WINGS of transformation SPRING 2018 • Publishing Semiannually | VOLUME 1 • Issue 2
How one woman's tenacity + resolve create a personal evolution
INSIDE: Marketing 101 PG. 4 Wings of Transformation PG. 6 Roseman Physician's Care PG. 12
THE FUTURE STARTS TODAY A Look at What’s Ahead for Roseman University Graduates
ANNA COWDIN College of Dental Medicine “I am starting up Nomad Dental, a mobile clinic built like a tiny house, in Dallas, Texas. Many patients are unable to take time off work to visit the dentist so we are bringing the dentist to them! We will be cruising around downtown Dallas rotating between 3-5 locations, stopping at each office building for two weeks at a time.”
KAYLEE VITALE College of Pharmacy “As I begin my PGY-1 at Valley Hospital shortly after graduation, I look forward to working directly with patients and continuing to build my knowledge base. In the long-term I see myself helping develop the next generation of pharmacists.”
TASHINIA BATT College of Nursing “After graduation I plan on improving my skills and becoming active in the Las Vegas professional nursing organizations as I continue my professional development. I’d like to gain exposure to various specialties of medicine in hopes of becoming a top notch ICU nurse one day.”
PREET GREWAL College of Pharmacy “I want it all. I start a residency at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada after graduation and I’d like to work my way to critical care in a hospital setting – tough cases with serious conditions.”
SANDEEP SHETTY College of Nursing “After graduation, I am keen to get started on the 5 year plan I have developed for myself. It includes less studying, even more learning, trying my hand in the ICU and eventually becoming a nurse practitioner. I can’t be more excited about starting my career.”
PUBLISHER Jason Roth
DESIGNER Eric Jones
EDITORS Rachael Wadley Joslyn Hatfield
PHOTOGRAPHERS Francia Garcia Chase Schmidt
GUEST CONTRIBUTORS Mark A. Penn, MD Vanessa Maniago Brian Sodoma
spectRUm is published two times per year by Roseman University of Health Sciences. 11 Sunset Way, Henderson, NV 89014 | roseman.edu | 702.968.1633 | © 2018
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Letter from the PRESIDENT Welcome to the Spring print edition of spectRUm.
With a lovely, albeit abbreviated spring season, summer is just about upon us. Our favorite baseball teams are charting their course to the World Series, and the equestrians of the world (and those who love watching them) are celebrating the events of the Triple Crown. With the excitement of an impending summer, warmer weather, and all that comes with it, we can feel the palpable energy from our students wrapping up their year, or getting ready to graduate and move into their careers. Much like the beginning of any school year, this time of year is the pinnacle for those in education as we feel immense pride and appreciation for both faculty and students for the hard work and commitment made to reaching goals, and making dreams a reality. Whether you are a parent of a preschooler, a teacher in one of our area public schools, friend or family of a graduate, or a student, the collective sigh felt at the end of a school year touches so many. We can feel proud not only of those accomplishments right before us in our schools, neighborhoods and communities, but across Nevada and Utah, our region, and our country. Sharing in that collective sigh is something for which I am grateful. As our country seeks to fill the gaps in healthcare provider shortages, it is this time of year that I feel great appreciation that our students are flourishing in our programs and are then filling needed gaps. With strong enrollments and board scores, and equally strong graduation rates, our students, and their families that help support them, see the return on investment from a Roseman University education. There is the personal return on investment, as graduates step into healthcare positions and are compensated well in a career that is in demand and will continue to be in demand in the future. There is also the community return on investment, as graduates, all of whom have had significant clinical experiences as students, return that training and investment by providing needed service and care—competent, empathic care—to their patients. This May, we deliver to our communities 238 pharmacists, 231 nurses, 90 dentists and 41 healthcare business professionals. We fill the gaps, we fuel the economic engines of Nevada and Utah, and most importantly, we change the lives of students and those for whom they provide care. I hope you have some time to read this special issue of spectRUm. Read about Dr. Prashanti Bollu, who has spent her professional life working around challenges by remaining tenacious, flexible and committed. Read about our graduates, and their plans to go off and conquer the world. You can also read about plans for the 20th Anniversary of Roseman University, to be celebrated throughout next year with various events and opportunities to reconnect. It is hard to believe that 20 years have gone by so quickly, and that we have grown so much from our start leasing just a small space at the Painter’s Union building. We also are happy to celebrate the rebranding of our University, for which we recently won many prestigious industry awards. I am proud of those that contributed to it, and happy that they are being recognized on the national stage, amongst the work of other exceptional universities. Check out Discovery Drive, the insert that provides important updates from our College of Medicine. There are some great developments to celebrate. Finally, as we head into summer, it is important to recognize that this is also a time of great change, as many recharge their batteries for new endeavors, families move seeking new places to learn or work, and friends and family prepare for new experiences to come. With that, enjoy this incredible time of year. Wishing you and your family a happy and healthy summer.
