Category: Health Care

Dean Wallace Named 2023 Power Leader in Healthcare

Dean Elaine Wallace

Dean Elaine M. Wallace, D.O., M.S., M.S., M.S., M.S., of NSU’s Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine has been named a 2023 Power Leader in Healthcare by the South Florida Business Journal. Considered one of the journal’s most popular editorial features, the Healthcare Power Leaders is a top regional resource of the who’s who in the business community. Power Leaders are selected based on their leadership within their organization and their community along with their contributions to the local economy.

Wallace, along with 49 other South Florida area industry executives, will be profiled in an upcoming special section in the Business Journal. The Healthcare Power Leaders will publish in the journal’s November 10 edition.

Posted 09/24/23

USchool Students’ Community Service Targets Caribbean

Upper School Students and New2U Ambassadors started off the year participating in an impactful community service event. Students filled about 2,000 backpacks with school supplies to be sent to vulnerable children through Food For The Poor.

Each backpack contained notebooks, folders, a pencil case, ruler, colored pencils, crayons, pencils and sharpeners, erasers, highlighters, and pens. The backpacks are being sent to schools in Jamaica, Haiti, and other islands of the Caribbean through Food for The Poor’s Angels of Hope program.

Learn more about NSU University School’s college preparatory program for students in Preschool – Grade 12 at www.uschool.nova.edu.

Posted 09/10/23

Dental Medicine Faculty Gets Special Recognition

From left, Katherine Bridges, Dental Executive Director at Florida Department of Health, and Elias Moron

Elías Morón, received a recognition from Katherine Bridges, Dental Executive Director at the Florida Department of Health (FDOH), on July 25, 2023, during the FDOH Statewide Dental Performance Meeting “Entering a New Era in Dentistry” in Jacksonville, Florida.

Morón presented “An Interprofessional School-Based Initiative to Increase Access to Oral Health Care in Underserved Florida Counties.”

In light of the unmet oral health care needs for children in rural counties, the FDOH and Nova Southeastern University’s College of Dental Medicine developed and implemented an interprofessional school-based oral health initiative to provide an educational training program for school-based nurses working in public elementary schools located in Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas.

This interprofessional school-based oral health initiative is funded by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and administered by the FDOH. Richard Singer, Associate Professor at the Department of Oral Science and Translational Research, is the Principal Investigator of this oral health initiative.

Moron, D.D.S., M.P.H., M.H.L.  is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Oral Science and Translational Research at the NSU College of Dental Medicine.

Richard Singer, D.M.D., M.S., Ph.D.  is an Executive Director for Master of Science Program, Associate Professor in Department of Oral Science and Translational research.

Posted 09/10/23

Professor Elected Vice Chair of SoFIA Advisory Council

Alina M. Perez, J.D., M.P.H., LCSW

Alina M. Perez, J.D., M.P.H., LCSW, a professor at the Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences in the Department of Health Science, was elected vice chair for the Advisory Council of the South Florida Institute on Aging (SoFIA) , https://www.thesofia.org/.

SoFIA, formerly known as Impact Broward, is a nonprofit organization focused on providing equitable and quality services to the aging community and their families in South Florida.

SoFIA engages older adult volunteers who will assist with services virtually and in person to offer services to seniors and caregivers by providing companionship to isolated individuals, veterans, and military families as well as support to community centers. They also provide technical training to help seniors navigate the digital environment.

Posted 09/10/23

Business Professor Takes Expertise on Road During Summer

For many of NSU’s faculty, summers aren’t all rest and relaxation. Instead, these consummate professionals serve as true ambassadors for the university, spreading their expertise to broader audiences. Albert Williams, Ph.D., Chair and Associate Professor of Finance and Economics at the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, is one such faculty member.

Over the summer, Williams appeared on two television shows and made presentations at three primary schools in his home country of Belize. In June, he was interviewed live by Love TV in a one-hour segment. (Love TV is the No. 1 TV station in Belize.)  Williams and Love TV hosts, Rene Villanueva and Troy Gabb, had a lively and thought-provoking discussion on the economics of poverty and possible solutions.

Williams focused on education as a key solution to break the cycle of poverty. He discussed the need for micro-financing and the strengthening of private and public sector institutions that target this segment of the population. He emphasized the need for agricultural extension officers to provide a more comprehensive approach to help the rural small farmers.

