March 4, 2016
MEDICAL UNIVERSITY of SOUTH CAROLINA
Vol. 34, No. 25
Diversity educator honored for Women’s History Month March honors five MUSC women
DaNine Fleming works with faculty, staff and students
By Mikie Hayes hayesmi@musc.edu
By J. Ryne Danielson daniejer@musc.edu “I’m so proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish in partnership with the diverse MUSC community. I am equally proud of the impact of my work with diversity and inclusion,” said DaNine Fleming, Ed.D., who is being honored by MUSC during Women’s History Month. Fleming, who serves as director of training and intercultural education, is being recognized specifically for her extraordinary work with Diversity and Inclusion, a key pillar of MUSC’s fiveyear strategic plan, Imagine 2020. Those who work with Fleming know her as a dynamo. The sheer amount she has accomplished in eight short years has astounded many. Upon her arrival in 2008, Fleming was charged with creating an office to direct the Division of Education and Student Life’s intercultural and interprofessional training initiatives, and that she did. One of the training programs of which Fleming is most proud is the Safe Zone initiative. Safe Zone trainings are half–day workshops designed to reduce homophobia, transphobia and heterosexism on campus by ensuring all members of the sexual minority
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photo provided
Dr. DaNine Fleming, director of training and intercultural education, speaks at the inaugural MUSC Diversity and Inclusion retreat at the Charleston Marriott in April 2014. Fleming is the first woman selected to be featured in a month-long celebration of women at MUSC. community are treated inclusively and respectfully at MUSC. “A Safe Zone is a place where one can feel supported, affirmed and valued, not judged,” Fleming said. “As an academic medical institution, MUSC needs to be open and welcoming. When a patient is sick or has an emergency, that is not the time any barriers should be placed between
NURSE SCIENTIST Researcher on track with innovative tools for patients with venous disease. LIKE US
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them and access to health care. We want to tear down those barriers through education.” Since the creation of the Office of Training and Intercultural Programs, the services it offers have grown exponentially. Fleming also serves as a university resource for students, faculty and staff, collaborating with
“I am so humbled” were the four words uttered by each of the five honorees when they learned they had been chosen as one of the exceptional women leaders on the MUSC campus in honor of Women's History Month 2016. The theme for each year’s Women’s History Month is chosen by the National Women’s History Project, an organization dedicated to championing and promoting the accomplishments of women throughout history. Through its work, the organization strives to recognize the integral role that women play in society to foster new opportunities and a collective sense of self–respect for girls and young women. Every March, MUSC participates in Women’s History Month and typically four women, whose numerous accomplishments deserve recognition,
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Applause Program The following MUSC employees received recognition through the Applause Program for going the extra mile: Medical Center
Sara Jeana Maher, MSICU; Matthew Bogart, MSICU; Patricia A Jones, PAS; Thomas Keane, Urology Services; Deborah Bellinger, Radiology: Aubrey Turner, ART 6East; Bradley Presley, Emergency Medicine; Julie Hayler, MSICU; Jonathan Sechler, Adult ED; Gretchen Hahn, OB-GYN Chair; Shatora Williams, GI Clinic; Cassandra Dickerson, Patient Registration; Sally Shields, Women’s Services; Brandy Olson, Guest Services: Quintella Grant, OCIO; Sherika Washington, 8West: Barry Williams, Radiology; Josh Sherwood, 8West; Leslie Adams, STNICU; Jessica Bullington, MICU; Ana Virella–Pena, Women’s Services; Tyara McCray, Surgery Trauma
ICU; Kathleen Head, Resident Pediatrics; Rhonda Flynn, ART 6East; Christopher Skorke, Anesthesia & Perioperative Medicine; Heidi Alton, PACU; Joanna Fleming, Physical Therapy; Vincent Pellegrini, Department of Orthopaedics; Trevor Pham, Patient Transport Services: Kelly Flynn, 6 West; Connie Vendrick, 6 West; Taylor Burgess, 8West; Shawnta Grant, 9East; and Raven Clark, 9 East University
Monica Eberhardt, Pediatric Dentistry; Jennifer Hoel, Engineering & Facilities; and Toni Jackson, University Transportation Services
Waring Historical Library to host Joseph I. Waring lecture and grand reopening on March 24 MUSC’s Waring Historical Library will host its annual Joseph I. Waring Jr. Lecture and annual membership meeting at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, March 24 at the Basic Sciences Building auditorium, BSB 100. The event is free and open to the public via reservations. Helen Bynum, Ph.D., will present a talk on “Tuberculous Lives: Smollett, Keats, and Orwell.” This lecture discusses Bynum’s findings in her book, “Spitting Blood: The History of Tuberculosis.” Bynum is a writer with interests in the history of medicine and science. She studied human sciences at UCL and received her doctorate from the same institution. Her early career was spent at the University of Liverpool and the
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. It was while working on the history of LSTM that she became interested in the history of tuberculosis, then regarded as a problem only in poorer countries overseas. The lecture falls on and marks World TB Day, March 24th, which brings public awareness to tuberculosis. The lecture will be followed by a reception to celebrate the grand reopening of the Waring Historical Library. Attendees are invited to tour the library and view recent renovations, new exhibits and historical collections on display. For more information or to RSVP, contact the library at 792-2288 or currinw@musc.edu.
