DO - Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine

DO
perspectives from
the college of osteopathic medicine
TODAY’S
summer 2006 volume 24.2 ohio university
Pediatrics
a Growing Specialty

TODAY’SDO
DO
Dean’s Message
Today’s D.O. is published two
times a year by the Office of
Communication of the Ohio University
College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Editorial offices:
Room 330, Grosvenor Hall,
Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, 45701.
Editorial Board
Susan Lash Blanchard
Assistant Dean for Development
George F. Dunigan II
Director of Governmental Affairs
Mathew J. Rose
Student Government President
Edwin C. Rowland, Ph.D.
Chair, Department
of Biomedical Sciences
John D. Schriner, Ph.D.
Director of Admissions
Sharon B. Zimmerman
Director of Alumni Affairs
Content Editor
Sally Linder
Copy Editor
Shelby S. Mullins
Design
Kari Gunter-Seymour
Photography
John P. Sattler
Writers and Contributors
Kirsten Brown
Melissa Cabral
Melissa Rake Calhoun
Maureen Harmon
Richard Heck
Linda Knopp
Jennifer Kowalewski
Sally Linder
Joy Rodgers
Administration
Roderick J. McDavis, Ph.D
President, Ohio University
John A. Brose, D.O.
Dean, College of Osteopathic Medicine
Karoline Lane
Director, Office of Communication
Opinions expressed in Today’s D.O. are
those of the authors and
do not necessarily reflect
viewpoints of the editors or official
policy of the Ohio University
College of Osteopathic Medicine.
© ’06 Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Address updates for Today’s D.O.
should be referred to Sheila Bycofski,
OU-COM, 332 Grosvenor Hall,
Athens, OH 45701.
phone: (740) 593-2346
e-mail: bycofski@ohio.edu.
Few would argue that the osteopathic medical profession is one of the
major success stories in health care. The quality of our students and
educational programs is higher than ever.
Research was once the weak companion to teaching and service.
This is no longer the case. Our students won’t allow it.
Historically, many of the principles of our profession were based on anecdote and shared
experiences, rather than solid medical evidence. Today’s osteopathic medical student is
too scientifically sophisticated to accept that. Dr. Norman Gevitz, professor of social
medicine at OU-COM, discussed this issue in a recent JAOA article when he noted,
“Osteopathic students wish to see evidence. They want proof. Instead of scientific
demonstrations, however, they get only case reports, anecdotes, testimonials, theories,
speculations, reasoning by analogy, and pilot studies. These studies typically have few
subjects and usually prove little or nothing.”
I believe that we are moving to another level in interpreting our own literature. Early in
our profession’s history, osteopathic research often suffered from inadequate numbers of
subjects, methodological error and misinterpretation of data. When studies came to the
conclusions we desired, we were willing to ignore methodological flaws and quote them.
One example of this is the frequently cited 1918 AOA survey regarding osteopathic care
during the Spanish flu epidemic. Although this survey had significant methodological
problems that prevented any significant conclusions being drawn, even 88 years later it is
frequently cited. Similarly, even if our own studies spoke against commonly held beliefs,
we sometimes ignored all or part of the findings.
Fortunately, things are changing. Osteopathic medical schools located at state universities
are building major research programs in many different areas. The AOA’s Osteopathic
Research Center has created well-designed research protocols to answer basic questions
regarding traditional osteopathic therapy. These studies will create a scientific basis for
OMM instruction.
At the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, we are joining forces with the Russ
College of Engineering and Technology to build a multidisciplinary research center, the
Integrated Learning and Research Facility, that is slated to open in 2009. This new facility,
funded in part by the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations, will bring together the research
talents of faculty from multiple Ohio University colleges. And whether or not studies show
what we want them to, they will be published and integrated into our curriculum.
This emphasis on quality research and the merging of research and education is a fundamental
change in the approach to osteopathic medical education. The Ohio University College
of Osteopathic Medicine will continue its efforts to lead in that transition. Our students
won’t have it any other way.
Jack Brose, D.O.
Dean, Ohio University College of
Osteopathic Medicine
www.oucom.ohio.edu

DO
the college of osteopathic medicine
TODAY’S
TODAY’SDO
perspectives from
Features
The Hospitalist
More D.O.s are becoming hospitalists, and the
practice is moving quickly toward specialty status.
These hospital-based physicians are changing the
very nature of inpatient care.
Number of General Pediatricians
By Year (x1000) 14
80
8
The Obstetrics Dilemma
Obstetrics practices are especially hard hit by
soaring malpractice premiums and litigation. No
one is happy about the compromises physicians
and patients have to make.
60
40
20
18
28
From Diapers to Driver’s Licenses
Pediatrics is capturing a bigger share of graduates
who find the primary-care specialty has special
rewards–even if compensation isn’t necessarily
one of them.
Profiles
Each of these OU-COM graduates is practicing
medicine under challenging circumstances, but not
one of them would trade in the experience for
lighter duty.
0
1975
On the cover…
Pediatrician Celeste Wallace,
D.O. (‘02), and Dave Valent,
OMS II, examine Tia, 8, a patient
in Dr. Wallace's practice at
University Medical Associates.
2003
2 News
24 Celebrate
26 Research News
32 CORE News
34 Alumni Update
36 Congratulations

News
A Virtually Perfect Back
W
ithin just one session of using the
Virtual Haptic Back, first-year medical
student Aaron Miller already could tell a
difference in his palpation skills. Now Miller
believes the revolutionary computer
program should become a requirement
for all students at Ohio University College
of Osteopathic Medicine.
“Haptic Back is one of the most
interesting and intelligently
designed machines I have ever
come across,” Miller says. “It
was fascinating to use. It allows
one to better understand
what they should be feeling
for (before working on the
patients themselves).”
The software is an Ohio
University creation, developed
four years ago by members of
the Interdisciplinary Institute
for Neuromusculoskeletal
Research (IINR), a multicollege
project focusing on human
neuromusculoskeletal research
and clinical treatments.
The Virtual Haptic Back
Laboratory in OU-COM’s
Irvine Hall houses the
computer equipment that
simulates the sensation of a
back in various states, according to John
Howell, Ph.D., IINR director and associate
professor of physiology in Biomedical
Sciences at OU-COM. It eliminates the
need to find human models on demand
with the right conditions.
Users place their fingertips into two robotic
arms and “feel” in virtual space the
sensation of a back in its normal state
and with various somatic dysfunctions.
The computer generates a tight muscle
or strain, for instance, and the student
can palpate a reliable reproduction of
the anomaly.
“Anyone truly interested in osteopathic
manipulative medicine should try it,”
Miller says.
Students took a pretest, performed eight
sessions on the simulator and followed
with a post-test. According to Howell, data
showed distinct improvement.
Tony Le, a first-year medical student, had
palpated live subjects in the osteopathic
manipulative medicine (OMM) lab for six
months before trying the Virtual Haptic
Back. ”I believe that it has enhanced my
abilities to detect more sensitive areas,”
he says. Le agrees with Miller that the
Virtual Haptic Back should become part
of OU-COM’s curriculum.
After more studies, Howell says the
university would like to see the software
nationwide, helping other future physicians
better their manual medicine skills.
Other OU-COM team members involved
in the Virtual Haptic Back include David
C. Eland, D.O., associate professor of OMM
in Family Medicine; Janet M. Burns, D.O.
('95), assistant professor of OMM in
Family Medicine; Robert R. Conatser,
research associate, IINR; and medical
student Allen McGrew.
Heptic Back and the IINR are supported in
part by grants from the Osteopathic Heritage
Foundations.
–Jennifer Kowalewski
John Howell, Ph.D. (left), and David Noyes, Ph.D. (right), watch as Robert Conatser settles
Janet Burns, D.O., into the Virtual Haptic Back.
2 www.oucom.ohio.edu

Noteworthy
Ronald Moomaw, D.O (‘80), will join other renowned experts on the National Commission on Correctional
Health Care to draft recommendations for improving the quality of health care in jails, prisons and juvenile
confinement facilities. Moomaw’s three-year term on the 38-member commission begins in
October 2006. At that time, he will join one of seven task-oriented committees charged with
establishing best practices for correctional health care, monitoring correctional health-care services
and ensuring a high standard of care at correctional facilities. Moomaw, who has been involved
in correctional health-care issues throughout his career, is currently chief psychiatrist for the
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. He also served on the governing boards
of several correctional facilities in Ohio, including Oakwood Correctional Facility in Lima.
Moomaw joined the OU-COM Society of Alumni and Friends as a board member this year.
Keith Watson, D.O., associate dean for graduate medical education, chaired the steering committee of the first
osteopathic medical education summit held in Chicago Jan. 26-29. The summit, which was funded by the
Osteopathic Heritage Foundations, American Osteopathic Association and American Association
of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, brought together a gathering of 70 policymakers, administrators,
educators and physicians to participate in frank discussions about the future of osteopathic
medical education and a potential critical shortage of physicians by the year 2020, as projected
by the federal Council on Graduate Medical Education. As chairman, Watson was responsible for
overseeing organization and direction of the summit. The summit examined four key areas
affecting medical education: 1) workforce; 2) recruitment, particularly for medical schools and
graduate medical education; 3) funding issues for medical education and postgraduate training
programs; and 4) defining standards for evaluating the quality of medical education.
As a member of Ohio Gov. Bob Taft’s Medicaid Administrative Study Council, Brian Phillips,
chief information officer for OU-COM, will have a hand in enhancing health-care services in the
state. Tasked with examining the administration of Ohio’s Medicaid program and coming up
with a plan for creating a new Medicaid department, the council has until Dec. 31 to issue a
final report. The General Assembly is expected to enact recommendations into law by July 1,
2007. Phillips’ was appointed, in part, because of his background in health information technology
and his current work in computerizing medical records.
George F. Dunigan, OOA and OU-COM director of government relations, received the 2006 Ohio Osteopathic
Association Meritorious Service Award in June. The award, the highest honor that the association confers, recognizes
outstanding accomplishments in scientific, philanthropic or other fields of public service. Dunigan
has been an advocate for osteopathic medicine for the past 31 years. As a lobbyist for the Ohio
Osteopathic Association he was instrumental in securing passage of the 1975 legislation calling
for the creation of an osteopathic medical school at Ohio University. He helped the profession
build support for OU-COM among state lawmakers. He continues as an advocate today, working
daily with key governmental officials at the state and national level on policy issues related to
medical education, Medicaid, workers compensation and professional liability insurance.
Larry Robinson, D.O. (‘02); Benjamin Forrester, D.O. (‘03); Darnell Ladson (‘03); Suzanne Morgan, D.O.
(‘04) and Jean Rettos, D.O. (‘04), were named 2005 Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Award recipients.
This honor, which the Arnold P. Gold Foundation sponsors, recognizes residents who have excelled at teaching
and exhibited a high level of compassion toward patients, families, students and colleagues.
–Joy L. Rodgers and Kevin Sanders
summer 2006 3