Renee Coffman President
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By Brian Sodoma
How A Rebranding Effort Helped A University Explore Its Inner Truths
For Roseman University of Health Sciences, doing the heavy lifting of educating tomorrow’s best medical professionals was always the easy part. Since opening its doors in 1999 as Nevada College of Pharmacy - the institution developed best practices in teaching by being nimble and reflective, embracing new and better strategies while also maintaining tried and true approaches still effective today. Flash forward nearly 20 years and Roseman is an institution offering nursing, pharmacy, dental medicine and business degrees - and a medical school is on the horizon as well. A lot has gone right for Roseman in a short time. The challenge, however, came with figuring out how to effectively communicate these achievements, the University’s unique culture, philosophy and relevance to prospective students and community members through a marketing campaign. “We felt that there was a very strong internal culture around the brand, but it was important to connect that with the way outsiders were perceiving the University, so to bring these two together, in an environment where we were adding new programs, changing the brand’s identity through name changes, had become a difficult challenge,” said Roseman’s Vice President of Communications, Jason Roth. The idea for a re-branding effort began percolating in 2012, according to Rachael Wadley, Roseman’s marketing director. At that time, she and colleagues began gathering research about the growing University’s identity. “We were getting feedback from the community that people didn’t know we existed,” Wadley recalled. “We felt it was imperative [to] start building that brand so that people could start recognizing us.” 4 |
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THE HOMEWORK STARTS Roseman President and Co-founder, Renee Coffman, sought a brand image that could “encapsulate what Roseman was all about.” So, she first reached out to a marketing mind outside of Roseman for help, bringing in Vanessa Maniago in 2015 as a consultant. Today, she serves as special advisor to the president. “The marketing team welcomed the expertise and skills Maniago brought. With an outsider perspective that challenged the team to think big, all while working productively and harmoniously to accomplish the challenge at hand,” Roth added. Maniago spent years with New York-based advertising agency, Ogilvy and Mather, a firm with a long list of high-profile brands like IBM, American Express and Dove. First, Maniago set out to study Roseman, then other local and national university branding. “This is really a process of identifying brand truths, to distill down into the very essence of the brand and to project that,” Maniago explained. She found a strong entrepreneurial spirit at the small non-profit university. It boldly challenged the healthcare education status quo and was graduating nurses, pharmacists and other medical professionals who were job-ready and highly-coveted for high-paying fields. And job placement rates were among the best in the nation. “It was clear that Roseman had a really unique brand proposition, but we wanted to reflect that through every piece of communication so, as a whole, we had complete consistency and were acting as stewards of the brand,” Maniago said. Branding is part truth and part invention, Maniago further explains. “The more you’re rooted in truth (which Roseman is) the better off you’ll be,” she added.
DIGGING IN It’s also important to note that the re-branding effort was developing at a time when consumer skepticism around higher education was growing. Some for-profit higher education institutions had closed their doors and the escalating costs of the college experience had prospective students questioning the need for higher education. For Roseman, a non-profit private institution, the campaign would need to break down these perception barriers as well. The marketing team spent considerable time studying competitors, speaking with faculty, the board of trustees, and even testing the work qualitatively among its students and key stakeholders. Eric Jones, Roseman’s art director, was eventually hired on after a decade of work in the tourism and convention industry. There, departments and budgets were large and plentiful. Roseman’s marketing team had only four employees but the experience offered Jones quite a bit of creative freedom. “I found out they were looking to scrap what they had and start from the ground up. … To any art director, that’s attractive,” he said. “I wanted to create something that got people to move, not just: ‘We’re a school. Here’s our address.’” Jones took a hands-on approach to educate himself about Roseman. He ate lunch in the student lounge and sat in on classes and interviewed faculty. Rounding back with the team, visuals and narratives started to come together. Then, the idea of using actual student photos in advertisements and other collateral soon became a no-brainer. As mock-ups were put together, the marketing team felt the first proving ground should be the students. Jones showed them the first ideas and gathered more input.
pharmacy, business and others. Photos of students and faculty anchored the work, visually, breaking away from stock image happy-face monotony, while the work also shed light on Roseman’s core educational philosophies. Statements embraced the type of individual who could succeed in the entrepreneurial Roseman environment - someone willing to question status quo, stay curious, driven and focused throughout the journey. The messaging made a sound statement: there are no passengers at Roseman. "As a former advertising executive and long-time magazine publisher, I've been involved in the creative process for a number of years. … Roseman University's new marketing campaign is among the best. It's creative, eye-catching, effective and has an extended shelf life,” added Connie Brennan, publisher of Nevada Business magazine. THE HEXAGON’S ROLE Brand visuals include a hexagon, highlighting Roseman’s Six-Point Mastery Learning Model. The six points of mastery represent “a whole different way to educate healthcare professionals,” Coffman added. The approach includes 1) early access to experiential learning so students gain exposure to clinical experiences, 2) problem and teambased learning with 3) frequent assessments for competency-based education where 4) students are measured and graded against criterionreferenced testing, not against one another. The program also has a 5) pass/no pass grading system that requires more than 90 percent mastery to move to the next subject while its block curriculum focuses on one subject at a time.
