SAMUEL MERRITT UNIVERSITY1).pdfJonathan Brown, DPA, Chair President Emeritus, AICCU John Swartzberg,...

SAMUEL MERRITT UNIVERSITY

2017 REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY

H E A LT HCAREO F

P IC T U R E

BIGG E R

THE

UNDERSTANDING

Samuel Merritt University educates

students to become highly skilled and compassionate

healthcare professionals who positively transform the

experience of care in diverse communities.

MISSION

2017 Board of Regents

Jonathan Brown, DPA, Chair President Emeritus, AICCU

John Swartzberg, MD, Vice Chair Clinical Professor Emeritus, UC Berkeley School of Public Health

Lloyd Leanse, BA, Chief Operating Officer, Prager & Co., LLC

Enitan Adesanya, MBA Risk Management Executive, Kaiser Permanente

Melanie Bell-Mayeda, MBA Associate Partner and Managing Director, IDEO

Sam Davis, MED Principal of Sam Davis Architecture, Professor Emeritus of Architecture, UC Berkeley

Sharon Diaz, PhD (hc), (ex-officio) President and CEO, Samuel Merritt University

Owen Garrick, MD President/COO, Bridge Clinical Research

Jeff Gerard, MM (ex-officio) President, Sutter Health Bay Area

Gloria Harmon, MS Retired Administrator – Sutter Health, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center

Anna Kiger, DNP, DSc Chief Nurse Officer / Office of Patient Experience, Sutter Health

Alvin McLean, Jr., PhD Chairman, CHCServices Professor, John F. Kennedy University

Gary Morrison, JD Deputy General Counsel Emeritus, Regents, University of California

Chuck Prosper, MBA Chief Executive Officer, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center

Lisa Zuffi, BA Senior VP / Relationship Manager, East Bay Regional Office, Presidio Bank

2017 Administration

Sharon Diaz, PhD (hc) President and CEO

Scot Foster, PhD Academic Vice President and Provost

Gregory Gingras, MSB, CMA, CFM Vice President, Finance and Administration, and CFO

Terrence Nordstrom, EdD, PT Vice President, Enrollment and Student Services

Stephanie Bangert, MLS Executive Director, Communications and External Relations

Elaine Lemay, MHROD Executive Director, Human Resources

Shirley Strong, MEd Chief Diversity Officer

Cynthia Ulman, MBA Executive Director, Planning and Business Development

Sue Valencia, BA, CFRE Executive Director, Development and Alumni Affairs

Samuel Merritt University students learn to advance health equity

and make a lasting impact on individual health and

community wellbeing.

VISION

VALUES

AT SAMUEL MERRITT UNIVERSITY, WE VALUE:

1 A learning environment where we challenge ourselves and our students to think critically, seek mastery, and act compassionately.

2 A collegial environment where we are fair, respectful, and behave with integrity.

3 A collaborative environment where we partner with one another and with others in the community.

4 An innovative environment where we take reasoned risks and move nimbly.

5 A results-oriented environment where we provide and expect exceptional performance and service.

SMUSamuel Merritt University2017 Report to the Community

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WELCOME

4Note to the Community: A New Approach to Healthcare Education

FOCUS

6SMU’s Community Nurse Corps May Serve as a National Model

12Campus Notebook: News in Brief

16Student “Hotspotters” Help Improve Lives for Patients with Complex Needs

18Becoming Informed Caregivers Means Facing Poverty

WIDE ANGLE

22Physician Assistant Students Focus on Family Health in Central Valley

24Nation’s First Simulated Internal Medicine Rotation for Podiatry Students

26Helping Refugees: Altruism and Activism

TRENDING

28Students by the Numbers

30Takeover Tuesday

32Online Nursing Program Growing in Popularity and Reach

34Three Quick Exercises for Busy Students

PORTRAIT

36Transplant Recipient Shares Success with Donor’s Mom

38As an Immigrant, SMU Graduate Understands Her Patients’ Challenges

VIEWFINDER

40New Motion Equipment Offers More Teaching and Research Opportunities

42Leadership Forum: Q&A Arlene Swinderman, Director of SMU’s Ethnic Health Institute

44A Banner Year for SMU’s Occupational Therapy Program

REPORT WRAP-UP

472016 Financial Review

49Honor Roll of Donors

58#SMU2017

A New Approach to Healthcare Education

IT WASN’T TOO LONG AGO when

healthcare educators were simply

asked to teach a student how to

identify a patient’s symptoms, consult a

textbook, and then make a diagnosis.

Today, we know students need more

information than physical symptoms

to accurately gauge the health or

sickness of a patient. They also need

to consider other factors, such as their

patient’s economic stability, education

level, housing situation, immigration

status, zip code, and so on.

All of these larger circumstances,

collectively known as the social

determinants of health, must be

recognized and understood by our

future healthcare providers if they

want to be successful in making us,

and our communities, healthier.

I’m proud to share with you, in the

2017 Report to the Community, a

few of the ways Samuel Merritt

University (SMU) is widening the

lens of healthcare education so our

students will see the bigger picture

and make a bigger difference in their

patients’ lives and in the world.

In the fall, a group of SMU students

from our nursing, physical therapy, and

physician assistant programs were

among the first in a national “Hotspotter”

pilot program to address the crisis of

complex patients in an entirely new way.

Working with Dr. Jeffery Brenner, a

MacArthur “Genius” Fellow and advocate

for overhauling the U.S. healthcare

system, the students used strategic

data to locate and serve the highest-

utilizing patients of emergency rooms.

Knowing how to keep these complex

patients out of the ER improves

health outcomes for all, but also

dramatically lowers healthcare costs.

Note to the Community

4SAMUEL MERRITT UNIVERSITY

“The most subversive thing in America

today are these four students from SMU,”

Brenner said at a symposium hosted at

our Oakland campus. “They would cut

costs and close hospitals. And we should

cheer every time a hospital closes.”

In Sacramento, our new RN to BSN

program places students directly into

underserved communities. In a novel

collaboration, SMU is working with

local lawmakers and social service

agencies to provide healthcare

education in one of the city’s most

distressed neighborhoods that is a

federally designated “promise zone.”

The SMU students make up a

“community nurse corps,” and the

program may serve as a model for

other promise zones in the U.S.

We continue our leadership in

interprofessional education and often

use our world-class Health Sciences

Simulation Center as the setting

for our students to cross-train with

their future peers in other fields.

Students on all three SMU campuses

have participated over the past year

in a “poverty simulation,” which puts

students in the shoes of the millions of

Americans who face the harsh realities

of poverty to learn how that chronic

stress can affect long-term health.

“At first I saw it very much as a game,”

said Lance Peak, a recent graduate of

the Accelerated Bachelor of Science

in Nursing program. “But very quickly

I learned, and was very affected

by, how difficult it is for a family to

make it through week to week and

how unfair the system is to them.”

At SMU, we’ve always asked our

students to dive deep into their

textbooks with rigor and devotion.

Now, we ask our students to explore

the larger systemic causes of disease.

I’m confident that exposing our

students to this broader vision will

enrich their educational experience

and prepare them to become more

effective healthcare practitioners.

Sincerely,

Sharon C. Diaz, PhD (hc)

President and Chief Executive Officer

Samuel Merritt University

LEFT

President Sharon Diaz at SMU’s Black History Month celebration.

Samuel Merritt University is widening the lens of healthcare education so

our students will see the bigger picture and make a bigger difference in their

patients’ lives and in the world.

2017 REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY5

SMU’s Community Nurse Corps May Serve as a National Model

CENTER The Twin Rivers public housing project near downtown Sacramento.

SAMUEL MERRITT UNIVERSITY 6

WHEN ASKED TO describe their experience as the first members of a community nurse corps in Sacramento, most of the SMU students respond by saying: “It has opened my eyes.”

The students who kicked off the corps early this year are providing free health education and counseling in Sacramento’s most impoverished neighborhoods. In return, they are learning about how the challenges of daily living jeopardize the health of low- income people.

It’s a lesson these students have never had before. They are registered nurses who have been working in acute-care units at Kaiser Permanente where their focus is on getting their patients well enough to leave the hospital. Before now, they did not consider the social and economic challenges that some of their patients face to continue their recovery and achieve better health once they check out.

Continued on next page

ABOVE Community nurse corps from left to right: Jeanne Steer, Olga Bodnar, Lisa Gee, Jill Schneider, Valerie Krug, Sara Purdy, Claire Tak, Jennice Singh.


“In acute care, we’re totally unaware of the needs or issues in the community,” said Olga Bodnar, an intensive care nurse for 14 years before recently moving to the recovery room at Kaiser’s Sacramento Medical Center. “It’s like I had blinders on before, seeing just what was in front of me, and now I’m seeing the bigger picture of my patients’ lives.”

The community nurse corps is working in Sacramento’s “promise zone,” one of 22 distressed neighborhoods in select urban, rural, and tribal communities across the country designated by the federal government for investments to expand economic opportunities and improve public health.

An initiative of SMU’s RN to BSN program, the corps may serve as a model for other U.S. promise zones.

“We are elated to have Samuel Merritt University as our partner in the promise zone,” said Tyrone Roderick Williams, who is heading up the promise

zone as director of development for the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency. He said that while Sacramento served as a launching pad for the nurse corps, he plans to share the idea with other promise zone leaders across the country.

Alice Jacobs Vestergaard, EdD, public health coordinator for the RN to BSN program, initiated SMU’s collaboration with the promise zone by drawing on her longtime experience working in Sacramento’s most underserved communities, particularly those with large immigrant populations. She came up with the idea for the community nurse corps as a way to provide students with clinical placements while also improving the health of low-income Sacramento residents.

The nurse corps furthers the mission of SMU’s RN to BSN program, designed to help working nurses in Northern California gain leadership and teamwork skills that will enable them to advance their careers and help move healthcare delivery into the 21st century. Research shows that boosting educational levels among nurses improves patient safety and health outcomes.

1 Jennice Singh shares health information

with young resident.

2 Twin Rivers residents attend health fair.

3 RN to BSN nurse scholar Jeanne Steer.

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SAMUEL MERRITT UNIVERSITY 8

Participating in the nurse corps for 90 hours over two semesters fulfills the clinical requirements of the RN to BSN community health course. It also qualifies nurses enrolled in the program to apply for Public Health Nurse certification upon graduation.

Vestergaard said the real-world experience is transformational for the RN to BSN students — called “nurse scholars” — because it expands their view about factors that affect well-being such as access to nutritional foods, healthcare, and public transportation.

“In their regular jobs, they’re not used to dealing with people who fall through the cracks, people who are homeless, and people who can’t get access to care because they are undocumented,” she said. “Nurses in community settings sometimes have to function as social workers; they have to do more listening and to help residents gain access to healthcare and transportation services.”

The nurse corps is focusing on health problems like diabetes and hypertension that are prevalent in low-income, minority communities by working with nonprofit agencies that serve Sacramento’s most vulnerable residents. The first 11 members of the nurse corps are placed at La Familia Counseling Center, WellSpace Health, the Health Education Council, and the Twin Rivers public housing project — all within the city’s 22-square-mile promise zone where the poverty rate is 34 percent.

Twin Rivers illustrates the type of adversity faced by low-income, minority neighborhoods. More than 500 people live in aging houses with poor ventilation — all slated to be torn down in the next few years — and surrounded by industrial

spaces and busy roadways. It’s too dangerous for children to ride their bikes outside of the housing project and there are no nearby parks.

And although it is in the shadow of downtown Sacramento, Twin Rivers is a food desert. Only a McDonald’s and one small food store that doesn’t accept food stamps are within walking distance, and residents have no convenient access to public transportation to get to a supermarket.

Twin Rivers resident Brittney Threets said she rides her bike 10 miles round-trip to a Grocery Outlet so she can cook

4 Recipe for healthy smoothie.

5 Sacramento Promise Zone Director Tyrone Roderick Williams.

4

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more healthy meals at home rather than feeding her children fast food. She teaches an exercise and wellness class for her neighbors, but few attend.

“People are set in their ways,” said Threets. The SMU nurse corps students were hoping to change that when they organized a health fair at Twin Rivers in March that focused on preventative care: exercise, nutritional eating, and cardiovascular and diabetes awareness as well as asthma and blood pressure screenings.

Jeanne Steer, who has been a hospital nurse for 20 years, is providing prenatal counseling at Twin Rivers. She said performing clinical work in a disadvantaged community is

giving her a better understanding of the forces that can determine her patients’ health outcomes such as their immigration status and their ability to afford medications and travel to medical appointments.

“The public health experience is helping me see past just getting them home from the hospital,” said Steer. “It’s giving me the ability to look more closely at the whole patient.”

“I read the newspaper and watch the news so I hear about these things, but now I’m out in the community where I see poverty, racism, and the lack of ability to buy healthy foods,” said Steer.

“It has opened my eyes to see communities the way they truly are.” ◾

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6 Health Fair at Twin Rivers housing project.

7 Twin Rivers mother and child.

8 RN to BSN nurse scholar Olga Bodnar.

9 Twin Rivers resident and wellness coach

Brittney Threets.


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Arthritis

Student’s project adopted nationally, a basketball legacy is born, university awarded record scholarship funds, and more — a look at news and highlights from the past year.

CampusNotebook

ABOVE Vanessa Lazo

A CURRICULUM DEVELOPED by graduate student Vanessa Lazo to help teens with autoimmune inflammatory diseases learn how to better manage their health was adopted by the National Arthritis Foundation for use at all of its summer camps.

Lazo designed the project to encourage teens to become more responsible for managing their conditions, and less dependent on others at home and at school, as they transition into adulthood.

“I understand why their disease limits them so much,” she said. “But my whole point is to empower them to do more.”

Lazo introduced her educational model at the National Juvenile Arthritis Conference in Philadelphia last year. She has since participated in a webinar to train directors from the 49 summer camps that plan to use the curriculum.

“It’s the most exciting thing I’ve done since I started my education,” said Lazo,

who is studying to become a nurse practitioner in SMU’s Entry Level Master of Science in Nursing program.

Lazo began working with the Arthritis Foundation after doing her SMU pediatric clinical rotation last summer at Camp Milagros, Northern California’s only overnight camp for children with juvenile arthritis and related diseases.

With the encouragement and mentorship of Assistant Professor Marjorie Hammer, Lazo successfully applied for a 2016–2017 Albert Schweitzer Fellowship to develop and implement educational tools for young people with rheumatoid diseases.

Hammer said Lazo has blossomed thanks to her SMU clinical experiences and her work with the Arthritis Foundation.

“I’ve watched her go from being a quiet student to an emerging leader,” said Hammer. ◾

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CSPM Basketball Champs

IT’S LIKE DÉJÀ VU all over again.

SMU’s California School of Podiatric Medicine (CSPM) won the national basketball tournament among the country’s podiatric medicine universities for the second consecutive year.

This year’s weekend tournament was hosted by CSPM, giving the Oakland-based team a heavy home-court advantage.

“I was proud of our students,” said Assistant Professor Tim Dutra, DPM.

“We’re starting a legacy.”

CSPM suited up three men’s teams, as well as its first female squad. The nine-school round robin tournament took place over two days. ◾

THE LONG LINE of people leading into San Leandro’s Creekside Community Church kept nursing student Milissa Buriel on her toes one busy Sunday morning in February.

