lecom connection fall 2012

THE

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic MedicineONNECTION

Fall 2012

LECOM.edu

A Look Inside the School of Dental Medicine page 10

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Take a look inside the state-of-the-art building of the LECOM School of Dental Medicine in Bradenton, Fla.pgs. 10-11

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LECOM.edu | DECEMBER 2012 | LecoM connectIon 3

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John M. Ferretti, Do - President/CEO

A Message from the President


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origin, of geographic locale, of occupation, of social status, of religious creed, of political commitment - we are united by our history.

Our history therefore tests our course of action as our past judges our present. The study of history nurtures the critical sense of that which is enduring and significant amid the morass of phony and fleeting questions that comprise the momentary din.

Knowledge of history is more than a means of judgment, for it is also a means of sympathy and a means of relating our own experience with the experience of others and with those whose struggles came before us. Knowledge of history is - in addition, a means of strength. “In times of change and danger,” John Dos Passos wrote just before the Second World War, “when there is a quicksand of fear under men’s reasoning, a sense of continuity with generations gone before can stretch like a life line across the present.” Defining the role of the past in preparing us for the crisis of the present and to meet challenges of the future has long been at the fundamental core of the LECOM approach. As the field of health care faces the shifting sands of uncertainty, LECOM offers a stable and secure life line prepared to weather the storm. Historic continuity with the past, as Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “is not a duty; it is only a necessity.” LECOM understands the objectives of necessity.

Knowledge of history is, above all, a means of responsibility. It is a responsibility to the past and a responsibility to the future, a responsibility to those who came before us and who struggled and sacrificed to pass on to us our precious inheritance of freedom, and a responsibility to those who will follow us and to whom we must pass on that endowment with new strength and substance. Abraham Lincoln said, “We cannot escape history... for the fiery trial through which we pass will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation.” American history is not something that is dead and finished. Just as LECOM’s history, is it ever alive, ever growing, ever unfinished - and each one of us today has our own contribution to make to the great fabric of tradition and hope that binds us to a common faith and to a common destiny. At LECOM, our common purpose unites us to create the history that decades from now will continue to be – the legacy that is LECOM. With two bright decades strong in our college history, our legacy continues - for America, for LECOM, and for all who strive to make a better tomorrow.

providing excellence in education, affordable and accessible training, innovation, and community service - to make certain that our best days are still to come.

The American past is a journal of stirring achievement won in the face of obstinate challenges. It is a journal replete with visionaries of legendary acclamation, with extraordinary spectacle, and with difficult decisions - with courage and with calamity, with events both touching and tearful, and with the exhilaration and optimism involved in the conquest of a frontier and in the development of a great land. Whether one embodies the quintessential historian or the everyday American – this understanding, as a deep human need, is an end unto itself.

So how does this passion for history and its companioned devotion to tradition relate to LECOM? Some may suggest that history serves no further use than to provide satisfaction for that quintessential historian.

However, make no mistake – history is the memory of a nation. Just as memory enables the individual to learn, to select objectives, to pursue aims, to avoid repetition of errors - so too, it is history by which means a nation creates its sense of identity and of purpose. That parallel certainty exists for LECOM as an educational institution - for it is our future that arises out of our past; and the history of our college that underpins the values, hopes, and goals that have forged all that has preceded this moment and all that is yet to come. It is the profound awareness of our historical roots, both nationally and campus-wide, that define us as a people, that establish us within the foundation of medicine, and that delimit us as health care professionals.

As a means of knowledge, history becomes a means of judgment. It offers an understanding of the multiplicity and unity of a nation whose credo is “E Pluribus Unum” – “out of many, one” or as in the case of LECOM, “One LECOM, LECOM One”. It reminds us of the diverse abundance of our people, from all races and from all parts of the world who have formed one exceptional American amalgam. So too, for LECOM as our campuses welcome students from across the country and from around the globe to educate and to train the exceptional health care professional. No transformation in this country can destroy the fact that this great nation is, as Walt Whitman concluded, a “nation of nations”. LECOM recognizes that regardless of the diversity of ethnic

There is little that is more important for an American citizen to know and

for a student of medicine to embrace than the history and traditions of this country. At LECOM, we recognize great value in historical memory as it crosses the broad spectrum of experiences - from education to politics, from literature to medicine, from administration to research. For it is clear that without knowledge of history, one stands uncertain and defenseless before the world, knowing neither the origin from whence one has derived nor the direction toward which one is headed. With such knowledge, one is not solitary; rather one draws strength far greater than one’s own - strength culled from the cumulative experiences of the past and blended with a summative vision of the future.

Like our nation, the field of medicine is facing a time wrought with uncertainty and transformation. LECOM’s legacy has been a story of a remarkable American educational institution - set upon a mission to build the future of health care that it sees possible - to offer hope where there is today only anxiety, to offer solutions in a world too often focused upon only looming challenges, to educate and to inculcate at a superlative level.

Henry Ford said 100 years ago, “Obstacles are those frightful things that you see when you take your eyes off of your goal.” Today, the goal, the mission, the comprehensive pursuit of LECOM is as it was at the beginning - to usher in a better world of medicine through

For America, for LECOM, and for All Who Strive to Make a Better Tomorrow – Remember Our Past

A Legacy Continues...A Message from the President


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Table of Contents

The LECOM Connection invites you to contribute to our publication. If you have news of alumni achievements, research or student activities, please contact the Communications Department, at (814) 866-6641, or e-mail [email protected].

John M. Ferretti, DOPresident

Michael J. Visnosky, EsquireChairman of the

Board of Trustees

Silvia M. Ferretti, DOProvost, Senior Vice President and

Dean of Academic Affairs

Hershey Bell, MD, M.S. (MedEd)Vice President of Academic Affairs and

Dean of School of Pharmacy

Robert F. Hirsch, DDSDean of School of Dental Medicine

Robert George, DOAssociate Dean of Academic Affairs,

Bradenton

Sunil S. Jambhekar, PhDAssociate Dean

for Bradenton Operations,School of Pharmacy

Pierre BelliciniDirector of Communications

Michael PolinAssistant Director of

Communications and Marketing,Bradenton

Rebecca A. DeSimone, EsquireChief Writer/Editor-in-Chief

Eric NicastroPhotographer/Layout

Carmen MillerContributing Photographer

School of Dental Medicine

In The Community

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

1858 West Grandview Blvd.Erie, PA 16509

814-866-6641 www.lecom.edu

The mission of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine is to prepare students to become osteopathic physicians, pharmacy practitioners and dentists through programs of excellence in education, research, clinical

care and community service to enhance the quality of life through improved health for all humanity.

Mission Statement

10 A look inside the LECOM School of Dental Medicine12 LECOM School of Dental Medicine Ushers in a New Era of Medical Care for Florida.13 ADEA Executive Director, Dr. Richard Valachovic Finds Value in LECOM Program Pathways14 Meet the New Dental School Faculty16 Gannon University, LECOM School of Dental Medicine Sign Early Acceptance Agreement

24 Arnot Regional Campus Opens to Warm Welcome and Great Promise25 LECOM Provost Receives Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania Award for 2012

/1LECOM

/1LECOM


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Class of 2016

Table of Contents

Student Profiles

LECOM in the Olympics

On The Cover

17 The Class of 2016 Arrives with Interesting Pasts and Promising Futures18 Pioneering Students from Cooperative Program Enter LECOM Medical School20 Life is no Imitation for Actress, Erin Broderick - LECOM Class of 201621 The Sixth Time is the Charm for New LECOM Student22 Nationally Recognized LECOM Graduate Introduces the Class of 2016 - White Coat Ceremony

26 LECOM Medical Student Breaks Ground at ‘The Betty Ford Clinic’27 Beyond Community Service - Brandi Manning Saves A Life

28 Former Olympian Joins LECOM Faculty29 LECOM Medical Student Competed in Olympic Trials

In July of 2012, the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine began a new era in medical education as the inaugural School of Dental Medicine class reported

to LECOM’s Bradenton, Fla., campus for orientation.


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January of 1992 was one of the worst weather months in Erie,

Pennsylvania. The town was hit with single digit temperatures and in a few short days, fierce storms had deposited almost three feet of snow upon the Great Lakes enclave in Western Pennsylvania. It was a tough beginning to what proved to be an even tougher year. In the wake of the harsh winter, Americans were struggling with the idea of leaving behind one of the most buoyant decades in history.

After a year of trial and tragedy, with the close of the nation’s first significant war effort since Vietnam and with a political strife upon the horizon, it is no wonder that citizens throughout the region were hanging their heads, convinced that the best days of America were behind her. It was within this context, with a backdrop of unease and unrest, that a group of American medical visionaries - a group of osteopathic doctors no less, provided a dramatically different vision of the future; one that was defiantly optimistic.

If one could see tomorrow in a way that it appears in the present, one might say: “inconceivable”. At the time, the plan of a group of osteopathic physicians to start a medical school was decidedly counterculture; a prediction of hope and excitement at a time when most of the nation was seized with a growing sense of fear and dread.

A Future of Inconceivable Promise – the enduring “Purposeful Vision” of LecoM

In the perfect view of history, the visionaries were right. The twenty years that followed their prediction, proved to be absolutely transformative throughout the medical field. From technological changes that took the world from typewriters to netbooks; from rotary telephones to I-phones, from ink-stained letters to e-mails; and from MD to DO – the future indeed was “inconceivable” in 1992.

Yet today, after all of this progress, America and the world have slipped into a period of economic and cultural malaise; and once again, the nation faces a time of extreme collective self-doubt. The cold war is long ended, but the debt war is fully engaged. The energy crisis that brought America to a standstill in the late 1970s has returned with a vengeance. Dismal projections from across the totality of the political and medical spheres appear to forecast a future rife with uncertainty and economic privation. Again, many are questioning whether the best days of America indeed are behind her.

Yet, the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine - a college that has, for over two decades, weathered every storm - sees the future differently. Today, just as it did in the early 1990s, LECOM sees a future that looks beyond the moment - one that looks toward achievement, toward prosperity, and toward better health; a future

that can and will solve the health crisis and a future that is even brighter than it was decades ago. LECOM is well aware of the strength of American resourcefulness. Time and again, the college has provided a place in which that resourcefulness and innovation has come together to improve the way in which we live and to better the communities that it serves. LECOM sees this future today because it remains steadfast in its mission to create that very future; to anticipate the challenges that lay before the health care fields and to proactively lay its cornerstone in the health care of tomorrow. It is a mission not simply, as predicted by so many, to allow the future to happen to us; rather it is one in which the future is created by decisive and resolute undertakings. It is a future bright and filled with possibilities - and in the inspiring words first uttered over 20 ago by founder, Dr. John Ferretti – “purposeful”. As “The LECOM Connection” offers this final installment in the “Legacy of LECOM” series and as it closes its 20-year commemorative tribute, all involved in the production of this magazine invite you to discover the promise of tomorrow – recognizing that it rests within each one of you. That purposeful promise was the vision of LECOM at the beginning – and it remains ever so as the legacy continues.

