NEWS
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THE REFLECTOR
Public Health Week raises awareness By Justus O’Neil STAFF WRITER
Faculty, staff, students and community members gathered in the Health Pavilion on Friday, April 5 to celebrate Public Health Week. According to the American Public Health Association, Public Health Week is observed across the United States on the first week of April. Communities come together in order to highlight public health issues that are important to the improvements of their environment. Public Health Week is also a time to recognize the efforts of public health professionals. Indiana State Health Commissioner, Kristina Box and CDC Foundation CEO and President Judith Monroe exchanged dialogue during the event with students about the importance of public health on campus not only just in the southern Indianapolis community, but also on a global scale. Box has been Indiana’s State Health Commissioner for almost two years and leads approximately 900 individuals in promoting and protecting Hoosier
health. According to Box, she is involved “It is always very hard to turn down in everything health related, from food an invitation to speak in Indiana, and safety to vaccinations. even harder to turn down an Indiana “Public Health Week is about raising State Health Officer [Box],” Monroe awareness for everyone’s public health," said. “UIndy is in a peculiar location and Box said. "In a state where we are No. has strong partnerships with its com8 for smoking, No. 12 for obesity and munity… I was curious to see the proheart disease is the leading cause of gress that has been made here in person, death among men and women. We need on the ground.” to be engaging and reaching out to more According to Box, his role as the and more people, especially the excited keynote speaker in the event was to younger population at places such as the set the tone for the day and to stress University of Indianapolis.” the fact that healthcare is only a small Monroe has part of health. overseen the Box said that CDC Foundaother compo“Public Health Week is tion as Presinents of health dent and CEO about raising awareness for that she has for over three on ineveryone's public health.” spoken years. Prior to clude socioecthis position, onomic health, Monroe served geographical as the State Health Commissioner of health, opportunity and more. Indiana from 2005 to 2010, and CDC “Life is hard to enjoy without our deputy on a state and national level health,” Box said. “Indiana’s biggest between 2010 and 2016. According to health challenges and emerging threats, Monroe, being attentive and supporting like Hepatitis A, are at the forefront of health officers has been constructive on public health, but it is much more than both sides. just disease and illness.”
Photo by Shane Phillips
Enrollment Counselor Michelle Ferguson runs a booth in the Health Pavillion during Public Health Week. Ferguson helps provide information on being involved in public health after college, such as Doctor of Health Science programs, and masters in public health.
According to Box, a college education is more than just a degree, it is about broadening horizons and learning about how the world works in order to develop a perspective. As public health week continued, Box said that it is important to think about how each of us can use our education to help improve the communities we are a part of in terms of its public health. Both Monroe and Box expressed that inspiring students to volunteer time or to dedicate their lives to health related issues is not always easy. According to Monroe and Box, if just one student is inspired at each event they are able to speak at, then they have succeeded. “I hope that each and every student is able to learn a little bit about public health along their journey of world discovery,” Box said. “I adore meeting with youth, and now has never been a better time to make an impact.” Getting the opportunity to attend events like these where important and pressing topics are being discussed between college students who will go on to shape their field of study and workforce is a privilege, according to Box. “I practiced as an obstetrician gynecologist for over 30 years on the Northeast side of Indianapolis,” Box said. “But it wasn’t until I decided that I was going to make a point of getting engaged in some of these socioeconomic things that were impacting my patients that I first got exposed to what public health was all about.” Box encouraged students to look into health-related majors and courses because new careers in the public health field are constantly emerging. For students who have an interest in public health but may be on a different career path, UIndy also offers a Healthy Diploma distinction that students can apply for in order to get more involved in the public health community. Monroe congratulated the students and staff attending the event for their enthusiastic question and answer session that proceeded after her remarks. According to Monroe, her main message to the students was to think big. “There are a lot of big issues to tackle out in the world today," Monroe said. "So do something that is larger than yourself and you will be a much happier and, in turn, healthier person.”
PT professor changes medical treatment Paul Salamh works with research team to improve common shoulder surgery By Jacob Walton
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy Paul Salamh, along with experts from around the world, have published an article that has led to a rapid recommendation in the British Medical Journal. The article presents evidence that shows the ineffectiveness of the surgery compared to other forms of treatment and that it should not be the primary form of treatment done for subacromial pain syndrome, better known as shoulder impingement. Shoulder impingement is the pain that occurs when the tendon between the ball and socket of the shoulder is injured and irritated due to a myriad of reasons. There are multiple forms of treatment for shoulder impingement such as medication and physical therapy to alleviate pain, according to the article published by Salamh and his colleagues. Another common form of treatment for shoulder impingement is subacromial decompression surgery, a surgery where part of the shoulder blade is shaved off in order to try to alleviate the pain. This treatment now has been proven ineffective and possibly dangerous by Salamh and his team in their research “Subacromial Decompression Surgery for Adults with Shoulder Pain: A Systematic Review with Metanalysis.” According to Salamh, the research team examined more than 800 studies
