Alumni of the Year and Rising Star Award honorees are selected by the Des Moines University Alumni Association Board of Directors and university leadership. Award recipients must be:
- in good standing as members of their respective professional state or national organization and the DMU Alumni Association;
- demonstrate excellent service to DMU, its students and their profession; and
- demonstrate a record of service to their community on a local, state and/or national level.
View past award recipients below, or learn more about our most recent alumni award honorees.
2025 College of Health Sciences Alumni of the Year
Carla Stebbins, MHA’93, PhD
Carla Stebbins, MHA’93, PhD, is this year’s College of Health Sciences Alumna of the Year. Her path to health care management began unexpectedly. After earning her undergraduate degree in business and marketing at the University of Northern Iowa, Stebbins managed retail stores across the Midwest. While managing a store in downtown Des Moines, she lived across the street from Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences when it was located at 3200 Grand Ave. (then the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences). Her curiosity about the “osteopathic” building turned into her future. She started dating a DMU student who encouraged her to consider a career in health care administration. Stebbins took the leap and enrolled in the Master of Health Care Administration program and found herself an integral part of the program’s evolution.
“I am the oldest of four children, so, you know, I’ve managed my brothers my whole life,” Stebbins says. “I took those management skills into my professional career while working as a store manager for a women’s clothing store called Seifert’s and thought, ‘Why not try out health care management?’ I was already reaching the end of my growth in retail, so the timing was perfect.” Stebbins visited campus and met the director of the MHA program at the time, Mary Pat E. Wohlford, MHA’90, MS, PhD. The two hit it off.
“My very first class, I remember it fondly, was an overview of the U.S. health care system and we had two thick textbooks. I had to read them with a dictionary,” Stebbins says. “I remember thinking, ‘What am I doing here?’ but I had a great group of friends to help me spell out all the acronyms and stuck it out.”
With a marketing background, Stebbins had little prior experience in health care, unlike her peers, but knew the importance of one shared value — customer service or, in this case, patient service. Wohlford helped Stebbins connect the skills she already possessed to finding the essence of health care, keeping patients at its core. Stebbins’ business background and these transferable skills caught Wolford’s eye, so she suggested Stebbins work part time to support the program and gain health care experience. Stebbins said yes and started work in the admissions office, helping recruit for the MHA program. She also served as an academic secretary in the physician assistant program.
Her part-time position in the MHA program turned into a full-time staff position in 1992 when she began coordinating marketing and enrollment efforts. Stebbins graduated in 1993 and worked in that role until she was offered a faculty position in 1999. She became the MHA program director in 2004. When Stebbins took over, online education was an emerging concept. Stebbins knew it was an opportunity DMU should take advantage of. Together, Stebbins and the new director of the public health program at the time launched an online MHA program. It exploded.
“Iowa is so rural, and we were thinking about all the individuals who couldn’t attend in-person classes, so we knew we had to offer them something more accessible,” Stebbins says. “The program grew and offered a lot of opportunity to MHA students based anywhere in the U.S. We quickly were able to add more faculty and build the program to the point where we could explore accreditation.”
Stebbins presented the idea of accreditation to the advisory board and put plans in motion.
“The board said yes,” Stebbins says. “But they told us we didn’t have to hurry. For us, it was all in or nothing, so we put together a plan and got to work. It was a long process, but in the end, I really came to respect the accreditation process and the creative process of making our program what we wanted it to be.” In 2015, under her leadership, the MHA program achieved accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education.
After 22 years at DMU, Stebbins joined the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2016 as director of the health systems administration graduate program, the sole full-time employee. Despite starting from scratch, she led the program through the accreditation process, a challenging task made even more challenging by the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve been teaching online since 1999, so the remote work was something I was already pretty comfortable with,” Stebbins says. “But I was the only one doing the work, and it took me about six months to figure out what I was managing, build the faculty and then take on another accreditation process.” “
I didn’t think health care administration was something I would do in my life, but I am so glad I took the risk that truly launched my career,” Stebbins says. “Most people I interact with think about doctors and nurses when you talk about health care but don’t think about the administrative side of things. Our jobs are important to the foundation of any organization. We remove barriers, create resources and create processes that support improvement. That’s what health care administrators do.”
In 2023, she became the MHA program director at Texas Women’s University. The opportunity arose when a friend, who was aware that Stebbins had completed two accreditation processes, reached out after a site visit to the university’s MHA program and knew they needed her help. After achieving CAHME accreditation at DMU, Stebbins applied to be a fellow for the accreditation organization and conducted site visits throughout the next chapter of her career. Her expertise as a site visitor and a director who had gone through the process set her up for success in her third accreditation process. This year, Texas Women’s will receive its site visit to find out if it will become a CAHME-accredited program.
Most recently, in summer 2025, Stebbins stepped into the same leadership role at Texas A&M University’s School of Public Health.
Throughout her career — from retail manager to faculty leader— Stebbins credits her education for shaping her life. She is driven by a passion to empower her students in the same way. “I went from running a women’s clothing store, knowing nothing about health care but enjoying managing people, to helping achieve accreditation for the program I went through and helping shape others,” Stebbins says. “Enrolling in the MHA program at DMU changed my DNA forever. I wouldn’t be where I am today had I not followed my curiosities and approached the building glowing across the street from my apartment.”
2025 College of Osteopathic Medicine Alumni of the Year
Gary Stuck, DO’83, FAAFP
Gary Stuck, DO’83, FAAFP, a board-certified family physician, has been named the 2025 College of Osteopathic Medicine Alumnus of the Year. He most recently served as chief medical officer for Advocate Health and chief executive officer of Advocate Physician Partners, a 4,500-physician network in Illinois, from 2018 until his retirement in 2024. Before that, he was a family medicine physician in suburban Chicago for over three decades. He earned his undergraduate degrees in biology and psychology from Morningside College. Inspired by his parents’ emphasis on education, he knew from a young age he wanted to be a primary care physician. He was drawn to Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences (then the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences) because of its focus on primary care and compassionate faculty.
From the age of 5, Stuck knew he wanted to be a primary care physician. Stuck isn’t entirely sure where the inspiration came from, but he jokes that his parents whispered into his bassinet that they wanted their son to become a doctor. Throughout his high school and college years, he never wavered from the path of becoming a family physician.
“In kindergarten, I drew a picture of myself with a stethoscope around my neck in front of a big ship because I wanted to go on mission trips to save the world,” Stuck says. “I knew early on that I wanted to help people. I never lost sight of that.”
