Decker Connect - Fall 2023 by BinghamtonU

Binghamton

DECKER COLLEGE OF NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES

Decker U N I V E R S I T Y

M AG A Z I N E

THE MAGIC OF HORSE THERAPY

FALL 2023

C O N N E C T

| FROM THE DEAN |

DECKER IN TRANSITION: PART 2 In 2021, we added a fully online RN to BS program for registered nurses seeking bachelor’s degrees in nursing, an accelerated program leading to a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in five years, and a minor in speech and hearing science for students in any major at Binghamton. We added the Post-Professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program in 2022. This is our first occupational therapy program but more importantly, it is one of only two OTD programs offered in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. It is a 100% online program for practicing occupational therapists who want a clinical doctorate.

ive years ago in this magazine, we presented our plans for the Decker School of Nursing’s future.

Despite several obstacles, including the pandemic, we achieved some of our goals and made significant progress toward others. I credit this to the remarkable team working across the University, but especially to Decker’s tenacious faculty and staff. In 2019, we transitioned Binghamton’s nursing school into a broad-based health sciences college, becoming Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences. The college encompasses the Decker School of Nursing, the School of Applied Health Sciences and the School of Rehabilitation Sciences, and we added academic divisions in physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language pathology to our nursing, public health, and health and wellness studies divisions.

In this issue of Decker Connect, we present our new programs in 2023, including our first-ever degree in physical therapy, an entry-level OTD program and the expansion of our accelerated MPH offering. We discuss the status of our speech and language pathology degree and changes to our graduate nursing programs. We also look at the opening of our Ford Family Wellness Center for Seniors and highlight some fantastic faculty, staff, students and alumni. Amid all these changes, and there are more to come, we are collecting data to determine where we go next. We are investigating the most significant healthcare needs and the programs that interest prospective students. This information will inform our choices moving forward. I wish you good health and happiness,

Our goal to expand our programs on campus and online has been more challenging due to the difficulties involved in developing new programs, particularly those online or requiring accreditation.

Mario R. Ortiz, PhD, RN, PHCNS-BC, FNP-C, FNAP, FAAN Dean and Professor Decker Endowed Chair in Community Health Nursing Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences

JONATHAN COHEN

We also realized our goal to provide students, faculty and staff with the space necessary to accommodate new programs when we moved into the Health Sciences Building at the end of 2020. A little more than a month later, we began holding classes in this new facility on the University’s Health Sciences Campus in Johnson City, N.Y.

Decker

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DECKER COLLEGE OF NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES DEAN

Mario R. Ortiz, PhD, RN, PHCNS-BC, FNP-C, FNAP, FAAN ASSOCIATE DEAN OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

Sharon Bryant, PhD ASSOCIATE DEAN

Pamela Stewart Fahs, MS/ Cert ’85, PhD, RN SENIOR ASSISTANT DEAN OF ADMINISTRATION

Tracie Conklin ’96, MPA ’99 SENIOR ASSISTANT DEAN OF ENROLLMENT AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS

Sara Wozniak ’06, MS ’09 ASSISTANT DEAN OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Jean Dorak, MBA ’99 DECKER CONNECT

VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

FEATURES

Greg Delviscio

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE SERVICES

Gerald Hovancik Jr.

Let’s Talk Decker speech and language therapists use horses to help kids communicate

ART DIRECTOR

Katie Honas ’14 PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jonathan Cohen, Casey Staff CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Anthony Borrelli; Jenne Micale; Kim Mousseau; My-Ly Nguyen Sperry ’00, MBA ’02; Allen Wengert

Goodbye, Cadavers

Senior Care

Anatomy and Physiology Lab replaces cadavers with high-tech equipment

University collaborates to increase geriatric care

RESEARCH

ALUMNI

FACULTY

ALUMNI

EDITOR/WRITER

Natalie Blando-George

10 Major Changes

New programs are among Decker’s changes in 2023

COPY EDITORS

Anthony Borrelli, Eric Coker, Chris Kocher ON THE COVER: DECKER COLLEGE STUDENT EMMA COLLING HELPS DANIEL CARPENTER DURING HIS EQUINE SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY SESSION. COVER PHOTO BY CASEY STAFF

LEARN MORE For the latest Decker news, go to bit.ly/decker-news.

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I Talk with Horses Equine therapy program helps kids develop speech and language skills BY KIM MOUSSEAU

 INTERACTING WITH ANIMALS can improve mood, stress levels and feelings of well-being. Being around animals simply makes us feel better. Partnering humans with animals in therapeutic settings is an evidence-based mental and physical healthcare practice, with positive patient outcomes for all ages. Compelling anecdotal and clinical evidence supports the healing power of the human-animal bond. The Kali’s Klubhouse: iTalk with Horses program is a community partnership through Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Tina Caswell, director of clinical education and clinical associate professor in the Division of Speech and Language Pathology, began the program about 10 years ago as a graduate 2

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externship during her time at Ithaca College. Caswell brainstormed the idea when one of her clients, an 8-year-old boy, began horse-riding lessons. She arranged to work with him during one of the sessions. “I was walking along with him, and we were just talking using his communication device, and he was having a blast,” Caswell recalls. “He was very motivated and engaged, and I thought, ‘Why am I not doing this more?’ And then, I met Linda.” Linda Fargnoli owns Fargnoli Farms, a horse-boarding facility in Apalachin, N.Y., and is executive director of Kali’s Klubhouse, which provides equine-assisted therapy. She is certified in equine-assisted learning and equine experiential education and trained to help facilitate learning outcomes.