“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” ~John F. Kennedy8 LecoM connectIon | DECEMBER 2012 | LECOM.edu

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credos of our calling - Discipline“Difficulties mastered are opportunities won.”

~Winston Churchill

The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine has long understood that discipline is the refining

fire by which talent becomes ability. Essential to all, it forms the bridge between goals and accomplishment. Many of the circumstances in life are created by three basic choices: the disciplines that one chooses to keep, the people with whom one chooses to associate; and the laws by which one chooses to be bound.

The founders at LECOM recognized discipline as an attribute based upon self-determination, upon meticulous attention to detail, and upon confidence. It is a component of all aspects of a medical, dental, or pharmacy calling; and it is so, to such an extent that it must become a habit so ingrained within the human condition that it is stronger than the anticipation of the goal or the fear of failure. With self-discipline, most anything is possible; for if one seeks to succeed in life, one must win the victory over oneself to find self-discipline.

A celebrated aphorism suggests that all must suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference between the two dispositions is that “discipline” weighs ounces while “regret” weighs tons. This maxim comes as no revelation to those answering the call of the health care professions.

Discipline entails the habitual training of the mind, which leads spontaneously to desirable rather than undesirable activities. One discipline predictably leads to another discipline to form a habitual fortitude. The “successful” person is disciplined in the habit

of undertaking those tasks that the inefficacious individual chooses not to accept. Those who succeed do not necessarily savor those challenging tasks

either; but their dislike of the task is subordinated to the strength of their purpose. It is one of the strange ironies of this extraordinary life that those who work the hardest, who subject themselves to the strictest discipline, who

forfeit certain pleasures in order to achieve a goal,

indeed are the happiest of souls. The aptitude resulting from a unity of mind, body, and spirit is a driving force of a purposeful being. LECOM understands and teaches the mind,

body, and spirit unity; much of which is honed by

discipline.

In reading about the lives of great individuals, it can be found

that the first victory that so many historical heroes and heroines won was the triumph over themselves. That discipline, which corrects the eagerness of self-gratifying passions, which fortifies the heart with virtuous principles, which overcomes the inclination to make excuses, which enlightens the mind with the power of useful knowledge, and which furnishes to it enjoyment from within itself - is of more consequence to real happiness than all of the provisions that derive from the external world.

For this reason, “The LECOM Connection” highlights “DISCIPLINE” as a “Credo of Our Calling”.


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A look inside the LecoM School of Dental Medicine

Once you enter the School of Dental Medicine on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, you encounter the lastest teaching and patient care equipment.

The 300-seat classroom utlizes the latest smart technology. The large screen will show lecture images, while the smaller monitors will connect the students to instructors who are outside the classroom.


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A look inside the LecoM School of Dental Medicine

The patient simulation lab recreates the feel of working on a real patient while connecting the student to the latest patient treatment software on computer monitors.

Computer technology extends to the dental operatories where faculty and students will treat live patients.


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A new era in medical education began this year as the inaugural class of

the LECOM School of Dental Medicine reported to the Bradenton, Fla., campus for orientation.

LECOM President and CEO John M. Ferretti, DO and Provost, Senior Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs Silvia M. Ferretti, DO, were at the campus to welcome the 100 students to the Class of 2016.

“LECOM’s heritage and our unparalleled ability to recruit, to instruct, and to train first-rate osteopathic physicians, pharmacists – and now dentists – will further develop competent, compassionate, and holistic approaches to clinical, didactic, and other professional responsibilities designed to improve and advance the health care and scientific environments of the 21st Century,” says Dr. John Ferretti.

Adam Rose is excited to be a part of the first class.

“It’s a brand-new school and to be part of the first class is exciting,” Rose said. “We have new classrooms, a new building. It’s awesome. It doesn’t get any better than being number one.”

Students began training with a basic dental technician course, which prepares them to work alongside dentists during early clinical experiences at private and community-based dental practices. After that two-week exposure to dentistry, classes opened on Monday, July 23 in the new $52 million School of Dental Medicine building at 4800 Lakewood Ranch Blvd.

Pre-clinical instruction will be delivered through the small-group problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum, which will integrate both medical and dental students. Components of the dental curriculum also include faculty directed self-study of gross anatomy; direct comprehensive patient care in the first year; a patient-based simulation-

clinic; and the entire fourth year devoted to community-based primary care clinics in Florida and in Erie, Pa.

At 100,000-square feet, the LECOM School of Dental Medicine building features classroom space and a 115-chair dental clinic. Students and faculty will work with the Bradenton community to provide care to residents who face challenges in obtaining needed dental care by serving them at the on-campus patient clinic and in the future at community-based, primary care dental clinics.

A basic care clinic opens in January 2013 for patients who need dentures. Comprehensive

dental care will be available to the community in March of 2014. With the College’s commitment to quality education at an affordable cost, LECOM is determined to prepare dentists who can deliver the best health care.

The Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) granted accreditation status to the school last year and since that time, response to the announced opening has been enthusiastically received, both by prospective faculty and students alike.

Observing the evident decline in the number of dentists in

the State of Florida, LECOM responded to the needs of the Bradenton community with the establishment of this school. It is the hope and expectation of the founders that the current and future needs of dental health will be served by the professionals schooled and trained at the LECOM School of Dental Medicine.

Ever cognizant of its commitment to excellence in education and purpose in community service, the LECOM School of Dental Medicine unreservedly welcomes its 100 first-year students and its team of accomplished educators.

LecoM School of Dental of Medicine Ushers in a new era of Medical care

for Florida

Adam Rose, D1

After starting classes in July, the LECOM dental medicine students began networking with fellow students around the country by establishing an American Student Dental Association (ASDA) chapter at the Bradenton campus. ASDA works to advance and protect the rights of dental students. The organization promotes values of community, engagement, integrity and passion in the classrooms, clinics, and community where dental students learn, work and live.

ASDA President Colleen Greene and Director of Membership Danielle Bauer visited the school in September to meet with students and the administration. LECOM ASDA members elected Jenna Weldon as president and Kayla Macri as vice president.

Pictured above, from left-right; Front row: Neha Chakravarti (D1); Kayla Macri (D1); Jasmine Shafagh (D1); ASDA Membership coordinator Danielle Bauer; ASDA National President Colleen Greene (Harvard ’13); Joslyn Rubin (D1) and Stephanie Cole (D1); Back row: Sal La Mastra (D1).

LecoM School of Dental Medicine

establishes ASDA chapter



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Recently, American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Executive Director,

Dr. Richard Valachovic publicly discussed the mounting burden of student debt and the idea for lowering costs by speeding up the curriculum. Articulating his concerns about the fiscal onus that students experience resulting from dental education and citing findings by the Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME), Dr. Valachovic outlined benefits and advantages of the innovative pathway programs developed by, and instituted at, LECOM.

In its latest dispatch to Congress, COGME called upon medical associations to explore pioneering and original approaches to medical education. Specifically, COGME mentioned restructuring physician training to accelerate the educational time-frame. Dr. Valachovic explained that as a recipient of GME funding, dental education would do well to make preparations to quicken the pace of the dental school curriculum. The concerns voiced by COGME and re-stated by Dr. Valachovic transcend student debt; indeed in addition to the ability potentially to reduce the cost of professional education, both COGME and the ADEA Executive Director advocate curricular acceleration as a way to transfer more health care providers, including dentists and dental hygienists, into underserved areas with greater rapidity. Concurrently, the COGME espousal supporting competency-based education stalwartly recommends that degrees should be awarded based upon preparedness for practice, not upon a prescribed number of matriculation hours.

In a recent speech detailing cost containment in higher education, the United States Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan stated, “the century-old practice of awarding degrees based on seat time in a classroom, rather than on demonstrated competence, is now at odds with a world in which the Internet offers perpetual opportunities for learning and gaining skills at your own pace”.

Dr. Valachovic assessed the growing interest in three-year models and the discussion is not lost upon the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) who notes a desire among many educators to

ADeA executive Director, Dr. Richard Valachovic Finds Value in LecoM Program Pathways

“If medicine can create a three-year pathway to a doctoral degree, should dentistry consider developing something similar?” ~Richard Valachovic

fully embrace the implications of a competency-based curriculum. As educators seek ways in which to stretch medical education dollars, it is important that more students are trained who can graduate with less debt. Dr. Valachovic noted “that is precisely what the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine has done”.

True it is that LECOM offers multiple “Pathways” to the DO degree. Such conduits allow students to choose from among several four-year “Pathways” tailored to their learning preferences - Lecture-Discussion, Problem-Based Learning, or Independent Study; and since 2007, those students wishing to specialize in primary care have enjoyed a new three-year option, the Primary Care Scholars Pathway (PCSP). The accelerated and condensed program was designed to attract more students to primary care and to counter the waning interest in a greatly needed area of practice.

To facilitate this end, electives have been eliminated by LECOM in favor of a rigorous, year-round curriculum exclusively focused upon primary care. Students complete the first two years of basic science and preclinical education in less than twenty months, beginning clinical training in the spring of the second year. Rotations are limited to core competencies. The final month of the program finds students “externing” at hospitals where they continue their post-graduation clinical training.

The LECOM Primary Care Scholars Pathway also significantly reduced student indebtedness. In addition to replacing a year of tuition payments with a year of gainful employment, the program rewards graduates who remain in primary care for at least five years after completing their residencies with a scholarship covering one year of their medical school tuition.

If medicine can create a “three-year Pathway to a doctoral degree”, Dr. Valachovic posited that perhaps “dentistry might consider developing similar options”. Consistent with ithe medical school, the LECOM School of Dental Medicine endeavors to guide students into independent practice in underserved areas as swiftly as practicable.

“Instead of cutting the length of the program,

we have actually put more into it,” explained Dr. Robert F. Hirsch, Dean of LECOM’s School of Dental Medicine. “We are trying to give the students an extra year of clinic so they feel very confident in going out to practice right away,” he elucidated.

To do this, LECOM employs a year-round curriculum that conveys five years of dental education within a four-year period. Students are active for forty-eight weeks per year and they become increasingly engaged in the clinic. Beginning in January of year one, students work in pairs to provide upper and lower dentures thereby solidifying knowledge attained in a simulation denture course. During the last ten weeks of year two, scholars begin providing comprehensive care. In year three, they spend eight hours each day, five days each week in their own individual “operation”, providing comprehensive care to patients. In year four, students spend forty-eight weeks in a LECOM owned and operated outreach clinic situated in an underserved area where these student dentists will eventually see up to six patients a day.

“To meet accreditation standards and LECOM goals, students need to demonstrate a competency level within all aspects of dentistry,” Dean Hirsch assured. LECOM students will “have even more training because they are going to need a high level of expertise to be successful in underserved environments,” concluded Dean Hirsch.

Furthermore, LECOM is limiting student debt within the conventional time-frame. By setting yearly tuition at $48,000, a figure that may increase only modestly in future years, the school offers its students an education at substantially lower cost than that which is charged by most other private institutions.

