Digest 1 2023

LAYERS OF HISTORY

Considering the College’s first 125 years

PHILADELPHIA COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE

FEATURE

VOL. 84, NO. 1, USPS, 413-060

Digest Magazine is produced by the Office of Marketing and Communications under the direction of Wendy W. Romano, chief marketing and communications officer.

EDITOR

Jennifer Schaffer Leone, MA

PUBLICATION DESIGN

Abigail Harmon

CONTRIBUTORS – FEATURES

Janice Fisher

Jennifer Schaffer Leone

Dan O’Connor

David McKay Wilson

CONTRIBUTORS – UPDATES

Dan O’Connor

Daniel McCunney

Orla Moloney

Barbara Myers

Jordan Roberts

CONTRIBUTORS – CLASS NOTES

Institutional Advancement Staff

Tori Danner, MS/ODL ’18

Courtney Jasmin, MBA

Meghan McCall

PHOTOGRAPHY

Daniel Shippey Photography

Bruce Fairfield

Sheri Geoffreys

Melissa Kelly Photography

Anthony Stalcup

ARCHIVAL RESEARCH

Mitzi Sorrells, MLS

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SEND INFORMATION FOR CLASS NOTES AND ADDRESS CHANGES TO: Institutional Advancement, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

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Opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by the College or the editor.

DIGEST

Dear Alumni and Friends:

Preparations are underway for Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine’s 125th anniversary. As a facet of celebration, I am pleased that Digest Magazine continues to rediscover our history and share compelling stories of our legacy of impact. I feel special pride as president (and as an alumnus) as we consider our multi-layered journey as well as our mission and values that are embedded in 125 years of healthcare education, research and innovation.

I draw your particular attention to the article about Kenneth J. Veit, DO ’76, MBA, our provost and senior vice president of academic affairs. In June, Ken announced that he was relinquishing his role as dean—after 30 years. The longevity of his deanship earns him a unique distinction: being the longest-tenured dean in PCOM history and in the history of the osteopathic profession. So many of you know and understand the significance of Ken’s unwavering dedication on behalf of our College and profession.

Each year, Founders’ Day also provides an opportunity to honor the legacy of our founders and to celebrate all those who continue to forward the PCOM story. Our 2023 distinguished honorees include O. J. Snyder Memorial Medal recipient Norman Edward Vinn, DO ’77, MBA, and PCOM Alumni Association Certificate of Honor recipient William B. Swallow, DO ’79, MS/FM ’20, FACOFP; Captain, MC, USNR (ret.). Dr. Vinn is a pioneer in the in-home care industry and founder of the Residentialist Group in San Clemente, California. Dr. Swallow, alumni representative to the PCOM Board of Trustees, has practiced osteopathic family medicine for 42 years and served in the United States Naval Reserve.

In addition, you will find news about our strategic clinical education partnerships, including our recent acquisition of Chestnut Hill Hospital with our Alliance partners Temple Health and Redeemer Health. As we amplify our efforts to achieve overall excellence, we write our future history, always keeping our students’ success at the forefront of all we do.

Jay S.

President and Chief Executive Officer

Feldstein, DO ’81

© 2023 Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. All rights reserved.

PCOM South Georgia is thoughtfully built into the rural landscape, among the countless longleaf and loblolly pines and native grasses. Pictured is the campus in December.

PARTNERSHIPS HELP PCOM ADDRESS CLINICAL EDUCATION CRISIS

While enrollment in healthcare education programs continues to grow across the nation, a significant challenge is the clinical education of medical and allied health students after the didactic years occur. A new report from the Association of American Medical Colleges underscores the dire shortages of clinical training sites and preceptors, especially in primary care. Through recent strategic partnerships with Chestnut Hill Hospital, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and other healthcare facilities, PCOM has expanded and established pipelines to secure clinical spots for its DO and physician assistant studies students.

“As a College, we understand that to effectively train the next generation of healthcare leaders, we must address the national shortfalls in clinical and graduate medical education,” says Jay S. Feldstein, DO ’81, president and chief executive officer, PCOM, of the College’s recent partnerships, which not only fortify training opportunities but also solidify PCOM’s commitment to community health.

• Chestnut Hill Hospital. On January 1, 2023, the Alliance PCOM formed with Temple Health and Redeemer Health officially acquired Chestnut Hill Hospital. The newly named Temple Health – Chestnut Hill Hospital (TH-CHH) will remain a freestanding, licensed acute-care hospital under a notfor-profit company owned and controlled by the Alliance and managed by Temple Health. PCOM has strong roots at TH-CHH, including established residency programs in internal medicine, surgery and the transitional year. “This opportunity is significant,” says Dr. Feldstein. “Through our partnership, we will implement and expand clinical opportunities for our DO and physician assistant studies students while preserving a hospital that has been serving its Philadelphia community for more than 100 years.”

• St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. In June 2022, the College announced that—with other private and public donors—it contributed financial support to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, helping to sustain the hospital’s vital work while establishing an academic affiliation agreement to provide PCOM DO and physician assistant studies students clinical training opportunities in pediatrics. This agreement maintains the College’s residency partnerships in surgery, plastic surgery, orthopedics and otolaryngology. It also provides PCOM with representation on St. Christopher’s board of trustees.

• vybe urgent care. The recent renovation of Family Medicine at PCOM paired with the construction of neighboring vybe urgent care offers clinical opportunities for PCOM DO, physician assistant studies, behavioral health and pharmacy students to learn in a hands-on, interprofessional, teambased medical environment.

• PCOM Simulation Center at Bayhealth. Located at Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus, Delaware, this newly constructed, state-of-the-art training space is designed to provide a high-tech immersive learning environment for medical students, residents and healthcare professionals. PCOM and Bayhealth have a long-standing partnership. For years, Bayhealth has been an undergraduate medical education site for PCOM medical students completing their third- and fourth-year rotations. Many PCOM graduates have joined Bayhealth’s graduate medical education programs.

• Core clinical campuses. In partnership with Wellstar Health System, PCOM has established a core clinical campus at Wellstar North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, Georgia, and is working to add a core clinical campus at Shore Medical Center at Somers Point, New Jersey.

PRESIDENT FELDSTEIN APPOINTED TO GUBERNATORIAL TRANSITION TEAM

Jay S. Feldstein, DO ’81, president and chief executive officer, PCOM, has been appointed by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis to serve on the Transition Advisory Committee on Health and Human Services. Chaired by Dr. Alyn E. Waller, senior pastor at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, the committee is broken into three subsets; Dr. Feldstein is part of the Healthcare Subcommittee. In this capacity, Dr. Feldstein will work to advance medical education and advocate for holistic health care—especially in rural areas—across the Commonwealth.

DONNING THE WHITE COAT

This fall—across College locations—doctor of osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physician assistant studies and physical therapy students officially donned white coats for the first time.

For students, the White Coat Ceremony marks a pivotal educational milestone into the world of clinical medicine. White coats are seen as a symbol of professionalism, humanism and compassion— the very principles required for the provision of patient care.

On January 1, 2023, an Alliance of Temple Health, Redeemer Health and PCOM officially acquired Chestnut Hill Hospital.

Students beamed with pride at the PCOM White Coat Ceremony.

PCOM SOUTH GEORGIA UNVEILS MURAL

A 37-foot-long, seven-foothigh mural wraps a hallway at PCOM South Georgia. The words “One College, One Community, One Approach” tell the story of the Moultrie location as well as the history of osteopathic medicine. The mural was generously donated by H. William Craver, III, DO ’87, FACOS, dean and chief academic officer, PCOM South Georgia, and his wife, Kathy.

PCOM GEORGIA’S PT DEPARTMENT SUPPORTS THOSE WITH LIMB LOSS

PCOM Georgia’s Department of Physical Therapy hosted a limb loss community event aimed at helping amputees to live active and productive lives. “Beyond Amputation: Living Well & Enjoying Life!” drew nearly 100 individuals to campus at the end of the summer.

Sessions included exercise mobility clinics; adaptive sports including hiking, cycling and golf; managing phantom limb pain and neuropathy; and care for the caregivers. Specific intervention strategies that focused on reducing fall risk, improving balance and prosthetic gait were taught using patient models and through hands-on interactions.

Those in attendance included 25 physical therapists and physical therapist assistants from PCOM Georgia’s partner clinical, hospital and practice centers, as well as 14 Doctor of Physical Therapy program students.

“This event allowed us the opportunity to truly engage with those within the limb loss community,” says Cameron Ragland (DPT ’23). “Learning the participants’ stories, delving deeper into real-life experiences, and getting hands-on practice with various techniques and exercises was invaluable and provided us with resources we can take with us when we’re practicing physical therapists.”

PCOM Georgia hosted a limb loss community event, drawing nearly 100 to campus.

FOOD FIGHT: FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE KITCHEN

Students from PCOM’s Culinary Medicine course got to trade in their white coats for white aprons as part of the Diced Challenge, a cook-off and fundraising event developed by the Vetri Community Partnership and inspired by the Food Network’s “Chopped.”

The Diced Challenge pitted the five first- and second-year DO students on PCOM’s Scalpels & Spatulas team against two other teams in a rapid-fire competition to create a nutritious, delicious dish from a basket of five mystery ingredients: potato chips, condensed milk, rotisserie chicken, red cabbage and a frozen quinoa mix. Each team had 45 minutes to use their ingredients to chop, mince, sear and stir, culminating in a dish that a panel of renowned chefs—including James Beard Award winner Marc Vetri, Iron Chef and James Beard Award winner Jose Garces, and chef and activist Kurt Evans—graded for taste, presentation and creativity.

“Although we didn’t win, the experience was unforgettable,” says Bridget McNierney (DO ’25). Adds Claire Berger (DO ’25): “It will be a great story and fond memory for a long time—especially being able to say that Marc Vetri and Jose Garces complimented the flavors we created in our dish.”

PCOM’s Culinary Medicine course teaches students that high-quality food based on the Mediterranean Diet can help prevent and treat chronic disease and restore well-being.

“We know that diet and overall health are inextricably linked,” says Farzaneh Daghigh, PhD, professor of biochemistry and co-director of the PCOM Culinary Medicine course. “This challenge put the lessons these students are learning into practice, all in support of a great cause.”

MOM BUYS BILLBOARD TO CELEBRATE DAUGHTER

Kristine S. Smalls, PsyD ’22, didn’t expect an announcement of her graduation from PCOM—a gift from her proud mom—to be published on a digital billboard towering above Route 130 in South Jersey. Since her story first broke in late July, it has garnered national attention. Dr. Smalls and her mother have appeared on “Good Morning America” and in 230 other media outlets and publications.

Though typically reserved, Dr. Smalls has taken the attention in stride. “It has been a great experience and a positive one for my community,” she shares. “I want young people in my neighborhood [Camden, New Jersey] to know what’s possible, what they can accomplish. … I think the billboard has resonated because it’s a display of a mother’s unconditional love. It’s also a story about diversity—of an African American woman joining the 4 percent of African American psychologists in the United States.”

Kristine S. Smalls, PsyD ’22, earned a doctoral degree in clinical psychology; her achievement became community and then national news.

PCOM’s Scalpels & Spatulas team: Emily Baus (DO ’25), Bridget McNierney (DO ’25), Claire Berger (DO ’25), Isabella Benitez-Enriquez (DO ’25) and Dillon Gooder (DO ’25).

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA

are prescribed the opioid partial agonist buprenorphine. “There is limited evidence that buprenorphine and marijuana have a positive, synergistic effect on pain,” says Dr. Lent, noting that the study aims to determine if medical marijuana can help patients living with opioid use disorder and chronic pain remain in recovery.

• Quality of life. This study is examining the psychosocial and clinical changes in those who start medical marijuana for any of the 23 medical conditions that are eligible for treatment with medical marijuana in Pennsylvania. Researchers will follow 600 study participants over their first year of medical marijuana treatment and conduct in-depth interviews at three, six, nine and 12 months for health-related quality of life measurements.

PCOM’s medical marijuana research team of investigators from the School of Professional and Applied Psychology is conducting three studies to measure the psychosocial outcomes in individuals using medical marijuana.

“Medical marijuana is becoming more accessible in the United States, but research that measures its effects is limited,” says Michelle R. Lent, PhD, associate professor, PCOM’s School of Professional and Applied Psychology. “We are providing information about a treatment option that has become increasingly popular and accessible.”

Here’s an update on the active marijuana studies at the College:

• Children with autism. Researchers will observe adult caregivers’ reports of children 19 and younger over the first three months of treatment with medical marijuana. Outcomes studied will be behavior, cognition and sleep. “There’s a lot of excitement about the study,” says Dr. Lent. “Beneficial effects of medical marijuana in autistic children have been reported by family members, but systematic studies are limited.”

• Opioid use disorder. Opioid use disorder is one of 23 approved medical conditions that are eligible for treatment with medical cannabis in Pennsylvania. Dr. Lent’s team is planning to enroll 120 low-income, chronic pain patients who

Pennsylvania is the first in the nation to require that research accompany legalization of medical marijuana for serious medical conditions, thereby positioning the Commonwealth as the leader in generating new knowledge that further defines the drug’s therapeutic applications.

“The PA Department of Health’s program to link legalization of medical marijuana with research is already contributing valuable knowledge that supports the medication’s beneficial effects in a variety of conditions,” says Dr. Lent. “It is critical that we provide evidence-based research findings to guide physicians’ clinical decision-making with their patients.”

As a Pennsylvania state-approved clinical registrant, Organic Remedies has signed a multi-year research agreement with PCOM, a designated Academic Clinical Research Center, to study the therapeutic applications of medical marijuana. PCOM researchers work directly with patients in Organic Remedies’ six dispensaries throughout the state and three dispensaries in Missouri.

Thus far, PCOM’s team of medical marijuana investigators has published two manuscripts, with a third under review, and has given three presentations at national and local conferences. These studies also provide research training experiences for psychology and medical students. In addition, didactic and experiential learning opportunities in the field of medical marijuana have been incorporated into the curriculum for PCOM students.

PCOM STUDENT CO-CURATES ART EXHIBIT THAT CONSIDERS SYSTEMIC RACISM IN HEALTHCARE EDUCATION

This fall, Janita Aidonia Matoke (DO ’26) co-curated “Black Healthcare Studies: Black Students Breaking Barriers in Medicine,” at the African American Museum in Philadelphia. “Black Healthcare Studies” explores the adverse history and barriers faced by Black students pursuing careers in health care. For the exhibit, artist Doriana Diaz used mixed media and collaged compositions to transform everyday objects and archival materials into afro-futuristic depictions of Black figures in health care. She drew inspiration from Ms. Matoke’s scholarship and personal journey to medicine. “I was moved to create a concept centered around my experience as a Black woman in higher academia, the lack of representation in medicine, the adversities faced, as well as the hope, joy and light embodied and graced in being in this ‘afro-medical’ culture,” Ms. Matoke offers.

PCOM researchers work directly with patients in Organic Remedies’ dispensaries throughout Pennsylvania and Missouri.

INAUGURAL PCOM SOUTH GEORGIA COMMENCEMENT AMONG OTHER LATE-SUMMER CELEBRATIONS

On July 25, 2022, eight students who earned their master of science in biomedical sciences degrees from PCOM South Georgia graduated with unique distinction: they are the three-year-old campus’s first graduating class. Four of the graduates plan to continue learning and pursuing careers in the life sciences and health care. The other half of the class joined the PCOM South Georgia Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program’s class of 2026.

On July 26, 45 biomedical sciences students and 30 physician assistant students from PCOM Georgia received their degrees at the Gas South District in Duluth.

And on July 29, PCOM celebrated its 23rd annual Graduate Programs Commencement at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia; 216 students were awarded master’s and/or doctoral degrees. Programs included health sciences— physician assistant studies, forensic medicine, biomedical sciences, educational psychology, school psychology, clinical psychology, counseling and clinical health psychology, mental health counseling, organizational development and leadership, public health management and administration, and nonprofit leadership and population health management.

PRESTIGIOUS HONORS BESTOWED ON TWO COLLEGE FACULTY

Gary E. Freed, DO, FAAP, FACOP, clinical professor and co-director of primary care skills in the osteopathic medicine program, PCOM Georgia, won the Leila D. Denmark Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia Chapter – American Academy of Pediatrics. This award recognizes his work and contributions to the pediatric profession and is the highest award the Georgia chapter bestows. Dr. Freed, who retired from Emory University School of Medicine in 2017 and began teaching at PCOM Georgia two days later, is the first DO physician to receive this honor in the state.

