Click here for Match Day 2021 results.

About 170 senior medical students from the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine were successfully matched today and learned where they will spend their residency training after graduation from medical school in May.

Called Match Day, the annual event is held at all medical schools across the country to reveal where senior medical students will spend their residencies, the next step in their medical education – which can last from three to seven years, depending on the specialty.

After a cancellation last year due to COVID-19, this year’s Match Day for USF Health students returned to a format more like those in years past, with mostly in-person presentations of sealed envelopes and students announcing and celebrating their matches with classmates. This hybrid approach included some students streaming in virtually to share their matches with classmates.

At the in-person event, held outdoors at the downtown Tampa restaurant Ulele, public health measures were followed: the senior medical students remained socially distant, wore masks and, as health care providers in training with direct patient interaction, had already been vaccinated against COVID-19.

But some traditions remained on pause, like including friends and family at the event. To help keep them connected, the event was live-streamed so relations across the globe could see matches unfold.

Kicking of the program was U.S. Representative Kathy Castor, who offered good wishes in a prerecorded message shown to all in attendance and across the live-stream.

“From Washington DC, a big shout out and congratulations to everyone who is matching today,” Rep. Castor said. “Congratulations USF College of Medicine and all the fantastic folks who are on the way to their residencies. I know how important it is to have residency slots across the state of Florida. We’re behind. So, wherever you match, just know we want you to return to the Tampa Bay area, return to the state of Florida to practice medicine and serve your neighbors. And you can count on me here in Congress to work to expand the number of residency slots so future graduates can match and serve in the state of Florida. Go Bulls!”

Then came in-person congratulations from Charles Lockwood, MD, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine.

“It’s incredibly thrilling to me to be at this live event,” Dr. Lockwood said. “You’re an amazing group of people who have put up with a year that is unlike any in our history. I thank you for your patience, your tenacity, and your grit. This was an incredibly complex year, from an educational standpoint, and was emotionally draining on all of us. We’re all a little better, as physicians, for it. We dealt with a planetary pandemic, the likes of which we haven’t seen for over a hundred years, and came through it, particularly this state, incredibly well. We’re not done yet, but we’re close. So, it’s great to see you off to your residencies and the next phase of your careers. Congratulations, thank you all, and good luck.”

And then the matches began!

The national match process is handled through the National Residency Match Program (NRMP). In the months leading up to Match Day, students apply and interview for residency slots with institutions across the country, and then rank their preferences. Match Day, which begins at noon (ET), is when students learn which residency programs chose them and where they will train for the next three to seven years.

This year’s NRMP’s main match was the largest in NRMP history: a record-high 48,700 applicants submitted program choices for 38,106 positions, an increase of 3,741 (8.3%) applicants over 2020 (the largest single-year bump in recorded history).

For this year’s Match Day, the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Class of 2021 includes 171 senior students, of which 46 are in the SELECT MD program, who have spent the past two years in clinical rotations in Allentown, PA.

Stats: From the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Class of 2021: 171 students matched; 37 students (22%) are staying at USF; 79 (46%) are staying in Florida; and 57 students (33%) chose primary care as their specialty (internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics). Click here for more details about the nationwide Match from the National Residency Match Program.

Photos by Allison Long, video by Torie Doll, USF Health Communications and Marketing

U.S. Representative Kathy Castor hosted a press conference March 21 at the USF Health Neuroscience Institute’s Byrd Alzheimer’s Center, announcing her creation of a bill that will help continue funding the work of marketplace navigators who enroll individuals in insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act.

U.S. Rep Kathy Castor (left) and USF Health’s Jodi Ray address local media at the Byrd Alzheimer’s Center in Tampa.

“Because I believe that the work of our navigators here at the University of South Florida, all across the state, and all across the country is so important, and because our issue with health care costs for families is so difficult, I have filed a bill – the Enroll Act – to ensure our navigators stay on the beat,” Rep. Castor said.

“It’s called the ENROLL Act. That bill will work in tandem with a bill I have filed that will outlaw junk insurance plans, the short-term, limited duration plans that masquerade as real insurance…These initiatives together should help to lower health care costs for everyone.”

Also speaking at the press conference was USF Health’s Jodi Ray, director of Florida Covering Kids and Families and faculty in the USF College of Public Health. Ray and her teams of navigators won the largest Navigator grant in the country and in Florida several years in a row after the insurance marketplace opened in 2013 – totaling more than $14.5 million in grant funding. The grants allowed the navigators in all 67 Florida counties to work with consortium partners that deploy in-person assisters known as navigators to explain health insurance options and help people sign up for plans.

U.S. Rep Kathy Castor (left) listens as Jodi Ray explains the important work of navigators in helping citizens enroll in health insurance options.

“Every day navigators have the opportunity to witness the life-altering impact of what attaining coverage means to the lives of Floridians who have been assisted with enrolling in health insurance,” Ray said. “For many consumers, enrollment simply would not be possible without the help of these individuals. They serve as the first point of contact for many of the consumers seeking help.”

Health insurance marketplace navigators are individuals who are trained and able to help consumers, small businesses, and their employees as they look for health coverage options. Navigators play a vital role in helping consumers prepare applications to establish eligibility and enroll in coverage for the marketplace and potentially qualify for insurance for affordability programs. They also provide outreach and education and raise awareness about the marketplace, and refer consumers to health insurance ombudsmen and consumer assistance programs when necessary. These individuals and organizations are required to be unbiased, and their services are free to consumers.

“Without consumer assistance, these models and systems of care we see being proposed can fail to be effective without consumer assistance included,” Ray said. “Leaving this piece out of the equation going forward is shortsighted and fruitless. Navigators are reaching our most vulnerable populations in Florida. We have an extraordinary opportunity before us to expand upon those milestones we have already achieved in this state.”

