October 9, 1996
Loma Linda University
- LLU alumni provide humanitarian health services in Mexico with Liga, International
- SAC Norton physical therapy program plans free seminar series to celebrate national Physical Therapy Month
- Jan Earnhardt, School of Nursing faculty member, retires.
- SPH students reach out to local elemetnary school students
- American College of Dentists inducts three LLU graduates
- H.O.T. Secondhand Store overflowing with merchandise
- LLU School of Medicine Auxiliary to host Fall Brunch and seminar
- Faculty Notes
- Pediatric patients at SAC Health System benefit from PacifiCare Foundation grant
LLU alumni provide humanitarian health services in Mexico with Liga, International
It is 6:30 a.m. at the Riverside airport, and the pilot makes preparation for the the small group to board a small, private four-seater plane. In four hours, they will have crossed the border between the United States and Mexico, and will have touched down in two airports. Their final destination is the small town of El Fuerte in Sinaloa, Mexico.
The plane touches down at its final destination, a landing strip adjacent to El Fuerte. It then taxis to the end of the runway, and joins over 20 other small aircraft from Redlands, Riverside, Las Vegas, and Northern California whose pilots are members of LIGA, a humanitarian group providing health care to Mexico's poorest citizens.
That evening, the group descends upon the clinic, assisted by the local Red Cross and community groups. There are air conditioners to be fixed (physicians and O.R. nurses pitch in), drugs to be sorted and arranged, and surgical packs to be sterilized and prepared.
The next morning before 8:00, family practice physicians, eye surgeons, and dentists make the short walk down the dirt road to the clinic.
They are greeted by hundreds of men, women, and children lined up in front of the clinic. The week before, LIGA members have notified Mexican radio stations about which medical specialists will make the trip, and they in turn notify the public.
"These are the poorest of Mexico's poor," says Walt Cason, MD (SM'54). Dr. Cason is a LIGA veteran, an anesthesiologist who joined LIGA over 30 years ago. He twice served as LIGA president. "Without LIGA volunteers, many of these patients would live thier lives in pain and suffering. Some would never see again."
One does not have to look far to see the difference LIGA volunteers make. A 3-year-old child with webbed fingers sleeps quietly as plastic surgeons from Las Vegas team up to work on the child's birth defect. They skillfully separate the flesh between his fingers so that he will use his hand normally for the first time.
In another corner of the room, Lawrence Wallington, MD (SM '51) operates on a patient using local anesthetic. Dr. Wallington is another Loma Linda University School of Medicine graduate and LIGA veteran, with over 30 years' tenure with the group.
His patient is a middle aged man whose many hours unprotedted under the harsh desert sun have caused large cancerous growths to appear on his face.
Dr. Wallington calmly sets about his task. Soon the dime-sized growth has been removed from the man's eyelid, replaced with a smooth, new skin graft. Through a translator, the smiling patient thanks the doctor, who has removed cancerous growths from his face several times in the past.
"LIGA is very special to me," says Dr. Wallington. "When I graduated from Loma Linda, I knew that I wanted to participate in mission work. But spending time in another country never quite worked out. When I first went on a LIGA trip, I was moved by what I saw. Over time, LIGA and Mexico became a mission field for me."
And if one adds up the hours he has spent traveling to Mexico over the years, it adds up to over three years. Travel costs, adding up to tens of thousands of dollars--have all come from his personal funds.
According to Teri Driver, clinic manager for the El Fuerte site, "Some of our patients travel on foot from close to 200 miles away. They bring blankets, and there is a place for them to stay at the clinic."
The patients sleep below a mural painted by LIGA member and Disney company artist, Frank Armitage.
The mural, which spreads across three clinic walls, depicts doctors, dentists, and nurses who traveling to Mexico by small plane doing surgery, extracting teeth, and treating patients.
Ms. Driver is moved by the sincerity of Mexico's people. She opens a dusty burlap sack, and removes an artificial leg. "Its owner," she says, "traveled over 100 miles to return this leg to us when he could no longer wear it. In the United States, it would have most likely been tossed in the trash."
Liga volunteers include dentists, physical therapists, and nurses. Specialists include family practice physicians, plastic surgeons, orthopaedic surgeons, and ophthalmologists.
Some of the pilots, and other volunteers with limited health care experience help with translating, and are taught to take blood pressures during clinic hours.
