ATSU-KCOM students volunteered to help spruce up downtown Kirksville in time for graduation. About 60 students showed up for the annual clean-up.
Jody Furth, the 2014 KCOM Class President, said “It’s really important for us to give back to the Kirkville community. The Kirksville community does so much for us to help us succeed in medical school. So it’s something nice that we can do for the people of Kirksville.”
The Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) recently approved a Year 2, $1,000,000 grant (effective April 1, 2012) to A.T. Still University to assist with further development of its new and innovative dental school based in Kirksville, Mo. MFH provided an initial Year 1, $500,000 grant award to ATSU to help the University complete its feasibility/planning phase. ATSU plans to open the dental school with its first class of 40 students in the fall of 2013, pending accreditation.
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) recently approved a Year 2, $1,000,000 grant (effective April 1, 2012) to A.T. Still University (ATSU) to assist with further development of its new and innovative dental school based in Kirksville, Mo. MFH provided an initial Year 1, $500,000 grant award to ATSU to help the University complete its feasibility/planning phase. ATSU plans to open the dental school with its first class of 40 students in the fall of 2013, pending accreditation.
The goal of ATSU’s new Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-MOSDOH) is to educate and produce a new generation of community-minded dentists who will help fill widespread oral healthcare workforce gaps, including practice in Community Health Centers (CHCs) and other safety-net settings to reach underserved patients.\Says Dr. Jack Magruder, ATSU president, “Adding the dental school to our ATSU Kirksville campus will not only enhance interprofessional education in our state, but also generate meaningful oral health outcomes, especially among Missouri’s most vulnerable populations. With this generous, ongoing support from MFH, we are confident that our dental program based in Kirksville—in partnership with Missouri’s CHCs—will be highly successful and will help fulfill the missions of both ATSU and MFH by bringing increased access to oral healthcare to our state’s most vulnerable populations.”
Missouri has an emergent need for more oral healthcare providers, including dentists, particularly to care for high-risk populations. The state ranks near the bottom, 47th in the nation, in terms of residents with access to a dentist. Approximately 70 dentists are retiring each year in the state, while only about 45-50 are starting new dental practices. In essence, Missouri’s overall supply of dentists is falling, while the state’s population and demand for dentists are rising. ATSU’s intent is to respond to this growing gap in oral healthcare.
Christopher G. Halliday, DDS, MPH, has been selected as inaugural dean of ATSU’s Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health, effective July 1, 2012. Dr. Halliday is one of the nation’s leading experts in oral/public health; he currently serves as rear admiral, assistant surgeon general, and chief of staff in the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States. Dr. Halliday earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree from Marquette University School of Dentistry and his Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He obtained his BA degree in Liberal Studies from the University of California-Santa Barbara.
Dr. Halliday’s vast professional experiences include serving the underserved in areas as remote as Barrow, AK, for three years, and serving seven years with American Indian populations in New Mexico and Arizona. In several posts in Washington, D.C., he has been a leading advocate for access to dental care and to healthcare in general. He has dedicated his professional life to the underserved, which is an ideal fit with ATSU’s Missouri dental school mission. Dr. Halliday’s exemplary leadership record, philosophical commitment, and unprecedented expertise in the fields of oral/public health will enable ATSU-MOSDOH to reach its full potential.
The emerging four-year Missouri dental curriculum is being modeled after the highly successful and innovative dental program at ATSU’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) in Mesa, Ariz. Using a modified ATSU-ASDOH instructional model, the first two years of the Missouri pre-clinical, interdisciplinary dental school curriculum will be based in a new 61,000-square-foot, $26 million, state-of-the-art educational facility—which is slated for completion in the spring of 2013. The final two clinical education years will be distributed and delivered at collaborating CHC partner sites throughout Missouri and beyond, which sets ATSU’s Missouri dental school model apart. This evidence-based, collaborative educational model is designed to maximize retention of graduating dentists in Missouri CHCs. Successful graduates will earn the DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine) degree and a certificate in Public Health, the latter in cooperation with ATSU’s School of Health Management.
