More…:  View Video

With nearly three decades of professional acumen, Michelle S. Kanuth will celebrate her 10th anniversary as Professor at The University of Texas this year. A prominent figure in both higher education and immunohematology and microbiology, Ms. Kanuth holds a Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky, a master of science in immunohematology from the University of Cincinnati and a bachelor of science in medical technology from The Ohio State University.

In an exclusive October interview with Cambridge Who's Who, Ms. Kanuth noted that she could not have achieved such professional success without the guidance of her mentors. Through their support, she has gained the recognition of her peers and received several awards from The University of Texas Medical Branch Academy of Master Teachers. Ms. Kanuth is also a professional member of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science, the American Society of Clinical Pathologists and the American Association of Blood Banks.

Gov. Perry Reappoints Dr. Richard Rahr to Texas Physician Assistant Board  - Texas Governor Rick Perry has reappointed three members to the Texas Physician Assistant Board for terms to expire Feb. 1, 2017. The board establishes and maintains standards of excellence to regulate physician assistants and ensure quality health care through licensure, discipline and education.

Richard Rahr of Texas City is a professor and department chair of Physician Assistant Studies at the University of Texas Medical Branch School of Health Professions. He is a member of the Physician Assistant Education Association, Academy of Master Teachers, Texas Society of Allied Health Professions, and American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. Rahr received a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin, a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Houston at Clear Lake, and a doctorate degree in education in allied health from the University of Houston.

Anna A. Chapman of Del Rio is deputy city secretary for the City of Del Rio. She is the health issues chair of the Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and regent and district deputy of Catholic Daughters of the Americas. She is also a research committee member of Cemeterio De Los Amigos, and recording secretary for the Pan American Round Table. Chapman received a bachelor's degree from Sul Ross State University and a Master of Business Administration from Regis University in Denver.

Felix Koo of McAllen is clinical coordinator of the University of Texas-Pan American Physician Assistant Studies Program, and a volunteer medical director of Hope Family Health Center in McAllen. He is vice president of the Nuestra Clinica Del Valle Inc. Board of Directors. Koo received a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in microbiology from Brigham Young University, a doctorate degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and a medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. 

These appointments are subject to Senate confirmation.  

"Mobility is a key measure in older people's independence and quality of life generally, and this study suggests that's also true in the hospital setting," says UTMB's Steve Fisher.

"When we hospitalize elderly people, we set up a paradoxical situation," he explained. "You can have a positive outcome of the acute problem that brought them there, but still have negative consequences as a result of extended immobility."

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/bones-joints-and-muscles/articles/2010/12/15/elderly-patients-who-get-on-feet-leave-hospital-sooner.html

Photographs available via flickr .

Occupational Therapy Ranking: 17

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-occupational-therapy-schools/rankings

Physician Assistant Studies Ranking: 11

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-physician-assistant-schools/rankings

Physical Therapy Ranking: 24

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-physical-therapy-schools/rankings

Dr. Utsey is recognized for her excellence in the areas of teaching and commitment to service in the School of Health Professions, the PT profession, and the community. Her nominator noted Dr. Utsey's demonstrated ability to educate the profession of physical therapy at every level and in a wide variety of venues, stating that Dr. Utsey educates the physical therapy community at large by participating in the Texas Education Consortium's Clinical Instructor education courses to better prepare therapists to be effective clinical instructors, and teaches ethics for the therapy community with courses at area facilities and local districts. In addition, she participates in medical mission trips with the UTMB Baptist Student Ministries bringing opportunities to physical therapy students for hands on learning in unique settings. She also organizes the participation in Rainbow Connection, a summer camp for children with cancer and their siblings, with physical therapy students serving as camp counselors. In each of these venues of education she incorporates lessons of professionalism, ethics, sensitivity, and physical therapy techniques and interventions.

Dr. Utsey promotes the physical therapy profession by simply modeling to her students and colleagues her strong commitment to education, community and professionalism. Dr. Utsey leads a program educating future physical therapists prepared at the doctoral level to meet the needs and truly enhance the quality of life for the patients they serve.

The award's namesake, Ed Lowman, MD, served as Professor and Clinical Director of Rehabilitation Medicine at the Rusk Institute of New York University where his strong conviction about the importance of an interdisciplinary team in the care of individuals with severe disabilities earned him great respect in the field of rehabilitation medicine. Legislatively, Dr. Lowman promoted the inclusion of physical medicine and rehabilitation services in the Medicare program and was key to the ratification of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the predecessor of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).

