkins, Ed.D., D.Min, vice provost for Liberty University.

“You are the focus of our celebration today,” said Dr. Bell.

“We are thanking God for each of you and this day…with our first class, we’ve hit a home run.

Remember as it is written by the Apostle Paul in Second Timothy, ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith’ – graduates, you are truly Champions,” added Dr. Bell.

For LUCOM, the Class of 2018 was truly a class of firsts; the first class to travel to Guatemala for

medical outreach, the first class to support local outreach in the city of Lynchburg, the first class to travel to Africa for international rotations and the first class to match into residencies.

“Class of 2018, you were chosen to attend LUCOM based on your character, capacity, and motivation, and it was truly a divine appointment that guided you to attend this medical school.

I have seen you demonstrate your passion for medicine with a servant’s hearts (true concern for others) and an owner’s mind (accepting responsibility for your actions),” said Dr. Bell.

Special remarks were also given by Liberty University President Jerry Falwell.

“Entering medical school was a new experience for you, and operating a medical school was a new experience for us. We had a brand-new, spectacular facility, outfitted with everything necessary for world-class medical training. We had some of the best physicians and healthcare professionals in the world on our staff. We were ready — but we needed you,” he said. “We needed students who would join us in our mission and set an example for all the classes that would follow. As we congratulate you on completing your degrees and >>>

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>>> send you forth to your residency training, we won’t forget your boldness in beginning this new venture with us.”

Dr. Carson also said, “It’s an amazing day, one that brings your efforts to completion, and I am glad to make this direct connection with all of you who will carry medicine into the future. It’s not an easy journey.

It took immense dedication and unshakable faith. Many said, ‘that a world-class osteopathic medical school built on a faithbased curriculum along with the accepted academic standards of science and medicine could not be created.’ Today this graduating class stands as a testament to Liberty’s courage and resolve and to the power of God.” Offering encouragement, Dr. Carson also said, “You all have tremendous spheres of influence, that God has provided for you.

And if you use them the right way and allow Him to work through you, it is amazing. You will have more influence than almost anybody; but willing to work together, and remember godly principles of loving your fellow man, caring about your neighbor, developing your God-given talents so that you become valuable to the people around you; if you

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do that, not only will we have a great nation, but one nation, under God, indivisible, with Liberty and justice for all – congratulations, the first graduating class of Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine.”

The last time Dr. Carson visited LUCOM was in 2015.

In one final symbolic moment, LUCOM’s founding dean Dr. Martin took to the stage to address his class one last time. “First and foremost, let me congratulate you on what you have survived and what you have achieved.

You are all pioneers, explorers, and leaders. Nothing was given to you, you have earned the professional standing and respect signified by the white coat you received four years ago,” he said.

“Remember Jesus Christ, as the greatest physician…He never healed to prove himself. He was not boastful or full of self-pride.

Christ made himself available to help all those who needed his help.”

Following all remarks, the graduates then, much like the White Coat Ceremony, walked across the stage with their academic hood in hand. Passing it to a LUCOM faculty member, they were, in unison, hooded,

and started their new careers as osteopathic physicians.

Before the ceremony concluded, graduates recited the Osteopathic Oath led by American Osteopathic Association President Mark A. Baker, DO. Though not before he offered a few encouraging words. “Four years ago, you started as an osteopathic medical student; today, you are my colleague. We are all a part of the osteopathic family growing by leaps and bounds. Your postdoctoral years (residencies and fellowships) will build upon the philosophy and knowledge acquired at LUCOM. You have been given a great opportunity, but never forget the ones that helped get you to this point. Be active in and provide for your family, but also work hard for your patients.”

The Class of 2018 took to the stage one more time for one last group photo.

GUESTS

A collection of images featuring guests...

American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians (ACOP) hosts Amber Kaufman, BCBA, LBA, director of Partnerships with Commonwealth Autism, shares research and learning strategies during “Autism: 101” event.

Student Government Association (SGA) hosts Pamela Murphy, senior vice president of Government Relations, and Mary-Lynn Bender, director of Congressional and Public Affairs, from the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM).

LUCOM Student Services and the Class of 2018/2019 welcomes Rev. Jonathan Falwell, senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church for Convocation.

