MSHS Alumni Connection Mag SP 11 - MC4192-0311 - Mayo Clinic

Mayo School of Health Sciences 

Connections 

Spring 2011 

Medical missions 

MSHS alumni provide medical 

expertise to those in need 

A publication for alumni, students, faculty and friends of Mayo School of Health Sciences

“Pay Titleit Forward” with your 

health care expertise 

Remember the movie “Pay it Forward”? 

It’s about a young boy who attempts to 

make the world a better place after a lesson 

given by his teacher. “Pay it Forward” is based 

on these principles: 

• Being attentive — wherever you are — 

for opportunities to help someone 

• Doing something nice for someone you 

don’t know 

• Encouraging people to repay their appreciation 

by helping someone else 

What would you do if someone gave you 

something and said, “Use this gift to help others?” 

You already have that gift: your education at 

Mayo School of Health Sciences (MSHS). MSHS 

provides us with the skills we need to help those 

less fortunate or those in need of medical care. 

We’ve all done neighborly things to help 

others. But have we shared our gift of medical 

education? Options include international medical 

mission trips. (See story page 2.) These endeavors 

provide a great service. 

But in reality, not everyone can take 

that amount of time away from their daily 

responsibilities. However, in almost every 

community, there are people who need our help. 

There are homeless shelters, free medical clinics 

and other organizations that help those in dire 

need of our skills. Check out these organizations 

and volunteer. With more than 133 health 

sciences programs and 4,000 alumni, we can 

make the world a better place. 

Too often, it seems like there’s a shortage of 

positive news in our world. When we pay it 

forward — without expecting anything in 

return — we’re creating positive news for one 

person, and then another and another as the 

chain continues. 

Paying it forward is just another way to put 

patients first. That’s what our Mayo education 

was about. 

Please share your experiences and ways to 

pay it forward at www.mayo.edu/alumni. C 

Mark Longacre, President 


Alumni Association 

On the cover: 

MSHS alumni Michael Nienow, a sonographer, 

and Jayne Arvold, a nurse anesthetist, share their 

experiences on medical missions on page 2.


Connections 

A publication for alumni, students, faculty and friends of Mayo School of Health Sciences | Spring 2011 

6 

Live longer, healthier 

Learn how at MSHS Annual Alumni 

Meeting. Register for the April 29 event at 

www.mayo.edu/alumni 

2 Medical missions 

Alumni share skills with 

those in need 

15 Thank you! 

Benefactor bequests $1.7 million 

to MSHS 

8 

8 From Kenya to Minnesota 

Student says every day is a joy 

9 A career changer 

Starting anew at age 50 

10 Shared learning 

Peering into an ear goes multimedia 

12 WWII veterans 

Physical therapists share their stories 

16 Explorers 

Hands-on activities for high school 

students showcase career options 

19 Meet Jerrod Ernst 

President-elect of MSHS 

Alumni Association 

20 Leader in physical therapy 

Nathan Hellyer earns 

leadership award 

2 

12 

14 New phlebotomist 

From patient to student to employee 

22 In the news 

Clinical Laboratory Sciences mentors; 

New alumni relations coordinator; 

Learning with iPads; Students 

splash, run and rake for charity

A world of opportunity 

for medical volunteers 

Whether they are responding to disasters or treating serious medical 

conditions, every year MSHS alumni touch the lives of patients in 

developing countries around the world. By providing state-of-the-art care 

that’s otherwise unaffordable or not available, MSHS alumni perform 

what their patients consider to be miracles. 

Mike Nienow and Jayne Arvold, both employees 

at Mayo Clinic’s Rochester campus, show photos 

taken on their medical mission trips. 

2 

MSHS CONNECTIONS • Spring 2011

Giving smiles to children 

Jayne Arvold, CRNA, a nurse anesthetist at 

Mayo Clinic’s Rochester campus, has traveled 

to both Peru and Mexico twice since 2004 as a 

member of teams performing reconstructive 

surgery on children born with facial deformities, 

such as cleft lips and palates. 

In April 2010, Arvold and Jill Hardy, CRNA, 

both graduates of the Nurse Anesthesia program 

and the rest of an all-Mayo surgical team flew 

to Lima, Peru. They were part of Smile Network 

International, a Minneapolis-based, nonprofit 

humanitarian organization serving impoverished 

children and young adults in developing 

countries. The team arrived on the weekend, 

and on Monday morning began following through 

on Smile Network’s mission: To reconstruct lives … 

one bright, smiling face at a time. 

“You immediately can see the beauty of 

that repair. It’s artwork,” says Arvold, who 

completed the Nurse Anesthesia program in 

1987. “The parents just cry because the change 

is so significant.” 

Facial deformity causes difficulty eating, 

drinking and speaking. As a result, many of these 

children are malnourished and underdeveloped. 

“It’s very rewarding when you can contribute to a 

patient’s care in an underdeveloped or underserved 

country,” Arvold says, “especially when you 

contribute to a child’s future — physically, 

emotionally and psychologically. Without 

surgery, these children are often ostracized.” 

Despite the group’s busy schedule of free 

surgeries, some patients were unforgettable. 

“There are always some that touch you more,” 

Arvold says, recalling six-month-old identical 

twin boys with matching bilateral cleft lips and 

palates. “We did surgery on both boys. These 

parents were poverty-stricken, they had come 

a long way, and they showed up with their 

extended family. After the procedure, they were 

pretty proud. They embraced all of us.” 

Medical missions tend to require professionals 

to tap into their knowledge to overcome 

limited technology. 

“It’s a good way to stretch yourself a little bit 

because of antiquated equipment,” Arvold says. 

“On my first trip to Lima, we were sharing two 

operating tables in one room. One anesthesia 

machine was broken and the other one leaked. 

You don’t know what you’ll be using until you 

get there. Sometimes you have to get creative. You 

do without certain technology, so you have to use 

your assessment skills and be really vigilant.” 

Although missions focus on patient care, they 

also establish relationships with local medical 

professionals, who learn how to treat patients 

with challenging medical conditions. 

“What I discovered is that you can’t just go 

in there and fix something,” Arvold says. “You 

have to involve the people of that country to fix 

their own problems. One of the rewards is that 

you work with a group of individuals within the 

country who really become part of the team.” 

Arvold says local care providers appreciate 

working with the visiting team. “They thank us 

for taking care of their children,” she says. “They 

know they are part of something bigger.” A nurse 

at Mayo Clinic since 1978, Arvold was motivated 

to explore medical missions by the stories of 

physicians and other colleagues, including 

Donna Sheets, CRNA, another MSHS graduate. 

“I had always heard individuals talk about this 

kind of experience,” Arvold recalls. “That was 

very inspiring for a lot of us.” 

Jayne Arvold, a 

Mayo Clinic nurse 

anesthetist and 

MSHS alumna, has 

participated in four 

medical mission 

trips. She encourages 

her coworkers and 

MSHS students to 

consider volunteering 

their time and skills. 

Spring 2011 • MSHS CONNECTIONS 3

Michael Nienow, 

above, used his 

sonography skills 

to care for victims 

of the 2010 Haiti 

earthquake. Nienow 

and his Navy 

colleagues worked on 

the USNS Comfort, a 

supertanker converted 

to a 1,000-bed Level 4 

trauma center. 

Since her first trip with Smile Network, Arvold 

has been telling stories and encouraging others 

to go on a medical mission. She estimates that 10 

to 15 CRNAs at Mayo Clinic have volunteered on 

Smile Network missions and that 30 to 40 CRNAs 

have traveled the globe with other humanitarian 

organizations. 

“We all support each other doing it,” Arvold 

says. “I’ve recommended a lot of people for 

missions. The biggest pleasure for me is to see 

a lot of those people go and the work becoming 

important to them.” 

She also advocates medical missions during 

talks with MSHS students. She tells students: 

“As Mayo grads, your training is so excellent 

and your clinical education is so strong and 

you are exposed to so many cases that you can 

believe you can do this.” 

After the quake 

On Jan. 12, 2010, Michael Nienow, RVT, RDMS, 

turned on the nightly news at his home in 

Rochester, Minn., and saw images of destruction 

caused by a massive earthquake near the 

capital of Haiti. 

