WVSOM Magazine: Summer 2023

M A G A Z I N E SUMMER 2023

WOMEN in osteopathic medicine

W e s t Vi r g i n i a S c h o ol of O s t e opat h i c M ed i c i n e

4 WOMEN IN OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE •

Writers Ken Bays Tiffany Wright

Designer Mary Claire Ickes

Photographers

12 •

WVSOM’s first pandemic-era class graduated 177 new physicians

26 •

Jones, former WVSOM president, remembered as ‘humble servant,’ visionary leader

Pat Bauserman Druann Dalton Mary Claire Ickes Abigail Sinclair Sarah Skelding

18 • Graduates given $47,700 at awards ceremony

35 • WVSOM vice president joined Health Care Hall of Fame

20 • Graduate profile: Savannah Keffer, D.O. 36 • WVSOM students achieved 100 percent residency placement rate 22 • Graduate profile: Anne Reis, D.O. 38 • Research profile: Shinichi Asano, Ph.D. 24 • White House representative visited WVSOM for opioid discussion, 40 • New hires and transitions presented presidential challenge coin 40 • Janet Hinton became president-elect 25 • WVSOM, University of Charleston of statewide organization partnership allows students to earn 41 • Smith-Kelly received statewide dual D.O./MBA degree

30 • Kornhiser, former dean, left lasting legacy

31 • WVSOM was focus of segment on internationally broadcast PBS NewsHour

32 • Spring Awards Ceremony provided $738K to students

2 • WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023

40 Under 40 honor

42 • Alumni profile: Melinda Ratini, D.O. 44 • Alumni profile: Micaela Weaver, D.O. 46 • Scholarship profile: Stephanie Dawn Barragy Memorial Scholarship

50 • Class notes 52 • Gifts to WVSOM

Cover Photo Featuring Diane Duckworth, D.O., WVSOM Class of 1981, and Alexis Mbakwe, WVSOM Class of 2024

Mission Statement

“The mission of the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) is to educate students from diverse backgrounds as lifelong learners in osteopathic medicine and complementary health-related programs; to support and develop graduate medical education training; to advance scientific knowledge through academic, clinical and basic science research; and to promote patient-centered, evidence-based medicine. WVSOM is dedicated to serve, first and foremost, the state of West Virginia and the health care needs of its residents, emphasizing primary care in rural areas.”

A message from the president

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In this issue of the WVSOM Magazine, we look at the various roles women play in osteopathic medicine and examine the challenges that historically have slowed gender equity among physicians. We also celebrate some of the women who have overcome societal challenges and become leaders in health care — particularly here at WVSOM, where we’ve made great strides in the gender balance among our administration and faculty.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau states that more than three-quarters of the nation’s health care workers are women. Yet, while the osteopathic profession has embraced women from the beginning, thanks in part to the advocacy of the profession’s founder, Andrew Taylor Still, D.O., M.D., the medical world has yet to achieve equity, with women representing about 36 percent of U.S. physicians.

As president of WVSOM, I’m fortunate to work with some of the best physicians and educators in the nation, and I’m pleased to say that about half our faculty members are women. The gender split among our students, too, is roughly equal, with women making up about 50 percent of our aspiring physicians in any given year. This bodes well for the future of medicine in West Virginia and beyond, where our graduates will enter the workforce and go on to serve as role models for subsequent generations of physicians.

“I believe the profession is working toward a paradigm in which women are acknowledged equally for their accomplishments.”

It’s unsettling to hear anecdotes about patients assuming that all women in the health care workforce are nurses, as you’ll read in the pages ahead, but I believe the profession is working toward a paradigm in which women are acknowledged equally for their accomplishments. In this issue, we’re showcasing some of the women among WVSOM’s staff whose achievements have been recognized recently, such as Drema Hill, Ph.D., MSP, who was named to West Virginia Executive magazine’s Health Care Hall of Fame this year, Jessica Smith-Kelly, D.O., a faculty member who received "Generation Next: 40 Under 40" recognition from The State Journal, and Janet Hinton, who became president-elect of the West Virginia Rural Health Association. We also profile two alumnae whose careers show the variety of options available to today’s physicians, and two new graduates whose futures look very bright.

Elsewhere, we share some of WVSOM’s successes, including the 100 percent residency placement rate our Class of 2023 attained and the introduction of our first-ever dual degree option, a D.O./MBA program born from a partnership with the University of Charleston. We also pay tribute to two important figures from WVSOM’s history who passed away in early 2023 — Olen E. Jones Jr., Ph.D., who served as the school’s president for more than two decades and helped make WVSOM the respected institution it is today, and Harry Kornhiser, D.O., a two-time WVSOM dean whose influence on our faculty members lasted for many years.

Take care and be well,

James W. Nemitz, Ph.D. WVSOM President WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 3

WOMEN

IN OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE

WVSOM Class of 1988 Deborah Schmidt, D.O., bottom row, second from right 4 • WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023

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Longtime WVSOM faculty member and Class of 1988 alumna Deborah Schmidt, D.O., realized she was interested in medicine as a young girl while seeing a military physician in the early 1960s.

“I was 8 years old and sick with pneumonia, and the doctor was doing a chest X-ray and drawing blood,” she said. “I’d always been a curious person who enjoyed taking things apart and investigating, and I said, ‘I think I might like to do this someday.’ He said, ‘You can’t. You’re a girl.’ I looked at him and said, ‘I’m as smart as you are, and I think I can.’”

Schmidt’s account is far from unique. Women across the medical profession have stories of not being taken as seriously as their male colleagues.

Zinaida Pelkey, D.O., a retired physician and former president of the Osteopathic Cranial Academy, also was told she couldn’t be a doctor. Pelkey was a guest speaker during WVSOM’s Celebrate Osteopathic Medicine (COM) Week in April.

In her presentation, Pelkey discussed the influences that led her to a career in the osteopathic profession, as well as the teachings of Andrew Taylor Still, D.O., M.D., the founder of osteopathic medicine, and William Garner Sutherland, D.O., who developed techniques used in cranial osteopathy.

“I wanted to be a psychiatrist, but it was the 1950s and all the adults in my life told me I couldn’t be a doctor because I was a girl,” Pelkey said. “I later owned a bakery, and one day I injured my back lifting heavy sacks and decided to try the chiropractor across the street. It worked, and I thought it was nice one-on-one work that I could learn to do. So I went back to finish my bachelor’s degree, and one day the head of biology hauled me into his office and said, ‘You’re aiming too low. Apply to medical school.’”

“He said, ‘You can’t. You’re a girl.’ I looked at him and said, ‘I’m as smart as you are, and I think I can.’”

DEBORAH SCHMIDT, D.O. WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 5

THEN VS. NOW

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A.T. Still was an advocate for female physicians from the time he founded his profession in the mid-to-late 1800s. In 1892, the osteopathic medical school he created admitted six women into its first class. He also hired women as faculty members at the American School of Osteopathy, now known as A.T. Still University, in Kirksville, Mo.

Patricia Lally, D.O.

Still’s acceptance of females is highlighted in a PBS documentary that aired in 2017 called The Feminine Touch, based on the book The Feminine Touch: Women in Osteopathic Medicine, by Thomas Quinn, D.O., a professor at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Bradenton, Fla. The documentary showcases the women who rose above adversity to become osteopathic physicians in the profession’s early years.

“It is the policy of the school that there shall be no distinction as to sex and that all should have the same opportunities and be held to the same requirements,” Still was quoted as saying in the documentary.

The Feminine Touch explores how female physicians found success in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but during the years between World War I and Word War II, and leading up to the 1950s, women in the medical profession were rare — less than 2 percent — due to the glorification of domesticity and the social status of being a “homemaker.”

Another shift began in the 1970s, but women still faced an uphill battle.

“Every day was a challenge because it was exploring new territory for me and, in most instances, for the institutions where I was training. I was in hospitals that had never had a female medical student. They had no facilities for female medical students. I had to use the nurses’ dressing room,” said Barbara Ross-Lee, D.O., the first black female to serve as dean of a U.S. medical school and president of the American Osteopathic Foundation, who was featured in the documentary.

WVSOM Class of 1978

Eighty-six years after Still’s osteopathic medical school opened, in 1978, WVSOM celebrated its first graduating class. A total of 33 students received Doctor of Osteopathy degrees, only five of whom were female.

Andrea Nazar, D.O., has worked at WVSOM since 1991. She graduated from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, now known as the New York Institute of Technology, in 1983 and remembers a time during her residency when women were underrepresented.

“I graduated in a class of 65 students, and 10 were women,” she said. “In my internship year — everybody had to do an internship at that time — there were 22 interns, and I was the only female.”

She recounted a story about a patient she had cared for many nights in the intensive care unit with whom she had been communicating during her first year in a family medicine residency at Phoenix General Hospital in Arizona.

When the patient finally started feeling better and the patient’s sister came to visit her in the hospital, “she introduced me as her doctor’s daughter,” Nazar said.

Deborah Schmidt, D.O. 6 • WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023

“IT TAKES GRIT AND CONFIDENCE TO BRING YOUR OWN SEAT TO THE TABLE. I HOPE TO CONTINUE MAKING PROGRESS SO THEIR EFFORTS DON’T GO TO WASTE.” ALEXIS MBAKWE, WVSOM CLASS OF 2024

It’s not uncommon for female physicians to be mistaken for nurses. That has happened a handful of times to Emily Thomas, D.O., a 2008 WVSOM alumna and the school’s medical director of clinical evaluation and simulation. She was a clinical sciences faculty member from 2011 to 2020 at WVSOM, then worked at a veteran’s hospital before returning to WVSOM in her current role.

“When I walked in the room I always made sure I had the name badge that said ‘physician.’ Even with that clear marking, the white coat and the introduction, patients would say, ‘Are you my nurse? Who are you?’ Or I’d hear patients talking on the phone about how they have seen their nurse but hadn’t seen their doctor yet. It happens frequently, even now,” Thomas, an internal medicine physician, said.

Olivia Giambra Linda Boyd, D.O.

WVSOM’s demographics of male and female students have hovered around the 50 percent mark, give or take a few percentage points, for years. But that wasn’t always the case. Thomas recalls stories from her mentors that differed from her own experience.

“When I attended medical school it didn’t strike me as being very lopsided,” she said. “But some of my mentors in school and during residency, as women, were trailblazers because they graduated in classes with only about 10 percent women or were the only females in their residency.”

Patricia Lally, D.O., a 1993 WVSOM graduate, was Thomas’ main mentor.

Other notable WVSOM faculty members such as Schmidt and Nazar, as well as Marlene Wager, D.O., who championed out-of-state students through scholarship funding, and Karen Steele, D.O., a professor emerita who was the first registered osteopathic physician in South Africa about a decade ago — helped pave the way for future female medical students.

“I have a hard time considering myself a trailblazer, but I hope I have had a positive impact on many students,” Nazar said of the mentorship she has strived to provide during her 30-plus years as a WVSOM educator.

WVSOM Class of 2023

While women seem to have always had a place at the osteopathic table, their numbers have grown since the turn of the 21st century. More women than ever are choosing to become D.O.s. According to a 2021 report by the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, 54 percent of that year’s first-year osteopathic medical school matriculants were female.

Alexis Mbakwe, a WVSOM Class of 2024 student who is the first in her family to pursue a career in medicine, said she is grateful for women trailblazers like Schmidt and Ross-Lee. “Although there is still progress to be made for women, especially women of color, their efforts are much of the reason I can attend medical school today,” Mbakwe said. “It takes grit and confidence to bring your own seat to the table. I hope to continue making progress so their efforts don’t go to waste.”

Deborah Schmidt, D.O. Andrea Nazar, D.O. WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 7

Ross-Lee noted in the documentary that even though more than 50 percent of students entering osteopathic medical school are female, progress should not be taken for granted.

“That’s a wonderful thing, but it’s worth nothing if they don’t appreciate the battles and sacrifices that got them there, because we can easily go back,” she said.

Another WVSOM Class of 2024 student, Olivia Giambra, is also the first in her family to attend medical school. She recognizes that it’s important for younger generations to see women physicians.

“Years ago it was difficult for women to even enter medical school. Those women paved the way for us to have a more equal opportunity to be doctors,” Giambra said. “Now, the baton has been passed to us to pave the way for more female physicians to enter more male-dominated specialties such as orthopedics, general surgery or urology. In the era of social media, it’s amazing to see and follow so many strong females who are in these fields, own their own practices and are doing well.”

“NOW, THE BATON HAS BEEN PASSED TO US TO PAVE THE WAY FOR MORE FEMALE PHYSICIANS TO ENTER MORE MALE-DOMINATED SPECIALTIES SUCH AS ORTHOPEDICS, GENERAL SURGERY OR UROLOGY.”

Emily Thomas, D.O.

OLIVIA GIAMBRA, WVSOM CLASS OF 2024 Micaela Weaver, D.O., FACS, is a breast surgical oncologist at the Care New England Health System in Rhode Island and a nationally recognized surgeon [see full story on page 44].

The WVSOM Class of 2014 alumna agrees that many women in medical school are reluctant to pursue careers in general surgery, in part because the specialty has a reputation for discouraging women.

“I certainly had my fair share of ups and downs during training. For example, throughout my five years of residency, surgical gloves were rarely ordered in my size and I was rebuked for not having the grip strength to operate the surgical stapler with one hand,” Weaver said. “The impact of having those experiences feeds into imposter syndrome, doubt and lack of selfconfidence. As I progressed in my training and my career, I have been fortunate to find incredible mentors and peers who have supported me, encouraged me, and helped to do away with those feelings.”

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Patricia Lally, D.O. Emily Thomas, D.O.

SUPPORT IS ESSENTIAL

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While more women are entering the osteopathic profession, as a whole, there has been a slower but steady rise in women who in the nation’s physician workforce — from 28.3 percent in 2007 to 36.3 percent in 2019, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Physician Specialty Data Reports. There is still some work to do to evolve the acceptance of females in the medical profession.

Thomas said one way for health care leaders to encourage more women to pursue careers as doctors would be to improve work-life balance, as it is one of the biggest barriers.

“The preponderance of housework and child care often falls to the female, so if we want to keep female physicians in the workforce, we need to have more flexible scheduling and we need to have child care opportunities. Some people just take years off from practice. We need to be more flexible in scheduling and more imaginative with benefits,” she said.

As a woman in her 20s, Giambra agreed that more support for child care and better work-life balance — along with increased pay for residents — could help encourage women to pursue medical careers.

“The average age of medical school entry is between 24 and 28 years old. The median age of women having children is between 27 and 30, which means most women who will have children will most likely have them some time in their medical training — whether that’s during medical school, residency or fellowship,” Giambra said. “To have residents who are pregnant or parents working 80-hour work weeks, getting paid around $60,000 a year while paying back student loans at the same time is absurd.”

Melinda Ratini, D.O., a graduate of WVSOM’s Class of 1984, created a work-life balance in the medical profession that has worked for her. She works as an online medical editor for WebMD four days a week and a practicing physician one day each week [see full story on page 42].

“I try to mentor residents and tell them about the different types of opportunities that are out there. I have three children, and working with medical information gave me flexibility when they were young. There is a need in health care, especially for women, for options that will allow them to raise families and still fulfill their professional goals of becoming physicians and helping patients,” she said.

Ross-Lee stated in the documentary that many women face challenges related to spouses who add tasks to their plates rather than subtract them.