Before his retirement from clinical medicine, Dr. Freed was considered one of the leading experts on sudden infant death syndrome and safe sleep in Georgia by the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

George McCloskey, PhD, professor, School of Professional and Applied Psychology, and director of school psychology research, PCOM, has been awarded the Dorothy Ungerleider Award from the Association of Educational Therapists. This award recognized Dr. McCloskey’s initiative and exceptional contributions to the field of educational therapy.

Dr. McCloskey has nearly 40 years of experience in the field of educational therapy, with a diverse range of practical, direct service work in multiple settings. He specializes in children and adults experiencing various cognitive, learning and behavior difficulties including ADHD, executive dysfunction, memory problems, reading disability, written expression disability, math disability, head trauma, mental retardation, autism and pervasive developmental delay. He has been a member of the PCOM Psychology Department since 2004.

For more news, stories, event photos, videos and podcasts from PCOM, PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia, visit pcom.edu/news.

In July, PCOM South Georgia graduated its inaugural class.

Dr. Freed

Dr. McCloskey

Q&A

ANTHONY J. WEHBE, DO ’07, MBA, FACOI: Bringing HospitalLevel Care to the Home

by Meghan McCall

Anthony J. Wehbe, DO ’07, MBA, FACOI, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has always been passionate about caring for the elderly. As an internal medicine physician, entrepreneur and self-described “techie,” he has combined his areas of expertise to launch Sena Health, a service that coordinates hospital-level, at-home care for medical conditions that typically require hospital stays.

Launched in 2021 in Philadelphia, Sena Health partners with hospitals, medical groups and health systems to develop processes and procedures and provide the technology to allow patients to heal at home. Since its launch, Sena Health has partnered with regional healthcare providers such as Cooper Health and Salem Medical Center, as well as providers in New York, Florida and the Midwest.

Institutional Advancement staff recently sat down with Dr. Wehbe to discuss the healing at home model and how he hopes to see it grow.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO FOCUS YOUR MEDICAL CAREER ON CARE FOR THE ELDERLY?

I’ve always been attracted to working with the elderly and helping them age in place with dignity. When I was on rotations at PCOM, I would do house calls with Anthony Leone, DO ’57. I even did an elective rotation with him because I enjoyed it so much. Each morning, I’d meet him on campus and we’d drive to South Philly to see his list of patients in their homes. It was the most rewarding rotation and experience I had as a medical student.

HOW DID YOU LAUNCH SENA HEALTH?

After working in leadership positions at Kennedy Health and then Jefferson Health, I decided I wanted to go out on my own. I wanted to get a primary care practice up and running first to show that I know how to take care of people in the home and then develop the technology to expand upon it. In April of 2020, I started Sena Care with the premise of meeting people where they are. At the time, it was really just me, and then I grew it. There are now 10 providers on the team. We go into nursing homes, assisted living facilities and group homes for people with intellectual disabilities.

Sena Health started in 2021. In addition to providing the technology and devices to treat people in the home, we built our own software so we are able to monitor them 24/7 from our command center. Since health care is one of the most hacked industries, we invested significant resources in cybersecurity and HIPAA compliance.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS TO SOMEONE RECEIVING AT-HOME CARE RATHER THAN GOING TO THE HOSPITAL FOR LOWER-LEVEL ACUTE CARE?

We’re always going to need hospitals, but for those with lower-level acuity, especially those who are elderly, a hospital setting can make them decompensate rather quickly. Treating the elderly in a familiar surrounding where they have their own bed, their routine, their pets and/or their family is very beneficial. It lowers infection rates, mortality and complications like hospital-acquired psychosis. As osteopathic physicians, we understand social determinants of health. Taking that approach into the home, being able to look at patients’ food pantries and their relationships has really served my team well in how we approach and develop processes for patient care.

HOW DO YOU HOPE HEALING AT HOME EVOLVES OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS?

Healing at home isn’t a new type of care. The pandemic brought about a significant uptick in people desiring more services in their home; Medicare even approved the hospital at home reimbursement model. Yet we’re still very far from achieving the full potential of this type of care. Most insurance companies still don’t pay for this kind of service, and when people have insurance, they expect services to be covered. Usually people think of home care as a nursing-driven service, but we can provide hospital-level services in the home now. That’s something new for many people. A lot of experts have compared this type of care to that of urgent care centers 15 years ago: they weren’t common, but now you see them everywhere. I think that 10 to 15 years from now, that’s where healing at home will be. I hope to finish my career in this space, but for now, my personal mission is educating people as much as I can about this type of care.

ALUMNI HEADLINE MILITARY SYMPOSIUM

In December, PCOM’s Student Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons hosted its annual Military Symposium, seeking to bring attention to the more than 2,200 doctors of osteopathic medicine who serve in the United States Uniformed Services. DO students, military recruiters and other physicians from across the country attended the event, which coincided with the annual Army-Navy Game held in Philadelphia.

Captain Sean Conley, DO ’06, who served as the physician to the White House from 2016 to 2020, addressed the attendees. Captain Conley currently serves as faculty in the Department of Military and Emergency Medicine at Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. He has an extensive background in pre-hospital and combat casualty care research, leading the Navy’s Combat Trauma Research Group out of Portsmouth Naval Hospital (2010-2016). His deployments have included South Korea, Australia, Haiti and Afghanistan. Other alumni speakers included Lieutenant Commander Matthew Speicher, DO ’14, and Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bassett, DO ’06. Prior to attending PCOM, LCDR Speicher served as a Naval Flight Officer, flying as a Radar Intercept Officer in the F-14 Tomcat and a Weapon Systems Officer in the F/A-18 Super Hornet. He remains on active duty in Washington, DC, as a staff emergency medicine physician and holds an academic appointment to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences as an assistant professor of Military and Emergency Medicine. LTC Bassett serves as a clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine at PCOM and Thomas

ALUMNI MENTOR DIRECTORY KEY RESOURCE FOR PCOM STUDENTS

The PCOM Connect to Your Future Mentor Directory is a searchable online directory of alumni that is made available each year to current students. Featuring over 600 alumni from all PCOM programs and campuses, the directory serves as a valuable resource for students as they explore future career paths and navigate the challenges of medical and graduate school.

Differing from formal mentoring programs where alumni are individually paired with students, Connect to Your Future gives students the flexibility to seek out the type of guidance they need when it is most relevant to them. For some, this is during the first few months as they transition into their studies, and for others this is closer to the end of their time at PCOM as they begin thinking about specialties, residencies, and ways to utilize their training.

For alumni, getting listed in the directory is easy. Simply complete an online form and your information will be made available to students through PCOM Alumni’s secure and password-protected website. Alumni are able to specify what type of guidance they can provide, their availability, location and preferred contact method.

For more information, visit alumni.pcom.edu/beaconnector.

Jefferson University–Sidney Kimmel Medical College, in addition to other faculty appointments. He is also the associate medical director for the Philadelphia Poison Control Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

“SPECIALTY SPEED ROUNDS” ALLOWS DO STUDENTS TO EXPLORE DIFFERENT CAREERS

One of the most challenging decisions a medical student makes is which specialty they will pursue for residency. To assist with this decision, Institutional Advancement hosted the second annual “Specialty Speed Rounds,” a virtual event designed to expose students to a variety of career paths. Held in late November, Specialty Speed Rounds provided an opportunity for first- and second-year DO students from all PCOM locations to hear from alumni about a typical day in their specialty. Students navigated between Zoom breakout rooms where alumni from various specialties were situated. Specialties that were represented included anesthesiology, dermatology, emergency medicine, family medicine, general surgery, OB/ GYN, orthopedics and psychiatry, among others. In total, 32 alumni spanning 13 medical specialties shared insights with 122 students. Afterward, students received contact information to stay in touch with these dedicated alumni volunteers.

“This event was fantastic,” wrote one student after the event. “Oftentimes you have to be a member of a particular club to hear alumni speak about their specialty. This event was open to everyone and gave us exposure to a huge number of specialties at once.”

DO students from across the country learned combat-ready skills from physicians in various branches of the military at the SAMOPS Military Symposium.

FOUNDERS’ DAY 2023

NORMAN EDWARD VINN, DO ’77,

MBA

The recipient of the O. J. Snyder Memorial Award revolutionized in-home care and coined a term in the process.

by Dan O’Connor

You won’t find the word “residentialist” in the dictionary, but Norman Edward Vinn, DO ’77, MBA, coined the term to describe healthcare providers specially trained to provide clinical care to frail and vulnerable seniors and access-challenged patients in their homes.

“I was the first one to use the term more than 20 years ago,” says Dr. Vinn, who in 2002 founded the Residentialist Group (TRG) in San Clemente, California. TRG is a network of doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants specialized in house calls for geriatric patients.

Leave it to a DO with a BA in English literature to find the perfect word to describe a model of care that puts a modern-day twist on the house call. But instead of the kindly doctor with a black bag visiting the feverish child at night, a residentialist renders technology-enabled in-home care to the high-risk, homebound patient.

“Our target population has always been the hidden, underserved population within our midst that suffers from a lack of primary care access to clinicians,” says Dr. Vinn.

“Just as hospitalists are specialists within the walls of the hospital, residentialists are specialists within the walls of the home,” says Dr. Vinn, adding that the goal of residentialist care is to improve access, provide continuity of care and prevent unnecessary hospitalizations.

For his pioneering work, Dr. Vinn is the 2023 recipient of the O. J. Snyder Memorial Medal, PCOM’s most prestigious recognition, given to those who have made a significant contribution to the College and to the osteopathic profession.

A nudge from Dad

Dr. Vinn’s career in medicine almost never happened. After graduating with a degree in English literature from Tulane University in 1972, the native of Houston considered a career in the film industry. But Dr. Vinn’s father, Joseph Edward Vinn, DO ’41, urged

O. J. Snyder Memorial Medal

Recipient Norman Edward Vinn, DO ’77, MBA.

him to consider a career path in osteopathic medicine. Dr. Vinn heeded his father’s advice, was accepted to several osteopathic medical schools and chose to attend PCOM like his father.

“It was a source of pride to be able to follow in my father’s footsteps,” says Dr. Vinn.

Mid-career pivot

After many years in clinical practice, Dr. Vinn transitioned into practice management and leadership of physician organizations. In the late 1990s, Dr. Vinn was a key executive with a large managed care organization when he became interested in the emerging role that consumer-driven, personalized care would have in the healthcare delivery system.

Dr. Vinn envisioned the residentialist care concept as a disruptive innovation that not only could reduce hospitalizations and unnecessary costs, but could also offer seniors a more affordable alternative to long-term care facilities. As the model has refined over the years, residentialist care includes post-hospitalization care transition services to reduce readmission rates, ongoing chronic care for patients too frail or disabled to leave their homes, palliative care services and annual Medicare wellness visits.

A partner in PCOM

Dr. Vinn launched TRG in 2002 out of a room in his house with a staff of two: himself and his wife, Marsha. It wasn’t long before TRG was operating a network called Housecall Doctors Medical Group that provided on-site clinical services to more than 1,500 homebound elderly patients in Southern California.

As Dr. Vinn was thinking of expanding into other markets, PCOM entered the picture. In 2015, Dr. Vinn had what he describes as a “serendipitous” meeting with Jay S. Feldstein, DO ’81, president and chief executive officer. They discussed

opportunities to collaborate to develop a Pennsylvania-based home care network. Dr. Feldstein viewed in-home geriatric care as complementary to the College’s goal to be a mission-oriented organization that’s sensitive to the needs of the elderly, and he suggested a partnership. The two organizations formed a Philadelphia-based joint venture rebranded as the Residentialist Housecall Medical Group (RHMG), with PCOM serving as a capital, strategic support and clinical partner.

Eight years after the founding of RHMG, faculty in PCOM’s Department of Geriatrics continue to offer guidance on clinical policy and protocols, as well as support contract development with regional accountable care organizations and managed care networks. In addition, clinicians in PCOM’s geriatrics program receive specialized training in the continuum of care of elderly persons as part of their postdoctoral fellowships.

The original TRG changed names and hands last March when Dr. Vinn sold the company to SCAN Health Plan, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit Medicare Advantage plans.

True to his roots

A board-certified family physician, Dr. Vinn serves as the current president of the American Academy of Home Care Medicine and was the president of the American Osteopathic Association from 2013 to 2014.

“I am committed to the culture and mission of the osteopathic profession and the aspiration that our students, residents and graduates remain engaged with this profession and utilize the osteopathic philosophy in their daily approach to patients and treatment decisions,” he says.

He and his wife have three daughters: Vanessa Vinn, DO, FACOI, an osteopathic internist and residentialist; Danielle Vinn, a special education teacher; and Lily Vinn, a healthcare marketing specialist.

Dr. Vinn stands with past O. J. Snyder Memorial Medal recipients. Jay S. Feldstein, DO ‘81, president and chief executive officer, PCOM, presents the 2023 O. J. Snyder Memorial Medal to Dr. Vinn.

PCOM ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CERTIFICATE OF HONOR RECIPIENT

William B. Swallow, DO ’79, MS/FM ’20, FACOFP; Captain, MC, USNR (ret.)

“Sullivan County is as remote as can be, but that’s the value of it to a medical student who wants to learn rural family practice,” says Dr. Swallow. “We used to call it Fort Apache in Sullivan County. Everything and anything would come in. It empowered the students to think for themselves.”

Dr. Swallow has practiced osteopathic family medicine for 42 years. He served in the United States Naval Reserve and retired as a captain in the Medical Corps. He was a medical officer in Operation Desert Storm working in a medical ward and casualty receiving.

Dr. Swallow holds leadership positions in various medical organizations, including the Pennsylvania State Board of Osteopathic Medicine, of which he is chairman. He is a member of the executive committee of the board of trustees and vice president of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association. He is also a long-time member of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians. He is the past president of the PCOM Alumni Association.

In November 2022, Dr. Swallow was elected as the Alumni Representative member of the PCOM Board of Trustees and will serve in his role through 2025.

As a testament to his devotion and commitment to rural medicine, Dr. Swallow and his wife, Elizabeth J. Swallow, established the William and Elizabeth Swallow Endowed Fund for Rural Medicine at PCOM. The $500,000 fund is available to help with the travel and housing expenses of students who are completing rural medicine rotations.

From 2001 to 2005, William B. Swallow, DO ’79, MS/FM ’20, FACOFP; Captain, MC, USNR (ret.), served as assistant professor of family medicine and medical director of the Sullivan County Medical Center in Laporte, Pennsylvania. Under Dr. Swallow’s supervision, fourth-year DO students completed their month-long family practice clinical rotations at the clinic, located in an entirely rural community three hours outside Philadelphia in Northcentral Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains region.

A native Pennsylvanian, Dr. Swallow grew up in the Lehigh Valley. He holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Bucknell University and a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree and a master’s degree in forensic medicine from PCOM.

Dr. Swallow and his wife have three children: W. Jason Swallow; Jennifer R. Kauf, VMD; and Matthew J. Swallow. They reside in Pike County, Pennsylvania.

Jason Swallow holds his father’s award; he is flanked by Thomas J. Gravina, chairman, PCOM Board of Trustees; Dr. Feldstein; and Paul Lapoint, DO ‘90, president, PCOM Alumni Association.

Jason Swallow accepts the 2023 PCOM Alumni Association Certificate of Honor on his father’s behalf. Dr. Swallow was unable to attend the ceremony.

LAYERS OF HISTORY

CONSIDERING THE COLLEGE’S FIRST 125 YEARS

Introduction by Jennifer Schaffer Leone; anniversary stories by Janice Fisher, Jennifer Schaffer Leone, Dan O’Connor and David McKay Wilson

As Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine prepares to mark its 125th anniversary, Digest Magazine arousesinstitutionalmemory, documentingprivateandcollectivehistories. Courtesy of the PCOM Archives, our cover layers objectsfromdecadesofdailylife:academic records, leaflets, drawings, pins, photographs and other ephemera. Authentic and raw reflections aboutprominentCollegeleaders,facultyand program founders articulate the pulse of teaching and clinical practice, the consequence of learning. KennethJ.Veit,DO’76,MBA,thelongesttenured dean in the College’s history—and in osteopathichistory—poignantlyshareswisdom and wit acquired over 30 years in his post. And the history of the Levin Administration Building evokes nostalgia and a sense of place. Layers of history to consider and relish …

CAROL A. FOX, MM

“When Carol started working at PCOM, it was a much smaller place. But even three years ago, when I left, the feeling of family remained, and through her years at PCOM, Carol always embraced that. She really thought of everybody working there as family and friends.

