Digging In and Rising Up - Creighton Health Sciences Campus Taking Form in Phoenix - Creighton University
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FALL 2019 • Volume 35 Issue 3
Digging In and Rising Up
Creighton Health Sciences Campus
Taking Form in Phoenix
Message from the President
Expanding Our Horizons
I
Follow me: n September, we celebrated a ceremonial groundbreaking for the
@CreightonPres
new Creighton University Health Sciences – Phoenix Campus.
CreightonPresident
A wonderful complement to our outstanding health sciences
programs in Omaha, this campus, scheduled to open in fall
2021, will eventually serve as an educational hub for nearly 900
Creighton health professions students in Phoenix. Nearly 200
students are currently engaged in our established nursing and
medical programs in the city.
National data shows a critical shortage of health care professionals in the
Southwest, and in Arizona and Phoenix, particularly.
It is our hope and belief that a new generation of Creighton health
professionals — educated in both Omaha and Phoenix — will help address
this increasing demand, and do so in Creighton’s Jesuit, Catholic tradition of
excellence in academics, clinical care, and service.
I join with our Phoenix health care partners, community and government
leaders, and organizations and individuals who offer their philanthropic
support in expressing my excitement for this new campus and its possibilities.
Closer to home, I am also pleased that our enrollment numbers
remain robust, in light of an increasingly competitive national enrollment
environment. We welcomed the third-largest freshman class this fall, with
1,076 students, to record our second-largest total enrollment of 8,821. Of note,
our new physician assistant program is well subscribed, with 24 students.
This fall, we also hosted our inaugural Mission Week on campus. The
celebration — titled “Imagine Our Magis” — provided an ideal opportunity to
reflect upon our Jesuit, Catholic mission, and how each of us can participate
in it.
I was delighted to welcome the Rev. Greg Boyle, SJ, HON’09, founder of
Homeboy Industries and author of Tattoos on the Heart and Barking to the
Choir, to talk about his work with gang members in Los Angeles and the
importance of standing with those on society’s margins.
His keynote address was one of several significant lectures on campus
this fall.
Nobel Peace Prize recipient Nadia Murad spoke on the plight of Iraq’s
Yazidi minority as the inaugural Creighton Global Scholars Lecture Series
speaker; Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Blight, PhD, shared insights
from his new biography on Frederick Douglass at an event co-sponsored by our Kingfisher Institute;
and Bob Kerrey, HON’93, a former U.S. senator, Nebraska governor, and university president, engaged
a range of topics as the featured guest in our Presidential Lecture Series.
On Sept. 28, I stood in solidarity with campus colleagues, local government officials, community
Former U.S. Sen. and
Nebraska Gov. Bob Kerrey,
leaders, and a crowd of several hundred outside the Douglas County Courthouse in downtown
HON’93, stressed the Omaha, as we remembered the 100th anniversary of a mob lynching of a black man, Will Brown, at
importance of democracy
during a 90-minute
the site. The ceremony served as a powerful reminder of the evils of racial violence and its reality in
conversation as part of our world, and an inspiration for racial dialogue, justice, and equality.
the Presidential Lecture
Series. “It’s not easy to
In closing, I wish you and your families a blessed holiday season, a merry Christmas, and a happy
make it work, especially new year. May peace, love, and joy resound in our homes, our nation, and our world.
in such a large and diverse
country,” Kerrey said.
“But if we give up on
DAVE WEAVER
democracy, it’s a far worse
world than what we’ve
Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD
got now.” President
1
CREIGHTON FALL 2019 Volume 35 Issue 3
Voices
PUBLISHER
“You have to just come back “I am excited to move a fridge.
Creighton magazine is published
in the spring, summer and to the fact that (Frederick) My calves are going to be
fall by Creighton University, Douglass’ core beliefs, core mooing for sure.”
2500 California Plaza, Omaha,
values were essentially rooted
Contents
NE 68178-0001. Sophomore JOE THIBODEAU volunteered to help
with freshman class move-in in August.
PRESIDENT in the natural rights tradition.
Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD This idea that the rights of
“I hope that we can mobilize
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS humanity come if not from
Rick Davis good against evil.”
God, then nature, and that
ASSOC. DIRECTORS OF COMMUNICATIONS Nobel Peace Prize recipient NADIA MURAD
Cindy Murphy McMahon somehow, in the end, those addressed the plight of the Yazidi minority in Iraq,
Sheila Swanson rights for all people will get as the inaugural speaker in Creighton’s Global
Scholars Lecture Series.
WRITERS secured.”
Amanda Brandt
Author and professor DAVID BLIGHT, PH D, whose “(This) is another opportunity
22
Eugene Curtin
latest biography Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom
Micah Mertes
earned him a Pulitzer Prize for History, spoke at for every member of this
Emily Rust
Blake Ursch
Creighton on Sept. 19. complex University to
thoughtfully consider how
ILLUSTRATION
“The measure of our
26 32
Stephanie Dalton Cowan we might more perfectly co-
Traci Daberko compassion lies not in our
labor with God, as Ignatius
Gary Neill
service to those on the
Jing Jing Tsong imagines us doing, to enable
margins, but only in our
CONTACT every human and the whole
TREASURE TALES INNOVATING HEALTH CARE Address all mail to University willingness to see ourselves in
Communications and Marketing, created order to flourish as
Rare finds — Creighton-related and Health care teamwork from a variety kinship with them.”
Attn: Creighton Magazine, 780480
California Plaza, Omaha, NE 68178-0480.
God intends it.”
not, such as a receipt signed by Abe of disciplines — nursing, medicine, Postmaster: Send change of address
THE REV. GREG BOYLE, SJ, HON’09, founder and
executive director of Homeboy Industries and EILEEN BURKE-SULLIVAN, STD, MChrSp’84,
Lincoln — make their way to the pharmacy, OT, PT, dentistry and more to Creighton Magazine, P.O. Box 3266, vice provost for Mission and Ministry and
author of Tattoos on the Heart and Barking to the
University, where they are treasured — improves health and lowers cost, Omaha, NE 68103-0078.
Choir, gave the keynote address during Creighton’s the Barbara Reardon Heaney Endowed Chair
and protected. and Creighton is at the forefront. Send alumni news (births, weddings, inaugural Mission Week. in Pastoral Liturgical Theology, in kicking off
promotions, etc.) to alumninews@ Creighton’s inaugural Mission Week.
creighton.edu.
on the cover
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
DIGGING IN AND RISING UP Twitter — @Creighton
Facebook — Creighton University
The new health sciences campus in midtown Phoenix is
Instagram — @Creighton1878 @jfershee: Guess who’s ranked in
taking shape, as Creighton plays a major role in addressing CREIGHTON MAGAZINE’S PURPOSE the Tax Law Prof Twitter Top 25?