“We tend to add more things to do as women without having somebody else share the burden. Ultimately, our spouses, our partners in life, need to share the same level of burden that women do as it relates to the home front. And they don’t do that yet. They’re getting better, but they don’t do that yet,” she said.

Nazar said it’s important for women in professional careers to help and support each other, and thinks that the work-life balance for women has improved.

“It’s such a complicated balance, and to do either side well is a full-time job,” she said. “I think it has gotten much better with job sharing and part-time jobs, or taking a break from practice and coming back after taking care of their family’s needs. That is a more encouraging process now.”

Some female physicians said they believe women have a natural tendency to be caretakers, often bringing more empathy and better communication to the bedside.

A 2020 study in The New England Journal of Medicine found that women primary care physicians spend more time — on average, an additional 2.4 minutes — with their patients than men do. The same study showed that women generated 11 percent less in annual revenue because they offered more direct patient care.

These statistics don’t surprise Mbakwe, who said she has personally witnessed women spending more time with patients during her clinical rotations.

“I believe that some women physicians have a unique way of connecting with their patients,” she said.

The osteopathic philosophy of mind, body, spirit and understanding the body as a whole unit naturally results in physicians who spend more time with their patients.

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 9

WOMEN LEADERS AT WVSOM

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The Feminine Touch claims that even though more females are enrolling in medical school, leadership positions are rarer among women who are practicing physicians.

Adrienne White-Faines, who was CEO of the American Osteopathic Association when the documentary aired, said she would like to see more women leaders in medicine.

“There are still too many boards that are homogenous, that are predominantly male, and the problem with that is that when you lose diverse perspectives, when you aren’t hearing the variety of voices, your solutions are less rich and less impactful,” she said.

Barbara Ross-Lee, D.O. (center), stands with WVSOM administrators and faculty

She stated that she likes to remind physicians “that their impact is more than just in the exam room. That today, to make a difference in health care, we have to put voices at many tables. It’s going to be important to be in the exam room with the patient but also to be at the public policy table — to be able to share your insights about patients and families with others, with administrators, with executives, with legislators.”

When it comes to leadership equality, it seems a shift has taken place at WVSOM’s campus in Lewisburg, W.Va. More women are stepping into leadership roles — whether in the form of faculty department chairs or administrators at the vice president level, including Linda Boyd, D.O., WVSOM’s first-ever female vice president for academic affairs and dean.

Thomas has noticed the change.

“Thinking back to when I was a student, Dr. [Michael] Adelman was our dean, Dr. [Olen] Jones was our president and the department chairs were all men,” she said. “I think there has been a shift. I think there is much better faculty representation at WVSOM. If you don’t see someone like yourself in positions of leadership, it’s hard to imagine yourself in that same position. I feel like we have more visible women in leadership here.”

Nazar, chair of WVSOM’s Department of Clinical Sciences since 2017, also has witnessed a shift in the percentage of female leaders at the school.

Alexis Mbakwe Linda Boyd, D.O.

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“The number of women in leadership positions has had a large increase, and I think there has been a subtle but consistent, intentional attempt to promote women and foster leadership in women,” she said.

ASPIRING FOR MORE

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Aspiring female physicians aren’t immune to hurdles in health care, but women have continued to advance in the profession.

Female physicians from five decades ago carry themselves differently from today’s female students, Giambra said.

“It is evident that they are incredibly intelligent and strong-willed females, probably because that type of mindset is what it took to break into a male-dominated field at that time,” she said. “It’s inspiring to have instructors like Dr. Schmidt at our school, along with our other female physician faculty members.”

Schmidt’s encounter as a young girl who was told she couldn’t practice medicine wasn’t the last time she experienced discouragement about her professional interest.

Schmidt earned a degree in pre-medicine from The Ohio State University and then spent several years traveling the U.S. She worked as a waitress, an exercise instructor, an asparagusfield worker and in a shrimp-processing facility before returning to West Virginia. She then spent several years working on the West Virginia Turnpike as a union-trained heavy equipment operator, but eventually returned to medicine. She was sponsored by a friend, an allopathic internist, in applying to the West Virginia University School of Medicine and a 10-fingered D.O. and radiologist in applying to WVSOM. When she was accepted at both schools and ultimately chose WVSOM because she wanted to continue to work with her hands, the internist told her she was “wasting her life” in pursuing osteopathic medicine.

Years later, Schmidt returned to a large family practice in downtown Lewisburg and ended up caring for the family of the internist. She was able to conduct home visits to provide osteopathic manipulative treatment for pain relief for the internist’s wife during the final weeks of her life. Her internist friend admitted that he was proud of Schmidt, who was recognized statewide as a “West Virginia Wonder Woman” by WV Living magazine in 2021, and grateful she had chosen the path of osteopathic medicine.

Andrea Nazar, D.O.

PBS DOCUMENTARY:

THE FEMININE TOUCH

SCAN TO WATCH

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 11

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WVSOM’S FIRST PANDEMIC-ERA CLASS GRADUATED

177 NEW PHYSICIANS

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When students in this year’s graduating class began their medical education in summer 2019, none of them could have predicted that just a few months after their first labs and lectures, a global pandemic would alter their studies and reshape the practice of health care.

Four years later, 177 of those students crossed the stage to accept their diplomas, having weathered months of isolation from their classmates, modifications to the way their education was delivered and changes to medical priorities. During the school’s 46th annual Commencement Ceremony on May 5, they gathered with families and friends to celebrate their transition into resident physicians, where they will train in their specialty of choice for at least three years.

Government officials attending the ceremony recognizing new graduates of West Virginia’s largest medical school included West Virginia State Delegate Mike Honaker, West Virginia State Sen. Jack Woodrum, Lewisburg Mayor Beverly White and Lewisburg City Manager Misty Hill.

Leah Smith, president of the Class of 2023, addressed her fellow graduates in the ceremony, which was livestreamed from the medical school’s campus in Lewisburg. She spoke of the difficulties she and her peers faced during their years in medical

school, but said those events gave them a sense of perseverance that will help them succeed in the next stages of their careers.

“Our time here has been extremely different from those before us, yet we’ve continued to learn efficiently at each stage of our training. Not only did the pandemic change our process to become physicians, it has affected the way we will practice medicine throughout the course of our careers,” Smith said.

“We’ve only finished a small part of our journey, but we should be proud of how far we’ve come. Every lecture, anatomy lab, exam, clinical rotation and long night of studying has led us to this moment.”

Robert Foster, D.O., FACOFP, WVSOM’s assistant dean for osteopathic medical education and a long-beloved campus figure, was the event’s keynote speaker. In his last Commencement Ceremony before retiring after more than four decades of service to the school, Foster delivered a speech in which he urged graduates to “embrace [their] journeys,” trading his iconic cowboy hat for a black Amish hat adorned with a green band representing medicine.

“Not only did the pandemic change our process to become physicians, it has affected the way we will practice medicine throughout the course of our careers.”

Leah Smith WVSOM Class of 2023 president

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 13

2023 CLASS OF

“This is a profession that thrives on the journeys of humankind,” Foster told those in attendance. “Going to WVSOM and graduating means that you are on a journey, and you have an opportunity to see how it’s working for you on a daily basis and how to apply it medically. The guide that you have in your journey is your passion.

When things don’t happen the way you planned them, you’re being helped in finding your passion, your purpose on this planet. Once you understand that, and you’ve embraced your journey, you’re going to have all the help you need with your patients, who are on journeys of their own.”

Foster recalled how his own path to a lifetime in osteopathic medicine took him from his native Arizona to his adopted state of West Virginia. He also spoke of Andrew Taylor Still, D.O., M.D., the founder of the osteopathic profession, who pioneered a health care philosophy centered on the person as a unit of mind, body and spirit. Foster likened Still’s approach to the idea of “patient-centered medicine” that has become increasingly popular in recent decades.

“Every physician I know — and most folks in other professions — have some sense of the ‘mind, body, spirit’ nature of humanity. The difference is that [osteopathic physicians] really embrace it. It’s a piece that we take close to heart,” Foster said.

The Class of 2023 achieved a 100 percent residency placement rate, with all 177 graduates being selected for programs in which they’ll receive postgraduate training [see story on page 36]. Sixty percent of this year’s graduates are entering primary care specialties.

In an introductory speech, James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., WVSOM’s president, pointed out the class’ perfect residency placement rate and said he was proud of its members’ achievements.

“Completing medical school is an even bigger accomplishment in light of the many challenges you have faced, both individually and as a class during the past four years. You have truly distinguished yourself in so many ways, not the least of which is your 100 percent residency placement,” Nemitz said. “We are here to honor and celebrate your incredible accomplishments and to acknowledge you as the newest members of the osteopathic medical profession. I hope you’re soaking up the glory of your achievements, which you have very much earned.”

After receiving their diplomas, graduates recited the osteopathic oath, which acknowledges their transition from student to physician.

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 15

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L E G A C Y

WVSOM

SARAH CRAFT

TIANA DODD

MEGAN GOODWIN

brother, Edward Craft II, D.O.,

cousin, Jamie Blankenship, D.O.,

husband, Lucas Goodwin, D.O.,

Class of 2011

Class of 2012

Class of 2021

CHARLES HARLOW

SAVANNAH KEFFER

PETER LEICHNER

wife, Leslie-Joy Romero, D.O.,

father, Scott Keffer, D.O.,

father, Edward Leichner, D.O.,

Class of 2014

Class of 1996

Class of 1993

TYLOR TABIT

MITCHELL THOMAS

MASON TINCHER

uncle, John Tabit, D.O.,

brother, Nathaniel Thomas, D.O.,

mother, Connie Perkins, D.O.,

Class of 2006

Class of 2016

Class of 1995

GRADUATES WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 17

GRADUATES GIVEN $47,700 AT AWARDS CEREMONY 2023

$47,700 in awards

Merck Manual Award for Academic Excellence Presented to the top two female and top two male students based on grade point average in their class.

ELIZABETH ARONICA JENNIFER KOSKI IBRAHIM RABABA MATTHEW SHIRK

HALEY CRAIG-KOVACH

were recognized for their achievements in medical school during a Graduation

AARON BYCZYNSKI

Students in WVSOM's Class of 2023

TEHAAM WARAICH

WVSOM Alumni Association Roland P. Sharp Graduate Award Created to honor the values of WVSOM’s first president.

The award honors graduating students who exemplify Dr. Sharp’s vision of holistic care and service.

Olen E. Jones Jr. and WVSOM Foundation Academic Achievement Award Presented to a student graduating in the top 10 percent of the class.

Awards Ceremony on May 4. Graduation awards totaled $47,700.

This year’s class consisted of 177 graduates, with 105 graduates entering primary care residency programs and a 100 percent residency placement rate for the class.

The event recognized 18 students who graduated with honors. In addition, 28 students were recognized as members of Psi Sigma Alpha, a national osteopathic scholastic honor society. Seven students were recognized with American Medical Women’s Association GlasgowRubin Certificates of Commendation for Academic Achievement. Forty

career in primary care. In exchange for the scholarship, students agree to practice in a Health Professional Shortage Area upon graduation and licensure. The students commit to one year of service for every year the scholarship is awarded, with a two-year minimum commitment.

Opal Price Sharp Memorial Fund Created in memory of the wife of WVSOM’s first president, Dr. Roland P. Sharp. Opal Price Sharp worked alongside Dr. Sharp in the early years of the school, using her journalistic skills to promote WVSOM’s mission throughout West Virginia.

ELIZABETH ARONICA MORGAN KARNELL

National Health Service Corps Scholar Recipients are selected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration from students pursuing a

WVSOM’s Rural Health Initiative (RHI) Recognized 13 graduates who participated in the program.

The RHI program is designed to enhance the rural primary care curriculum at WVSOM and produce graduates uniquely qualified to practice medicine in underserved communities in rural West Virginia.

MEGHAN ALLWES ELIZABETH ARONICA ANDREW COLEBANK THAO ENGLERT SETH GRAHAM PAUL KASUNIC SAVANNAH KEFFER NICHOLAS LABATCH LINDSEY RAY ANNE REIS ANA RITZ MARY ROSIEK KATHERINE SPURLOCK

MSOPTI Rural Scholars Aims to increase the likelihood that students from West Virginia medical schools will self-select residency programs located in the state, establish a relationship in the community and commit to practice medicine in that area.

ALEXANDRIA ARTHUR MEGAN GOODWIN SAVANNAH KEFFER

West Virginia Emulation Endowment Trust/Dr. Olen E. Jones Jr. Scholarship Established in 2016 and named after Olen E. Jones Jr., Ph.D., who served as president of WVSOM from 1987 to 2009. The scholarship is awarded to West Virginia students based on literary and scholastic attainments, morality, leadership and physical vigor.

HALEY CRAIG-KOVACH

WVSOM Foundation Scholars awards Given to West Virginia residents with satisfactory academic performance who plan to stay in West Virginia after residency to practice. Preference is given to students from Barbour, Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Fayette, Gilmer, Greenbrier, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mingo, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Raleigh, Roane, Summers, Upshur, Wayne, Webster, Wirt and Wyoming counties.

ALEXANDRIA ARTHUR ASHLEY MCNICHOLAS

Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield West Virginia FarsonSmith-Earley Award Presented to a graduating student who has matched to a West Virginia primary care residency with the intent to practice in a rural area.

ALEXANDRIA ARTHUR

Encova Scholars Award Donated by the Encova Foundation of West Virginia.

RYAN MURPHY

students received cords reflecting their membership in Sigma Sigma Phi - Nu Chapter, the WVSOM chapter of a national osteopathic medicine fraternity that supports medical scholastic excellence.

Nine graduates were recognized with special coins for their military service.

18 • WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023

Lucas Betterton, D.O.

Haley Craig-Kovach, D.O.

Aaron Byczynski, D.O. Shannon Misiaszek, D.O.

Paige Evans, D.O.

Donald Newell Sr. Memorial Award for Outstanding Graduating Senior Presented to a student who, in the opinion of his or her classmates, best exemplifies the qualities of scholarship, osteopathic professional interest, leadership and citizenship.

HALEY CRAIG-KOVACH

Gwen Clingman Memorial Scholarship Presented to a graduating student who has demonstrated a commitment to community service throughout his or her time in medical school.

THAO ENGLERT

Drs. John and Nancy Chambers Memorial Scholarship Fund Given to students who intend to practice medicine in an underserved community and who had a strong academic performance. The scholarship honors two former WVSOM professors.

ALLISON SILBER

David Hinchman, D.O., Emergency Medicine Award Created by Brant Hinchman, D.O., Class of 2012, to honor his retired father, from WVSOM’s Class of 1982, and others who have helped medical students become emergency medicine physicians. The award is given to a graduating student who intends to enter an emergency medicine residency.

Stephanie Dawn Barragy Memorial Scholarship Established to honor Charles and Jean Cornell’s daughter, who was a victim of suicide. The scholarship recognizes a student committed to working on behalf of mental health issues, with a focus on patient care and intervention.

LUCAS BETTERTON

Dr. William R. Holmes Jr. Scholarship Award Given to a student who has shown determination, persistence and commitment in pursuing a medical education.

Dr. Catherine A. Bishop Scholarship Fund Recognizes a graduating student committed to a residency program in West Virginia.

Eugene McClung, M.D., Family Scholarship Created by McClung’s family to honor his service to the medical profession. McClung was a graduate of the Duke University School of Medicine and was a U.S. Army Purple Heart recipient. He practiced internal medicine in Lewisburg from 1957 until his death in 1988.

