Tom Johnson, a physician assistant at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, was named Oklahoma Physician Assistant of the Year by the Oklahoma Academy of Physician Assistants. 

Johnson, a cardiovascular instructor at the OU Health Sciences Center and a physician assistant at OU Physicians, cares for cardiac patients, many of whom undergo treatment for irregular heart rhythms using a procedure developed at OU. 

Johnson, who lives in Norman, holds bachelor’s degrees in microbiology and education from OU and, in 1989, earned a bachelor’s of science degree from the physician associate program at the OU College of Medicine, after which he joined the OU Health Sciences Center faculty. Over the 2002 spring break, he traveled with medical professionals and students to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to provide health care to people in rural villages. 
http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/899/public/news410328.html

The state's smallest hospitals got an early Christmas gift. 
The federal government announced it will add more flexibility to staffing requirements for Critical Access Hospitals, which serve remote areas. 

Under the proposed change, registered nurses will once again be allowed to serve as relief medical providers at facilities with fewer than 10 beds. The state must first approve the measure, but hope is running high for Dan Muniak, a physician assistant and the sole medical provider at the Garfield County Medical Center in Jordan. 
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2002/12/25/build/local/hospitalrulechange.inc

United States Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, unknowingly helped lead the way as a decorated Viet Nam combat medic whose advanced medical training and medical expertise laid the foundation for what is now called the Physician Assistant profession.

After having first served our country as a Special Forces medic in Vietnam, receiving the Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and a Combat Medical Badge, Dr. Carmona furthered his service to our nation by studying advanced medical training and developing medical expertise in the early formation of the Physician Assistant concept.

The Physician Assistant profession owes its formation to several physicians who proposed utilizing the same fast track model that prepared doctors for deployment in World War II.

Duke University felt that this new physician assistant concept could help alleviate the increasing shortage of primary care physicians in rural areas. Duke proved they were able to successfully train Viet Nam war corpsmen and medics using the fast track model for doctors, thereby, giving birth to the Physician Assistant  [PA] profession.

"Dr. Richard Carmona is a dynamic leader with a remarkable background who can help lead America through the wide-range of medical and health challenges they face in their everyday lives. His diverse experiences also make him uniquely qualified for the position." said, HHS SECRETARY TOMMY G. THOMPSON.

Dr. Carmona is a hero to those he serves and we expect that he will be a hero to the cause of stronger public health in America as Surgeon General. Dr. Carmona dedicated himself to serving his patients, community and country in ways that few can match. He certainly embodies "Physician Assistant, for the love of medicine and patients."

Dr. Richard H. Carmona was sworn in as the 17th Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service on August 6, 2002. He now holds the rank of Vice Admiral and serves as the Commander of the United States Public Health Service’s Commissioned Corps, numbering around 6,000 officers.

Born and raised in New York City, Dr. Carmona dropped out of high school and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1967. While enlisted he received his Army General Equivalency Diploma, joined the Army's Special Forces, ultimately becoming a combat-decorated Vietnam veteran, and began his career in medicine. Dr. Carmona has worked in various positions in the medical field including paramedic, registered nurse, and a physician.

-END-

BY GEORGE CORYELL
MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE Dec 13, 2002

TAMPA - They are a community unto themselves within the small and secretive world of military special operations.

They are the medics and health-care providers who must remain soldiers first, while treating the wounds of their comrades. Last week, more than 700 of them gathered at the Special Operations Medical Association's annual convention in Tampa to swap stories about what worked in the past year and what terrors might lie ahead.

...The fear of biological and chemical weapons is something these troops must mentally prepare for, said Army Lt. Col. Louis Smith, a physician's assistant with the Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, N.C.

"Everybody would be scared when dealing with something we've never had to deal with before," Smith said. "Most of them will be able to handle it because we train them and prepare them to get them through it."

http://www.timesdispatch.com/frontpage/MGB696XJN9D.html
 

The cafeteria of Lucy D. Slowe Elementary School in Northeast Washington was filled with the laughter of children, toys and Santa's helpers during a Christmas party yesterday that was held for the city's homeless families.

"It's a blessing to get something nice for Christmas," said Michelle King, who along with her husband and five children came to the party from the Community of Hope, a District shelter. 

The event was sponsored by Ella Strother, a physician assistant at the D.C. jail who founded Ella's Kids Inc. and has been hosting the annual Christmas event since 1990.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24867-2002Dec7.html

..."Homelessness is unhealthy, as you might imagine," notes Paul Dragon of the Homeless Health Care Project. But when a homeless person gets sick or needs a medical checkup, it's available from a physician's assistant, licensed to practice medicine under the supervision of an M.D. Dragon says the program helped 900 homeless people stay healthy last year.  ...