Focusing upon the notion of receiving “value” for the “time spent” to earn a degree demands greater consideration than it has been accorded it in the past. Indeed, the growing national pressure to educate students more rapidly (whether the motivation be cost containment, immediate health care demands, or reducing

Continued on page 37LECOM.edu | DECEMBER 2012 | LecoM connectIon 13

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When the School of Dental Medicine opened its doors to the first class, a corps

of experienced dental educators already had begun preparing for the first day of class.

Along with the School’s Dean for Dental Medicine, Robert Hirsch DDS, the July 13, 2012 orientation introduced an assemblage of expert faculty and skilled instructors, all of whom are medical and dental education notables.

This brief introduction of these capable educators does not remotely touch upon the profound depth of experience and integrated instructive ability of these exceptional individuals. LECOM is proud to welcome the new dental faculty to the LECOM family of estimable instructors as together; they train and teach the next generation of dental medicine students.

Meet the new Dental School Faculty

21

3 4 5

6 7 8



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1 Dean Robert F. Hirsch, DDS, welcomed students and faculty at the orientation held on July 13, 2012. Previously, Dr. Hirsch held faculty and administrative positions at Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, Nova Southeastern University School of Dentistry, and the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. He is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University where he received both his BA and his DDS degrees. With a private dental practice in Erie, Pa. for more than 20 years, Dr. Hirsch unites practice with education in his leadership position at LECOM. He welcomed the new faculty to their posts on the inaugural first day as students and faculty met the new school year with observable enthusiasm and buoyant anticipation.

2 Francis M. Curd, DDS, DMD, FICD, FACD, served as Associate Professor in Residence in the Clinical Sciences Department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Dental Medicine. A graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, Dr. Curd was the Assistant Professor in Comprehensive Care and the Assistant Professor and Director of Quality Assurance at Case Western in addition to assisting as a preceptor of senior dental students at the University. In addition, he operated a private practice where he offered general dentistry and oral surgery care.

Kirk Zeller, DDS, joins the LECOM faculty as the Problem-Based Learning Facilitator for the Dental School. With a background in the United States Public Health Service Hospital in New Orleans, substantive experience in general practice dental residencies, and a dental clinic directorship for Manatee County, Dr. Zeller brings a broad range of practical and instructive experience to LECOM. He also served the Manatee County Public Health Unit where he was instrumental in a community-wide general dental practice that treated the local underserved population.

3

4 Claire Elizabeth Collins, DMD, joins the LECOM faculty from the University of Central Florida College of Medicine where she served as Adjunct Professor of Practice of Medicine-Module One. She carries with her a vast body of instructive experience from recent positions both as Clinical Associate Professor and Associate Professor in the Department of Restorative Dentistry and Comprehensive Care at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Collins has a Fellowship Certificate in Geriatric Dentistry from the University of Florida – Gainesville. In addition, she has MBA and management experience from several noteworthy schools. Most recently, Dr. Collins assisted in the student interview process to facilitate admissions for the inaugural class.

5 Anton S. Gotlieb, DDS, MS, begins his association with LECOM offering a plethora of dental experience to the new school. From his military service in dentistry at Walter Reed Army Hospital to his work as a clinical associate at the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and as faculty at Nova Southeastern University, Dr. Gotlieb carries with him a wealth of skill, proficiency, and educational experience.

6 Gustavo Leal, DDS, is a recipient of the American College of Prosthodontists ESPE Geriatric Fellowship for Dental Research. Dr. Leal is certified in Prosthodontics and he joins LECOM from Nova Southeastern University where he served as an adjunct clinical professor. There, Dr. Leal supervised students in the simulation lab while additionally he was involved in removable prosthodontics work as a patient clinic faculty member.

7 Marjorie Bell has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration in Health Service and a Degree in Professional Management Administration from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Her appointment as Instructor and PBL Facilitator makes her the perfect choice to serve as the Vital Source liaison and the dental admissions representative for the LECOM School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Bell has assisted and supported administration leadership in the areas of student affairs and admissions as well as serving on Curriculum, Student Progress, Student Appeals, Alumni Affairs, Institutional Advancement and Strategic Planning committees.

8 Mark Romer, DDS, has practiced general dentistry in Florida since 1974. Having joined Nova Southeastern University as part of the original faculty in 1997, he taught the first-entering students to that school. Now, with 14 years of teaching experience in the simulation lab, he is well-resourced to train students as Simulation Clinic Faculty and Assistant Professor at LECOM. Dr. Romer is skilled in all aspects of general dentistry. Additionally, he has experience as a faculty liaison both to the NSU ASDA chapter and to student government where to both organizations, he nurtured strong relationships with the students as their mentor and advocate.



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Attracting students to a new program requires the support of

undergraduate institutions and their admissions programs. LECOM has built affiliation agreements with more than 50 colleges and universities. None of these affiliations is stronger that the commitment of LECOM’s Erie neighbor, Gannon University.

Shortly after the School of Dental Medcine opening, Gannon University and LECOM extended their Early Acceptance Program (EAP) to allow Gannon students to continue their studies at LECOM. Previously, this partnership encouraged freshmen who are enrolling at Gannon to pursue pre-med and pre-pharmacy programs. Citing the mutual benefits to students and to the institutions, Gannon and LECOM have elected to include pre-dental students in the agreement.

High school students who meet the EAP requirements are conditionally accepted into both Gannon and LECOM simultaneously. The Early Acceptance Program allows Gannon students to complete LECOM entrance requirements either in three or four years for medicine, four years for dental and as little as two years for pharmacy.

“Gannon University was one of the first schools to offer the LECOM Early Acceptance Medical and Pharmacy Programs for our pre-professional students, so we thought it fitting to support our local partner’s new venture in establishing a similar Early Acceptance Program for pre-dental students,” said Keith Taylor, PhD, president of Gannon University. “We are thrilled to continue and strengthen our relationship with LECOM, providing additional opportunities for Gannon students to continue their studies to serve as dentists, physicians and pharmacists across the country,” he added. “Our health professional programs, students and graduates are clearly leading the way in the region in quality health promotion.”

Gannon Alumnus John M. Ferretti, DO, president of LECOM, says Gannon provides an exceptional pre-health career education. “We have seen that Gannon graduates are well prepared for the rigors of medical education,” Dr. Ferretti said. “We anticipate that the students who enroll in the School of Dental Medicine Early Acceptance Program will bring the excellence and professionalism of the Gannon education to their studies at LECOM.

EAP offers peace of mind. Students know that if they meet all the requirements, the seat in dental school will be there for them.

In its 20-year history, LECOM has accepted more than 200 Gannon graduates who have gone on to earn the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine or Doctor of Pharmacy Degrees. Another 87 Gannon Graduates are currently enrolled in those programs. Of those 19 were early acceptance students and Gannon has accepted 29 EAP students who are expected to start at LECOM in the next few years.

Keith Taylor, Ph.D, President of Gannon University (L) and John Ferretti, D.O., President and CEO of LECOM (R) signed the early acceptance agreement for the new dental school.

Gannon University, LecoM School of Dental Medicine Sign early Acceptance Agreement



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Each year, LECOM is proud to welcome its new class of students to each of

its program curricula and each year, a venerable “lamp of learning” stands ready to be ignited for the hopeful gathering of the best and brightest minds from across the globe as they arrive upon the LECOM campuses. There is an almost palpable sense of promise and an eager anticipation of student achievement that permeates the campus communities. For although one may speak of a figurative “lamp of learning”, the development, nurturing, growth, and flourishing of knowledge is quite literal and very real. The students who cross the threshold of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine – be they medical, pharmacy, or dental – arrive with a personal history that has surpassed the average, that has proven itself worthy, and that has the potential of great promise. Theirs is a “promise” that LECOM will enhance, enrich, improve, and hone during the many months of rigorous training and instruction that are to follow.

This year, the “pasts” of the newly arriving students are peppered with interesting achievements and unique stories. The stories are as varied as are the students; and their “histories”, like uniquely disparate threads of a well-woven tapestry create the new “class” that is LECOM 2016.

Some students possess “LECOM ties” with other of their family members having been graduated from the school. Pharmacy student, Renata Kulawik joins the LECOM family having had her brother, Raphael graduate with a DO degree from LECOM Bradenton in 2010.

Other students enter LECOM with particularly unique former employment histories. Jason Kempton noted that his previous position was that of a Black Jack dealer at the Hard Rock Casino in Seminole, Florida. He joins the 2016 Class of Pharmacy students with a passion for health care studies – as does Mark Keisling, an attorney pursuing a Pharm.D. Degree.

Some of the distinctive stories are strictly biological – for example, new medical students, Seth and Joshua Fakess are twins and both attended the University of Central Florida as molecular biology majors.

Several students, such as Jennifer Oberhardt, enter LECOM

the class of 2016 Arrives with Interesting Pasts and Promising Futures

with a history of health care in their educational quivers. Jennifer resides in Bradenton having worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Blake Medical Center.

LECOM welcomes athletes such as Shawn Schmeider, who attended the University of Florida having served as a ‘walk-on’ for the University of Florida football team that won two National Championships. He holds the distinction of having played football with New York Jets Quarterback, Tim Tebow. Both of Shawn’s parents are doctors of osteopathic medicine and both of them were graduated from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Shawn enters LECOM Medical School with their proud endorsement.

LECOM also welcomes students from around the globe, such as Mai Seike, a citizen of Japan who attended college in Bentley, Australia at the Curtin University of Technology. She completed her pre-requisites for medical school at Edison College in Fort Myers, Florida.

Dental student, Melanie Buchanan arrives at LECOM this year with her sister, Melinda entering her fourth-year as a pharmacy student at LECOM Bradenton.

Adam Rose – also entering the LECOM School of Dental Medicine – holds the distinction of being the first student accepted into the inaugural class. He hails from Beaver, Pennsylvania. As Captain of the Geneva College Football team, Adam was named District II Scholar-Athlete and defensive All-American.

Dental student, Jennifer Katz may find the rigors of LECOM altogether tranquil having departed her home state of Colorado where her family was recently evacuated during the Colorado wildfires.

All in all, there are many stories to tell, many pasts that will form new futures, and many diverse and promising new futures that will come to form exceptional health care professionals. LECOM embraces and welcomes each and every one: those whose anecdotes are listed herein and the many, many more of them who hold equally interesting and storied lives of resolve and of readiness. Their narratives are yet to unfold in the pages yet to be written as they find their new home in the hallowed halls of the LECOM campus. The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine welcomes each and every one of its admittees who will find the purpose of their calling during the purposed years that lay ahead of them.

Jennifer Katz.

Melanie Buchanan.

Class of 2016

Shawn Schmieder


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As classes began this fall, several Seton Hill students made the transition from

undergraduate student to medical student after participating in Seton Hill University’s cooperative degree program with LECOM. This program facilitated the scholarly shift with the innovative process undertaken upon the same campus. LECOM and Seton Hill share a common purpose as well as a common satisfaction in advancing the successes of the 3+4 Program. LECOM has been a part of the Seton Hill campus community since the medical school opened on the rolling hills of the university grounds three years ago. With the arrival of the medical school Class of 2016, LECOM will enroll more than 400 students on the Seton Hill campus.

