Health Science Faculty Members Selected for Lilly Faculty Fellows Program

Posted on March 22, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

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Associate Professors Dr. Elisa Greene, from Belmont’s College of Pharmacy, and Dr. Jamie Adam, from Belmont’s School of Nursing, were recently selected for the 2021-23 cohort of The Lilly Faculty Fellows Program through the Lilly Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities. The program is designed for mid-career faculty leaders across the disciplines to creatively engage the intersections of Christian thought and practice with the academic vocation.

The initiative’s goals are to refresh and enliven a sense of calling for participants as people of faith, as teachers and as scholars and to provide funds for Fellows to develop and pilot Faculty Fellow programs on their own campuses.

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Pharmacy Students Become Amazon Alexa Certified Skill Developers

Posted on March 22, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

Amazon Alexa is a voice controlled artificial intelligence (A.I.) platform that has the ability to provide information upon request. As part of the Introduction to Healthcare Informatics concentration in the Doctor of Pharmacy program at Belmont, April Pepper, Phuong Truong and Karen Le worked as a team to develop different applications, or “skills,” that are now available in the Alexa store.

The skill, “Drug Wizard,” was created to help pharmacy students study the brand and generic names of the top 300 medications currently prescribed in the United States. “Diabetes Goals Quiz” is another skill that was created. Its purpose is to help students study the American Diabetes Association diabetic goals. The “Thyroid information” skill was created to help students grasp introductory lecture material for this topic. This material was based on clinical practice guidelines from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the American Thyroid Association. The information in these skills are provided for informational and educational purposes only. They are not a substitute for professional medical advice, treatment or diagnosis.

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School of Nursing Introduces Early Entry Program for Graduate Nursing Degree

Posted on March 18, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

Belmont University School of Nursing is pleased to provide an exciting new opportunity for students. High achieving BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) students are now eligible to get a head start on an advanced nursing degree from Belmont by completing approved graduate level courses within their undergraduate program of study. The Early Entry Program provides opportunity to earn up to 14 credits toward either a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) or Master of Science in Nursing, saving students time and money in a graduate degree designed to prepare them to be Family Nurse Practitioners (FNP).

Eligible students must meet qualification requirements by the midpoint of their sophomore year to participate in the program during their junior and senior years. Students have the potential to complete a full semester of graduate coursework while at the same time earning undergraduate credit toward their BSN degree.

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PT Alumna Dr. Grace Cronin Honored by Vanderbilt Medical Center

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

Photo from VUMC Voice by Donn Jones

Vanderbilt University Medical Center recently honored Belmont DPT alumna Grace Cronin with their Credo Award which recognizes an employee who provides excellence in healthcare, research and education; who treats others as we wish to be treated; and who continuously evaluates and improves their performance.

Dr. Cronin graduated from Belmont’s DPT program in 2016 and then completed the Pediatrics Residency offered jointly by Vanderbilt and Belmont in 2017. Her residency led to a position in Pediatric Rehabilitation Services for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt as a physical therapist with a specialty in pediatric oncology, where she now serves with distinction.

Dr. Gary Austin, Chair of Belmont University School of Physical Therapy, acknowledged, “For years, we have touted ‘our students and our graduates are our credentials’ and Dr. Cronin is a true representative of that ideal.”

You won’t want to miss the story and video linked here by the VUMC Voice which highlights Dr. Cronin’s exemplary service.

Arthritis Foundation Honors Nursing Professor Dr. Angela Lane

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

Dr. Angela Lane, Associate Professor of Nursing at Belmont, was recently recognized as the 2021 Walk to Cure Arthritis Adult Honoree with the Arthritis Foundation. As a current associate professor of Nursing, Lane has worked for the past 30 years as a nurse tech, registered nurse and advanced practice nurse.

When Lane was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at age eight and then again at age 20, she recognized a passion for giving back to this community. Through her experience with arthritis, she has demonstrated selflessness as she continues to serve others in the Arthritis Foundation community.

Lane is currently on the board with the Nashville Arthritis Local Leadership Board and has just commenced her work as chair. In addition to her work with this community, she serves as the Pediatric Clinical Course Coordinator at Belmont and continues to educate nursing students.

Tennessee Nursing Scholarship Honors Belmont Alumna Patty Cornwell

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

Many dedicated, hard-working individuals leave their imprint on a profession, but few are deserving enough to have both a scholarship and an award established in their honor. Belmont University School of Nursing alumna Patty Cornwell is one of the deserving ones.