On Nov. 11, 2015, LUCOM hosted United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, MD. The visit coincided with a visit to Liberty University during his GOP presidential bid. Before touring LUCOM, Dr. Carson’s campaign chose to hold a press conference and took questions from local and national media outlets. Several student-doctors were able to meet Dr. Carson as he visited Liberty’s Medical Library, the Anatomy lab and both Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) labs. In both of those labs, he addressed student-doctors about his memories of medical school and the impact their careers have.“As I look back on it, there is nothing that begins to compare with the satisfaction of bringing someone quality of life,” said Dr. Carson.

LUCOM-American College of Osteopathic Internists (ACOI) hosts guest speaker David Hitzeman, DO.

LUCOM faculty welcomed Anthony S. Panettiere, MD, a neurologist and sleep medicine physician, for a faculty development session.

LUCOM-American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) hosts Joy Marinelli, National Race Director for the Lynchburg-based nonprofit Freedom 4/24.

GUESTS

...and friends of LUCOM.

Ronnie B. Martin, DO, founding dean, and Joseph W. Brewer, PhD, associate dean for Research, host Dr. Raymond V. Damadian (inventor of the MRI) for tour of LUCOM.

LUCOM-Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA) hosts Dr. Ty Hopkins for afternoon presentation entitled “Jesus as the Great Physician”.

LUCOM hosts John R. Gimpel, DO, MEd, FACOFP, FAAFP, president and CEO of the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME).

LUCOM Office of Student Services welcomes David Harker, local Lynchburg Vietnam veteran, for Convocation.

Liberty University Co-Founder Elmer Towns, DMin, was also invited to be a Convocation speaker - his message was entitled, “The Bible by Jesus.”

William W. Pasley, MD, FACOG, FACS, a practicing physician for over 38 years visited LUCOM and presented on various types of gynecologic emergencies.

Former professional baseball player and a Christian author, Darryl Strawberry, receives tour of LUCOM by students.

Bruce C. Steffes, MD, chief medical officer for Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS), presents on international medicine and missions.

LUCOM-American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians (ACOP) hosts Myles Gebhardt (annual presenter) to help raise awareness of Cystic Fibrosis.

LUCOM Office of the Dean and LUCOM Marketing welcomed Miss Virginia contestants from all over Virginia.

LUCOM student ambassadors lead afternoon tour for members of the Lynchburg Academy of Medicine.

NATIONAL LEADERSHIP LUCOM faculty and studentdoctors are committed to supporting and advancing the osteopathic as well as other professional medical associations through leadership, support, development of policies, and collaborative efforts. Within the last few years, several LUCOM faculty and student-doctors have been appointed to leadership positions at the national level.

In October 2017, former Assistant Dean of Clinical Education, Ray L. Morrison, DO, FACOS, was elected as President of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (ACOS). Over 3,200 DO surgeons are associated with the ACOS, serving in multiple disciplines such as Neurosurgery, Plastic and Reconstructive surgery, Cardiothoracic and Vascular surgery, Urology and General Surgery.

Dr. Morrison had previously served as an elected member of the Board of Governors for ACOS throughout the past eight years and in 2016, he was appointed as the President-Elect. “I think any appointment verifies in a small way that you are proceeding in a positive direction. I enjoy challenge, and I have a desire to leave any organization that I am a part of in a better condition than when I arrived,” he said. “It is a work ethic I have been trained in from those who have come before me, and I feel it is important to carry this forward.” Dr. Morrison was with LUCOM from 2014-2018.

In July 2017, Janae Fry, Class of 2019, was appointed to the national position of Academic Member of the Osteopathic Political Action Committee (OPAC), supported by the American Osteopathic Information Association (AOIA).

Established in 1979, OPAC was formed to be the osteopathic voice at the federal level. Its members engage osteopathic physicians to elect and re-elect pro-physician candidates to Congress through contributions, education, and political activism. “I am extremely honored and humbled to be

selected for this position because this is a wonderful opportunity to represent and advocate for the osteopathic profession, our physicians, and our patients,” said Fry. In April 2017, LUCOM-Student Osteopathic Surgical Association (SOSA) hosted the 2017 National Spring Conference at the Center for Medical and Health Sciences.