The scholarship recognizes a firstgeneration college graduate who is in the top 25 percent of their class academically and exhibits a strong interest in community involvement.

SETH GRAHAM

LUCAS BETTERTON

KIELE MOHRE

ABIGAIL COLE

PAIGE EVANS

ERIC NICOLAU Olivia Claire Obrokta Pediatric Award Recognizes a student who committed to serving in a pediatric specialty. Deena Obrokta, D.O., Class of 1994, established the award after losing her granddaughter shortly after her birth.

West Virginia Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians Award Recognizes one student from each of the three medical schools in West Virginia whose performance in clinical rotations reflects an understanding of and commitment to the delivery of emergency care.

Order of Vesalius Award Presented to students who have served as graduate teaching assistants in the biomedical sciences department.

SARAI ARBUS

RAMS Head Award Given to students who served as graduate teaching assistants in the osteopathic principles and practice department.

KAMEL FARAJ ALEXANDER WOINSKI

Clinical Sciences Award Recognizes a student who served as a graduate teaching assistant in a clinical sciences or family medicine capacity.

AARON BYCZYNSKI SHANNON MISIASZEK

CENTRAL WEST REGION: ELIZABETH CAUDLE KAMEL FARAJ EASTERN REGION: THAO ENGLERT MARION WHITE NORTHERN REGION: BAILEY BORYCKI HALEY CRAIG-KOVACH SOUTH CENTRAL REGION: MEGAN MARTIN SHANNON MISIASZEK ANNE REIS DAVID WILLIAMS SOUTH EAST REGION: RHYAN BAILEY MATTHEW SHIRK SOUTH WEST REGION: SYDNEY GUALTIERI PETER LEICHNER

Donna Jones Moritsugu Memorial Award Recognizes an osteopathic medical student’s spouse or partner. The recipient exemplifies the role of a professional’s partner in providing support to their family and the osteopathic profession.

DANIEL COUTURIER, SPOUSE OF NANCY COUTURIER

Statewide Campus Outstanding Student Awards Students from each of WVSOM’s seven Statewide Campus regions received Statewide Campus Outstanding Student Awards for their third- and fourth-year clinical rotations.

CENTRAL EAST REGION: SCOTT BINGAMAN LINDSEY RAY

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 19

Savannah Keffer

20 • WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023

PHYSICIAN AND LOVER OF FARM LIFE TAKES PLEASURE IN

LIFE’S SIMPLE THINGS

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Not much makes Savannah Keffer, D.O., happier than being outdoors with her three dogs and tending to her three beehives and her chickens. The only thing that compares is learning about rural health care and working to become a family medicine physician in a rural area.

“When I was in high school we had meat birds that we slaughtered ourselves, and it was very old-school: Do the deed, dunk it, pluck it. None of it was automated,” she said. “Everything they were doing at the plant was automated and it was really cool for me to see.”

The WVSOM Class of 2023 graduate recalls that as a child she remembers saying, “I want to be a doctor like dad.” Her father, Scott Keffer, is a 1996 graduate of WVSOM.

Keffer’s love of living on a farm and tending to animals has continued. In December, she and her boyfriend purchased 2 ½ acres of land adjacent to her boyfriend’s family’s 400 acres of cattle farm property in Alderson, W.Va. Since February, when her fourth-year clinical rotations ended, she has been taking time to enjoy the outdoors and work with animals.

“Throughout high school, my dad had a farm with different types of animals. We had horses, pigs, chickens, everything you could imagine. I fell in love with farming, being outside, taking care of pets and watching things grow,” Keffer said.

“I had my heart set on going to vet school because I loved showing horses. I loved everything about animals. I loved getting gritty, and I liked gross stuff.”

Keffer, who split her youth between Greenbrier and Fayette counties, took a particular interest in wound care for animals after completing a summer internship at her local veterinarian’s office. After learning that wound care was an option for physicians as well, she decided to pursue a career as a physician.

She received an undergraduate degree in exercise science from Marshall University. She graduated a semester early and received early acceptance to WVSOM, the only medical school to which she applied.

“Being able to attend medical school in a place like this was really a draw. From the first moment I attended an open house and walked on campus, I thought, ‘This is awesome,’” Keffer said. “The campus tour really sunk it for me.”

Throughout medical school, Keffer was a member of WVSOM’s Rural Health Initiative (RHI), designed to enhance the rural and underserved primary care curriculum. Students in the program participate in unique experiences to learn about industries specific to West Virginia.

“RHI, for me, was the most incredible experience ever. Getting to see all these different careers that people around me in rural areas do — I know people coal mine, I know people timber, I know they do all these things but I never knew what the jobs involved. Getting to immerse myself in those careers opened my eyes. You hear about coal miners having bad backs, but why? Until you’re underground and having to walk hunched over, you don’t understand what the environment is like for them,” Keffer said.

One of the most eye-opening experiences for Keffer was when RHI participants visited a chicken processing plant to learn more about the poultry industry. Even having grown up around chickens on her family farm, Keffer said, it was interesting to learn about the factory-work environment and the repetitive motion of workers.

“I’ve been baking, gardening and raising chickens, and it’s been incredible. I’m enjoying my life right now where the most stressful thing that happens to me is figuring out if I’m going to get three eggs that morning or four,” she said. “I don’t relax the way most people do. Relaxation for me is pulling weeds in the garden, or making bread, or I made cheese this winter, which is one of the strangest things I’ve ever done, or walking my dogs … It’s exactly what I needed before I start residency.”

Keffer will complete a family medicine residency at CAMC Greenbrier Valley Medical Center in Ronceverte, W.Va. She is confident she will be able to manage her new career as a physician while continuing her farm life.

“I’m positive that if I chose any other specialty, this would not be possible to balance,” she said. “Family medicine is a magical specialty of getting to have the day job of being a physician and taking care of people, but if you set it up correctly, you can still go home and have a great life and do all the things you want to do. I want to be able to drive an hour and go to my little brother’s football game on a Friday night or go to church with my grandma on Sunday. That’s what fills my cup up.”

Keffer also hopes to complete a fellowship or receive training in wound care so she can be a local resource in addition to offering family medicine appointments. While there are wound care facilities in Beckley and Pocahontas County in West Virginia and in Roanoke, Va., that service is unavailable in Lewisburg.

More than anything, Keffer is looking forward to her career as a new physician where she will fulfill not only patients’ needs but her own personal needs.

“If I had gone to any other school in the country, I wouldn’t have been at home. I think WVSOM is doing a great job of helping students be able to balance life like you would while having a career,” she said. “It’s not all work and no play. I think I’m a good example of that. During medical school, I developed hobbies that I enjoy. I am doing exactly what I wanted to do, and I think the opportunities I received here allowed me to do that and stay true to myself.”

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 21

Anne Reis 22 • WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023

GRADUATE’S ARMY EXPERIENCE TRANSLATES TO READINESS TO

ADAPT TO CHANGE

I

It has been said that obstacles breed growth. For one graduate in WVSOM’s Class of 2023, the lack of a way to pay for higher education led to a decision that ultimately would provide her with leadership skills she never dreamed of having.

Like many first-generation students, Anne Reis, D.O., didn’t know how to pay for college. The fifth of seven children in her family, Reis’ parents urged her to spend a summer working to try to save money for tuition.

“I worked in a cabinet factory and as an assistant in a nursing home on weekends, doing a total of 70-plus hours a week,” she said. “By the end of the summer I still didn’t have enough money, so I said, ‘I’m never doing this again.’

I enlisted in the Army as a health care specialist, more commonly known as a combat medic, and started a delayed education program.”

Reis, a native of rural Wisconsin, hopped on a plane for the first time in her life in 2015 to conduct basic training at Fort Sill, Okla. She found that her undergraduate college, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, was “pro-military,” giving her the freedom to travel for drills and advanced training when necessary.

“There was even a veterans lounge on campus,” she said of the school. “I hung out there often and made good friends. It was a great experience.”

In 2018, Reis was sent to Kuwait, where the U.S. Army was maintaining a presence following the country’s liberation from Iraq as part of Operation Spartan Shield. Expecting to work in trauma situations after having gone through specialized training with the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, Fla. — the same preparation White House medical staff and military special forces receive — Reis instead found herself in an operations role, writing policies, developing training rosters and assisting with the military hospital’s company command, and later serving as an instructor for emergency medical technicians.

Reis felt disappointed at first, but she now sees the value her leadership experience has brought to her medical career.

“It was actually good, because I learned things I never would have thought to seek out. I didn’t have an interest in becoming a leader, but I discovered that I enjoyed teaching and mentoring, developing other people, and it also gave me insight into how a company operates,” she said.

Reis applied to multiple medical schools, but chose WVSOM after James Murray, D.O., an alumnus who was working as an OB-GYN in Kuwait, brought the school to her attention.

“I’d been attending classes he was teaching on OB-GYN emergencies, and one day at breakfast he told me, ‘You should check out this school. I think you would do well here.’

So I looked up WVSOM and saw it had a beautiful campus and that it was located in a town of about 4,000 people, the same size as the places I’d lived in Wisconsin. A week or two later, I was doing a virtual interview with WVSOM from Kuwait. I decided that regardless of what happened, this was my first choice. The fact that they created a process for my interview showed that they take care of their students. It meant so much to me,” Reis said.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Reis, who was a member of WVSOM’s Rural Health Initiative and the firstyear representative (and later president) of the school’s student chapter of the Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons, felt more prepared than most students to weather the abrupt shifts that became a necessary part of medical education during a public health crisis.

“In the military, things change quickly and you learn not to get excited easily,” Reis said. “So throughout the pandemic, when changes would happen such as returning to in-person OPP labs, some of my classmates would get worried. I’d say, ‘Guys, it’s OK. You can’t control this, so don’t waste your energy on it. Take the proper precautions, wash your hands, cover your mouth, wear what you’re supposed to wear and it will be fine. We’re all just doing the best we can in the moment.’”

Reis has now begun her next adventure. One week after WVSOM’s Commencement Ceremony in May — where she received the Statewide Campus Outstanding Student Award for the school’s South Central Region and took on the rank of Army captain — Reis and her husband moved to the Tacoma, Wash., area, where she is entering a family medicine residency at Madigan Army Medical Center. She remains grateful for the experiences the Army has given her, in a way that extends far beyond the financial assistance that allowed her to receive an education.

“I was exposed to so many things that I never would have been otherwise,” Reis said. “The military is the most diverse group of individuals you’ll ever meet, because its people come from all walks of life. It broadens your horizons and gives you a new perspective on what’s out there in the world.

It gives you a well-rounded approach to a problem, or even to a conversation.”

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 23

WHITE HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE VISITED WVSOM

FOR OPIOID DISCUSSION, PRESENTED PRESIDENTIAL CHALLENGE COIN

R

Rahul Gupta, M.D., the first physician to serve as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, a component of the Executive Office of the President, visited WVSOM for a roundtable discussion on June 10.

Gupta met with WVSOM students, local physicians and other individuals who impact local health care. The event focused on discussions related to substance use disorder (SUD) and recovery, as well as the community partnerships and programs WVSOM has created to try to curtail the opioid epidemic.

In introductory remarks, WVSOM President James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., thanked Gupta and his team for the work they are doing at the national level that positively impacts individuals in rural Appalachia.

“WVSOM has taken the lead in West Virginia to provide innovative, high-quality programs to prevent substance use disorder in future generations. We provide treatment services in a social service model, we assist in rebuilding the lives of those in recovery so that they can become productive members of society and we are leading the way on an array of holistic modalities to help people with SUD maintain recovery,” Nemitz said.

WVSOM has impacted communities by addressing the substance use epidemic through Drema Hill, Ph.D., MSP, WVSOM’s vice president for community engagement and development, who serves as a public health expert for the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office. Hill works on the abatement side of the opioid settlements; provides programs through the school’s Center for Rural and Community Health to provide prevention, care, treatment and recovery services to those with substance use disorder and their families; and offers opioid education to medical students so they understand appropriate treatment options.

Gupta said he was impressed with how WVSOM has fostered relationships regarding substance use disorder education, both for its students and the communities in which physicians serve.

“We know the value of relationships,” Gupta said. “Osteopathic medicine is so critical and important. In a time when we have gaps in health care, it’s so critical that you all think about curricula in addiction medicine and those areas where people need the most help.”

Nemitz said osteopathic medicine requires taking into account a patient’s mind, body and spirit, and that osteopathic physicians see each person as important.

“Every individual has the capability of self-regulation, selfhealing and self-maintenance,” he said. “We have to provide the circumstances, attitudes and access to treatment to these individuals to assist those with substance use disorder on their journey. WVSOM is always willing to help. Medical school is more

24 • WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023

than a place where people get educated. We are a leader in the community in helping people become healthier.”

Gupta told attendees that more than 1,400 West Virginians were lost last year to drug overdoses, and that the current administration has allocated $15 billion for addiction treatment to West Virginia, equaling a little over $8,000 per resident.

He said fentanyl is of great concern nationally as it continues to permeate the illicit drug supply, and naloxone, an overdosereversing medication, is vital to the national response.

“Naloxone will soon be available over the counter in pharmacies, right next to Tylenol,” Gupta said. “Just like defibrillators don’t cause heart attacks, naloxone isn’t enabling addiction.”

During the nearly hourlong discussion, the main barriers participants identified for rural communities were transportation and sustainable housing.

Naloxone has proven to help overdose victims, but having access to naloxone boxes in rural areas is difficult. One of the ways the state could fix the problem is by offering naloxone vending machines, said Jennifer Crane, a collegiate peer recovery support specialist at WVSOM. “There are people living in abandoned homes who aren’t getting naloxone … That’s something that is close to my heart and that is what I’m trying to get done,” she said, sharing that her younger brother passed away in an abandoned drug house.

Gupta said that states have been asked to put together naloxone acquisition and distribution plans to better assist them in receiving additional funding.

Additionally, Gupta presented Nemitz with a presidential challenge coin — a symbol of honorary membership given to military personnel, foreign dignitaries and other notable individuals — for his vision and the medical school’s work in SUD education.

WVSOM, University of Charleston partnership allows students to earn

DUAL D.O./MBA DEGREE

S

Students at WVSOM now have the option of learning to manage a business while learning to manage the health of their future patients.

On April 17, WVSOM entered into a partnership with the University of Charleston that allows the medical school’s students to supplement their Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree through a program that lasts a total of five years.

The presidents of both institutions signed a memorandum of understanding describing the program’s admission procedures, academic policies, tuition and billing, and other elements of the partnership. The D.O./MBA program is available to any second-year WVSOM student in good academic standing.

James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., WVSOM’s president, said the agreement will allow the school to better serve students who are motivated to learn about the business side of health care.

“Today’s medical students want the flexibility to seek out additional education that will help them build successful practices,” Nemitz said.

“The University of Charleston is an outstanding institution, and we’re happy to work with their administration to offer this option to our hardworking future physicians.”

Marty Roth, Ph.D., MBA, president of the University of Charleston, detailed some of the ways the partnership will help physicians take roles as leaders.

“At the University of Charleston, we are always looking for innovative ways to help students achieve their personal goals and professional success,” Roth said. “This partnership is a unique and exciting opportunity for students to position themselves for roles that require a combination of patient care, management skills and leadership expertise. Our MBA program offers students exceptional applied learning opportunities for advancing their business proficiency and organizational capabilities. We are proud to work with WVSOM to help the next generation of physicians face the changing field of health care, offer exemplary care to their communities, and grow as professionals and individuals.”