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=1040491&nav=4QcSCmRB

John Dowling / Special to Stars and Stripes 
Capt. Paul Reo, 1-183rd Aviation at Eagle Base, guides a Black Hawk pilot into a tight landing zone on a restricted road overlooking the town of Olovo in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Nov. 22. A civilian physician's assistant back home in Schenectady, N.Y., Reo was instrumental in saving the life of another SFOR soldier after an accident. ...

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=11865

A local Christian clinic funded entirely by private sources says its target population — the working uninsured — is large and growing larger in Nashville and across the state.

A year after its opening, the Faith Family Medical Clinic, 326 21st Ave. N., sees an average of 28 patients a day, and the prospects for more patients are excellent. ...The clinic has three office workers and three medical personnel — Henderson, a physician's assistant and a nurse practitioner...
http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/02/12/26107757.shtml?Element_ID=26107757

...Kevin Wells, director of cardiovascular/emergency services, said the emergency room cared for 18 people with fall-related fractures Sunday.

"When I checked around 10 a.m., we had six this morning," Wells said Monday.

He said the emergency room went to secondary staffing Sunday to handle the rush of patients. Wells, a physicians assistant, did unexpected weekend duty as ice made for rough landings on all parts of residents' anatomies.

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/NewsEngine/SelectStory.tpl?command=search&db=news.db&eqskudata=93-805743-62

...The surgery is considered fairly routine in the United States. But not in Nicaragua.

"There isn't a cardiac center in the entire country," said William Gadea, a physician assistant at Doctors, who arranged for the surgery. "Young people are told to go home and die all the time. They are told there is nothing else that can be done for them."

Gadea, 41, knows what that grim scenario can do to a family. In 1978, he watched his mother die from breast cancer. The Gadeas were poor and had no access to the best medicines.

"You basically go to the local hospital and take a number," Gadea said. "It's your luck if you get to be seen by the best doctor. When she died, I promised that I would go to America and search for an education to study medicine. I had a dream that someday I would return to help my people." ...
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/5406644p-6393726c.html

Essie Haveman turns on her computer in the morning, pulls up the records on her next patient, and carries the computer into the examination room.

She can show the patient his X-rays, check other doctors' notes and, if she wants to consult another physician, all she has to do is walk down the hall and show him the computer screen.

Haveman, a physician assistant at Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, is part of the first wave of medical personnel at the clinic to experience the portability of traditional paper-based charts and the convenience of electronic records with the new Tablet PC.
http://www.arizonarepublic.com/business/articles/1127TabletPCs27.html

KALAMAZOO -- The Department of Physician Assistant at Western Michigan University has been granted a five-year accreditation from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for Physician Assistant.

The accreditation follows an on-site visit by the ARC-PA. The commission's previous on-site visit in 1998 resulted in a four-year accreditation. The new accreditation runs through 2007.

http://www.wmich.edu/wmu/news/2002/0211/0203-149.html

BY RACHEL GALLAGHER
rachelgallagher@npgco.com

 Sister Mary Rae Schrick was honored recently as the state's top physician assistant. 

For about 50 years, Sister Mary Rae Schrick, OSB, has worn several hats in Atchison and surrounding communities. She was recently recognized for about 24 years of her tireless work.
As a physician assistant for more than two decades and an active member of the Mount St. Scholastica community, Sister Schrick certainly keeps herself busy. The Kansas Academy of Physician Assistants must have noticed this when they selected her as Kansas’ top physician assistant for 2002. 
http://www.atchisondailyglobe.com/main.asp?FromHome=1&TypeID=1&ArticleID=455&SectionID=16&SubSectionID=33
 

...He and his partner sifted through their database and plucked out 600 patients who had trouble walking or had advanced dementia or other problems that made them candidates for the service. Now, the doctors, five nurse-practitioners and one physician's assistant have carved up their community into quadrants and spend two-thirds of their time on the road, often checking in with the scheduling nurse using two-way radios. ...

http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/living/4600701.htm

Wichita State has teamed up with the local organization Hospitals of Hope to send a team of physician assistant students to Bolivia this spring.

From March 31 to May 1, students Sarah Lindsey, Crystal Knott, Brenda Avery and Tara Roa, along with David Day, assistant director of WSU’s PA program, will take part in an elective rotation at the HoH clinic near Cochabamba, Bolivia.
http://www.thesunflower.com/web/isite.dll?1037932110947

Catherine Mason, PA-C. of New Mexico will be going to Afghanistan, January 2003 for a month to do a humanitarian mission with International Aid.  The two clinics she will be working with and have asked her for some medical equipment and supplies to help their work.  One clinic sees about 100 patients a day and the mobile medical clinic can seen 5 times that amount in a few days. 

