Commencement services for medicine, dentistry planned for Sunday ...

12 Thursday, May 19, 2005
TODAY
School of Allied Health Professions welcomes alumni for
The School of Health Professions
celebrated its heritage as a school on
the cutting edge during homecoming
weekend April 28 to 30.
The weekend featured numerous
opportunities to attend continuing
education courses on subjects
such as phytochemicals in nutrition
and health and the implications of
pelvic floor anatomy on the treatment
of incontinence. There were
also many social opportunities and
class reunions.
The School honored numerous
alumni during the alumni banquet
in Wong Kerlee International
Conference Center on April 28.
Susan Maloney, MS, RD,
received the weekend’s highest
honors as the alumna of the year.
Ms. Maloney presently serves a
five-county area for the office on
aging. She inspects the kitchens of
facilities for the elderly and reviews
their menus for nutritional adequacy.
The hospice facilities in her
area have recruited her dietetic
skills to augment care for the terminally
ill.
Her most significant contribution
to the department of nutrition
and dietetics at Loma Linda
University has been her unparalleled
professionalism as managing
editor of the Loma Linda University
Diet Manual: A handbook supporting
vegetarian nutrition. Without remuneration,
she and her husband,
Michael, formatted this 950+ page
document, which nutrition and
medical professionals use in implementing
medical nutrition therapy
for patients and clients. This has
involved physician, editor, and
author review, and reformatting.
The only diet manual based on a
vegetarian meal plan, it has made a
major contribution in the support of
the lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. Health
care professionals in any institution,
not just Adventist ones, are able to
implement a vegetarian diet for
their patients or clients. Based on
sound science, the Loma Linda
University Diet Manual: A Handbook
Supporting Vegetarian Nutrition, gives
the rationale for the diet, foods
allowed or avoided, and sample
menus.
Ms. Maloney served as administrative
dietitian at Loma Linda
University Medical Center while
her husband, Michael, finished his
radiology residency. She joined the
faculty of the department of nutrition
and dietetics in 1980 and contributed
with distinction as an
assistant professor in management
areas of the curriculum until her
husband moved his medical practice
to Yreka. She has served on the
board of the Seventh-day Adventist
Dietetic Association as speaker of
the house, first and second vice
president, and president.
The school also honored distinguished
alumni in the various
departments.
Mark Titus, MBA, was honored
as distinguished alumnus in clinical
laboratory science.
A 1991 alumnus of the LLU
bachelor’s program in cytology, Mr.
Titus has been employed as a
cytotechnologist for the LLU
pathology group for more than 10
years. He mentors and tutors LLU
cytology students during their clinical
rotations, and helps students
with their research projects.
He has also made more than five
30-hour journeys from Los Angeles
to Nakuru, Kenya, as a charter
member of the Professional
Analyzing Pap Smears Team
(PAPS). This international, nonprofit
organization initiates and
establishes cervical and breast cancer
screening and treatment clinics
in countries where cervical cancer is
still the leading cause of death in
women. It is composed of volunteer
nurses, nurse practitioners,
cytotechnologists, and physicians.
Mr. Titus spends three weeks a
year in Nakuru training and assisting
local medical personnel in a
cytology laboratory.
Glen Kuck, MSc, received the
Distinguished Alumnus Award in
cardiopulmonary sciences.
He is the district director of distributed
education and technology
services for the San Bernardino
Community College District.
Serving the needs of San
Bernardino Valley College and
Crafton Hills College, he oversees
several offices, including computing
services, publications and printing
services, and distributed education.
Mr. Kuck plays a vital role in leading
the district’s initiative in distributed
education and works closely
with the each of the colleges to
develop long-range strategic, fiscal,
and educational plans. He has even
been involved in several construction
projects, ensuring that facilities
and classrooms are prepared for
tomorrow’s technology demands.
Prior to joining the San
Bernardino Community College
District, Mr. Kuck was an active
member of Loma Linda University—both
as a student and assistant
professor. Mr. Kuck earned an associate
of science in respiratory therapy
in 1995 and a bachelor of
science in emergency medical care
in 1996. Thereafter, he was invited
to join the faculty at the School of
Allied Health Professions. As
director of clinical education and
later program director for the
emergency medical care program,
Mr. Kuck offered his vision and
talent in many ways—counseling
students, overhauling the curriculum,
securing scholarship money,
and establishing a satellite site in
Fresno, to name a few.
Audrey Shaffer, MA, RHIA, was
recognized as the distinguished
alumna in health information man-
agement. Earning her bachelor’s
degree in health information at
Loma Linda University in 1973,
Ms. Shaffer pursued her master’s
degree in health care administration
at Central Michigan University in
1982.
She is a registered health information
administrator and a certified
professional in health care quality.
Currently, she serves as an assistant
clinical professor for the department
of health information management
in the School of Allied Health
Professions, a position she has held
since 1999.
Ms. Shaffer is highly respected
for her work as a consultant to international
health care organizations,
developing a distinguished record of
volunteer service in at least 14 countries,
including Argentina, Brazil,
China, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malaysia,
Philippines, Rwanda, Taiwan,
Tanzania, and Uganda.
One of Ms. Shaffer’s most outstanding
and creative contributions
to student clinical training is the
establishment of the Audrey Shaffer
Scholarship Endowment. This fund
provides travel expenses to international
sites for clinical training for
students. Since 2001, nine students
from the SAHP health information
management department have traveled
with Audrey to health care sites
in China, Mexico, and Argentina
with the support of this special
endowment.
Sylvia Melendez Klinger was
honored by the nutrition and dietetics
department as the distinguished
alumna.
