MUSC Catalyst

May 24, 2013

MEDICAL UNIVERSITY of SOUTH CAROLINA

Vol. 31, No. 39

Inside Student helps amputee learn to walk

BY ASHLEY BARKER

HEALTHY ACTION Public Relations MEALS

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MUSC Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness reaches out to families to promote good eating habits.

TOP ACADEMIC MEDICAL CENTERS

7

Seven driving strategies that will help MUSC Health become ranked among the top academic medical centers by 2015.

5

Meet Martha

10 WOOF Awards 11 Classified ads T H E C ATA LY S T ONLINE http://www. musc.edu/ catalyst

N

athan Mansell finished his pro bono physical therapy session with 52-year-old Mikell Felder on May 15 by saying “I love you.”

Felder, a homeless Charleston native who had his right leg amputated just above the knee in 2007, responded, “I love you more.”

The relationship that the unlikely pair has is held together by a powerful belief in Jesus and a faith that Felder will walk on his own once again.

Mansell, 23, a second-year PT student in the MUSC College of Health Professions, began volunteering in 2008 for the hot dog ministry, an event held four days a week in an empty lot on Meeting Street between Lee and Jackson streets. During the evenings, volunteers take grills and cook up hundreds of hot dogs for homeless men, women and children in the area.

Mansell was originally responsible for squirting the ketchup and mustard on the bread. He took it upon himself to get to know some of the folks who would regularly show up for the free meal.

One man caught his attention quickly.

Felder, who many people around the area called Dusty because of his past fighting experience, frequently rolled up to the lot in his dirty wheelchair with many of his belongings attached to the back.

Felder told Mansell that he was struck by a vehicle on Meeting Street in January 1991.

The driver carried Felder on his windshield for four blocks before he fell off, then drove off leaving him for dead.

Years later, Felder’s leg became badly infected and doctors gave him two options – return to the hospital every three months for a surgery to clean the leg out or amputate it.

“I told them, ‘You ain’t going in my leg in the same cut every three months,’” Felder said. “So I said, ‘Sir, if you take my leg away, the Lord will help me.’”

In the past, Felder would drink alcohol

Nathan Mansell, a volunteer at the MUSC CARES Clinic, helped Mikell Felder put on his prosthetic leg. Felder’s right leg was amputated above the knee on Sept. 6, 2007. “like a fish,” something he’s not afraid to discuss. But when he started having seizures, kidney failure, congestive heart failure and high blood pressure in addition to dealing with his amputated leg, doctors told him that he must give up the habit and begin dialysis three days a week. He said he’s been sober for three years.

Felder also admits to being arrested and kicked out of multiple homeless shelters because of fighting with other men. He credits a nightmare that plagued him for months to changing his outlook on life.

In his dreams, Felder’s older sisters would

WANT TO HELP? To make a donation to the CARES clinic or learn about other ways to help, contact Dr. Sara Kraft at 792-0091 or kraftsv@musc.edu. be crying at his funeral.

“When you see yourself in a casket …” he paused and closed his eyes. “I’d wake up screaming. That’s when I stopped drinking.

I don’t still have the dreams. They’re gone; I

See Walk on page 9

2 THE CATALYST, May 24, 2013

KEEPING CHILDREN SAFE

Obesity initiative works toward (KH!b\ .*G@*D*, .b!G!.Kb EDF%DKHB

BY LUCIE M. KRAMER Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness

?*D@!P*, .#!b, EKBB*G%*D BK(*@\ @*.#G!.!KGB (DFH U24? .#*.c*, 124 seats during the car seat check event held at the North ?#KDb*B@FG ?Fb!B*>HN UK\ $L 3#* *<*G@ `KB FD%KG!Z*, I\ 4K(* W!,B Trident Area and was sponsored by MUSC Children’s Hospital C(@*D [F>DB .b!G!.BL

0FH*G6B ?b>I K..*E@!G% GFH!G**B (FD KGG>Kb B.#FbKDB#!EB The Medical University Women’s Club is accepting applications for scholarship recipients. All full-time MUSC students in their second or subsequent years from any of the six colleges are eligible. Previous applicants may also apply.