THE CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES Ultimately, the campaign challenged everyone from student to faculty to staff and even prospective students to rethink the way everything is done: teaching, learning, the actual work in medical fields and more.
Finally, the model embraces the 6) “classroom as a teacher” principle, meaning the design and layout of learning environments assure students and faculty are easily engaged with one another. Jones found the classroom environments to be one of the most intriguing elements of his research. Inside them, you’ll find seats not arranged in rows, but in a hexagon instead.
“It’s so much more than just a place or thing. It’s people. There’s an education component, a service component, a patient care component … so much more,” Coffman added when describing the Roseman experience.
“There’s nowhere to hide. You’re going to learn and there’s no way around it,” Jones added. “The teacher is in the middle. … Everyone is always a step or two from the teacher. … You can’t hide in these classes.”
Rolled out in the summer of 2016, Roseman’s re-branding embraced “RE” messaging in ads and billboards with statements like “REthink,” “REdefine,” “REimagine” the fields of nursing,
The marketing team and university leaders knew the model was unique and special, however, explaining it to others proved difficult. Prior to being named the Six-Point Mastery Learning Model, explaining the learning
strategies required a full-page document, Maniago said. The goal was to simplify the model so that it was visually clear and easy to explain. With six key attributes the model took on the shape of a hexagon, which also happens to be the shape of Roseman’s classrooms and a significant shape in science. IN-HOUSE AND BEYOND The re-branding effort required re-engineering of every piece of Roseman’s past identity, from publication logos with the school’s unique red color, updated photography and visuals for print advertisements to billboards, business cards, letterhead, envelopes, labels all needing the same color schemes and branding catch phrase: Challenge. Rethink. Roseman. Its website and social media presence also required overhauls as well. “You even had to train people on how to speak about the Six-Point Mastery Learning Model,” Wadley added. “I’m proud of our small team and all that they accomplished.” All photography (no stock images were used) was updated using students, staff and environmental shots. All other visuals, imagery and design work was completed in-house, too. The effort has effectively competed with other marketing campaigns from major academic institutions. The re-branding earned the Silver Award from the Service Industry Advertising Awards (SIAA) in the “Total Advertising Campaign” category, competing among 1,600 entries. It also won the Judge’s Choice Award in the “Total Advertising Campaign” category of the Collegiate Advertising Awards, which had more than 900 entries. Only three entries in the top 1 percent are awarded the Judge’s Choice Award. In addition, Roseman won the Silver Award in the Higher Education Advertising Awards in the “Integrated Marketing Campaign” category, which saw more than 2,250 entries from 1,000 different colleges and universities in the U.S. and foreign countries. The University was also recognized for its digital photography during this year’s Las Vegas Addy Awards (The American Advertising Awards) program, the advertising industry’s largest competition. “I’m most proud of how it reflects a humble but really confident voice of the University,” Maniago said. “It’s really aspirational for everyone whether you’re a patient or faculty member or student. It’s something you want to be a part of.” roseman.edu/spectrum | 5
WINGS of transformation By Vanessa Maniago
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You’d never know talking to her that Prashanti Bollu, BDS, MS, MBA, DMD, was once a shy, withdrawn little girl. Ebullient, with kinetic energy levels and a warm, reassuring smile, Roseman University’s associate professor, chair of the institutional review board and interim program director for the Advanced Education in the Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics/MBA (AEODO/MBA) Residency Program, Dr. Bollu today is anything but shy. Often, the characteristics we hold as children stay with us as we age. We may learn to deal with our shortcomings, and learn better how to leverage our strengths, but life experience drives our personal evolution in an important way. How we deal with challenges as children and young adults shapes our ability to deal with challenges as adults. Did we have adequate time and opportunity to “practice” coping skills, resiliency, and flexibility? Today’s behavioral scientists believe that children allowed to practice these skills early on develop into competent, resourceful, flexible adults who see challenge as opportunity. Adults like Dr. Bollu.