Cornwell, a retired certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), devoted her professional career to providing exceptional anesthesia care to patients for surgery, labor and delivery, and other healthcare needs, and she devoted her spare time to serving the nurse anesthesia profession she loved. After graduating from Belmont, she worked for several years as an intensive care nurse before entering the Middle Tennessee School of Nurse Anesthesia to become a nurse anesthetist. She joined the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) in 1972 and the Tennessee Association of Nurse Anesthetists (TANA) in 1976.

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Pharmacy Students Featured in Nashville TV’s News4 Story

Posted on March 11, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

Courtesy of WSMV

Fourth year pharmacy students Bassel Alhashemi and Patty Hernandez were recently featured in a news report on WSMV News4 Nashville, an NBC affiliate, about their work in administering COVID vaccines at Siloam Health in Nashville. Siloam Health serves uninsured and underserved individuals in the Nashville community.

Siloam Health is one of over a dozen practice sites where Belmont Pharmacy students apprentice with a full-time Belmont faculty member. Dr. Elisa Greene, Associate Professor, is part of the health team at Siloam and teaches students there in one-month clinical rotations throughout the year.

Click here to view the News4 report and story.

OT Alumna Opens Occupational, Speech Therapy Practice

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

After years of hard work and determination to making her dreams a reality, Belmont alumna Jennifer Pacileo has succeeded in opening her own clinic – Southern Pediatric Therapy.

As freshman at Arkansas State University, Pacileo accepted a position at an outpatient pediatric clinic, owned by another Belmont alumna, to clean bathrooms, file papers, schedule patient appointments and answer the phones. The moment she started the position and saw the impact of occupational therapy on a child’s life, she knew she not only wanted to be an occupational therapist, but she also wanted to own her own clinic. Two years later, as a junior in college, she wrote her business plan for Southern Pediatric Therapy.

Due to financial hardships, Jennifer was unable to finish her degree at Arkansas State and had to return home. She applied to and graduated from the Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) program at Concorde Career College and set her next goals of finding employment and working to apply to the Bridge Program at Belmont University.

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Belmont Pharmacy Fellow Accepts Position with IBM

Posted on March 3, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

Dr. John Maneno, second year Drug Information Fellow in Belmont’s College of Pharmacy, has accepted an offer to work for IBM. His new role will be part of IBM Watson Health but more specifically within the Micromedex Suite as a clinical content specialist.

Maneno began his fellowship program with Belmont University College of Pharmacy in conjunction with Aegis Sciences Corporation in the summer of 2019 after his graduation from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine’s College of Pharmacy. He has spent time as part of Belmont’s faculty within the College of Pharmacy and also as a drug information pharmacist at the Christy Houston Drug Information Center and Aegis.

During his time at Belmont, Maneno published an article on Annals of Pharmacotherapy, had multiple podium presentations at national conferences, and a poster presentation. Genevieve Engle, PharmD and Andrew Holt, PharmD, directors of the fellowship program, continue to set up the fellows for success by ensuring 100 percent post-fellowship job placements.

Nursing Alumna Savannah Ramsey instigates changes at Monroe Carell Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

Savannah Ramsey, RN, and colleagues designed a series of interventions to reduce noise levels in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. One of those interventions is sound-dampening curtains around certain patient bays. (photo by Susan Urmy)

Belmont alumna, Savannah Ramsey, was recently featured in a Vanderbilt Medical Center story about changes she instigated in the post-anesthesia care unit at Monroe Carell Children’s Hospital. Click here to read the entire story.

MSOT Alumna Elected Vice President of Tennessee Occupational Therapy Association (TNOTA)

Posted on February 19, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

School of Occupational Therapy 2018 alumna Whitney Joy was recently elected as Vice-President of the Tennessee Occupational Therapy Association (TNOTA). With a B.A. in Communications from Austin Peay State University and an A.A.S. in the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program at Lewis and Clark Community College, she moved on to obtain an M.S. in Occupational Therapy from Belmont University. Joy is currently the owner of Aspire Therapies, a home-based pediatric occupational therapy practice. She previously worked as a production assistant at the CBS affiliate but with no findings of a full-time position, she went back to waitressing and bartending.