CASEY STAFF

A team of volunteers, therapists and horse specialists at Kali’s Klubhouse use equine activities to provide speech and language therapy to kids like 7-year-old Daniel Carpenter, riding Socks.

binghamton.edu/decker I FA L L 2 0 2 3

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“Parents are looking for alternative therapies to encourage speech and language in their children, and this is something fun,” Caswell says. “It doesn’t feel like work to the child. We’re outside in this beautiful, motivating environment, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to promote speech and language development.”

ONE PROGRAM, MANY BENEFITS Caswell meets with each family before the program starts to form a baseline assessment and better understand the child’s diagnoses and goals. The program incorporates augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategies to help clients develop speech, language and cognitive skills. AAC devices range from “low-tech” picture communication boards to “high-tech” iPads or tablets programmed with speech-assisting software. The software employs three methodologies: single-meaning images, alphabet-based keys and semantic compaction, where users construct language through sequencing icons or pictures. The Decker speech and language pathology team includes Clinical Instructor Cassandra Natali, who has worked with Caswell and the equine therapy program since 2015 and was originally her student at Ithaca College. In addition to a speech-language pathologist, two or more volunteer equine experts and a speech-language pathology intern accompany each rider. During the 30-minute ride, the pathologist engages the child, eliciting responses to questions or prompts. For instance, the therapist may ask the child to choose between two options — yes or no, left or right — or select

CASEY STAFF

HIPPOTHERAPY AS A TREATMENT STRATEGY Most of the horses at Kali’s Klubhouse are donated and in what Fargnoli calls their “second careers.” She and the volunteers work with the horses to ensure they are comfortable in their new roles. While hippotherapy (hippos is Greek for horse) is considered a therapeutic technique rather than a type of therapy, Fargnoli says the horses are not tools but partners in this work. Respect and consideration are given to their physical, mental and emotional well-being. “We make sure the horses actually like what they are doing and that this is fun for them, too,” she says. The six-week program takes place annually in May and June. It is entirely scholarship based and funded primarily through private donations, grants and fundraising activities. Last year, the program received operational funds for two years from the Stephen David Ross University and Community Projects Fund. The program serves children from Broome and Tioga counties, and this year’s participants range from 2 to 19 years old. Some children are nonverbal or minimally verbal with diagnoses that include cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder and Down syndrome. Some children have primary or additional diagnoses, such as apraxia of speech, a neurological condition where the brain has difficulty coordinating the complex oral movements needed to create sounds and syllables and turn words into phrases. iTalk with Horses is so popular that it’s filled every year just by word of mouth.

iTalk with Horses participant Daniel Carpenter sits atop a horse with Linda Fargnoli standing by.

Linda Fargnoli, left, owner of Fargnoli Farms and executive director of Kali’s Klubhouse; Socks; and Tina Caswell, director of clinical education and a clinical associate professor of speech and language pathology at Decker College.

from multiple alternatives. The child may respond verbally or by tapping an image or word on the device screen. The program is also an excellent experiential opportunity for undergraduate interns from Decker’s speech and hearing science minor. This year, interns include linguistics major Emma Colling, psychology major Kylie Browning and English major Alessandra Antonacci, all of whom plan to pursue graduate degrees in speech and language pathology. “I didn’t know much about speech pathology beyond the school setting until my grandmother suffered a small stroke, and she worked with a speech pathologist who helped her immensely,” Colling says. “When I learned that Binghamton offered this minor, I immediately signed up. And I just fell in love with it.” Antonacci was intrigued after learning about Caswell’s work with Kali’s Klubhouse during the spring SpeechLanguage Association meeting. When she heard about the summer internship, she jumped at the opportunity. “It’s been such a rewarding experience watching the kids progress and seeing their confidence increase as well,” she says. “Several kids wouldn’t even get on a horse the first day. Now we can’t get them off.” Browning, the only student with previous experience around horses, found the internship a perfect fit: “I love the [speech pathology] program and the fact that the internship involves horses — it combines two of my favorite things.”

HORSES HELPING KIDS Pam Carpenter credits the program with helping her 7-year-old son, binghamton.edu/decker I FA L L 2 0 2 3

Daniel, who, in addition to Down syndrome, has a speech apraxia diagnosis and is primarily nonverbal. She believes he can better regulate behaviors stemming from his struggle to communicate. “We’ve been seeing some social behaviors happening this year because of Danny’s frustration,” Carpenter says. “He has much more going on in his head than he can communicate and is understandably frustrated with that. We were looking for alternative therapies to try, and luckily were able to fill the last slot in this program.” Carpenter says that practicing in a novel, nonacademic setting has helped her son see his AAC device as less of an educational tool and more of an extension of his voice. “It’s really been helping with his speech, cognitive and social skills. He feels more empowered and has even

started using his device to construct sentences. And it started with ‘Dan ride on horse.’” Sasha Morris grew up around horses, but for her 4-year-old son Nathaniel, who has apraxia of speech and dyspraxia, this was his first time on a horse. Morris learned about the program from Nathaniel’s school speech and language therapist and found the experience “magical.” “Initially, Nathaniel was hesitant to get up on the horse, but now he loves it,” she says. “He just starts chatting away and asking questions about all kinds of things. He is much more verbal and curious about what’s happening around him when he is on the horse.”