On a recent trip, Art Giebel, MD (SM'91), an ophthalmologist currently serving a fellowship in cornea and refractive surgery at the University of California in Irvine, screened 124 patients with eye diseases.
According to other LIGA members, Dr. Giebel is a dedicated surgeon, who begins surgery before 8:00 a.m., and sews up the final sutures at 11:30 p.m.
"My dream is to someday spend several more days here," says Dr. Giebel. "I could then accept more pediatric cases, and other cases that require more extensive follow-up care."
Reporters from the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register, and major network news programs have joined Liga, International, on various trips in the past to report on the group and its humanitarian activities.
Companies and representatives that have donated substantial amounts of equipment and supplies, and who have made eye surgery in Mexico possible include: Storz Ophthalmics, Darlene Goudey; Chiron Vision, Dave Eck; Inland Eye Institute, Loren Denler, MD, Harold Wallar, MD, Ernest Zane, MD; Loma Linda University Medical Center, Eileen Zorn, RN, MS; Riverside General Hospital, James Davidian, MD, Edwina Terrell, RN, and Dan Tubridy, RPh, MBA.
Liga is now recruiting health-care professionals, including general practice physicians. Those who can speak Spanish are always needed. For information, call Elizabeth Ross at the Liga office, at (714) 852-8611.
SAC Norton physical therapy program plans free seminar series to celebrate national Physical Therapy Month
The physical therapy program at the Norton Social Action Community Clinics is celebrating Physical Therapy Month, as well as the program's first year anniversary, by offering a series of free seminars for the community on theories of health and safety.
Following is a list of topics and times for the seminars to be held during the month of October. The seminars will take place from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.
There is limited space available for the seminars. Reservations are requested, and can be made by calling (909) 382-7150.
- Wednesday, October 9, Relaxation techniques.
- Monday, October 14, Neck and upper back massage.
- Wednesday, October 16, Pain relieving techniques.
- Monday, October 21, Infant/child massage.
- Wednesday, October 23, Body care for caregivers.
- Monday, October 28, Back care.
- Wednesday, October 30, Shoulder care.
Jan Earnhardt, School of Nursing faculty member, retires.
Speaking with retired associate professor Jan Earnhardt, EdD, MS, CCRN, RN, one becomes aware of her initial sense of mixed emotions when first considering her move out of the stimulating teaching environment of Loma Linda University.
"I love working with motivated, energetic young people and agency personnel involved in the dynamic and challenging world of health care," she muses. "Teaching is a career where the rewards don't always come immediately, but it is so gratifying to see the success of students. Some of them have even become my colleagues."
Going through two major life changes in the past few months--retiring after 42 years of nursing and moving across the country--is proving to be a timely and satisfying decision for Dr. Earnhardt.
She is looking forward to pursuing other interests, while at the same time maintaining a certain degree of currency in nursing.
She continues to receive nursing journals, her license is current in several areas, and she is pursuing further computer instruction.
Even through this transitional period, one thing remains the same: although in retirement, Dr. Earnhardt is keeping herself busy. In fact, almost too busy.
"I have only been here a matter of weeks," she remarks, referring to Hendersonville, North Carolina, where she now resides. "Still, I already feel myself starting to get involved in too many things. I keep telling people that I am choosing not to make any commitments until after the first of the year."
This should give her time to settle into life in western North Carolina (near Asheville), where she lives in a hillside villa surrounded by beautiful green landscape overlooking Park Ridge Hospital below and the Smoky Mountains in the distance.
Dr. Earnhardt's 42-year nursing career has been long and varied. After earning her bachelor in science degree from Columbia Union College in 1954, she worked in a busy general practice office. After this came a stint in the operating room at Washington Adventist Hospital in Washington, D.C. and an appointment by the Inter-American Division of the General Conference to Hospital Bella Vista in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.
Dr. Earnhardt made her first appearance at Loma Linda in 1962, when she came to earn her graduate degree. She has been in California ever since, first in a two-year position at the Orange County Health Department, then as a faculty member of the School of Nursing for the next 31 years (two of which were spent as adult ICU director at LLUMC).
Dr. Earnhardt's colleagues at the School of Nursing miss her.
"Jan always gave thought to the things she said and did," explains Mildred Akamine, MS, RN, associate professor. "She dared to speak her mind and the students appreciated her leadership."