Some have wondered how those like Carol and me could have such a long tenure in a single institution, but PCOM was constantly changing, and that made it all exciting. Change is the lifeblood of an institution of higher education, and PCOM was very alive through all those years. In admissions and student affairs, Carol and I spent a lot of time screening applicants and talking about what we wanted our classes to look like. Carol saw every class as the future of osteopathic medicine. Today, just about every professional and graduate school is talking about holistic admissions, having come to the realization that beyond MCAT scores and GPAs are those qualities an applicant brings: communication and compassion, being a team player, being an active and involved person, being socially capable. At PCOM, Carol built the model of looking beyond the numbers. I’m very proud of the classes we brought in, and Carol cared for each student through their program and beyond, demonstrated by her strong relationship with PCOM alumni.

When PCOM started the psychology and physician assistant programs, forensic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, biomedical sciences—those were all very different cohorts of students, and an admissions program had to be built for each one. Carol was able to expertly expand her staff, to find the right people to be on her team.

At PCOM, people can sense if you’re truly dedicated because it’s not just a school, it’s a mission. There was absolutely no doubt that Carol was 100 percent behind the mission of the College. So

she was able to build a lot of trust among the people around her.

You can repeat an admissions program year after year—talk to students and recruit them, put out the literature, do the interviews. But Carol had a sense for and a talent for building relationships with undergraduate premedical advisors. They knew they could trust her.

There was something I called ‘Carol’s rule.’ Every conference or regional admissions gathering had panels—one for medicine, and maybe a panel for dentistry, and a panel for other supporting allied professions. If there was a panel for medical schools that included MDs, but the DO schools were relegated to the ‘alternatives,’ we wouldn’t participate. When it came to standing her ground for osteopathic medicine, Carol was there.”

As told by Robert G. Cuzzolino, EdD, former vice president for graduate programs and planning

PAUL EVANS, DO ’79, FAAFP, FACOFP

“Dr. Evans is a military man, and can be very stern. He expects things to be done in a certain way. If I said, ‘I have an idea, and this is what I want to do,’ he would tell me, ‘Well, Patience, if it works, you get the glory. But if it doesn’t, you get the blame.’ I was comfortable with that; it makes you think twice and consider all the angles. At PCOM Georgia,

For over 40 years, Ms. Fox saw every class as the future of osteopathic medicine.

A stern military man and a loving family man, Dr. Evans was PCOM Georgia’s founding dean and chief academic officer.

I found him to be an amazing teacher, and he used every opportunity to teach. You could see him transform when he talked with students and asked them questions. I was privy to a softer side of Dr. Evans, too, in his interactions with my son, whose name is Mason. As a little boy, Mason loved fish and animals in general. Dr. Evans is a bird expert. So they would get in these conversations. Mason at one point drew him a little cutout of a fish, colored like a rainbow. Dr. Evans had it taped to his desk for years and even moved it to his desk in Indianapolis when he went to Marian University.

His philosophy was that in the beginning you had to run a tight ship, and then you could loosen up. Dr. Evans came to trust me and treat me as a confidant. It was a privilege to work for him. The culture here in North Georgia is different than in Philadelphia, and part of his job when he served as founding dean and chief academic officer at PCOM Georgia [2004 to 2010] was to be the bridge between the two cultures. Dr. Evans grew up in the northeast, but he went to school in Miami, and then he joined the military and traveled all over. So he was able to read a room, and I think that’s also why he was so skilled as a teacher. Perhaps his background as a family physician also helped him do this, as I saw with my kid. He was able to meet someone where they were and explain things to them in a way that suited them. He knew his audience. … I love Dr. Evans. I saw the colonel, but I got to know the family doctor and the family man, a person who knows how to laugh at himself and with others.”

As

told by

Patience A. Mason, MEd, chief student affairs officer, PCOM

ROBERT G. CUZZOLINO, EdD

“Bob is one of the most well-rounded people I’ve ever met, and probably the smartest. He has great intellect; he’s a fabulous writer; he has great analytical skills and a knack for separating the wheat from the chaff. He is truly quite remarkable—one in a million, to my mind. In all the years I worked with Bob—and believe me, we dealt with all kinds of issues—I never saw a bead of sweat on his brow. Absolutely nothing made him nervous—pure grit! He knew what he needed to know. He did what he needed to do, and he did it extremely well. He was a great source of mentorship and consultation to me and my staff. We could go to Bob with just about any concerns. Bob expertly guided us and PCOM through getting our programs accredited by the Middle States Commission and specialty accreditors. You could trust that what he told you would work. He’s an innovator, too. He was essential to the development of the program in clinical psychology, in school psychology, in organizational development and leadership and in our counseling program, not to mention other programs across PCOM’s campuses. I truly don’t know how he did it. Bob would hold court every day at lunch, and a small group of us would share all kinds of stories—topical news, what’s new in higher education and accreditation, and everything you could conceivably imagine.

Bob could speak on just about anything, including music trivia. … With his background in counseling and higher education administration, he was very focused on helping students. We worked together a lot on assessing student outcomes, using that information to drive our programs in a continuous quality improvement cycle. Bob said, sure, we could look at all these academic predictors, which account for a little bit of the variability in outcomes, but the reality is that probably a lot of nonacademic factors come into play. And that, I think, he learned through his involvement with students. Those who got into academic problems often had other life issues going on, and he was sensitive to that. Bob had a stellar reputation as a great leader and mentor, and stand-up person with a good heart. He’s the kind of guy you meet along the road of life only once in a lifetime. When Bob retired, he referred to me as his brother. That reference still touches me. I am most honored and proud to know him and consider myself lucky for the opportunity to walk beside him.”

As

told by

Robert A. DiTomasso, PhD, ABPP, dean, School of Professional and Applied Psychology, PCOM

Dr. Cuzzolino was the driving force behind the expansion of the College’s graduate programs.

JOHN CAVENAGH, PhD, PA-C, DFAAPA

“John joined PCOM full time shortly after I did in 1999. He became the Physician Assistant Studies program director in 2003, and held that role until 2016, when I took over. The day he told me he was going to retire, I felt a bit panicked. Faculty and staff were so confident in his leadership, and I wasn’t sure I could live up to the expectation. But John was always encouraging and supportive. And after I took the position he was here quite a bit, because he continued to teach for about three years. So he would check in and might offer some advice—but he would say, ‘I’m offering this advice just as a guy, not as a former program director.’… I remember him sitting in my old office when he told me, ‘Let the problems flow through you.’ What he meant was that not everything that appears to be a crisis or a difficulty needs a sudden reaction. Many things will take care of themselves. So don’t charge into problems. Let them come, flow through you, and then decide how you want to react. And that’s how he conducted himself. He was very measured, very calm. I rarely saw him angry or flustered. He was a private person, but we did know that he grew up in a big Irish Catholic family in Chicago, and he was the oldest, and he had to do a lot of things, to take care of his younger brothers and sisters, and so maybe that was where his leadership skills started. … In Harrisburg, John advocated for the physician assistant profession, and he would talk to students about professional practice issues, things on the horizon. He was at the forefront of policy, but he was doing it in his quiet way. … John was at the helm when PCOM decided to open a

cohort in Suwanee, Georgia. And he did all the work with our accreditors. Having a dual campus for a PA program was largely uncharted territory. It was daunting to consider how to have an equivalent program with all of those miles in between. It seemed insurmountable, and John made it happen.”

As told by Laura Levy, DHSc, PA-C, chair, department of physician assistant studies, PCOM

RICHARD A. PASCUCCI, DO ’75

“Rich was the director of medical education when I was a resident, so I got to know him at morning reports and at lectures. The big thing with Rich is his personality—he’s easy to talk to, very engaging, and makes you feel like you’re the most important person in the room. And he always used humor to break the ice or put people at ease in a meeting. He asked me in 2005 to become the associate program director for the Family Medicine residency, and in that position I reported to him. In 2012, when he was the vice dean for clinical education and had other responsibilities requiring more of his time, Rich offered to bring me in part-time to teach me how to be the head of graduate medical education one day. What a great mentor Rich is. He’s taught me so much about professionalism,

Dr. Cavenagh was the chair and program director of the Physician Assistant Studies department from 2003 until 2016.

As vice dean for clinical education, Dr. Pascucci played a vital role in the education of more than 700 osteopathic physicians at PCOM.

and how to be patient as well. I’m a pretty calm guy, but when things would go wrong, he’d sit me down and help me work it out. Rich would say, ‘All right. What’s the issue? Let’s take a step back and think about it unemotionally, and see what’s going on.’ Or ‘What’s the other side’s motivation? How can we work together and compromise to get things done?’. Over time, he slowly and progressively gave me more to do, and helped me think things through. Early on, I would ask myself, ‘How would Rich handle this?’ But now it’s ingrained in me because he’s taught me so well. When [allopathic and osteopathic] graduate medical education transitioned to a single accreditation system, beginning in 2015, Rich and I were learning together, and he was handing off to me in a time of turmoil where sometimes we didn’t know the answer. So we had to figure it out together, along with Joanne Jones [campus officer, PCOM South Georgia], who was the third person in our triumvirate. Rich has always been a teacher to me, even on the golf course! Every time we play together, I learn something from him. And whenever we went golfing in Atlantic City, afterwards we’d go to the casinos, where we’d play blackjack together. He taught me strategy, and he’d say, ‘Sometimes you’ve got to take a risk. Roll the dice.’… I hope he is happy and proud that he trained me. Honestly, he is like a father figure to me.”

As told by David Kuo, DO ’96, RES ’99, associate dean of graduate medical education and associate professor, family medicine, PCOM

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, MA

“Managing Emotional Systems in the Workplace was my first class, Bill Clinton’s last before his retirement in 2017. As a busy working woman going back to school in her forties, I was excited to start my master’s degree program in Organizational Development and Leadership [ODL]. Little did I know how deeply my first grad school course with Bill would impact my life. First class, an all-day Saturday session, Bill handed each of us a lengthy paper he’d written on the 10 most impactful incidents in his life, including some traumatic episodes. As I read his deeply personal passages, I thought, ‘Wow, this guy is really putting himself out here.’ Our first assignment was to lay bare our souls, to do the same sort of self-reflection as Bill had done in his raw and revealing autobiography by chronicling what we could have done differently to better our career and our relationships with our family and friends. Bill felt emotional transparency was the key to building trust with your colleagues and to being a strong workplace leader. His mantra: ‘I want you to know who I am and to trust who I am so that you can be transparent with me.’ He taught that you can only achieve that level of openness by understanding others’ points of view, which often meant having difficult conversations and finding closure with those with whom you’d had thorny relationships. It was risky, but the reward of growing into a more empathetic and understanding person

made it all worthwhile. Bill taught me to appreciate the person and the personality, not just the work product, because who you are affects everything about you in the workplace.

Fast forward three years to my capstone project, which focused on my transformative story of personal growth that I rough-drafted in that first grad-school paper. I presented my capstone virtually due to the pandemic. Whose warm and welcoming face did I see smiling back at me on the Zoom meeting? Bill Clinton’s. I was so moved and honored that he was present and that I was one of the last students he taught in his 15 years as director of the College’s ODL program.”

As told by Necie Liggeons, MS/ODL ’20, chief development and alumni engagement officer, PCOM

ARTHUR FREEMAN, EdD, ABPP, ACT

“Art was one of the most charismatic men I’ve ever met. There was such a charm about him. He was a brilliant psychologist and innovative administrator. He loved to teach. He taught through stories. You learned so much by listening to him.

He had high expectations for everybody, and he strived to help others meet those expectations. He was supportive, and he motivated his faculty to achieve more. For example,

Mr. Clinton felt emotional transparency was the key to building trust with your colleagues and to being a strong workplace leader.

he required us to become board certified at a time when only 10 percent of clinical psychologists would do so. … Art had original ideas about teaching psychology, and he put those ideas into action. When he founded the College’s Department of Psychology in 1995, PCOM’s classrooms were filled with medical students during the day. He chose to launch the program at night. ‘We have a barn, let’s have a show,’ he’d say. He filled those seats. He traveled the world to extend his knowledge and wisdom. When I co-hosted the World Congress of the Association of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies in 2000, Art had the idea that it would be neat if people could watch experts doing therapy. So he started a grand rounds series during which practitioners could watch experts conduct a therapy session, live on stage, with an actor as a patient. This format was adopted by the association and continues today. Art was a world-renowned expert in cognitive therapy, which uses empirically based therapeutic interventions that focus on an individual’s core beliefs, thoughts, feelings and behaviors, with an emphasis on challenging irrational and maladaptive thoughts or beliefs. He had a knack for working with complex and difficult patients. He was prolific in extending his experience and knowledge. I was honored to co-author two books with him (he authored over 25 books and many more articles). Art loved to gather people around him. Every day around noon, he’d announce that the lunch train was leaving, as he gathered his people to grab a meal with deans, chairs and faculty of other departments. He cared about psychology, he cared about PCOM, and he cared about his colleagues, friends and family. He left PCOM in 2008 and passed away in 2020. His presence is still felt here at the College. His portrait hangs in the

department, and we are grateful for his legacy and for having known him, and fortunate to have called him a colleague and dear friend.”

As told by Stephanie H. Felgoise, PhD,

ABPP,

associate dean for academic integration, School of Professional and Applied Psychology; department chair, director and professor, clinical PsyD program, PCOM

ROSEMARY B. MENNUTI, EdD, NCSP

“When I first joined the College as a young professor, I shadowed Roe. As my faculty mentor, she’d often meet and walk me from classes and around campus. It always amazed me that we’d never make it more than a few yards (sometimes a few footsteps) without students, faculty and staff stopping us. Everyone wanted to talk to Roe—professionally. Personally. I think they simply wanted to experience the warmth of her presence, her benevolence. Her authenticity. She puts everyone at ease. … In psychology, we teach that empathy starts with being present. Roe is always fully present as a person, as a teacher, as a therapist, as a leader. She is a nurturer. At the same time, she is strong, assertive and effective. … She brought a whole lifetime with her when she came to PCOM. She had been a fourth-grade teacher,

Dr. Freeman, a world-renowned expert in cognitive therapy, founded the College’s Department of Psychology in 1995.

Throughout her tenure at PCOM, Dr. Mennuti was the face and the heartbeat of the School Psychology program.

a guidance counselor, a school psychologist in the New Jersey public schools. She is also a doting mother to her daughter. She recognized that she had grown and matured throughout her career and the many different facets of it. She worked at PCOM for nearly a decade (before her retirement in 2014) and during that time developed, implemented and taught three School Psychology programs [PsyD, MS and EdS]. … Throughout her tenure, Roe was the face of School Psychology. She was also the heartbeat. She upheld the highest academic standards in the field and obtained all the regulatory designations. She drew highly credentialed students at the national level. She committed to them, and they attribute their success to her. … Her programs thrived—and continue to thrive today—not just because of their academic rigor but because of their climate. Roe knows how to build relationships. She understands that students (even graduate-level ones) learn and flourish when they establish cooperative and collaborative connections—authentic relationships with teachers and with one another. I imagine this stems from her academic passion for and research on schoolbased mental health and cognitive and behavioral interventions. In this area, she was undoubtedly ahead of her time—recognizing that children (with their families) can only reach their fullest potential when they feel safe, valued and appreciated.”

As told by Jessica Glass Kendorski, PhD, NCSP, chair, director and professor, MS and certificate programs in applied behavior analysis, PCOM

JOHN BECHER, DO ’70, FACOEP-D, FAAEM

“During my internship at Metropolitan Hospital Central Division, I fell in love with critical care and procedural-based medicine. I reached out to Dr. Becher and asked to speak with him about a potential emergency medicine elective because I hoped to pursue a position in the residency program at PCOM. He said, ‘Well, sure, you can come talk to me. How about next Thursday at 3 a.m.? I’m working on night shift.’ John did grant me the elective. But he told me, ‘I’ve worked with people one day and said, “You’re done.” On the other hand, you may do a good job, and it might lead to an opportunity.’ I didn’t get thrown out the first day; I made it through the month. Dr. Becher is a very tough guy on the outside. However, he has a reason for everything he does and truly has a big heart. And, as one of the founders of osteopathic emergency medicine, he had to set a really high bar. If he didn’t produce residents who performed at the highest possible level, the discipline might not take off and become respected. … I loved my career in emergency medicine, and I attribute that to those early days with Dr. Becher setting up, if you will, a bunch of obstacles in front of me. My job was to recognize them, embrace them, and show that I could push through them. And that’s also how the residency was. He wanted more than just demonstrated interest; he wanted demonstrated commitment. And no one was as committed as he was. He never had you do anything that

he didn’t or wouldn’t do himself. If anyone was having a tough time with illness or grief, immediately the whole enterprise wrapped around that person and supported them. We were 18 residents at the time, and we were like blood brothers and blood sisters. When we left the protection of the residency, we all knew we were going to see stuff we’d never seen before. A new young attending who’s alone can hurt someone if they don’t know what they’re doing, but none of us had that fear. After all, we could always call the Einstein ER day or night and ask for advice from Dr. Becher. That’s why even today, when we hit a wall in administrative meetings, I still sometimes say, ‘We’re going to get the airway,’ and my colleagues know exactly what I mean. Being forced to come up with solutions when it’s impossible—that’s permanently imprinted on me. Under Dr. Becher, the answer is ‘yes’ to everything because you’re committed and somehow you’re going to figure it out. We truly hold him as an icon in emergency medicine.”

told by Brian

As

A. Nester, DO ’88, MSc ’94, MBA, President and CEO of Lehigh Valley Health Network

Dr. Becher was one of the founders of osteopathic emergency medicine.

