NSU Horizons Spring 2012

Teresa Murphy-Price, B.S., 1999, and her family had just returned to their home in Haiti following a vacation when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck. Life as they knew it in the Caribbean nation would never be the same. “We landed in Port-au-Prince, went grocery shopping at a Caribbean supermarket, drove home, and were standing in our driveway when it hit,” said Murphy-Price of the earthquake that struck on January 12, 2010. The quake left thousands dead, more than a million homeless, and leveled tens of thousands of buildings. Murphy-Price, a missionary and NSU-trained physician assistant to Haiti Health Ministries Clinic in Gressier, Haiti, saw it happen firsthand. Her clinic—5 miles from the quake’s epicenter and 20 miles from Port-au-Prince— was destroyed. “When I first moved to Haiti, I worked by myself. The only supervising physicians were by phone,” Murphy-Price said. “I was very remote—more than five hours from the nearest major hospital.” She credits NSU with giving her the necessary medical skills to tackle this work. She wasn’t daunted when she saw her first cases of acute tetanus, dengue fever, malaria, and other diseases. “I was able to accurately diagnose the patients based on physical findings and knowledge that I’d gained in my infectious disease classes at NSU, even though I’d never seen these diseases during my stateside practice,” she said. Raised in Milwaukee, Murphy-Price attended the University of Wisconsin— Madison for her prerequisite courses before choosing NSU’s College of Allied Health and Nursing, now the College of Health Care Sciences. “NSU gave me the chance to be a PA and prepared me for what I’m doing,” Murphy-Price said. “My professors were always willing to answer questions and knew what they were talking about. I felt prepared when I got my first job.” In 2007, Murphy-Price met her husband Ryan Price, an optometrist also doing missionary work in Haiti. They have two children together. Today, Murphy-Price works out of UNICEF tents with another American doctor, two Haitian doctors, and one nurse. The team sees to the health care of more than 40,000 patients in the area. “Some days are good, and other days you feel an invisible weight on your shoulders,” Murphy-Price said. “I feel like God put me on this Earth to help others.” Teresa Murphy-Price BY KARA POUND Audrey Marks, M.B.A., class of 1991 H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship Marks is Jamaica’s 10th ambassador to the United States and permanent representative to the Organiza- tion of American States. She founded the first multitransaction agency in the Caribbean and was the first female president of the American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica. She was nominated for the Caribbean Entrepreneur of the Year award and awarded the Florida International University Business Leader of the Year Award. Teresa Murphy-Price, B.S., class of 1999 College of Health Care Sciences Murphy-Price has been a physician assistant to Haiti Health Ministries Clinic in Gressier, Haiti, since 2008. (See story at right.) Dennis Plaska, M.S., class of 2010 Institute for the Study of Human Service, Health, and Justice A detective with the Broward Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit, Plaska shares his expert knowledge with NSU by providing information, support, and guid- ance for criminal justice students and faculty and staff members. In 2010, he was nominated by the United States Attorney’s Office as Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer for Crime Scene Investigation. Keith Poliakoff, University School, class of 1993 The deputy town attorney for the Town of South- west Ranches, Poliakoff was recognized in 2005 as a Legal Elite Up and Comer for his work in land use and zoning, administrative, and municipal law. His law firm is recognized as a member of Nova Southeastern University’s Fellows Society for its continued support and generosity. Venessa Price, Pharm.D., class of 1998 College of Pharmacy Price is the director of pharmacy services at Jackson Memorial Hospital. She has held positions at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates; Pfizer, Inc.; and North Broward Medical Center. She currently is president of the Florida Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Ronald Renuart, D.O., class of 1990 College of Osteopathic Medicine Renuart has practiced internal medicine in the Jacksonville Beaches area for the past 18 years. (See story page 32.) 31 HORIZONS Teresa Murphy-Price from the College of Health Care Sciences, works as a physician assistant in Haiti.