After hearing that U.S. leaders planned to 

dispatch the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort 

to Haiti, Nienow, a hospital corpsman in the U.S. 

Navy Reserve, turned to his wife. “That would be 

a neat mission to go on,” he recalls saying. 

Two days later, the Navy called Nienow, who 

is a sonographer at Mayo Clinic. They needed 

him aboard the USNS Comfort, an 894-foot-long 

supertanker converted to a floating, 1,000-bed, 

Level 4 trauma center. 

The next day, Nienow was in Baltimore, on 

indefinite leave from his job, boarding a ship 

for the first time in his Navy career. Comfort set 

sail for the Caribbean with a crew of civil service 

mariners, a 723-member medical staff and a 

clear mission: To help alleviate human suffering 

and save lives in the immediate aftermath of the 

devastating disaster. 

Tell us your story 

Check out the new page on the MSHS 

alumni website (www.mayo.edu/alumni) 

to share stories about humanitarian 

work. Click on MSHS and look for the 

“Humanitarian Efforts” link. Excerpts 

may be featured in Connections. 

4 


The region’s worst earthquake in more than 

200 years had killed more than 200,000 people, 

injured countless others, trapped many thousands 

in the wreckage and left 2 million homeless. A 

poor country with shaky infrastructure, Haiti lost 

electricity and phone service, creating obstacles 

for relief efforts amid dwindling supplies of food 

and fresh water. 

Comfort dropped anchor two miles off 

Haiti, ready to provide critical medical care 

to survivors. 

“We began taking patients on board 

continuously,” Nienow recalls. “For the next 

several days helicopters delivered patients 

every three to five minutes, which created a 

mass-casualty situation all day long.” With 560 

trauma patients on board at one point, Nienow 

says Comfort ranked as the largest trauma 

hospital in the world. 

“Haiti was very hectic. I never left the ship,” 

Nienow says. “All I did was work the entire two 

months I was down there. Most days I was up at 

5 a.m. Patients began arriving around 8 a.m., and 

I was up until 1 or 2 in the morning.” 

As the lone sonographer, Nienow performed 

all 166 ultrasound exams, using his skills as a 

vascular technologist and a diagnostic medical 

sonographer. He also helped with a share of the 

4,500 X-ray procedures and 526 CT exams. 

When the ship’s CT scanner broke down for a 

couple of days, ultrasound was the best alternative. 

“I was able to do a few skull fractures and help 

physicians diagnose herniated brain material,” 

Nienow says. He also used ultrasound to detect 

blood clots in patients who had been trapped in the 

rubble with one or more limbs immobilized under 

the weight of collapsed buildings. 

Nienow joined the Navy Reserve after high 

school 24 years ago. He chose to specialize in the 

medical field, hoping it would lead to a civilian 

career. Instead, he worked in welding and 

landscaping until he completed the Sonography 

program in 2000 and was hired by Mayo Clinic. 

Before Haiti, he served on humanitarian 

missions that set up medical clinics in Thailand in 

1998 and Togo in 2000. In 2003, he went to Iraq to 

treat the general population after the U.S. offensive. 

Comfort left Haiti on March 10. During 49 days 

as the tertiary medical center for the region, the 

medical staff treated 871 people and performed 843 

surgeries. Comfort also provided 6,000 hot meals 

and purified 150,000 gallons of water per day. 

“You knew those people needed a lot of 

assistance. They were all grateful and very 

happy to get help,” Nienow says. “This was one 

of the best experiences I have ever been a part of. 

Undoubtedly, this will be one of my favorite Navy 

memories for years to come.” C 

Where in the world 

could you go? 

If you’re interested in a humanitarian 

medical trip, you have virtually unlimited 

opportunities. 

“An invitation is all it took for most of us 

to become involved,” says Jayne Arvold, a 

nurse anesthetist who volunteers with Smile 

Network International. 

Medical missions typically require using 

personal vacation time. Because you are 

donating your professional services, many 

sponsoring organizations cover most or all of 

your expenses, including travel and lodging. 

You may be able to find options through a 

variety of sources including MSHS programs, 

MSHS alumni website, your professional 

association, or by searching the web for 

medical volunteer opportunities. 


Keynote address at MSHS alumni meeting 

Lessons learned: Living longer, 

healthier in Albert Lea 

Photo: © Allen Brisson-Smith 

In 2009, Albert Lea, a 

town of about 17,000 

people in southeastern 

Minnesota, was a 

proverbial petri dish for 

growing simple lifestyle 

changes into longer, 

healthier lives. 

Dieter Heinz, MD, and John Schulz, 

MD, physicians at Albert Lea 

Medical Center — part of Mayo 

Health System, say applying the 

lessons learned can make a huge 

impact on health. They will share 

some of the findings during the 

keynote presentation at the Mayo 

School of Health Sciences Alumni 

Association meeting, April 29, at the 

Double Tree Hotel in Rochester. 

The 10-month study was the 

brainchild of explorer, best-selling 

author, and longevity expert Dan 

Buettner. The author of Blue Zones: 

Lessons for Living Longer from the 

People Who’ve Lived the Longest, 

Buettner has searched the world for 

cultures where people have lived the 

longest. Designating those geographic 

areas “Blue Zones,” he identified 

common denominators from those 

populations and grouped them 

into nine healthy habits, a veritable 

prescription for longevity: 

• Move. Find ways to move mindlessly, 

make moving unavoidable. 

• Plan de Vida. Know your purpose 

in life. 

• Downshift. Work less, slow down, 

rest, take vacation. 

• 80 percent rule. Stop eating when 

you’re 80 percent full. 

• Plant power. More veggies, less 

protein and processed foods. 

• Red wine. Consistency and 

moderation. 

• Belong. Create a healthy social 

network. 

• Beliefs. Spiritual or religious 

participation. 

• Tribe. Make family a priority. 

The AARP Vitality/Blue Zones 

Project chose Albert Lea as the first 

community to put these ideas of 

6 


simplicity, moderation, and common 

sense to the test in a variety of ways. 

Albert Lea Medical Center, the 

city, area businesses and scores of 

volunteers were involved in planning 

and implementing the experiment. 

For example, volunteers organized 

community gardening, purpose 

workshops, open-door faith initiatives, 

tobacco-free workplaces, and school 

food initiatives recommended by 

Blue Zones leaders. Another activity 

was walking moais, a term Buettner 

borrowed from lifelong social networks 

common in Okinawa. In Albert Lea, 60 

small groups — moais — met regularly 

for fellowship and walking. 

Young people were included, too. 

“We coordinated ‘walking school 

buses,’ where kids walk to school in 

groups, accompanied by one or more 

adults,” says Dr. Heinz, one of the 

organizers of this effort. 

Why Albert Lea? 

“We needed a town of 10,000 to 

20,000 people, not a suburb,” says 

Joel Spoonheim, director of health 

initiatives for Blue Zones. “We were 

looking for health and demographics 

consistent with U.S. averages.” 

Join us at the MSHS Alumni Association Annual Meeting 

Guest speakers Dieter Heinz, MD, and 

John Schulz, MD, Albert Lea Medical 

Center — part of Mayo Health System, 

will share results and their insights on 

a yearlong, community experiment 

on living longer, healthier lives. 

Register for this free event at 

www.mayo.edu/alumni or by 

calling the Mayo Alumni Center 

at 507-284-2317. 

Dieter Heinz, MD, left, and John Schulz, MD 

Albert Lea was a match. And the 

communitywide effort garnered 

considerable support. More than 3,400 

people participated. Results were 

tracked through surveys and statistical 

models. They included: 

• An average weight loss of 4.5 pounds 

• An increase of 3.5 years in life 

expectancy 

• An increase in seafood and vegetable 

consumption by 25 percent of 

respondents 

• A decrease in self-reported 

depression symptoms 

In addition, the city of Albert Lea 

began making infrastructure changes to 

reinforce healthy living. For example, 

new community gardens allow 

people to grow their own vegetables 

and garden for exercise. A five-mile 

sidewalk was laid around a community 

lake for convenient walking. 

Dr. Schulz says change occurred 

in many ways — and is continuing. 