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by prior researchers to conclude that team, as many of the others had already the surgery provides no benefit over been doing shoulder impingement renon-surgical treatment. The research search. Originally, Salamh and a colconsisted of several randomized trials league were starting on a project simithat compared the surgery with placebo lar to that of the team already in place. surgeries or exercises, according to the According to Salamh, he reached out to article. Salamh said the placebo trials the team, provided his background and demonstrated no significant differences asked if they wanted to collaborate, and compared to when the actual surgery is they agreed. Salamh said he and his performed. When they saw these results, colleague did not set out to get a rapid Salamh said, they knew that something recommendation. According to Salamh, needed to be changed. he reached out to the team, provided “One of the big things that his background and asked kind of led to this is there if they wanted to collabowere placebo trials that had rate, and they agreed. The been going on [and] ranglobal team that Salamh domized controlled trials joined had the goal of getwhere people were either ting a rapid recommengoing in, unknowing to dation, which according them, either having the surto Salamh, is a very long gery done to their shoulder process that takes a large or literally having the holes amount of planning. Prior and the scopes put in, but to their research, there had no surgery performed," been only 13 rapid recomSalamh said. “There was mendations spanning topno difference between pain, ics such as HIV and cancer range of motion or function treatments. According to SALAMH in those individuals in either Salamh, this was only the group, and so that's when second orthopedic rapid people really started saying, ‘Whoa, recommendation, the first of which was whoa.’ We've known for a while that on the knee. this [surgery] is suspect, but a placebo Salamh said he has spent most of his surgery trial is not something you hear career as a researcher working with the about very often. So when that started shoulder, which he said is uncommon happening, we knew the time was sort because most physical therapists of right to do something along these work with the entire body. At Duke lines.” University, Salamh said he first got According to Salamh, he was one into his shoulder research with younger of the last members brought onto the children and others with shoulder which will be verified. Letters are subject to condensation and editing to remove profanity. Submission of a letter gives The Reflector permission to publish it in print or online. All submissions become the property of The Reflector in perpetuity. Advertisers: The Reflector welcomes advertisers both on and off campus. Advertising rates vary according to the patron’s specifications. For advertising, contact 317-788-2517. Readers: You are entitled to a single copy of this paper. Additional copies may be purchased with prior approval for 50 cents each by contacting The Reflector business manager. Taking multiple copies of this paper may constitute theft, and anyone who does so may be subject to prosecution and/or university discipline.
pathology problems. “[The shoulder is] something I've been interested in, even in my earlier days in undergrad,” Salamh said. “I had a shoulder surgery from participating in athletics myself, and it didn't work out so well. After I graduated, I began working with an orthopedic surgeon who was a former head of Duke Sports Medicine, and he really worked on those individuals with shoulder pathology. So for 10 or 11 years, he and I just worked together, [him] as a surgeon and myself as a therapist working with athletes and individuals with the shoulder conditions. It's kind of unusual to find yourself in a situation where you're only dealing with individuals with a certain pathology.” According to Salamh, this is the first time that his research has had such an impact. The team said they hope that the BMJ rapid recommendation will help reduce the number of people getting the surgery. “This is the first time that I've really felt the research I've been a part of was something that would have a big impact,” Salamh said. “You're talking about hundreds of thousands of people, if not more, having this surgery and the harms that come associated with it and the cost to the healthcare system. So the fact that our research can have an impact on changing that, it was the first time I felt like any of my research that I was a part of recent [there could be] some meaningful change that could happen. But the biggest thing now is how do we implement that change?"
APRIL 17, 2019
Retirement plans, advice offered by TIAA By Kiara Conley
DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Currently serving 15,000 institutions and over 100 years of experience, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America has assisted members of the University of Indianapolis’ faculty and staff and their plan for retirement in creating a retirement saving plans, according to TIAA Financial Consultant Michael Dooley. Dooley said he visits the university once a month for one-onone personable financial advice sessions with UIndy faculty and staff. According to Dooley, the main goal of the meetings are to help people understand how retirement plans work. When meeting with clients, Dooley explains how they should invest money from their paychecks based on what will work for that person’s financial needs and investment strategy. He said that TIAA works to serve each employee of the institutions they assist. “... What’s nice is everybody who works, whether you are a faculty member, staff member, [or] administrator, everybody has an opportunity to save for their retirement,” Dooley said. With members of faculty and staff in varying stages of life, Dooley and members of UIndy’s Office of Human Resources, like Benefits Manager Aaron Campbell, customize plans and continue already established financial plans throughout the employee’s time at the university. Both Campbell and Dooley said that saving for retirement early on, even if it is a small percentage of one’s paycheck, can help significantly later on. “The earlier you can start, the better because even saving small amounts in your 20s, you will have 40 years of that compounding to grow,” Dooley said. “... Yes, you have to balance student loan debt, personal loans, those kinds of things, but ideally if you could save between 15 to 20 percent of your income towards retirement starting in your 20s, you will be in good shape.” Campbell, who came to the university two months ago, said that along with TIAA the university has the Amerity Retirement Medical Plan, in which UIndy contributes $500 a year to the faculty or staff member’s account and is made accessible to them once they liquidate the funds in the TIAA account and are officially retired. Campbell and other employees for UIndy’s Human Resources will then further educate on the benefits that employees of the university have, encourage employees to save their funds and educate on the matching model that the university has implemented for their employees. He said that employees are encouraged to be mindful of retirement and saving funds for retirement as soon as their new hires sessions and open enrollment meetings. Campbell said that communicating with university employees about financial events and other wellness events that are held on campus is important and a goal of his going forward. “Since I’ve been here, I’ve really hit it hard in the new hire orientations, but outside of that and outside of webinars, sending out faculty and staff email communications alerting them to updates or plan changes or again just kind of promoting the benefit and kind of keeping it on everybody’s radar would be very important,” Campbell said. When it comes to how often a staff or faculty member should attend a financial meeting is mainly dependent upon the person according to Campbell. He said that some employees have their own financial advisor outside of the ones provided by UIndy, but those advisors are extremely important for those who may not have that person outside what is provided to them. Campbell also said that some employees may attend these meetings more due to upcoming life changes like retirement or starting a family. “…Any of those types of situations I think... it’s extremely important that they speak to somebody and I would highly encourage anybody to take advantage of that option that we have available,” Campbell said.
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