SHP Snapshots: Heroes Issue - Summer 2018

HEROES ISSUE

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UAB School of Health Professions • Impressions of Alumni Excellence • Summer 2018 E-Magazine

GET INVOLVED

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

ALUMNI IN ACTION

SHP HEROES FEATURE

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Impressions of SHP Alumni Excellence • Summer 2018

HEROIC HELPERS ISSUE

Heroes Every Day What makes someone a hero? Not the cape. Not the mask.

Certainly not the underwear on top of tights look! What actually makes a hero is what you cannot see. Heroes are courageous, selfless and caring.

Inside we introduce you to School of Health Professions alumni who are everyday heroes. They face one-time events like floodings and shootings. They face daily health battles like HIV/AIDS and paralysis. They all perform heroically.

They make us proud by what they do. They make us proud because they represent you – our alumni. Each of you chose health care because deep down you are courageous, selfless and caring. This issue is dedicated to each of you – heroes every day.

THE 411 ON 911 ◗

Senator Rankin Fite made the first 911 call ever in Haleyville, AL on February 16, 1968.

◗ 240M calls estimated annually ◗ 71% of calls are from mobile phones

Join our GLOBAL CONVERSATION on your favorite MEDIA OUTLET. /uabshp

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UAB School of Health Professions

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Go. Give. Serve.

Your SHP education is the foundation that built your future. Today, the place that helped build your future offers many ways for you to help build others’ futures.

GET INVOLVED JUNE 21: Excellence in Business

Awards Ceremony

JULY 25-27: National

GIVE BACK

SERVE OTHERS

ONLINE: uab.edu/shp/give

HOST Breakfast with Blazers

PHONE: Answer the call

GIVE a guest lecture

Symposium for Healthcare Executives, Destin

from a student in the Annual Giving Office or call us at 205-996-5469

SEPT 14-15: OT 50th

MAIL: Send a check

BE a mentor

ESTATE: Leave a legacy with

WRITE welcome notes to

a planned gift

incoming students

MATCH: Ask your employer

PARTICIPATE in one of our

Anniversary Celebration OCT 14: JAB Dodging for

Degrees Tournament

OCT 14-20: Homecoming Week

See all upcoming events!

Visit our event page: uab.edu/shpevents

BECOME a preceptor or

clinical instructor

many service opportunities

to match your gift

Get involved today!

Contact Amanda Sherman: asherman@uab.edu

Make a difference!

Contact Katie Adams: katiedav@uab.edu

DON’T MISS OUT: update your contact info at uab.edu/shp/alumni to receive alumni news & more.

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2018 SHP ALUMNI AWARDS DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI • YOUNG ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT • ALUMNI SERVICE

Visit uab.edu/SHPAlumniAwards to nominate our best and brightest alumni — deadline is October 15.

SHP ALUMNI E-MAGAZINE • SUMMER 2018

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ALUMNI RECOGNITION

Alumni Excellence Our alumni are consistently recognized for service to their professions and to others — here are some of our most recent honorees.

Patricia Currie (MSHA, Class 15) and Dawn Ahner (DSc, 2018) were named to Becker’s Hospital Review “130 women hospital and health system leaders to know” DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

ALUMNI SERVICE

YOUNG ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT

Donna Martin (MS/DI, 1977)

Rodgerick Williams (HCM, 2015, EMSHA, Class 51)

Katie Norton Neal (OT, 2014)

Leigh Ann Lazarus (DPT, 2012) received the Emerging Leader Award from APTA

Krystle Glasgow (NMT, 2011) received the 2017 Distinguished Service Honor Southeastern Chapter of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging – Technologist Section

Barbara Adams (MSHI, 2003) received the 2017 Women in Technology Award from the Dallas Business Journal

Nathan Clark (MSHA, Class 44), Tiffani Collins (MSHI, 2012), D’Rondrell (Ron) Hamner (RT, 2006; MSHA, Class 43) and Martin Smith (MSHA, Class 43) were named Rising Stars in Health Care in the Birmingham Business Journal

Rachel Ashcraft (OT, 2011) received the Emerging & Innovative Practice Award from AOTA

SHARE YOUR SUCCESS: Tell us about your honors & achievements. shpalumni@uab.edu • 205-975-8415.

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ALUMNI RECOGNITION

Alumni in Action Oh the places our alumni go! No place is too far or too close for our alumni to get together.