“Just recently, the city approved the 

first bike lane on a city road,” he says. 

“The experiment may be over, but 

we’re just beginning to effect policy 

changes that could be replicated in 

other communities.” C 

Friday, April 29, 2011 

Double Tree Hotel 

Rochester, Minn. 

5:30 p.m. Reception 

6:15 p.m. Dinner/program 

Blue Zones 

Top 10 for TV 

Blue Zones founder Dan Buettner 

prepared this list for “The Oprah 

Winfrey Show.” Do them, he says, 

and you can add up to 14 good 

years to your life: 

1. De-convenience your home. 

Lose the remote, buy a light 

garage door and lift it yourself. 

2. Eat nuts. Have a can of nuts 

around your office or home 

and eat a handful daily. 

3. Drink Sardinian wine. Sardinian 

cannonau wine has the world’s 

highest levels of antioxidants. 

Drink a glass or two a day. 

4. Play with your children. This is 

excellent low-intensity exercise 

and will strengthen a family. 

5. Grow a garden. This proven 

stress-reducer will put your 

body through the range 

of motion and yield fresh 

vegetables. 

6. Hour of power. Downshift 

daily with a nap, meditation, 

prayer or a quiet walk. 

7. Eat tofu. Arguably the 

world’s most perfect food, 

tofu is eaten by the world’s 

longest-lived women. 

8. Get a tan. With up to half of 

Americans deficient in vitamin 

D, doctors are rethinking the 

notion of slathering yourself 

with sunscreen. 

9. Use smaller dinner plates. 

Eat off 9-inch plates as the 

Okinawans do and reduce 

calorie consumption at 

dinner by up to 30 percent. 

10. Write down your personal 

mission. Knowing and 

putting into practice your 

sense of purpose can extend 

your life by a decade. 

Illustration: © 2008 Blue Zones LLC 


Student profile 

Long journey brings joy 

of working with patients 

For Richard Mokua, the career path 

to nurse practitioner has spanned 

one ocean, two continents and more 

than 30 years. A registered nurse 

nearing completion of the Nurse 

Practitioner program in Rochester, 

Mokua occasionally bubbles over 

with delight at his life’s direction. 

“It’s wonderful,” he says. “Anytime 

I wake in the morning and realize I’m 

scheduled to work, that’s my happiest 

moment. Working with patients 

fulfills me every day. It’s a joy.” 

Mokua, the oldest of 10 children, 

grew up in southwestern Kenya. He 

was 13 when his father, the family’s 

sole provider, spent a year in a local 

hospital with an undiagnosed illness 

and came home too weak to walk. 

Richard Mokua shares information about his 

native Kenya at the fifth annual Mayo Clinic 

Festival of Cultures, which promotes a welcoming 

and inclusive environment by showcasing 

diverse heritage, cultures and traditions. 

“My interest in medicine has been 

growing since I was very young,” Mokua 

says. “I wanted to become a doctor. 

That intensified when my dad got sick.” 

During Mokua’s first year of college, 

his father died of stomach cancer. 

The government of Kenya, which 

paid for his college education, decided 

that Mokua should study food science. 

After college, he became a food analyst 

in a laboratory. Despite having a 

good career in Kenya, he applied 

for immigration to the United States 

and arrived in Jersey City, N.J., in 

November 1998 at age 32. 

“I had no relatives here. I was on my 

own,” he recalls. Overwhelmed by the 

refrigerator-like weather, unfriendly 

strangers and high cost of living, he 

wanted to go back to Kenya. But he 

couldn’t save much, making $5.15 an 

hour as a security guard. 

“I was pretty much stranded,” he 

says. Eventually, a high school friend 

called from Wisconsin, offering to help 

him “settle in and survive.” A one-way 

bus ticket to Menomonie, Wis., soon 

led to graduate school at the University 

of Wisconsin-Stout. Meanwhile, a job as 

a nursing assistant in a nursing home 

rekindled his interest in the medical 

field. While completing his master’s 

degree in food science and nutrition, 

he entered the nursing program at the 

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. 

Before he finished his nursing 

degree in 2006, Mokua participated 

in a summer nursing internship at 

Mayo Clinic in Rochester. The diverse 

population, the openness to alternative 

medicine, the friendly greetings to 

newcomers, and the belief that visiting 

Richard Mokua 

family members speeds recovery 

reminded him of Africa and convinced 

him he had found a new home. 

“I’ve never even thought about 

working someplace else,” Mokua says. 

Wanting to do more to help 

patients, Mokua enrolled in the Nurse 

Practitioner program in 2008. 

Now a U.S. citizen, Mokua will finish 

the program in May 2011. More than 

12 years since leaving his homeland, 

Mokua looks forward to a brother 

and a sister visiting him in the coming 

year. And he envisions returning home 

someday to share his knowledge. 

“There are very few nurses or doctors 

per capita in Kenya,” he says. “I think I 

could help them with nutrition-related 

problems to build up immunity against 

common tropical diseases.” C 

8 


Student profile 

At age 50, histology student 

pursuing rewarding career 

Donald Hodges will graduate from 

the Mayo School of Health Sciences 

Histology Technician program in May 

2011. The 50 year old says histology is 

his first true career. 

Hodges worked for a sheet metal 

manufacturer for 10 years and was 

certified in automotive technology. 

When business waned, he was laid 

off. “I would get laid off, then called 

back to work, laid off, then called back 

again,” says Hodges. “The job paid 

well, so I kept going back, but I didn’t 

feel like I was accomplishing anything 

meaningful. It was just a job.” 

Hodges, who lives in Byron, Minn., 

about 10 miles from Rochester, decided 

to make a change. He enrolled at 

Rochester Community and Technical 

College in 2009 and discovered that he 

liked anatomy and physiology classes. 

He imagined himself working in a 

Mayo Clinic laboratory. 

Friends thought he was crazy. 

“But I’m doing it,” says Hodges. 

“Instead of just making something 

for a company, I am doing something 

that can help others.” 

Hodges plans to pursue a bachelor’s 

degree while working in histology. 

“It’s a goal I’ve set for myself,” he 

says. “I’ve come this far. I want a 

complete education. I’m too far along 

to stop now.” 

Hodges is thriving in his new 

environment. “I am using skills and 

talents I didn’t even know I had. I’m 

pushing myself,” he says, noting that 

the culture of Mayo Clinic and MSHS 

are motivators. 

“The instructors have faith in us. 

They use cooperation, support and 

teamwork to help us succeed,” says 

Hodges. “Everyone in the program 

knows that what we do will affect the 

quality of work the pathologists can 

do, so we want to do the very best 

job possible.” 

Hodges is the oldest of the eight 

students in the Histology program. 

“Regardless of our ages, we’re all 

moving in the same direction — 

toward making a difference in the 

patients’ lives,” he says. 

Hodges has been provided with 

more than clinical tools. “Mayo 

provides classes in professionalism,” 

he says. “The entire program and its 

staff are incredibly supportive, and 

everything is geared toward helping 

us succeed. I still pinch myself to make 

sure this change at this point of my life 

is real. I’m in my element now.” 

According to Ginny Wright-Peterson, 

MSHS operations manager, having 

a diverse student body, including a 

variety of ages, enriches the training 

experience. “Older students who have 

had setbacks and are changing careers 

midlife often are more persistent,” says 

Wright-Peterson. “Their maturity and 

attitude affect those around them. They 

provide a fine example of what it takes 

to overcome obstacles.” C 

Don Hodges was fed up with on-and-off-again employment in sheet metal manufacturing. At age 50, 

he’s enrolled in the MSHS Histology Technician program and plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree. 

“I want a complete education,” he says. “I’m too far along to stop now.” 


Peering into an ear goes multimedia 

Telemedicine technology opens new 

opportunities for teaching and learning 

Peering into an ear is a multimedia experience in 

Claudia Swanton’s general physical assessment 

course for Mayo School of Health Sciences (MSHS) 

nurse anesthesia students. Diagnostic tools — such 

as otoscopes — connect to a computer that projects 

the images seen through the tools onto a screen for 

everyone in the room to view in real time. 

