2007- Taera Stille, P.A.-C, is now working as a Physician Assistant for Iowa Kidney Physicians here in Des Moines.

Kimberly Boylan, P.A.-C, is the new Chief Delegate for the SAAAPA Board of Directors.

2006- Kristyn (Axtman) Schelhaas, D.O., and her husband Greg, are the proud parents of a baby boy. Braedon Ron was born on August 15, 2007, and he joins big sister Hallee Ann, 3.

Carmily Stone, MPH, is Bureau Chief for the Division of Environmental Health Services in the Iowa Department of Public Health. 

2001- Heather (Bosley) Muhonen, M.S.P.T, and her husband Timothy Muhonen, M.D., had a baby girl, Olivia Grace, on August 30, 2007. They live in Farmington, NM, after returning from the Australian Outback.

1999- Scott Alwin, D.P.T., recently received his Masters of Science in Health Service Administration from Regis University in Denver, CO.

1995- Michael Kauzlarich, D.O., was recently promoted to associate professor and clinical clerkship director in the department of family medicine at East Tennessee State University—Quillen College of Medicine in Johnson City, TN. Michael was also recently named chairman of the department of family medicine for Johnson City Medical Center and Mountain States Health Alliance.

1994- David Wright, D.O., was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons in October at the 2007 Annual Clinical Assembly of Osteopathic Specialists in San Francisco, CA. Dr. Wright practices general surgery in Denison, IA.

1993- Robert Beckman, D.O., and his wife, gave birth to their sixth son, James Carroll Beckman on June 24, 2007. This is their 9th child. During his stay at DMU, Dr. Beckman was an OMM Fellow. He has been in a solo pediatric practice for four years, specializing in biomedical treatment of autism and developmental delays.

1989- Marco Coppola, D.O., FACEP, was recently promoted to Colonel, and is commanding the Texas Medical Command of the Texas Army National Guard.  He holds the Surgeon General's "A" Proficiency Designator and received the Order fo Military Medical Merit.  Dr. Coppola is presently chair of the department of emergency medicine at Las Colinas Medical Center in Irving, Texas.  He is secretary, board member, and founding partner of Questcare Partners, a democratic emergency medicine group.  He is also the first ever to be named professor of Emergency Medicine at Texas A&M University Health Science Center College of Medicine.

1987- Amy E. Foxx-Orenstein, D.O., was elected president of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) for the 2007-2008 term. She is the first D.O. to hold this prominent position at the ACG. Dr. Foxx-Orenstein served as chief intern at Oakland General Hospital in Michigan. A member of the ACG Board of Trustees since 2002, Dr. Foxx-Orenstein has served as treasurer and vice president of the College.

After several months of effort, the 2007 Glanton Scholarship Dinner was held on Thursday, October 25, at The Meadows Events Center in Altoona, Iowa. The crowd of 550 people gathered to honor community business leader and philanthropist, Marvin Pomerantz for his support of minority students and education.

The dinner maintained its reputation for being a fun-and fast-moving evening thanks to the entertaining efforts of emcees Courtney Greene and Steve Berry. An impressive new video on the Glanton Scholarship was produced by the Prairie Meadows audio visual department and featured the testimony of two past scholarship winners, Juan Cadenillas and Joseph Kwofie. They each spoke on how the scholarship has made a difference in their lives, their future goals, and they both expressed their appreciation to donors for their generous support. Congratulations to the winners of the 2007 Glanton Scholarship - La'Nesha Clayton, Theresa Duarte, and Tyrone Galbreath.

The fourth annual dinner raised the bar with a record breaking $286,000 raised for the scholarship. Thank you to sponsors, attendees, committee members and staff in helping reach this impressive goal!

The 2007-2008 “Campaign for Academic Excellence” (Des Moines University’s annual fund) has been a great success. DMU just finished its most successful phonathon ever (over $85,000 raised) bringing the total for the year to $202,875.

There are still a few more chances to give if you haven't already done so. A card will be in the mail the week of Thanksgiving, leaving plenty of time to respond before the end of the calendar year. Of course, gifts are welcomed year round.