Global Health trainee travel grants available The MUSC Center for Global Health (CGH) is pleased to announce a request for applications (RFA) for faculty pilot project grants. The CGH anticipates awarding between four to six grants through this funding process, which will provide MUSC faculty recipients up to $20,000 for a 12–month period. Through this RFA, the CGH seeks to provide pilot funds to stimulate research in low and middle–income countries, with the larger goal of enabling investigators to leverage preliminary findings and data to become the basis of a competitive extramural research grant application. Projects that have the best potential for future growth and external funding will be prioritized for funding. The deadline to submit an application is noon, Tuesday, March 16. Applicants can submit their application via the SCTR Pilot Project website. Applications must include a biographical sketch, project description, budget and justification, proposal, letters of support, matching funds, etc. Applications will be evaluated by reviewers with appropriate expertise and ranked based on the review criteria as provided. For more information, visit http://globalhealth.musc.edu/rfa-faculty-pilot-projectgrants or contact Kathleen Ellis, MUSC Center for Global Health, at ellisk@musc.edu.
Editorial of fice MUSC Office of Public Relations 135 Cannon Street, Suite 403C, Charleston, SC 29425. 843-792-4107 Fax: 843-792-6723 Editor: Cindy Abole catalyst@musc.edu
The Catalyst is published once a week. Paid adver tisements, which do not represent an endorsement by MUSC or the State of South Carolina, are handled by Island Publications Inc., Moultrie News, 134 Columbus St., Charleston, S.C., 843-958-7480 or 843-937-4803. E-mail: sales@moultrienews.com.
Applications for Developing Scholars Award accepted This award recognizes and rewards junior faculty members who have made outstanding contributions to the research mission of MUSC, either with their individual research program or as part of an interdisciplinary research team, and to promote the continued development of these creative scholars. It is aimed at individuals who have successfully competed for extramural funding but who are still in the formative stages of their career.
Candidates are restricted to faculty members holding the rank of assistant professor who have been on the MUSC faculty at least two, but not more than six academic years. Deadline for nominations is Thursday, April 30. Nominating packages should include the nominee’s C.V. , letters from scholars and mentors and a statement from the nominator. Nominations (PDF file) should be sent to Robin Hanckel at hanckelr@musc.edu.
THe CaTalysT, March 4, 2016 3
Leader, renowned scientist named to VP research post Staff Report Mark Sothmann, Ph.D., vice president for academic affairs and provost announced on Feb. 16 that Kathleen T. Brady, M.D., Ph.D., had been named vice president for research at MUSC. This appointment, he said, followed a national search, which included oncampus interviews of a highly competitive candidate pool. Sothmann said, “Brady's scientific leadership at MUSC has been extraordinary, starting with her appointment as an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry in 1989 through her being awarded Distinguished University Professor in Brady 2010, and her multiple key leadership responsibilities focused on research in the College of Medicine and universitywide.� In her time at MUSC, Brady had accomplished a great deal, Sothmann pointed out. She has served as the associate dean for clinical and translational sciences in the COM and as director of the General
Clinical Research Center; she spearheaded the South Carolina Clinical and Translational Research Institute and served as principal investigator for two highly successful submissions for the NIH- funded clinical and translational science awards. Since 2012, Brady has served as associate provost for clinical and translational science, and in 2014 she assumed the additional responsibility of interim associate provost for research, which includes being the MUSC institutional official for research. Brady received her BS in psychology from Fordham University, a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the Medical College of Virginia and her M.D., with a residency in psychiatry, from MUSC. Sothmann added, “Dr. Brady has gained international prominence for her research in addiction psychiatry with a remarkable track record of NIH funding and publications.� He shared that her many awards and appointments include being named the Distinguished Psychiatrist Lecturer at the 157th Annual American Psychiatric Association Meeting, receiving the Founders' Award from the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, chairing the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and being presidentelect of the International Society for Addiction Medicine. She has mentored over 30 faculty and post-doctoral
Outstanding Clinician Award applications accepted Applications for the 2016 MUSC Foundation Outstanding Clinician Awards are being accepted. Application deadline is Thursday, April 30. The award honors full– time faculty of any duration of service who have made outstanding contributions to patient care at MUSC. Currently active clinicians that commit a significant proportion of their time caring for patients in ambulatory or inpatient settings are eligible for this award. Awardees