Applications may be downloaded from http://academicdepartments.musc.

Editorial of fice MUSC Office of Public Relations 135 Cannon Street, Suite 403C, Charleston, SC 29425.

843-792-4107 Fax: 843-792-6723 Editor: Kim Draughn catalyst@musc.edu Catalyst staff: Cindy Abole, aboleca@musc.edu Ashley Barker, barkera@musc.edu

edu/womensclub/scholarship.htm. The deadline for submission is 4 p.m., Aug. 27. Applications may be submitted via email to muwcscholarship@gmail.com or dropped off at the Volunteer Services Office, 101 North Tower (behind admissions desk).

For information, email Tiffany Talacs at muwcscholarship@gmail.com.

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., 843-849-1778 or 843-958-7490. E-mail: sales@moultrienews.com.

The goal of the MUSC Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness, an obesity initiative through the Department of Pediatrics, is to prevent and treat childhood obesity with family centered clinical programs paired with policy and environmental changes.

The center is involved with more than 100 Tri-county area schools and looking to expand to other parts of the state.

A recent MUSC study found that 43 percent of children in the Charleston County School District are overweight or obese. These children are representative of the patient population at MUSC. Last spring, the Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness, in partnership with MUSC Employee Wellness and Sodexo, launched a Children’s Hospital Wellness Initiative that targets both employee and patient wellness.

Promoting healthy eating and lifestyle habits for children in all settings is essential. The hospital-based wellness initiative involved taking the successful school-based model and applying it to MUSC employees and patients.

After extensive work in the schools, studies revealed that the healthiest schools were the ones with a robust wellness program, which is why programs were developed for employees only.

Similarly, research suggests that health care providers who engage in healthy behaviors are more likely to counsel their

patients on these issues.

In the spirit of being a wellness-focused children’s hospital, the center plans to include all patients in any wellness efforts.

The first patient-based initiative focused on nutrition. Last spring, Sodexo dietitians, chefs, and dietetic interns conducted a Children’s Taste panel at MUSC to determine the best child friendly and healthy food options.

A variety of meats and vegetables were put to the test, and the top selections were used to guide the planning of the MUSC Healthy Action Meals program.

Healthy Action Meals are nutritious meals that patients can order both in their rooms and in the cafeteria. Sodexo and Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness dietitians planned five Healthy Action Meals to ensure that nutrition requirements were met, but fat and excess sugar were limited.

The Healthy Action Meals program, launched Dec. 5, includes a points system so that children can earn prizes.

Each time one of the five Healthy Action Meals is selected, the child will receive two points on the printed receipt that comes with the delivered inpatient meal.

Patients, or their parents and visitors, may then cash in the points at the MUSC Gift Shop (located in Ashley River Tower) for prizes provided by the Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness.

For information on the Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness, visit musckids. com/Wellness.

THE CATALYST, May 24, 2013 3

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BY ROBY HILL S.C. College of Pharmacy Students at the South Carolina College of Pharmacy continued to excel in residency placement as 88 percent of the college’s residency candidates successfully matched.

The national average for pharmacy residency placement is around 55 percent. Last year, the College of Pharmacy placed 85 percent of its prospective residents and has placed close to 90 percent of candidates for the past three years.

“One of our most important quality measures is how many of our students go on to additional postgraduate training and where they go,” said Joseph DiPiro, PharmD, executive dean of SCCP. Forty-three of the 49 students who applied matched, landing in some prestigious residency programs. The total represents around 24 percent of the student body and included multiple students at six programs, 14 students among all eight in-state programs and

?K!@b!G U>B%DK<*N .#!*( D*B!,*G@ !G @#* H*,!.Kb .*G@*D6B ?Fbb*%* F( 8#KDHK.\ D*B!,*G.\ EDF%DKHN .F>GB*bB 0!bb!KH C!%*b@!G%*D KB EKD@ F( K EK@!*G@ *<Kb>K@!FGL U>B%DK<* %DK,>K@*, (DFH @#* 4L?L ?Fbb*%* F( 8#KDHK.\ !G -J// KG, EbK.*, K@ U24?N `#*D* B#* !B !G #*D B*.FG, \*KD F( residency. a record five students in community residency programs.

