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Medical Laboratory Sciences program receives new director
By Kate Hunger
When Gerardo Ramos, MS, Ph.D. MT (ASCP), F-ABFT, began his new role as program director of the Division of Medical Laboratory Sciences in January, it was a homecoming of sorts.
Ramos earned a bachelor’s degree in clinical laboratory science from UT Health San Antonio in 1994. In the intervening years, he earned master’s degrees in toxicology and higher education administration, and a doctoral degree in toxicology, all while serving in the U.S. Air Force and developing his expertise in leadership and forensic toxicology.
Division of Respiratory Care to hold white coat ceremony Feb. 8
Thirty students will receive their white coats at the White Coat Ceremony and Lambda Beta Honor Society induction ceremony next month. Twenty-two of the students are master’s students and eight are undergraduates, said Richard Wettstein, MMEd, RRT, FAARC, Respiratory Care Program Director and Associate Professor.
New associate dean for research values the power of collaboration
The School of Health Professions welcomes its newly appointed Timothy A. Reistetter, Ph.D., OTR, FAOTA, Associate Dean for Research.
Previously appointed professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), where he served as director of the post-doctoral certificate program in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Reistetter also is a professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy.
CANCELLED: 24th Annual Respiratory Care Symposium scheduled for March 14-15
Out an abundance of caution for our university constituents and our community, this event has been canceled.
Department of Occupational Therapy collects glove donations to help homeless
In an effort to help homeless people in the San Antonio Area, the Department of Occupational Therapy held a glove donation drive in late November and early December.
The effort yielded 194 pairs of donated gloves which were delivered to Heaven for Hope, the city's homeless center, said Kimatha Oxford Grice, OTD, OTR, CHT, associate professor. Grice said the drive was inspired by the comments of a speaker at the annual meeting of the Texas Society for Hand Therapy about the effect of cold weather on hands.
EHS faculty is focused on saving lives prehospital with whole blood
San Antonio is pioneering whole blood transfusions for trauma patients in prehospital settings, through a collaboration among area institutions, including UT Health San Antonio.
UT Health San Antonio is one of the institutions collaborating with The Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC) to study the impact of using cold stored whole blood and transfusing injured patients in the prehospital setting.
OT students join Frontera de Salud leadership team
Two occupational therapy students are on the 2019 leadership team for the UT Health San Antonio chapter of Frontera de Salud, a student-run volunteer organization that provides health care to underserved populations in Texas.
Janna Roberts is the School of Health Professions liaison and Brianna Reyna is the McAllen service coordinator.
Speech-language pathology students engage in the community
Students in the master’s speech-language pathology program have been hard at work establishing a campus chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA).
The group’s community engagement activities have included participating in fundraising walks for childhood apraxia of speech and autism, playing Bingo with local nursing home residents and teaching them how to use mobile technology, and assembling hygiene kits for Haven for Hope.
Respiratory Care student wins scholarship to attend AARC meetings
Second-year Respiratory Care master’s student Calandra Snowden received a scholarship to attend the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) International Respiratory Convention & Exhibition in Las Vegas in December.
PA professor and veteran shares his professional journey at campus Veteran’s Day event
A career in medicine was not what Paul B. Allen, Sr., DSc, MPAS, PA-C, FAAPA, physician assistant studies assistant professor envisioned when he joined the U.S. Army.
Allen, PA program director and chair, shared the story of his military service and medical career as the featured speaker at the Veteran’s Day program and reception held Nov. 9 by the Military Health Institute. Also speaking at the event were Byron C. Hepburn, M.D., Maj. Gen. USAF (Ret.), MIH Director and William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP, University President.
EHS instructor publishes book to help save lives
Years after retiring from the San Antonio Fire Department, Conrad M. Gonzales, Jr. realized he yearned to be back in the classroom, teaching others how to save lives. The realization came during a lunch break one day after he stopped to help a woman who had been hit by a car and all of his paramedic training came rushing back.
OT student is first from UT Health San Antonio to receive TOTA student leader award
Like a number of her classmates, third-year occupational therapy master’s student Amy Honeck has accumulated an impressive list of volunteer service and leadership positions during her time in the program.
However, her recent selection to receive the Texas Occupational Therapy Association Student Leader Award is particularly notable.
“She is the first recipient from our university, so that is very exciting,” said Associate Professor Bridgett Piernik-Yoder, Ph.D., OTR, chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy.
PT faculty member gives presentation on the importance of research in allied health
Sandeep Subramanian, Ph.D., MS, BPT, physical therapy assistant professor highlighted the impact of rehabilitation research in the health professions during a presentation during National Allied Health Week.
Subramanian took a creative approach in his Nov. 8 Lunch & Learn presentation by describing the kinds of treatment a soldier injured in a blast would receive. Subramanian used the scenario to show how the soldier’s care would be informed by research from across departments within the School of Health Professions.
EHS faculty member receives recognition for emergency response aid to shooting victim
Emergency Health Sciences faculty member Robert Moya III was on a routine quality assurance/quality inspection visit on Oct. 4 when he was dispatched to respond to a shooting with multiple victims in far west Bexar County.
Moya, who serves as Bexar County first responder organization coordinator, was just two blocks away from the shooting when the call came in. The patient he treated was a semi-conscious 15-year-old male with three gunshot wounds.
Respiratory Care students teach PA students about mechanical ventilators
Physician Assistant Studies students recently had a hands-on opportunity to learn about mechanical ventilators. What made the experience especially interesting? Their teachers were second-year respiratory care students.
“We reached out to the experts,” said Leticia Bland, MPAS, PA-C, assistant professor and clinical coordinator for the Department of Physician Assistant Studies. “It’s a great opportunity for them to share their knowledge, and it was a great opportunity for our students.”
New OT clinical faculty is working to establish OT services for people with dementia and their caregivers at the Biggs Institute
New Department of Occupational Therapy clinical faculty member Laura Novak, OTR, is developing the new occupational therapy services program at the UT Health San Antonio Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases.
Student receives top recognition by the Texas Occupational Therapy Association
Amy Honeck, a MOTIII student, was awarded the Student Leadership Award by the Texas Occupational Therapy Association (TOTA) at the Annual TOTA Mountain Central Conference held in Sugarland, Texas on November 2 – 4, 2018. Amy’s talents, leadership abilities, and tireless advocacy to promote the profession of occupational therapy was recognized through the highest distinction awarded by TOTA to occupational therapy students.
OT Faculty Highlights
The OT faculty are engaged in many professional initiatives and endeavors. Some highlights of their accomplishments and activities this year include:
Respiratory Care alumna works in the NICU and mentors students
When Laura Martinez, MS, RRT, learned about the Respiratory Care master’s program at UT Health San Antonio, she saw an opportunity to return to the medical setting she had loved as a physician in Mexico.
“I missed being by the bedside,” she said.
After graduating in 2017, Martinez went to work as a respiratory therapist at North Central Baptist Hospital, and she also provides clinical support to students in the Respiratory Care program.
OT faculty presented on program's demographics at national educational summit
School of Health Professions faculty and administrators gave four presentations at the American Occupational Therapy Association OT Educational Summit held in Louisville, Kentucky, on October 13-14.
One presentation shared the demographics of the School’s OT program as part of a cluster of presentations on the recruitment and retention of students.
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