Class Notes

Karl M. Trippe, MD

PHYSICIAN/OWNER Waco Primary Care, Waco, Texas Medicine Graduate: 1996

INDEPENDENT STREAK

As owner and sole physician of Waco Primary Care, Karl M. Trippe, MD, will occasionally ask another physician to cover for him, but otherwise, he says, “I’ve had my phone on for 10 years.” He even answered a call right before walking his daughter down the aisle at her wedding – although, he he did say he’d have to call them back.

Trippe recognizes that the always-on-call lifestyle isn’t for everyone, but he values the autonomy — the ability to take as much time with a patient as he wants, for instance, and to make referrals without in-house corporate pressure.

The result, he says, is a strong personal relationship with his patients. “I don’t think I’ve bought a carton of eggs in I don’t know how long,” he says with a chuckle.

Trippe does hope to add a partner in the next year, with a goal of someone taking over the practice in 15 or 20 years. He would like nothing better, he says, than to identify a like-minded physician to continue the independent path he’s forged. — Tina Hay

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

Matthew Grisham, PhD, (’82) will retire August 31, 2022, after serving since 2012 as chair of the TTUHSC Department of Immunology and Molecular Microbiology.

JERRY H. HODGE SCHOOL OF PHARMACY

Levi Campbell, PharmD, (’16) was named the 2021 TTUHSC Faculty Preceptor of the Year for the Amarillo campus.

Brent Dance, PharmD, (’06) was named the 2021 TTUHSC Amarillo Adjunct Preceptor of the Year.

Lee Ann Hampton, PharmD, (’02) was named the 2021 Texas Pharmacy Association Texas Pharmacist of the Year.

Mary Klein, PharmD, (’07) received the 2021 Texas Pharmacy Association Distinguished Service Award.

Robert Martinez, second-year student , was one of only 40 Texas pharmacy school students selected for Houston Methodist Hospital’s Power Week, a student observation program.

SCHOOL OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS

Jeramy Davies, MLS, (ASCP)CM, (’11) joined Be the Match as a donor and collection experience specialist in Seattle, Washington.

Jordan Dutton, ATC, (’19) was named a recipient of the 2021 East Coast Hockey League Athletic Trainer of the Year award.

April Hosley, DPT, (’11) was named CEO of Trustpoint Hospital in Lubbock, Texas.

Clark Houser, CLS, (’04) joined SSM Health as administrative director for Rural Health Development, a dual role supporting a network of rural hospitals, and serves as CEO of Okeene Municipal Hospital in Okeene, Oklahoma.

Jared Oluwek, ATC, (’21) joined the Arizona State University sports medicine staff in Tempe, Arizona.

Logan Price, AuD, (’13, ’09) was named a 2021 Odessa Under 40 Honoree by the Young Professionals of Odessa, Texas.

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Corey Anderson, MD, (’94) has been named to the iCRYO Medical Advisory Board.

Meagan Bailey, MD, (’11) joined the New Hanover Regional Medical Center Physician GroupNeurology as a neurologist.

Haley Banks, MD, (Resident ’21, Medicine ’18) joined Stephenville Medical and Surgical Clinic in Stephenville, Texas, as a family medicine physician.

James Cawley, MD, (’83) joined Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Stephenville, Texas, as an OB-GYN.

James Early, MD, (’84) retired June 10, 2021, after 30 years in family medicine private practice.

Michael Gardner, MD, (’85) received the 2021 Clark County Medical Society’s President Award and the 2021 Southern Nevada Healthcare Hero Humanitarian Award.

Jessica Gray, MD, (Resident ’18, Medicine ’15) was named to the 2021 Texas Monthly Magazine’s list of Texas Super Doctors Rising Stars.

The work of student leaders like Dulce Senclair underscores the need to address mental health during these challenging times, as well as the cricial role psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners play in bridging the gaps to access care.

CINDY WESTON, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC

PRESIDENT, TEXAS NURSE PRACTITIONERS

Katherine ‘Katie’ Carden, AT

ASSISTANT ATHLETIC TRAINER - FOOTBALL Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas Health Professions Graduate: 2017

BACK IN THE (TTU) GAME

Katie Carden, AT, had two requirements for her graduate program in athletic training: a top notch program and solid football team. TTUHSC, sister university to Texas Tech University (TTU) football team, was one of the few universities with a training program that fi t the bill.

Carden discovered her interest in working with football athletes during an athletic training internship as an undergraduate student at the University of Massachusetts. She appreciated the team dynamic among the trainers, as well as the fast pace and variety of injuries among the athletes.

