Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Fascia Iliaca Compartment Block And Pericapsular Nerve Group Block Effect On Opioid Consumption In Hip Fracture Patients, David A. Brueggeman, Garrhett G. Via, Prachi Lele, Andrew W. Froehle, Michael J. Prayson, Scott J. Hadaway

Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Publications

Background Effective pain control and reduced opioid consumption improve hip fracture outcomes. Fascia iliaca compartment blocks (FICB) effectively and safely manage acute hip fracture pain while reducing opioid consumption. Alternatively, pericapsular nerve group (PENG) blocks may provide similar analgesia while better-preserving motor function by targeting the highly innervated anterior hip capsule and sensory branches of the femoral, obturator, and accessory obturator nerves. Evidence for PENG's effectiveness is limited. The present retrospective study compared pain and MME in hip fracture patients receiving FICB (n = 1596) or PENG (n = 254), vs. a no-block (NB; n = 287) reference group. Methods …

Loma Linda Nurse - Vol. 34, Loma Linda University School Of Nursing

Loma Linda Nurse

FEATURES

4 | Jordan Robison Profile

6 | LLUSN Mission Service— A Living Legacy

10 | Steps to a New School

12 | Entry Level Master’s at Murietta

LLUSN HIGHLIGHTS

14-21 | ALUMNI NEWS

22-27 | ACADEMICS

28-33 | HOMECOMING

34-37 | FACULTY UPDATES

Three Cheers For Print!, Jillian Lacross

AADEJ - The Communicator

This guest feature argues that print magazines are a worthwhile and necessary investment for associations, focusing on the three pillars of expectation, engagement, and experience. Print publications establish trust because they imply an inherent vetting process; affluent consumers trust print magazines the most, and print advertisements are significantly more trusted than social media ads. Print provides a respite from digital fatigue, with Worldmetrics finding that readers spend an average of 41 minutes engaging with a printed magazine, far exceeding the 3 to 7 minutes typically spent online. Printed materials enhance retention, recall, and emotional processing, strengthening the association's brand. Ultimately, …

What Time Is It? It Is 8 And 1/2 Time: A Rare Case Of Ischemic Stroke Consistent With Eight-And-A-Half Syndrome, Jessica Daza, Marcelo Bedoya-Sommerkamp, Eunbee Cho, Celia Patricia Daza, Francisco Gomez, Fatimah Bello, Jia Lin

School of Medicine Publications

Eight-and-a-half syndrome is a rare neuro-ophthalmic syndrome characterized by conjugate horizontal gaze palsy, ipsilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia, and ipsilateral facial nerve palsy. It results from a lesion affecting the paramedian pontine reticular formation, the medial longitudinal fasciculus, and the abducens nucleus of the same side, at the level of the lower pons. We present a case of a 49-year-old man with 2-week diplopia and 3-day right-sided facial droop, drooling, and dysarthria. CT angiography of the head and neck revealed atherosclerotic disease, with decreased caliber of the basilar artery at the level of the pons. Brain MRI showed a subacute ischemic lesion …

Triple Air Leak Syndrome In Cannabinoid Hyperemesis: A Diagnostic Challenge Managed Conservatively, Kashif Ali, Aresha Masood Shah, Arsalan Hyder, Valeska Balderas

School of Medicine Publications

Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a condition marked by recurrent nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain in chronic cannabis users. Rarely, severe vomiting can lead to complications such as spontaneous pneumomediastinum, pneumopericardium, and pneumoretroperitoneum. We present a case of a 21-year-old woman with CHS who developed a rare triad of spontaneous pneumomediastinum, pneumopericardium, and pneumoretroperitoneum. Initial findings raised concern for Boerhaave syndrome; however, imaging ruled out esophageal perforation. The patient was managed conservatively with bowel rest, intravenous fluids, electrolyte correction, antiemetics, and antibiotics, resulting in full recovery. This case highlights the diagnostic challenges in distinguishing CHS common nonserious complications from more …

Readability Of Custom Chatbot Vs. Gpt-4 Responses To Otolaryngology-Related Patient Questions, Yossef Alsabawi, Pompeyo R. Quesada, David T. Rouse

School of Medicine Publications

Background: Low health literacy among patients hinders comprehension of care instructions and worsens outcomes, yet most otolaryngology patient materials and chatbot responses to medical inquiries exceed the recommended reading level of sixth- to eighth-grade. Whether chatbots can be pre-programmed to provide accurate, plain-language responses has yet to be studied. This study aims to compare response readability of a GPT model customized for plain language with GPT-4 when answering common otolaryngology patient questions.