This advanced technology, developed at Mayo 

Clinic, improves the educational experience by 

giving all students in a class the opportunity to 

assess, learn from and share exactly what they 

are seeing with their teacher and each other. 

“In a typical course like this, we put up photos 

as examples and students look into a classmate’s 

ears and nose,” says Swanton. “Now we can all see 

what everyone else is seeing, and as an instructor 

I can best explain what they are observing. We 

can cover more material in a more comprehensive 

way. It’s a big step forward.” 

Extending care through telemedicine 

The idea for this new technology was conceived 

in 2005. Philip Hagen, MD, and Prathibha Varkey, 

MBBS, consultants in Mayo Clinic’s Division 

of Preventive, Occupational and Aerospace 

Medicine, embarked on a study to evaluate 

the usefulness of an audiovisual connection 

between Mayo Clinic physicians in Rochester 

and workplace-based health care providers and 

their patients for follow-up evaluations. Results 

Instructor Claudia 

Swanton, program 

director for the Nurse 

Practitioner program, 

teaches physical 

assessment using a 

Mayo-developed tool 

that allows the entire 

class to “look” down 

a throat. 

10 MSHS CONNECTIONS • Spring 2011

of the study were positive, but Dr. Hagen and 

Dr. Varkey wanted to take the technology further. 

“We realized there was a need for extending 

the hands, eyes and ears of the physician a bit 

more,” says Dr. Hagen. “So we developed another 

telemedicine study and cobbled together a device 

that had a stethoscope, otoscope and a magnifying 

camera, along with audio and video connections, 

for the health care providers on-site to use.” 

That study, conducted in 2007, involved 100 

patients. As the provider on site evaluated a 

patient, the Mayo Clinic physician on the other 

end of the connection could see and hear what the 

on-site provider was seeing and hearing through 

the instruments. Results showed the technology 

was effective and acceptable to both patients and 

care providers. 

With these findings in mind, the search began for 

a commercially available product that could be used 

for this type of telemedicine. Most systems were 

either prohibitively expensive or didn’t have the 

tools sought by Mayo physicians. That’s when they 

turned to Mayo Clinic’s Division of Engineering. 

“The talented people in that group went to 

work and created a tool that is highly flexible, 

relatively inexpensive and accomplishes all the 

tasks we need it to,” says Dr. Hagen. 

Creating an educational twist 

Throughout the two telemedicine studies, 

Swanton was a member of the research team. As 

the technology came together, she saw a unique 

educational opportunity taking shape. Traditionally, 

in her physical assessment course, students looked 

inside an ear with the otoscope, for example, and 

told her what they thought they saw. Then, Swanton 

would also take a look, describe what she saw, 

and comment on the student’s observations. 

“We wanted to improve that process,” says 

Swanton. “We wanted to be able to see, evaluate 

and explain more clearly what the students were 

observing. The telemedicine unit seemed like an 

ideal solution.” 

Because Mayo Clinic’s Division of Engineering 

had created the tool, they could also customize it 

for the classroom setting. When students looked 

into one another’s ears and noses, and listened 

to each other’s hearts and lungs, the images and 

sounds were projected for the whole room to see 

and discuss. 

A student’s perspective 

When Lacey Nicol graduates from the 

MSHS Master of Nurse Anesthesia program 

in March, she’s confident her experience 

in her physical assessment class will prove 

useful. Here are some of Nicol’s thoughts 

on this unique technology: 

“When I was an undergraduate, we 

practiced general assessment skills on a 

mannequin or on another student. We didn’t 

have anything like this for the instructor 

to look at exactly what we’re looking at or 

listen to exactly what we’re listening to. 

It’s reassuring to 

know you’re learning 

the right thing with 

the instructor walking 

through it with you. 

From my perspective, 

there’s no other 

learning tool that 

parallels what this 

has the potential to do Lacey Nicol 

for your education.” 

“The variations that the students observed 

were impressive,” says Swanton. 

Taking the opportunities further 

“It was a stroke of genius to extend the technology 

to an educational setting,” says Dr. Hagen. “So 

far, it’s confined to students and teachers in the 

same room. The hope is that it will be extended. 

For example, it could be used with an instructor in 

one location providing supervision to students in 

remote locations.” 

Mary Shirk Marienau, director of the MSHS 

Master of Nurse Anesthesia program, also 

foresees plenty of opportunity for increasing the 

use of this technology. 

“Other MSHS programs have physical 

assessment courses, so there is the potential for 

numerous applications,” says Marienau. “Our 

use of this technology is the tip of the iceberg. 

I can see the Nurse Anesthesia program and 

other MSHS programs using this equipment as 

a powerful teaching tool.” C 

Spring 2011 • MSHS CONNECTIONS 11

Alumna profile 

Military career in physical therapy 

spans 21 years, three wars 

Thanks to a story in Reader’s Digest, 

Carol Kelm got to see the world, 

providing care for soldiers wounded 

during World War II, the Korean War 

and in Vietnam. 

The magazine highlighted Mayo 

Clinic’s wartime physical therapy 

training program for students willing 

to join the military. 

“I always wanted to go into physical 

therapy,” says Kelm, who was teaching 

physical education, English and social 

studies in Hermantown, a small town 

in northern Minnesota. 

“Mayo Clinic offered training tuition 

free,” says Kelm. “That’s how I got into 

the service.” 

In 1944, she spent six months in 

classes at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. 

Kelm was one of 93 physical therapy 

technicians trained at Mayo Clinic that 

year, more than were trained at any 

other school in the country, according 

to the 1944 Mayo Clinic Annual Report 

for the Section of Physical Medicine. 

She spent the next six months in 

practical training at Mayo General 

Hospital, in Galesburg, Ill. This 

hospital was named for the Mayo 

brothers, who served in the military 

in World War I. Upon completion of 

her training, Kelm was a lieutenant at 

the beginning of a military career that 

spanned 21 years and countless miles. 

Stateside, she was stationed at military 

hospitals in Michigan, Texas, Colorado 

and Washington, D.C. She also served 

in Japan and France. “I liked them all,” 

she says, adding that working with the 

paraplegic and quadriplegic patients was 

the most challenging and memorable. 

After retiring from the military in 

January 1966, Kelm moved to Lake 

Elmo, Minn., to be near family. For 

These figurines are among the mementos 

Carol Kelm collected during years overseas 

working as a physical therapist. 

several years, she provided physical 

therapy care at a local nursing home. 

She purchased a lakeshore lot for 

$2,500, hired a builder to construct a 

home, and still lives there today. 

The décor highlights her years of 

adventure, an intricately carved table 

from Japan, beer steins from Germany 

and art from France. In the summer, 

fishing poles lean in the corner and a 

well-stocked tackle box is tucked in the 

unused fireplace — handy for the next 

trip down to the lake. 

“I love to fish,” she says. Neighbors 

can spy her out fishing before dawn. 

“I like to go at 4 and be done by 6,” 

says Kelm, who cleans and fillets the 

catch herself. 

Kelm turned 95 in December. 

While she admits “a few of her parts 

are failing,” she’s content in her 

picturesque home, surrounded by 

mementos of her travels. “Without 

physical therapy,” she says, “I never 

would have gone all these places.” C 

Carol Kelm likes to rise before dawn to go 

fishing. Her fishing tackle is always handy, 

and the lake is just out her back door. 



Mayo Clinic comes full circle 

in physical therapist’s life 

Barbara Burritt LeFeber, now 91, 

had ambitions to be a physician but 

says options were limited for females 

in the 1940s. Through Mayo Clinic, she 

found a different path. 

A friend told LeFeber, a native of 

New Haven, Conn., about a physical 

therapy training program at Mayo 

Clinic in Rochester. Armed with a 

bachelor’s degree in physical education, 

she was accepted into the class of 1942. 

After completing the training, 

LeFeber remained on staff at Mayo 

Clinic for a year, providing patient care 

and therapeutic exercise instruction. 

LeFeber says she wanted to do 

her part for her country in the war. 

“Everyone put aside his or her dreams 

and went to help,” says LeFeber. 

