ASDOH dental students provided oral screenings, fluoride varnish, and oral health education at the Arizona Special Olympics Special Smiles event held Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010 from 8 a.m.-noon in Surprise, Ariz.

A total of 52 softball athletes with special needs received oral screenings, and 60 received oral health education.  Eighty-seven swimming athletes with special needs received oral screenings, and 77 received oral health education.

“The ASDOH volunteers did an amazing job by bringing great energy and enthusiasm to the event,” said Michelle Panico, M.A., R.D.H., clinical instructor, ASDOH.

ASDOH supervising faculty and the participating dental students are included below.

ASDOH faculty:

Dr. Tim Lukavsky and Ms. Karen Fallone.

ASDOH D2 and D3 students:

Stephanie Canton, Daniela Diaz, Roberta Kerr, Emily Ann Cowlin, Aaron Jeziorski, Joseph Moon, Jeremiah Sturgill, Riley Sturgill, Bryan McLaughlin, Nipa Patel, Brian Yates, Stephanie Denick, Nikki Trombetta, Elif (Elle) Aksoylu, Maria Bartoletti, Maryam Meschi, Mai-Ly Duong, Jessica Nguyen, Natalia Camacho, Leah Tekle, Abrahim Caroc, Mahshid Mehdipour, Jennifer Logigian, Monica Louie, Amanda Sparacino, McKay Garrett, Farshad Rouhani, Josh Pagel, Diana Lin, Jaime Norton, Robert MacArthur, Aisha Amin, and Claire Anderson.

ATSU’s water tower was renovated during September and October.

ATSU will light up the Kirksville nighttime landscape on November 8 at its community celebration for the renovation of Kirksville’s iconic downtown water tower.

The event will be held in the parking lot near the Tinning Education Center and Connell Center on the ATSU campus off Jefferson St. This location allows the community to witness the enhanced lighting of the newly painted structure bearing the A.T. Still University name.

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Kirksville Osteopathic Alumni Association announces awards.

ATSU-KCOM and the Kirksville Osteopathic Alumni Association (KOAA) Board of Directors announced their annual awards at the KOAA Luncheon and Assembly Meeting on Monday, Oct. 25, in conjunction with the American Osteopathic Association Convention in San Francisco.

Boyd Bowden II, D.O. ’68; Tracey Lantz; Randy Rogers; and W. Richard Loerke, D.O. ’58, each were honored with KOAA awards.

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George Blue Spruce, Jr., D.D.S., M.P.H., assistant dean for American Indian affairs and assistant professor at A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) is the recipient of the 2010 Oral Health America Marvin Goldstein Outstanding Volunteer Award. Dr. Blue Spruce was presented with the award on September 29 in Washington, D.C., at the Capitol Visitor’s Center. The award ceremony was part of an event held on Capitol Hill in recognition of the 10^th anniversary of the Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health in America. The event was attended by many notable leaders including Dr. Beth Truitt, CEO of Oral Health America; Dr. Frank Catalanotto, Board Chair for Oral Health America; and Assistant Surgeon General Admiral William Bailey.

Dr. Blue Spruce was selected for the award for his dedicated volunteer leadership in improving the oral health of the American Indian people and for inspiring American Indians to enter and become leaders in the dental and allied health professions. He is the first recognized American Indian dentist, the first American Indian to hold the position of Assistant Surgeon General of the United States, and also is the founder of the Society of American Indian Dentists.

“I am humbled and honored to be recognized by such an esteemed organization as Oral Health America,” said Dr. Blue Spruce. “As the first recognized American Indian dentist, and looking back to see how very few natives there were following in my footsteps, it became my challenge and passion to serve as a role model and leader, letting American Indian people know that there is an opportunity and a pathway to ultimate success as a leader in dental healthcare for American Indian people.”

The Marvin Goldstein Award was established by the daughter of Dr. Marvin Goldstein, a pioneering orthodontist who opened the first integrated dental practice in 1964 in a then-segregated Atlanta. He operated his dental clinic there for 30 years and was a longtime friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Goldstein’s daughter requested that Oral Health America annually select an individual who demonstrated leadership in serving the oral health needs of vulnerable people through outstanding volunteer and professional contributions. Oral Health America is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to changing lives by connecting communities with resources to increase access to dental care, education and advocacy.

In addition to receiving the Marvin Goldstein Award, Oral Health America will place a brick in Dr. Blue Spruce’s honor in the courtyard of the Museum of Dentistry in Baltimore, Maryland.

“This award is well-deserved,” said ATSU-ASDOH Dean Jack Dillenberg, D.D.S., M.P.H. “It is truly an honor to have George as a faculty member. He is an extraordinary credit to our school, the profession of dentistry, and all of us involved in healthcare.”

A.T. Still University of Health Sciences – Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM) and the Kirksville Osteopathic Alumni Association (KOAA) Board of Directors announced their annual awards at the KOAA Luncheon and Assembly Meeting on Monday, Oct. 25, in conjunction with the American Osteopathic Association Convention in San Francisco.

Boyd Bowden II, D.O. ’68, of Columbus, Ohio, is the 2010 Alumnus of the Year. This award was established in 1982. Dr. Bowden was recognized for his record of service to the profession, his alma mater, and the Alumni Association.

The KOAA selected Tracey Lantz as this year’s Living Tribute Award recipient. Established in 1969, this award recognizes and honors outstanding ATSU-KCOM faculty members and administrators. Lantz currently serves as the assistant president and secretary to the board.