The partnership establishes a path for students to attend osteopathic medical school for two years of preclinical education before starting a 10-month online program at the University of Charleston, leading to the awarding of an MBA degree. Following completion of the MBA program, students will return to WVSOM to complete third- and fourth-year studies at rotation sites in the school’s Statewide Campus.

The MBA program includes courses in applied marketing, health care economics, management, quantitative methods, managerial accounting, health care policy and ethics, managerial economics, managerial finance, international business, strategic decision making, and health care informatics.

Brian Griffith, Ph.D., an associate professor in WVSOM’s Department of Biomedical Sciences who also serves as the school’s director of affiliated programs, worked with the University of Charleston to establish the dual degree program. Griffith said the program positions WVSOM to produce medical students who have the business skills to build successful careers.

“Health care knowledge is only one part of being a successful physician, so earning two degrees will better prepare our students to enter the health care profession,” Griffith said.

“Learning about managing businesses will give them a better understanding of how to run an individual or group practice, or to work in health care administration. We also hope the program will help students be selected for top-tier residency programs, because they will have an additional degree.”

The MBA program includes courses in: • applied marketing • health care economics • management • quantitative methods • managerial accounting • health care policy and ethics • managerial economics • managerial finance • international business • strategic decision making • health care informatics

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 25

Jones, former WVSOM president, remembered as ‘humble servant,’ visionary leader 26 • WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023

O

One of the most beloved figures from WVSOM’s history, Olen E. Jones Jr., Ph.D., passed away Jan. 31 at the age of 85.

As WVSOM’s fourth president, Jones led the school from 1987 to 2009, making him the longest-serving president in its history. He helped guide WVSOM through an era of prosperity thanks to his 10-year master plan that outlined a path for immense growth.

During Jones’ time leading WVSOM, the school was brought under West Virginia’s Board of Trustees as a unit of the state’s university system. WVSOM’s class size increased dramatically, and several new campus buildings were constructed, including the Fredric W. Smith Science Building, the Roland P. Sharp Alumni Conference Center, the Founders Activity Center, the Admissions Center, the Center for Technology and Rural Medicine and the Clinical Evaluation Center. Jones also led the charge to construct a building to house the Robert C. Byrd Clinic.

James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., WVSOM’s current president, was a faculty member and administrator during Jones’ presidency. He remembered Jones as a trailblazer who helped safeguard the school’s future.

“Dr. Jones is one of the giants on whose shoulders we stand. Quite frankly, I do not believe WVSOM would be here today if it wasn’t for him,” Nemitz said. “He secured the school’s place as a state institution and provided for its financial security. Under his leadership, WVSOM saw significant growth in students, employees, buildings and funds and was established as a national leader in osteopathic medical education. We owe a great debt of gratitude to Dr. Jones.”

Bob Foster, D.O., WVSOM’s assistant dean for osteopathic medical education, noted that in addition to advancing the school’s physical facilities, Jones helped improve its financial well-being, positioning the school for sustained growth for years to come.

“Dr. Jones made WVSOM one of the most financially prepared higher education institutions in West Virginia,” Foster said. “He not only turned an aging former military school into a beautiful campus, but helped make it a cutting-edge medical school to train rural primary care physicians. That was WVSOM’s mission since its inception; Dr. Jones just made it complete. He and I didn’t always see eye to eye, but he was a great president who took the school from hard times to being No. 1 in the state in many areas.”

Jones earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va., and a Ph.D. degree in education administration from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., before setting out on a career that would include top positions at multiple higher education institutions in West Virginia. Before joining WVSOM, he served in various leadership roles at Marshall University, including dean of students, provost and executive vice president.

“I worked under Dr. Jones’ leadership for 21 years. He was a visionary, a leader and a wonderful friend. He made his vision for WVSOM a reality. He was always encouraging to staff and students.

Words cannot express his impact on WVSOM and on West Virginia.”

SHARON HOWARD, RETIRED WVSOM DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL AID

“When I joined WVSOM’s faculty 30 years ago, the faculty thought 80 students per class was perfect and we saw no reason to change.

However, President Jones had a vision of both the financial realities and the greater impact WVSOM could have, and he led planning for the expansion to an entering class size of about 200. WVSOM’s current outcomes data proves the wisdom of his leadership.”

HELEN BAKER, PH.D., MBA, WVSOM PROFESSOR EMERITA

“Dr. Jones was one in a million and will be missed by many. His welcoming, dimpled smile greeted those who walked down the main hallway every morning and afternoon.

A legendary billiards master, he enjoyed challenges by students; one group even made him a bedazzled cue stick to keep in his office. He loved it. We loved him dearly.”

CINDI KNIGHT, WVSOM DIRECTOR OF RETAIL OPERATIONS

“I had the privilege of working with Dr. Jones for more than 20 years. He was a gentleman, a leader and most importantly my friend. WVSOM flourished year after year under his leadership, and he worked tirelessly to save the school from closure or merger. He truly loved WVSOM.” CHERYL BAKER, RETIRED WVSOM EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT

“I consider myself fortunate to have known and worked with Dr. Jones. As an educational administrator, he was a giant. He was a great steward of resources. His most defining quality was his genuine and full support of WVSOM’s students. His absence is a loss to our school family and the osteopathic community.”

ANDY GAMMILL, D.O., WVSOM CLASS OF 2003

Olen E. Jones Jr., Ph.D. Patty Barber Jones

Jones’ wife of 65 years, Patty Barber Jones, of Lewisburg, described him as a man of uncommon foresight and attributed his success to his determination to see projects through to the end. When Jones set his mind on a goal, nothing could stop him.

“Beyond the nitty-gritty work of getting something accomplished, he had a vision that a lot of people don’t have. He could see what needed to happen and how to get there,” Patty said. “Whatever he did, it became his mission. It was always total commitment, whether you’re talking about his professional life or his personal life.”

Patty recalled her husband’s decision to accept the job as WVSOM’s top administrator — and her own role in his decision. Jones, who had previously served as acting president of the school in 1980-81 while the West Virginia Board of Regents sought stable leadership at WVSOM, was asked to take on the position on an official basis.

“Dr. Jones was a fine statesman who successfully led and developed WVSOM. His vision and leadership certainly helped shape our institution and inspired our growth. Dr. Jones and his mentorship of countless students, faculty and staff will continue to impact the WVSOM community.”

“Olen was always looking for things that challenged him in a new way. They came to him and said, ‘The school is in trouble and we don’t know if it’s going to close or continue. Why don’t you become president and let’s see what we can do?’ I knew nothing about osteopathic medicine, but I was raised in rural Nicholas County and I had experienced a lack of rural medicine all my life. I started reading about WVSOM’s history, and I realized the school was trying to save places like Nicholas County. So I said, ‘This school is what West Virginia needs.’”

ANDREA NAZAR, D.O., WVSOM DEPARTMENT OF CLINICAL SCIENCES CHAIR

“When the name WVSOM is mentioned, I hope quality will be the immediate association. As president, I will establish the standards which will become the basis for that quality, for excellence,” he said. “I think there is already a nucleus of fine staff, faculty and certainly students here, and there is a history of quality within these elements. It is this community, the institution itself, that is making a tremendous impact on health care delivery within the state of West Virginia and the various Appalachian states that we serve.”

28 • WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023

In 1996, Jones won the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine’s Dale Dodson Award, which acknowledges top administrators at osteopathic schools for their contributions to the advancement of osteopathic medical education.

Other awards Jones received include a “50 Most Powerful People in West Virginia” designation from West Virginia Executive magazine and recognition as Business Leader of the Year by the Greater Greenbrier Chamber of Commerce.

In an interview that appears in a 1998 edition of a WVSOM publication called Appalachian Focus, Jones summarized his intentions for the school — goals he would ultimately help the institution meet and exceed.

About a year before retiring from WVSOM, Jones was honored by the West Virginia Senate with a resolution recognizing his dedication and service in the fields of medicine and science. Patty said her husband was moved by the honor and that she believes his contributions to the state live on today.

“Olen was excellent at evaluating an individual’s abilities and strengths and placing them in the best position to get the job done. To me, his greatest accomplishment was keeping the school open when administrators from another state medical school and state politicians were attempting to either close WVSOM or absorb it within another institution. He, with help from others, lobbied and educated the two groups and West Virginia’s citizens about what WVSOM was accomplishing. His efforts resulted in the school remaining open and continuing to perform and expand.”

“It’s obvious that he saved the school; he helped take it from 35 students per class to 200 students per class, made it one of the top medical schools in the country, and left it in excellent shape financially. But I think he did more than that: He saved rural health care in West Virginia,” she said.

JOHN MOONEY, RETIRED WVSOM DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES

Announcing his decision to retire, Jones looked back at his more than two decades with the school with great affection and gratitude for those he worked with.

“Dr. Jones was a great leader, having led WVSOM through turbulent and trying times as well as prosperous times of class expansion and new campus buildings. He was a firm leader, yet he remained approachable to staff. His smile was infectious. When I think of Dr. Jones, a couple of words come to mind: ‘genuine’ and ‘integrity.’”

“It has been a great ride. I’ve enjoyed it all, and I appreciate the efforts of the talented team I’ve worked with over the years at WVSOM,” he said at the time.

Jones’ legacy at WVSOM includes two merit scholarships established in his name: the West Virginia Emulation Endowment Trust/Dr. Olen E. Jones Jr. Scholarship, awarded to West Virginia students based on literary and scholastic attainments, morality and leadership, and the Olen E. Jones Jr. and WVSOM Foundation Academic Achievement Award, given to a student graduating in the top 10 percent of the class.

Heather Ratliff, D.O., a WVSOM Class of 2004 alumna who also served as a faculty member during Jones’ presidential tenure, praised his ability to selflessly bring out the best in those around him.

“He was the epitome of a humble servant,” Ratliff said. “He expressed enormous, sincere praise to others for their work without ever tooting his own horn, and he made students — including me — believe they could accomplish anything. His smile, like his kindness, truly made the world a better place.”

David Nicholas, D.O., a WVSOM Class of 1993 graduate and past president of the WVSOM Alumni Association, worked with Jones while serving as chair of the school’s Board of Governors. He called Jones “a true gentleman” and said his efforts extended far beyond helping WVSOM achieve its goals.

BARBARA SANDERS, WVSOM SUPERVISOR OF LAB ANIMAL RESOURCES

“Dr. Jones was always kind, professional, and cared deeply about WVSOM and its mission. He set the wheels in motion for the development of the beautiful campus we have today, and he worked tirelessly with West Virginia’s governors and legislators promoting not only WVSOM, but health care throughout the state and Appalachia,” Nicholas said.

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 29

KORNHISER, FORMER DEAN,

LEFT LASTING LEGACY

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Harry Kornhiser, D.O., who served as WVSOM’s dean of academic affairs from 1976 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1986, passed away Feb. 2 in Covington, Va., at the age of 87.

Kornhiser was a board-certified neurologist and psychiatrist who also served the school as a visiting associate professor of neurology, a full-time associate professor of neurology and, later, a visiting associate professor of psychiatry.

One of WVSOM’s most enduring faculty members, Bob Foster, D.O., WVSOM’s assistant dean for osteopathic medical education, got his start during Kornhiser’s first tenure as dean. It was Kornhiser, Foster said, who encouraged him to look beyond his interest in treating patients and opened his mind to working with students.

“Dr. Kornhiser interviewed me as an applicant for a clinical faculty position in March 1978,” Foster said. “I told him, ‘If I wanted to be a teacher, I would have gone to teachers’ school.’ He said, ‘Just see patients and do what you love to do and it will be all right.’ He was correct, and I found out that a good physician is a good teacher. He was a wonderful human being, a gentle soul, an outstanding physician and a dedicated advocate and activist for osteopathic medicine and WVSOM.” Kornhiser served in the U.S. Army before earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami in 1959 and attending medical school at Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, Mo., graduating in 1965 and becoming a neurologist.

Following his second appointment as WVSOM’s dean, he completed a psychiatry residency before returning to the school to teach and operating a practice that mixed neurology and psychiatry.

Kornhiser presented his daughter, Belinda Smith, D.O., her diploma upon her 1983 graduation from WVSOM. Kornhiser continued to work until 2020, retiring from practice at Lewisburg’s Robert C. Byrd Clinic at age 84 after a career that spanned more than a half-century.

“He was a wonderful human being, a gentle soul, an outstanding physician and a dedicated advocate and activist for osteopathic medicine and WVSOM.” BOB FOSTER, D.O.

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WVSOM was focus of segment on

INTERNATIONALLY BROADCAST PBS NEWSHOUR

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WVSOM was featured in a segment of PBS NewsHour that aired in April.

Steerman said. “[It’s important to] do your part, stay here, help the communities that raised you, give back to them and help them.”

The segment, titled “Next Generation of Doctors Prepares to Tackle Rural Health Care Shortage in West Virginia,” was part of the internationally broadcast program’s “Rural Rx” series, which explores the forces shaping rural health care in America.

Reporters traveled to West Virginia, Alabama, Colorado, New York and Texas to understand how health care is implemented outside major U.S. cities.

Linda Boyd, D.O., WVSOM’s vice president for academic affairs and dean, explained how the Rural Health Initiative helps the school train physicians who are uniquely qualified to serve small communities.

The segment pointed out that nearly two-thirds of communities with shortages of primary care physicians are in rural areas. As a school whose mission includes an emphasis on producing students prepared to practice in rural areas, WVSOM was selected as a focus of the segment devoted to West Virginia. Filming took place in March and included interviews with current students, administrators and a WVSOM Class of 2020 alumnus.

Abundance Hunt, of Lewisburg, W.Va., is a student in WVSOM’s Class of 2024 and a member of the school’s Rural Health Initiative, designed to enhance WVSOM’s rural and underserved primary care curriculum. Students in the program participate in experiences that provide opportunities to learn about local industries and the daily lives of West Virginians.

Earlier this year, Hunt received a Foundation Scholar award, a financial incentive given to students who plan to stay in West Virginia to practice after residency. She said in the segment that rural physicians often form bonds with their patients that extend beyond clinical settings.

“There’s so much more to medicine than just going to the doctor, and that’s a lot to do with the trust and the relationship that they have, especially with rural physicians,” Hunt said. “They are a big part of the community. They are who people trust.”

Another WVSOM Class of 2024 student participating in the Rural Health Initiative is Travis Steerman, of Philippi, W.Va. Steerman, who in 2022 was honored for his participation in the Community Outreach and Relief Effort (C.O.R.E.) program for service to underserved communities, worked for 13 years as a coal miner and now hopes to become a psychiatrist.

“[The program] recruits students who are from a rural area and/ or have a strong commitment to practice in a rural area, because some students come in and say, ‘That’s what I want to do. I want to be a country doc,’” Boyd said. “They are assigned to some of the smaller hospitals around the state that are considered a rural area and that can provide rural opportunities for them in training.

They’re working alongside doctors who’ve committed to this life.”

Drema Hill, Ph.D., MSP, oversees WVSOM’s Center for Rural and Community Health as part of her role as the school’s vice president for community engagement and development. She spoke about the strategy the center uses to bring members of the WVSOM community together with residents of Lewisburg and surrounding areas in an effort to improve community health.

“We bring the community in and we ask them, ‘What’s the need?’

