Monthly Archives: February 2021

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

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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)

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Whitney Joy head shotSchool 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

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Dr. Anthony Blash Head ShotGiven 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

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Dr. Natalie MichaelsOccupational 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

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Students at clinic

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

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Joyce SearcyBelmont 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

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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

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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

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Wren Sherrill, photo by Eric England

Photo: 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

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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

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Jessica Friley Ensley head shot

Photo from Tennessee Tribune

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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