Upon meeting grade and medical school entrance exam requirements, students who are accepted into the cooperative program are guaranteed one of twenty-six places reserved for Seton Hill students at LECOM.

This year, LECOM welcomes program participants: Alexandra Cisowski of Greensburg, Amanda Leonard of Averton, and Lauren Mathos of Irwin, Pennsylvania to the medical school. Enrolling in the 3+4 program presents a more rigorous academic path since during the second year of study, those students registered in the program must take three science classes plus three labs - which can prove challenging.

Cisowski was the first student to enroll in the 3+4 program and she joins the incoming Class of 2016 with the satisfaction of her recent successes at Seton Hill.

Irv Freeman, Vice President of LECOM at Seton Hill, explained that Seton Hill ensures that only the best and brightest are admitted to the program - requiring higher SAT or ACT scores than do other universities with whom LECOM holds cooperative degrees.

Having completed the 4+4 program at Seton

Pioneering Students from cooperative Program enter LecoM Medical School

Hill, Amanda, and Lauren join 3+4 enrollee Alex to enter LECOM as highly qualified and capable students, prepared to succeed in medical school. Amanda and Lauren already were enrolled in Seton Hill University when LECOM opened its doors on the Greensburg campus; and those students were accepted to enter LECOM this year.

The 3+4 program in biology entails that the student complete three years of undergraduate work at Seton Hill and four years of medical school at LECOM, earning both a bachelor’s degree and an osteopathic medicine degree.

“Students who meet the criteria at Seton Hill are then interviewed by LECOM staff on campus,” Dr. Freeman said. If both schools agree upon a candidate, the student is then admitted to Seton Hill with a provisional admission to the medical school.

Both Seton Hill and LECOM are anticipating with great eagerness these first three Seton Hill students entering the 2016 Class of medical school. “We’re absolutely looking forward to it,” affirmed Dr. Freeman.

Cisowski did not necessarily plan to become a program pioneer upon her enrollment to Seton Hill in 2009, yet as the first student accepted into the cooperative arrangement with LECOM, she attained the notable distinction as such. The new med student calls the result “a perfect fit blended with perfect timing”. The twenty-year old Hempfield Township native termed the program “more of a personal challenge” for herself than one wherein she sought to trail blaze.

Yet, as is the case with many a pioneer, trails are blazed with the first plucky souls who are prepared to take the step. Alex persevered through the rigors of the 3+4 program, achieving her goal and entering LECOM’s medical school with one distinctive first

in her figurative quiver that will come to hold the arrows of her future successes as a physician. Proving that seemingly insurmountable obstacles are overcome with steadfast commitment and undaunted effort – and by one step at a time, Alex recalled: “As a first time college student coming from high school, it was daunting to look at all of those credits that I had to take, but looking back now, it wasn’t as bad as I initially thought.”

Alex found herself interested in and drawn to the sciences, with her particular attentiveness focused upon biology and chemistry – however she soon realized that she did not enjoy the laboratory work. Immediately, she found her place within the field of anatomy. Her affinity for working with people and her comfort in the study of anatomy drew her to seek her calling in the health care field.

During her junior year of high school, she was nominated for one of Seton Hill’s Women in Science Scholarships, which she used to enroll in Seton Hill. Alex takes comfort in the fact that the LECOM Medical School is located on the same campus at Seton Hill and that accommodation will make her transition from undergraduate to medical student an easier charge.

So it is as well with Amanda and Lauren – as they complete the first group to venture from the demanding program and into a new world of equally demanding medical study, both Amanda and Lauren carry with them the full preparedness to attain LECOM success. Along with Alex, this intrepid trio of scholars now sets the bar for those who will follow as they move forward into the calling of their lives.

Pictured from L to R: Amanda Leonard, Lauren Mathos, Alexandra Cisowski

Class of 2016


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Oscar Wilde may have said it best, but New Fairfield, Connecticut native, Erin

Broderick is living proof that art is no match for real life.

Erin Broderick began acting as a small child; modeling for a short time when she was a four-year old and auditioning for acting roles by the time she had reached the age of 10. Her first television appearance came in the movie “Black Dog” with Patrick Swayze in 1998 when Erin was just 13. The next year, she won the role of Maureen Stabler - daughter of Detective Elliott Stabler, on the hit TV series “Law and Order SVU”. Erin continued in the role of Maureen until 2007, appearing in 13 episodes.

Her parents encouraged Erin to pursue a college degree and accordingly, she enrolled as a communications major at a college near

Life is no Imitation for Actress, erin Broderick - LecoM class of 2016

her Connecticut home. While continuing to act professionally, Erin took a position at a hospital to help defer the cost of commuting to New York City for auditions. The transformative experience caused her to re-evaluate her professional choices and to determine that acting was not as fulfilling as was a career in medicine.

Her brother had enrolled at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. Erin recalled that he would practice his osteopathic medical treatment lessons on her while relating to her the vital components of the complementary and integrative medicine that he was learning. Her interest was piqued. Erin enrolled in the post baccalaureate program at Columbia University in New York to prepare for medical school.

As she began her search to formally undertake her medical studies, Erin concluded that osteopathic medical school was her first choice. She found LECOM immediately attractive for her medical studies because it is one of the most cost effective medical schools for out-of-state students. After visiting Erie, Erin found that she loved the area and she quickly located an apartment in close proximity to the school. Noting that the spacious duplex was much larger than her New York City apartment and about one-fourth the cost, Erin began her stay in the heart of the North Coast with exuberant anticipation.

It is clear that while art may imitate life, the purposeful charge of one’s life mission has caused this young actress to define the true purpose of her life - the noble calling of medicine.

Class of 2016


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Class of 2016

Building upon “The Credo of Our Calling” theme for this issue, discipline is not a

word that Brian Wojtkielewicz takes lightly. The incoming medical student knows well the adage that “persistence pays off” having recently gained acceptance to LECOM after taking his MCATs six times. Anyone who studies medicine is well aware of the exacting rigors required by the MCATs; and so it was with Brian as he undauntedly persevered in his pursuit of attending LECOM.

His persistence and doggedness in seeking a place in the Class of 2016 ultimately was rewarded when, in September of last year, he gained a score suitable for entrance.

“Upon beginning my senior year of college, I took my first MCAT; I entered the Post-Bac program at LECOM after I had missed gaining admission into LECOM due to my MCAT score. Subsequently, I missed acceptance again after my Post-Bac program was completed - this time, being only two points shy of the necessary score,” recalls Brian.

Unbowed by the stinging disappointment of the narrow miss, Brian again put himself to the task of fulfilling his mission. As a young man, focused upon a lofty objective, he found that determination strengthened his resolve to achieve admission to LECOM. Faced simultaneously with a multiple diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis, Psoriasis, and Psoriatic Arthritis the determined scholar battled his way through these afflictions to gain the sweet reward of medical school acceptance.

The record of his self-fulfilling vision was begun in earnest in 2004, when Brian shadowed Dr. Anthony Ferretti during patient office visits; observing a practitioner’s interaction with patients and learning about total knee replacements. In the same year, Brian participated in the Villanova College National Youth Leadership Forum of Medicine held in Philadelphia. His focus upon increasing the depth and breadth of his exposure to all things medical continued, when in 2005 he received his Pharmacy Technician Certification from the LECOM/McDowell/Eckerd Program, whereupon he proceeded to gain further experience aiding pharmacists as a pharmacy technician at Eckerd/Rite Aid. In 2008, Brian shadowed Dr. Carl Y. Seon for a surgical procedure that the doctor performed on Brian’s father. Brian continued to shadow Dr. Seon in the physician’s medical practice where he observed hip replacements, wrist repairs, and repairs of fractured femurs. He even assisted with the cast preparation of a two-year old who had broken his humerus. In 2009, Brian shadowed Dr. John Ferretti. In addition, the motivated scholar served as a Teacher’s Assistant for the Gross Anatomy Lab at Gannon University, in the Cadaver Lab at LECOM, and as an orderly at Millcreek Community Hospital.

The drive, determination, and indefatigable spirit exhibited by this promising future physician are emblematic characteristics of the steadfast and unyielding diligence that is so highly regarded by LECOM. The commitment to the attainment of a lofty and purposeful goal, the refusal to yield to the challenges of ones circumstance, and the will to try again after tasting the bitterness of defeat comprise the estimable qualities of a capable LECOM student – and one day, in a future not all too far away – of a skilled and proficient physician.

the Sixth time is the charm for new LecoM Student


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There are few occasions that give rise to a heart-swell of delight and pride

as does the custom and tradition of the White Coat Ceremony. This year, ceremony attendees welcomed nationally recognized plastic surgeon and 1999 Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine graduate Joseph Racanelli, DO, who introduced the LECOM Class of 2016 to the rigors of clinical medicine when they received their first white coats. The ceremony, held at the Erie Warner Theatre in September, is the event that marks a transition from basic sciences into the clinical training that the students will begin receiving this fall.

The LECOM College of Medicine Class of 2016 numbers 250 students who received their white coats mid-way through their first semester. After studying anatomy and basic sciences for seven weeks, they are eager to begin clinical training that will prepare them to see patients.

Dr. Racanelli offered real world advice to the students about the way in which to survive medical school. He recalled certain roadblocks that he encountered, and he explained the way in which he navigated around them. While

nationally Recognized LecoM Graduate Introduces the class of 2016 - White coat ceremony

they can overcome the rigors of studying by managing time effectively mastering standardized tests, Dr. Racanelli encouraged them to maintain their own health first. “A regular daily exercise regimen proved invaluable for me throughout my time at LECOM, and it kept my mind and body sharp,” Dr. Racanelli explained. To that end he continued, “I was given a tour of the LECOM Wellness Center yesterday and I was very impressed. This state of the art facility has everything that you could possibly need.”

Dr. Racanelli suggested that students begin contemplating their medical paths early. “Rotate through hospitals that have residencies and fellowships in specialties in which you are interested,” he advised. He added that undertaking a commitment to hard work now will pay off when the LECOM scholars compete against students from other medical schools for the top residency spots.

“As a graduate of LECOM you will have all the necessary tools to secure a residency in any area of medicine that you choose,” Dr. Racanelli attested. “The difference will be what

you make of the opportunities given to you. It’s not enough to be smart, everyone in this room is smart; it’s going to be your hard work, dedication, and perseverance that determine your success,” he concluded.

One of LECOM’s many successful graduates, Dr. Racanelli, exemplifies the personal and professional qualities deeply valued in LECOM students, faculty, and graduates. A northern New Jersey native, Dr. Racanelli attended the prestigious Delbarton High School. From there, he travelled to Massachusetts to attend Boston College where he earned his undergraduate degree in psychology.