News
A Pathway to Medicine
T
hanks to an innovative partnership with Columbus area schools, the Ohio University
College of Osteopathic Medicine hopes to funnel a broader range of students into its
pipeline of future physicians.
In the new Pathways Institute Partnership, OU-COM has teamed with Columbus Public Schools,
Columbus State Community College and other organizations to help students from lower
income families or whose parents never attended college realize that being a doctor is
not out of their reach.
There’s an overall shortage of people seeking health-care careers, according to Elizabeth
Minor, Health Careers Opportunities Program (HCOP) program director at OU-COM.
“Our program educates and encourages young people that likely don’t know there are
very good career opportunities in the health-care industry. We want them to know that
they have options and help them reach their goals,” she says. Students learn what to focus
on to make their career a reality.
Arla Lyles has signed on as director of the Pathways Institute Partnership, housed in Columbus.
She will oversee several initiatives that prepare students, as young as sixth graders, to navigate
the steps toward health-care careers, including osteopathic medicine. By 2008, the partnership
hopes to attract 275 students to OU-COM and other Ohio University health-care programs.
The Partnership comprises seven middle schools; Columbus State; OU-COM; Ohio University
College of Arts and Sciences; three Columbus high-schools with health academies (East
High, West High and Linden-McKinley High); and community health-care resources such as
the city of Columbus Public Health Department and Doctors Hospital in Columbus.
Pathways came about in part because of Minor’s chance meeting with John Francis, Ph.D.,
a Columbus State biochemistry professor. Minor says she and Francis began a conversation
aboard a plane in 2001 about what they did at their institutions. Four years later, they
finalized the Pathways Institute Partnership.
Students first gain admission to Columbus State, where some will enter two-year programs
related to health care. Students who want to continue their education, however, can easily
transfer key credits to Ohio University.
Students involved in Pathways also can participate in the OU-COM Summer Scholars Program,
a rigorous premedical program designed to enhance preparation for admission to medical
school and increase chances of acceptance.
–Jennifer Kowalewski
4 www.oucom.ohio.edu

photo provided by Julianna Batizy-Morely, D.O.
OU-COM Grad Goes World Class
I
n an event that attracts more than 3,000 amateur
triathletes from around the world, Julianna Batizy-
Morley, D.O. (‘96), won the 2005 International
Triathlon Union’s World Championship in Honolulu
last October.
Victory was even sweeter because just a year earlier
on Thanksgiving, Batizy-Morley passed out while
swimming and was diagnosed with multiple
bilateral pulmonary emboli. According to her father,
Levente Batizy, D.O., director of medical education
at South Pointe Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, and CORE
clinical professor of emergency medicine, “she
could barely walk across the room without getting
short of breath.”
“It was a huge setback physically and took me six
months or more to recover,” Batizy-Morley says.
Doctors were not even sure she would regain pulmonary
function. The emboli left her with joint pain, mouth
sores, hoarseness and possible connective tissue disease.
Against all those odds, however, she trained to
become No.1 in the world for her class.
Batizy-Morley completed the grueling 1,500 meter
open-water swim, 40-kilometer bike course and 10-
kilometer run in two hours, 12 minutes and 57
seconds to win the female 35-39 age division. She
was one of only 18 women in her age group to earn
a place at the Worlds.
“To see her on top of the podium in Honolulu …
was an absolute thrill,” her father says.
Batizy-Morley, who had been a competitive swimmer
in high school, didn’t even start thinking about
triathlons until almost two decades later.
“I had done one or two (triathlons) in Ohio when I
lived there just to see what they were like,” she says,
“but didn’t take them too seriously.”
Her children’s swim team coach, Gregory Zgliczynski,
saw one of her swims and suggested she make the
switch to triathlons. In 2003 Zgliczynski began coaching
Batizy-Morley, and in May of 2004, at the age of 33,
she won her first triathlon.
Batizy-Morley trains hard and works as an emergency
room physician, “every other week, every other
day,” to reconcile the demands of motherhood with
her 20-hour-a-week training schedule. On work
weeks, for instance, she might be up 36 hours
straight. Does she ever sleep? “That’s the million dollar
question,” she laughs. “I don’t sleep as much as I
should. I guess residency was a good way to get
used to it.”
Batizy-Morley is now setting her sights on a bigger
goal: to become a professional triathlete. That will
require her to compete in at least three races with
more than 500 participants and place in the top
eight. With two such wins already under her belt as
of this writing, she was confident she could cinch the
third in the spring.
Zgliczynski has no doubt she’ll join the pros.
“At the age of 30, many people look for the easy way
out,” he says. “She’s almost like a teenager with dreams,
day in, day out, willing to take a lot of punishment.”
–Sally Linder and Melissa Cabral
Despite bilateral pulmonary emboli, Julianna Batizy-Morely, D.O. (‘96), rose to world-class status as a triathlete.
summer 2006 5

News
OU-COM’s Newest Scholarship
–One More Molea Legacy
A
sk any nurse. Any colleague. Any student. Any patient.
Ask anyone who knew John S. Molea, D.O., and in
one way or another, they’ll say he was extraordinary.
“He was one of the warmest people I ever met. He
treated every individual as someone important,”
Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Dean Jack Brose, D.O., says. “He was impossible not
to like.”
Molea, former associate dean for academic and clinical
education at OU-COM, also was a pioneer, bringing
about sea changes in the college’s third- and fourthyear
rotation system. Working with assistant deans
at the hospitals, he
helped develop goals
and objectives to standardize
and improve
clinical education at all
sites. That created a
foundation for the work
he, Brose, former Dean
Barbara Ross-Lee, D.O.,
Chistopher T. Meyer, D.O.
and Cheryl Riley, R.N.,
M.S. did to establish in
1995 a statewide medical
education consortium,
now known as the Centers
for Osteopathic Research
and Education (CORE).
(See Winter 2006 Today’s
D.O. for more on the
CORE’s history.)
CORE restructured the
regional system and is
nationally recognized as
a standard for clinical
teaching systems. “Now all hospitals work together
as partners, not individual entities,” says Riley, assistant
dean for CORE and Academic Affairs operations,
stressing the importance of Molea’s contribution.
”He had built strong relationships with and understood
the teaching climate of the hospitals at the time.
His knowledge and understanding of the continuum
curriculum concept that was being fostered also lent
credibility to the plan,” Riley says, with the same respect
you hear in everyone’s voice who speaks of Molea.
An associate professor of surgery, Molea had the
same deep relationship with students as he did with
colleagues. “When students saw him, they greeted
him like he was their father. They just loved him,”
Brose says. It wasn’t just his good nature they
appreciated, but also the encouragement to excel.
Molea established the John S. Molea, D.O., Endowed
Fund for Outstanding Case-Based Report Award for
third- and fourth-year students. To motivate scholarship
in case reports and literature reviews, he dangled a
carrot: “The student authors of the top three papers
each year receive a check and a plaque, with the best
paper getting published in the OU-COM’s Ohio Research
and Clinical Review journal,” Riley says
In 1992, the National Osteopathic Foundation
recognized Molea’s gift for teaching, selecting him
as Educator of the Year. It was the first time the
prestigious award had been conferred upon an OU-COM
faculty member. The award is given annually to the
educator who exemplifies and encourages osteopathic
principles in his or her students.
To continue and expand his support of students as he
wished, his wife, Nellie, endowed the new Molea
Scholarship Fund after his death last October. It will
help third-year student recipients who have participated
in community service to offset education costs. The
Case-Based Report Award will continue receiving funding
through 2007.
Molea came to OU-COM in 1976 and retired in 1994
but continued to teach until 1997. He is remembered
as an extraordinary surgeon, mentor, leader and man.
He also will be remembered for leaving OU-COM a
better place, according to Brose, who says Molea is
one of an elite few to make such a lasting impression
on the college.
“The college could not have attained the academic
reputation it has today without him,” he says.
–Sally Linder
If you wish to contribute, send your donation marked
Molea Scholarship Fund to Susan Lash Blanchard,
assistant dean for development, Ohio University
College of Osteopathic Medicine, 205 Grosvenor Hall,
Athens, OH 45701. For information, contact Blanchard
at blanchas@ohio.edu or (740) 593-2151.
John Molea, D.O., stood out at OU-COM for being an exceptional surgeon, mentor and leader .
6 www.oucom.ohio.edu

Opportunities
With 32 active donor-generated scholarships,
Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine
alumni, friends and colleagues have established
an impressive giving legacy. On average, OU-COM
presents approximately $100,000 annually in
awards that range from $500 to $10,000 per
recipient. The amount depends on the supporting
fund’s value. Fortunately for future generations
of medical students, most of the funds are endowed
and, therefore, perpetual.
Want to be a donor? Consider creating a
scholarship or contributing to any of the existing
scholarship funds supporting OU-COM students.
Scholarship descriptions vary according to donors’
wishes and, when designated, the needs of the
college. Here are a few examples:
• Charles “Chip” Rogers Tribute Scholarship
is relatively new. It was created by friends, family
and colleagues of Rogers upon his retirement and
in honor of his 28-year career with OU-COM. The
college chooses the criteria annually depending
on what will most benefit the class pool. This
flexibility makes the Rogers Fund particularly
beneficial in attracting students to OU-COM who
otherwise would go to schools that are less
expensive or have more scholarships to offer.
• Jerry A. Zinni, D.O., Memorial Scholarship
annually supports four students from northeastern
Ohio and honors Zinni, who was founder and
principal leader of Richmond Heights (Ohio)
General Hospital. The fund was established
through the generosity of the Northeastern Ohio
HealthCare Foundation.
• Walter J. Costello, Ph.D., Scholarship
pays tribute to Costello, an OU-COM professor
of microanatomy, who died in 1998 at age 52.
During 2002, thanks to his many friends and
colleagues, the Costello Memorial Fund reached
endowment level for students with academic
merit in the Patient-Centered Curriculum program.
• Bernard Master, D.O., Scholarship was
established by Master of Worthington, Ohio, in the
early 1990s. Today, 30-plus students have benefited
from this award and continue to fulfill his interest
of encouraging our medical students to pursue
careers in urban medically underserved areas.
–Susan Lash Blanchard
Library Makes House Calls
S
tudents and faculty won’t always have to trudge up the Richland
Avenue hill to do their research. The library has come to them.
In October, the Ohio University Health Sciences Library at Alden Library
opened a satellite in Irvine Hall to help students and faculty at Ohio
University College of Osteopathic Medicine with research, including mining
online databases.
“We thought it would add some value to OU-COM to have a small office
here,” said Cheryl Ewing, director of the Health Sciences Library at Alden.
Librarians staffing the satellite include Medical Reference and Instruction
Librarian Susan Foster-Harper, Health Science Reference and Community
Outreach Librarian Debi Orr and Biology Librarian Whitney Winberg.
Ewing also spends time at the facility. The librarians generally rotate in
for half-day stints, ensuring the office is staffed throughout the day.
The librarians will travel to OU-COM offices; they arrive equipped with
wireless laptops to give one-on-one help exploring the Internet for
research resources.
At other times, the librarians serve drop-ins. “There’s a lot of traffic and a
variety of people coming to see us,” Foster-Harper says. That includes the
whole gamut at OU-COM: students, clinical instructors, faculty members
and staff.
“I don’t think (most people) know the wonders of the medical database,”
Ewing says. “Our role as librarians is not only to find the good information
but to help people find it on their own.”
–Jennifer Kowalewski
Wayne Carlsen, D.O., takes advantage of a library “house call”
from librarian Susan Foster-Harper in between donating blood
and heading for the hospital.
summer 2006 7

photo by Lee Ann Yahle
The
Hospitalist
8 www.oucom.ohio.edu

For nearly 10 years, Robin Thomas, D.O. (‘91), was in private practice
in internal medicine. Now, she works 24-hour shifts caring for hospitalized
patients–sometimes as many as 20 to 25 a day–at Blanchard Valley
Regional Health Center in Findlay, Ohio. She misses the close
relationships with her private-practice patients, but for her, she’s found
a niche in this new role.
“I always liked the hospital so much more than the office, so it was a
good fit,” she says.
Thomas is among a growing number of physicians who have become
inpatient care providers in recent years. Hospitalists, as these medical
providers often are called, oversee acute care for hospitalized patients,
a role that previously had been the province of the primary care
physician or specialists. “Hospitalists provide a service to...doctors
who often are too busy with their practices to come to the hospital
regularly,” says Jose Torres, D.O. (‘98), who works as a hospitalist at
Grandview Hospital/Kettering Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio.
“Without hospitalists, rounds could go on forever.”
The number of physicians
who oversee acute care in
hospitals is growing.
by Linda C. Knopp
A Movement Takes Root
Having physicians on staff to manage inpatient care isn’t a new
phenomenon, but it is creating a growing field of medicine. In a 1996
New England Journal of Medicine article, authors Robert Wachter, M.D.,
and Lee Goldman, M.D., first coined the term “hospitalist” to describe
a physician who spends a significant amount of work time in hospitals.
Today, the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM), a Philadelphia-based
membership organization for inpatient care providers, defines hospitalists
as “physicians whose primary professional focus is the general medical
care of hospitalized patients. Their activities include patient care, teaching,
research and leadership related to hospital medicine.”
SHM estimates that there are approximately 15,000 practicing
hospitalists in the United States today–up from just a few hundred in
the late 1990s and no more than a handful in the early ’70s. Even when
Thomas completed her internal medicine residency at Akron City
Hospital in 1995, most primary care physicians didn’t consider inpatient
care a career choice. “At that time, there weren’t many hospitalists,” she
says. “Everyone had private practices and did inpatient work. The only
physicians with hospital practices were critical care, ER and anesthesia.”
Thanks, in part, to increased demands on the time of physicians with
office practices, increased pressure from society to provide cost-effective
and quality care to hospital inpatients, and limits on the number of
hours medical residents could work, the field of hospital medicine had
taken off by 2005 when Eric Schumacher, D.O. (’00), completed his
residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at Wright State University
in Dayton. Because the work schedule and job duties appealed to him,
Schumacher accepted a position as a hospitalist at Ohio State
University Medical Center in Columbus, where he cares for patients
through the hospital’s general inpatient service, its James Cancer
hospitalist service and its Ross Heart hospitalist service. He also cares
for hospitalized pediatric patients at Children’s Hospital and serves as
an assistant professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at Ohio State.
Jose Torres, D.O. (‘98), is among a growing contingent of physicians who
opt for a hospital-based career.
summer 2006 9