Creighton magazine, like the University
the need for more health care professionals in Arizona and itself, is committed to excellence and @CreightonLaw’s @TaxLawProf
36 40
the Southwest.
dedicated to the pursuit of truth in
all its forms. The magazine will be (aka Prof. Victoria Haneman),
comprehensive in nature. It will support
the University’s mission of education
that’s who. It’s a list of some
through thoughtful and compelling fine scholars and good people,
feature articles on a variety of topics.
It will feature the brightest, the most so this makes a lot of sense.
DIVERSITY, VOICES, INCLUSION THE 12 ANCHORS 4 C
reighton 44 Impact stimulating, the most inspirational Congratulations!
AND THE WORKFORCE thinking that Creighton offers. The
A Creighton nursing graduate Connections The Heaney Pedestrian magazine also will promote Creighton,
Businesses and organizations of all was one of the Navy nurse POWs Bridge, connecting
Creighton’s campus and the
and its Jesuit, Catholic identity, to
a broad public and serve as a vital @larkscience:
sizes are beginning to understand captured in the Philippines during 9 Jesuit Gardens
the great value that diversity and World War II. The women are the neighborhoods across the
link between the University and its
constituents. The magazine will be
#MyProfessorOnceSaid to go
School of Dentistry associate
inclusion bring to the workplace, and subject of a new book. professor emeritus James
North Freeway, honors two guided by the core values of Creighton: forth and set the world on fire
Creighton experts are leading the brothers whose lives were the inalienable worth of each individual,
@Creighton #StIgnatius #Jesuit
Howard, DDS, is spreading respect for all of God’s creation, a special
conversation. shaped by the University.
the word about the difference concern for the poor and the promotion
of justice.
#goJays
a Jesuit education makes,
even long after graduation.
45 Alumni Notes NONDISCRIMINATION STATEMENT
Creighton University is committed to @erobinson08: Everyone should @DrB_CreightonU: Friday
18 In the Classroom 56 C
reighton providing a safe and nondiscriminatory
educational and employment get a flu shot and today I got mine afternoon fun building the new
A chemistry professor is Conversations environment. To view the University’s
nondiscrimination statement, please
courtesy of the pharmacy students @Creighton wind turbines with
making his subject matter A Creighton department visit creighton.edu/nds. within the Creighton University my friends in the @Creighton_
more accessible to students dedicated to promoting School of Pharmacy and Health CCAS Energy Tech program!
and alumni alike through a diversity, especially in the
Copyright © 2019 by Professions. @CreightonSPAHP Coming to a campus near you!!
class on the chemistry of health sciences, has been
beer. nationally cited for inspiring
Creighton University
@Creighton (…if you live in Omaha…) Thanks
young people to consider creighton.edu @OPPDCares for sponsoring this
careers in STEM. project!
2 Creighton FA LL 2019 COVER ILLUSTRATION BY TRACI DABERKO 3
Creighton Connections
UNIVERSITY
NEWS orthopedic surgery, abdominal can- Patients reduced their pain esti-
cers, colorectal surgery, hysterectomies, mates to two and three, down from
cardiothoracic and breast surgeries seven and eight, on a scale of 1 to 10.
and even cesarean sections report sat- Morphine consumption fell from 30
isfactory pain control from the appli- morphine equivalents to just one, and
cation every few hours of non-opioid antiemetics used to control nausea fell
WELCOME BACK
painkillers such as Tylenol and Advil. from 67% to zero.
According to this fall’s
Other non-opioids used are gabapentin, enrollment figures,
“Patients had less nausea, the pain
lidocaine, ketorolac and ketamine, all 90% of last year’s was a lot better and we weren’t giving
prescription painkillers. freshmen returned them a whole lot of intravenous opi-
to Creighton for
their sophomore
oids,” Reisbig says.
year. The national Thus encouraged, the anesthesiolo-
average retention gists some two years later brought on
rate for freshman to
sophomore year for
board Brian Loggie, MD, chief of surgical
We’re trying to treat all four-year private oncology at the Bergan Mercy campus.
schools in 75.3%, Loggie, Reisbig says, performs major
acute pain better. according to the ACT
surgeries on patients with advanced and
We’re doing better National Collegiate
Retention data. even terminal abdominal cancers.
medicine, and using “Obviously, these are big surgeries
fewer opioids is a that involve very large incisions and the
result of that. We’re insertion of tubes for hot chemotherapy
after the abdomen is closed up,” Reisbig
addressing pain on
says. “So, there’s a lot of post-surgery
multiple modalities pain management.”
versus just one, and The result, Reisbig says, was an
so we’re using fewer almost 50% reduction in the number
and fewer opioids. If of patients receiving opioids and the
application of just 250 micrograms of
we can avoid them
morphine down from the 30, 40 or 50
altogether, then all milligrams applied during a typical hos-
the better. NATIONALLY RANKED pital stay.
GARY NEILL
Creighton was
Nevertheless, Reisbig says, opioids
recognized among
the top third of remain available and will be used if
national colleges necessary.
and universities by
“We’re giving what is indicated,” he
U.S. News & World
says. “If people are experiencing a lot of
Reducing W
Report in its 2020
hen the National Institute manage their pain,” says Mark Reisbig, acetaminophen and ibuprofen admin- Reisbig refers to this mix of prescrip- “Best Colleges” pain, that’s what we’re going to use. But
istered consistently throughout the day. edition. After 16
on Drug Abuse reports that PhD’03, MD’08, associate professor in tion and nonprescription painkillers, we’re not just giving it out.”
consecutive years as
more than 130 Americans the School of Medicine’s Department Charles Youngblood, MD’02, MBA’15, together with significantly reduced The gathering of data continues
Opioid Use
No. 1 in the Midwest,
die every day from opioid overdose, and of Anesthesiology. chairman of the Department of use of opioids such as morphine, as a the University was as the Creighton team continues to
Anesthesiology, says de-emphasizing elevated this year
more than 1,000 are rushed to emer- “It used to be that we gave all these “multimodal” approach under which build the case that non-opioid pain
to the prestigious
gency rooms after opioid misuse, it’s big-time opioid drugs that certainly opioids is part of a wider effort to a patient’s pain is monitored before, National Universities management is effective. Data is
BY EUGENE CURTIN easy to see the devastating impact these took care of patient pain but also reimagine pain management. during and after surgery. Morphine is category, ranking the key to changing minds, Reisbig
addictive painkillers can have. knocked them out and had a lot of bad “We’re trying to treat acute pain No. 104. Creighton
used during surgery, which grants about says, and the more non-opioid pain
also was listed among
For the anesthesiology group at CHI side effects. We have now set up new better,” he says. “We’re doing better 24 hours of pain relief, followed thereaf- management is practiced, the more data
Creighton health Health Creighton University Medical protocols and are trying to move them medicine, and using fewer opioids is a ter by the application every few hours
the top colleges and
universities for 2019 there will be.
care professionals are Center–Bergan Mercy, however, it’s
a relatively old story about a war on
out to other hospitals across the CHI
system.”
result of that. We’re addressing pain on
multiple modalities versus just one, and
of non-opioids.
