President’s Cabinet Awards 

April Cowan, OTD, OTR, CHT
Loree Pryor, OTD, OTR
Occupational Therapy

Currently occupational therapy faculty and students participate in several clinics at St. Vincent’s. As the clinics grow, an apparent need for hand-therapy services has developed, and the OT team is receiving 5 to 8 referrals each semester. When an individual injures an upper extremity or hand, their ability to engage in daily activities is severely limited. This clinic is designed to fill a gap in specialized therapy services for the uninsured and underinsured and provide a valuable clinical learning experience for UTMB students. Patients will regain proper functions of the hand – strength and dexterity – with the goal to return work and perform daily activities independently. In turn, students will gain specialized therapy skills that are sought after by clinical fieldwork sites and employers.

Victor Sierpina, MD
Anna Fields, School of Medicine Student
Mercedez Hernandez, School of Medicine Student
Jessica Stauber, School of Medicine Student
Daniel White, School of Medicine Student
Family Medicine

Food insecurity is an unreliable access to affordable and nutritious food.  Rates of food insecurity in Galveston exceed national and state averages.  A partnership between UTMB, the UTMB Greenies Gardening Club and Seeding Galveston will work with at-risk residents to build and maintain backyard and neighborhood gardens.  The program will also establish a compost pick-up program designed to generate a cost-effective alternative to conventional garden fertilizer.

Harold J. Vanderpool, PhD, ThM
Institute for Medical Humanities

The influences and implications of end-of-life decisions can be deeply religious, spiritual and cultural; therefore, a one-size-fits-all approach is not effective or reasonable. This program was designed to offer UTMB employees, students, patients and families with planning strategies that considered religious, spiritual and cultural influences relating to life and death decisions. The practical intervention consisted of information and public education about existing legal and ethical options for advanced care planning and end-of-life decision making through a series of public lectures and film screenings designed to educate the UTMB and Galveston community about bridging common cultural divides.

Melissa Lockhart, PhD, APRN, GNP
Erin Hommel, MD
Andrea Wirt, MSN, GNP
Internal Medicine - Geriatrics

Caregiver burden is significant for families of geriatric patients. Following the success of a 2019 collaboration between the UTMB Geriatrics Department and the St. Vincent’s House Clinic, this project seeks to expand free respite care to all UTMB campuses. By providing more than 1,340 hours of free respite services, this program seeks to reduce caregiver stress, anxiety, and depression. Based on referrals from UTMB providers and social workers, contracted service providers from three local licensed in-home agencies will be dispatched to urban and rural geriatric patient homes to assist and/or relieve caregivers. Caregivers participating in Galveston, Brazoria and Harris counties will have the option to choose half-day or full-day periods.

Ryan Erwin
UTMB Police Department

In the event of an active shooter, this project will increase the training and communication efforts of police officers with the UTMB Police Department, the Galveston Police Department, the Port of Galveston Police Department, the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office and the University of Houston-Clear Lake Police. Instead of using paintball guns, special simulation equipment will be purchased to provide more enhanced and realistic training scenarios. Quarterly sessions will be conducted among these multiple law enforcement agencies.

Souby George, MSN, RNC-MNN
Tracey Santiago, MSN, RNC-OB
Women Infant and Children

Kangaroo Care is a form of developmental care that benefits all newborns, especially those in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The more an infant is exposed to skin-to-skin care, the more likely the infant will experience positive outcomes. Current patient hospital gowns do not facilitate skin-to-skin care or allow for privacy or proper securing of the infant. This project seeks to create a new gown so that all new mothers at UTMB can provide safe and modest skin-to-skin contact with their child within the first few hours of giving birth. Staff will also be trained and certified in Kangaroo Care in order to teach proper positioning and care of the infant during their hospital stay.

Dr. John Fraser
Dr. William Mileski
Surgery/Trauma Services

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in adolescent and young adult drivers. To lower the incidences of drunk and distracted driving, the Save a Life Tour will feature day-long programs at five local schools through high-impact demonstrations and video. Students also will participate in driving simulators that mimic the effects of alcoholic beverage consumption and/or texting while driving. Computer survey kiosks will record students’ knowledge and attitudes about impaired driving before and after the presentations.