The conference featured elections for positions on the National SOSA Executive Board where Liberty medical student Aaron Joiner, Class of 2019, was elected as Treasurer of the National SOSA Executive Board.

“Being elected to the National SOSA Board is a huge honor, but I could not have done it without the help of the local chapter leadership at LUCOM,” said Joiner. “This is a great opportunity for LUCOM to gain national recognition and show how great of a school we are and how much we are growing.” Joiner was responsible for overseeing the finances of the National SOSA chapter and is working with the previous Treasurer as he transitions into his new role on the National SOSA Executive Board.

In April 2016, Anya-Faye Pacleb, DO, Class of 2018, was elected to be the Secretary for the Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents (COSGP). “It is an incredible honor and equally as humbling. All I had ever hoped to do through leadership was to serve in whatever capacity I could,” she said.

As COSGP secretary, Pacleb was to be a conduit for communication between the COSGP Executive Board and the general council. She was also responsible for planning service projects at each of the quarterly meetings and was a leader of the COSGP Student Services Committee.

She was also very active at LUCOM during her time as a studentdoctor, including serving as Vice President of LUCOM-Student Government Association (SGA).

SERVANT-MINDED OSTEOPATHIC LEADERS Service to the Community LUCOM gave 4,575 VOLUNTEER HOURS within the Tobacco region, out of more than 18,000 globally in 2018 (over 250 students, faculty, and staff involved) LUCOM faculty volunteer EVERY WEEK at the Free Clinic of Central Virginia and are working to ESTABLISH PRACTICES at Community Access Network in Lynchburg LUCOM has EMBEDDED THREE FACULTY into the Lynchburg Family Practice Residency allowing expansion of the residency LUCOM has 455/793 CLINICAL (PRECEPTOR) FACULTY within the Tobacco region Over 100 STUDENT-DOCTORS completed 916 CLINICAL ROTATIONS within the Tobacco region during the 2017-18 academic year

Scholarly Activity Research and scholarly activity TRIPLED in 2018, with several contributions to the development of Lewis Gale-Salem Residencies, resulting in a $1M RESEARCH FUND

COMLEX FIRST-TIME PASS RATE progressively rose over three years to above national average in 2018

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Inaugural Class of 2018

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)