It began with Tom Connolly, MD’90,
and 2020 by the Wall
Street Journal/Times
“It’s amazing to see these patients
afterward,” he says. “They’re more alert,
pioneering new hospital addiction that its member physicians The protocols de-emphasize com- so we’re using fewer and fewer opioids. Reisbig says, a Creighton orthopedic
Higher Education,
Kiplinger, The Princeton more awake, they don’t look like they’ve
Review, the Center
protocols that rely less on have waged for seven years.
“Around 2012 to 2013, our anesthesi-
mon opioid painkillers such as mor-
phine, fentanyl, hydromorphone and
“If we can avoid them altogether,
then all the better.”
surgeon who embraced the anesthe-
siologists’ desire to deploy alternative
for World University
Rankings and Forbes.
just had surgery where you had to wake
them up. Now they’re sitting up, alert,
addictive opioid drugs ology group decided to start changing oxycodone and replace them with The results, Reisbig says, have been pain relief medications. The results, he eating. It’s exciting.”
how we take care of patients and how we non-opioid pain relievers such as encouraging as patients admitted for says, were encouraging.
4 Creighton FA LL 2019 5
CREIGHTON CONNECTIONS
University News
want to ensure that the ISIS goal does 500 women were captured and con- is a step toward strengthening our
Campus Welcomes not get accomplished. We want to make demned to slavery and sexual abuse. future workforce and creating a diverse, Averett Helps Lead
Nobel Peace Prize Winner sure that we are able to maintain our Three months later, Nadia escaped equitable and inclusive community.” Archaeological Project
homeland, our culture, our religion.” and made her way to a refugee camp To qualify for the Union Pacific in Cyprus
Nadia Murad is not giving up. The 2018 Murad addressed the Creighton and from there to Germany, where she Diversity Scholars Program, high school
Nobel Peace Prize recipient spoke at gathering as part of her ongoing effort now resides.” students must hold a 3.5 GPA or above On the island of Cyprus, tucked
to build global awareness about the WHITE COATS FOR away near the eastern edge of the
Creighton in September during a cam- PA STUDENTS The Yazidi people of northern Iraq, in a college preparatory curriculum.
pus visit sponsored by Creighton’s plight of the Yazidis in the wake of ISIS an ethno-religious minority that prac- Students must apply to Creighton’s Mediterranean Sea, a Creighton
Surrounded by
Global Scholars Program. terror and to encourage the world to family and friends, tice a religion distinct from both Islam College of Arts and Sciences or Heider University educator is guiding new
It might seem sensible, she said, for assist those who wish to return home the inaugural class generations of archaeologists as they
and Christianity, have been scattered College of Business by Jan. 5, 2020.
in Creighton’s new
the Yazidi people of northern Iraq to and rebuild their society. around their region and the world in The first eight members of the pro- unearth ancient treasures.
CREIGHTON
physician assistant
accept their fate as victims of the Islamic Creighton President the Rev. Daniel master’s degree light of ISIS persecution, Murad said, gram will arrive on campus for the Erin Averett, PhD, associate profes-
State of Iraq and Syria who, beginning in S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, in introducing program recited a sor of archaeology in the Department of
and she urged the nations of the world 2020-2021 academic year. During their
student oath and
Fine and Performing Arts at Creighton,
2014, visited genocidal violence against Murad, told part of her story, a story received their white to help them reclaim their rural, farm- freshman year, students will be paired Creighton’s freshman class serves as assistant director of the
her people and their ancient faith. that has captured the attention of world coats, a symbol of ing culture. with Union Pacific mentors. As the
People might say the best option, leaders, including Pope Francis. Her cre- medical clinicians and
“I hope that we can mobilize good scholars advance, they will engage in
topped 1,000 students for Athienou Archaeological Project (AAP),
after seeing brothers and fathers mur- ation of Nadia’s Initiative, which advo-
researchers, during an
induction ceremony against evil,” she said. peer-to-peer mentoring and connect the sixth consecutive year, an archaeological field school that
dered and mothers and sisters captured cates for victims of sexual violence and in August. The 24 with community partners to grow their with this fall’s enrollment explores the rich history of the Malloura
students enrolled Valley in central Cyprus, with a recent
into slavery, would be to begin life anew seeks to draw attention to the plight of
in the program can
networks. Junior and senior students of 1,076 making it the third-
elsewhere, she said. the Yazidis, earned her the Nobel Prize. complete their degrees Creighton, Union Pacific will apply to Union Pacific’s intern-
largest freshman class in the
focus on excavating an ancient reli-
But that, Murad said, would grant “On August 15 of 2014, at the age in 28 months. Partner to Build Diverse ship program for a chance to explore gious sanctuary. At the school, Averett
ISIS a victory. of 19, Nadia was captured by ISIS Workforce career opportunities at the railroad. University’s history. Here are and her colleagues teach undergradu-
“When ISIS came, they came to eradi- troops during a raid on her village,” Fr. Union Pacific employs more than 250 eight interesting facts about ate students the basics of archaeological
survey and excavation, training them in
cate Yazidis from that region, they came Hendrickson said. Creighton University and Union Pacific Creighton graduates. the class. the field as they uncover artifacts that
to dehumanize us and to say that ‘you “More than 600 Yazidi men were Railroad are teaming up to enhance Throughout their academic careers,
1
will not be able to exist here,’” she said. murdered, including six of Nadia’s scholars will enrich their education illuminate the island’s long history.
diversity and build Omaha’s future 66% ranked in the top 25% of their
“That’s why we are fighting, because we brothers and stepbrothers. Some through inclusive excellence and cul- “We work with undergraduate stu-
workforce. high school class; 35% ranked in the
tural competency themes in their dents rather than hired excavators, and
The Union Pacific Diversity Scholars top 10%
coursework, led by Christopher Whitt, it goes more slowly because our main
2
2018 Nobel Peace Program at Creighton will create access
PhD , Creighton’s vice provost for 25% had ACT scores of 30-36 — mission is education rather than speed,”
Prize recipient to academic merit scholarships and pro-
Nadia Murad’s visit
Institutional Diversity and Inclusion. placing them among the top 7% of Averett says.
to Creighton was fessional development opportunities
“Creighton and Union Pacific have scorers nationally Run by director Michael Toumazou,
sponsored by the for minority students over a four-year
3
Global Scholars
a shared vision for Omaha to be a more PhD, at Davidson College in North
period. Creighton and Union Pacific’s
Program.
inclusive place,” Whitt said. “Our Jesuit,
80% were involved in service during Carolina, AAP has been active on Cyprus
Community Ties Giving Program will
Catholic mission — paired with Union
high school since 1990. Averett joined the project
each invest more than $1 million to fund
4
Pacific’s commitment to building a in 1997 and has been assistant director
the program. 32 states are represented by the
workforce that represents the commu- since 2003.