“The lead navigator in the country has been right here at the University of South Florida, led by Jodi Ray,” Castor said.

“Jodi, I’m going to say to you today that I’m grateful for everything you have done. You’ve been the inspiration in my bill, the ENROLL Act, which is the Expand Navigators, Resources for Outreach Learning and Longevity Act. We’re going to make sure our navigators stay on the beat and provide that independent, free advice to families all across the country.”

Strengthening the education and training of the nation’s nursing workforce is critical to advancing patient care in an increasing complex health care system.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor emphasized the importance of highly skilled nurses during her Feb. 13 tour of the newly renovated USF College of Nursing George and Marian Miller Center for Virtual Learning.

Castor met with USF Health leaders, faculty, students, staff and local media to highlight the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act that she recently helped introduce in the United States Congress. The legislation would provide federal funding for advanced programs and initiatives to help prepare top-quality nurses – enhancing training that addresses an aging population, diversity, primary and acute care, as well as interprofessional education and practice.

“Nurses work tirelessly to keep our communities healthy, and they need our support,” said Castor during her visit. “This bill, if passed, would help prepare the nurses of tomorrow and provide a pathway to good-paying jobs across the country, especially in our state.”

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor speaking to USF Health leaders, faculty, staff, students and local media about the Title VII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act.

“We appreciate Castor’s efforts of introducing this bill in Congress,” said Charles Lockwood, MD, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine “This opportunity would provide much-needed financial support for education and training programs that help prepare top-quality nurses and future faculty as well as minimize the existing nursing shortage across Florida.”

During her visit, Castor toured through the state-of-the-art experiential lab and met with students as they practiced basic health skills learned in the classroom.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor met with nursing faculty and students in the newly-renovated experiential lab.

The new space, which includes 12 hospital–like patient rooms, four separate simulation rooms, a skills lab, a community health room and a lab classroom, provides students a more realistic learning environment.

“Our goal was to design a high-fidelity simulation environment where students felt like they’re training in a real-world healthcare facility, and I think we’ve done that,” said Teresa Gore, PhD, associate professor and director of experiential learning in the George & Marian Miller Center for Virtual Learning.

Castor also visited USF College of Nursing on Bull Nurses Week, a student-organized celebration running Feb. 13 through 17. The week-long event recognizes students and their commitment to nursing education, clinical training and community involvement.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor meets with USF College of Nursing students as they celebrate Bull Nurses Week.

“Nurses are the backbone of health care,” said Donna Petersen, ScD, senior associate vice president of USF Health, dean of the USF College of Public Health and interim dean of the College of Nursing. “Investing in nurses is an investment in our communities, it’s an investment in our health and our sustainability as a vibrant society.”

To view more photos, click here.

Story by Vjollca Hysenlika, USF Health Communications 
Photos by Jessica Samaniego, USF Nursing Communications

Henry Rodriguez, MD, clinical director of the USF Diabetes Center, joined U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor at USF recently to host a roundtable discussion by community experts and advocates taking action to treat and prevent diabetes.

The Oct. 12 event in the USF Student Marshall Center was conducted in collaboration with the Arthur Green Jr. Memorial Foundation, LIFT Health, Inc., and the American Diabetes Association (ADA).   It drew representatives from across the Tampa Bay area, including the USF College of Public Health, Tampa General Hospital, JDRF, the YMCA, Tampa Family Health Centers, and the Pinellas County Urban League

In a discussion moderated by Rep. Castor, the participants talked about the need to raise awareness about the growing epidemic and how they might work together more effectively to maximize resources for people with diabetes and prediabetes. In Florida, diabetes affects more than 2.3 million people in Florida, or 13 percent of the state’s population. The ADA estimates that people with diabetes have medical expenses 2.3 times higher than those without diabetes. The metabolic disease a leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower limb amputation.

Dr. Henry Rodriguez, clinical director of the USF Diabetes Center, joined U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor in a recent diabetes roundtable discussion that brought together community providers and advocates.

“Diabetes is very expensive,” said Rep. Castor, adding that the cost of diabetes care can cause financial havoc to the health care system and personal lives. “We need to fight for research so that USF and other places around the country have the funds they need to tackle this disease.”

Rep. Castor introduced Dr. Rodriguez as a member of the team headed by Dr. Jeffrey Krischer, the world’s top-funded National Institutes of Health principal investigator with a longstanding commitment to diabetes research. Dr. Krischer and his team are making powerful strides in organizing, coordinating and analyzing clinical trial data in type 1 diabetes and related autoimmune disorders, which can lead to advances in treatment and prevention.

“Diabetes is a club you don’t want to belong to,” said Dr. Rodriguez, who focuses on prevention and clinical management of type 1 diabetes through partnerships with primary care providers and research collaborators. “It’s critically important that we coordinate and collaborate across the spectrum in fighting this disease.”

Also at the discussion was Lena Young Green, whose husband Arthur died in police custody in 2014 after suffering an acute hypoglycemic episode. Green’s death led to a Florida law providing more training for law enforcement officers regarding how to recognize and respond to diabetic emergencies, in which a person’s symptoms can resemble those of someone who is intoxicated or impaired.  Also present was State Rep. Ed Narain of Tampa, who helped sponsor the legislation.

Roundtable participants spoke about the need to marshal and coordinate resources to help prevent Type 2 diabetes in children identified as prediabetic and to motivate patients and their families to use the tools they need to manage diabetes on a daily basis.

Janice Zgibor, PhD, an associate professor in the USF College of Public Health, who recently published a book on integrated diabetes care, challenged providers to “think outside the traditional medical model” in breaking down the barriers to effective diabetes treatment and prevention.