OLIVER C. BULLOCK, DO ’78

“I met Dr. Bullock in 1988 when I started medical school at PCOM, at a time when there were not many physicians or faculty members of color, at a time when diversity and inclusion were not topics of open discussion. Since there were only a few students of color at PCOM, we naturally gravitated to Dr. Bullock. He served as our role model and mentor. Dr. Bullock took us under his wing, nurturing us and making sure we had the resources and encouragement needed to succeed. … I often reached out to him for guidance. I requested to work with him at Cambria Healthcare Center in North Philadelphia for my family medicine residency. He made it happen. After completing my family medicine residency, I knew I wanted to work with him as an attending, and again, he made it happen. I worked alongside him from 1995 until his retirement in 2015. … Dr. Bullock’s expertise in medicine extended beyond the office. As he walked the neighborhood during his lunch break, he was often approached by patients. He would politely engage in conservation and answer their questions. He was known to provide lunch for patients during their appointment if he suspected they were hungry or give them money for public transportation so they did not have to walk home. Dr. Bullock treated his patients with kindness and respect. He treated them like they were his family. … Community outreach was one of his passions. His creative mind and love especially for children led him to construct a lively puppet show that he performed at daycares and elementary schools. It disclosed the story of Bear, who was apprehensive about his visit to the doctor. Dr. Bullock put Bear at ease by explaining what the visit entailed and allowed Bear to hold various pieces of medical

equipment while he explained the purpose of each. By the end of the show, Bear looked forward to visiting the doctor. Following the shows, he gifted each child with a keepsake coloring book that he designed featuring Bear. … Eight years since his retirement, Dr. Bullock’s patients still ask about him. We are doing our best to continue to deliver the same type of holistic care that Dr. Bullock provided for so many years.”

As told by Barbara Williams-Page, DO ’92, associate professor, department of family medicine, PCOM

ALBERT D’ALONZO, DO ’56

“Al was an extraordinary man. He was certified in cardiology, but in the 1960s, when he was just starting out, he would lecture when other professors didn’t show up. On any topic, no notes, no preparation—off the top of his head. That’s how smart he was. … He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox and played professional baseball up to the double-A level. He had also played four years of varsity baseball at Duke, where he was an honorary All American. He was a tremendous golfer. … He decided to be a doctor like his brother and his father, and went on to be president of the American College of Osteopathic

Dr. Bullock was a role model and mentor for students of color at PCOM.

Dr. D’Alonzo was drafted by the Chicago White Sox and played professional baseball up to the double-A level before he decided to be a doctor like his brother and his father.

Internists, president of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association, vice chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at PCOM for twenty-plus years, acting chairman of the Department of Medicine twice, chief of Cardiology twice. … He was a dedicated teacher who spent hours teaching students how to read EKGs. And no one could convert a patient’s sinus rhythm like he did. … I was his resident, and he gave me my first job, which ended up being my only job. He was in practice for 25 years before I joined him, and we were partners for 15 years. Actually, we were more like a father and son than partners … A nicer, kinder individual you will never meet. He was extremely slow to anger, a devout Catholic. … I never heard anyone tell a joke like him. He could take a five-minute joke, extend it out to 15 minutes, and even if I knew the punchline, I was still crying. … He never answered the pagers. But you could find him. His cigarette butt would be upside down in the windowsill of the nurses station. So if it was still warm, and his doctor’s bag was there, I knew he was around. … If you needed something right away, you called me. If you needed to talk to him, you had to find him. He marched to his own drummer. … He was dedicated to the patients and to the profession. He was Al being Al, and that was the long and the short of it.”

As told by Bruce Kornberg, DO ’78, chair and professor, division of cardiology, PCOM

JOSEPH A. DIETERLE, DO ’70

“I’ve known Joe since we were in college together at LaSalle, where we matriculated in 1961 and were both members of the swim team for four years. In 1966, Joe and I were both accepted to Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and were roommates for the first year. We both interned at what was then the Flint Osteopathic Hospital. After his residency, Joe joined the PCOM faculty in the department of pediatrics. I came back to the College and became the chairman of the department of emergency medicine in 1977. More than 50 years after we met, Joe and I attended each other’s retirement ceremonies. We’re still friends today, and it’s been a great relationship. Joe was the first osteopathic physician to be accepted as a resident for pediatric training at St. Christopher’s Hospital, and he became chief resident there in his last year. When he returned to the College, there hadn’t been a pediatric resident in at least 10 years. With professional ties that he had developed, especially at St. Christopher’s, Joe was able to greatly enhance pediatric training for the residents, not just at the College but in other clinical training areas. Nationally and internationally recognized experts came at Joe’s invitation to the College to make presentations not only to the residents, but to the students. Joe organized and funded an annual pediatric lecture series. He was the president of the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians and a member of the Osteopathic Pediatric Certification Board for a number of years, making important contributions to the development of the specialty of pediatrics within the osteopathic profession. He was doing all of this in conjunction with his other duties at the College, and even when he became the dean. Joe is a guy of significant

integrity, a person of his word. These always were the qualities of leadership that others recognized, in whatever the venue. And he did his homework, and he still does his homework as a member of the PCOM Board of Trustees. Put it this way: When Joe talks, people listen.”

As told by John Becher, DO ’70, FACOEP-D, FAAEM, chair and professor, department of emergency medicine, PCOM

EMANUEL FLIEGELMAN, DO ’42

“For years, Uncle Manny addressed the new DO class with his lecture on physician compassion during the White Coat Ceremony. With his piercing blue eyes, bushy goatee and booming voice, he resembled a majestic king from ancient times when he pointed to the lecture hall door and proclaimed, ‘All of you who cross this threshold who do not have empathy and compassion in your hearts, there is the door.’ … Uncle Manny, as Dr. Fliegelman was affectionately known to hundreds of PCOM students, then shared with his fresh-faced congregation his famous Ten C’s for being a physician who puts the patient before all else: compassion, contact, creativity, completion, communication, competence, caring, consideration, concern and confidence. Each C was

Dr. Dieterle was the first osteopathic physician to be accepted as a resident for pediatric training at St. Christopher’s Hospital.

followed by a sentence of explanation. Compassion: Put yourself in their shoes, you have no idea what they’re dealing with out there in the world outside of your office. Contact: A gentle pat on the back, a warm embrace is undeniably healthy. A framed copy of the piece of notebook paper on which I feverishly jotted down the Ten C’s some 30 years ago still hangs in my office. … I tell friends that Uncle Manny taught me all I needed to know on my very first day of medical school, most notably that love is the strongest medicine (which not coincidentally is the title of my own book). He became my mentor and my friend. He guided me through the tough times and the long hours during our many heart-to-hearts in his Rowland Hall office. I’m forever proud to be the first recipient of the Dr. Emanuel Fliegelman Humanitarian Award for the doctor exhibiting highly compassionate care during residency. Uncle Manny was a professor of obstetrics and gynecology. He instituted the ‘Doris Program,’ which provided every second-year student with the opportunity to administer a gynecological examination to a patient volunteer under his direction and supervision. Before that, students practiced only on anatomical models. There was but one rule: Treat every volunteer with utmost respect—like they’re your own mother or grandmother. Uncle Manny passed away in 1998 at age 83 from myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow cancer. He’s one of the reasons I became an oncologist. Who could benefit more from Uncle Manny’s teachings than cancer patients?”

As told by

Steven G. Eisenberg, DO ’96, internist, oncologist, hematologist and author, San Diego, California

CAROL

L. HENWOOD, DO ’83, RES ’85, FACOFP DIST.

“If we stand on the shoulders of giants, Carol is among the greatest in the osteopathic medical profession. To start, she’s an exceptional family medicine physician. She’s been in private practice and with Main Line Health since 2014. She has worked in the Philadelphia suburbs for more than three decades and has forged such long-lasting relationships with her patients that she’s cared for five generations of some families. No one works harder than a solo practitioner. I’d often reach out to her at all hours of the day, and she’d be in

her office, seeing patients or finishing up her notes. She is a tireless physician and professional. She is able to juggle the demands of her practice, her personal life, and the advocacy she lends on national and local levels. Nationally, she served as president of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, and held leadership positions with the American Osteopathic Association. She has also been a leader with the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association and the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Family Physicians Society. She was the first woman president of the PCOM Alumni Association and served with distinction, an inspiration for many. When you are in a meeting with Carol, you’ll find that she’s always engaged. She’s well informed, and when she addresses an issue, she speaks with authority, based on her broad knowledge and

Uncle Manny, as Dr. Fliegelman was affectionately known, imparted his Ten C’s for being a physician who puts the patient before all else to hundreds of PCOM students.

Dr. Henwood, an exceptional family medicine physician, was the first woman president of the PCOM Alumni Association.

experience. She speaks with the heart of a family doctor. Carol is such a positive person. I’ve never heard her say an unkind word. She understands and embodies the distinctiveness of the osteopathic philosophy and its practice. She’s devoted to keeping that tradition alive for this generation, and for future generations of DO graduates, many of whom she herself teaches and mentors. Carol is a leader in encouraging family medicine residents to take the osteopathic family medicine boards. Her backing resulted in a campaign to raise $2 million for scholarship aid to cover the practical and written portions of the test as well as travel to testing sites through the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians’ foundation She’s not just helping PCOM students and residents. She’s also getting recognition for supporting our profession at all levels. She is such a stalwart force.”

As told by Harry Morris, DO ’78, MPH, professor and chair, PCOM Department of Family Medicine

College of Osteopathy on 48th and Spruce streets, where he took continuing medical education classes and soon started teaching osteopathic manipulation treatment to medical students four afternoons a week. From 1946 to 1965, he taught medical students for free. That didn’t sit well with my mother, who couldn’t understand why he’d close down his practice each afternoon. He was a super-extroverted guy, who was heavy-set and smoked cigars. He often had medical students shadowing him. He’d meet with students for breakfast at the Garrett Restaurant on 69th Street in Upper Darby. At times there would be lunch or dinner too. My dad was one of the first to use osteopathic manual manipulation in sports medicine. He started as the sports physician at Villanova University, from 1946 to 1960, for the school’s teams in football, basketball and track. He cared for nine Olympic athletes, including pole-vaulter Don Bragg, and long-distance runners Marty Liquori and Eamonn Coghlan. He was devoted to developing the osteopathic profession. My brother and I would hear him up on his soapbox; he didn’t want it taken over by allopathic physicians. He believed in osteopathic manipulative treatments and that they were integral to health care. Like A.T. Still, the founder of osteopathic medicine, he felt that the heroics of dangerous chemicals and medicines could be worse than the actual diseases. In 1974, he wrote a textbook called Atlas of Osteopathic Techniques , which detailed what he knew. My dad always believed in manual diagnosis, to see if the musculoskeletal system would give signs through palpation of the body. He’d feel those little reflexes that can cause dysfunction. And he’d treat that dysfunction to get positive results. And teaching OMT at PCOM gave him the opportunity to teach hands-on principles. He’d tell his students, ‘That’s why our school is here.’ ”

As told by Alexander S. Nicholas, DO ’75, FAAO dist., professor and chair, osteopathic manipulative medicine, PCOM

first to use osteopathic manual manipulation in sports medicine, taught osteopathic manipulation treatment to medical students four afternoons a week— for free.

NICHOLAS S. NICHOLAS, DO

“My dad was a larger-than-life figure. He came to Philadelphia in 1946 after his discharge from the United States Navy. A first-generation Greek immigrant, he discovered Philadelphia

MARY P. OWEN, JD, MS, PhD, CS

“In July 2005, I came with Mary and several others to develop the curriculum that would start in mid-August at the new Georgia campus of PCOM. It was quite a task to get all those ducks in a row, tweaking the Philadelphia curriculum and figuring out who was doing what. For several weeks before our offices were ready, we worked in an old house at the Osteopathic Institute of the South. It drove home the fact that we were starting from the ground up. … We were from all over the place—except Mary, our only southerner, who was from Alabama. … Her work and experience in pharmacology helped her put together the initial curriculum. She had so many accomplishments, but she was very humble about them. She was also a very private person, and very independent. … Mary became an influential person on the Research Committee. And she was also a course director, which is a very important role. When you’re organizing a course

Dr. Nicholas, one of the

in second year, you’ve got to coordinate basic science and then clinical medicine—and we didn’t have any clinicians then. So she had to make those contacts and coordinate their work—make sure each knew what the other was doing. She set up a process that I encouraged other course directors to follow. … Mary had primarily been a research scientist in the period before she joined PCOM, not heavily involved in teaching. But some people are just naturally good at knowing how to build complexity, from basic foundational concepts to more complex concepts in a way that carries your students with you. She seemed to be able to do that right out of the gate. … Even with a heavy load of administration and curriculum building, she was interested in maintaining some research. Once we had the Biomedical Sciences program, students could assist with that. … Students really loved her; it was obvious how much she cared about them. She was really easy to talk to—jovial and outgoing. When you were in the hallways, you could hear her laughing. But she had a very serious side, too. When she felt strongly about something, she would fight for what she believed in. She retired from PCOM Georgia in 2019, and continues her legal work. We miss her here.”

As told by Bonnie Buxton, PhD, professor,

JOHN P. SIMELARO, DO ’71, FCCP, FACOI

“John and I were together for a very long time. I first met John as a medical student through his academic courses and lectures and on his pulmonary service. He also taught me during my internship at Metropolitan Hospital. I went into practice with him in 1995, and we worked together until his retirement in 2018. John was an exceptional clinician and a tireless advocate for compassionate patient care. He was also a jokester. He liked to laugh. He had an uncanny ability to connect with people—all people at all times. His patients loved him; they would travel great distances to be seen by him. He was a beloved teacher. Throughout his career he taught thousands of students, interns and residents. They genuinely adored him—and he endearingly referred to them as his ‘kids.’ Year after year, he’d be honored with distinguished teaching awards. John was a natural presenter. He had a strong stage presence when he lectured in his field of pulmonary medicine and critical care. He often said that

teaching and entertaining are the same thing. If you met John, he was the kind of person that you would remember. One time I was at a medical conference in Chicago when a fellow physiciansaw on my nametag that I was from Philadelphia.

‘Do you know Dr. Simelaro?’ he asked excitedly. It turned out the physician had attended a lecture by John at a previous

microbiology and immunology, PCOM Georgia

Dr. Owen, one of the founding faculty members at PCOM Georgia, served as a mentor to many graduate and medical students.

Dr. Simelaro, who had a strong stage presence when he lectured in his field of pulmonary medicine and critical care, said that teaching and entertaining are the same thing.

conference, and had come back to the current conference in the hope of reconnecting with John. John was one of the first pulmonologists to use biologic therapies for patients with asthma. He worked with pharmaceutical companies as they were developing some of these drugs. These monthly injectionshelp people to better control their asthma. He was an expert in using this form of therapy, enabling many of his patients to live better lives. John, Mike [Michael A. Venditto, DO ’77] and I had a three-person pulmonary practice on City Avenue and in South Philadelphia. It was a small communitytype practice. I enjoyed working with John because he was such an outstanding, hardworking physician. He would never ask you to do something he wouldn’t do himself; he was the kind of partner you want to practice medicine with. He will always be my mentor and friend.”

As told by Daniel Parenti, DO ’87, FCCP, FACOI, chair and professor, internal

medicine, and program director, internal medicine

residency, PCOM

GALEN S. YOUNG, SR., DO ’35, MSc (SUR), FAAO, FACOS, DSc (HON.)