“Creighton recruits diverse and class — with Nebraska, Minnesota and
nities it serves — offers a framework to Excavation takes place in a fertile
high-performing students, and Union Colorado being the top three (California,
help make this vision a reality.” agricultural plain in the center of the
Pacific seeks the same in its workforce,” Hawaii, Arizona, Texas and Oregon also
The Union Pacific Diversity Scholars island. The project selected this site,
said Creighton President the Rev. Daniel are among the top 15)
Program supports the high-priority ini- Averett says, because it was far removed
5
S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD. “Together, we
tiatives identified in a recently published 62% live more than 200 miles away; from the coastal urban centers where
will reach out to students from minority
report by Blueprint Nebraska, a group 40% more than 400 miles away; 18% scholars had traditionally focused much
groups, welcome them to Creighton and
of business and civic leaders working more than 1,000 miles away of their attention.
Omaha, invest in their strengths, and
6
to enhance economic advantages for all The main focus of the excavation for
provide them with the tools to succeed
Nebraskans.
More than 560 high schools are the past 15 years has been a large reli-
and lead.”
“We are focused on promoting diver-
represented: 40% attended Catholic gious sanctuary that was in use from
“At Union Pacific, we believe diverse
sity and inclusion in Nebraska, not only
high schools; 52% public schools about 800 B.C. to 400-500 A.D. The
perspectives drive stronger idea genera-
7
to attract and retain top talent, but sanctuary, Averett says, was an open-air
tion and spark creativity that, ultimately, 14% are the first in their family to
because it’s the right thing to do,” Fritz enclosure where, for centuries, worship-
fosters innovative solutions in today’s attend college
said. “Working together, we can help pers performed animal sacrifices and
8
rapidly changing world,” said Union
AJ OLNES
make Nebraska the most welcoming 25% had a relative graduate from other rituals and left offerings to various
Pacific Chairman, President and CEO
state in the Midwest.” Creighton gods and goddesses.
Lance Fritz. “This scholarship program
6 Creighton FA LL 2019 7
CREIGHTON CONNECTIONS
University News
JESUIT GARDENS
Finding
Creighton student damaging ancient walls or artifacts,
Grace Bryant, an
art history and while also mastering modern tech-
cultural anthropology niques, such as digital imaging and
God in
major, participated
in the Athienou other new technologies.
Archaeological Though the project is open to stu-
Project’s 2019 field
dents nationally, several of Averett’s stu-
All Things
school in Cyprus.
Bryant plans to dents at Creighton have been accepted
pursue a career in
archaeology. over the years.
“It was the coolest thing ever. It’s
honestly exactly what you see in mov-
ies,” says Grace Bryant, a junior art his-
tory and cultural anthropology major After the caps are tossed,
who spent last summer in Cyprus par-
ticipating in AAP’s field school. “There
the degree is framed and
was so much going on all the time, and the end of a college career
it was really cool to actually see how is upon you, where do you
archaeologists do things.”
take your Jesuit education?
What are its lasting effects?
School of Pharmacy
DAVE WEAVER
and Health Professions James Howard, DDS, associate professor
Beneficiary of Historic Gift emeritus of general dentistry in the School of
Dentistry, who now serves as a contributed
The success of Nelly Nigro’s life is best services faculty member, graduated from
measured not in money nor influence a Jesuit university five decades ago, but still
but mileage. uses the lessons learned in both his life and
Over her 92 years, the Omaha native
traveled the world many times over,
profession. He shared how to find God in
everyone and a path for a life well-lived with
head and your heart. You’ll be able to work with
people a lot more effectively.”
“When you get up
NELLY NIGRO
making it to all seven continents and fellow alumni of Wheeling University in Howard stresses that as a dentist he uses in the morning,
scores of countries. West Virginia (a former Jesuit institution). this mindset to find the inherent dignity
Nelly Nigro, BSPha’45, Nigro trekked across Soviet Russia; He presented “Give and Take in Jesuit in every patient. To follow the words of St. whoever your
bequeathed more than
$1 million to the School
of Pharmacy and
became a lifelong Bible scholar after a
trip to the Holy Land; researched log
Education” during his 50-year class reunion
this summer.
Ignatius’ Prayer for Generosity, “Lord Jesus,
teach me to be generous, teach me to serve as
God is, whatever
Health Professions. houses in Finland; studied honey pos- “When you look at Jesuit education, you you deserve, to give and not count the cost.” your personal
sums in Australia; and, in San Miguel learn to think critically,” says Howard, who Howard says that as an educator he has
de Allende, Mexico, hunted for dinosaur served as associate dean for clinical services the privilege not only to teach students but to introspection is,
bones.
But in all her travels and all her
and director of clinics for more than a decade.
“You’re continually immersed in the values that
mentor and counsel them. One thing he shares
with them is the importance of serving others.
ask, ‘Help me today.’
experiences, this restless and fiercely the Jesuits espouse in your education system.” In a world in which many think it’s Continually try to
independent woman never cut the Values such as finding God in all people, paramount to be “better than” others, Howard
tether to the place she called home — something Howard teaches students in the encourages his students to think about bring that up in your
“We’ve found the altar with the universities nationwide. The students
Omaha. And she never forgot about
Creighton.
dental school.
It can be frustrating, Howard says, when
how, through service, they can benefit their
community and their profession, as well as
head and your heart.
burnt animal bones on and around it,” live in Cyprus for six weeks, gaining Before she died in the summer of you don’t see eye-to-eye with someone with themselves. You’ll be able to work
Averett says. “We’ve also excavated excavation and survey experience at the 2017, Nigro, BSPha’45, bequeathed an whom you interact. In that instance, “what you It’s a philosophy that has served him well
votives that depict the types of activi- site, while also learning about the entire estate gift of more than $1 million to need to do is develop a time to ask God to give throughout his career, serving as a dentist in the with people a lot
ties that happened in the sanctuary, the
worshippers, and the deities venerated
process of archaeology (from recording
to processing to conservation at the lab).
Creighton’s School of Pharmacy and
Health Professions. It is the largest gift
you the wisdom, the patience, the understand-
ing, the insight to know how to work with this
Air Force and as a faculty member at Creighton.