Working with the TTU football team as a graduate student provided further confi rmation she was on the right track. The school’s aggressive approach to rehabilitation created a robust environment with athletes involved in preventive exercises, recovering from surgery and everything in between.

Carden recently returned to TTU as an assistant athletic trainer after fi nishing an internship with the San Francisco 49ers. — Kim Catley

Timothy Weigle, PharmD

SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER, AIR FORCE MEDICAL MANPOWER AND PERSONNEL Air Force Medical Readiness Agency, Falls Church, Virginia Pharmacy Graduate: 2010

IN THE TRENCHES AS A MILITARY PHARMACIST

Tim Weigle, PharmD, grasps the irony of anticipating a pharmaceutical career would be a boring choice, given he carried a weapon while prepping medications for critically injured troops at a military base.

“I saw horrible wounds,” he said of his deployment in 2017 to the Craig Joint Theater Hospital at Bagram Airfi eld in Afghanistan. “It was exhausting working a minimum of 12-hour days, seven days a week.” The assignment was just one of myriad challenging opportunities for Weigle since joining the Air Force after working 10 months with an independent pharmacy.

“I wanted adventure,” he said, “and with the military, there is the opportunity for advancement.” Since graduating, he has achieved the rank of major while completting various assignments in four states. In Marc, he will be promoted to lieutenant colonel. — Susan Marquardt Blystone

Danielle Jones, MD, (’13) a traveling OB-GYN, joined Southland Hospital in Ivercargill, New Zealand.

Winslo Idicula, MD, (’10) was named to the 2021 Texas Monthly Magazine’s list of Texas Super Doctors Rising Stars.

Bradon Loya, MD, (Resident ’21, Medicine ’18) joined Hendrick Medical Clinic in Brownwood, Texas.

Thusha Nathan, MD, (Fellow ’04) joined National Park Medical Center South Central GI and South Central Endoscopy in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Martin Ortega, MD, FAAFP, (Resident ’14, Medicine ’11) assistant regional dean for TTUHSC at the Permian Basin School of Medicine Department of Medical Education, has been named interim regional chair for the medical school’s Department of Family and Community Medicine in the Permian Basin.

SCHOOL OF NURSING

Carol Boswell, EdD, RN, (’91, ’87) professor in the TTUHSC School of Nursing, has been appointed to the Statewide Health Coordinating Council by Gov. Greg Abbott.

Bonnie Clipper, DNP, RN, FACHE, (’12) has been inducted into the American Academy of Nursing’s 2021 Class of Fellows.

Rhonda Collins, DNP, RN, (’18, ’97) was named the Women in IT Summit and Awards Series Outstanding Contributor of the Year.

Melissa De Los Santos, DNP, MSN, RN, (’11, ’09) earned her doctorate of nursing practice in 2020 from the University of Texas at Tyler.

Valerie Kiper, DNP, RN, (’13) has been named regional dean of the TTUHSC School of Nursing in Amarillo, Texas.

Sally Kipyego, BSN, RN, (’09) qualifi ed for the 2021 Olympic Games and placed 17th in the marathon event.

David Marshall, JD, DNP, RN, (’13) has been named the James R. Klinenberg, MD, and Lynn Klinenberg Linkin Chair in Nursing for Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, California.

Inola Mello, DNP, (’11, ’87) has been named director of the TTUHSC School of Nursing BSN to DNP program.

Chris Quiaoit, BSN, RN, (’20) joined Medical City Plano as a critical care nurse in Plano, Texas.

Donna Scott-Tilley, PhD, MSN, (’97, ’91) has been inducted into the American Academy of Nursing’s 2021 Class of Fellows.

Dulce Senclair, DNP, (’21) received the 2021 Texas Nurse Practitioners’ Student Leadership Award.

Amanda Veesart, PhD, RN, (’11) associate professor in the TTUHSC School of Nursing, received the Roberts Endowed Practiceship in Gerontological Nursing and the TTUHSC University Distinguished Faculty award.

Ti ani Wise, DNP, MSN, CNE, (’10, ’08) has been named regional dean of the TTUHSC School of Nursing in Dallas, Texas.

FRIENDS WE’LL MISS

Paul Brooke Jr., PhD, TTUHSC School of Health Professions dean from 1998 to 2012, died Aug. 23, 2012.

Eugene Jean Dabezies, MD, professor emeritus and former chairman of the TTUHSC School of Medicine Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, died Nov. 8, 2021.

Shahriar “Cy” Daneshfar, MD, (Medicine ’18) a TTUHSC orthopedics resident, died Oct. 20, 2021.

Teresa Dickens, MD, (Medicine ’87) died Sept. 5, 2021.