The 25-year-old first lieutenant was 

assigned to a Station Hospital in the 

Army Medical Corps, serving in 

England, France and Germany from 

1944 to 1946. LeFeber and her fellow 

physical therapists provided assistance 

to wounded soldiers. They treated 

shrapnel wounds, burns, peripheral 

nerve injuries, open wounds, sprains, 

fractures and amputations. Available 

equipment included treatment tables 

and whirlpool tubs. 

“We had limited equipment — no 

ultrasound or electrical stimulation 

equipment — but we did what we could 

with what we had,” says LeFeber. After 

her service was complete, she worked 

with an orthopedist. She then took a 

physical therapist position in Rochester, 

N.Y., working until her sons were born 

a few years later. After a 20-year hiatus, 

she re-entered the work force when 

her oldest son started college. 

Today, LeFeber is retired and lives in 

Wheaton, Ill. Mayo Clinic has remained 

dear to her, becoming even more 

prominent in her life in 2000. Her son, 

Mark, was riding a recumbent bicycle 

in Wisconsin and was hit by a car. His 

pelvis was fractured in five places and 

his cervical spine in two places. He 

was airlifted to Mayo Clinic, and it was 

doubtful he would walk again. Several 

months later, he took his first steps. A 

decade later, his mom reports he has 

only residual pain from the accident. 

“I’m proud of my son and of 

Mayo Clinic,” says LeFeber. “Mayo is 

respected around the world, and I’m 

proud to have been affiliated with it. 

Mayo gave me many opportunities.” C 

LeFeber visits WWII Memorial 

Barbara Burritt LeFeber, a physical therapist 

trained at Mayo Clinic, served in England, 

France and Germany from 1944 to 1946. 

Recently, Barbara Burritt LeFeber visited the World 

War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., with Honor 

Flight. This organization’s mission is to transport 

America’s veterans to the nation’s capital to visit the 

memorials dedicated to their service and sacrifices. 

Honor Flight uses volunteers to accompany the 

veterans on the one-day trip, which is free for the 

veterans. Physical therapists are invited to apply. 

LeFeber’s journey, guided by a volunteer physical 

Barbara Burritt 

therapist, was chronicled in the October/November 

LeFeber 

issue of PT Priority, a magazine published by the 

Illinois Physical Therapy Association. 

To learn more about Honor Flight, visit http://www.honorflight.org. 



Former patient, now a new phlebotomist 

Tashika Garrett is a proud new Mayo 

Clinic staff member — a laboratory 

services technician at Methodist Hospital 

in Rochester. Specifically, she is a 

phlebotomist who collects patient 

blood samples for laboratory testing. 

Garrett says her approach to patient 

care is the same one she experienced 

when she became a Mayo Clinic patient 

six years ago. “When I traveled from 

my home in Indiana to Mayo Clinic 

for care, I had wonderful experiences,” 

Garrett says. “Mayo stayed in my heart 

when I returned home.” 

A self-described “people person,” 

Garrett has a bachelor’s degree in 

communications from the University 

of Southern Indiana. “No one is in the 

hospital because they feel well,” says 

Garrett, who uses her communications 

skills to help patients feel better by 

complimenting them or answering 

their questions. 

Garrett sought care at Mayo 

Clinic for a chronic, uncommon 

dermatological condition. “My Mayo 

physicians offered alternate solutions 

and advised my dermatologists in 

Indiana how to care for my condition,” 

she says. “The approach to my care at 

Mayo from dermatologists Rochelle 

Torgerson and Randall Roenigk made 

a drastic difference, and I’m very 

grateful for that.” 

When Garrett decided to pursue 

training in phlebotomy, she checked 

Mayo Clinic’s website to see what 

was available. She was accepted into 

the 10-week program, which she 

completed last summer. 

During her training, she lived at 

a local hotel. “I was the only person 

in the program at the time without 

local friends or family,” says Garrett. 

“Everyone did a great job making me 

feel at home.” Garrett’s mother, who 

encouraged her to go into health care 

and supported her during the training, 

visited her in Rochester.” 

Mary Kaye Peterson, director for 

the Phlebotomy Technician Certificate 

Tashika Garrett, now a Mayo Clinic employee, 

was among the first-year graduates of the 

MSHS Phlebotomy program. 

program, says the program packs a 

lot of information into its curriculum. 

“The training includes significant 

information and patient contact,” 

says Peterson. “We try to give our 

students whatever support they 

need, which may involve a little more 

for those who don’t have friends 

or family around. Tashika was so 

friendly and positive that it was a 

pleasure to assist her.” 

Peterson was impressed with 

Garrett’s interpersonal skills. “We can 

teach the skills required to draw blood, 

but we look for students who are already 

patient oriented,” says Peterson. 

About MSHS Phlebotomy Program 

The MSHS Phlebotomy Technician 

Certificate program was established 

early in 2010. In the first year, 32 

students completed the program. 

The Phlebotomy Technician 

Certificate program is pursuing 

approval by the National Accrediting 

Agency for Clinical Laboratory 

Sciences (NAACLS). “We hope 

to achieve this by fall 2011,” says 

Peterson. “When we are NAACLSapproved, 

students will be able to 

take the certifying exam as soon as 

they complete their training rather 

than work in the field for a year 

before qualifying to take the exam.” 

While the Phlebotomist I position 

is entry level at Mayo Clinic, program 

graduates can apply for transfer to 

other positions after two years. “There 

is a career path within phlebotomy 

at Mayo Clinic — becoming a core 

trainer, lead technician or supervisor,” 

says Peterson. C 


MSHS receives $1.7 million gift 

In July 2010, Mayo School of Health 

Sciences received a $1.7 million gift 

from the Blanche Hammers Trust. 

The gift is one of the largest in the 

school’s history — and is by far the 

most mysterious. 

“Unfortunately, we know nothing 

about why the Hammers decided to 

make this gift to MSHS,” says Claire 

Bender, MD, the school’s dean. “We 

believe they must have been touched 

by one of our students or alumni, or 

moved by our mission. Whatever their 

reasons, we are awestruck, delighted 

and incredibly grateful.” 

Blanche Hammers and her husband, 

James, were loyal Mayo Clinic patients 

before their deaths in 2009. They credited 

Mayo Clinic for Blanche Hammers’ 

lifesaving health care experience. They 

were members of The Mayo Legacy, 

an organization of Mayo patients, staff 

and benefactors who provide a planned 

gift to support Mayo Clinic’s work. 

The couple also were loyal 

benefactors during their lives, making 

gifts to heart and cancer research as 

well as unrestricted gifts to Mayo 

Clinic. With their gift to MSHS, they 

are now recognized as Mayo Principal 

Benefactors, a group of donors who 

give more than $1 million to support 

Mayo’s mission. 

The Hammers first met in high 

school, but didn’t marry until later 

in life. After both lost spouses, they 

became reacquainted and were 

married for more than 20 years. James 

Hammers was a Navy veteran of 

World War II and the Korean War. 

He was retired from Ni-Cor Gas. 

Though she can’t thank the couple 

personally, Dr. Bender wants to 

express her gratitude to those who 

helped facilitate their generosity. 

“I’m grateful to our Development 

staff, and to the representatives of the 

Hammers’ estate,” says Dr. Bender. 

She says she will honor the gift through 

thoughtful stewardship. 

“This money gives us a wonderful 

opportunity to seed initiatives that 

Making a gift to Mayo School of Health Sciences 

Claire Bender, MD, isn’t just the dean of Mayo School of Health Sciences. 

She’s also an alumna (Physical Therapy 1971) and a benefactor. 

“When alumni make gifts to the school, we send a strong message to other 

potential benefactors,” says Dr. Bender. “Our gifts show patients, corporations 

and foundations that those of us who know this place best believe it is an 

institution worth supporting.” 

Dr. Bender says every gift to MSHS is important, regardless of the amount. 

“Every single dollar helps advance our mission of providing the best 

education possible to our students, so that they can provide the best care 

possible to patients,” she says. 

To learn more, visit http://www.mayoclinic.org/development/ 

Blanche and James Hammers 

we have wanted to focus on but 

have not had the budget to pursue,” 

says Dr. Bender. Potential areas of 

support include blended learning 

initiatives, which combine face-toface 

instruction with online learning, 

and interprofessional curriculum 

development, which would integrate 

the learning experiences of students 

in various MSHS programs to better 

prepare them to work in health 

care teams after graduation. The 

Hammers’ gift will also support 

students by funding scholarships, 

tutoring, mentoring and coaching. 