Born on the West Coast, Stuck lived in Los Angeles until age 13, when his family moved to Sioux City, Iowa. His parents, both first-generation college graduates, strongly valued education. His father, a clergyman with a counseling practice, and his mother, a home economics teacher, instilled in him a deep commitment to learning — something he credits as key to his path to medicine.
Stuck earned degrees in biology and physiology from Morningside College. While in school, he worked a range of hospital jobs, from patient care assistant to autopsy assistant (where he fainted on his first day but never again after that). Stuck was eager to learn and absorb knowledge from every experience. Shadowing solo practitioners and primary care doctors introduced him to osteopathic medicine.
“When it came time to apply to medical school, I knew I wanted to pursue osteopathic medicine because of the physicians I had worked with,” Stuck says. “They were generous, compassionate and always took the time to teach and connect.” He admired how these physicians treated patients with respect, patience and humanity, never rushing, but truly seeing and listening to each person.
Before his interview at Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences, Stuck was missing a key item — a suit. A physician he had shadowed, excited about his opportunity at DMU, stepped in and took him to his tailor to buy his first one. But that wasn’t the only challenge. Stuck couldn’t afford a hotel for his three interviews. Instead, he camped just outside Des Moines, freshening up and changing into his suit in a public restroom before heading to each interview. “It’s hard to talk about now, but I’ll never forget it,” he says. “I didn’t have the financial means, but I was determined to become a physician. I believed everything else would fall into place.”
Choosing DMU was easy for Stuck. He was drawn to its people and focus on primary care. Still, the first year was tough. “I was overwhelmed and afraid of failing,” he says. “I even called my dad one night, asking him to pick me up and take me home. But my professors gave me courage to keep going. They reminded me I didn’t have to be perfect. They believed in me.” Another constant source of strength was his wife, Pam, whom he met at Morningside. They married in 1981 during his second year at DMU. A nurse, Pam supported him through his internship in Milwaukee and residency at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago. Now, after 44 years of marriage, they are still each other’s biggest supporters, and they enjoy retirement, family and adventures together.
“We didn’t really intend on staying in Chicago, but I met physicians who just blew me away with their patient care skills, virtues and values,” Stuck says. “They did everything — rounded at the hospital, made house calls, took care of hospice patients in their homes — they cared about taking care of their patients. And that’s what I wanted to be. So, I joined them.” After completing his residency at Rush, Stuck and Pam planted their roots in Chicago, excited to be closer to family and a larger metro with more health care training and education opportunities. The physicians he met were part of Advocate Health Care.
Stuck joined Lawn Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois, and within five years became president of the group. Despite the long hours, weekend shifts and time away from family, he loved the work. He was living his childhood dream of caring for patients.
“The trust patients place in me was the greatest privilege,” Stuck says. “Leadership was an honor, but nothing compares to that.” Over his 32-year career in primary care, Stuck cared for patients from birth to death — even treating the children and grandchildren of former patients. “Caring for multiple generations helped me understand family dynamics and become a better physician,” he says. “Even if it wasn’t financially efficient, I valued spending time with patients. It was a privilege to guide them through their hardest moments.”
Fascinated by health care systems, particularly value-based care and insurance models, Stuck found himself investing more time outside of the exam room and into leadership roles.
He held onto that connection throughout his entire career. He became one of the founding members of the Advocate Physician Partners Board of Directors, where he served as chair for 13 years. He was also the president of Advocate Christ Medical Center’s physician-hospital organization for 22 years and a member of its governing council for over two decades. In 2018, Stuck became the chief medical officer of Advocate Health, supporting what is now the third-largest nonprofit health system in the nation.
“I had to pivot from feeling responsible for 2,000 patients to over six million,” Stuck says. “And during a time when the world was just recovering from a global pandemic. I didn’t take the usual path to this position, but I was really driven to improve health outcomes, access and help patients navigate the complexities of health care systems.”
Through corporate mergers and pandemic challenges, Stuck stayed focused on patient safety and quality patient care improvement. He helped lead the implementation of high-reliability training across the system and saw measurable improvements in care delivery and safety metrics year after year. While the challenges and scale of his work grew, Stuck’s mission remained personal.
“The focus of my work has always been on the patient,” Stuck says. “The very best part of my career has been the special bonds and trust I had with my patients. DMU laid that foundation, and I know students today are trained this way, but there are so many external forces that are shaping health care. I really hope we don’t lose those special bonds in health care.”
After retiring, Stuck reflected on his three-decade career and knew he wanted to give back to the institution that helped make his dreams come true. While working on financial plans, Gary and Pam felt inspired to pay it forward. They created an endowed scholarship fund to support a DMU College of Osteopathic Medicine student with financial need. For the Stucks, this is just one way to make a lasting impact and open doors for future physicians — all while honoring the help Gary once received — and ensure others have the same opportunity to succeed.
“When it came time for college and medical school, I had been working to save for tuition. I was lucky to have received scholarships and didn’t realize it at the time, but someone was supporting me when I needed it most,” Stuck says. “I want to be that person for students today. Pam and I are excited to give back to DMU in this way so another student who has dreamt from age 5 of being a doctor receives the chance to do so.”
2025 College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Alumni of the Year
Shari Nichols, DPM’95, FACFAS
Shari Nichols, DPM’95, FACFAS, a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon with United Health Services Podiatry in Vestal, New York, is this year’s College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Alumna of the Year. Her path to becoming a leader in podiatric medicine began in upstate New York, where she earned a degree in biology at Cortland State University. She discovered podiatry at a career fair in her second year and set her goals. Out of only seven podiatry schools in the nation at the time, she chose Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences (then the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences) for its smaller campus and holistic environment.
Nichols began college as a physical education major, initially aiming to become an athletic trainer. Realizing it would likely lead to a teaching career, which she didn’t want, she switched to biology her second year. At a career fair, she learned about podiatry. “After researching the field on my own, I was drawn to the hands-on, specialized nature of podiatry and decided to pursue it,” Nichols says. That pivotal year also brought a personal turning point — Nichols met her future husband, Abe. Both were biology majors, and Nichols was recruiting students for a 10-day lab trip. They began dating before the trip and remained connected, even through schooling and residencies.
Nichols explored several podiatric schools, many in large metropolitan areas, but never felt at home. That changed when she arrived in Des Moines. Her small-town roots made the city’s quieter pace, green spaces and close-knit campus community appealing.
