Page 8 - COM Outlook - Spring 2013

On February 21, Ray
E. Stowers, D.O.,
president of the
American Osteopathic
Association, visited
NSU-COM to interact
with students and
faculty members
and discuss issues of
importance to the
osteopathic medical
profession. Pictured (from left) are Howard Neer, D.O., FACOFP,
associate dean of alumni affairs. Dr. Ray Stowers, Elaine Wallace,
D.O., M.S., executive associate dean, and Kenneth Johnson, D.O.,
chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
8 COM Outlook . Spring 2013
Correctional Medicine
Earns Specialty Status Due
to NSU-COM Efforts
In January, the college
received approval for a new
medical specialty—correctional
medicine—that was developed
at NSU-COM in collaboration
with the Florida Department of
Corrections. NSU-COM be-
came the first medical school
in the country to gain such
recognition when the standards
developed by the college for this distinct specialty were
approved by the American Osteopathic Association. NSU-
COM now has the first accredited and approved correc-
tional medicine fellowship program in the country.
The classification of correctional medicine as a medi-
cal specialty is an important milestone because recent
statistics show that 7.1 million men and women are
under adult correctional supervision, and more than 1.5
million are cared for by physicians who work full time in
this challenging environment.
David Thomas, M.D., J.D., professor and chair of the col-
lege’s Department of Surgery and Division of Correctional
Medicine, described the innovation as “very, very rare.
The last new specialty I can remember was the creation of
emergency medicine in 1976.”
NSU-COM established a two-year correctional medicine
fellowship in 2010 that offers broad interdisciplinary experi-
ence in oncology, radiation therapy, orthopedic surgery, and
hospice care and leads to both board certification and a
Master of Public Health degree. The program includes inpa-
tient/outpatient supervised clinical experience in acute and
chronic settings in jails/prisons, medicolegal experiences
and responsibilities, quality management and review, and
mortality review and control.
The new correctional medicine specialty represents a
milestone in medical treatment. “Correctional health care
was looked upon for many years as a last refuge of barely
competent practitioners,” Dr. Thomas explained. “It is not.
It is a complex, intricate field where you are taking care of
people, many of whom are very ill, because they have not
accessed care outside of the correctional environment—
ever. It takes sophisticated doctors with significant training
to handle both the illnesses and the unique correctional
environment. This is the first step in bringing recognition to
the care that correctional doctors provide.”
On December 17, the college coordinated an employee rec-
ognition luncheon to honor those individuals who celebrated
noteworthy employee milestones in 2012:
25 Years
Linda Brookins and Elaine Lefkowitz
20 Years
Robin Hofberg and Dr. Stanley Simpson
15 Years
Dr. Paula Anderson-Worts and Nancy May
10 Years
Katherine Campos, Debra Chase, Jason Cohen,
Dr. Hilda De Gaetano, Heike Dose, Dr. Gary Hill, Leslie Jones,
Gustavo Saldias, and Dr. Bart Whitehead
5 Years
Krista Bartley, Dr. Natasha Bray, Dr. Rebecca Cherner, Sandra
Chunulal, Tashera Cruz, Angel Demps, Dr. Marti Echols, Dr. Rog-
erio Faillace, Dr. Tracy Favreau, Yennifer Kusienski,
Dr. Heather McCarthy, Dr. John Pellosie, Letitia Plotner,
Jennifer Silva, and Valdo Vega
AOA President Visits NSU-COM
Employee Longevity Honored