“As you grow older and you’re exposed to
more effectively.”
here. So archaeology really illuminates They also explore the history of Cyprus in the school’s 114-year history. person,” Howard says. many different aspects of life, you realize how JAMES HOWARD, DDS
our image of the past.” in lectures and weekly site tours all over The gift establishes a research fund “When you get up in the morning, important the things that you learned really
As a field school, the program the island. to help patients get the most benefit whoever your God is, whatever your personal are,” Howard says.
accepts 10-18 undergraduate stu- Students study the basics, such as from their medications. Research was introspection is, ask, ‘Help me today,’” Howard And, he adds, the difference a Jesuit
dents each summer from colleges and how to walk around the site without always close to Nigro’s heart. She says. “Continually try to bring that up in your education can make. — BY EMILY RUST
8 Creighton FA LL 2019 9
WAIT...WHAT?
CREIGHTON CONNECTIONS
University News
Creighton is known for an
spent her final working years in hospi- the pharmacy school in 1945. Before figurative. She was a runner. Her track- condition that inflames the gray mat-
extraordinary commitment to
tal pharmacy practice, researching the then, she earned the Creighton phar- and-field specialty was the 400- and 800- ter in the spinal cord and short-circuits undergraduate research. Here’s a Lest We Forget: Omaha,
impact of what she called, “social sup- maceutical society’s award for being meter races — “the ones that everyone the brain’s messaging to the body. The snapshot of one student’s research Creighton Remember
Lynching of Will Brown
port interventions on patient health.” the student with the highest scholastic hates,” she says. Her speed won her a muscles forget how to move. project, which was inspired by the
The Nigro fund’s research will be fac- rating. She was the first woman to do so. few state championships in high school, Hospital bed-bound for months,
most shameful event in Omaha’s Creighton President the Rev. Daniel
ulty-driven but will also offer many great Nigro entered the profession at a which scored her an athletic scholar- Weisbeck took off what was supposed
opportunities for students, said Michael
NEW CHAIRHOLDER IN
time when there were very few female ship to South Dakota State University, to be her final semester at South Dakota
history, the mob lynching of a S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, joined other
CANCER RESEARCH
S. Monaghan, PharmD’89, chair of the Saying he is “humbled pharmacists. After graduation, she where she studied construction man- State University. Her mother, Necole black man, Will Brown, in 1919. Creighton representatives, govern-
Department of Pharmacy Practice. and tremendously worked at hospitals in Omaha and agement. Her post-college plan: take a Weisbeck, came to live with her — first ment officials, community leaders and
“Nelly had a passion for research honored,” Robin Lincoln, then Cleveland and Long Beach job in Hawaii. in the hospital, then back at Lexi’s home a crowd of several hundred people out-
Farias-Eisner, MD, side the Douglas County Courthouse in
throughout her career,” said Joe Nigro, PhD, who joined the and, eventually, Los Angeles, where she In all aspects of her life, Weisbeck in Brookings.
Nelly’s nephew and estate executor. “But School of Medicine helped open the UCLA Medical Center in couldn’t stop moving. Then she lost the Day by day, step by step, Lexi built Omaha on Sept. 28 to mark the 100th
the gift also speaks to her fondness of in July as director of 1955. She remained with UCLA for the ability to move at all. up her body again. anniversary of the horrific lynching of
the Hereditary Cancer William “Will” Brown in the courthouse
growing up in Omaha and the excep- Center and chair better part of the next 40 years — though It started in September 2018 with “It was like teaching a baby how to do
tional education she got at Creighton. of the Department she rarely stayed still. a head cold. No irregular symptoms everything again,” she says. “My lowest square.
She never forgot the opportunities she of Obstetrics and at first. Then one morning Weisbeck point was when it took me 45 minutes The murder of Brown occurred
Gynecology, has during nationwide race riots that
got at pharmacy school.” been named the new couldn’t lift her book bag. She thought to put on my shirt.”
Creighton’s pharmacy school has holder of the Charles Rare Illness Doesn’t it was just a pinched nerve. Then her By January 2019, Weisbeck could get swept across the United States in the
changed a bit in the 74 years since Nigro F. and Mary C. Heider
Endowed Chair in
Slow This First-Year body really started to malfunction. She around in a wheelchair. She decided to spring, summer and fall of 1919 as white
graduated. Cancer Research. Law Student’s Drive fell down the stairs. Twice. From there go back to school to finish and gradu- Americans attacked black citizens who
Today, the pharmacy school has it got worse. Within a few days, she was ate. By May commencement, she was sought employment and equal status in
more than 1,000 students enrolled. In Creighton law student Lexi Weisbeck in the hospital, unable to move anything able to walk with a walker across the the wake of their participation in World
1944 — Nigro’s second year in her three- Lexi Weisbeck, has always charged ahead — at every but a few fingers and toes. stage. It was the first time her friends War I.
year accelerated program — the war had who is overcoming
opportunity, over every obstacle, “It was kind of weird, obviously,” a and family had seen her walk in nearly The lynching of Brown, one of more
the effects of the
cut down enrollment to just 35 students. rare condition acute onward, upward, smile on her face, joke deadpan Weisbeck says now. nine months. than 150 that occurred across the United
Nigro was one of just five students flaccid myelitis, is a
at the ready. She was soon diagnosed with acute Weisbeck has made more progress TITLE OF RESEARCH States in 1919, is considered among the
first-year law student
most brutal.
(three of them women) to graduate from at Creighton. Weisbeck’s go-go-go isn’t strictly flaccid myelitis, an extremely rare since. She can drive again, and shortly
before moving to Omaha this fall she
“Life Since Will Brown: “During the middle months of 1919,
walked 50 feet without holding on to Unearthing a Century of dozens of race riots shocked the United
States,” Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert
anything.
Her career plans altered, Weisbeck Nebraskan Hate Crimes” said. “Much to our shame, one of the
decided to pursue a degree in construc- worst was right here in Omaha.”
tion law. She was already considering STUDENT RESEARCHER Fr. Hendrickson, in his invocation,
Creighton, but it was her physical and Saige Jager; junior, majoring in political science, asked for divine forgiveness and that
occupational therapy sessions that con- with a minor in history; McHenry, Illinois society be freed of “the evil of racism
vinced her: Five of her six therapists and inequality.”
FACULTY MENTOR “Aid us, we pray, in overcoming the
were Creighton-educated, and they
Simon Appleford, PhD, assistant professor of sin of racism, grant us your grace in
all had nothing but good things to say history
about the University. That (and schol- eliminating this blight from our hearts,
arship aid) sealed the deal; she started our communities, our social and civic
WHAT IT MEANS The lynching of Will Brown is
at Creighton in August. remembered as a shameful stain in Omaha’s institutions,” he prayed.