Buriel conducted more than a dozen blood pressure screenings as part of the annual “Frank E. Staggers, Sr. Hypertension Education and Screening Sunday” event coordinated by SMU’s Ethnic Health Institute (EHI). In all, 128 healthcare volunteers spread out across 24 churches in the East Bay and San Francisco to provide blood pressure readings for nearly 700 residents.

“Patient interaction, unfortunately, can’t be taught in the classroom,” Buriel said.

“This experience helped me create an important foundation and learn different methods to communicate and provide understanding during those interactions.”

Dr. Frank E. Staggers Jr., son of one of EHI’s founders, said the event supplements classroom learning for SMU students by placing them side-by-side with working professionals.

“It’s important for students to get this perspective because they learn that healthcare providers are not independent of the community, but of the community,” Staggers said. ◾

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9% 26%SMU

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Campus Notebook

SMU WAS AWARDED $7.8 million in federal scholarship funds for disadvantaged students that will boost the University’s efforts to diversify the healthcare workforce and improve outcomes in underserved communities.

The scholarship money, awarded last July by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), was the largest amount awarded to a single university or college in the U.S. in 2016.

Grants are available to students entering or enrolled in SMU’s family nurse practitioner, physician assistant, and physical therapy programs.

“The more diverse our healthcare professionals, the healthier our communities,” said SMU President Sharon Diaz. “That begins with diversity on our campuses. We are grateful for HRSA’s recognition of our ongoing effort to make healthcare education

accessible to all, and we welcome the students who want to join us in making health outcomes equitable for all.”

The federal assistance, known as the Scholarship for Disadvantaged Students program, will benefit students from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds over the next four years. Depending on need, the University will award up to $30,000 per year to each recipient. ◾

A RECORD NUMBER of SMU students were selected to receive the prestigious Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF) in 2016–2017.

Six graduate students spent the academic year learning to address the social factors that impact health while developing lifelong leadership skills. In doing so, they followed the example set by famed physician-humanitarian Albert Schweitzer.

“Our program is making a lasting impact on the health of communities in and around the Bay Area,” said Dale Ogar, director of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of ASF. “Our fellows first learn to serve and support vulnerable people in living healthier lives, and then take those skills with them when they establish themselves professionally as leaders in their field.”

In all, 15 students were selected from Bay Area universities, including UCSF

Schweitzer Fellows

HRSA Grants

School of Medicine, Stanford School of Medicine, and Stanford School of Law.

SMU set a record for the number of students chosen from a single university, Ogar said.

The SMU fellowship recipients and their projects are:

Phyllis Carroll: Providing sexual health education for formerly homeless senior citizens.

Vanessa Lazo: Working with children who have rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases (see page 12).

Rahwa Haile and Helen Woldai: Addressing the reproductive needs of black women in the East Bay.

Ashmi Patel: Providing podiatric care to patients with diabetes.

Roshan Uranwala: Developing an outreach team to provide in-home, follow-up visits in San Francisco’s Mission District. ◾


BEFORE TRACI BLACKMON became a reverend, she worked as a nurse in St. Louis, Missouri.

“When people ask me, ‘When did you join the ministry?’ I always ask them, ‘Do you mean as a professional or a vocation?’ Because for me, nursing is ministry — it moves people toward healing just the same.”

Blackmon, who became a national civil rights figure in the wake of the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, was the keynote speaker at SMU’s Black History Month celebration in February. She delivered a powerful message about working at “the intersection of nursing and social justice.”

“Your assessment tools are not just for patients but are also a gift to society,” the pastor told a filled Fontaine

Auditorium. “Nurses also assess the social order. We assess neighborhoods, school settings, family circumstances. And with all those assessments we can help our patients heal.”

Blackmon said all healthcare practitioners, at every level, would be wise to be “concerned beyond the individual’s disease and see the entire context of their lives.”

“It’s important for all students to learn how healthcare professionals can positively impact social change,” said SMU Chief Diversity Officer Shirley Strong. “It’s a great responsibility to move our society forward and improve the health of all of our communities.” ◾

Traci Blackmon

Do you follow SMU on:

Yes, 56%

@SAMUELMERRITTU

@SAMUELMERRITTUNIVERSITY

@SAMUELMERRITTU

Yes, 3%

Yes, 19%

@SA

M

UELMERRITTU

Yes, 2%

32% do not follow

SMU on any platform

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Yes, 4%

(575 students surveyed)


SOPHIA FONG LEARNED a lot about healthcare from Patient A.

The patient used drugs chronically and engaged in prostitution. By listening to her and learning the details of her life, Fong said she came to understand the difference between prescribing remedies and empathizing with patients.

“I learned that we can provide medicine or exercise to our clients to make them feel better, but that’s not the same as providing care,” Fong said. “I found that if I just listened, and if that patient felt like she was being heard, that alone can be better than giving someone a pill.”

Fong, a physical therapy student at SMU, signed up as a volunteer in the pilot “Hotspotting” program to work with patients known as “high utilizers” of emergency rooms.

Along with three other SMU students, Fong made house calls and met with the patients outside the hospital to assist with their daily needs in an effort to improve their quality of life and, ultimately, keep them from re-entering the ER.

Fong talked about her volunteer service as part of the Complex Care Community Forum with Dr. Jeffrey Brenner at SMU’s Oakland campus in November.

Student “Hotspotters” Help Improve Lives for Patients with Complex Needs

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Brenner, a MacArthur “Genius” Fellow and executive director of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, is a nationally renowned physician who coined the term “hotspotting” to describe the strategic use of data to locate and serve frequent users of ERs.

Profiled in the New Yorker and by “PBS Frontline” for his innovative work to improve care for high-need patients, Brenner believes that student hotspotters — by observing the mix of social, physiological, behavioral and medical barriers confronting these patients — can learn to improve patient care and stem the flow of chronic ER users.

Brenner is a stinging critic of the high costs and poor outcomes for vulnerable patients in the U.S. healthcare system. He predicted the current system would collapse financially if not for, among other things, the exorbitant costs and revenues tied to habitual users of emergency services and hospital care overall. Keeping the patients out of the ER could decrease healthcare profits by nearly 20 percent immediately, Brenner said.

“The most subversive thing in America today are these four students,” Brenner told the audience at the forum. “They would cut costs and close hospitals. And we should cheer every time a hospital closes.”

Brenner’s Camden Coalition developed a training and curriculum available to student hotspotters at healthcare universities across the nation. The SMU team, joined by a medical student from the UC Berkeley/UCSF Joint Medical Program, is the first cohort from the East Bay.

“This is an opportunity to train the next generation of healthcare providers,” said Jim Hickman, CEO of Sutter Health’s philanthropic foundation Better Health East Bay, which sponsored the SMU students. “We’ve spent a lot of time in healthcare fitting people into the system. Now we have models and data to fit systems to the people.”

“The unique learning experience gives SMU students a 360 degree of their patient’s lives and the societal circumstances that impact their wellness,” said Michael Negrete, SMU’s Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs.

“The students serve as an extra set of eyes and ears for the patients, and the providers, to help improve the quality of their patient’s lives,” Negrete said. “They also get a chance to learn about healthcare from the patient’s perspective, and how overwhelming the system can look from the other side.”

The partnership between Brenner’s Camden Coalition and SMU students could soon grow stronger. The


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University applied to become a “Student Hotspotting Hub” starting in fall 2017, which would make SMU a regional home base for interprofessional teams of students from other healthcare colleges to coordinate their hotspotting endeavors. The Camden Coalition’s vision is to place three hubs across the country, where they can train and organize students interested in participating in the off-campus learning experience.

Support for the initiative is also coming from Sutter Health, SMU’s affiliate. In 2014, Sutter Health’s Alta Bates Summit Medical Center was selected as one of only six organizations in the nation to partner with the Camden Coalition as part of a “Hotspotting” Advisory Group.

And Better Health East Bay’s Hickman joined the Advisory Committee for the National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs in 2016.

Maggie Balma, an SMU hotspotter who recently graduated from the nursing program, said she was surprised to learn how complicated and inaccessible the healthcare system appears to complex-care patients even after they leave the hospital. A deluge of appointments and obstacles can make the simplest healthcare interactions appear overwhelming.

She said in her clinical rotations she spent 15 to 30 minutes talking to a patient to learn about his or her life, then was asked to make a diagnosis.

But with Patient A, she spent hours over several weeks to see the bigger picture, which gave her a better understanding of what treatment was more likely to succeed.

“I’m grateful for what I learned from her,” Balma said.

She added that she wished the experience was required for all first-year students entering SMU.

“Putting hot-spotting into the curriculum would make us all better providers,” Balma said. “We’d get a better understanding of all the barriers the patients encounter.” ◾


Becoming Informed Caregivers Means Facing Poverty


LEARNING ABOUT COMMUNITY health at SMU is no longer restricted to textbooks and clinical training. An increasing number of students are participating in an interactive simulation that helps them to develop empathy for the daily struggles of people who face financial hardship.

Nursing students on the Oakland, Sacramento, and San Francisco Peninsula campuses have taken part in the simulation exercise over the past year, giving them a chance to temporarily walk in the shoes of the

more than 43 million Americans who live in poverty. Participants gain a glimpse into the difficulty of obtaining food, shelter, and other basic necessities with limited resources.

The “poverty simulation” was developed by the Missouri Community Action Network, based on the real-life challenges of the agency’s clients, as a way to help break down stereotypes about the lives of disadvantaged people. Three SMU faculty members — Jeannene Zettler Rhodes, Sally Moyce, and Adelina Gage-Kelly — are now trained facilitators of the simulation.

Zettler Rhodes said the simulation helps the students think more broadly about health.

“If we’re trying to improve health outcomes, we can’t do that without considering the implications of poverty on people’s lives,” she said.

During a two-hour simulation led by Zettler Rhodes in February on the first day of her community health course, several dozen Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program students took on assigned roles of the members of different families, each with its own unique scripted circumstances. They interacted with “vendors” representing various community resources seated around the perimeter of the large classroom. Next door in the library, a “school” and

“employment center” were set up.

With every 15 minutes representing a week, the students strived to come up with the cash to meet their daily needs by applying for assistance from social service or governmental agencies

while scrambling to pay their bills and fighting eviction from their homes.

Early on, the students swamped the pawn shop and Quik Cash lender. Later, long lines formed at the U Trust Us National Bank and the Food-A-Rama, while some children were taken into protective custody because they were left alone by their parents.

Some were fired for showing up late to their jobs while others sold stereos and other possessions at the pawn shop. All of them were unaware that a thief, played by faculty member Paul Smith, was roaming around the room stealing documents, cars, and other possessions from them.

In a creative solution, a group of tenants filed a class action lawsuit to challenge their illegal evictions through a community action agency.

Recent graduate Lance Peak was one of more than 20 volunteers who posed as the vendors and service providers in the simulation. He played the role

LEFT Simulation participants interact with “community vendors.”

BOTTOM RIGHT The “Rogers family.”



of a worker at Interfaith Services, which ran a homeless shelter where families could only stay for two weeks and provided clients with food and clothing vouchers.

Peak said he was inspired to volunteer because he learned so much from his

experience as a student participating in the first poverty simulation held on the San Mateo campus last year.

“At first I saw it very much as a game,” said Peak. “But very quickly I learned, and was very affected by, how difficult it is for a family to make it through week to week and how unfair the system is to them.”

That is an outcome that Zettler Rhodes had hoped for when she incorporated the poverty simulation into her community health curriculum as a way to teach students how the chronic stress of hardship can affect long-term health.

“My hope is that it will sensitize the students to the realities of day-to-day life of people living in poverty,” she said.

At the start of the simulation, Zettler Rhodes encouraged the volunteer vendors and service providers to treat the participants as nicely or rudely as they pleased, reflecting real-world experiences.

During an hour-long debriefing exercise, Kathryn Ward, SMU’s assistant director of student services who played the role of a worker at the Friendly Utility Company, admitted that she didn’t perform her job in a particularly ethical way.

“I was trying to be mean, disorganized, and almost criminal,” she said.

The students described daily life under those chaotic circumstances as stressful and draining, and began to appreciate the emotional toll taken on low-income people.

One student said he role-played a 10-year-old boy often left at home alone with little food or activities and that his family’s life seemed desperate and dysfunctional. Another student who personated a 32-year-old single mother of two, said it felt like her family was on “a downward spiral despite how hard we were trying.”

Student Louise Bisby, who played the part of a 17-year-old drug user worried about paying her family’s rent, said she often skipped school to go to the pawn shop where the proprietor only spoke Spanish.

“I agreed to things I didn’t understand and found myself smiling and nodding my head to be polite and complete the transaction,” she said.

Student Jason Tak said the simulation felt real. “I learned about the stress of having to worry from paycheck to paycheck. If anything goes wrong, you might be in a ditch that you wouldn’t be able to dig yourself out of.”


“My hope is that it will sensitize students to the realities of day-to-day life of people living in poverty.”

— JEANNENE ZETTLER RHODES

Role-playing an unemployed father with three children, Jennifer Abenojar said it was really stressful to watch as one of her children got expelled and another became pregnant while the family struggled to seek services and pay their bills. But the immersive experience also offered her professional insights as well.

“It became a reality that there are different social classes we’ll have to care for and that we need to show compassion and respect for where they’re coming from,” said Abenojar.

It is the kind of realization that Zettler Rhodes said will inform the students’ subsequent clinical experiences in the community.

“The simulation gives them a level of empathy so they no longer see low-income clients as the ‘other’ or victims they need to save, but as people like themselves,” she said.

“It’s an experience where they’re not thinking of poverty as something that other people experience, but rather as something that can happen to anyone.”

After the simulations, Zettler Rhodes asks her students to write up their reflections of the experience and has found them to be mostly positive, both among those who come from impoverished backgrounds and those who do not.

“It’s an impactful educational experience because students like the pairing of the cognitive and the emotional when they’re learning,” she said. ◾

ABOVE TOP Simulation

participants gather with their “families.”

ABOVE BOTTOM Students discuss

how to pay their bills and meet

their daily needs.

LEFT TOP Students share information during simulation.

LEFT BOTTOM Faculty member Jeannene

Zettler Rhodes leads simulation.


THE FIRST THING visitors notice about Pixley, California, is the dust.

Sheets of fine, dry dirt sweep across miles of grape fields and almond orchards before they appear to settle in the Central Valley town, population 3,310.

In the middle of Pixley, at a clinic located beneath the town water tower, is where SMU physician assistant student Miguel Coria will spend two months to fulfill one of his clinical rotation requirements.

And he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

“This is the community I was meant to serve,” Coria said one morning as the temperature reached 90

degrees. “This is where people need healthcare providers the most, in places like Pixley.”

For Coria and a few fellow PA students, the Central Valley is where the heart is.

During his summer rotation, Coria lives in rent-free student housing in nearby Kingsburg with several other SMU students who commute to clinics dotted along Route 99. They attend to residents who

live in the rural communities as well as migrant farmworkers.

The hands-on, immersive experience — along with the commitment to serving diverse communities — is a key reason why Coria chose SMU.

“I knew if I came to Samuel Merritt University I’d get a chance to work with patients who need me,” said Coria, who was born in Mexico. “The University’s emphasis on serving underserved

Physician Assistant Students Focus on Family Health in Central Valley


populations was what really appealed to me when I decided to become a PA.”

Coria chose the PA route over medical school for a simple reason: time. With a college-aged daughter and a teenager, Coria wanted to complete his graduate studies in less than three years.

