LLU - May 7, 1998

Loma Linda School of Public Health news

Public health names alumnus of the year, service award recipients
SAC Health System receives major grant

May 7, 1998 [TODAY, May 7, 1998]

Public health names alumnus of the year, service award recipients

Richard Hart and Daniel Skoretz

Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, SPH dean (right), introduces Daniel Skoretz, MSPH (SPH'71), as the Alumnus of the Year for 1998 for the School of Public Health. See more photos.

During the annual recognition banquet, held on Thursday evening, March 12, the School of Public Health announced this year's recipients of the School's Alumnus of the Year and Distinguished Service Awards.

E. Daniel Skoretz, MSPH (SPH'71), a retired minister who continues to help pastor various churches in the area, was named Alumnus of the Year.

The School of Public Health's Distinguished Service Awards were given to Richard T. Walden, DVM, MD, and Frank R. Lemon, MD, both former faculty at Loma Linda and key figures in the Adventist Health Study.

Pastor Skoretz came to Loma Linda University's School of Public Health, then known as the School of Health, to work on his MSPH in health education. He completed his degree in 1971.

He was described by his teachers as one of those inspiring students who was filled with enthusiasm and a willingness to apply new concepts and approaches to old methodology.

While completing his master's degree program, it became apparent that Pastor Skoretz had a love and talent for teaching.

Serving as a member of the School faculty from 1972 to 1975, Pastor Skoretz came up with the idea of training master of public health students off campus. His vision of offering physicians, dentists, nurses, teachers, pastors, and other professionals the opportunity to earn a degree without being required to leave jobs and homes began a trend that has seen more than 1,000 students earn their public health degrees through the School's extended campus program.

The example he set as a pioneer of off-campus education has led to similar programs on college and university campuses all over the world.

"For his buoyant spirit, his unswerving loyalty, and his dedication to his profession, his family, and his God, the School of Public Health salutes Elder Dan Skoretz," were the words spoken by Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH, School of Public Health dean, during the banquet.

Frank R. Lemon, MD, was born in San Bernardino. In June of 1950, he graduated from the College of Medical Evangelists (CME)--now Loma Linda University--and interned at the United States Marine Hospital, San Francisco, as an officer in the United States Public Health Service, followed by a residency at the Contra Costa County Hospital located in Martinez.

During the latter part of 1951, Dr. Lemon moved his family to Wyoming and began private practice in the rural town of Greybull.

Two years later, after successfully establishing a busy practice in Greybull, Dr. Lemon answered a call to join the School of Tropical and Preventive Medicine at CME.

He was sent to Mexico City in order to gain experience in public health and tropical medicine. During his year there, he helped establish a field experience program for CME medical students.

Following his experience in Mexico, he attended Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, where he received his MPH degree.

In-mid 1955, Dr. Lemon returned to Loma Linda where he became assistant professor in the School of Tropical and Preventive Medicine. Here he developed both general health and parasitic studies among farm workers in the Imperial Valley and Native American inhabitants of the Navajo nation.

He also developed an epidemiological study titled "Causes of Death Among Seventh-day Adventists," which became known as the Adventist Mortality Study. Soon after, he was named chair of the department of preventive medicine in the University's School of Medicine.

Dr. Lemon received a grant which allowed him to set up a program to send medical students to various sites in North, South, and Central America in order to gain public health and mission experience. This particular program was an important part of his belief that CME was established to train "medical evangelists" to respond to the physical and spiritual needs of people around the world.

From 1964 through 1967, Dr. Lemon completed a residency in internal medicine at the Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital in Long Beach, and worked in private practice in the area.

In the fall of 1968, he moved to Lexington, Kentucky, to work for the University of Kentucky's medical school. During his 15 years there, he served as associate dean for graduate and continuing education and developed an internationally respected continuing education program for physicians.

He also served as assistant professor for the department of internal medicine, as well as professor of preventive medicine.

From 1983 to 1987, he served as associate chief of staff for education at the VA Hospital in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Returning to California in 1987, Dr. Lemon provided medical consultation to the Inland Health and Rehabilitation Center and the California State Department of Rehabilitation. Currently, he continues to work one day a week for the State Rehabilitation Department in Indio.

Richard T. Walden, MD, DVM, was born in Casper, Wyoming. Shortly thereafter, his family moved to San Jose, California, where he was raised.

During Dr. Walden's practice as a veterinarian, a young Seventh-day Adventist physician brought his wife's dog for care, providing Dr. Walden's first contact with Adventism. For years, he tried to disprove Adventist beliefs, but somehow always found himself surrounded by Adventists who were always willing to share the Gospel.