“They should include recommendations for production, storage, marketing, management, financing, and education in general,” he said. “Extension officers could speak to the spouses and children of the farmers to get a better picture of the total situation of the family.  This way, a comprehensive approach could be used to improve their lives and break the cycle of poverty.”

Williams also encouraged entrepreneurs to consider creating more labor-intensive businesses to be able to hire more people from this segment of the population. He combined his talk with a little entertainment, playing his guitar for the audience as well.

In his second one-hour TV interview, Williams spoke about the importance of education in his life, in a effort to encourage and motivate others to pursue an education. Williams started the discussion by playing original tunes on his guitar and discussing some tips to play the guitar. Then he sat down with Villanueva and had a candid conversation about education and success.

Williams emphasized the importance of hard work and discipline for academic and life success, and he discussed the importance of setting goals. As the conversation turned to the importance of getting a basic education, Williams agreed with Villanueva that we should not be failing 12-year-olds in primary school but finding a way to help them to succeed.

“These television presentations are an extension of my classroom,” Williams said.

Williams made presentations at three primary schools (Punta Gorda Methodist, Forest Home Methodist, and Little Flower (Catholic)) in Southern Belize. His presentations focused on motivating and encouraging students to continue their education in high school or technical school. Students had a chance to ask questions during the visits. At the end of the presentations, Williams asked students what they learned, and many raised their hands and responded with answers such as, “Work hard,” and “Never give up.”   In addition to the question-and-answer sessions, Williams serenaded the students with his American Fender Stratocaster.

Williams said he enjoys his opportunities to be an envoy for education in his home country.

“I’m living the mission statement for the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, “Best for Our World™,” he said.

Posted 08/27/23

ASHA Committee Appoints NSU SLP Associate Director

Steven P. Vertz

Steven P. Vertz, M.S., CCC-SLP, associate director of Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology (MS-SLP) program, has been appointed to the Committee on Nominations and Elections (CNE) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

ASHA’s CNE is charged with reviewing and interviewing applicants for openings on ASHA’s Board of Directors, overseeing procedures for increasing the awareness of ASHA members regarding the elections process for the national office, providing input to ASHA’s National Office staff, and cultivating and recruiting future candidates for board positions.

His two-year appointment, which began January 1, 2023, will end December 31, 2024. Vertz is proud to represent both his profession and Nova Southeastern University in this capacity.

Posted 08/27/23

Education Alum Publishes Article on Symbolic Violence

Nahum Jean-Louis, Ed.D.

Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice graduate Nahum Jean-Louis, Ed.D., is celebrating the publishing of his article “Symbolic Violence in The Classroom: How A Eurocentric Curriculum Excludes & Marginalizes Minority Students” in the journal Belonging.

The article was co-written by Mary Clisbee, Ed.D., and focuses on symbolic violence and how it excludes and marginalizes minority students.

Jean-Louis explained that symbolic violence is any violence that isn’t tangible, for example, verbal assault, racism, using disparaging terms and more.

The article came about after Jean-Louis and Clisbee gave a talk at a conference about diversity. After the presentation, the pair was contacted and asked to write an article detailing their research.

In their article, Jean-Louis and Clisbee discussed how Eurocentrism gives priority to European philosophy and history at the detriment of minority students.

“Minority students have their own cultures, experiences and history, and those are put on the back burner in favor of European culture,” Jean-Louis said. “Minority students are forced to learn from a culture or from a knowledge in which they don’t relate to. And as a result of that, because they can’t relate to it and because their experiences are sidelined or marginalized, they suffer in terms of performance.”

They then went on to explain ways to combat symbolic violence and Eurocentrism.

“One way that I suggested, in my research, to mitigate the effects of symbolic violence and the effects of Eurocentrism is to create a diverse curriculum and to have equity in the curriculum,” Jean-Louis said.

The pair hope that a variety of people can learn and benefit from the research.

“Our message was directed to school administrators, policymakers, and the community at large,” Jean-Louis said.

Jean-Louis graduated from NSU with his doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching. He is currently working on several other projects, including a collaborative book on decolonization in education and a book that focuses on the problems minority students face in the United States school system.

Read the complete article.