Studying construction law is an history. Brown’s violent murder revealed the “Wake us up so that the evil of rac-
extension of what Weisbeck has wanted prejudice and racism that lurked beneath the ism finds no home within us.”
to do since she was a little kid playing city’s surface in the early 20th century. Yet its At the end of the ceremony, soil from
horrific nature has overshadowed the fact that the Douglas County Courthouse was dis-
around the sites of her father’s general
this incident is just one of many hate crimes tributed into several jars, one of which
contracting company. And Creighton,
that have been committed over the last century will be displayed at The Legacy Museum,
in a lot of ways, was an ideal fit, says against Nebraska’s marginalized populations.
Weisbeck’s mother. a project of the Equal Justice Initiative
To better understand Nebraska’s continuing
“As a parent, you like to see that your in Montgomery, Alabama. The others
struggle with racial and social equality, this
daughter’s school cares about her. I feel project uses Brown’s murder as a starting point will be displayed at various historical
like I’m leaving Lexi with family.” for the creation of a database of hate crimes locations throughout Omaha.
DAVE WEAVER
committed in the state of Nebraska between The event was sponsored by the City
1919 and 2019. of Omaha, Douglas County and the
10 Creighton FA LL 2019 11
CREIGHTON CONNECTIONS
University News
O’Keefe Named First
Omaha Community Council for Racial
Kingfisher Honoree in science, technology, engineering or
I
Justice and Reconciliation. math at Creighton.
In addition to this community com- Both Huerta and Westphal won
memoration, Creighton’s Kingfisher honors for their completed projects at
n accepting Creighton’s inaugural Kingfisher Award at a campus Omaha’s 2019 Metropolitan Science and
Institute for the Liberal Arts and
Professions hosted events this fall
town hall in September, theology professor and documentary Engineering Fair.
related to its inaugural theme of Race filmmaker John O’Keefe, PhD, expressed his deep gratitude — Huerta, a graduate of Omaha South
in America: 1919-2019. not only for being selected for the award, but for having a job High School, studied qubits — the quan-
David Blight, the Pulitzer Prize- that’s been so interesting and fulfilling. tum version of the classical computer
winning author of Frederick Douglass: “bit.” Westphal, a graduate of Omaha
“Where else does (a theologian) learn about the beauty of
Prophet of Freedom, delivered a public Central High School, focused her
chemistry from a chemist ... in the back of a microbus ... in the research on butterflies as important
lecture on campus on Sept. 19. And on
Sept. 5, Creighton alumnus and author
Dominican Republic ... while sipping rum ... purchased on the streets of pollinators.
Theodore Wheeler, MA’08, MFA’15, read Dajabon just hours before?” O’Keefe said. Westphal’s advisor was Theodore
from his historical novel Kings of Broken The Kingfisher Award recognizes outstanding faculty and staff who Burk, DPhil, professor of animal behav-
Things, followed by a panel discussion have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the enduring values, ior, entomology and behavioral ecology
on the history of racial violence. in the Department of Biology. Huerta
principles and practices of the humanities. This presidential award is
Kings of Broken Things is set in was guided by Thomas Wong, PhD,
given in partnership with the University’s Kingfisher Institute for the assistant professor of physics in the
JIM FACKLER
Omaha and takes place against the
backdrop of the 1919 race riots and the
Liberal Arts and Professions. Department of Physics.
lynching of Brown. O’Keefe is a scholar of patristic theology whose commitment to Westphal said the Haddix STEM pro-
“Many people thought that things environmental justice has inspired his research in the area of ecotheology. gram was “eye-opening.”
like this only happened in Alabama or He has expanded the impact of his research through the medium of “It was such an amazing experience
Georgia, never Nebraska,” Wheeler said. it made me want to come to Creighton,”
documentary film, in partnership with colleagues and students across
“This happened in Omaha, too, and we she said. now an associate professor in the Jill Brown, PhD, extended family by economic necessity,
departments. associate professor of
have to face that.” Department of Psychological Science, psychological science, military duty, incarceration, migration
the life direction she had sought — set- is a contributing or persecution.
Brown Contributes to ting her on a decades-long path of inves-
writer and co-editor
of the award-winning From Filipino domestic workers
Local Students Benefit from Award-Winning Book tigating various forms of parenting, in book Parenting making a lonely living in Singapore, to
Haddix STEM Program on Parenting from Afar Africa and beyond.
From Afar and the
Reconfiguration traditionalist Poles adjusting to the gen-
Her latest contribution to under- of Family Across der equalities of Scandinavia, to Brown’s
Distance.
A recent $10 million gift to Creighton Jill Brown, a young woman from small- standing the evolving nature of par- Namibian family for whom informal
University’s College of Arts and town Nebraska, sat beneath a tree in the enting in light of an emerging global “child fostering” is a cultural norm,
Sciences, described by University offi- dusty heat of Owamboland, Namibia, economy — parenting often conducted the book investigates the ways people
cials as “transformational,” helped and watched her future take shape. at great distance — is the book Parenting across the globe maintain — and some-
transform the lives of two Omaha high Six-year-old Timo had just reclaimed From Afar and the Reconfiguration of times create — family ties in the face of
school students this year. his spot on the mat where he and Jill, Family Across Distance. lengthy separations.
Vincent Huerta and Sydney Westphal then a 23-year-old Peace Corps volun- Published by Oxford University
participated in the inaugural Haddix teer, were reading with two other chil- Press, Parenting From Afar has been
24th Street STEM Corridor Program, dren. He had left to pay his respects to a awarded the 2019 Ursula Gielen Global Standing on the Margins
completing award-winning research woman Jill had not seen before, despite Psychology Book Award, which is con- Fr. Boyle headlines inaugural
projects with Creighton STEM faculty living almost two years in the same ferred annually by the International Mission Week with a call for kinship
over the summer. Both also enrolled as home as the boy. Psychology Division of the American
freshmen at Creighton this fall. Who was that? Jill asked. Psychological Association. The Rev. Greg Boyle, SJ, HON’09, stood in
The Haddix 24th Street STEM Timo’s mother, she was told. The book consists of 16 chapters, front of a packed audience at St. John’s
Corridor Program is one of four initia- Brown recounts her surprise in a each written by different academics Church and told the story of a young
tives funded by the gift from George new book to which she is a contributor based on their experiences in the field. man who had faced unimaginable
Haddix, PhD, MA’66, and his wife, and one of three co-editors. The chapters, taken as a whole, describe abuse.
Susan, a member of Creighton’s Board “I had lived with this family for the yearning for the support, security, As a child, the young man had worn
of Trustees. almost two years and had missed a encouragement and friendship that can three T-shirts to school; three, because
JIM FACKLER
The program introduces top high crucial piece of information,” she writes. be found in family relationships. They two weren’t enough to sop up the blood
school students in Omaha to the advan- “Timo was not their biological child.” recount the experiences of people sep- from the wounds inflicted by his mother.
tages of pursuing undergraduate studies That moment in 1996 gave Brown, arated from their spouses, children and Kids made fun of him, and even when
12 Creighton FA LL 2019 13
CREIGHTON CONNECTIONS
University News
especially true during Mission Week: doesn’t fail nearly as easily as iron.” Creighton President the Rev.