And we listen to them,” Hill said. “Then we develop programming around that, instead of it being the other way around.”

James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., WVSOM’s president, said he believes many of the Mountain State's health challenges can be addressed from within.

“Part of what I have seen as successful here in West Virginia is growing your own, having people come from the area, they go to medical school in the state, they end up going to their residency in the state, and they end up staying, because their families are here and they love the people and the land,” he said.

Adam Polinik, D.O., a 2020 WVSOM graduate, also was highlighted in the segment.

He said in the segment that the health challenges the Mountain State is facing can be addressed from within.

“There’s a mental health crisis in West Virginia, a drug crisis in West Virginia, an addiction crisis in general in West Virginia,”

SCAN TO WATCH

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 31

SPRING AWARDS CEREMONY PROVIDED $738K TO STUDENTS 2023

$738,436 in awards

DR. ROLAND P. SHARP PRESIDENT AND FOUNDATION AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT Achievement is given to a first-year student based on academic performance, osteopathic professional interest, leadership and citizenship.

Ethaniel Galloway

ANNA MARIE COUNTS MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

Established by her family and WVSOM staff in 2018. Counts was the director of accreditation at WVSOM from July 30, 2013, until her untimely death in August 2017. The scholarship is given to a female secondyear student from West Virginia who exemplifies the characteristics that Counts embodied, which included getting things done behind the scenes, leading by example, being compassionate, an untiring advocate of support for others and a community volunteer.

Melissa Cummins

WVSOM recognized medical students for their academic and community achievements through scholarships and employees for their commitment to educate future physicians during the school’s Spring Awards Ceremony.

This year’s event, which took place March 31, offered recipients a total of $738,436 through 32 scholarships, awards and certificates of appreciation.

WEST VIRGINIA EMULATION ENDOWMENT TRUST/DR. OLEN E. JONES JR. SCHOLARSHIP

Established in 2016 and named after Olen E. Jones Jr., Ph.D., who served as president of WVSOM from 1987 to 2009. The scholarship is awarded to West Virginia students based on literary and scholastic attainments, morality, leadership and physical vigor.

Caleb Duncan Abundance Hunt Matthew Parsley

FREDRIC W. SMITH MEMORIAL FAMILY PRACTICE SCHOLARSHIP

Awarded to a student completing his or her second year of medical school. The student must be in the upper two-thirds of their class academically and must be a West Virginia resident who plans to practice family medicine and has a strong interest in the school and community.

Abigail Effingham

LIBBY KOKOTT, D.O., MEMORIAL GRANT

Established by Kokott’s four children in 2020 to honor a woman who, against all odds, became a physician at the age of 50 (from WVSOM’s Class of 1993). Kokott helped hundreds of patients in her 20 years as an internist, and her hope was that others could do the same.

Vennela Pulikanti

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SAMANTHA KETCHEM MUNCY PRIMARY CARE MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

Established to honor Muncy, a student killed in a car accident. The scholarship is awarded to a third-year medical student from Barbour, Harrison, McDowell, Preston or Taylor counties in West Virginia who plans to remain in the state to practice in a primary care specialty.

Katherine Roach

DR. WILLIAM B. MULLEN AND JENNIFER WHITE SCHOLARSHIP

Created in recognition of Dr. William B. Mullen of Logan, W.Va., a physician who cared for his patient, Jennifer White, who passed away in 2011.

Logan Christian Kathryn Peelish Oran Trimble

PAUL G. KLEMAN, D.O., FAMILY PRACTICE STUDENT AWARD (KLEMAN FAMILY AND WEST VIRGINIA SOCIETY OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC FAMILY PHYSICIANS)

Recognizes a student who plans to use osteopathic manipulation in treating patients and is willing to instill the importance of osteopathic principles and practice in the next generation of WVSOM students.

Caleb Duncan

RON BILLIPS MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Established by a 2002 WVSOM graduate to honor his friend and classmate killed in a car accident. The award is given to a firstyear student who is a graduate of Big Creek, Iaeger, Mount View, Princeton or Bluefield high schools in West Virginia or Graham, Tazewell, Richlands or Pocahontas high schools in Virginia.

JAMES R. STOOKEY, D.O., MANIPULATIVE MEDICINE SCHOLARSHIP

Oran Trimble

Olivia George

MOSS SCHOLARSHIPS

Honor the late Marlene Wager, D.O., and are presented to students who are out-of-state residents.

Kate Altmanshofer Madeleine Bash Aahish Chohan Samuel Fuller Esabelle Gervasio Margaret Giggey Akansh Hans Ashley Kapinos Dalton McCown Iaian McLeod Nauman Shahid Alen Sisic Robert Strait Claudia Studebaker Sabrina Wolf

Created in honor of James Stookey, WVSOM’s vice president for academic affairs and dean from 1988 to 2002. The scholarship is given to a student who has demonstrated proficiency in manipulative medicine.

FREDRIC W. SMITH COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD

Recognizes a campus organization or club that demonstrates a commitment to the Lewisburg community, the WVSOM community and classmates.

American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine/Orthopedics Club

DRS. CHERYL AND MICHAEL ADELMAN WVSOM LEADERSHIP SCHOLARSHIP

Awarded to a student who has demonstrated character and leadership during their time at WVSOM and who has the potential to be a future leader in the osteopathic profession.

Matthew Parsley

MARLENE A. WAGER 10-FINGERED OPP SCHOLARSHIP

Created by the osteopathic principles and practice department in 2008 to recognize a second-year student with outstanding skills in osteopathic manipulative treatment. Candidates are nominated and voted on by classmates. The winner has his or her name engraved on a plaque that is displayed in the osteopathic clinical skills lab.

Shashank Singh WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 33

SPRING AWARDS CEREMONY

2023

$738,436 in awards

STUDENT D.O. OF THE YEAR

Acknowledges a student’s commitment to his or her school and community and to the osteopathic profession.

Harrison Solomon

WVSOM ALUMNI ASSOCIATION SCHOLARSHIPS Given to two students who exemplify scholarship, osteopathic professional interest, leadership and citizenship.

Claire Drotman Apongnwu Tete

U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC HEALTH AWARD Recognizes medical students who have positively impacted public health in their communities. It is given to a student who has developed and implemented a program advancing the overarching goals and achieving the objectives of Healthy People 2030.

Matthew Parsley

NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE CORPS SCHOLAR Recipients are selected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration from students pursuing a career in primary health. In exchange for the scholarship, students agree to practice in a Health Professional Shortage Area upon graduation and licensure. The students commit to one year of service for every year the scholarship is awarded, with a two-year minimum commitment.

Hayley Cruz Natalie Fabrizio Dylan Grimard Carlos Iviricu Apongnwu Tete Jacob Wilson

JARRELL FAMILY AWARD Recognizes a female, second-year student who is a West Virginia resident, with preference given to a student from Boone, Fayette, Kanawha or Raleigh counties.

Emma Ellis

WVSOM FOUNDATION SCHOLARS AWARDS

WVSOM DIVERSITY TASK FORCE – EVA TETER HAMMER AWARD

Given to West Virginia residents with satisfactory academic performance who plan to stay in West Virginia after residency to practice. Preference is given to students from Barbour, Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Fayette, Gilmer, Greenbrier, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mingo, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Raleigh, Roane, Summers, Upshur, Wayne, Webster, Wirt and Wyoming counties.

Given to a student who demonstrates an interest in osteopathic medicine and in eliminating the inequities of individuals.

Kayla Vaughan Aarron Ward Caleb Duncan Abigail Effingham Emma Ellis Abundance Hunt Kassey Wagner

ENCOVA SCHOLARS AWARD Donated by the Encova Foundation of West Virginia.

Abundance Hunt Keirston Sutherland Abigail Effingham Thulasi Kulasinghe Manasa Dittakavi Morgan Dunmire John Gallagher Margaret Giggey Daniel Proctor

WEST VIRGINIA STATE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION ALLIANCE SCHOLARSHIP FUND Provides scholarships for medical students from West Virginia who desire to practice in the state after they graduate. The alliance is an organization that comprises physician spouses, who in the fall of 2016 established an endowment at each of the three medical schools in West Virginia.

Logan Christian

GREENBRIER MILITARY SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION SCHOLARSHIP Presented to two students who excel academically and show strong leadership, determination and discipline.

Delaney Ellis Ethaniel Galloway

WVSOM FAMILY PRACTICE SCHOLARSHIP Awarded to a second-year West Virginia student who has intentions of practicing family medicine upon graduation.

34 • WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023

Abigail Effingham

Samira Perez Espinoza

CHOOSE WEST VIRGINIA PRACTICE PROGRAM A tuition waiver program that incentivizes nonresident West Virginia medical students to remain in the state to practice. Out-of-state students accepted or enrolled at each of the three medical schools in West Virginia are eligible for the program. Recipients receive a tuition waiver for the cost difference between in-state and outof-state tuition and agree to practice in a primary care or shortage specialty in West Virginia for a minimum of one year.

John Bower Richard Cardillo Myla Deganich Jona Del Rio Benjamin Dodge Anas Huggi Nicholas Wilson

COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND RELIEF EFFORT (C.O.R.E.) Recognizes members for their service.

This year, 21 students were honored for participation in the program.

Hannah Ankrom Hannah Basham Brenna Bohn Christopher Butryn Brynn Cardonick John Tyler Craig Jeremy Cutlip Benjamin Dodge Andrea Dwiggins Caroline Ferrell Charles Lafferty Teresa Lonce Maria Mace Morgan Malof Michael Meseha Kymbre Robinson Vincent Scozzaro Savanna Sparks Alice Stella Joson Thomas Kayla Underwood

STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION CHARACTER SCHOLARSHIP Presented to first-, second- and third-year students who possess and demonstrate characteristics that may sometimes go unnoticed but are noted by peers.

Rachael Huebler Anas Huggi Claire Schoyer Apongnwu Tete Marc Pajarillo Devin Towne

SPECIAL AWARD PRESENTATION Recognizes service and leadership to WVSOM and the student body.

Student Government Association President Dante Mattioli Vice President Samantha DeMartino

OSTEOPATHIC PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE (OPP) INTEGRATION TEACHING AWARD Given to faculty members for their efforts in teaching and for excelling in integrating OPP into their classes.

Brian Griffith, Ph.D. (biomedical sciences) Rachel Johnson, D.O. (clinical sciences) Brittanie West, D.O. (adjunct clinical sciences preceptor)

ATLAS CLUB GOLDEN KEY AWARD Given to a biomedical sciences faculty member and clinical sciences faculty member selected by students.

Peter Ward, Ph.D. (biomedical sciences) Aaron McGuffin, M.D. (clinical sciences)

STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION (SGA) APPRECIATION RECOGNITION Given to employees by SGA members for their work and support on behalf of medical students.

Department of Information Technology O’Cafe staff

DREMA HILL, PH.D., MSP

WVSOM VICE PRESIDENT JOINED

HEALTH CARE HALL OF FAME

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A vice president of WVSOM now has one more honor to add to her growing list of accolades.

Drema Hill, Ph.D., MSP, the school’s vice president for community engagement and development, was inducted into West Virginia Executive magazine’s Health Care Hall of Fame in February during a Charleston, W.Va., reception.

The magazine’s annual Health Care Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who go above and beyond in West Virginia’s health care industry and supporting industries. Inductees include doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, educators, researchers, scientists, innovators and entrepreneurs.

Hill said she is grateful for the recognition — one that West Virginia Executive bestows on just 10 health care professionals each year.

“I appreciate this acknowledgment of my long career in public health,” she said. “This occasion has caused me to reflect on the past 42 years since I started in health care as a case aide. It has been an interesting learning experience, and I wouldn’t trade it for any other career. I’m where I’m supposed to be, doing what I love most.”

Hill has more than three decades of experience in public health leadership, including positions with the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, the Tennessee Department of Health, Vanderbilt University’s Nashville Health Management Foundation and Comprehensive Care Center, and the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Health Office.

She joined WVSOM in 2016 and became a vice president of the school in 2019. Hill oversees the school’s Center for Rural and Community Health and is a consultant on issues regarding opioid settlement funds for the Office of West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who attended the reception.

Hill serves on the boards of directors of the West Virginia Rural Health Association and the West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute, and chairs the strategic planning committee of the American Public Health Association’s Health Administration Section.

Hill’s past honors include the Tennessee Neil Diehl Award for excellence in service to people living with HIV/AIDS and the West Virginia Rural Health Association’s Excellence in Rural Health Award. In 2021 she received the Small Communities, Big Solutions Advocate Award from the Alliance for Economic Development of Southern West Virginia, the West Virginia Community Development Hub and Coalfield Development.

In a profile of Hill on the occasion of her induction, West Virginia Executive wrote that she “has spent her career focused on serving marginalized populations, building small-community infrastructures that are inclusive, equitable and meet the needs of the people served.”

Hill, a native of rural Boone County, W.Va., said she finds fulfillment in establishing collaborative systems that allow communities to maximize their potential.

“My work at WVSOM is to build sustainable, quality programs that meet the needs of our community. I enjoy being the ‘connector,’ the catalyst that develops partnerships,” she said. “I have a passion for social justice, for meeting people where they are, for seeing people holistically. No matter what my role in health care has been, from pediatrics to family planning, from HIV/AIDS care to substance use disorder awareness, I’ve been able to use my education and skills to improve the world around me.”

Hill received a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia State University, a Master of Public Service Management degree from Cumberland University and a Ph.D. degree in human services with a specialization in health care administration from Capella University. She said her work in improving the health of West Virginia’s communities began decades ago.

“During my early days in public health, I would go to high schools in West Virginia and speak about teen pregnancy prevention and reproductive health. In the 1990s, I volunteered for Sojourner’s, a domestic violence shelter, to teach women how to seek and find jobs. During that time and into the 2000s, I worked the hotline at Patchwork, an emergency mental health crisis line,” Hill said.

James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., WVSOM’s president, praised Hill for her efforts as a leader in community health.

“Dr. Hill’s contributions to health care in West Virginia have impacted the lives of many in our rural communities,” Nemitz said.

“Her leadership of the WVSOM Center for Rural and Community Health to provide evidence-based, sustainable health care programming, coupled with her work to address community needs during the COVID-19 pandemic and opioid epidemic, are part of her legacy in the state.”

WVSOM-affiliated individuals inducted into the hall in past years include alumni Tom Takubo, D.O., Class of 1999, Christopher “Dino” Beckett, D.O., Class of 2000, and Catherine “Mindy” Chua, D.O., Class of 2001, as well as Craig Boisvert, D.O., FACOFP, who served as WVSOM’s vice president for academic affairs and dean for seven years.

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 35

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WVSOM STUDENTS ACHIEVED

F

100% RESIDENCY PLACEMENT RATE

Fourth-year students at WVSOM discovered that their years of hard work and dedication paid off. The Class of 2023 attained a perfect residency placement rate, with all 176 students receiving spots in residency programs.

Students learned of their 100 percent residency placement rate on March 17, a day designated as Match Day by the National Resident Matching Program, the organization responsible for placing medical school graduates into residency programs. On Match Day, which typically falls on the third Friday of March, students preparing to graduate learn where they will complete residencies.

James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., WVSOM’s president, congratulated the class on their success.

“I continue to be amazed at the accomplishments of our students,” Nemitz said. “This class entered medical school just months before the COVID-19 pandemic became an international public health emergency, and the fact that its members have not only weathered the additional challenges but achieved a perfect residency placement is worth celebrating. I couldn’t be more proud of the Class of 2023 and of the faculty and staff who have helped them become competent, compassionate osteopathic physicians.”

