Pulse Summer 2020

UNTIL THEY NO LONGER SEE ME THE X FACTOR I USED TO BE SURE, NOW I’M NOT LIFE ON THE FRONT LINES SAMPLE OF HISTORY

SUMMER 2020

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Inside Summer 2020

VOL. 30 | NO. 2

FEATURES

18 Value in

Connection

Innovation. Teamwork.

Invention. Compassion. In our campus communities and across our state and nation, the TTUHSC family stepped up to fight COVID-19. In true fashion, we were #AllTogetherTTUHSC.

By Kara Bishop

28 The X Factor Past experiences with infectious diseases led two nursing alumni to act. They wanted the medical community ready for the next virus “x.”

By Danette Baker

DEPARTMENTS 5

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TIEMDOW PHUMIRUK, MD (MEDICINE ’97)

Even when forced to close the campus, TTUHSC never lost its momentum.

The 3D printers in the TTUHSC Preston Smith Library of the Health Sciences worked remotely, too.

32

Rounds

What can we learn from pandemics to prepare us for the future?

18 37

Update

A new environment helped Enusha Karunasena, PhD, heal after her husband died from cancer.

ON THE COVER

TTUHSC’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak was immediate. Our front-line health care workers stepped up to fight an unknown disease with unpredictable symptoms, while our faculty, staff, students and community partners came together to provide support.

Illustration by Tiemdow Phumiruk, MD, (Medicine ‘97).

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Health Matters

A Letter from Our President

Honored to Lead TTUHSC Through This Hard, Messy Middle

In the middle of this mess we know as the COVID-19 pandemic, the future of health care and TTUHSC is taking shape.

Everyone loves inspiring beginnings and happy endings; it is just the “middles” that involve the hard and messy work. “In the middle, everything looks like failure,” says Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter, whose tenet is known as Kanter’s Law. Yet, it’s in the messy middle that new ideas are born; new collaborations occur. The stories in this issue are a testament to that. In the middle of this mess, we know as the COVID-19 pandemic, the future of health care and TTUHSC is taking shape.

Our faculty and staff have delivered exceptional health care education online for many years. COVID-19 brought an opportunity for innovation in delivering virtual experiences in simulation and gross anatomy as well as other areas.

TTUHSC was among the pioneers in telemedicine. In recent years, we’ve branched out to offer nontraditional services such as mental health and speech therapy. COVID-19 ushered in a new era in telehealth, gaining more payer support, which will allow us to establish a comprehensive telehealth program that encompasses all campuses and academic programs.

And finally, we’ve been able to look at collaboration in a much different way than ever before. Look at what the West Texas 3D COVID-19 Relief Consortium accomplished. We can build an infrastructure that will support collaboration, bring barriers down around it and move forward.

I’m beyond grateful to lead my alma mater during the thick of what may be the hardest, messiest work any of us have ever done.

TTUHSC is a national leader in academic health care education, research and patient care, poised to make an even greater impact. We have over 40 academic health programs that are the top in Texas — and when you’re in the top in Texas, you’re among the top in the nation.

I genuinely believe that on the other side of this messy middle, the lessons learned and innovations achieved will enhance our delivery of health care specifically in West Texas, but applicable worldwide.

Lori Rice-Spearman, PhD, (Health Professions ’86) KAMI HUNT

PRESIDENT TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER

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Feedback

THE MAGAZINE OF TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER

Vol. 30, No. 2

EDITOR’S NOTE

In mid-March, everything changed — including content for the Summer 2020 issue. Normally, our production schedule calls for us to be wrapping up content and be well into assigning art by that time frame. This was not a normal spring. The outbreak itself was unusual as well as the nation’s reaction. Our TTUHSC family, however, did what they have always done. We stepped up.

We volunteered at home and in New York. We invented new ways to produce testing supplies and much needed personal protective equipment and shared that knowledge with others. We made N95 masks reusable. We fed front-line team members, found places for them to stay, and we gave generously to support these efforts.

That’s what this issue is about — the incredible connection and service of the TTUHSC family responding to the coronavirus pandemic. We know there are countless stories of heroism that we didn’t include and may not have known about, so we tried to capture the spirit demonstrated in these uncertain times.

This issue, we are launching a new digital platform for Pulse — the second phase of our redesign. Our goal is to provide a richer experience and easier read of our online content.

This format allows you to easily access and share Pulse on mobile devices — whether you are reading it on a desktop computer or smartphone. There’s no flipping or getting lost in our new digital platform, simply scroll down. We hope you enjoy this format and will be releasing the option to receive the digital issue only, if you prefer it to print. When you fill out the follow-up survey, simply state your preference.

We chose to print a digital-only version of this issue, so we could contribute to TTUHSC’s COVID-19 relief efforts. The Winter 2021 issue will be published in both print and digital formats.

If you have a story request or would like to provide feedback on this issue, contact us at pulse@ttuhsc.edu We hope you are well and stay safe.

EDITOR THE MAGAZINE OF TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITYMA HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER Danette Baker,

SENIOR EDITOR Kara Bishop

DESIGN Jim Nissen THE MAGAZINE OF TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER

CONTRIBUTORS

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

After each issue, we send our readers a follow-up survey. This helps us plan future content and measure our success in connecting you with TTUHSC. Through survey responses, we have learned a great deal about our magazine and how to produce the best product for the readership. If you wish to be involved in the process of what goes in your magazine, please complete the survey at bit.ly/2D2AwQb..

As always, if you have a story idea, please submit it to pulse@ttuhsc.edu.

HEAD’S UP!

Next issue, we will be featuring TTUHSC’s newest president, Lori Rice-Spearman, PhD, (Health Professions ’86). Her appointment bears incredible significance in TTUHSC’s history, and we’re excited to share her story with you.

­­— Danette Baker, MA ADOBE STOCK

EDITOR, PULSE OFFICE OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Do you have an opinion? Share your thoughts on this issue in the follow-up online survey. (If you are not receiving the survey, please send your current email address to pulse@ttuhsc.edu.)

Suzanna Cisneros, Meaghan Collier, Stephanie DeFranco, Kate Gollahon, Mark Hendricks, Neal Hinkle, Emily Holeva, Heather Houser, Kami Hunt, Jo Grant Langston, Tessa Meriwether, Tiemdow Phumiruk, MD, (Medicine ‘97) Caroline Wahl, Melissa Whitfield, Glenys Young, Ben Zweig

ADMINISTRATION PRESIDENT Lori Rice-Spearman, PhD (Health Professions ‘86) INTERIM VICE PRESIDENT OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS Ashley Hamm ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS Mattie Been, Amarillo Jessica Zuniga, Permian Basin

DEVELOPMENT CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER Cyndy Morris GIFT OFFICERS Smiley Garcia, Clifford Wilkes

CONTACT US pulse@ttuhsc.edu TTUHSC External Relations 3601 Fourth Street STOP 6242 Lubbock, TX 79430-6238 Pulse is published twice a year. Content may be reprinted only with editor’s permission. Discrimination or harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, status as a covered veteran or other legally protected categories, class or characteristics is not tolerated.

Pulse is distributed in compliance with the State Depository Law and is available for public use through the Texas State Publications Depository Program.

In compliance with HB 423, Pulse is available in electronic format. If you no longer want to receive the printed version, please notify the editor in writing.

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ADVANCE YOUR EXPERTISE ADVANCE YOUR EXPERTISE through the

The School of Health Professions is united through thein its pursuit of a common vision: to extend excellent, life-giving care to patients the health care Department of Clinical Counseling andacross Mental Health spectrum, especially in areas with the most critical and shortages.

Department of Clinical Counseling andneeds Mental Health

Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences

Laboratory Sciences & Primary Care

Second Degree Bachelor of Science in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences

Second Degree Bachelor of Science in Clinical Laboratory Science

Bachelor of Science in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences

Bachelor of Science in Clinical Laboratory Science

Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Clinical Laboratory Science

Master of Science in SpeechLanguage Pathology

Master of Physician Assistant Studies

Clinical Counseling & Mental Health

Rehabilitation Sciences

Master of Science in Addiction Counseling

Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Master of Science in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling Graduate Certificate in Veteran Services

TTUHSC_SHP

Master of Athletic Training

Doctor of Occupational Therapy Post-Professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy

Doctor of Physical Therapy Doctor of Science in Physical Therapy

Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Science

Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management

Master of Science in Healthcare Administration Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics and Data Analysis

Master of Science in Molecular Pathology

Doctor of Audiology

Healthcare Management & Leadership

Graduate Certificate in Health Systems Policy and Management Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Finance and Economics Graduate Certificate in Health Systems Engineering and Management

Graduate Certificate in Long Term Care Administration

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Health Professions

@ttuhsc_shp

Contact Us: Contact Us: www.ttuhsc.edu/health-professions www.ttuhsc.edu/health-professions

health.professions@ttuhsc.edu health.professions@ttuhsc.edu 806.743.3220 806.743.3220

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QUICK DOSE ALL TOGETHER TTUHSC FACULTY PROFILE FOR THE RECORD

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Views from TTUHSC

NEAL HINKLE

We Never Lost Momentum “Although the spread of the coronavirus may necessitate changes in the way we interact, it does not change what we do,” said TTUHSC President Lori Rice-Spearman, PhD, (Health Professions ’86) in an email to the TTUHSC community announcing the transition to online instruction in March.

As the outbreak progressed, TTUHSC followed public health recommendations and CDC guidelines for the safety of TTUHSC faculty, staff and students.

For the next three months, the majority of the TTUHSC workforce and students stayed off campus. Zoom meetings and other virtual communication became our new normal. Nevertheless, we followed the instruction of leadership and kept increasing momentum. As Rice-Spearman has daily reminded us: this is TTUHSC, and we’re all in this together.

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ALL TOGETHER TTUHSC

In Case You Missed It...