“Dr. Young was a large figure at the podium, and he took up most of the front of the classroom with his personality. He obviously was teaching surgery, but at same time he seamlessly wove together the different disciplines to make for one medical philosophy. That impressed me quite a bit as a second-year DO student. When I was on his service, what struck me was that he knew his patients by their first names and had treated them multiple times. That’s because he not only had a surgical practice, he had a family medicine practice—he ran both together. So he wasn’t just someone a patient encountered at the last moment of a critical phase of their disease. I’ve been involved in surgery now for almost 45 years, and I have never seen anybody have dual practices. More importantly, I have never seen anybody have their surgical residents manage both. I think the residents came to appreciate that skill later, as they went into their own practices. … I was the chairman of the surgery department when Dr. Young had to give up his scalpel. That was one of the first acts I had to perform, and I was very worried about doing it. I went into his room during his last surgery of the day. He seemed to recognize why I was there, without my having to say anything. He turned to me when the case was over; he handed me his scalpel, and he said, ‘Here, you may want to put this on a plaque.’ Dr. Young very much believed in the people he was training, and for him it was a natural thing to hand off what he was doing to someone he had trained. He never regretted it, and that was not typical. I operated on Dr. Young when he was close to 100 years old. He was in Florida and had a very serious health issue, but he couldn’t contemplate a non-DO working on him. And so he

got on a plane, and I operated on him the next day. To the very end, he always wanted to know how the clinics were running, and if we were getting the right people into the residency, and what cases we were doing. Even though he might not set foot on campus, he was still pulling strings, still trying to get osteopathic surgery to where he wanted it to be: the best in the nation.”

As told by Arthur J. Sesso, DO ’81, interim dean, osteopathic medical program; chairman, surgery, PCOM

Dr. Young ran dual practices in surgery and family medicine.

THE LONGESTTENURED DEAN

In June, Kenneth J. Veit, DO ’76, MBA, FACOFP, announced that he was relinquishing his role as dean after determinedly leading his alma mater through three decades, meaningfully shaping the osteopathic profession.

His was the longest deanship in the College’s history, spanning 30 years from 1992 to 2022.

His deanship is likewise the longest in osteopathic history, according to the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.

Dr. Veit, who will retain his title of provost and senior vice president of academic affairs and continue as a family medicine professor and clinical provider, sat down with the editor of Digest Magazine to reflect on this historic distinction, offering wisdom and wit. His thoughts are especially apt as the College moves toward its 125th anniversary.

by Jennifer Schaffer Leone

May Your Sails Be Taut (But Not Too Taut)

“There is always a bit of a schism between an institution’s history, growth and need for change. As dean, you manage, in many ways, the forward motion. This act requires balancing the dynamic tension between academic and administrative leadership, priorities and goals.

The work is akin to sailing. The challenge is the tensioning of the sail. The sail must be taut enough so that the luff is not flapping, but not so taut that the wind is blowing against one side, making the boat heel over. All of this occurs in constantly changing waters. Positioning your sail requires resiliency. The deanship requires adaptability. It requires sensitivity, diplomacy and a commitment to finding commonality. In both cases, you must check your arrogance at the dock.

Maneuvering 30 years of internal and external challenges confronting medical education has been exciting. PCOM stands on the shoulders of many great leaders. Our College has seen stability and success; there have also been times of sacrifice. We must continue to be resilient, to be creative and challenge ourselves as the healthcare environment ever advances. PCOM is well positioned to lead into the future if we remember who we are. We have to be comfortable in our skin.”

The White Coat Keeps Your Perspective

“I started my medical career in the National Health Service Corp working in Orbisonia, a rural community located in the borough of Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. As a young physician,

caring for an underserved healthcare community appealed to my altruistic senses. Through the experience, I acquired the broadbased knowledge of a generalist and the flexibility to address the unexpected. I was also able to interface with and teach many medical students while on this assignment.

I pledged early on to enjoy the humanity of my patients and vowed to meet my patients where they are. My white coat continues to remind me of the importance of being humble and making human connections.

My consistent but limited clinical role during my deanship has been vital. It allows me to experience—firsthand—the struggles of the College’s faculty and graduates delivering direct care, to taste the complexity of the evolving delivery system. It also helps me to better collaborate efforts to integrate education, research and clinical care. I have never seen myself as a dean-figurehead; I have always wanted faculty and students to recognize that I understand their work and I do it alongside them.

Perhaps, most important, has been the access my white coat has given me. Wearing it, I meet real PCOM students in the clinics. As dean, you often encounter the students at the extremes. But the best way to know the mainstream students—90 percent of the student body—is in the clinics.”

The Osteopathic Quotient

“During the past three decades, osteopathic physicians have increasingly assimilated into mainstream medicine. Many DOs no longer employ the consistent practice of OMT (often because of reimbursement barriers and many other factors). For younger physicians, a single accreditation system for graduate medical education further amalgamates the professions and confounds identities.

Yet I have ascertained, perhaps retrospectively, that it is what I call our OQ or Osteopathic Quotient that makes—and will always make—our profession unique. One’s OQ is not defined

by a modality or procedure. Rather, it is defined by how DOs— regardless of discipline or specialty—interact with patients as a whole and in accord with our osteopathic tenets.

OQ is embedded in how one thinks. It is physically manifested in one’s knowledge of and respect for the musculoskeletal system. DOs are educated with the mandate of touch. It is what we do naturally. It is the context for our clinical reasoning.

A surgeon reaching for a patient’s hand before going into the OR is so rare in today’s realm of medicine, but not if the physician is a DO …

Touch is a primal and powerful act. It is an affective aspect of care. Touch is a form of connection, an expression of presence. And this connection—between a DO and patient—is trust. No matter what else medicine tries to substitute, hands on the patient is essential.”

Essential Qualities of a Dean

“A dean must be first and foremost, authentic. You must bring your whole self to the job. You must participate fully—and with empathy, patience and humor.

You must prioritize the pressure and seek proper perspective. You must understand enough to know that you don’t have the answer for everything (practice as a generalist clinician who is willing to call in the specialists, find the resources).

You must pick your battles carefully and try your best not to take the issues home with you.

You must be cognizant of your role while understanding that you are not the most important person in the room; you are one of many. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts and a college is a special community.

You must appreciate each day—feel blessed and grateful—for the opportunity to serve in this unique role.”

Kenneth J. Veit, DO ’76, MBA, FACOFP, served as dean from 1992 to 2022, making his the longest deanship in the College’s history and the longest in osteopathic history.

THIS OLD HOUSE

The story of the Tudor Revival-style mansion that was renovated to become an administration building at the heart of the PCOM campus in Philadelphia.

by Dan O’Connor

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine paid $900,000 in 1957 for a magnificently situated plot at City Avenue and Monument Road on Philadelphia’s western edge that was ideally suited for an ambitious expansion plan to create a new college and hospital complex. Not only was the 16-acre plot the perfect parcel of land on which to build a modern hospital and medical school, but PCOM’s new dream home also came with a dream house—a stately stone manor called the Moss Estate, with its steeply pitched, shingled roof, storybook entry, picturesque chimneys and casement windows.

Almost immediately, the bulldozers flattened the land of cornfields, gardens, shrubs and trees so construction could begin on a new campus, but crews were careful not to disturb the three-story Tudor Revival–style mansion that for 41 years was the happy home of Frank and Anna Moss and their seven children: three girls and four boys. Frank Moss, a mortgage banker, built the house in a cornfield in 1910 to bring his wife, the former Anna Hunter of Norristown, and their children to live on City Line. The house was Elizabethan, with a red tile roof and center detail of stucco and crossbeams. It was a popular style of the day, and

several houses like it still stand in the area on both sides of City Line.

Here we are 65 years after the College’s purchase, and the 112-year-old structure has been renovated, repaired, repurposed (College administration offices) and renamed (from the City Line Administration Building in 1959 to the Levin Administration Building in 1998), but its postcard-pretty charm and warmth remain unimpaired as it stands guard at the heart of the Philadelphia campus.

Through the years

When the College, then known as Philadelphia College of Osteopathy and located at 48th Street in West Philadelphia, purchased the estate, the house had stood vacant for more than a year. The gardens had been looted of flowers and shrubbery, and wild undergrowth and brush had overgrown the grounds. Vandals stripped the house of most hardware and equipment, but PCOM restored the house to its former glory, repairing broken doors and windows, and rewiring the electrical system.

The Levin Administration Building is the center of PCOM’s City Avenue campus, but for 41 years it was the home of Frank and Anna Moss.

The house was almost completely shrouded by a canopy of trees on all sides in 1957: great oaks, beeches and magnolia. Over the years, a concrete jungle sprang up around the Moss Estate, a $20 million complex of buildings that created a vibrant college campus atmosphere.

In 1968, one year after the College was renamed Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Frederic H. Barth Pavilion of the Hospitals of PCOM opened, a five-story, 600-bed, ultramodern teaching and research osteopathic hospital with an outpatient department and ancillary services. Evans Hall, the classroom, library and laboratory building, was completed in 1973. An adjacent five-story office building, acquired in 1979, was renovated into classrooms, laboratories and medical offices, and later named Rowland Hall after PCOM’s fourth president, Thomas M. Rowland, Jr., DO (Hon.), LLD (Hon.). In 2021, Meta Christy House opened adjacent to the campus. A five-level parking garage backstops the campus.

In Honor of the Levin Family of PCOM Graduates

In 1998, PCOM dedicated the mansion to then PCOM Chairman of the Board Herbert Lotman, LLD (Hon.) and his wife, Karen—whose maiden name is Levin—to honor her family of PCOM graduates, clockwise, from left to right: Abraham Levin, DO ’35, Samuel Levin, DO ’35, Jacob Levin, DO ’36, and Joel Levin, DO ’69. The mansion was renamed the Levin Administration Building in tribute to the Levins’ long and enduring association with the College. Portraits of Abraham, Samuel, Jacob and Joel hang in the building’s lobby.

From beds to desks

A full restoration in 1997 converted the residence into office space, desks, chairs and bookshelves replacing beds, bassinets and bureaus. Today it is home to the Office of the President and Chief Legal Officer on the ground floor, just beyond an impressive entrance featuring two oak doors, a vestibule and a grand reception hall. Up one sweeping oaken staircase you’ll find the Office of Institutional Advancement, and up another flight of steps there’s the Office of Marketing and Communications. Leaded, floor-to-ceiling windows at each landing open to the terrace.

As part of the 1990s campus improvements, the landscape was redesigned into a system of paved paths embellished with seating areas, fountains, gardens and signage.

PCOM dedicated the mansion as the Levin Administration Building in 1998 to commemorate the Levin family’s long and enduring association with the College (see sidebar above).

The Moss Estate was shrouded by trees on all sides.

1965

Joseph M. Hassman, DO, Brigantine, NJ, along with his children, Howard Hassman, DO ’84, Elissa Hassman, DO ’86, David Hassman, DO ’91, and Michael Hassman, DO ’94, was featured on the cover of South Jersey Magazine and in an accompanying article titled “The Family Way” (October 2021).

Vincent Lobo, Jr., DO, Bethany Beach, DE, was honored by the City of Harrington, which proclaimed August 30, 2022, as “Dr. Vincent Lobo, DO, DACFP Day,” for his devotion, dedication, and service to the community.

1966

Jan M. Chrobok, DO, Gillette, NJ, retired from practicing psychiatry at the age of 93.

Ralph E. Fishkin, DO, Bala Cynwyd, PA, celebrated his 82nd birthday in August. He is still practicing psychiatry and psychoanalysis in Bala Cynwyd. Dr. Fishkin currently serves as chair of the Board of Directors of the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia and is also a supervising analyst.

Thomas A. Quinn, DO, Bradenton, FL, has been awarded the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association’s highest award, the Distinguished Service Award, for his dedication and service to the Osteopathic profession. Dr. Quinn is a clinical professor at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Bradenton.

1967

Ronald R. Blanck, DO, Fenwick Island, DE, was honored and celebrated with an exhibit called “From Ephrata to Three Star General” at the Historical Society of Cocalico Valley. Dr. Blanck had a 32-year career in the military and served as the president of the University of North Texas Health Science Center for six years.

1968

Paul Eliot Wallner, DO, Moorestown, NJ, was appointed to the advisory board of Nanocan Therapeutics Corporation.

1971

Roderick T. Beaman, DO, Jacksonville, FL, composed two original songs, “Covid Blues” and “When I First Met You,” both available on YouTube.

Darryl A. Robbins, DO, Westerville, OH, retired in 2020 after 45 years of pediatric practice. Dr. Robbins was honored with the Bruce P. Meyer Family Art of Medicine Award at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio.

1972

John L. Kniaz, DO, Temecula, CA, retired in July 2021.

1973

Herbert J. Rogove, DO, Ojai, CA, was featured in an article, “Can Liv-Connected Crack the Modular Housing Code?” published by The Architect’s Newspaper (September 28, 2022). Dr. Rogove is the co-founder of Liv-Connected, a modular construction company.

1976

Theodore S. Eisenberg, DO, Philadelphia, PA, was honored with the Distinguished Fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons designation at the September 2022 meeting of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons in Austin, Texas. The honor is conferred upon ACOS members for their outstanding involvement, dedication, and contributions to the ACOS and the osteopathic community. In addition, Dr. Eisenberg’s article, “The Underappreciated Saline Breast Implant,” was published in the September 2022 issue of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

2023 REUNION CELEBRATION

SATURDAY, JUNE 3, 2023; HONORING CLASSES ENDING IN 3 AND 8

Save the Date! We’re excited to host in-person reunions again this year in Philadelphia! Celebrations include a 50th Reunion Luncheon honoring our 50th reunion class of 1973 as well as the classes of 1968, 1963, 1958, 1953, and 1948. In the evening, all alumni from our milestone reunion classes are invited to join us for a grand reception of dinner, cocktails and reconnecting with classmates. Registration opens in March. For more information, visit alumni.pcom.edu/events.

Stephen N. Finberg, DO, Paradise Valley, AZ, was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association for his commitment to quality patient care. Dr. Finberg also produced a PSA video, “Vaccinate, America,” which featured several PCOM alumni, including Vanessa Ragland, DO ’84, Peaesha Houston, DO ’14, and Trudi Ellenberger, DO ’76. Dr. Finberg’s daughter, Leah, a physician assistant, and his grandson, Jonas, are also featured in the video. His son, Adam, was the filmmaker, making it a true family project. The video can be viewed at https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=F4o1bb3KR_o.

1977

Daniel D. Wert, Jr., DO, Lititz, PA, was featured in an article by Planned Parenthood titled “Planned Parenthood Keystone Returns to Lancaster with New Center” (September 13, 2022). The Planned Parenthood Keystone affiliate of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. has named their new Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Health Center the “Dr. Daniel D. Wert Health Center at Lancaster.”

1978

Kenneth J. Baker, DO, Norridgewock, ME, was recognized as the 2022 Distinguished Service Award recipient at the Maine Osteopathic Association (MOA) convention. This award is MOA’s highest honor, recognizing an osteopathic physician who has made a major impact in their profession and community over the course of their career.

George R. Homa, DO, North Wales, PA, was honored by the Borough Council of Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, as they officially proclaimed December 14, 2021, “Dr. George R. Homa Day.”

1980

Gregory W. Natello, DO, Pelham, AL, serves as a medical consultant for the NFL Alumni Association (NFLAA). He previously served as a medical consultant for the 2021 NFLAA Wellness Challenge alongside Dr. Mehmet Oz and others, as part of their larger Huddle Up: Let’s Talk Obesity Campaign.

Joseph D. Piorkowski, Jr., DO, JD, Great Falls, VA, recently completed his term as president of the American College of Legal Medicine (ACLM). Dr. Piorkowski was the first DO to serve as president of ACLM.

1981

Jay S. Feldstein, DO, Gladwyne, PA, president and chief executive officer, PCOM, was named by City & State PA as one of 100 of Pennsylvania’s most influential leaders in health care and higher education. In June, he was a guest contributor for the Philadelphia Business Journal Highlighting the role of higher education in the future of health care, Dr. Feldstein participated in a panel discussion as part of the HealthKey Summit, a three-day event (November 2022) with some of the region’s brightest thought leaders and innovators.

Hugh E. Palmer, DO, York, PA, was sworn in as a member of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Family Physicians Society Board of Trustees on August 6, 2022.

Julia M. Pillsbury, DO, Dover, DE, was elected to represent the residents of the 1st District on the Dover City Council.

1982

Joseph J. Lawrence, DO, Gillette, WY, was interviewed by County 17 about his re-election to the Campbell County School District Board of Trustees (October 12, 2022).

1983

Darlene Ann M. Dunay, DO, Old Forge, PA, served as a guest speaker about Alzheimer’s disease on WVIA’s “Call the Doctor” program. She was also elected to serve on the Penn State University Alumni Council in July 2022. Dr. Dunay was sworn in as a member of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Family Physicians Society Board of Trustees on August 6, 2022.

Neil W. Fisher, DO, Pottsville, PA, joined the general surgery staff of Lehigh Valley Physician Group.

Kenneth E. Wood, DO, Warren, RI, was appointed professor of medicine at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine of Brown University and the executive vice president and chief clinical officer for the Lifespan Health System, the academic medical system for the medical school.