Posted 08/13/23

Faculty Presents at International Conference in Iceland

Hinckley presenting at the University of Iceland.

Jackie Hinckley, Ph.D.

Jackie Hinckley, Ph.D., a professor in the Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences of the Department of Speech/Language Pathology, was one of the platform presenters at the Nordic Aphasia Conference June 14 – 16, 2023, held at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik, Iceland. The conference was attended by over 200 experts from Europe, Australia, and North America.

While in Iceland, Hinckley also participated in a meeting of the Collaboration of Aphasia Trialists. Her presentation was titled, “Characteristics of Good Responders to Activity-Focused or Impairment-Focused Treatment.”

Posted 08/13/23

NSU PT Professor Receives Excellence in Research Award

Alicia Fernandez-Fernandez, D.P.T., Ph.D., PT, CNT, a professor in NSU’s Physical Therapy Department, was recognized with the National Association of Neonatal Therapists (NANT) Excellence in Research Award at the NANT conference in April 2023.

This annual award was created to honor neonatal occupational therapists, physical therapists, or speech-language pathologists who tirelessly contribute to quality research in the specialized field of neonatal therapy. Fernandez-Fernandez maintains clinical practice in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) since 2003, and she holds a neonatal therapist certification (Certified Neonatal Therapist), which recognizes the neonatal therapy expertise, education, and knowledge needed to effectively serve high-risk infants and families in the NICU.

She is also a Neonatal Developmental Care Specialist. She serves as a board member of the Neonatal Therapy Certification Board since 2014, and is the exam liaison for neonatal therapy certification, responsible for the training of item writers, and development, deployment, and outcome analysis of the international certification exam.

Additionally, she participates in development, deployment, and outcome evaluation of the neonatal therapy practice analysis, leading to multiple publications that explore ongoing trends in this clinical area of practice. She has presented at national and international conferences on various neonatal therapy topics including neonatal referral patterns, safe sleep protocols, and neonatal certification.

She has also contributed to the Spanish translation of the first and second editions of the SENSE program, which provides education to engage families in providing developmentally appropriate positive sensory exposures to optimize outcomes for their infants.

At NSU, Fernandez-Fernandez collaborates with Raquel Garcia, S.L.P., CCC-SLP, CNT, BCS-S, an associate professor in NSU’s Speech-Language Pathology Department, and Daphna Barbeau, M.D., medical director of Neonatal Neurodevelopment at Envision Health and HCA (Hospital Corporation of America) Florida University Hospital, in the Tiny Tots Transition to Home program, a weekly education program series which is offered to caregivers of infants in the NICU at HCA Florida University Hospital with the goal of improving caregiver-child attachment and reducing caregiver stress.

The program is funded by an NSU Quality of Life grant and involves the collaboration of multiple departments at NSU.

Posted 08/13/23

Dental Students Volunteer at RAM Event in Tennessee

Under the supervision of Dr. Mark Schweizer, assistant dean of Community Programs and Public Health and College of Dental Medicine faculty, Dr. Mauro Mesko and Dr. Norberto Coerezza, Dr. Sam Caruso (PG OMFS), more than 50 D4 ,D3, and D2 dental students traveled to Columbia, Tenn., to volunteer at the Remote Area Medical (RAM) event to deliver free dental care to uninsured patients. During this event, about 250 patients were seen and more than $120,000.00 donated dental services were provided.

Special thanks to Dean Steven Kaltman for his leadership and ongoing support and guidance.

Remote Area Medical is a major nonprofit provider of free pop-up clinics. Their mission is to prevent pain and alleviate suffering by providing free, quality healthcare to those in need. They do this by delivering free dental, vision, and medical services to

underserved and uninsured individuals. They have provided care across the world at more than 1,500 events.

These Outreach experiences provide an opportunity for dental students and reaffirm NSU core value of “Community” and help to:

  • Develop a broad understanding of the community and social responsibilities they will have as Dental Professionals.
  • Treat a diversity of patients with a variety of oral health care needs.
  • Enhance their clinical skills.
  • Participate in inter-professional learning experiences.

Dr. Mark Schweizer, Assistant Dean of Community Program has built a long- standing relationship with RAM and NSU-CDM is planning many more events in the future.

Posted 07/30/23

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