Latest News

Respiratory Care Week: Broncos on the Front Line in Treating H1N1

If you or someone you know was recently treated for H1N1, it’s likely that a Bronco is among the team that helped.

With about 90 percent of the Treasure Valley’s respiratory care staff counted as Boise State alumni, Broncos are on the front lines as the region slugs its way through the global influenza pandemic that just this weekend garnered a national emergency declaration from President Obama.

National Respiratory Care Week (October 25-31) couldn’t have come at a more timely moment to recognize the hard work respiratory care practitioners are doing as an immense volume of patients with severe respiratory symptoms overwhelm emergency rooms and intensive care units around the world. And the American Association for Respiratory Care’s theme, “Respiratory Care, There When You Need Us,” seems to be speaking about those Broncos working so hard to care for their patients.

“During this period of great stress on the human and equipment health care resources of this country, respiratory care practitioners are working to provide quality care for patients despite the 30-50 percent absenteeism due to illness of the health care providers,” said Jeff Anderson, Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Education in the Department of Respiratory Care.

In addition to alumni, nearly 50 Boise State interns currently are working in Treasure Valley health care institutions and have rotations in emergency department and intensive care units around the valley, providing care for several of the patients with H1N1 who are on life support. When these patients no longer require life support, they will still need various forms of respiratory care such as oxygen therapy, inhaled medications and treatments to reinflate collapsed alveoli, Anderson said.

For more information about Boise State’s respiratory care program, visit the department’s website at http://respther.boisestate.edu.

Now Presenting Podcasts on the College of Health Sciences Website

After much anticipation, podcasts are now available on the College of Health Sciences website. Dr. Jim Girvan, Dean, envisioned a community outreach component as he worked with Shalom Pennington, Associate Manager with Printing and Graphic Services, to redesign the College website. Just over a year later, Jim’s vision is coming true.

Over the summer, Jim and Danya Lusk, Administrative Assistant in the Dean’s office, recorded interviews with four prominent health care professionals representing organizations headquartered in Boise: Dr. Suzanne Allen, Assistant Dean for Regional Affairs and Rural Health and the WWAMI Clinical Medical Education Coordinator for Idaho with University of Washington School of Medicine; Denise Chuckovich, Executive Director of the Idaho Primary Care Association; Dr. Hartzell Cobbs, Executive Director of Mountain States Group, and Dr. Steven Millard, Director of the Idaho Hospital Association. The theme for the debut podcast series was health care reform.

Listen to the podcasts online at http://hs.boisestate.edu/podcast/ or download the mp3 files to your computer or mp3 player to hear the common themes, thoughts and ideas among the four very different perspectives. Jim and Danya hope to continue the series with other professionals on a variety of health science related topics. Check back often for the latest thoughts from Idaho health care professionals on state and national health topics.

Faculty Named 2009 Outstanding Nurse Leader

Dr. Pam Springer has been selected as the recipient of the 2009 Outstanding Nurse Leader by the Idaho Alliance of Leaders in Nursing (IALN). This award is given to recognize an IALN member who is also an experienced leader either in the field of education or practice. Dr. Springer has consistently demonstrated exemplary nursing leadership in the Department of Nursing and in the community. She develops and holds on the vision for the department and urges faculty and staff to operationalize this vision through our highly participatory shared leadership model and promotion of nursing and nursing education. Dr. Springer was recognized at the IALN Fall Membership meeting on October 4 in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Student Association of Radiologic Technologists Win Homecoming Float Award

The Student Association of Radiologic Technologists (SART) received the Grand Marshall Award at the 2009 Homecoming Festivities.  Twenty students participated in the planning and development of the homecoming float, and many enjoyed participation in the parade.  The float utilized the field of imaging to depict the UC Davis Aggies as a patient, with complications from the Bronco attack.   This was the 15th appearance of “Mr. Bones” as a parade participant.  The students were appreciative of Flynn’s Saddle Shop on State Street for donating the statue of the horse. SART has a history of award winning Homecoming floats. They received the Grand Marshall Award in 2008, the President’s Award in 2007 and the Alumni President’s Award in 2006.

Longtime Faculty Retires

Please join us for a co-college retirement reception in honor of Dr. Elaine Long (College of Health Sciences) and Dr. James Long (College of Arts and Sciences). The Longs are retiring after 35 years of dedicated and distinguished service to Boise State University. Please bring your memories of their contributions and accomplishments and we hope you’ll share them with everyone in attendance.

• When: Friday, December 4, 2009 1:00 – 3:00 pm
• Where: Interactive Learning Center — ILC 315
• Refreshments will be served.