1984

Kenneth Heiles, DO, Joplin, MO, was named campus dean at the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Kansas City University’s Joplin campus.

Richard A. Hiscox, DO, Chester Springs, PA, retired from medical practice in June 2019 and now works full time as the president/

CEO of Automotive Training Center. The school trains students to become automotive, diesel, collision reconditioning, and marine service technicians and is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges.

1985

Maureen Fleming, DO, Natrona Heights, PA, moved to Macedonia with her husband, Timothy Gaul, DO ’85. The couple is serving as teaching physicians with Medical Education International and Christian Health Service Corps.

Joan Sureck Naidorf, DO, Alexandria, VA, was the subject of an article on internewscast.com titled “Doctor Warns Hatred of Patients Could Get in the Way of Giving Them Good Medical Care” (July 1, 2022).

1986

John M. Kauffman, Jr., DO, Coraopolis, PA, was profiled by the Pittsburgh Business Times in its “20 People to Know in Health Care” feature (June 13, 2022).

1987

Laurence H. Belkoff, DO, RES, Lafayette Hill, PA, was the recipient of the 2022 Guy D. Beaumont Jr., FACOS Award of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons for his outstanding leadership and excellence in improving the quality of osteopathic education.

H. William Craver, III, DO, Braselton, GA, professor of surgery; dean and chief academic officer, Osteopathic Medicine Program, PCOM South Georgia, was selected to serve as chair of the Board of Deans for the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine’s 2022-23 Executive Committee.

Lisa J. Finkelstein, DO, Jackson, WY, interviewed her classmate, Les Folio, DO ’87, for a YouTube series by Beyond Telehealth.

Joan M. Grzybowski, DO, Conshohocken, PA, was appointed as a member of the executive committee of the American Osteopathic Association board of specialists, which reviews national policies affecting osteopathic physicians.

H. Jane Huffnagle-Marchesano, DO, Havertown, PA, was honored with the Distinguished Service Award at the American Osteopathic College of Anesthesiologists’ Annual Convention.

Deborah Lozito, DO, Hawthorne,

NJ, was named to NJ Top Docs for 2022.

Stephen J. Petteruti, DO, East Greenwich, RI, was featured in an article in The Pilot News titled “Dr. Stephen Petteruti of Intellectual Medicine Donates 100% of ‘No Show’ Fees from 2021 to Adoption RI for Christmas Gifts” (December 16, 2021).

Stanley J. Savinese, DO, Ridley Park, PA, received the Palliative Care Service Award from Penn Medicine. He was honored for his role as a faculty member who has made great contributions to the program and Penn Medicine at large. Dr. Savinese is the director of Penn Medicine Hospice and Palliative Care.

1988

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, Port Chester, NY, wrote an article published by Innvateli.com titled “Government, Industry Must Unite Now on Telemedicine” (May 10, 2022). Dr. Balentine was also a guest contributor as an advice columnist for The DO, answering questions from the DO and medical student communities about anything related to success in medicine.

Marla DePolo Golden, DO, Saint Johns, FL, associate dean of clinical education at PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia, discussed clerkship rotations in Georgia with Michael Becker, DO ’87, MBA, associate dean of clinical education at PCOM, on an episode of “PCOM Perspectives,” a podcast exploring news and events on campus and news of the day through the PCOM lens.

Kathryn C. Lambert, DO, Marlton, NJ, was promoted to associate dean for student affairs at Rowan University School of Medicine.

1989

J. Steven Blake, DO, MSc, Philadelphia, PA, was featured in an article by Ole Miss University of Mississippi News titled “Meredith Scholarship Established on 60th Anniversary of UM Integration” (September 26, 2022).

Anthony J. Guarracino, DO, Harrisburg, PA, was featured in an article titled “Making Sure Children Stay Safe in the Heat” published by Fox43 News (May 21, 2022). Dr. Guarracino was also featured in a story by Fox43 titled “York State Fair Battles the Heat for Its Opening Weekend” (July 25, 2022).

Gregory McDonald, DO, Philadelphia, PA, dean, PCOM

ERNEST GELB, DO ’78, INSTALLED AS AOA PRESIDENT

Ernest Gelb, DO ’78, Lewes, Delaware, was recently installed as the 126th president of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). Dr. Gelb will serve as president for the 20222023 term.

Dr. Gelb is an AOA boardcertified osteopathic family physician and a fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians. He has dedicated nearly 40 years of his career to caring for patients in rural communities in Pennsylvania, Nebraska and South Carolina. Dr. Gelb served as an assistant professor of family medicine at PCOM’s Sullivan County Medical Center for more than a decade.

He joined the AOA Board of Trustees in 2011, and is a past president of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association.

School of Health Sciences, and chair, forensic medicine and pathology, was interviewed for an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer titled “World Health Organization Reports COVID-Related Deaths Rise to Nearly 15 Million Globally, 1 Million in U.S.” (May 5, 2022). Dr. McDonald also commented in the Philadelphia Inquirer on the appointment of a past student who was recently named Philadelphia’s new chief pathologist (October 26, 2022).

Joseph E. Oliva, MBA, DO, Brooklyn, NY, is a facility medical director for anesthesia and perioperative services at Pasadena Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. George J. Papanicolaou, DO, Byfield, MA, made a guest appearance on the podcast “The Doctor’s Farmacy” with Mark Hyman, MD, to discuss low testosterone and its effects on men, the heart-protective molecule nitric oxide, the importance of minimizing blood sugar spikes, and more (May 12, 2022). Dr. Papanicolaou also spoke with Dr. Hyman on his podcast episode “Daily Steps to Heal the Most Common Autoimmune Disease” (August 6, 2022).

Bruce W. Peters, DO, Toms River, NJ, is an otolaryngologist at his private practice, Ocean ENT Otolaryngology, with offices in Manasquan and Toms River. Dr. Peters was recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Top Pinnacle Healthcare Professional for his outstanding work in the field and in acknowledgment of his highly respected medical practice.

1990

David E. Harrison, DO, Hammonton, NJ, was appointed medical director of The Guidance Center in Millville, New Jersey. Emil P. Lesho, DO, Webster, NY, weighed in on why people should get updated COVID boosters and how the boosters target the most common omicron strains, BA4 and BA5, for a segment by News10NBC titled “RGH Doctor Speaks About Potential Impact of Omicron Variant-specific Boosters” (September 1, 2022).

Michael G. Wolford, DO, Tequesta, FL, was named director of Employee Health and Occupational Services at the West Palm Beach (WPB) VA Medical Center. Dr. Wolford has practiced at the WPB VA facility for seven years and has been an active duty emergency room physician for the past 30 years.

1991

Robert C. Albright, Jr., DO, Rochester, MN, hosted a wall-breaking ceremony to kick off a $14.9 million enhancement project outside the Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea, Minnesota.

Jeffrey E. Bennett, DO, Glen Allen, VA, co-founder of KidMed, a pediatric urgent care clinic, has been named as a 2022 Top Doc by Richmond Magazine. He is the only doctor listed in the urgent care category.

Timothy Horsky, DO, Bedford, PA, joined the team at UPMC General Surgery in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania.

PCOM LIBRARY AUTHOR SERIES: FEATURING STEVEN G. EISENBERG, DO ’96

by Dan O’Connor

Guitar in his hand, lyrics on his lips and healing in his heart, Steven G. Eisenberg, DO ’96, an oncologist and hematologist from San Diego, California, often serenades his cancer patients with songs that bring light to the darkest time of their lives. Regardless of venue—be it the chemo room, exam room or at bedside—Dr. Eisenberg breaks into song to shift his patients’ perspectives from their dreaded disease to what moves and inspires them to be alive.

“Health is just as much spiritual as physical,” says Dr. Eisenberg, who detailed how care is the key to health care during a PCOM Library Author Series lecture held in October. He shared messaging from his new book, Love Is the Strongest Medicine: Notes from a Cancer Doctor on Connection, Creativity, and Compassion. “Listening to and making music together creates a sense of shared experience and kinship. It fires up emotional receptors that otherwise remain dormant. It is an honest, authentic shortcut to connection.”

Dr. Eisenberg works, too, to guide and encourage those dealing with or supporting a loved one with cancer. “It’s about getting their hearts and heads on right to deal with the most-feared condition of cancer,” he says, noting that studies show music can inspire feelings of peace and spirituality.

Dr. Eisenberg co-founded cCARE, California’s largest medical oncology practice, where he’s known as the CEO (Chief Empathy Officer). While at PCOM, he won the first Dr. Emanuel Fliegelman Humanitarian Award for exhibiting highly compassionate care during residency.

Brian M. Palmer, DO, Atlanta, GA, was named to the National Board of Directors for the nonprofit CHC: Creating Healthier Communities, which addresses barriers to health and equity.

1992

Michael J. Hoh, DO, DuBois, PA, was featured in an article titled “Over 50 Percent of Medical Staff Trained at Clarion Hospital” published by exploreClarion.com.

George N. Spyropoulos, DO, West Chester, PA, was sworn in as a member of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Family Physicians Society Board of Trustees on August 6, 2022.

1993

Stuart A. Bradin, DO, Ann Arbor, MI, is assistant medical director for Survival Flight Pediatrics, as well as an attending physician in Children’s Emergency Services at the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.

Keith P. Radbill, DO, Marlton, NJ, presented on the topic of power at the Men’s Summit on July 16, 2022.

Brian J. Stark, DO, Erie, PA, was featured in a segment on “Your Erie News” (May 24, 2022). This segment recognized the 25th anniversary of Dr. Stark’s practice, Primary Care Partners.

Joseph W. Stauffer, DO, Toronto, Ontario, joined the board of directors of BioFuse Medical Technologies, Inc.

David L. Williams, DO, Carlisle, PA, joined UPMC Magee-Womens network (Williamsport) as a urogynecologist.

1994

Gerald A. Colvin, DO, Providence, RI, was featured in the October 7, 2022, edition of IssueWire: “Gerald A. Colvin, DO, a Hematologist-Oncologist with CharterCare Medical Associates.”

Robert S. Dolansky, Jr., MBA, DO, Breinigsville, PA, was promoted to the position of chief of urgent care and occupational medicine for St. Luke’s Care Now walk-in centers. Since 2013, he has helped open 19 Care Now walk-in centers around the region.

1996

Tracy Vo, DO, Cape Coral, FL, was elected president of the Lee County Medical Society for 2022.

1997

Stephen A. Lewis, DO, Bloomsburg, PA, was featured in an article, “Geisinger Physician to Speak at Graduation,” published by the Daily Herald (May 28, 2022).

1998

Shanin Gross, DO, Cherry Hill, NJ, is leading a new primary care practice, Virtua Pride, with Dr. Richard Levin. Virtua Pride will provide primary care services referrals to social workers and case managers, gender-affirming care, and screenings centered on the LGBTQ+ community. Dr. Gross wanted to create a safe place for people to “feel seen, heard, appreciated, and have a reason to be engaged in their care.”

Christian S. Pope, DO, Dartmouth, MA, was named chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Southcoast Health in August 2022.

Kimberly A. Wolf, DO, Birdsboro, PA, was appointed vice president of medical affairs of Penn State Health, St. Joseph Medical Center.

1999

Pamela A. Hughes, DO, Naples, FL, was inducted into the Luzerne County Sports Hall of Fame, John Louis Popple Chapter, by George Toma, the legendary “Sodfather” or “God of Sod” Super Bowl groundskeeper.

David A. Matson, DO, Devon, PA, was one of eight Tower Health physicians and residents to be recognized for outstanding service and teaching at the 27th Annual Golden Apple Awards, Drexel University College of Medicine. Dr. Matson serves as chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at Reading Hospital.

Rhonda L. Randall, DO, Orlando, FL, was featured in a number of articles published this past May and June, including “It’s Time to Focus on Whole Person Health” (The Philadelphia Sunday Sun, May 20, 2022); “UHG Report Highlights Mental Healthcare Needs Among Seniors” (HealthPayer Intelligence, May 17, 2022); “Atlanta-Based Gynecologist Launches Clean and Cute Panty Wash to Reduce Vaginal Infections” (BlackEnterprise.com, May 22, 2022); “Older Arkansans Face Mental-Health Challenges During COVID-19” (KASU.org, May 26, 2022); and “Report: Drug Deaths, Suicides Up Among Older

Californians” (Del Norta Triplicate, June 15, 2022). Dr. Randall also spoke to Business Wire for an article titled “UnitedHealthcare and Peloton to Provide Millions of More People with Access to a Leading Interactive Fitness Platform” (September 4, 2022).

Shawn T. Simpson, DO, Gulfport, FL, joined the staff at Watson Clinic in Lakeland, Florida, as an OB-GYN hospitalist.

Aaron R. Weiss, DO, Portland, ME, was appointed medical director of Maine Children’s cancer program and division chief of pediatric hematology-oncology at Maine Medical Center in July 2020. In March 2020, Dr. Weiss was appointed vice-chair of the Soft Tissue Sarcoma Committee and associate vice-chair of Clinical Trials within the Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Discipline Committee of the Children’s Oncology Group.

2000

R. Lee Biggs, DO, Bradenton, FL, was named chief medical officer of Blake Medical Center.

John K. Derderian, DO, Lititz, PA, was named senior vice president of inpatient medicine and transition of care services as well as associate chief medical officer of Tower Health, West Reading, Pennsylvania.

Brendan M. Flynn, DO, Leesburg, VA, named chief medical officer at Blue Ridge Hospice in Winchester in September 2022.

Robert Grob, DO, RES, Orefield, PA, was featured by The Times News in an article titled “Orthopedic Surgeon Is Grateful He Chose the Mahoning Valley and St. Luke’s” (November 13, 2021).

Michael A. Magro, Jr., DO, Philadelphia, PA, was appointed as St. Mary Medical Center’s president on July 1, 2022.

Edward R. O’Dell, DO, Philadelphia, PA, was named the chief medical officer of St. Mary’s Medical Center on July 1, 2022.

Adam S. Rosen, DO, San Diego, CA, published his first book, The Knee Book—A Guide to the Aging Knee. The book is written in patient-friendly terms, covering why knees hurt and ways to treat knee pain, from the most conservative all the way through to knee replacement. It is also a great resource for non-orthopedic physicians to help review the treatment algorithm for the patient with knee complaints.

2001

Lori Ann Alfonse, DO, Zionsville, PA, spoke to Healio for an article titled “Oncologist Aims to Help Patients Thrive Throughout ‘Hills and Valleys’ of Cancer Treatment” (August 3, 2022). The article centers on her personal connection with cancer, first-generation steps into college, early-career advice, and the medical field, which led her to treating patients with cancer.

Michael G. Benninghoff, MS, DO, Newark, DE, was a guest on the WWDB-AM Talk860 radio show “Philadelphia Focus” (May 30, 2022).

Jeffrey K. Kingsley, DO, Ellerslie, GA, is proud to announce the partnership between his research organization, IACT Health, and LMC Manna Research. This alliance will create one of North America’s largest fully integrated research networks and will focus on improving service to pharmaceutical and research partners globally, as well as advancing treatment options for patients across all therapeutic areas.

Jeffrey Miskoff, DO, RES, Toms River, NJ, was named medical director of NJ Sharing Network, a nonprofit, federally designated organ procurement organization.

2002

Dhira Khosla, DO, Piedmont,CA, co-authored a study published by the Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research titled “Comorbidities and Mechanistic Similarities of Essential Tremor and Parkinson’s Disease and Resulting Diagnostic Challenges.”

2003

Keith L. Leaphart, MBA, DO, Philadelphia, PA, was a guest contributor of the article “The Unintended Consequences of Major Donations and the Case for Matching” published by Inside Philanthropy (April 22, 2022). Dr. Leaphart’s article “Four Ways the Future of Philanthropy Will Be Different” was published by Philanthropy News Digest (April 25, 2022). Dr. Leaphart also announced the expansion of his company Philanthropi’s charitable giving as a service platform in an article published by The Black Enterprise (September 9, 2022).

Jared E. Mallalieu, DO, Annapolis, MD, will co-lead a team of registered nurses for the launch of a new Profile MD aesthetic medical boutique in the Maryland area. Profile MD will offer holistic care that includes aesthetic treat-

ments, skin rejuvenation, medical weight loss and more.

Tamika L. Perry, DO, Dallas, TX, was celebrated with other Black women in a story by the Texas Metro News titled “Superb Women” (August 6, 2022).

Peter A. Sarkos, MS, DO, Linwood, NJ, has been included in the Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes. Dr. Sarkos is being recognized for his work as an orthopedic hand surgeon with Premier Orthopedic Associates.