ESSENTIAL FUNDRAISER

Javi Ochoa, MS, (Biomedical Sciences ’20) community outreach chair for the TTUHSC chapter of the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA), put together a fundraiser for the 79 custodians contracted with TTUHSC in Lubbock.

The initial goal of $4,000 was easily exceeded, and TTUHSC LMSA was able to purchase gift cards for each custodian.

“The custodial staff is an essential part of the front-line health care team,” Ochoa said.

“They’re the ones who clean up fluids after surgery and examinations. We can’t do our jobs as doctors and nurses if we don’t have a sterile environment to work in.”

PROMISING TREATMENT FOR COVID-19

Step 1: Remove all personal protective equipment in exam room — gown, scrub cap, goggles, mask, gloves — following standard procedure.

Step 2: Arrive home and remove all clothing in the garage. Head straight to washing machine and deposit discarded clothing — start cycle.

Step 3: Immediately shower, disinfect all doorknobs and everything else that was touched on the way to the bathroom.

Step 4: Clean bathroom.

This is how Jessica Gray, MD, (Resident ’18, Medicine ’15) ends a work day. Volunteering to work the COVID-19 Drive-Through Screening at UMC Health System, and maintaining her family medicine practice with UMC Physicians, demands it.

Gray always knew she wanted to be a doctor — even graduating high school early to get a head start. She also knew she would attend Texas Tech University for her undergraduate degree and medical school at TTUHSC. She just knew. “And, for the first time, I’m nervous about going to work. I’m a little uncertain, yet still so proud to serve as a physician amid COVID-19.”

Jessica Gray, MD, (Resident ’18, Medicine ’15) volunteers at the UMC COVID-19 drive-through screening site.

CONTINUAL GOOD WILL

Team members of the School of Nursing in Abilene delivered care packages three times a week to those working at the Abilene Community Health Center.

NEAL HINKLE

I’ve Always Been Sure, But Now I’m Not

TTUHSC medical teams from the Panhandle and South Plains joined a study led by the Mayo Clinic to use convalescent plasma in critical COVID-19 patients.

“TTUHSC’s access to partnerships in our communities allows us to deliver the latest treatment options to patients in West Texas,” said TTUHSC Executive Vice President and School of Medicine Dean Steven Berk, MD. “We were able to shepherd this project into the area within 48 hours.”

Plasma collected from recovered COVID-19 patients is infused into infected patients. Sick patients may benefit from antibodies produced by the recovered patients.

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FACULTY PROFILE

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Speed-Dial Patient Care “It’s a good thing we have telephones,” said Tara Deaver, DPM, assistant professor and podiatrist in the School of Medicine Department of Family and Community Medicine at the Permian Basin, about treating patients during the coronavirus pandemic. “I appreciate the efforts of our community to make sure every patient is cared for.” Deaver, a bioengineer in a previous career, has been 3D printing orthotics for years. She was more than happy to contribute her expertise to the West Texas 3D COVID-19 Relief Consortium.

I treat an older population, which comes with unique challenges. Many of them don’t own smartphones and have trouble accessing telemedicine. Plus, they rely heavily on caregivers if they have dementia or trouble remembering things. I have to make sure I update the caregiver as well as the patient.

— TARA DEAVER, DPM

NEAL HINKLE

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, PODIATRIST, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND COMMUNITY MEDICINE, PERMIAN BASIN

Web + Read more about the West Texas 3D COVID-19 Relief Consortium.

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FOR THE RECORD

Stat! Donations that Satiate

— ALAN D. WOLFELT, PHD

1,908 boxes of Girl Scout cookies were donated to health care workers on all TTUHSC campuses by the Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains service unit.

100% FREE PICOSO’S MEXICAN KITCHEN IN LUBBOCK FED MORE THAN 5,000 HEALTH CARE WORKERS FOR FREE WITH THE PROCEEDS FROM ONLINE ORDERS IN THE COMMUNITY.

Over 1 million World’s Finest Chocolate bars were donated by Paige and Larry Jost of West Texas Fundraisers to TTUHSC health care heroes!

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TONYA COX

“Food is symbolic of love when words are inadequate.”

Web + Read more about the generous support provided to TTUHSC.

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SCHOOL OF MEDICINE SCHOOL OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS JERRY H. HODGE SCHOOL OF PHARMACY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES SCHOOL OF NURSING

Vitals Signs from the Schools

NEAL HINKLE

PPE for the Front Line “If you were to ask what the world was going to look like in 20 years, I would tell you that I have no idea,” said Kate Serralde, manager of the TTUHSC Preston Smith Library of the Health Sciences Methodology Lab that houses 12 material extrusion 3D printers — which Serralde used at her home during the campus closure. “But I would say: ‘Whatever the world looks like, it will be shaped by collaboration and customization.’”

When COVID-19 spread through the U.S., health care supply shortages spread with it. To provide proper personal protective equipment for front-line health care workers, the West Texas 3D COVID-19 Relief Consortium was formed. The consortium, a collaboration of entitites within the Texas Tech University System and community partners, began an initiative to create 3D-printed face masks and face shields. And the great thing about 3D printers? You can use them anywhere.

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SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

THE ‘FIRST 15 MINUTES’ NOW AT TTUHSC Trey Morris, MD, MPH, FACEP, (Medicine ’03) program director of the new emergency medicine residency, which started in July, answers questions about trauma care, medical TV dramas and COVID-19.

3 | HAVE END OF LIFE

Q: How accurate are the trauma situations in TV medical dramas such as “Grey’s Anatomy?”

A: The medical scenarios are pretty accurate; however, it’s the multiple rare cases that you normally might see once every 10 years all happening in one hour that’s not accurate. They leave out the bread and butter of emergency medicine, which is regular abdominal pain, shortness of breath, chest pain, etc.

The pandemic has presented to us an opportunity to normalize end-of-life discussions with our seniors.

This can bring peace to all parties involved while living in uncertain times.

Q: Will the residency be delayed or affected by COVID-19 in any way?

A: No. We have ensured that each resident is properly equipped with protection against COVID-19, but you go to medical school to take care of sick people. So that’s what we all will do.

What Do Our Seniors Need?

John Culberson, MD, director of clinical geriatric programs at the TTUHSC Garrison Institute on Aging, provides tips on how to care for our elderly loved ones during COVID-19.

1 | SET UP A CALL SCHEDULE

2 | LISTEN, DON’T LECTURE

To stay in touch, families can work together to ensure their loved ones receive calls consistently. Involve as many people as possible, so that seniors get multiple calls a day from loved ones.

At the end of the day, it’s important to let your senior know they still have some control over their life and that their family supports them. Lecturing can add strain to their mental health and the relationship you have with them.

DISCUSSIONS

ADOBE STOCK

Q: Why is this residency important?

A: This residency is unique in the way it teaches doctors to approach patients. We call it “the first 15 minutes” in emergency medicine, because you need to know a little bit about everything rather than focusing on one system. Instead of looking for most likely scenarios when patients exhibit symptoms, emergency medicine physicians are looking for what is going to kill the patient or symptoms with the highest priority.

I was born and raised in West Texas, went to medical school at TTUHSC, but was forced to leave for my residency. We are excited for the opportunity to now offer an emergency medicine specialty, so our students don’t have to leave West Texas to train.

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SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Vitals

Research Corner BREATHE EASY WITH REUSABLE N95 MASKS

Now, when the health care professionals at the hospital and clinic feel their mask is contaminated, they write their initials on the mask in permanent marker and put it in the provided biosafety bin lined with a biohazard bag. Tackitt drops the masks off at the Texas Tech University Institute of Environmental and Human Health each Monday and picks up the sterilized N95 masks a week later.

“I’ve been wearing a sterilized N95 mask and am very confident in the procedure TTUHSC is using,” Tackitt added. “As a licensed paramedic, I’m conducting most of the COVID-19 tests, and I have yet to contract the disease.”

Tackitt marks a dash on his mask every time he sends it to TTUHSC for sterilization. The process can be done up to 20 times on one N95 mask.

“As a manager, it makes me feel so much better to have this resource, knowing that my people will never have to wear substandard equipment because of the shortage,” Tackitt said.

Team Decon has received N95 masks from facilities throughout West Texas and inquiries from across the state. As of press time, the team has decontaminated more than 4,000 masks.

BEST TWEETS SELECTED BY “THE POOP DOCTOR” Sameer Islam, MD, (Medicine ‘08) uses his YouTube channel to combat fear with facts and even some lighthearted humor. While his content usually focuses on gastroenterology, he has been covering COVID-19 topics during the pandemic. He shared his favorite funny COVID-19 tweets to help his patients reduce stress through laughter in these uncertain times.

NEAL HINKLE

Mid-March, the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., the Brownfield Regional Medical Center had a possible COVID-19 case — and a need for more N95 masks as medical professionals are trained to dispose N95s after one use.

Michael Tackitt, LP, CRHCP, director of the medical center’s rural health clinic and emergency medicine manager, watched his healthy supply of N95s dwindle as days went by. Tackitt read a news article about Team Decon — an effort led by Min Kang, PharmD, TTUHSC’s interim senior vice president of research — decontaminating N95 masks.

Kang and her team of medical and biomedical sciences students researched decontamination methods using hydrogen peroxide vapor. They then sterilized the masks by fumigation in a large chamber. When evidence revealed the process to be efficient, Team Decon opened the service to hospitals and clinics.

It was the answer Tackitt was looking for, as N95 masks were scarce. Tackitt assumed he would have to pay for TTUHSC’s services, burdening an already strained operating budget, but there was no charge. “They’re just trying to help us,” he added.

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SCHOOL OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS

‘I’m not Broken’ No Limits for Audiologist with Hearing Loss don’t have to struggle like I did.”