Dr. Elaine Long Service:

• Two terms as Department Chair, Community & Environmental Health 1985 – 1992; 2000 - 2004
• ASBSU Students’ Choice Outstanding Faculty Member – January 2005
• Presidential Research and Scholarship Award – April 2004
• Dietetic Licensure Board - Idaho State Board of Medicine Chair – 1998 to 2002; 2002 – 2006
• Visited over 100 Lighthouses (East Coast, West Coast, Great Lakes, and Hawaii)

Dr. James Long Service:

• Two terms as Department Chair, Biological Sciences 1992 – 1998
• Awarded Distinguished Faculty Selected by Top Ten Scholar - 1997
• ASBSU Students’ Choice Outstanding Faculty Member – 2002, 2005, 2006
• Provost’s Excellence in Advising Award – 2007
• Numerous students have gone on to professional schools of medicine and dentistry
• Race to Roby Creek participant 1986 to 2003 (best time was 1 hour and 34 minutes in 1989)

Department Launches Redesigned Website

The Department of Respiratory Care has launched their new website at http://respther.boisestate.edu. Coleen Dudley, Administrative Assistant for the department, has spent countless hours updating the content and creating additional pages. Thanks to Shalom Pennington for his great design and knowledge and to CJ Griffith for her knowledge and kind mentoring!

Faculty Co-Authors Paper to be Published in International Online Journal

Dr. Uwe Reischl, Professor of Health Sciences, and Ron Oberleitner, President and CEO of Caring Technologies, Inc. recently co-authored a paper titled: “Development of a Telemedicine Platform for the Management of Children with Autism.” The paper describes the outcome of a two-year University-Industry collaborative technology development program funded by a $2.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The partnership included Caring Technologies, Inc. of Boise, the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, and Boise State University. The new technology provides a platform for digital video documentation of autism-related behaviors in schools, clinics, and home settings. The video data can be entered into a child’s personal electronic health record and shared selectively and confidentially with clinicians and educators world-wide to facilitate the behavioral and therapeutic management of children with autism. The paper appears in the current edition of Zeitschrift für Nachwuchswissenschaftler, an international peer-reviewed online science journal.

IMCO Recycling of Idaho Earns "SHARP" Status In Recognition of Exemplary Workplace Safety and Health

IMCO Recycling of Idaho in Post Falls, ID has renewed their membership in the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Matt Wattles from the Boise State Idaho Occupational Safety and Health Consultation Program presented the SHARP certificate at a recognition ceremony was held on October 15th at their facility at 16168 W Prairie Ave, Post Falls, ID.

IMCO Recycling of Idaho’s aluminum recycling operations convert used beverage cans, scrap and dross (a by-product of the aluminum melting process) and deliver the recycled aluminum in ingot form. The facility employees approximately 26 people.

In addition to its exemplary safety and health management system, the plant has an injury and illness case rate well below the industry average. As a SHARP company, IMCO Recycling of Idaho is exempt from OSHA programmed inspections until August 10, 2012.

Through SHARP, OSHA recognizes smaller employers who operate exemplary safety and health management systems. SHARP is designed to provide incentives and support to employers who implement and continuously improve effective safety and health management systems at their work sites. SHARP may be renewed for sites that continue to maintain exemplary safety and health management systems.

College Classified Employees To Be Honored at Luncheon

On Tuesday, October 27, 2009, Boise State University will honor Classified employees who have attained 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years of service at the University during the 2009 Classified Employee Recognition Luncheon will be held in the Grace Jordan Grand Ballroom. Doors will open at 11:30 am and the program will begin at noon. Cost, menu selection and RSVP information will be published later. Please congratulate the following Honorees from the College of Health Sciences:

• Traci Anderson for five years of service
• Karalynn Jensen for five years of service
• Sue Antonich for ten years of service
• Anita Castello for fifteen years of service
• Ellen Seibolt for twenty years of service

Congratulations everyone!

Faculty Presents on Simulation Learning Scenarios in Virtual Reality

September 24, 2009

Kelley Connor and Max Veltman gave a presentation at the National League for Nursing’s Annual Education Summit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 24th, 2009. The presentation was titled “Simulation Learning Scenarios in Virtual Reality: Simulating Simulation Scenarios.” It was based on the work stemming from their ongoing collaboration with faculty from the University of Auckland in New Zealand and Western Wyoming Community College in the use of Virtual Reality in Clinical Simulation.

