School of Health Professionsshp.utmb.edu

PT Students Visit Friends of Maua Hospital in Kenya

Six UTMB physical therapy students recently spent two weeks in Kenya and were accompanied by Drs. Vicki Freeman (CLS) and Carolyn Utsey (PT). They were working daily with patients in the Friends of Maua Hospital and in the nearby villages. In realizing that several of their patients had visible pain caused by heavy loads they carry on their shoulders and backs, the students taught them various stretching exercises and yoga poses.

PT Students Take Annual Interprofessional Trip to Peru

A total of 51 students including nursing, medical and physical therapy attended the Hands and Feet Mission trip to Lima Peru. In four days, the clinic treated over 500 patients with more than 150 seen by our 8 PT students and our PT Clinical Education Assistant. This included Sirena Holder, class of 2019 and Amanda Lochte, Ashley Nguyen, Desirae Sack, Greg Conner, Kylie Nemecek, Madison Beene and Nithin Thaimuriyil from the class of 2020 and Dr. Lindsay Allen.

The students all did an amazing job of working with the inter professional teams to ensure each patient received the best treatment possible. PT played a vital role and helped to educate our future nurses and doctors the value of physical therapy.

SHP Welcomes New Senior Vice President and Dean of the School of Health Professions

We are pleased to announce that David A. Brown, PT, PhD, FAPTA, will join UTMB Health as Senior Vice President and Dean for our School of Health Professions, effective March 1, 2019. Dr. Brown is known for his outstanding expertise in leadership, innovation and excellence in education, his commitment to research, and his success as an entrepreneur. Dr. Brown is a leader in the Rehabilitation Science community at the institutional, national, and international levels, with a reputation for cutting-edge research and impact on individuals with neurological dysfunction.

Dr. Brown joins us from The University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he served as Professor in Physical Therapy, Director of the PhD in Rehabilitation Science Program, and co-Director of the UAB University-wide Research Center on Disability Health and Rehabilitation Science. Dr. Brown earned his PhD in Exercise Science from the University of Iowa, MS in Physical Therapy from Duke University and BA in Physics from the University of Rochester. He received post-doctoral research training at Stanford University and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Palo Alto, CA.

Please join us in thanking Dr. Vicki Freeman for her outstanding service as interim Dean of the School of Health Professions and in welcoming Dr. Brown to UTMB.

Read More: Dr. David Brown

SHP Celebrates their 50th Anniversary

It has been a pleasure to serve as Interim Dean this year during The School of Health Professions 50th Anniversary. Many activities took place including the Kickoff Celebration back in November 2017 with current students, faculty and students in Levin Hall. This summer, our SHP departments hosted a lecture series pertaining to their fields of study in partnership with the Sealy Center on Aging and the SHP Dean's Office.

The Office of Alumni Relations helped us organize the Dean's reception. It was great to be able to connect with alumni and reminisce about the changes that have taken place in the school in the last 50 years. Our distinguished alumnus, Marco Rodriguez, gave an inspirational presentation on how we should pursue our passion.

We celebrated its 50th Anniversary on Saturday, October 20, 2018 at both the UTMB Campus and at the Galveston Island Convention Center at the San Luis Resort. During the Open House, our departments' faculty and students welcomed approximately 75 guests into their laboratories, giving them an opportunity to get a first-hand look at the University’s progress. I know that the alums appreciated being able to see how we are teaching now and to reconnect with their program.

In the evening, special guests, University President, Dr. Callender, and Past Dean, Dr. Christiansen, spoke about SHP, its history and current activities with Kevin Haslam serving as our Emcee. We are grateful to the Mayor Pro Tem and District 2 Councilman, Dr. Craig Brown, for issuing a Proclamation designating October 20, 2018 as The UTMB School of Health Professions Day (thanks to Hank Thierry for organizing it). Wasn't it nice that we were able to celebrate the school’s 50th Anniversary in such a spectacular way? When I walked in to our celebration, the room felt "magical". From the decorations to the dinner and then on to the dancing, it was a great event.

A BIG Thanks goes out to everyone who worked to make this a fantastic event, in particular to Michelle Conley who organized it all and to the staff in the departments and the Dean's Office who assisted her. As we all know, it takes a team to pull off these occasions.

Sincerely,

Vicki Freeman, PhD, MASCP, MLS (ASCP)^cm SC^cm, FACB
Interim Dean, School of Health Professions
Associate Dean for Faculty Development
Professor (tenured), Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences
University of Texas Distinguished Professor

SHP Faculty Researcher Spotlight - October 2018

Dr. Lynne Hughes joined the SHP faculty in 2014 to teach in the Bridge PTA to DPT program. Her current research interest is incorporating manual therapy as an appropriate and effective intervention for older persons. Dr. Hughes utilizes mixed methods design to provide both quantitative and qualitative views of participant outcomes.

Read More: SHP Faculty Researcher Spotlight