At her private practice, she assists people of all ages with hearing evaluations, hearing device fittings and adjustments, and balance testing. Her own personal experiences with hearing loss make her in high demand with people in the area.

“I want my patients to know

Angelica Rodriguez, AuD, (Health Professions ’11, ’07 fits a patient with a hearing amplification device.

they’re not alone on this journey,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve been through it and I’m doing well, so that gives patients a positive outlook. Having that commonality, where you feel like you’re part of a group, helps you deal with hearing loss.”

-Tessa Meriwether

STEPHANIE DEFRANCO

After months of exhaustion, failing to interact with peers, and craving a nap instead of participating in after-school activities, sixth grader Angelica Rodriguez was diagnosed with hearing loss. The year before she had sustained minor injuries from a car accident, but there was no indication she would suffer long-term consequences.

The diagnosis told her what was wrong, which helped, but that’s all it told her. Rodriguez began to dread the doctor appointments where they would tell her, yet again, how her hearing loss was equivalent to that of a construction yard worker who had been around heavy machinery for 20 years.

Doctors and specialists continually told her what she couldn’t do and what her limits were.

It wasn’t until she was a junior in high school that she met an audiologist with a different point of view — she wasn’t broken and hearing amplification devices didn’t make her weak. After refusing to use amplification for years, she began to enjoy life again with the help she needed.

Rodriguez, AuD, (Health Professions ’11, ’07) later became an audiologist, knowing she could make a difference in the lives of people who may think they have no hope. She now owns Dr. Rodriguez Audiology and Hearing Center in Roswell, New Mexico.

“I wanted to be that ‘aha!’ moment for somebody else,” she said. “I wanted to be able to reach children and let them know they

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SCHOOL OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS

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Connection Through Coffee and Canines “After listening to Dr. Lori RiceSpearman’s Town Hall, I knew it was a historical time that was impacting all of us. I wanted to do something to help, even if it was something small — like starting a Zoom meeting, ‘Koffee with Kristi,’ to support TTUHSC employees and my patients during these changes.”

KRISTI KINCHELOE, PA-C, CAQH-PSYCH, (HEALTH PROFESSIONS ’13)

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT, TEXAS TECH PHYSICIANS IN THE PERMIAN BASIN ADJUNCT FACULTY AND REGIONAL COORDINATOR, MASTER OF SCIENCE IN PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT STUDIES

TOP FOUR SKILLS NECESSARY FOR MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICE MANAGERS Medical and health service managers, also known as health care administrators, have always been essential to hospitals and clinics and that hasn’t changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jeff Barnhart, MS, FACHE, (Health Professions ’13) CEO of Deaf Smith County Hospital in Hereford, Texas, shares his top four skills an administrator must sharpen to effectively manage health care entities.

PROVIDED BY KRISTI KINCHELOE

1 | TECHNOLOGICALLY PROFICIENT

It’s very important to have a clear understanding of technology. In the field, administrators are required to understand electronic medical records and how to search for trends that will help determine how a hospital responds to specific situations, like COVID-19. With an increased use of telemedicine during the coronavirus outbreak, administrators must efficiently manage compliance, billing and proper video equipment.

2 | COMMUNICATION

Administrators and hospital leadership have regular meetings to address issues such as supplies, safety and staff feedback. Administrators must relay this information throughout the organization in a functional manner.

3 | PROBLEM SOLVING

Like many others in his position, Barnhart has been faced with securing enough personal protective equipment for his team. “I’ve personally flown to Austin to pick up masks. Then we had a boat company in Abilene close their building down and start constructing face masks. I have found you have to think outside of the box when trying to obtain supplies or just solve problems.”

4 | LEGAL/POLICY FAMILIARITY

Keeping up with legal regulations is another challenge for administrators, especially during unique situations, such as those required by COVID-19.

Enforcing these properly and communicating them compassionately to family and patients is imperative. The public must understand these rules are here to protect them and their families.

- Tessa Meriwether

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JERRY H. HODGE SCHOOL OF PHARMACY

VTM Shortage? Not on Our Watch

VTM TEAM PUTS UP IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS

When Gov. Greg Abbott published “The Governor’s Report to Open Texas” in April, he commended TTUHSC for producing viral transport medium (VTM) to expand COVID-19 testing access.

VTM is a sterile tube with 1mL to 3mL of cell culture media that contains a broad-spectrum antibiotic and an antifungal agent. The VTM protects the virus samples obtained from nose or throat swabs. Since the coronavirus is particuarly unstable, it’s important the samples don’t degrade in transit to processing facilities. Any changes could lead to incorrect testing results.

“While we didn’t have VTM in our labs, a literature search revealed that it could be prepared in-house from materials that are readily available in many labs doing cell culture work,” said Ulrich Bickel, MD, professor and associate dean of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Amarillo.

VTM production is a collaboration between pharmacy and medicine teams at TTUHSC in Amarillo: Todd Bell, MD, associate professor of School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics; Ulrich Bickel, MD, professor and associate dean of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Mikala Conatser, PharmD, assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice; and Eric MacLaughlin, PharmD, chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice. The team produced a webinar on the production process and shared it with other universities and labs across the state. Here’s what they’ve accomplished as of press time:

120K 4,500 30

VTM vials produced since March.

vials produced per day on average.

TTUHSC faculty, staff and students have been involved in the project with an additional 50 volunteers labelling and compounding.

15

10%

of VTM vials used in the tests conducted in Texas so far were produced by TTUHSC.

HEATHER HOUSER

seconds is the amount of time it takes on average to produce one vial of VTM.

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JERRY H. HODGE SCHOOL OF PHARMACY

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Pharmacists in Action COVID-19 POWERLESS TO STOP PHARMACY ALUMNA

What Did You Think of the Netflix Docuseries, ‘The Pharmacist?’

In a Facebook poll, pharmacy alumni weigh in on this true story about a pharmacist’s battle with the opioid epidemic following his son’s death.

“We loved that when he wrote to the Louisiana State Board of Pharmacy advocating for a prescription drug monitoring program, he received a prompt response and action was taken!”

- STEVEN RICHARDSON, PHARMD, AND EVA RICHARDSON, PHARMD, (PHARMACY ’16)

SHOULD I CONTINUE WITH MY CHILD’S VACCINATION SCHEDULE DURING COVID-19?

“Simply put, A+ pharmacist in my eyes.”

Q: Why do you think it is important to continue to vaccinate children amid a global pandemic?

- JUSTIN SPENCE, PHARMD, (PHARMACY ’17) PROVIDED BY STACI MOSS, NETFLIX

Staci Moss, PharmD, (Pharmacy ’02) assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, has always found a way to achieve her goals while living with chondrodysplasia punctata syndrome. Patient education was one of her favorite aspects of the job — until the COVID-19 outbreak changed everything.

“This is the first time I’ve actually not been able to do what I wanted to do,” she said. “I’ve always found a way around my obstacles before, but now, because I’m a high-risk employee, I’m not allowed in the pharmacy.”

While at home during the emergency remote work operations instated by TTUHSC, she assumed she would have to take off work. However, Moss’ determined demeanor is well known in the school, and she soon received a phone call from Eric MacLaughlin, PharmD, chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice. “You are still a pharmacist,” he said.

“And, right now, we need you.”

Since March, Moss has been facilitating student education via Zoom and working to access additional revenue streams for TTUHSC’s community pharmacies.

She’s passionate about ensuring the survival of the independent pharmacy model and is working on next steps to offer compounding pharmacy services at TTUHSC. This outbreak has affected everyone, and Moss is grateful to be in the TTUHSC family during these uncertain times.

“Even when things are difficult, everyone still has a place and purpose, and I’m thankful for that.”

“I loved it! I don’t necessarily agree with how he went about it, but he actually did something.”

- SARA ROBISON, PHARMD, (PHARMACY ’04)

Web + Read more reactions to “The Pharmacist.”

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Chephra McKee, PharmD, BCPPS, assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Pracitice, Pediatrics Division in Abilene, provides insight on vaccinating children during a global pandemic.

A: COVID-19 should not deter us from taking a proactive approach toward the diseases we do have vaccinations for. We should use the resources we do have to protect our children no matter what circumstances we’re facing.

Q: Why is it necessary to stay on target with vaccination schedules?

A: Vaccines are scheduled at times that are most appropriate to help protect children against preventable diseases. The schedules that are published each year have been shown to be the most effective at creating an antibody response in children to protect them from these diseases.

Of course, we know that life happens and occasionally people may get behind on vaccines. Parents can discuss this with their child’s pediatrician to help get back on track. -Caroline Wahl

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GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

Fight for Flight Rotors stall and the helicopter carrying Ryan Baxter does a 180-degree dive into the water. Disoriented with limited vision in the murky water, Baxter, MD, MS, (Medicine ’17, Biomedical Sciences ’13) has minutes to unstrap his safety harness and fight his way to the pool’s surface. He successfully emerges. Today’s drill is over.

As an aerospace medicine resident with the U.S. Navy, Baxter undergoes intense training drills in the “helo dunker” to prepare him for military service.

“A helicopter’s machinery is at the top, so every time you crash in water, you’re going to almost immediately flip upside down,” Baxter said. The helo dunker simulator trains soldiers to adapt to the disorientation. Pilots are strapped in the simulator and “dunked” into a pool. The device flips them upside down, imitating a helicopter crash in water. They then must escape the chopper and swim to safety.

This is just one of the many egress tests that Baxter must complete during residency.

Inspired by his uncles, both who were in the U.S. Air Force, Baxter has always known he wanted a career where he served his country and his fellow man.

- Caroline Wahl

Medical students Anthony Betteridge and Nathan Lloyd model their new virtual reality device for studying.