“The Hammers’ gift will help 

countless students and faculty 

members,” says Dr. Bender, adding 

that the measure of the gift goes 

far beyond dollars and cents. “This 

donation signals a belief in us that has 

given us extra energy and motivation. 

We are incredibly indebted and will 

be forever grateful.” C 


Engaging the next generation 

Students explore careers in health care 

When Guy Finne, a recruitment advisor at 

Mayo Clinic, looks into the future, he sees 

needs — and opportunities. 

“After a slow period, we’re starting to see 

hiring picking up again,” says Finne. The Bureau 

of Labor Statistics agrees. Between 2008 and 2018, 

26 percent of new jobs in the United States are 

projected to be in health care or social assistance 

— a category that includes home health aides, 

personal and home care aides and social and 

human service assistants. 

“We’ll need doctors and nurses, but also allied 

health staff in everything from personalized 

medicine to information technology,” says Finne. 

“There will be careers developing over the next 

few years that haven’t even been thought of yet.” 

“We think students learn best 

hands-on, and we want to give 

them a real taste of what a 

particular career would entail.” 

—Ruth Baires Raihle 

And that spells opportunity for the next 

generation of workers. 

Finne and others throughout Mayo Clinic are 

working to ensure that young people are aware 

of the variety of opportunities in health care. One 

way is through the Explorer program, which 

brings high school students to Mayo Clinic to 

learn about health care careers firsthand. Mayo 

hosts two Explorer groups (called posts), one 

focused on physician careers and the other on 

allied health opportunities. While the program is 

organized under the auspices of Boy Scouts, it is 

open to young men and women. 

Ruth Baires Raihle, director of enrollment 

and student services for Mayo School of Health 

Sciences, coordinates the allied health Explorer 

post. She believes programs like the Explorers 

are vital to preparing the future health care 

work force. 

“Most students leaving high school are 

only aware of about 70 careers,” says Baires 

Raihle. “It’s scary when you think how many 

other careers are out there. I believe it is our 

responsibility to expose the next generation of 

workers to the many careers in health care. We 

need to do a better job of advertising our jobs.” 

In the Explorer program, that advertising is 

done by Mayo staff, who volunteer their time to 


At a recent Explorers post meeting, 

area high school students learned 

about sonography. 

meet with students. Each meeting begins with 

a 30-minute overview of a field, followed by an 

hourlong hands-on activity. 

“Depending on the field we’re covering, we 

may give the students a chance to try to apply a 

cast or to look at specimens in the lab,” says Baires 

Raihle. “We think students learn best hands-on, 

and we want to give them a real taste of what a 

particular career would entail.” 

Finne cites the importance of providing 

students with career information at a young age. 

“Getting young people excited about a career 

helps them make connections between what 

they’re learning in school and what they’ll do 

after graduation,” he says. 

Fields are changing so rapidly that it is 

impossible for schools to know all of the options 

out there for students, says Finne. “You get one 

chance at this thing called life, and providing 

career exploration is one way to help students 

make the most of that chance.” 

Finne encourages Mayo School of Health 

Sciences alumni to do what they can to help 

young people interested in health careers. 

“I highly recommend becoming a mentor or 

a classroom speaker,” he says. “Quite often it 

takes someone from outside the classroom to get 

a student really fired up about a career.” 

Building career awareness 

In addition to the Explorer program, Mayo 

Clinic offers several career awareness 

opportunities for students and the 

counselors and educators who advise them. 

They include: 

• Career speaker program 

• Teacher externships 

• Mentorships for high school students 

• Health Care Career Festival 

• Career Observation Program 

• Youth apprenticeship 

• Work-Study Program 

• Health Occupations Students of America 

• Career-focused tours of Mayo Clinic for 

high school students 

Learn more at http://www.mayoclinic.org/ 

careerawareness/index.html 

If you’re in the Rochester area and are interested 

in sharing information about your health care 

career with a young person, contact Guy Finne at 

507-538-0984 or finne.guy@mayo.edu. 


Biotech Academy 

students Zach 

Quicksall, left, and 

Joseph Paul, get 

hands-on research 

experience in a Mayo 

Clinic laboratory. 

Researchers mentor Florida high school students 

Students interested in research careers are 

getting hands-on experience at Mayo Clinic’s 

Florida campus, thanks to a new partnership 

between Mayo Clinic and Ponte Vedra High School. 

Students enrolled in the school’s Biotechnology 

Academy can apply for a 60-hour mentorship that 

will pair them with Mayo Clinic researchers. 

“Mayo Clinic has been involved with the 

academy since it began two years ago, and we 

were ready to have a closer connection to the 

school and its students,” says J. West Paul, MD, 

PhD, chair of the Division of Consultative and 

Diagnostic Medicine. 

“This partnership helps get us out 

into the community, and also 

connects us to talented students 

who may eventually come back 

and build careers at Mayo.” 

—J. West Paul, MD 

Kathryn Kehoe, PhD, a special research 

associate at Mayo Clinic, designed curriculum 

for the academy and serves as the director of the 

program. Dr. Paul says the next logical step is 

bringing some of the more advanced students 

onto Mayo’s campus to work with researchers. 

“The students will be coming in with great 

experience,” says Dr. Paul. “They are already 

doing things in their labs at school that I did in 

my PhD program.” 

While the partnership has obvious benefits 

for students, it benefits Mayo Clinic — and the 

individual research mentors — as well. 

“This partnership helps get us out into the 

community, and also connects us to talented 

students who may eventually come back and 

build careers at Mayo,” says Dr. Paul. “And 

having enthusiastic, excited students to work 

with gives us a jolt. Connecting with students is 

one of the pluses of our days.” 

Initially, up to four students from the academy 

will participate in mentorships. Dr. Paul says Mayo 

would eventually like to expand the program to 

other schools in the area. Leonard Petrucelli, PhD, 

a consultant in Neuroscience, spearheads the 

collaboration on Mayo’s campus. C 


Alumni Association president-elect: 

Mayo Clinic feels like home 

Jerrod Ernst, president-elect of the Mayo School 

of Health Sciences Alumni Association Board of 

Directors, serves on the board because he wants 

to give back to the organization that helped him. 

“I was treated so well as a student and Mayo 

employee,” says Ernst. “Students who graduate 

from Mayo educational programs are successful 

in their careers due, in large part, to Mayo’s 

commitment to providing high-quality education 

and training.” 

Ernst adds that staff members are supportive, 

compassionate and eager to see students thrive 

in the clinical setting. “The combination of these 

elements is the main reason I want to maintain 

my connections to Mayo and to the student 

community,” he says. “To me, Mayo Clinic has 

always felt like home.” 

Ernst first volunteered for the board based on 

the recommendation of a friend who was a board 

member. He served a year as vice president. Then, 

a board member nominated him for president. His 

one-year term as president begins in April 2011. 

Ernst says he’d like to work toward positioning 

the board as an invaluable resource for students 

and graduates. “It would be helpful if students 

and alumni could easily identify alumni in 

geographic areas or at institutions where they 

would like to work,” says Ernst. “And, similarly, 

for alumni to reach out to fellow alumni and 

students to alert them to job opportunities.” 

Ernst encourages alumni to consider serving on 

the MSHS Alumni Association Board of Directors. 

“It’s a good way to stay connected to Mayo and 

to the education mission, whether you are in 

Rochester or halfway around the world.” 

Network with 

MSHS alumni 


Jerrod Ernst, president-elect, 

MSHS Alumni Association 

• Radiation therapist, Seattle Cancer Care 

Alliance, Seattle, 2006−present 

• Radiation therapist, MD Anderson 

Cancer Center, Houston, 2003−2006 

• Radiation therapist, Mayo Clinic, 

Rochester, 2002−2003 

• Completed MSHS Radiation Therapy 

Program in 2002 and Radiography Program in 2000 

• Resides in Seattle with wife, Lyudmila, and daughter, Alina 

Volunteers sought for MSHS 

Alumni Association Board 

To be considered for service on the Mayo 

School of Health Sciences Board of Directors, 

submit a letter indicating your interest. 