EQUINE MAGIC Backed by clinical evidence, the human-horse connection in the

iTalk with Horses program and other therapeutic settings has been shown to be innovative and effective. Caswell has been collecting that data and presenting at national and state conferences promoting the efficacy of alternative therapies in speechlanguage pathology. Caswell, Fargnoli and the volunteers put in exceptional effort and hard work, but the horses are undeniably the program’s shining stars. Despite their imposing size, the friendly and patient horses have a calming presence that creates a peaceful therapeutic environment. The gentle rolling motion of the horse also has a healing effect on the young riders. “There’s a genuine connection with the horses,” Caswell says, “and that special bond can create real breakthroughs and improve many other aspects of their lives.”

CASEY STAFF

From left: Binghamton students Kylie Browning, Alessandra Antonacci and Emma Colling from Decker College’s speech and hearing science minor gain experience working with children (and horses) in the iTalk with Horses program.

DECKER CONNECT

COMMUNITY

Ford Family Wellness Center for Seniors Opens: Binghamton University partners with Lourdes to expand geriatric care BY NATALIE BLANDO-GEORGE

years, the program has collaborated for those services with Jerome Mikloucich, DO, medical director of geriatrics at Lourdes and medical director of Lourdes Senior Care. “I provide comprehensive geriatric medical care, but my biggest focus is on patients with cognitive impairment,” Mikloucich explains. “I’m excited about this collaboration with Binghamton University. I think tying medicine and academics together is a really powerful tool.”

JONATHAN COHEN

Decker College Dean Mario Ortiz speaks at the opening of the Lourdes Senior Care clinic at Binghamton University’s Ford Family Wellness Center for Seniors.

 GERIATRIC HEALTHCARE in the Southern Tier got a boost with the July 2023 opening of Binghamton University’s Ford Family Wellness Center for Seniors. The newly constructed 4,300-squarefoot facility at 27 Jennison Ave. in Johnson City, N.Y. — diagonally across from Binghamton’s Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences on the University’s Health Sciences Campus

— is home to Lourdes Senior Care, a geriatric medical clinic operated by Lourdes Hospital. The new center also encompasses the work of Rene Conklin, MSW ’06, coordinator of senior services at the Decker School of Nursing. Through Decker’s Elder Services Program, Conklin and area geriatricians evaluate seniors with cognitive impairment or memory loss. For several

EVALUATION IS KEY Since joining the Elder Services Program in 2006, Conklin has focused on conducting geriatric assessments, coordinating care for elderly patients and providing caregiver training and support. Conklin starts the assessments with a home visit, during which she records the patient’s background and history, performs cognitive testing, assesses how well the individual is functioning in the home and identifies safety issues. She documents this data and compares it to a questionnaire the patient’s family or caregivers complete, which helps her determine the patient’s level of awareness. binghamton.edu/decker I FA L L 2 0 2 3

That information is provided to Mikloucich. During the second phase of the evaluation, he interviews and examines the patient, performs neurological and muscle testing and assesses the patient’s gait and proprioception (sense of movement and body position). Following any additional testing that may be required, Mikloucich develops the diagnosis. He reviews that carefully with the patient and family member/caregiver, then makes necessary referrals for therapy or other services. “Our goal is to minimize unnecessary emergency room visits or hospitalizations and help patients live in the community and avoid nursing home admissions as long as it is safely possible,” Mikloucich says. Conklin acknowledges that diagnoses can be difficult to cope with but encourages early evaluation. “We can do more to assist patients and their caregivers the earlier we see them,” she explains. “We provide caregiver support, education and

Jerome Mikloucich, DO, medical director of geriatrics at Lourdes Hospital and medical director of Lourdes Senior Care, stands outside the Ford Family Wellness Center for Seniors with Rene Conklin, MSW ’06, coordinator of senior services at the Decker School of Nursing.

referrals to agencies. We help caregivers adjust so they know what to expect, how to respond and when an issue needs to be addressed. We support patients and caregivers for as long as they want us to.”

BETTER TOGETHER “Locating Lourdes Senior Care at our Ford Family Wellness Center

Funding care in the community Joyce Ferrario, former Decker dean, laid the groundwork for the Ford Family Wellness Center for Seniors and helped secure a generous gift from Anne A. and Thomas Hubbard that made the center possible. The donation was made to honor Harriet Ford Dickenson and David L. Dickenson. According to Sheila Doyle, executive director of the Binghamton University Foundation, the donation funded the purchase and site preparation of the property on Jennison Avenue and allocated monies to establish an endowment fund that supports the center. Additional funding came from New York state’s Upstate Revitalization Initiative and the Binghamton University Foundation. “Since a portion of the gift is committed to funding ongoing needs, there’s a perpetual legacy nature of the gift that is a real tribute to how strongly the Hubbards felt about creating a geriatric clinic and how they felt about the Dickensons,” Doyle says.

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for Seniors brings together Dr. Mikloucich’s medical practice, the care coordination that Rene Conklin provides and Decker’s academic programs in adult gerontology,” says Mario Ortiz, dean of Decker College. “It is unusual for an independent practice healthcare agency like Lourdes and a public university to come together and collaborate in this manner all in one setting.” “Collaborating with the University and being part of Binghamton’s campus sets [Lourdes Senior Care] clinic up to be at the forefront of providing stateof-the-art, comprehensive geriatric care,” Mikloucich says. He adds that nurse practitioners on Decker’s faculty will work at the clinic alongside those from his practice.

EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS Lourdes Senior Care is expected to serve as a clinical site for students in Decker’s nurse practitioner (NP) programs, particularly those in the adult-gerontological nursing specialty.

JONATHAN COHEN

Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger (left) with David Hubbard, son of Anne Attfield Hubbard and Thomas J. Hubbard, whose gift helped fund the Ford Family Wellness Center for Seniors.

“It’s also possible that NP students from our community health, family health and family psychiatric mental health specialties could rotate through the clinic as well,” says Nicole Rouhana, director of graduate nursing programs. “Undergraduate nursing students could also play a role, helping reduce the clinic’s workload while gaining valuable experience interacting with patients and their family members.” “This collaboration gives Decker almost an on-site geriatric clinic, enabling us to strengthen the adult-geriatric content within our programs,” Ortiz says. “Our faculty and students can walk from the classroom across the street to care for people. That’s a unique structure that many nursing schools don’t have.” Decker and Lourdes are discussing adding students from disciplines such as pharmacy, physical therapy,

occupational therapy, speech and language pathology and social work, thereby expanding the scope of services provided at Lourdes Senior Care and the experiential learning opportunities for students. “I like that the clinic is on Binghamton’s Health Sciences Campus, that it is part of an academic center,” Mikloucich says. “Taking the clinic out of the hospital setting changes its dynamics: There is an energy being with the students and faculty where learning occurs.”

AIDING THE COMMUNITY Having Lourdes Senior Care located in the Ford Family Wellness Center for Seniors “will significantly improve access to care in the community, enabling seniors in the Southern Tier to get care coordination, assessments and healthcare all in one setting,” Ortiz says.

“And, it’s important to bring highquality geriatric care to a broader population,” Conklin adds. “Geriatric patients are a neglected group. They are often dismissed by healthcare workers, and they don’t deserve that.” Mikloucich believes the new facility will help the community’s senior population and their caregivers feel supported, listened to and heard. “I hope they see the clinic as a place to go and ask questions about aging or the syndromes that occur with aging,” he says. “If I don’t have the answers they need, we have many community providers working with us, and we’ll try to find the answers.” Call Lourdes Senior Care at 607-7985432 or Decker’s Elder Services Program at 607-777-6636 to access services. Both accept self-referrals and referrals from providers, community agencies or individuals. binghamton.edu/decker I FA L L 2 0 2 3

No End in Sight Decker expands degree programs and explores areas for growth BY NATALIE BLANDO-GEORGE

 AFTER HIRING MARIO ORTIZ as dean of the Decker School of Nursing in 2016, Binghamton University started an ambitious expansion plan into the health sciences, resulting in undeniable growth. Within three years, the Decker School of Nursing became one of three schools — the School of Applied

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Health Sciences and the School of Rehabilitation Sciences are the other two — in the newly created Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Across these schools, six academic divisions (nursing, health and wellness studies, public health, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech and language pathology) serve almost 900 students pursuing degrees, minors and certificates. Thousands more students take Health and Wellness Studies courses to complete general education requirements or pursue interests. With this increased programming came a boost in faculty and staff, which now number more than 130 and are still growing. More students, faculty and staff necessitated more space, so the college moved to a 112,000-squarefoot building on the University’s Health Sciences Campus in Johnson City, N.Y. In addition, Decker’s Division of Advising and Academic Excellence significantly expanded to facilitate program growth and provide more assistance to students, faculty and staff. The changes haven’t ended there: In the past year alone, Decker added pathways for students who want to become physical therapists, occupational therapists and public

JOB OUTLOOK The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projections indicate that healthcare employment will grow 13% from 2021 to 2031, resulting in 2 million new jobs. Additionally, there will be an estimated 1.9 million openings yearly due to the need to replace retiring or departing workers. Here’s a look at a few healthcare jobs and the BLS projections for their growth by 2031:

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health professionals, and it changed its degree offerings for advanced practice registered nurses.

NEW (OR CHANGED) IN 2023 Decker College welcomed its first cohort of 40 students to the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program in June. This full-time, three-year program is delivered on campus and culminates in a clinical doctorate. Students who complete the program will be eligible to sit for the national exam to become licensed physical therapists. The Division of Occupational Therapy welcomed its first students to campus in August when the Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) Entry-Level Professional program began. Open to baccalaureate-prepared applicants who wish to become occupational therapists at the clinical doctorate level, the program requires three years of full-time study. Graduates are

nurse midwives/certified registered 40% Certified nurse anesthetists/nurse practitioners