Adds President Magruder,“We remain grateful for the tremendous support from MFH to assist in the development of the Kirksville-based ATSU dental school, which has the potential to transform dental education at both the state and national levels.”
Once launched, ATSU-MOSDOH will be one of only two dental schools in Missouri and the only dental school in the Midwest dedicated at a mission level to enhancing oral healthcare for the underserved.
This grant is provided by the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH), an independent philanthropic foundation dedicated to empowering Missourians to achieve equal access to quality health services. Established in 2000, MFH has provided grant funding and education, and fostered community partnerships to promote health improvement, especially for the uninsured and underserved.
Dr. Altman
The Dental Public Health Residency program, chaired by Don Altman, DDS, DHSc, MPH, MBA, MA, was granted initial accreditation status by the Commission on Dental Accreditation. Residents will complete the online dental MPH program while participating in the residency. The residency is 25 months, full-time, and the first resident(s) will begin in June 2013.
Congratulations go out to Elaine Louder, 4th quarter Employee Excellence award winner. Elaine is the Technician for the CITC-Daraban Patient Simulation Center in the Education Development & Services department and has been with ATSU since 2006.
Ursula Barghouth, OMS I, is the recent recipient of the ATSU Above and Beyond Humanitarian Award. The award is given to an ATSU employee or student who does a deed or act that demonstrates special caring, compassion, or support for another person or group.
Ms. Barghouth was nominated by fellow ATSU-SOMA student Mariya Andriasian, OMS I. Stated Ms. Andriasian in her nomination letter, “Ursula is very involved in many student organizations and service projects. She goes above and beyond what is asked of her both in and outside of the classroom.”
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has announced Lisa Begay as its inaugural Native Graduate Health Fellowship recipient. Ms. Begay, a former commissioned US public health service officer, is a Navajo second-year dental student at ATSU-ASDOH. She is also the current president of the ATSU Society for American Indian Dentists (SAID), the charter chapter in the US started by George Blue Spruce, DDS, MPH, assistant dean, ATSU-ASDOH. A review committee comprised of NCAI staff and key leaders in Native health selected the inaugural health Fellow, as well as two finalists, on the basis of demonstrated commitment to American Indian and Alaska Native health, academic achievement, and community engagement.
Said Dr. Blue Spruce, “I am very proud to be a mentor of Lisa Begay.” “I applaud her achievements thus far and commend her for this important national honor. She represents the generation of American Indians that has recognized the challenges that lay ahead in helping to address the needs of her fellow native people. She will be a ‘first-generation’ health professional that will attain a doctorate health degree, enabling her to assume a meaningful leadership role in the American Indian healthcare delivery system. It is individuals like Ms. Begay that will make Indian self-determination a reality!”
The Fellowship will include both a financial award of $5,000 and professional development in tribal health policy.
Dr. Phelps
A.T. Still University President-designate Craig M. Phelps, DO, ’84, FAOASM, has been named to the Phoenix Business Journal’s 2012 Most Admired CEOs and Top-Level Executives.
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – A.T. Still University President-designate Craig Phelps, DO, has been named to the Phoenix Business Journal’s 2012 Most Admired CEOs and Top-Level Executives.
Dr. Phelps was chosen as one of the Phoenix-area’s 25 most admired executives based on past achievements and ongoing outstanding leadership. Consistent values, vision, solid decision-making, and commitment to quality were among the criteria for this award. He was recently recognized at the 4th Annual Most Admired CEOs & Top-Level Executives Awards Dinner, which recognizes honorees for passion, inspiration, and motivation in their work and community.
Dr. Phelps currently serves as executive vice president for strategic initiatives and will assume the position of president following President Jack Magruder’s retirement July 1. Dr. Phelps is a 1984 graduate of A.T. Still University-Kirksville College of Medicine and became provost of ATSU’s Arizona campus to develop ATSU’s Arizona School of Health Sciences, Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (Arizona’s first dental school), and School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona.
Dr. Phelps is the primary care physician for the Phoenix Suns.
Casey Jones, DMD, ‘10 recently accepted the dental director position at the CHP Dental Center in Great Barrington, Mass. Dr. Jones served at this community health center while a student at ATSU-ASDOH.