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Updates
SPRING COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES SIGNAL “RETURN TO NORMAL”
On May 24, at the Mann Center in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park, and on May 27, at the Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, Georgia, PCOM and PCOM Georgia graduated 270 and 130 DOs, respectively, in the College’s 130th Commencement. The ceremonies were once again held as in-person events after moving to virtual programs in the midst of the pandemic last year. These graduates will go on to join the more than 100,000 osteopathic physicians currently in practice in the United States. At the same time, PCOM Georgia held a combined Commencement ceremony for 83 Doctor of Pharmacy graduates and 33 Doctor of Physical Therapy graduates. The DPT Class of 2021 is the first class to graduate from PCOM’s physical therapy program. In Philadelphia, the graduates were addressed by Commencement keynote speaker and honorary degree recipient Daniel R. Taylor, DO ’97, FAAP, FACOP, associate professor of pediatrics at Drexel University College of Medicine and general pediatrician at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. Burton T. Mark, DO, FACN; Theodore Paul Mauer, DO ’62, FAOCOO–HNS; and Abraham Zellis, DO ’56, were honored as professors emeriti. Also included in the program was a recognition of the generous $1 million bequest from David A. Bitonte, DO ’80, MBA, MPH, FAOCA, to establish the annual Commencement Speaker Series. Funds generated from the endowment go toward supporting the cost of a distinguished speaker at the College’s DO Commencement ceremony in Philadelphia. At PCOM Georgia, Commencement speakers, who all were awarded honorary degrees, included Richard H. Jadick, DO, who is considered the Iraq War’s most decorated physician. Christy M. Norman, PharmD, MS, BCPS, president-elect of the Georgia Society of Health-System Pharmacists, also spoke to the graduates. Addressing the inaugural physical therapy graduating class was Phillip B. Palmer, PT, PhD, the founding program chair, who retired at the end of the academic year. Mary P. Owen, JD, MS, PhD, was honored as professor emerita. “You were—and will continue to be—on the front lines: treating and caring for patients in the holistic manner that is part of your osteopathic heritage,” said Jay S. Feldstein, DO ’81, president and chief executive officer, in his address to the graduates. “Your dedication to healing will ensure that our healthcare system, as we begin to move into a post-pandemic world, will deliver on the unmet health and wellness needs of our society as a whole.” The events were also livestreamed on the College’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
PCOM CELEBRATES THE OPENING OF META CHRISTY HOUSE
On April 15, PCOM leaders hosted a ribbon-cutting celebration for the newly renovated and named Meta Christy House. Several prominent community members spoke during the ceremony, including State Senator Vincent Hughes and PCOM President and Chief Executive Officer Jay S. Feldstein, DO ’81. The building is named in honor of Meta L. Christy, DO 1921, the College’s first African American student and the first African American doctor of osteopathic medicine in the nation, as recognized by the American Osteopathic Association, whose achievement brings profound pride to PCOM and to the osteopathic profession. This year marks the 100th anniversary of her gradation. During the ceremony, PCOM leaders unveiled a portrait of Dr. Christy that will hang in the front entrance of the building. Portraits of Dr. Christy were also unveiled at PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia. Meta Christy House, previously Overmont House, is located adjacent to the PCOM campus and includes 224 apartments on 12 floors. PCOM students will be given priority application for the apartment complex.
PRESIDENT’S COMMUNITY WELLNESS INITIATIVE FORMED
This spring, Jay S. Feldstein, DO ’81, president and chief executive officer, formed the President’s Community Wellness Initiative (CWI) to create educational and health services programming and resources that improve and sustain the physical, mental and nutritional wellness of the College’s surrounding communities. The CWI supports existing projects and collaborative efforts to create, plan and execute new opportunities to serve the community. CWI initiatives at PCOM are generously sponsored by Independence Blue Cross. Under the auspices of the CWI, and in partnership with Bebashi – Transition to Hope, PCOM has opened food pantries at two of its Healthcare Centers. And recently, as part of the CWI, PCOM Georgia partnered with an independent pharmacy in Cumming (with ties to alumnus Kaleb Zhang, PharmD ’20) to host two COVID-19 vaccination events. At PCOM South Georgia, second-year DO students assisted with screening patients, administering vaccines and documenting doses. “PCOM has long valued the role of community outreach in healthcare education and has emphasized care for underserved populations,” affirms Dr. Feldstein. “Community outreach is what drives us all beyond the classroom, the office, the clinic. It allows us to see health care as an intricate system that reaches into patients’ lives: their homes, finances, grocery bags. It cultivates a culture of holistic health and well-being as a core value of community; it is a manifestation of the whole person approach to health care.”