Ms. Klinger, MS, RD, LD, is the
founder and CEO of Hispanic Food
Communications, a communications
and culinary consulting company.
She also serves as a consultant
to many other food and public relations
companies.
Ms. Klinger’s bilingual capabilities
have been tapped by many
major food companies. A native of
Puerto Rico, she carries her message
of sound nutrition with energy and
authenticity to the Spanish-speaking
public. She frequently appears
on many major television stations,
including NBC, Univision, Mundo
Latino, Telemundo, and America
Teve. She is the Hispanic media
representative for companies such
as Kellogg’s, General Mills, and
ConAgra.
Previous to her consulting and
public relations work with food
companies, she was the research
dietitian at Northwestern University
Medical School in Chicago. She
held a similar position at the medical
center at the University of
California in Irvine, where she
served as a clinical and research
dietitian. Her career began as an
administrative dietitian at the New
England Memorial Hospital in
Boston.
Ms. Klinger’s master’s degree is
in public service administration
from DePaul University, Chicago.
She is a 1984 graduate of the department
of nutrition and dietetics.
The department of occupational
therapy honored Sharon Newton,
MHS, with its Distinguished
Alumna Award for 2005. Ms.
Newton graduated cum laude with
the bachelor of science degree in
occupational therapy in 1988.
Since her graduation from Loma
Linda University, Maj. Newton has
been actively involved in promoting
the role of occupational therapy in
the United States Army, serving in
various army medical centers. She
has been deployed to Cuba and
Iraq, and she is currently stationed
in Heidelberg, Germany, serving as
a medical operations officer and
advisor to the brigade commander.
Between 2000 and 2004, Maj.
Newton was the officer-in-charge of
the combat stress fitness course for
soldiers preparing for deployment.
While serving in active duty,
Maj. Newton was able to complete
her master’s in health science, with
a focus on health promotion, in
2004. She was a team member
responsible for rewriting the army
Combat/Operational Stress Control
Doctrine (field manual), and she cowrote
and published an article in
the Army Medical Department Journal
regarding the unique role of occupational
therapy in combat and operational
stress control.
While Maj. Newton was working
in California, she was actively
involved with the California
Occupational Therapy Association,
as well as the local chapter of the
association.
Lily Choi Young, MSc, MA,
earned a master of arts degree in
music from Hong Kong Union
College in 1975, a bachelor of arts
degree in physical therapy from
Loma Linda University in 1984, and
in 2002, she earned a master of science
in health care administration.
The physical therapy department
has honored Ms. Young this
year as its distinguished alumna.
She worked as the director of
physical therapy at the Robert H.
Ballard Rehabilitation Center in San
Bernardino and as the assistant
administrative director for clinical
services at the White Memorial
Medical Center in Los Angeles. In
1990, she became the supervisor of
the department of physical therapy
at Loma Linda University Medical
Center. She was also responsible for
the clinical operation of the occupational
therapy department during
1992 to 1994. She assumed the task
of clinical manager of the physical
therapy department in 2000.
In 2004, Ms. Young was invited
to be the director of inpatient rehabilitation
therapy services, covering
physical and occupational therapies,
at Loma Linda University Medical
Center. Her knowledge and expertise
in program development and
health care regulation and licensing
have been of particular benefit in
the smooth operation of the rehabilitation
department and in the Joint
Commission on Accreditation in
Health Care Organizations and the
Commission on Accreditation of
Rehabilitation Facilities surveys in
1992, 1995, and 1998.
Yasmin Bracho, MPA, is a 2002
alumna of the physician assistant
program. She was named the
department’s distinguished alumna.
Ms. Bracho is currently an assistant
professor and associate clinical
coordinator for the physician assistant
program. Apart from her duties
planning and coordinating the clinical
education and clinical practicum
components of the program, she
coordinates two of the courses and
provides 50 percent of the lectures
in these courses. She is also
involved in organizing and planning
student mission trips to Mexico.
Apart from her duties at LLU,
Ms. Bracho maintains a clinical practice
and is involved with the Flying
Doctors of Mercy (LIGA International).
She has been videotaped
for SACHS and community service
and for Channel 3 television audiences,
and has provided feature presentations
for multiple organizations
within the PA profession.
The distinguished alumnus for
radiation technology was Arthur
Kroetz, PhD.
He came to the School of Allied
Health as a student in 1971, after
having gained an interest in medicine
while serving as a combat
medic in Vietnam from 1968 to
1969. He began training in medical
radiography and nuclear medicine
and later received a call to join the
radiologic technology department
as an instructor in 1974. He
assumed the position of department
chair in 1978.
For several years, he was not
only the program director for the
medical radiography program but
also directed the nuclear medicine
program and coordinated the programs
in radiation therapy, ultrasound,
and cardiovascular
technology, as well as the bachelor’s
degree program. In 1981, he completed
the master’s degree in educational
foundations at La Sierra
University, Riverside, and, in 1999,
his PhD from the graduate school of
the University of Southern
California.
An avid interest in computer
technology brought him to service
as the school’s chair of the information
systems coordinating committee.
He also serves on the
University’s learning and technology
and eUniversity committees. In
2002, he was appointed coordinator
for distance learning programs in
SAHP.
Sherry Foldvary, MS, was
named the distinguished alumna for
speech-language pathology and
audiology.
She attended Loma Linda
University, La Sierra campus, where
she graduated with a bachelor’s
degree in speech-language pathology
and audiology in 1982. She
completed her master’s degree in
speech-language pathology at
California State University
Northridge in 1985. Her clinical fellowship
year and required professional
experience were completed
at Glendale Adventist Medical
Center.
Ms. Foldvary then became a
staff speech-language pathologist
and later the manager for the com-