The 2010 KOAA Distinguished Service Award recipients are ATSU Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement Randy Rogers and W. Richard Loerke, D.O. ’58. The KOAA Board established this award in 1991 to recognize alumni and friends who have provided outstanding service or financial support to ATSU-KCOM and the KOAA.

A. T. Still University of Health Sciences (ATSU) has recently published Dr. Max, a book on Max T. Gutensohn, D.O. Dr. Max, as he was affectionately called locally and throughout the osteopathic profession, taught and practiced medicine in Kirksville for nearly 50 years. Revered by everyone who had the chance to meet or to learn from him, Dr. Max made a lasting impression with his humble and wise demeanor and his commitment to patients, students, and the osteopathic medical profession. Dr. Max, who died in 2002, was known nationwide as an osteopathic icon and widely recognized for his superb diagnostic skills. He received numerous prestigious awards and honors throughout his career and served as the president of ATSU in 1983-84.

Dr. Max, is a collection of his reflections on a variety of subjects from osteopathic manipulation, to his tremor, to golf, and even to Ernest Hemingway. It also includes stories and tributes written by those who loved and admired him. The collection paints a picture of a man who, despite his physical disabilities, rose to the top of his profession. Glimpses of his dedication, brilliance, gentleness, compassion, and superb diagnostic skills, as well as his sense of humor, appear throughout the collection.

One of the tributes in the book is by Dr. Jack Magruder, president of ATSU: “When I was just a kid, we lived on East Jefferson, several blocks from A. T. Still University. My father was very ill and had been for two or three years, and Dr. Max was his physician. Dad couldn’t get to the doctor’s office easily, so Dr. Max would come to my house, carry his black bag, treat my father, talk to him, and encourage him. All of us in the family—I was probably in junior high—had such admiration for Dr. Max, this physician who would come to our house and take care of our father. We thought he was next to God. And then, lo and behold, I found out later when my dad was gone and I am old that actually he probably was next to God in the way people viewed him.”

The book, edited by Phyllis Blondefield, Ph.D., is available at the Museum of Osteopathic Medicine on the campus of ATSU. Proceeds from the sale of the book go toward the Gutensohn/SGA Student Endowed Emergency Grant Fund.

A.T. Still University of Health Sciences (ATSU) will light up the Kirksville nighttime landscape on November 8.

ATSU is holding a community celebration for the renovation of Kirksville’s iconic downtown water tower. The event will be held in the parking lot near the Tinning Education Center and Connell Center on the ATSU campus off Jefferson St. This location allows the community to witness the enhanced lighting of the newly painted structure bearing the A.T. Still University name.

“This water tower has long been a landmark for the ATSU campus in Kirksville, and I think its fresh makeover appropriately reflects the medical school’s growing stature in the nation,” said Kirkville Mayor Todd Kuhns.

The event kicks off at 6 p.m. and the lighting will be live on KTVO at 6:10 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided.

“The collaboration between A.T. Still University and the city of Kirksville continues to be outstanding,” ATSU President Jack Magruder said. “Kirksville is as much a part of the ATSU community as ATSU is a part of the Kirksville community, and this water tower lighting is symbolic of that wonderful relationship.”

George Blue Spruce, Jr., D.D.S., M.P.H.

George Blue Spruce, Jr., D.D.S., M.P.H., assistant dean for American Indian affairs and assistant professor at A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) is the recipient of the 2010 Oral Health America Marvin Goldstein Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Dr. Blue Spruce was presented with the award on September 29 in Washington, D.C., at the Capitol Visitor’s Center.  The award ceremony was part of an event held on Capitol Hill in recognition of the 10^th anniversary of the Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health in America. The event was attended by many notable leaders including Dr. Beth Truitt, CEO of Oral Health America; Dr. Frank Catalanotto, Board Chair for Oral Health America; and Assistant Surgeon General Admiral William Bailey.

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Day of Compassion

The Biomedical Sciences Club hosted a Day of Compassion ceremony October 19 to honor the physicians, faculty, and staff who lost their lives on October 19, 2004.

Four ATSU-KCOM physician regional assistant deans and two administrative staff died when Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 crashed on arrival just outside the Kirksville Regional Airport . They, along with two nationally recognized pediatricians representing the A.P. Gold Foundation, were coming to ATSU to participate in and facilitate a day-long faculty workshop to encourage more compassionate and relationship-centered healthcare.

ATSU members lost on Flight 5966:

Clark B. Ator, D.O.
Judith Diffenderfer, D.O.
Kathleen Gebard, M.A., B.S.
Steve Miller, M.D.
Toni Sarantino
Richard Sarkin, M.D., Ed. M
Mark E. Varidin, D.O., B.S., FACOFP
M. Bridget Wagner, D.O.

Get Involved Day 2010

ATSU’s Arizona campus held its annual Get Involved Day from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 27. Student organizations from ATSU’s academic programs were in attendance to guide students in the process of joining a student organization.

“Get Involved Day enables students to explore student organizations, clubs, interest groups, and tutoring opportunities,” said Dustin Smith, coordinator, student services. “It also affords the faculty and staff the opportunity to recruit students for their projects or committees and promote their services to students.”

Groups attending the 2010 Get Involved Day included:

ATSU Institutional Review Board
Costco
Interprofessional Education Club
American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians Club
Student Osteopathic Medicine Club
Christian Health Fellowship Club
Student Occupational Therapy Association
American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians Club
Geriatrics Initiative, Still Standing Falls Prevention Program
ATSU Still Well Committee
ATSA