HIMSS Networking Lunch — Las Vegas, NV

APTA CSM — New Orleans, LA

Alumni gathered to connect over lunch during the annual HIMSS conference.

Alumni found time to have some fun together during APTA CSM with a reception.

Leading Forward — Birmingham, AL

Hill Day — Washington, D.C.

Breakfast with Blazers — Birmingham, AL

Rachel Ashcraft (OT, 2011), Deek Cunningham (OT, 1998) and Veronica Juan (MSOT Student) at AOTA Hill Day event.

Carl Moultrie (CLS, 1996) shared his wisdom with current CLS students through informal conversation.

HSA PhD 40th Event — Birmingham, AL

JAB Retreat— Birmingham, AL

ALDA Conference — Birmingham, AL

PhD in Administration-Health Services student Roy McDonald and alumni Kim Davey (PhD, 2015) at the 40th Anniversary event.

Alumni from all five departments tested their analytical skills and bonded at Breakout Birmingham during their annual retreat.

DI alumni started the ALDA conference off with an alumni breakfast.

Lenetra King (MSHA, Class 38); Randa Hall (MSHA, Class 24); Samika Williams (EMSHA, Class 46) and Stephanie Peters (MSHA, Class 25) at inaugural event.

SHP ALUMNI E-MAGAZINE • SUMMER 2018

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ALUMNI FEATURE

“When I was a boy and I would see Scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘look for the helpers. You will always find people who are HELPING.’” — FR E D R O G E R S TV Host, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood

In the comics, the heroes almost always have helpers. They can be near equals – like Robin to Batman – or mere mortals – like Jimmy Olson to Superman.

In real life, though, the heroes are the helpers.

Real life heroes are mere mortals doing extraordinary things at various times for ordinary reasons – like the fact that many are just doing their job. But to the heroes we know – the alumni of the School of Health Professions – just doing their job does not mean that what they do is just a job.

Serving others is a passion for our heroic helpers.

SHP ALUMNI E-MAGAZINE • SUMMER 2018

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In this day and age, hospitals and their staff are trained to respond to a multitude of disasters and are prepared to treat a mass amount of victims. They are not expecting to be part of the disaster yet that can happen.

odgerick Williams (B.S. in Health Care Management, 2014; and M.S. in Health Administration – Executive Format, Class 51) is a military veteran who served humanitarian missions for Hurricane Mitch (1998, El Salvador), Hurricane Katrina (2005, New Orleans) and Hurricane Irma (2017, Key West).

He has this advice: “Know yourself.”

“Ask yourself honestly if you are the type of person that serves others,” said Williams, who serves as Division Director at Community Health Systems in Gadsden, Alabama. “If you aren’t the type of person that serves others, ask yourself can you become the type of person that serves others. If not, then understand there are different helping roles – everyone doesn’t have to be at ground zero.”

“...light does the most good when shined in the places of the most darkness.”

— R O D G E R I CK W I LLI A M S

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“... lead with common sense and how you would want to be treated yourself.”

— K ATE W I LLI S

ate Willis (M.S. in Health Administration – Residential Format, Class 48) served as Director of Hospital Operations at Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital (MHSL) when Hurricane Harvey hit in August 2017.

MHSL is a 149-bed hospital located in Sugar Land, TX and was the 2016 recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige Award.

MHSL sits along the Brazos River, which offers an idyllic setting for patients.

However, as Willis and the team quickly learned, one of the longest rivers in the U.S. is not an ideal neighbor when a tropical cyclone makes landfall.

Willis was part of the administrative leadership team that kept a watchful eye on Hurricane Harvey for 4 days. The team knew the levys could only hold 60 feet so when the Brazos River reached 58 feet and the National Weather Service was

projecting higher waters - they began to prepare for evacuation.

Evacuating 73 patients – including six newborn babies, some of which were born that morning – during a hurricane could have been a disaster itself. In addition to the extreme weather conditions, the MHSL team was also dealing with the human condition – their patients’ and their own.

“We had people on staff who knew they were losing their homes and who didn’t know where their children were, yet they were focused on helping other people,” said Willis. “It was an effort by everyone on staff. In addition to physicians and nurses, I saw our CEO, Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Operations Officer all helping move patients. I saw a newborn baby on a stretcher and it was heartbreaking, but I knew they were getting out of harm’s way and that is what matters.”

