Daemen University Physical Therapy Research Symposium
Saturday, December 7, 2024
Spring/Summer 2024 Edition
Dr Michael Seils and Dr Pamela Bartlo presented a course at CSM, the largest PT conference in the US, in Boston February 2024. The course was titled Don’t Be Afraid: Safe and Effective Intervention for the Medically Complex Home Health Patient.
We had numerous current students, former students and alumni in attendance. We took a group photo after the course.
Left to right:
Alumni Jeffrey Sommer, PT, DPT Class of 2004, Alumni Julia Sirotnak PT, DPT Class of 2023, Alumni Thao Nguyen PT, DPT, Class of 2023, Assistant Professor Pamela Bartlo PT, DPT, Assistant Professor Michael Seils PT, DPT, Ed.D., Erik Mathews SPT Class of 2024, Samantha Kmiotek SPT Class of 2024, Gabrielle Burkard SPT Class of 2024, Collin Reese SPT Class of 2024, and Alumni Jason Sabo PT, DPT Class of 2004
Associate Professor Ryan Boggs PT, DPT, DSc Celebrating 5 Years and Assistant Professor & Director of Clinical Education Theresa Kolodjiez PT, DPT, PhD celebrating 35 years
Left to right
Dalton Mathews SPT Class of 2025, Erica Snell SPT Class of 2025, Lauren Staley SPT Class of 2025, Graham Meagher SPT Class of 2025
Jason Wong SPT Class of 2024 Speaking at the Daemen PT Evidence Based Practice Clinical Research Symposium
Dear Daemen Alums and Community Partners,
It comes with great pleasure that I write to share some exciting news about our college, the Scott Bieler College of Health Professions at Daemen University. Most notably, Mr. Scott Bieler, president and CEO of West Herr Automotive Group, made an extremely generous gift at the start of this academic year to support our college, which currently includes the departments of Nursing, Physical Therapy, and Physician Assistant Studies. His gift will undoubtedly have a significant, positive impact on the individual professional growth and development of our health professions students as expert clinicians and future leaders in the healthcare systems within and beyond the Western New York region.
Our Center for Interprofessional Learning and Simulation (CILS) will be receiving some exciting educational equipment upgrades. We will soon be adding a high-fidelity manikin to the CILS. This life-like manikin reacts physiologically as if it were alive, and it will be used to recreate real-life situations and provide learners with an opportunity to practice and refine clinical skills without the risk of patient harm. Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) units are being added to the CILS to provide contemporary healthcare practice instruction to all students in our college. Lastly, we will soon be expanding the footprint of the CILS to add a hospital/ICU simulation room. There is an opportunity for you, as a clinical partner, to use the CILS for training of your staff. The CILS uses the innovative VALT software system whereby instructors can quickly and easily record, review, and manage high-quality audio and video content from various rooms. Reach out directly to Tony Surace, executive director of the CILS for additional information at asurace@daemen.edu.
Our gross anatomy laboratory is getting a major facelift in 2024, and we could not be more excited. This has been a long time coming. The renovation will create a state-of-the-art human cadaver dissection lab to further assist our PA and PT students in learning a crucial foundation for healthcare clinical practice, that being human anatomy. The lab will include but will not limited to: 14 new cadaver tables, operatory LED lights above every table, stainless steel touchless handwashing sinks and an autopsy sink, an OR-style epoxy floor, state-of-the-art real-time video technology to project anatomical structures to six large flat screen monitors around the room, a new student study-lounge adjacent to the lab with updated anatomical models and an 85” monitor to project advanced anatomy apps, and the addition of lockers in the lab to store students belongings when using the lab.
I invite you to consider becoming an ambassador for our upcoming Daemen Day of Giving on Thursday, April 18, 2024. For more information, contact Mario Hicks, the vice president for institutional advancement, at (716) 839-8205 or mhicks2@daemen.edu. Please consider making a gift towards this transformative project. Your commitment will shape the future of healthcare education for our students.