“It’s not just me. I have a family,” Coria said. “If I were to go to medical school, it’d be eight years, a residency, and a lot of debt. As a PA, it’s less than half the time and I get to work in any specialty of medicine I want. I happen to like family practice, so this is where I’ll stay.”

Thanks in part to the practicality and the lower cost of PA school — and rising salaries — the PA profession is experiencing an unprecedented boom, according to trade associations.

The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants reported the profession’s average annual salary reached $102,000 in 2016, up from $98,000 two years prior.

The report also found a shortage of doctors coupled with a trend toward “value-based care” appeared to drive demand for PAs; since 2010, the profession grew 44 percent to 115,547 PAs in 2016 compared to 80,019 five years earlier.

All of this is welcome news to Michael DeRosa, PhD, co-chair of SMU’s PA program.

“Yes, we’re seeing an increase in the volume of applicants, but more importantly we’re getting a surge in quality as well,” DeRosa said. “We’re seeing really dedicated people who want to enter the PA field, like Miguel,

because they know they can make a difference as a primary care provider in communities almost immediately.”

Back at the Pixley Medical Clinic, Coria and his mentor will serve about 50 patients in a single workday — and nearly every day for the two-month rotation.

“We see everyone who walks through the door,” Coria said. “Young, old, insured or uninsured.”

The open-door policy is critical to improving community health, said Maria Guzman, the office manager at the clinic. The building is technically a healthcare facility, but with its large waiting room and air conditioning, it also serves as community gathering center.

“Sometimes people will walk in with a stack of their mail and just ask us to translate,” she said.

“They know we’re here to help people, so they come here with lots of questions and we’re happy to help.”

About 70 percent of the patients use Medi-Cal and another 10 percent are uninsured, Guzman said. The caseload swells during the harvest seasons, and the clinic keeps its doors open past 7 p.m. during the summer months.

“The workers get home at 6 p.m., then still have time to visit here if they need a medical checkup,” she said.

For Coria, the intense volume of patients and the community focus make Pixley a place he’d like to work one day.

“As PAs, we can do it all,” Coria said. “And here, we’re going to see it all. In some ways, a lot of these patients have been abandoned by the healthcare system; I want to help them return to it.” ◾


Nation’s First Simulated Internal Medicine Rotation for Podiatry Students

PODIATRY STUDENT Cassy Okoye entered the hospital room of a 45-year-old woman experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath. The patient told Okoye that the pain began the night before while she was playing soccer and returned the next morning when she took out the garbage.

While taking her medical history, Okoye learned that the patient was a smoker whose father died of a heart attack at 47. Okoye soon realized that her patient was also having a heart attack.

The scenario took place in Samuel Merritt University’s Health Sciences

Simulation Center at the start of a month-long clinical rotation for three students from the California School of Podiatric Medicine. It is the only known internal medicine rotation in podiatry in the country delivered entirely in a simulated environment.

Though lifelike, Okoye’s patient was actually a high-fidelity manikin in a red wig powered by computer software to replicate human physiological responses. In an adjacent control room behind a one-way mirror, Dr. Bill Stiers impersonated the patient’s voice through a microphone. With the

click of a few keys on his computer, Stiers caused the patient to develop an irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia.

Okoye saw the bedside monitor light up when the patient’s heart suddenly stopped beating, so she called in the

“rapid response team.” Fellow student Katie Pettibone set up electrodes on the patient’s chest to shock her heart and also performed chest compressions. After a few moments, Okoye checked her pulse, but there was none.

The simulation course, modeled after a program in Australia, provides third-year podiatry students at SMU with the opportunity to learn from their mistakes without doing any harm to patients.

Stiers tells the students, “You will fail your way to success.”

The rotation has been so successful that since it began in 2014, SMU podiatry students have scored 20 percent above the national average on their national board exams in internal medicine.

SMU’s Simulation Center, considered one of the most advanced in the West, provides students with clinical skills training through interaction with computerized models that realistically display breathing, eye movements, and pulse sounds. Their heart, blood vessels, lungs, and gastrointestinal tract can respond to any number of human interventions. An intravenous needle

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can penetrate their skin, and simulated blood can be pumped into their veins.

The podiatry students participate in up to three simulations a day. During each videotaped 30-minute engagement with a patient, one student performs the exam, one is the scribe, and the third observes.

Stiers says the students appreciate simulation because it is more hands-on than some hospital rotations where they just peer over the shoulder of a resident physician.

“They collect their own data, filter their findings through their knowledge base, and take action based on it,” says Stiers.

“If they’re correct, the patient gets better. If they’re not, the patient gets worse. The great safety feature of simulation is that it’s safe for them to fail.”

For Stiers, who spent nearly 30 years working as an emergency medicine physician, teaching a small group of students in the Simulation Center plays to his clinical strengths in a way that classroom instruction does not.

While debriefing a simulation, Stiers is careful not to point out the students’ missteps. Instead, he uses Socratic questioning about the patient’s symptoms, which leads the students to realize the actions they should have taken.

“Bill is good at giving feedback that doesn’t feel like we’re being disparaged,” says Pettibone.

While students conduct podiatric exams on actual patients as early as their second year, their knowledge of internal medicine is restricted to what they’ve learned from textbooks. And because their previous clinical rotations in diabetes and surgery were spent primarily as observers, they say they are excited by the possibilities of simulation-based learning.

“It’s nice to get immediate feedback so you can see your strengths and weaknesses, particularly when someone like Bill can see what you’re doing as opposed to telling an attending physician about it later,” Okoye says.

In contrast to the unpredictability of the types of medical conditions found in hospitals, the simulation rotation exposes the students to a wide range of pathologic states through a library of cases in cardiology, pulmonology, neurology, and perioperative management. Each case scenario includes a patient’s medical conditions, social circumstances, psychological issues, addictions, and family dynamics.

“This environment lets you learn at a much faster rate,” says student Anusha Pundu. “You don’t have to wait for a patient that fits that criteria to experience it.”

Stiers tells his students that they will discover what is wrong with their patients if they ask the right questions.

“It’s like a treasure hunt, and all of the pieces fit together like a puzzle,” he says.

Before the students’ first interaction, Stiers instructs them to suspend their disbelief and care for the manikin with professionalism and compassion as if it were a real patient. However, he acknowledges that the patient simulator has limitations.

“He’s not going to get up and dance around the room,” he says. “I ask you to engage in a fiction contract: that you’ll forgive those discrepancies between reality and the simulated environment.”

To create a setting that’s as close to the real thing as possible, Stiers sometimes includes “simulation actor” Nancy Lemmel in the clinical encounters.

During one scenario, Lemmel poses as the employer of a housekeeper hospitalized for shortness of breath

with a history of asthma, smoking, and exposure to cleaning chemicals. She repeatedly interrupts student Jose Lingao as he takes the patient’s history, threatening that the housekeeper could lose her job. Picking up on the patient’s discomfort, Lingao asks Lemmel to leave the room after five minutes.

“She was distracting me by pestering me about whether the patient could go back to work,” he says after the simulation. “I’m not aggressive in real life, so it challenged me to tell her to go.”

By adding a “human piece” through playing characters that are nervous, emotional, or demanding, Lemmel says she challenges the students to tackle the psychosocial aspects of medicine, and acts out some simulations in Spanish to introduce cultural awareness.

Students say they welcome the educational freedom of simulation.

“You know the environment is artificial and you know you’re not adequately prepared,” says Lingao. “You’re getting thrown into the frying pan, but you learn because you’re sinking.”

Pettibone agrees: “It’s a big benefit to work in an environment where we’re not afraid to make mistakes.” ◾

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THE STORIES THAT REFUGEES tell of enduring wartime atrocities and harrowing journeys to flee their homelands are what student aid workers remember the most when they return to the United States from humanitarian trips.

Over the past year, several SMU students have taken time from their studies to fly halfway around the world to help men, women, and children stranded in refugee camps.

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist student Mohammad Deen — a trained critical care nurse who has worked as an emergency medic — spent several months providing medical care to Syrian refugees in Turkey, Greece, and Lebanon who were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, amputations caused by barrel bombs, and other conditions made worse by their difficult journeys.

The Syrian crisis is never far from Deen’s mind. He shares photos and stories of his experiences with

thousands of his social media followers and with audiences at college campuses across California.

“I want more Americans to know what’s going on,” says Deen of the staggering toll of the six-year Syrian civil war.

“A half a million people have been killed, hospitals are being bombed, and no one is saying anything.”

Deen says that while we can become desensitized from watching television footage of the carnage in Syria, his intention is to humanize the refugees.

“These are people just like you and me,” he says.

Deen appears in a mini-documentary titled No Place Like HOPE about the nearly three months he spent in a Syrian refugee camp in northern Greece near the Macedonia border, where he helped run a nighttime clinic with

other volunteers in a camp located at a former gas station. The video attracted the attention of people working with refugees in Europe and led to an invitation for him to speak at a “One Life” TEDx event in Paris on May 20.

His crusade to get the word out about the difficult living conditions in the refugee camps has led to a flow of donations that Deen has put to good use by purchasing medications for the adults with chronic illnesses and vitamin supplements for the many malnourished children. Realizing that the refugees in Greece needed much more than medical care, he also bought them fresh food, bug repellent to ward off the mosquitoes, and sunscreen and caps for the kids so they wouldn’t get sunburned.

At a Community Learning Series presentation titled “We Were All Once


Helping Refugees: Altruism and Activism


Refugees” on the Oakland campus in April, Deen described the gratitude and generous spirit of the refugees.

“The children would be given one apple a day and cut it in half for me,” he says, while families invited him into their tents to share the little they had such as coffee and freshly baked Arabic flatbread.

Like Deen, Kali Drake has vivid memories of the children she met in Greece in late December, particularly those wearing flip-flops in near-freezing temperatures.

“Kids would literally come to our rental van with their teeth chattering, wet and with no coats,” says Drake. “They were grateful, but it was heartbreaking because we had limited supplies.”

Drake, Maheen Khan, and Tiffany Lin traveled to the island of Lesbos just weeks after their graduation from SMU’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. They say they wanted to see firsthand the plight of refugees stranded there after European borders were closed to them.

The three women brought along more than 50 pounds of medical supplies donated by SMU’s Health and Wellness Center. They also distributed gloves, hats, coats, socks, and shoes to the refugees, many of whom came with few belongings and were not prepared for the cold weather.

“The response was overwhelming,” says Drake.

The students spent a week in the port city of Mytilene, shuttling between several refugee encampments with a group of other medical and humanitarian volunteers. Many of the refugees, particularly single men, were living outside the official camps in warehouses and abandoned buildings.

Each night, the nurses set up a mobile clinic near the camps. With the help of translators, they listened to the migrants’ health issues and distributed over-the-counter medications like cough syrups and muscle creams. They also provided wound care because in such squalid conditions a cut finger can quickly turn into a serious infection without bandages and antibiotic creams.

“Many are hesitant to go to the hospital because they are scared of being detained” by the Greek authorities, says Drake of the refugees, who are mostly from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

“The irony for me having gone there is that it makes the news even more impactful now that I’m back, having heard the stories of the refugees and the families they left behind,” Drake says.

“My heart ached a little more for each patient I met when I heard their stories.”

While the women were in Greece over the holiday break, Deen led an international medical team to a refugee camp in Lebanon only an hour away from the Syrian border where they treated 1,200 patients in a week

under cold, damp conditions. As he does on all of his medical missions, Deen hired a local “fixer” to help him navigate the refugee camp, buy medical supplies, and rent an ambulance that serves as a makeshift clinic.

“It’s controlled chaos,” he says. “You end up doing the best you can.”

Deen says the need is always greater than aid workers can fill and he returns from his humanitarian trips feeling exhausted.

“You always leave a part of your soul there,” he says. ◾

Mohammad Deen with children at a refugee camp.

“These are people just like you and me.”

— MOHAMMAD DEEN


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#Every Tuesday a student takes over

SMU’s Instagram account and offers followers a glimpse into a

day in the life of a student in their academic program. Go behind the scenes as students share the

triumphs and tribulations on their road to graduation.

INTRODUCING...

TAKEOVERTUESDAY ON INSTAGRAM!

samuelmerritu

samuelmerrittu Couldn’t sign off w/o posting a #SMUPA2017 family photo from our White Coat Ceremony! I’m very lucky to be on this academic journey w/ so many kind, caring, and truly genuine individuals. I love how diverse we are and each bring something unique to the table. You all challenge and inspire me to be a better person. And as we part our separate ways for rotations, I just want to say thank you for turning this stressful and mentally draining experience into something equally as beautiful, amazing, kinda crazy, and fun #takeovertuesday

JANUARY 17, 2017

samuelmerritu

samuelmerrittu Hey friends! I’m Christi, a nursing student in the Accelerated-BSN (ABSN) program at the SF Peninsula campus! I’ll be taking over on this beautiful Tuesday to show a glimpse of what nursing school is all about! #takeovertuesday #SMUsanmateo

OCTOBER 18, 2016

samuelmerritu

samuelmerrittu Sometimes being a volunteer is taking one for the team. We are focusing on OB here (if you can’t tell). #takeovertuesday

OCTOBER 4, 2016

STUDENT QUOTES FROM SMU’S 2017

SOCIAL MEDIA SURVEY:

“I love Takeover Tuesday because students are able to get a taste of what it’s like to

be in the shoes of a student in a different program.”


And the rest of the week, SMU’s Instagram account is giving you updates on all things SMU — from the sim lab to the greater Bay Area. Make sure to follow @samuelmerrittu to stay connected!

samuelmerritu

samuelmerrittu Just doing some neurodynamics testing on the right lower quarter, nbd. #takeovertuesday

FEBRUARY 14, 2017

samuelmerritu

samuelmerrittu It’s lunch time! Unlike our sister campus in Oakland, our campus does not have a gym but... #nogymnoproblem! Getting our workout on with a dose of Vitamin D! #takeovertuesday #SMUsacramento

MAY 30, 2017

samuelmerritu

samuelmerrittu lastly, #happyblackhistorymonth !! it’s so great to be part of an institution that recognizes the many health care disparities that exist in the US alone, and the world. we also understand that people of color are highly underrepresented in health care. nonetheless, the goal is to change that and create an atmosphere that reflects the communities we serve. this includes enhancing representation through spiritual diversity, and inclusivity as well. this is only a fraction of us, but we’re growing because the need is heavy and the passion abundant. choose healthcare. #takeovertuesday

FEBRUARY 7, 2017

samuelmerrittu #TBT An incredible commencement ceremony last week with 400 graduates on their way to making a difference in people’s lives. Check out all the highlights, including outstanding student winners from each academic department, in the profile link.

samuelmerritu

JUNE 1, 2017

samuelmerritu

FEBRUARY 23, 2017

samuelmerrittu We strive to create and sustain a campus environment that supports and values all members of our community, including visitors. One aspect of creating a comfortable environment is providing safe, accessible, and convenient restroom facilities.

samuelmerritu

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

samuelmerrittu Touch screen virtual cadaver. What will they think of next?

“I feel really proud to be at SMU when I look at all the pictures of students.”

“It’s nice to see when people in my cohort takeover and give some insight on what we do.

My friend was thinking of going to SMU and she loved seeing ‘a day in the life

of a BSN student.’”


ALEJANDRA VILLEGAS stepped onto the SMU campus in Oakland for the first time one Saturday afternoon in December and took a good long look around.