“I really enjoy taking care of acutely ill patients with complex
issues, and a career as a hospitalist fits this perfectly,” he says.
“While I occasionally fill in for my outpatient colleagues to
keep up my outpatient skills, I prefer the acuity of the
inpatient setting. The complexity of the patients I see keeps
me up to date on the medical literature,” he says, adding
that, “The variety of disease processes I manage certainly
makes each day different and filled with new challenges.”
Growth in Field Benefits All
According to those who work in the field, the job of hospitalist
also offers numerous other benefits to physicians, hospitals
and patients. For physicians, there are predictable schedules,
average- to above-average pay, and the opportunity to avoid
the hassles and expenses of starting and growing a private
practice. Hospitals gain experienced inpatient care providers
who can consult with other physicians and surgeons and
treat patients admitted to the institution without a primary
care provider. And for patients, the benefits of having physicians
who are monitoring their care on site 24 hours a day are
immeasurable, some say.
“Patients are usually very grateful to see an attending physician
who is familiar with their care, checking in on them at any
hour of the day or night,” Schumacher says. “Certainly,
providing 24-hour care with in-house physicians provides
patients and their families extra comfort in knowing someone
can be there at a moment’s notice if needed.”
Industry proponents say bringing on hospitalists–who are
available throughout their shifts to monitor patient progress
and to adjust treatment as needed–has improved the overall
quality of care hospital patients receive. And by the nature of
their work, hospitalists have more experience treating patients
in a hospital setting than most primary care providers. The
result, they contend, is better outcomes at lower costs. And
their arguments have some basis; studies reveal that employing
hospitalists yields a 10 percent to 25 percent decrease in the
length of hospital stay, with a resulting decrease in costs, which
benefits the patients, the hospitals and the insurance companies.
And some physicians, such as Thomas, like how the specialty
meshes with real life. There’s less paperwork and more time
with her family than when she was a primary care physician.
“I guess the best thing is that when I am home, I am home.
I have no beeper outside the hospital and do not get phone
calls,” Thomas says.
Who Are Hospitalists?
According to SHM, two-thirds of major teaching hospitals,
one-half of other teaching hospitals and one-quarter of
nonteaching hospitals offer hospitalist programs. In the
industry’s earliest days, hospitalist programs were more
prevalent on the East and West Coasts, but now, hospitals in
almost all major metro areas and a growing number of rural
communities have hospitalists on staff.
Wherever they’re located, hospitalists have similar goals:
helping patients recover as quickly as possible or providing
quality end-of-life care to those whose conditions do not
allow for recovery. Still, the exact job description varies by
institution. Most hospitalists are employed directly by hospitals
or medical groups that work under contract with hospitals.
Some hospitalists work exclusively with adults, while others
treat both adult and pediatric patients. Some work 10- to
12-hour shifts several days a month, while others work fewer,
24-hour shifts a month.
Wayne Carlsen, D.O., F.A.C.O.I., combines inpatient care
at O’Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens with his academic
responsibilities at OU-COM. Carlsen, chair of the Department
of Geriatric Medicine/Gerontology and associate professor
of geriatrics, handles most of the hospital-based care for the
five-member Geriatric Medicine Department of University
Medical Associates. He spends about one-half of each day
caring for hospitalized patients, which works well around
his academic duties at OU-COM, he says. But even this
schedule has its disadvantages. “In a hospital setting, the
caseload varies greatly,” Carlsen says. “I might have to see
two patients in that time one day and 22 another.”
” Multiple docs and multiple
nurses and multiple
administrations can equal
disaster with change.”
–Robin Thomas, D.O.
Still, he says, the work arrangement has advantages, too,
for physicians and patients. Because he focuses primarily on
hospital care, fellow physicians in his group can concentrate
on other responsibilities. And because he works at the hospital
regularly, Carlsen has been able to develop good working
relationships with other health-care workers at O’Bleness.
“They recognize my routines and I recognize theirs,” he
says. The arrangement also provides patients with a continuity
of care, since he typically sees a patient throughout his or
her hospital stay.
Most general hospitalists, including Thomas, Torres and
Schumacher, are trained as internists. But other inpatient
care providers, like Don Maxwell, D.O., F.C.C.P. (‘96), who
is certified in critical care medicine, have undertaken further
training to provide more specialized care to hospitalized
patients. Maxwell, who is considered an intensivist rather
than a hospitalist, cares for the most critically ill patients at
Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa, Ariz., as medical
10 www.oucom.ohio.edu

director of the hospital’s medical and surgical transition
intensive care units.
Maxwell says the challenge of helping the most seriously
ill patients recover drew him into critical care medicine.
“[Caring for the sickest of the sick] requires continual inpatient
monitoring and both clinical- and procedural-related skills
to positively impact this population,” he says. “But on a
patient-family aspect, it is so wonderful to educate, talk
with and support families through these processes in the
ICU. This is why I came into medicine in the first place.”
Communication Plays Key Role
Despite the many benefits that hospitalists can provide, some
industry critics argue that switching providers can be stressful
to hospitalized patients at a time when they need stress the
least. And others point out that passing patient information
back and forth between providers creates potential for
inadequate communication, which could ultimately have a
negative impact on patient care.
Torres has heard both arguments and more, but he believes
the field is here to stay. “A lot of patients are surprised at first
when I come in to see them,” he says. “But once I explain
to them...they begin to realize that their doctor can’t always
drop everything at his or her office to come to the hospital
every time a patient is admitted. He or she has patients in
the office, too.”
Handling communication with the patient’s primary care
physician does take planning, however. In some integrated
health-care organizations where the primary care physician
and the hospital are part of the same group, sophisticated
computer systems might be available to link information
from the inpatient to office setting. More often, though,
hospitalists rely on more rudimentary tools for passing
along patient updates.
Grandview Hospital in Dayton automatically sends copies
of all lab work conducted on inpatients to their primary
care physicians. Hospitalists also dictate a discharge summary
for each patient that describes the diagnosis, treatment and
any further follow-up needed, which is faxed to the patient’s
primary care provider upon discharge, Torres says. If he
believes a patient needs more follow-up attention, he then
calls the primary care physician personally.
As a former primary care physician herself, Thomas considers
this relationship especially important. “Before I came, I don’t
think they contacted physicians much at all,” she says. “I
was told, ‘They get the discharge summary; that should be
enough.’” This person had never been in private practice.
Having experienced what it’s like to be blindsided by a patient
or family, I designed some fax notifications.”
Because hospitalists at Blanchard Valley Regional Health
Center work 10 24-hour shifts a month, patients there often
Eric Schumacher, D.O. (‘00), stresses the importance of
communication between the hospitalist and a patient’s
primary-care physician.
see different doctors each day. That, too, sometimes
proves to be a challenge to seamless care. “In our
case, patients have a different physician every 24
hours,” says Thomas. “I try to inform them of that
issue. There are times when I may be working every
other day, so that helps some, but that is where I hear
the most concern.”
That’s also where primary care physicians can work
together with hospitalists to provide the best care for
patients. “Sometimes, physicians stop for social calls,
which helps both the patient and us,” Thomas says.
“Sometimes, they are in a better position to discuss
sensitive issues than we are.”
Still, ensuring smooth transitions between inpatient
care providers and primary care physicians, or even
between two inpatient care physicians, has bumps.
“Multiple docs and multiple nurses and multiple
administrations can equal disaster with change.”
As the number of hospitalist programs across the
United States grows, the challenges of ensuring
adequate communication will only increase. “There
are fewer primary care physicians seeing their patients
as inpatients than there used to be,” Schumacher says.
“We try to assure our patients that we will update
their PCP about their condition and management.”
photo provided by Eric Shumacher, D.O.
summer 2006 11

photos by Lee Ann Yahle
Jose Torres, D.O. (‘00), believes the development of hospital medicine core competencies will help forge its course as a specialty.
Moving Forward as a Medical Specialty
Because SHM predicts that the number of hospitalist positions
could reach 30,000 by 2010, the field likely will become the
job of choice for many medical school graduates in coming
years. But despite growing numbers nationwide, hospital
medicine still is not considered a formal medical specialty by
some physicians because it lacks a credentialing body and a
core set of skills and knowledge. SHM is working to change
that, however.
In February, the association, in conjunction with more than
100 hospitalists and other physicians from across the country,
developed The Core Competencies in Hospital Medicine: A
Framework for Curriculum Development, the nation’s first
comprehensive set of guidelines to help medical schools,
postgraduate training programs and continuing medical
education programs develop standardized curricula for
teaching hospital medicine. The goal of the document is to
help assess gaps in current training programs and to set the
stage for any future hospitalist certification programs, says
Steve Pantilat, M.D., SHM president.
Most physicians interested in hospital medicine had to forge
their own educational route, in many cases selecting residency
programs that have a strong basis in hospital care to help
prepare them for their career choice. None of the inpatient
care providers interviewed for this story has formal training
as a hospitalist. In fact, few formal hospitalist training programs
exist even today.
But some hospitalists believe that hospitalist training programs
could take off in coming years as more primary care physicians,
patients and hospitals recognize the benefits. “In the near
future, I would not be surprised to see a larger number of
fellowships and subspecialty board certification in the field,”
Schumacher says.
Torres also believes the development of SHM’s core
competencies will help hospital medicine forge its course
as a medical specialty. “Down the road, I think you’ll be
able to choose a track in internal medicine,” he says. “You’ll
either be able to study to be an inpatient care provider–a
hospitalist–or an outpatient care provider.”
TODAY’S
DO
Contacts
Society of Hospital Medicine
190 Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106-1572
(800) 843-3360
www.hospitalmedicine.org
Society of Critical Care Medicine
701 Lee Street, Suite 200
Des Plaines, IL 60016
(847) 827-6869
www.sccm.org
Growth of Hospitalists in
North America
Year
Number of Hospitalists
Mid 1990s 800
1998 2,000
2002 6,000
2003 8,000
2005 15,000
2010 (projected) 30,000
Source: Society of Hospital Medicine, 2005
12 www.oucom.ohio.edu

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Reserve your room at the Hilton at Easton at our special rate of $142/night. Call (614) 414-5000 or go online at Hiltoncolumbus.com and enter code OHU.