This year’s residents are heading to assignments at the University of Kentucky, Vanderbilt University, Auburn University, Indian Health Service,

Nebraska Medical Center, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Suburban Hospital in Maryland, Mayo Clinic in Florida, Cleveland Clinic and the VA at Charleston, Columbia, West Palm Beach, Orlando and Salisbury.

Residents also went to SCCP partners Palmetto Health Richland, Spartanburg Regional, McLeod, Greenville Health System, Carolinas Medical Center and the nationally recognized program at MUSC. “Fewer than 30 percent of pharmacy graduates go on to do residencies but there are even fewer residency slots, and it’s highly competitive,” said Brandon Bookstaver, vice chair of clinical pharmacy and outcomes sciences at the SCCP. “That our students do so well is certainly a reflection of their outstanding ability and a testament to our faculty mentors and preceptors. Also, our preresidency track has created a roadmap for success in achieving a match.”

Katherine Shugart, PharmD, will fill the inaugural community residency at the Medicine Mart in Columbia; the college announced that new partnership through the Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center earlier this year.

Four other community residencies were filled as well in the growing community residency program.

4 THE CATALYST, May 24, 2013

Former Marine earns med-school scholarship

BY ALLYSON BIRD

Office of Development and Alumni Affairs

T

he Medical College Admissions Test doesn’t gauge an aspiring doctor’s physical fitness, psychological stamina or ability to battle sleep deprivation, but firstyear MUSC College of Medicine student Jeffrey Waltz brought all those credentials anyway.

The Summerville resident realized, while serving as a sniper with the U.S. Marine Corps, that he wanted to pursue a profession in medicine after his military career ended. “I like to help people, and I like to be challenged physically and mentally,” he said.

Thanks to a new scholarship from the Medical Society of South Carolina, Waltz won’t be as challenged financially. As a recipient of the Roper St. Francis Physicians Scholarship, half of his education is covered for all four years of medical school.

“They just cut my student loan debt in half,” Waltz said. “The scholarship covers half of every single thing I do here. It came out of nowhere, and it was huge.”

College of Medicine Assistant Dean for Admissions Wanda Taylor flagged Waltz’s application coming in and recommended him for one of the scholarships. She said the scholarship aims to recruit promising medical students to stay in the region after graduation.

?Fbb*%* F( U*,!.!G* B@>,*G@ X*((D*\ 0Kb@Z `!@# #!B `!(*N WD!B@!GKN KG, @#*!D @`F .#!b,D*GN XK.cBFG KG, WKDB\GL “They asked him why he deserved the scholarship, and Jeffrey said, ‘I can’t even imagine why you would choose me over anyone else because the students interviewing are all so amazing,’” Taylor remembered.

“He’s just so humble.”

Waltz served in the Marine Corps for eight years.

His career included both military and humanitarian missions, with deployments to the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe.

DISTINGUISHED GRADUATE STUDENTS WIN AWARD

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One of seven children, Waltz said, “There was no money for college.” He decided to join the military and aimed to number among its most elite.

He passed layers of tests just to begin sniper training, a process that only a small percentage of recruits pass.

“The first question they ask you is, ‘You just found out your dad killed your mom. What do you do?’” Waltz said. “They want to make sure you hold up under pressure.”

Waltz went on to become a scout sniper team leader, but he never intended to stay in the military. He got married in 2005 and enrolled in the College of Charleston’s biology program.

Waltz worked construction full-time but still finished his degree in four years, while he and his wife, Kristina, expanded their family. Their son, Jackson, is now 6, and their daughter, Karsyn, is 3.