“It’s really nice here,” Villegas said just before attending a graduation ceremony in the Health Education Center to receive her master’s degree as a family nurse practitioner (FNP).

“I would have come here more often if I knew it was so welcoming.”

Villegas was among a unique graduating class at SMU: the first cohort to complete their FNP master’s degree entirely online.

Like the 24 other graduates from across California, Villegas started the inaugural program early in 2015 from her home computer. Students also completed 630 clinical hours in their respective hometowns.

“In less than two years, my family has a better life,” said Villegas, who was joined on her trip from El Centro, near the U.S.–Mexico border, by her husband and two young children. “It was a fast program and I spent many nights studying after the kids went to bed, but now I’ve got a lot to show for it: a new career.”

SMU’s online program has grown rapidly since Villegas signed up. Since SMU’s inaugural class first logged on, an additional 220 online students have enrolled from six different states. Now, students from 10 states are eligible to take online courses through SMU: California, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Colorado, Texas, Iowa, Ohio, Illinois, and Virginia.

Driving the increased demand for FNP degrees is a red-hot job market for the advanced nursing degree. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of family nurse practitioners (215,000) is expected to grow 19 percent by 2020, far above the national average for job growth in other professions. U.S. News & World Report also ranked the profession as the sixth best job overall in 2016.

Nurse practitioners serve as primary and acute care providers, and — depending on state laws where they practice — they can also prescribe medication. They make diagnoses, initiate and manage treatment, and counsel patients, and their families.

Online Nursing Program Growing in Popularity and Reach

Online

“In less than two years, my family has a better life.”

— ALEJANDRA VILLEGAS


To help scale the rapid growth for the FNP online program, SMU hired 30 adjunct professors who log on from as far east as New York state, said Ellie Hoffman, director of online nursing programs at SMU.

“The diversity of our professors enhances the program and brings fresh insights into the cohorts,” Hoffman said.

“In many ways, these graduating students are pioneers,” Hoffman added. “They were the first to do it entirely online. But in other ways, it’s the same content, the same excellent faculty, and the same clinical experience as someone who attended school here on campus.”

In fact, many of the current 220 online enrollees live in the Bay Area and Sacramento area, mere miles from SMU’s three brick-and-mortar campuses. The proximity helps when it comes to coordinating clinical placements, but students also report liking the flexibility of their online-study schedules, Hoffman said. Students can log on when they prefer and take the digital classes at their own pace.

The festive scene at the first online graduation was the first time many of the students and faculty met each other in real life after spending countless hours on discussion boards, in emails and phone calls, and through texts.

Angela Torgerson, the online student success manager based in Mesa, Arizona, attended the ceremony to celebrate with the students she’d only known virtually. She served as the liaison between students and faculty, and clinical coordinators, to make sure the online education experience was as responsive as campus life.

“It’s giving me a warm and fuzzy feeling today,” Torgerson said. “I’ve recognized a few voices.”

Villegas heard about the online program from a fellow registered nurse at the clinic where she worked in Southern California. She said at first she did not believe such an online program existed, and thought she would have to wait until her then-one-year-old daughter was older before she could return to a college campus for her master’s degree.

“Everybody seems to be in the same boat,” Villegas said. “They want to go back to school but think their kids need to be older, but it’s not the case. You can put them to bed, get your studying in, and continue to work the next day.”

In fact, just months into her SMU online degree program, Villegas learned she was pregnant with her second child, Robert Alexander, now one month old.

“If I got pregnant while I was at another school on campus, I might have had to drop out,” Villegas said. “Now, I’ve got two children, my family nurse practitioner degree, and I get to go back to work and I’ll be the one making the decisions.” ◾


Three Quick Exercises for Busy Students

Oakland Campus

“College students are notorious for having poor posture, but who can blame them? They spend hours upon hours sitting and hunched over books and computers. The result? Rounded shoulders, weak upper back muscles, and poor hip flexibility, just to name a few. Luckily, SMU opened a new students-only gym on the Oakland campus this year and it’s a great place to stay fit and healthy. Here are three exercises for all SMU students to try. I’ll see you in the gym!”

— KEN OKADA, DPT CLASS OF 2019

A new student gym opened on the Oakland campus in 2017.


Hip Flexor Stretch

1. Grab a yoga mat or a pad.

2. Get into the bottom of a lunge stance as shown in the picture.

3. Maintain good posture by keeping your torso upright. Don’t let your hips tilt too much in either direction. Maintain a neutral back.

4. Lean forward on your front leg. You should feel a stretch in

front of your hip of the leg that is behind you. You may need to adjust the width and length of your stance to make this stretch easier or more challenging.

5. You can enhance this stretch by reaching the arm that is on the same side of the stretch upward.

6. Hold this position for 30–60 seconds. Repeat on the other hip.

Plank

1. Start on the floor by getting on your elbows and feet. It should look somewhat like a push-up position.

2. Hold this position for 30 seconds or more. Some people will be able to hold this position for minutes.

3. Keep your body as straight as a (you guessed it) plank. Engage your quads, glutes, and abdominal muscles.

4. Don’t let your hips bend or your lower back arch or round. You shouldn’t look like an A-frame! ◾

Goblet Squat

1. Pick up a kettlebell or a dumbbell with both hands and hold the weight close to the chest while keeping your shoulders set back and down. Keep your chest up and don’t slouch forward.

2. Feet should be about shoulder width apart. Point the toes forward or slightly out depending on what is most comfortable.

3. Push your hips back like you’re sitting in a chair and descend into a squat by bending at the knees; allow your knees to track over your toes. Don’t let your knees cave in!

4. The lower back should not round out at the bottom. Keep your feet flat and don’t let your knees travel excessively farther than your toes. Keep your chest up and maintain good posture.

5. Return to the starting position. Your hips and shoulders should begin to rise at the same time. If the weight is too heavy, the hips may start to move before the upper body and put the back into a compromising position.

6. Try 3 sets of 8–12 repetitions.


DIAGNOSED WITH congestive heart failure five years earlier, A.J. Reyes was told by doctors in 2010 that — at just 25 — he had only a few more years to live unless he received a new organ, but he’d have to wait for their call.

Doctors needed to find the right heart — young and large enough to fill the oversized cavity in Reyes’ chest created by his own enlarged and damaged heart.

Finally, one evening in November, the call came.

“The doctor said, ‘We have a heart for you, do you want it?’” Reyes recalled. “I said, ‘Of course I do!’ But then it settles in, and it’s hard to be happy for yourself. You realize someone has just died, or is dying. And their family is grieving while I’m getting my second chance in life.”

Since his heart transplant, Reyes has made the most of that second chance and graduated from SMU’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program on May 26 at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland.

The accomplishment was sweeter, Reyes said, because he shared the moment with his organ donor’s mother, Mary Knauer of Willows, California.

“Seeing what A.J. has done with his life since he received my son’s heart has made this a little bit better, if that’s possible,” Knauer said. “It’s so fulfilling to meet such a nice young man in A.J. and know he’s someone my son would have liked.”

The path that brought Reyes and Knauer together was paved with misfortune, but one that led to healing for both of them.

Reyes was taking pre-nursing courses at Sacramento State University when he became ill. What began as an ordinary virus turned into a serious infection that attacked his heart.

At first, medical treatment and frequent hospital visits seemed to control it. But then, shortly after returning to his studies, his heart gave out and he went into shock. Reyes was rushed to Stanford Hospital, where he received the news that floored him: His heart was in complete failure, and he’d need a new organ to survive.

“Hearing that at such a young age was devastating,” Reyes said. “I hadn’t even started to live, and yet I was already being told to get ready to die.”

Meanwhile, Knauer’s family was enjoying small-town life in rural Willows. Motorcycles were one of her

family’s shared passions, and when the children were younger they took rides together through the winding hills of Northern California.

Her son, Justin, was an accomplished rider who raced motorcycles and also loved fishing and hunting with his seven-year-old son.

On November 17, 2010, Justin was riding home, passing through an intersection he’d ridden through a million times, Knauer said. He wasn’t going fast and he was wearing a helmet. But a pick-up truck driver pulled out from a side road in front of Justin, sending him headfirst through the driver’s side window.

At the hospital, Knauer was told her 40-year-old son wasn’t going to live. And, adding to her shock, she learned that Justin was a registered organ donor.

San Mateo Campus

Transplant Recipient Shares Success with Donor’s Mom


“He never told me this is something he’d wanted,” Knauer said, “so in the moment it’s very hard to understand, as a parent, what’s going on and what this procedure would mean.” Knauer said it was a difficult decision, but she felt compelled to follow her son’s wishes.

The following day, Reyes met his transplant team at Stanford Hospital.

In the fog of his recovery, Reyes said what he recalls most is the sound of the large heart pounding from his chest.

“I’d forgotten about the sound of a healthy heart,” he said. “It felt so strong.”

Reyes bonded with the nurses who took care of him, further cementing his desire to become a healthcare provider. He promised himself that once he regained his energy, he would enroll in nursing school.

“You realize how important the role of the nurse is,” Reyes said. “I know what it was like to have good nurses, and bad ones, and how a good nurse advocates for you and treats you with compassion.”

Associate Professor Loretta Camarano, PhD, said Reyes was a charismatic presence while he attended SMU’s San Francisco Peninsula Campus in San Mateo, where he was his cohort’s student representative.

“A.J.’s energy and warmth had a big impact on his classmates,” Camarano said. “His enthusiasm for everyone around him is what will make him a great nurse.”

In 2013, three years after the transplant, Knauer and Reyes got a chance to meet in person.

Knauer had written a letter to Donor Network West, a California nonprofit that pairs recipients with donor families, and asked to meet the four people who received Justin’s organs.

But only Reyes responded to Knauer’s letter immediately.

“I was eager to meet her,” Reyes said. “Her son’s generosity gave me my life back.”

The two met at a hotel in Santa Clara, both surrounded by their families. Reyes’ mother, who is also a nurse, brought along a double-stemmed stethoscope that both mothers used to listen to the heart beating inside Reyes’ chest.

“To hear my son’s heart made all the difference to me,” Knauer said. “It’s something from him that still lives on. A small part of him is still here.”

Reyes thanked Knauer and shared his goal to go to nursing school.

“I told Mary we were going to do big things together,” Reyes said. “I told her I’m going to make this heart proud.”

The two began a correspondence and then a friendship. Reyes and his family drove from Vallejo to Willows each year to spend the anniversary of Justin’s death with Knauer. At the SMU Commencement in May, tears flowed as Knauer put her hand on Reyes’ chest.

“It’s meant a lot to me to connect with Mary on such a deep level,” Reyes said. “This heart allows me to feel a connection to her and her entire family. And now that I have this second chance, I get to do something great with it. I get to pay it forward with my patients and pay it back to the nursing profession.” ◾


Oakland Campus

As an Immigrant, SMU Graduate Understands Her Patients’ Challenges

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OSMARY HERNANDEZ arrived in the United States from Cuba unable to speak English. Now, 11 years later, she is helping other immigrants navigate an unfamiliar and complex healthcare system.

As a nurse case manager at La Clínica in Oakland’s Fruitvale District, Hernandez assists patients with chronic conditions — particularly diabetes — to adhere to their medication regimens and keep their health in check so they will stay out of the hospital.

“I love what I do,” says Hernandez, who earned her master’s degree in nursing from SMU last December. In May, while walking across the stage during the Commencement ceremony, she says she thought about “the example I can set for all other immigrants.”

Many of her patients at La Clínica are uninsured, few speak English, and some are unable to read — all barriers to maintaining good health. Recently, President Trump’s hard-line immigration policies have sent a chill through the community that is proving to be another major hurdle to wellness.

Hernandez says some patients stopped showing up to their medical appointments earlier this year because they were scared of deportation.

“They’re very anxious something will happen to them and they won’t be able to provide for their families,” she says. “That anxiety affects their health.”

She and her colleagues launched an education campaign to assure patients

that they would not be turned over to immigration enforcement. Also, Hernandez worked closely with the clinic’s social workers to ensure that her patients gained access to immigrant advocacy services.

Though Hernandez earned a bachelor’s degree in Cuba, she had to start her education all over again when she joined her father in the United States in 2006 — and this time in a new language.

“It was hard,” she recalls of adjusting to life in an English-speaking country.

“It’s hard not to be able to communicate.”

On top of that, Hernandez was separated for 10 years from her sister and mother, who remained in Cuba. They recently moved to California, just in time to see Hernandez graduate.

Her experience as an immigrant has made her more empathetic to the challenges facing the many Latino patients at La Clínica, where she began working four years ago as an administrative assistant. Nurse practitioners there encouraged Hernandez to pursue a nursing

degree because of the need for more bilingual providers.

She says enrolling at SMU was “the best choice” she has made and helped her better understand people from different cultural and religious backgrounds.

“I feel like Samuel Merritt did a great job of emphasizing culturally sensitive issues and tackling really well how to help the community from that perspective,” says Hernandez. “I’m so proud that the University is encouraging diversity and knows that we need a more diverse set of providers to serve our population properly.”

Because of her devotion to the La Clínica community, Hernandez resumed working there during the second semester of her SMU studies as a care transition nurse connecting patients to outpatient services after being discharged from the hospital. Patients told her they had missed her when she returned to the clinic.

“It’s a great feeling to know your patients and to know that they trust you,” she says. ◾

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New Motion Equipment Offers More Teaching and Research Opportunities

THE MOTION ANALYSIS RESEARCH CENTER (MARC) is realizing its ambition as one of the best biomechanical laboratories for teaching and research in Northern California with new state-of-the-art tools to measure muscle strength and power.

“The MARC is entering a phase of its development where we now have the human and physical resources to fulfill virtually all of the goals set out for the center,” says MARC Director Drew Smith, PhD. “It is wonderfully satisfying to me to see how far we have come in such a short period of time.”

Opened in 2013, the 2,100-foot laboratory is designed to advance the study of human movement in education, research, and patient care. The MARC serves as a teaching center on motion analysis for faculty and students from SMU’s California School of Podiatric Medicine (CSPM), Doctor of Occupational Therapy program, and Doctor of Physical Therapy program.

Recent equipment purchases include a Biodex isokinetic dynamometer, a sophisticated system that tests muscle strength and power under a wide range of dynamic motion conditions.

The MARC also added two AMTI force platforms, which bring the total number of the center’s floor-mounted devices to its capacity of six. Smith says

the new platforms provide the MARC with an array of force sensing that offers the flexibility to study balance, walking, and other human movements, such as tai chi and dancing.

A new treadmill instrumented with two force platforms, also from AMTI, enables researchers and clinicians to quickly record multiple strides in walking and running in a single trial.

“This equipment will not only make our regular gait analyses more efficient, but will allow us to study other phenomena such as how fatigue is exhibited in both healthy individuals across the age spectrum and those with neuromuscular conditions,” says Smith.

Boosting the MARC’s movement analysis capabilities is enabling the center to expand its educational and clinical opportunities.

Smith says more SMU faculty are using the MARC for teaching and research, and the new cutting-edge technology is helping students to more fully understand the dynamics of muscle strength and power, especially during walking and running tasks.

Healthcare practitioners across several fields use the center to study biomechanics, gait, upper and lower body movement — as well as the effect of treatment modalities — so they can apply what they learn in clinical practice for the benefit of patients.


Upcoming MARC Symposium on Pediatric Neuromechanics and Sports Medicine

The MARC will hold its third annual symposium on November 3 and 4, 2017.