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Dr. Blash Selected As 2021 National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity Scholar

Posted on February 19, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

Given challenges faced by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) faculty members, and Belmont University’s efforts to support faculty, the Welcome Home Diversity Council (WHDC) announced that they will award one BIPOC tenured or tenure-track Belmont faculty member a one-year membership of the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD). Dr. Anthony Blash, associate professor in the Belmont University College of Pharmacy, was selected as the inaugural WHDC faculty membership grant recipient.NCFDD is an independent professional development, training and mentoring community for faculty members, postdocs and graduate students. Their stated mission is to support academics in making successful transitions throughout their careers. The purpose of the NCFDD membership is to provide a professional development opportunity that assists Belmont BIPOC faculty members in working toward tenure and promotion, and in furthering their professional development goals

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OT Professor Dr. Natalie Michaels Receives National Award for Aquatics Research

Posted on February 15, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

Occupational Therapy Department professor Dr. Natalie Michaels was awarded the 2021 Richard Ruoti Research Award for Excellence last week by the Academy of Aquatic Physical Therapy, a section of the American Physical Therapy Association.

One of the association’s most prestigious awards, the Richard Ruoti Research Award for Excellence was established in 2002 and is named after Dr. Ruoti, whose achievements have helped to set the standards of volunteer leadership for the academy. He spent years combining bench research with the application with a focus on aquatic physiology and rehabilitation.

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Pharmacy Students Aid in Vaccination Efforts at Siloam Health

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

Fourth year pharmacy students, Bassel Alhashemi and Patty Hernandez assist with the COVID-19 vaccination efforts for patients over the age of 75 as part of their learning experience at Siloam Health this month.

Siloam Health is a faith-based nonprofit that provides medical care for the underserved, community health for marginalized immigrant populations and student education for the next generation of health care providers. Siloam Health serves as a training site for pharmacy students under Dr. Elisa Greene, associate professor in the College of Pharmacy.

Searcy Serves on COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Taskforce

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

Belmont Director of Community Relations Joyce Searcy participated on a COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Taskforce to make recommendations to the Metro Nashville Department of Health on how the city can improve administering the COVID-19 vaccine to communities of color and vulnerable populations.

As vaccine doses continue to reach states for distribution, the Tennessee Department of Health has released early data suggesting minorities are not receiving the vaccine in percentages that mirror their share of the population or even their share of COVID patients. As of January 13, 2021, less than 4 percent of Tennesseans who identify as African American and less than 2 percent of Hispanics have received the vaccine. By contrast, African Americans account for 13 percent of the state’s COVID-19 cases and more than 25 percent of hospitalizations.

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OTD Alum Celebrates First Publication with Mobility & Telehealth Study

Posted on February 3, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

Belmont Doctorate of Occupational Therapy (OT) Alumnus Joe Straatmann (2017) is published in the fall 2020 edition of the International Journal of Telerehabilitation. The study, “Functional Mobility Outcomes in Telehealth and In-Person Assessments for Wheeled Mobility Devices,” found telehealth to be an appropriate care and delivery source for patients with mobility needs, traveling from rural communities to city clinics. The research was conducted in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.

“As occupational therapists, we look for ways we can best serve the people and communities we live and work in, better addressing healthcare disparities,” said Dr. Straatmann. “This study was promising because it provided us with a safe way to see patients from afar while also meeting their needs and expectations.”

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Nursing Alum Honored as 2020 Memphis Communicator of the Year

Posted on February 3, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

Credit: Shelby County Health Department

Author: Memphis Tourism News Release

MEMPHIS, Tenn — The Memphis Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has selected Alisa Haushalter, DNP, RN., Director of the Shelby County Health Department, as its Communicator of the Year for 2020.

The 2020 Communicator of the Year Award reflects Dr. Haushalter’s unflappable courage in leading the community throughout the pandemic, always with eye toward what is best for the residents of Shelby County, even when her message has met criticism at times. She has led regular media briefings exhibiting communications skills that are honest, direct, understandable, and always focused on protecting the community and moving it safely through the pandemic.

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Nursing Alumna Sherrill Featured on Cover of Nashville Scene

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

Wren Sherrill, photo by Eric England

Belmont Alumna Wren Sherrill was recently featured on the cover of the Nashville Scene in a tribute to the Nashvillians of the Year: Health Care Workers. The article shares Vanderbilt’s healthcare workers and their fight to save lives in the midst of a global pandemic.

Sherrill graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and has continued on to work as a part of Vanderbilt’s COVID-19 ICU staff. With challenging work and eye-opening experiences every day, Sherrill considers the ICU staff “the final fighters in this war.”

The article shares the words of another ICU worker Olivia Kirkpatrick who says to “give some grace to our leaders, and the scientists that are making recommendations.” Healthcare workers in Nashville and across the country are working diligently to protect their city and its residents.

