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School of Health Professions
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New alumni council supports wide range of SHP efforts
By Kate Hunger
The School of Health Professions Alumni Council held its inaugural meeting virtually in January.
The council represents the voice of health professions alumni and supports the mission and goals of the School of Health Professions while serving as an advisory council in conjunction with alumni initiatives at the school.
Health professions students assist COVID patient positioning teams in ICU
Research has shown that turning COVID-19 patients onto their stomachs for a number of hours can help improve lung function and decrease mortality — but the process requires a specially trained team and a significant amount of time.
Teaching is a lifelong passion for Presidential Award winner
As a high school science teacher, Meredith Quinene, DHSc, MPAS, PA-C, assistant professor and academic coordinator for the Department of Physician Assistant Studies, learned to begin with the end in mind.
When she decided to leave the classroom to become a physician assistant, for instance, she did so knowing that her ultimate goal was to one day join the faculty of UT Health San Antonio, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in physician assistant studies in 2003.
Professor coauthors textbook on respiratory critical care
A textbook coauthored by Respiratory Care Professor Ruben Restrepo, MD RRT, FAARC, FCCP, is geared toward preparing respiratory therapists for the Adult Critical Care Specialty (ACCS) exam while also providing essential information for all members of critical care teams.
Respiratory care student embraces profession that enables him to help others
After Anthony Mendoza Jr., graduated from high school in his hometown of Carrizo Springs, he worked for four years in the oil field, where he often put in 14-hour days. He decided he wanted a different career, one that would enable him to help others. He started taking college classes and researched health professions.
Neuroplasticity is the focus of new PT faculty member’s research
Department of Physical Therapy Assistant Professor Anjali Sivaramakrishnan, PT, Ph.D., wants to learn more about the potential of non-invasive brain stimulation on improving mobility for patients experiencing problems with movement due to neurological disorders.
Dr. Sivaramakrishnan, who joined the faculty in December, is establishing her neuroplasticity research program. In particular, she is hoping her research will address gaps in the translation of the potential benefits of non-invasive brain stimulation from lab to clinic.
Students assemble clean birth kits and find other ways to serve
Three hundred mothers and their newborns in Nigeria will experience safer births using the clean birth kits physician assistant studies students created in December.
The Class of 2021 partnered with the nonprofit Global Health Charities to reduce infant and maternal mortality internationally. The effort was spearheaded by Evan Bridges and McKenzie Humphrey, global service coordinator and service coordinator for the Class of 2021, respectively.
Respiratory Care Assistant Professor Tabatha Dragonberry leads online education programs
Tabatha Dragonberry, DHSc, MBA, MEd, RRT-NPS, RRT-ACCS, AE-C, CPFT, C-NPT, assistant professor and director of online education for the Division of Respiratory Care, is keenly aware of both the potential and the pitfalls of distance education.
After all, Dr. Dragonberry has earned five online degrees.
“I’ve been a student of the good, the bad, and the ugly of online,” she said. “This position is allowing me to mix my varied skills across the continuum of my education in one place.”
EHS faculty member to retire after more than 30 years of service
When Vicky Smith arrived for her first shift as an EMT paramedic, she didn’t even have time to put down her gear before heading to the scene of an accident on a foggy coastal road. Smith and her team arrived to find four teenagers dead and another critically injured. The trauma of that first shift briefly caused Smith to question her decision to pursue a career as an emergency medical responder, but she stayed and built a career that spanned four decades.
MLS instructor researches antigen frequency among Hispanic blood donors
Tiffany Roerich Wafford, MLS, SBB (ASCP), a Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences instructor, noticed something when she was typing donor blood in her previous role as supervisor of an immunohematology reference laboratory.
“I started noticing that the frequency of the antigens didn’t match up with what you see in the Caucasian population and saw some matched up with the African American population,” she said.
When she sought to learn more about what she was seeing in the lab, Wafford discovered a dearth of data.
School of Health Professions faculty and students assist in vaccination effort
Faculty and students of the Department of Physician Assistant Studies administered vaccinations during the on-campus COVID-19 vaccination effort that rolled out in mid-December, while Emergency Health Sciences faculty worked to schedule vaccinations set aside for area medical responders.
PT professor researches blood flow restriction training as an RL5 scholar
Department of Physical Therapy Assistant Professor Gustavo Almeida, PT, Ph.D., is exploring how blood flow restriction exercises during rehabilitation can help people with knee osteoarthritis strengthen their muscles with less physical exertion—and less pain. His research recently received a major boost with his selection as an RL5 Scholar by the San Antonio Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (SA OAIC).
PA Studies holds first virtual commencement
When the Department of Physician Assistant Studies held its first virtual commencement via Zoom on Dec. 4, the audience logged in from around the country and the world.
About 200 of Kavita Jaiswal’s friends and family—many of whom live in India—were able to share her special moment.
“I am the first person to graduate in medicine in my family and extended family,” she said. “They are so proud of me.”
Department of Physical Therapy
When it appeared COVID-19 could jeopardize the graduation timeline for the Department of Physical Therapy Class of 2021, students came up with a solution.
“Our Class of 2021 was supposed to go out on clinical rotations in May this year, but obviously that was a time when things were bad and a lot of our clinical rotations were canceled,” said Department Chair and Associate Professor Greg Ernst, Ph.D., ECS.
Speech-language pathology students raise money for ALS
Speech-language pathology student Leslie Lewis loves to be a part of the moments that matter in life, something her future profession will allow her to do regularly.
Respiratory care students have standardized patient encounters
First-semester respiratory care students had the opportunity in November to perform their first examination of a living, breathing patient during standardized patient encounters.
“This is a hands on with a real live person—no mannequins,” said Assistant Professor–Clinical Thomas Stokes, M.A., RRT. “It’s preclinical. This is their first semester in the program. They are in labs and doing didactic learning.”
Occupational therapy professor is appointed to two associate editorships
Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy Ana Allegretti, Ph.D., ATP, OTR, has been appointed as an associate editor for two assistive technology journals.
Speech-language pathology professor’s study continues despite COVID-19
Speech-language pathology Assistant Professor Rocío Norman, Ph.D., never thought she would be donning personal protective gear to conduct a study of mild traumatic brain injury.
Yet despite the challenges, Norman and Tara Flaugher, the UTSA neurobiology doctoral student she is working with on the study, have been able to collect data from human subjects during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Physical Therapy professor’s collaborations yield robust research program
Physical Therapy Assistant Professor Gustavo Almeida, PT, Ph.D., joined the faculty in June 2019. Since that time he has pursued a range of collaborations that he credits for helping him establish a robust research program. “The summer was very productive,” he said.
Two Physical Therapy students receive scholarships from TSAHP
The Texas Society of Allied Health Professions (TSAHP) has awarded scholarships to two students in the Department of Physical Therapy.
Third-year student Peter Trinh and second-year student Kevin Hamilton received the $500 awards because of their outstanding academic achievement and service to the community and profession, said Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs David L. Henzi, Ed.D.
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