Colón to run for public office
Ken Colón recently announced his candidacy for town supervisor for the town of Islip, New York. Colón earned his bachelor’s degree in neuroscience at the University of Notre Dame, and a master’s in public administration at Syracuse University. As a student at Notre Dame, he launched an award-winning mobile app for student suicide prevention. Colón has worked on county-level opioid overdose prevention policy, consulted on various pieces of legislation introduced in state government, and co-authored peer-reviewed research and economic analysis of federal health policy. Currently, he manages data for suicide prevention initiatives at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and consults for the Center for Infectious Disease Modeling & Analysis at the Yale School of Public Health. Ken resides in Brentwood with his wife, Dr. Maria Mosley-Colón, a resident physician specializing in emergency medicine.
Diaz to pursue MSc at Harvard
James Diaz was recently accepted into an MSc program at Harvard Medical School where he will continue his capstone research on the use of technology and system innovation to optimize existing health service capacities to expand capabilities, bettering patient experience, and improving health outcomes.
Oh receives academic fellowship
Congratulations to Jay Oh, who will start a new position in July as post-doctoral fellow at Weill Cornell Medicine and Weill Cornell School of Medicine NYC. This academic fellowship is part of the New York-Houston Medical Ethics Consortium, which brings together Weill Cornell Medicine, the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System, Houston Methodist Hospital, and Baylor College of Medicine in clinical and research ethics through transcontinental expertise and varied practice settings.
Verian completes medical mission
The University of Santo Tomas Nurses Association International, Inc (USTNAI) with its President Ronaldo Verian recently accomplished the 'Alay ng Puso sa Siquijor' (Gift from the Heart to Siquijor) mission in February on the island of Siquijor, Philippines. The mission aimed to provide free access to medical, dental, and surgical consultation, treatment, and ophthalmology services, including cataract screening and surgery, benefitting underserved communities. As an outreach project, a toilet facility was constructed at the Siquijor Integrated School for students with disabilities. Siquijor has a high infant and maternity mortality rate, a growing malnutrition rate, poor dental health, inadequate screening and laboratory facilities, insufficient medical supplies, and antiquated equipment. The province also lacks trained health care professionals to perform life-saving measures and care for the critically ill. In addition, sea transportation is challenging, and it is difficult to transport patients requiring a higher level of care.
Mittal and group tour hospital in India
Sheilaja Mittal had the privilege of introducing Professors Sten H. Vermund and Mayur M. Desai to the S.R. Hospital and Research Center in Dharampur (rural Gujarat), India in February. The group spent four days touring the hospital, observing and reviewing the outreach program and the Anemia Mitigation Program. “The long-term plan is to decrease the prevalence of anemia through education and prevention strategies while treating those with anemia of various etiologies,” Mittal said. Vermund gave a talk on “Climate Change and Health” at the hospital which was well attended by local physicians and hospital staff. While in Dharampur, the group toured the animal hospital, the Women’s Empowerment Center, and Science College among other attractions of interest.
Werner’s paper is published
Leah Werner’s paper, “Precision Ecologic Medicine: Tailoring Care to Mitigate Impacts of Climate Change,” has been accepted for publication by the Journal of Primary Care and Community Health. Werner is an alum of the climate change and health certificate program.