Jed Assam, MD
Karima Khimani, MD (PGY-4)
Misha Syed, MD
Ophthalmology

A 2019 President’s Cabinet Award revitalized ophthalmology service at St. Vincent’s House Clinic and as a result patient volume has increased four-fold in the past year. To help manage growth and create a fully- equipped glaucoma diagnostic service center, this expansion will allow for the purchase of a human field analyzer, a handheld fundus camera and a slit lamp. These additional diagnostic tools and screening equipment will open more exam lanes and provide quality ophthalmic services to Galveston’s underserved community.

Ardalan Sharifi, MD (PGY-3 Resident)
Matthew Yang, MD (PGY-3 Chief Resident)
Ophthalmology

Due to the success of two previous President's Cabinet Awards (2019 and 2021), this project will significantly expand the reach of St. Vincent's House to treat vision-threatening issues such as diabetic retinopathy, cataracts and glaucoma for Galveston's most vulnerable population. More diagnostic tools will be purchased to open more exam lanes and additional screening equipment will support the continued growth in patient volume in order to continue providing the highest standard of eye care.

Jessica Allen, Student
Kyler Elwell, Student
School of Medicine

With a majority of Galveston’s public school children qualifying for the State Children Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) or Children’s Medicaid, there has always been a substantial demand for children’s healthcare coverage in our area. However, low enrollment in these programs results from many factors: inaccessible bureaucracies, intricate forms, detailed documentation, extended time lapses between application and enrollment, and rapid expiration of coverage. Recognizing the importance of this growing problem, UTMB medical students Jessica Allen and Kyler Elwell, created this project to organize county-wide outreach efforts utilizing UTMB students, faculty and staff who worked with families and helped them complete complicated applications and educate them on the enrollment process and policy maintenance. This two-year project coordinated three county-wide outreach visits per year, created a working-relationship with the Galveston Independent School District to train district employees and disseminate information to families, and established a website to facilitate access to information on state and federal health insurance and related resources.

John F. (Fred) Thomas, PhD
Community Health Services

The overlying goal of this project was to improve adolescent mental health in the Galveston community through psycho-education, screening and provision of culturally sensitive, evidence-based services. Three prevention strategies were incorporated into a single program and was implemented on a racially mixed and economically diverse sample of Ball High school students. Students were taught how to recognize signs of depression in themselves and others.  Additionally, students were screened to assess depressive symptoms; those with clinically significant scores were encouraged to utilize the services available through the Teen Health Centers located at Ball High School and Central Middle School. Participants were also directed to a project-based website that was monitored by an experienced clinician who reviewed all responses and wrote a detailed, personalized assessment. Assessments were emailed to the student and were offered the option of talking anonymously with a licensed clinician regarding “feelings-related” issues. Questionnaire responses that suggested significant problems were addressed by urging students to seek immediate assistance at one of the two Teen Health Clinics.

Rev. Helen W. Appelberg, DMin.
Sealy Center on Aging

In an effort to establish a supportive and collaborative environment designed to motivate seniors to become active partners with UTMB, the Sealy Center on Aging has created the Senior Seaside Club.  Galveston seniors (age 65 and older), UTMB faculty, staff and students will engage in educational, social and recreational activities designed to build a sense of community.  Activities include learning dinners with presentations related to health and wellness; “By the Sea” senior beach walks; a three-day conference for seniors, their families and caregivers; renewal of the “House Call” program; and expansion of the “Friends of the ACE Unit” volunteer program.  The overall goal of this program is to lay a foundation and create the momentum for seniors to become active partners with UTMB to build a stronger and better future.

Erin Kearney
Ann Ross
Elizabeth Ginn
Martha Norris
Pediatrics

Childhood and adolescent obesity are among the most important public health problems in the United States. Obesity during adolescence increases the risk of disease and premature death during adulthood. In order to combat obesity rates among Galveston County children and adolescents, this program will partner with the Teen Health Center, Inc. to identify children aged 10 or older who are overweight or obese and provide family counseling, weight loss education and nutritional skills in addition to screens for dyslipidemia. Patients will be tracked over a two-year period.