“Do what you are meant to do, let no one, and no thing stop you.” Born in India to a traditional family, Dr. Bollu followed a rigorous academic path. While Dr. Bollu’s family was conventional, her mother defied many cultural and social norms at that time in the 1960’s, and in doing so, modeled to Dr. Bollu something foundational to her burgeoning personality—do what you are meant to do, let no one, and no thing stop you. Her mother completed her own education in English Literature from the Saint Joseph’s College in India, feeding a hunger and passion for literature, which equipped her with a fluency in the English language that formed the foundation of a gift in speaking, writing and communication. At the same time, her mother passed her athleticism and love of sports down to Dr. Bollu, who took part in many male dominated sports, often being one of only a few women. “My mother, I think, saw much of herself in me.” Always guiding her to be the best she could be, to reach for her goals and to be unafraid of challenging established norms, Dr. Bollu’s mother shaped her shy little girl with the unusual height and gift for math into who she is today-- a multifaceted woman, successful working mother of two, wife, doctor and administrator, researcher, and the person charged with inspiring countless students to work hard and give back. A woman whose spark, drive and ability to see through challenge, is quite different from that shy little girl.
an instant kinship with the quiet young man whom Dr. Bollu had met in dental school, who vocally and outwardly supported their union—despite the initial hesitation of her father. The young couple, full of zest and the desire to learn, set their sights on moving to the U.S., though at the time, during the post September 11th era, visas were few and far between, requiring Dr. Bollu to go ahead alone to the U.S., until her husband’s visa was granted. They lived apart for several months, waiting patiently for Dr. Bollu’s husband’s visa to be granted. Dr. Bollu's first 10 years in America were very much like many American stories of immigration — hardship, tireless work and dedication. Dr. Bollu first sought a Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia (though she had to stretch out her credits over more than two years to be able to pay for them), and then went on to complete her Doctor of Dental Medicine degree at Boston University (BU). While it was initially frustrating to have to “repeat” her dental school training in the U.S., Dr. Bollu believes that the differing approaches and settings, pace of technology and curricula gave her an unparalleled education and ability to practice in any setting under any circumstance. Her DMD did not come easily, though academically she was gifted. With her husband finally beside her, their dream faced yet another obstacle, and this one required more than patience. While both she and her husband were accepted into the DMD program, they could barely afford for one of them to attend. After arguing with her husband over her preference that he proceed, Dr. Bollu withdrew her candidacy just days before the first day of DMD class. Her story became one that many could identify with, a story of drive, ambition, and sacrifice. Though disappointed, she persevered, working and completing her Master’s thesis. Coincidentally, Dr. Bollu was offered a full-time administrative assistant position with the BU School of Dental Medicine, for the first time allowing her a full-time salary.
Her journey full of challenges, changing and unexpected circumstances, and at times, difficult sacrifice did nothing but drive her harder to reach her goals. Just getting to America was no easy feat. Upon finishing what is a five-year program for dental school in India, Dr. Bollu dreamt of coming to the U.S. with the hope of becoming an American dentist and orthodontist. It was at this time, in 2000, due to the tenacity of her then fiancé, that she married. Her father initially did not warm to the idea of allowing Dr. Bollu to marry outside of her social circle. But it was her mother, who felt roseman.edu/spectrum | 7
Dr. Bollu will tell you that things happen for a reason, and she loyally subscribes to the belief that first chances and random acts of kindness cannot be forgotten nor taken for granted. Throughout her journey, the friends and acquaintances she met further fueled her, as their kindness and generosity restored her belief in what she was doing, reminding her that she was on her path for a reason, and that adversity was simply something to move around, not something to feel obstructed by. Her dream however, of completing dental school, remained with her.
After years staying on friends’ couches and as paid guests, Dr. Bollu and her husband could finally afford their first apartment; the 300sq foot unit in the city outskirts seemed a luxury at the time. Two train rides and two bus rides to get to snowy central Boston, where both traveled daily, they were happy to at last have a place of their own. The pride and respect Dr. Bollu had for her parents and family prevented her from seeking their support or sharing her struggle with them. At the same time, she found enormous generosity and kindness from friends and strangers, people who had little themselves but believed in her and gave her the strength to continue to pursue her dreams. She worked multiple jobs that spanned from research assistant to legal assistant, Dunkin Donuts cashier, administrative assistant to cafeteria cashier, so that she could immerse herself in a new culture, learn, and support her endeavors. Each one of these positions allowed her to learn more, drawing from them important lessons on running a business, American law, customer service, norms and popular culture, and research design. Dental school being expensive for a young couple in a new country, the financial struggles to make ends meet did not stop them from pursuing school. At one time when they were losing hope, Dr. Bollu was hired as a dog sitter for another hardworking immigrant family. They could only compensate her in sandwiches, but taking care of the frail dog and being paid in food, she states was humbling and reminded her how basic human needs are, and how you can live happily with little when you have the right perspective in life. The couple learned to live frugally, and Dr. Bollu smiled as her husband proudly carried her simple stretched homemade meals every day to school with him, when others around them clearly had more. Every penny they got in multiple small loans was used for dental school tuition--buying a sandwich was an unimaginable indulgence for them at that time. 8 |