“Des Moines felt familiar,” Nichols says. “It felt like home.” Nichols credits much of her success at DMU to mentors Robert Yoho, DPM, MS, FACFAS, then-future dean (now retired) of the College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery, and Vincent Mandracchia, MS’94, DPM, a former clinical professor and current executive vice president and chief medical officer at Broadlawns Medical Center. “Dr. Yoho had a calm presence but pushed us to give our best each day,” she says. “Dr. Mandracchia took our class under his wing. He taught us how to stand out. Not just clinically, but in the little things that show patients we care.”
Those lessons, the attention to detail and compassion, remain central to Nichols’ practice and are values she now passes on to her residents.
Nichols also credits Joy Schiller, then-director of DMU’s Wellness Center, and the wellness facilities for creating a space where all students from all programs could come together with a shared purpose — to exercise and prioritize their well-being.
“Working out was crucial for me during school. It helped me balance the intense academics and maintain my sanity,” Nichols says. She trained in the gym and taught aerobics and step aerobics alongside Schiller for several years. Exercise remained a constant in Nichols’ life beyond her time at DMU, later becoming an important outlet when she and Abe discovered a shared passion for running.
After graduating, Nichols completed her residency at Yale-New Haven and was part of the second class to join as part of the primary Podiatric Medicine Residency, a three-year residency program newly added to the one- or two-residency paths at the time. When she became a first-year surgical resident, the program merged with Yale University. “I was part of transitioning the program from the Veterans Affair to Yale,” Nichols says. “I worked with the doctors that were part of the limb salvage team and helped out in the operating room.”
Engaged at the time, Nichols was eager to begin her life and career after residency. She married and returned to upstate New York, where her husband, a chiropractor, grew up. She started in private practice with James E. McNerney, D.P.M., before partnering with Joan C. Adler, D.P.M., then the sole podiatrist at UHS. Together, they helped establish what would grow into a thriving podiatry program.
“I pulled a lot of on-call shifts and early mornings and even learned some nursing skills. Whatever it took, I did,” Nichols says. She remained in that role for 10 years before expanding her work to include wound care. When the Wound Care Center launched at UHS in 2010, Nichols was one of its founding podiatrists. She continues to see patients there.
During this time, Nichols stayed committed to training future podiatrists. She has served numerous roles at UHS since 1998, including associate director, chair of the podiatry department, residency director and wound care director. “I still practice privately and do surgeries, just not as often as I used to,” Nichols says. “My focus has shifted to guiding the next generation of podiatrists. I’m very proud of my residents and the residency program we have here at UHS. It brings me so much joy fostering those relationships and passing along my knowledge to the residents who then put it in their practice.”
Although her residents come from all over the country, Nichols sees many DMU residents enter her doors. Unbiasedly (of course), Nichols believes the residents from DMU are well prepared for the next step of their careers, far more prepared than students from other schools. “And I can say that as the director of the program and a DMU alumna,” Nichols says.
When a resident arrives, Nichols’ job is to take the base of where the student is and build on it. Many aspects of the job cannot be taught completely in the classroom and need to be taught hands-on in the room. Residents observe and participate when appropriate to fine-tune their skills. Nichols supports them through each challenge and pushes them to take on the next. Throughout their time with her, Nichols makes sure they don’t forget that the most important thing is to listen to the patient and ensure they are comfortable and cared for.
“I like taking care of people,” Nichols says. “I’m invested. I care for my patients and my residents. It was hard for me when I started my career because of the sleepless nights and worry I was doing the best for patient care. But through it all, I’ve always stayed true to how I can make this patient’s quality of life better. It’s one of the greatest parts of my profession; podiatry is the only area of medicine where you get to do everything and anything on one area of the foot or one area of the body.”
Taking care of herself is how she fueled taking care of others. Before having kids, Nichols found enjoyment outside of work in golfing. Once she had children, she shifted her focus to building her practice. When her son, Zachary, now 22, and her daughter, Mariah, now 20, got a little bit older, Nichols and her husband started running. It didn’t take long before Abe started running marathons, and after watching him in a few races, Nichols decided she wanted to run marathons, too. The couple did a lot of racing together and cheered each other on in larger marathons they qualified for, including the Boston Marathon. “It’s how we stayed connected all those years of working full time, raising our children, growing our practices and just living life,” Nichols says. “We loved it.”
The couple ran their last race, a half marathon in Syracuse, together in 2019. Abe was diagnosed with a brain tumor and passed away in November 2020. Although she hasn’t run a race since, Nichols still runs for her enjoyment. Her kids keep her going. Zachary is graduating from Niagra University this year and plans to go to chiropractor school, taking after his dad. Mariah runs track at the University of Hartford, sharing a love for running with her parents.
Nichols was in the middle of resident interviews when her phone showed an incoming call from an Iowa number. The call was from Angela L. Walker Franklin, Ph.D., president and CEO of DMU, congratulating her on being named the CPMS Alumna of the Year. “I was in work mode when I took the call, so the initial shock didn’t really happen until I shared the news with the residents after the call,” Nichols says. “Thinking about everything I’ve done in my career and knowing it started at DMU, seeing it come full circle with the students who come through on rotations or the residents, it’s all excellent. I’m proud and I’m humbled.”
2025 Rising Star Award
Major Joshua Dilday, DO’15
Major Joshua Dilday, DO’15, an adjunct assistant professor in trauma and critical care in the surgery department at the Medical College of Wisconsin and a major in the United States Army, is the 2025 Rising Star Award Honoree. His journey to becoming a trauma surgeon and military medical leader is driven by both a sense of service and a personal calling.
From a young age, Dilday says it was assumed he would pursue a medical career because of his interest in the subject and exposure to various medical specialties through his family’s experiences. He received his undergraduate degree in exercise science at Truman State University in northeast Missouri, the birthplace of osteopathic medicine. Osteopathic medicine had been ingrained in him throughout his undergraduate years.
After graduating, Dilday joined the military, where he says his drive for medicine was truly pushed. “I wanted to give back to my community; at that time, it was the military community,” Dilday says. “Being able to take care of soldiers in and out of the battlefront, taking care of heroes that helped protect our freedom, was what drove me to medicine itself.”
After two years of active duty, Dilday knew it was time to take his service to the next level. He began applying to medical schools and knew there were two schools leading the way in osteopathic education — one being Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences. After interviewing, it was clear to him that this would be where he would spend his next four years.
“When I went to the interview, I realized there was a military lineage of deans and former deans and a whole lot of students who had gone on to have illustrious military, specifically military surgery, careers. That pretty much sold it for me,” he says. Dilday was excited about the on-campus simulation center for surgery and the procedural aspects being taught. He knew this was a campus and a program designed to further develop each student’s career choices.
