The 91香蕉视频 Alumni Association鈥檚 annual Mid-Winter Osteopathic Seminar returned to the Embassy Suites in Charleston, W.Va., from Jan. 24-26.
Attendance reached its highest in the seminar鈥檚 history, with more than 350 participants. The seminar included 14 continuing medical education sessions with topics such as primary care, opioid and addiction, and more recent medical issues such as vaping. Other lectures included medical topics such as telecardiology; evaluating patients for cardiac transplant; individualized medicine; integrating students into a clinical setting; recovery programs offered in West Virginia presented by Jacob鈥檚 Ladder, a recovery center in Aurora, W.Va.; rib mechanics and treatment; ophthalmology; thermoregulation and heat illness; legislative updates; diabetes management; and a National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) introduction.
This year鈥檚 seminar presenters were (alumni in bold): Mitchell Rashid, M.D.; Lesa Adkins, MBA, MSN, FNP-BC; George Sokos, D.O.; Aunna Herbst, D.O.; Machelle Linsenmeyer, Ed.D.; Andrea Nazar, D.O.; Kevin Blankenship, M.D.; Thomas Richardson, D.O.; David Killeen, D.O.; Charles Davis, D.O.; Robert Pepper, D.O.; West Virginia Sen. Tom Takubo, D.O.; Deborah Schmidt, D.O.; David Pickering, D.O.; and Jason Kirby, D.O.
An alumni luncheon and annual meeting were part of the weekend鈥檚 events. During the luncheon, 91香蕉视频 President James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., provided a brief update to alumni about the school鈥檚 three main accomplishments in the past year: receiving a $2 million increase in state funding, the largest in the school鈥檚 history; Higher Learning Commission accreditation was renewed during the regular review process; and entering into an agreement with Charleston Area Medical Center to expand 91香蕉视频鈥檚 presence in the state鈥檚 capital city.
鈥淔or years we have led in primary care and rural care, but we are now the leading producer of all three medical schools in the state for physicians serving in West Virginia,鈥 Nemitz said. 鈥淎nother thing I want to do this year is raise the visibility of our school, so people know who we are and what we鈥檙e doing.鈥
At the end of the luncheon, Charles Davis, D.O., Class of 1982, was named the 91香蕉视频 Alumni Association鈥檚 2020 Distinguished Alumni of the Year.
Other weekend events included meetings of the West Virginia Board of Osteopathic Medicine, 91香蕉视频鈥檚 Statewide Campus, Mountain State Osteopathic Postdoctoral Training Institutions (MSOPTI), West Virginia Osteopathic Medical Association, West Virginia American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians and 91香蕉视频 Alumni Association board. The weekend also included the MSOPTI and student research poster display, a Statewide Campus osteopathic principles and practice refresher and a Rural Health Initiative mentor and alumni breakfast.