Shereen Abdel, DO

Samantha Aho, DO

Marie Arnaout, DO

Lilian Awad, DO

Alissa Ballard, DO

Hannah Barnes, DO

Nichole Brunton, DO

Candice Buckles, DO

Shayna Burdeaux, DO

Joseph Caravella, DO

David Carter, DO

Joshua Chang, DO

Dexter David, DO

Russell Davis, DO

Jessica Deitrick, DO

William Diehl, DO

Kelley Dilliard, DO

Andrew Doyle, DO

David Falcocchia, DO

Kindra Galloway, DO

Dmitriy Generalov, DO

Kyle George, DO

George Ghareeb, DO

Cody Grace, DO

Nia Hemraj, DO

Marie Hewett, DO

Kevin Hinson, DO

Megan Hoffer, DO

Arthur Huntley, DO

Olivia Hurd, DO

Michael Kapottos, DO

Kaleigh Kenny, DO

Brian Kerley, DO

Emmanouil Kiriakopoulos, DO

Chelsey Knapper, DO

Katayon Kochakzadeh, DO

Pranamya Mahankali, DO

Bradley Martino, DO

Kenneth McVey, DO

Karissa Merritt, DO

Jennifer Mikhail, DO

Craig Mitcham, DO

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Nicholas Bastug, DO

Robert Bee, DO

Cassandra Black, DO

William Brock, DO

Allison Brooks, DO

Joshua Brunton, DO

Lawrenshey Charles, DO

Adonis Cheng, DO

Joseph Ciszewski, DO

Jeffrey Collins, DO

Katrina Culmer, DO

Lily Daniel, DO

Edward Edris, DO

David Eki, DO

William Engel, DO

Ernesto Enrique, DO

Jessica Eubanks, DO

Jessica Evans, DO

Matthew Hadfield, DO

Alex Hamilton, DO

Shannon Hamilton, DO

Audrey Harris, DO

Brett Haschig, DO

Laura Helgren, DO

Sarah Huse, DO

Eboselumhen Iseghohi, DO

Ben Jackson, DO

Jasmine Jackson, DO

Zachariah Jensen, DO

Michelle Jones, DO

Emilee Kurtz, DO

Nisha Kuruvadi, DO

Jacob LaGrone, DO

Bradley Lane, DO

Sarah Liggett, DO

Andrew Ma, DO

Cassandra Moison, DO

Caleb Murray, DO

James Newton, DO

Jane Nzuna, DO

Gisela OcasioQuinones, DO

Anya-Faye Pacleb, DO

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Inaugural Class of 2018

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)

Alexander Palffy, DO

Joshua Palmbach, DO

Bansari Patel, DO

Mayra Perez, DO

Marla Petriello, DO

Kiersten Pikarsky, DO

Ana Prashad, DO

Isaac Prows, DO

Mindy Prows, DO

Janna Quiling, DO

Amanda Reno, DO

Joshua Reynolds, DO

Thomas Rutherford, DO

Kate Ryan, DO

Matt Ryther, DO

Kyle Santee, DO

Sahar Sarkeshik, DO

Steven Siragusa, DO

Lydia Slater, DO

Joel Slaughter, DO

Sally Smith, DO

Cristie Staples, DO

Victoria Starr, DO

Joshua Steele, DO

Angelia Stepien, DO

John Stewart, DO

Seth Streeter, DO

Chaak Tam, DO

Hyder Tamton, DO

Michael Triassi, DO

Thomas Ulmer, DO

Sahil Vagha, DO

David Vogel, DO

Thang Vu, DO

Steven Webster, DO

Stephanie Wesley, DO

Kayla Weston, DO

Eric Whitney, DO

Carissa Wilkins, DO

Tiffany Willers, DO

David Winston, DO

Miranda Wood, DO

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Inaugural Class of 2018 Results by Specialty

Anesthesiology • Virginia Commonwealth University Health System (Richmond, Va.)

Emergency Medicine • Darnall Army Medical Center (Fort Hood, Texas) • Franciscan Health Olympia Fields (Olympia Fields, Ill.) • Integris Southwest Medical Center (Oklahoma City, Okla.)

• Kent Hospital (Warwick, R.I.) • Memorial Health System (Marietta, Ohio) • Mountain State OPTI (Wheeling, W.Va.) • Mountain State OPTI (Wheeling, W.Va.) • Mountain State OPTI (Wheeling, W.Va.) • St. Lukes – Bethlehem (Bethlehem, Pa.) • UCF COM/GME Consortium (Gainesville, Fla.) • Virginia Commonwealth University Health System (Richmond, Va.)

Family Medicine • Adventist Hinsdale Hospital (Hinsdale, Ill.) • Central Iowa Health System (De Moines, Iowa) • CommuniCare – Texas Institute for GME and Research (San Antonio, Texas) • Core/Holzer Health System (Gallipolis, Ohio) • Cox Medical Centers (Springfield, Mo.) • East Tennessee St. University (Bristol, Tenn.)

• Eastern Virginia Medical School (Norfolk, Va.) • Grandview Hospital and Medical Center (Dayton, Ohio) • Greenbrier Valley Medical Center (Ronceverte, W.Va.) • Health ONE (Lone Tree, Colo.)

• Idaho State University (Pocatello, Idaho) • In His Image Family Medicine (Tulsa, Okla.)

• In His Image Family Medicine (Tulsa, Okla.)

• In His Image Family Medicine (Tulsa, Okla.)

• Johnston Memorial Hospital (Abingdon, Va.) • Johnston Memorial Hospital (Abingdon, Va.) • Lynchburg Family Medicine (Lynchburg, Va.) • Mercy Health (Muskegon, Mich.)

• OMECO/Alliance Health Durant (Durant, Okla.)