The symposium will explore pediatric neuromechanics, including studies of both healthy and disabled children in the areas of balance, gait and motor control. It will also take a broad look at sports medicine.

This year’s keynote speakers are Dr. Karen Pape, a Canadian neonatologist and clinical neuroscientist, and Dr. Richard Bouché, a podiatrist who specializes in lower extremity sports medicine and foot and ankle surgery.

Karen Pape, PhD

Pape’s recent book, The Boy Who

Could Run, But Not Walk, challenges mainstream medicine to raise expectations for babies born with early brain and nerve injury. Her approach to understanding brain recovery and neuroplasticity in children’s brains spans more than 30 years of research and clinical work. She was the director of the Neonatal Follow-up Clinic at Toronto’s renowned Hospital for Sick Children, and was founder and director of the city’s Magee Clinic, where she developed a personalized approach to children and adults with early onset brain or nerve damage. Pape was instrumental in the development of neonatal ultrasound brain scanning, now used in neonatal intensive care units worldwide.

Richard Bouché, DPM

Bouché is a fellow in the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons as well as a fellow and past president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine. Bouché serves on the residency training committee for the Northwest Podiatric Surgical Residency Program at Swedish Hospital and as chief of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery at the Sports Medicine Clinic at Northwest Outpatient Medical Center in Seattle. His clinical interests include the use of extracorporeal shockwave therapy for chronic tendon problems; exercise-related leg pain; and posterior heel pain. Bouché is also the special editor in sports medicine for the Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery.

In addition to the keynote speeches, the symposium will include tutorials and workshops led by invited speakers as well as poster and oral presentations.

“Outside partners, who now are aware of what a tremendous resource exists in the MARC, are approaching us to collaborate with them,” Smith says.

The center is planning to host clinical trials of new products and interventions designed to treat movement disorders, according to Smith. The new equipment will be used in several studies, including an examination of the relatively new “maximalist” running shoe design and a study on runners with iliotibial band syndrome, as well as a collaborative project with UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and CSU East Bay studying the effects of obesity on walking patterns in adolescents. ◾

Student researchers use treadmill and

other advanced MARC equipment to measure

movement.


Arlene Swinderman, Director of SMU’s Ethnic Health Institute

You took over the helm of the EHI last

year. Tell us about your background.

I began working at Summit Medical

Center in the early 1990s and held

positions in nutrition services and

chemical dependency treatment. I

also worked for Summit and Alta

Bates Summit Foundations before

becoming Asian outreach program

coordinator in 2003 for Alta Bates

Summit Medical Center. In 2008, I added

the position of program coordinator

for the Ethnic Health Institute.

After leaving for a year to work as

workforce development manager with

the Alameda County Health Pipeline

Partnership, I returned to EHI as director

in August 2016 following the retirement

of longtime Director Joyce Gray.

How has moving to SMU and working

more closely with our students and

faculty members affected EHI’s work?

EHI was founded and continues to

operate on what we refer to as a C.A.R.E

model (Community Awareness, Alliances

and Community Outreach, Research/

Outcomes, Education). The core of

our work has been in collaboration

with community for community.

Moving to SMU has extended our

“community” to include SMU students,

faculty and staff. We sit in a unique

position of bridging our work with

ethnic, underserved communities to

experiences that expose SMU students

Leadership Forum: Q&A

Arlene Swinderman, MPA, became director of the Ethnic Health Institute (EHI) in 2016, a short time after the institute left the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center to join the SMU community.

Following is a Q&A we conductedwith Ms. Swinderman:


to diverse community members and

the complex networks that support

them. This exposure is preparing rising

healthcare providers to better serve

diverse communities. At the same

time, we also have an opportunity

and obligation to impact workforce

diversity by supporting and encouraging

ethnic, underserved youth to pursue

academic and career opportunities.

EHI has significant relationships with

local ministries, community groups,

and healthcare organizations. Do you

intend to forge any new partnerships?

EHI’s partnerships have historically

included public, private, academic,

religious, and community-based

organizations and institutions. While we

continue fostering current partnerships,

there’s definitely a need to identify and

cultivate new ones. Internally, we’re

focused on initiating new ones and

expanding existing relationships within

SMU, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center,

and the larger Sutter Health system.

Healthcare, and how it’s being addressed

and provided, is ever changing. We’re

fortunate to be located where change-

makers come to make a difference.

There is a need to partner with the next

generation of community champions

and organizations addressing health

and wellness in new and innovative

ways. EHI has opportunities to cultivate

partnerships that look and feel different,

such as academic partnerships that

include those working in K-12 or after-

school programs, medical programs

in health clinics and hospitals, and

community programs addressing

the whole wellness spectrum.

EHI’s outreach work focuses on

hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and

other diseases that disproportionately

affect minority communities. Do

you have any plans to expand that

work to other health issues?

EHI has achieved success addressing

health disparities by focusing primarily

on chronic diseases. This approach

has allowed EHI to connect with many

community partners over our 20 years.

While chronic diseases and their

unequal impact in terms of mortality and

morbidity on underserved communities

continue to be an important part of our

work, how we address those inequities

is moving beyond education and

awareness, particularly with today’s

technology and access to information.

The conversation has changed to one

of health equity and wellness, which

includes upstream approaches including

academic and career attainment. How

we address inequities is no longer at just

the individual level. With SMU, existing

and new collaborators, we’re excited

to explore ways of addressing “health

issues” through a broader lens which

includes diversity in our healthcare

workforce and academic institutions.

This year is the 20th anniversary

of EHI. What is your vision

for the next 20 years?

When I look back on the evolution

of EHI, it’s humbling to be part of an

organization that is truly built on local

partnerships. It was created from the

vision and leadership of a few healthcare

professionals committed “to enhance

the health and well-being of all people

in the community with a focus on

underserved populations experiencing

disparities in healthcare and disease.”

Healthcare is always changing — how

it’s accessed (or not), where gaps exist

and why, and how we work together

to make the most of limited resources.

We reside in a geographic region

celebrating unprecedented economic

growth while inequities continue to

grow. Our move to SMU has provided

an opportunity for EHI to examine how

to move forward with an emphasis on

promoting health equity and wellness

in alignment and partnership with

SMU students, faculty, and staff. With

our founders’ strong emphasis on

mentorship over the years, it’s fitting

for EHI to be part of a healthcare

institution situated in the center of so

many important pipelines — students

preparing to enter the workforce but

also serving as important mentors to

school-age children with college and

healthcare workforce aspirations.

My vision for EHI over the next 20 years

is to be a role model for community/

academic/medical partnerships. To

continue serving as a convener and

voice of the community, helping to

open and support pipelines that will

lead to a diverse healthcare workforce

and healthy communities. I’ve been

fortunate to have been mentored by

and teamed with some pretty amazing

individuals — seasoned professionals

and young people exploring their paths.

I hope the next 20 years will continue

impacting community health through our

collaborations, continuing our emphasis

on mentoring our young people to

passionately care for the underserved. ◾


GUY MCCORMACK, PhD, looked a little flushed in front of his classroom of occupational therapy (OT) students. After a 44-year career in OT service and academia — including co-founding SMU’s degree program — the distinguished professor had decided to retire.

A proclamation from state Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) was presented to McCormack and read to his class that recognized the professor’s dedication to his profession, patients, students, and community.

“I’m leaving this program in good hands,” McCormack said to his class.

“And I’m glad to know I played a positive role in the development of future OTs.”

The moment punctuated a remarkable year for the OT Program. It has grown

tremendously since McCormack helped to create it in 1994 and then develop it into a doctoral program.

In fall 2016, the program enrolled its first cohort of Doctor of Occupational Therapy students, making SMU the third university in California to offer the degree and the only one north of Los Angeles.

While the program grows in size and degree power, the faculty has also garnered national attention.

In April, Professor Gordon Giles received the most prestigious award in occupational therapy for “innovating the clinical practice of cognitive neurorehabilitation” through his groundbreaking work with patients who have endured severe brain injuries.

Giles was presented with the Eleanor Clark Slagle Lectureship Award by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) at its 2017 Annual Conference and Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia. The award, named for a pioneer of occupational therapy, recognizes achievements in research, education and clinical practice that make substantial and lasting contributions to the profession’s body of knowledge.

Giles said he was “virtually speechless” when he received word of the award in

a phone call from the AOTA president. Once the news sank in, he was elated.

“It’s the pinnacle of my professional life,” said Giles, a researcher and published scholar as well as a clinician and educator. “It will absolutely raise the profile of my work and what I want to say about the practice of occupational therapy.”

The academic honor recognizes Giles’ efforts to improve the lives of clients through novel clinical practices, including his relational neurobehavioral approach to neurorehabilitation. The non-aversive method, which Giles calls “relentless kindness,” manages patients with severe behavioral and emotional problems by building positive relationships with them rather than relying on confrontation seclusion, or mechanical restraints.

As the director of neurobehavioral services at two Bay Area treatment centers, Giles uses this compassionate approach to treat patients with significant brain injuries whose neurological impairments have caused many of them to fail in other treatment settings due to difficult-to-manage behaviors.

Karen Scott, who graduated from SMU in 2004 and works with Giles

A Banner Year for SMU’s Occupational Therapy Program

“It’s the pinnacle of my professional life.”

— PROFESSOR GORDON GILES


at Crestwood Behavioral Health in Fremont, calls the positive impact he has made with both his patients and his colleagues “immeasurable.”

“He is a relentless advocate for persons with neurobehavioral differences and for the role of occupational therapy practitioners in working with this population,” wrote Scott, who was quoted in Giles’ nomination letter.

“He is deeply vested and meaningfully

engaged both with the clients who have neurobehavioral deficits and with the staff who serve them.”

Earlier in his career, Giles introduced the neurofunctional approach to rehabilitation that trains severely impaired clients to improve their daily living skills many years after suffering traumatic brain injury. In 1993, he opened the first of several publicly funded neurobehavioral

programs in California that led to hundreds of patients moving from state mental health facilities to community treatment centers. His success made him a recognized authority in addressing the behavioral problems of people with brain injury.

“Dr. Giles’ accomplishments have put him in the forefront of his field of neurocognitive rehabilitation in


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occupational therapy, and he is long overdue to be recognized,” said SMU Occupational Therapy Professor Donna Breger-Stanton, who nominated Giles for the award.

In her nomination letter, Breger-Stanton noted the mentorship Giles has provided to students and faculty members at SMU, where he has been teaching introductory and advances courses in clinical research and psychosocial dysfunction since the University first established its OT program.

“Dr. Giles is one of the most dynamic, talented professors I have ever had,” recent SMU graduate Carly Sanders was quoted in the letter. “He has the ability to interweave knowledge, insight, humor and vibrant stories into his lectures in a way that inspires his students to learn and want to know more…I can say with certainty that I am a more skilled and thoughtful researcher, scholar, and therapist because of his influence.”

As part of winning the Slagle award, Giles will deliver an AOTA lecture in 2018 that will discuss how the profession can meet the needs of clients in a changing healthcare environment.

One of his major priorities is to promote the use of new measures of functional cognition to predict if hospitalized patients are capable of performing daily living tasks, such as taking

their medication or following dietary restrictions, after their discharge. Determining the needs of patients and matching them with the proper services before or after they are released can help reduce hospital recidivism, according to Giles.

“Research demonstrates that the more occupational therapy services are provided in a hospital, the less likely patients are to come back to the hospital and remain in the community,” Giles said.

Assistant Professor Beth Ching was recognized at the AOTA convention for her work in fostering collaboration among occupational therapists and other healthcare professionals to improve health outcomes for patients.

Ching received the Interprofessional Collaboration Award, which was inscribed with the motto: “Making space for everyone at the table.”

Ching said she has dedicated herself to building cross-professional knowledge throughout her career to improve the client’s experience. She’s worked mostly with patients who have serious and chronic needs, such as severe mental illness and traumatic brain injury.

“If we can’t all work together, we can’t serve the client as best we can,” she said.

“The patient shows a different face to the doctor, a different face to the nurse, a different face to the social worker, and another face to the occupational therapist. We have to put those pieces together to work as a holistic team for the benefit of the patient.”

At SMU, one of Ching’s first assignments was to teach an interprofessional class that brought together occupational therapy and physical therapy students.

At first, the students focused on what made their future professions different and unique, rather than working as part of the same team. The challenges of the course led Ching to focus on improving interprofessional education (IPE) at SMU, one of the nation’s early adopters of IPE curriculum.

“Working in teams with other healthcare professionals is the model of the future,” Ching said. “Our students are going to be prepared for that reality.”

Student Alondra Ammon said while Ching has strongly influenced how she’ll approach her work as an occupational therapist, Ching’s real impact in her SMU experience has gone beyond textbooks and exam scores.

“One of the most important lessons I learned from Professor Ching was that faculty may serve as more than just educators, but also advocates and mentors,” Ammon said.

Ching said whether she’s working with clients or students, she works hard to make the exchange equally valuable for all parties involved.

“It’s a gift to spend time with people in their most vulnerable moments,” she said of her patients. “It’s a two-way exchange. Hopefully, the patient is getting from me skills and experiences and tools to grow, and they’re giving me a gift to be able to share a moment for them that’s both traumatic and transformative.

“I also try really hard to make students feel comfortable because I know what it’s like to be an outsider; I’ve been one myself. So, I don’t take it for granted what anyone’s experience is like walking into a classroom, and I try to welcome everyone into the group, no matter where they come from or whatever their background may be.” ◾

“Working in teams with other healthcare

professionals is the model

of the future.”

— ASSISTANT PROFESSOR BETH CHING


2016

Total tuition

Fee

Other revenue

Release from restrictions

TOTA L

Other deductions and scholarships

$68,875,523

$1,138,860

$1,721,704

$3,973,743

$75,709,830

$7,575,516

Operating Revenue

Deductions

Net Revenue $68,134,314

+

–

=

FinancialReview


Instruction

Academic support

Student services

Institutional support

Auxiliary enterprises

TOTA L

$36,888,486

$9,261,887

$4,932,577

$13,286,785

$1,002,008

$65,371,743

Operating Expenses

Income

Investment Activity in Restricted Funds

Operating income/(loss)

Interest income/gains

TOTA L

Investment income

Realized gains/Unrealized gains

TOTA L

$2,762,571

$8,279,021

$11,041,592

$933,156

$2,985,495

$3,918,651


Geraldine “GERRI” Adams Endowed Scholarship Fund

Dr. Fusae K. AbbottDr. Penny Bamford ◻Tami Bechtle ◻Tom and Gena CayaAndy ChamberlinDrs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Jill M. EmersonCorine HarrisLillian Lugo-Harvin ◻Jenine Bagley-JacksonChris and Carla Ross

In memory of David HeathBlair SimmonsMichaele SouthallMarkcus ThomasRoyce and Sue Valencia ◻Byron Weston

Affordable Care Act and Expansion of Physician Assistants Training Program Grant

Department of Health and Human Services ◻

Alameda Contra Costa County Podiatric Medicine Medical Society Scholarship Fund

Alameda Contra Costa County Podiatric Medicine Medical Society ◻

California Foundation for Excellence ◻

Alumni Scholarship Fund

Evelyn Pestoni Heagerty ’52 ◻

American Podiatric Medical Students’ Association Basketball Tournament Fund

Dr. John A. Chisholm ’86Dr. Cherri S. Choate ’90Dr. Bennett Zier

Anna Barnard LGBTQIA Scholarship Fund

Kevin ArchibaldDr. Penny Bamford ◻Kristina BautistaJustin BertonElmare BothaJosh CampbellDr. Nicole ChristensenElizabeth CookDr. Ciara CoxDrs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. Craig M. Elliott, IIMatt EngelhardtAdelina Gage-KellyCecilia GarciaDr. Susan M. Grieve ’98Ellen R. HoffmanBinh HuaCarlos JoyElizabeth Kleine Rachel LunaMary Mc Call

Dr. Richard Mac Intyre ◻Dr. Pamela MinarikDr. Terrence M. Nordstrom ◻Robert PenmanWilliam RandallKevin ReillyKit RubemEnriqueta M. RubensSaeng H. SaephanhHai-Thom SotaChris and Carla Ross

In memory of Carol Harrington Sasser

Dr. Anglyn SasserJennifer ScolariHai-Thom SotaJose’ VeraSusan Wiley

Robert M. Barnes, DPM Podiatric Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund


Heather Barton, Esq. Memorial Podiatric Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund


Mel Barton, DPM Podiatric Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund


Dr. Tracy L. Basso ’88 Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund


David Daniel Beaton ’09 Memorial Award Endowment Fund

Eric Ching ’09In memory of David D. Beaton ’09

Blaine Laboratory Inc. Podiatric Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund


Brain Awareness Project Fund

American Association of Anatomists ◻

Dr. Robert L. Brennan Podiatric Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund


William H. Breslin Endowed Memorial Physical Therapy Scholarship Fund

Michelle M. Breslin

Lisa Breuner, DPM Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund


Burkhart Brosius Scholarship Fund

Gretchen Brosius ◻

Honor Roll of Donors

In gratitude for the generous support of all our donors — this report reflects gifts to Samuel Merritt University received between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2016.