Sample of History Students and Staff Test for COVID-19 As COVID-19 continues to make history, TTUHSC students have stepped up to do their part. Cynthia Reinoso Webb, PhD, (Biomedical Sciences ’17) is the biological threat coordinator and general manager of the Texas Tech University Bioterrorism Response Laboratory (TTU BRL) at the Institute of Environmental and Human Health. She received inquiries about volunteering from over 50 TTUHSC students within the first few days of establishing a COVID-19 test processing site as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Laboratory Response Network. The TTU BRL was the first in the state to process COVID-19 tests.

Josue Enriquez was one of those 50 students. “It just seemed like the right thing to do,” said Enriquez, a PhD student in the Department of Immunology and Molecular

Cynthia Reinoso Webb, PhD, with PhD candidates Josue Enriquez, Whitni Redman and Brianyell McDaniel Mims.

Microbiology. He was one of the first students to volunteer to help in the TTU BRL. He works for seven to nine hours screening test samples until the next round of volunteers come in. The lab processes samples seven days a week.

The TTU BRL serves Lubbock County and 66 others in the region as a reference laboratory for biological threats and emerging diseases.

COVID-19 test results are provided within 24 hours. After swab samples are submitted to the lab from hospitals and clinics, they are processed and analyzed for traces of the coronavirus using the CDC real-time RT-PCR test. The results are then interpreted by highly trained personnel and reported to federal, state, regional and local health agencies.

As of press time, the TTU/TTUHSC COVID-19 testing team can process over 350 samples each day. More than 5,000 samples have been tested so far. - Caroline Wahl

KAMI HUNT; PROVIDED BY RYAN BAXTER

Vitals

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SCHOOL OF NURSING

Vitals

Life on the Front Lines

PROVIDED BY ALYSSA SPRINGFIELD AND JULIE ENLOW

“I walked in and my patient was blue,” said Julie Enlow, BSN, RN, (Nursing ’06). She spent the majority of her three-week stay in New York City finding more portable oxygen tanks to keep him breathing. Both she and Alyssa Springfield, BSN, RN, (Nursing ’16) volunteered in May to help in New York’s battle with COVID-19.

Neither alumna was completely prepared for the reality in the northeast, but they both made it work and honored their profession. Springfield worked tirelessly to keep her patients comfortable in spite of a drug shortage, while Enlow finally repaired the oxygen port in her patient’s room herself, so he could have access to oxygen without needing a tank.

It was a unique experience: one nurse to 20 patients, equipment shortages, and faces ravaged by the masks they wore 12 hours at a time.

While we know they’re both heroes, they aren’t comfortable with the moniker.

“I just knew I could help,” Enlow said. “I think the biggest message that I would like people to take away from my experience is that whether it’s a pandemic or something small, like holding the door open for someone, it all matters. All of our service, no matter the magnitude, can add up to make a big difference.”

Top: Alyssia Springfield, BSN, RN, (Nursing ’16) in Times Square.

Bottom left: Julie Enlow, BSN, RN, (Nursing ’06) on Broadway street.

“I was fatigued and felt like I had the flu on my last shift, but since I had never worked that much in my life, I thought I was just tired.

Then I couldn’t smell my lotion and knew I needed to be tested. The results were positive for COVID-19. As a recovered COVID-19 patient, I grasped the harsh reality of the world we live in. At the same time, I feel more empowered than I ever have in my entire life.”

— ALYSSA SPRINGFIELD, BSN, RN, (NURSING ’16)

Web + Read more about Alyssa Springfield’s experience in New York.

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TTUHSC came together as the COVID-19 outbreak raged, because we saw

Value in Connection

By KARA BISHOP Illustrations by TIEMDOW PHUMIRUK, MD, (Medicine ’97)

“We realize the true value of our TTUHSC values-based culture not during the normal, routine, day-to-day activities, but rather during the difficult times. Having a common code of behaviors binds us together as one team.”

— STEVE SOSLAND, TTUHSC CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER

T

wo years ago, Tobi Saliu walked into her medical school interview at TTUHSC not sure what to expect.

West Texas was unfamiliar to this Dallasite, but she was open to exploring new possibilities. Her determination to find the right place resulted in interviews at multiple medical schools. This due diligence led Saliu to Lubbock and eating breakfast with then TTUHSC President Tedd L. Mitchell, MD. This is weird, she thought. I didn’t even approach the deans at the other medical schools, and here the president not only greeted every candidate, I’m eating breakfast with him.

This campus had a vibe she couldn’t quite place, but it felt like home.

In her first interview, Saliu listened to Mimi Zumwalt, MD, (Resident ‘96) professor in the School of Medicine Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, introduce her to a fourth-year medical student. “I didn’t have to say anything,” Saliu added. “She knew my whole story.”

The interview itself was a personable conversation about hobbies and interests as much as it was academics.

Her second interview went much the same way as Saliu found herself discussing her favorite food with Shaughn Nunez, MD, (Resident ’14;

Medicine ’11) assistant professor in the School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics. While Saliu’s qualifications were meticulously reviewed, she never felt the stress that had accompanied her to other medical school interviews.

She’s not the only one. Many students report a family-friendly atmosphere when they walk on campus for the first time. At all five campuses, TTUHSC connects first — it’s the principle cultivated from the very beginning of employment or academic acceptance.

That connection just grew stronger as the COVID-19 pandemic moved closer to home.

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Mindful Medicine COVID-19 Student Task Force Enhances Education

THE NUMBERS A sampling of what the COVID-19 Student Task Force accomplished as of press time.

40 STUDENTS TRAINED

to verbally triage patients and staffed the Nurses on Demand hotline 12 hours per day, seven days per week.

MORE THAN

3,000 VOLUNTEER HOURS

“A

t the moment, I want to be a general surgeon,” said third-year medical student Ellen Wilson. “But beyond the specialty, I want to be mindful. Mindful in decision making for my patients and their families. I want to be the calm in their storm.”

Wilson’s wishes came closer to fruition as she spent three months working the TTUHSC/UMC Health System Nurses on Demand 24/7 COVID-19 Triage Hotline in Lubbock.

“People called in terrified, because they had a cough,” she added. “I tried to ease their worries and give them direction based on their symptoms.”

Wilson didn’t anticipate the TTUHSC medical student response when she posted a spreadsheet to her class Facebook page asking for volunteers to help front-line health care workers. More than 100 students signed up in the first two days.

The official TTUHSC COVID-19 Student Task Force checked temperatures at the temporary childcare center

Molly Bates, MSN, FNP, (Nursing ‘15) designed the mask pattern the COVID-19 Student Task Force used, tested them for optimal efficiency, and provided tutorials for those on the maskmaking team. She is a full-time emergency room and rapid response nurse for UMC Health System.

for UMC and TTUHSC front-line teams at Lubbock ISD’s Jane Ann Miller Elementary; worked the triage hotline and UMC COVID-19 drive-through screening; made masks and collected and distributed donated personal protective equipment; and assisted in research to decontaminate N95 masks, making them reusable. The task force involved students on Amarillo, Lubbock and Permian Basin campuses.

Health care training in 2020 will forever be defined by COVID-19. Years from now, maybe staff and equipment shortages, working overtime and the unique stress that has come with this pandemic will be forgotten. However, the resourcefulness and family connection gained will stay with TTUHSC students as they advance in their medical careers.

were logged by the COVID-19 Student Task Force.

5 MEDICAL

STUDENTS WERE FEATURED

in a published literature review on the efficiency of homemade masks.

1,400 MASKS WERE MADE AND DELIVERED

by the COVID-19 Student Task Force on Lubbock and Permian Basin campuses.

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Who Said It? Match the person to the quote!

Maegan Whitworth, PharmD,

(Pharmacy ’14) assistant professor, School of Pharmacy Department of Pharmacy Practice

Mary Madeline Rogge, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC,

associate professor, School of Nursing Department of Graduate Programs

always believed that extreme situations can result “ Iinhavethe birth of extreme innovation.”

While the media have been fixated on not enough “ preparation, not enough test kits, not enough ventilators, I have been thinking about Florence Nightingale who helped America through four of the bloodiest years of war we have ever known. They faced shortages of everything except courage, compassion and strength of will. These are the same traits that are going to help our current nurses.

”

Sarah Wakefield, MD,

chair, School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry

what you’re using social media for very carefully. “ Orient Use it for positive things. If your use of it is inundating you constantly with COVID- and pandemic information, it’s very overwhelming to the brain.

”

active is important to maintaining a healthy “ Staying immune system to fight COVID-. A gallon of bleach is Michael Evans, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, School of Nursing dean

Mimi Zumwalt, MD,

professor, School of Medicine Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

about  to  pounds, so, since you’re going to get it out to disinfect surfaces, why not use it to exercise?

”

was some discussion that NSAIDs, like Advil and “ There Aleve, could actually worsen COVID-. After looking at the evidence, the WHO, FDA and additional accrediting bodies evaluated all the published literature and found that there was no specific evidence to support this claim.

”

for my birthday was a replacement N face “ AllmaskI wanted and a cool pair of goggles. Got them and more.

Truly appreciate all the support!

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ANSWERS: 1. Michael Evans 2. Mary Madeline Rogge 3. Sarah Wakefield 4. Mimi Zumwalt 5. Meagan Whitworth 6. Sixtus Atabong

Sixtus Atabong, PA-C,

(Health Professions ’05, ’02) physician assistant, Grace Clinic Spine Care Center in Lubbock

”

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9

Most Talked About COVID-19 Topics The one constant about the coronavirus has been the inconsistency of information.

Core faculty members in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Julia Jones Matthews Department of Public Health bring clarity to the confusion.

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1

3

Why is there a focus on contact tracing?

How can we benefit from a massive volume of COVID-19 data?

What is the difference between the PCR test and the antibody test?

Hafiz Khan, PhD professor and associate chair

Lisa Gittner, PhD associate professor

Contact tracing is a disease control measure which traces and monitors contacts of infected people to stop the transmission of disease. Contact tracing is also used to notify and identify those people who are at risk.