Even while he was in the army, he says, "The Lord surrounded me with Adventist soldiers."

Finally, after years of exposure to Adventists and study on his own, Dr. Walden was baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist faith while abroad.

Returning to the United States, he took pre-medical training at La Sierra College [now La Sierra University] in Riverside, and completed medical school at Loma Linda University, graduating in 1952.

During his many years at Loma Linda, he served as professor and chair of the department of preventive medicine, and assistant dean of the School until 1972.

Drs. Lemon and Walden are both viewed as a pioneers of the School, helping to establish the Adventist Health Study and other research into the effects of lifestyle on health and well-being.

For dedication to the ideal of excellence in research and scholarship, the School of Public Health offers Drs. Lemon and Walden the Distinguished Service Awards.

A moment was taken to remember people important to the School who have passed away during the previous year, including Hulda Crooks; U. D. Register, PhD; Ruth M. White, PhD; and Hazel R. Halverson.

Receiving the Hulda Crooks Award were David Lackey, Thomas Schilling, Naphtal Recibwa, Jonathan Bredehoft, Jeffery Davies, Tun Myint, Rhonda Lee, Marc Wagner, and Jamie Gladson.

Students awarded the Willard and Irene Humpal Scholarships include Sam Biraro, Oscar and Eugenia Giordano, Pavel Polehna, Nalda Gordon, Maragia Omwega, and Daniel Sandy. Marc Wagner received the Erwin Crawford Scholarship Award.

Receiving the Wiesseman Doctoral Award scholarships were Hildemar Dos Santos, Debbie Coleman-Wallace, Suzanne Perrin, Dina Madrid, Robert Granger, and Leonard Gibbons.

Theresa Morales received the Hispanic Alumni of Loma Linda (HALL) Scholarship Award.

During the evening's activities, the School also honored a number of special guests including Walter H. B. Roberts, MD, emeritus professor of anatomy, School of Medicine; Gary H. Harding, MD, MPH, assistant professor of health administration, SPH; distinguished donors Marge and James Jetton, MD; Eva Maria Gaede, MD; and Clarence R. Lindgren, MD.

Also honored were new partners Kaiser Permanente of Fontana; Community Hospital of San Bernardino; and The California Endowment. Adventist Health Study leaders Ernst Wynder, MD; Frank Lemon, MD; Richard Walden, MD, DVM; Gary Fraser, MD, PhD; and Mervyn G. Hardinge, MD, PhD, DrPH, were honored for their pioneering work.

At the evening's conclusion, the entire class of 1998 was recognized. The class totals 160 students from 20 countries and includes three couples, one professional clown, and one cartoonist.

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SAC Health System receives major grant

The California Endowment has awarded a grant of $394,717 to the Social Action Community (SAC) Health System to fund its San Bernardino Community Health Planning project.

The Health System, made up of the SAC Norton, SAC Redlands, SAC Arrowhead, SAC Frazee, and SAC West End/Montclair clinics, provides primary health care for those who are medically underserved in the surrounding communities.

The California Endowment approved the award, to be disbursed over 12 months, under its Community Health Investment Program. SAC Health System will implement the project by (1) initiating a community planning process to preserve the health-care safety net in San Bernardino County, (2) develop an organizational business plan for SAC Health System, and (3) complete urgently required capital improvements at the SAC Norton clinic site.

SAC Health System began as a volunteer-driven effort in the 1970s. Today, the expanded primary care program encompasses five clinic sites, including SAC Norton at the former Norton Air Force Base, SAC Arrowhead at the corner of 13th and D Streets (San Bernardino), SAC Frazee at the Frazee Community Center (San Bernardino), SAC Redlands at a housing development in the city of Redlands, and SAC West End/Montclair in the city of Montclair--the latest to be opened.

"The California Endowment is serious about ensuring care for the underserved in the state of California," says Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH, dean of the School of Public Health and president of SAC Health System. "The endowment's officers and staff have been keenly aware of the lack in this area of our region."

Dr. Hart continues, "We welcome the endowment's commitment to assist SAC Health System to be the best possible conduit to ensure the delivery of care to our region's community."

Established in May of 1996, the California Endowment is a private foundation located in Woodland Hills. The foundation's mission is to improve access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians.

A regional orientation for foundation activities has been adopted to ensure access to all constituents and to improve the foundation's understanding of the unique needs of the diverse people and communities of California.

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