Dilday was blown away by how collegial students were at DMU. Military students and non-military students, enrolled in different programs, studied together, played ultimate frisbee together, supported each other through the hard times and celebrated their wins together. “Everyone thinks they are prepared for medical school, but no one is ever actually prepared for it. We use the term ‘drinking from a fire hose,’” Dilday says. “But drinking from a fire hose with the type of community we had at DMU allowed our bonding experience to be even stronger,” Dilday says.
With his military experience, he helped establish a program at DMU that prepared and supported future military students for their service and as health care professionals.
“Myself and a couple of other students already had military experience before we matriculated into medical school. When we got to campus, we realized there was a big need to fill the gap on what it takes to be a military officer and what it takes to be a medical provider,” Dilday says, who at the time was the national president of the Student Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons. With now-retired Timothy Steele, PhD, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, as the adviser, an elective was established for military students that taught the basic principles of military officership and incorporated three service branches — the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy. By the time students graduated after four years, they had a medical background and were primed to matriculate into the role of an officer.
The program has continued since its inception in 2013. Last year, it evolved to include a mentorship program, where DMU military alumni mentor a current student looking toward a career in active service. In addition to their on-campus education, students are provided opportunities to learn from current military physicians. They can look to these individuals for specific questions about the service they want to enter that a non-military background faculty member may not be able to address. “There is a need for mentorship, especially in the military medical model, because our heroes and legends aren’t going to be active forever,” Dilday says. “We need to make sure that part of our duty to propagate the future is making sure we are training leaders as early as possible. DMU can stand out because of the mentoring model we have created that connects students with alumni early in their careers.”
With early experience in surgery at DMU, Dilday went on to complete two fellowships. He completed trauma and surgical critical care fellowship training at the University of Southern California and additional fellowship training in hospital quality improvement at Los Angeles County Medical Center. While Dilday learned to master his skills in acute care surgery, his time in LA was also developmental as military officer. A number of military fellows had walked the halls before him and alongside him, teaching and learning surgery through the lens of military trauma. It was also here Dilday found an interest in more than just surgery, but a passion for quality improvement for patient care.
Parlaying these two passions into one, Dilday leans on his fellowship and military experiences to provide the best care for patients on their worst days. “My military background taught me a multifaceted leadership approach in recognizing there are obstacles. But every obstacle is a way for improvement moving forward,” Dilday says. “It’s the same when we’re faced with patient care options or an administrative issue in the medical world. My trainings have helped me see there is always an answer to move forward. It may not be the most obvious, and there will be difficult obstacles to overcome, but as a soldier and a surgeon, we have to find the unique or innovative way to get through it.” He also shares that through his training, the next most important thing is to view the entire body as one unit — mind, body and soul — when a person is experiencing trauma, it can and will impact more than just the part of their body in pain. Dilday says this is what osteopathy is all about.
Today, Dilday is an active-duty trauma surgeon stationed at the Medical College of Wisconsin and part of a partnership with the Office of the Army Surgeon General in the Army Military Civilian Trauma Team Training program, a unique model that involves collaboration between military and civilian health care facilities to enhance trauma care.
In addition to being a surgeon, Dilday offers guidance and mentorship to medical students and fellows who find themselves at the institution. “I’m here to continue training myself, but also to give back to medical students in the field who are training to be part of the AMTC3 model, which is designed to maintain a medically ready force,” Dilday says. “We strive to keep that maintenance of readiness or deployability because we need to be able to fill whatever needs to be filled at any moment.”
What keeps him going is simple: family and faith. The two drive him to face difficult days and make it easier to come out the other side. “This job is hard. Any medical job is hard, and it has the ability to take away all of your own agency to give to others in an altruistic mindset,” Dilday says. “I have the title of trauma surgeon and military officer, but I also have an identity as a father, a husband, and those things are never going to change. They continue to drive my why.”
2024 College of Health Sciences Alumnus of the Year
Stephen DeVries, MSPAS’12, PA-C
Stephen DeVries, MSPAS’12, PA-C, is the College of Health Sciences 2024 Alumnus of the Year. He is a cardiothoracic surgery physician assistant and clinical organ recovery lead at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He is also an instructor of thoracic organ recovery for Vanderbilt’s cardiothoracic surgery fellowship program. He began saving lives as a firefighter/paramedic before earning his physician assistant studies degree at DMU. He is the second PA in the United States to become nationally credentialed to independently procure donated hearts and lungs for transplantation. In December 2019, DeVries was part of a team at the University of Wisconsin that was the third in the United States to recover a heart after donation after cardiac death using normothermic machine reperfusion. In May 2024, he was part of a team with Vanderbilt that was the first in North America to recover a DCD heart directly to a novel cold organ perfusion device. His dedication and determination are helping drive innovation in the field to save more lives.
DeVries began saving lives as a firefighter/paramedic before he earned his physician assistant studies degree. Since then, he’s taken that endeavor to far greater heights and is helping drive innovation in the field.
Before joining Vanderbilt in 2022, he was in a similar role at the University of Wisconsin Health in Madison. Here, he helped build a DCD heart transplant program to use hearts with the then-new normothermic machine reperfusion device. In DCD donation, donors have sustained severe brain injury with no chance of survival without artificial support, but they do no meet the criteria for brain death. Previously, only hearts from brain dead donors were able to be recovered for transplant.
In December 2019, DeVries was part of the UW Health team, just third in the U.S., after Duke University Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, to successfully transplant an adult heart from a DCD patient.
“Since then, the field has exploded as far as the science and development of other devices,” he says. “It broke a glass ceiling in a field that had been stagnant for four decades, where we had been recovering hearts and lungs and putting them in ice coolers for transport. That restricted us as far as distance we could travel, the time we had and the organs our recipients had access to.”
DeVries has traveled to 44 states, Puerto Rico and Canada to recover donated hearts, including a trip to Alaska that took seven and a half hours each way. That heart had a total ischemic time of 10 hours, 22 minutes.
“Prior to all this new science and technology, you really had to stay under four hours for a heart stored in a cooler. Anything beyond four hours we would rarely consider for transplant,” he says. “Now we’ve repeatedly gone seven, eight and more than 10 hours with good outcomes.”
DeVries is an instructor for Vanderbilt’s cardiothoracic surgery fellowship. He regularly talks with visitors from around the world who want to begin, expand or improve their heart transplantation program. In a field that’s advancing so quickly, PAs can provide essential personnel and expertise.
