This week, faculty, staff and students are hosting, attending, and celebrating events that highlight and honor today’s vets. Take a look below at some of the highlights of events from across the week. Further down are some of the many ways USF Health is working to make life better for veterans.
Coverage of some of the veteran-related events from USF Health
More than 70 units with 1,600 volunteers participated in the Veterans Day Parade at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital. Here are a couple of photos, but click here and click here to visit the VA’s Flickr photo books.
Haley VA Parade
Haley VA Parade
The USF College of Public Health’s OSHA Training Institute is offering courses in Wesley Chapel this week. The course on Nov. 10 is titled “Noise Hazards in the Construction Industry” and will be from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The course on Nov. 12 is titled “Managing Excavation Hazards” and will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Click here to learn more.
OTI Course Instructor Kevin Yarborough teaches a group attending the Evacuation and Emergency Planning class that was offered at the USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center in Wesley Chapel, FL on Nov. 9. Courses continue today and Thursday.
DogFest was a great success. The DogFest Walk ‘n Roll Tampa surpassed its goal and raised more than $36,400 toward an effort to provide a canine companion to a local veteran. The USF Health event was Sunday, Nov. 8, and several dozen supporters attended, including several four-legged ones. Volunteers for the day included USF Health’s Medicine in the Armed Forces student group.
USF Health turned out to help raise awareness and more than $36,400 in funds for canine companions.
Points of pride on USF Health’s commitment to veterans
Programs across USF Health are focused on veterans. Here is a sampling of some of them:
School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences:
- USF prosthetic research with wounded warriors may also benefit civilian amputees
- USF awarded $1.3 million to expand research to prevent back injury in firefighters
- USF School of Physical Therapy Awarded $1.59 M From DOD For Musculoskeletal Research
Josh Sparling is silhouetted after completing the obstacle course at the Walter C. Heinrich Practical Training Site. Sparling and 13 other wounded warriors participated in a USF School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences research study funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. The project evaluated how well different types of prosthetic feet work for the rigorous and agile maneuvers soldiers must perform on the battlefield – from running and jumping to dodging, crawling and climbing. The study will ultimately benefit civilian amputees with physically challenging occupations, such as firefighters and police officers, or anyone with physically-demanding recreational pursuits, said USF associate professor Dr. Jason Highsmith, principal investigator for the double-blind randomized trial, who works out of James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital as deputy chief of the Research & Surveillance Division, Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center of Excellence.
College of Public Health:
- Last July, USF’s undergraduate public health was ranked No. 1 in College Factual’s “Top10 Veteran-Friendly Public Health Schools” list
- USF provides undergraduates with a 360 degree exposure in public health
College of Nursing:
- College Factual names USF number one in top 10 ranking of veteran-friendly nursing schools
- Offers V-CARE, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing sequence created for service members and veterans who have completed training as Army or Air Force medics and as Navy corpsman,
- USF College of Nursing leads research on a novel technique to alleviate veterans’ symptoms of combat-related and military sexual trauma
The USF College of Nursing leads research on a novel technique to alleviate veterans’ symptoms of combat-related and military sexual trauma. That treatment – called Accelerated Resolution Therapy, or ART – has been under study at the USF College of Nursing for more than four years, showing remarkable results among initial participants, namely military veterans and civilians with symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
USF Health-wide:
- Many of USF’s Tillman Scholars are USF Health students, including one of the most recent awardees from the College of Pharmacy John Pasciak.
- Stetson University and USF Health form first-of-a-kind partnership to help veterans connection
- The Military Times just ranked USF the #2 Best For Vets university in the country, a ranking likely boosted by the College of Public Health’s #1 ranking and the College of Nursing’s #1 ranking as Veteran Friendly that came in June. In addition to those stellar rankings, support for our veterans can be seen across USF Health, from research endeavors to education to advocacy. Click here for the full article in the magazine.