Physical health and wellness underscored Dr. Racanelli’s life and after earning his D.O. degree at LECOM, he completed his general surgery residency at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn. During his residency he trained extensively at The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, The New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center and in The North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System. Dr. Racanelli completed a post graduate fellowship in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Training alongside many internationally recognized plastic, reconstructive, and cosmetic surgeons; he has received the latest training in all aspects of plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Dr. Racanelli achieved national prominence in February 2009, when his practice methods were positively reviewed by a Vanity Fair Exposé author who visited the offices of three notable plastic surgeons. While some doctors were willing to drastically change the reporter’s appearance, Dr. Racanelli assured the journalist that her appearance should be her own choice. While his enthusiasm was infectious, the reporter wrote that she did not feel pressured by him to alter her almost flawless body as other physicians had suggested of her. In 2011, Dr. Racanelli received the highly esteemed accolade of appearing in New Jersey Magazine Top Doctors 2011. The honor is not conferred frivolously – and it is well deserved by Dr. Racanelli. The doctor is board certified by the American Osteopathic

White Coat Ceremony

Pictured (L-R) POMA President Mark Monaco, DO; John Ferretti, DO; Silvia Ferretti, DO and Joseph Racanelli, DO. Continued on page 34

Joseph Racanelli, DO was featured in Vanity Fair article about New York City plastic surgeons.


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White Coat Ceremony

Pictured are all 112 members of the LECOM at Seton Hill Medical Class of 2016 proudly wearing their white coats.

Pictured is POMA President Mark Monaco, DO handing a stethoscope to Firas Rafati OMS1.

Pictured L-R are OMS1 students: Allison Carlo, Laura Carlson, David Carroll

Pictured L-R: Danielle DeBias, PharmD and Hershey Bell, MD.

Pictured L-R are P1 students: Gertrude Agyekum and Hamza Ali-Ahmed.

LECOM Erie White Coat Ceremony


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Education

President and CEO of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. John

Ferretti, DO stood before a gathering throng in mid-September to announce the auspicious opening of the Arnot Regional Campus. The purposeful endeavor undertaken by LECOM continues the pledge and mission of the school to provide to its students an affordable and superlative education coupled with the intrinsic principle of community service.

President Ferretti explained that “those who know the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine are keenly aware of our mission; for it has long been one that holds fast to a noble and estimable purpose”. Dr. Ferretti further stated that the arrival of the new Arnot Regional Campus will serve as a “major clinical campus for LECOM and will set the paradigm in clinical education for osteopathic medical schools”.

Arnot Healthcare System currently offers clinical core rotations in all areas for LECOM students – serving up to 25 students each month. The creation of the Regional Campus will provide an innovative approach that not only demonstrates LECOM’s consistent leadership in medical education but – as part of LECOM’s effort to create a regional campus

Arnot Regional campus opens to Warm Welcome and Great Promise

model – one that will further establish a unique, case-based education curriculum for third and fourth-year students. Arnot Healthcare System, with three hospitals, and more than 800 beds is dedicated solely to Osteopathic medicine and is one of the largest health systems offering only Osteopathic Graduate Medical Education.

Students who have undertaken the initial program offerings have voiced exceptionally positive comments. The fact that the program will allow students to remain at the health system for a full year of clinical rotations with an option to continue through a second year of study underscores a significant benefit to the scholarly approach. The Hospital makes available affordable housing for the students and LECOM’s newly appointed Regional Dean, Richard Terry, serves as the on-site coordinator for the educational program. As the former President of the New York State Osteopathic Medical Society, Dr. Terry possesses a robust background in clinical aptitudes that will assist the College in increasing clinical education opportunities across the East and Central regions of upstate New York and North East, Pennsylvania. Dr. Terry comes to LECOM as the former Clinical Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the

New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and SUNY Upstate Medical University. Additionally, he serves as the Academic Officer for LECOMT where his work includes that of creating new residency programs for post-doctoral education.

Dr. Terry is an integral player in the Arnot Regional campus. Indeed, it was the clinical model instituted by Dr. Terry for LECOM that carries with it the innovative and pioneering attributes that are keenly effective in medical training. With ongoing curriculum for students, web-based lectures, student-structured learning that facilitates regional interaction throughout the year, regular OMT training, ongoing didactic sessions, as well as continuing student advocacy and support, the entire clinical experience promises to be a great success. Dr. Terry enthusiastically pointed out that this program “is a never before tried model that will offer unparalleled educational opportunities”.

The focus of the LECOM Regional Campus, located in the heart of the beautiful Finger Lakes region of central New York, advances an ongoing and major effort to create more physicians in multiple specialties to meet the physician shortage throughout the Southern Tier of New York State and across Northeast Pennsylvania.

To spur and support the superb Arnot Regional campus, Dr. Ferretti announced LECOM’s contribution of a $25,000 grant.

LECOM has long been aware that vision in the absence of action is nothing more than a dream and that action without the command of vision is merely the passing of time – but, action coupled with vision results in “making a positive difference.” The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine stands ever in the vanguard of “making that positive difference”. It has done so from its inception – 20 years ago; and the future promises that its time-honored mission will remain as an indelible commitment for decades hence.


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Community

There are few people who better represent and reflect the principle of person-

to-person leadership than does Silvia M. Ferretti, DO. Her incomparable leadership ability is just one of the reasons that the LECOM Provost -Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs was named as the 2012 recipient of the prestigious Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania Award.

Those who know Dr. Ferretti are aware that she is a nationally recognized and multi-faceted trailblazer, humanitarian, and visionary who, through exceptional public service and steadfast commitment to providing educational excellence to future generations of medical professionals, has led LECOM to become the largest medical school in the nation. As the first female Dean of an osteopathic medical college and as a constantly active and renown leader in osteopathic medicine, Dr. Ferretti has invested indefatigable personal commitment both to community and to Commonwealth by improving the health and welfare of its citizens, by training future healthcare professionals in the disciplines of medicine and pharmacy, and by revitalizing numerous areas throughout Pennsylvania through the establishment of medical educational institutions, health and wellness facilities, and outreach programs that bolster the municipalities in which they have been instituted. Dr. Ferretti led LECOM in its mission to provide exceptional academic training and purposeful community service to its graduates throughout the last two decades. Scholars, families, children, and educators have benefited from her leadership in Pennsylvania, across the nation, and internationally.

It is no wonder that the Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania Committee sought to bestow this revered honor upon

LecoM Provost Receives Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania Award for 2012

Dr. Silvia Ferretti. The estimable history of awarding the honor began in 1948 when Governor John H. Duff was approached by a group of influential women who suggested that outstanding women throughout the Commonwealth should be recognized for their leadership and contributions to the state. Accordingly, this approbation was established to honor those Pennsylvania women who had demonstrated illustrious endeavors through their professional careers and volunteer service. In 1949, the Commonwealth began honoring these women as “Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania” – and to date, 467 women have been recognized. To be considered for Distinguished Daughter selection, women must be nominated by organizations within the Commonwealth and the nominees must have demonstrated exceptional statewide and national accomplishments. The Governor and First Lady host the Annual Distinguished Daughters Presentation Luncheon at which time the “Distinguished Daughters” are honored with medals and citations at the Governor’s Residence.

This remarkable award befits the recipient, for under Dr. Ferretti’s leadership, LECOM

has earned a reputation for non-profit distinction, cutting-edge innovation, and excellence in providing medical education to students at an affordable cost. Through her governance, LECOM has come to promulgate its mission and purpose through its evocative sobriquet “The Community is our Campus”. Dr. Ferretti consistently has been committed to increasing student access to medical education by her implementation of the LECOM Auction Galas which have raised millions of dollars in student scholarships that defray the burdensome costs of medical education. Such scholarships have afforded medical educations to students who otherwise would not have been able to pursue their dreams to answer the calling of medicine. The philosophy of the LECOM mission would come to underscore the focus of her life’s work. She remains a devoted humanitarian and an advocate for persons with disabilities and for children who are suffering whether they live around the corner or across the globe.

If, as Shakespeare said, “action is eloquence”, it is true that a mere biographical sketch of this medical luminary almost trivializes the

Governor Tom Corbett and First Lady Susan Corbett congratulate LECOM Provost Silvia M. Ferretti, DO at the Pennsylvania Governor’s Mansion.

“Do not wait for leaders, do it alone, person to person – and in

so doing, be a leader.” Mother Teresa

Continued on page 27


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Breaking ground and setting trends are not new concepts for LECOM; likewise,

it is not surprising that one LECOM medical student recently did just that. Second-year medical student, Yu M. Chiu was accepted to The Betty Ford Clinic Summer Institute for Medical Students Program, concluding his session in June. The account of his experiences coupled with his bold leadership incentive to explore an area of treatment that is sometimes discounted draws positive recognition from the School.

Noting the recommendation from Dr. Mark Kauffman, DO, Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies, as a significant factor that afforded Yu the opportunity to participate in the program, the LECOM student explained that “The Betty Ford Clinic SIMS Program was an amazing experience that I hope to share with future LECOM classes”.

Yu further detailed that approximately 300 applications to enter the program were submitted to The Betty Ford Clinic and only 70-80 of those were accepted. Yu speculated that he may have been the only LECOM student ever to attend the program. He hopes to change that number for next year and for the many years to come. He explained that

LecoM Medical Student Breaks Ground at ‘the Betty Ford clinic’

“students could heavily benefit from this experience – and as a bonus, it is free!”

Yu provided a detailed report that documented his involvements and that examined the multi-perspective educational aspect that he experienced as a medical student-participant-observer.

In a report that he compiled at the conclusion of the program, Yu explained that most medical programs are extremely limited in their education about addiction treatment, stating that most medical educations provide about fourteen to twenty hours of addiction lectures during the pre-clinical years. After speaking with other students who recently had finished their first and second years, Yu learned that the number of hours was found to be significantly lower than estimated. Many medical schools essentially “gloss over” or at most, provide superficial information as to the way in which to treat the patient who overdoses. Yu posited that information such as: relapse rates, success rates, socio-economic affects upon the patient, and family impact simply are not taught. With his report, Yu addressed concerns about the necessity to include additional education that focuses upon the disease of addiction with his ultimate goal being that of encouraging more students to benefit from his experience either through attending the program itself or from participating in sessions that may be brought into the lecture halls.

Through his experience, Yu hopes to increase interest in the program area by

educating students about the disease, by fully engaging the actual disease process, and by using that which is learned to facilitate physician education when addressing this disease. Of course, Yu asseverated “the hope is to address a growing epidemic and a too commonly misdiagnosed, mistreated, and under-emphasized problem within the health community and even amongst ourselves as medical students and future physicians”.

The seven, one-week programs at The Betty Ford Clinic consist of sixteen medical students who hail from medical schools across the country. The students participate in lectures, group therapy sessions, staff Q&A sessions, and other edification. The all-encompassing program includes airfare, housing, and food for all days except those days prior to the start period. The program is completely funded by donations from sources such as, but not limited to: the Scaithe Foundation, Susan B. Riley Foundation, and The Betty Ford Clinic. Yu’s group – the second SIMS Program of 2012 – consisted of six osteopathic and ten allopathic students.

Yu concluded that his involvement with The Betty Ford Clinic SIMS program was “not only an academic experience, but a life experience” and one which taught him more about the depth of addiction than he had previously known or understood. Alcoholism and drug addiction are more than just diseases of the patient; rather they are afflictions that affect the entire family and all of those who surround them. With correct treatment and education of the patient and of the family;

Student Profile


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Second-year medical student, Brandi Manning was perched comfortably

poolside at her apartment complex in Bradenton on July 26 as she read a microbiology textbook in preparation for her second year of medical school at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Bradenton, Florida campus.