• OMNEE/Ballad Health (Abingdon, Va.) • OMNEE/Holzer Health System (Lumberton, N.C.) • Overlook Hospital (Summit, N.J.) • Peak Vista – Colorado Springs (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

• Pikeville Medical Center (Pikeville, Ky.) • Puyallup Tribal Health Authority (Tacoma, Wash.)

• Southern Regional AHEC (Fayetteville, N.C.) • Sovah Health – Danville (Danville, Va.) • Sovah Health – Danville (Danville, Va.)

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• St. Vincent’s Medical Center (Jacksonville, Fla.) • TIGMER Family Medicine Residency (Laredo, Texas) • University of Wyoming – Casper (Casper, Wyo.) • UPMC Shadyside Hospital (Pittsburgh, Pa.) • Wright Center National Family Medicine (Scranton, Pa.) • Wright State University (Dayton, Ohio) • York Hospital (York, Pa.)

General Surgery • Arnot Ogden Medical Center (Elmira, N.Y.) • Kennedy University Hospital/Our Lady of Lourdes (Stratford, N.J.) • Mike O’Cakkaghan Federal Hospital (Las Vegas, Nev.) • Oklahoma State University Medical Center (Tulsa, Okla.)

• Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (Philadelphia, Pa.) • St. Mary’s Hospital of Blue Springs (Blue Springs, Mo.) • St. Vincent Hospital Center (Indianapolis, Ind.)

Internal Medicine • Community Memorial Health System (Ventura, Calif.)

• Danbury Hospital (Danbury, Conn) • Edward W . Sparrow Hospital (Lansing, Mich.)

• Genesys Regional Medical Center – Health Park (Grand Blanc, Mich.)

• Johnston Memorial Hospital (Abingdon, Va.) • Kent Hospital (Warwick, R.I.) • Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital (Somerset, Ky.) • Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital (Somerset, Ky.) • Lakeland Health (St. Joseph, Mich.)

• Laredo Medical Center (Laredo, Texas) • LewisGale Medical Center (Salem, Va.) • McLaren Greater Lansing (Lansing, Mich.)

• McLaren Greater Lansing (Lansing, Mich.)

• Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston, S.C.) • Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston, S.C.) • Ohio Valley Medical Center (Wheeling, W.Va.) • Pinnacle Health Community General Hospital (Harrisburg, Pa.) • Reading Hospital and Medical Center (Reading, Pa.) • Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (San Jose, Calif.)

• Sovah Health – Danville (Danville, Va.) • Sovah Health – Danville (Danville, Va.) • Sovah Health – Danville (Danville, Va.)

• Sovah Health – Danville (Danville, Va.) • Sovah Health – Danville (Danville, Va.) • Stony Brook Teaching Hospital (Southampton, N.Y.) • University of Connecticut Health Center (Farmington, Conn.)

• University of New Mexico School of Medicine (Albuquerque, N.M.) • University of Oklahoma College of Osteopathic Medicine – Tulsa (Tulsa, Okla.)

• UPMC Pinnacle Lititz (Lititz, Pa.) • Wellington Regional Medical Center (Wellington, Fla.) • West Anaheim Medical Center (Anaheim, Calif.)

• Western Reserve Hospital (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.)

• Wright Center for GME (Scranton, Pa.) • York Hospital (York, Pa.)

Medicine - Pediatrics • University of South Alabama Hospitals (Mobile, Ala.) • Vidant Medical Center – East Carolina University (Greenville, N.C.) • Western Michigan University Stryker School of Medicine (Kalamazoo, Mich.)

Neurological Surgery • Desert Regional Medical Center (Palm Springs, Calif.)

Neurology • Larkin Community Hospital (South Miami, Fla.)

Obstetrics – Gynecology • Danbury Hospital (Danbury, Conn.)

• Doctors Hospital (Columbus, Ohio) • Genesys Regional Medical Center – Health Park (Grand Blanc, Mich.)

• Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center (West Islip, N.Y.) • Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital (Wyandotte, Mich.)

• Mercy Health (Muskegon, Mich.)

• Metro Health Hospital – University of Michigan (Wyoming, Mich.)

• Summa Health / NEOMED (Akron, Ohio)

Ophthalmology • St. John Providence Health System (Warren, Mich.)