“With the way this field continues to rapidly evolve, you need someone who’s very focused and dedicated to the work. Also, cardiac surgeons have so much going on with the demands of their practices that it’s hard for the faculty to dedicate a lot of time to this very subspecialized part of transplantation,” DeVries says. “Our goal is to show a PA organ recovery model is successful, reproducible and a major benefit to transplant programs in a very unique way. My hope is this will open doors for PAs all over the country to have a similar opportunity.”
It’s one he prizes. “It’s kind of surreal when I step back and think about the impact this work has on so many people, not just the patients but also their families and the donors’ families,” DeVries says. “Because of this technology, we’re recovering more organs and maximizing the gifts of the donors in ways we couldn’t before. In addition, patients waiting for a life-saving transplant are now gaining access to additional donor organs they never previously had access to, which, is decreasing average wait times and waitlist mortality. I’m very grateful to have a small part in that.”
DeVries, who began his medical practice in emergency medicine, is also grateful for his DMU education. “One of the things that makes PAs unique is the ability to transition between specialties, and DMU has a very well-rounded curriculum. That laid the foundation for where I am today,” he says.
2024 College of Osteopathic Medicine Alumni of the Year
Thomas Benzoni, DO'83, AOBEM, FACEP, ABFM, and Noreen O'Shea, DO'84, FAAFP
Thomas Benzoni, DO'83, AOBEM, FACEP, ABFM, and Noreen O'Shea, DO'84, FAAFP, have taught and inspired thousands of aspiring health care professionals. Experts in emergency and family medicine, respectively, they both recently retired as DMU faculty members. The couple has been named the College of Osteopathic Medicine 2024 Alumni of the Year.
Benzoni, a board-certified emergency medicine physician practicing at UnityPoint Health in Central Iowa, and O'Shea, a board-certified family physician and the medical director for the Clive Community Services Free Clinic in Clive, Iowa, have a long history of helping establish medical services in areas that did not previously have them.Their combined list of credentials is impressive. She was president of the Iowa Academy of Family Physicians and a member of the Iowa Osteopathic Medical Association Board of Trustees and is currently serving on the Iowa Medical Society Board of Directors. He is a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians, a founding member of the Iowa Disaster Medical Assistance Team, a holder of multiple certifications with the Iowa Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue, and an active physician in the American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline, among many other entities. He also served on the Iowa Medical Society Board of Directors and is currently secretary-treasurer of the Polk County, Iowa, Medical Society. Benzoni and O'Shea continue to amplify their impact on patients and their families by expanding access to care in communities and teaching and increasing educational opportunities for aspiring health professionals.
Every physician's care creates a ripple effect, impacting patients, families and entire communities. Benzoni and O'Shea, who are married, have amplified their impact by expanding access to care in rural communities and enhancing educational opportunities for aspiring health care professionals. They also have a beautiful story of how they fell in love with each other and with medicine and found that their values of integrity and compassion were in perfect alignment.
As recent DMU faculty retirees, they first met as undergraduates at Creighton University. Benzoni, a medical technology major, and O'Shea, a pre-medicine and theology major, were both encouraged to pursue medical careers by mentors and professors. After marrying and Benzoni enrolling at DMU, O'Shea worked as a phlebotomist at Iowa Methodist Medical Center. She often attended his classes to build her confidence for medical school.
"On my days off, I'd sit in on classes with Tom, and when he was studying, I'd listen in," O'Shea says. "That made me more confident about my ability to do the academic work." She applied to DMU and was accepted the following year after her husband began his studies.
Their dedication to osteopathic principles was influenced by DMU giants like Bernard TePoorten, DO, FAAO, and Gordon Zink, DO, FAAO, DScHon., who demonstrated the integration of osteopathic manipulative medicine into holistic patient care. "In osteopathic medicine, you can do things with your brain and your hands and not be totally reliant on an x-ray machine or a lab test," O'Shea says.
O'Shea's initiative to host prospective DMU students during their interviews created lasting connections and a welcoming environment. "I worked with DMU's dean of admissions to recruit current students that would offer to open their apartments up to prospective students who were being interviewed at DMU," O'Shea says. "That way, if they were admitted, they already were connected to a student here." This program's success reflected the couple's commitment to mentorship and their dedication to nurturing the next generation of medical professionals.
Completing their residencies at Creighton, O'Shea specialized in family medicine, and continues to practice at Clive Community Services Free Clinic, where she also serves as the medical director. Benzoni found his passion in emergency medicine. He continues to practice at UnityPoint Health in Central Iowa.
"Emergency medicine is where you bring a living body and have it cared for with reasonable graciousness and reasonable dignity until another living body comes to claim it or it can take care of itself," he says. "Race, color, creed, financial - none of those matter."
Their commitment to underserved communities led them to Breathitt County, Kentucky, one of the nation's poorest counties. They transformed health care access by establishing a hospital and recruiting doctors, working with community health nurses and hosting DMU students for rotations.
"We had a little house with a dryer in the basement. When people found out who we were, they'd bring over their kids when they had lacerations. We'd sew them up on the lid of that dryer," Benzoni says. "There were no veterinary services, so occasionally I'd have to be the veterinarian too."
The ripple effect of Benzoni and O'Shea moving to Breathitt County extended beyond helping people with their medical needs. Their work had a transformative impact on the community's youth, with more young people prioritizing their education.
"When we arrived, many of the young people would not go beyond high school, and some would quit halfway through to get whatever jobs they could," O'Shea says. "When the hospital was started, people started to move back to get jobs as nurses and so on. When we went back in 2017, that was the first year every kid graduated and went on to something beyond high school."
When the couple relocated to Sioux City, Iowa, they hosted Ugandan medical students for rural health rotations. When they joined the DMU faculty in 2014, they revived spring break rural health experiences in Breathitt County for DMU students.
While in Sioux City, Benzoni became involved in setting up the State Trauma system, drawing on models from across the country, basing it on the American College of Surgeons' Committee On Trauma model. He directed air medical operations and rural emergency medical services squads and remains one of the longest-serving Advanced Trauma Life Support instructors in Iowa.
They still have ongoing efforts to send medical supplies to Honduras and Ukraine. They helped DMU decide to refurbish depreciated ultrasound machines and send them to high-need areas, such as Honduras and war-torn Ukraine, where they continue to be used effectively. Benzoni took the machines to his home and refurbished them himself.
Benzoni also spearheaded DMU's ultrasound training program. O'Shea's contributions as a faculty member included directing the family medicine clerkship, re-organizing the Ethics and Preventive Medicine courses and revamping the dermatology curriculum.
