Two recent graduates from ATSU-ASHS’ Transitional Audiology program were named Professional Leadership Award recipients by the Audiology Foundation of America (AFA).

Award winner Johnnie Sexton, Au.D., ’10, has worked with children who are deaf and hard of hearing for 33 years, and was one of the first educational audiologists in North Carolina. He is also founder and chair of Project EARS, a non-profit foundation dedicated to issues related to children with hearing loss.

Award winner Kristiina Huckabay, AuD., ’10, served as clinic supervisor at Virginia Mason Center in Seattle, Wash., where she coordinated annual CEU conferences for the Listen for Life Center and a Dreambuilder’s Ball. She has also served as a faculty member at the University of Washington as a lecturer and clinical supervisor.

Both award recipients were nominated by the ATSU-ASHS Audiology program faculty and chair and submitted to the AFA for consideration. They were chosen based on their positive attitude, strong work ethic, involvement in professional activities, quality patient care, and services for underserved patients.

ATSU Provost Craig M. Phelps, D.O., FAOASM

ATSU Provost Craig M. Phelps, D.O., FAOASM, has been named for a second consecutive year to the coveted annual list of “Top Docs” in Phoenix Magazine. Dr. Phelps is listed as one of the Valley’s top sports medicine doctors, a specialty that has only been part of the issue for two years.

“It is humbling to be selected, as there are many great physicians working hard each and every day to help their patients and community,” said Dr. Phelps. “I am thankful to ATSU for a great education and opportunity to still see patients, and all of the docs who have mentored me along the way. And of course to Stacy, my spouse, who puts up with all the late night and weekend, calls, games, and travel.”

Phoenix Magazine features 689 of the Valley’s best physicians in 44 different specialties, as chosen by their peers. In addition to serving as the university’s provost, Dr. Phelps is in private practice and is the team physician for the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury.

Nets for Nets tournament winners, The Madmen

Students from ASHS and SOMA recently put their hoop skills to the test during the Nets for Nets basketball tournament held on March 20 at Skyline Park in Mesa, Ariz. The event was sponsored by the American Medical Student Association and the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians. Nine teams from SOMA and ASHS participated, and the Madmen team from the ASHS Physician Assistant program won the tournament.

Each player’s $10 entrance fee was donated to Nothing But Nets, a non-profit organization that sends mosquito nets to Africa to help protect families from malaria. In addition, ASHS and SOMA faculty and staff also donated money, making a total donation of $1050.

“This event is important because we can help change people’s lives by making a nominal donation,” said Amber van den Raadt, SOMA ‘13. “A day of fun at the park with a little healthy competition out on the basketball court could potentially save a life that might have been lost due to malaria.”

ATSU-ASHS online Advanced Physician Assistant program student Elaine Yildiz has been named a “Top Doc” by the Silver Star Families of America and MilitaryConnection.com. She is currently a  physician assistant at North Chicago VA Medical Center.

This patient-nominated and patient-selected award is designed to recognize excellence in military and veterans healthcare. According to Dr. Chowdary Jampala, Yildiz’s supervisor, Yildiz “exemplifies the VA’s commitment to integrating mental health and primary care.”

ATSU-ASHS Athletic Training program faculty member Tamara McLeod, Ph.D., ATC, was featured on FOX 10 news Friday, March 12 in a story about sport-related concussions in young athletes. Dr. McLeod and her research team were recently awarded a $102,153 grant from the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment to continue sport-related concussion research.

Faculty, staff, and students gathered to hear George Blue Spruce Jr., D.D.S, M.P.H, ASDOH assistant dean for American Indian affairs, recite his life story and segments from his new book, Searching for my Destiny, at ATSU’s Arizona campus on March 10.

Dr. Blue Spruce, the nation’s first American Indian dentist,

was available for a book signing after the presentation. He hopes to continue addressing the severe shortage of American Indian dentists and other health professionals by sharing his life story and giving hope to others.

“Until American Indian youngsters are given the opportunity to pursue a formal education, and assume meaningful leadership roles; Indian self-determination remains a myth,” said Dr. Blue Spruce.

The inspirational presentation was presented by the National Center for American Indian Health Professions (NCAIHP).

Physician, teacher, and ATSU-KCOM alumnus John C. Collins, D.O., is Family Physician of the Year according to the Missouri Society of the American College of Family Physicians (MSACOFP).

Immediate past president of the society and a Missouri delegate for the national ACOFP, Dr. Collins received the award at the Missouri Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons’ (MAOPS) annual meeting.

Dr. Collins was chosen from osteopathic family physicians across the state who have made outstanding contributions to the profession and society. Nominees are reviewed by the MSACOFP Nominating Committee, which then recommends one candidate to the MSACOFP Board of Governors.

“Dr. Collins’ dedication to osteopathic students and residents is unsurpassed. He is an outstanding role model, and his dedication to the osteopathic profession is an inspiration to us all,” says Alan W. Brewer, D.O., FACOFP, a member of the MSACOFP Board of Governors.