Before applying to medical school, Waltz decided to spend a few years working to save money and to spend time with his young family. He joined two MUSC lab teams and researched lung cancer detection and clinician communication skills with terminal patients and their families.

Waltz started medical school in the fall. He remains undecided about a specialty, but his interests include otolaryngology, pediatrics and, in a nod to his highstress prior experience, trauma surgery.

THE CATALYST, May 24, 2013 5

MEET MARTHA

UKD@#K =>8>!B V!B!.c!N 5LTL =*EKD@H*G@ Surgical Services. I have worked in nine different specialty areas.

How long have you been here I started July 17, 1978, after graduating from the MUSC College of Nursing.

0#F `KB @#* ED*B!,*G@ F( U24? when you started Dr. William H. Knisely 0#F `KB @#* ED*B!,*G@ F( @#* 2G!@*, States when you started at MUSC Jimmy Carter Favorite memories during your career Meeting my husband, Andrew, at MUSC, getting married at St. Lukeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chapel and having our reception at the Wickliffe House.

Also, my children, Kimberlee and Drew, were born at MUSC. 0#K@ `!bb \F> H!BB @#* HFB@ K(@*D D*@!D!G% (DFH U24?

All of the friends and coworkers I have met What activities will you pursue Too many to name â&#x20AC;&#x201D; genealogy, travel, enjoying the beach and my family

6 THE CATALYST, May 24, 2013

aKDG!G% 8#L=L @K>%#@ %DK,>K@* @F I* HFD* !G,*E*G,*G@ =DBL CG,D*` Elvington and Michelle Rapisardo with their dogs, Amos KG, V>.\L Elvington and Rapisardo were married in October 2011 in Mount 8b*KBKG@L

BY ASHLEY BARKER Public Relations

A

ndrew Elvington arrived at MUSC in August 2006 with the simple plan of obtaining a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences through the College of Graduate Studies. He graduated with far more.

After walking across the stage May 17, he and his wife, fellow MUSC graduate Michelle Rapisardo, Ph.D., will move to St. Louis for post-doctoral fellowships at Washington University and are expecting their first child, a boy, in July.

The couple met while working in the same lab under the direction of Steve Tomlinson, Ph.D., professor and vice chair for research and faculty development, Department of Microbiology and Immunology. The lab is focused on the biology of the complement system. Rapisardo’s research looked at modulating complement activation to enhance therapies for the treatment of cancer. Elvington, who joined the lab a year after Rapisardo, was mainly focused on the role of the complement system in ischemic stroke.

“Andrew and Michelle have done some outstanding science, and they have both been terrific assets to the lab,” Tomlinson said. “They have developed into talented scientists, largely as a result of their own efforts. They also have great personalities, and I will not be alone in being very sorry to see them leave.”

Elvington and Rapisardo started off as friends. The pair would go out together in groups and dated other people for three years before Elvington finally discovered Rapisardo’s interest.

“I think she liked me. I could kind of tell. I was just a stupid boy. I ignored my feelings for a while,” Elvington said. “We hung out all the time. We had pseudo dates, which, I think, made her love me even more.”

They didn’t initially announce their relationship to many people in the 10-person lab. They continued working as usual, sitting on opposite sides of the lab but having lunch together each day.

Eventually, though, the people around them started figuring it out.

“With a few exceptions, most people

=DBL U!.#*bb* 5KE!BKD,F KG, Andrew Elvington are leaving U24? (FD EFB@M,F.@FDKb (*bbF`ships at Washington University. thought, ‘oh, were they not already dating?’” Elvington said.

“Our boss went and asked someone else in the lab if we were dating and whoever it was said, ‘yeah, they’ve been dating for a long time,’” Rapisardo, 30, said.

“He was like, ‘I thought so,’” said Elvington, 29. “About a month later, we got engaged, and when he saw the ring, he said congratulations and that he paid me too much.”