While WVSOM is renowned for producing primary care physicians, graduates of the school can practice in any specialty.

A total of 105 students in the Class of 2023, or 60 percent, entered primary care residency programs, encompassing the specialties of family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics.

A total of 44 students matched to family medicine residencies, 39 matched to internal medicine, 20 matched to pediatrics and two matched to internal medicine/pediatrics, in which physicians train to become board certified in both specialties.

Other popular specialties for members of the Class of 2023 include emergency medicine, with 25 students; psychiatry, with 12 students; general surgery, with eight students; and orthopedic surgery, with five students.

Linda Boyd, D.O., the school’s vice president for academic affairs and dean, praised students and employees for their work in reaching the 100 percent residency placement.

“We’re proud of our Class of 2023 graduates. The students, along with WVSOM’s graduate medical education career advising team, worked all year to ensure graduates’ success in attaining their best match,” she said.

25%

22%

14%

11%

25 percent entered family medicine residencies.

22 percent entered internal medicine residencies.

14 percent entered emergency medicine residencies.

11 percent entered pediatrics residencies.

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 37

RESEARCHER INVESTIGATES SEX DIFFERENCES IN ASTHMAASSOCIATED VASCULAR FUNCTION

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Using animal models, Asano’s laboratory is working to explain why female adults with asthma are at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Asano said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, preclinical research was difficult to conduct, so his lab focused on analyzing clinical data related to sex disparities in COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease. During that time, he saw that young boys are more asthma-prone than young girls, but after puberty, these sex differences reverse. In fact, adult females develop more severe asthma compared to adult males, and these females are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

Asano explained that asthma is an overreaction of the immune system and that some researchers think sex hormones have an effect on immune functions.

“This may be related to the sex differences in asthma incidence and severity we see in the clinical data. Particularly, how asthma increases the risk of cardiovascular disease in adult females is understudied,” Asano said. “Using animal models, we hope to find out whether the hormones the human body produces have either protective or detrimental effects on asthmarelated cardiovascular impacts.”

His study hypothesizes that sensitization to ovalbumin, a protein found in egg whites that is a common allergen, will increase both lung allergic responses and inflammation of the endothelium, a layer of cells that lines blood vessels. Early findings indicate that ovariectomized mice — female mice whose ovaries have been removed — did in fact show more severe lung allergic responses as well as dysfunction of the endothelium.

Asano received a $30,000 West Virginia IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (WV-INBRE) faculty research development grant to assist with his study. Additionally, with another faculty member, Tuoen Liu, M.D., Ph.D., he received a $46,869 WV-INBRE equipment grant to purchase a myograph, a device that helps assess vascular function by measuring how well blood vessels dilate, and a multi-species hematology analyzer, which is used to perform blood counts.

Beyond the specific findings of his work, Asano said one of his goals is to introduce students to research concepts early in their medical school journey. Currently, students in his lab are performing biochemical analysis in the form of examining protein expression in the lungs to determine sex differences in inflammatory markers from asthmatic mice.

“I want to expose students to biomedical research,” Asano said. “Clinicians are also scientists, and some of our former lab students have been successful at using their research experience to obtain residency positions that are highly competitive. So it’s important to help provide these kinds of opportunities for our predoctoral students.”

Asano, who joined WVSOM in August 2018, previously served as an assistant professor at Fairmont State University in the exercise science department. He received a Ph.D. degree in exercise physiology from the West Virginia University School of Medicine, followed by postdoctoral fellowships at the WVU School of Medicine, Marshall University School of Pharmacy and the Department of Integrative Physiology at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

“I want to expose students to biomedical research.”

SHINICHI ASANO, PH.D.

RESEARCH

S

Shinichi Asano, Ph.D., an associate professor in WVSOM’s Department of Biomedical Sciences, is studying how sex disparities affect the development of asthma-related vascular inflammation.

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 39

NEW HIRES AND TRANSITIONS THOMAS GANNON, D.O.

MARINA DIIOIA, PH.D.

Assistant Professor of Osteopathic Principles and Practice

Director of Faculty Development

Thomas Gannon, D.O., joined WVSOM on Jan. 30. Prior to graduating from WVSOM in 2004, Gannon earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from Tennessee Technological University. He completed a traditional rotating internship at Greenbrier Valley Medical Center and a residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He has run a 20-bed standalone rehabilitation hospital since 2008.

Marina Diioia, Ph.D., who joined WVSOM in 2020 as an associate professor of biomedical sciences, accepted the position of director of faculty development starting Feb. 25. Diioia will design, implement and evaluate faculty development programs as they relate to the WVSOM curriculum or in support of educational initiatives within the broader effort of promoting medical education, educational research and scholarship. She will also continue to teach.

Diioia received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from California State University and a Ph.D. degree in cellular and molecular pathology from University of WisconsinMadison School of Medicine and Public Health. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Vatrix Medical and completed postdoctoral training in infectious disease at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

JANET HINTON BECAME

PRESIDENT-ELECT OF STATEWIDE ORGANIZATION Janet Hinton, WVSOM’s director of rural outreach, became president-elect of the West Virginia Rural Health Association, whose goals are to raise awareness of the state’s rural health issues and invest in policies that make positive changes in West Virginia’s communities.

Hinton, a member of the association for more than 12 years, was elected by the 17 members of its board of directors. Her term as president will begin in January 2025. She said she hopes to encourage more student and resident involvement in the association, gain greater support from rural hospitals and clinics, and increase the organization’s membership.

“I have a passion for rural health in West Virginia, and I look forward to learning from the West Virginia Rural Health Association’s current president. I plan to work closely with the board of directors to make the association even better for students, residents and physicians working in rural health,” Hinton said.

Hinton has a Master of Science degree in health sciences and a Bachelor of Science degree in health education and wellness, and more than 29 years of experience in rural and emergency medicine in underserved areas of West Virginia. Prior to joining WVSOM in 2010 as program coordinator for the school’s Rural Health Initiative program, she served for 10 years as an assistant professor of medical assisting and allied health.

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JESSICA SMITH-KELLY, D.O.

WVSOM FACULTY MEMBER RECEIVED STATEWIDE

40 UNDER 40 HONOR

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Jessica Smith-Kelly, D.O., a WVSOM associate professor, was a recipient of the “Generation Next: 40 Under 40” award by The State Journal, a West Virginia news publication.

The publication’s Generation Next program pays tribute to young professionals who work to make the Mountain State a better place to live, raise families and conduct business.

Smith-Kelly was recognized during a June 15 awards ceremony at the Robert H. Mollohan Research Center in Fairmont, W.Va. “I am truly humbled to be honored with this award,” SmithKelly said. “I love teaching and the opportunity to help educate future osteopathic physicians. I go to work every day with the goal of trying to be the best person and doctor I can be while helping to teach students to do the same.”

Smith-Kelly teaches in the school’s Department of Osteopathic Principles and Practice (OPP), taking a lead role in educating students to diagnose and treat patients using osteopathic manipulative medicine. In addition to her academic role, Smith-Kelly has a clinical practice at the Robert C. Byrd Clinic in Lewisburg, W.Va., where she practices internal medicine and osteopathic manipulative medicine and supervises resident physicians.

“I’m very passionate about the fact that one can use their hands to bring about health and healing in someone’s life.

Being able to help someone realize their potential and develop these skills is even more amazing,” she said.

Smith-Kelly always knew she wanted to be a doctor — when she was young, she watched medical shows on TV rather than cartoons — but she didn’t always know she would enjoy being an educator.

“Medicine was always where I knew I wanted to be,” she said.

“If you asked me if I wanted to be a teacher, I would have said absolutely not. It wasn’t until I was an OPP graduate teaching assistant that I realized how rewarding being an educator could be. Seeing that lightbulb go off in students’ heads when they finally understand a difficult concept or are able to palpate something they couldn’t feel just weeks ago is an amazing feeling.”

She received a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from WVSOM in 2012 and completed an internal medicine residency from Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, Ore., in 2015 and an osteopathic neuromusculoskeletal medicine plus-one residency at Greenbrier Valley Medical Center in Ronceverte, W.Va., in 2016. Smith-Kelly joined WVSOM’s faculty in July 2016.

Although Smith-Kelly isn’t a West Virginia native, she now considers the state her home. She is a Greenbrier County representative on the Board of Directors of the Family Refuge Center, a community-based domestic violence project that serves West Virginia’s Greenbrier, Monroe and Pocahontas counties.

“I fell in love with the state during my time in medical school, and I felt a strong pull to come back. I’ve always been drawn to the mountains and I love the outdoors. West Virginia is a hidden gem that offers that and so much more. I’ve never been a big city person and I love the slow, steady pace of the state,” she said. “I love knowing that I’m able to give back to the community that has given so much to me.”

“I go to work every day with the goal of trying to be the best person and doctor I can be while helping to teach students to do the same.”

JESSICA SMITH-KELLY, D.O. WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 41

Alumna works to keep well-known medical website’s info accurate

Melinda Ratini 42 • WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023

“There is a need in health care, especially for women, for options that will allow them to raise families and still fulfill their professional goals of becoming physicians and helping patients.”

A

As more and more people turn to the internet for medical information, the trustworthiness of health data found online has become increasingly important. Melinda Ratini, D.O., a graduate of WVSOM’s Class of 1984, helps one well-known online medical publisher — WebMD, a site more than 127 million unique users access each year — maintain reliable information.

As a medical reviewer, Ratini’s job is to make sure WebMD’s news and feature stories contain the most current data, that the information is complete and that the sources used to create the articles are credible and unbiased. Ratini, a family medicine physician and geriatrician who practices at Lower Bucks Hospital in Bristol, Pa., just outside Philadelphia, has worked with the Atlanta, Ga.-based website for nearly 12 years.

“I love what I do at the office, and I love what I do for WebMD,” Ratini said. “It takes a lot of education to make people understand that we work hard to make sure the site’s sources are credible. When I go to hospital meetings and medical society meetings, I’ll see physicians frowning and talking about ‘Dr. Google,’ because there’s so much bad information out there. Or patients will bring in something they found online, and I’ll think, ‘Look at the sources. You can’t believe this.’

So I take pride in bringing information to people that is accurate, understandable and that they can relate to.”

Ratini’s career is partially a result of her varied educational background. After pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biology at Penn State, she earned a master’s degree in information science from Philadelphia’s Drexel University before attending WVSOM. “It was at the start of the information explosion,” Ratini said. “In college I worked in the local library, and because of that, I realized there was so much knowledge out there that if you could access it, you could have the power to do most anything. That piqued my interest in information science. But I missed interacting with people, so I decided to go to medical school.”

It was at WVSOM that Ratini, whose maiden name is Murray, met fellow Class of 1984 student Angelo Ratini, a native of Pittsburgh, Pa. The two married during spring break of their second year.

The pair have practiced medicine together for more than 30 years.

As Melinda’s career drifted toward medical information — she now spends one day each week in practice and four days working on content for WebMD — Angelo remained a full-time family medicine physician, working with a largely geriatric patient population. He is also associate program director of the hospital’s family medicine residency. Melinda said she strives to make residents aware that there are careers in medicine many physicians don’t know about.

“I try to mentor residents and tell them about the different types of opportunities that are out there. I have three children, and working with medical information gave me flexibility when they were young.

There is a need in health care, especially for women, for options that will allow them to raise families and still fulfill their professional goals of becoming physicians and helping patients,” she said.

Articles on WebMD begin with metrics that determine areas of interest in which users of the site want to see content. Once the needed content is identified, an article is assigned to a health education writer who distills complex information into language the average person can understand. But because most of the site’s writers aren’t physicians, a medical review is necessary. That’s where Ratini and her fellow reviewers enter the process, making sure the information is correct and that the sources backing up an article don’t have hidden agendas.

“We have a core of reviewers, and we also have a network of specialists,” she explained. “If I get an article and I look at it and say it needs to go to an ophthalmologist or an oncologist, it goes there. After the article is medically reviewed, it gets copy edited, then it goes to the web. And it’s an ongoing process: WebMD reviews material every two years, so I not only see new articles, but every month I get articles to be re-reviewed. They need to be updated with the most recent data, or if, say, a new drug comes out.”

Ratini said she never expected she’d find herself making use of her information science degree after becoming a physician.

“I remember saying, ‘I’m pretty busy. I don’t need another job.’ But this has changed the course of my life,” she said.

In a consumer culture dominated by the easy access to information the internet provides, some patients are tempted to substitute medical information sites for face-to-face visits with their physician.

That’s a mistake, Ratini said.

“It can be used to flesh out information you get from your doctor, but it should never be used in place of a doctor, because there are so many nuances to medical care,” she said. “Medicine is a twoway street: It’s not somebody looking at information, it’s somebody looking at you and then giving you information. There are variables that can’t be covered in an online article. You absolutely need the give and take that’s part of a physician-patient relationship.”

Still, Ratini believes that sites such as WebMD play an important role in modern medicine. She’s proud of her work with the site and defensive about the comments she sometimes hears about “Dr. Google.”

“So often, people walk out of a doctor’s office and say, ‘What did they mean by that?’ And they go home and start searching. Or they go online before they come to the office — someone will come in with a headache, and they’ve just looked online and want to be sure they’re not having an aneurism or have a tumor. You don’t want the information they find online to scare them, but you want to present things so they don’t blow off something that could be serious. I feel good to be a part of that.”

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 43

Alumna’s work as breast surgical oncologist gains her national recognition

Micaela Weaver

Photo credit: Care New England Health System 44 • WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023

M

Micaela Weaver, D.O., FACS, is accustomed to helping patients who have been diagnosed with breast cancer develop treatment plans. As a breast surgical oncologist at the Care New England Health System in Rhode Island, she sees patients for breast-related complaints or concerns such as a cancer diagnosis, a benign mass, a family history of breast cancer or discussion after gender-affirming chest surgery.

“Breast surgery is a special field of surgery where I get to make connections with my patients and really get to know them, their families, their hopes and their fears. I also love the technical aspect of my job and that it requires me to always continue learning and form a personalized plan for each patient. It is incredibly rewarding and a privilege to have the opportunity to guide patients through such a difficult time in their lives,” she said.

Weaver first became interested in surgery during a rotation in her third year of medical school.

In addition to her clinical work, Weaver is an assistant professor, clinician educator in the departments of surgery and OB-GYN at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She wants to educate future physicians in a way that empowers them to think critically and inquisitively. Weaver believes that the experiences future health care professionals have as trainees shape the way they practice as physicians.

“I used my own experiences in residency training to strengthen my determination and dedication to fostering learners through the training process and to overcoming barriers we all continue to face. I give lectures to Brown [University] medical students, OB-GYN residents and breast surgical oncology fellows, but I am primarily involved in the hands-on clinical education of our fellows and OBGYN residents rotating with the breast service,” she said.

“It was almost like the lights were brighter and the air was crisper and everything was more in focus the first time I walked into an operating room,” she said.

A typical week for Weaver includes seeing patients in the clinic two or three days a week, operating on patients one or two days a week and time devoted to educational and administrative tasks. This includes attending and giving lectures, meeting with multidisciplinary tumor boards, and serving on committees including the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer and National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers.

“No day is the same,” Weaver said. “Breast cancer care, and all aspects of breast health, are personal and unique for each person, so I enjoy being able to meet a patient where they are and get them where they want to be.”