For this method to be effective, there must be a timely reporting of symptoms by infected people. Knowing how many people have been potentially exposed will help us determine strategies to contain the virus with resource allocation and health systems planning.

Regarding COVID-19, close contact is considered to be within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes up to two days before the infected person starts developing symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Students, researchers and practitioners will have new opportunities to study statistical probability models from this data. They can then identify target groups of infected individuals for interventions and develop policy briefs for future pandemics.

Graduate students and post-graduates in biology or residents and fellows in medicine will be able to use the data analysis to gain a wider perspective of the problem, leading to advancements and economic activity in the future.

The PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test measures for presence of coronavirus genetic material. The PCR test is performed on mucus from the nose or throat and can diagnose an infection. The PCR test is accurate and approved by the FDA and is used by clinicians to determine if a person is actively infected.

The antibody test measures the presence of antibodies in the patient by testing blood samples. This test looks for the patient’s immune response that occurs after the coronavirus infection.

Courtney Queen, PhD assistant professor

PROVIDED BY PUBLIC HEALTH FACULTY

2

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4

5

6

What makes this pandemic different?

Does wearing a mask in the community really help?

Theresa Byrd, DrPH, BSN chair and associate dean

Julie St. John, DrPH, MA associate dean

How do we reach herd immunity from COVID-19?

The coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which causes COVID-19, is not the first viral pandemic to rock our world, so why are we taking more precautions than ever before? The 1918 Spanish Flu (H1N1 virus) killed at least 50 million people worldwide; in 1957, the Asian Flu (H2N2 virus), was responsible for 1.1 million deaths worldwide; and then the 1968 Hong Kong Flu (H3N2 virus) resulted in an estimated 1 million deaths and continues to circulate worldwide as a seasonal influenza — and we had Woodstock!

In only a few months, the coronavirus has resulted in the death of more than 374,000 people worldwide and over 100,000 Americans, compared to 100,000 American deaths by the 1968 flu over a two and a half-year period.

Therefore, in terms of the magnitude of infections, the coronavirus will be more serious than most of our previous outbreaks. One reason is the incubation period, which is 14 days compared to three to four days with the flu.

Evolving research suggests masks may effectively slow transmission of the coronavirus from infected people (with or without symptoms) to others.

In April 2020, the CDC recommended wearing cloth face coverings in public where social distancing is difficult to maintain.

Masks, or facial coverings, are thought to slow the spread of respiratory droplets containing the virus. If a person with the virus sneezes, without a mask, the virus can travel 20 feet or more. A mask reduces the distance the virus may spread.

Further, for people not infected, masks serve as a reminder not to touch the nose or mouth, which can also slow the spread of the virus.”

Herd immunity is based on the notion that if a population or group is mostly protected from a disease by immunizations, then the chance of a major epidemic occurring is highly limited.

Vaccination is often the popular choice for achieving this.

Usually, herd immunity is achieved when 70% to 90% of the population is immune to the infectious agent.

Antibody testing helps to estimate the percentage of immunity and provides an empirical assessment of whether herd immunity has been achieved.

Duke Appiah, PhD assistant professor

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7

What is COVID-19, and how is it spread?

Emily Bailey, PhD assistant professor

COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the recently discovered coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). This new virus and the disease were unknown prior to December 2019 when an outbreak began in Wuhan, China.

COVID-19 is now a global pandemic spread from person-to-person through small droplets from the nose or mouth — coughing, sneezing, exhaling. Other people can then catch COVID-19 by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth or by directly breathing in infected exhaled droplets.

8

9

How will this experience change health care systems in the future?

Does COVID-19 affect some communities differently?

COVID-19 will have a lasting impact on the health care system in the U.S. The focus will shift to a population-based health care system with an emphasis on preventive care and increased health care access. The uncertain economic future may further increase the demand for some form of universal health insurance, rather than an employerbased system.

The outbreak has normalized the digital aspect of health care delivery. In the future, visits to clinics will not be the default option, as the demonstrated ease and efficiency of telehealth has reduced resistance from both clinicians and patients. There also will be an increased incorporation of artificial intelligence tools in the screening of patients and management of data.

In Texas, we see how different industries and occupations can have a major impact on spread, particularly in conditions where social distancing is difficult. Meatpacking plants in the Texas Panhandle have seen high rates of infection, as have a number of longterm care and correctional facilities across the U.S. Recent reports show that African American, Latino and Native American populations have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus in the U.S. This may be partially explained by existing conditions, but also factors such as the number of individuals who work essential jobs, ability to work from home, proportion of multigenerational households and basic health care access.

Rural areas were slower to see infections in their communities, yet large gatherings, especially indoors, carry high risk of virus transmission no matter where they take place.

Rubini Pasupathy, PhD, MBA associate professor

Jeff Dennis, PhD assistant professor

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Until They No Longer See Me COVID-19 Nurse Experience Instills the Value of Compassionate Care

“I

’m not trying to complain or make excuses, I hate that I even have to ask, but I’m not able to make the deadline on this assignment,” Kenny Lam wrote in an email to Tammy Scott late one night in March. “I’ve just got a lot going on and am a little stressed out.

I hate to do this, but I’m requesting an extension if possible.”

As Scott, PhD, RN, BC, assistant professor in the School of Nursing, reads Lam’s email, the words written aren’t necessarily alarming, but the tone seems off. She’s board-certified in psychiatric mental health and feels the need to reach out, even though it would be easier to just reply to the email and grant the extension. She requests a phone call and Lam, a student in the RN to BSN program, calls her immediately.

Scott learned he was working 50-plus hours a week in the medical intensive care unit caring for COVID-19 patients at UMC Health System in Lubbock.

“There’s not enough COVID-19 nurses, not enough resources and protective equipment, my family in Houston lost their jobs, and I care for my family in Vietnam as well — I’m the only financial resource they have right now,” Lam told Scott. “My mom has kidney disease, both my aunt and uncle are considered to have compromised health, too, so that’s scary.”

But above all, his patient died that day.

Lam’s only responsible for two patients at a time — the critical COVID-19 patients need round-theclock care. It’s a different challenge for him, because he’s always vowed that no patient in his charge would die alone, yet on this floor with COVID-19, he finds himself at a crossroads. The health of one of his patients is failing; however, his other patient needs to be intubated immediately.

“I wanted him to know that, even thought he is a distance education student, we didn’t have to be distant.”

— TAMMY SCOTT, PHD, RN, BC While the charge nurse intubates his other patient, Lam reaches his dying patient’s room — to hold his hand as the man struggles to breathe.

Lam tries to sing to comfort him, but he cries instead, watching as his patient takes his last breath.

Lam stands there for a minute, slowly accepting the inevitable — his

patient is gone. He knows he did all he could to provide the best care possible, and that he will continue to do so for the rest of his career.

“I don’t believe that a pandemic can stop me from being the nurse I knew I could be. All they can see are my eyes,” Lam said. “I’m completely covered: mask, face shield, gown, gloves, goggles, surgical cap. Everything is covered except for my eyes, so I try to show them I’m there and I feel for them, and I’ll be with them until they can’t see me anymore.”

On the phone, Lam cries for the second time that day. “I hate asking for an extension. I hate making excuses.”

Scott cuts him off, “You are not making excuses — this is an incredibly unique situation. In my 30 years of nursing, a lot of which was with infectious disease patients, I have never experienced this before. I will work with you. Your other professors will work with you — you’ve got this.”

And for the next few minutes, Scott cries with him.

“In that moment, the priority was letting my student know that I hear him and feel his pain,” Scott said. “While he’s on the front lines making sure his patients aren’t alone, I wanted to provide him the same service as his educator. I wanted him to know that, even though he is a distance education student, we didn’t have to be distant.”

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The

X

Factor Nursing alumni use lessons learned from the Ebola and Zika viruses to accelerate diagnoses of emerging infectious diseases.

By DANETTE BAKER Photography by NEAL HINKLE

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F

ive hours by car separates the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex from Lubbock, Texas. In terms of significant health care settings, it’s a next-door neighbor. So, when the first case of Ebola was diagnosed in September 2014 — in Dallas — that was a little too close to home for Steph Hoelscher, DNP, RN-BC, CPHIMS, (Nursing ’19, ’15, ’95).

At the time, she was the chief clinical analyst for the School of Medicine Office of Clinical Transformation. Steph managed the electronic health records (EHR) system for the TTUHSC medical clinics.

That could have easily been us, Steph thought.

The case brought scrutiny from the public and the health care community. How could the hospital have admitted a man from Liberia twice within three days without diagnosing him with the deadly Ebola virus? The man died two weeks later, and subsequent contact tracing later revealed numerous exposures before the diagnosis, including two nurses in direct contact who became infected but fully recovered.

“The public chastised that facility, but in reality, we were all caught unprepared,” said Steph, associate professor for graduate nursing informatics in the School of Nursing and an infectious and communicable disease analyst. A post-case review, requested by the hospital’s parent company, identified that several factors contributed to the diagnosis oversight.

Most alarming to Steph and her counterpart at UMC Health System, Dwayne Hoelscher, DNP, RN-BC, CPHIMS, (Nursing ’19): a deficiency in the patient’s EHR configuration and ineffective communication among the clinical team.

Bad data in equals bad data out, as the saying goes.

Steph and Dwayne share more than a last name. They both hold board certifications in nursing informatics. HIMSS, one of their credentialing bodies, defines the specialty field as a combination of “clinical knowledge in nursing with information science to develop and maintain systems that enhance clinical workflows, and ultimately improve patient outcomes.”

The couple has become quite the dynamic duo in terms of EHR protocols for diagnosing infectious diseases. Twice in the past five years, they have developed and implemented alerts ahead of national EHR vendors.

