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CHPConnect
College of Health Professions Newsletter
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Welcome!
Welcome to CHPConnect Volume 1, Issue 1 — the inaugural College of Health Professions newsletter! To be issued quarterly, CHPConnect is a bridge to our college,
a two-way connection to engage and share the good news, accomplishments, and experiences of our community of students, faculty, staff, and partners.
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| National Award for Physician Assistant Studies!
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| The PAS Class of 2023 met the challenge of creating a promotion that highlights your program's history and mission in unique and creative ways, earning them a national award from the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA). Celebrating their 50th anniversary Golden Games, PAEA sponsored the friendly competition among PA programs throughout the country. The PA students (below) created the award-winning video: Mykola Prisichenko, Audrey Macciomei, Haley Roestel and Noelle Kraus. Well done!
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From the PAEA website "Congratulations to Grand Valley State University PA Program, winner of the PAEA 50th Anniversary Golden Games. Throughout the year, PAEA has been highlighting our members’ program milestones and personal reflections. This student-led competition offered PA students the chance to share their program’s history in unique and innovative ways."
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| | Public Health students and faculty
help bring smiles to GRPS
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 | Above: Karen Niemchick, assistant professor for the Master of Public Health program, helps a Stocking Elementary School student work on an exercise that focuses on one of the eight dimensions of wellness.
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The Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures (BSBF) program, in partnership with Grand Valley and Grand Rapids Public Schools, allows Masters in Public Health (MPH) students to work with numerous GRPS elementary schools. The program combines dental screenings by local dentist offices with kid-friendly activities built around the eight dimensions of wellness. Ranelle Brew, professor and director of the MPH program, said the outreach creates opportunities for Grand Valley students to get experience working with children to teach different aspects of wellness while providing wellness lessons and preventative screening to the children. For the MPH students, the program was a chance to get needed experience and give back to the community. Read the article here.
"A healthy smile can inspire confidence, open doors, and launch dreams." BSBF
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| | Provost visits Traverse City, Physician Assistant Studies
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| The GVSU Traverse City Regional Center welcomed Provost Mili in August! She met with the Physician Assistant Studies faculty and students who teach and study on the Traverse City campus. While there, Provost Mili had the opportunity to preview the national award-winning, student-produced PAEA video. Students shared their passion for rural health and why they chose the GVSU Traverse City Regional Center program to complete their PA degree. Provost Mili was able to connect with administrators from Northwestern Michigan College and the Northwest Education Services Career Tech Center on the college’s dedication to the regional campus.
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| | Physical Therapy students host Michigan Legislators
on the Health Campus
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| In July, GVSU hosted the first-ever American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) National Advocacy Dinner to take place in the state of Michigan! The event was held at the DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health. In attendance were Michigan Legislators, Rachel Hood, Tommy Brann, Mark Huizenga, Winnie Brinks, and David LaGrand. University leaders in attendance were Jackie Zhang, Dean of the College of Health Professions, and Dr. Todd Sander, Director of GVSU's Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training.
"This event has been an annual occurrence in other states, but was yet to happen in Michigan. It’s special that Grand Valley State University had the honor of hosting this event and provide a wonderful first time opportunity for visiting students, association leaders, and legislators." Samantha "Sam" Behl, student Core Ambassador for the State of Michigan, and national chapter for APTA.
The purpose of the event is to provide students with an opportunity to learn about the primary issues affecting the profession of physical therapy and our patients/clients. Students receive guidance on how to get involved, stay involved, and make a difference within the profession regarding these issues. 120+ students turned out representing Michigan PT/PTA schools, including Grand Valley State University, University of Michigan-Flint, Wayne State University, Central Michigan University, Oakland University, and Baker College.
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| | GVSU and Samaritas partner to bring generations together
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| Grand Valley State University and Samaritas have been working to welcome a new, innovative program that brings generations together—an intergeneration experience open to students at Grand Valley State University who are studying health as a profession. Read the article here.
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| | Climate Change and Global Public Health
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| Azizur Molla, PhD, of Public Health, gives Keynote titled, “Climate Change & Global Public Health: The Drivers for Disproportionate Social Justice Fallout” at the Fourth Annual Climate Change Education Solutions Summit (CCESS), held virtually October 11-13, 2022 in partnership with Global Climate Change Week. Watch his full address below.