Arlen Edgar, with the Abell-Hanger Foundation Inc., died June 15, 2021.

Ari Halldorsson, MD, professor in the TUHSC Department of Surgery, died Dec. 10, 2021.

Charles E. Henry, EdD, one of the founding faculty members of the TTUHSC School of Medicine, died Dec. 29, 2021.

Wendell Mayes Jr., Texas Tech University System regent from 1985 to 1991, died Sept. 12, 2021.

Sidney Paul Phillips, PharmD, (Pharmacy ’01) died July 2, 2021.

Selene Rubio, BSN, RN, A student in the School of Nursing Master of Science in Nursing Informatics Program, died Nov. 11, 2021.

William Rutherford, PharmD, (Pharmacy ’09) died Nov. 5, 2021.

Helen Ann Becknell McCabe-Way, with the H. Jerry McCabe, MD, School of Medicine Scholarship Endowment, died June 1, 2021.

Scan with phone camera to make gifts in memory/ honor of friends we’ll miss.

Rhonda Collins, DNP, RN, FAAN

CHIEF NURSING OFFICER Vocera Communications, Georgetown, Texas Nursing Graduate: 2018, 1997

COMMUNICATION THAT FLOWS

You’re a nurse on a hospital COVID unit. You’re shrouded in cumbersome personal protective equipment. Your hands are occupied, but you urgently need to reach the cardiologist on call . You speak into a badge clipped to your collar, and in seconds the badge’s sophisticated software identifi es and connects you to the specialist. Rhonda Collins, DNP, RN, FAAN, paints that portrait to explain one use for the technology she’s been representing for the past seven years. Transitioning from her previous role as a labor and delivery nurse into the private sector was not without challenges, but Collins grew to love engaging with nurses around the world. In her leadership role at Vocera, Collins brings the needs of nurses directly to the company’s production team to ensure the Vocera device helps resolve communication errors, a leading cause of patient harm. “Our primary goal is to create a seamless communication fl ow,” she adds , “giving patients a safer passage through the hospital.” — Elise Gibson

Return on Investment

KEEPING COMMUNITIES HEALTHY GETS A PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL COMMITMENT

If quality health care is absent in a community, a healthy workforce is too.

As The United Family’s retired CEO and president and current senior advisor, it’s a concept Robert Taylor fully grasps and champions.

For almost 25 years, The United Family’s gifts have supported scholarships for pharmacy students at TTUHSC, and their generosity has most certainly come full circle. More than 80 TTUHSC graduates currently work in The United Family’s 40 Texas pharmacies. Throughout the pandemic, United Supermarkets pharmacies also have been a valued community partner for TTUHSC in health education and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. These are just two examples of the company’s many gifts impacting the missions of TTUHSC and Texas Tech University.

“We give where we think it might have the most impact in the areas we serve,” said Taylor. He points to TTUHSC and The United Family’s congruous footprints, serving the western half of Texas across to the DFW Metroplex and into New Mexico.

“You always want the best return on your investment, and we feel like we’ve gotten a huge return both on our personal investments and for United,” said Taylor. He and his wife, Jan, also give personally to the universities. “There’s no doubt that Texas Tech and the (Texas Tech University) Health Sciences Center are universally good – but more importantly, they’re good for this region and the entire state.”

3601 FOURTH STREET | MS 6242 | LUBBOCK, TEXAS 79430

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Planned Gift Helps Ensure Scholarships for Future Nursing Students

For several years, Bill Tilley (TTU Business Administration ’93) and Donna ScottTilley, PhD, (Nursing ’97, ’91), had discussed including a charitable gift in their estate planning. Their goal was to support scholarships at their alma maters. Someday, the couple thought, we’ll make the gift o cial by completing the paperwork.

The Friday after Thanksgiving 2017, Bill’s heart stopped beating.

Within minutes, and with no prior warning, Bill experienced sudden cardiac death. It’s a condition caused by a malfunction of the heart’s electrical system. Without intervention, the survival rate is less than 1%.

Donna’s training through the TTUHSC School of Nursing sent her immediately into nurse mode, performing CPR on her husband until EMS arrived. Bill beat the odds after a few days in the hospital and being fi tted with a medical device to correct future arrhythmias.

With a renewed urgency, the Tilleys did what they had always planned to do. Their Gift of Impact names TTUHSC School of Nursing as one of their insurance benefi ciaries so nursing students, like Donna, have the opportunity to learn life-saving skills. Their gift also benefi ts the Texas Tech University School of Music.

Interested in making your GIFT OF IMPACT? Contact Nathan Rice, CFRE, at giftplanning@ttu.edu or 806.742.1781.