The Obstetrics Dilemma
by Richard Heck
Today malpractice
insurance and
litigation are
changing the
face of obstetrics.
The one big
casualty is
choice —for
patients and
doctors
alike.
illustration by Danette Pratt

WWhen Mary Kruszewski, D.O. (‘88), began her practice in 1993, she paid $6,000 for insurance. This
year, her total malpractice insurance premiums exceed $107,000. Money, however, has not been
the only cost.
Skyrocketing costs of medical malpractice insurance spell ominous warnings for the future of
health care and physicians’ practices. Kruszewski is feeling it firsthand like so many
physicians, including other graduates of Ohio University’s College of Osteopathic
Medicine, who are speaking up.
Recent studies, surveys, papers and reports reveal in ever-increasing frequency how
the issue is impacting decisions physicians make, not only about how they treat patients
but where and even if they practice. The field of obstetrics remains especially hard hit.
An Ohio Department of Insurance report issued in February 2005 from a survey of
Ohio physicians concluded that the rising cost of malpractice insurance has significantly
impacted physician behavior and their future plans in the state. The survey included
answers from 1,359 physicians from across Ohio, 10 percent of whom were osteopathic
physicians.
Nearly four out of 10 respondents surveyed say they have retired or plan to retire by
2008 because of rising insurance expenses. “This finding is all the more sobering since
just 9 percent of the respondents were over the age of 64,” the report says.
Among osteopathic physicians, 11 percent say they planned to retire during 2005, and
15 percent say they planned to seek employment outside patient care.
Kruszewski, who practices in Du Bois, Pa.–a rural town in a state considered in crisis because of
high premiums–has been affiliated with several insurance companies and named a defendant in
lawsuits. “I’ve gone to two trials, both of which turned out in my favor,” she says. But her hefty
insurance premiums have affected how she practices, including ordering more tests, but as of
yet, she has not considered moving her practice or leaving patient care. “I’m not ready to
give it up because I like what I do,” she says.
A paper issued by the University of Michigan Health System warned that increasing
premiums are forcing many physicians to rethink how they practice, from reducing
staff to quitting patient care altogether.
“The hard cost of malpractice premiums is beginning to lead providers to drop or reduce
obstetrical services,” says Scott B. Ransom, D.O., senior author of a research paper published
in the June 2005 issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology. “Our study shows that there
is legitimate reason for concern about patients’ access to obstetric care and prenatal care in
the future,” he warned.
“It is frustrating,” says Michelle Wright, D.O. (‘95), who moved her obstetrics practice
from Athens in rural Ohio to Sharon, Pa., for a variety of reasons, not the
least of which was yearly double-digit rate increases for her malpractice
insurance. Before relocating from Athens, Wright saw her premiums
jump from $18,000 to $65,000 in just two years.
“I can’t work without it; it’s a necessary evil.”
The primary breadwinner in her household, Wright took a job at a federally funded clinic in
western Pennsylvania mainly for economic reasons. Although Pennsylvania ranks close to
Ohio for some of the highest medical malpractice insurance rates in the country, her clinic is
covered under the federal court and tort system, keeping Wright’s insurance rates–and
any possible malpractice claims–somewhat moderated. With family ties and roots in western
Pennsylvania, the professional change made more sense.
Did malpractice insurance rates drive her out? Certainly in part. “Leaving Athens
was difficult, but I had to find a stable climate and not worry about a paycheck at the end
of the day,” Wright says.
summer 2006 15

Wright is not alone. In 2004, 96 percent of the Ohio
Department of Insurance survey respondents said his or her
malpractice rates jumped by an average of 39 percent over
2003. More than a quarter were paying more than $50,000
a year, and one in five physicians was paying 20 percent of
gross annual income for insurance. Obstetrics and gynecology
physicians responding to the survey reported paying more
than 30 percent of their annual income to malpractice insurers.
Wright says that, financially, the high premiums hit
younger physicians harder, considering many are already in
debt from their education, practice start-up and young families.
“It can be a balancing act,” she says.
The Ohio insurance survey warned that malpractice insurance
premium increases are impacting Ohio doctors in a
variety of other areas, including influencing where physicians
see patients, what type of services they offer, how they provide
treatment and what business practices are forced upon
them, such as reducing staff.
Alumni of OU-COM can attest to that.
“ I had to find a stable climate and
not worry about a paycheck at
the end of the day.”
Michelle Wright, D.O.
The malpractice insurance crisis was a factor in George
Abate’s decision to locate his practice in Indianapolis. His
attendings warned him of how expensive it would be to
practice in Cuyahoga County, according to Abate, D.O.
(‘02), who at the time was completing his residency at
northeastern Ohio’s Metrohealth System. The issue also
impacts how he treats patients and the costs associated with
their care.
“As a resident we’re already taught to be defensive and more
aware,” Abate says. “You have to order more tests than may
be warranted, but (if you don’t, you) worry about missing a
breast cancer or something that may be indicated from an
MRI, which then adds more costs and more tests. That is
going to affect patient care.”
Abate also feels that the high malpractice insurance rates
reflect an even greater problem for medical care across the
board. “The rising cost of health care overall has the potential
to bankrupt the country,” he warned.
A nontraditional student while at OU-COM, Abate says his
perspective on the issue may be somewhat different than
younger colleagues. Along with other physicians, lawmakers,
educators and experts, Abate blames growing malpractice
lawsuits and astronomical plaintiff monetary awards.
“There need to be caps on claims,” he says. “If there is
harm to a patient, then they should be appropriately
reimbursed...Part of the problem comes down to the size
of the awards.”
That is one perspective, but Ohio’s cap for awards in
malpractice lawsuits, enacted nearly two years ago, has yet
to show any significant difference in premiums, several
physicians and insurance officials says. Legal experts report
that insurance companies tend to wait before stabilizing
premiums to see if such legislation will be overturned by
the courts.
Patrick Muffley, D.O. (‘97), who returned to his native
Southeastern Ohio to practice at Holzer Medical System of
Gallipolis and Jackson, agreed that Ohio’s cap has yet to
stem the problem, and no one knows how the courts will
respond. “Look at Wisconsin, which enacted a cap, then
was challenged and repealed,” he says. Muffley says some
changes in current law, such as requiring medical experts to
testify harm has been done to a patient before a lawsuit is
even filed, might bring more responsibility to the system.
Muffley, who relocated from Maine, saw his insurance
premiums eased by participating in a large group practice,
which is partly self-insured and helped reduce costs, he
says.
“It is affecting the way we practice medicine,” he says of
the more serious consequences litigation spawns. “When
you look across the country and see how the c-section rate
has jumped 30 percent, I think that is a response to avoid
possible future litigation. Muffley says physicians hasten to
order c-sections earlier than they might like because there
are too many malpractice cases in which plaintiffs claim a
c-section was done too late.
Janet Zurovchak, D.O. (‘88), agrees. She practices in Logan
County in western Ohio, where she’s delivered many babies
in a Bellefontaine, Ohio, hospital. “I don’t wait as long before
doing a c-section if there is anything that might be wrong
because this is a smaller, community hospital,” she says. Her
hospital doesn’t have a full-time anesthesiologist, and it can
take 30 minutes or longer to summon one or transfer a
patient to a larger metropolitan hospital in Springfield or
Sydney with better facilities, she says.
Higher premiums also changed Zurovchak’s practice in
another way. Her three-physician practice was forced last
16 www.oucom.ohio.edu

Anita Showalter, D.O., (‘93) whose practice is largely among
Amish clients, discovered that if she moved her practice just 10
miles to the south in neighboring Holmes County–closer to
the majority of her patients–she could save $75,000 a year on
her liability insurance.
year to cut back, replacing a physician with a midwife.
“The workload is naturally more, but we just couldn’t
afford to pay more,” she says. If insurance premiums
continue to increase, which she says has been occurring
regularly for the past five years, she may even consider
quitting obstetrics and just providing gynecology services.
Physicians also face a complex task of sorting through
insurance premiums based on specialty and location,
regulations, managed care, hospital privileges and a variety
of other issues. Ohio is considered a high-risk state for
malpractice insurance, but insurance companies charge even
higher rates in the southeastern and northeastern quadrants
of the state. Often, managed care and insurance companies
contribute to the problem.
Anita Showalter, D.O. (‘93), whose practice is largely
among Amish clients, noted her premiums only increased
two percent last year. “Still, 2 percent is still a lot if you pay
$150,000 a year,” she says.
Options can be few, though. When Showalter considered
moving her practice a county away after her insurance
premiums jumped two and one-half times in one year, her
insurance carrier was the obstacle. “For some reason, my
insurance company decided to include my county (Wayne),
which is in a rural area with an Amish cliental who tend not
to sue, with northeastern Ohio,” she says, adding that she’s
never been the subject of a lawsuit. But to her surprise,
Showalter discovered that if she moved her practice
just 10 miles to the south in neighboring Holmes
County–closer to the majority of her patients,
actually–she could save $75,000 a year on her liability
insurance. When she questioned her insurance carrier
about the logic of its reasoning, she received no
substantial answer. In the end she stayed put and
paid the price, so she wouldn’t have to switch her
hospital affiliation.
“I feel like physicians have sold the farm,” says
Showalter, who is passionate about the issue. Defensive
medicine gets in the way of good medicine. “If you
have to look at every patient as a potential adversary
in a lawsuit, you lose the trust that is needed between
a physician and patient.”
Showalter believes physicians and hospitals need to
come up with solutions. She says she’d consider the
option of forgoing liability insurance and creating a
national fund to assist patients who encounter legitimate
medical problems needing catastrophic care.
Already, the idea of “going bare” is commonplace in
Florida, so far with little downside, she says.
“ The rising cost of health care
overall has the potential to
bankrupt the country.”
George Abate, D.O.
“We would be saying that we need physicians and
hospitals and to give them the room to be human,”
she says.
“We need a national outrage,” Showalter says. “The
people not being treated fairly are the physicians and
the hospitals. Can we really afford to continue?”
If you ask Zurovchak, she’ll say it’s not just physicians.
“I don’t think the public realizes how much this affects
them. They read about it and hear about it talked and
tossed about in the news media, but until we say we
have to make changes in our practice, the average person
doesn’t realize that means their doctor,” she says.
TODAY’S
DO
summer 2006 17

18 www.oucom.ohio.edu
.
..

.
........
From Diapers to
Driver’s Licenses
by Melissa Rake Calhoun
More and more graduates are choosing
pediatrics. What’s accelerating the
march to this specialty?
Hint: It’s not the money.
Mazen Abbas, D.O. (‘03), first felt the pull toward pediatric practice when he began treating a little
girl with complicated pnemonia, and she surprised him. When she recovered beautifully, Abbas couldn’t
get over the feeling he carried with him in the days after her release from Dewitt Army Community
Hospital in Fort Belvoir, Va.
“We took a three-year-old who looked absolutely miserable and scared, and made her happy and playful
in one intervention,” Abbas says. “I remember specifically that’s the moment I went home and thought,
‘I can’t wait to go to work tomorrow morning.’”
That was more than two years ago. Now, Abbas is a pediatric resident and Army captain at Tripler
Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. He says he went into pediatrics because it provides an
incredibly satisfying level of reward.
Abbas’ story is not uncommon. Across the nation, an increasing number of medical graduates are choosing
pediatrics as their practice focus. What’s more, in Abbas’ 2003 graduating class, 10 percent of graduates
chose pediatrics–the highest percentage of a single class in OU-COM’s history.
The number of general pediatricians nationally has grown from just over 22,000 in 1975 to nearly 70,000
in 2003, according to the most recent statistics provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Much
of the growth has taken place since 1990, representing a 67 percent increase, and is associated with the
crest in primary care popularity beginning in the mid-1990s.
A more marked shift has been taking place in the past decade among osteopathic graduates. Since
1995, the number of osteopathic residents training in pediatrics has increased by 99 percent,
summer 2006 19