Weaver has been in her current position for three years. After graduating from WVSOM in 2014, she completed a general surgery residency at Flushing Hospital Medical Center in Queens, N.Y. She then completed a fellowship in breast surgical oncology at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island/Brown University.

Embracing the entire person and caring for them as a whole is the foundation of Weaver’s practice. She said that philosophy is, in part, a result of her time at WVSOM. “The emphasis WVSOM places on patient-centered care and complementary health programs prepared me for this field where much of the treatment is patient-specific and there isn’t only one right way to care for patients. It is easy to get bogged down in algorithms and EHR [electronic health records], but spending the time focusing on who my patient is and what they need from me is a foundation that WVSOM built and I continue to add to on a daily basis,” she said.

Weaver showed her appreciation to her alma mater by lecturing at the Mid-Winter Osteopathic Seminar hosted by the WVSOM Alumni Association in January.

In 2022, Weaver’s work as a surgeon was recognized by the Association of Women Surgeons when she was named one of the “40 Under 40 Outstanding Women Surgeons,” an honor she attributes to the many mentors she has had throughout her career.

“I am grateful to have had such solid guidance and leadership to get me where I am in my career. To be recognized alongside so many incredible women from around the world who are leaders and trailblazers is truly an honor,” she said.

Weaver’s hard work as an “outstanding” surgeon doesn’t end with national recognition. She has set a short-term goal to grow her hospital’s gender-affirming clinic, where she counsels gender-diverse patients about recommendations for breast cancer screening and breast cancer risk, all while remaining passionate about her longterm goal of helping others through the surgical education process so they can have positive learning experiences.

“When I get to look into a patient’s eyes and tell them they are cancer-free, those are the moments that remind me why I became interested in this field,” she said. “Nothing compares to that feeling, and those experiences taught me to be grateful for each bit of good news, silver lining or piece of joy we get. They can be elusive in medicine and life, but remembering to savor them when they happen is what gets us through.”

“It was almost like the lights were brighter and the air was crisper and everything was more in focus the first time I walked into an operating room.”

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 45

“All we ask is that you help one person make the decision for life instead of death.”

CHARLES CORNELL

46 • WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023

FAMILY RAISES PHYSICIAN AWARENESS OF SUICIDE THROUGH ‘STEPH’S AWARD’

Someone in the U.S. takes their own life every 11 minutes, according to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that suicide is the nation’s 11th leading cause of death, and that West Virginia has the 10th leading suicide mortality rate among all states.

But for Charles and Jean Cornell of Marlinton, W.Va., suicide isn’t a set of statistics. It’s a reality they have lived with since 2007, when their daughter, Stephanie, took her own life at the age of 37.

The Cornells established the Stephanie Dawn Barragy Memorial Scholarship in 2011, to honor Stephanie and raise suicide awareness among physicians who will be treating patients with mental illness.

The scholarship is given annually to a graduating WVSOM student who has demonstrated compassion, empathy and insight in working with patients; who has proved that they pay attention to what is being said by patients as well as what is not being said; and who has demonstrated a willingness to provide community service.

The scholarship, which Charles refers to as “Steph’s award,” gives the Cornells an opportunity to address students during WVSOM’s Graduation Awards Ceremony and to stress the importance of compassionate care for those who may be struggling with thoughts of suicide. It also allows them to urge future physicians to play a role in removing the stigma associated with the word “suicide” itself.

“Steph committed suicide. We’re not afraid to say it. And if we, as the parents of a young lady who took her own life, can say it, then I don’t want physicians to be afraid to say it,” Charles explained.

At the 2023 event, as he does every year, Charles told the story of learning that his daughter was a victim of suicide.

“Fifteen and a half years ago — it seems like yesterday — we received the phone call that no parent ever wants to receive,” Charles said during the ceremony. “We’re here to ask for your help in getting the word ‘suicide’ out of the closet it has been in for so long. All we ask is that you help one person make the decision for life instead of death, and maybe there won’t be another dad or mom standing up here handing out an envelope in memory of their [child] who took their own life.”

Stephanie fought mental illness for decades, and had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, Jean said.

“She was 14 when we first noticed it,” she said. “I thought she was going through a phase. She would go to the doctor and give them lip service, tell them exactly what they wanted to hear. In her mind, she didn’t have anything wrong with her. She wouldn’t take her medicine.”

Charles described Stephanie’s subsequent life as a series of “mountains and valleys.” She married, had children, separated — and as

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 47

time went on, made several attempts to end her life. In 2007, just two months after being released from a hospital whose doctors said she was no longer a danger to herself, Stephanie made another attempt, this one successful.

Charles believes it’s important for physicians to understand that mental illness can leave patients unable to maintain control over their actions.

“There are people in the field of health care who say, ‘I’m happy to help those who want to help themselves, but if you smoke two packs of cigarettes a day and come in because you have lung cancer, what do you want me to do?’ And I’m sure there are doctors who think the same way about people who have tried to take their own life. But there are those who aren’t able to help themselves, and people who are entering health care need to know that,” he said.

For two years after Stephanie’s death, the Cornells participated in suicide walks and raised money for national prevention organizations. When they made the decision to focus their efforts more locally, Charles and Jean — who in the early 2000s had returned to West Virginia, not far from Cumberland, Md., where Jean was raised — wanted to share their philanthropy with a nearby osteopathic medical school.

While living in Colorado, Jean had worked with osteopathic physicians as a medical technologist in a hospital, and both Jean and Charles grew up under the care of osteopathic physicians.

“We think the world of D.O.s,” Charles said. “As a little girl in the mountains of western Maryland, Jean and her family saw a D.O. In rural Missouri, there was a wonderful D.O. who was kind, considerate and made house calls. And when we raised our kids in Colorado, we made sure we saw D.O.s.”

Anna Jolliffe, D.O., of WVSOM’s Class of 2007, was the scholarship’s first recipient. Now a pediatric psychiatrist who practices in Pittsburgh, Pa., Jolliffe subsequently contributed to the scholarship fund herself. She said the recognition she received more than a decade ago is still meaningful to her today.

“I was honored to be the inaugural recipient of the Stephanie Dawn Barragy Memorial Scholarship,” Jolliffe said. “As someone who always aimed to work in a combined medical and behavioral health field, it was touching to be noted for taking the whole person — emotional and physical — into account. It gave me great confidence moving into my residency. Stephanie’s family was so gracious, and you could see how devoted they were to Stephanie and to helping support future compassionate providers. It was a privilege to be able to donate to the scholarship once I was in practice.”

Charles said that students often speak with him about Stephanie after the awards ceremony. But perhaps the most important feedback the couple receives comes in the form of continued donations to the fund.

“It’s the best decision we ever made,” Charles said. “People are helping immensely, and we’re thankful to the WVSOM Foundation for giving us a way to raise awareness. There’s no better group of people to talk to about this issue than new doctors.”

48 • WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023

“We think the world of D.O.s.”

CHARLES CORNELL

It's more than a career. it's a mission.

Honor Roll

2022

Discover your role in the future of osteopathic medical education.

Faculty and staff opportunities available at careers.wvsom.edu 1 • WVSOM Magazine • wvsom.edu

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CONFERENCE 121 ST ANNUAL CME NOV. 2-5,2023 THE GREENBRIER

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*Credits are recognized by the AOA Council on CME. The complete program schedule will be posted when it becomes available.

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 49

CLASS NOTES 1978

Naomi Wriston, D.O., FAOCOPM, became president of the American Osteopathic College of Occupational and Preventive Medicine on Feb. 3, 2023. She served as program chair for the organization’s Midyear Educational Conference in March.

1983

Leonard Kamen, D.O., is a clinical associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital/Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia, Pa. He is a board member of the Pennsylvania Pain Society and the Rothman Opioid Foundation.

1985

1986

Karen Mulloy, D.O., MSCH, an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, received the F. Marian Bishop Educator Award from the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research. The award recognizes members who have made significant and outstanding contributions to the instruction of students or residents that advances the field of public health and prevention.

1990

David Bennett, D.O., began his 31st year working in emergency medicine on July 1. He is director of the emergency department at Dignity Health in Goodyear, Ariz.

William Joe Martin, D.O., and his wife operate a private charitable foundation that rescues and cares for abused and abandoned animals on their North Carolina farm. The two also grow hops to sell to craft brewers and work with North Carolina State University on a test site for new varieties of hops developed for the North Carolina region and a test site for investigating vaccines for leptospirosis in horses.

1992

Will Moore, D.O., is the owner of Buckingham Pediatrics, which will provide clinical outpatient rotations for students in a new family practice residency at Doylestown Health in Doylestown, Pa. Moore will serve as a clinical instructor in pediatrics.

George Moses, D.O., is recovering from a bone marrow transplant due to acute myeloid leukemia. His daughter, Rita, was his stem cell donor.

Lorenzo Pence, D.O., was recognized as a recipient of the Assembly of Osteopathic Graduate Medical Educators’ Special Lifetime Achievement Award during the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine’s annual conference.

Lydia Weisser, D.O., MBA, was selected as a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Weisser lives in Augusta, Ga., with her husband, Col. (Ret.) Roland “Bud” Weisser, M.D.

1993

1994

Jeff Braham, D.O., joined the Robert C. Byrd Clinic in Lewisburg, W.Va., after working at MidOhio Valley Medical Group in Vienna, W.Va., for 26 years.

1996

Michael Crews, D.O., traveled to Guatemala for a medical service visit in February 2023.

50 • WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023

2000

Michael Shane Scott, D.O., received a Master of Business Administration degree from Auburn University in May 2023.

2001

Catherine “Mindy” Chua, D.O., received a fellowship from the Association for Physician Leadership.

Adrienne Coopey, D.O., joined the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute as an assistant professor of adult, child and adolescent psychiatry, working virtually from her Montana home.

2002

April Tweedt, D.O., was elected president of the medical staff of MedStar Montgomery Medical Center in Olney, Md., where she also serves on the medical executive committee, peer review committee, quality and safety committee, physician leadership council and chiefs and chairs committee. She is the facility medical director for MedStar Medical Group Family Practice at Olney, a MedStar Medical Group governing council member, primary care council member and the primary care EMR subcommittee lead.

2003

Roderick Doss, D.O., was promoted to captain in the U.S. Navy in April 2023. He serves as a Marine Division Surgeon in Okinawa, Japan.

2005

J. Hayes Calvert, D.O., received a Master of Studies in Law degree from Wake Forest School of Law in fall 2022.

Christi Hughart, D.O., FACOS, is a urological surgeon with CAMC Greenbrier Valley Urology, which added a Summersville, W.Va., location in 2022.

Melissa (Williams) Krawiec, D.O., became the institute physician for Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va., in May 2023.

Nicole Larkin, D.O., began working as a hospitalist at Greater Baltimore Medical Center in Baltimore, Md.

William Smith, D.O., FACC, FACS, and his wife, Jamie May, welcomed their fourth child, Evan Ender, in September 2022.

2006

2018

2013

Carmen Burrell, D.O., of Morgantown, W.Va., received a Master of Health Administration degree from West Virginia University on May 12, 2023, graduating with top honors. She is the program’s first L.E.A.D. Award recipient, presented to a graduate who exemplifies the values of learning, engagement, achievement and diversity. She is employed by the West Virginia University School of Medicine.

2007

Karthik Mohan, D.O., is program director of the Larkin Community Hospital Gastroenterology Fellowship in Miami, Fla.

2008

Dwan Perry, D.O., a physical medicine and rehabilitation and sports medicine specialist, was promoted to associate professor at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington, Ky.

2009

Elizabeth Martin, D.O., was appointed vice president and therapeutic area head of infectious diseases at Hookipa Pharma, a biotechnology company that develops therapeutic vaccines for infectious disease and immuno-oncology indications.

2010

Jason Kirby, D.O., was elected chapter president of the Tennessee Society of Addiction Medicine for a two-year term starting April 1, 2023.

2011

Elizabeth Hoover, D.O., began a female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery fellowship at Harvard Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass., in July 2022. She married Jordan Dotson in Chatham, Mass., in February 2023.

2019

Dan Lofgren, D.O., matched to a rhinology and skull base surgery fellowship at Vanderbilt University for the 2024-25 academic year. His son, Auggie T. Lofgren, was born in January 2023.

Melissa Villa, D.O., is completing an ultrasound fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.

2020

Abdul Nazif, D.O., completed an internal medicine residency at the Indiana University School of Medicine and was awarded the Dr. Michael P. Ryan Memorial Teaching Award. He will serve as a hospitalist at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pa. Rebecca Szer, D.O., completed an internal medicine residency at Garnet Regional Medical Center in Middletown, N.Y., and started a rheumatology fellowship at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.

ENGAGEMENTS/ MARRIAGES

2008

Rick Fogle, D.O., and Janet Barum Torregrosso Fogle were married April 22, 2023.

Dominic King, D.O., FAOASM, FAMIA, was appointed associate chief improvement officer of the Cleveland Clinic. He is a fellow of the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine and the American Medical Informatics Association, and has been a featured physician on ABC and NBC News, the AARP, and in U.S. News and World Report, Men’s Health and Runner’s World.

2021

Annaliese Koller Shumate, D.O., authored a chapter in the book Primer on Emergency Psychiatry titled “Intoxication, Withdrawal and Symptoms of Substance Use Disorders.”

Chelsey Williams, D.O., and Eric Lucas, D.O., were married Oct. 7, 2022.

William Smith, D.O., FACC, FACS, completed his U.S. Air Force commitment and began working as an adult cardiovascular thoracic surgeon at Singing River Health System in Ocean Springs, Miss.

2012

Sean Jones, D.O., lives in Chattanooga, Tenn., and practices emergency medicine with ApolloMD. Jones and his wife, Wendy, have a one-year-old daughter, Peyton.

2017

Michael Adashek, D.O., began working in hematology and oncology at University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center in Baltimore, Md.

Noah Jordan, D.O., and Katie Donovan are engaged to be married Sept. 28, 2023, in Charleston, S.C.

2022

Stephanie Arnold, D.O., and Matthew Santer, D.O., are engaged.

BIRTHS

2010 and 2012

Dan Suders, D.O., and Jenny Suders, D.O., welcomed a daughter, Olivia, in March 2022. Dan practices as a hospitalist and Jenny practices as a nephrologist, both in Wheeling, W.Va.

2011

Ben Chopski, D.O., and his wife, Elizabeth, welcomed their first child, Martha Elizabeth, on April 21, 2023. Chopski is an associate professor of medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.

Kristine Brown, D.O., and Jamie Latos, D.O., welcomed a son, Aiden Latos, on Sept. 23, 2022.

2018 and 2019

Michael Gergel, D.O., and Maria Caperelli Gergel, D.O., welcomed a son, Lucas Vittorio, on May 1, 2023.

2020

Ryan Naum, D.O., and his wife, Megan, welcomed a son on April 2, 2023. Naum is a chief neurology resident during the 2023-24 academic year and plans to complete a neuromuscular medicine fellowship at Duke University in the 2024-25 academic year.

IN MEMORY OF

1979 John Lackey, D.O., of Summersville, W.Va., passed away June 13, 2023. Lackey, an ophthalmologist, was a visiting WVSOM faculty member and preceptor, served on the WVSOM Board of Governors and lectured at the school’s continuing medical education events. He was a major in the U.S. Army and a lieutenant colonel in the West Virginia Air National Guard.