fellows which led, in part, to her receiving the MUSC Women Scholars Faculty Advancement Award in 2013. She is also a recipient of the South Carolina Women of Achievement Award from the Governor's Commission on Women. The vice president for research has oversight of the Office of Research and its associated divisions. As the MUSC institutional official for research, Brady will have responsibility for accreditation and regulatory affairs; university-wide promotion of research across its colleges and centers; representing the president and provost on matters internally and externally; and identifying institutional research strategies and benchmarks through the university's strategic plan, Imagine MUSC 2020. Sothmann expressed his appreciation to Steven Kautz, Ph.D., chairman of the Department of Health Sciences and Research, who served as chairman of the search and screen committee, advancing Dr. Brady's candidacy. “Their process of review was deliberate; national in scope; and included deans, basic science and clinical department chairs, and faculty and staff from across the MUSC enterprise.� The provost summed it up, saying: “We are fortunate to have an individual of Dr. Brady's caliber assume the position of Vice President for Research, and I ask all to join me in welcoming her to this permanent role.�
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will have demonstrated a high level of professionalism, integrity, and devotion to patient care. They will have gained recognition as dedicated, compassionate and highly effective clinicians. Their clinical excellence and service commitment identify them as role models for residents, students and their faculty colleagues. Submit nominations to Dr. Mark Sothmann, VP for Academic Affairs and Provost, 179 Ashley Avenue, Colcock Hall, MSC 002, MUSC.
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Nurse scientist offers hope to vulnerable population By Dawn BRazell brazell@musc.edu
F
or MUSC nurse scientist Teresa Kelechi, Ph.D., RN, the choice is simple. Spend less than $15 on supplies to treat a venous leg condition or let it go unmonitored and risk ulcers, pain, immobility and possible amputation at the cost of upwards of $40,000. Her primary focus as a nurse scientist is venous leg ulcer prevention. That’s why she’s involved with two studies to help a group of patients who are in many cases underserved, and in most cases, depressed, and in great need of effective, low–cost interventions. This is the cause that drew Kelechi from her love of clinical practice in 2008. “My practice was the dearest to my heart because patients were the dearest to my heart, but I couldn’t do it,” she said of her choice to give up her clinical practice to be able to focus on research, teaching and administration. “This has allowed me to do great things, for a much greater number of people.” Her expertise: venous disease, something that’s not a “glamorous” cause but that has a huge societal impact, she said. About 10 percent of the population has venous disease and when that’s combined with other chronic conditions, such as diabetes and obesity, it can lead to a poor quality of life. Venous disease occurs when valves in the veins that assist with blood flow to the heart become damaged, allowing the backward flow of blood in the legs. Over time, the increased pressure can cause other valves to fail, and if left untreated, lead to leg pain, swelling, ulcers and other health problems. “This is not a disease that people really talk about,” she said. Her goal is to change that with the help of simple interventions that can give patients hope and prevent more serious conditions. As a nurse scientist, Kelechi said her goal is to put patients in the best possible position for nature to heal. To do that, she’s come up with two innovative studies. One is MUSTCOOL, a home-based ulcer prevention intervention for patients with newly healed chronic venous leg and diabetic foot ulcers. “We
have the technology, and it has gone from a wrap to a cuff and now to a pad. We’ve gone to more sophisticated monitoring.” The focus for this study is to be much more patient-centered, driven by patient self assessment and self management. “I can take an infrared image of the leg and see exactly the spot that’s inflamed, and I can find the highest temperature of that spot. Then we mark it for the patient, and that’s where we have them measure their temperature at home.” The wound vision technology available is helping to transform wound care, she said. “I can take an image of your leg, it will calculate the size of the wound, the area of damage and it will give me gradients of temperature. This gives me a full landscape of temperatures throughout the entire lower extremity and if there’s a wound there, it gives me all the measurement parameters of that wound.” The data is uploaded to a computer and updated during each visit. She can analyze and record changes over time in the temperature gradient and wound characteristics. Skin temperature is the key. Through her research, Kelechi learned temperature was the trick in measuring the inflammation that she knew people had to have in their skin. Her previous research demonstrated that cooling the skin reduces inflammation and seems to prevent ulcer recurrence. In this new study involving around 200 patients, participants monitor their vulnerable “hot spots” with an infrared thermometer that dates and time stamps each reading. During the six-month randomized clinical trial, skin temperature is monitored daily, a maintenance dose of cooling gel pack or placebo is applied three times weekly to the affected skin, and a concentrated dose of cooling is applied for five consecutive days if the skin temperature becomes elevated. “If we demonstrate that cooling prevents leg ulcers, this is what people need.” The study’s effects on physical activity will be evaluated with an accelerometer. “We hypothesize that by improving the skin environment and reducing pain,