Methods: A custom GPT was created and provided thirty-three questions from Polat et al. (Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol., 2024), and their GPT-4 answers were reused with permission. Questions …

Sovereign Solutions: Reclaiming Reproductive Autonomy In Oklahoma Indian Country After Dobbs, Morgan Sandler

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

In the United States, Native American women face disproportionately high rates of sexual violence and adverse maternal health outcomes. In addition to these ongoing challenges, they continue to face significant barriers to reproductive healthcare access. Oklahoma’s near-total abortion ban—without exceptions for rape or incest—exacerbates these negative trends, particularly for Native women and the Two-Spirit community. Following the Supreme Court’s decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, approximately 42 percent of Oklahoma’s land area is recognized as Indian Country. This Comment explores how Oklahoma’s abortion ban disproportionately impacts Native women due to systemic inequities stemming from the federal government’s long history of …

Concurrent Local Therapy Extends Clinical Benefit Of Tebentafusp In Metastatic Uveal Melanoma Patients, Tristan L. Lim, Kamaneh Montazeri, Eric Wehrenberg-Klee, Antoine Desilets, Rino S. Seedor, Marlana Orloff, Takami Sato, Michael Caplan, Mariam El-Ashmawy, Benjamin Izar, Shaheer Khan, Inderjit Mehmi, Aleigha Lawless, Theodore S. Hong, Omid Hamid, Richard D. Carvajal, Alexander Shoushtari, Ryan J. Sullivan

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Tebentafusp has significantly improved overall survival in HLA-A*02:01+ metastatic uveal melanoma (mUM) patients even in those with a best objective response of progressive disease. Thus, strategies to maintain tebentafusp therapy are critical. Here, we examine the efficacy and safety of adding concurrent local therapy (CLT) to tebentafusp upon radiological progression with tebentafusp alone.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: This multicenter retrospective study included mUM patients treated with tebentafusp and CLT, consisting of extrahepatic soft tissue irradiation and liver-directed therapies (LDTs). Efficacy of target and nontarget sites were assessed per RECIST version 1.1. PFS with tebentafusp alone (PFS1) was compared to that …

Equine-Based Occupational Therapy To Develop Social And Emotional Skills In Adolescents: An Educational Video Series, Annabeth Dorris, Steven Gerardi, Angela Blackwell

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

Adolescents experience rapid physical, emotional, and social changes that often challenge self-regulation and social-emotional skill development. Occupational therapy (OT) practitioners are equipped to address these needs through a variety of ways, like equine-based occupational therapy (EBOT), yet resources on this setting remain limited. This capstone project developed an educational video series to guide OT practitioners in using equine-based occupations to promote social-emotional learning (SEL) skills in adolescents, targeting self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. The seven videos were posted to YouTube for easy access. This resource serves as a tool OT practitioners can use for knowledge and …

Regain Confidence Postpartum: A Guide For Pelvic Floor Health​, Taylor Jackson, Mary Jan Greer, Donna Carver

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

Postpartum pelvic floor dysfunction can disrupt daily occupations such as toileting, hygiene, mobility, sexual health, sleep, and infant care. These challenges often reduce confidence and limit participation. Although pelvic floor issues are common, occupational therapy has not been widely recognized in this emerging area, leaving a gap in functional, client-centered support.

This capstone project developed Regain Confidence Postpartum: A Guide for Pelvic Floor Health, an occupation-focused resource designed to help postpartum individuals understand pelvic floor dysfunction and return to meaningful routines. A needs assessment was completed through clinical observation, discussions with providers at Purely Pelvic Floor, and a review …

Assistive Technology For Proper Seating And Positioning For Geriatrics, Jacee Lyons, Rebecca King

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

The lack of staff education on pressure injury prevention places older adults at a higher risk of developing pressure injuries in a skilled nursing facility.

Program For Teachers To Address The Needs Of Students With Adhd, Ashton R. Wagner, Wendy Tremaine, Dr. Mary Jan Greer, Phd, Otr

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

The capstone project focused on supporting teacher participants from Eden Gardens Fundamental Magnet Elementary by providing practical strategies to address students who struggle with attention, regulation, and daily classroom routines. After completing a needs assessment, it was clear that many teachers faced similar challenges, including difficulty with transitions, staying on task, and responding when students became overwhelmed. To address this, created an OT-led teacher-training program that uses the PEOP model and focuses on simple, practical strategies teachers can implement right away. This included visual cues, sensory and movement supports, and minor changes to the classroom setup. As teachers began using …

Bridging Sensory Processing And Community Integration For Adults With Idd: A Bilingual Approach, Stephanie J. Newman, Cynthia Haynes

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

The capstone project included creation, implementation, and evaluation of an educational program. The program provided education for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their respective caregivers. The educational materials included development and implementation of educational workshops of sensory processing strategies in the community, work, and social settings for adults with IDD and bilingual home programs created for caregiver education. The program was evaluated through pre- and post-surveys administered to caregivers to demonstrate changes in knowledge of sensory processing strategies, as well as client assessments administered to assess changes in client understanding of sensory strategies.