Bold denotes Donors $25,000 or more ◻ Members of The Universalis Centralis Circle $1,000 or more


Hanes A. Burkhart Memorial Podiatric Medicine Fund

Estate of Hanes A. Burkhart ◻

Velora Buscher Memorial Scholarship Fund

Carleen S. Trares

California College of Podiatric Medicine Class of 1961 Scholarship Fund





Dr. Robert Bindi ’66California Foundation for Excellence ◻Dr. Elmer T. Ceder, Jr. ’66Dr. Roger A. Johnson ’66Dr. Noel O’Brien ’66


California Foundation for Excellence ◻Dr. Richard Green ’68Dr. Ronald Miller ’68






California Foundation for Excellence ◻Dr. Dennis R. Dice ’72Dr. William D. Pagliano ’72Dr. James V. Royle ’72Dr. Michael Simons ’72Dr. Frazier B. Todd ’72Dr. Ronald E. Uhlman ’72






California Foundation for Excellence ◻Dr. Gordon S. Hamblin ’76Dr. Robert Kaplan ’76Dr. S. Rick Miller ’76


California Foundation for Excellence ◻Dr. Andrew C. Schink ’78

















California Podiatric Medical Association Endowed Scholarship Fund

California Podiatric Medical Association ◻

Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻

California School Of Podiatric Medicine Alumni & Associates Funds #1, #3 – #22


California School Of Podiatric Medicine Alumni & Associates Endowed Scholarship Fund

Irma P. Walker-Adame’ ◻Dr. Diane Y. Chow ’88Dr. Amir A. Dehghan ’86Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. Frank Ducato ’57Dr. Timothy G. Dutra ’85Dr. Christopher J. Fenesy ’79Dr. Kim G. Gauntt ’88Dr. Paul W. Gill ’82Dr. Gregg Gilles ’86Dr. S. Patrick Lai ’77Dr. Leslie G. Levy ’79Dr. Eddie P. Low ’97Dr. John Morehead ’75Dr. Matthew H. Paden ’91Dr. Thomas G. Penman ’77Dr. Matthew H. Roberts ’99Chris and Carla Ross

In memory of Dr. Stephen J. Zuber ’69

Dr. Charles F. Ross ’72Dr. Seth A. Rubenstein ’83Dr. Kash K. Siepert ’91Dr. Alan M. Singer ’81Dr. Michael Uro ’76Dr. John N. Venson ◻

California School Of Podiatric Medicine Alumni and Associates Operating Fund (Student Activities and Scholarships)

Dr. David C. Abdoo ’95Dr. Richard R. Abe ’74Dr. John E. Abordo ’03Dr. Mark L. Appleton ’77Dr. David Armstrong ’93 Dr. Hermoz B. Ayvazian ’90Dr. Steven W. Bailey ’85Bakotic Pathology Associates, LLC ◻Dr. Tracy L. Basso ’88Dr. Geoffrey Bergman ’71Dr. Timothy W. Bernard ’78Dr. Larry Biederman ’76Dr. Nahid Birjandi ’91Dr. Robert V. Bindi ’66Dr. Richard L. Blake ’79Dr. Alan Bocko ’94Dr. Rochelle L. Bomar ’95Dr. Bruce R. Booth ’88Dr. Steven M. Brandwene ’83Dr. Diane D. Branks ’85Dr. Michael P. Brooks ’76Dr. Bruce Bulkin ’82Dr. Thomas M. Burghardt ’93Dr. B. Richard Burke ’72Dr. Robert J. Califano ’74Dr. Thomas A. Carine ’76Dr. Byron CarrascoDr. Shawn Cazzell ’07Dr. Hector L. Cervantes ’90Dr. Rodney Chan ’76 ◻Dr. Tyler Chihara ’97Dr. Cherri Choate ’90Dr. Diane Y. Chow ’88Dr. Connie Choy ’09Dr. John A. Chisholm ’86Dr. Natalie T. Chu ’97Dr. Michael K.Y. Chun ’88Dr. Allen O. Clyde ’76Dr. Karl Coulter ’74Dr. Gary W. Count ’77Dr. Benjamin D. Cullen ’10Dr. Robert A. Daniels ’76Dr. Theodore L. Deffinger ’54Dr. Amir A. Dehghan ’86Dr. Michael A. De Korte ’90Dr. John A. Del Monte ’76DG InstrumentsDr. Bruce M. Dobbs ’73Dr. Mitchell F. Dorris ’89Kevin DriscollDr. Mark G. Drusin ’78Dr. Frank Ducato ’57Dr. Tad Dunagan ’51Dr. Gregory Eirich ’90



Dr. Denten Eldredge ’05Dr. Laurence S. Ellner ’89Dr. Michael Esber ’90Dr. Richard L. EvansDr. Jerry Fabrikant ’78Dr. Christopher J. Fenesy ’79Dr. Tracy C. Ferragamo ’90Dr. James Fong ’82Dr. Corey Fox ’90Dr. Robert R. Franger ’80Dr. Leslie O. Franson ’76Dr. Tobin Gallawa ’93Dr. Kim G. Gauntt ’88Dr. Paul W. Gill ’82Dr. Gregg Gilles ’86Dr. Louis D. Gilles ’15Dr. Albert J. GinsburgDr. John M. Giurini ’83Dr. Weldon B. Glass ’73Dr. Flair Goldman ’76Dr. Michael A. Goldman ’73Dr. Gail Grandinetti ’86Dr. Donald R. Green ’72Dr. Leonard Greenwald ’76Dr. Don M. Griffith ’67Dr. John B. Griffith ’95Dr. James Hagan ’72Dr. Kim A. Halladay ’81Dr. Gordon S. Hamblin ’76Dr. Elliott Handwerker ’76Dr. Lawrence B. Harkless ’75Dr. Andrew R. Harrison ’88Dr. Darryl M. Haycock ’95Dr. Terrance E. Hess ’93Dr. John C. Hoagland ’62Dr. Anthony R. Hoffman ’95Dr. Arlene A. Hoffman ’76Dr. Dennis H. Hum Megan Ishibashi Dr. Richard M. Jensen ’94Dr. Lynn R. Johnson ’70Dr. Stephen Jupiter ’96Dr. Anthony Kakis ’80Dr. Katherine L. Kalthoff ’92Dr. Robert J. Kaplan ’76Dr. Franklin Kase ’76 ◻Dr. Jeffrey H. Katz ’86Dr. Brad A. Katzman ’81Dr. Neil R. Kelley ’78Dr. Edward E. Kelly ’94Dr. Charles A. Kelman ’78Dr. Kevin A. Kirby ’83Christopher KiserDr. Jack L. Knudson ’77Dr. Jonathan B. Kreger ’88Dr. Scarlett M. Kroencke ’91Dr. Paul R. Kruper ’76Dr. Kristina Lacy ’13

Dr. Chun-Sun Lai ’76Dr. S. Patrick Lai ’77Dr. Thuy-Trang Lam ’94Dr. Rae L. Lantsberger ’89Dr. Robert W. Larsen ’80Dr. Pamela D. Leavitt ’88Dr. Robert K. Lee ’99Dr. Curtis D. Leviant ’83Dr. Leslie G. Levy ’79Dr. Timothy Liddy ’88Dr. Eddy P. Lo ’97Dr. Sandra J. Loving ’99Dr. Carolyn E. Mc Aloon ’97Dr. Gary S. Mc Carter ’80Dr. Rick E. Mc Clure ’88Dr. William D. Mc Donald ’83Dr. Brian A. Mc Dowell ’69Dr. Burr B. Mc Keehan ’67Dr. Kenneth K. Mah ’80Dr. Scott Maling ’96Dr. Dimple Marwaha ’95Dr. Victoria Melhuish ’91Dr. Bruce C. Meyers ’78Dr. Pamela Milan ’09Dr. Clark D. Miller ’70Dr. Kevin M. Miller ’06Dr. Ronald E. Miller ’68Dr. Steven R. Miller ’76MiMedx ◻Dr. Anoosh Moadab ’01Dr. John E. Morehead ’75Dr. Kevin A. Morris ’88Dr. David W. Morse ’74Dr. Bita Mostaghimi ’97Dr. Robert D. Murphy ’77Dr. Dean Nakadate ’96 ◻Dr. Samuel Nava, Jr. ’92Dr. Lloyd I. Nesbitt ’75Dr. James G. Nickolopoulos ’75Dr. Marilyn J. Waller-Niewold ’90Dr. Ross Nishijima ’82Dr. Brian F. O’Neill ’82Dr. Jay L. Ohlsen ’60Dr. Christine P. Kwok-Olesky ’07Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. ◻Dr. Matthew H. Paden ’91Dr. Thomas Palmer ’87Dr. Lyle W. Parker ’81Dr. Alfred A. Patino ’93Dr. Jerry W. Patterson ’72Dr. Hai-En Peng ’00Dr. Thomas G. Penman ’77Dr. Arlin R. Peterson ’02Dr. Kenneth K. Phillips ’85Dr. Faranak Pourghasemi ’02Dr. Jay M. Purvin ’79Dr. Douglas H. Richie, Jr. ’80Dr. Robbe T. Rigby ’74

Dr. Matthew H. Roberts ’99Dr. Donald E. Robinson ’68Dr. Douglas S. Robinson ’87Dr. James B. Robison ’89Dr. Richard H. Rolfes ’84Dr. Jordan S. Rosenthal ’86Dr. Charles F. Ross ’72Dr. Elston D. Rothermel ’66Dr. Seth A. Rubenstein ’83Dr. Kennan T. Runte ’90Dr. Ryan T. Rushton ’98Dr. Hani Saeed ’00Dr. Philip B. San Filippo, IIDr. Claudia L. Sands ’87Dr. Rodney E. Sanneman ’69Dr. Richard J. Sarte ’84Dr. Andrew J. Sawicki ’81Dr. Andrew C. Schink ’78Dr. Beatrice Schmugler ’90Dr. Paul S. Schwartz ’79Dr. Stephen E. Schwartz ’79Dr. Richard G. Seegmiller ’95Dr. Steven R. Seibert ’87Dr. John Senatore ’83Dr. Sky P. Shanks ’11Dr. Alan M. Sherman ’81Dr. Timothy J. Siegfried ’92Dr. Kash K. Siepert ’91Dr. Timothy Sill ’87Dr. Alan M. Singer ’81Dr. Adhir R. Singh ’90Dr. Pamela Sisney ’83Dr. Beverly A. Spurs ’85Dr. Eric D. Stamps ’93

Dr. Michael Stein ’81Dr. Bryan T. Sullivan ’86Dr. Ted Tanaka ’86Dr. Nicholas J. Tanner ’82Dr. William A. Tarran ’88Dr. Douglas M. TaylorDr. Jan D. Tepper ’77Dr. Peter A. Ternus ’94Dr. Linda M. Thornton ’86Dr. Frazier B. Todd, Sr. ’72Dr. Nina S. Todd ’77Dr. William R. Todd ’76Dr. Randall Tom ’90Dr. Michael A. Uro ’76Dr. Tomas Valdez ’92Dr. Ronald L. Valmassy ’74Dr. Mary E. Van Vooren ’01Dr. Kathryn E. Vaslet ’83Dr. Stephen C. Wan ’76Dr. Oliver T. Wang ’98Dr. Paul D. Weiner ’92Dr. Dennis L. White ’63Dr. Stephen C. White ’51Dr. Joel M. Wilner ’83Dr. Mark E. Wolpa ’75Dr. Dale R. Wright ’75Dr. Randolph T. Wright ’78Dr. Daisy T. Wu ’00Dr. Bobby Yee ’89Dr. David Y. Yee ’89Dr. Jenny Yu ’11Dr. Michael A. Zapf ’84Dr. Blake O. Zobel ’91Dr. Stanley J. Zusman ’63


Samuel Merritt University faculty and staff have contributed a total of $92,000 to

the 2017 Annual Employee Campaign.