Rebecca Castro
Diana Hearn, RN
Community Health

People with diabetes face difficult decisions each day; one of the most important decisions involves diet modification, including how to shop for and prepare nutritious foods. The Community Health Program at UTMB will select up to 60 people to participate in this educational program to learn how to identify healthy foods at the grocery store, stay within their budget, and prepare these foods in a healthy manner at home. Progress will be measured by tracking Hemoglobin A1C levels with a goal to decrease each participant's A1C by 1.0 over a 6-month period.

Gibran Khurshid, MD
Ophthalmology

The most common irreversible cause of blindness, diabetic retinopathy, is a prevalent condition in our community. To optimize ophthalmic care to Galveston County residents, this award will outfit the St. Vincent's Eye Clinic with the tools and medicine necessary to treat the disease or perform surgery at no cost to economically disadvantaged patients.

Margaret Resto
School of Nursing

While a majority of St. Vincent’s patients qualify for free or discounted sleep apnea evaluations, they are unable to afford the equipment and supplies to treat the disorder. This program will identify uninsured or economically disadvantaged patients diagnosed with sleep apnea and outfit them with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines and related supplies. Nurse managers will make home visits to set up and demonstrate the equipment and patients will be monitored and evaluated regularly to measure results.

Abe DeAnda, Jr., MD, FACS, FAHA
Elizabeth Turner
Department of Surgery & SMART Family Literacy Program

The UTMB Family Medicine Department will partner with the SMART Family Literacy program and purchase 9,000 books to create a permanent curriculum library and distribute another 9,000 age-appropriate books to Galveston County children. The books will concentrate on nutrition, heart-healthy lifestyles, science and math. In-school sessions and family literacy events will be held to distribute books, healthy snacks and conduct hands-on STEM activities. UTMB Family Medicine Faculty will serve as guest readers and second-year pediatric residents will assist to gain more experiences with children while observing their developmental stages and differences.

Miles Farr, MD
Jacob Moran, student MD/PhD Program
Abhijit Rao, student MD/PhD Program
Office of the Provost

St. Vincent’s House Clinic will partner with UTMB Care Management to establish a Care Transition Clinic (CTC) to serve uninsured patients upon discharge from hospital. The CTC will see patients within one week after discharge to triage and help obtaining follow up care via St. Vincent’s and UTMB. Additionally, a Hospital to Home (H2H) team—led by a UTMB social worker and staffed by UTMB students— will be created to connect with patients prior to discharge to review care plans, identify barriers to adherence of plans and report findings directly to the CTC.

Blair H. Brown, MS, RD, LD, CNSC
Crystal C. Douglas, PhD
Chris Messenger, PhD, RD, LD, CNSC
Nutrition and Metabolism

Noting an increase in the volume of food distributed by the St. Vincent’s Clinic food pantry throughout the pandemic, graduate students in the School of Health Professions Nutrition and Metabolism department plan to restore and augment the clinic’s HOPE Garden to provide a source of fresh fruit and vegetables. This project will reinforce and expand the ability of St. Vincent’s House to provide food and comprehensive nutrition education for Galveston’s vulnerable population.

Robert Beach, MD
Paul Bui, School of Medicine Student
Sarah Butler, School of Health Professions Student
Transon Vu Nguyen, School of Medicine Student
Kendrick White, School of Medicine Student
Internal Medicine

Hepatitis C is a viral infection acquired from various sources including contaminated blood or blood products. The St. Vincent’s Student Run Clinic will address chronic hepatitis C in vulnerable populations by establishing a support group and hepatitis clinic in Galveston. Student volunteers will utilize patient assistance programs offered by pharmaceutical companies to provide free medications to persons without health insurance. Protocols will also be established for treating patients while barriers to successful treatment will be identified and addressed (i.e. lack of transportation, alcohol consumption, etc.). Project funds will be used for laboratory testing, addressing barriers and providing social support and behavioral counseling to promote sustained cure and quality of life.