Using the Baldrige framework, Willis and the executive team carefully and strategically planned for evacuations that began at 2:00pm on August 28th.

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“...jump in and help whenever and wherever you are needed.”

— JA LE S I A S I M S U M ACH I

aLesia Sims Umachi (Master of Science in Occupational Therapy, 2011) was in another part of Houston and she was prepared. Since surviving the “Super Outbreak” of EF4 and EF5 tornadoes in Tuscaloosa on April 27, 2011, she was always prepared.

“Don’t think it can never happen to you,” says Sims Umachi. “I did, and it happened twice.”

Looking back at that first fateful afternoon in Tuscaloosa, she remembers her family woke her so they could take cover. She huddled with her mom, stepdad and sister as three trees fell on their house. When they stepped outside, Sims Umachi said, “It felt like a war zone – people were crying and you could see destruction for miles.”

She and her family lost everything. At least that is what she thought at that moment. She later realized that through their loss she found heroes around her and the hero within her.

“I still had to complete classwork, tests and get ready for clinicals,” said Sims Umachi. “My teachers, friends and colleagues were so graceful and kind. If I needed to cry, talk – they were there to listen. UAB provided funds to those of us that were displaced. Because of all that support, I was able to finish the semester and move to Houston.”

You could almost say she was waiting for the moment Hurricane Harvey hit Houston – waiting for the opportunity to help others just as others had helped her in her time of most need.

“You jump in and help whenever and wherever you are needed,” said Sims Umachi. “At various times I took assignments at three hospitals that were impacted because co-workers’ homes flooded and they were displaced. I learned life can be gone in an instant and you should celebrate life every day you are alive.”

JaLesia Sims Umachi said she couldn’t have graduated without her communities – her neighborhood and her UAB OT classmates and faculty.

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hil Cendoma (M.S. in Health Administration – Residential Format, Class 47), who lives 1,500 miles away from Houston, agrees with Willis and Sims Umachi – helping others is above all else.

Cendoma is the Associate Administrator for Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center in Las Vegas where he focuses on planning, coordination and supervision of the staff to ensure a smooth delivery of health care at all times in all situations.

“Preparedness and training are key – they could be the difference between life and death,” said Cendoma. “I share with my team that some situations are very unlikely but we must be prepared for anything. This could save your life and you can save others’ lives.”

On October 1, 2017, Cendoma was the administrator on call. He had just put his children to bed when his emergency

department paged him. A gunman had just opened fire at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. He said he was in shock for a moment – his hospital is the closest to the Strip – but quickly all that training took over.

Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center received 53 victims the night of the shooting.

Cendoma is proud to say that all of the people that arrived alive survived and eventually left the hospital.

“All of our employees were affected somehow because some were at the concert that night; others witnessed the scene at the hospital as victims were being treated; many interacted with families of the victims either onsite or taking calls that came in from those searching for family members,” said Cendoma.

“I believe we all see and talk with our patients differently today and there is more empathy for people and the situations they may be facing.”

Phil Cendoma faced crises at every job from severe floods in Colorado to potential Ebola cases in Ohio.

“Preparedness and training are key — they could be the difference between life and death.”

— PH I L CE N D O M A

SHP ALUMNI E-MAGAZINE • SUMMER 2018

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Our five departments – Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences, Health Services Administration, Nutrition Sciences, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy – produce alumni who oversee health, alumni who oversee care and alumni who oversee health care. Different departments. Different people. Different expertise.

enjamin Burgess (B.S. in Biomedical Sciences, 2016) is a Medical Corps Officer in the United States Navy. “Before the military, I lacked direction in my life,” said Burgess, who is also a student on target to earn his Master of Business Administration and Doctor of Medicine from UAB in 2020.

“The military has pushed me to my limits on several occasions and it’s good to know where those limits are so you can apply it to other areas of your life,” said Burgess.

“Knowing when you can give just five

percent more can make the difference in accomplishing something great.”

Burgess is no stranger to giving more to others. He has volunteered for the Crisis Center Birmingham, Amedysis Hospice, Feeding America and Habitat for Humanity. He sees his investment in others as an investment in himself as a leader. He encourages others to accept every challenge.

“Focus on today and what must be done in order to get to the next step of achieving the over-arching goal,” said Burgess.

“Knowing when you can give just five percent more can make the difference in accomplishing something great.”