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It was 2006 when her dream became a reality, and Dr. Bollu, with their infant daughter at home, and school 80 miles away, found a way to make it work. Travelling up to 200 miles a day, again through snowy and dangerous roads to be sure she got home to her daughter, Dr. Bollu was met yet again with the kindness of a stranger. When no one else was on the highway due to blizzard conditions, a highway State Trooper offered to escort Dr. Bollu home, clearing the path ahead of her, risking his own safety, to insure she arrived home safely to her daughter. “How he could risk his own safety with so much selflessness, I will never forget that,” says Dr. Bollu. The next morning as she drove back to school, she was in tears seeing over fifteen vehicles in accidents and in the gorge. Many did not make it home that fateful evening. She often wondered “Then why and how was I given another chance?!” Transformative life experiences in life like this shaped Dr. Bollu, not only because they happened, but because she was alert and reflective about them, learning from each one. Dr. Bollu had yet the final piece of her dream to reach, becoming an Orthodontist. Accepted into the first class of Roseman’s College of Dental Medicine’s orthodontic residency, Dr. Bollu felt strangely out of sorts in Nevada during her interview, yet she also felt that her destiny was about to be fulfilled. Again separated from her husband initially, his guiding hand, and belief that she fulfill her dream made that separation palatable. He eventually joined, and on her graduation day, pregnant and expected to deliver at any moment, she danced with unadulterated joy. As her journey came full circle, and with her encouragement and support, Dr. Bollu’s husband completed his orthodontic residency, graduating in 2014, nearly 15 years after their initial journey to the U.S. Now charged with reinvigorating Roseman’s orthodontic residency program and clinic and improving the patient and student experience, Dr. Bollu undoubtedly is improving the lives of countless women, men and children. Transforming goodwill, belief and generosity bestowed on her into her own belief in others is simple for Dr. Bollu. It is simply a matter of returning to the universe what has been granted to her. To her students, she is a pillar of strength, and she is tough. She has been in their shoes, sacrificed much. She has high expectations from her children and students believing that “strength and power are mainly a trainable and achievable state of mind. To not give up is a choice that we all have and so is the alternative. Our choices and experiences largely define our lives”. Dr. Bollu has stood tall against expectations and odds, finding alternative paths to success when life has delivered obstacles and lessons that seem incongruent with her life’s plans. And so the valuable lesson to those around her is carried on, “do what you are meant to do, let no one, and no thing stop you.”
Discovery Drive News from the Roseman University College of Medicine
Welcome to the Spring edition of Discovery Drive for Roseman University’s College of Medicine. This past year, two major breakthroughs have helped us to continue moving forward in the development of the College of Medicine. The first, one of our partners – the Engelstad Family Foundation – graciously granted us a $10 million gift to support us as we further develop our educational, research, and clinical missions of the College. The second, is an anonymous gift to support the opening of Roseman Medical Group (RMG), Roseman University’s first medical clinic, next to Spring Valley Hospital. Both of these events are significant in that they demonstrate trust and support from like-minded community members who partner with us. They have joined with us in our commitment to bring a medical college to our community, and to become a part of the healthcare solutions it needs. These gifts support the tremendous effort it takes in laying the foundation of a medical college, bringing much-needed healthcare services to our community. In this edition of Discovery Drive you will read about our first medical clinic, be introduced to Dr. David Ginsburg, and enjoy a testimonial from one of his patients. We are excited as we continue to have members of our community join us in our philanthropic efforts. We are also grateful to those in our medical community who are joining us to create and expand our medical practice, focusing on the needs of our community. Thank you,
Mark A. Penn, MD, MBA Founding Dean College of Medicine
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Values: COMMUNITY PATIENTS are at the center of our College of Medicine’s VALUES, and are the reason we strive for excellence in medical education, research, and patient care services. This month the focus is on COMMUNITY. When we refer to “community” we all may have a different understanding or meaning of the word, some examples might be our neighborhood, social or economic group, where we are from, or the people with whom we associate. Community is often defined as people living in a common area with the area itself being referred to as community. Community could also be defined as a group of people with a common interest scattered throughout a larger society… a sort of joint ownership or participation in a location that somehow should bond us. What if there is no common goal or interest that binds us? Or perhaps there is some commonality but we are insensitive to it. At Roseman College of Medicine, we are designing a curriculum that may be a bit surprising to our medical students when they first learn of it. Each student will develop a relationship with a local healthcare practice, physician, and geographic community over a three-year span. Each student will explore and learn about the neighborhood setting of the practice, through the lens of what has come to be called the social determinants of health: things such as access to basic needs and other daily activities that impact the quality of life in that community. Utilizing their own research skills, students will identify health-related issues and develop potentially implementable solutions to at least one of them. They will apply lessons of public health by learning about the community that each practice serves. Are there enough grocery stores, schools, churches or parks nearby? What about the transportation needs, maybe a bus stop or bike lanes. 10 |
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Those solutions will need to be articulated to the local city councils and other governing bodies, and students will be given the opportunity to do so. The path to advocacy will be an essential tool for character development and teach our students that their voices matter. It matters to their patients, their patient’s families, and their surrounding community. We will give them the opportunity to be the change that can matter in our communities. We have all heard the African proverb’s words…“It takes a village to raise a child.” Perhaps it means that it takes us all to care enough to change our community. It starts with me, and then you and then others. Physicians begin by being advocates for their patients, their patient’s health and the environment they live in. We can all make a difference if we care enough to do something. Roseman’s College of Medicine has started this journey prior to our students arriving. Many of our faculty and staff are not from this state so we have developed a program that takes us out every month to serve in our community. Our service has fed homeless (Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth), given physical exams to youth (CCSD sports physicals in rural communities), cared for families of the sick (Ronald McDonald House), provided toys for the financially fragile (HELP of Southern Nevada), served people in shelters (Catholic Charities) and packed lunches for Title 1 schools (Three Square). All of these, and more, are ways of giving our time and talents but perhaps the real benefit is what it gives back to us as we strive to make a difference in our community.