Karen Montgomery-Reagan, D.O., and Celeste
Wallace, D.O. (‘02), were drawn to pediatrics for
similar but separate reasons.
20 www.oucom.ohio.edu

compared to a 15 percent growth in the allopathic arena,
according to a 2005 study published in The Journal of the
American Medical Association.
This trend is mirrored at OU-COM, although on a smaller
scale. The number of graduates choosing pediatrics hasn’t
exactly exploded but has been a slow climb from one or two
graduates a year in the 1980s to anywhere from four to 10
in the past decade. Current statistics show that 60, or 4
percent, of OU-COM’s 1,653 practicing physicians
are pediatricians. Double that for the percentage
of OU-COM graduates currently in pediatrics
residency programs.
“We’ve seen a larger number of very bright
students seeking pediatrics as a career choice,
and I think America’s kids are going to be better
off for it,” says Michael Anderson, M.D., chair
of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee
on Pediatric Workforce. “It’s a very exciting
time to be in pediatrics because we’re making
progress on disease processes that we didn’t
have an impact on 10 years ago.”
The reasons behind this trend are multifaceted.
It’s not as simple as presuming more medical
school graduates these days love working with
children. Career satisfaction, job flexibility and
changes in demographics are part of the equation.
Reward, Reward, Reward
When Carl Backes, D.O., talks about his 30
years in pediatrics, his enthusiasm is clear.
Backes can explain his draw to the field in a
simple statement.
“I don’t know of another primary care doctor
who takes someone from birth through high
school–through jaundice, immunizations, hospitalizations
for illness, growing up and having school problems, the
changes of puberty during adolescence and, finally, getting
them ready for college,” he says. “It’s like being a mom
and dad.”
Many studies indicate high career satisfaction levels for
pediatricians, and reward is a big reason why pediatricians love
what they do. Backes, a former OU-COM regional dean
and currently a CORE clinical professor of pediatrics, is
codirector of a dually accredited pediatric residency program
at Doctors Hospital, along with a codirector at Children’s
Hospital, both in Columbus, Ohio. In his role, Backes
works with residents who have come into the field via different
paths, some because it’s what they’ve always wanted to do
and others who may have had an experience that inspired
them to pursue a pediatric focus.
According to Abbas, children typically bounce back. They
want to get better, he explains, and parents usually listen to
doctors’ recommendations because they want to take good care
of their children. “It’s a ... positive experience, and you
know there’s probably going to be a good outcome,”
Abbas says.
OU-COM Associate Professor of Pediatrics Karen
Montgomery-Reagan, D.O., says she was drawn to
pediatrics for the same reasons and, like Abbas, has
many positive anecdotes to share, such as the baby she
treated in an emergency situation who’s now six years
Number of General Pediatricians
By Year (x1000)
80
60
40
20
0
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
number of general pediatricians by year (x1000)
1975
2003
old and still her patient. “I’ve got all kinds of stories
that make me so warm inside because maybe God put
me in the right place at the right time for these kids,”
says Montgomery-Reagan, who’s been a practicing
pediatrician since 1995.
This aspect of pediatrics shouldn’t be downplayed as it
brings more medical students into this primary care field
every year. Katie Pestak, a second-year OU-COM
student and president of the Pediatrics Club, seems
as knowledgeable about the rewards of the profession
as some of her mentors. Through the Pediatrics
Club, Pestak exhibits her passion by working with
Montgomery-Reagan, club adviser, to open up
physcian-shadowing and pediatric service opportunities
for students.
“Kids heal quickly, and they have such a sense about
them when they are healing,” Pestak says. “If I heal a
child, they have possibly 80 more years to live. You
feel like you’re really making a difference.”
informational graphic by Jeff Brown
summer 2006 21

A Family-Friendly Specialty
Lori Gordley, D.O (‘03), loves children, but that’s not the
only reason she chose pediatrics. The flexibility it provides
cemented her decision.
“Lifestyle went into my choice, and pediatrics is good for
physicians who have families. I don’t have children yet, but
the ability to manage my schedule is important to me,” said
Gordley, a pediatrics resident at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
More graduates like Gordley are looking to balance family and
career, and they’re realizing that pediatrics offers flexibility.
The average full-time pediatrician works about 50 hours a
week, which is considerably less than some medical specialties.
In addition, more pediatricians work part time than physicians
in any other specialty. The percentage of pediatricians reporting
they work part time has increased from nearly 11 percent in
1993 to 20 percent in 2004, reports the American Academy
of Pediatrics, and 26 percent of pediatricians versus 14
percent of all physicians have worked part time at some
point in their careers.
“You’re going to work hard, but you’re not going to be
beaten into the ground,” says Anderson of the American
Academy of Pediatrics. “You make an impact on families’
lives, but you have time for your own family.”
This flexibility is appealing to women, who are entering
the field in unprecedented numbers. Women made up
about 20 percent of the pediatric workforce in 1970 and
about 40 percent in 1990, according to the American
Medical Association. Today, they represent more than 50
percent of the workforce, a historic first for any specialty
in the United States.
Pediatricians haven’t always had the ability to manage their
schedules, however. The pediatrician’s role was very different
when Backes was practicing in the years following his
graduation from the Kirksville College of Osteopathic
Medicine in 1972. He recalls working long hours and running
from hospital to hospital to treat children.“There weren’t
many pediatricians then, so we were always on call,” he says.
“It was a very challenging time.”
Many pediatricians say the reward and flexibility their field
provides makes up for the fact that pediatrics is one of the
lowest-paying medical disciplines. The average pediatrician
earns just more than $143,000 compared to $230,000 and
up for obstetrics/gynecology and general surgery. Even family
medicine practitioners, at nearly $150,000, make more.
Considering the rising cost of malpractice insurance and
heavy student loan debt many graduates are saddled with in
their early years, it stands to reason that some graduates
may be drawn to more lucrative specialties. Others, however,
see the long-term promise of job satisfaction.
“I really like what I’m doing, and I’m going to enjoy getting
up and going to work every day,” Gordley says. “Knowing
that, I don’t mind not making as much money. You have to
decide what’s most important.”
For Abbas, it’s not about the money, either. “I thought about
my kids and that I wanted to choose a specialty where I could
be there for them. It’s more important for me to see my
family rather than having more money,” says Abbas, who
has two children, Jad, 6, and Carabelle, 3.
Preventive Medicine
In pediatrics, education extends beyond the patient; a
pediatrics practice is a perfect platform for reaching both the
child and parent–children in terms of educating them about
staying healthy and safe, and parents in terms of teaching
them how to reinforce this message to their children. The
multigenerational reach has made pediatrics especially
attractive to some graduates.
“Children are at risk because they’re dependent entirely on
the parent,” says Thomas Clark, D.O., chair of OU-COM’s
Department of Pediatrics. “It’s important for us to be an
advocate for the child while educating parents about ways to
keep their children healthy.”
For example, Clark continually reinforces to his students the
importance of talking to parents about childhood immunizations.
“Younger pediatricians aren’t as aggressive about immunizations
because they didn’t see all these kids die from diseases,” he
says. “We need to be more aggressive about advocating for
children to get immunizations.”
Abbas, who earned a master’s degree in public health, talks
to parents about everything from preventing sickness and
injury to issues involving discipline. To this end, Abbas plans
to develop a parenting class that residents near Tripler Army
Medical Center can attend. This type of class is especially
relevant on a military base, where many parents are young
and often far from family.
“Good parenting skills can make a big difference in a child’s
health and psychological development, and we need to make
sure we’re helping parents on all levels,” Abbas says.
Celeste Wallace, D.O. (‘02), who is an assistant professor
in OU-COM’s Pediatrics Department and practices with
Montgomery-Reagan, also was drawn to primary pediatrics
for its preventive nature. Whether it’s hygiene or diet and
exercise, Wallace has found that many children will not head
down a healthy path if they don’t learn the basics early.
“Once they’re adults, it’s too hard to reprogram them. It’s
easier to start with young minds,” she says.
The drive to make an impact fits right in with Wallace’s
other reason for choosing pediatrics: “I love children, and
you have to do what you love.”
More Doctors in the Making
Although Pestak, a native of Cleveland, has two more years
of medical school and three years in a residency, she already
knows she’d like to practice pediatrics in Ohio and be a part
of this burgeoning profession.
22 www.oucom.ohio.edu

“I think pediatrics is growing because people are more interested
in continuation of care,” she says. “You develop long-term
relationships, and I think people are wanting to connect with
their doctors.”
More medical students are realizing the benefits of a career in
pediatrics because professors are creating opportunities for
students to experience pediatric practice, such as through
OU-COM’s Pediatrics Club, and through medical apprenticeship
and mentoring programs that the American Academy of
Pediatrics and other organizations offer.
The American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians reaches out to
medical students through chapters. Students additionally are
invited to conferences and to serve on the organization’s
Board of Trustees. Lee J. Herskowitz, D.O., president of the
“ I really like what I’m doing, and I’m
going to enjoy getting up and going
to work every day. Knowing that, I don’t
mind not making as much money. You
have to decide what’s most important.”
organization, believes its important to tap into students’ interests,
perceptions and concerns about the field.
“We, as a College, are doing as much as we can to try to encourage
students to look at pediatrics,” Herskowitz says. “We involve
them in organization activities such as helping us improve the
academic curriculum in the area of pediatrics. Their viewpoints
are important.”
Although there’s been some debate about whether the general
pediatrician workforce will expand more rapidly into the next
decade than the child population, Anderson says, there will
always be a need for pediatricians, especially in rural communities.
“Getting pediatricians to practice in underserved areas will
continue to be a concern, and that’s why it’s important for
us to try to make an impact on students early on about the need
and offer them incentives to practice in rural areas,” he says.
For the pediatric field to continue to flourish, however, it’s
important that medical school students keep experiencing the
“aha” moments that lead them to a satisfying career in the field.
“Treating children is a very visceral sort of thing,” Anderson
says. “We have to show what fun we have and the impact we
have on families.”
TODAY’S
DO
–Lori Gordley, D.O.
summer 2005 23

Celebrate
1981
Family Health ® airs on 18 radio stations in Ohio and West
Virginia. Fred J. Jenson, D.O. is the first host. Jack Brose,
D.O. serves as the interim on-air voice for Family Health ®
radio in 1982.
Fred J. Jenson, D.O.
Sound Medical Advice
Family Health ® , a drive time audio
staple, turns 25 this year. These twoand-a-half
minute radio spots enlighten
12 million listeners daily, across the
nation and around the world.
The format is familiar to listeners: A theme song and
announcer cue the audience that Harold C. Thompson,
an osteopathic family physician, will provide health
information in layman's terms about a medical issue
that recently surfaced in the news or in answer to a
question frequently asked by patients. The program
ends neatly with suggestions that listeners can often
readily act upon.
Family Health ® was the product of a brainstorming
session between Ed McDonald, a radio producer at
the Ohio University Telecommunications Center (now
called the Center for Public Media); Fred J. Jensen,
D.O., Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine
(OU-COM) professor of pathology; and Carl J. Denbow,
Ph.D., OU-COM director of communication.
In 1988, Adam Hochberg (right),
today a National Public Radio
correspondent, got his start as
a scriptwriter working with
Frank Myers, D.O., Producer
Don Bilski (seated) and Project
Director Carl Denbow, Ph.D.
Today, 6,500 shows later,
Family Health ® is regarded
by the profession as one
of its major vehicles to “make
D.O. a household word,”
according to Guy Beaumont,
executive director of the
American College of
Osteopathic Surgeons. Over
the years, primary support
for Family Health ® has come
from the American Osteopathic
Association, with additional
critical annual gifts from the
American College of
Osteopathic Surgeons and the
American College of
Osteopathic Family Physicians.
Frank W. Myers, D.O.
Harold C. Thompson, D.O.
1982
Jack Brose, D.O., hosts Family Health ® .
1983
Frank W. Myers, D.O., then OU-COM dean, is selected as the
new permanent host. Family Health ® airs on 142 radio stations.
1990
The Family Health theme song was written and performed
by Mark Phillips, professor of music at Ohio University.
Affiliate stations number their highest, at 330.
1994
Audio files of Family Health ® are available via download of
from its Web site, www.fhradio.org.
1998
Harold C. Thompson III, D.O., assistant professor of
emergency medicine in the Department of Family Medicine,
succeeds Dr. Myers upon his retirement.
2006
Family Health ® reaches about 12 million listeners each day
on an international network that includes nearly 300
domestic stations, a few foreign stations, and the U.S.
Armed Forces Radio Network.
Family Health ® Top 10 Listener
Choice Shows of 2006
• The Family Health ® First Aid Fact Finder
• Sleeping pills
• Adding protein to your diet
• Preventing osteoporosis
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Restless leg syndrome
• Sense of smell’s influence on health
• Lifesaving showering routine
• Vitamin A and bone health
• Getting more sleep can help lose weight
24 www.oucom.ohio.edu