It’s a matter of looking for “virus x,” Steph explains. You have to continually be on the lookout, because it’s not a matter of if but when something like Ebola will strike again. History has an uncanny way of repeating itself.

In October 2019, news of the SARS-CoV-2, which became known as the coronavirus, began spreading rapidly through Wuhan, China. Over the next three months, the virus became a global outbreak. The U.S. confirmed its first case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, on Jan. 20, when a Seattle businessman exposed to the virus on a trip to Wuhan returned home infected. The Hoelschers began to track the virus’ movements through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) and World Health Organization as it spread across the country.

Experience told them it was time to act; and quickly.

“Our EHR systems weren’t prepared, and we couldn’t afford to let history repeat itself.” ­­— STEPH HOELSCHER, DNP, RN-BC, CPHIMS, (NURSING ’19, ’15, ’95).

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“Our efforts have made an impact nationally with the vendors, which ultimately works for the good of the patient and those who provide care.” ­­— DWAYNE HOELSCHER, DNP, RN-BC, CPHIMS, (NURSING ’19)

NURSING INFORMATICS BACKGROUND LEADS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW CLINICAL DECISION MODEL Steph had worked in high-stress direct patient care for 15 years when she joined the School of Medicine to aid its EHR implementation. After working the bone marrow transplant unit and trauma care at UMC, Steph earned a master’s degree in nursing informatics and later a doctorate in nursing practice.

Ironically, she had received a commandant scholarship in high school requiring her to choose between computer science and nursing for her college major.

An instance of foreshadowing, perhaps?

Dwayne’s career began the opposite. He studied math and computers before earning his degree as a licensed vocational nurse. He then worked his way up to a doctorate in nursing practice, pursuing his degree at the same time as Steph.

Two heads are better than one, Dwayne mused. Why not two Dr. Hoelschers?

He joined Covenant Health System in Lubbock, gaining clinical knowledge through direct patient care, and then in case management and patient safety/risk management before joining the UMC Health System in his current role as professional clinical systems analyst for core services.

For several years, the couple collaborated from like departments bringing unique views to the overall workflow. Steph thought like a clinician, looking at a protocol model as the process developer and workflow assessor. Dwayne’s approach as the algorithm developer, focused more on the system infrastructure, and custom rules and alerts building.

But they both spoke enough of the same languages — data information flow and clinical usefulness — that made them a natural team, with just the right amount of competitiveness.

In 2016-2017, the Hoelschers turned to lessons learned from the Ebola virus when another global virus began to circulate through the CDC, WHO and IDSA. There’s not much I haven’t seen in my years of nursing so it takes a lot in medicine to scare me. But the Ebola virus, that

scared me. Steph thought. Our EHR systems weren’t prepared, and we couldn’t afford to let history repeat itself.

One of the challenges to EHR alerts, said Dwayne, is data maintenance. Someone has to ensure there is data — evidencebased best practices — that can be easily accessed by the end-user. With the Ebola virus, that was missing.

“When Zika came on the scene, we (collectively as the EHR community) had to take ownership of this process, develop a maintenance cycle and have policies in place to quickly turn on an alert for clinicians that would provide decision support in dealing with an infectious disease,” Steph said, during a February webinar for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) within the Office of the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

As part of their doctoral studies, Steph and Dwayne received CDC funding to develop such a model for the Zika virus. Working in partnership with the CDC and the ONC, the couple brought together focus groups of subject matter experts to establish policy and evidence-based practices for infectious disease protocol in the EHRs. The result: a clinical decision support rapid deployment model that precluded similar offerings from national vendor workflows by months.

Steph testified in 2017 at the ONC’s Public Task Force Hearing Brief in Washington, D.C., regarding Zika and its impact on pregnancy, provider order entry and clinical decision support systems.

During the next year, the Zika virus calmed with no additional cases in the U.S., allowing the Hoelschers to re-evaluate their model (now named the Clinical Decision Support Infectious Disease Rapid Deployment Model, or CIDRaD. Additionally, Dwayne implemented an architecture for the local EHR system so that alerts fire in order of the disease threat. Ebola, for example, remains high on the list because it’s a deadly virus.

Contrast that with the alert for MERS, the Middle East SARS, which is more seasonal. It moves up in the architecture during Hajj, the holy pilgrimage to Mecca required of every Muslim once in their lifetime, and then is suppressed the rest of the year.

“Project management for clinical decision support is very cyclical,” said Dwayne. “You always have to come back to base and evaluate the threats and balance those with documentation fatigue for the clinician.”

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With news of the first COVID-19 case in the U.S., Dwayne and Steph began tweaking their rapid deployment model for the disease. Within two hours, Dwayne had an alert firing in the EHR for treating the patient — and protecting the provider.

Having the opportunity to customize the EHR put TTUHSC and UMC Health System ahead of national vendors once again, but the gap was closing. With Zika, the timeframe between when the Hoelschers had their model implemented until national vendors offered one was close to nine months. With COVID-19, the timeline reduced from days to a couple of weeks, depending on the vendor.

“Our efforts have made an impact nationally with the vendors, which ultimately works for the good of the patient and those who provide care,” Dwayne concluded.

PREPPING FOR THE NEXT PANDEMIC: A NATIONAL DATABASE FOR EHR SYSTEMS AND TRAINING FUTURE HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS Today, the Hoelschers are part of a national initiative with the Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC to digitize evidence-based clinical guidelines. Their efforts are to standardize care and provide EHR vendors easier access to data for system maintenance, allowing for more accurate, timely clinical decisions.

Steph and Susan McBride, PhD, RN-BC, CPHIMS, professor and director of the Masters of Nursing Informatics Program in the School of Nursing, studied the efficacy of such a database, with funding from the American Association of Colleges of Nurses/CDC. Their work published in the June issue of the journal CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing.

Steph also hopes to implement the couple’s rapid deployment model in TTUHSC’s simulation centers, based on the Netflix docuseries, “Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak.”

The series opens with a simulation of front-line health care workers battling influenza. The team is managed by Syra Madad, DHSc, MSc, MCP, an infectious disease specialist who trains New York’s municipal hospital personnel in pandemic preparation.

“I’ve reached out to Dr. Madad, so I’m hoping we can connect and see how we can implement something like that here,” Steph said. The simulation centers already utilize an EHR system in their training, so this would be a way to expand training, she added.

And Steph and Dwayne will continue looking for the next “virus x.” Because they know, it’s not a matter of if, but when.

Team Hoelscher Couple’s EHR model gains national attention

T

he front-line health provider opens the patient’s chart and begins with a question of known exposure to the coronavirus. From there, a yes/no decision tree guides the clinical decision process to determine the patient’s likelihood of having COVID-19.

On the surface, the workflow seems pretty straightforward; behind the scenes, an algorithm feeds from various data fields and conditional logic to support the clinical decision process. The database was developed with the input of subject matter experts nationwide.

This is the clinical decision support rapid deployment model (See Figure 1) used to diagnose and treat patients in the TTUHSC clinics and in UMC Health System’s hospital and clinics.

Steph Hoelscher, DNP, RN-BC, CPHIMS, CHISP, (Nursing ’19, ’15, ’95) and Dwayne Hoelscher, DNP, RN-BC, CPHIMS, (Nursing ’19) designed the Clinical Decision Support Infectious Disease Rapid Deployment Model (CIDRaD) for the Zika virus outbreak in response to lessons learned during the Ebola virus. You can learn more by watching their presentation in February to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at https://youtu.be/wglJYchSt10.

The Hoelschers each received grants from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (AACN/CDC) for doctoral studies that contributed to their model. Steph’s focus was on clinical satisfaction with the model. Dwayne’s project focused on the model workflow. To read more about their work, visit the AACN/CDC website at https://bit.ly/2OIrHgx.

CREDIT TK

COVID-19: HOELSCHERS PUT THEIR MODEL TO A REAL-WORLD TEST

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Figure 1: Clinical Decision Support Infectious Disease Rapid Deployment Model (CIDRaD) deployed in January.

Infectious Disease Nursing Intake Assessment

START

Required

Required

Exposure to Coronavirus

YES

NO

Symptoms

Intake assessment completed at all point for entry in health system (e.g., EC, L&D, Ambulatory)

Required YES

Foreign Travel

NO

STOP

NO

Proceed to Generic All-Travel Alert

YES

NO

Travel Vaccine for 2019-nCoV (Future State)

Fever (>100.4) Cough Shortness of breath

Timeframe: Within past two weeks?

YES

NO

YES

STOP

STOP

Travel Location: China Southeast Asia

Automated Future State Isolation Cart (Future State)

YES

Rule Algorithm Initiated

YES

YES

CXR, Diagnostics (Future State)

Alert Fires

Open Chart Alert All Users (Providers vs. Staff) Once per encounter, per User Fires for 24 hr Only

Order Consult Infectious Disease (Future State)

Message Center Notification of Infection Control Team

CDC/IDSA Hyperlink Buttons

STOP

STOP

Orders Page Button

STOP

LEGEND:

Interactive Hotspot Map (Future State)

PROCESS BEGINS PROCESS/DATA

PROCESS ENDS REQUIRED FIELD

Coronavirus Testing Send-Out CDC or Regional Testing Lab

STOP

ITEMS TO NOTE FUTURE STATE

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ROTATIONS TTUHSC STEPS UP EVOLVING TIMES VIRTUAL MATCH

Rounds Connecting with TTUHSC Alumni

ADOBE STOCK

What Can We Learn From Pandemics?

Ty Whisenant, MD, PhD, (Medicine ’19; Biomedical Sciences ’17) was a laboratory technician contracted by the state of Texas during the swine flu, or the H1N1 virus.

“I feel like we were more prepared for the coronavirus because of the H1N1 virus,” said Whisenant, now an internal medicine resident at TTUHSC. “Obviously, I’m not in the lab anymore, but the testing, at least in Texas, seems to be going more smoothly.”

