Project marks 19th consecutive year of students constructing wheelchair ramps
Belmont University Physical Therapy Class of 2019 recently built a wheelchair ramp for a Nashville woman who was previously unable to safely leave her home to go out into the community. This makes the 19th consecutive year that physical therapy students have built wheelchair ramps in coordination with United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee to enable community access for Nashville residents.
Since 2000, more than 600 physical therapy students have participated in ramp builds while learning about federal and local disability access regulations and the construction skills required for ramp building.
Assistant Professor of Nursing & Interim FNP Coordinator Dr. Erin Shankel was recently interviewed for a story that was published on nursepractitionerschools.com. The article, 
Dean of the College of Health Sciences and Nursing Dr. Cathy Taylor was recently honored with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s Dr. John W. Runyan, Jr. Community Nursing Award. Named for a Memphian and internationally recognized advocate for the role of nurses in community health care, the award celebrates a champion of the efforts of nurses in the community.
Dr. Edgar Diaz-Cruz, a faculty member in the College of Pharmacy, was awarded the 2017-18 Presidential Faculty Achievement Award by Belmont University. The Presidential Faculty Achievement Award is presented each year to a faculty member who has made outstanding contributions to student life outside the classroom. The award honors and recognizes excellence in faculty-student relationships, special abilities in meeting student needs – academic, personal and professional – and symbolizes Belmont University’s commitment to being a student-centered institution. A former student described Diaz-Cruz’s influence on his studies and career as such: “There are endless positive things one can say about Dr. D-C, not the least of which is, ‘He was present.’”
Belmont’s physical therapy (PT) class of 2019 recently provided a health fair for 100 fourth grade students from East Cheatham Elementary School. The PT students in Dr. Pat Sells Health and Wellness Class prepared lesson plans and activities for a variety of health and wellness related topics.
Each spring, Belmont sends its junior social work majors to compete in the annual Day on the Hill event, which allows a chosen representative from the group to present a summary of a bill that is on the Tennessee Legislative Assembly Agenda. This year, under the guidance of Dr. Jenny Crowell, instructor in the department of social work, the team won the event.
Belmont is preparing to celebrate National Public Health Week this year. During the first full week of April each year, the American Public Health Association (APHA) brings together communities across the United States to observe National Public Health Week (NPHW) as a time to recognize the contributions of public health and highlight issues that are important to improving our nation. Each day of NPHW 2018 will focus on a different public health topic that’s critical to creating and sustaining a healthy nation.
Students from the Belmont University College of Health Sciences and Nursing, with Dr. Natalie Michaels, participated in a Health Science Career Fair at Hillwood High School on Friday, March 23. High school students had a chance to interact with Belmont students to learn more about the fields of nursing, occupational therapy and physical therapy.
The Doctorate of Physical Therapy Class of 2019 received an esteemed visitor to their Health Care Systems Class taught by Associate Professor Dr. Natalie Michaels this week.
Students from Belmont’s College of Health Sciences and Nursing attended the Leadership Health Care Delegation in Washington, D.C. this past week with Dr. Natalie Michaels from the Departments of PT and OT. Speakers presented information regarding issues related to health care currently being debated in congress at the federal level. The students were able to mingle with congressman and people in health care financing from Central Tennessee, all in our nation’s capital.
Georgia Hiatt, a senior social work major, recently published a reflection on trauma-informed approaches to social work for Open Table Nashville (OTN), where she interns.