SPOTLIGHT Matthew Frank
In March, Roseman University’s College of Medicine welcomed a new member to its Community Advisory Board. Matthew Frank, senior vice president and global chief compliance officer for Las Vegas Sands Corp., adds enthusiasm and drive to an already remarkable cohort of individuals dedicated to advancing the College of Medicine’s mission, vision and patient-centered values. As a son of a nurse, brother to both a pediatrician/medical educator and a healthcare lawyer, and as a devoted husband and father, Frank has deep-rooted appreciation for and a desire to advocate for increased healthcare access and enhanced quality in the delivery of patient care. “New to Las Vegas, my family quickly discovered that it’s much harder here to access physicians, especially specialists,” said Frank. “We need more physicians to meet the region’s needs.” A recent transplant from the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area, Frank was introduced to the College of Medicine through his sister, Dr. Kristine Gibson, assistant dean of clinical applications at Western Michigan University School of Medicine, a new medical school. Dr. Gibson is an acquaintance of the College of Medicine’s Vice Dean for Academic and Clinical Affairs Dr. Bruce Morgenstern. Through this connection, at the November meeting of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) last year, Dr. Gibson had the opportunity to meet Founding Dean Dr. Mark Penn. Dr. Penn shared the latest developments of the College of Medicine and its ongoing community engagement efforts. Intrigued by what she learned, Dr. Gibson connected the College of Medicine and Frank. “My sister and Dr. Penn connected on the shared experience of working to build young institutions. Western Michigan University School of Medicine recently opened and is looking to graduate its first class of medical students,” said Frank. “She understands the needs of a new medical school and encouraged me to learn about Roseman University’s College of Medicine.” Having just moved to Las Vegas in November 2016 and encouraged by Las Vegas Sands to get involved in the community, Frank was looking for an organization to support with his expertise and connections as well as financially through personal philanthropy. It turned out that the Roseman University College of Medicine was a good fit. “After meeting with Dr. Penn and his team, I quickly learned that helping the College of Medicine was a great opportunity to help shape and build something new from the ground up that will have a positive impact on the community my family now calls home,” said Frank. Dr. Penn is grateful to have Frank on the Community Advisory Board. “We appreciate Matt’s dedication to helping the College of Medicine develop and look forward to his contributions as we progress in the coming months,” said Penn.
COLLEGE OF MEDICINE Community Advisory Board Danielle Bisterfeldt Director of Marketing Howard Hughes Corporation Susan Brager Clark County Commissioner for Summerlin Suzanne Cram Cram Consulting Roseman University Board Member Walter Davis CEO Nevada Health Centers Joe Ferreira President and CEO Nevada Donor Network Matthew Frank Senior-Vice President & Global Chief Compliance Officer Las Vegas Sands Corporation Tony Greenway Emergency Operations Valley Health System Cary Huddleston Workforce Training/Sales Vegas PBS Dr. Rex Liu Dentist Family Cosmetic Dentistry Eric Lloyd CEO Amerigroup (Medicaid provider) Maria Marinch Executive Director, Office of Community Relations Diversity and Multicultural Affairs College of Southern Nevada Dr. Jeff McMillan Orthodontist Jeff McMillan, DDS Gia Moore Director of Magnet Schools & Career and Technical Academies Clark County School District Felicia Ortiz President/CEO PM Solutions Consulting Member of the CCSD Board Rick Smith President RDS Properties Pat Spearman Senator State of Nevada Dr. Nadeem Tariq Internal Medicine Pioneer Healthcare, Inc. Dr. Dylan Wint Neurologist Lou Ruvo Cleveland Clinic Aurora Wong Coordinator/Owner Hep B Free Las Vegas Dr. Mark Penn Chancellor Summerlin Campus and Dean Roseman College of Medicine
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PATIENT WITH RARE NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER Benefits From Roseman Physician’s Care Lily Hart never saw this coming. In October 2001, while in her 20s and teaching second-grade, she was on the playground monitoring her students. When a child ran by her she turned to walk towards him to tell him to slow down. Unfortunately, she never delivered the message. Instead, Hart made an instinctive twisting motion, then collapsed. “I took one step and fell down. … Everything just shut down. It felt like a giant was squeezing me,” she recalled. “I thought: ‘Is this a heart attack?’” It wasn’t a heart attack. However, it was a life transforming moment, and not for the better. For the next year and more, she would often need help with the most basic daily tasks like eating, walking and talking. After numerous tests, in February 2002, doctors finally diagnosed her with Myasthenia gravis (also called MG). MG is an autoimmune disease where a person’s antibodies destroy critical receptors in the spaces where nerves and muscles join. This neurological impairment prevents nerves from effectively triggering muscles to function. Not just one or two muscles, all of them, and there can be particular problems with the many tiny muscles in the facial region that are activated daily to do things like swallow food, talk and even smile. “The first couple years were the worst, but with proper treatment, I got better,” she said. 12 |
