PCOM trustee John P. Kearney and his wife, Lois, hosted their fifth annual reception for the College at the Glenmaura National Golf Club in Moosic, PA on April 23. The event brings together current and prospective PCOM students, their parents, alumni, pre-med advisors from local colleges, and faculty and administration from PCOM.

"Going to medical school is a huge step not only for the students, but for their parents as well," says Mr. Kearney. "The parents, probably even more than their children, have questions about the journey. This reception brings together all branches of the PCOM family. If there's a question in your mind, there will be someone in the room with the answer. Lois and I are here to make sure the Northeastern region of the state is represented and to make certain our children have the opportunity to fulfill their dreams."

Mr. Kearney's connection to PCOM comes in many forms. His son, John D. Kearney, was a second-year medical student when he died in a tragic hiking accident in Arizona in 1999 as he tried to save his friend who had fallen. "JD was accepted to five other medical schools," recalls his father. "But when he was introduced to PCOM and the osteopathic philosophy in his junior year at Wilkes, his dream was to go to PCOM. He loved every day he was at PCOM."

Committed to having JD be a part of the PCOM family forever, the Kearney's established the John D. Kearney Scholarship to help students achieve their dreams of becoming osteopathic physicians. They also created the  John D. Kearney Memorial Scholarship at Wilkes University.
 

John P. and Lois Kearny are joined by recipients of the John D. Kearney Scholarship and the John D. Kearney Memorial Scholarship.	Ken Veit, DO, MBA, provost, senior vice president for academic affairs and dean, chats with prospective students.	John P. Kearney was joined at the reception by Linda Thomas-Hemak, MD, President and CEO, The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education.

PCOM will celebrate the founding of the College with it's annual Founders' Day celebration on Friday, January 25. On this day the school will present its two highest awards: the O.J. Snyder Memorial Medal, which is bestowed to a member of the PCOM community and the Mason W. Pressley Memorial Medal, which is presented to the PCOM DO student of the year.

Saul Jeck, DO, FACOOG
Oscar John Snyder, DO Memorial Medal Recipient

A practicing obstetrician and gynecologist since 1957, Dr. Jeck has quickly embraced new medical technology as it became available through the years – from fetal monitors and ultrasounds to laparoscopic surgery. As professor and chair of PCOM’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and director of the College’s Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program since 1990, Dr. Jeck has shared his love of innovation with the many students and residents he has taught.  “I encourage my students to imagine something that we are doing today in obstetrics and gynecology that will be done completely differently 10 years from now.”

Dr. Jeck believes that a thorough knowledge of medicine and OMM on the physician’s part can help minimize testing and pain on the part of the patient. He conducted and published a study on OMM and pain management that showed that patients who received osteopathic manipulative treatment in the hospital after major surgery required statistically less pain medicine for two to three days following treatment while they were still hospitalized.

In addition to teaching and providing patient care, Dr. Jeck has served PCOM as a member of numerous committees over the years and has served the osteopathic profession as president of the American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which recognized his outstanding contributions with numerous awards. In 2004, he was named to the American Osteopathic Association Mentor Hall of Fame. At PCOM, he twice received the Christian R. & Mary F. Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award, the Dean’s Appreciation Award and a Distinguished Service Award for the obstetrics and gynecology residency program. Dr. Jeck received his DO degree from the Des Moines College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1957

Mark Vila, MBA (DO ’13)
Mason W. Pressley, DO Memorial Medal Recipient

Mark Vila is not afraid to challenge the status quo. As president of the PCOM Student Government Association (SGA), he helped transform this large, inefficient organization into smaller, individual councils better able to focus on issues important to each degree program. Separate smaller councils were established for each student club and a Senate was created to address general school-wide issues.  The results were improved productivity and efficiency.

Mr. Vila also addressed a longstanding issue for DO students:  amending the DO rank structure for residency applications. As a result, residency directors get a more accurate picture of the students’ rankings and students get a fairer shot at residency slots.

Mr. Vila takes pride in two annual community outreach events he helped to spearhead: the PCOM Winter Gala, an annual fundraiser for local nonprofit organizations, and PCOMmunity Outreach Day, a signature event in which all PCOM classes and degree programs work together in the community for one day. His ultimate goal is to be a hospital administration.

Annise Chung (DO '13) is the Mason W. Pressley, DO Memorial Medal Recipient for the Georgia Campus. She will receive recognition at that campus' Senior Awards Dinner-Dance in May.

Bryan Ginn has joined GA-PCOM as Chief Campus Officer where he will focus on external relations in support of the continued success of PCOM-Georgia Campus.

Bryan brings with him an extensive background in community and government relations. He joins the PCOM community after 12 years with Georgia Health Sciences University where he was Vice President of External Affairs and Government Relations. Other highlights of Bryan’s career include serving as the Director of State Relations and Assistant to the Vice President of Advancement for Kennesaw State University in Georgia. Prior to that he was the Director of Annual Giving and Regional Development Officer for Georgia Southern University.
 

Garrett Kirkpatrick (DO '14), Duyen Mai (DO '15), president, PCOM student chapter, PHR; Steve Vanni (DO '15), treasurer, PCOM student chapter, PHR; Danielle Lucchesi (DO '15), secretary, PCOM student chapter, PHR, as they supported the Philabundance Paper Plate Advocacy Project.

Hunger, poverty, malaria – these are just some of the issues PCOM’s student chapter of Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is working to alleviate. Whether they’re volunteering at a health clinic for uninsured patients or raising money for the Global Poverty Project, the organization strives to relieve human suffering in its many forms. You can support PHR with your support at one of their upcoming events.

On Oct. 9, 2012 at 7:00 pm in  Zedeck Amphitheatre, Evans Hall, PHR will show Invisible Children's newest documentary, "Move: What if we all speak the same language?".   Invisible Children is working to end the Lord’s Resistance Army’s atrocitiesin East and Central Africa and to empower young people to take steps toward ending injustice. The event will feature a speaker from Uganda.

Keep your eyes open for their t-shirt sale to raise money for the United Nations project Nothing But Nets to end malarial deaths in Africa by 2015. For every shirt sold, one mosquito net will be donated to Africa.

Later this fall, the group will be advocating for the National PHR initiative "Access to Medicine," which promotes awareness of the lack of basic essential medicines in developing countries.

Throughout the year, PHR will sponsor speakers, movies and bake sales to help raise awareness of important issues and funds for worthy causes. For more information about this PCOM organization, contact Duyen Mai (DO ’15), president, Physicians for Human Rights.
 

J. Steven Blake, DO ’89, sponsored 15 students from his alma mater, Coahoma Agricultural High School in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on a 10-day, four-city excursion in June. The East Coast Cultural Enrichment Tour gives exceptional high school students the opportunity to visit Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. During their travels they visit cultural sites, museums, see a Broadway show and meet leaders in a variety fields. This is the sixth year Dr. Blake has led the tour. “Reflecting on my own life, and the difference coming to Philadelphia made for me, I wanted to do that for students,” he explains. “I think it’s so important for students to see a world outside their regular environment.” ABC affiliate Channel Six tells the story.