Their love for medicine and DMU remains strong. "Medicine is a passion. If you want to choose something that will invigorate you for the rest of your life, that will let you make a living but also make a difference, choose medicine," O'Shea says.
2024 College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Alumnus of the Year
Joshua M. Vest, DPM’08, FACFAS
Joshua M. Vest, DPM’08, FACFAS, is a podiatric physician. Known for his dedication to educating others about podiatric medicine, Vest mentors medical students and residents and leads the podiatric surgery department at Bryan Medical Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is this year's College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery 2024 Alumnus of the Year. As a DMU student, he served as the president of the Iowa Podiatric Medical Student Association. In 2011, he moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, to join two other podiatric physicians at a practice that provides foot and ankle trauma care services at Bryan Health System. Vest also is president of Capital Foot and Ankle in Lincoln and a governor-appointed member of the Nebraska State Board of Health. He emphasizes the importance of keeping abreast of new treatment protocols and procedures.
Any time Vest encounters others, whether they be fellow medical professionals or not, he's happy to educate and share his knowledge. He's similarly generous in mentoring medical students and residents. Growing up, he looked up to his uncle, who was a physician, as a mentor who introduced him to the idea of going into medicine. He just wasn't sure what type of medicine to go into. That is until he shadowed a podiatrist while pre-med as an undergraduate.
"You hear people say podiatry is the best-kept secret in medicine, and there's some truth to that," Vest says. "Fortunately, I was introduced to a podiatrist who truly loved what he did and inspired me to follow in the same path."
Vest has helped share this best-kept secret as a podiatric physician and president of Capital Foot and Ankle in Lincoln, Nebraska; chair of the podiatric surgery department at Bryan Medical Center; and a governor-appointed member of the Nebraska State Board of Health. He moved to Lincoln in 2011 to join two other podiatric physicians at a practice that agreed to provide foot and ankle trauma care services at the medical center. The practice, which became part of Bryan Health System four years ago, now includes six podiatrists, two pedorthists, a physician assistant and two nurse practitioners.
"Having our practice be part of the hospital is great. I can focus on my patients and not worry about many of the aspects of running a private practice," he says. "And because there are six podiatrists in our group, each of us gets to focus on the areas we're passionate about."
Joining the hospital did require some podiatric diplomacy. When he first came to Lincoln, podiatric physicians were considered allied health professionals. Some providers in the area didn't know the level and types of training, standards or criteria for podiatric practice.
"Some were surprised to find out we could prescribe medicines and that we had a similar education to an MD or DO," he says. "Working with the hospital, we've been able to change that."
He also shares those insights with students who shadow him or do rotations at his practice and residents in the Lincoln Family Medicine Residency Program, where he serves as a clinical instructor. It's a way to "pay it forward" for the mentors he's had, including during his own reconstructive foot and ankle surgery residency at Detroit Medical Center and Wayne State University. He was chief resident there.
"It was a high surgical volume program at a Level 1 trauma center, where I developed the interest in and love for what I do now," Vest says. "We had more than 100 podiatry attendings, so I got to see the ways different people practice."
That inspired how he practices. He emphasizes the importance of keeping abreast of new treatment protocols and procedures, including with his advanced training in ankle joint replacement. His practice features a 3D printer that can transform a CT scan of a patient's ankle into an exact replica with a surgical template. That facilitates preparation for the actual surgical procedure, reducing "guesswork and problem-solving" in the operating room.
"Some physicians choose a treatment option because that's the way they've always done it," Vest says. "I never felt it was right to make decisions for your patients. To me, it's always been important to base decisions on the most up-to-date evidence shows. We owe it to our patients to constantly immerse ourselves in the latest literature and data."
2024 Rising Star Award
Kelsey Millonig, DPM’17, MPH’17, FACFAS, DABPM
Kelsey Millonig, DPM’17, MPH’17, FACFAS, DABPM, a fellowship-trained foot and ankle surgeon with the East Village Foot and Ankle Surgeons in Des Moines, Iowa, has been awarded the 2024 Rising Star Award. As a student, she led the Global Health Student Club and participated in service trips to rural Honduras, Dominican Republic and Uganda. Millonig also was president of DMU's American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons chapter. She founded and served as president of Podiatric Medicine Advocacy, now part of the American Podiatric Medical Association. She was also the first-ever podiatric student selected as a research intern at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, where she focused on age-friendly cities and communities. Today she is active in organizations including the Iowa Board of Podiatric Medicine, American College of Foot and Ankle Surgery, the American Podiatric Medical Association and the American Association for Women Podiatrists. She lectures nationally educating surgeons on her specialities in minimally invasive surgery and deformity correction. She also focuses on mentorship for women in medicine who have similar interests.
Millonig, an Iowa native, received her undergraduate degree at Luther College, where she took her first steps into medicine. The college offered an alumni shadowing program to help students learn more about the fields they would one day enter. Millonig was first paired with Jeff Anderson, an anesthesiologist in Des Moines, with whom she remains friends. "When I shadowed Dr. Anderson, I was able to experience the operating room and fell in love with surgery instantly," Millonig says.
A softball player throughout her college career, Millonig suffered a few foot injuries that ultimately led her to choose podiatric medicine for her next job shadow. Right off the bat, she loved the idea of specializing and the opportunities it allows to be an expert in foot and ankle surgery. She realized by entering the podiatric profession, she could help people get back on their feet and continue living their lives. "You can't be active if you are unable to walk or be on your feet," Millonig says. "I loved the idea of fixing things for patients so that they can go back to doing the things they love."
When it came to graduate programs, Millonig did her research. She looked at many different schools and eventually landed at DMU because of the opportunities for dual degrees, student involvement and global health. It didn't take long for her to take advantage of these things. Adding a master's in public health was just one of them.
As a DMU student passionate about health access and global health, she was among an interdisciplinary group of students and clinicians who participated in a five-day health services trip in rural Honduran villages over the 2014 spring break and Dominican Republic in 2015. Her fourth-year rotation occurred in a Ugandan medical school where she worked on the Uganda Clubfoot Project. She was a member and trip leader of the Global Health Student Club and president of the Student Chapter of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. Millonig founded and served as president of Podiatric Medicine Advocacy, an organization to promote the profession and work toward parity, that now is an integral part of the American Podiatric Medical Association.