photo by Sarah Pack, packsa@musc.edu
Dr. Teresa Kelechi is the David and Margaret Clare endowed chair and a professor in the College of Nursing. as part of the intervention, which will patients will more likely be physically give patients access to their providers active and have better quality of life.” via emails, texts or direct calling. Forty That’s in line with the goal of another study called FOOTFIT, which is designed patients will be targeted during the sixweek study. to help patients with leg ulcers who are Kelechi said she is drawn to help minimally ambulatory and chronically ill. these patients, many of whom are This study explores whether mobile homebound and suffer from the negative health technology can increase their psychological impact of chronic pain and physical activity. Obese patients with immobility. venous disease can develop venous “A lot of these people are depressed. hypertension or vein hypertension, in They have high fatigue, and some are the legs. The veins in the legs are not irritable. They have low self–efficacy, under any pressure like the arteries are, so they are dependent on the calf muscle meaning that they believe that anything they do won’t make a difference,” she and foot movement to squeeze the veins said. “They’re thrilled to know that and force the blood up. there’s something they can do and Blood can pool in the veins, which there’s expertise in this area, because is called stasis, damaging blood vessels they just gave up.” and causing inflammation that leads to Kelechi said her mission is to make irritating skin conditions and throbbing pain. It’s critically important to get these sure researchers are focusing on patients in underrepresented, underserved patients to where they can walk and populations. exercise their legs, she said. “I believe that everybody has a right to Her team developed and tested a tribe in a research study. I am committed axial Bluetooth–enabled accelerometer to offering opportunities for patients and tracking device called BEAT, that to participate in studies who do not is sensitive enough to capture small necessarily have access to big medical movements. It’s worn on the foot and centers or big hospitals,” she said, used for a phased conditioning program explaining that she sets up the studies to to have patients increase movement in reach people in rural places. their lower legs. Kelechi said the goal is to get the word These simple movements are a huge out that there’s help. “I want to reach accomplishment for the patients, who people who are suffering with symptoms at best only take a few steps at a time, that are poorly monitored. I want to help she said. The study also is testing the them be proactive and be able to manage feasibility and effectiveness of having a themselves.” patient-provider communication link
THe CaTalysT, March 4, 2016 5
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eDuCaToR Continued from Page One student organizations and advisors in the planning and implementation of programs that enhance intercultural and interprofessional awareness, dialogue and experiences. “DaNine’s contributions to the enterprise have been extensive,” said Willette Burnham Williams, Ph.D., MUSC’s chief diversity officer. “She provided the overarching framework for diversity and inclusion training to each of the six colleges and the campus community. Even more impressive, she has led training initiatives that have impacted more than 7,000 campus and community constituents to date. Diversity and Inclusion workshops have been infused into the formal curriculum of the six collages, as a result.” Fleming’s goal is not only to create opportunities for campus constituents, but also for the broader community impacted by MUSC. She has even conducted a professional development workshop for the office of the Solicitor of the Ninth Judicial Circuit, which included 48 attorneys in Berkeley and Charleston counties. Fleming’s respect for education and social justice was instilled in her at a young age. Born and raised in Givhans, South Carolina, just a few miles outside Summerville, her mother and grandmother were teachers. “My grandmother received her master’s in 1942,” Fleming said. At that time opportunities for higher education, especially in the Jim Crow South, were extremely limited. After graduating from Summerville High, Fleming attended Claflin University, a historically black college in Orangeburg, South Carolina. “At that point, I wanted to be an attorney,” she said. “Then I met some faculty in the school of education and fell in love with education. I said I’d never do that. My grandmother was a teacher. My mom’s a teacher. I thought, ‘Who wants to be a teacher? Surely not me!’” Fleming continued on to the College of Charleston and completed a master’s degree in early childhood education. That was where she met Burnham, who was then director of intercultural programs at the College of Charleston. “I had no idea what intercultural programs meant,” Fleming said. “It was amazing to me that there were