An example of the type of equipment needed is:

BP cuffs, digital thermometers, Otoscopes, canes, patella hammers, tongue depressors, urine dipstix, gloves, suture material, nebulizers and albuterol soln and inhalers, bandaids, wound care products, gloves, steri-strips, 60 cc irrigation syringes, canes, peakflow meters, pulse oximeters, and a myriad of antibiotics--topical, oral, and opthalmic.
contact:Catherine Mason, PA-C 505-534-1717
http://www.paworld.net/missionhelp.htm
 

..."We'll take all comers," said Todd A. Stirling, the new physician assistant at the center. "Nobody gets turned away."...
http://www.thespectrum.com/news/stories/20021119/topstories/403141.html

He averred that the optimal goal of the course is to train health team members to primary health care approach of health care provision. He also presented 14 candidates to receive certificate.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200211140174.html

According to the contract - which is contingent upon an agreement by County Attorney Phil Garrett and the attorney for PPGH - Physician's Assistant Richard Keller
 would attend to inmates' medical needs for two hours each Tuesday and Thursday. A tentative amount of $1,120 per month would be paid to Keller for his services, which Oakerson said would reduce expenses and the risk of escape. 
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1224&dept_id=445897&newsid=6064237&PAG=461&rfi=9

http://www.ruidosonews.com/Stories/0,1413,165%257E9426%257E991885,00.html

Clinic gets new practitioner
By Bonnie Jo Hanson
 

  Janet Jacobson has joined the medical staff of the Paynesville Area Health Care System as a physician's assistant. 
Jacobson became a member of the medical staff last week and will split her time between clinics in Paynesville and Richmond. As a physician's assistant, she can perform many of the the duties of a physician under the supervision of medical doctor.

Jacobson, whose focus is on family medicine, comes from the Brainerd area, where she was a registered nurse until a few years ago. She wanted more of a challenge, so, at the urging of a friend who was a physician's assistant, she enrolled in a program at the University of North Dakota, from which she graduated in 1998. She continued to practice in Brainard until her move to Paynesville.

She enjoys family practice because it gives her an opportunity to teach her patients about healthy living, and she likes the modern facilities at PAHCS. She has already begun to see patients at both clinics.

Jacobson likes Paynesville and all it has to offer, but for now she is commuting from Brainerd until she and her husband find a home here. She has two grown children and enjoys tending to her animals, including a pet chicken.

http://www.paynesvillearea.com/news/HeadlinesArticles/1113janetjacobson.html

KALAMAZOO -- William Fenn, a professor in the physician assistant program in Western Michigan University's College of Health and Human Services, is one of four people recently appointed by Gov. John Engler to the Michigan Board of Medicine.

http://www.wmich.edu/wmu/news/2002/0211/0203-x078.html

Cheryl Dodson purchased the clinics because the former owner, Valley Baptist Health System in Harlingen, considered her a good candidate to carry on the mission VBMC began with the clinics.

"I felt that I had an obligation to the communities," Dodson said.

http://www.valleystar.com/files/n211125.htm

...Unlike most medical testing, almost no previous training is needed or required. However, this concerns Mark Behar, a physician assistant at the Wisconsin Avenue Family Care Center, 1834 W. Wisconsin Ave. He believes training is a necessity. 

"I am not against the test, but I believe that it should be done in an area where people can tell you exactly what a positive or a negative means to you," Behar said. 

The presence of professional doctors or medical personnel ensures that people being tested are clear on how having or not having the disease affects them. ...

http://134.48.55.172:8000/tribune/tribunegetnews.shtml?n-aids110702

OAKES, N.D. - Dr. Rup Nagala built clinics in southeastern North Dakota as hospitals were closing and other doctors were packing off to larger cities. When he decided the clinics needed physician assistants, he picked nurses from those towns and paid for them to go back to school.

The result of his work: the Southeast Medical Center, a network of six community clinics that provides a patient base that keeps the Oakes Community Hospital open - and allows 20,000 patients to get medical care in their hometowns.

http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/4464692.htm

...Today, Addis, 21, a 2002 graduate of Marietta College, is among 16 members of a new 27-month program at Marietta, under way just six months, that trains and prepares physician assistants for all types of medical settings from hospital emergency departments to private physicians' offices or nursing home facilities.

Celebrating their transition from the classroom to clinical settings this semester, members of the Class of 2004 of the Marietta College physician assistant program on Oct. 25 received white consultation coats. College officials, program faculty and staff, friends and family attended the ceremony...

The Marietta College PA Program is nationally accredited through the Accreditation Review Commission for Physician Assistants (ARC-PA). 

For more information: Gloria Stewart, director, 740.376-4458, or James Fry, academic coordinator, 740.376-4952

...The first pill may cost $30 million to produce and the second pill 22 cents, said Mike McMahan, physician assistant of Zion Canyon Medical Clinic in Springdale. As HMOs are slow to add new medicine to their formularies, the high drug cost has kept many low-income patients away. Massive jury awards to users of such drugs as Fen-Phen, he said, have only added fuel to the fire.

