Underwood
Robin Underwood, MS, OTR/L, an assistant professor of occupational therapy and academic fieldwork coordinator at Brenau University, will receive the 2005 Recognition of Achievement Award at the 2005 American Occupational Therapy Association 40th Annual Conference and Exposition. The event will be May 13 aboard the Queen Mary ocean liner in Long Beach, Calif.
The coveted national recognition is awarded to one person per year and acknowledges Underwood's efforts as a mentor, advocate and ground breaker for innovative practices in her profession.
"During the last nine years, in my role as an educator, I've had the honor of being able to have some influence on future practice," Underwood said. "What I enjoy the most is sharing the values of the profession. I've been able to especially experience the extreme joy and fulfillment as former students focus their practices on working with people who traditionally don't receive occupational therapy services."
Underwood has served as a member of Brenau's occupational therapy department since 1996.
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS: During the Medical College of Georgia's homecoming celebration last month, the School of Allied Health Sciences gave Andrea Garr Koppelman its Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Koppelman is an instructor in the MCG Department of Health Informatics and product manager for McKesson Corporation in Atlanta. Having earned her bachelor's degree in health information management at MCG in 1993, she served as health care informatics administrator at North Fulton Regional Hospital from 1996 to 1997 and as marketing manager and health care solutions manager for Lanier Healthcare from 1997 to 2000.
In 2003, she received the Georgia Health Information Management Association's Distinguished Service Award.
SWEET DREAMS: Emory nursing professor Kathy P. Parker, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, has joined the Institute of Medicine Committee on Sleep Medicine and Research, an influential body in the growing field of sleep study. She is the only nurse to serve on the 15- member, multi-disciplinary committee.
Parker, one of the country's leading researchers in sleep/wake disturbances in hemodialysis and cancer patients, is the Edith F. Honeycutt Endowed Chair in Nursing at Emory University's Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and director of the school's Center for Research on Symptoms, Symptom Interactions and Health Outcomes.
She is only one of five nurses in the United States certified in clinical sleep disorders by the American Board of Sleep Medicine and was recently elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.
VOLUNTEERS HONORED: Last month, during National Volunteer Week (April 17-23), Piedmont Fayette Hospital recognized its auxiliary, which has donated more than 281,000 hours of service since the hospital opened in 1997.
Janice Cole and Geraldine Stinchcomb received the 2004-2005 Spirit of Volunteerism award. Both women are registered nurses from Fayette County. The auxiliary will host a youth volunteer program this summer for 75 teens. They will work for eight weeks in various areas of the hospital to assist staff and guests and to learn more about the medical field. Application packets are available at the auxiliary office on the 3rd floor of the 1279 Ga. 54 Building, just west of the hospital. For information, call 770- 719-7098.
FREE HEALTH SEMINARS: The DeKalb Medical Center's Talk About Health series of free community seminars has several programs on the schedule. On May 16, Dr. Marshall L. Nash will lead a discussion about the warning signs of stroke, emergency care, rehabilitation and new treatment options.
On June 6, board certified allergist and immunologist Dr. George Gottlieb will discuss pet allergies. On June 9, board-certified gynecologist Dr. Rita Sharma will discuss an overview of the chronic disease endometriosis and treatment options.
All seminars are from 7 to 9 p.m. at DeKalb Medical Center Theater, 2701 N. Decatur Road in Decatur. To register, call 404-501-9355 or visit www.dekalbmedicalcenter.org.
NEW PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATICS PROGRAM: The Medical College of Georgia Department of Health Informatics has established a new master of public health program in informatics and will accept its first students this fall.
The program will prepare students to improve public health by managing health organizations, clinics, public health departments and other healthrelated institutions, according to Dr. Carol Campbell, chair. The program is designed to prepare health care administrators for the demands of patients who want more from health care providers while federal and state regulations and funding formulas stress facility budgets and technology continually changes.
The new training will prepare public health clinicians to take a pro-active approach to gathering data and interpreting it to specifically address community health problems. For more information, contact Dr. Miguel A. Zuniga at 706-721-3436.
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