Adeeba Evans, administrative coordinator at the School of Nursing, agrees.
"Jan is a sweet person and a good friend. She is very particular about how things are done, but she has a good sense of humor to go along with it."
"I have asked the Lord to help me move from the past, except to learn from it, and look ahead to the future--moving ahead with energy, purpose, and focus," she says.
SPH students reach out to local elemetnary school students
Do you know what a diseased artery looks like? The students in the sixth grade class at Loma Linda Elementary School do. They were shown real samples of aortic arteries in all stages of atherosclerosis as part of a 20-minute presentation on how to prevent heart disease through a healthful diet.
LLU's School of Public Health students enrolled in a class entitled "Principles of Effective Nutrition Education" have been giving nutrition presentations to local elementary schools.
"This exercise provides valuable practical experience for the master's students, as well as important dietary information for the children," says Louise Schneider, coordinator of the class outreach program.
Topics presented ranged from food safety to the benefits of fiber. The Loma Linda students worked in groups of two or three. The public health students captured the attention of the elementary students by passing around preserved tissue samples that were borrowed from the School of Medicine department of pathology.
"Actually seeing what eating a high fat diet can do to the inside of an artery made a big impression on the elementary students," Ms. Schneider says. "They could visualize what unhealthy eating can do to the body.
"The children seemed really receptive to learning about what fiber is and how it can help to make you healthier," observes Khongmany Hongthong, a School of Public Health student. "The children were really friendly and asked when we would come back."
Developing healthy eating habits at a young age is one of the best ways to establish life-long prevention of many chronic diseases, according to the public health students.
"I had a great time working with the children," remarks Rosi Silva, another School of Public Health student involved in the project. "I felt like I was making a difference, and learning at the same time."
American College of Dentists inducts three LLU graduates
At the recently held Annual Session of the American College of Dentists in Orlando, Florida, three LLU SD faculty members were honored as part of the 1996 Fellowship Class.
Ming-way Lee, DDS (SD '86) is an assistant professor of restorative dentistry teaching in the INternational Dentist Program; Steven G. Morrow, DDS (SD '60, MS '85), is an associate professor in the department of endodontics, and Raymond Sugiyama, DDS (MS '68), practices orthodontics in Los Alamitos and has been teaching part-time in the department of orthodontics since 1978.
The American College of Dentists was formed in 1920 for the purpose of promoting the highest ideals and ethical concepts in dentistry. Each year a small number of dentists, who have distinguished themselves in the profession, are nominated and voted into fellowship.
H.O.T. Secondhand Store overflowing with merchandise
When it rains, it pours. The old adage certainly seems to apply at the School of Nursing Alumni Association owned and operated H.O.T. Secondhand Store.
H.O.T., located at 24871 Redlands Blvd. in Loma Linda, is managed by Joni Jones. As the items sold at H.O.T. are donated by the public, Ms. Jones is continually asking for goods to sell. In the last few weeks, her appeals have been more than answered.
"We have received about eight or nine estates over the past several weeks," says Ms. Jones. "While we are grateful for the quality merchandise being donated, we don't know what to do with it all."
A partial solution came in the form of a 50 percent off sale, which was instituted until most of the merchandise was sold. Joni now promises the first 10 people in the door at 9:00 a.m. each Sunday, 75 percent off items in the main store, and the more specialized H.O.T. Boutique.
Items sold at H.O.T. include new and used designer clothing, toys, books, furniture, small appliances and other household goods, antiques, and collectibles. Until the merchandise is sold, however, Ms. Jones needs more volunteer help than ever before.
She explains, "There are several steps involved in running a business. Not only do you need to find something to sell and someone to buy it, you also need to find someone to sell it."
Those interested in volunteering at H.O.T. Secondhand Store may contact Ms. Jones at 796-2812.
LLU School of Medicine Auxiliary to host Fall Brunch and seminar
The National Auxiliary Fall Brunch and Seminar will be held on Tuesday, October 22, 1996, at 9:30 a.m. (with registration at 9:00 a.m.).
Troubles? We all have them. That's life. But how we respond to the difficulties makes all the difference.
Kay Rizzo, speaker and author of 24 books, will present "Get a Life," a practical approach to changing one's attitude from the inside out.
Ms. Rizzo's bestselling books include I Will Die Free, Never a Dull Moment, and a historical fection series entitled Choe Mae Chronicles.