Elvington decided to abandon his original plan of proposing to Rapisardo on the beach. After having dinner with some friends one evening, the couple went back to Rapisardo’s place and while she went to the bedroom to change clothes, Elvington pulled the ring out of his pocket.

“Sadly there was no hot-air balloon or white horse,” he said. “I’m not patient, except when it comes to dating Michelle.

But the longer I sat at dinner, the more I didn’t want to wait.”

He initially took the ring out and set it on Rapisardo’s bar hoping that she’d come out and see it sitting there.

“I thought, ‘well that’s stupid,’” he said. So he put the ring back in

“Andrew and Michelle have done some outstanding science, and they have both been terrific assets to the lab.” =DL 4@*<* 3FHb!GBFG his pocket.

When she opened the door, he tried to get the ring back out of his pocket but it got stuck on some string.

“Finally, very inelegantly, I proposed,” Elvington said. “I’m not even sure of the words that I said or if she even said yes.

But she said, ‘I do’ at the altar, so that’s all that matters.”

Elvington and Rapisardo were married in October 2011 at St. Andrews Church in Mount Pleasant.

Now that they’ve both completed their education, they’ll begin focusing on their growing family’s 13-hour move.

“I’m relieved it’s a boy,” Elvington said. “I’d rather have a girl second, I think, because she’d control me. She could do whatever she wanted until she reached dating age. Then I’d never let her out of the house. I’m excited but also I’m a little bit terrified, in a good way.”

The baby should be about four weeks old when the family, which includes a springer spaniel named Amos and a

greyhound mix named Lucy, moves to St. Louis.

Rapisardo, a University of Missouri alumnus who is from St. Louis, plans to rely on her family for extra support.

“I’m definitely a little overwhelmed.

We don’t have a place to live in St. Louis yet. We haven’t figured out day care yet.

It’s a lot at once,” she said.

Elvington, who grew up in the small town of Dillon and went to Clemson University, will be living farther than four hours away from his family for the first time.

“They were disappointed that Michelle and I were moving farther away, especially with the baby on the way,” he said. “Although they’d rather me be closer, their excitement has grown as time has passed, and they have begun planning trips to visit as often as possible.”

Moving so far away will be a test of independence for Elvington, which is the most memorable thing, he said, MUSC taught him.

“In getting a Ph.D., you are basically given an idea by your boss. You take the idea and run with it. There can be varying degrees of how much you need to contribute to a project or an idea.

Especially in the latter part of the time, I was the sole person responsible for getting the stuff done,” Elvington said.

“Right now, we both want to be tenure track scientists. To be that, you have to be independent. When I first started, I needed to be told what to do. As my career progressed, it all kind of clicked.”

THE CATALYST, May 24, 2013 7

MUSC Health strives to be among top 25 academic medical centers by 2015 UKc!G% B*GB* F( K I!% !G!@!K@!<* " =D!<!G% 4@DK@*%!*B Integration: Continue to build upon the strength of the health system Brand Awareness: Enhance MUSC’s name regionally and nationally Access: Improve and simplify patient access Growth: Expand services in S.C. Partnerships: Partner with health care providers to ensure that patients receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time Infrastructure: Building the infrastructure (human and financial) to advance science and discovery toward evidence-based practice, innovative solutions and the education of future leaders Information Technology: Connect in “real time” with patients, referring physicians and hospitals

If you are an MUSC employee, you’ve likely heard of the MUSC Health Strategic Plan. It’s possible, though, that you might not know the mission or goals of the plan, what change it is meant to drive, or how you fit into it.

Big picture There are two key components that provide the foundation for the plan’s goals. First, it is essential for all employees to understand and align their efforts with the strategic plan.

This is the roadmap to reaching MUSC’s strategic intent of becoming a top-25 ranked academic medical center by 2015.

In addition to being nationally recognized as a leading medical center, the plan is laser-focused on continuing to deliver the best in comprehensive and innovative care to the patients.

Why was it created?

