Keeping the Health Professions SHaRP

Good morning!

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the term “Health Care Heroes” has emerged to describe workers in the medical field who provide direct patient care or support health care operations.

Included in this group are the allied health professionals throughout the state who have processed vital lab work, provided occupational and physical therapy and performed any number of important health care duties during the pandemic. Put simply, we would never have been able to navigate this crisis without these dedicated professionals, most of whom are graduates of our School of Health Related Professions.

For half a century now, SHRP has been responsible for training these champions of health care. Dr. Jessica Bailey, dean of SHRP since 2012 and a 1980 graduate of the school’s Health Information Management Program, has led the charge to offer quality degree programs in Health Administration, Health Informatics, Health Sciences, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Radiologic Sciences.

I want to share with you some school developments that will help SHRP continue its pursuit of training outstanding health professionals. In addition, our SHRP students have contributed to the state’s response efforts to the pandemic in amazing ways, and I will include some examples of their work. But first, news about an educational achievement and faculty addition.

Under Dr. Bailey’s leadership in 2017, SHRP launched a histotechnology program – one of nine accredited programs in the country - to educate students in the preparation of tissue specimens for microscopic screening. Establishing this program was a call to action as the need for these professionals grows here and nationwide. Now, four years after enrolling its first student, SHRP has earned national recognition, winning the 2021 Peggy Went Histotechnology Program Scholarship from the National Society for Histotechnology.

The scholarship is presented to an accredited program of histotechnology that exhibits passion for producing highly qualified professionals. The $5,000 scholarship will assist SHRP with enhancing the educational experience of students.

In response to the award, Dr. Ralph Didlake, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, said, “Dean Bailey and her team responded to this need and went from curriculum concept to an award-winning program in an impressively short period of time.  This is mission integration at its best.” 

I couldn’t agree more. This is a wonderful acknowledgement of the hard work of our SHRP faculty. Congratulations to Dr. Bailey, Dr. Kristi Moore, chair and director of the Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences, and Dr. Renee Wilkins, histotechnology program director!

I also want to extend well wishes to Dr. Driscoll Devaul in his new role with SHRP. He was recently named assistant dean for academic affairs. He earned both the Master of Health Sciences and Doctor of Health Administration degrees (completing the last semester of his DHA during the pandemic), while working as the Medical Center’s director of Respiratory Care/ECMO and Associated Clinical Programs.

Driscoll has been an invaluable member of the UMMC team, and I’m sure his 20 years of experience in health care and his record of exceptional professionalism will serve our SHRP students well. His commitment to community service is a fine example for students, some of whom are already leading the way in making a difference for their fellow Mississippians.

Several SHRP students volunteered their time and energy to combat the statewide threat of COVID-19. Here are just three examples:

• Stacey Ferguson Rogers, performance improvement coordinator with the Mississippi Center for Emergency Services, completed the Health Informatics and Information Management Program this spring. After the pandemic arrived in spring 2020, Stacey served in a support role in our COVID-19 Command Center and helped set up the first COVID-19 drive-thru testing site at the Mississippi Coliseum Fairgrounds.
  
  
• A single mother of twin sons, Amanda Thomas overcame a lack of appropriate childcare facilities, sometimes-tight food sourcing and family member isolation during the pandemic to pursue her HIIM degree online while serving as a clinical data analyst in the Life Sciences Division of a health technology company. One of Amanda’s first projects was to help build the COVID-19 Disease Registry to create a broad cross-sectional data set with highly fragmented data elements collected along the entire care continuum to help reduce the impact of the disease and to aid prevention efforts.
  
  
• Justin Johnson, an MLS student, had to adjust his study methods and simulate a classroom setting at home just to maintain his academic focus during the pandemic. After completing Institutional Review Board training, under the tutelage of Dr. Charlotte Hobbs, professor of pediatric infectious diseases, and John Williams, a researcher in pediatrics, Justin volunteered to process COVID-19 samples after his regular clinical rotation hours.

These students are indicative of the results of the school’s programmatic approach that accentuates community service, giving of oneself and becoming a vital part of a health care team. The source of the school’s success in turning out such capable professionals is, of course, its faculty.

Despite COVID-19 challenges, SHRP faculty, staff and administrators remained strong and committed to their passion of educating students by whatever means necessary, and the students responded in kind by exemplifying the qualities needed to overcome any health care adversity. Together, they are indeed leading the way toward A Healthier Mississippi.