As they educate and mentor students, touch the lives of patients and work tirelessly in their professions and communities, the 2016 Des Moines University Alumni of the Year inspire others to aspire.
Alumni of the Year honorees are selected by the DMU Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Alumni Councils of the University’s three colleges – Health Sciences, Osteopathic Medicine and Podiatric Medicine and Surgery. Recipients must be a member in good standing of their respective professional state or national organization and the DMU Alumni Association; demonstrate excellent service to DMU, its students and his/her profession; and demonstrate a record of service to his/her community on a local, state and/or national level.
College of Health Sciences: Laura Delaney, PA-C’99
A native Iowan, Laura Delaney worked as a registered nurse for 18 years at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines in the newborn intensive care unit and also in pediatric clinics around the Des Moines area. She then graduated from DMU’s physician assistant program and went on to complete her master’s of physician assistant studies from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2009.
Delaney is currently an assistant professor in DMU’s PA program and continues to practice in general pediatrics in Ankeny, IA. She actively promotes global health experiences for students and has traveled many times to Mali, Africa, South Africa, St. Lucia, Honduras, Belize, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, working globally and locally to promote interprofessional education.
Delaney is involved with the American Lung Association (ALA) in Iowa to promote asthma education. She is a member on ALA’s volunteer leadership board of directors. She also is very active with the Iowa Physician Assistant Society (IPAS), advocating for the profession; in 2012-2013 was President of the Board of Directors and for over 10 years she has been instrumental in their CME planning efforts. Delaney volunteers for many community events, especially those that deal with the care and attention of children.
For her contributions as a physician assistant, her service to patients around the world and her efforts to create opportunities for students, Delaney was named the 2015 Physician Assistant of the Year by IPAS. She also is DMU’s first faculty member to be named an Iowa Campus Compact (IACC) Engaged Scholar Fellow, for 2015-2016. IACC is a statewide association of college and university presidents who are committed to educating students for active citizenship and building strong communities; its Fellows participate in professional development in engaged scholarship and teaching and implement a service-learning project on their campus. Not surprisingly, Delaney’s goals as a Fellow related to strengthening efforts to address global health disparities, including by training and mentoring students.
Delaney also received the DMU Faculty Service Award in 2011 and the Iowa Governor’s Volunteer Award in 2009, in recognition for her outstanding volunteer work with the American Lung Association of Iowa. She was inducted into the Pi Alpha Honors Society in May 2009.
College of Osteopathic Medicine: Boyd R. Buser, D.O.’81, FACOFP dist.
Boyd R. Buser, D.O.’81, FACOFP, is the 120th president of the American Osteopathic Association. Since 2007, he has served as vice president for health affairs and dean of the University of Pikeville’s Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine. He also holds the rank of professor of osteopathic principles and practice, and professor of family medicine.
Buser is dually board-certified in osteopathic manipulative medicine and family medicine, and is a Distinguished Fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians. He has taught extensively both nationally and internationally, in the field of osteopathic manipulative medicine. He has a long history of advocacy in the payment policy arena as well, having represented the AOA on the Advisory Committee to the Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) of the American Medical Association (AMA) and national medical specialty societies; the committee acts as an expert panel in developing recommendations to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the relative value of physician services under the Medicare physician fee schedule.
Buser also has served on the AMA Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Advisory Committee and in 2007 he was elected by the AMA Board of Trustees to the CPT Editorial Panel, which has final authority over the creation and revision of the codes used by physicians to report their services under public and private health insurance. He was the first D.O. to be elected.
From 2011 to 2013, Buser co-chaired the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Advancement of Osteopathic Medical Education, a joint body of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM). He has been instrumental in the development of the single accreditation system for graduate medical education.
Buser is a past chairman of the Board of the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) and was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Osteopathic International Alliance. In 1995, he served as president of the American Academy of Osteopathy and was named Educator of the Year by the AOA and American Osteopathic Foundation in 1994. In March 2010, he was awarded the A.T. Still Medallion of Honor by the American Academy of Osteopathy, and in 2013 he received the Riland Medal for Public Service from the New York Institute of Technology and the Santucci Award from the NBOME.
College of Podiatric Medicine & Surgery: Mindi Feilmeier, D.P.M.’05, FACFAS
Mindi Feilmeier has worked to build her skill set in both clinical practice and in professionalism as an educator and advocate of the profession after graduating from DMU in 2005 through a variety of endeavors; as a resident and then chief resident at Trinity Regional Medical Center in Fort Dodge, IA; as attending staff at Trinity, where she played an active role in the clinical and surgical education of podiatric residents; and then as a foot and ankle surgeon with Trimark Physicians Group, now UnityPoint Clinic, in Fort Dodge. In 2012 she brought her experience to DMU’s College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery, where she serves as assistant professor and a member of the clinical faculty. Clinically, her passions are sports medicine and forefoot reconstruction which includes a focus on improving our understanding of hallux valgus surgery. She is a member of several University committees, including the Interprofessional Education Work Group, committee chair of the Research and Grants Committee and the Faculty Bylaws Committee. In 2014 and 2015 she co-chaired the DMU Foot and Ankle Symposium.
A fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons and diplomate of the American Board of Podiatric Surgery, Feilmeier is adept at wearing multiple hats. Beyond teaching students and treating patients, she is a champion for her profession as president of the Iowa Podiatric Medical Society (IPMS). She is the first woman to be elected to that office. In that role, she coordinates advocacy activities to support the society’s strategic goals of advancing the podiatric profession and supporting the IPMS membership. She also represents IPMS members on a national level to the American Podiatric Medical Association and participates in federal advocacy.
Feilmeier is an active researcher and serves as a peer reviewer for the Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery. She has had multiple research article published in the journal and other peer-reviewed scientific publications as well as non-peer reviewed publications. She has presented numerous oral abstracts and posters at campus, state and national conferences, and has mentored more than 20 CPMS students in their research. A dedicated lifelong learner, she is currently pursuing her master’s degree in health care administration in DMU’s College of Health Sciences.
Feilmeier was named the CPMS Clinical Faculty of the Year for 2015-2016 and 2013-2014. She received the DMU President’s Recognition Award for Outstanding Service in 2014.