Stand with the people at the margins. Recker says this initial study will Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, said
“You want to imagine a community involve Caucasian women, who experi- the foundation’s latest investment in
of kinship such that God in fact might ence osteoporosis at much higher levels the University will establish one of the
recognize it,” Fr. Boyle said. “No kin- than other people. nation’s most respected business edu-
ship, no peace. No kinship, no justice. “Other races — and men — will have cation scholarships.
No kinship, no equality, no matter how different findings, which will confound “Like Walter, I believe in this pro-
TEN-HUT: ROTC
singularly focused we may well be on NUMBERS UP the data,” he says. “If we conclude a gram and the Heider College of Business’
those worthy goals.” It’s been a decade study on white women, then we can ability to deliver on our goals,” Fr.
Service, he said, is a start: “Service since the Creighton do a study on nonwhite women. One Hendrickson said. “This complements
University Black
is the hallway that gets you to the ball- Wolves saw more than
step at a time.” Walter’s long service to and vision for
room. And the ballroom is a place of a few good freshmen Diabetic women interested in partic- the University and expresses his confi-
kinship and exquisite mutuality where sign up for the Army ipating should call 402.280.2663. dence in the impact we have on Omaha.”
ROTC program,
there is no us, and there is no them.” but that changed
Walter Scott Jr. served on Creighton’s
Only then, he said, can we truly this year when 25 Board of Trustees from 1980 to 2001 and
embrace the things Jesus himself took cadets accepted Scott Foundation Gift was named an emeritus trustee. Walter
the challenge. With
seriously: “Inclusion. Nonviolence. the addition of four to Assist Future Heider and his late wife, Suzanne, also received
Unconditional loving kindness. And sophomores joining Business Students the Manresa Medal from Creighton in
compassionate acceptance,” Fr. Boyle the ranks, the new $14.6 million scholarship program 1998. Creighton’s Manresa Medal is pre-
class numbers 29
said. “That’s not so much what we do cadets. The number aims to recruit more future business sented to those individuals who, like St.
at the margins, that’s who we are at of cadets over all four leaders to Omaha and Nebraska Ignatius of Loyola, demonstrate inspi-
the margins. And then we look under years of the program rational leadership while overcoming
now totals 69.
our feet, and we notice (the margins) A $14.6 million scholarship program obstacles to enduring achievement.
are getting erased. Because we chose established this fall by the Suzanne & “My intention for this gift is to
DAVE WEAVER
to stand there.” Walter Scott Foundation will recruit empower Creighton to keep bringing
talented students to Creighton’s Heider new young minds to the city and state.
College of Business and, ultimately, ben- I trust them to do that,” said Walter
Recker Receives efit the Omaha and Nebraska business Scott, former chairman and CEO of Peter
$1.5 Million NIH Grant communities with outstanding future Kiewit Sons’ Inc.
to Study Osteoporosis business leaders. While nearly 80% of Heider College
in Diabetic Women The gift reaffirms the Scott family’s of Business students come from outside
he was grown, the man felt ashamed of The Rev. Greg Heart and Barking to the Choir, spoke Founded by Fr. Boyle in East Los commitment to the Heider College of Nebraska, about 53% begin their full-
Boyle, SJ, HON’09,
his scars. spoke at St. John’s Sept. 9 at St. John’s to kick off Creighton’s Angeles in the late 1980s, Homeboy Longtime Creighton researcher Robert Business and its students, and will allow time employment in the state directly
But years later, as he spoke in front Church during inaugural Mission Week. Industries offers job training and other Recker, MD’63, has received a $1.5 mil- the college’s most generous scholarship after graduation.
Creighton’s inaugural
of an audience of social workers at Fr. Mission Week in Beginning this year, the University services to former gang members and lion grant from the National Institutes of — the Scott Scholars program — to reach Matt McNary, BSBA ’15, is an
Boyle’s behest, the man said he no lon- September. Fr. Boyle selects one week during the fall semes- people who have been incarcerated. The Health (NIH) to investigate the relation- even more students. example of how a Suzanne & Walter
is founder and
ger felt ashamed: “I rub my fingers over executive director of ter for the campus community to reflect organization employs its clients in social ship between diabetes and osteoporosis. The Scott Scholarship is a full- Scott Foundation scholarship adds
my scars. My wounds are my friends. Homeboy Industries on Creighton’s Ignatian heritage and enterprises — including a bakery, cater- Diabetics experience osteoporosis at tuition, renewable award given to top to Omaha’s brain gain. He came to
in Los Angeles. ROBERT RECKER
How can I help the wounded if I don’t spirituality. During this year’s Mission ing service and diner — that teach essen- higher rates than the general popula- candidates in the Heider College of Creighton from eastern Kansas as part
Robert Recker,
welcome my own wounds?” Week, Sept. 9-13, the University and tial career development skills while also tion, says Recker, a principal investigator MD’63, is the director
Business. Five students from Nebraska of the program, passing up full-ride
The man, Fr. Boyle told the crowd at Omaha community partners came offering an alternative to gang life. with Creighton’s Osteoporosis Research of Creighton’s and 10 from outside the state will be scholarships from two state schools.
St. John’s, spoke the key truth of spir- together at several events to listen, Fr. Boyle told several stories — some Center. The five-year study will involve Osteoporosis selected annually for the award, over a Now a certified public accountant
Research Center and
itual mission work: “The measure of learn, reflect and explore themes which tragic, some hilarious — about the peo- 40 diabetic women and 40 nondiabetic is an internationally
nine-year commitment. in Omaha, McNary is active in a host
our compassion lies not in our service emerge from Creighton’s Jesuit, Catholic ple he’s encountered in his work. One women. recognized expert in “The Scott Foundation gift will assist of nonprofit organizations. He’s aware
to those on the margins, but only in our mission. anecdote involved a parolee named Recker’s approach reflects an earlier the field of metabolic us in continuing to attract the best and of the difference Walter Scott, whom
bone disease.
willingness to see ourselves in kinship After opening remarks from Eileen Glenda, working as a waitress in one of study in which 60 people suffering from brightest from around the globe, add- he met while at Creighton, makes
with them,” Fr. Boyle said. “For the Burke-Sullivan, STD, MChrSp’84, vice Homeboy Industries’ programs, who, low-trauma bone fractures were found ing to the diversity of our student body, on recruiting students and retaining
truth of the matter is this: If we don’t provost for Mission and Ministry, and upon meeting actress Diane Keaton, to have abnormalities in the mechanical as well as allowing us to showcase the Creighton alumni.
welcome our own wounds, we may well Creighton President the Rev. Daniel told the actress she recognized her from quality of their bone. Recker compares outstanding Omaha business environ- “Omaha feels like home,” McNary
be tempted to despise the wounded.” S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, Fr. Boyle pre- their time together in lockup. the difference to iron and steel. ment and opportunities that exist here said. “I’ve invested my career here, and
Fr. Boyle, founder and executive sented on his experiences working with But Fr. Boyle bookended his pre- “Iron, if you put enough load on in our own community,” said Anthony I don’t plan to leave. I love it here.”
director of Los Angeles-based Homeboy former gang members at his nonprofit, sentation with a challenge for the it, breaks,” he says. “Steel, if you put Hendrickson, PhD, dean of the Heider
Industries and author of Tattoos on the Homeboy Industries. University community, one that rang the same load, will bend a little, but it College of Business.