2004

Mathew J. Devine, DO, Rochester, NY, was interviewed by In Good Health about his new role as regional dean at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Devine completed his role as president of the Monroe County Medical Society.

Valerie A. Lemmon, PsyD, Mechanicsburg, PA, is the recipient of the 2021 Ethics Educators Award, presented by the Ethics Committee of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association.

Leslie A. Saltzman, DO, Brooklyn, NY, was appointed chief medical officer of Ovia Health in Boston, Massachusetts.

Vincent Varghese, DO, Cherry Hill, NJ, spoke to HuffPost for an article titled “The Risk Factors for a Blood Clot Are More Common Than You Think” (August 31, 2022).

2005

Ellen R. Basile, DO, Orlando, FL, wrote a research publication that was released in print in the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia (January 2023). The article titled, “Gender Gap: A Qualitative Study of Women and Leadership Acquisition in Anesthesiology,” was the article of the month and made the front cover.

Charmaine S. Chan, DO, Philadelphia, PA, was the subject of the article “St. Mary Now Offering Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment” published in the Lower Bucks Times (August 4, 2022). Dr. Chan was also sworn in as a member of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Family Physicians Society Board of Trustees on August 6, 2022.

Jessica Niewodowski, DO, Hollidaysburg, PA, joined the staff of Elliot Trauma Surgery at Elliot Hospital’s Level II Trauma Center.

Bradley M. Rosenfield, PsyD, Wynnewood, PA, was featured in an article published by Eat This, Not That! titled “Insomnia? This Is Your Guide to Sleeping Well, Expert Says” (June 15, 2022).

Stephanie J. Wroten, MS/FM, Grimesland, NC, has been appointed the chief nursing officer of Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center in Ahoskie, North Carolina.

2006

Darrin R. Mangiacarne, DO, Coral Springs, FL, joined the team at National Banyan Treatment Centers as their chief medical officer.

Scott Piette, DO, RES, Mount Dora, FL, joined the Glaucoma Institute at New Vision Eye Center staff in Vero Beach, Florida, as a glaucoma specialist/cataract surgeon.

Victoria N. Zysek, MBA, DO, Broadview Heights, OH, joined the staff of Adena Cardiology in Chillicothe, Ohio, in October 2022.

2007

Erin B. Baker, DO, Ocracoke, NC, joined Outer Banks Family Medicine – Manteo in October 2022. William M. Chasanov, II, DO, Lewes, DE, an infectious disease specialist with Beebe Healthcare, helped explain the new FDA recommendation for COVID-19 boosters and how an added omicron BA4 and BA5 component to the current vaccine formula would offer more protection from the subvariants in a segment for 47 ABC titled “Health Experts Explain New FDA Recommendation for COVID-19 Boosters” (July 6, 2022). He also wrote an article for coastalpoint.com titled “Chasanov: Get COVID Vaccine Booster Now” (July 28, 2022).

Joshua P. Hazelton, DO, Wenonah, NJ, was recognized by the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment at Penn State College of Medicine for his exceptional moments in teaching. His teaching focuses on early involvement and empowerment of medical students as part of the surgical team, as well as supervised autonomy for surgical residents in the operating room.

Alfredo L. Rabines, DO, New York, NY, was interviewed by the Hudson Reporter for an article titled “Bayonne Medical Center Coping with Post-Holiday COVID19 Surge” (January 11, 2022).

Anthony J. Wehbe, DO, MBA, FACOI, Mickleton, NJ, spoke to Technical.ly for an article titled “Healthtech Startup Sena Health Aims to Make ‘Aging in Place’ Possible with At-Home Care” (August 8, 2022). He discussed his experience as founder and chief executive officer at Sena Health, a tech-enabled solution to coordinate at-home healthcare for people.

Sena has partnered with healthcare providers in the region including Cooper Health, SETO Medical, Total Access Medical, and Salem Medical Center and the launch of Salem Acute Care at Home.

2008

Peter F. Bidey, DO, MSED, FACOFP, Haddonfield, NJ, was featured in an article published by Good Housekeeping titled “Always Cold? Here’s Why … ” (June 1, 2022). In August, Dr. Bidey was installed as president of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Family Physicians Society at their Annual Business Meeting; he will serve as POFPS president from 2022 to 2024. Sallee Eckler Jones, PhD, DO, Clarkston, WA, received the honor of “da Vinci Super User” for completing at least 50 robotic-assisted procedures in a three-month period using da Vinci technology. Dr. Jones was also one of the first surgeons to perform an operation at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center with the da Vinci Xi; the news was featured by the Lewiston Tribune (September 4, 2022).

Gwendolyn N. Scott-Jones, PsyD, Dover, DE, was recently selected to hold the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Distinguished Professor Endowed Chair at Delaware State University.

Jessica R. Terrana, DO, Blue Bell, PA, wrote an article on “Tips on Avoiding Mosquitos This Summer” published by MoreThanTheCurve. Com (May 19, 2022). Her article also appeared in Metro Philadelphia: “Why It’s So Important to Think About Ways to Avoid Seasonal Mosquitos” (July 13, 2022).

Kamilah D. Weems, MS/Biomed, Irving, TX, discussed obesity, barriers to patients’ treatment, and the role doctors play in treating patients with an obesity diagnosis on the NPR podcast “1A” (June 23, 2022).

2009

Helen Anne Chang, DO, Seattle, WA, was recognized by Marquis Who’s Who for her noteworthy accomplishments in the field of anesthesiology (May 13, 2022).

Zachary P. Englert, DO, Lincroft, NJ, was featured in an article for IssueWire titled “Get to Know General Surgeon Dr. Zachary P. Englert, Who Serves Patients in New Jersey” (September 30, 2022).

Monique A. Gary, MS/Biomed ’04, DO, Perkasie, PA, made a guest appearance on Health Professional Radio in a segment called “What

You Don’t Know About the Most Aggressive Type of Breast Cancer— and Why It Disproportionately Affects Black Women” (October 16, 2021). Dr. Gary was also a featured guest on “You Oughta Know” on WHYY-TV 12. In this segment, Dr. Gary discussed her holistic approach to healing breast cancer patients and the retreat she hosts for these patients at her property, Still Rise Farm (May 23, 2022).

David Holloman, MS/ODL, Philadelphia, PA, was featured in a segment on KYW Newsradio titled “ ‘Just Keep Trying’: On the Front Lines of Philly’s Strategy to Clear Homeless Encampments” (August 29, 2022) for his work as chief of staff for the Philadelphia Office of Homeless Services. He discussed the approach to encampments, convincing encampment residents into more permanent living situations, and clearing the encampment area before it expands any further.

Katie L. Johnson, DO, Lewes, DE, has been appointed to the Beebe Medical Foundation Board of Directors.

Heather Kiraly Orkwis, DO, Oakland, MI, was voted one of America’s Best Dermatologists of 2022 by Newsweek Magazine

2010

Daniel Nathan Ginn, DO, Santa Monica, CA, joined the OB-GYN and minimally invasive gynecologic surgery faculty at UCLA in Los Angeles. Scott Gary Glickman, DO, RES, Las Vegas, NV, was named one of Las Vegas’ best neurosurgeons by Kev’s Best.

Susan Marie Holencik, DO, Port Matilda, PA, joined the Geisinger 65

Forward Health Center staff in State College. Dr. Holencik has practiced at Geisinger since 2013 and has been on the Penn State College of Medicine faculty since 2019.

Chadd K. Kraus, DO, Lewisburg, PA, was named president of the Pennsylvania College of Emergency Physicians, which is the largest emergency medicine membership organization, dedicated to representing nearly 2,000 emergency physicians in advancing emergency care in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Casey Elizabeth Lafferty, DO, Philadelphia, PA, was named medical director and assistant professor at Penn Family Medicine at Pennsylvania Hospital (August 2022).

Christina LeFils Sikes, DO, Summerville, GA, joined the Hamilton Wound and Hyperbaric Services Staff in August 2022.

Matthew John Stanishewski, DO, Bennington, VT, was a featured guest on the podcast “Medical Matters Weekly” on October 26, 2022.

Mary Elizabeth Vitucci, DO, North Wales, PA, was featured in an article titled “Blood Pressure Checks Save Lives” published by Metro Philadelphia (June 13, 2022). Dr. Vitucci was also featured on #3Q3M for the Healthcare Power Players issue on October 24, 2022, where she discussed her hopes for the future of health care as well as promoting wellness and preventive medicine.

Lynn Marie Wilson, DO, Allentown, PA, was named as one of Pennsylvania’s Top Physicians Under 40 by the Pennsylvania Medical Society (April 16, 2022).

2011

Brian J. Blair, DO, Cherry Hill, NJ, was named fellowship program director at Jefferson Health/ Rowan-SOM. Dr. Blair was also named a Top Physician by SJ Magazine in August 2022.

Marlo D. Bruno, DO, Pawleys Island, SC, joined McLeod Health staff in August 2022 as a physician advisor for case management.

Anna C. Irwin, DO, Bethesda, MD, joined the staff at Clearway Pain Solutions in Bethesda.

Anuja Mohla, DO, Claymont,DE, was named medical director of Revenue Integrity.

Ankur B. Patel, DO, Cumming, GA, was featured in Atlanta Magazine (October 5, 2022) for his practice Southern Pain and Spine. Ebonie E. Vincent, MS/FM, Temecula, CA, is Des Moines University’s 2022 Rising Star Award recipient, which honors graduates who have made a significant impact on their profession or community within the past 15 years. Dr. Vincent is the co-star of the hit TLC show, “My Feet Are Killing Me.” The program won an American Reality Television Award for Best New Cast in 2021. The California Podiatric Medical Association also named Dr. Vincent as its 2022 Rising Star of the Year.

Ebony D. Wortham, MS/ODL, Philadelphia, PA, was named Executive U.S. Attorney for Community Engagement for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

2012

Justin F. Averna, DO, Corrales, NM, was named a Top 3 Doctor of Pain Medicine by Albuquerque Magazine (March 2022).

Assistants in Terms of Number and Autonomy” (August 4, 2022). Mr. Obi is a physician assistant at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center’s Levine Children’s Hospital.

Sheila E. Taylor, DO, Kennett Square, PA, joined the staff of The Orthopedic Center in Easton, Maryland, in September 2022.

2013

Stacy D. Arrington, DO, MS/ Biomed ’13, Marietta, GA, was recently named vice president and chief operating officer of the Georgia-based Dr. Earl Stewart, Jr., Family Foundation. Dr. Arrington will oversee the execution of the foundation and its programs including Adopt-A-Family for Christmas and an annual Black Mental Health and Gun Violence Summit.

Jason R. Burkett, DO, Danville, PA, was featured in an article, “Valley Docs: Minor Wounds Still Need Proper Care” (Daily Item, May 24, 2022).

David N. Carlson, DO, RES, Colorado Springs, CO, was appointed to the board of directors of United Way of Pierce County.

Scott D. Glassman, PsyD, Cherry Hill, NJ,director, applied positive psychology, PCOM, wrote an opinion piece published by The Philadelphia Inquirer titled “Lane Johnson Shines a Light on MentalHealth Challenges in Athletes” (October 25, 2021). Dr. Glassman was interviewed for an article, “Does Your Family Suffer from Silent Home Syndrome?” published by Green Builder Media (June 15, 2022). Dr. Glassman also presented a lecture on positive thinking at Penn State Berks in November.

GEAR UP AT THE NEW PCOM SPIRIT STORE

You can now purchase products including apparel, novelties and drinkware at PCOM’s online Spirit Store (pcom.nbsstore.net). All merchandise is branded so that you can represent PCOM, PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia. The store offers shipping as well as merchandise pickup at all campus locations.

Aaron E. George, DO, Montpelier, VA, wrote a column for Herald-Mail Media titled “Coordinated Care Is the Best Care” (July 11, 2022). In the column, Dr. George, who serves as chief medical officer for Meritus Health, discusses the benefits and importance of coordinated care. He also wrote a column titled “Meritus Shares Back-to-School Checklist for Children” (August 22, 2022) about the importance of having a backto-school checklist for your children including routine checkups, vaccinations and assessment of mental health.

Olisa Kingsley Obi, MS/PA-C, Charlotte, NC, spoke to The Charlotte Post for an article titled “Need Grows for Physician

Anupriya Grover, DO, Media, PA, was recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a trusted family medicine specialist for her exemplary work at Appledore Family Medicine and Tufts University School of Medicine.

Hilary S. Haack, DO, Berlin, MD, was sworn in as a member of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Family Physicians Society Board of Trustees on August 6, 2022.

Kathleen M. Henley, DO, Frankford, DE, was sworn in as a member of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Family Physicians Society Board of Trustees on August 6, 2022.

Lauri Ann Plante, MS/ODL, Leland, NC,was selected as the 2022 Delaware Valley HR Consultant of the Year.

Matthew P. Romagano, DO, Macungie, PA, was named a key faculty member for the new maternal fetal medicine fellowship at Lehigh Valley Health Network, which is expected to start in July 2023.

Nicole L. Thompson, MS/Psy ’10, EdS, Philadelphia, PA, wrote an article for FE News titled “4 Tips to Address Student Mental Health in a Pandemic Era” (May 26, 2022).

2014

Nicholas J. DeMarco, PsyD, Philadelphia, PA, presented on the topic of trauma at the State Center Dual Diagnosis Speaker Presentation on October 20, 2022.

Mary M. Estes, MS/ODL, Macon, GA, joined the Mercer University School of Medicine staff in Macon as a clerk coordinator.

Barbara J. Jones, DO, Norcross, GA, was named B.T. Parker’s Physician of the Year for her service to Gwinnett County. Dr. Jones also opened a private practice, The Healthy Woman Primary Care; the practice serves as the primary care arm of The Healthy Woman OBGYN Services. Additionally, Dr. Jones was profiled by Rollingout. com: “Dr. Barbara Joy Jones-Parks Employs Hands-on Approach for Treating Patients” (May 15, 2022).

Jonathan Riffle, DO, New Orleans, LA, was named a toprated neurosurgeon in New Orleans by Kev’s Best.

2015

Jessica N. Brumfield-Mitchum, DO, Moultrie, GA, was featured in an article published by the Moultrie Observer titled “Black Healthcare Professionals Empower Next Generation” (June 15, 2022). PCOM South Georgia’s Sistahs in Medicine and PCOM’s Office of Diversity and Community Relations hosted Dr. Brumfield-Mitchum as a panelist of Black women experts in health care.

Tara L. McGraw, DO, South Abington Township, PA, joined the staff at Honesdale Surgical Associates as a general surgeon.

Justin M. Miller, DO, Morristown, NJ, joined the staff at St. Luke’s Orthopedic Care – Tamaqua in September 2022.

Manoj Pradhan, PharmD, Harrisburg, PA, was the subject of an article on Pennlive.com titled “First Bhutanese Pharmacist in U.S. Opens Business in Central Pa.” (July 20, 2022). In the article, Dr. Pradhan discussed the need to open a pharmacy to help the elderly in the Bhutanese community who face language barriers that make it dif-

COURTNEY

ARIANNE WASHINGTON, DO ’17: PRIORITIZING HONESTY TO BUILD HER PRIVATE PRACTICE

by Meghan McCall

Courtney Arianne Washington, DO ’17, New Orleans, Louisiana, prioritizes building trust with her patients over anything else. As the owner, founder and CEO of Fleur-De-Lis Primary Care Clinic in New Orleans, her holistic and honest approach has helped her practice flourish in just a couple of years.

After completing her residency in 2020, Dr. Washington was working as a hospitalist when she recognized she needed to make a change. “I would go home stressed. My chest hurt. I had insomnia,” she explains. “I always intended to go into private practice, but thought I’d do it later in my career. I realized, for my own well-being, the time to do it was now.”

A single mom with two-year old twins, Dr. Washington knew she was taking a huge risk. With many office spaces sitting empty due to the pandemic, Dr. Washington found a reasonably priced, centrally located space in downtown New Orleans near the Superdome. Surrounded by many condos and in close proximity to city hall, the location itself helped to attract patients.

Dr. Washington also knew that she wanted to place a heavy emphasis on giving back to the local community—something that has furthered her career in return. Whether it is through free health screenings or fitness initiatives, she is becoming a relatable and familiar face in the community.

“Patients see me at these events as a single mom with my kids alongside me. Nothing makes me extra special. I think it tells them ‘You can do it, too. You can make time to prioritize your health.’ It allows me to form that trusting relationship when they come to my clinic,” says Dr. Washington.

Through one of her community outreach events, Dr. Washington was asked to serve as a medical consultant for an upcoming Disney+ series, The Crossover. The series focuses on a former NBA player living with hypertension and diabetes. As a medical consultant, Dr. Washington reviewed scripts to ensure the character’s diagnoses and treatments were portrayed accurately.