Thank you for your continuous support. It allows DMU to give its students the best education possible.

Thanksgiving holiday hours:

Wednesday, 11/21: closing at 4:30 pm
Thursday-Saturday, 11/22-24: CLOSED
Sunday, 11/25: reopening at 1:00 pm

Winter Hours:

Monday-Friday: 6 am-11 pm
Saturday: 8 am -6 pm
Sunday: 1 pm-7 pm

In late August, Alana Stamas joined the DMU staff as an Administrative Assistant in the Development and Alumni Relations Office. If you have questions about upcoming events, visits to campus, or submissions for the newsletter, please contact Alana at 515-271-1463 or at Alana.stamas@dmu.edu.

October was National Physical Therapy Month. Specific physical therapy month activities included an on-campus information booth with balance activities on October 16 and 18. On October 17, four DPT faculty and 81 DPT students volunteered to assist with screening approximately 300 students at Fun Fitness, a Special Olympics sponsored event. On October 30, the DPT Club and the Sports Medicine Club co-sponsored an educational presentation addressing the topic of knee pain.

Shane McClinton, D.P.T. and Pat Buchanan, D.P.T. supervised the DPT Class of 2008 as they provided stretching to participants in the Des Moines Marathon, held October 21. DPT students also participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and Step Out to Fight Diabetes.

Kari Smith, DPT, alumnae from the M.S.P.T. program in 1998, and alumnae from the Post-professional DPT Program in 2004, has joined the Post-professional DPT Faculty as a .25 FTE. Kari with retain her position as director of the physical therapy department in the Des Moines University Clinic. Kari will be teaching clinical medicine.

Teri Stumbo, M.S.P.T., was named associate dean for the College of Health Sciences. Teri will continue to serve as director of the Post-professional Doctor of Physical Therapy program at DMU.

Ann York, Ph.D., presented a two-hour educational presentation entitled, "The New Evidence Based Practice Survival Guide" at the IPTA State meeting in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on October 17.

Ann Dornidon and Jackie Jensen, DPT ’08 students, will be presenting a platform presentation entitled, "A pilot study to demonstrate inter-rater reliability of students using a standardized tool to appraise the quality of clinical research articles."

Teri Stumbo, Alecia Thiele, and Ann York had their article “Generic Abilities as Rank Orderered by Baby Boomer and Generation X Physical Therapists” published in the Journal of Physical Therapy Education, Fall 2007.

First Appearing in the Inbox of the Fall 2006 DMU Magazine, the poem, originally entitled, "A Physician’s Plea," was written by Irwin J. Kurtzack, D.O., ’55 over 51 years ago while he was interning in Detroit at the Art Centre Hospital. The Poem, now entitled, "A Healer’s Plea," to apply to any healthcare provider, was re-titled with the author’s permission and is re-stylized and presented as an 18x24 poster with the DMU logo.

To order a copy of this memorable poem suitable for framing and displaying in your office or home, go to http://www.imakenews.com/eletra/gow.cfm?z=dmu%2C217933%2Cb7q6rp34%2C1876798%2Cb11 .  Please allow up to two weeks for shipping. Cost $12.50, make checks payable to PA Club. Mail to PA Club c/o PA Program, Des Moines University, 3440 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312.  All proceeds benefit the PA Club, Class of 2009.

Class of 2000 graduate John Pham, D.O., received this year’s AOA Mentor of the year award at the Annual Conference. Dr. Pham has been a finalist for three years since inception of the award. He has also been inducted into the Mentor Hall of Fame for three years. Recently, Dr. Pham was appointed associate medical director for FamilyCare Inc., the oldest Medicaid in Oregon, which started over 20 years ago.

Alison Clarey, D.O., of Dayton, Ohio, graduated in 1972 from the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery, (now called Des Moines University) in Des Moines, Iowa. She completed an internship and a general surgery residency in 1977 at the Grandview Hospital in Dayton, OH. Dr. Clarey was AOA board certified in general surgery in 1982, and the only female osteopathic physician to receive certification that year.