Dr. Ottenbacher received this prestigious award in recognition of his significant contributions to rehabilitation medicine in promoting the spirit of interdisciplinary rehabilitation research and education. Dr. Ottenbacher serves as Director of the Division of Rehabilitation Sciences and Senior Associate Dean of the School of Health Professions. He also serves as Director of the Center for Rehabilitation Sciences and Associate Director of the Sealy Center on Aging. Dr. Ottenbacher is the Coordinator of the rehabilitation sciences curriculum in the Population Health Sciences Graduate Program and holds a joint faculty appointment in the Department of Internal Medicine.

Dr. Protas is recognized for her many years of leadership, commitment to service, and contributions to TSAHP and the health professions community from the local to national levels. Most recently, Dr. Protas focused her efforts on legislative affairs serving as chair of the TSAHP legislative committee. Her nominators highlight Dr. Protas' advocacy and success in expanding TSAHP's legislative efforts and activities to promote allied health bills resulting in TSAHP's testimony before the Texas Senate's Committee on Health and Human Services in 2010.

In addition to serving at the helm of SHP, Dr. Protas is a Senior Fellow of the Sealy Center on Aging and holds the George T. Bryan Distinguished Professorship at UTMB. She came to UTMB in 2002 to chair the school's Department of Physical Therapy and was appointed dean in 2008. Her research and clinical interests focus on exercise, aging and physiological responses to exercise of individuals with chronic disabilities, particularly individuals who have had a stroke or Parkinson's disease. Dr. Protas has amassed an impressive list of manuscripts, book chapters and conference presentations. To support her research, Dr. Protas has received grant funding from the National Institute of Health, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Foundation for Physical Therapy.

The Texas Society of Allied Health Professions and UTMB's School of Health Professions greatly benefit from her dedication and leadership in education, research, service, and advocacy of future and current health professionals. Please join the TSAHP membership in congratulating her on this honor.

The Academy was established as a service organization to recognize and honor UTMB's best teachers, advance innovation and promote educational scholarship, and to serve the diverse needs of the UTMB community of educators through faculty development, mentorship, and advocacy.

The UTMB study drew on data from a Pan-American Health Organization and National Institute on Aging survey that covered more than 6,000 people over age 65 in six cities: Bridgetown, Barbados; Sγo Paulo, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; Havana, Cuba; Mexico City, Mexico; and Montevideo, Uruguay. Across the board, the investigators found that obese seniors were more likely to have significant trouble walking, bathing, dressing, eating, getting in and out of bed and using the toilet.

In this survey, a subject was defined as obese if he or she had a body mass index (weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) equal or greater than 30.

"This greater prevalence of obesity is a new thing in Latin America and the Caribbean, the result of people moving from rural to urban areas and shifting their nutritional habits and other aspects of their lives to a more Western pattern," said UTMB assistant professor Soham al Snih, lead author of "Obesity and Disability: Relation Among Older Adults Living in Latin America and the Caribbean," which appeared in the June 15 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. "At the same time, we're seeing a substantial increase in life expectancy. The close relationship that we found between obesity and disability in older adults suggests that we really need to work to prevent these populations from becoming obese."

Without major efforts to promote healthy eating and exercise in Latin American and Caribbean populations, al Snih said, current trends will produce large numbers of people who are especially vulnerable to chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and arthritis — conditions that could increase the degree of disability among the elderly, and which will severely strain the health care resources of poorer countries.

"We need to reorient people to better nutrition, we need to screen for these diseases and do as much as we can to prevent them, and we need to involve these populations in exercise and increase their activity level," al Snih said. "It's very important, because otherwise it will cost much more in the long run."

In addition to highlighting the connection between increasing obesity rates and increasing disability among elders, al Snih noted that the UTMB study provides a rare look at the prevalence of obesity in various populations of older adults in Latin America and the Caribbean, where much public health data focuses instead on childhood through middle age. Current rates of obesity among the elderly ranged from a low of 13.3 percent in Havana to a high of 37.6 percent in Montevideo. (According to the National Health and Nutrition Survey of 2007-2008, the U.S. obesity rate for men over 60 is 37.1 percent; for women over 60 it is 33.6 percent).

Other researchers contributing to this paper include professors Kenneth Ottenbacher, Kyriakos Markides and Dr. James Goodwin, assistant professor James Graham and associate professor Young-Fang Kuo. The National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health provided support for this study.

