Health Matters: Dean's Newsletter - Spring 2021

S R E T T A M H T L

HEA

r e t t e l s w e N s ’ Dean Volume 5 / Issue 2

G N I R SP TER

SEMES

1 MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

Welcome Spring 2021 Students, Alumni, Faculty, and Friends, As we approach the spring semester at ETSU and in the College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences, I cannot help but reflect on the immense moments of change we have all experienced, both personally and professionally. No one could have predicted how different our lives would become.

However, our students, faculty, and staff have risen to the occasion. It has been incredible to witness the strength, innovation, adaptability, and resilience of our community. Our faculty were faced with reorganizing their courses to online formats, and our students had to transition to learning via Zoom. This has been no easy feat to say the least.

I continue to encourage all of you, especially our students, to make the most of 2021. Use this time to dive into your studies and take advantage of opportunities. This is the year to step out of you comfort zone and do great things in health care and beyond.

I look forward to the day we can all be together in person, and I cannot express how proud I am of the students, faculty, and staff in the College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences. Your hard work and dedication have not gone unnoticed. Thank you for all you do.

Go Bucs!

Don Samples

Online Radiologic Science East Tennessee State University is ranked No. 3 in a listing of “Best Online Radiology Tech Programs for 2020” (four-year schools category) released by EduMed.org!

2 NAVE CENTER

A NEW LOOK, Expanded Services for the Nave Center

The College’s Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology at the Nave Center underwent extensive renovations this year, expanding services offered at the interdisciplinary, interprofessional clinic located in Elizabethton.

This facility has served as an academic space for ETSU since 1976 and has transformed over the years into an interdisciplinary clinic with multiple areas of practice that serves community health care needs and educates ETSU students who are pursuing a variety of careers in the rehabilitative and diagnostic health sciences.

During the summer, former classrooms and lab spaces were transformed into additional SLP examination and observation suites so that ETSU’s SLP clinics could move from ETSU’s main campus to the Nave Center. The ETSU College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences celebrated the completion of the work and the grand reopening of the facility this fall.

“This renovation allows us to transition our SLP services to the Nave Center, where the space is larger, the parking is better, and the location is easily accessible to surrounding communities,” said Dr. Bess Sirmon-Taylor, chair of the Department of Audiology and SpeechLanguage Pathology.

The audiology services offered at the Nave Center include comprehensive hearing evaluations for all ages (newborns to geriatric patients); electrophysiologic testing, such as Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR); central auditory processing evaluations for schoolaged children; hearing aid fittings and repairs; cochlear implant candidacy and mapping; hearing conservation and prevention; tinnitus assessment and management; and audiologic rehabilitation for all ages.

Other specialty programs at the Nave Center include the Positive Eating Program, designed for children with behavioral and sensory-based feeding challenges; the Social Communication Skills program, offering evaluation and treatment for children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder; Auditory-Verbal Therapy (AVT) intervention for children who are deaf or hard of hearing; and aural rehabilitation services.

3 COLLEGE & FACULTY HIGHLIGHTS

Tennessee’s First Advanced O&P Program to Launch at ETSU The Department of Rehabilitative Sciences at ETSU will launch the state’s first advanced Orthotics and Prosthetics Program. Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P) is a unique healthcare profession involving the care of persons with movement impairments due to neurological or musculoskeletal disorders such as limb loss, diabetes, stroke, peripheral vascular insufficiency, etc. These conditions can substantially impair a person’s ability to stand, walk and perform everyday activities. To treat movement impairments, specially designed external medical technologies – prostheses (artificial limbs) and orthoses (cranial, facial, spine and extremity braces) are created after intensive assessment of the patient. Finding the right blend of technology combined with training to restore a person’s capabilities is a complex process that requires advanced education and training. Adding to the challenge, there is a nationwide shortage of qualified orthotists and prosthetists. With rapid advances in healthcare, material science, machine learning/artificial intelligence and automated manufacturing, further increases the demands for individuals in O&P to possess a wider knowledge and skills. To address these challenges, the new O&P program at ETSU, slated to begin in 2022, will first create an advanced education program that will share a building on the VA Mountain Home campus with the Physical Therapy program and the developing program in Occupational Therapy.

Interested in the project? Opportunities exist at all levels to support renovations, the creation of an O&P lab, and much more. For more information, please contact Anne Godfrey, Director of Development, at GodfreyAW@etsu.edu or 423-439-7085.

ETSU Feature Twirler

Congratulations to Lexi Maust, a

Rehabilitative Health Sciences sophomore, for winning the “People’s Choice Award” and Best of So-Con in baton twirling! Lexi participated in an virtual twirling competition, where she quickly rose through the ranks. What started as 64 twirlers from collegiate establishments across the United States is now down to 8 finalists, with Lexi being in the top 8.