Your Ohio University Alumni Association connects you . . .
The Ohio University Alumni Association
partnerships with nationally prominent
vendors — simply making life better!
Need insurance ...
Travel Auto
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Health (short term/long term)
Show your Ohio pride ...
Apparel
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Consolidate your school loans ...
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consolidation program
Travel the world ...
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Get connected ...
Chapter networks
Society networks
The [Gateway]
Online directory
Dr. Shubrook proudly wears the Official Ring of Ohio University.
Contact the alumni association at
740-593-4300
alumni@ohio.edu or visit
www.ohio.edu/alumni/
for more information.
Jay Shubrook D.O. (’96)
Involved. Ambassador.
Role model. Bobcat.
The Official Ring of Ohio
University is exclusively
designed by Balfour

Research News
Survey Shows Diabetes Rates Higher
in Ohio Appalachian Counties
An epidemic of diabetes mellitus, or type 2 diabetes, is occurring in the United States and in other parts of
the industrialized world. According to a recent survey conducted by the Appalachian Rural Health Institute
(ARHI), people who live in Southeast Ohio also appear to have a higher prevalence of diabetes than other
regions of the state and the nation as a whole–rates nearly equivalent to ethnic populations that have a
known higher incidence of the disease–according to ARHI researchers.
In a telephone survey conducted in January 2006, more than 2,220 adult residents of seven Southeast Ohio
counties were asked, “Have you ever been told by a doctor or other health-care professional that you have
diabetes?” and 11.3 percent answered “yes.”
To compare, the Center for Disease Control's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System survey, the world's largest telephone survey, reported rates of diabetes
at 7.3 percent for all of Ohio and 7.7 percent for the nation when respondents
were asked the same question.
Please don't hang up!
Help us gather information that will be used
to develop diabetes services in your county.
Do you have diabetes or heart disease or do you
know someone who does? What kinds of clinic and
education services would help you and others in your
county? The Appalachian Rural Health Institute at
Ohio University is running an anonymous telephone
survey this week. The goal of the survey is to learn
about chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart
disease affecting people in Southeast Ohio. The
interviewers will be gathering information that will
be used to develop diabetes services in your county.
You can help by taking a few moments to answer
the questions.
The Appalachian Rural Health Institute is a health
services and research institute at Ohio University.
The Institute was founded with a goal of improving
the health and quality of life of underserved rural
populations in Southeastern Ohio.
arhi
The Appalachian Rural Health Institute
appalachian rural health institute
“The results of this survey indicate that persons in Appalachian Ohio have
prevalence rates for diabetes equivalent to those reported for high risk
ethnic groups in the country,” says Frank Schwartz, M.D., director of ARHI’s
Diabetes/Endocrine Center, OU-COM associate professor of endocrinology
and principal investigator for the study.
“Within Appalachia there are clusters of counties that are at higher
risk, and they tend to be more devastated economically and have lower
group socioeconomic status,” says Schwartz. Vinton County has a 12.8
percent prevalence rate, for example, which approaches rates reported
in African Americans (13.3 percent) and American Indians (12.8 percent).
Schwarz explains that many of Ohio’s 29 Appalachian counties have a
disproportionately high number of people who live at or near poverty
level, have lower education levels, suffer from obesity, and lead unhealthy
life-styles. “Our study of seven counties suggests that they may also
have higher prevalence rates of diabetes.”
According to the Ohio Department of Health, approximately 110,000 residents
in Ohio’s Appalachian counties have been diagnosed with diabetes, and an additional 30,000
remain undiagnosed, which Schwarz believes could be “a gross underestimate.”
The study is part of Ohio Governor Taft’s Appalachian Diabetes Initiative, which focuses on heightening awareness
and improving care and self-management, with the aim of preventing or delaying the onset of diabetes and its
related complications. The study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Appalachian
Regional Commission and the Ohio Diabetes Prevention and Control Program.
The ARHI Diabetes/Endocrine Center was established in 2003 to spearhead Ohio University's effort to increase
and improve diabetes care, clinical and basic diabetes research, diabetes education, clinical outreach and
training of health care professionals in Southeastern Ohio. ARHI is a collaborative of several academic units
including OU-COM, the College of Health and Human Services, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of
Communication, the Edison Biotechnology Institute and the Voinovich Center for Leadership and Public Affairs.
Schwarz suggests that the seven county findings, if confirmed in all of Appalachia, could indicate that the risk
for diabetes is more closely related to poverty and obesity rather than genetics.
“With all of the long-term complications associated with diabetes, I see a critical need in changes to health-care
policy for adequate diabetes education,” adds Schwarz. “I’m hoping that the results of this survey will lead to
funding to conduct the survey in other parts of Appalachia.”
–The Editors
26 www.oucom.ohio.edu

OU-COM Participates in First-of-a-kind
Prehypertension Drug Study
A pioneering six-year study on postponing or preventing
hypertension has shown that a new drug, if introduced
while a patient is prehypertensive, can reduce that patient’s
risk of developing hypertension. OU-COM was one of 71
sites participating in the nationwide clinical trial.
The Trial of Preventing Hypertension, or TROPHY, study
is groundbreaking. “It’s the first study to examine the
potential to change the natural history of hypertension
through early pharmacological intervention in patients
diagnosed with prehypertension,” principal investigator
Stevo Julius, M.D., professor of internal medicine and
physiology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, says.
Prehypertension, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, is defined as a systolic blood
pressure of 120-139 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure
of 80-89 mmHg.
Persons with prehypertension are at greater risk to advance
to hypertension. Hypertension or high blood pressure
raises the risk for heart disease and stroke, both leading
causes of death in this country. About one in three adults
in this country has hypertension.
Patients in the TROPHY study had blood pressures of
130-139 (systolic) and 89 or lower (diastolic); or 139
(systolic) and 85-89 (diastolic). Untreated patients, age
30 to 65, were enrolled in a four-year, multicenter,
randomized study.
The study demonstrated that beneficial anatomic or
physiologic changes were occurring in patients taking
candesartan that lasted even after the medication was
discontinued, says OU-COM Dean Jack Brose, D.O.
“Because of this study, I think we have shown we can
compete with larger sites in terms of the number of
patients we recruit and how well we follow the research
protocols,” Brose says. Then assistant dean for clinical
research, Brose served as principal investigator at OU-COM.
Other participating physicians were Jay Shubrook, D.O.
(‘94); Robert Gotfried, D.O.; and Chris Simpson, D.O.
OU-COM managed its trial and made day-to-day decisions
about patient health and participation, as did each of
the other 70 sites. However, OU-COM so successfully
recruited patients that Julius flew Brose and research
nurse Lori Arnott to Michigan to meet with researchers
from a select few other top recruitment sites. They discussed
the ways they had recruited patients, which was shared
with the other participating sites.
The college enrolled 25 patients in the study and retained
23 throughout the four-year process. Patients reported
“excellent” satisfaction with their participation in the
clinical trial. The reason for this, says Brose, was
the first-rate care that the college’s research nurse
staff–Arnott; Cammie Starner; Lynn Petrik, R.N.; and
Rosemary Vance–provided.
The research nurses also administered routine blood
pressure checks and educated patients on healthy living.
Patients were evaluated every three months.
“Most loved being involved with the study,” says Starner.
“We did a great job of following up on them. Any suspected
adverse events were dealt with quickly.”
Prehypertension patients were identified with the help
of local physicians. During the study, about half the
patients received a placebo while the others received
candesartan. After two years, those on candesartan were
switched to a placebo.
In March, Brose and Starner flew to Atlanta to share
in the unveiling of the results at the American College
of Cardiology’s 55th annual Scientific Session.
The study showed that after two years, patients who had
received candesartan were almost 67 percent less likely
to develop hypertension. After four years, when all
patients had been on placebo for two years, patients
who had been on candesartan were almost 16 percent
less likely to develop hypertension. Brose says the study
not only showed candesartan helped prevent hypertension,
it showed that patients who went off the experimental
drug after two years were still less likely to develop the
potentially fatal condition.
“I’m very pleased that we helped contribute to this
landmark study,” says Brose. “We rank right up there
with the best clinical research sites in America.”
Currently, OU-COM is involved in other clinical trials,
including several diabetes trials, a dyslipidemia trial and a
prevention trial.
–Jennifer Kowalewski
summer 2006 27

Medicine on the
photo provided by Timothy G. Law, D.O.
Whether they’re bringing medicine to the deep rain forest, making house calls to uninsured
patients or tending to wounded in Iraq, Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine grads
are working on the “frontlines,” doing more than a small share of service. Their journeys are not
always ones they envisioned.
Not-So-Small-Town Doc
After a woman in a wheelchair showed up in
Timothy G. Law Sr.’s office with three family
members-–all of whom had to take the day off work to
get her there–he said that he would come to her next
time. And he did. The local hospital where he worked
thought he should be in
his office, not off visiting
patients, so Law, D.O. (‘94),
started to make house calls
on his time to housebound
locals and those without
health insurance. Twelve
years later, he still does–
every day.
Law eventually set up practice
so that, among other
things, house calls could be
a part of his services. In May
2001, he opened the Vine
Grove Family Clinic in Vine
Grove, Ky., a small town
with a population under
3,000–the kind of town that
has a main street called
Main Street and a real barber
shop. He drives a pickup so
he can haul his supplies and
carries an old-fashioned
leather bag; but the Mayberry image stops there.
“[This isn’t] a country bumpkin operation,” says Law,
who recently moved to a larger building on–where
else?–Main Street, treating everything from run-ofthe-mill
colds and hypertension one day, performing
minor surgery the next. He offers Botox treatments,
collagen injections and laser hair removal. He even has
a massage therapist on staff. And he delivers babies,
sometimes at home. Last May, for example, he traveled
to a local Amish community to deliver triplets.
His practice keeps him busy, yet once a week he also
helps out at Acutecare, an emergency medical service,
and for five years he has served on the board of the
Kentucky Osteopathic Medical Association (KOMA).
Come June, Law will become its president. Outgoing
President Michael Murphy, D.O., associate dean of
postgraduate education at Pikeville (Ky.) College of
Osteopathic Medicine, is pleased. “He’s an outstanding
individual, highly intelligent.” And, it seems, highly
motivated: “He was a captain in the Army, a body
builder–you just have to look at him to see that,” says
Murphy “He has successfully run a private practice in a
rural Kentucky town [and] been the program director for
two KOMA scientific programs that drew rave reviews.”
He drives a pickup and carries
an old-fashioned bag, but the
Mayberry image stops there.
Law’s journey into medicine started with an Ann
Landers column on osteopathic medicine. His mom
thought he might be interested, so she sent it to
him. After reading the column, Law decided to check
out OU-COM. At age 27, with a wife and two kids,
he went back to school once again. At the time, he
was teaching biology at the University of Pittsburgh,
where he earned a master’s in education. He also
had a bachelor’s in veterinary science (he thought
he’d be a farmer and a vet) from the University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Before settling into Vine
Grove, he completed his Army stint as a general medical
officer and traveled worldwide with the National
Karate Team–his children were competing–as team doc.
For now, Law is the only physician in town, and luckily
he has the approval of Edward Hand, M.D., the
doctor who served Vine Grove until his retirement in
1998. When Law opened his practice, Hand (“He
delivered most of my patients and their parents,” says
Law) gave him a call. Hand’s former patients had
been asking him if Law was a good doctor, so Hand
had to check him out for himself. In small towns like
Vine Grove, good news travels fast.
Timothy Law, D.O. ('94), structured his rural practice to allow for daily house calls.
28 www.oucom.ohio.edu