For example, it may work better to bring diabetes education to the patient at their primary care providers’ offices rather than refer patients out to other locations, Zgibor said. “People trust their primary care doctors and like that they don’t have to make extra appointments.”

The roundtable drew representatives from across the Tampa Bay area, including the American Diabetes Association, JDRF, the YMCA, Tampa General Hospital, Tampa Family Health Centers, and the Pinellas County Urban League

Dan Vukmer, JD, senior associate vice president of network integration for USF Health, suggested the group may want to include representatives from managed care and health insurance plans, who have an vested interest in keeping a community healthy, in future discussions.

Pattye Sawyer-Hampton, MA, director of health initiatives for the Pinellas County Urban League, emphasized the importance of family support in helping people manage diabetes.

“When someone lives with diabetes, it affects everyone in their family,” she said. “The patient needs continual family support to eat right and exercise, monitor their blood sugar and keep doctor appointments.”

Rep. Castor concluded the gathering by outlining some action steps, including her intent to share with the diabetes roundtable participants information about federal grant funding available and how to apply and to reach out to primary care providers and health plans.

Photos by Ryan Noone, USF Communications & Marketing

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMiTKeEUh-U

Visit USF’s Zika at Our Doorstep website

Florida has become ground zero for the Zika virus – home of the first non-travel related cases of the mosquito-borne virus in the continental United States.

To put the current epidemic in context and discuss options for addressing this rapidly evolving public health and medical threat, experts from across USF Health gathered Aug. 19 for a half-day conference titled Zika at Our Doorstep: An International Public Health Conversation.

USF experts lead panel for Zika Conference.

Top researchers, elected and appointed government officials, and community leaders in the region’s tourism, transportation and health care industries filled the auditorium at the Patel Center for Global Sustainability to share the latest information about the virus. They also highlighted the need for more federal funding to support public health surveillance studies and biomedical research for early detection and new treatments such as vaccines and anti-viral agents, as well as studies to understand the development of Zika-associated fetal, childhood and adult brain effects.

The Patel Center auditorium was filled.

Also attending were federal legislators U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor and U.S. Rep. David Jolly, along with State Rep. Neil Combee.

The access to Zika experts also attracted extensive coverage by Tampa Bay area print, online and broadcast media, and the conference was picked up by additional news outlets, as well as other viewers, via online livestream.

The Zika Conference drew extensive media coverage.

Before the conference, Rep. Castor and Rep. Jolly toured the USF insectary where they saw firsthand the mosquitoes raised there. Research staff explained how they use the laboratory to better understand the insect and work on more effective treatments for devastating mosquito-borne diseases or develop vaccines to prevent infections. Currently the lab does not contain Zika-carrying mosquitoes, but it is designed to begin studying the virus.

U.S. Reps. David Jolly and Kathy Castor tour USF insectary with Dr. Thomas Unnasch. Photo by Ryan Noone.

The Zika virus has prompted worldwide concern largely because of its alarming connection to serious neurological birth defects, and its recent arrival in non-travel related cases is setting off alarms across the state. The conference featured topics that ranged from pregnancy and fetal effects to the importance of Zika risk communication. The following are highlights of what was said by the experts, elected officials and guests:

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor:

It’s important because, while the Congress is not acting, at least the folks here on the ground in the Tampa Bay area and at the University of South Florida are doing everything they can to educate the public and do some of the necessary research… This is a premiere university in the state and one of the top in the country for health innovation… We now know there have been 15 babies born with microcephaly and birth defects in the country. And there are hundreds of pregnant women known to be infected with the Zika virus being tracked right now. The Department of Health and Human Services says that, unless they receive supplemental funding, it will impact their ability to track these women, develop diagnostic tools and develop the vaccine… It’s much more cost-effective and efficient if you put the money into prevention — to prevent additional cases of birth defects and microcephaly.”

U.S. Rep. David Jolly.

U.S. Rep. David Jolly:

“This is a regional issue. The Florida delegation understands this impacts us more than other states. So as a delegation, they need to impress upon leadership and the broader Congress to actually pass the (funding) package… We still don’t know everything we need to know about Zika, the resources we need to control it and how to prevent it… We just took a tour of the insectary. This is one more remarkable thing that’s occurring at USF. A handful of research institutions are contributing to a national effort to learn more about mosquitoes and Zika so that, ultimately, we can contain it and hopefully, one day very soon, have a vaccine developed to eradicate the spread of Zika.”

Dr. Edmund Funai moderated the Zika Conference.

Edmund Funai, MD, USF System vice president and chief operating officer for USF Health:

“Rarely have I had the privilege of attending a conference that is so timely. And literally, just walking out of my house this morning, I saw two reports making their way through the media. One regarding another outbreak in Miami Beach, and another, far more concerning, about potential neurologic brain effects in adults. In this conference you’ll hear potential effects of this virus on unborn children. But now it’s becoming more clear that we may all be potentially at risk.”

USF System President Judy Genshaft.

Judy Genshaft, PhD, president of the USF System:

“We must be responsive and vigilant and willing to invest the necessary resources to stop Zika in its tracks and protect the most vulnerable among us from its devastating effects…By working collaboratively USF has a huge interdisciplinary team throughout the campus working on this particular response and on understanding Zika, whether it be maternal-fetal medicine, infectious disease, epidemiology, obstetrics, mosquito biology, public health, psychology, and chemistry… We want to be able to apply new knowledge to this virus and other tropical viruses that carry an increasing global threat. The investment in this is a wise one. The interconnected nature of our world means we all have a stake in fighting these kinds of outbreaks.”

Dr. Charles Lockwood.