Within minutes of beginning her studies, Manning heard screams that prompted her to rush to the aid of a four year-old girl who had fallen into the swimming pool. When the girl was pulled out of the water, her body was limp and flaccid.

“Her lips were blue and she was completely unresponsive; there was no pulse and she wasn’t breathing,” said Manning

The 25-year-old medical student from Tampa quickly sprang into action. Calling upon the Basic Cardiac Life Support class that she completed during her first year at LECOM, Manning administered CPR, which revived the child.

“I just wanted her to breathe and to respond, and when she did, I was so relieved,” recounted Manning.

The Bradenton Herald pronounced Manning a hero; and certainly, the quick-thinking, take-charge medical student deserves the accolades.

LECOM Vice President, Dean of Academic Affairs and Provost, Dr. Silvia M. Ferretti issued a written commendation to Manning. “I would like to join with others in congratulating you on, first and foremost, saving a child’s life and for your initiative in taking split-second action to transition your life-support skills from routine training into an emergent event. Had you not been there, the outcome of this unfortunate incident may have been quite devastating,” wrote Dr. Ferretti.

Likewise, approbation from Hal S. Pineless, President of the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association and Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Florida State University College of Medicine arrived in Manning’s post. “I’m glad that you are a LECOM student. You are a credit to LECOM, and I know that they are proud of what you did. I’m glad you learned well in the CPR course. I know that LECOM will continue to prepare you for your career as an osteopathic physician. You are to be commended and congratulated on your heroics, I am honored to call you a colleague” said Dr. Pineless.

The fact that Manning possessed the ability coupled with the immediacy of responsive action to address the emergency both with composure and perspicacity speaks volumes for her and for the training that she receives at LECOM. The LECOM family takes great pride in observing first-hand the positive results of such training. As would a courier from the angels, Manning saved a life – and that is a tribute to the calling of a lifetime. That calling is medicine and LECOM portends a future bright with excellence as Brandi Manning enters the osteopathic medical profession in a few short years to come.

Beyond community Service

Student Profile

with willingness to change something about themselves – their routine and their pre-conceptions about this illness – success may be achieved. However, even then, success may not be guaranteed. The Betty Ford Clinic offers a unique patient treatment program together with an integrated patient support system. Yu noted “the sheer number of patients and families treated at the Betty Ford Clinic offers an obvious statement as to their effectiveness”.

Yu M. Chiu’s enthusiasm about this important program serves as an incentive to all LECOM students to examine new areas of treatment and of treatment options that make osteopathic physicians the best in the world and LECOM students first in the vanguard.

sedulous contribution and the character of a standard-bearer in healthcare and humanitarianism. Those who know Dr. Ferretti are at once cognizant of a no-nonsense leader guided with a focused solution-driven determination to achieve the objectives in her mission. But, those who truly know her understand that behind that determination is the love of a life’s calling that epitomizes the oft quoted principle that “it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing, it is not how much we give, but how much we put in the giving”. For Dr. Silvia M. Ferretti, “making results happen” is what she does often – but making them happen by nurturing hopeful and passion-filled hearts is what she does best. Dr. Ferretti is an extraordinary leader who lives a purpose-driven life of virtue and of faith and one who proves an exemplar to all who have come to know her. Her contributions and commitment to strengthen the state of Pennsylvania and to improve the quality of life for so many of its residents made her the perfect choice to receive the Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania Award for 2012.

-Dr. Silvia continued from pg. 25

Second-year Medical Student Brandi Manning Saves a Life


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LECOM and the Olympics

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Assistant Professor of Physiology, Santiago Lorenzo, Ph.D., watched the 2012 Olympic Games with keen interest.

Just eight years ago, Dr. Lorenzo marched in the parade of

nations, as he entered the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece to compete in the 28th Olympiad. As a member of Argentina’s Track and Field delegation, Dr. Lorenzo represented his home country in the decathlon. He placed 24th overall, but he triumphed in the 1500-meter leg of what many consider the ultimate Olympic test.

“It was a dream to walk into that stadium and to represent my country,” said Dr. Lorenzo, who joined LECOM’s Bradenton, Florida faculty in July. “It was even more special to win a leg of the Olympic decathlon.”

Intense discipline and superior focus are required to perform to the level that is essential to becoming an Olympic athlete. However, the discipline, determination, and dedication demanded of a decathlete are penultimate. The grueling decathlon is comprised of a series of competitions encompassing 10 different track events performed over a two-day period.

“Decathletes are the first onto the track and the last to leave,” explained Dr. Lorenzo. “Years of training are required to learn all of the disciplines and one must possess the mental maturity in order to be successful.”

The 34-year-old doctor hails from a family of Olympians. His father, Gerardo, was a field hockey player for Team Argentina during both the 1968 Games in Mexico City and the 1972 Games in Munich, Germany.

Dr. Lorenzo began his athletic career in field hockey before switching to track and field at the age of 14. At age 16, he participated in his first decathlon at the South American Under-Sixteen Track and Field Trials. He attended college from 1999-2003 at the perennial track powerhouse at the University of Oregon from which he continued to fulfill his Olympic dream in 2004.

“At the time during which I went to the Olympics, it was about taking care of business; it was not a vacation by any means,” asseverated the doctor.

Former olympian Joins LecoM Faculty

What is the Decathlon?Over a two-day period, Olympic decathletes

compete in the following events:100-meter dash

Long JumpShot put

High Jump400-meter run

110-meter high hurdlesDiscus

Pole VaultJavelin

1500-meter run

“One had to remain focused. The only things that I saw when I arrived in Athens were my room and the Olympic Stadium,” explained Dr. Lorenzo. Now, after the passing of the last few years, Dr. Lorenzo displays an enduring sense of awe with the knowledge that he actually competed in the Olympics before an audience of 75,000 people. “That’s quite an accomplishment,” he reminds himself.

Dr. Lorenzo is no stranger to “accomplishment” as he will now set his sights upon another quest: training LECOM students to become osteopathic physicians.

“To be able to have the opportunity to help students learn and grow to become physicians is very rewarding,” Dr. Lorenzo affirmed. Well aware of the discipline and dedication that success in any field requires, Dr. Lorenzo begins his journey along a new path buoyed by the heart of an Olympian and honed by the skill of his scholarship. There is little doubt that LECOM is sure to take home the gold.

Dr. Santiago Lorenzo competed in the 2004 Games in Athens, Greece


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LECOM and the Olympics

Greek legend depicts Atlas as the mythological god who, during the war of the Titans, stormed mount Olympus and threatened its deities. As punishment for this war crime, Zeus sentenced him to hold up the heavens and to bear their weight upon his shoulders forever. For this reason, Atlas is often associated with weightlifting and heavy burdens. Lore has it that Atlas possessed superhuman strength lifting 80 tons; was endowed with stamina and endurance; and like other Olympians, was resistant to injury.

From this anecdotal reference, it may come as a surprise to many that a young, female – Caitlin Lawes – fits the bill as an Atlas-like Olympian-style athlete of considerable note.

Caitlin grew up in Northwest Indiana. Throughout her childhood, she enjoyed and played many varied sports, focusing upon golf, swimming, and softball in high school. She began to lift weights as a way in which to improve her softball plays for her high school team. “I was a catcher,” explained Lawes, “so I wanted to strengthen my legs for the field, become more powerful in hitting, and gain speed in running bases”. Her strength coach encouraged her to compete in the Indiana State Weightlifting Championship in 1999. She won that competition and she qualified to compete in the Junior (under 20) National Championships in the following year. At that meet, Lawes finished second to Cheryl Haworth (the Bronze Medalist in the Sydney Olympics) and she had the opportunity to discuss with her the topic of weightlifting. Haworth inspired Lawes to continue lifting as its own sport.

In 2002, Lawes placed second again at the Junior National Championship and made the Under 20 National Junior Squad, which allows young lifters the opportunity to visit the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and to train with the potential Olympians there. Upon her visit to the Training Center, Lawes explained that “I knew that I wanted to continue lifting in college, so I attended Indiana University Bloomington to train with the great weightlifting coaches there”. She

LecoM Medical Student competed in olympic trials

began as a Pre-Med student, but Lawes continued, “training while simultaneously maintaining a medical course load was too much”. She changed her major to Physical Education while continuing to train three to six hours each day and to travel for

monthly competitions.

In 2004, the National University Championship was held in Bloomington, Indiana where Lawes placed second. The following month, she again placed second at the National Junior Championships with a lifting total high enough to make the Junior World Team. That team went on to the Junior World Championships in Minsk, Belarus and Lawes had the honor of representing the United States.

From there, she learned that she was selected to compete in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in St.

Joseph, Missouri. The importance of those meets compelled her to participate but, the close time frames of each placed great pressure upon her body. “I had the best meet of my career at the Olympic Trials, but I started having nagging back

pain immediately afterward” stated Lawes. She trained relentlessly through May and she went to Belarus where she finished 11th.

Upon her return to the United States, Lawes was invited back to the Olympic Training Center to train with the Olympians. Her back pain was unremitting; however, wishing to impress the Olympic coaches, she continued to train through the pain. “I traveled home to Indiana to see my doctor and I learned that I had herniated my L5/S1 disc and that was causing problems for me with plantar flexion and as a result, with walking normally,” she confides.

Lawes found it necessary to cease her weightlifting that year. Graduation loomed in the offing, prompting her to become a physical education teacher.

For the past six years, Lawes taught in a Chicago Public School while her original “mission” and “career goal of becoming a doctor” impelled her to take classes toward that equally unremitting passion: the desire to answer her medical calling persisted through all of the days of weightlifting and through all of the hours of training.

Her focus, like Atlas – the mythological lifter – allowed her to simultaneously work as the school’s athletic director,

coach boys’ and girls’ volleyball and basketball, and to organize after-school programs all while taking premedical classes such as biology and organic chemistry. The burdens of the rigorous journey to a medical career are heavy in many ways – hours of study, dedication to coursework, comprehending complex material – but, this Olympic-trial competitor has demonstrated the superhuman strength of determination and focus, of persistence and endurance – and for LECOM – Lawes’ core and character are Olympic indeed.


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Community is Our Campus

The pharmacy Mentoring Club and the Sigma Sigma Phi Gamma chapter at LECOM Erie participated in the annual Millcreek Mall’s trail of treats on October 25th to educate children and their parents on poison prevention. The Trail of Treats provides a safe trick-or-treat environment to children of all ages. The two-night event is held each year by the Sarah A. Reed Childrens Center the week before Halloween.

LECOM and Millcreek Community Hospital (MCH) were among the winners at the inaugural commitment to erie Awards presented at the Erie Bayfront Convention Center. The health system members were the only education and health organizations to win this prestigious honor recognizing the best of Erie businesses and institutions.The Erie Times-News newspaper developed the awards to tell the stories of progress, commitment and hope in the way the people of Erie collectively go about business, earn their livelihoods, give back to the community and look after each other.LECOM and MCH leaders proudly show the Commitment to Erie Award. L-R Christine Kell, PhD, LECOM associate dean of pre-clinical education; Mary Eckert, President/CEO of MCH; Tyler Travis, executive director of the LECOM Medical Fitness and Wellness Center; and Dennis Styn, president of MAE.The newspaper also recognized the John M. and Silvia Ferretti Medical Fitness and Wellness Center as the top fitness center in the 2012 erie’s choice Awards.