The Nashville Scene covers more of Vanderbilt’s ICU staff and daily experiences in their 2020 Nashvillians of the Year: Health Care Workers.

Video Recalls College of Pharmacy’s Mission Trip to Honduras

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

In December 2019, when we could travel before the pandemic, we had a group of students along with Dr. Elisa Greene and Larkin Briley travel to El Zamorano, Honduras, to work with Jovenes En Camino. This is the organization which we partnered with Lipscomb College of Pharmacy to build a pharmacy on the campus. This video captures some of the week.

Nursing Alumna Ensley Talks COVID-19 Vaccine with Tennessee Tribune

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

Jessica Friley Ensley head shot

Alumna and nurse practitioner Jessica Friley Ensley is currently featured in the Tennessee Tribune sharing her experience after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer vaccination against COVID-19 in the recent article entitled “Saluting One of Tennessee’s Essential Workers: Nurse Practitioner Shares Importance of Getting Vaccinated.”

In her feature article, Ensley shares the challenges and circumstances that come with being a healthcare worker. She currently works at the Nashville Centennial Hospital where she courageously sees and assists patients of all ethnicities and ages fighting the virus. She explained, “Black people are more likely to die from COVID, and it’s my hope that seeing a Black person getting vaccinated will encourage some trust in science and the medical community.”

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Pharmacy Student Soriano’s National Guard Team Featured on NBC for Helping Hospital Overrun with COVID Patients

Posted on January 25, 2021 by Graduate Health Sciences

Soriano with team

Trish Soriano, a current Belmont student in the College of Pharmacy and active member of the United States National Guard, was recently recognized by NBC of Palm Spring under the headline “National Guard Helps Riverside Hospital Overrun with Covid Patients.” The California hospital became overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients, calling in help from the National Guard.

The strike team that was called into the hospital consists of six team members, one of them being Soriano. The chief nursing officer of Riverside hospital shared that the strike team has helped alleviate the surge of COVID-19 patients and the hospital is more than grateful.

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Drug Information Center Faculty, Fellows and Students Present at Clinical Meeting

Posted on December 21, 2020 by Graduate Health Sciences

Deanes and Reed Headshots

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacist (ASHP) Midyear clinical meeting for 2020 concluded on December 10 after completing its first ever virtual meeting due to the current coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic did not stop numerous presenters and participants from all over the country. This conference attracts pharmacy students, pharmacists, hospital systems, pharmaceutical companies and clinical researchers. The Belmont University College of Pharmacy (BUCOP) has a track record of sending students and faculty members each year to this annual conference. Highlights of the conference include presentations, interviews and recruitment, exhibits, and opportunities for continued pharmacist education (CPE) sessions.

Dr. Kate Claussen, Dr. Emily Singleton and Dr. John Maneno recently presented in the Innovations in Drug Information session at the 2020 ASHP Clinical Midyear Meeting. Dr. Maneno, a faculty fellow and clinical pharmacist fellow with BUCOP and Aegis Sciences Corporation, presented on his original research at BUCOP to understand utilization of social media platforms in the academia setting. His presentation focused on the opportunities available for utilizing social media platforms in the academia setting, associated risks and mitigation techniques, and effective audience engagement.

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Belmont Graduate Nursing Student Named Ascension 2020 Community Commitments Advanced Practice Provider

Posted on December 14, 2020 by Graduate Health Sciences

Ascension Medical Group named Erick Hernandez-Campos, MSN, FNP-BC, the winner of their national 2020 Community Commitments Advanced Practice Provider Award. Hernandez-Campos earned his Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) from Belmont and is currently working on his Doctorate of Nursing at Belmont.

Nursing Professor and Director of Graduate Nursing Linda G. Wofford, DNP, RN, CPNP, said, “Erick exemplifies the Core Values of Belmont Graduate Nursing – communication and collaboration; critical thinking and problem solving; commitment to learning; compassion and caring. Of course, while Erick is an accomplished clinician, we are pleased to be working together to provide Erick with a transformative and positive doctoral experience.”

Hernandez-Campos practices at the Family Medicine Respiratory Clinic in Antioch, Tennessee, and provided primary care prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. Hernandez-Campos has been seeing respiratory clinic patients and also making sure they receive appropriate follow-up. He has spent countless hours before his workday and after his workday calling patients to make sure they are doing well and coordinating care with primary care physicians.

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