Pediatrics • Advocate Health Care (Park Ridge, Ill.) • Inova Fairfax Hospital (Falls Church, Va.) • Medical Center of Central Georgia / Mercer University School of Medicine (Macon, Ga.) • St. Vincent Hospital Center (Indianapolis, Ind.) • University of South Alabama Hospitals (Mobile, Ala.) • University of South Alabama Hospitals (Mobile, Ala.) • Vidant Medical Center - East Carolina University (Greenville, N.C.) • Western Reserve Hospital (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.)

• Wright Center for GME (Scranton, Pa.) • York Hospital (York, Pa.)

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation • MedStar National Rehab Hospital (Washington, D.C.) • University of Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (Little Rock, Ark.) • University of Kentucky Medical Center (Lexington, Ky.)

Psychiatry • Central Michigan University College of Osteopathic Medicine (Saginaw, Mich.)

• Kaweah Delta Health Care District (Visalia, Calif.)

• Vidant Medical Center - East Carolina University (Greenville, N.C.) • Western Michigan University Stryker School of Medicine (Kalamazoo, Mich.)

Surgery – Preliminary • Western Michigan University Stryker School of Medicine (Kalamazoo, Mich.)

Traditional Rotating Internship • Allegheny Health Network Medical Education (Pittsburgh, Pa.) • Greenbrier Valley Medical Center (Ronceverte, W.Va.) • Inspira Health Network (Vineland, N.J.) • Inspira Health Network (Vineland, N.J.) • Larkin Community Hospital (South Miami, Fla.) • Lehigh Valley Health Network (Allentown, Pa.) • NMC Portsmouth (Portsmouth, Va.) • NMC Portsmouth (Portsmouth, Va.) • Orange Regional Medical Center (Middleton, N.Y.) • St. John Providence Health System (Warren, Mich.)

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The Faculty Anthony J.M. Bauer, PhD Associate Professor of Physiology Andrew J. Behnke, MD, FACE Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine Peter A. Bell, DO, MBA, FACOEP-dist, FACEP Dean, Professor of Family & Emergency Medicine Health Policy Fellow

Michael G. Hueber, DO, MSc Assistant Professor of Family Medicine C. David Ianuzzo, PhD Professor of Physiology

Kathleen P. Bogacz, MD, FACP Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine

Charles R. Joseph, MD Assistant Professor of Neurology

Todd C. Bramlee, DO Assistant Professor of Family Medicine

Brian N. Kilpatrick, MD Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine & Pediatrics

Chad K. Brands, MD, CPE, SFHM Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education

David F. Klink, DO Senior Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

Joseph W. Brewer, PhD Associate Dean for Research Chair, Department of Molecular & Cellular Sciences Associate Professor of Immunology Kevin D. Corsini, PhD Senior Associate Dean for Operations & External Affairs Alisa S. Dyson, EdD Assistant Professor of Medical Education Director of Faculty Development & Continuing Medical Education (CME) Diane S. Garber Director of Medical Library Joseph C. Gigliotti, PhD Assistant Professor of Physiology Leslie A. Hammer, PhD Assistant Professor of Anatomy Mark E. Hemric, PhD Professor of Biochemistry

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Carl R. Hoegerl, DO, FACP Chair, Department of Internal Medicine Associate Professor of Neurology

James W. Kribs, DO Chair & Associate Professor, Department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine/Osteopathic Principles and Practices Timothy O. Leonard, MD, PhD Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Associate Professor of Pathology Bo Liu, PhD Assistant Professor of Anatomy Yingguang Liu, PhD Associate Professor of Microbiology Michael D. Lockwood, DO, FCA Professor of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine/ Osteopathic Principles & Practices

The Faculty Kirsten J. Madea, DO Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Lauri Ann Maitland, DO, MPH Associate Professor of Family Medicine John R. Martin, PhD Interim Chair, Department of Integrative Physiology & Pharmacology Professor of Pharmacology Eric P. Miller, DO, FACS, FACOS Assistant Professor of Surgery Linda S. Mintle, PhD Chair, Division of Behavioral Health Director, Strategic Development for Clinical Affairs Deputy Title IX Coordinator Robert P. Morrisette Associate Librarian Olubukola I. Ojuola, MD, MPH, PGDipEd Chair & Assistant Professor, Pediatrics Eugene S. Patterson, PhD Professor of Pharmacology Gary L. Patton, PhD, LPC, NCC Assistant Dean, Admissions & Student Services Matthew K. Pelletier, PhD Associate Professor of Human Genetics Director of Assessment & Outcomes Raena M. Pettitt, DO Chair & Assistant Professor of Family Medicine John G. Pierce Jr., MD Chair & Associate Professor, Women’s Health Director of Specialty Medicine