California School of Podiatric Medicine Class of 2009


California School of Podiatric Medicine Student Medical Mission Fund

Johann-Christian AbordoCook’s CollisionPodiatric Insurance Company

of America ◻Subaru-Mazda of Santa Cruz

The California Wellness Foundation Fund

The California Wellness Foundation ◻

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Scholarship Fund

Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Carol Green ’54

In memory of Susan Holland Flatt ’64

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Annual Meeting Appeal Fund

Carolyn Angelo ’09Adellena M. AzzinaroEric Baumgarten ’98Dr. Audrey Berman

In memory of James Nicholas Janakes

Eric Ching ’09Dr. Marc E. Code ’04/’12Steve DanielsDrs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Kevin Dolan ’10Kevin A. Hamby ’06Jennifer L. Heavenston ’10Dr. Joseph J. Janakes ’06Jamille A. Lee ’11Amy Liang ’09Yoko Mori ’08Anne PettiboneMui S. Tran ’10

Pradip & Rekha Choksi Endowed Occupational Therapy Scholarship Fund

Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Chris and Carla Ross

Theodore H. Clarke, DPM Podiatric Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund


Codingline Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund


Sharon Clark Diaz Endowed Scholarship Fund

Irma P. Walker-Adame’ ◻Dr. Penny Bamford ◻Jim and Stephanie Bangert ◻Dr. Joan BardDr. Jane Binger Bernstein

In honor of Dr. Owen GarrickJonathan Brown ◻Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Thomas G. DreseJill M. EmersonLillian Lugo-Harvin ◻Margrette PetersonChris and Carla RossDr. Gerald L. Thompson

Sharon Clark Diaz, Phd Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund


Theodore L. Deffinger, Dpm ’54 Endowed Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

Dr. Cherri S. Choate ’90

Theodore L. Deffinger, Dpm ’54 Skills Workshop Fund

Jill M. Emerson

Alice Dodge, Phd Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund


Ecker Family Endowment Fund

Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. and Mrs. Roger Ecker ◻Royce and Sue Valencia ◻

Ava Pischel Elliott Endowed Scholarship Fund

Elizabeth Cook ’77

Employee Campaign Scholarship Fund

Deborah AguilarAmy H. AndersonKevin Archibald ◻Dr. Penny Bamford ◻Jim and Stephanie Bangert ◻Kristina BautistaElmare Botha

Dr. Loretta CamaranoTom and Gena CayaDr. Nicole Christensen ◻Lynda CreightonDrs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. Valerie G. DzuburDeana EdenKathleen C. EdmundsDr. Craig M. Elliott, IIDr. Scot D. Foster ◻David FulkersonCecelia GarciaRonda GarrettGregory Gingras ◻Dr. Susan M. Grieve ’98Daniel GrobaniDr. Teresa GwinGoli HashemiYurismary LlerenaLillian Lugo-Harvin ◻Jamie S. HirotaValerie LandauDr. Richard Mac Intyre ◻Jennifer Mc AdamKristen Mc CowanMarie MaDr. Terrence M. Nordstrom ◻Sanjay I. ParekhLorraine F. PettiMonique PinkneyDr. Cecily D. ReevesJeannene Zettler-RhodesDr. Bruce RichardsonChris and Carla Ross

In memory of John Edward WardSaeng H. SaephanhNay SaeternMaria SalasElena SanchezDr. Arlene A. Sargent ◻Cecilia SarmientoAnne ScherBlair SimmonsLoida StewartCatherine Tanner ’06Cynthia Ulman ◻Royce and Sue Valencia ◻Alice VestergaardDr. Celeste G. Villanueva ◻Marjorie VillanuevaVeronica WallaceKathryn Ward

Dr. Wesley Junichi Endo’69 Memorial Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

California Foundation for Excellence ◻Dr. John M. Ebisui ’66 ◻Dr. Anthony Hoffman ’95Dr. Robert Kaplan ’76

Irene E. Katsumoto ◻In memory of Dr. Wesley J. Endo ’69

Dr. Ted Mihok ’76

David M. and Oolah B. Evans Physical Therapy Scholarship Fund

Janis Sherer-BallardDr. Nicole Christensen ◻Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. Patricia R. EvansDr. Susan M. Grieve ’98Dr. and Mrs. Frank HeydmanSally KeeneDr. Rolando T. LazaroKathleen S. Mc WilliamsDr. Richard Mac Intyre ◻Marion A. MillsDr. Terrence M. Nordstrom ◻Barbara PiephoChris and Carla RossAnne E. SeedJohn Garten-Shuman

In memory of Judd ShumanMary Jane SpediacciBarbie Horgan Thomas ’95Jeanine Grialou Thompson ’96Steve W. Thompson ’95Royce and Sue Valencia ◻Susan Wiley

Eugene A. & Virginia Falaschi Memorial Scholarship Fund

Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻James D. Falaschi

In memory of Wendell Mc ConnellSusan Penna-Falaschi

In memory of Virginia “Nana” Falaschi

In memory of Pat FratangeloIn memory of Irene Roggero Penna

Family Nurse Practitioner Scholarship Fund

Dr. Angelina L. Chau ’07Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. Rhonda Ramirez ’96

Erin Fry ’07 Doctor Of Nurse Practitioner Award Fund

Mr. and Mrs. Dusty Fry ◻In memory of daughter, Erin Fry ’07

Dr. Philip Gardner Student Emergency Loan Fund

Dr. Clark D. Miller ’70

Karen Lynn Garrison Memorial Nursing Endowed Scholarship Fund

Craig Tempey ◻



General Scholarship Fund

Dr. Jane Binger BernsteinIn honor of Dr. Scot FosterIn honor of Clyde B. Taylor

Dr. Owen GarrickDr. John S. HegeDr. John Swartzberg ◻Troxell Communications, Inc.

General Unrestricted Fund

Lloyd Leanse

Gift-In-Kind Donations

Kevin Archibald ◻Barlago Italian RestaurantBay Area Discovery MuseumBear Valley Cross Country Bellanico Restaurant and Wine BarBerkeley Repertory TheatreBerkeley SymphonyBlue and Gold FleetCache Creek Casino ResortC’era Una VoltaCal Shakes –

California Shakespeare TheaterTom and Gena CayaDr. Marc E. Code ’02/’14Cybelle’s on Piedmont Ray DavisDr. John A. Del Monte ’76Faction BreweryFine Arts Museum of San FranciscoDr. Scot D. FosterGeta Japanese RestaurantGordon LaboratoriesHavana Cuban RestaurantJ & J BakeryDr. Darrin Lowe ’82 ◻Mama’s Royal CaféMeal TicketThe Melting PotJoanne M. Morris ◻Oakland ZooPave’ Fine Jewelry DesignBarbara PiephoRampant MacDuff, Inc.Renaissance Rialto, Inc.Chris and Carla RossSan Francisco BalletScott’s SeafoodDr. Barry Scurran ◻Dr. Paulina VanWaterfront HotelNeil WirthMr. and Mrs. Philip Zarri ◻

Graduate Nursing Scholarship Fund

Dr. Fusae K. AbbottDrs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. Arlene A. Sargent ◻

John E. Green, DPM Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

California Foundation for Excellence ◻Deborah G. FarriorDr. Donald R. Green ’72Dr. Richard A. Green ’68

Dr. Morris Haas Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

California Foundation for Excellence ◻Dr. Mark Haas ’76 ◻

Health Science Simulation Center Expansion Fund

Dr. Cherri S. Choate ’90Kevin Reilly

Mr. And Mrs. Richard L. Highsmith Scholarship Fund

Royce and Sue Valencia ◻

Hitchcock Heydman Endowed Scholarship Fund

Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Roberta B. Richards

Pegge Shuman Houser Endowed Scholarship Fund

Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻John Garten-Shuman

In memory of Carolyn Grubb

Dr. Eric R. Hubbard ’68 Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

Dr. Eric R. Hubbard ’68 ◻

Gordon “Skip” Huber, Jr. Endowed Geriatric Nursing Scholarship Fund

Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. Richard Mac Intyre ◻Royce and Sue Valencia ◻

Niesjie (Rye) Huber, PhD, RN Endowed Nursing Scholarship Fund

Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Royce and Sue Valencia ◻

Dr. Daniel C. Fulmer ’76B & Gail R. Johnson ’90 Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. Daniel C. Fulmer ’76B ◻Dr. Gail Johnson ’90 ◻Chris and Carla Ross

Jonas Center For Nursing Scholarship Fund

American Association of Colleges in Nursing ◻

Kaiser Permanente Scholarship/ Loan Program Fund

Kaiser Permanente Nurse Scholars Academy ◻

Dr. Jon Hultman ’70 and Dr. Franklin Kase ’76 Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund


Earl G. Kaplan, DPM Memorial Podiatric Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund


Sarah B. Keating Endowed Nursing Scholarship Fund

Michelle Katz-Hellerstein

Burgess S. Kelly, DPM Podiatric Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund


Kurita Nursing Scholarship Fund

Mended Hearts of Oakland Chapter 188

Shirley Lanham Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund


Lawrence Family Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

California Foundation for Excellence ◻Dr. and Mrs. Bruce R. Lawrence ◻

Michelle Le Memorial Nursing Scholarship Fund

Karin E. KasperRoyce and Sue Valencia ◻

Bruce Lehnert, DPM Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund


Dr. Russell and Antoinette Lewis Endowed Scholarship Fund

Dr. Russell O. Lewis ’65 ◻

Los Angeles County Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund



Please consider making a gift to Samuel Merritt University.

To learn about different options for giving

or to make a donation online, go to samuelmerritt.edu/donors.

You may also mail a check or notice of a credit card contribution to:

Samuel Merritt University, Office of Development

3300 Webster Street, Suite 301

Oakland, CA 94609

510-869-8628


Dr. William & Phyllis Lowe Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund

Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. and Mrs. William Lowe ◻

In memory of Dr. O. Dale Bagley ’66In memory of Dr. Oliver S. FosterIn memory of Dr. Nicholas A. Grumbine ’71In memory of Bryan Anderson LarsonIn memory of Walter LeongIn memory of Dr. Jerome A. Tirsch ’65In memory of Dr. West Woon

Chris and Carla RossRoyce and Sue Valencia ◻

Tom C. and Rose Lim Luey ’51 Endowed Scholarship Fund

Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Rose Lim Luey ’51Barbara N. Sheng

In honor of Rose Lim Luey ’51Chris and Carla RossRoyce and Sue Valencia ◻

Dr. Ivan and Sara May Cardiac Surgery Scholarship Fund

Jill M. EmersonDr. and Mrs. Robert Feldman

In memory of Dr. Ivan A. May

Johanna Mednick Memorial Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

California Foundation for Excellence ◻Dr. David L. Mednick ’85 ◻

Men In Nursing Scholarship Fund

Dr. Richard Mac Intyre ◻

Dr. Aaron Meltzer ’72 and Dr. Paul Scherer ’70 Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund


Dr. Howard and Patricia Milliken Nursing Scholarship Fund

Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. Howard E. Milliken ◻

In memory of Karla MillikenRoyce and Sue Valencia ◻

Melvin A. and Betty Reed Moffitt Scholarship Fund

Aileen MoffittIn memory of parents, Melvin A. and Betty Reed Moffitt

Dr. Richard D. Mollberg Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

California Foundation for Excellence ◻Dr. and Mrs. Elliott Handwerker ◻

Dr. Jack L. Morris ’70 Memorial Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

Mr. and Mrs. John K. AbendrothMartha BaerMr. and Mrs. Rick BattagliaTheresa CahillCalifornia Foundation for Excellence ◻Mr. and Mrs. John D. DinnieneMarilyn P. DriscollMagda HerbertDon and Renee HuntWilliam M. KaysSara MilesJoanne M. Morris ◻Mr. and Mrs. Daniel MurphyElon and Patricia Ormsby

In memory of Margaret GreenMr. and Mrs. S.C. TulkoffDeborah A. Walsh

Motion Analysis Research Laboratory Fund

Dr. Cherri S. Choate ’90Dr. Timothy G. Dutra ’85Delsys, Inc.Dr. and Mrs. Donald Elvander ◻Dr. and Mrs. Eric Hubbard ◻Dr. Brian Mc Dowell ’69Qualysis North America, Inc.Root Lab Inc.Dr. Randall J. Sarte ’72Blair SimmonsDr. Andrew Smith ◻

Benjamin Mullens, DPM Memorial Podiatric Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund


David Mullens, DPM Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

Dr. Randall J. Sarte ’72In memory of Steve Mullens

Dr. Jonah N. Mullens ’04 Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund


Robert N. Nelson M.D. Endowed Scholarship Fund


Yuri Nishimura Endowed Scholarship Fund

Kelly NishimuraDr. Celeste G. Villanueva

Nursing Education Endowment Fund

Bellevue Foundation ◻

Nursing Scholarship Fund

Anita Korngold Backer ’81Dr. Penny Bamford ◻Wenonah Bakke Brichetto ’52 ◻Kathy Dempsey Cargo ’64


Carolyn Mettler Collins ’64 ◻Janne Coloma ’07Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Rene Clymer-EngelhartKristen Bertelsen Griffin ’81Marjorie HammerSherrill Harris ’72

In honor of Paula L. Eddy ’72Evelyn Pestoni Heagerty ’52 ◻Carol Irvine James ’64


Robert Janosov ◻In memory of Gail E. Fortier Janosov ’54

Mr. and Mrs. Martin E. JohnsonIn memory of William Heinrichson

Deborah K. KalishFrances W. Matthews ’01Ingrid Holme Miller ’50Dr. Pamela MinarikDr. and Mrs. Lawrence NgJennifer N. NguyenMaria Gamulo-Owen ’06Marie Oberstar Palm ’47Catherine Pinto Phillips ’75Judith Mell Phillips ’59Carolyn Cox Rasmussen ’56

In memory of Mary Ann Fyffe Marshall ’56In memory of Beverly Tollefson Munk ’56In memory of Signa Dukes Whitmer ’56In memory of Sandra Wiens Sears ’56

Maxine Burr Reinschmidt ’53Maria RonquilloChris and Carla Ross

In memory of Nancy Asp Root ’46Veronica Pivec Scheers ’82Elizabeth Sibson-TuanDr. and Mrs. Arthur Stanten

In memory of Dr. Thomas J. SchmitzTuula Tunturi Sutton ’66

In memory of Bob GlickVirginia Neu Tappe ’55Marjorie Snyder Way ’48

In memory of Wilma Agee


Rose Luey, RN, SMU Class of 1951, established the Tom C. and Rose Lim Luey

Endowed Nursing Scholarship Fund.


Nursing Work Diversity — Division Of Nursing And Public Health Grant


Nu Xi, Chapter At Large Nursing Scholarship Fund

Nu Xi, Chapter at Large ◻

Occupational Therapy Scholarship Fund

Dr. Penny Bamford ◻Elizabeth ChingDrs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. Gordon M. Giles ◻Dr. Kate Hayner ◻Dr. Guy Mc CormackDr. Donna Breger-Stanton

Joseph Oloff Memorial Podiatric Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund


Orange County Podiatric Medical Society / Santa Clara Podiatric Medical Society Scholarship Fund


O’Shea Endowed Nursing Scholarship Fund

The O’Shea Foundation ◻

Dr. John D. Pagliano ’31 and Dr. John W. Pagliano ’66 Memorial Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

California Foundation for Excellence ◻Dr. and Mrs. William D. Pagliano ◻

Peart Fund

Lakeside Foundation ◻

Physician Assistant Scholarship Fund

Dr. Penny Bamford ◻Dr. Michael De Rosa ◻Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Sarah Maxwell ’06Laurie PaolinettiRichard and Margaret Roisman

Physical Therapy Scholarship Fund

Dr. Penny Bamford ◻Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. Sharon L. GormanDr. Susan M. Grieve ’98The Loveall FamilySanjay I. Parekh

Susan ReillyDeanne B. Smith ’02Dr. Gail L. Widener

Picchi Memorial Education Fund

Jim and Stephanie Bangert ◻Dr. Audrey Berman ◻Barbara H. CadwaladerAndy ChamberlinDr. Wing ChinDr. Nicole Christensen ◻Dr. and Mrs. Joseph W. CliftDr. William R. CrainDr. James CuthbertsonVera DamiIrene DecredicoDrs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. and Mrs. James F. EggertDr. Larry V. FranzDr. Stephanie FungDr. Thomas Y. FungMr. and Mrs. John GageKaren V. GibsonMr. and Mrs. Richard T. GinleyDr. Nicola HanchockDr. and Mrs. Jay B. Hann, IIILala HarrisonDr. John S. HegeDr. Irvin HermanDr. Joseph W. Hewitson ’89Mrs. Meryl HimmelmanMr. and Mrs. Steve HopkinsMadeleine KahnDr. Christina C. LewisKelly L. LibertBarbara P. LyonBoyd V. LyonDr. Guy L. Mc CormackDr. Howard E. Milliken ◻Marion A. MillsDr. and Mrs. Scott MurrayDonna Barnes Nelson ’67Dr. and Mrs. Robert N. NelsonDr. Terrence M. Nordstrom ◻Dr. Paul R. PerchonockAda Lou PetersonAndrea E. PicchiJoanna C. PicchiJoseph S. PicchiLinda M. PicchiMartha A. PicchiAndrew P. PojmanDr. George A. PughDr. George N. QueeleyDr. Anthony S. RavnikRoberta B. RichardsChris and Carla Ross