• Applications are reviewed by a 

nominating committee to ensure broad 

representation of MSHS programs. 

• The 25-member Board of Directors votes 

on recommendations put forth by the 

nominating committee. 

• Board terms are for three years. Board 

members return to Mayo Clinic each 

spring for an annual meeting; travel 

expenses are reimbursed. 

• Board members provide direction for 

programming and activities of the 

MSHS Alumni Association. 

For information, contact: 

Betsey Smith, alumni relations coordinator 

507-284-2317 

mshsaa@mayo.edu 


Faculty profile 

Nathan Hellyer — A unique 

combination of education, experience 

Nathan Hellyer 

combines his two 

areas of interest — 

pharmacology and 

physical therapy 

— to help students 

understand the 

connections between 

them. Pharmacology, 

he says is really 

“physiology with 

drugs.” 

Nathan Hellyer, PhD, an assistant professor 

in the Mayo School of Health Sciences 

(MSHS) Physical Therapy program, has a unique 

background — degrees in physical therapy and 

pharmacology. 

Hellyer says he’s always had a broad interest 

in physiology — both understanding cellular 

processes and applying concepts to the health of 

the whole person. Pharmacology, he says, is really 

“physiology with drugs,” and most patients seen 

in physical therapy have drug prescriptions. 

“Physical therapists must be able to recognize 

the potential effects of medications on the body,” 

says John Hollman, PhD, director of the MSHS 

Physical Therapy program. “Nathan understands 

the physiology of medication reactions and 

shares his knowledge with our students. He’s 

an excellent teacher, he’s actively involved 

in research at Mayo Clinic, and he’s a skilled 

physical therapy practitioner.” 

Emerging Leader Award 

Dr. Hellyer’s dedication to physical therapy won 

him the “Emerging Leader Award” from the 

American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) 

in 2010. The award honors a physical therapist 

who has demonstrated extraordinary service 

early in his or her career. 

Dr. Hellyer, a native of Iowa, traces his interest 

in physical therapy back to fifth grade. “I was 

interested in sports and sports injuries, and I 

watched athletic trainers at basketball camps,” he 

says. “I went to college thinking I’d do physical 

therapy, and then I got involved in research.” His 

introduction to research was a summer research 

project at Iowa State University studying ways to 

reduce cholesterol in pork. “I spent the summer 

measuring cholesterol in muscle,” he says. While 

the topic wasn’t his passion, he knew that he 

wanted research to be part of his career. 

During graduate school, Hellyer says he studied 

a then somewhat obscure neurotransmitter known 

as neuregulin. “I was studying neuregulin at a 

very basic science level in terms of signaling in 

cells, but I kept wondering how this molecule 

might function in terms of communication 

between nerves and muscle and how it might 

influence movement.” 

He says he realized he wanted to understand 

human movement better. “It brought me full circle 

to my interest in physical therapy,” says Hellyer. 


Research at Mayo Clinic 

After completing a PhD program for 

pharmacology, he pursued a degree in physical 

therapy. Then he completed a fellowship in 

pharmacology. Dr. Hellyer has been able to 

continue his research on neuregulin at Mayo 

Clinic in collaboration with Gary Sieck, PhD. 

“I like sharing what I have learned in education, 

practice and research to help others improve 

patients’ lives,” he says. “Mayo has great faculty 

and passionate, creative students. It’s inspiring 

to be part of their growth and development.” 

For the last several years, Dr. Hellyer has 

taken physical therapy students to the remote 

Agalta Valley in Honduras during spring 

break. “We provide a medical clinic, alongside 

physicians, in the mornings and visit homes in 

the afternoons,” says Dr. Hellyer. “We work 

alongside Honduran therapy students and 

instructors. We observe each other’s educational 

methods and share our therapy experiences. 

Our students come home with new ideas about 

how to help people in their communities.” 

Dr. Hollman lightheartedly describes Dr. Hellyer 

as a “triple threat.” “From clinical to teaching to 

research, he does it all,” says Dr. Hollman. “Add 

to that his involvement in professional associations 

and his social commitment, and you can see 

why Nathan is a real asset to MSHS.” C 

Nathan Hellyer 

has taken Physical 

Therapy students to 

rural Honduras during 

spring break for the past 

several years. Students 

care for patients and 

work side-by-side with 

therapy students from 

Honduras. 

Nathan Hellyer, PT, PhD 

Current position: 

Assistant professor in physical therapy in the 

College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic and Mayo 

School of Health Sciences Physical Therapy 

program. Joined Mayo Clinic in 2003. 

Education: 

• Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, BA 

• University of Iowa, Iowa City, PhD, 

Pharmacology; Post-Doctoral Fellowship, 

Pharmacology 

• University of Iowa, MA, Physical Therapy 

• Research interests: Studies how 

neurotransmitters and physical activity 

regulate protein balance in muscle 

Professional activities: 

• Co-chair, Research Committee of the 

Minnesota Chapter of the American Physical 

Therapy Association (APTA) 

• Member, APTA Sections on Research and 

Section on Neurology (national) 

• Participant, American Physiological Society 

and National Strength and Conditioning 

Association activities 

• Advisory posts for Anatomical Science 

Education, Clinical Anatomy and Journal of 

Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation 

• Adjunct professor, St. Catherine’s University, 

St. Paul, Minn.; and assistant professor, 

St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn. 


In the news 

Sauber earns 

occupational 

therapy award 

T 

ina Sauber, OTR/L, MSOT, CCCE, 

CKTP, was recently named the 2010 

Occupational Therapist of the Year 

by the Arizona Occupational Therapy 

Association. Sauber is an instructor 

in the College of Medicine, Mayo 

Clinic, and is the clinical coordinator 

for Student Clinical Education for the 

Therapy Services Department. 

She has diverse clinical experience 

with specialties in vestibular 

rehabilitation, ICU and transplant. 

She was one of a few initial 

occupational therapists who helped 

develop the occupational therapy 

program in Arizona. 

On-demand, on-the-go access — 

Learning enhanced with iPad videos 

Audiology externs studying at Mayo Clinic’s campus in Arizona aren’t playing 

on those iPads. They are learning via on-demand, on-the-go access to 40 short 

video training modules. 

Here’s an example of how they are used. Before a clinical session on ototoxicity 

testing, students can view the informational video demonstrating testing 

procedures and techniques. Then, after the clinical session, students can review 

the video to refresh their memory. 

“Students learn more quickly in the clinical sessions if they have some familiarity 

with the material, and they progress more quickly toward advanced skills,” says 

Sarah Oakley, AuD, Audiology education coordinator. 

“The videos have been so well received that we are working with a Mayo medical 

student to develop videos about ENT procedures and how audiology and aerospace 

medicine professionals collaborate with ENT professionals,” she says. 

Videos were filmed by MSHS staff with a handheld camera and finessed by Mayo 

Media Support Services. Then, videos were uploaded into Mayo Clinic’s iTunes 

library and synchronized for the iPad. They were introduced in August 2010. 

Plans are underway to assess the benefits of this tool to students, share results 

with other Mayo Clinic sites, and submit results for a presentation at the American 

Academy of Audiology convention. 

Audiology students 

Aileen Wong and 

Dana Gladd review 

lessons on iPads. 


Welcome Betsey Smith 

— new alumni relations 

coordinator 

Betsey Smith is the new alumni 

relations coordinator for MSHS 

Alumni Association. She provides 

administrative support for the 

organization. 

Smith joined Mayo in 1972 and 

has worked in Education Services, 

Systems and Procedures, and 

Continuous Improvement. Most 

recently, she planned the Mayo 

Clinic Alumni Association biennial 

meetings and provided oversight for 

the alumni websites. 

Smith replaces Deborah Oscarson, 

who now manages regional programs 

for alumni and the international CME 

biennial program. 

“I look forward to meeting and 

interacting with our MSHS alumni,” 

says Smith. “My goal is to keep alumni 

connected to the school and Mayo 

Clinic through our education and 

social programs, a robust website and 

an informative Connections magazine. 