STRICKLANDS ENDOW SCHOLARSHIP FOR PCOM GEORGIA DOCTORAL STUDENTS
Merging their faith with their passion for medicine and education, Gwinnett County philanthropists, entrepreneurs and business owners Clyde and Sandra Strickland recently established an endowed doctoral scholarship fund at PCOM Georgia. Through the fund, $5,000 scholarships will be awarded annually to three students, one from each doctoral program at PCOM Georgia to include those earning degrees in osteopathic medicine, pharmacy and physical therapy. North Carolina natives, the Stricklands have been residents of Gwinnett since 1969. With a belief in caring for their community, the couple will provide the yearly scholarships to PCOM Georgia students who are graduates of Gwinnett County Public Schools. “We want to help our neighbors here,” Mrs. Strickland said. “We can surely do something right here in our own community.” The Stricklands have been long-time supporters of health care, and especially Northside Hospital Gwinnett (formerly Gwinnett Medical Center), where Mrs. Strickland is a member of the Women’s Advisory Council. Mr. Strickland serves on the Board of Directors for the Gwinnett Medical Center Foundation. They provided funding to build the hospital’s chapel, spearheaded a capital campaign for the Strickland Heart Center, funded the Sandra J. Strickland Diagnostic Center, and helped build the Strickland Family Medicine Center, a teaching facility for Northside Hospital Gwinnett’s family medicine residency program.
ANDREA PAX MANN, DO, FAAP, TO LEAD PCOM GEORGIA DO PROGRAM
Andrea Pax Mann, DO, FAAP, has been named dean and chief academic officer of the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program at PCOM Georgia. Dr. Mann most recently served as the assistant dean for clinical education, chair of pediatrics, and associate professor of pediatrics and internal medicine at the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine at Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine. She has 20 years of experience in academic medicine, including close to five years at the dean’s level, with a record of accomplishment as a leader, administrator, educator, innovator, mentor and advisor. Dr. Mann describes herself as “a solid, flexible, optimistic, and introspective leader who is approachable and never backs down from a challenge.” Her style is to “empower and encourage people to become the very best versions of themselves.” Dr. Mann earned a bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College and a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed an internal medicine and pediatrics residency at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
The College has named Brian Gerard Mann, EdD, MS, PA-C, as its new chief of simulation operations, to assume broad responsibility for the day-to-day management of the simulation centers and standardized patient operations across all three PCOM locations. “We are pleased that Dr. Mann has joined PCOM to lead the coordination of simulation center educational opportunities across the College’s three locations. It has become more important than ever that PCOM use best practices from each campus to more efficiently deliver curriculum to all of our students,” says Kenneth J. Veit, DO ’76, MBA, provost, senior vice president for academic affairs and dean. Most recently, Dr. Mann served as the director of simulation education at the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine at Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine. In this position, he managed the simulation center’s day-to-day operations and created an integrated simulation curriculum for both undergraduate and graduate medical education.
PCOM MARKS A 99.6 PERCENT DO MATCH RATE
This year, the College’s DO Class of 2021 (PCOM and PCOM Georgia) achieved a 99.6 percent match rate in the National Resident Matching Program. Matching alongside their allopathic counterparts for the second time since the single graduate medical education accreditation system has been fully implemented, DO graduates from both campuses will continue their education and training at healthcare facilities across the United States. More than 220 DO graduates plan to enter primary care specialties, including internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics and OB/GYN. Forty-one will enter emergency medicine. Twenty-one graduates matched into military residencies, representing the Air Force, Army and Navy. Twenty-eight PCOM Georgia DO graduates will stay in state to complete residency programs in Georgia, while 121 PCOM graduates matched into residencies in Pennsylvania. In addition, 13 PCOM DO graduates matched into residencies in Delaware.
STUDENTS ADVANCE VACCINATION SKILLS TO HELP PROTECT COMMUNITIES FROM COVID-19
A permanent curriculum change in the DO program has recently taken place at all three College locations. First- and second-year DO students will now receive training in giving inoculations/intramuscular injections as part of their primary skills course. Third- and fourth-year pharmacy students are also a great resource in the mixing and administering of vaccines, while physician assistant students are trained to administer vaccinations during their first year. “Nothing, at this point in the COVID-19 crisis, is more important than getting as many people vaccinated as possible. The students of PCOM and other area health professional schools can and should, under direct medical supervision, play a critical role in our inoculation efforts to provide a vaccine to all who want one,” says Jay S. Feldstein, DO ’81, president and chief executive officer. To date, PCOM student volunteers have administered thousands of vaccines to their local communities and have assisted with registration and both pre- and post-vaccine evaluation.
