Award-winning alumni

The College of Applied Health Sciences proudly presented the 2019 AHS Alumni Awards to three outstanding alumnae on April 24 at AHS CELEBRATES: 40 Years of Transforming Health Care Practice and Social Systems. The honored alumnae include Mary Mirabelli ’79 BS OT, Karen Patena ’74 BS MRA, and Carrie Shaw ’16 MS BVIS.

THE MANY SKILLS OF A HEALTH CARE EXECUTIVE

Mary Mirabelli

Photo: Lloyd Degrane

Mary Mirabelli ’79 BS OT received the AHS Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed upon alumni of the college. The award recognizes Mirabelli’s outstanding career success and international renown in the healthcare field. Mirabelli is currently senior vice president at the Healthcare Finance Management Association (HFMA), where she is responsible for all content created and delivered to the industry and HFMA membership.

Previously, Mirabelli held leadership roles at DXC Technology (as global leader of the Strategic Advisory Healthcare practice), Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Global Healthcare Practice (as vice president) and the Hospital Corporation of America (as a senior executive), among other organizations.

“Mary’s impressive professional career is not only a testament to her expertise in the complex areas of finance, business development, information technology and executive management, but also to the extraordinary occupational therapy education at the foundation of it all,” says Bo Fernhall, AHS dean and professor of kinesiology and nutrition. “She has developed a highly unique and diversified career in executive health care, demonstrative of the many career trajectories available to an AHS graduate. We could not be prouder of her many professional achievements.”

As a student at AHS, Mirabelli received an award for Outstanding Personal and Professional Achievement. She recalls her AHS experience fondly, noting that the courses were difficult but the professors were fantastic.

“They were true pioneers in the field,” she says. “The skills I learned have been off-the-charts invaluable to me in my career.”

Mirabelli has served on numerous governing boards and committees and is currently a member of a portfolio company board for Riverside Partners, LLC. She holds a master’s in management from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

AN OUTSTANDING ADVOCATE FOR AHS

Karen Patena

Karen Patena ’74 BS MRA was honored with the 2019 AHS Loyalty Award in recognition of her significant contributions, service and dedication to the college in general and to the Department of Biomedical and Health Information Sciences in particular. As associate head of the department, as well as clinical associate professor and director of the health information management (HIM) degree programs, Patena has been a remarkable advocate for students and faculty alike. “Karen is an effective teacher and mentor, who draws the respect from those that work with her in every aspect of our academic mission,” says Anthony Faiola, professor and head, Department of Biomedical and Health Information Sciences. “Without question, Karen exemplifies the meaning of the AHS Loyalty Award.”

Patena’s accomplishments include the development of the Illinois Board of Education’s online postbaccalaureate certificate program in Health Information Management and the introduction of a blended BSHIM degree at AHS, which allows students to take both online and in-person courses.

During her 26 years at UIC, Karen has received numerous accolades for teaching excellence, including the UIC Silver Circle Award and the AHS Educator of the Year Award. She is active in HIM professional organizations both regionally and nationally and serves on several campus committees.

COMPASSION IN CAREGIVING

Carrie Shaw

Carrie Shaw

Carrie Shaw ’16 MS BVIS, the recipient of the 2019 AHS New Alum Award, is the CEO and founder of Embodied Labs, an immersive education and wellness platform for professional and family caregivers and the elders they serve. Embodied Labs evolved out of Shaw’s final research project in the AHS biomedical visualization program.

“We are accustomed to working with exceptional students who are both accomplished scientists and highly talented visual artists,” says John Daugherty, director and clinical assistant professor of the biomedical visualization program. “However, in addition to these attributes, Carrie displayed a level of empathy and compassion for others that was striking.”

Using a mix of virtual reality technology and researchbacked storytelling, the company helps individuals experience different medical conditions. Shaw’s desire to transform patient care is inspired and informed by her experiences as a caregiver for her mother, who was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease when Shaw was 19.

In 2018, Embodied Labs won a $250K Grand Prize award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s XR in Education Prize Challenge and was named a Grand Prize Winner of the AARP’s National Caregiving Innovation Challenge.

Shaw holds a BS in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.