Charles J. Lockwood, MD, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine, a leading authority on Zika with expertise in maternal-fetal medicine, and a trustee on the March of Dimes National Board:

“This virus presents an extraordinary challenge to obstetricians and patients and it is the greatest threat to the well-being of American babies since polio…We just don’t have enormous amounts of data and that hinders our ability to predict an outcome… For a while we thought the third-trimester risk was not as bad, but now we know that, in fact, babies can appear to be perfectly normal in utero and up to term, and that microcephaly and other catastrophic consequences may not actually be discernable until early infancy, or even several months after birth. That is terribly frightening to obstetricians because it makes it very difficult to counsel women about the likelihood for fetal damage if they’re infected…There are enormous amounts of unknowns … As an obstetrician, maybe I’m a little biased, but it is absolutely critical that we have funding to improve our mosquito abatement strategy, to do a better job with surveillance and to develop a vaccine as soon as possible. The parallel with polio is apt and one of the reasons why the National Foundation for the March of Dimes has jumped on Zika like no other organization.”

Dr. Douglas Holt.

Douglas Holt, MD, director of Infectious Disease and International Medicine Division, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine:

“We hope (Zika) will be more like what we experienced with the Dengue virus in this state…The challenge is to not underestimate Zika. We just don’t know enough to have the confidence that that’s what will happen… We’re in for a tough fight. Zika represents a perfect storm. It’s a virus that is sneaky; a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It comes in and most people don’t even know they’re sick. In addition to this… it is unprecedented that we have a mosquito virus that also causes birth defects and is sexually transmitted.”

Dr. Thomas Unnasch.

Thomas Unnasch, PhD, chair and Distinguished University Health Professor, Department of Global Health, USF College of Public Health:

“Even though Phase I clinical trials for the vaccine are underway, it’s likely to take three to five years before the FDA approves a vaccine. So for the next three to five years we’ll still face a problem with the Zika virus and its transmission here… Most of the assays (tests) we have right now are not specific for the Zika virus. They cross react with Dengue. And given the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of cases of Dengue in the Caribbean every year, this creates a really large background for false positives of Zika virus. We need more specific tests to identify exposure to Zika virus, particularly among the at-risk populations.”

Dr. Deborah Cragun.

Deborah Cragun, PhD, assistant professor of global health, USF College of Public Health:

“In my experience as a genetic counselor, I often saw firsthand how risk perceptions can play a big role in decision-making and in emotional well-being… We see this with Zika, because we see concern amplified for several reasons. We know it can cause very serious birth defects.  Effective communication really needs to promote risk-appropriate actions to protect health, while at the same time not causing excessive worry or unnecessary action.”

Dr. Juan Pascale.

Juan Miguel Pascale, MD, PhD, deputy director of Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health Studies, Panama City, Panama, and professor of immunology, University of Panama School of Medicine:

“We have around 450,000 cases of Zika in Latin America, and we have 50,000 in Central America. We have around 1,800 babies with microcephaly in Latin America, so far. And 5,000 pregnant women have been exposed to Zika, and we are expecting microcephaly after they give birth. We have big problems… We are not efficient in controlling Aedes aegypti vector mosquitoes. We in Panama are beginning to use genetically modified mosquitoes and 93 percent of the mosquito population has been eradicated… Zika is not a Latin American problem or a U.S. problem – it is a global problem.”

Audience members posed questions for the panel.

Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Office of Communications
Video by Vjollca “V” Hysenlika and Ryan Noone, USF College of Nursing Communications

Gasparilla’s Ye Mystic Krewe pirates and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor cheer on senior medical students as they learned where they will conduct their medical residencies.

Miss the UStream Live? Watch the recording here.

Click here for Match Day 2016 results

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI8TJ6fdvRc

Eye patches, beads and the occasional ‘Arrgh!’ filled the backyard of local restaurant Ulele March 18 as the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Class of 2016 found out where they will spend their residencies, the next phase in their medical education. The theme was played out by members of the local Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla – Gaspar’s Grenadiers – a Tampa civic group based on the City’s famed legend surrounding noted pirate Jose Gaspar and a co-sponsor of the City’s annual Gasparilla invasion and parade.

Dr. Charles Lockwood (center with Match Day shirt), senior vice president for USF Health and dean, Morsani College of Medicine, with the Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla.

Match Day is the annual ritual when senior medical students across the country learn where they will spend their residencies, the next phase in their medical education, which can last from three to seven years depending upon the specialty pursued. They’ve spent the past six months or more interviewing with residency programs and then ranking their picks within the National Residency Match Program (NRMP). Match Day is when students find out which programs chose them.

As the group waited for noon to strike – marking the time when the national match begins – a large birthday cake was presented to Richard Gonzmart, owner of the Ulele and a long-time supporter of USF. Bryan Bognar, MD, MPH, vice dean for the MCOM Office of Educational Affairs, thanked Mr. Gonzmart for his ongoing support and helped lead the crowd of hundreds in singing Happy Birthday.

In thanking everyone, he shared how his appreciation for USF was cemented.

“I’m so thankful to the USF College of Medicine,” Gonzmart said. “My Dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1992 at the Cleveland Clinic. We found out that the best surgeon in the country happened to be at USF. Thank you and congratulations.”

Richard Gonzmart with Dr. Bryan Bognar.

Amid the pirate themed fun was concern for the nation’s shortage of residency positions. Pointing to local and national initiatives to grow graduate medical education opportunities and the impending physician shortage for the growing Baby Boomer population, U.S. Representative Kathy Castor spoke to the group of soon-to-be residents.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor is introducing a new bill that addresses the shortage of residency positions.

“I’ve filed a bill this week that would lift caps on the numbers of residents and create more physician training slots in Florida,” Rep. Castor said. “You have gone to medical school at one the premier health training centers in Florida… Even if you do not match in Florida, we need you to return here to practice medicine to help keep our state healthy and well.”