Employees will remain confronted with: managing population health and the needs of growing communities; increasing the quality of care while decreasing costs, decreasing reimbursement; a shift from episodic care to the continuum of care; an increasingly competitive marketplace; and ongoing challenges of managing chronic disease.

In order to face these challenges, a plan is needed. Clinical leadership from the Medical University Hospital Authority, College of Medicine, and MUSC Physicians partnered to develop a comprehensive, cohesive strategic plan. Each month The Catalyst will feature content surrounding the MUSC Health Strategic Plan. In the coming months, employees will learn more about the seven driving strategies.

For information, email clinstrategic@musc.edu or visit http://www.muschealth.com/strategic-plan.

The illustration below reflects how MUHA, the College of Medicine and MUSC Physicians are working together to ensure the future success of MUSC Health and the community it serves. Rather than working in three individual silos, MUHA, the College of Medicine and MUSC Physicians now make joint decisions, which simultaneously benefit each of the three entities, resulting in the establishment of a virtual health system.

8 THE CATALYST, May 24, 2013

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BY KAREN A. WAGER, DBA College of Health Professions Implementing an electronic health record system is an enormous undertaking. It requires extensive planning, communication, coordination, workflow analysis, testing and training.

Rebecca Freeman, R.N., chief nursing information officer and Ph.D. candidate, said “critically analyzing work flow is one of the single most important steps” in a smooth EHR implementation. “We discovered this firsthand with the ambulatory care Epic implementation last summer.”

It is also one of the reasons Freeman jumped at the opportunity to partner with the Master in Health Administration program to create a real-world, applied learning experience for the students that would also be beneficial to the EHR implementation team.

This spring, the 38 first-year MHA students were assigned to work in small teams of two to three in collaboration with Jennifer Hooks, leader of the EHR performance improvement team, and Epic instructional designers, as part of their health information systems course.

Hooks provided classroom instruction to the students on the benefits of mapping work flow using the Lean methodology. Students practiced developing process maps and identifying waste before venturing into their hospital assignments. Working in 13 different areas of the hospital – some examples include phlebotomy, transplant, hemapheresis, labor and delivery, nursery and neonatal intensive care, the operating room, neurointervental radiology, and child life – each team constructed a process map of the current work flow, identified value-added and non-value-added steps, and offered recommendations for eliminating waste and improving efficiency. The students presented their process maps to Hooks and performance improvement facilitators, who critiqued their work and provided constructive input and feedback.

The MHA students’ work provided valuable information for the creation of work-flow documents

_!DB@M\*KD HKB@*D !G #*Kb@# K,H!G!B@DK@!FG B@>,*G@BN (DFH b*(@N 3\b*D U!c*bbN UFbb\ :67>!GG KG, ?#*Bb*\ abb!F@@N ,!BEbK\ @#* EDF.*BB HKE @#*\ I>!b@ !G @#*!D #*Kb@# !G(FDHK@!FG B\B@*HB .F>DB*L needed to begin the project. As the building of the system progresses, the details collected through the project will be valuable to the analysts building the detailed work flows. The end result will be an efficient documentation system with a high factor of usability.

Additionally, the performance improvement team has gained the capability of understanding how the inpatient areas currently operate. This knowledge will assist in providing recommendations for improvements in developing a more efficient and effective patient and staff work flow process.

The students gained insight into the importance of evaluating work flow prior to implementing a new EHR, and they developed skills in Lean methodology and process mapping. The hospital benefitted from a cross-enterprise, interdisciplinary project that combined resources from the university, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, the process improvement team

Epic team Rebecca Freeman, R.N. (team leader), Lisa Ihnken (team leader), Donna Hollars, Amy McCain, Meredith Rankin, Melissa Rodgers, Laura Sargent and Quinton Irick 8*D(FDHKG.* !HEDF<*H*G@ (K.!b!@K@FDB Jennifer Hooks (team leader), Scott Brady; Rebecca Freeman, Mike Roudabush, Stephanie Sargent and Shawanda Smith and the employees who work with patients.