14 Creighton FA LL 2019 15
CREIGHTON CONNECTIONS
University News
HEALTH BRIEFS
OT Alumna Play Important for Children
Helps Develop
Let children play. That was the message delivered by
Peter Gray, PhD, a research professor of psychology
at Boston College, at the inaugural Ware-Johnk
Hydrotherapy Lecture this fall. The lecture series, established by a
gift from former faculty member Mark Ware, PhD,
and his wife, Connie Johnk, BA’82, is intended to
for Preemies promote interest in psychological scholarship and
how it relates to everyday life.
“We are in the midst of an experiment in which
Makenna Brown Tucker, BS’15, OTD’19, we are in some ways for the first time in human his-
tory raising children without real free play,” says Gray,
wanted to be a pediatric occupational author of Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to
therapist when she graduated, but never Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant,
JING JING TSONG
imagined working with the tiniest of and Better Students for Life.
patients. Time spent playing, he says, serves a critical role in
enabling children to develop reasoning skills, learn the
When she began the research portion art of compromise and hone problem-solving skills that
of her doctorate in occupational therapy can include mathematical and spatial awareness.
at CHI Health Creighton University
Medical Center–Bergan Mercy, she “fell is involved in the expansion of cancer cells at the researchers worldwide who have dedicated ourselves
in love” with premature infants and Diabetes Care in expense of their less-fit neighbors. The findings show systematically to a long-term research program
“how occupational therapy (OT) can Rural Communities that a human protein (called Flower) plays a role in looking at LPA’s actions in the mouth,” she says.
impact their lives.” determining cell fitness, and the development and
Creighton has been awarded two grants to improve progression of cancer.
She focused her research on medical outcomes for families of children diagnosed “These findings enhance our understanding of
hydrotherapy — performing therapy in with Type 1 diabetes in rural areas of Nebraska and the factors that make some tumors more aggressive
Addressing Physician Burnout
warm water — with preemies and, at the Iowa, where access to pediatric endocrinologists is than others, and our understanding of the factors that
A new Creighton study aimed at reducing physician
challenging. allow tumors to metastasize to specific locations,”
request of Lisa Bader, BSOT’96, Bergan’s burnout is looking at whether increasing time spent
“There are significant differences in the health says Rajan Gogna, PhD, the lead investigator of the
NICU occupational therapist, helped with patients and cultivating deeper connections
outcomes for those who live closer to areas where study, and a former Creighton faculty member now
with them can boost the well-being of health care
develop a program for the neonatal specialized care is available,” says Vanessa Jewell, with the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown in
professionals.
intensive care unit at the hospital. Bader PhD, assistant professor of occupational therapy in Lisbon, Portugal.
Creighton’s study is one of 33 selected this year
had seen a presentation on neonatal the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, who
from among 200 proposals through an initiative
is leading the project to identify treatment barriers in
hydrotherapy at a conference two years of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical
rural communities and develop solutions to overcome
earlier and was keenly interested. service gaps.
Study Looks at Gum Disease Education, the group that sets educational standards
for preparing physicians.
“But the time involved to start some- School of Dentistry associate professor D. Roselyn The study is being led by Prasanna Tadi, MD, an
thing like that is intensive,” Bader says. Cerutis, PhD, has received a grant from the National assistant professor in the School of Medicine and
“I knew Makenna would be with us ‘Fitness Fingerprints’ Institutes of Health (NIH) to study a potential therapy neurologist with CHI Health, and includes a team of
for 16 weeks, and I knew she could get and Cancer Growth that may reduce inflammation and bone loss in peri- Creighton residents.
odontal (gum) disease. According to the National Academy of Medicine,
the project done. She did a literature Cerutis is investigating the role of a receptor, more than half of U.S. physicians experience burnout,
Scientists have a better understanding of the bully-
review, wrote the protocol, passed like behavior of cancer cells that allows them to LPA1, in regulating the production of lysophosphatidic a syndrome characterized by a high degree of
it through the doctors and nurse aggressively grow, overtake neighboring cells and acid (LPA), and whether blocking or reducing LPA emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a low
practitioners, and implemented it.” spread in humans. According to Creighton cancer production in the mouth helps control the inflamma- sense of personal accomplishment at work.
researcher Laura Hansen, PhD, key findings of a study tion and bone loss of periodontal disease. She says A unique aspect of the Creighton study is its
Bader says her NICU has been having
published in the journal Nature provide new clues for the LPA system has been extensively researched wide reach. In addition to residents and physicians,
excellent results giving hydrotherapy to
JIM FACKLER
how to intervene for therapy. in cancer and heart disease, but not in periodontal medical students, pharmacists, physical therapists,
two or three babies per week, sending Hansen, a co-author of the paper “Fitness finger- disease. occupational therapists, dentists and nurses will
them home sooner and stronger. prints of human cells promote competitive growth in According to the Centers for Disease Control, participate in the study.
cancer,” says the results are likely to promote intense half of American adults age 30 and older have “Our hope is that with this study we will be able
Tucker, now an occupational
study of the “fitness fingerprints” on the surface of periodontal disease, which also has been linked to to show improvement in multiple areas of well-being
Makenna Brown Tucker, therapist at CHI Health St. Elizabeth in cells that play a determining role in their life and chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and and relieve the pressures physicians are facing,” Tadi
BS’15, OTD’19, gives
hydrotherapy treatment to Lincoln, Nebraska, started OT in the death. rheumatoid arthritis. says. “We are trying to change the culture of patient
Eloise Beller at CHI Health NICU there and hopes to implement Hansen, associate dean for research in the School Cerutis has been studying the role of LPA in care locally, but it has the potential to make a big
Creighton University
of Medicine, and her colleagues demonstrated for periodontal disease with collaborators in the dental impact across multiple disciplines nationally.”
Medical Center–Bergan hydrotherapy as well.
Mercy. the first time in human cells that cell competition school for the past 20 years. “We are the only
16 Creighton FA LL 2019 17You can also read