Taking the stage next was Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine.

“So, can you believe that this is the same person who wanted to wear a suit and tie last year?” he asked with a laugh.

At noon, the first envelope was presented, going to Dusty Nicolay, who matched in an anesthesiology residency at Western Pennsylvania Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA.

First envelope for USF Match Day goes to by Dusty Nicolay.

This year is also the second Match Day for the SELECT students, who spent the past two years in clinical rotations in Allentown, PA – for this Class of 2016, 36 SELECT graduates participated in Match Day in Allentown and six returned to Tampa to open their envelopes at Ulele.

USF Health SELECT students in Allentown, PA. Photo courtesy of LVHN.

The entire Class of 2016 is the largest group to match in the history of the USF medical school – 172 students participated in the match this year. An oversized map on the Ulele grounds helps illustrate the class size as it was filled by students placing pre-cut red x’s to mark their residency destinations. And although the lawn of Ulele was full of students and their friends and family, anyone who couldn’t make it to the venue could catch all the action via the live UStream, giving access across the world as each student learned where they would spend the next few years of their medical training as physician residents.

For most students, this day is a defining moment: they find out where they will launch their careers. And for some, Match Day continues paths of determination.

***

Like most senior medical students matching as couples, Matt Widner and Julianna Naccarato looked at potential residency programs that offered a good program for him (orthopaedics) and a good program for her (family medicine).

But this couple demanded a third criteria in their search: the destination had to be close to a children’s hospital with pediatric heart specialists for their son Luca.

Now 11 months old, Luca was born with a rare congenital heart condition. Constant monitoring and occasional rushes to emergency rooms are part of life for Luca and his family.

“Really, the biggest issue for us in our match is this guy here,” said Julianna, sitting next to wide-eyed, smiling Luca.

Matt and Julianna met as undergraduates. Each worked in the pediatrics unit at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, FL. Both were accepted into USF’s medical school, but entered in different years. This timetable would mean they wouldn’t graduate the same year, something that would negate their option to match as a couple. So Julianna took a year off from medical school to earn a master’s degree in public health from USF. That deferral put both in the same graduating class and, thus, they could match as a couple.

That’s the kind of planners they are. But planning ahead couldn’t prepare them for the rough third year of medical school they faced together. In addition to having a baby with a rare congenital heart condition, Matt’s father was diagnosed with an aggressive form of kidney cancer and passed away within months of Luca’s birth.

“We’ve learned so much but mostly that there’s a lot you can plan for in life but a lot you can’t plan for – you just have to roll with it,” Matt said.

Matt Widner and Julianna Naccarato with baby Luca.

So the planning and rolling with life continued on Match Day when their trifecta match came through. They are heading to the Hershey Medical Center at Penn State in Hershey, PA, to noted orthopaedics and family medicine programs for Matt and Julianna, and to a children’s hospital with pediatric heart specialists for Luca.

***

Alison Cullinane was well on her way into a marketing career with her MBA when a nagging thought grew louder: she liked her job but it didn’t give her a strong sense of satisfaction. There had to be more, she thought.

“I enjoyed the work,” she said. “But something felt like it was missing. I couldn’t put my finger on it.”

Alison said it was when a friend came right out and told her she should be a doctor that it became perfectly clear.

“As soon as she said it, I knew she was right,” Alison said. “When I told my husband, he was happy, but said he wasn’t surprised, that he’d known all along I would come to that conclusion. Our biggest concern was that we would still have a family.”

And so they did. On the first day of medical school, Alison was 10 weeks pregnant. Across her first year of medical school, she found the environment nurturing and supportive – especially when she had doctor-ordered bed rest late in her pregnancy.

Alison said she was interested in pediatrics from the very start of medical school.

“Having had a baby, I wavered a little and thought about obstetrics,” Alison said. “But I just loved pediatrics. Even though it is difficult to see very sick children, I was so fulfilled with my day’s work and I couldn’t wait to go back the next day. I know pediatrics will allow me to have an impact on kids’ futures.”

Alison Cullinane will stay at USF for her residency in pediatrics.

Alison will be doing a residency in pediatrics. Now, with two children, the family of four will be staying in Tampa – Alison matched with the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

***

Armed with a bachelor’s degree in cultural studies and a minor in chemistry, Kristian Johnson von Rickenbach set out to go to medical school – just not right away.

“I wanted to take time off, to grow up a bit and understand more about medical careers,” Johnson said. “I knew in general what medicine was about, but I wanted to see another side of it. I wanted to look at research.”

Kristian got a job at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and she spent three years learning about cancer research and clinical trials. Her next step was to test herself to see if she could handle the rigors of a medical school curriculum. Kristian found USF MCOM’s master’s degree program in medical sciences, which offered her a pre-professional program where she sat alongside medical students for several courses and learned, in essence, content of the first-year of medical school.

At the end of the one-year program, she felt confident she could do well in medical school, and should earned a master’s degree, to boot.

“I figured that, after one year, I would know if I was on the right path,” Johnson said. “I found out I was definitely going in the right direction.”

Kristian entered MCOM as part of the SELECT program, a leadership track that prepares students to be physician leaders who can take active roles in changes to our health care system.

“SELECT had everything I believed medicine should have, plus its second half in Allentown is just 55 minutes away from where I grew up,” she said. “It all seemed right for me from the start.”

For her match, Kristian is aiming for physical medicine and rehabilitation, and is considering a fellowship later on in cancer rehabilitation.

“I feel I could see myself going into cancer rehabilitation,” she said. ““It’s inspiring to me to take patients who are at what might be their lowest point and build them back to their best. It all came from a job I got after college. At that time I didn’t realize how important that job would be and how much it would shape my direction.”