Whisenant hopes that we remember the precautions for preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the future during flu season.

“The flu is horrible and has killed so many.

Let’s be just as cautious in terms of hygiene and going to work when the flu hits.”

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Rounds

TTUHSC STEPS UP

HOW DOES A PHARMACIST STEP UP DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC? “Addressing public health and safety needs during medicine back orders, shortages and a lack of commercial availability is what compounding pharmacists are uniquely positioned to do. It’s what we do best!”

-SHAWN HODGES, PHARMD, (PHARMACY ’01)

OWNER, INNOVATION COMPOUNDING PHARMACY, KENNESAW, GEORGIA

Molecular Pathology Alumni on the Front Lines Shawn Hodges, PharmD, (Pharmacy ’01) is the owner of Innovation Compounding Pharmacy in Kennesaw, Georgia.

COVID-19 testing has been challenging, to say the least. Here is a sampling of how TTUHSC’s molecular pathology alumni have responded to the challenge by expediting and improving COVID-19 testing across the nation.

PRIMARY TRAINER

Vanessa Torres, MSMP, (Health Professions ’16) molecular technician at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, was one of the technicians involved in developing UT Southwestern’s first laboratory-developed test and one of the first technicians to be trained on the Abbott m2000 SARS-CoV-2 assay once it was acquired by the institution. She is one of two primary testing trainers for the lab.

PRIORITY NO. 1? VALIDATION

Ernesto Lizardirodriguez, MSMP, (Health Professions ’18) validation specialist for Magnolia Diagnostics in Dallas, Texas, developed and validated an extraction-free COVID-19 assay using CDC reagents. He is also working in collaboration with a molecular manufacturer to develop an extraction-free high throughput COVID-19 test, which allows more samples to be tested in less time.

Connie Maza, MSMP, (Health Professions ’17) is part of an all-female group of scientists with the Department of Forensic Sciences Public Health Laboratory Division in Washington, D.C. Her team has taken the lead on identifying positive COVID-19 cases in the district.

PROVIDED BY SHAWN HODGES

GIRL POWER

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EVOLVING TIMES

Rounds

Back to the Pager?

THIS VIRUS AIN’T GOT LEGS “It only uses your legs to get to somebody else.

And that somebody could be your grandmother. Please wear your mask and don’t stop social distancing.”

RONALD L. COOK, DO

BRADDOCK CHAIRMAN, DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND COMMUNITY MEDICINE CITY OF LUBBOCK HEALTH AUTHORITY

KAMI HUNT

Most hospitals today use an answering service to replace the pager. An emergency room doctor needs a neurosurgery consult, so he calls the answering service and leaves a message for the neurosurgeon.

It’s difficult to tell who is actually on call in each specialty as shifts change and information doesn’t always get updated.

Sometimes the messages are sent to the wrong person and end up in limbo, or the person receives the message, calls back and reaches the front desk or the charge nurse instead of the doctor that actually called.

By this time, minutes the patient didn’t have in the emergency room have passed, and the consult still hasn’t happened.

Brady Anderson, MD, (Medicine ’03) a trauma and general surgeon for multiple hospitals in Austin, Texas, was fed up with this system and is bringing the pager back, so to speak, in a new smartphone app called PageMD. If a hospital has their staff download the app, all doctors and nurses are listed in the directory, showing the staff who is on call and available. They can “page” the direct person they need through the HIPPA-compliant app, eradicating the inefficient answering service and health care worker burnout. In a COVID-19 world, saving minutes and frustration is key.

To learn more about PageMD, visit: www.pagemdnow.com. The app is available for download for iPhone and Android.

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Rounds

VIRTUAL MATCH DAY

5 Steps to a Remote Match Day Celebration

2

1 5 DRUM ROLL, PLEASE

Landry Gwin, MD, (Medicine ‘20) had an abnormal Match Day experience. Gwin and his classmates, along with medical students nationwide, participated in a virtual Match Day in March.

Here are the steps the Gwin family took to ensure the day was special.

1 | Stream the Match Day virtual

ceremony to the TV.

3

44

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and daughter, Ruth, as he discovers he’s matched in pediatrics to his first choice: Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri.

3, 4, 5 | Eat all the cake, call all the family and take all the pictures!

Congratulations to all of TTUHSC ‘s medical students for matching in 2020.

NEAL HINKLE

2 | Gwin toasts with his wife, Josie,

Web + See additional photos plus the 2020 Match Day list.

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ALUMNI PROFILES NEWS & NOTES FRIENDS WE’LL MISS TRIBUTE TO FOUNDING FACULTY MEMBER

Update

Catching Up With TTUHSC Alumni & Friends

Enusha Karunasena, PhD PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Center for Devices and Radiological Health U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Springs, Maryland

Biomedical Sciences Graduate: 2005, 2000

BEN ZWEIG

OUT OF SHADOWS

Enusha Karunasena, PhD, and husband, Kevin Wyatt McMahon, PhD, (Biomedical Sciences ’07) were working at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute when McMahon was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

Although McMahon died in 2018, Karunasena’s passion for cancer research continues.

While she loved where she worked, Karunasena needed a career change, finding it difficult to work with reminders of her late husband and their shared dreams. “In his absence, I was living in shadows, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to do that every day.”

Now at the FDA, part of her job is to ensure the safety of medical devices.

COVID-19 has carved a new path for Karunasena, as well as other scientists, as they support efforts to review viral detection assays and protective equipment for public safety.

Through her experiences, she remains inspired to help others avoid cancer. The necessity of a proactive approach, she emphasized, is paramount.

-Glenys Young

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NEWS & NOTES

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

Monish Ram Makena, PhD, MS, (’17, ’11) was awarded the 2020 American Association of Cancer Research Breast Cancer Fellowship award and a $120,000 grant for two years to study novel mechanism of resistance in receptor positive breast cancer.

Courtney Queen, PhD, assistant professor in the Julia Jones Matthews Department of Public Health, was selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar.

Alok Ranjan, PhD, (’17) joined Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center as a research scientist.

JERRY H. HODGE SCHOOL OF PHARMACY

LeeAnn Hampton, PharmD, (’02) was featured on the cover of the Spring 2020 Texas Pharmacy Association magazine.

Kumari “Iti” Kaushik, MS, graduate student in Pharmaceutical Sciences, received the Syngenta Fellowship Award in Human Health Applications of New Technologies.

SCHOOL OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS

Ericka Hendrix, PhD, MB(ASCP), (’03) was elected to the ASCP Board of Certification’s board of governors as an Association of Genetic Technologists representative.

Dawndra Sechrist, OTR, PhD, (’94) was appointed as the school dean.

Keila Trevino, student in the Master of Athletic Training Program, was elected to the Southwest Athletic Trainers Association student senate.

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Corey Anderson, MD, (’94) has been appointed as chief medical officer at iCRYO in Houston, Texas.

Ryan A. Balko, MD, (’17) received the 2020 Outstanding Achievement Award and was one of the selected chief residents in the Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education Internal Medicine Residency Training program.

Leslie Campbell, MD, (’93) joined Pardee Cardiology Associates as a cardiologist in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

Stetson Smitherman, BSN, RN MEDICAL-SURGICAL NURSE Covenant Health, Lubbock, Texas Nursing Graduate: 2019

TRANSFORMED NURSE

Stetson Smitherman, BSN, RN, took quite the journey in searching for his dream job. A job where he could help others and make a difference in the world. Teaching, event planning and working for a nonprofit organization were all jobs that Smitherman enjoyed, but none of them really fulfilled his ultimate goal. He had always been inspired by nurses but intimidated by nursing school. Smitherman decided to “take a leap of faith” and attend TTUHSC nursing school where he discovered a career that would achieve his dreams.

With COVID-19 being so new and unknown, every day is different at Covenant Health in Lubbock, where Smitherman works. Since family cannot visit COVID-19 patients, doctors and nurses are the only other people patients see until they are released from the hospital. Because of this, Smitherman has undergone a transformation into a higher level of care in nursing — exactly what he’s been searching for. He’s been the family member, the confidante and the nurse. -Caroline Wahl

PROVIDED BY STETSON SMITHERMAN

Update

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NEWS & NOTES

Douglas Cummins, MD, (’94) joined Covenant Health in Plainview, Texas, as a general surgeon.

Wesam M. Frandah, MD, (Resident ’12) joined Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall Health and Cabell Huntington Hospital’s team of gastroenterologists in Huntington, West Virginia.

PROVIDED BY JOHN T. ARMSTRONG JR.

Abraham Mata, MD, (Resident ’16) joined the practice of Advanced Cardiac and Vascular Centers for Amputation Prevention in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

William Moore, MD, (Resident ’06) expanded his practice to Physician Partners of of America in Arlington, Texas.

Jennifer Phy, DO, a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology was recently awarded a $10,000 grant for her research in novel dietary approaches to managing PCOS symptoms.

Ashley Sturgeon, MD, (’10) received the 2019 Graduate of Distinction Award from the Texas Tech Animal & Food Sciences Alumni and Friends Network.

Update

John T. Armstrong Jr., MD GYNECOLOGIST John T. Armstrong Jr. Inc., Napa, California Medicine Graduate: 1976

NAPA VALLEY ABUNDANCE

In his 40-year career, John T. Armstrong Jr., MD, has experienced more than 230,000 patient encounters. “I was blessed to have the TTUHSC School of Medicine as my foundation; otherwise, none of this would have happened,” Armstrong said.

He opened his OB-GYN private practice in the Napa Valley after completing his residency at UCSF Medical Center. Armstrong has had some memorable experiences, including delivering a set of quadruplets.

As a gynecologist, Armstrong has brought innovative patient care to the region. One such innovation is the Ultrasound Breast and Ovarian Cancer Screening of the Napa Valley, a program whose goal is to greatly improve the early detection of these maladies.