Her latest book, On Wings of Praise, was published this year.
Before turning her full-time attention to speakin and writing, Ms. Rizzo was housemother to 185 teenage girls, and taught English on both the high school and college level. She and her husband, Richard, live in central California and have two married daughters.
Ms. Rizzo will be available for a book signing following the seminar.
The annual fall brunch and seminar will be held at the Victoria Club, 2521 Arroyo Drive, Riverside. Cost: brunch and seminar, $35.00. The cost for resident Medical Auxiliary members is $17.50.
Registration deadline is October 16. Tickets ordered by mail may be picked up during registration.
Checks, payable to "National Auxiliary," may be sent to LLUSM, 11245 Anderson Street, Suite 230, Loma Linda, California 92354.
* Kiti Freier, PdD, assistant professor of psychology, department of psychology, Graduate School, has co-authored a chapter in the Review of Law and Change, Vol XXII:425. The chapter, entitled, "Keeping Mothers and Their Infants Together: Barriers and Solutions," advocates the development of treatment and prevention programs designed for women who have used illicit substances during pregnancy. The article discusses the need for added support from the medical, legal, and social systems.
* Barbara Frye, DrPH, RN, coordinator of maternal/child health, School of Public Health, has begun studies with the State University of New York at Stonybrook in nurse midwifery.
* William Jarvis, PhD, professor of public health and preventive medicine, Schools of Public Healh and Medicine, presented "Herbal Remedies and Homeopathy" at physicians' conferences at Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Medical Center on September 19, and at Peninsula Hospital, San Pedro, on September 24.
* Joseph Kan, DDS, has been appointed assistant director in the clinic for prosthodontics and implant dentistry.
* Jaime Lozada, DDS, traveled to Peru for the International Congress of Gnatology of Peru, where he was keynote speaker. His title was "Full mouth implant reconstruction."
He was also guest speaker in Monterey, Mexico, at the 34th Annual Study Group of Monterey, where he presented the topic "Advanced Surgical Procedures in Implant Dentistry."
* Philip Boyne, DDS, was appointed program director for the 17th Annual Meeting of the American College of Oral Maxillofacial Surgeons which will be held next March in La Jolla.
Dr. Boyne attended the Board of Directors of the Design Dynamics International as a medical advisor. The meeting was held in Golden, Colorado on August 23.
Bone grafts substitutes was the topic for a "Breakfast and Learn" course Dr. Boyne presented during the 78th Annual Meeting of m American Association of Oral Maxillofacial Surgeons in Miami September 18-20. He was also interviewed on Miami on the subject of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP).
During a seminar at the Genetic Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dr. Boyne presented the results and progress report of current research he is conducting using BMP in animal and human subjects.
* The department of orthopaedic surgery and the Howard and Irene Peterson Tribology Lab hosted an "Implant" Wear Debris Workshop on Friday, September 13. Guest speakers included Pat Campbell (Orthopaedic Hospital, USC), and Mike Kabo (UCLA). This was also the first meeting of the newly formed Southern California Wear Debris Consortium composed of Orthopaedic Research Group at LLU, Orthopaedic Hospital (USC), and UCLA. The workshop is the first in a series of annual workshops on wear and wear debris from total joint replacements.
Pediatric patients at SAC Health System benefit from PacifiCare Foundation grant
On behalf of the Social Action Community Health System (SAC Health System), Loma Linda University has received a $8,790 grant from the PacifiCare Foundation.
The grant is to be used toward the purchase of pediatric dental supplies and equipment.
The addition of comprehensive pediatric dental services at SAC Health System has been the next step in meeting the health-care needs of children in the community.
This recent grant from the PacifiCare Foundation, paired with the dental facilities at the Norton Social Action Community Health System clinic, and the participation of volunteer staff from the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry, will ensure that medically underserved children in the community are provided with access to dental care.
"We believe strongly in giving back to the communities we serve," says Bill Wood, PacifiCare Foundation president.
"We are pleased to partner with such a worthwhile organization as Loma Linda University, and we look forward to assisting it in meeting the community's vital needs."
The PacifiCare Foundation is a philanthropic organization which was established by PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc., six years ago.
The Foundation is devoted to charitable causes that enhance the health, wellness, and welfare of individuals, families, and the community.
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