Spring 2018
By Brian Sodoma
There is no cure for MG, but treatment can help. Hart had to retire from teaching and today is still trying to create a semblance of a normal life. She’s making progress with the help of a local Roseman neurologist, Dr. David Ginsburg, MD, who helped her make big treatment strides. FINDING ANSWERS In her first year after diagnosis, Hart visited numerous specialists, none of whom had a thorough understanding of the rare condition. She tried to keep teaching. Her mother would visit her classroom to communicate with students on her behalf when speaking was nearly impossible. Eventually, Hart met Ginsburg, who now practices at Roseman Medical Group’s clinic located at 5380 S. Rainbow Blvd., Ste. 120, in Las Vegas. Ginsburg began trying different approaches. Prior to seeing him, her medications brought on significant weight gain, about 80 pounds, most of which she was able to lose once Ginsburg was able to better understand which treatments worked best for Hart. The primary medications for MG are steroids like Prednisone, which suppress the immune system to hopefully minimize symptoms. “There isn’t one single treatment for everybody because all symptoms are different,” Ginsburg said. “You have to tailor their treatment for what they’re going through. … Back then (early 2000’s), she had walking problems, weakness, swallowing problems.
… We gradually modified her treatment.” In addition to working with different steroid medication combinations, Ginsburg also introduced IVIg, or intravenous immunoglobulin infusions, which helped greatly. “It’s an art and a science. You want to basically gradually reduce the steroid dosage … but gradually enough so that you have fairly good control of the Myasthenia,” Ginsburg added. “She was in pretty rough shape. … I was able to help, fortunately, get her back on the right track.” REMEMBERING THE DETAILS Ginsburg also helped Hart to make sense of symptoms nagging her since childhood. She had always battled clumsiness, weakness and fatigue, signs that something wasn’t right, but not pronounced enough signs to lead her or her parents to believe there was a major problem.
Under Ginsburg’s guidance, the Roseman clinic will now run monthly ALS clinics, which are a one-stop shop for ALS patients, giving them access to specialists like occupational therapists, dietitians, speech therapists and others to assist them in living with the disease. Roseman’s new clinic also helps to establish the medical school’s clinical practice plan, which is essential to achieving medical school accreditation from the LCME. In the near future, the clinic will expand into primary care and other medical specialties, which will be overseen by College of Medicine faculty physicians and nurse practitioners. Bringing in primary care is important for helping the public, as well as medical professionals, understand the prevalence of neurological disorders.
“With these conditions, these are symptoms that are sometimes rather vague,” Ginsburg said. The physician also discussed lifestyle impacts. He talked about watching sodium intake. He suggested aqua therapy, yoga and other ways to keep her moving. Hart learned about the negative effects of heat and stress, too. She stays out of the mid-day heat and keeps ice packs around her at all times. “Sometimes a cold drink can help so much,” she added. “I’m that person that shops at Walmart at three in the morning.” Hart also appreciated Dr. Ginsburg’s ability to always pick up where their conversation left off at a previous visit. In the past, seeing different doctors, she would need to constantly re-tell her story. On days when speaking was difficult, she became frustrated and irritable and at times physicians would become distracted and confused by the communication barrier.
“The first couple years were the worst, but with proper treatment, I got better." “You feel that he cares and that he’s paying attention. … I don’t know if he has a great memory or reads notes beforehand. He would ask about my mom. He remembered everything,” she said. A NEW CLINIC, A PROMISING FUTURE A practicing physician in the Valley since 1994, Ginsburg has been operating out of the new Roseman clinic since January when it opened to serve the community. He sees a wide variety of patients with nervous system and neurological disorders, which can include carpal tunnel, sciatica, migraine headaches, dystonia, spasticity, muscular dystrophy, ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also called Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and others. “Las Vegas is very underserved for neurology and I’m really kind of a sub-specialty within neurology,” he said.