Kristian Johnson is heading to NYC for a preliminary internal medicine residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai followed by a physical medicine and rehabilitation residency at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia and Cornell. Photo courtesy of LVHN.

Well on her way toward her dream, Johnson will conduct her preliminary internal medicine residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and her in physical medicine and rehabilitation at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia and Cornell, both in New York City.

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A sunny day greeted everyone at Ulele, the new Match Day venue. Ulele is named for the daughter of a legendary Native American chief and is located on the site of a former City of Tampa Water Works building, next to the new Water Works Park. The old brick mixed with the newness of neighboring buildings and the Tampa Riverwalk along the Hillsborough River give the event a traditional yet modern urban feel.

Following Dr. Lockwood’s announcement of the first match at noon, Kira Zwygart, MD, associate dean for MCOM Office of Student Affairs, continued calling student names.

One by one, students came forward to accept an envelope, open it, and read to the crowd of classmates and family where they’re headed.

As if the sudden appearance of pirates wasn’t enough of a surprise, a marriage proposal popped out of nowhere when Matthew Wollenschlaeger fell to one knee as Ansley Brown read her Match letter, which had the words “Will you marry me?” added at the bottom, thanks to the help from the Office of Student Affairs staff. A gasp and a quiet nod ‘yes’ along with tears and a huge smile gave Matt his answer. Theirs was the second proposal in the history of USF Match Days.

Matthew Wollenschlaeger pops the question at USF Match Day. Ansley Brown said yes!

And three Division I USF Bull former athletes who are now senior medical students all matched. They are Melissa Rosas (softball), Monique Konstantinovic (track and field), and Jonathan Koscso (baseball).

From Jocks to Docs! USF Bull former athletes Melissa Rosas (softball), Monique Konstantinovic (track and field), and Jonathan Koscso (baseball) all matched.

The student names were called in random order, a tradition at USF because each student called up drops a dollar bill in a box. The last student called to open his or her Match envelope wins the cash. This year that winning student was Nikki Freedman, who matched in preliminary internal medicine residency at Cleveland Clinic in Weston, FL, and diagnostic radiology residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, FL.

Nikki Freedman collects her prize — the Match treasure chest filled with cash — with help from her parents and Rocky!

Then the crowd of newly matched students gathered together for what might be their last photo as a class. Everyone cheered in unison, thrilled to have matched.

The USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Class of 2016.

From the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine: 41 students (24%) are staying at USF; 64 (37%) are staying in Florida; and 83 students (42%) chose primary care as their specialty (internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics). Click here for more details about the nationwide Match from the Association of American Medical Colleges.

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Photos by Eric Younghans, video by Sandra C. Roa, USF Health Office of Communications.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor with Sam Bell, founder of the USF College of Public Health, and the college’s dean Dr. Donna Petersen.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor visited the USF College of Public Health April 7 to commemorate National Public Health Week (April 6-12) and to help celebrate the college’s 30^th anniversary.

The congresswoman was joined by COPH founder Sam Bell who, as a member  of the Florida House of Representatives, was instrumental in pushing legislation that created the state’s first accredited public health college in 1984.  They met with COPH Dean Donna Petersen, ScD, and students representing colleges’ diverse areas of study, from community and family health, global health and prevention research to public health practice and epidemiology.

“I want to thank you for all that you do to improve global health, prevent disease nationally and all your efforts locally,” Castor said to the students and faculty gathered in the college’s lobby.  “USF Health understands the importance of integrating all its health colleges, including public health, for the betterment of students and to improve the lives of our entire community.”

Castor noted the USF College of Public Health’s boost in graduate program rankings, making it among the nation’s best in the latest U.S. News & World Report “America’s Best Graduate Schools” edition. She and Dr. Petersen also thanked Sam Bell for his vision in helping establish a strong public health college well positioned to respond systemically and at the grassroots level to the next 30 years of public health challenges.

Students represented the colleges’ diverse areas of study, from community and family health, global health and prevention research to public health practice and policy.

“We know that a healthy nation is a vibrant and productive nation,” Dr. Petersen said, referring to this year’s theme for National Public Health Week, Healthiest Nation 2030.  “We understand the need to take care of the health of all people to protect our nation’s health…. we know that diseases don’t stop at customs.”

Dr. Petersen is spearheading a national initiative to make public health education more accessible to undergraduates and enhance public health literacy. Last month at an Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health conference in Washington, DC, she and Bell met with USF public health alumni from across the greater DC area — public health researchers, practitioners and administrators now serving in leadership roles at the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services and other high-profile organizations.

“At the end of the day, what makes this college great is our people, including the students who have joined us here today,” Dr. Petersen said.

Fulbright scholar Mpumy Mzizi from Swaziland, Africa, is studying the parasitic disease river blindness in a laboratory of the USF College of Public Health’s Global Infectious Diseases Research team.

 Mpumy Mzizi.

That includes USF public health students like Fulbright scholar Mpumy Mzizi from Swaziland, Africa, who is studying river blindness, or onchocerciasis, caused by a parasitic worm, in the laboratory of Thomas Unnasch, PhD, a renowned expert on the world’s second leading infectious cause of blindness.  Like Taylor Caragan, an MPH student working on a March of Dimes supported initiative to analyze pre-term birth rates in all 67 Florida counties.  And, like Laura Merrell, a doctoral candidate who worked with professor Ellen Daley, PhD, and other graduate students in developing the critical messaging for an awareness campaign to help boost HPV vaccination rates among teens in the Tampa Bay area.

Castor also took the opportunity to speak about legislation she has introduced (H.R. 777) that would make funding for the National Institutes of Health no longer subject to the annual congressional budget process. On the public health front, NIH research has in large part led to treatments extending the lives of those with HIV into their early 70s, and helps protect against bioterrorism, new and emerging diseases, flu pandemics and deadly outbreaks of diseases like SARS and Ebola.