I encourage you to read our college’s Mission & Vision statements, as well as the Values and Principles upon which these statements are founded. The creation of these documents was a collaborative effort among all faculty within the three departments in our college. Visit https://www.daemen.edu/academics/scott-bieler-college-health-professions. On behalf of the Scott Bieler College of Health Professions: to the alums, thank you for choosing Daemen as your PT program of choice; and to our clinical partners, thank you for your support of our students and our PT program.
I look forward to the very promising future for our college within the university and sharing with all of you exciting news and updates.
Sincerely,
Greg Ford, PT, DPT, PhD
Founding Dean and Professor,
Scott Bieler College of Health Professions
Warm Greetings to All,
I hope that each of you are well and that you are looking forward to all of the promise the spring and summer seasons afford us. I am pleased to state that Daemen University’s Physical Therapy Department had a very successful year. This success is only possible due to the continued efforts of so many people, including our amazing students, our dedicated faculty, staff, and administrative members, the talented adjunct faculty who support our courses, our many clinical instructors who provide the outstanding clinical education experiences for our students, the incredible support from the Scott Bieler College of Health Professions and Daemen University, and our nationwide supporters. Thank you all for your many investments of time and energy into the department and the future of the physical therapy profession!
In June 2023, after a national search, Dr. Greg Ford was named the founding dean for the Scott Bieler College of Health Professions at Daemen University. Dr. Ford has been an extremely valued member of the Daemen PT faculty for over 20 years and has served as the chair and program director of our department since 2011. Dr. Ford is a true visionary and leader in the field of PT education and has led our program to national distinction. By example, he continually inspires those around him to be better and to always keep in mind that there are no boundaries to what we can do in order to best help those in need. We owe Dr. Ford sincere gratitude for all he has done for the PT Program and the University and we all look forward to working closely with him as he continues to establish strategic priorities for the Scott Bieler College of Health Professions and advances the mission and vision of Daemen University. Congratulations Dr. Ford on a very well-deserved appointment!
In the fall of 2023, we were extremely privileged to welcome a new full-time core faculty member into our department, Dr. Jill Mayer. Dr. Mayer comes to us from the prestigious PT Program at Ithaca College with extensive experience in the academic setting, as well as clinical expertise in the neuromuscular content area. Dr. Mayer hit the ground running in the fall and spring semesters with her teaching and research mentorship, making an immediate positive impact on the education of our students as well as integral contribution to departmental initiatives. You will read about all of the highly respected and admired accomplishments of Dr. Mayer later in this newsletter. Welcome Dr. Mayer to the Daemen PT family!
Another extremely important development for our faculty was that Dr. Sharon Held and Dr. Mary Rose Franjoine were both unanimously conferred emeritus status by the Daemen University Board of Trustees in the fall. This prestigious distinction for Dr. Held and Dr. Franjoine acknowledges their distinguished service to the academic community at Daemen University. We thank them both for their dedication to our students, our clinical community, and the University!
Our current students continue ongoing visibility in the community, providing outstanding service to those in need, which we are extremely proud of. As you will read in this newsletter, many of them volunteered their time and skill for the Breast Cancer Awareness fundraiser and the Parkinson’s Moving Day. The PT Program is extremely proud to be a part of such important initiatives! Our yearly PT Gala event, which sponsors a local organization with physical therapy related needs, was a tremendous success once again. Thank you to the SPTA and the mentorship of this association by our esteemed faculty, as we continue to support the APTA’s core values of altruism, compassion/ caring, inclusion, and social responsibility. It is truly humbling to be a part of the selfless work that our students continue to do - thank you all!
In closing, on behalf of the PT faculty at Daemen, we thank you for your continued support of our program and our students. If we can be of any assistance to you in the future, please let me know.
Very respectfully,
Michael Ross, PT, DHSc
Associate Professor; Chair, Physical Therapy Department; and DPT Program Director