While watching the Olympics (love ‘em!) I saw these GE commercials and wanted to share them. (For those of you reading this via email, click HERE to view the videos. Sorry they don’t come through.)

This first commercial is a GREAT reminder of who true heroes really are. It’s something I think of constantly as I get to work with amazing health care professionals AND future health care rockstars. Check it out & don’t forget to honor true heroes:

This second commercial is a nice picture of global health outreach like we do at DMU:

Posted in Current Students, DMU Alumni, Global Health | 3 Comments

Happy Birthday seems to be the most used phrase lately in the PA neck of the woods. Last Monday, November 23, was a very special birthday for one of our PA faculty and once again, we had a good time! Pam Chambers (if you don’t know her…you should because she rocks) turned 50, so of course we had to celebrate.

My class threw together a little surprise party which was a blast. Our cover story was a class potluck that we invited the PA faculty to. The party included more food than imaginable (potluck style, of coarse), birthday cake, ice cream and presents. Each person in my class, plus a few others, brought a gift totalling 50 gifts she had to open. Let’s just say there were some hilarious gifts given and thank goodness Mrs. Chambers was such a trooper. Of course we made her wear anything wearable she got (hence the bright red lips from some smokin’ red lip stick in the picture…don’t worry that’s not her normal color!)

Posted in Current Students, DMU Alumni, Life in Des Moines, Student Bloggers, Student Life | 4 Comments

This is heart-warming, use it for inspiration today: see what this lil 4-year-old Iowa boy wants for Christmas. So now I know you’re wondering how you can do good too… here’s some options:

• Go to LetsSayThanks.com to send a free postcard to the troops overseas!

• Buy tickets for The Nada’s annual Silent Night concert Dec. 4, 8 p.m. The concert raises money & collects toys to donate to Toys for Tots. This year, pre-concert there will also be a silent auction and every dollar goes to Dylan’s Smile.

• Check out Medicine for Mali, a non-profit founded by 2 DMU alums to bring aid to Africa. Every little donation helps ($150 pays for a trimester of tutoring at a village school for 400 kids) as does spreading the word about them.

• Donate toward scholarships or global health work or any of the great things going on here at DMU.

• Give to the Des Moines Area Religious Council food pantry. As a holiday gift, you can give and receive a voucher for your recipient saying a donation has been made in their name in lieu of a physical gift. $25 will provide 5 days of food for a family of 4! If you’re at DMU you can drop cans or boxes of food into the collection boxes on each floor or the shopping carts in each building the first full week of the month.

Posted in Community Service, Current Students, DMU Alumni, DMU Events, DMU News, Des Moines Events, Global Health, Life in Des Moines, Student Life | 2 Comments

Martin Diamond, D.O.’62,  is an example of one of our amazing alums.

Dr. Diamond’s passion for serving the underserved stems from his own experiences growing up as one of the few white Jewish kids in his mostly African-American neighborhood.

He continued as an ardent champion of opportunity for the oppressed and persecuted, in the Army, as a practicing D.O. and in his recent role in founding a D.O. school in Harlem.

He is being recognized by the American Osteopathic Association with a Distinguished Service Certificate at the annual AOA Osteopathic Medical Conference and Exposition in New Orleans.

Read about the medical school in Harlem he helped open from last winter’s alumni magazine.

Posted in DMU Alumni, DMU News, Osteopathic Medicine | Leave a Comment

DMU is playing host to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s annual Wine Opener event Friday, November 6. From 7 to 10 p.m., enjoy food, beer and wine and mingle with friends. This is sure to be a great networking event AND it’ll help raise $$ for a good cause!

You can go to iowa.cff.org/wineopener and buy tickets now (or if you’re not 100% sure you can make it, buy ‘em at the door.) Tickets are $50 ($30 of which is tax-deductible) which gets you some yummy food and drinks from the following vendors:

Posted in DMU Alumni, Des Moines Events, Life in Des Moines | Leave a Comment

National Congress of State Games' female athlete of the year Cindy Hauber of Iowa and male athlete of the year Dave Sutko from Lincoln, NE.

When the Iowa Games began in 1987, Cindy Hauber was poolside, ready to compete in the 200-meter freestyle. Although it was her first swim competition and she had “no idea how swim meets were run,” the ‘05 graduate of DMU’s D.P.T. program won the race.

She went on to compete in the Iowa Games’ swim events every summer, missing just two years – 1991, when her daughter was born, and 2000, when a ruptured cerebral aneurysm sent her to the hospital for several weeks, sapped her strength and cut her weight 20 pounds.

But Hauber was unwilling to let even an exploding blood vessel keep her down. She began swimming again and returned to Iowa Games competition in 2001. For her accomplishments and perseverance, she was named the Iowa Games 2009 Marty McHone Female Athlete of the Year and then the 2009 National Congress of State Games (NCSG) Female Athlete of the Year.

“Cindy’s longevity of competing, her overcoming health problems, citizenship and all her support of fellow athletes made her the perfect selection,” says Jeff Scully, executive director of the Maine Games and chair of the NCSG awards committee.

Posted in DMU Alumni, Physical Therapy | 1 Comment