St. Luke’s Women’s Fitness Celebration Distributes New Educational Tool Developed by Faculty

September 26, 2009

On Saturday, Sept 26, 2009, 8,000 Healthy Food Slide Rules were distributed to participants in the St. Luke’s Women’s Fitness Celebration. The Healthy Food Slide Rule is a new educational tool designed by Drs. Elaine Long and Uwe Reischl, Department of Community and Environmental Health, Boise State University. Their project was funded by grants from the Idaho Dairy Council and the Idaho Beef Council. The Idaho Dairy Council provided additional funds for printing the slide rules for the Women’s Fitness Celebration.

The Healthy Food Slide Rule teaches the importance of including foods from the five food groups in amounts appropriate for age, gender and activity level. The researchers evaluated the slide rule in elementary school classes (4th – 6th grade) in the Boise School District. After two classroom lessons using the slide rule, students increased use of appropriate portion sizes for all food groups. A journal article written by the researchers is in press: Long, E, Reischl, U, Abo, B. The Healthy Food Slide Rule (HFSR): A Nutrition Education Tool for Children. J. Nutr. Educ. Behav. 2009 (approved for publication September 17, 2009).

This year using a grant from the Idaho Dairy Council, Dr. Long is coordinating Professional Development Workshops for Idaho teachers. As part of the workshop, teachers will develop and teach lessons across the curriculum (math, science, health, social studies, language arts, etc) using the slide rule. Lesson plans will be shared among teachers and posted on a website for others to use. For more information about these workshops, contact Extended Studies (208-426-1709) or visit this website http://www.boisestate.edu/extendedstudies/educatordevelopment/.

Student Association of Radiologic Technologists Volunteer at St. Luke's Women's Fitness

Eighteen members of the Student Association of Radiologic Technologists volunteered at the Idaho Women’s Celebration on Saturday. Arriving at 6:30 a.m., the group provided set up, food distribution and area clean up assistance.

Honorary “Coach for a Game” Announced

Congratulations to Dr. Mary Hereford, Department of Nursing, for being honored as the College of Health Sciences “Coach for a Game.” Mary’s name will be forwarded to Athletics, and she will be honored on Saturday, December 5th, at our final home game of year with the Fighting Aggies of New Mexico State. Nominations for honorary “Coach for a Game” are submitted by the Deans of each of the colleges with only seven honorary coaches each football season.

Faculty Particpates on Universtiy Flu Season Preparation Panel

September 15, 2009

Dr. Uwe Reischl was a panelist at the Idaho Public Health Association sponsored discussion about the H1N1 flu pandemic, September 15, 2009. The event provided an update on the status of the H1N1 flu in Idaho and the BSU campus. Uwe Reischl, Nikki Sakata, epidemiologist with the Central District Health Department, and Vince Serio, clinical director of the BSU Student Health Services provided a summary of the preventative activities being undertaken at the BSU campus and in the community.

More about the APHA “Get Ready” campaign, as well as local events and information related to National Preparedness Month, can be found at www.idahopublichealth.org. Call 392-8524 if you have questions.

Faculty Participates in Healthcare Reform Public Forum

September 9, 2009

Dr. Uwe Reischl, Professor of Health Sciences, was an invited panelist at the Healthcare Reform Public Forum held September 9 at the St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center in Boise. The Forum followed President Obama’s televised speech to a joint session of Congress outlining the administration’s position on healthcare reform. At the Boise Forum, Reischl presented his concept of health insurance as a public utility that could lead to a private-public partnership, which could provide universal healthcare to residents of Idaho. The model is currently being reviewed by a number of Idaho State Legislators.

Faculty Involved in Osher Institute Series on Health Care Reform

Dr. Ed Baker, Director of the Center for Health Policy (CHP), recently gave a presentation to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Boise State University entitled “Talking About Quality: Health Care Stats, Facts and Messages.” Another Department of Community and Environmental Health faculty member, Dr. Uwe Resichl, also presented at the Institute. His topic was, “Health Insurance as a Public Utility.” The Osher Institute series was a part of an ongoing discussion of the health care reform led and coordinated by Dean Jim Girvan.

Visiting Administrator from Nursing’s Partner University in Ecuador

Bolivar Pulla is a professor and administrator in the Department of Pedagogy, Psychology and Education at the Universidad Catolica de Cuenca in Cuenca, Ecuador. As a Dean at his institution, Professor Pulla oversees the instruction of Medical, Dental, and Nursing students. Contact was made with Professor Pulla during the first ever study abroad sponsored by the Department of Nursing to Universidad Catolica de Cuenca in March 2009. The Department of Nursing is hosting the Ecuadorian administrator, along with his wife, Dora, for two weeks.