Armstrong is currently working on a new innovation: a redesigned vaginal pessary device to provide improved, nonsurgical treatment for pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence.

“Each day of work is challenging and rewarding,” he said. “The reward is in the doctor-patient connection I’ve been able to enjoy for the past four decades.

I’m grateful for TTUHSC — my cup truly runneth over.” -Glenys Young

Brooke Walterscheid is an exceptional leader and will successfully represent students throughout the Texas Tech University System. She’s continually serving in roles where she can make a difference.

-LORI RICE-SPEARMAN, PHD (HEALTH PROFESSIONS ’86) TTUHSC PRESIDENT

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Update

NEWS & NOTES

Amie Sun-Wright, MD, (’05) joined Genesis Medical Group in Spring, Texas, as an internist.

Duyet Tran, MD, (’11) joined Community Health Center in Middletown, Connecticut.

Brooke Walterscheid, fourth-year medical student, was appointed as the student regent for the TTU System board of regents for the 2020-2021 academic year.

SCHOOL OF NURSING

Patricia Allen, EdD, RN, was conferred the title of Professor Emeritus by the TTU System Board of Regentson recommendation of the TTUHSC president for her distinguished service in the School of Nursing.

Cassie Campbell, BSN, (’17) was appointed to the Governor’s Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Advisory Council.

Rhonda Collins, DNP, RN, FAAN, (’18, ’97) was recognized by MedCity News for her work as chief nursing officer of Vocera Communications Inc.

Cassie Lackey, PT, ATC-r, CPT

OWNER/OPERATOR SporTherapy, Fort Worth, Texas Graduate: 1985

-PARIS APOTHECARY STAFF PARIS APOTHECARY, PARIS TEXAS

THE THERAPIST SHE NEVER HAD

After treatment for a knee injury she suffered as a high school cheerleader, Cassie Lackey, PT, ATC-r, CPT, knew she wanted to become a physical therapist. Lackey said she should have been able to fully recover from her injury. “Improper exercises and techniques during therapy caused permanent damage to my knee,” she added. Lackey never cheered again and still struggles with knee problems to this day.

Now, Lackey is the CEO and founder of SporTherapy, which has eight locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. At all of her clinics, Lackey, along with her husband and business partner, Steve Lackey, led their team to provide clinical excellence, customer service and quality physical therapy.

Lackey’s experiences inspired her to specialize in sports physical therapy, and she published a two-year study on rehabilitation of the same injury she endured.

Looking back on her career, Lackey finds peace in knowing that her clinics are enriching the lives of others, including the TTUHSC family.

She’s hired more graduates from TTUHSC than all other schools combined and serves as a preceptor for TTUHSC students — one of the many reasons she received the 2018 TTUHSC Presidential Distinguished Alumni award. -Caroline Wahl

PROVIDED BY CASSIE LACKEY

LeeAnn Hampton, PharmD, works diligently, not just for her store, but for changes across all of Texas for all independent pharmacies. We are so proud of the things she has accomplished!

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NEWS & NOTES

Carrie Edwards, PhD, RN, (’99, ’93) assistant professor, was elected to serve on the Commission for Forensic Nursing Certification for the International Association of Forensic Nurses.

Michael Evans, PhD, RN, FAAN, (’18, ’97) School of Nursing dean and interim provost, was named a 2020 Texas Nurses Association Leader and Legend by the Texas Nurses Association.

Kyle Johnson, PhD, RN, CHSE, (’10) assistant professor, received a National League for Nursing (NLN) Education Research Grant at the NLN Education Summit to fund a multi-site study exploring faculty training, debriefing competence and student knowledge retention in simulation.

Tamara Rhodes, RN, MSN, (’90) was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to the Texas Board of Nursing.

PROVIDED BY BRAD MARTIN

Leslie Robbins PhD, RN, (’87) was appointed as the University of Texas at El Paso School of Nursing dean.

Yvette Woody, MSN, RN, (’11, ’07) joined Mitchell County Hospital as Chief Nursing Officer.

Patricia Yoder-Wise EdD, RN, professor, was named National League for Nursing president.

Update

Brad Martin, PharmD OWNER/OPERATOR Kinsey’s Pharmacy, Tyler, Texas Pharmacy Graduate: 2009

INNOVATIVE COMMITTMENT TTU SYSTEM

Nancy Trevino, PhD, was appointed as the director of the Texas Tech Mental Health Institute.

FRIENDS WE’LL MISS

Charles Sargent, AHIP, FMLA, former director of the TTUHSC Libraries, died Jan. 8, 2020.

Lorenz “Laurie” Lutherer, MD, PhD, (Medicine ‘77) died Feb. 5, 2020. He was a School of Medicine founding faculty member and later served as the founding director of the Clinical Research Institute.

When COVID-19 caused a hand sanitizer shortage, Brad Martin, PharmD, developed a solution for his community.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave compounding pharmacies permission to produce alcohol-based sanitizer under a standing order from a local physician to help address the shortage. Initially, Martin contacted a local winery and spirits producer to make ethanolbased sanitizer. However, demand quickly outpaced production.

Martin switched gears, contacting a nearby gas company licensed to produce large amounts of ethanol. He then found a Seattle company selling denatured alcohol, specifically for hand sanitizer and disinfectant use. The next step was to acquire an industrial alcohol use permit from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau along with a temporary FDA manufacturer permit.

Local partnerships in Martin’s hometown supplied distilled water, financial support and legal guidance as production began. In the first week, 8,400 gallons were produced. Martin’s patients, residents of Tyler and even hospitals in New York benefitted from his innovation.

“The most exciting outcomes of this effort have been the support from our neighbors and the opportunity to showcase the service and commitment found in independent pharmacies,” he said. — Jo Grant Langston

Mae Beth Collins, former nurse in the TTUHSC pediatric clinic, died Jan. 11, 2020.

Mary Ann South, PhD, former professor in the Department of Pediatrics, died Nov. 7, 2019.

Richard Wood died July 12, 2020. He retired in 2015 as executive director of the Preston Smith Library of the Health Sciences.

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Update

TRIBUTE TO FOUNDING FACULTY MEMBER

His Last Lecture

Louis Roddy, MD, (Medicine ‘76) and Lorenz “Laurie” Lutherer, MD, PhD, (Medicine ‘77) forged a lifelong friendship after meeting at TTUHSC.

Lorenz “Laurie” Lutherer, MD, PhD, (Medicine ‘77) was a founding faculty member in physiology (pictured far right).

In Room 150 of the Academic Classroom Building, a larger than life portrait of Lorenz “Laurie” Lutherer, MD, PhD, (Medicine ’77) rests next to the lectern. You could almost hear his boisterous laugh as fond memories of him were shared by those who called him colleague, mentor and friend.

Lutherer died Feb. 5, 2020. He joined the School of Medicine in 1972 as a founding faculty member to teach physiology and concurrently pursued his medical degree, with many of his students becoming his classmates. He worked as passionately at developing governance and representation for the faculty as he did in teaching. Luther began a second career at TTUHSC in 2010 as the founding director of the Clinical Research Institute and served as its executive director until his retirement in 2017.

If you ever met Lutherer, most likely you never forgot him. He had an easy way of welcoming people into a world void of a caste system. His world.

“There was an authenticity when you met him; what you see is what you get — almost to a fault,” said Tom McGovern, PhD, EdD, professor emeritus of psychiatry in the School of Medicine. “But he was always honest, upfront and would tell you straight if he agreed with you or not.”

The many stories and accolades shared about Lutherer carry a common thread. He loved a long conversation, was a fierce competitor in soccer, softball and poker, and he championed the virtues of fairness and justice.

But his legacy is a deep respect and love for people.

Louis Roddy, MD, (Medicine ’76) and I spoke by phone a few days before the memorial. He first met Lutherer as a student in his physiology class, and they became lifelong friends. Very few professors can manage a relationship with students in the way Lutherer did. “He just had a unique ability to take off his professorial hat and become one of the guys,” Roddy said. “That’s a very unique talent that I’ve had trouble doing in my teaching career. It was just different with him.”

Lutherer’s accolades were many; but so was his mark on the university.

“You know, there are certain people that you meet who just become part of your life,” said Roddy. “And when they are gone, you will always miss them. That was Laurie.” – Danette Baker

NEAL HINKLE; PROVIDED BY TTUHSC FACULTY; LOUIS RODDY, MD

Final words spoken about a beloved School of Medicine founding faculty member reflect a life well-lived and well-loved.

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MS 6242 | 3601 FOURTH STREET | LUBBOCK, TEXAS 79430

“I’m homeschooling seven children while in nursing school, and because of COVID-19, I thought I was going to have to withdraw from the summer semesters. Thank you for this generous scholarship.” – Jordan Reiter

“For the past few weeks, my dad and I have been praying for funding to help with my college tuition. My dad was working two jobs, and because of the coronavirus, he lost one of them. This scholarship answered that prayer.” – Faith Cockrell

“I wasn’t sure how I was going to pay my rent and continue school, so thank you.” – Maggie Carter

“I normally work between semesters to save up enough money while I’m in school. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to do so this time because of the current situation in our world. Saying thank you really doesn’t express my gratitude adequately.” – Austin Bowman

“I want to pursue a career in intensive care, and during this pandemic, I’ve learned that now more than ever I want to be on the front lines advocating, serving and working for those in need. With this generous gift, I’m able to lay aside some �inancial burdens and focus solely on my education, so that I can obtain my dream career and start helping others as you have helped me.” – Rebecca Ragusa

While the rest of the world stepped back, the Still Water Foundation stepped up. Thank you for the assistance you provided to our 216 Abilene nursing students. To watch the thank you video, please visit: https://bit.ly/2EA8vA1.

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from the ttuhsc family,

thank you. #AllTogetherTTUHSC

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