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| | Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
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| Jennifer L. Smart, Ph.D., CCC-A presented at the Michigan Audiology Coalition conference on October 13, 2022. She presented with Kellie Murphy (Manager of Sports & Wellness with Special Olympics Michigan) and Elizabeth Viele (Special Olympics Athlete and Board Member) about "Creating an Inclusive Healthcare Environment for People with Intellectual Disabilities." The focus of this talk was engaging future audiologists in thinking about how they will create this inclusive space in the clinical environment.
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| | Asian Community Leaders honor Dean Zhang
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Grand Valley's Asian Faculty and Staff Association (AFSA) hosted a dinner reception welcoming CHP's new dean, Ning "Jackie" Zhang at the Health Campus. AFSA's co-chairs, Kin Ma and Yosay Wangdi, along with Julia VanderMolen, Stafford Smith, and Connie Dang, organized the event well attended by community members and GVSU faculty & staff including President Philomena Mantella, Provost Fatma Mili, and Chief of Staff, Vice President, Jesse Bernal.
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| | Community & Student Engagement
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| | Public Health students study abroad in Sardinia, Italy
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|  | Above: Ranelle Brew with Julia Brandt, Maggie Carey, Lauren Gapp, Ally Goerge, Rachel Walsh (current year MPH candidates), along with Jaylee Brown and Jazzmin McGuff (2022 MPH Alumni)
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In October, Dr. Ranelle Brew, Professor and Program Director of Public Health, and a mix of current MPH students and alumni took a service-learning, study abroad trip to Sardinia, Italy.
The students studied and emersed themselves in the Power 9® principles of the Blue Zones in Sardinia. The concept of blue zones grew out of demographic work by Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain, published in 2004 by the journal Experimental Gerontology, who identified Sardinia's Nuoro province as the region with the highest concentration of male centenarians. As the two men zeroed in on the cluster of villages with the highest longevity, they began referring to the area as the "blue zone."
Further building on this demographic work, Dan Buettner (longtime GVSU Public Health partner and friend) pinpointed four additional locations, Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California. GVSU Public Health has traveled to three of the five locations with students since 2018, with plans to visit all five!
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| | International Experience for Audiology Students
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 | Photo: Doctor of Audiology students with GVSU's Jennifer Smart, PhD, CCC-A and Barb Jackson, Au.D., from CMU
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For 3 days in August, the Doctor of Audiology (AuD) students volunteered for Healthy Hearing at the Special Olympics Unified Cup 2022 (International Soccer competition) in Detroit. At this event, our students screened the hearing for over 200 athletes from across the globe — representing 24 countries!
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The students also took part in the newest Healthy Athletes discipline, Young Athletes, led by Clinical Director Jennifer Smart. They participated in hearing screenings, vision screenings, and developmental screenings for children ages 2-7 years old with a diagnosis of an intellectual disability (ID) or suspected of having an ID. Students took part in the comprehensive screenings of 23 children and worked with Physician Assistants and PA students in this interdisciplinary setting.
Photo: AuD students with Jennifer Smart, PhD, CCC-A
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| | Conference welcomes Public Health Heros in Boston
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 | Photo credit: Ranelle Brew, Maggie Carey, Jordan Myers, Sydney Sprau and Heather Koster
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Master of Public Health students attended the American Public Health Association (APHA) 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo in Boston — celebrating 150 years. "We were pleased to have so many GVSU-affiliated presentations, representing faculty, students, and alumni, at last week's national APHA 2022 Annual Meeting in Boston!"
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| | Recreational Therapy hosts National Certification Council
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The Recreational Therapy program and Recreational Therapy Student Association (RTSA) hosted an evening event with the Board of Directors of the recreational therapy national credentialing body, the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC). The RTSA and NCTRC Board held a Q&A panel for students and engaged with faculty. The program got the NCTRC Board up on the high ropes adventure course for team building!
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| | Student Achievements, Awards, & Recognition
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| | Physician Assistant students win Quiz Bowl!
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The GVSU PA program is back on top! The quiz bowl team brought the trophy home in dominating fashion. Comprising Lydia Fales ('22 GR), Anne-Marie Deming ('23 TC), Jenna Kesh ('23 GR), and Brooklyn Watkins ('23 GR), they defeated eight other PA programs in the state of Michigan in this jeopardy-style, team competition. The trophy is on display in CHS 200.
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 | Andy Booth, DHEd, PA-C, PAS Chair proudly holds the trophy
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Winning Quiz Bowl Trophy!