LECOM Erie had its first fundraising event to support the

colby Foundation. The event was a 5K race held at Presque

Isle State Park on Saturday September 29, 2012. The event supports the Colby Cassani Endowed Lectureship

Series at LECOM. The Colby Foundation’s mission is to increase organ and tissue donation awareness to the national community.

Many LECOM students and faculty participated in the run. CORE (Center for Organ Recovery and Education) was also on-hand to educate runners on organ and tissue donation.


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October was Pharmacist’s Month. And the mayor’s of both the City of Erie (top right) and the City of Bradenton (middle right) presented proclamations to both schools. Students from both campuses participated in numerous community events. Health fairs were held in both Erie and Bradenton, educating the public on a variety of topics ranging from organ donation to diabetes. The Student Society of Health System Pharmacists in Erie formed a giant human pink ribbon (bottom left) to raise awareness about breast cancer. And students in Brandenton held an operation immunization program at Walgreen’s Pharmacy. Other events such as 5K races, food drives and smoking prevention workshops were held during the month.

top Photo: Erie Mayoral Proclamation: Christopher Heasley (P3); Kim Burns, R.Ph., J.D.; BreAnn Eadie (P3); City of Erie Mayor Joseph Sinnot; Gale Garmong (P2); Rachael Ogden, Pharm.D.

Middle Photo: Bradenton Mayoral Proclamation: Sunil Jambhekar, Ph.D.; Jessica Baldwin (P3); Henry Tsang (P3); Amanda Merino (P3); Jenna Jones (P2); Amy Leung (P3); Kevin Olivieri (P3); Harrison Britt (P2) and Mayor Wayne Poston

Bottom Photo: Operation Immunization Program: Bhavesh Patel (P2); Robert Pedicone (P2) and Ketan Patel (P2)

Rachael Ogden, PharmD, conducted blood glucose screenings during the health fair in Erie.


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Sponsored by the Hillsborough county (FL) osteopathic Medical Society, students provided 261 patients with medical care in an area of Jamaica that does not have medical services within 25 miles.

Now in its fifth year, the medical mission project has served over 1,200 patients and donated over $20,000 in medical supplies.

Participating LECOM Bradenton second-year medical students included: Matthew Bakos, Meghan Cooper, Anthony Rossi, Rolando Cabrera, Gretchen Siefker, Michelle Winchell, Zachary Griggs (pictured left), Brandi Manning, Brittany McCollum, Sean McCarty, Kristen Wetherell, Alexis Katz and Miranda Giusti.

Students from the LECOM Bradenton chapter of the American college of osteopathic Family Physicians attended the state conference Aug. 2-5 at the Hilton Bonnet Creek Resort in Orlando, FL. Students attended conference seminars and events throughout the week. Pictured from LECOM are FLACOFP members Elyse Rosenthal (OMS 3); Benjamin Kelley (OMS 3); Rachel Pamplin (OMS 3); Dana Perrone (OMS 2); Fe Chen (OMS2) and Anjali Makhijani (OMS2).

Anna Liu of the American Pharmacists Association, LECOM Bradenton chapter, conducts a blood-pressure screening during an Operation Diabetes event. Opera-tion Diabetes seeks to help pharmacists and student pharmacists identify individuals in the community with previously undiagnosed diabetes and those who are at risk for developing the disease.


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LECOM President John M. Ferretti, DO (L) welcomes political consultant Karl Rove to Erie. The College sponsored the Jefferson eduational Society Global Issues conference just days after the Presidential Election. The conference brought to Erie experts from both sides of the political aisle along with science and health consultants. Rove analyzed what went wrong for the Republicans in the November 6 election.

The LECOM at Seton Hill Neurology Club raised the most money (and had the most members) of any team in the 2012 Walk to end Alzheimer’s in Greensburg. Donations from 67 team members totaled $4,543.01.From left to right: Kaitlin Mainwaring, Heather Krasa, Beth Koh, Sarah Giguere, and Erica Silva. All Class of 2015.

Representatives from 33 medical institutions in nine states gathered at the Harvest Center in Lakewood Ranch, FL for LecoM’s annual Hospital Day. Hospital Day is a time for LECOM second-year osteopathic medical students to learn about clinical rotations, internships and residency options that are available at hospitals and clinics throughout the country. Pictured above, Tracy Moll (OMS2) learns about residency opportunities at Manatee Memorial Hospital from William Evans Jr., DO (’11).

Officers from the Student American Academy of osteopathy club treated first- and second-year medical students at LECOM’s Bradenton campus to cake in celebration of Andrew Taylor Still’s birthday. Dr. Still, the founder of Osteopathic Medicine, was born Aug. 6, 1828. Pictured above is Thomas Quinn, DO, OMS 2s Kristen Wetherell, Cydney Godman, Jenifer Bryant and Matt Mahony.


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January 26 - White Coat Ceremony LECOM Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch Harvest CenterFebruary – Script Your Future, Medication Adherence Awareness MonthJanuary 27-28 - Pennsylvania Pharmacist Association Conference, Harrisburg, Pa.February 21-24 - Florida Osteopathic Medicine Association Conference, Weston, Fla.March 1 -3 - Primary Care 2013 CME Conference, Peek’n Peak, Findley Lake, N.Y.March 21-25 - American Academy of Osteopathy Convocation, Orlando, Fla.March 21-24 - American College of Osteopathic Family Practice Conference, Las Vegas, Nev.April 14-20 - National Osteopathic Medicine WeekMay 1-3 - Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medicine Association Conference, Valley Forge, Pa.June 2 - LECOM Erie and Seton Hill CommencementJune 9 - LECOM Bradenton Commencement

Upcoming Events

Carl Mullinax has been an outstanding Building Operations Supervisor in LECOM’s Maintenance Department for the past 20 years. He was instrumental in the renovation of the former GTE Building at LECOM’s inception in 1992. He has also overseen construction of the 4th and 5th floor additions as well as the new first-floor entrance. Other responsibilities have entailed construction or expansion projects at the Wellness and Fitness Center, Coffee Culture, the Bayfront Building, and Plaza 18. As a very creative person, his expertise in guiding the transformation of these projects as well as

spearheading numerous other maintenance jobs has been immeasurable. As a result of his hard work, we can be very proud of all of our physical plants.

Those of you who know Carl are aware that he has always given 110% of his efforts to every task he has undertaken. No job was ever too big or too small for him not to implement the standards of excellence he has employed everyday throughout his career.

While we are sorry that we will not see Carl on a routine basis, we are happy for him in his retirement. He will be able to spend more time with his lovely wife Jane, who was also an employee at LECOM, as well as hunt and enjoy the outdoors with more flexibility. We are delighted; however, that Carl has agreed to work with us, periodically, on special projects.

Whether you have known Carl throughout his tenure at LECOM or not, please join us in congratulating him on the occasion of his retirement and in celebration of his 20 years of dedicated service to LECOM.

carl MullinaxA Celebration of Retirement

Board of Surgery and maintains professional memberships with the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, American Osteopathic Association, American College of Osteopathic Surgeons, American Medical Association, the Medical Society of the State of New York and the New Jersey Association of Osteopathic Physicians & Surgeons.

In addition to Dr. Racanelli’s address, the President of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association (POMA) presented new stethoscopes to each of the medical students. Mark Monaco, D.O. spoke to the students about the important role that POMA plays in maintaining the high standards of medical education and in promoting public health throughout the Commonwealth. The state organization provides the white coats that are issued to the students to venerate one of the highlights of the college year as a commemoration of achievement.

The time-honored practice at medical schools serves as a “ceremonial rite of passage” and as a pronouncement of a psychological contract that creates a bond uniting professionalism and empathy in the study and practice of medicine.

A Proud Accomplishment

-Dr. Racanelli continued from pg. 22


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A Proud Accomplishment

top Right: Angela Manglitz OMS2 taught young people about eating healthy.Middle photo: Asam Williams learns about strokes from Afton Thomas OMS2.Bottom Photo: Operation Dawn organizer Zeb Cope OMS2 works with Erie School Teacher Chelsea Moore who helped bring students to the program.

LECOM Students invited local colleges and organizations to meet with and motivate Erie young people to lead healthy lifestyles, go to college and build successful careers.Zebulun Cope, LECOM Class of 2015 medical student, developed the KUSP (Know, Understand, See, Perceive...Prosper) project as part of a learning experience with the Paul Ambrose Scholarship Program in Washington, DC, last summer. Eleven LECOM student organizations participated in Operation Dawn at the John F. Kennedy Centeron Erie’s east side. Many of the clubs presented health prevention and nutrition demonstrations that relate to young people. They also worked with high school students who want to learn how to interview for jobs and college.

operation Dawn encourages erie

Students to consider Higher education

oportunities


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Alumni Notes

Alumni NotesErieClass of 2003Marlene Micco Ascione, DO is the medical director of Sadler Health Center in Carlisle, Pa. Sadler is a community health center serving those in need. Dr. Micco Ascione has been married for 10 years and has two children.

Class of 2004Melissa Mahoney, DO of Portage, Ind., passed away on Sept. 2. Dr. Mahoney, an obstetrics and gynecology physician, had been in private practice for three years with Methodist Hospital in Gary, Ind. She is survived by her mother, Susan Taylor (Mahoney) and sister, Samantha Mahoney, both of Portage.

Class of 2005Jeffrey Brown, DO has joined Premier Medical Specialists in St. Louis, Mo. Dr. Brown moved to St. Louis in 2005 to complete his internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He specializes in preventive and invasive cardiology.

Class of 2006Linda Burns, DO has re-joined Buffalo (N.Y.) Rheumatology. Dr. Burns joined Buffalo Rheumatology following completion of a Rheumatology Fellowship at The Ohio State University.

Garrett Clark, DO has joined the staff at the Ashtabula (Ohio) VA Clinic. A native of Erie, Pa., Dr. Clark joined the VA after three years of private internal medicine practice affiliated with Millcreek Community Hospital and Medical Associates of Erie.

Edward M. Galiczynski, DO has joined Arizona Dermatology and

Cosmetic Surgery. A native of Northern Cambria, Pa., Dr. Galiczynski completed a one-year internal medicine internship at The Western Pennsylvania Hospital in Pittsburgh, followed by a combined Dermatology Residency and Research Fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic.

Class of 2007Katherine Metzger, DO has joined Yavapai Regional Medical Center in Prescott Valley, Ariz. Dr. Metzger completed an internal medicine residency at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix.

Michelle A. Tarasi, DO has joined the staff of Somerset (Pa.) Hospital, specializing in pain management. Dr. Tarasi recently completed a Fellowship in Pain Management at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville.

Class of 2008Palak Doshi, DO is engaged in a Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery at the Center for Women’s Care Reproductive Surgery in Atlanta, Ga.