offices and people in place to help underrepresented minorities be successful in college.” When the position of assistant director of intercultural programs became available, Burnham encouraged her to apply. Fleming was selected for the position. “That’s when the higher education bug bit me,” Fleming said. “I had never thought of working in higher education. My life would have been so much different had I ended up teaching first grade like I planned.” But Fleming didn’t look back. She fell in love with intercultural programs and went on to pursue a doctorate in educational leadership at South Carolina State University. “There was so much I didn’t know about higher education because I had been focusing on K-12,” she said. Though Fleming had never lived outside South Carolina, her husband encouraged her to apply for director of multicultural student affairs and cultural diversity at Slippery Rock University in Western Pennsylvania. “It was an eye–opening experience leaving home, uprooting my family, going to a place where we knew no one,” she said. She completed her doctoral studies at Youngstown State University in Ohio during her tenure at Slippery Rock University. Fleming was the first black female director of that office at Slippery Rock, as well as one of the youngest. “There were not too many people who looked like me in leadership,” Fleming said. That trend continued when she returned to Charleston to care for her grandfather, who had been diagnosed with cancer. Fleming took a job working with her old mentor, Burnham, who had left the College of Charleston to serve as MUSC’s executive director of student programs. “It can be isolating,” Fleming said. “But I am able to sit in places other people are not. To hear things others cannot.” That’s a privilege, she explained, and one which she feels she must wield responsibly in order to be an agent of change. “I’m black, female, raised in the South, so it was hard to see how I have privilege,” Fleming said. “We’re conditioned to think of privilege just in terms of race, but there are so many other ways to think about it. I have
photos provided
Since stepping into her role in 2008, Fleming has trained more than 7,000 faculty, students, staff and community members with respect to diversity and inclusion, and D&I workshops have been infused into the formal curriculum of the six colleges.
Known for her dynamic personality and cheerful attitude, Fleming’s passion for diversity and inclusion is infectious. “I absolutely love what I do,” she says, and it shows.
heterosexual privilege, for example. I can walk anyplace I want holding my husband’s hand, but if a same-sex couple did the same thing, how would they be treated differently?” Just as everyone holds certain privileges, Fleming said, everyone also holds certain prejudices. “It was eyeopening taking the Harvard Implicit Bias Test (available for free online: https:// implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/selectatest. html) and realizing just how deeply these unconscious prejudices are entrenched in our society,” she explained. “To overcome these prejudices,”
Fleming continued, “We must admit they are there, understand why they are there and then take steps to change them, both as individuals and collectively. Only then will we be able to have authentic relationships with each other.” Yet, she said, it’s an easy thing to teach. It’s harder to learn. What Fleming finds most troubling are people unable to admit they have biases. “We all have them,” she said. “People say things like ‘I don’t have a racist bone in my body.’ Well, it’s not their bones I’m
See Educator on page 11
THe CaTalysT, March 4, 2016 7
woMen
2016 Women’s History Month Honorees Imagine MUSC 2020
are chosen. This year the national theme is “ Working to Form a More Perfect Union: Honoring Women in Public Service and Government.” The MUSC committee chose to focus on how, through the Imagine MUSC 2020 strategic plan campaign, a more perfect environment on campus is being formed through diversity and inclusion efforts, by putting patients first, building healthy communities, advancing scientific discoveries and fostering innovative learning. Committee members tied each of the five goals of the strategic plan to women on campus who are doing remarkable work in those areas, and as a result, five women were chosen this year. The 2016 MUSC Women’s History Month honorees are: Melissa Kubu, Volunteer and Guest Services manager, MUSC Children’s Hospital (Patients First); Cristina López, Ph.D., assistant professor, College of Nursing (Healthy Communities); DaNine Fleming, Ed.D., director of training and intercultural education, University Office of the Chief Diversity Officer (Diversity & Inclusion); Samar Hammad, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology (Scientific Discoveries); and Lillianne H. Wright, Ph.D., Division of Cardiology (Innovative Learning). As a former honoree herself, Willette Burnham Williams, Ph.D., chairwoman of the Women’s History Month committee, speaks highly of the women who were nominated and those selected. “We are so fortunate that on the MUSC campus, we have an overabundance of remarkable women putting their hearts and souls into extraordinary work. This year, by tying our honorees to the Imagine 2020 campaign, we were able to select women whose contributions are serving to make a significant difference for our patients, our employees, our communities, as well as advancing science and learning. We are so sincerely proud of all five of them.” Each honoree will have an article featured in The Catalyst and be recognized at a Women’s History Event in March.
