MMI’s Nagawiecki collaborates on prize-winning poster
Rachel Nagawiecki, a speech therapist in the MMI department of Speech Language Pathology, teamed with Srinivasa Chandra, assistant professor of surgery-oral and maxillofacial, to win a poster presentation section of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) chapter meeting on Sept. 27. Nagawiecki and Dr. Chandra’s poster was titled, “Acute Management of Swallowing in Patients Undergoing Surgical Resection and Reconstruction for Oral Cancer of the Tongue.”
The pair created an electronic poster and gave a five-minute presentation to a panel of judges as well as the other attendees at the meeting. The poster reflected a research project on the rehabilitation of swallow function following glossectomy with reconstruction, with the goal of improving post-operative protocols and pre-operative patient counseling.
MMI’s Simmons is October Silver U winner
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Sarah Simmons |
Sarah Simmons, accountant in the MMI Business Office, received the Chancellor’s Silver U Award for October. Nominators describe Simmons as a very conscientious, hard-working and precise accountant, noting her willingness to assist others, as well as her commitment to educating and supporting MMI staff on budgetary issues. Nominators highlighted Simmons’ efforts to streamline processes and procedures to improve efficiency; her help in setting up systems that monitor grant finances, and other strengths.
Garcia, Fortin join physical therapy
Sara Garcia and Elizabeth Fortin have joined the MMI Department of Physical Therapy. Garcia, a board-certified clinical specialist in pediatric physical therapy with 15 years experience, will be serving the Omaha Public School contract for educationally related physical therapy services. Fortin graduated from the University of Memphis physical therapy program in May and will join the department’s pediatric residency program.
Clinical specialists achieve APTA re-certification
Three MMI board-certified clinical specialists, Joanie Bergeron, Lynne Capoun and Emily Drew, successfully recertified through the American Physical Therapy’s Board of Specialties. The certification is dependent upon an extensive practice and professional portfolio and is reviewed every 10 years.
MMI researchers contribute to award-winning paper
The national START-Play research team, which includes MMI Department of Physical Therapy team members Emily Drew, Amy Beyersdorf, Lynne Capoun, Heidi Reelfs and site principal investigator (PI) Sandy Willett, Ph.D., was recently honored with the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine 2019 Gayle G. Arnold Award for the Best Scientific Paper. This is a multi-site, Department of Education-funded project with principal investigator Regina Harbourne, Ph.D., from Dusquesne University in Pittsburgh. (Other authors and site PIs on the paper are Stacey Dusing, Ph.D., from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Michele Lobo, Ph.D., from the University of Delaware in Newark, and Sally Westcott-McCoy, Ph.D., from the University of Washington in Seattle.)