Utsey appointed Winfree Professor - It is our distinct pleasure to announce that Carolyn Utsey, P.T., Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Physical Therapy, has been appointed as the inaugural holder of the Jeanette Winfree Professorship in Physical Therapy. This endowment was established by UTMB's Advisory Council in 2006 to support the research of a faculty member who will focus time and effort in the pursuit of excellence in physical therapy. Jeanette Winfree was a Galveston physical therapist who was one of the first women in the nation to open a private practice. She was a 1961 graduate of the University of Texas Medical Branch, a leader in many advances in physical therapy and was the 1982 UTMB School of Health Professions' Distinguished Alumni recipient.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Utsey on this well-deserved honor.

"It doesn't mean that stroke patients no longer need therapy," said Barbara Doucet, assistant professor of occupational therapy in the School of Health Professions at the University of Texas Medical Branch. "It means that, for one reason or another, they no longer have access to it."

Jill Seale, assistant professor of physical therapy, said, "Stroke is not a one-time event. You have lifelong disability, lifelong impairment complicated by aging. Aging changes everything."

Funded by a grant from the UTMB President's Cabinet, Doucet and Seale have organized a series of free, weeklong therapy sessions held in the School of Health Professions/School of Nursing building.

Under the supervision of faculty, second-year physical and occupational therapy students work with stroke victims to help them improve their lives. Physical therapy focuses on movement and mobility, while occupational therapy focuses on restoring function lost to the stroke.

As much as stroke victims benefit from participating in the clinic, the students who provide the therapy view it as "a great opportunity to work with members of our community and impact them in a very positive way," occupational therapy student Whitney "Megan" Mullins said. About two dozen students participate during the weeklong sessions.

"I really learned how to apply my classroom knowledge to the clinic setting when working with a client and realized that our program has prepared us well for working with stroke patients," Mullins said. "I also have learned that there are many people in the community who are six months post-stroke or not eligible for traditional therapy and could still benefit from additional services."

In some cases, patients have been referred for additional outpatient therapy services if there's been a change in status since the stroke.

While in Kenya, Vicki and Jane worked with laboratorians at Maua Methodist Hospital to set up a new Giemsa stain procedure for identifying Malaria. They trained them on standard operating procedures, and identifying and troubleshooting equipment issues. There was also an opportunity to collaborate with two visiting UTMB medical students. Click photo for a larger view.

"The STAIRS program is designed to develop online courses to enhance the professional expertise of licensed occupational and physical therapists working in pediatric settings," said Christine P. Baker, associate professor in the UTMB School of Health Professions. Those who complete the program receive a transitional profession doctoral degree, DPT for physical therapists. The OTD program for occupational therapists is pending. Stipends of $6,500 are available. "We are particularly interested in training therapists who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and those who have disabilities," Baker said. For more information, visit http://shp.utmb.edu/STAIRS/ or e-mail Baker at cbaker@utmb.edu .

Dr. Ostir has made important contributions to healthy aging research. His investigations focus on how positive
psychological well-being varies by age, gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnic/minority status as well as by the experiences, challenges, and transitions individuals confront as they age. Dr. Ostir's studies include the role of activity and emotional health in recovery from acute illness. His most recent research explores factors associated with quality of life including patient satisfaction and satisfaction with community activities in persons with stroke or orthopedic impairment discharged from the hospital. Dr. Ostir's appointment to this endowed position is fitting recognition of his substantial contributions to geriatrics and gerontology.

Green assumes SHP Administrator role - We are pleased to announce that Sheryl Green is our new Administrator of UTMB's School of Health Professions.  She has over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Sheryl comes to us from UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center where she worked for 10 years as an Administrator for the Departments of Experimental Therapeutics (6.5 yrs.) and Surgical Oncology (3.5 yrs.). Prior to her role as an Administrator, she completed the Executive Development Program at The Methodist Hospital System in Houston, TX. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and The Women's Fund for Health, Education & Research. Please welcome Sheryl to UTMB!

Blake is vital member of the Sealy Center on Aging, the Claude Pepper Older American Independence Center serving as Core Leader for the Pepper Center Pilot/Exploratory Studies Core. His R01 NIH grant, renewed in 2008 for five years, examines the molecular basis for the muscle response to exercise and nutrition in an effort to develop evidence-based rehabilitation strategies to promote muscle growth in various clinical conditions associated with significant muscle loss.

Dr. Rasmussen's research accomplishments and collaborative contributions to the Sealy Center on Aging and UTMB are certainly evident. Please join me in congratulating him on this well-deserved honor.

Ruby Decker was the first Director of the School of Physical Therapy at UTMB, and is still honored by the physical therapy faculty and students for her contributions to physical therapy and to the foundations of the department.