In memory of Lorayne KeelingMaria E. Ross

Dr. Mervyn A. SahudDr. Lionel SchourDr. and Mrs. Wade W. SherwoodMr. and Mrs. Melvin SiegelDr. and Mrs. Jon SigurdsonDr. Lisa SnowHai-Thom T. SotaElizabeth StoddardMary B. StraussDr. and Mrs. Gary TamkinSteve and Dorine TanakaMr. and Mrs. Robert Van NestLoretta Bua Vanderveen P‘60Dr. and Mrs. Edward Waller, Jr.Dr. and Mrs. Carl WatanabeDr. John C. Weaver, Jr.Dr. and Mrs. Robert WeyandBarbara Wiggin

Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

Dr. Penny Bamford ◻Dr. Rodney J. Chan ’76

In honor of Irma P. Walker-Adame’Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. Timothy G. Dutra ’85Dr. Richard M. Jensen ’94 ◻Dr. Mark C. Razzante ’12Chris and Carla Ross

In memory of Barbara Mc Carron Gilson

Dr. Ross E. Taubman ’83 ◻In memory of Dr. Thomas E. Sgarlato ’63

Dr. Linda M. Thornton ’86

Dr. John N. Venson ◻Dr. Michael Zapf ’84

In memory of Dr. Thomas E. Sgarlato ’63

Dr. and Mrs. Anthony Poggio ’84 Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

Alameda Contra Costa Podiatric Medicine Medical Society ◻

California Foundation for ExcellenceDr. Anthony Poggio ’84 ◻

James W. Porter Scholarship Fund

Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Chris and Carla Ross

Providence College of Nursing Alumni Scholarship Fund

Sheila Mc Nally Bolin P’59Lorraine Velasquez Bradford P’60

In memory of Susan MerchantJayne Alexieff Bush P‘62Carla Contestable P’68Laurie B. Daw

In memory of Dr. Burbara Burns Cameron P’61

Anita Carrati Gandolfo P’47Alice Chew Gee P’54Jovine Fifer Hankins P’53Donna Healy P’58Pamela Lampson Mc Pherson P’70

In honor of the Providence College of Nursing Class of 1970


Howard Milliken, Jr., MD, for 33 years continues to support the Dr. Howard and Patricia Milliken

Endowed Nursing Scholarship Fund for Obstetrics nursing students.


Carol Matthews Milano P’60Carol Mc Causland Noon P’58Mary Brusher Rion P’56Lois Lintz Ruff P’59

In memory of Anna Castellani Martin P’59

Diana Padovani Skokan P’60In memory of Joanne Benham

Joyce A. Taylor P’62Katie Joe Tom P’58

In memory of Lossie Hattisburg Bell P’58

Loretta Bua Vanderveen P’60Regina Moton Wilkerson P’61

James W. Ratcliff, M.D. Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund


Regents Diversity Scholarship Fund

Che L. AbramDrs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Lakeside Foundation ◻Dr. Guy L. Mc CormackDr. Alvin Mc Lean, Jr.Margrette PetersonAlejandro RodriguezShirley Strong

Mark K. Reynolds Technology and Academic Instruction Fund

Dr. Fusae K. AbbottDr. Penny Bamford ◻Tom and Gena Caya

In memory of Alice Blair SimmonsDrs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. Sylvia FoxMary L. GrefalLillian Lugo-Harvin ◻Kevin ReillyAlejandro RodriguezChris and Carla Ross

In memory of Alice Blair SimmonsBlair SimmonsMarkcus ThomasRoyce and Sue Valencia ◻Marcus WaltonByron Weston

Dr. George H. Riess ’44 Memorial Podiatric Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund


Mary E. Robinson Endowed Scholarship Fund

Dr. Fusae K. Abbott

Dr. Penny Bamford ◻Tami Bechtle ◻Tom and Gena Caya

In memory of Mary E. RobinsonDrs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Jill M. EmersonCorine HarrisLillian Lugo-Harvin ◻Jamie S. HirotaMary HoangKristi KindbergElizabeth MayoChris and Carla RossSaeng SaephanhBlair SimmonsRoyce and Sue Valencia ◻

Dr. Merton Root ’52 Memorial Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund


Dr. Robert Rutherford ’40 Podiatric Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund


Jeri E. Ryan Scholarship Fund

Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. Matilda IgnacioDr. Richard Mac Intyre ◻

San Diego County Podiatric Medicine Society Scholarship Fund

California Foundation for Excellence ◻San Diego Podiatry Group ◻

Dr. Randall Sarte ’72 and Dr. Richard J. Sarte ’84 Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund


Scholars In Service Scholarship Fund

Brandy J. Beazley ◻Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Corine HarrisDr. Michael Negrete

Scholarships For Disadvantaged Students Grant — Family Nurse Practitioner


Scholarships For Disadvantaged Students Grant — Physical Therapy


Scholarships For Disadvantaged Students Grant — Physician Assistant


Dr. Thomas Sgarlato ’63 Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

California Foundation for Excellence ◻Dr. Alan R. Catanzariti ’83 ◻Dr. John M. Ebisui ’66 ◻Dr. Ronald Footer ’72Dr. William Friedman ’63Helene A. HillsDr. Brian A. Mc Dowell ’69ProLab Orthotics, Inc. ◻Dr. Ronald L. Valmassy ’74John D. Wenzel

R. Shapiro Family Foundation Endowed Physical Therapy Scholarship Fund

R. Shapiro Family Foundation ◻Royce and Sue Valencia ◻

Peter D. And Jennie Lim Shiu Endowed Scholarship Fund

In honor of May Lim’s 85th birthday

Misako AkiyamaSuzanne BarbaMr. and Mrs. Walter BullingMr. and Mrs. Sun-Ten ChenMr. and Mrs. Harry ChewMrs. Naida Chin and FamilyElsie DepMr. and Mrs. Lin DonMr. and Mrs. John A. FirebaughNancy I. FongMr. and Mrs. Ronald FungPat HimenezSuezhen HongShirley HunzikerMay Jim JangOrchid D. JowGail JueMr. and Mrs. Bob KelleyIrving KoMr. and Mrs. John LemMr. and Mrs. Lawrence LeongMr. and Mrs. Charles G. LewChristopher M. LimDonald T. LimMr. and Mrs. Paul A. LimValerie LimMr. and Mrs. Harry LooMr. and Mrs. Ernest S. LowMay LowMr. and Mrs. Tom C. Luey

Dorayne LumMr. and Mrs. Norman LumMr. and Mrs. Alan A. Mc GregorAurora MaMegumi MuroJaelyn and Carter NakamuraSteve and Alicia NakamuraAlice L. PetersenBonnie PetersonHelen C. PonMr. and Mrs. Thomas A. RikeDoris J. SiwikHelen StrahanLevi Strauss FoundationMr. and Mrs. C. Clifford StremMr. and Mrs. Lester TakimotoMr. and Mrs. Richard TomMr. and Mrs. Eddie TsangJane WongJoan L. WongMr. and Mrs. Peter WongMr. and Mrs. Walter Y. Yeung

Marilyn M. Snider Nursing Scholarship Fund

Marilyn M. Snider ◻

Dr. and Mrs. James Stavosky ’83 Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

Chris and Carla Ross Dr. and Mrs. James Stavosky ◻

Jane Steel Endowed Nursing Fund

Estate of Jane Steel ◻

Stuart Steinberg, DPM Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund


Student Emergency Fund

Dr. Fusae K. AbbottAmy H. AndersonJim and Stephanie Bangert ◻

In honor of Verrone LiuDr. Joan BardKristina BautistaMr. and Mrs. William B. BergesenDr. Audrey Berman ◻Roberta L. BlockDonita BolesGregory BrownChristine BrozDr. Nicole Christensen ◻Elizabeth ChingElizabeth CookNandini DasguptaJorge De Avila



Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Kathleen C. EdmundsDr. Scot D. Foster ◻David Frey ◻Jeff M. GerardGregory Gingras ◻Dr. Sharon L. GormanStephanie GreenspanDr. Susan M. Grieve ’98Steve and Peggy GriffithDaniel GrobaniDr. Teh-wei Hu ◻Yizhang HuangMadeleine KahnAdriane KieflingAnna J. Kiger ◻Lakeside Foundation ◻Nina LavoriniElaine M. Lemay ◻Kasie LemmerDr. and Mrs. Michael LeNoir ◻Jennifer Mc AdamMary Mc CallDr. Alvin Mc Lean, Jr.Ying MaiElizabeth MayoFayette B. MerinoElisa Laird-MetkeMr. and Mrs. Gary Morrison ◻Sarah NaumannDr. Terrence M. Nordstrom ◻Dr. Paul R. PerchonockMargrette PetersonMonique PinkneyCharles ProsperDr. Barbara A. Puder ◻Dr. Cecily D. ReevesRoberta RichardsElba RiosRandy RoachDr. Richard M. RoccoBeverly A. SaarAnne ScherConchita F. SerriTal Sraboyants ’14Cynthia StangeDr. Canyon K. Steinzig ’96Loida G. StewartShirley Strong ◻Arlene SwindermanCarole ThomasGerald L. Thompson ◻Dr. David D.Q. Tran ’98Cynthia M. Ulman ◻Royce and Sue Valencia ◻Veronica WallaceKathryn WardDr. Gail L. WidenerElizabeth Winer

Jeanette H. WongThatcher WrightDr. Bennett ZierLisa Zuffi

Student Emergency Loan Fund

Dr. Fusae K. AbbottMaria Salas

Mark A. Swift, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund

Darlene A. De Lancey ◻In memory of Darlene WidmanIn memory of Marvin Widman


Dr. Douglas M. Taylor Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

California Foundation for Excellence ◻Dr. Douglas M. Taylor

Tavi M. Van Ogle ’88 Endowed Nursing Scholarship Fund

Chris and Carla RossRoyce and Sue Valencia ◻Fred D. Van Ogle ◻

Dr. Shahan Vartivarian ’09 Podiatric Medicine Memorial Scholarship Fund

Dr. William C. Adams ’09Chris and Carla RossDr. Eric D. Stamps ’93Cynthia StangeDr. Gregory Tovmassian ’09Dr. Bennett Zier

John N. Venson, DPM Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund


Virginia Oneto Volponi ’39 Nursing Scholarship Fund

Annalisa AndersonJoanne Volponi ◻

In honor of Brent and Annalisa Anderson and FamilyIn honor of Chris ChakiresIn honor of Sam and Doris ChakiresIn honor of A.J. FarshlerIn honor of Fred and Barbara FarshlerIn honor of Jeff and Lauren Farshler and FamilyIn honor of Thomas, Dina, and Enzo FarshlerIn honor of Tony and Julie FarshlerIn honor of Dustin and

Shannon Lloyd and FamilyIn honor of Stephanie LorenzIn honor of Carolyn Volponi Snell

Virginia Oneto Volponi ’39 Nursing Endowed Scholarship Fund

Annalisa AndersonStephen Krug ◻Carolyn Volponi SnellRoyce and Sue Valencia ◻

Irma P. Walker Adame’ Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

Irma P. Walker-Adame’ ◻California Foundation for Excellence ◻Dr. Alan R. Catanzariti ’83 ◻Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. Timothy G. Dutra ’85Dr. Gregg Gilles ’86Dr. Arlene Hoffman ’76Dr. Thomas L. Kailkole ’88Dr. Stephanie Mita ’16Dr. Andrew C. Schink ’78Dr. David D.Q. Tran ’98Royce and Sue Valencia ◻Dr. Rachel Wood ’08

Dr. Patricia Harvey Webb Scholarship Fund

Dr. Fusae K. AbbottDr. Audrey Berman ◻

In memory of Patricia Joaquine BurkhalterIn memory of Judy JohnsonIn memory of Ross ShadeIn memory of Sonia SinghIn memory of Dr. Roger Steuble

Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Dr. Sylvia FoxMarjorie HammerDr. Nancy S. HaugenAdelina Gage-KellyDr. Patricia KusterKevin ReillyDr. Janet W. Rowland ’03

Dr. John H. Weed ’63 Memorial Podiatric Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund


Dr. William & Doreen Wong Podiatric Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund

Drs. Luis F. and Sharon C. Diaz ◻Royce and Sue Valencia ◻Doreen Wong ◻

Dr. Ruth Wood ’27 Memorial Podiatric Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund


Dr. Bennett Zier Podiatric Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund


Dr. Stephen J.F. Zuber ’69 Memorial Special Purpose Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

Claudine Zuber ◻

Dr. Stephen J.F. Zuber ’69 Memorial Endowed Podiatric Medicine Scholarship Fund

Phyllis M. Cooper-BosGeorge W. Davis, IIMr. and Mrs. Larry GoldenbergEllen HoffnagelDr. and Mrs. Jonathan A. HollanderMr. and Mrs. Kiyoshi KatsumotoMr. and Mrs. Charlie KruegerDr. and Mrs. William Lowe ◻Dr. Anthony Poggio ’84Claudine Zuber ◻


“Welcome to the frontlines of healthcare. It’s a total mess out there and we need you to fix it.”

— GARY HALL JR., 2017 COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER

#SMU2017The University held its 105TH COMMENCEMENT on May 26. Nearly 400 of this year’s 684 graduates participated in Commencement ceremonies at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland.

Olympic Swimmer Gary Hall Jr. delivered the Commencement Address. He shared how a diabetes diagnosis threatened to end his swimming career, but with the help of a nurse educator and others he went on to win many more Olympic medals.


2017 Graduatesby the NumbersSchool of Nursing

Occupational Therapy

Physical Therapy

Physician Assistant

California School of Podiatric Medicine

Total graduates

519

43

31

40

51

684


The 2017 Report to the Community was created by:

Stephanie Bangert Executive Director, Communications and External Relations

Justin Berton Associate Director, Media Relations and Brand Strategy

Donita Boles Associate Director, Publications

Alejandro Rodriguez Associate Director, Advertising and Marketing

Sasha Solomonov Associate Director, Social Media and Web Conent

Samuel Merritt University is committed to creating a diverse,

equitable, and inclusive learning community, workplace, and campus

environment. We demonstrate this commitment by ensuring that SMU

is a community where:

Debra Holtz Senior Writer

Gena Caya Administrative Assistant for Development and Alumni Affairs

Jim FidelibusJenny PfeifferMichael ShortNye’ Lyn Tho

Photography

Chen Design Associates Art Direction and Design

Essence Printing Printing

• We affirm the value of human diversity, respecting our differences, while acknowledging our common humanity.

• We affirm the inherent dignity and value of every person and strive to maintain a climate based on mutual respect, fairness, and inclusion, calling for civility and decency in our personal interactions, regardless of position or status in the academy.

• We respect the right of freedom of expression within our community and value the different perspectives of others; recognizing and appreciating these differences builds trust and contributes to the excellence of the university.

• We challenge all forms of behavior that are prejudicial, discriminatory, and detrimental or contrary to the values expressed in this document; and we take responsibility for increasing our own understanding of these issues through education and our interactions with one another.

PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNITY

As a community, we are committed, individually

and collectively, to embodying and safeguarding

these principles.

450 30th Street, Suite 2840

Oakland CA 94609

www.samuelmerritt.edu

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