As MUSC continues to focus on greater continuity across campus and strives for more interdisciplinary collaboration, there should be future opportunities to bring departments and students together in such a way that benefits all involved.

AKI\MB!@@!G% .bKBB*B F((*D*, I\ 1Fb>G@**D 4*D<!.*B MUSC Volunteer Services will offer Safe Sitter classes for girls and boys ages 11 to 13. The classes will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., June 18 and 19 or June 26 and 27 at Ashley River Tower.

Registration for the program, which is $75, is open until June 8.

The Safe Sitter program is a medically accurate program that teaches young adolescents how to handle emergencies

when caring for younger children.

To register your son, daughter or your child’s baby sitter, call Kelly Hedges at 876-4246 or email hedgesk@musc.edu.

According to Hedges, thousands of young adolescents across the country have been trained by Safe Sitter to handle life threatening emergencies “During the course, students will get hands on practice in basic lifesaving

techniques so they are prepared to act in a crisis,” Hedges said.

Safe Sitters learn safety precautions, how to understand children of different ages and the business of baby-sitting.

They learn infant and child CPR. To complete the program, students must pass a test to show that they have mastered the concepts and have the skills necessary to handle an emergency.

Books needed at cancer center Hollings Cancer Center is in need of gently used hard and paperback books for its patients to read during their long treatments.

Books that are fictional, inspirational, biographies, spiritual and poetry can be dropped off in the lobby of HCC. For information or to arrange a pick up, call 7926966 or email aghapour@musc.edu.

THE CATALYST, May 24, 2013 9

WALK Continued from Page One hope they stay gone too.”

After spending enough time with him, Mansell finally learned that Felder received a prosthetic leg after his amputation. But a woman who Felder was staying with threw it away, forcing him to rely only on the wheelchair.

“I used to walk on it, but it would hurt because it didn’t have good padding. Well, I left it in the house when I went to a store one day,” Felder said. “When I came back, she had thrown it away because it was scaring her. That’s what she said. She’d been doing crack and all kinds of stuff.”

Upon hearing the story, Mansell helped Felder into his vehicle, put his wheelchair and belongings in the back and drove him from Meeting Street to the MUSC CARES (Community Aid, Relief, Education and Support) Clinic, a student-run center that provides free care to uninsured or underinsured patients.

“The reason I chose to help Mikell and the guys from the hot dog ministry is that I believe each and every one of us is messed up and that it’s only by God’s grace that I’m not the one out on the street,” Mansell said. “I’ve got lots of issues, but I believe that despite my inability to earn grace, God gives it to me freely.”

Mansell’s professor for his neuromuscular one class, Sara Kraft, DPT, is one of the faculty volunteers at the clinic. Together, Kraft and Mansell convinced Floyd Brace Company to donate a prosthetic limb for Felder.

“Floyd Brace came in and got very involved,” Kraft said. “Low and behold, he’s got his limb now. I call Nathan, Nate the Great. He’s been this guy’s guardian angel. Ho goes and picks him up, brings him to the clinic, drives him back and usually pays for him to be in a hotel for the night to take a bath and stretch out. He goes to every single one of his visits to try to get him up on his feet again.”

Mansell takes Felder to the clinic once a week to stretch, practice putting the prosthetic leg on and taking it off, and work on walking properly. At a recent appointment, with Mansell at his side reminding him to “step all the way through the crutches,” Felder was able to stand up and walk around the room twice using a walker and crutches.

He proudly caught the attention of everyone in the room by announcing, “Look at me, I’m walking. I’m walking!”

While relaxing afterward and trying to catch his breath, Felder explained his bond with Mansell.

“The Lord sent him to me. I said, ‘Lord, you need to send me someone to help me because I can’t do this all by myself.’ I depend on Jesus for everything, and now I have Nathan, too.”

In the early stages of their relationship, Felder said he’d get mad and say things to Mansell that he now regrets.