Laura J. Potter, MD, FACEP Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Mark E. Rolfs, DO, PharmD Assistant Professor of Family Medicine Catherine Schuller, MD, FACOG Assistant Professor of Women’s Health Sigmund P. Seiler, MD Associate Professor of Family Medicine Scott M. Severance, PhD Assistant Professor of Biochemistry R. James Swanson, PhD Chair and Professor, Department of Anatomical Sciences Daniel J. Swartz, MD Assistant Professor of Family Medicine Laura A. Tinning, DO Assistant Professor of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine/Osteopathic Principles & Practices Ashley R. Toler, DO, FAAP Assistant Professor of Pediatrics/Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine/Osteopathic Principles & Practices Amanda E. Troy, PhD Assistant Professor of Anatomy Michael B. Weigner, MD, FACEP Associate Dean of Clinical Education Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine Jason E. Wells, PhD Assistant Dean of Academics, Year One & Two Chair & Associate Professor, Neurosciences

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THE ACADEMIC SEAL

Liberty University Medicine stated around the circumference of the academic seal incorporates not only the history and character of the university, but also the osteopathic profession.

The Staff of Asclepius, the DO symbol in the center of seal, consists of a single serpent encircling a staff, named after a skilled physician who practiced in Greece around 1200 B.C. Asclepius is commonly referred to as the Greek god of healing.

The staff is placed upon the Liberty Bell, a replica resides at the top of Liberty’s newest structure, the Freedom Tower. The bell symbolizes the university’s dedication to the founding principles of the United States.

Both the rod and the bell rest atop of a shield – the shield of faith, taken up by students as they go out into the world to impact the culture for Christ.

The foundation of the seal – and the heart of Liberty University – is the Bible, revealing the truths of God and the principles by which we live. Always open, the Word of God speaks to everyone who listens.

Behind the shield is the octagon, reflecting the classic Jeffersonian architecture of Liberty’s first building and many of the new buildings throughout the reconstruction of campus.

At the base of the seal are laurels, the symbol awarded to victors in ancient Greece.

The laurels represent the mission of Liberty University, Training Champions for Christ, which has been the priority since 1971.

ARE YOU IN THE LYNCHBURG AREA?

SCHEDULE YOUR FREE

OSTEOPATHIC MANIPULATIVE TREATMENT This complimentary service is provided by student-doctors under LUCOM faculty supervision.

Please check your calendar to determine which pair of dates will work best for you.

Participation will include initial osteopathic treatment and a follow-up treatment.

Appointment Schedule One Monday, April 1 | Monday, April 8 | 1-4 p.m.

Appointment Schedule Two Monday, April 15 | Monday, April 29 | 1-4 p.m.

Call (434) 582-2160 to secure your appointment.

Each appointment is at the top of the hour, and participants should arrive 15 minutes early.

What is Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine?

Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) is a noninvasive, hands-on approach used to diagnose, treat, and prevent illness or injury. It is central to the education of LUCOM student-doctors, who are trained to treat the whole person, not just symptoms. The goal is to improve the patient’s health and personal well-being. *Any person receiving treatment related to a workman’s compensation case, engaged in evaluation for or receiving treatment for a disability claim, or involved in any current or potential legal proceeding related to injury or professional healthcare-related treatment is excluded from this complimentary clinic.

306 Liberty View Lane, Lynchburg, Va. 24502 Please park in coned area, enter the building, and sign in at the front reception desk.

306 Liberty View Lane Lynchburg, Va. 24502 Liberty.edu/LUCOM LUCOM@liberty.edu | (434) 592-6400

/LibertyMedicine

@LibertyMedicine