She also became the first-ever podiatric professional to be selected as a research intern at the World Health Organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. "I'm so grateful to have had the chance to be at the World Health Organization, stand in the United Nations and learn about policy creation among the world's leaders," Millonig says.
Her international experiences are most impactful when it comes to leaving her legacy.
"I wanted to see how I could make a difference internationally and with policy," Millonig says. "I didn't want to only be a surgeon who could operate. I wanted to develop programs that would help train doctors in communities to provide care after I left. I wanted to help create real change within the communities I visited."
When she graduated from DMU, Millonig completed a three-year residency at Franciscan Foot and Ankle Institute in Seattle. After, she did a one-year fellowship at the Rubin Institute, the international center for limb lengthening in Baltimore. "This extra year isn't required in podiatry, but I wanted to be the best trained in my profession, so I chose to do it," Millonig says. "I wanted to be sure if someone brought a concern to me, I knew how to fix it." This training specifically offered Millonig the opportunity to offer expertise in minimally invasive surgery, limb deformity correction and lengthening, orthoplastic reconstruction and total ankle replacement.
Today, Millonig practices at East Village Foot and Ankle Surgeons in Des Moines, Iowa, where individualized care is at the forefront of everything they do. The small private practice has two other locations in Pella, Iowa, and Mason City, Iowa. "Some patients come in with really complex issues or have been told by other providers there is nothing that can be done to help them. It's the most profound experience to be able to tell these patients I can help them, and here's how we are going to do it."
With her extensive athletic background, Millonig also enjoys treating athletes with sports injuries, allowing them to resume competitive activity.
"I'm really just a small-town farm kid from Iowa who went to school for a long time," Millonig says. "I sought out a lot of opportunities to collect experiences from around the world with the support of some amazing people. It brings me so much joy to be able to come back and help share all of that with the people of Iowa that I love so much in a place that I've always called home."
2023 College of Health Sciences Alumna of the Year
Laurie Hughell, MSPAS’04, MPH’06, PA-C
Laurie Hughell, MSPAC, MPH, PA-C, a 2004 graduate of Des Moines University’s physician assistant program in practice at the Iowa Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center in Urbandale, Iowa, was named the 2023 College of Health Sciences Alumna of the Year. She also is a 2006 graduate of the university’s Master of Public Health degree program.
The honor is given annually to one graduate of each of DMU’s three colleges who is a member in good standing of their respective professional state or national organization and the DMU Alumni Association; demonstrates excellent service to DMU, its students and their profession; and demonstrates a record of service to their community on a local, state and/or national level.
Fascinated at an early age by how the human body works, Hughell readily embraced the academic and clinical rigor of the university’s physician assistant studies program, which changed from a bachelor of science to a master of science curriculum in her first year at DMU.
At the Iowa Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center, she uses her extensive experience in rheumatology to treat complicated musculoskeletal diseases and systemic autoimmune conditions while striving to improve patients’ quality of life. She joined the center in 2004, bringing additional expertise from a geriatric fellowship.
“I work with a great group of physicians and staff, and most of our patients have been with our center for a long time,” she says. “I enjoy getting to know them and their families. I came into rheumatology during a time of vast changes in treatment options, which has been cool.”
She shares her knowledge of treating rheumatic diseases with students in DMU’s physician assistant and physical therapy programs. She is a longtime guest instructor for both programs and precepts PA students at her practice.
“There are not that many rheumatology practices in Iowa. I think students need to see it and be exposed to these patients’ conditions,” she says. “It’s extra work, but it’s been very fulfilling to see students learning over time and then keep in touch with them when they get into practice.”
Hughell is an active member of the American College of Rheumatology, the Association of Rheumatology Professionals, the Rheumatology Association of Iowa and the Iowa Physician Assistant Society. She’s done some speaking and publishing through Rheumatology Advanced Practice Providers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and providing educational programs, professional advancement services and resources for these professionals. She has lobbied on patient care issues, access and reimbursement policies in Washington, D.C., and in Des Moines, including with the Iowa Physician Assistant Society.
“If you’re going to be in a specialty, you have a unique privilege to be involved as an advocate and educator as well as a provider,” she says.
2023 College of Osteopathic Medicine Alumnus of the Year
Thomas Cavalieri, DO’76, MACOI, FACP, AGSF
Thomas Cavalieri, DO, MACOI, FACP, AGSF, a 1976 graduate of Des Moines University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, was named the 2023 COM Alumnus of the Year. He is senior vice provost of the Virtua Health College of Medicine and Life Sciences of Rowan University and chief academic officer of Virtua Health in Stratford, New Jersey.
The honor is given annually to one graduate of each of DMU’s three colleges who is a member in good standing of their respective professional state or national organization and the DMU Alumni Association; demonstrates excellent service to DMU, its students and their profession; and demonstrates a record of service to their community on a local, state and/or national level.
Cavalieri sees his many contributions to health care and medical education as opportunities to focus on his “why” — caring for patients.
“When you’re in academic medicine, whatever you do, it all impacts on caring for patients,” he says. “I became a physician because I want to improve the human condition. In academic medicine, you can do that in three ways. You can care for patients at the bedside, which I still do today. You can inspire the next generation of physicians. And you can engage in discovery and innovation through research.”
Cavalieri also has strengthened the osteopathic profession as a longstanding member of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Board of Deans executive committee and a member and past chair of the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. He is the past chair of the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners, which provides assessment services for the osteopathic profession. He currently serves on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education board, which accredits all graduate medical training programs for physicians in the United States.
“DOs bring a holistic view of the patient, an emphasis on primary care and manipulative skills that are recognized as value-added to the health care of our nation,” he says. “That’s why it’s been so exciting to be the dean of a school that helps create the type of physicians our nation needs.”
Cavalieri had been in practice for about a year when the dean of the newly created University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey School of Osteopathic Medicine invited him to join its faculty as a general internist. That allowed him to combine his love of patient care with teaching.
In the early 1980s he “jumped at the chance” to develop his expertise in geriatrics and help create one of the nation’s first formal fellowship programs in the specialty. He obtained research grants and wrote dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on end-of-life care and geriatric assessment. He is the founding director of the Center of Aging (now the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging) and was appointed to the New Jersey Commission on Aging.
He’s helped fuel innovation in academic medicine in other ways, from developing new curricula and introducing clinical and research opportunities for students early in their training to increasing interprofessional, team-based medical education. He and his colleagues have worked to recruit more diverse students and faculty.