26%

Epidemiologists

21%

Speech-language pathologists

17%

Physical therapists

17%

Athletic trainers

14%

Occupational therapists

12%

Community health workers

Exercise physiologists

Dietitians/nutritionists

Registered nurses

eligible to sit for the national exam to become occupational therapists. Binghamton is now one of only two State University of New York (SUNY) institutions to offer an OTD degree. “The new clinical doctorates in physical therapy and occupational therapy are moving Binghamton University another step closer to our vision of having a comprehensive health sciences campus,” Ortiz says. “This shows that Binghamton has the ability and the expertise to offer these much-needed rehabilitation programs within a premier public university.” Decker’s Division of Public Health expanded the number of students eligible for its accelerated degree program in 2023. Now, students from undergraduate majors at Harpur College that lead to a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Fine Arts degree can also earn a master’s-level public health degree in binghamton.edu/decker I FA L L 2 0 2 3

five years with the Harpur-Master of Public Health 4+1 program. Graduates of public health programs can pursue a wide range of careers, such as emergency preparedness and response, health education, disease prevention, public health advocacy and community health planning. In keeping with a national effort in nursing education to move nurses toward higher levels of education, the Decker School of Nursing will no longer offer master’s-level nurse practitioner degree programs after fall 2023. Starting next fall, Decker graduate nursing students who wish to become nurse practitioners will do so at the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) level. Ortiz explains: “We’re making this change in accordance with recommendations from national nursing organizations such as the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, which have committed to moving all entry-level nurse

practitioner education to the DNP degree by 2025.” “Medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, psychology, physical therapy and audiology all require or offer practice doctorates,” adds Nicole Rouhana, associate professor and director of graduate nursing programs. “Moving to the DNP will put advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) — including nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nursemidwives and certified registered nurse anesthetists — on par with other health professions that require doctoral degrees.”

COMING SOON Rodney Gabel, professor and founding director of Decker’s Division of Speech and Language Pathology, began developing a master’s degree program in speech and language pathology (MS-SLP) immediately after joining the University three years ago. Binghamton University leadership, SUNY and the New York State Education Department approved the program, which recently received Candidacy Accreditation status from the Council of Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech and Hearing Association.

DECKER HAS A PROGRAM FOR PRACTICING OTs, TOO In 2022, Binghamton University launched a PostProfessional Doctor of Occupational Therapy program. This program, delivered exclusively online, is for practicing occupational therapists looking to earn a clinical doctorate to progress in their careers.

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Candidacy Accreditation is a form of accreditation given to a new program while it develops and demonstrates it can provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to become speech-language pathologists. “The initial application for candidacy status received a positive review, and the site visit was an important step for our program,” Gabel says. “Given the feedback from the CAA site visitors, I believe we are ready to begin our process of recruiting our first cohort of students and offer a high-quality graduate program.” This program, which is on track to start in fall 2024 with a cohort of 45 students, is expected to attract considerable interest based on the enormous popularity of the undergraduate minor in speech and hearing science launched in August 2021.

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FUTURE POSSIBILITIES While Ortiz is pleased with the progress, his vision for Decker College includes an even more expansive program lineup. He and University leaders are exploring the following areas for additional growth. Decker is examining opportunities to grow undergraduate and graduate programs in the health sciences, potentially adding bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. Also being studied are the addition of several health sciences minors, including nutritional sciences, exercise science, health promotion, emergency medical technician/paramedic training and recreation therapy. “For many years, students have

been asking us for an undergraduate program in health sciences,” says Lisa Hrehor, professor and director of the Division of Health and Wellness Studies. “And, from surveying students in the Health and Wellness Studies minor, we know that areas such as exercise science, athletic training, health promotion and nutrition are in high demand.” Feasibility studies are underway to expand the DNP program to include options for those wishing to become certified nurse midwives (CNMs) or certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs). CNMs focus on gynecologic and family planning services and preconception, pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum and newborn care. CRNAs administer anesthesia during surgery or other medical procedures. The college is also investigating the viability of adding a graduate program in forensic health, which would prepare graduates for careers such as working with victims, offenders or in medicolegal investigations. Forensics is a highly sought-after program, evidenced by the popularity of Decker’s two forensic health offerings — an undergraduate minor and an advanced graduate certificate. Also under consideration is the addition of an advanced certificate in emergency nursing for those already certified as family nurse practitioners. The program would provide the education and procedural skills necessary to practice as nurse practitioners in emergency and urgent care settings. “I’m already thinking about the next five to seven years,” Ortiz admits. “It’s wonderful to be at a university that provides the support and freedom to grow.”

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Get moving: Assistant professor offers psychological spin to exercise BY NATALIE BLANDO-GEORGE

 THE PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND getting people to be more physically active — mainly, how to get adults with obesity moving more — is the focus of Seungmin Lee’s teaching and research. An assistant professor in the Division of Health and Wellness Studies (HWS) at Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Lee joined Binghamton University in September 14

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TWO (OR MORE) HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE Binghamton’s reputation as a top research institution drew Lee to the University two years ago. “This university supports and encourages research activity, particularly interdisciplinary research,” he says. “I also felt I could complement the research and teaching in the Division of Health and Wellness Studies.”

JONATHAN COHEN

Assistant Professor Seungmin Lee researches the psychosocial aspects of sport and physical activity.

2021, adding his expertise in kinesiology, health and human performance to the division’s roster. It’s an interest that goes back to Lee’s childhood playing sports. As a high schooler in South Korea, he was an avid bowler and hoped to turn that passion into a career. “I wanted to be a professional bowler, but my performance was not up there,” he says. Lee went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in leisure and sports at Dongseo University and a master’s degree in physical education at Seoul National University. He came to the U.S. to earn a second master’s degree and a doctorate in kinesiology (the study of physical activity) at Michigan State University.