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| | First Place for Diagnostic Medical Sonography students!
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Diagnostic Medical Sonography program students received first place in this year’s Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (SDMS) Student Poster Competition with their poster entitled, “Reliability of Panoramic Ultrasound in Assessing Cross-Sectional Area of Appendicular Muscles: A State-of-the-Art Review.” They displayed the poster at the SDMS Annual Conference in Atlanta. What an honor to receive this recognition from the sonography community on the national level!
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| The SDMS Sonographer and Student Poster Competition posters report the results of a research study completed by the author (s). Posters are judged on presentation, content, and originality and presented during the SDMS Annual Conference.
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| | Top Research Poster for Recreational Therapy student!
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Erin O’Leary, undergraduate Recreational Therapy major, was recognized for the top research poster, "Flipping the Pages: Exploring Bibliotherapy Approaches for Recreational Therapy Practice" (among all submissions, including PhDs) at the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) national conference in Birmingham, Alabama. Congrats Erin!
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| | Public Health student presents research poster in Boston
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Alley George, MPH student
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Master of Public Health student, Ally Goerge (Cohort 10) presented a poster of her research study, “Lifestyle and comorbidity and upper extremity disability among long-term African American breast cancer survivors” at the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting and Expo in Boston. Ally used data from the African American Breast Cancer Survivorship Long-Term (AABL) Study for her data analysis to further understanding of factors that play a role in upper extremity disability among long-term breast cancer survivors from three states (South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia). Collaborators in this work include colleagues from Meharry Medical College (a HBCU in Nashville, TN) and Henry Ford Health. Well done, Ally!
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| | Faculty Teaching & Research Awards
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| Lisa Kenyon, Physical Therapy, received a $150,000 National Institute of Health Small Business Innovation Research Grant titled, "IndieTrainer: Enabling Individuals with Cerebral Palsy to Receive Garnifield Power Mobility Training in their own Manual Wheelchairs."
Brian Hatzel, Athletic Training, received $467,761 in funding from the Research Innovation Fellowship through the Center for Scholarly and Creative Excellence (CSCE) for his research titled, "Detection of Time-Loss Musculoskeletal Injuries in NCAA Division 2 athletes: MRI vs Segmental Multi-Frequency BIA."
Sri Nandamudi, Communication Sciences and Disorders, received a grant sponsored by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association's (ASHA) 2022 Advancing Academic-Research Career (AARC) Award. The $5,000 award will fund Sri's teaching project titled, "Interprofessional Collaborative Learning in Dysphagia Graduate Course Curriculum" and research project titled, "Interprofessional Collaborative Approach to Improve Vocal Health Outcomes in Actors."
Shari Bartz-Smith, Athletic Training, MAT students, Maddie Gourley and Jillian Graham received a $987 Bob Behnke Research Assistance Award for their research titled, "Size and Scope of National Athletic Training Facilities in the Secondary School Setting: A National Review" sponsored by the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers Association.
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Applied Food and Nutrition (AFN) in winter 2023's commencement ceremonies for the first time!AFN is a new undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree program accredited as a didactic program in dietetics. Graduates of the program are prepared to continue their studies in accredited dietetic internships and graduate programs leading to the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) credential. For more information, please contact Libby MacQuillan, Program Director, at macquile@gvsu.edu.
Master of Science in Recreational Therapy (M.S.R.T.) started this fall!The MSRT program focuses on advanced-practice issues and competencies to enhance the recreational therapist's skills. Offered as a hybrid program, this one-year master's degree program is for those who have a bachelor's degree and are Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists (CTRS). For more information, visit the Recreational Therapy website.
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| | Health Campus hosts 2 Open Houses this Fall
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The College of Health Professions held two open houses on the health campus this fall. Attended by 124 students and 231 family members, faculty from the College of Health Professions programs, the Kirkhof College of Nursing, and the Simulation Center gave tours of the Health Campus and its facilities throughout the event. Thanks to all who took part in the events!
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| | Lunch and Learn hosts PAWS with a Cause
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| IPE Lunch and Learn fall events included a visit from Carrie Simmons, PAWS Director of Advancement, who spoke about the legal rights of an Assistance Dog and what a PAWS Dog can do to help mitigate their client’s disability. PAWS Dog, WINDSOR, a chocolate Labrador Retriever, accompanied Carrie and demonstrated her duties as a PAWS dog! Upcoming Lunch and Learn events are on the IPE website. Join us!