A physician with Kirksville Family Medicine (KFM), an ATSU-KCOM-affiliated clinic, Dr. Collins is residency director for Osteopathic Family Medicine at Northeast Regional Medical Center/KCOM, ensuring that residents have the training they need in hospitals and clinics to be eligible for board certification.

“KFM supports the training mission of KCOM but also provides top-notch medical care,” he says. “The training of primary care physicians is critical to what we need nationally, as well as locally. I would like to see KFM become the premier place people want to go for their care.”

A liaison to the MSACOFP club at ATSU-KCOM, Dr. Collins also is faculty advisor for MOSA, the student organization for MAOPS. For Dr. Collins, board certified in family medicine and OMT as well as neuromusculoskeletal medicine, teaching is a win-win because it also gives back to the profession.

Also contributing to the profession is his involvement in organizational medicine. Dr. Collins, who testifies at the state Capitol on bills relating to physicians, says there is a need to make legislators aware of the profession so they can make good decisions in the best interests of patients. And always the consummate teacher, he brings students and residents in hopes they, too, will be involved not only in supporting the profession but also protecting the patients they serve.

Mitchell Kasovac, D.O.

Mitchell Kasovac, D.O., professor of family medicine at ATSU-SOMA, was recently named Cambridge Who’s Who Professional of the Year in Medical Education. The Cambridge Who’s Who selection committee chooses two male and two female honorees annually based on their professional accomplishments, academic achievements, and leadership abilities.

Cambridge Who’s Who is an exclusive membership organization that recognizes executives, professionals and entrepreneurs worldwide. There are 500,000 active members.

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Effective March 1, Karen T. Snider, D.O., became chair of the Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) Department at A.T. Still University’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM). She has served as acting chair since November 2008.

Dr. Snider has served the University as associate professor of the OMM department and as director of the undergraduate OMM fellows program since 2005. Since 2002 she has served as a compliance officer with the Gutensohn Osteopathic Medical Associates.

As chair, Dr. Snider will manage administrative issues of the OMM academic and clinical departments and oversee the OMM academic curriculum. In addition, she will serve on the student promotions board and academic council. She continues to see patients and supervise students and residents in the OMM clinic and hospital OMM consult service.

Dr. Snider is board certified in osteopathic neuromusculoskeletal medicine and holds a Missouri medical license. She has been involved in extensive research and currently sits on several committees including KCOM’s Interdisciplinary Research Committee and National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) Item Writing and Product Committees.

“We have long recognized Dr. Snider’s skills as a teacher, mentor, researcher, and as a servant through the hundreds of hours she gives to her college at the local and national level,” said KCOM Dean Philip Slocum, D.O. “After a long and exhaustive search, we are confident we have the leader who can help improve our curriculum, research, and service.”

In honor of Dr. Snider’s appointment as chair, ATSU will hold a congratulatory reception with the University community March 25.

“I look forward to serving ATSU in this position,” Dr. Snider said.

MESA, Ariz. – A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Health Sciences (ATSU-ASHS) held its spring commencement ceremony for four online programs March 6 at the Phoenix Convention Center.

A total of 298 students earned a master of science or doctoral degree in Human Movement, Physician Assistant Studies, Audiology, and Physical Therapy. This was the first time most students had met each other in person, as they all earned their degrees through online courses.

“This graduation highlights the working professionals in their respective fields who have decided to get their next degree,” said ATSU-ASHS Dean Randy Danielsen, Ph.D., PA-C, DFAAPA.

Founded in 1995, ATSU-ASHS is committed to educating and preparing its students to practice at the forefront of a rapidly growing healthcare system.

“Through our University’s educational programs, graduates will possess additional skills and knowledge they can use to provide the very best care for their patients,” said ATSU Provost Craig M. Phelps, D.O., FAOASM. “Our faculty and administration are extremely proud of these 298 graduates who took the time and resources to become better health providers.”

During the ceremony an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters was awarded to keynote speaker Fran Roberts, Ph.D., R.N. Dr. Roberts is the vice president of strategic business alliances at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.

During her address, Dr. Roberts spoke highly of both the University and its graduates’ commitment to healthcare.

“It is wonderful to be here with A.T. Still University and your graduates, faculty, leaders, and families, because this University represents all that is right and good about healthcare in the United States — your commitment to the underserved peoples of our world, your focus on cost effective, high quality primary care, your inter-professional approach to delivery of care, and your culture of inclusion,” she said.

Dr. Roberts has worked as an educator and healthcare provider since 1976. From 1987-95 she served as executive director on the Arizona State Board of Nursing, where she was instrumental in providing direction and leadership for many nurse act changes, including changing legislation to allow nurse practitioners full prescriptive authority. She has contributed time to serving on many boards, currently serving as a chair for the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Campaign.