Cavalieri was appointed dean of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey School of Osteopathic Medicine in 2006. In 2013, he oversaw its successful reorganization as the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine. He was tapped for his current role in 2023 after Rowan University formed a new academic partnership with Virtua Health, South Jersey’s largest health system. As senior vice provost, he oversees the undergraduate and graduate education and research programs of Virtua Health College’s three schools — osteopathic medicine, nursing and health professions, and translational biomedical engineering and sciences.
He has received numerous awards during his career, including the 2023 Dale S. Dodson Award of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, given to a current or past leader of an osteopathic college who has made significant contributions to the advancement and support of osteopathic medical education.
“My experiences at Des Moines University gave me an amazing foundation and put me on a trajectory to pursue a career that to this day I love,” he says.
2023 College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Alumna of the Year
Tiffany Hauptman, DPM’98
Tiffany Hauptman, DPM, a 1998 graduate of Des Moines University’s College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery and a podiatric physician with Great River Health Specialists in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, was named the 2023 CPMS Alumna of the Year. The honor is given annually to one graduate of each of DMU’s three colleges who is a member in good standing of their respective professional state or national organization and the DMU Alumni Association; demonstrates excellent service to DMU, its students and their profession; and demonstrates a record of service to their community on a local, state and/or national level.
Hauptman taught seventh- and eighth-grade mathematics and coached track, softball, volleyball and basketball in Central Iowa for three years, but then her attendance at a sports medicine conference changed her course.
“I’d always wanted to help people, and that conference made me realize I needed to be in health care,” she says.
Hauptman graduated with the CPMS Leadership Award and the Timothy Holbrook Memorial Award for Excellence in Orthopedics. After completing a podiatric surgical residency at Trinity Regional Hospital in Fort Dodge, Iowa, she opened a practice in Mount Pleasant. In 2016, her practice joined Great River Health as Southeast Iowa Podiatry. She is serving a two-year term as chief of staff at Henry County Health Center. She says her experience in education and coaching has been useful in medical practice.
“It’s important for me to explain to patients and for patients to understand what is going on with their feet, why it’s happening and the reason for my treatment recommendation. I feel strongly that if patients can understand that, they’ll have a much better chance of following my recommendation,” she says.
Hauptman is a member of the American Podiatric Medical Association and the Iowa Podiatric Medical Society, including as a past board member. At DMU, she served on the CPMS Alumni Council. When the university merged its three colleges’ alumni councils into a unified Alumni Board of Directors, she stayed on as a CPMS representative. She also has contributed financially to the university for many consecutive years.
Beyond her medical practice, Hauptman is active in the Daughters of the American Revolution, including as state officer for Iowa. DAR is a service organization for women directly descended from a person who fought for the United States’ independence. An ancestor on her father’s side, Elias Seymour, fought in the Continental Army for the state of Connecticut.
“I grew up hearing stories about how my ancestors helped to make this country, so that’s been ingrained in me,” she says.
Hauptman also is a location coordinator for Wreaths Across America. This nonprofit organization coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies to honor American veterans of all wars interred at Arlington National Cemetery and more than 3,700 additional locations in all 50 states, at sea and abroad. She works to obtain donations so that the graves of the 107 veterans buried at a local cemetery will have a wreath in December when the ceremonies occur.
“The program has grown exponentially, with volunteers and donors across the country,” she says. “It’s something I’m proud to be part of.”
2023 Rising Star Award
Kelsey Mims, DPT’12
Kelsey Mims, DPT’12, is a physical therapist at BenchMark Physical Therapy in Atlanta and the recipient of the 2023 Rising Star Award, given to DMU graduates of the past 15 or fewer years who have made noteworthy contributions to their industry or community. As a DMU student, she received a full-tuition Glanton Scholarship, awarded to students underrepresented in the health professions. She has since “paid forward” that benefit by working to help diversify the physical therapy profession toward a greater goal — to provide better, more culturally competent health care to all people, especially minority and underserved communities.
As a youth, Mims thought she’d become an athletic trainer, but a cold, rainy evening of shadowing an athletic trainer at a St. Ambrose University football practice in Davenport, Iowa, changed her path.
“I did not enjoy that experience. But after practice, the trainer did rehab with some players who’d been injured. That was what I had in mind,” she says. “Empowering people to play an active role in making sure their body is healthy through exercise and then seeing that affect them emotionally, mentally and even spiritually is such a rewarding experience.”
After graduating from Des Moines University, Mims joined BenchMark Physical Therapy in Atlanta. Benchmark has nearly 500 clinics in 13 states and is part of Upstream Rehabilitation, the largest rehabilitation organization in the nation. Benchmark’s therapist-partnership model allowed her to become an equity holder in two of the five clinics she manages. She was able to do so in part because, as a DMU student, she received a full-tuition Glanton Scholarship, awarded to students underrepresented in the health professions.
“Being able to go to PT school tuition-free put me at a good place financially. It relieved a lot of stress, and I was able to use money I saved to invest in my clinics as a business owner,” she says. “I truly don’t believe I would have been able to do that so early in my career if it hadn’t been for the Glanton Scholarship. I’m very grateful for that.”
Mims is “paying forward” that benefit in several synergistic ways. She is a leader in BenchMark’s diversity, equity and inclusion student programs committee, which works to foster clinical and professional development. In that role, she partners with historically Black colleges and universities with physical therapy programs to assist minority PT students with résumé-writing, interview preparation and contract negotiations.
She also serves on the executive board of the National Association of Black Physical Therapists Inc., a nonprofit organization with a mission to increase visibility, networking, community service, advocacy, career development and mentorship for Black physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. She chairs the association’s Atlanta chapter.
“Our big push is helping high school and undergraduate students realize physical therapy is a great profession. Minority communities and lower-income school systems don’t always get exposed to all the career options out there,” she says. “Then at BenchMark, we’re working to make sure that once they are in physical therapy school, they have the support they need, they graduate and they see other people who look like them who can be their clinical instructors and maybe their future bosses, so they realize they aren’t alone.”
As a hiring manager at BenchMark and a mentor to students underrepresented in health care, Mims strives to help diversify the physical therapy profession toward a greater goal — to provide better, more culturally competent health care to all people, especially minority and underserved communities.
“I want to ensure that our patients who are primarily minority are getting equal care and are being treated by people who truly understand them and their culture and their background,” she says. “Some of my clinics serve primarily Black American communities, and it was eye-opening to realize some patients aren’t sharing the same information with their doctors that they share with me, because there is a disconnect in the level of trust and understanding. That’s one of the reasons why I have become more passionate in the push to seek out and hire more minorities. I want to make sure my patients are getting the best care possible.”