Frontlinesby Maureen Harmon
Missionary Medicine
photo provided by Tim Kubacki, D.O.
Tim Kubacki, D.O. (‘90), had planned to be a baseball
player. He retired that dream, though, when he was cut
from the Yankees minor leagues in his 20s. That dream
was supplanted by an
epiphany that not only
rearranged his career
but his life and took
him all the way to the
Brazilian rainforest.
“I had gotten pretty
wrapped up in me and
my own happiness. I
recognized the futility
of such a pursuit,”
Kubacki says. Worried
about the suffering of
people in developing
countries, Kubacki acted
when a retired missionary
suggested he take his biology degree and pursue
a career in medicine to help those in poor areas. Kubacki
found his calling. “In the next three months,” Kubacki
writes in his blog, “I went from having no desire for
medicine to applying to medical school” so his life would
“count for something,” he says.
By 1993, Kubacki had wrapped up a residency in family
medicine and was working part-time at Morrow County
Hospital in Ohio. Dave Keseg, who works for a company
that staffs hospitals, asked Kubacki to direct Morrow
County’s Emergency Department. “I knew he was a man
of high integrity,” says Keseg, “… and I knew I wanted
him working for our company.”
“ I never cease to be amazed at
the difficulty of these people’s
lives.” –Tim Kubacki, D.O. (’90)
Kubacki and Keseg also had similar vision and values.
They opened the Vineyard Free Medical Clinic in
Columbus, Ohio, which a nearby church sponsored. Every
Wednesday night in the lobby of the church’s food
pantry, the doctors and churchgoers offered two hours
of medical and spiritual help to the uninsured people of
Columbus. Kubacki, Keseg and eventually a few other
volunteer physicians offered simple medical care to
“anybody that had episodic health needs,” says Keseg.
It started with just a few patients a night, but now the
team can expect to see between 30 and 60 patients
streaming through the clinic.
Kubacki was so pleased with the way spirituality and
medicine complemented each other at the clinic, he
wanted to replicate the model. In December 2005, he
and his wife, Betsy, packed up their belongings and four
children and headed to Brazil near the Xingu River, a
tributary to the Amazon.
“[It was a] a bittersweet parting,” says Keseg. On the
one hand they were losing a friend and a fine doctor,
but “we know this is something the Lord has laid on
[Kubacki’s] heart for a long time,” he said.
In Brazil, Kubacki joined a group called the Xingu Mission
in the small town of Altamira, where Kubacki and his
family are now living. The interdenominational group of
nine families had been doing missionary work in the area
for a decade. Kubacki, who is working to get a Brazilian
medical license, is the first physician to join the group and
address medical needs.
“The area is the Amazon Rain Forest that you’ve read
about.” It is rife with problems typical of tropical regions,
which often have no running water or electricity: dysentery,
malaria and parasitic illness. He’s seen leprosy and
tuberculosis. But, “It’s absolutely beautiful,” he’s quick to
point out. Still, he writes, “I never cease to be amazed at
the difficulty of these people’s lives.” He travels quite a
http://spaces.msn.com/members/kubacki6
For Tim Kubacki, D.O. ('90), a call to missionary medicine in Brazil was a family affair.
summer 2006 29

it, treating people as he goes and delivering his
spiritual message. His group also dispenses practical
items, such as water filters.
Some of the work he’s done in the Amazon has already
earned him honor among the people. One family was
thrilled just to receive some Children’s Motrin to lessen
a daughter’s pain from mouth sores. The little girl, on
the other hand, was not so pleased to learn that
Kubacki was a doctor. “The child immediately began
crying, afraid she was to receive a shot,” Kubacki wrote.
“Made me feel right at home!”
For an in-depth account of Kubacki’s work in Brazil,
see his blog at http://spaces.msn.com/members/kubacki6/
Service to His Country
As an embedded journalist for TIME magazine, it was
Michael Weisskopf’s job to ride along with soldiers
from a U.S. artillery survey unit when it patrolled the
streets of Baghdad. That’s where a grenade landed
in his vehicle. Weisskopf picked it up to toss it out,
according to TIME’s Dec. 29, 2003, issue, but it exploded.
Weisskopf’s hand was gone. His arm was bleeding
badly. When he was transported to the 28th Combat
Support Hospital, surgeon Gregory Hill, D.O. (‘86),
was on the job.
Located in Baghdad’s Green Zone, Hill’s hospital was
the referral center for support units patrolling and
fighting in places like Mosul, Falluja, Tikrit and
Baghdad. Though journalists weren’t Hill’s typical
patients (soldiers, Iraqi civilians, even insurgents
were), he had seen that kind of trauma plenty of
times during his two deployments in the Middle
“ A lot of times, docs can be aloof.
They’re on call 24 hours, and
they never get any rest. But Dr.
Hill was always right there.”
–Capt. Terry Partin
East–open fractures, gunshot wounds from arms
fire, and injuries from explosives. He also saw the
kinds of injuries you wouldn’t associate with wartime,
such as sprained ankles from basketball games, injuries
from car accidents, and plenty of somatic dysfunction.
“[Soldiers] were wearing body armor in the field and
on convoys and missions, sometimes for days at a time,”
Hill says. So he added trigger-point injections and
soft-tissue techniques to his regimen.
Hill always knew he was going to be a doctor, and
joining the military–a family tradition–
was a good way to pay for school. “All
of my [male] siblings have been in the
military,” he says.
Still, the Middle East was a long way from
where Hill began his medical career. He
did his internship and orthopedic surgery
residency at Cuyahoga Falls General
Hospital followed by a one-year handand
upper-extremity microsurgery fellowship
at the University of Buffalo.
Hill then headed for Akron, Ohio, to a
private practice, but after September 11, he
would be the first Ohio doctor mobilized
to Iraq. After six months, he was back in
Akron, but by August 2005, Hill again
found himself on a military plane headed
for the war.
The second tour would find him squarely
in the line of fire, the only physician
working in a battalion aid station not far
Gregory Hill, D.O. ('86), was the first Ohio physician mobilized to Iraq.
30 www.oucom.ohio.edu

from the Syrian border (where Al-Qaeda
fighters were believed to enter Iraq).
According to the battalion chaplain, Capt.
Terry Partin, they all were targets for rockets,
mortars and up to two attacks a day from
explosive devices or small-arms fire.
In those harrowing conditions, Hill took care
of his patients–and fellow medics. “A lot of
times, docs can be aloof,” Partin says. “They’re
on call 24 hours, and they never get any rest. But
Dr. Hill was always right there…you’d often
find him hanging out at the medic stations.”
Hill, “old enough to be some of these kids’
fathers,” required his crew to be all business
with the wounded, but made himself available
during down time. “They came to ask me
questions about relationships, marriage, my
opinions about women,” he says. “I had
already been through these things.”
His own life has settled down a bit now that
he’s stateside. Early this year, Hill–husband,
father of four, and soon-to-be grandfather–
became a staff physician at Orthopedic
Surgery and Sports Medicine in Temecula, Calif.,
and is on staff at Southwest Healthcare System
and Riverside County Regional Medical Center,
a level-one Trauma Center in Moreno Valley.
And last year, Weisskopf tells Today’s D.O. he
looked up Hill. The journalist interviewed him
for Blood Brothers: Among the Soldiers of
Ward 57, Weisskopf’s book, due out this fall.
Though Hill is readjusting to civilian life,
memories of the war stick with him. “It’s one
of those things I think about on a daily basis,”
he says. He still will jump at loud noises like
cars backfiring or the sound of metal on
metal in the operating theater. It takes him
back to the hair-trigger questions you would
always have on your mind over there: “How
close was that explosion? Was it incoming or
outgoing?” For now it’s neither. But as long
as he’s a military man, there’s always a chance
Hill will see the front a third time.
TODAY’S
DO
In the Aftermath
Just two weeks after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast last August,
Eric Beck trawled the flooded streets of New Orleans on a boat with
volunteers and military personnel, looking for survivors. The crew
stopped at every door, calling out for survivors, sometimes cutting the
engine for fear of missing shouts for help. Beck and coworkers rescued
five people still living in the attics of their homes, severely dehydrated.
Two were diabetic and in desperate need of insulin. All were too weak
to protest leaving any more.
Beck should have been preparing for his second year at Ohio University
College of Osteopathic Medicine when Katrina struck, but he couldn’t
overcome his nature. A volunteer firefighter and paramedic, Beck’s list of
volunteer and work activities goes on and on. In addition to being a
student, Beck works part-time at Coolville, Ohio, Emergency Medical
Services. His boss there, Joe Egan, only sees him about twice a month
when their schedules collide, but even in that short time, Egan thinks he
made a pretty good hire. “His skills are on par with anybody out there,”
Egan says.
Beck has helped out in emergency rooms and clinics for schools, donates
his time to give local Boy Scouts physical examinations as part of the group’s
Annual Physical Examination Program, and is an instructor for OU-COM’s
Annual Continuing Medical Education Program, where he teaches Advanced
Cardiac Life Support. “He’s a pretty busy guy,” Egan says.
No surprise, then, that Beck put school on hold, hopped a flight to Baton
Rouge, La., and volunteered at a makeshift command center for 24-hour
rescue operations.
Though Beck had done rescue missions before, never had he seen anything
quite like this. “There were literally bodies all over the place,” he says,
adding that some were “covered head to toe in, essentially, sewage. ..."
One man’s plight will stay with Beck for a long time. He only knows him
as Travis, a retired New Orleans
police officer, who was waiting
it out with his wife at a shelter
at Nicholls State University in
Thibodaux, La. Travis hadn’t
been religious about taking his
medication before the storm,
but with none available, he had
begun to suffer seizures and
fainting spells. But when Beck’s
team tried to take Travis to a
nearby hospital, he refused to go
without his scores of cardboard
boxes filled with personal
treasures. Beck and the other
paramedics couldn’t make him
choose–they loaded all of the boxes and Travis onto the ambulance.
It’s not only the victims of Katrina that stand out to Beck, it’s also the
people who came to help. He joined hundreds of volunteers and military
personnel in that command center in Baton Rouge. “For all of the problems
our country and our world have,” says Beck, “people still do rally around
those who are in need."
–Maureen Harmon with Melissa Cabral
Eric Beck, OMS II and 2006 OU-COM Student D.O. of the Year (with parents Scott and
Preston Beck), says that after Katrina, “There were literally bodies all over the place.”
summer 2006 31

CORE News
CORE Receives Commendations
The Centers for Osteopathic Research and Education (CORE), a medical education consortium that
includes the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-COM), 14 teaching hospitals and
three affiliated colleges of osteopathic medicine, received two commendations during the American
Osteopathic Association (AOA) on-site inspection in February.
AOA inspectors commended the CORE for its three-year osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM)
clinical curriculum and for the research initiatives it has undertaken in the past three years.
“The CORE has been described by many in our profession as ‘the gold standard’ in graduate medical
education,” Jack Brose, D.O., OU-COM dean, says. “That reputation has been reinforced by this visit.”
“It was a spotless inspection,” Keith Watson, D.O., chief academic officer for CORE and OU-COM
associate dean for graduate medical education, said. “We hope to be one of the first Osteopathic Postdoctoral
Training Institutes (OPTI) to achieve a five-year accreditation award.”
AOA inspections are required to reaccredit the CORE as an OPTI. Although AOA can reaccredit an OPTI
for up to five years, OPTIs have been receiving reaccreditation for three and a half years on average
according to a 2002 survey by Scott Dalhouse, the OPTI manager of the AOA department of education.
Cheryl Riley, R.N., M.S., assistant dean for academic affairs and CORE operations, explained that CORE
met all but one minor standard regarding sign-offs on conflict of interest statements. “And that’s easily
corrected, virtually with a stroke of the pen.”
Riley, whose association with the CORE extends to its very beginning, credited the hospitals and their
collaborative relationship for innovations in the curriculum.
“I’ve watched enormous change in both predoctoral and postdoctoral osteopathic medical education as
program directors from all over Ohio have met regularly over the years to share best practices and
troubleshoot issues,” Riley said.
The osteopathic profession is currently tackling challenges in graduate medical education (GME). At an
inaugural medical education summit held last January sponsored by the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations,
the AOA and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, over 70 leaders met to
identify and examine osteopathic GME. They also began to develop strategies to respond to those issues.
Watson chaired the summit’s steering committee (see “Noteworthy,” page 4).
“We do face tough issues ahead in educating the doctors of tomorrow,” Watson explains. “The trend
among students to move away from osteopathic GME programs, the question of a physician shortage,
the shortage of GME funding, perceptions of quality in osteopathic GME programs, the lower priority of
research in osteopathic medical education–these are just a few of the issues being discussed nationally. We
need to be ready to respond in the CORE.”
Riley says the CORE system will continue making improvements–plans are already underway to expand
the OMM clinical curriculum to the residency years–using what it has learned from the on-site survey
and the self-study, which OU-COM completed before the site visit.
–Jennifer Kowalewski
Grandview Receives Three Top Honors
Grandview Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio, has just won the equivalent of a hospital triple crown-three
times over.
In February, Grandview landed on the coveted Solucient 100 Top Hospitals list for teaching hospitals for
its third time. It is one of only 25 hospitals in the nation to receive the designation.
This came after winning, for the third year in a row, the Health Grades Distinguished Hospital for Clinical
Excellence. Only 5 percent of the more than 5,000 hospitals in the nation receive this honor.
For a third year also, Grandview was ranked in the top 50 of U.S. News and World Report's Best Hospitals.
It placed 44th in the Respiratory Disorders category and in the Neurology and Neurosurgery category.
32 www.oucom.ohio.edu