Healthy Communities
Patients First
Diversity & Inclusion Kubu
Scientific Discoveries
López
Fleming
Continued from Page One
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E.E. Just Symposium draws crowd to annual event By Mikie Hayes hayesmi@musc.edu
I
t would be hard to imagine a scenario in 2016 where a young man who worked long and hard to earn the highest grades and honors in his graduating class was denied the opportunity to speak at commencement exercises simply because of the color of his skin. This, according to Deborah Deas, M.D., interim dean of the College of Medicine, is precisely what happened to Ernest E. Just when he was Deas graduating
from Dartmouth College in 1907. Every February, MUSC honors the legacy and contributions of the native Charlestonian and renowned scientist. “Dr. Just excelled and ranked highly in his class,� Deas said to a packed audience in the Drug Discovery Building on Feb. 26. “When it came time to graduate, he was a candidate to give the commencement address, but the faculty thought not – they thought it would be a faux pas to allow this black man to address the parents, the benefactors and others from the community, because they would know that this black student had the highest honors in the class.� History, she explained, repeated itself after he completed his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. Despite earning highest honors, he was not afforded the opportunity to teach at any of the white colleges or universities at which
See Just on page 11
photo by Anne Thompson, Digital Imaging
2016 E.E. Just Scientific Symposium speaker Dr. Garth Graham, second row far left, is joined by MUSC College of Graduate Studies Dean Dr. Paula Traktman, first row center, Dr. Titus Reaves, back row, far right, and event guest speakers and panelists.
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THe CaTalysT, March 4, 2016 9
MUSC, Boeing Children’s Wellness Center wins award By J. Ryne Danielson daniejer@musc.edu
T
he Healthcare Leadership Council, a coalition of health care chief executives from across the country, presented the Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness with its national Wellness Frontiers Award Feb. 18 at the MUSC Clyburn Research Center. The HLC wished to recognize the center for its innovative Docs Adopt school health initiative. A partnership between Boeing, MUSC and the Charleston County School District, the Center for Children’s Wellness was created in 2007 to tackle the mounting problem of childhood obesity in the Lowcountry. The BCCW’s Docs Adopt initiative encourages schools to form wellness committees and follow a checklist of healthy goals. Local doctors are urged to adopt a school and serve on its wellness committee. These doctors volunteer their skills and expertise to help schools meet their goals, and at the end of each school year, if the checklist has been completed, schools may qualify for a $1,000 award
from Boeing. Eugene Cochrane Jr., president of the Duke Endowment, was present for the award presentation. The Duke Endowment has also contributed to the initiative’s funding. “I’ve had the wonderful privilege of working with MUSC for 35 years,” he said. “The Health Care Leadership Council is very good at singling out projects that make a difference. MUSC and this project are joining a very select group, and I congratulate you for that.” Lindsey Leonard, senior director of national strategy and engagement for the Boeing Company, spoke of the importance of the BCCW across the state. “The center’s presence and outreach to children and teachers in South Carolina is having a far more significant cultural impact than the people they directly reach,” she said. “Teachers and children are able to take these healthy living practices home to their parents and larger communities. “Boeing believes in the importance of healthy students who are prepared to learn more effectively by reducing absence and illnesses so they can be the
Registration deadline is April 15. Call 876-1578 or email watsonju@musc.edu. For information, visit www.musc.edu/phs.
photo by J. Ryne Danielson, daniejer@musc.edu
MUSC’s Dr. Janice Key, right, of the Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness, receives the Wellness Frontiers Award from Debbie Witchey, executive vice president of the Healthcare Leadership Council, Feb. 18. best they can be in school. For any of you who have been to Boeing, you’ve seen that we have high-tech and highly–skilled jobs. We would like for future Boeing employees to be coming from South Carolina, so we know we have to invest in generations to come, and that means nurturing young people through health and wellness and education. “While the Center started in the Lowcountry, it has now expanded statewide and to Pennsylvania,” Leonard continued. “We’re thrilled to know that we will be able to see statistically significant results in the reduction of childhood obesity and increased community health in a shorter amount of time than anyone anticipated. At Boeing, we continue to be impressed and excited by the great work that is done by this fantastic team, and we’re really proud to be here to support you today.” Michelle Nimmons, director of human resources and the comprehensive health education coordinator for Bamberg County’s second school district, thanked MUSC and Boeing for their support. “Our teachers and students are so fired up,” she said. “We’ve been able to do some wonderful things around nutrition education for children and parents.” At the conclusion of the ceremony, Debbie Witchey, executive vice president
of the Healthcare Leadership Council, presented the 2016 Wellness Frontiers Award to Janice Key, M.D., director of the MUSC’s Division of Adolescent Medicine and the Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness. “The greatest challenge our health care system faces in the years ahead is the rapidly growing incidence of chronic disease,” Witchey said. “If we don’t take bold action to combat this rise in chronic illness, we’re going to have a population that is unhealthy and unproductive, and we’re going to have a health care system that is unsustainable. “We created the Wellness Frontiers Award several years ago to recognize those that are doing exciting, innovative things to encourage good health. We want to shine a spotlight on examples like MUSC’s Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness so they can be replicated elsewhere across the country. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects that chronic illness numbers will spiral upward in the years ahead,” she continued. “But, if we have healthier children, we can prove those projections wrong and shape a different future for our nation. We believe you’re starting that revolution right here in the state of South Carolina with this program.”