“We’ve invested so much in (educating) these fantastic students,” Castor said, “We need to make sure these young researchers can continue with their work once they graduate.”

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 Photos by Eric Younghans and video by Sandra Roa, USF Health Communications and Marketing

For more stories on National Public Health Week at USF, click here.

With enrollment starting for year two of the federal Health Insurance Marketplace, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell paid a visit Nov. 17 to the community outreach and enrollment event hosted by USF Health navigators.

U.S. DHHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell meets with enrollees with U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (left) and Program Director Jodi Ray (right), at the USF Health Nav-Lab.

Sec. Burwell toured the “Nav-Lab” set up in the USF Marshall Student Center with U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor and Jodi Ray, project director for the Florida Covering Kids & Families (FL-CKF) program at the Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies, USF College of Public Health.

In a roped-off area of the Marshall Center lobby navigators from USF Health, joined by those from Florida CHAIN and Covering Tampa Bay, assisted eligible students and families in making informed choices about their health care insurance coverage and guided those interested in enrolling through the application process.  Sec. Burwell and Rep. Castor were able to see firsthand the personal assistance navigators give to enrollees, meeting with several to talk about their experiences.

They then joined representatives from USF, Enroll America and a USF Public Health student who is a local Marketplace consumer for a press conference to talk about the Affordable Care Act and the Open Enrollment period.

USF Health’s Dr. Ed Funai recognizes the DHHS for providing USF with the largest Navigator grant in the country.

In his welcoming remarks, Edmund F. Funai, MD, chief operating officer and vice president for administration at USF Health, said USF’s mission as a leading public research institution requires the university to be an economic engine and trusted resource for the region, state, nation and world.

“The program we are here to highlight today is a perfect example of the way in which we carry out that mission at USF each day, Dr. Funai said.  “We are honored that just a few weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recognized USF’s commitment to these ideals and the incredible capabilities of our faculty, students and staff by awarding USF the largest Navigator Grant in the country this year.”

Jodi Ray, principal investigator for the USF Navigator grant and project director for Florida Covering Kids & Families.

“USF is extremely proud of the accomplishments achieved in Year 1 of the Marketplace initiative,” said Jodi Ray, principal investigator for the USF Navigator grant.  “Our reach was far and wide.  Close to 100,000 individuals received one-on-one education and application assistance from USF Project Navigators, and more than 230,000 consumers were reached through community outreach activities, in addition to 37 million individual hits reached through the numerous educational marketing and communication efforts.

“We’re excited to participate in Year 2, and this year USF and its 12 consortium partners will be on the ground providing outreach, education and enrollment support to the entire state of Florida.  We don’t take a top-down approach, but rather one built and designed by the local communities being served.”

U.S. Rep. Castor commended USF’s role in helping Florida lead the federal Marketplace.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor thanked USF for their efforts and encourage citizens to enroll for health care coverage.

“I’m proud of USF for their efforts,” Rep. Castor said. “The challenge is to replicate that and to sign up more this year.”

Then Sec. Burwell took the podium, sharing details of this year’s enrollment efforts and fielding questions from reporters.

Sec. Sylvia Burwell explains Year 2’s enrollment and answers questions from reporters.

“Last year, we had 10.3 million fewer adults uninsured, a cut of 26 percent of the uninsured,” Sec. Burwell said to a room filled with local and national media. “So far, in the first two days of this year’s enrollment, we’ve had 1 million visitors, 200,000 calls, including 20,000 calls to our Spanish language lines, and 500,000 successful entries in the system.”

This year’s system is aimed at providing something more like window shopping, she said.

“We’re taking a targeted outreach approach in what is a shorter period of time (for enrollment), using what we learned last year,” she said. “How are people making decisions and what information do they need to do that? … The big focus is how we can serve the consumer this year, to get them the information so they can make good choices for themselves.”

Local and national media hear from Sec. Sylvia Burwell.

In 2013, USF’s FL-CKF received the second largest award nationwide out of $67 million in “Navigator” grant awards distributed to 105 organizations.  USF received the largest of these awards among eight recipients in Florida.

Just this September, USF was awarded a $5.38 million, second-year Navigator grant – the largest single award in the country and in Florida – to help enroll more eligible consumers and small employers in the Health Insurance Marketplace.

In its second year, FL-CKF expects to surpass its Year 1 accomplishments through one-on-one renewal and enrollment assistance and indirectly reach more than 1.5 million individuals through outreach activities in the 67 counties served by the USF Navigator grant, Ray said.

In addition to Ray, other members of the USF Navigator team at FL-CKF are Michelle Ray, Xonjenese Jacobs, Wendy Hathaway, Avery Slyker, Linda Detman, Jessica Berumen, and Tommi Rivers.

For more information, visit Healthcare.gov. Or call (813) 803-0628 to speak with a USF Navigator.

Sec. Burwell hears from Ashley Brunson, who is re-enrolling for Year 2.

Navigator Maria Jimenez (right) helps Chris Villatte enroll in the Health Insurance Marketplace.

Peggy Johnson (left) and Don Gray (right) enroll for coverage with help from Navigator Joanna Reid.

From left, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, U.S. DHHS Sec. Sylvia Burwell, and USF’s Jodi Ray at the USF Health Nav-Lab.

Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Office of Communications.

Tampa, FL (Aug. 12, 2014) —  U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor today hosted the nation’s top immunizations specialist Dr. Anne Schuchat, who warned that while recent outbreaks of infectious diseases have garnered international attention, the public should not forget about those infections like HPV that that can be prevented  with vaccines.  The human papilloma virus still causes thousands of deaths each year nationwide.  A safe, highly effective vaccine for boys and girls can prevent the most harmful kinds of HPV and the cancers they cause.