Clinical Laboratory Sciences alum 

starts mentoring program 

Nathan Hines was thrilled to be a member of the inaugural class of Mayo School 

of Health Sciences Clinical Laboratory Sciences (CLS) program. But as he 

finished the program, he realized something. 

“I’d had no idea what I was really signing up for,” says Hines, who discovered 

that many of his classmates felt the same way. “We thought it would have been 

nice to be able to talk to previous students about the program.” 

Hines suspected future CLS students might agree. So he decided to start a 

mentorship program, pairing program graduates with students entering the program. 

“The idea was to provide each new student with a resource to turn to with 

questions and concerns about the program or profession,” says Hines. He recruited 

his classmates as mentors and wrote a mission statement and goals for the program, 

which launched to positive reviews in the fall of 2009. 

“Having a mentor greatly helped my transition to the program,” says Kayla 

Allison, a member of the 2009–2010 CLS class. “It was nice to actually know 

someone right away, especially when that person was very friendly and was 

more than willing to help me out with anything I needed or wanted to know.” 

Tim McNeal, another member of the class of 2009–2010, also praised the program. 

“The mentorship program was really valuable,” says McNeal. “While the 

program faculty were very welcoming and accommodating, it was nice to have 

contact with someone closer to my age who also understood more closely the 

situations and stresses I was experiencing.” 

To date, 27 mentors have been paired with 50 students. Hines says he hopes 

the program will continue indefinitely. 

Nathan Hines recruits MSHS alumni to mentor new Clinical Laboratory Sciences students. 

Hines, left, checks in with Tim McNeal, a 2010 CLS graduate. 


Students splash, run and subhead rake to raise money for health care causes 

text 

Chromies do the Polar Plunge 

On Feb. 12, 2011, the Chromies took the Polar Plunge, a 

quick jump into Foster Arend Lake in Rochester, Minn., to 

raise money for Special Olympics Minnesota, which offers 

children and adults with disabilities year-round sports 

training and competition. 

The Chromies is made up of students, spouses, alumni 

and faculty of the Cytogenetic Technology program. 

It was the fourth Chromies appearance at this event. 

Since 2008, the team has raised nearly $5,000 to benefit 

the Special Olympics. 

The 2011 team included: Steve Grinnell, Ashley Bjorge, 

Sally Carrillo, Frank Suera, Kirsten Abramczyk, Reid Meyer, 

Anna Skonieczny, Dawn Stacy, Heather Marden-Reilly, 

Nikki Olson, Vanessa Zine, Kirsten Menghini, Tanya 

Despins, Adam McClung and Cindy Schuh. 

The Chromies show their bravado in pseudo Sumo wrestling attire. 

Cytotechnology students rake in donations 

Last fall, six Rochester, Minn., area homeowners made 

donations to the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society in lieu 

of raking their yards. The raking was done by MSHS 

Cytotechnology students, who donated their time. 

Raking for donations is an annual event for 

Cytotechnology students. With proceeds from raking, bake 

sales and other food sales, students raise $1,000 to $2,000 for 

the MS Society each year. On May 1, 2011, Cytotechnology 

students will participate as a team in Walk MS in Rochester 

and turn in their fund-raising proceeds for the year. 

Race benefits physical therapy research 

More than 60 Physical Therapy students planned and staged 

the Fifth Annual Race for Research on March 26, 2011. 

This community fund-raiser for the Foundation for 

Physical Therapy features 5- and 10-kilometer races. More 

than 125 people participated in the races, which took place 

on community trails in Rochester, Minn. 

Proceeds fund research on physical therapy topics. In 

2010, Rochester race proceeds were $4,500. 

Students who raked for donations were, left to right: Ashley Johnson, 

Ocla Kigen, Mohammed Dairi, Mark Vande Haar and Justin Cassett. 

Cool March temperatures didn’t discourage participants in the 2010 

Race for Research, organized by MSHS Physical Therapy students. 



2010–2011 Alumni Association 

Officers and Board 

Officers 

Mark Longacre, Omaha, Neb. 

President 

Jerrod Ernst, Seattle, Wash. 

President-Elect 

Caren Hughes, Kemah, Texas 

Vice President 

Joan Hunziker-Dean, Rochester, Minn. 

Secretary/Treasurer 

Brian Schreck, Liberty Lake, Wash. 

Past-President 

Karen Herman, Rochester, Minn. 

Director 

Betsey Smith, Rochester, Minn. 

Alumni Relations Coordinator 

Executive Committee 

David Agerter, MD, Austin, Minn. 

Associate Dean MSHS, Ex-Officio Member 

Lynn Borkenhagen, Rochester, Minn. 

Kate Ray, Jacksonville, Fla. 

Ex-Officio Member 

Linda McCleve, Scottsdale, Ariz. 


Gayle Sanderson, Byron, Minn. 

Troy Tynsky, Rochester, Minn. 


Michelle Wilt, Phoenix, Ariz. 

Board of Directors 

Barbara Flynn, Quincy, Ill. 

Amy Froemming, Neptune Beach, Fla. 

Priyanka Gopal, Wexford, Pa. 

Jill Knutson, Jacksonville, Fla. 

Kathy Latcham, Rochester, Minn. 

Natalie Loeffler, Rochester, Minn. 

Rebecca Loving, Dallas, Texas 

Rick Mattoon, Glendale, Ariz. 

Todd Meyer, Rochester, Minn. 

Bill Oswald, Rochester, Minn. 

Jim Pringnitz, Rochester, Minn. 

Vanessa Scifres, Phoenix, Ariz. 

Sarah Sydlowski, Fountain Hills, Ariz. 

Brad Wehe, Grand Forks, N.D. 

Donald (Jim) Williams, Boise, Idaho 

We welcome alumni and student news 

Your comments, academic and career news, and story ideas are welcome. Send to: 

Editor, Connections / Mayo Clinic / Ozmun East 6 / 200 First St. S.W. / 

Rochester, MN 55905 / E-mail: connectionsmageditor@mayo.edu 

About Connections and MSHS 

Connections is published three times a year and mailed free of charge to alumni, 

students and friends of Mayo School of Health Sciences (MSHS). 

MSHS has a distinguished history of preparing students for successful 

careers in the health sciences. Mayo Clinic has been training allied health 

professionals for more than 100 years. 

About 1,560 students are enrolled each year in more than 133 MSHS programs 

representing more than 60 health sciences careers. Programs are available at 

Mayo Clinic campuses in Arizona, Florida and Rochester. 

• Enrollment information 

www.mayo.edu/mshs 

507-284-3678 or 

1-800-626-9041 (toll-free) 

Fax: 507-284-0656 

E-mail: mshsenrollment@mayo.edu 

• Alumni information 


(Select “Mayo School of Health 

Sciences Alumni Association”) 

Betsey Smith, 

Alumni Relations Coordinator 

507-284-2317 

E-mail: mshsaa@mayo.edu 

Stay in touch 

You can update your address at the MSHS alumni Web site www.mayo.edu/alumni 

or by e-mailing mshsaa@mayo.edu or calling 507-284-2317. 

Editorial advisory board 

Lisa Buss, Jill Caudill, Catherine Fuhs, Karen Herman, Stephen Grinnell, Diane Joyce, 

Linda McCleve, Kate Ray, Jamila Russeau, Caren Siegfried, Betsey Smith, Claudia Swanton, 

Troy Tynsky, and Ronda Willsher 

MC4192rev0311


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ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED 

What are you doing Friday, April 29? 

Join us at the MSHS Alumni Association Annual Meeting 

Guests will: 

• Learn how to live healthier and longer. 

Keynote speakers Dieter Heinz, MD, 

and John Schulz, MD, will discuss 

results of a yearlong experiment in 

healthy living in Albert Lea, Minn. 

• Relax and chat with other alumni 

over dinner 

• Enjoy an evening out — courtesy of 

your Alumni Association 

Don’t miss this once-a-year event 

See page 7 for details and 

registration information 

Dieter Heinz, MD 

John Schulz, MD 

illustrationS: © 2008 Blue Zones LLC

MSHS Alumni Connection Mag SP 11 - MC4192-0311 - Mayo Clinic

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