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L I V I N G T H E VISIO N people with disabilities through more than 30 programs and services. Logan associate professor Dana Underkofler-Mercer, DC, MS, initiated contact with Paraquad after searching for unique and immersive patient opportunities for her sport and rehabilitation master’s degree students. Today, the facility features a free clinic where Logan interns perform rotations and provide treatment to Paraquad participants. Similarly, Logan alumni Linda Smith, DC, fostered a relationship with CHIPS after treating the facility’s director, Judy Bentley, as a patient. Smith helped connect CHIPS, a nonprofit organization that provides health care and social services for St. Louis’ underserved and uninsured, with Logan where students now conduct patient exams and administer treatment to those in need. Dr. Wittmer says these partnerships are a win for students as well as the chiropractic industry, and with each new relationship, Logan increases overall interest in complementary and alternative medicine. “It helps us get our foot in the door because once we are there, we can prove ourselves,” he said. “Our interns have done so well and there has been an increase in demand for what we provide. “For example, when we started working with Scott Air Force Base, we were sending one student intern. Now we’re sending four. We also just started a preceptorship program with Mercy Hospital in St. Louis this past Fall. Every year, our programs continue to grow and expand, and it’s gratifying to me that our chiropractic care is so well-received.”
8 SPRING 2014
While Logan’s immersive internships program is healthy, Dr. Wittmer is always looking for more opportunities to expose students to a broad range of experiences, whether treating a paralyzed, wheelchair-bound individual, or performing hospital rounds with orthopedic surgeons. “When the range and depth of what students are seeing in these kinds of environments is broad, it builds their confidence, and their patients see us as a valuable resource,” Dr. Wittmer said. “We are constantly solidifying our reputation through the work we do and the referrals we receive.”
On the Field From treating challenging patient conditions to working alongside medical professionals, Logan is truly preparing students to practice in a modern day health care system. But clinical space isn’t the only area where Logan students are making strides. Within the masters of sports science and rehabilitation degree program, future graduates are applying training and rehab methods to help prevent athletic injuries and enhance human and athletic performance where their services are in high demand: on the field. “We’re treating high school students to NCAA Division I athletes at stadiums and fields across the state on a weekly basis, sometimes more,” says David Parish, DC, CSCS, DACBSP, director of Logan’s BIOFREEZE® Sports and Rehabilitation Center. “Athletes are excited about what we bring to the table, a nd we make sure their needs are met at every level.” With the growing success of BIOFREEZE on the Road, Logan students gain real-world experience in providing injury management and performance training to athletes at the University of Missouri, Missouri Baptist College and Lindenwood University, in addition to local St. Louis high schools. “I think what we’re doing differently is broadening the scope of human performance,” Dr. Parish said. “Many schools haven’t embraced sports and rehabilitation to the extent that we have, while we’re expanding educational opportunities and taking practical experiences to the next level.”