“What I love about the series is its underlying message,” says Dr. Washington. “It’s one that’s especially important for the African American community. You don’t have to look sick to be on dialysis or have a heart attack. You can be a star athlete and still have serious health issues if you aren’t taking care of yourself.”

ficult for them to receive and safely take medications. Dr. Pradhan is also noted to be the first Bhutanese pharmacist in the United States.

Sarah R. Wagner, DO, Lemont, PA, joined the staff of the Psychiatry Department at UPMC Williamsport.

Shan Shan Wu, DO, Mentor, OH, was interviewed for an article, “Coughing and Sneezing? Here’s How to Tell If It’s COVID-19 or Allergies” (Ideasstream Public Media, May 12, 2022).

2016

Matthew P. Debo, DO, Camden Wyoming, DE, joined the staff at Bayhealth Palliative Care in Dover as a palliative physician.

Angela A. Genoese, DO, Camden Wyoming, DE, was featured in an article titled “Bayhealth Resident Links with Longtime Family Doctor in Dover” published by Bay to Bay News (May 24, 2022).

Kelly R. Johnson, DO, Mountain Top, PA, joined the staff of New York Breast Health, a division of New York Cancer & Blood Specialists.

Chelsea V. Laber, DO, Minneapolis, MN, was included

in the Marquis Who’s Who Biographical Registry. Dr. Laber is being recognized for her dedication as a critical care fellow at Hennepin County Medical Center.

Jameel N. Shareef, DO, Oxon Hill, MD, joined the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Group – Gastroenterology staff in August 2022.

Gwendolyn R. Smith, DO, Asheville, NC, joined the team of primary care providers at AdventHealth Henderson Medical Group Multispecialty at South Asheville.

2017

Alfonso Arevalo, DO, Philadelphia, PA, co-authored a study published by the American Journal of Sports Medicine titled “Surgical Techniques and Clinical Outcomes for Medial Epicondylitis: A Systematic Review” (June 6, 2022).

Kristy M. Bearden, DO, Atlanta, GA, opened an outpatient clinic in September 2022 located at Piedmont Atlanta with her new private practice, The Kidney Clinic, LLC. Dr. Bearden will also be covering inpatient services at Piedmont Atlanta.

Paulette C. Dreher, DO, Media, PA, joined the staff of the Center for Urological Care of Berks County as the region’s first female urologist in September 2022.

Melanie N. Garthwaite, MS/ FM, Estell Manor, NJ, earned an American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators certification in July 2022.

William G. Hardeman, Jr., DO, Spring Hill, TN, joined the staff of Hamilton Physician Group –General Surgery.

Anna Elisa Muzio, DO, Harrisburg, PA, completed her orthopedic surgery residency at UPMC Pinnacle in Harrisburg. She is continuing her training as the hand, upper extremity, and microvascular surgery fellow at WellSpan Health in York.

Danielle M. Peters, DO, Upper Makefield, PA, joined the primary care staff of UPMC in Montoursville.

Edward J. Smith, Jr., DO, Minneapolis, MN, joined the University of Minnesota’s Sports Medicine Department as an assistant professor/faculty physician. Dr. Smith was recognized in Mpls-St.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE

Stacy D. Arrington, DO, MS/Biomed ’13, Marietta, GA, married Earl Stewart, Jr., MD, on May 14, 2022.

Brian J. Blair, DO ’11, Cherry Hill, NJ, and his wife, Angel, announce the birth of their daughters, Avery and Harper, born on February 28, 2022.

Lauren S. Coffua, DO ’20, Haddonfield, NJ, married Tyler Veterano, DO ’18, on June 3, 2022, at One North Broad in Center City Philadelphia. They were joined by fellow classmates Nicole Pantle, DO ’20, Victoria Ettorre, DO ’20, and Tyler Watson, DO ’18 The couple lives outside Philadelphia with their two cats.

Kathryn M. Flynn, DO ’21, Rockville, MD, married Brendan Flynn, DO ’21, on August 8, 2020, at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. They held a reception on May 26, 2022, at the College of Physicians (the Mutter Museum) in Philadelphia. Fellow classmates Kevin Yohannan, DO ’21, Alex Kurtzman, DO ’21, Tessa Scheckelhoff, DO ’21, Katie Barnett, DO ’21, Matthew Edinger, DO ’21, Nicole Makepeace, DO ’21 (previously Kostosky), Evan Kolesnick, DO ’22, Tim Hendricks, DO ’21, and Thomas DePietro, DO ’21, joined in the celebrations. Both Dr. Kathryn Flynn and Dr. Brendan Flynn are residents (surgery and internal medicine, respectively) at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Casey Elizabeth Lafferty, DO ’10, Melbourne, FL, and her husband welcomed their first daughter, Fionna, in November 2021.

Joan L. Moore, DO ’77, MSc, Frankford, WV, is still practicing oncology as a locum. Dr. Moore also spends her days enjoying time with her four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

John Joseph Orris, MBA/DO ’95, Exton, PA, is proud to announce that his daughter, Olivia, is a member of the PCOM DO Class of 2024.

Arthur S. Platt, DO ’73, Cedar Grove, NJ, and his wife Ellen Platt, DO ’73, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a vow renewal at PCOM in September. Joining them were their daughters, Allison Platt, DO ’07, and Jennifer Platt, DO ’07 Bruce Frantz, DO ’79, Dr. Ellen Platt’s brother, was also in attendance.

Paul Magazine’s feature “2022 Top Doctors: Rising Stars within Sports Medicine” (March 18, 2022).

2018

Chelsea M. Forrester, DO, Rocky Face, GA, joined the staff at Hamilton Physician Group –Murray Campus in Chatsworth as a family medicine physician.

Alexa J. Giacobbo, DO, Moorestown, NJ, joined the staff at Dedicated to Women OB-GYN practice in September 2022.

2019

Anna E. Inserra, MS/PA-C, Colorado Springs, CO, joined the staff at Optima Medical.

Jiah Jang, DO, RES, Tujunga, CA, was recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a distinguished neurosurgeon for her work at PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital

and CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center.

Dustin D. Johnston, DO, Milledgeville, GA, joined the staff as an internal medicine physician at Hamilton Physician Group Primary Care in Dalton in October 2022.

Rashona Moss, MS/Biomed ’12, DO, Milledgeville, GA, participated in the Annals Story Slam, a recorded event where storytellers share stories about the experience of doctoring. Dr. Moss shared an original story titled “I Know Them by Name.”

Christian I. Ordaz, DO, Dallas, TX, joined the Bronson Family Medicine – Marshall staff in September 2022.

2020

Adrienne Koder, DO, RES, Bentonville, AR, joined the staff at

Arkansas Children’s Northwest in Springdale as a pediatric orthopedic surgeon.

Jude Opoku-Agyeman, DO, RES, Philadelphia, PA, recently became the first Black plastic surgeon to be fellowship trained in transgender surgery. Following his PCOM fellowship, Dr. Opoku-Agyeman was chosen to pursue a oneyear fellowship in transgender/ gender-affirming surgery under Sherman Leis, DO ’67

Ashley Poole, PsyD, Philadelphia, PA, was featured in a story in Diversity in Action Magazine titled “Spotlighting the Successes of Recent Graduates” (September/ October 2022). The article focused on Dr. Poole’s experiences as a psychology student, her current work, and advice to aspiring psychology students.

2021

Tracey Bastiaans, DO, RES, Glendale, AZ, recently implemented two new pieces of technology, the Fraxel Laser and Vaserlipo, at her practice.

John Kunkel, DO, RES, Painted Post, NY, joined the UPMC Orthopaedic Care and sports medicine services staff in August 2022 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Leo E. Larios, DO, Hahira, GA, was featured in a resident spotlight in the Moultrie Observer (December 22, 2021).

Elizabeth A. Pezoa, DO, Washington, PA, was named resident of the month (October 2022) by Washington Health System.

Arrington wedding Coffua/Veterano wedding

Flynn wedding

Lafferty baby Platt vow renewal

2022

Sarah J. Lewis, DO, New Orleans, LA, was included in the article “Like Father, Like Daughter: The Love of Pathology” (instapath. com, June 14, 2022). The article focuses on Dr. Lewis following in her father’s footsteps to become a pathologist.

Kristine Smalls, MS/Psy, PsyD, Camden, NJ, was the subject of an article by the Philadelphia Inquirer titled “This N.J. Psychologist Just Received Her Doctorate. Her Mother Took Out a Billboard in Camden to Celebrate” (July 31, 2022).

Storm Zink, MS/PA-C, Leola, PA, was featured in “Lancaster County College News” (Lancaster Online, October 5, 2022).

IN MEMORIAM

Paul C. Alloy, DO ’46, Rancho Mirage, CA, July 17, 2022

Robert A. Barnes, DO ’69, Emmaus, PA, August 11, 2022

John V. Cappello, DO ’78, King of Prussia, PA, February 8, 2022

Norman M. Charney, DO ’57, Fall City, WA, May 1, 2022

Murray H. Cohen, DO ’58, Phoenix, AZ, August 27, 2022

Theodore P. D’Orazio, DO ’64, Media, PA, January 2, 2021

Ronald J. Ellis, DO ’73, Aston, PA, December 29, 2020

Katherine M. England, DO ’54, Southampton, PA, August 31, 2022

Carl G. Godshall, DO ’58, Westerville, OH, August 27, 2022

Frederick Grassin, DO ’52, New Port Richey, FL, April 14, 2022

Stephen J. Hardy, DO ’83, State College, PA, February 5, 2018

W. James Hart, DO ’64, Drexel Hill, PA, June 3, 2022

ROBERT M. FOGEL, DO ’58, TULSA, OK, SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

by Jennifer Schaffer Leone

Robert M. Fogel, DO ’58, grew up in North Philadelphia and attended Central High School. Influenced by his family physician and his brother Sidney Fogel, DO ’55, Dr. Fogel enrolled at PCOM. Following graduation in 1958, he moved to Oklahoma with his wife and one-yearold child to serve an internship. Only 24 years old, he had never been west of Philadelphia. After completing his internship he started a general practice in Mannford, population 500, and became the only doctor within 30 square miles.

Dr. Fogel would go on to complete a pathology residency program at Detroit Osteopathic Hospital and serve as director of laboratories and chief pathologist at Oklahoma Osteopathic Hospital, and as a consultant at numerous other hospitals. His post as medical examiner in Oklahoma occurred during the “Dixie Mafia” days. He also served as an instructor in pathology at the Kansas City College of Osteopathic Medicine, Kirksville College of Medicine, and Oklahoma College of Medicine and Surgery.

In 1984, Dr. Fogel returned east to serve as acting dean, acting associate dean for clinical affairs, chairman and professor of clinical pathology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. In 1993, he joined PCOM as a full-time professor and chair of the Department of Pathology. He left the College in 2009 to move to the island of St. Kitts, where he taught pathology at the University of Medicine and Health Sciences. Upon his retirement in 2012, he returned to Oklahoma.

Throughout his career, Dr. Fogel was recognized with many honors, among them PCOM’s highest award, the O. J. Snyder Memorial Medal (1998). He was named Professor of the Year at every institution where he taught. His students would refer to him as “an honorable pathologist, a noble teacher, and most of all, a caring and passionate human being.”

Albert S. Heyman, DO ’45, Furlong, PA, January 11, 2022

Preston C. Kuptsow, DO ’68, Philadelphia, PA, September 6, 2022

John A. Langton, DO ’60, Palmyra, PA, June 25, 2022

Murry E. Levyn, DO ’46, Wyncote, PA, September 20, 2022

Howard M. Listwa, DO ’72, Allentown, PA, August 13, 2022

Gerald L. Melamut, DO ’65, Allentown, PA, August 20, 2022

Edward A. Metz, DO ’70, Crawford, NE, July 6, 2022

Edgar S. Miller, II, DO ’54, Carlisle, MA, September 19, 2022

Frank C. Noonan, DO ’77, Myerstown, PA, July 5, 2022

George E. Piper, Jr., DO ’71, Haddonfield, NJ, June 7, 2022

Robert A. Renza, DO ’62, Wildwood Crest, NJ, September 3, 2022

Philip P. Saponaro, DO ’57, York, PA, May 29, 2022

John G. Shutack, DO ’69, Bryn Mawr, PA, October 2, 2022

Thomas Patrick Smith, PsyD ’00, Philadelphia, PA, September 1, 2022

Richard J. Swenski, DO ’72, Wapwallopen, PA, March 9, 2022

Keith A. Waddle, DO ’88, Huntingdon, PA, August 21, 2022

Harold F. White, DO ’61, Lancaster, PA, September 2, 2022

Thomas G. DelGiorno, Jr., DO ’76, Philadelphia, PA, May 17, 2020

Elliot B. Port, DO ’57, Poinciana, FL, April 20, 2021

Daniel K. Siegel, DO ’50, Gainesville, FL, November 19, 2022

William A. Visconti, DO ’54, Secaucus, NJ, November 24, 2022

ROBERT H. JAMA, DO ’69, GREENVILLE, PA, AUGUST 21, 2022

by Arthur J. Sesso, DO ‘81

For students and residents of a certain era, Robert H. Jama, DO ’69, was an icon. He set new standards for education while dramatically improving the quality of patient care. As vice chairman of the Department of Surgery, assistant director of Medical Education, and associate professor of surgery at PCOM, Dr. Jama became an undeniable force for change and innovation.

Dr. Jama was a personality that you needed to experience. He was the rare leader that people followed not because of the authority he held, but the convictions he practiced. His work ethic was unequalled—putting his responsibilities to education and patient care above his own needs. He personified dedication and self-sacrifice.

Dr. Jama was integral in advancing critical care and trauma management for the patients at PCOM’s City Avenue Hospital. As one of the first osteopathic physicians to be trained and certified in this most demanding field of medicine (he completed a fellowship in shock and trauma at Hahnemann Medical College), Dr. Jama afforded his trainees the opportunity to experience and learn the concepts of hemodynamics, shock and ventilation. His teaching skills were well matched to the complex medical issues these patients illustrated.

Those who were taught by Dr. Jama not only learned the principles of medicine and surgery, but learned from the demeanor of a man who refused to be defeated, who would not let disease dictate the outcome for his patients and would not let the self-appointed conservators of the present delay the progress of his visions for the future. At times he was irreverent, but only to those who accepted mediocrity and tolerated indecision. To his patients he was irreplaceable; they became his friends and his advocates. He redefined the term “bedside manner.”

Courtesy of the PCOM Archives, this cover layers objects from many decades. The key below identifies significant items:

1.Anatomy bone box circa 1944

2.Portrait of Angus G. Cathie, DO ’31, MSc, FAAO

3.PCIO dispensary

4.1942 Osteopathic Digest Magazine

5.Wishbone pin (given to student wives)

6.J. Ernest Leuzinger, DO 1924, MSc, FOCO, FACOS sketches of tumors

7.Leonard H. Finkelstein, DO ’59, MSc ’63, goggles

8.Schematic of PCOM Georgia, 2004

9.City Avenue Hospital construction

10.Thomas M. Rowland, Jr., DO (Hon.), LLD (Hon.), DSc (Hon.), plaque

11.Blood pressure cuff

12.Keepsake student pins from the 1980s

13.Bone box interior card

14.Levin Administration Building, 1990s

15.Lawn Fete ticket, 1907

16.75th anniversary coin

17.Class of 1910 poem

18.Rowland Hall renovation sign

19.1959 Commencement program

20.PCOM South Georgia groundbreaking token shovel, 2018

21.1983 PCOM soccer team photo

22.1912 Commencement program

23.Schematic of PCOM South Georgia, 2018

24.48th and Spruce Streets campus, 1932

25.1987 championship rugby team medal

26.2020 PCOM Georgia Commencement program

27.PCOM South Georgia Ribbon Cutting, 2019

28.Food and Home Show flyer

29.A.T. Still, DO, “had a beard” student pin

30.A.T. Still, DO, founder of osteopathic medicine

31.Abnormal vertebrae images, 1925

32.Vertebrae specimen from the Angus Gordon Cathie Museum of Anatomy

33.Osteopathic Students’ Wives Club Yearbook, 1965-66

34.Flounders Day Follies, 1983

35.Graduation tam belonging to Galen S. Young, Sr., DO 1935, MSc, FACOS, DSc (Hon.)

36.Official opening of Lotman Lobby, 1996

37.Iota Tau Sigma gavel, 1969-70

38.1931 Osteopathic Digest Magazine

39. 2005 PCOM Georgia ribbon-cutting program

40.1980 PCOM commemorative plate