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| Laker Experience Day was held in October and the CHP Student Services Office appreciates all the support and effort it took to make this event successful, besides helping students explore our many health programs!
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| | We Value our Community Partners
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| 2022 Outstanding Preceptor Award SpotlightGVSU appreciates health professionals who serve as preceptors. The Outstanding Preceptor Awards honor individuals who have contributed in significant ways to provide clinical and real-world experiences to students in Health Sciences at Grand Valley State University. College of Health Profession (CHP) programs nominated 15 award winners. Seven awardees attended the October 18, 2022, CHP college meeting to receive their award in person. All these awardees have served as exceptional role models and have dedicated their time and energy to providing guidance and outstanding learning opportunities to students preparing to enter their field of practice.
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|  | Rebekah Sabo (far left) and Jackie Zhang (far right) with preceptor award recipients in attendance.
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Below are the 2022 award recipients:- Alyx Alfson from University of Wisconsin Hospitals-Nominated by the Medical Dosimetry Program
- Scott Andrews from IKUS Life Enrichment Services-Nominated by the Applied Food and Nutrition Program
- Rebecca Beebe from Innocademy-Nominated by the Speech-Language Pathology Program
- Aubrey Boerema from Stony Lake Therapeutic Riding Center-Nominated by the Recreational Therapy Program
- Jacqueline Brayman from North End Wellness Coalition-Nominated by the Public Health Program
- Tricia Concepcion from Henry Ford Health System-Nominated by the Occupational Therapy Program
- Audrey Durkop from Trinity Health Saint Mary's Grand Rapids-Nominated by the Medical Laboratory Science Program
- Kim Ford from University of Michigan Health System Ann Arbor-Nominated by the Health Information Management Program
- Kyle Geda from Spectrum Health Medical Group-Nominated by the Audiology Program
- Dr. Jim Hilbrand from Spectrum Health Family Medicine Grant-Nominated by the Physician Assistant Studies Program
- Lyndsey Huss from Nestle Development Centre Nutrition-Nominated by the Clinical Dietetics Program
- Susan Mark from Trinity Health Livonia Hospital-Nominated by the Physical Therapy Program
- Kelly Massa from Trinity Health Saint Mary’s Grand Rapids-Nominated by the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program
- Mariah Nauta from Spectrum Health System-Nominated by the Cardiovascular Sonography Program
- Kevin Parker from Aquinas College-Nominated by the Athletic Training Program
As GVSU seeks to add value and give back to our clinical partners, the Preceptor Perks Program is one way that GVSU says “thank you” to preceptors. The perks of the program include access to the GVSU Libraries and the Fieldhouse athletic facility, as well as many community discounts. We encourage those interested in exploring opportunities to serve as preceptors to a Grand Valley State University health profession student to contact Rebekah Sabo at sabor@gvsu.edu.
Congratulations to this year's award winners!
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| | CHP welcomes new Faculty and Staff
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SCHOOL of INTERDISCIPLINARY HEALTH
Randalynn Hajek (Randy), Clinical Affiliate Faculty, Clinical Dietetics
Nichole Anguilm, Visiting Professor, Applied Food & Nutrition/Clinical Dietetics
Emily Welles, Visiting Professor, Applied Food & Nutrition/Clinical Dietetics
Brittany Simons, Visiting Professor, Cardiovascular Sonography
COMMUNICATION SCIENCES and DISORDERS
Danielle Armstrong, Academic Department Coordinator
Colton Clayton, Assistant Professor
Won So, Assistant Professor, AudiologyOCCUPATIONAL SCIENCE and THERAPY
Jennifer Westerhuis, Visiting Professor
Claire Dolislager, Visiting Professor
Kelsey Jewett, Visiting ProfessorPHYSICAL THERAPY and ATHLETIC TRAINING
Katie Nader, Academic Department Coordinator
Andrew Wicks, Assistant ProfessorPHYSICIAN ASSISTANT STUDIES
April Adado, Assistant ProfessorSTUDENT SERVICES OFFICE
Latrice Jones, Office Coordinator
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| | Professional Association and Membership
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Dr. Susan Cleghorn was appointed to a 3-year term on the State Advisory Committee for Aging in May 2022.
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| Alisha Davis joined the Board of Directors of Catherine’s Health Center and became a member of the Comprehensive Therapy Center.
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