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Lee believes collaboration is the key to effective research: “Studies are more powerful and meaningful when they bring together experts from multiple research areas.” His work is an example. He is the principal investigator of a team developing a theory-based online intervention to promote physical activity in adults affected with obesity. The project includes Associate Professor Lina Begdache, PhD ’08, from HWS; Associate Professor Kenneth Chiu from Computer Science; Artist in Residence Andrew Horowitz ’89 from Theatre; Kevin Lahoda ’98, a former faculty member from Art and Design; and Eldad Einav, MD, a community partner from Lourdes Hospital. The project aims to use a webbased tool to encourage engagement in regular physical activity by providing capability-enhancing opportunities designed to boost users’ self-confidence. “There is strong evidence that an individual’s physical activity is associated with psychological aspects such as their belief in their ability or confidence,” Lee explains. “Unfortunately, many people still do not engage in physical activity. To address

that, we plan to combine behavior theory and technology to give people easy access to ways to increase their physical activity.” The University’s Transdisciplinary Areas of Excellence program awarded the project an $18,000 seed grant for 2023–24. Lee’s team is creating the online intervention and expects to conduct a feasibility study at the end of the year. If the results are positive, the intervention could be scaled to include additional participants. Lee also has conducted contemporary quantitative research in the psychology of physical activity by using latent variable modeling, which refers to a group of statistical procedures that use one or more unobserved (latent) variables to explain and explore relationships between a more extensive set of observed variables. For example, if a study participant completes a survey, latent variable modeling would not consider the participant’s self-reported responses to be a valid score of feeling or behavior but instead would assume there are measurement errors.

GREAT STUDENTS, GREAT POSSIBILITIES Lee is impressed by students in the two courses he teaches: Psychology of Sport and Exercise, and Measurement and Evaluation of Health and Wellness. “Binghamton students are very serious about learning; their attitude is great,” he says. “This university is well known for undergraduate research, and the students are enthusiastic to participate in research activities.” HWS delivers a broad range of courses to undergraduates across the University. No degree programs exist in HWS, but a popular minor is available. However, Decker College is exploring adding undergraduate and graduate programs in health sciences (see related article, page 10), which could result in a larger course load for Lee. “I think I would be responsible for courses with psychological components, especially human behavior, and also for those with statistical/ quantitative aspects,” he says. binghamton.edu/decker I FA L L 2 0 2 3

ALUMNI

Rachel Kimani: Making a global impact on nursing

BY ANTHONY BORRELLI

 FOR RACHEL KIMANI ’12, MS ’14, DNP ’15, the nursing field has extended far beyond the walls of a hospital. As a researcher based in New York City, she’s worked to shed light on factors affecting maternal child development, health inequities and the impacts of addictive disease and medical complications. As an educator, she’s helped a team devise and implement an advancedpractice nursing curriculum for a university in Kenya. And as a volunteer, she’s mentored 16

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incarcerated teenage girls in Africa to help them gain valuable skills for when they’re released. Kimani credits Binghamton University’s Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences with helping her discover an expansive career path she never considered while growing up in Kenya before moving to the U.S. Back then, a hospital was the last place she wanted to be. “Hospitals look very different in Kenya, and for a time, it was enough to make me not want to go into the medical field,” Kimani says. “I did like the basic sciences, though, and

after earning my bachelor’s degree [in nursing] and entering the master’s program, I discovered a whole area of research that truly fascinated me.” Kimani specializes in community health nursing. As an instructor in clinical investigation at Rockefeller University in New York City, she’s part of a team that draws upon areas of biology, chemistry and physics for research that helps advance new ways of treating patients. “You need people to bridge the differences between research in the laboratory and using that research to better treat humans,” Kimani says. “In the end, we are trying to improve human beings.” Kimani joined Rockefeller University as a clinical research nurse practitioner in 2015. Before that, she worked five years as a registered nurse at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, N.Y. Even though she found the daily pace of the hospital’s emergency department exciting, Kimani was eager for new opportunities. In 2015, she found one as a research nurse practitioner at Rockefeller University, a first step toward her current position there. “I just like the idea that people investigate things through this type of research, and then those things are converted into practice,” Kimani says.

RETURNING TO KENYA Kimani had performed research in Kenya while working toward her

PROVIDED

Alumna Rachel Kimani ’12, MS ’14, DNP ’15, at Aga Khan University with colleagues from Kenya, Tanzania and Pakistan. The team members were benchmarking an advanced practice nursing curriculum they developed.

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree at Binghamton, which she earned in 2015, but she didn’t expect her professional life would one day take her back. After three years at Rockefeller, she chose to explore international work. She decided that a position at the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery in Kenya would allow her to make the most impact. As part of a team that included experts from the United Kingdom, Kimani worked from 2019 through 2022 to help develop a nurse practitioner curriculum at the university. After the revised program launched, it showed early signs of success. It drew students from Pakistan,

Botswana and other African countries because it was among a few programs in that part of the world that met the criteria of advanced practice nursing in accordance with the International Council of Nurses. “Nurses in Kenya have to do a lot, so in rural areas they had been prescribing medicine and ordering tests because they don’t have many clinicians,” Kimani says. “This program will be even greater for Africa as a whole because we’ve been struggling to push the nurse practitioner role across that continent in general.”

