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An Alumna Called to Help Heal Both at Home and Abroad
Alumni
AN ALUMNA CALLED TO HELP HEAL BOTH AT HOME AND ABROAD
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DR. ASA OXNER IS AN HONORS alumna who truly embodies the values of our College: cross-disciplinary collaboration, global engagement, impactful cutting-edge research, and dedicated community service.
A native of Ocala and recipient of a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship, she started her college career at USF with a love of science and quickly discovered that medicine was her calling. While her core classes were focused on that pursuit, she says she appreciated all of the opportunities Honors offered her for learning and involvement outside of her major.
“I loved having a creative and fulfilling outlet outside of my pre-med training,” says Oxner. “I completed a minor in music and even composed a symphony for my Honors thesis. The Honors College taught me that my assigned workload is not my total workload. It introduced me to multiple opportunities to participate in volunteer and leadership experiences that fulfill me, and that I can pursue those while also succeeding professionally.”
After earning her medical degree from USF in 2011, Oxner completed her residency in internal medicine at Harvard University. She then returned to Tampa and began working with USF Health. A decade into her professional career, Oxner already has a history of making a big impact to address medical crises both in the Tampa Bay area and globally.
In 2014 Oxner and her husband spent two months in the Republic of Sierra Leone during the initial Ebola outbreak. When they returned home they felt called to do more, and signed up to spend an additional year working to battle the virus in the West African country. “Once the outbreak was under control the communities needed to reopen their hospitals and we were able to help them rebuild and train new staff,” says Oxner. “I would do it again in a heartbeat. We were working with patients who are very hard working, but still had so little and through care and education we were able to change their entire quality of life. That was some of the most important and fulfilling work of my career.”
Her time in Africa was not her only experience helping to tackle a medical crisis overseas. She was also one of the USF Doctors who volunteered to travel to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017. “The entire island was devastated,” says Oxner. “Through a collaboration between USF and Tampa General Hospital we were able to bring more than 20,000 pounds of medical supplies to them in the few months after the hurricane.” Oxner went on multiple humanitarian trips to help the area and performed public health assessments of those whose homes were destroyed, often working without power. “You have every reason in the world to keep helping. Even if it’s hard, it’s worth it.”
Oxner said that the hurricane relief work wasn’t easy but she would do it again, and in fact, she did. In 2019 after Hurricane Dorian destroyed parts of the Bahamas, Oxner was on a team of four USF Health physicians to provide medical care in the country. Her work dealing with these crises abroad may have helped her prepare for the global pandemic that would arrive in Tampa Bay less than a year later.
When COVID-19 began impacting Florida, Oxner helped to quickly set up testing sites on USF’s Tampa campus. “It was important to safely test residents in a way that was both accessible and
Dr. Asa Oxner (left) and Lucy Guerra (right), COCO Clinic co-coordinators, were presented with USF Health culture coins by Dr. Mark Moseley, USF Health chief medical officer, for leading efforts to get the virtual clinic up and running.
Thesis.” – Dr. Asa Oxner
convenient to the community,” says Oxner. “This was a collaborative effort with Student Health Services, USF Health, and volunteers from all across the campus. It involved a lot of setup and training, but that preparation resulted in an efficient and effective testing program.”
Shortly after setting up the testing site, Oxner and her colleagues identified another way that they could help with the local COVID response. “We recognized that there would be positive patients who either refused to, or could not afford to, go to (or stay in) the hospital with their illness, who needed to be helped in a safe and accessible way.” In early April 2020, Oxner helped launch the COVID Confirmed (COCO) Clinic, which provided tele-health services to approximately 5,000 patients in just its first nine months.
In addition to benefiting the patients who receive virtual follow-up care, the clinic (which Dr. Oxner serves as the Director of Operations) also provides resident physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacy students, social workers and behavioral health students with a place to complete their clinical rotations. The clinic has seen great success, including administering FDA-approved monoclonal antibody infusions, which help substitute a patient’s own antibodies and mimic the immune system’s attack on the virus. “I was able to help set up our use of this cutting-edge COVID therapy within the first three days of FDA approval,” says Oxner. “We are one of the top three providers of this therapy in the nation, and while we are still collecting data, so far these infusions seem to be very effective in reducing complications, hospitalizations, and the need for breathing machines.”
Protecting those in Tampa Bay is not new for Dr. Oxner. In addition to her roles as Vice Chair for USF’s Department of Internal Medicine, Associate Program Director for Internal Medicine Residency, Medical Director for Outpatient Care, and Medical Director for USF’s COVID Testing Site, Dr. Oxner also volunteers as a faculty advisor for Tampa Bay Street Medicine. This student organization at USF Health is dedicated to improving the medical care of the houseless in our community. Dr. Oxner works with medical and nursing students to provide medical care, education, community connections, and healthcare access to some of the most vulnerable members of Tampa Bay.
“Dr. Oxner’s work to support community health initiatives both locally and globally exemplifies the College’s commitment to public service, and to connecting academic knowledge with real-world action,” says Judy Genshaft Honors College Dean, Charles Adams. “Her passion for improving people’s lives makes her a terrific role model for our current students, whatever field they enter.”
Dr. Oxner, who has served as a research and thesis mentor for Honors students, has some advice for those new to the College. “I would tell new students to show up and make yourself available,” she says. “If you want to be successful, in any field, you need to check your email, stay informed, learn about new opportunities, and get involved in things that will interest you. In terms of preparing me for my future, some of the things that helped me the most were networking and leadership events in the Honors College. Those have helped me throughout my entire career.”