Are you currently a COM Alumni Ambassador for the University? If so, DMU has enhanced the program and is providing you an opportunity to update your information online. Go to www.dmu.edu/alumni/mentors/and edit or update your information.  If you are not an ambassador, and would like to serve as a mentor for DMU students, you may also register to participate by clicking this link.  Once your information is submitted, DMU will have it readily accesible for students via the student portal, by state and specialty.  All the student will have to do is click on a state, and depending on your proximity, they will potentially contact you via email.  The goal is to make it easier and seamless to both you and the student electronically.  We appreciate your involvement and willingness to participate in the program.  For more information, contact Dana Shaffer, D.O., at dana.shaffer@dmu.edu.

Roy Lidtke, D.P.M., received the Outstanding Scientific Poster Award for his poster, “Topical Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Growth Factor Reduces Wound Healing Time in Mice.”

Joshua Moore, third-year podiatric medical student, received the Outstanding Student Scientific Poster Award for his poster, “A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Cross-Over Study to Determine the Effects of Topical Ketamine on Lower Extremity Painful Diabetic Neuropathy.” His co-researchers included Jim Mahoney, D.P.M., and students Kyle Haffner, Kevin McCann, and Matthew Peterson.

The College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery celebrated 25 years by hosting several events in October in conjunction with the Iowa Podiatric Medical Society's annual convention. The CPMS alumni council hosted alumni, faculty and staff a reception at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa on Thursday, October 11. On Friday, October 12, CPMS hosted a reception and tours at DMU for over 100 people. And, finally, on Saturday, October 13, almost 50 students, faculty, staff and alumni enjoyed an afternoon golfing at Waveland Golf Course.

Thank you to all of those who attended and celebrated 25 years of CPMS. It is a milestone to be proud of!

Scot Freschi, D.P.M., was elected to the Iowa Podiatric Medical Society’s Board of Directors.  Dr. Scot Freschi’s article, “Osteoid Osteoma” was published in the September/October issue of the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association.  Nic Dodson, a 2007 graduate of CPMS co-authored the article.

Dean of CPMS, Robert Yoho, D.P.M., M.S., was reappointed Chair of the Accreditation Committee at the October meeting of the Council of Podiatric Medical Education.

Collin Pehde, D.P.M., attended the Diabetic Limb Salvage conference that includes presenters and participants from a broad range of medical specialists dedicated to limb salvage.  Dr. Pehde and John Bennett, D.P.M., recently established the DMU Limb Preservation Center as part of the DMU Foot and Ankle Institute.

A group of faculty and students from DMU recently earned first place for an outstanding poster abstract at the American Podiatric Medical Association’s (APMA) National Scientific Conference in Philadelphia. The poster was authored by Dr. Robert Yoho, Dean of CPMS, Simon Geletta, Ph. D., a faculty member in the public health program, and recent graduates: Nic Dodson, D.P.M., Wendy Nethery, D.P.M., and Marie Keplinger, D.P.M., and two current students, Adam Johnson and Robert Greenhagan.

The Iowa Juvenile Home in Toledo, Iowa is looking for a full time psychologist. For a description of the job and to apply on-line, go to: http://das.hre.iowa.gov/state_jobs.html This position closes December 4, 2007.

Candidates must have a degree from an accredited program of Physical Therapy and hold a valid and current Physical Therapy license to practice as a registered Physical Therapist. Excellent communication skills and the ability to build a therapy program are also desired attributes.

To apply or find out more about all the opportunities available at Terre Haute Regional Hospital, go to www.regionalhospital.com or submit your resume to Jennifer.smith@hcahealthcare.com.

If you are looking for an opportunity to use your clinical expertise to help others, this associate medical director position may be for you. In this position, you will work collaboratively with multiple teams of highly-skilled professionals, clinical staff and others to provide expertise and guidance on complex care management cases. You will also partner with care coordination leadership to enhance work processes for the purpose of managing benefit costs while providing the most appropriate quality of care to members.

To learn more about this career opportunity with Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield go to www.wellmark.jobs and refer to position #205915. Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield offers a competitive total rewards package.