10 THe CaTalysT, March 4, 2016
Mindful winner finds life joyful about $350, is available to “Count your blessings” is employees with the State a familiar phrase, but how Health Plan (including many actually take the time to MUSC Health Plan) at do so? The January Monthly Mindful Challenge inspired no charge for the basic participants to “keep a journal test in 2016. Employees of joy” throughout the month and spouses without this to reflect on the favorable. insurance can participate Winner, Stan Smith, a grants for $47. For information, administrator with the College including updated pricing of Health Profession Research for optional tests, and Administration team, found to register online visit he had a very long list of Susan Johnson musc.edu/ohp/employeepluses including his personal wellness/worksiterelationships with family, friends, screening.html. supportive co–workers and a faithful, q MUSC Employee Fitness Series Class: loving God. Also a plus for him is living Physio ball from12:15 to 12:45 p.m., in a free country where one can try to Wednesday, Feb. 16 at the Wellness effect change for improvements. Center. This free class will deliver an Smith overall body workout that will challenge consistently and improve muscular endurance and participates in strength, improve the Mindful cardiovascular fitness, increase core Challenges. strength and control, and improve body He kept his perspective efficiency and function. Class will be led during January by fitness expert Katie Blaylock of the by reminding MUSC Human Performance Lab. Free himself of the day pass to MUSC Wellness Center for wonderful all participants things in q Chair massages — Free massages Smith his life. are offered to employees midday Smith found Wednesdays. Check broadcast messages being thankful counteracted any for new locations and times discouragement or unproductive q Adventure Out: The Adventure Out thinking that arises at times in life. program offers free fitness classes in City Encouraging others in these instances of Charleston parks and on the MUSC proved rewarding as well. Campus to help you turn over a new As a self–reported “health leaf and discover the benefits of green enthusiast,” Smith is always open to exercise. Join MUSC Wellness Center’s “new ideas regarding how to improve Gail Corvette on Saturday, 9 a.m., March my health and wellness, whether 12, Hampton Park gazebo for a free physically, emotionally or spiritually.” yoga class and Katie Blaylock at 4 p.m., He advises others to pay attention and Wednesday, March 16, Cannon Park for participate as much as you can in the a free circuit class. For more information, wellness opportunities offered through Employee Wellness. “Before coming to visit www.musc.edu/ohp/adventure-out. MUSC, I worked at another hospital that did not make the investments in Employee Center wellness and prevention that MUSC q Be The Best You At Any Age — Group does. You have a tremendous resource Health Coaching; Program Dates: March here, take advantage of as much as you 8 to May 10 [12 weeks, six meetings can.” on Tuesdays {every other week}] 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. This program: empowers Employee Wellness participants to take charge of their q Worksite Screening: Thursday, health; facilitate goal setting, weekly March 24 at Harborview Office Tower, action steps and provide accountability. room 803. This screening, valued at To register, visit www.musc.edu/hsc .
Health at work
THe CaTalysT, March 4, 2016 11
eDuCaToR Continued from Page Six worried about.” Discrimination is the real enemy Fleming said, and it occurs when privilege and prejudice intersect. “We all have prejudices, and we all operate from some form of privilege,” she said. “It’s especially important to acknowledge that in the health care field. If you’re making decisions that impact someone’s life, decisions of life and death, then you need to be conscious of who is included in the conversation and who is not. “If only women have a seat at the table, for example, it makes sense they might focus on cervical cancer and forget all about prostate cancer. We don’t get to do that. We have to make sure no one is left out.” Asking these questions, of who is and should be included, is not an indictment, Fleming stressed, but an opportunity. For her, diversity and inclusion aren’t matters of political correctness or affirmative action — buzzwords that mean different things to people depending on their personal politics. Rather, it’s about
JusT
respect and acknowledging each other’s basic humanity. “We train ourselves to overlook the obvious,” Fleming said. “If I ask you to describe me and you start talking about everything besides the fact that I’m a voluptuous black woman, you’ve missed something important. You may have missed something that could save my life. For us to be at our best as an academic health care center, for us to really change what’s possible, we have to see how we’re the same, but also value how we’re different.” Fleming said she is thankful to the mentors and supporters who have shaped her career, both at MUSC and elsewhere. “I’m very thankful to Willette Burnham, whom I’ve known for 20 years, Deborah Deas, Darlene Shaw and Lisa Montgomery. I’m thankful to Dr. Zia Hassan, a mentor from Claflin University, and to my mother, grandmother and my papa, who I consider to be my first teachers.” Another of her most important supporters, she said, is MUSC President David Cole, M.D., FACS, who has made diversity and inclusion a central pillar of his agenda since taking office in 2014.