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS GRANTED ACCREDITATION
PCOM’s three-year Education Specialist Degree program has been granted accreditation by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). “NASP accreditation confirms that the training and support we provide our students has been recognized to meet the highest standards in school psychology. This program also presents a huge benefit to our students, allowing them to graduate in three years instead of four and begin their careers sooner with less debt burden,” says Richard Allen, PsyD, director of the educational specialist program at PCOM In addition, PCOM’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program was granted initial accreditation effective through fall 2025 by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). Under the leadership of Phillip B. Palmer, PT, PhD, retired professor and department chair, administrators and faculty members submitted a self-study report to CAPTE before the physical therapy program underwent a site visit. “It’s a credit to Dr. Palmer and his staff for achieving this significant goal for our PT program,” notes Jay S. Feldstein, DO ’81, president and chief executive officer.
PCOM FACULTY PRESENT COVID RESEARCH
College faculty presented the capstone seminar “COVID-19: From Virus to Vaccine” at the 2021 Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association Virtual Clinical Assembly and Scientific Seminar. Mindy George-Weinstein, PhD, chief research and science officer, PCOM, led an interdisciplinary team of faculty and staff who addressed common questions raised during the pandemic and provided a deep dive into the mechanisms and impact of the virus. Susan Hingley, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology, PCOM, reviewed the biology of the SARS-CoV2 virus and its proposed origins and method of entry into human cells. Katherine Galluzzi, DO, CMD, FACOFP dist., professor of geriatric and palliative medicine, PCOM, provided an overview of the pathophysiology of COVID-19 and discussed the emergence of sequelae and “long-haul COVID.” Patrick Wolf, MBA, chief occupational and safety officer, PCOM, spoke about current CDC policies on quarantining and contact tracing. Shashidharamurthy Taval, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology, PCOM Georgia, went over established and emerging pharmacologic approaches to inhibiting SARS-CoV2 and discussed his own COVID-related research. Valerie Cadet, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and immunology, PCOM Georgia, described the mechanisms of action of the different vaccine types and reviewed the latest data on their effectiveness. And Harry Morris, DO, MPH, professor of family medicine, PCOM, discussed the important role of primary care providers in helping to overcome vaccine hesitancy.
KRISTIE PETREE, DO ’13, APPOINTED MEMBER OF THE NBOME NATIONAL FACULTY
Kristie Petree, DO ‘13, OMM site director, PCOM South Georgia, was recently named a member of the National Faculty in the Clinical Department of Osteopathic Principles and Practice/ Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine on the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners. In this role, she will participate in the item writing process for the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination of the United States.
“DR. E” HONORED WITH FAAO DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
Walter C. Ehrenfeuchter, DO ’79, FAAO, retired professor of neuromusculoskeletal medicine and osteopathic manipulative medicine, PCOM Georgia, recently received the 2021 Fellow of American Academy of Osteopathy Distinguished Service Award. The award is presented annually to one recipient by the Committee on Fellowship of the American Academy of Osteopathy. Dr. Ehrenfeuchter, affectionately known as Dr. E, served as chair of the Department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine at PCOM Georgia prior to his retirement on June 30, 2021. A 1975 graduate of Drexel University, he earned a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from PCOM in 1979. He completed an internship at the Hospital of PCOM, and then served as the first resident in the history of the osteopathic manipulative medicine profession in 1980. Dr. E has had a distinguished career in medicine and medical education, serving at both the PCOM and PCOM Georgia campuses for more than 40 years. He achieved the status of Fellow of the AAO in 1990, and was board certified the same year. Elected to the Board of Governors in 1995, he became a member of the Committee on Fellowship in 2012, where he continues to serve. Dr. E is known for authoring six chapters of Foundations of Osteopathic Medicine, the standard text for teaching the osteopathic profession, now in its fourth edition.
$1.5 MILLION ALLOCATED TO GROWTH AT PCOM SOUTH GEORGIA
On June 2, the Moultrie-Colquitt County Development Authority voted to allocate $1.5 million to support the growth of PCOM South Georgia. The development authority, chaired by James L. Matney, who also serves as president and chief executive officer of Colquitt Regional Medical Center, has been a long-time supporter of the College. Daniel Dunn, a current authority board member who was chairman of the authority when PCOM South Georgia opened its doors in 2019, told state legislators at the time that “Colquitt County is known for its agriculture. We’ve planted seeds that have grown to feed and clothe the nation—the world, actually. No more important seed has been planted in Colquitt County than the one we planted today.” After the recent vote, he added, “That seed has now matured and is bearing fruit.” Plans for PCOM South Georgia expansion are still to come but may include new academic programs and facility development.