Edward Gusick, DO joined Susquehanna Health Sports Medicine in Williamsport, Pa. Dr. Gusick completed a sports medicine fellowship at the Geisinger Sports Medicine program.

James Rummel, DO a resident physician in Jones Memorial Hospital’s Family Practice Office in Andover, N.Y., presented “Do you D.O.?: Osteopathic Medicine?” as part of Alfred University’s (N.Y.) ongoing Bergren Forum Series.

Rebecca H. Schnatz, DO has joined the staff at Allegheny Valley Hospital. Dr. Schnatz completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency at West Penn Hospital. Dr. Schnatz practices with Century Medical Associates with offices in Natrona Heights and O’Hara, PA.

Class of 2009Sherwan Ahmad, DO has joined the medical staff at Heritage Medical Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn., as a family practice physician.

Jack Panzone, DO married Dr. Jacqueline Decker on Sept. 8, 2012 in Nassau County, N.Y. Dr. Panzone is the chief resident at Westchester Medical Center.

Lasley Xiong, DO has joined Dignity Health Medical Group in Merced, Ca. Dr. Xiong and her sister, Lesley, were featured in a newspaper article about providing much-needed medical care to the underserved Hmong community in Merced.

Class of 2010Lauren Clifford, PharmD married Brian Engler on Aug. 26, 2011 in Bloomsburg, Pa.

Class of 2011James Lamberg, DO received the Professional Practice Award from the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at Penn State-Hershey. The award is presented to a post-graduate year one physician who consistently displays excellence in patient care, accountability, mentoring, collegiality, teamwork and integrity. Dr. Lamberg is completing an anesthesiology residency at the Center.

Jane Hartman, DO joined the Avera Medical Group in Marshall, Minn., in family medicine. Dr. Hartman completed a fellowship in sports medicine.

Class of 2012Kimberly Keefer, DO and James Kyle, DO were married on June 10, 2012 in New Windsor, N.Y. Dr. Keefer is completing her internal medicine residency at Legacy Health System in Portland, Ore., while Dr. Kyle, a U.S. Army captain, is completing his pediatric residency at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash.


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Alumni Notes

BradentonClass of 2008Michael Cosgrave, DO a primary care physician specializing in family and sports medicine has joined Jordan Parkway Medical Group in South Jordan, Utah. He completed a residency in family medicine and a fellowship in sports medicine at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.

Ryan Jawitz, DO has opened Riverchase Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery in in Port Charlotte, Fla. Dr. Jawitz will staff the office and will offer services including Mohs surgery (for cancers of the skin), as well as cosmetic and general dermatology.

Class of 2009 Steven Aird, DO has joined the Intermountain Healthcare group in Layton, Utah. Dr. Aird is practicing at Layton Clinic and Layton KidsCare. Dr. Aird completed his pediatric residency training at the University of Texas Southwestern at Austin and earned the Outstanding Resident of the Year and the Outstanding Resident Teaching Awards.

Jodie Calain, DO has joined Wilmington Health Family Medicine in Hampstead, N.C. She completed a family medicine residency at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, N.C.

Bella Chokshi (Patel), DO is a chief resident at the University of South Florida’s Morsani College of Medicine; Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency.

Eugene DiBetta, DO has joined Suncoast Family Medical Associates in Largo, Fla. Dr. DiBetta completed his Family Practice Residency and his Osteopathic Internship at St. Petersburg (Fla.) General Hospital.

Tarah Freyman, DO completed her residency at the University of Kansas

School of Medicine-Wichita Family Residency program at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kan.

Jennifer Laman, DO recently opened her family medicine practice at Oakstead Professional Center, Land O'Lakes, Fla. Dr. Laman was chief family medicine resident at Largo (Fla.) Medical Center where she received the Resident of the Year award for 2011 and 2012.

Sasha Noe, DO opened her own practice, Apollo Beach (Fla.) Family Medical Center. Dr. Noe completed her residency training at St. Petersburg (Fla.) General Hospital.

Asha Schweitzer, DO has joined the Moscati Health Center in Hastings, Neb., as a family practice physician. Dr. Schweitzer recently completed her family medicine residency with the Lincoln Family Medicine Program.

Hershey S. Bell, MD, MS, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the LECOM School of Pharmacy was named to the Pennsylvania Pharmacist Editorial Board for Peer-Reviewed articles.

Chet Evans, DPM, MS, Vice President of Medical Education and Program Development was named chairman of the Diabetes Advisory Council, a governor-appointed group that advises the Governor and the (Florida) State Surgeon General on emerging diabetes issues affecting care, treatment, and quality of life. He also was re-elected to the Board of Directors for the Manatee Chamber of Commerce.

James Moore, DMA, Director of Recruitment was appointed as LECOM’s Vice President of Institutional Development. In his new position Dr. Moore will be charged with establishing

a LECOM presence within the Provo, Utah, community and the broader region known as the “intermountain west”.

Ayman M. Saleh, Ph.D, Assistant Professor, College of Osteopathic Medicine – Erie, co-authored the paper: “Composition of the Essential Oil of Wild Growing Artemisia vulgaris L. from Erie Pennsylvania”, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal National Product Communications.

Bojana Stevich, Pharm.D, MS, Assistant Professor , School of Pharmacy – Erie was appointed to the Hematology-Oncology Pharmacy Association ‘s Board Certified Oncology Pharmacist review committee.

Mary Ray, Pharm.D, Director, Office of Experiential Education, School of Pharmacy – Erie, presented “Becoming a Preceptor: A Rewarding Experience for Students and Preceptor” with Dr. Steve Shaeffer at the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association conference.

Faculty Notes

student indebtedness) can serve as a catalyst for making the entire enterprise of medical and dental education more efficient and more responsive to those it serves. LECOM consistently has proven a successful leader in establishing innovative and exemplary methods in its mission to train osteopathic physicians, pharmacists - and now dentists to practice medicine at a higher level and it continues to be the standard bearer and reigning champion of efficient ways in which to deliver health professions education. The “LECOM Pathways” program is just one remarkable illustration of that success.

-Dr. Valachovic continued from pg. 13


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Student NotesErie CampusJeremy Bankert (OMS1) participated in a medical program in Johannesburg, South Africa. The program is part of Penn State University’s Global Health Initiative. Bankert spent six weeks in South Africa, including five weeks observing at rural clinics that serve poverty-stricken villages.

Jimmy DeMeo (OMS2) was elected to the Student Osteopathic Medical Association’s (SOMA) Board of Trustees for Region 1. DeMeo will be responsible for coordinating all SOMA chapters in the Northeast region for 2012-13.

Brandon Karmo (OMS4) won second place in the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Bureau of Osteopathic History and Identity’s eighth annual history essay competition. Karmo’s composition “Not Just Your Average Flu: The Story of Osteopathic Medicine and the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919” earned him a $3,000 prize.

Yu Chiu (OMS2) co-authored the paper: “The Stoichiometric Production

of IL-2 and IFN-y mRNA Defines Memory T Cells That Can Self-Renew After Adoptive Transfer in Humans”, which was published in the Science of Translational Medicine.

Bradenton CampusLogan Dellinger (OMS2) received a $1,500 scholarship from the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Joel Garrison (OMS4) received a $10,000 scholarship from the Manatee Community Foundation and the Johanna P. Hagedoorn Scholarship Fund.

William Bianchi (OMS2) and Sarah Wiegand (OMS2) are coordinating a research project: “Evaluation of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine Treatment in a Distressed Medical Student Population”.

Monica Yu (P3) received a $2,500 scholarship from the Great Lakes National Scholarship Program.

Margarita Sianosyan (P4) had her presentation “GLP-1 Analogs and Lifestyle Modifications” published on the diabetesincontrol.com web site.

Robert Schnick, MLS, LECOM director of Learning Resources and Technology, died Aug. 19. Bob was a kind-hearted and gifted person who joined the LECOM family at its inception 20 years ago. It was through Bob’s leadership and expertise that the Learning Resource Centers at all three campuses have grown into the outstanding facilities they are today.

He born was in Kenmore, N.Y. on February 19, 1955, the son of the late Melvin J. and Paula M. Sage Schnick. He was a 1973 graduate of Kenmore West High School and also received his Bachelor of Science degree in Library Sciences from the University of Buffalo. He enjoyed music and ham radio.

Bob is survived by his wife, Sherry Wu, a brother, Donald A. Schnick and his wife, BetteAnn M. Brancato-Schnick of Buffalo, N.Y. along with a niece, Bernice Paula Schnick also of Buffalo.

In Memoriam

Timothy Speer (D1) received the Craig A. Winkelmann Scholarship from the Pi Kappa Phi Foundation of Georgia Southwestern State University.

Seton Hill CampusStephen Ching (OMS4) co-authored an abstract: “Mammary Adipocytes Bioactivate 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 and Signal Via Vitamin D3 Receptor, Modulating Mammary Epithelial Cell Growth” in the Journal of Cellular Biochemistry

David Trafficante (OMS3) co-authored a paper that was recently published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The paper is titled: “Th17-stimulating Protein Vaccines Confer Protection against Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Pneumonia.”

Katelyn Shaffer (OMS2) received the $1,000 Bagby Scholarship. Bagby scholars spend four weeks gathering clinical experience and attending lectures at Excela Health Latrobe (PA) Hospital in association with the Family Medicine Residency Program.

Campuses in Erie and Greensburg, Pa. and Bradenton, Fla.

MIND BODY SPIRITTHE CALLING?

CAN YOU HEARA PHARMACIST is more than a person that hands you medication. We are part of a powerful team with your physicians that make sure your medications keep you healthy. A pharmacist is the medication expert. We teach you how to take your medications properly and safely. To be a medication expert begins with the proper education. At LECOM, we are taught to treat the whole person and keep the health of the patient front and center. At LECOM, we believe in Mind, Body and Spirit. At LECOM, we see human potential taken to the next level and beyond...

...My calling was to become a pharmacist. I went to LECOM.

Student Notes


http://lecom.edu/school-pharmacy.php/LECOM-School-of-Pharmacy/49/2205/613/2792

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Campuses in Erie and Greensburg, Pa. and Bradenton, Fla.

MIND BODY SPIRITTHE CALLING?

CAN YOU HEARA PHARMACIST is more than a person that hands you medication. We are part of a powerful team with your physicians that make sure your medications keep you healthy. A pharmacist is the medication expert. We teach you how to take your medications properly and safely. To be a medication expert begins with the proper education. At LECOM, we are taught to treat the whole person and keep the health of the patient front and center. At LECOM, we believe in Mind, Body and Spirit. At LECOM, we see human potential taken to the next level and beyond...

...My calling was to become a pharmacist. I went to LECOM.


http://lecom.edu/school-pharmacy.php/LECOM-School-of-Pharmacy/49/2205/613/2792

1858 West Grandview Blvd. Erie, Pennsylvania 16509(814) 866-6641 www.lecom.edu

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lecom connection fall 2012

Documents

knowledge of history

lecom approach

college history

american history

study of history

lecoms history

president4 lecom connection

means of responsibility