Grandview Hospital, with 450 beds, is the flagship of Grandview Medical Center's facilities and a Centers for Osteopathic
Research and Education (CORE) site.
“It's pretty exciting for a hospital in Dayton to be ranked with the Mayo Clinics and the Johns Hopkins of the world,”
Craig Self, director business development, Grandview and Southview Hospitals, says.
To arrive at their rankings, the ratings organizations look at various clinical outcomes–such as Medicare-reported
morbidity, mortality and length of stay–and financial indicators, operational data and growth. In large part, a “very
aggressive quality improvement process” is responsible for the national recognition the medical center receives,
according to Self.
Peter A. Bell, D.O., assistant dean for the CORE sites in Dayton and Columbus, believes the honors played a role in
the record number of internship applications that Grandview received this year. “We've had so many medical students
wanting to come here for their internships. We doubled our numbers,” he says.
“Residents, interns and medical students who come here are a critical part of this success, Self says. “They learn how we
attain high quality standards at Grandview and are able to understand and adopt them. It makes for better education and
stronger osteopathic medicine in the nation in general,” he says
–Sally Linder
CORE Celebrated its 10th Anniversary During its April Board Meeting
More than 50 hospital executives, CORE representatives, and Ohio University College of Osteopathic
Medicine faculty and staff members gathered in Pickerington, Ohio, where they commemorated three
individuals and ten hospitals for their founding roles in the CORE.
CORE Assistant
DeanNamed
Cheryl Riley, R.N., M.S., assistant dean for academic affairs and
CORE operations, was one of three individuals who were awarded
a Crystal Apple, the highest honor bestowed upon those who have
given above and beyond in the call of CORE duty. (Left to right)
Jack Brose, D.O., dean, OU-COM; Keith Watson, D.O., chief
academic officer for CORE and OU-COM associate dean for graduate
medical education; Riley; and Roy G. Chew, Ph.D., president of
Grandview Medical Center and chairman of the CORE board.
Andrew Culver, D.O.
(‘99), has been named
CORE assistant dean at
Doctors Hospital of
Stark County. Culver
has been the acting
assistant dean since
November 2005.
Christopher Meyer, D.O., and Richard Vincent, president, Osteopathic Heritage Foundations, also received
Crystal Apples in honor of their roles as the founding chairmen of the CORE board.
summer 2006 33

Alumni Update
Mentoring Made Easy
by Sharon Zimmerman
Jeff Stanley, D.O. (‘82)
For nearly every student who has walked through the doors of OU-COM, life changes
dramatically often in part because of an interaction with someone in the osteopathic
profession. Osteopathic physicians have a long history of reaching out to those learning
the art of osteopathic medicine. You, our OU-COM alumni, play an ever critical role,
both as health-care providers and as advocates for our medical students. Why? Because it
is the right thing to do.
In April during our Career Medical Specialties week, students listened to alumni perspectives
about what to really expect in a specific medical discipline, how to get the most out of
their medical education, and how to prepare for a graduate medical education program.
I’ve spoken to one student recently who decided to enter emergency medicine after talking
with one of our graduates. Another decided to enter family medicine after listening to
the rewarding experiences that one of our visiting graduates shared. Whether it’s on campus, at one
of our Centers for Osteopathic Research and Education, or at an annual state or national conference, our
alumni have often supplied that critical experience, conversation, or even a moment that has made a difference
in a student’s future.
Maybe you remember someone who made a difference in your career, or perhaps there was a crucial conversation
you wish you would have had with someone. It’s not difficult to be a mentor to a student, and it can
take as much–or as little–time as you have to offer. Here are nine ways you can mentor a student:
1. Provide the industry lowdown during Career Medical Specialties Week at OU-COM.
2. Congratulate the newest generation of Bobcat physicians each year during the OU-COM Alumni
Graduation Reception.
3. Introduce a student to at least one person who will help launch his or her career during the annual
AOA, OOA or ACOFP Conventions.
4. Join students for D.O. Day in Washington D.C. or at the Ohio Statehouse to discuss
issues concerning osteopathic medical education and practice.
5. Add your perspective as a practicing physician to our annual Policy Puzzle Program, which
introduces students to local, state and national health-care policy issues.
6. Join our discussion about professionalism in osteopathic medicine by participating in our
Professionalism Series for year first- and second-year students.
7. Share your passion for research during our Alumni Research Series.
8. Become a CORE clinical faculty member and have a student at your side in your office or hospital.
9. Provide financial assistance to support student travel to professional osteopathic conventions and conferences.
Give me a call. I’m happy to discuss these and other ways you can lend your support, share your gifts and
show your Ohio alumni pride to a future osteopathic physician.
Nicole Wadsworth, D.O. (‘97)
To learn more about mentoring opportunities, contact Sharon Zimmerman at zimmerms@ohio.edu or
(740) 593-0761.
34 www.oucom.ohio.edu

Anderson Appointed to
the University's Alumni Board
Thomas M. Anderson, D.O. (‘83), FACRO, was appointed to
Ohio University's Alumni Association Board of Directors. The
board, which serves as an advisory body for the Alumni Association,
helps to shape policy for the association and assists it in fulfilling
its mission, which includes volunteerism, philanthropy and advocacy.
Anderson, who currently serves as president of the OU-COM
Society of Alumni and Friends, was named to a three-year term
this spring.
“It is a privilege for me to give back,” Anderson said. “I have said
so many times, if it hadn't been for OU-COM, I would never
have been a doctor. This appointment is an honor I didn’t expect.
I am looking forward to representing OU-COM and its graduates,
but this is a wonderful opportunity to represent graduates from
all Ohio University colleges.”
Anderson was chosen to sit on the 24-member board because of
his strong ties to both the university and the medical community,
says Ralph Amos, executive director of the alumni association
and assistant vice president for alumni relations.
“We're excited to have him join the board. Tom is a proven,
dynamic leader with a keen mind for strategic thinking and
planning,” says Amos. The board, says Amos, also engages in
outreach to university departments involved in alumni relations
and oversees a host of programs available to alumni.
“I’ve observed his outstanding leadership in the university over
the years and look forward to all that he will undoubtedly bring
to the board.”
Anderson, a respected specialist in radiation oncology, is the
medical director of Hobbs Oncology Center, Oncology Services
of Doctors Hospital Ohio Health and the Heartland Hospice in
Columbus. He is chairman of the Radiation Safety Committee at
Doctors Hospital Ohio Health. As a CORE clinical professor,
Anderson trains future osteopathic physicians from OU-COM,
and he has participated in many OU-COM events including the
annual alumni CME gathering and Career Medical Specialties Week.
Anderson has received numerous honors and awards over the
years, including the Ohio University Master Volunteer Clinical
Teaching Award, Doctors Hospital Patient Educator of the Year
Award, Outstanding Oncology Caregiver Award,
Columbus Cancer Clinic Outstanding Healthcare
Professional of the Year Award, and most
recently, the 2005 Physician Customer
Service Champion Award from Ohio Health.
“Dr. Anderson is truly a model osteopathic
physician and an alumnus who continues to
make a positive impact on the college and the
university,” said Dean Jack Brose, D.O.
“He strives to serve as an advocate through
his excellent leadership abilities.” Thomas Anderson, D.O. (‘83)
Alumni Events Calendar
June 20-24
American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic
Medicine
Annual Meeting and Capitol Hill Day
Theme: Challenges and Opportunities
Renaissance Harborplace Hotel
Baltimore, Md.
For information, contact: Tom Levitan, e-mail tlevitan@aacom.org; or
visit www.aacom.org/events/annualmtg
June 22-25
Ohio Osteopathic Association Convention
The Lodge at Sawmill Creek Resort
Huron/Sandusky, Ohio
For information, contact: Jean Eberst, (800) 234-4848, Ext. 204;
e-mail jeberst@ooanet.org; or visit www.ooanet.org
June 22: OU-COM Alumni Reception, 5:30-7:30
For information about OU-COM events, contact: Carol Blue,
(740) 593-2178; e-mail blue@ohio.edu
Aug. 12
OU-COM Convocation and White Coat Ceremony
Templeton Blackburn Memorial Auditorium
Athens
11 am
Sept. 29-Oct. 1
Doctors Hospital Annual Family Practice CME Conference
Dublin Marriott, Dublin, Ohio
For information, contact: Geri Urse, D.O. (‘93), (614) 544-0101
Oct. 16-20
American Osteopathic Association 111th Annual
Convention and Scientific Seminar
Theme: D.O.s: A Family of Medicine Built on the Basics
Las Vegas Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nev.
For information, contact: (800) 621-1773, ext. 8256;
e-mail convention@osteopathic.org; or visit
www.do-online.osteotech.org (click on “Convention Home”)
Conference reservations open in June.
OU-COM special conference events:
Oct. 17: OU-COM Alumni Luncheon, 1:15 pm, Hilton Convention Center
Oct. 17: OU-COM Reception, 6 pm, Hilton Hotel
For information about OU-COM events, contact: Sharon Zimmerman,
(740) 593-2176; e-mail zimmerms@oucom.ohiou.edu
Oct. 27-29
Annual OU-COM Alumni CME/Reunion Program
Columbus Hilton Hotel at Easton, Columbus, Ohio
For hotel reservations, call: (614) 414-5000
For information, contact: Sharon Zimmerman,
(740) 593-2176; e-mail zimmerms@oucom.ohiou.ed
summer 2006 35

Congratulations
Two of OU-COM’s longest tenured
professors retire this year. (Kind of.)
Robert Hikida, Ph.D., and John Howell, Ph.D.,
recently accepted Ohio University’s offer
of early retirement. We question the word
“early,” though, given their combined 66
years of service to the Ohio University
College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Fortunately for OU-COM students, Hikida
and Howell will continue to conduct research
and they will teach the subjects they love
(microanatomy, and physiology and its
relation to OMM, respectively) for one
academic quarter a year.
Robert Hikida, Ph.D.
John Howell, Ph.D.
OU-COM thanks you, professors, for all you’ve given
to the students, the college and the profession.

Congratulations
Class of 2006

inside this issue
world class performances and special deliveries
5
OU-COM Grad Goes World Class
Julianna Batizy-Morley, D.O. (‘96),
wins a world triathlon championship,
despite disabling pulmonary emboli
just one year earlier.
14
The Obstetrics Dilemma
Choices for doctors and patients–and
the very fabric of a specialty–have
been altered by litigation and soaring
malpractice premiums.
College of Osteopathic Medicine
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