"It does keep going up and up. Lawyers are just part of the problem," McMahan said. "Patients are paying more and more for their insurance. Insurance (companies) are paying less and less per patient per service."  ...

http://www.thespectrum.com/news/stories/20021104/topstories/298949.html

"We just hope that everybody understands the issues," said Rashida Rogers, 21, who is studying to become a physician's assistant. "On campus, the students are very aware politically. But we need to reach out to the community and make sure they understand how the election could affect health care, education, justice, gun safety and the prospect of war."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59393-2002Nov2.html

...Dillon received a full-ride scholarship to Western Washington University in Bellingham, and two years for her master's degree in health sciences at Duke University in North Carolina. In August, she graduated from the physician assistant surgical residency program run through the Yale School of Medicine. After years of schooling, Dillon is looking for her first job as a surgical assistant. 

"I feel very, very lucky, just blessed that they have supported me in everything I wanted to do," said Dillon, who was given the money for her education as a gift — no strings attached. It made all the financial difference for her family, Dillon said. ...

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134568402_yale03m.html

Business: Physician Assistant Services, 301 Hibiscus Blvd., Melbourne

Business description: “We provide surgical-physician assistants, who have each been certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on a per-operation basis, in most specialties.  Our only focus is assisting in surgery.”

Business motivation: “To provide a core of professionals to the community and surgeons and the satisfaction that comes from doing this for the love of the patient and medicine.”

Professional background: Surgical experience for more than 31 years with 22 years as a NCCPA certified surgical P.A. in all specialties.

Lessons learned:  “Take full responsibility for all successes and setbacks.  Learn and understand your shortcomings and improve upon them.  Spoil your surgeon and patient with the best possible service and care.”

Business goals:  “To expand and cover all hospitals in Brevard County on a round-the-clock basis.”

Best business experience:  “Meeting Dr. Jonathan Paine for the first time in 1999 and explaining my concept to him.  He was the first supervising surgeon to give me the opportunity to prove my concept and myself.  Today, Physician Assistant Services assists more than 40 surgeons in multiple specialties.”

For more information: Call (321) 409-8941

...Olson and his wife raised five children and cared for a foster child who lived with them five years. The children are now grown and Olson proudly list the children and their accomplishments: Craig is a high school principal in the Minneapolis area; Kirstin is a church musician in Pennsylvania; Ingrid is a nurse in Platteville; Kim is an air handling engineer in Seattle, Wash.; and Kirk is a physician's assistant in the U.S. Army in Virginia...

http://www.themonroetimes.com/o1031pol.htm

In 2003 there will be over 45,000 Physician Assistants (PAs) and 90,000 Nurse Practitioners (NPs) in practice throughout the United States. Both professions can practice in all 50 states and they have been accepted by the VA, U.S. Public Health Service and the armed services. It is estimated that NPs are growing by 9,000 graduates and PAs by 4,000 graduates annually. These clinicians, although not physicians, routinely evaluate, diagnose, treat and prescribe, as only physicians have traditionally been able do so in the past. 

Generally, most NPs and PAs work in practices with their physician colleagues. Frequently, both professions can be found operating satellite offices and in rural areas, operating offices with minimal or no physician contact. All PAs must be associated with a physician while in some states nurse practitioners can practice independently.

full article at http://www.paworld.net/media.htm   or
http://www.uspharmacist.com/index.asp?show=article&page=8_964.htm

...At Wilkinson Clinic, genetic cancer risk assessment is a multistep process. It begins with a one-on-one consultation with Phillips and Tim Welsch, a certified physician assistant trained in genetic counseling. The pair detail personal and family health history and determine whether genetic testing is necessary and desirable...

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=5889851&BRD=1400&PAG=461&dept_id=173209&rfi=6

...Proctor's "folks" are the thousands of poor migrant and seasonal workers in south Hillsborough County who, because of their legal status, are ineligible for Medicare or Medicaid. As they trickle into Wimauma and Balm and Plant City and Dover to spray trees and pick fruit this fall, they also make their way to the Catholic Mobile Medical Services clinic complaining of skin allergies, eye irritation and back pain. Proctor, a physicians assistant, is always there to treat them. Proctor's assistant, Maria Lamas, and one or more of the clinic's volunteer doctors and medical students generally drive out to meet her. 

http://www.sptimes.com/2002/10/31/Floridian/Mending_bodies_and_li.shtml

Additional staff on the weekends will include either a physician assistant or nurse practitioner. Rob Merkel, physician assistant at Cle Elum Family Medicine, will staff the clinic beginning in November while KVCH continues to recruit for an additional physician assistant...

http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/665/public/news384614.html