“A lot of patients have neurological problems but a lot of primary care physicians are not comfortable with it. … This close collaboration will be good,” he said. Ginsburg received his Doctor of Medicine degree from University of Pittsburgh, then completed his residency in Neurology at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. In addition, he performed a fellowship in clinical neurophysiology, which gave him a tremendous background in extensive neuro-diagnostic testing using EEG and EMG technology. He is also an early adopter of Botox use for conditions like dystonia, spasticity, migraines and other neuromuscular problems. In the past, the physician has been involved with pharmaceutical industry-sponsored trials for new medications. Having a clinic location will only help him to continue that work, hopefully as early as late 2018, he said. Above all, Ginsburg is driven by a positive patient experience, and that’s a great fit with Roseman. “One of the things I appreciate is how they don’t cut corners around here,” he added. “They want to do things the right way. … Everything from scheduling to the first contact, insurance, records, even in the clinic, people are treated in a respectful manner. We’re not trying to rush you through the office visit.” roseman.edu/spectrum | 13
SCHOLARSHIP IMPACT Scholarship donors change lives. Last year, 104 Roseman students benefited from scholarships donated by friends, businesses, alumni, and University faculty and staff. Roseman is so grateful for the generosity of those who support hard-working, talented students and help make their futures brighter. You can help more Roseman students fulfill their dreams of serving their communities as nurses, pharmacists, dentists, orthodontists, and healthcare leaders. Make a gift today at giving.roseman.edu or sign up for our Scholarship Golf Tournament at roseman.edu/golf! Your gift will let them know there are people who truly care about their success. You can see by the stories below, how much Roseman students appreciate those who invest in their education. DIANE FERREIRA Henderson Campus Pharmacy Class of 2020 I was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV. I am happily married with two kids. I have been wanting to become a pharmacist for so long. Every morning, I look at the university in awe that I’m here. I still can’t believe it. My journey seems to have taken forever and I’m still not done. My family and I have struggled in all ways in hopes to get this far. I am so blessed to have my family and blessed to have your support as well. I really appreciate your faith in me. I will not let you down. MALARIE MARTIN Henderson Campus Nursing Class of 2018 I have recently been contacted by my school notifying me of my Scholarship award for my nursing program with Roseman University. I just wanted to reach out to thank you! This has come at an amazing time for myself and my family. As I proceed through this program toward my goal of becoming a nurse, money has become a constant stressor. We have reached out to family for help and that has further increased our stress. Your kindness toward our school, future nurses, and trust in the success of the students will make a forever impression on me. Due to Roseman University’s veteran program I am able to go to school as a veteran and pursue my post military career. Again thank you so much for the Scholarship and for your confidence in me as one of the students that were chosen. Thank you for helping me continue my dream of becoming a nurse. 14 |
Spring 2018
DAVID BELNAP South Jordan Campus Dental Medicine Class of 2017 Between flying to residency interviews, caring for patients in the clinic, licensing exams, and my wife having twins (in addition to our other two kids!), my last year of dental school was a very stressful year. Lots of opportunities and almost even more expenses! Receiving a scholarship was a huge blessing to us. It not only helped my growing family financially but it helped us see that others care about us succeeding as well. Roseman has always been a team effort – thank you for helping us in our journey! AMY LE South Jordan Campus MBA / Pharmacy Class of 2019 It has been my goal since high school to become a pharmacist, and I am now a P2 student at the College of Pharmacy at the South Jordan Campus. I’ve had great opportunities to get involved in the community and get to know the amazing faculty here at Roseman University. When I found out that I would be attending Roseman University, I was ecstatic; but also very worried about the financial strains that followed attending a graduate degree program. With this scholarship, the strain will be lessened and I can spend more time with my school work and extracurriculars involved in helping the community. Thank you again for your generosity and your commitment to the students at Roseman University.
If you would like more information about how to make a scholarship donation or would like to support Roseman in another way, please email or call Brenda Griego at bgriego@roseman.edu or (702) 802-2830.
In 2019, Roseman University will be marking the 20th anniversary of its founding as a vibrant and innovative nonprofit university. You’re invited to get involved as we plan for a year-long celebration of Roseman and its community and clinical partners! Established in 1999 as the Nevada College of Pharmacy with an inaugural class of 36 students, Roseman today offers five health sciences degree programs to more than 1,500 students in Nevada and Utah. Roseman alumni number more than 5,000 strong and are serving their communities and setting new standards in their professions.
As we look ahead to a milestone anniversary year, your ideas for how Roseman should celebrate are welcomed. Please visit 20.roseman.edu to get the latest news, share your Roseman stories, and submit photos and memories. Thank you for joining the celebration! HAVE QUESTIONS OR WANT TO SHARE SOME INSPIRED IDEAS?
Reach out to Brenda Griego at (702) 802-2830 or email 20@roseman.edu.
roseman.edu/spectrum | 15
MONDAY, OCT. 29TH BEAR’S BEST LAS VEGAS 11111 W. Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89135
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DAY OF EVENT 11:00 am Check-in | BBQ Lunch | 12:30 pm Shotgun Start Awards dinner with silent auction and raffle following play
PRICING
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