“He showed me compassion. He showed me that he cared about me. He takes time with me. He’s the

Mikell Felder went through the line (FD K (D** H*Kb (DFH volunteers F( @#* #F@ dog ministry on May 15.

The ministry is held (F>D ,K\B K week in an empty lot on Meeting Street.

brother I should have had,” Felder said. “I might say something loud, and he’ll look at me and not say anything. But I know he doesn’t like it. So I try not to do that anymore.”

The age difference between Felder and Mansell has also influenced their bond.

“I’m older than Nathan. Nathan could be my son.

But I’ve learned a lot from him because he trusts in Jesus, too,” Felder said. “I wouldn’t have said that I trusted anyone other than Jesus before Nathan. He ain’t going to hurt me or send me to jail. Now, I trust Jesus and Nathan. I trust him with my life.”

Once Felder can walk on his own again, Mansell plans to make sure he can get into a homeless shelter.

Then, Mansell said, he’ll do his best to keep up with Felder but, “there are many more Mikells out there to help.”

“My cup is overflowing with a joy that no one can touch, ever. I want others, especially those that hear more car doors locked as they cross the street than the word ‘hello,’ to know the same love of Christ that changed me forever,” Mansell said. “Mikell just happens to be one that's in my life right now.”

Felder made it clear that he will keep up with his new friend regardless of the situation.

“Nathan is really just one of those guys who go above and beyond for anybody and everybody,” Kraft said.

“If there is a need, he’s going to meet it. He really is amazing.”

Helping patients, like Felder, who have limited transportation options, is something that Kraft and the other students are focused on at the clinic.

“Some of our folks have really had a hard time getting to us,” Kraft said. “Probably our biggest wish list item right now is to be able to provide transportation for people who can’t get to us. We’re trying to work out a contract with a cab company because there are several who just physically can’t make it here.”

Nathan Mansell, a second-year physical therapy student, helped Mikell Felder walk on his new prosthestic leg using crutches. Felder’s right leg was amputated above the knee in 2007. Felder EDF>,b\ .K>%#@ @#* K@@*G@!FG F( *<*D\FG* !G the room at the CARES Clinic by announcing, ;VFFc K@ H*N Y6H `Kbc!G%L Y6H `Kbc!G%&9

10 THE CATALYST, May 24, 2013

ANNUAL WOOF AWARDS :G* F( @#* 0!@# :>@ :G* _Kbb .*D@!P.K@*B was presented to 5 SW (acute care setting), CED!b /'L YG -JJd KG K`KD, B\B@*H `KB !G!@!K@*, !G c**E!G% EK@!*G@B BK(* @#DF>%# @#* _!DH ]DF>G, _Kbb 8D*<*G@!FG EDF%DKHN known as the WOOF award. The awards `*D* ED*B*G@*, @F ?3Y?2 )0S R!G@*GB!<* care unit) and 7C Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital (acute .KD*Q (FD #K<!G% @#* (*`*B@ (KbbB !G -J/-L 3#* K`KD, (FD @#* bFG%*B@ B@D*@.# I*@`**G (KbbB in the acute care setting went to 5 SW, with GF (KbbB I*@`**G CED!b -J/- KG, _*ID>KD\L 3#* UY?2 FG @#* B!^@# OFFD F( @#* >G!<*DB!@\ #FBE!@Kb `FG @#* Y?2 K`KD, I\ #K<!G% GF (KbbB I*@`**G X>b\ -J/J @F _*ID>KD\L VKGK A*.cb*\N _!DH ]DF>G, D*BF>D.* G>DB* KG, .D*K@FD F( @#* K`KD,N KG, aD!.K 5F><Kb!BN .#K!D F( @#* 8K@!*G@ 4K(*@\ KG, UFI!b!@\ committee, were joined by a large group, !G.b>,!G% V>.c\ @#* <Fb>G@**D ,F%N to present these awards.

THE CATALYST, May 24, 2013 11

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12 THE CATALYST, May 24, 2013