“The girls and boys not vaccinated can result in diseases that may not make the front page of the news, but still be very devastating,” said Dr. Schuchat, director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, speaking at the USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation in downtown Tampa, where she appeared with clinical providers and researchers from USF Health, Moffitt Cancer Center and community leaders.

Dr. Charles Lockwood, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine, addresses those gathered to bring attention to the HPV awareness campaign led by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor in collaboration with USF Health, Moffitt Cancer Center and community partners.

“Florida hovers at the bottom when it comes to HPV vaccination rates,” said U.S. Rep. Castor, who earlier this month led the launch of an HPV Awareness & Action Coalition to increase vaccination rates in Tampa Bay. The coalition includes medical professionals, public health researchers and students – including many present today at CAMLS with U.S. Rep. Castor and Dr. Schuchat – to bring this critical public health initiative to the forefront through community outreach and education.

“More than 50 percent of teenage girls in Florida have not received the first dose of the HPV vaccine,” Dr. Schuchat said. She explained that while Florida is ahead of other states when it comes to infant and toddler vaccines, the state lags when it comes to the HPV vaccine and encouraged clinicians and parents to regard it as one of the three, routine vaccinations recommended for 11 and 12-year-old girls and boys. The other two vaccines are:  Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap) Vaccine and the Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine (MCV4).

L to R: Dr Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa, and Dr. Ellen Daley, professor of community and family health at the USF College of Public Health, whose research focuses on HPV prevention.

“I applaud U.S. Rep. Castor for taking action to address the critical need to increase HPV vaccination rates across our community and our state, with the ultimate goal of preventing disease and improving health,” said Dr. Charles Lockwood, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine. “At USF Health, we are delighted to support her vision and dedication to protecting today’s young adults from future HPV-related cancers.”

Dr. Donna Petersen, dean of the USF College of Public Health, said:  “The USF College of Public Health is honored to contribute to this HPV awareness campaign largely through the efforts of professor Dr. Ellen Daley and her research team. Their community-based work is precisely what this effort needs, because it will take all of us coming together to get the word out that prevention works. We know that HPV causes cancer and that cancer takes lives. We also know that the HPV vaccine works and that it is up to all of us to educate and reinforce these critical messages.”

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In addition to U.S. Rep. Castor and USF Public Health and its graduate students, other members of the HPV Awareness & Action Coalition include Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Baycare, American Cancer Society, Tampa Family Health Center, Hillsborough County Health Department, PITCH (Pinellas Immunization Team for Community Health), Hillsborough County Immunization Task Force, Florida Association of School Nurses, Hillsborough County Health Department, Pinellas County Health Departments, RN Cancer Guides and many more partners.

Dr. Donna Petersen, dean of the USF College of Public Health, said: “We know that the HPV vaccine works and that it is up to all of us to educate and reinforce these critical messages.” In the background with Congresswoman Castor are several USF public health graduate students active in community outreach to promote HPV awareness.

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USF Health leader Dr. Lockwood with the CDC top immunization official Dr. Schuchat

News release by Marcia Mejia, Office of Congresswoman Kathy Castor
Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications

CLICK HERE FOR MATCH DAY 2014 RESULTS

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Alicia Billington was the first to find out.

“Plastic surgery at University of South Florida,” she said, as she opened the first envelope for this year’s Match Day.

As one of 120 senior medical students matching, Billington found out where she will spend the next few years as a physician in resident training.

Match Day is the annual ritual when senior medical students across the country learn where they will spend their residency, the next phase of the medical education. They’ve spent the past six months or more interviewing with residency programs and then ranking their picks within the National Residency Match Program (NRMP). Match Day is when students find out which programs chose them.

For most students, this day is a big deal because it’s such a defining moment: they hear where they will launch their careers. And for some, it’s the destination that has come after detours before arriving at medicine as a career.

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As Danielle Kurant opened her envelope, she faced the Livestream camera and told her friend to “Get my room ready. I’m coming to UVA!” That’s University of Virginia where she will specialize in pathology.

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Lowell Dawson and his wife and three children approached the front to accept his envelope. Dressed in child-size white coats, the three girls caught the hearts of everyone at Skipper’s. With Dad’s cues whispered in her ear, 5-year-old Aniya announced that Dad will be a diagnostic radiologist at USF.

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The entire second row erupted when couples-match Judith Puckett and Daniel Restrepo were finally called. Family members cheered again when they announced that both were heading to residencies at Massachusetts General Hospital, where Puckett will practice psychiatry and Restrepo will practice internal medicine.

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Match Day 2014 started on a record high for USF.

Surrounded by USF senior medical students at Skipper’s Smokehouse in Tampa, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor had just announced she was pushing legislation to increase the number of residency slots in the United States (see related story). What is normally an exciting day just became more exciting.

At noon, Steven Specter, PhD, associate dean for student affairs for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, began calling student names.

One by one, students came forward to accept an envelope, open it, and read to the crowd of classmates and family where they’re headed. Even medical school faculty came to see where the students end up being matched, including John Sinnott, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

“Internal medicine is delighted with our match,” Dr. Sinnott said. “We have matched superior students to a superior program. Attracting such quality trainees directly benefits our community.”

The student names were in random order, a tradition at USF because each student also brings up a dollar bill and places it in a box. The last student called up wins the cash.

Then, as all 120 students gathered at the foot of the stage so photographers could take group shots, they all cheered in unison, thrilled to have matched.

A USF Match Day first: A FSU senior medical student, Megan McDowell, couples matched with a USF student, Cameron Nereim. The husband and wife will both be conducting their residencies at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Office of Communications