4 STUDENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

New Representative for NASW-TN Board of Directors Social Work graduate student Cory Whitfield was recently elected to serve as the student representative on the National Association of Social Workers, Tennessee Chapter (NASW-TN) Board of Directors. As a student representative, Whitfield will assist chapter office members in promoting the social work profession in Tennessee. He will work alongside 17 other social workers from across the state who serve on the board. “Social work is a huge profession with limitless potential and endless growth,” Whitfield said. “It is one of the few professions where on individual can impact change on the most minute, micro level and up to grandest of macro levels.”

First Graduate of Rehabilitative Health Sciences Major When Bailey Davis graduated on December 12, 2020, she became the first East Tennessee State University student to complete a bachelor of science in the new rehabilitative health sciences major. Davis came to ETSU knowing she wanted to become an occupational therapist. But when she entered as a freshman, the rehabilitative health sciences major, B.S. (RHSC-BS), which is designed to prepare students for a variety of health-related professions, had not yet been implemented. “I went ahead and declared another major, but as soon as they announced the rehabilitative health sciences major, I knew that this was the right fit for me,” said Davis, who has been accepted into an occupational therapy (OT) program that she will begin in May. “This major was the stepping stone that I needed to go on to graduate school as an OT student.”

Student Working to Increase Diversity in SLP Kevanté Drew, a second-year student in the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) Program, is using his voice and experience to advocate for more diversity in the speech-language pathology profession on a national level. Drew was selected to be the Student State Officer for the National Student Speech-Language-HearingAssociation (NSSLHA), which has more than 13,000 members. In the fall, he also received national exposure as an invited panelist for the NSSLHA, where he addressed racism within communication sciences and disorders programs. In addition, the National Black Association for SpeechLanguage and Hearing invited him to participate in a panel discussion focusing on the experiences of Black males in SLP. When he graduates from the program this spring, Drew plans to work in clinical practice and might eventually pursue a Ph.D. No matter where he practices, Drew said he will continue to encourage people of all backgrounds to consider a career in SLP.

5 Bucky’s Food Pantry Contact Us Visit our website: www.etsu.edu/crhs/ Visit our college: 156 S. Dossett Dr.

Johnson City, TN 37614 Email: CARHS@etsu.edu Phone: 423-439-7454

2021 Dates of Interest February 2021 - Gum Disease Awareness Month March 2021 - National Nutrition Month March 2021 - Brain Injury Awareness Month March 2021 - Social Work Month March 21, 2021 - World Down Syndrome Day April 2021 - National Autism Awareness Month April 2021 - National Interprofessional Health Care Month April 2021 - Occupational Therapy Month April 7, 2021 - World Health Day April 15, 2021 - American Sign Language Day April 16, 2021 - World Voice Day May 2021 - Better Hearing & Speech Month May 5, 2021 - World Asthma Day May 8, 2021 - Commencement Day May 28, 2021 - World Hunger Day June 2021 - National Safety Month July 2020 - Cleft Palate and Craniofacial

Awareness and Prevention Month

Invest in the Future by Giving

By Check: Payable to ETSU Foundation with CCRHS in the memo line.

By Credit Card: Call 423-439-4242 for assistance.

Mail to: ETSU Ways Foundation P.O. Box 70721 To Johnson City, TN 37614 Give!

Online: Go to etsu.edu Click “Give” to go to Online Giving.

Designate The College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences For additional ways to give, contact University Advancement at 423-439-4242

Any member of the ETSU community experiencing food insecurity during these difficult times can seek resources at Bucky’s Food Pantry. An application is available on the Bucky’s Food Pantry website (etsu.edu/ foodpantry) and at the pantry for those unable to apply online. The pantry is available for students, faculty, staff and alumni of ETSU. For more information, please call 423-439-2825.

Street Medicine Interest Group The Street Medicine Interest Group (SMIG), a new student organization, is building bridges with community partners to help people who are experiencing homelessness overcome barriers to health care. The SMIG is an interprofessional student organization that is comprised of approximately 60 students representing ETSU’s five health sciences colleges, and was spearheaded by the doctoral students in the Physical Therapy Program. The students see many possibilities for the SMIG to continue to build trust and a presence wherever they are needed. They are discussing future outreach projects such as assisting the Appalachian Regional Coalition on Homelessness’s Point-inTime (PIT) count. To learn more about SMIG, email streetmedicinegroup@outlook.com.

Social Media Make sure to follow our social media pages to stay up to date on all of the college’s events and activities! facebook.com/etsuccrhs

ETSU is an AA/EEO employer. ETSU-CCRHS-0006-21 000

@etsu_ccrhs