“I was planning a speech on diversity to general surgery residents, and I reached out to Dr. Cole, who was then chairman of the Department of Surgery, not knowing he was ever going to be president. He took the time to answer questions some people wouldn’t even acknowledge. He has also completed the eight–hour Welcoming Diversity training. That speaks volumes about his leadership to me,” Fleming said. Fleming’s faith has been an inspiration to her and she sees a guiding hand in the trajectory of her life. “I believe there is a being higher than me that allows me to be here. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be doing something like this.
Continued from Page Eight
he applied. He took a job at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and was considered to be among the intelligentsia, Deas said. He rose through the ranks, ultimately becoming the chairman of the Department of Physiology. E. E. Just, as he is called, received international acclaim for the work he conducted during summers between 1909 and 1930 at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He also challenged a long-standing scientific theory, and eventually proved to be right. Still at that particular time, that was considered pushing the envelope for a black man. He experienced prejudice and racism firsthand, and as a result, decided to study instead in Europe. During his time there, he made great strides in the study of the biology of the cell surface, publishing a book of the same name. “Dr. Just studied in Europe,” Deas said, “and he came back to the U.S. with his work, and his work influenced much of science. He was the pioneer in the physiology of development, including fertilization, experimental parthenogenesis, cell division and dehydration in living cells.” His many contributions to science and humanity are honored at MUSC each year, and at the 16th annual Earnest E. Just Scientific Symposium, numerous speakers paid homage to his work and the legacy he left for generations to come, particularly the influence he had on the development of modern biology. In addition
photo provided
to Deas, Titus Reaves, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology; Darlene Shaw, Ph.D., associate provost for educational affairs and student life; and Paula Traktman, Ph.D., dean of the College of Graduate Studies, addressed the students, sharing the relevance of Just’s contributions to students interested in the sciences. Subsequently, MUSC and guest scientists also presented their research to the audience that included undergraduate students from as far away as Maryland. This year more than 300 students came to participate in the day’s events.
I always said I didn’t want to be pigeon– holed into diversity. But, no matter what I did, somehow it found its way back into my life.” Fleming is proud to have followed that calling to MUSC and to have literally changed what’s possible in many ways. “In the 7–½ years I’ve been here, I’ve seen phenomenal strides, things I never thought would happen. Diversity and inclusion are not easy, but we’re seeing the difference. It is a great time to be at MUSC — I truly believe that. This is not the same MUSC as it was in 1969. There have been substantial changes, and we are doing everything we can to move things forward.”
After a question–and–answer session with the speakers that included MUSC faculty members, experts on Just’s works, and other MUSC scientists, the visiting undergraduate students were accompanied on a campus tour and met with representatives of the six colleges based on their areas of interest. Deas spoke directly to the students and told them to dream big. “Imagine what science would look like, had it not been for an Earnest Just. Think about this from a diversity aspect — if we don’t use all of the talents that are available to us from people of diverse walks of life, what might we miss in advancing civilization? What might we miss in advancing science today? What would science look like today without an Earnest Just? As we think about this and the use of all talents that are here amongst us, we should think that there lies in this room many individuals that might be able to contribute just like Earnest Just. I am so pleased to see so many students in the audience and see such a diverse audience — because the contributions of Earnest Just were not contributions for blacks, they were the contributions for humanity. And students, as you continue along your path to success, dream and dream big because you, too, can excel. Take advantage and seize the opportunities that are available to you. Realize that you are gems of inestimable value. Sometimes we can’t see how valuable we are, and others see those things in us. When your professors say, ‘You can do more,’ don’t push back — they see within you perhaps something you don’t see in yourselves.”
12 THe CaTalysT, March 4, 2016
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photo by Cindy Abole, aboleca@musc.edu
Wofford College students Nolan Auton, John Boone, Pierpont Brown, Tanner Roach, Crystal Rivers, Savannah Grant, Kelly McCorkle and Margarette Chin, all members of their school’s pre–dental advising and dental interim program, visited the James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine on Jan. 21 as part of an annual tour of the college and met with faculty, staff and students.
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