— B E N JA M I N B U R G E SS

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“Always invest in people and their dreams – even if they seem unrealistic.”

— N ATA LI E S H A N N O N

atalie Shannon (Doctor of Physical Therapy, 2010) understands the importance of a “next step” literally. Shannon, a Center Manager for Drayer Physical Therapy at their Trussville location, helped Tim Alexander – UAB Football Director of Character Development – take his next step more than a decade after his last step when he was paralyzed in a car crash in 2006.

When they first met, Alexander told Shannon that a lot of doctors and therapists told him he would never walk again.

Shannon didn’t care. She wanted to help so they worked three times a week for two

years to make Alexander’s dream a reality.

On September 3, 2017, Alexander took his next step – literally – more than a decade later when he walked the official game ball to the referees at UAB’s first home game of The Return. Shannon was standing next to Alexander at the center of Legion Field that historic day and was one of the people he credited with making that event happen.

“Working with Tim taught me to never simply see something through textbook eyes,” said Shannon. “Always invest in people and their dreams – even if they seem unrealistic.”

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“I wanted to help people as much as possible and provide them with good care.”

— K A I TLY N FAU LK

aitlyn Faulk (Dietetic Internship Certificate, 2015; M.S. in Nutrition Sciences, 2016) has this advice: “Know yourself.”

“Don’t be afraid to take that chance in a different area than where you may see yourself.”

As a UAB student, Faulk knew herself.

“I was like every Registered Dietitian (RD) at their core – I wanted to help people as much as possible and provide them with good care and a healthy relationship with food.” Then things got complex.

Faulk was hired for a position at Thrive Alabama, a non-profit organization that provides medical care and support

services to Alabamians living with HIV and AIDS. It was a good opportunity but it was such a difference from her last rotation in the Trauma Burn Intensive Care Unit (TBICU) that she had reservations.

Looking back though, it was exactly where she needed to be. The patients needed helpers and heroes – they needed her.

“We need more RDs in a primary care setting who are more accessible to their community because that is the best way to have a larger, positive impact on a society’s health,” said Faulk, who is a Registered Clinical Dietitian at Thrive Alabama located in Huntsville.

“I enjoy leading in a team environment – I like to draw from the strengths of others in decision making.” — N A N C Y W H I TE ancy White (M.S. in Physical Therapy, 1979) is Executive Director of the Arlington Free Clinic in Virginia. Her clinic provides exemplary care to more than 1,500 patients every year.

Every day her team sees different people with different conditions. They help people with chronic conditions like diabetes and cancer. They help people with mental health challenges due to stress of serious illnesses and poverty.

White, like every heroic helper you have read about so far, sees different people

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with different obstacles who all need the same thing – a heroic helper.

“My education as a physical therapist helped me to become a problem solver,” said White. “The UAB PT faculty taught us to analyze the situation and not just memorize a list of possible solutions. This gave me confidence and a sense of optimism.”

For White, that allows her to better serve the broader group.

“As a PT, I was concerned about the health of an individual patient,” said White. “Now, I must focus on the health of a community.”

Each healthcare leader we featured emphasized community.

or Kaitlyn Faulk, the RD who works with HIV clients, it is about community needs. “Today I look at the whole picture – mental health, lifestyle, etc. – rather than just my expertise in nutrition,” said Faulk. “I have learned it is more beneficial and healthy to meet patients where they are rather than where I think would be most helpful.”

For Kate Willis, who evacuated a hospital during a hurricane, it is about community strength. “People are stronger than you think they are or that they let on,” said Willis. “Everyone was in the same situation. We all had to make the best of it. We all came out of it stronger.”

And for Rodgerick Williams, the humanitarian who is also a Division Director of a Health System, it is about doing the right thing for the greater good of the community. “I learned public health was more important to me than a lot of other things,” said Williams. “I understand there is a balance between making profit and taking care of your patients. When you consider everything going on in society regarding a patient, I am most proud of being a voice for people that usually have no voice. I believe a light does the most good when it is shined in the places of the most darkness.”

It was in darkness that all these health care leaders shined brighter than before, and in some cases, brighter than even they expected. Different situations, different people, different expertise, but all had similar outcomes: the development of healthcare leaders that embody the core of who School of Health Professions’ alumni are and who all healthcare leaders should be

– heroic helpers.

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It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s you...

Email shpalumni@uab.edu to become someone’s hero.

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