EMBRACING NEW CHALLENGES Kimani also used her time in Africa to volunteer as a mentor at a prison for

teenage girls. “What I tried to do for them was figure out plans to get educated, so they don’t have to end up on the streets when they get out,” Kimani says. “Some of their stories were very heartbreaking.” By July 2021, Kimani was back at Rockefeller University as an instructor in clinical investigation. Her experiences have reinforced a belief that research is most effective through collaboration. “We need to think to ourselves as we conduct our research about how we have helped,” Kimani says. “How have we worked with people? And most importantly, how have we lifted them up?” binghamton.edu/decker I FA L L 2 0 2 3

NoBodies Needed

The SynDaver silicone musculoskeletal body models allow students hands-on access to tissues that feel real, while helping them increase their confidence in studying human anatomy.

 THE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY LABORATORY is a cadaver-free, leading-

edge teaching space that supports physical therapy, nursing and health science anatomy and physiology education. Featuring virtual dissecting tables, silicone musculoskeletal body models and human physiology teaching systems, the ultramodern lab is located on the University’s Vestal campus. A mini-lab is available in the Health Sciences Building on the University’s Johnson City campus and is used for small group breakouts and study/practice space for physical therapy students.

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High-fidelity, full-size, head-to-toe anatomical models mimic muscular, skeletal, nervous, vascular and visceral organ systems.

JONATHAN COHEN

binghamton.edu/decker I FA L L 2 0 2 3

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 EQUIPMENT in the

Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory was funded by a grant from the Dr. G. Clifford and Florence B. Decker Foundation, which has been a significant supporter of Binghamton University’s health sciences growth for many years.

ABOVE: Anatomage virtualreality cadaver tables provide photorealistic anatomical structures that communicate complex 2D and 3D interactive renderings.

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LEFT: With the touch of a button, images can be peeled, sliced and cross-sectioned to mimic actual cadaver dissections.

binghamton.edu/decker I FA L L 2 0 2 3

Finding the right words NIH-funded research explores how children with dyslexia and developmental language disorder can build their vocabulary

 “I AM A FEARSOME MONSTER!” Dawna Duff’s young son crowed as he ran through the house. Now, when have I ever heard that word spoken aloud? she wondered and realized that she hadn’t. While atypical for conversation, “fearsome” appears in children’s books, which underscores the importance of reading to children. Research shows that children’s literature contains a wider variety of words than conversation — even conversations between college graduates, notes Duff, a 22

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Decker College associate professor of speech and language pathology who researches word learning. “In conversation, we don’t use as wide a variety of words as we do in text,” Duff explains. “If children have more books read to them, they will have an advantage because there are words in books that don’t appear very often in conversation but do in literature.” For children with dyslexia and developmental language disorder, building essential vocabulary can be a fearsome task. To that end, Duff and Suzanne Adlof, an associate professor at the University of South Carolina, are researching word learning in these populations. Their project is funded by the National Institutes of Health. While dyslexia is a well-known condition, developmental language disorder is not. Essentially, they are mirrors of each other: People with dyslexia have difficulty reading words but understand them when spoken. Those with developmental language disorder have difficulty understanding and using spoken language; when it

comes to reading, they may be able to read aloud but can’t process what those words mean. “It’s actually really common; around 7 to 10% of children have this condition,” Duff says. “There are a lot of children in schools who are struggling and don’t receive the support they need.” The two conditions often coincide: If a child has one, there is a greater chance of having the other when compared to the general population. While previous research hasn’t teased the disorders apart, Duff’s current study does just that. The researchers look at typically developing children, those with either dyslexia, developmental language disorder or both, and how they acquire vocabulary. They focus on children in the second grade, although they will assess the subjects’ word acquisition again in the fourth grade. Because children with language disorders tend to go unrecognized, Duff and Adlof will first conduct classroom screenings for reading and language difficulties. The study will consider the different aspects of word learning — meaning

BLUSH

BY JENNIFER MICALE

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Dawna Duff, associate professor of speech and language pathology, works with 6-year-old Arnav Sundeep at Decker College’s Health Sciences Building.

and sound — and employ various strategies to determine what works. Children will learn some words through the familiar flash-card system; for others, they will watch a short video cartoon that introduces words within the context of a story. “We want to know: Does an engaging story help, or does it get in the way?” Duff says. “The answer is intriguing: It helps, but not always. We’re looking at the story context’s effect over time and the number of times a child is exposed to the word.” Repetition is crucial for vocabulary acquisition, but how much? To figure that out, the researchers will expose some children to a new word 18 times and others 36 times, then compare the results. Duff and her team also measure what children learn in various ways, including asking for definitions and having children draw a picture connected to the new word they have learned. This could be especially

important for children with language disorders, who find it difficult to show what they know using words. “We’re hoping to come up with a better understanding of developmental language disorder and dyslexia and how they affect our ability to learn words,” Duff says. “We hope that we will be able to come up with practical information for speech-language pathologists and teachers to help these children learn words because vocabulary is critical to academic success.”