1983

Steven Sheppard, D.O., of Rio Verde, Ariz., passed away March 3, 2023. Sheppard was a founding partner of Mountain View OB-GYN, in Hanover, Pa., and ran the practice for 25 years.

In 2013, he relocated to Ripon, Wis., where he helped reinstate women’s health care for Agnesian HealthCare-Ripon Medical Center.

Jonathan Stout, D.O., of Greenbrier County, W.Va., passed away June 12, 2023. Stout practiced for many years in the emergency department of Greenbrier Valley Medical Center in Ronceverte, W.Va.

1991

Robert Earl Soper, D.O., of Audubon, N.J., passed away Feb. 15, 2023. Soper specialized in aerospace medicine and emergency medicine. He served in the U.S. Navy as a flight surgeon before working in emergency medicine in New Jersey.

His most recent position was at AFC Urgent Care in Pennsauken, N.J.

1998

Terry Linn Thomas, D.O., of Whipple, Ohio, passed away Feb. 13, 2023. Thomas was an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and worked for many years as a primary care physician and emergency medicine physician.

2009

Eric Crabtree, D.O., of Gadsden, Ala., passed away Dec. 5, 2022. He practiced at the Crabtree Surgical Clinic in Gadsden.

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 51

GIFTS TO WVSOM LIFETIME GIVING LEADERS President’s Council Donors $100,000+

Patrick Pagur, D.O., and Billie Wright, D.O.

Samuel Muscari Jr., D.O.

Mr. and Mrs. David Rader

James Nemitz, Ph.D.

Drs. Cheryl and Michael Adelman

Carole Stookey

Deena Obrokta, D.O./Liberty Pediatrics

Drs. David and Bonita Barger

Drs. Andrew and Tiffany Thymius

Lorenzo Pence, D.O.

Charles Davis, D.O./Davis Eye Center Inc.

Mrs. John Tirpak

James Harless

Harold Ward, D.O.

Dr. and Mrs. Arthur Rubin/Carmel-Greenfield Charitable Trust

Ray Harron, M.D./Harron Foundation

Dr. and Mrs. Badshah Wazir/ Spring Hill Cardiology

John Manchin II, D.O./Manchin Clinic Roland Sharp, D.O. Marlene Wager, D.O. Lydia Weisser, D.O. Gary and Joanne White

BUSINESSES Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation Humana Maier Foundation Inc.

Rosa Stone, D.O. Dr. Peter and Sharon Stracci Phillip Triplett Jr., D.O. Lori Tucker, D.O. Drs. Rafael and Letetia Villalobos Lewis Whaley, D.O.

BUSINESSES

National Osteopathic Foundation

BUSINESSES

Encova Foundation of West Virginia

West Virginia Osteopathic Medical Association

CAMC Greenbrier Valley Medical Center

Greenbrier Hotel Corp.

Hildegard P. Swick Estate Hollowell Foundation Inc. WVSOM Alumni Association

Patron Donors $25,000-$49,999 Michael Antolini, D.O. Manuel Ballas, D.O.

CAMC Health Education and Research Institute City National Bank Highmark Inc. Highmark West Virginia

Founder’s Club Donors $50,000-$99,999

Catherine Bishop, D.O.

OVP Foundation for Healthier Communities/ OVP Health Inc.

Craig Boisvert, D.O.

Robert C. Byrd Clinic Inc.

Christopher Beckett, D.O.

Jeffery Braham, D.O.

Smith Kline & French Laboratories

Sean Brain and Jandy Hanna, Ph.D.

Drs. Edward and Kristie Bridges

Truist Corporation (formerly BB&T)

Joseph Cincinnati, D.O.

Clyde Brooks III, D.O.

West Virginia Emulation Endowment Trust

James Deering, D.O., and Jodi Flanders, D.O.

Cathy Dailey, D.O.

Troy Foster, D.O.

Steven Eshenaur, D.O./Haven Ltd.

West Virginia State Medical Association Alliance

Abdollatif Ghiathi, D.O.

Ahmed Faheem, M.D.

Drs. Robert and Rachel Hunter

Allen Finkelstein, D.O.

William McLaughlin, D.O.

Mr. and Mrs. Lawson Hamilton

Michael Nicholas, D.O.

J. Robert Holmes, DDS

Thomas and Diana Obrokta

Dr. and Mrs. Gregory Jarrell

52 • WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023

DONATIONS FROM 2022-23 BY LIFETIME GIVING CATEGORY JAN. 1, 2022 - MAY 31, 2023

Dean’s Circle Donors $10,000-$24,999

Benefactor Donors $5,000-$9,999

Sponsor Donors $2,500-$4,999

David Allen, D.O.

Randall Belt, D.O.

Leslie Bicksler

Hal Armistead, D.O., MHSA, and Amelia Roush, D.O.

Robert Blok Jr., D.O.

Edward Brennan II, D.O.

Linda Boyd, D.O.

Brande Carpenter

Cynthia Butler, D.O.

John Carvalho

Craig Chambers, D.O.

J.P. Casher, D.O.

James Chambers, D.O.

Zachary Comeaux, D.O.

Michael Chambers

Michael Cope, Ph.D.

Charles and Jean Cornell

Gail Dudley, D.O.

David Crandall, D.O.

Allison Evans-Wood, D.O.

David Cummings, D.O.

Lawrence Fabrizio, D.O.

Ray Greco II, D.O.

Monte Finch, D.O.

Ralph Hess III, D.O.

Kathy Goodman, D.O.

Drema Hill, Ph.D.

Bruce Gorby, D.O.

Lisa Hrutkay, D.O.

Ray Hayes, D.O.

Afeworki Kidane, D.O.

Richard Herndon Jr., D.O.

Gretchen Lovett, Ph.D.

Holly Hill-Reinert, D.O.

Kathleen Maley, D.O.

Johnny Howell, D.O.

Andrea Nazar, D.O.

Mark Hrko, D.O.

Donald Newell II, D.O.

Anthony Johnson, D.O.

Dallas Petrey, D.O.

James Kohari, D.O.

Ryan Runyon, D.O.

Forrest Lane Jr., D.O.

Gary Sajko, D.O.

Josalyn Mann, D.O.

Michael Shrock, D.O.

Richard Meadows, D.O.

Sophia Sibold, D.O.

Satish Menon, D.O.

Jan Silverman, D.O.

William Moore, D.O.

Clinton Sloan, D.O.

Rebecca Morrow, Ph.D.

John Talbott, D.O.

Kara O’Karma, D.O.

Robert Vass

David Parker, D.O.

Shannon Warren

Alinda Perrine

Helen Baker, Ph.D. Jonathan Beyer, D.O. David Brown, Ph.D. Elizabeth Clark, D.O. Dr. and Mrs. Samuel Deem Dr. Andy Tanner and Dewayne Duncan Linda Eakle, D.O. Dan and Marilyn Evans Robert Flowers, D.O. Robert Foster, D.O. John Garlitz, D.O. Donald Gullickson II, D.O. John Hibler, D.O. Robert Holstein, D.O. Susan Ketchem Cynthia Mayer, D.O. Richard McClung, DDS Dodie Montgomery Karen Montgomery-Reagan, D.O. Karen Mulloy, D.O. Stephen Naymick, D.O. Susan Painter, D.O. Pete Palko III, D.O. Drs. Bruce and Millie Petersen Ronald Smith, D.O. Daniel Trent, D.O. George Triplett, D.O.

Rebecca Perry, D.O.

Thomas White II, D.O.

BUSINESSES

Naomi Wriston, D.O., FAOCOPM

Astorg Auto of Charleston Bank of Monroe

BUSINESSES Bailey & Wyant PLLC

Boone Memorial Hospital

Jackson Kelly PLLC

Jeanne G. Hamilton and Lawson W. Hamilton Jr. Family Foundation Inc.

MAG Mutual Foundation Inc.

Mason & Barry Inc.

MAKO Medical Laboratories

Monongalia Health System Inc.

West Virginia State Medical Association

Rainelle Medical Center

West Virginia University Medicine – West Virginia United Health System

Sherry Phillips Bonita Portier, D.O. Mary Pozega, D.O. Angelo Ratini, D.O. Roi Reed, D.O. Steven and Sharon Rubin Stefanie Shull Albert Smith Jr., D.O. Natalie Stepputat Tamejiro Takubo Jr., D.O.

ZMM

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 53

DONATIONS FROM 2022-23 BY LIFETIME GIVING CATEGORY JAN. 1, 2022 - MAY 31, 2023

Maria Tranto, D.O.

Tim Holbrook

Frederick Health Hospital Inc.

Mark Waddell, D.O.

Alice Hollinsworth

Greenbrier Medical Arts Pharmacy

Kenneth Warner

Kristy Huffman, D.O.

WVSOM Staff Council

Jennifer Wildpret, D.O.

Tom Hutchison

John Wilson, DVM

Dainty Jackson, D.O.

Gregory Wood, D.O.

Ben and Renda James

Samuel Yates, Ph.D.

Mark Jeffries, D.O.

Sherri Young, D.O.

Brandon Johnson, J.D. Anna Jolliffe, D.O.

BUSINESSES American Beer Co. Cartledge Foundation Inc. Greenbrier Valley Board of Realtors HospiceCare Huntington National Bank Marshall Health Mountain Health Network Nora Roberts Foundation Pallottine Foundation of Huntington PracticeLink Professional Business Products

Charles Kirkland, D.O. Maple Landvoigt, M.D. Clay Lee, D.O. Judith Maloney, Ph.D. William Martin, D.O. William Martin, Ph.D. Janice Miller, D.O. Mark Mitchell, D.O. Susan Morgan John Myer Catherine Noone James Paugh II, D.O.

West Virginia Society of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians

Melinda Ratini, D.O.

Associate Donors $1,000-$2,499

Madonna Ringswald, D.O.

Robby Aliff, J.D.

Eric Schneider, D.O.

Patrice Bauserman

Stephen Shy II, D.O.

Dan Breece, D.O.

Linda Smith, D.O.

Leslie Buchanan, D.O.

Shannon Sorah, D.O.

Joseph Calvert, D.O.

Robert Thiele, D.O.

John Cavell, D.O.

Cynthia Thomas, D.O.

Heidi Clark, D.O.

Emily Thomas, D.O.

Shawn Clark, D.O.

Kimberly Tieman

James Cooper II, D.O.

John Todorczuk, D.O.

Carmen Damiani, D.O.

Kathryn Wallington Freeland

Jason Dees, D.O.

David “Monte” Ward

Mark Dodd, D.O.

Winter Wilson, D.O.

Thomas Richardson, D.O.

Sharon Rowe

Richard Durham, D.O.

Friend Donors $500-$999 Linda Arnold Marshall Barker, D.O. Diana Bird Kristina Brown, D.O. John Buckland, D.O. Christopher Daniel, D.O. Timothy Decker, D.O. James Dietz Marina Diioia, Ph.D. Roderick Doss, D.O. Robert Eaton, D.O. Michelle Endicott, D.O. Jesamyn Fuscardo Marshall, D.O. Katherine Galluzzi, D.O. Rae Godsey, D.O. Karen Hausler Robin King-Thiele, D.O. Cindi Knight Wendy Lee, D.O. Brian McDevitt, D.O. Donette Mizia John Mooney Bobbi Morgan Cynthia Osborne, D.O. David Pickering, D.O. Roland Powers Jr., D.O. Barbara Sanders Sharon Shelton, D.O. Eric Smith, D.O. Jonathan Stanley, D.O. Don Swift II, D.O. Christopher White, D.O. Tracy Wilkerson, DDS

Zouheir Fares, D.O.

BUSINESSES

Darla Gallentine, D.O.

Carson and Criddle LLC (PostNet)

Lisa Zaleski-Larsen, D.O.

Georgette George

Family Medicine Foundation of West Virginia

BUSINESS

Patricia Hamilton

54 • WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023

Suttle & Stalnaker PLLC

DONATIONS FROM 2022-23 BY LIFETIME GIVING CATEGORY JAN. 1, 2022 - MAY 31, 2023

Supporter Donors $250-$499

Caduceus Donors $50-$249

BUSINESSES

Scott Brown, D.O.

Forest Arnold, D.O.

Greenbrier College Alumnae Association

Lisa Costello, M.D.

Shinichi Asano, Ph.D.

New York Life Insurance

Diane Cutler and Dan Williams

Karen Ayers

Matthew Deitz

John Benson

Underwood Estates Property Owners Association

Joseph Durkalski, D.O.

John Kevin Bradley

Joy Elliott, D.O.

Craig Brown

James Endicott, M.D.

Turner Bunn III

Jenifer Hadley, D.O.

Jocelyn Chang, D.O.

Bradley Harris

Pat and Jeff Chesson

Herbert Hutchison

Sally Cooper

Andrew Ickes

Matthew Davis, D.O.

Drew Kagan

Salvatore DeFilippo, D.O.

Scott Keffer, D.O.

David and Olgusha Forrest

Terry Knowles, D.O.

Paul Grist

Lianna Lawson, D.O.

Holly Hardesty

Laura Liles, D.O.

Richard Harris, D.O.

Jon and Christine MacQuilken

Karen Hauster

Aaron McGuffin, M.D.

Haylee Heinsberg

Susan Medalie, D.O.

Cecilia Hottovy

Laura Miller, D.O.

Rhonda Hughes

Karthik Mohan, D.O.

Crystal Jackson

Marilyn Perry, D.O.

Jessica Lewis

Richard Reece, D.O.

Kelly Lonergan

Nov. 6, 2022, to June 14, 2023

Jeffrey Shawver

Victoria Marcus

2001

Byron Smith, D.O.

Karen Snider, D.O.

Patricia McClintic

Brentz Thompson, J.D.

Jeffrey McCormick, D.O.

2009

Angela Mills, D.O.

Carolyn Thompson, Ed.D.

Miles Medina, D.O.

2011

William B. Smith, D.O.

Leo and Lynette Toomajian

Gregory Molter, D.O.

2015

Bradley Sevy, D.O.

Larry Ware, MBA, CPA

Christine Moore, D.O.

2016

Meredith Bentley, D.O.

Michael Warlick, D.O.

Fara Movagharnia, D.O.

2016

Carey Swisher, D.O.

Brittanie West, D.O.

Sherry and Craig Myers

2020

Thu Nguyen, D.O.

David Whitmore, D.O.

Steve Obermeyer

2023

Zachary Bloom, D.O.

Christopher Wood, D.O.

Vi Ritschel

2023

Andrew Colebank, D.O.

Chad Sisk, D.O.

2023

Jeffrey Hall, D.O.

BUSINESSES

Eric Snider, D.O.

Civitas Hospitality Group LLC

Karen Sparks

Comquest Osteopathic Specialists LLC

Billie Toler, D.O.

Delta Dental of Kentucky

WVSOM ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NEW LIFE MEMBERS

David Webb, M.D.

WVSOM Magazine • SUMMER 2023 • 55

West Virginia School of OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE

400 Lee Street North Lewisburg, WV 24901

West Virginia’s

LARGEST MEDICAL SCHOOL 800+

medical students enrolled each year — more than any other medical school in the state WV HEPC Health Sciences and Rural Health Report, 2022

$133+ MILLION

economic impact in the state

100%

residency placement rate Class of 2023

Umbach Economic Impact Study, 2020

60

hospitals and clinics for medical student rotation experiences

7

regional campus sites

Honor Roll

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2022

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