PREDICTOR AND GATEKEEPER Brain differences aside, Duff acknowledges that not all children are exposed to the same number of words before they get to kindergarten, sometimes due to language-poor environments. The gap can be significant; in a previous study, Duff found that a child who is one standard deviation below the mean is missing about 1,300 word families, including basic words and

their variants. Unfortunately, school alone doesn’t fix the problem; research shows that children behind in their vocabulary during kindergarten continue to have academic problems in the 10th grade. And because standardized tests include a vocabulary component, young people who graduate high school without an adequate store of words face limited life opportunities. “Vocabulary becomes a predictor of success, but also a gatekeeper,” Duff acknowledges. The good news for language learners of all ages: Vocabulary can grow throughout life. Duff recently received a second NIH grant for another study: how children learn the meanings of words when they’re not told what those meanings are — how most of us acquire vocabulary. “There is no point at which you are no longer able to learn vocabulary,” Duff says. binghamton.edu/decker I FA L L 2 0 2 3

ALUMNI

All In: Public health grad returns to help others find their fit

BY ALLEN WENGERT

 MITCHELL BROOKS, MPH ’21, was already promoting public health before he even knew it was something he wanted to study. As an undergraduate art history major in Tampa, Fla., Brooks volunteered his time packaging safe-sex kits for the city’s LGBTQ+ 24

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center and serving as a crisis counselor for a nonprofit that provided free mental health services over text. “One of my friends recommended that I take a class in public health because of the volunteer work I was doing,” Brooks says. “I loved it and realized I wanted to make it a career.” It was a natural fit for Brooks, who has always been driven to

help others. At one point, he considered becoming a lawyer, and his art history major was sparked by his interest in learning about different cultures. He learned about Binghamton University’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program, which had only been running for a year when he started in fall 2019. A lifelong Florida resident, Brooks quickly adapted to Binghamton. “I wasn’t accustomed to all the

“WHAT SETS BINGHAMTON’S [MPH] PROGRAM APART IS THAT IT’S VERY CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY. STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT PUBLIC HEALTH AND PUT IT INTO ACTION.” — MITCHELL BROOKS

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hills up here,” he laughs. “The landscape is certainly different.” Brooks, despite being new to the area, actively participated in the community outside his classroom activities. He helped students register to vote through the University’s Center for Civic Engagement and carried out his field placement with the Southern Tier AIDS program. There, he led Narcan and opioid overdose prevention training and provided safe injection supplies and education. “The fieldwork made me feel connected to this area,” he says. “It’s an integral part of the MPH program because it’s teaching students how to apply what they are learning in the classroom to real-world situations while also getting them more involved with the community.”

PERSEVERING DURING THE PANDEMIC Brooks continued his fieldwork throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, something he’s very proud of. “Everything changed, but we still found a way to continue our work safely while supporting the

community,” he says. “If anything, the pandemic reassured me in making the decision to get into public health.” The fieldwork inspired Brooks’ MPH capstone project; he researched burnout among employees of syringe exchange programs throughout the U.S. “A lot of the burnout research coming out at the time focused on frontline hospital workers,” he says, “but I saw the pandemic’s impact on harm-reduction healthcare workers, and I wanted to look into that.” Intrigued by the research aspect of public health, Brooks sought out a graduate assistantship with the University’s Division of Research. “I took an epidemiology class during my first semester that completely changed my perspective on what I wanted to do with public health. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed research until that class,” he says. After graduation, Brooks’ love of research led him to a job in Washington, D.C., as a research manager at Us Helping Us, People Into Living Inc., which works to achieve health equity for underserved and marginalized populations in the area. Brooks

worked on federally funded projects examining health disparities among racial, ethnic, gender and sexuality minorities. It wasn’t long before Brooks was drawn back to Binghamton. In June, he joined Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences as a field placement coordinator for the MPH program. After learning so much from his field placement, Brooks now helps students find the right placement to enrich their experience. “It feels so good to be back and see the MPH program from this side of it,” he says. “Binghamton taught me essentially everything I know about public health and played a big role in shaping my interest in the field. To now be able to help students on their journeys is very fulfilling.” While public health was once a field he hadn’t considered, Brooks is now all in. He plans to pursue a PhD and hopes to continue doing research. “Public health is such an important field that encompasses so much,” he says. “What sets Binghamton’s program apart is that it’s very connected to the community. Students learn about public health and put it into action.” binghamton.edu/decker I FA L L 2 0 2 3

DECKER COLLEGE OF NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES

Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID Binghamton, NY Permit No. 61

PO Box 6000, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000

EXCELERATE YOUR IMPACT WITH THE BINGHAMTON FUND Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences has essential funding to invest in faculty excellence, professional development, programming and more, thanks to Binghamton Fund donors. In fact, with Binghamton Fund support, Decker College is exploring the possibility of adding a midwifery program and a nurse anesthesia program. “The Binghamton Fund is an incredible source of support for Decker College,” Dean Mario Ortiz says. “The funds are flexible, allowing us to pursue exciting opportunities that arise as well as meet important needs.”

For example, in addition to program development, donors to the Binghamton Fund for Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences also: • Invest in outstanding faculty and staff, including those who are at the forefront of diversity and inclusiveness initiatives, to promote academic excellence and foster student success. • Provide crucial resources for conference participation, faculty recruitment and retention to build on the college’s strengths, gain and share research expertise and enhance the college’s competitiveness. • Ensure the college has access to must-have technology and equipment to stay at the cutting edge of innovation and meet critical needs.

Donors, as part of the EXCELERATE campaign for Binghamton, open doors across the University. Binghamton Fund gifts, in particular, are used immediately to nurture bright minds and pioneering work, alleviate students’ unforeseen and unmet financial gaps and shape an exceptional Binghamton experience.

Learn more: excelerate.binghamton.edu 23-329