Staying In The Game: Understanding The Impact Of Gaming On Musculoskeletal Health And Occupational Performance, Sereniti A. Forkey Dr, Zeida Gutierrez

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

The purpose of this capstone is to examine the physical demands that gaming places on the musculoskeletal system and to gain a deeper understanding of gamers’ habits and behaviors. The goal of this project is to explore the population within its context, including psychosocial impacts and the potential need for intervention. By doing so, this research aims to provide valuable insights to both gamers and clinicians, supporting and enhancing occupational performance in gaming.

Educating Early Childhood Educators On Creating A Sensory Inclusive Classroom, Maryah Booker, Zeida Gutierrez, Maureen Fischer

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

This capstone paper focuses on educating early childhood educators on sensory processing, helping them understand its impact on their students’ classroom activities, and equipping them with sensory-based strategies to support children with sensory differences, allowing them to thrive in a classroom environment.

Improving The Quality Of Life Of Adults With Visual Impairments Through An Occupational Therapy Lens, Vanessa R. Patel, Rebecca King, Jaimee Fielder

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

Adults with visual impairments often experience decreased independence, safety concerns, and reduced confidence in daily occupations, particularly during meal preparation. This capstone project aimed to develop and implement an occupation-based educational program to support safe and independent cooking for adults with visual impairments. A needs assessment was conducted at Envision Dallas, resulting in a program focused on meal preparation and the use of adaptive strategies. The program consisted of twelve structured lessons delivered through a combination of individual sessions and group-based instruction. Outcomes were measured using pre- and post-session questionnaires, informal observation, and participant and family feedback. Results indicated improvements …

Improving Rest And Sleep For Hospitalized Individuals: An Occupation Based Approach, Margaret R. Greene, Lakesia Boykin

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

Design and create an educational program for occupational therapy practitioners working within hospital environments, patients, and occupational therapy students on evidence grounded, occupation-based sleep activities to use with patients in inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. The educational program will contain modules focusing on the importance of sleep for overall health, how sleep impacts recovery, common environmental and personal factors impacting sleep, and interventions to help improve patient sleep. These educational modules and interventions will focus on the specific client and environmental factors within the occupational therapy scope of practice (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2020).

Occupational Therapy's Role In Maternal Health: Empowering Mothers Experiencing Postpartum Depression And Anxiety Through Education On Child Development, Phoebe Spernal, Keisa Boykin

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

To empower mothers experiencing postpartum depression and anxiety by strengthening their maternal knowledge and self-efficacy in supporting their baby’s development through an occupational therapy-based educational program.

Educating High School Advisors On The Benefits Of Life Skills Education Prior To Post-Secondary Transition, Noble H. Steenbergen, Zeida Gutierrez

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

To develop and provide a viable life skills program to high school educators, with the intent to educate students on life skills and reduce mental health problems during post-secondary transition

A Golfer's Guidebook For Prevention And Intervention For Golf Injuries, Brianna A. Martinez, Lesley Khan-Farooqi Phd, Otd, Otr

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

The purpose of this capstone project was to create a guidebook for golfers who can be at increased risk for medial epicondylitis focused on prevention and intervention strategies to support productivity, leisure participation, and self-care.

Escape Of Kdm6a From X Chromosome Is Detrimental To Ischemic Brains Via Irf5 Signaling, Conelius Ngwa, Afzal Misrani, Kanaka Valli Manyam, Yan Xu, Shaohua Qi, Romana Sharmeen, Juneyoung Lee, Long-Jun Wu, Louise Mccullough, Fudong Liu

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

The role of chromatin biology and epigenetics in disease progression is gaining increasing recognition. Genes that escape X chromosome inactivation (XCI) can impact neuroinflammation through epigenetic mechanisms. Our previous study has suggested that the X escapee genes Kdm6a and Kdm5c are involved in microglial activation after stroke in aged mice. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesized that Kdm6a/5c demethylate H3K27Me3/H3K4Me3 in microglia, respectively, and mediate the transcription of interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) and IRF4, leading to microglial pro-inflammatory responses and exacerbated stroke injury. Aged (17–20 months) Kdm6a/5c microglial conditional knockout (CKO) female mice (one allele of the …

Diabetes-Related Foot Complications And Socioeconomic Influences Among Hispanic Males In South Texas: A Scoping Review, Mariana J. Rodriguez, Demian Rodriguez, Amanda Killeen

School of Podiatric Medicine Publications

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is the 7th leading cause of death in the U.S. and 6th in Texas. South Texas counties have higher diabetes rates than state and national averages. This complex, progressive disease affects multiple body systems and can lead to serious complications, especially in the lower extremities. Uncontrolled diabetes is often associated with diabetic foot ulcers (DFU), foot infections, and lower extremity amputations (LEA). South Texas, predominantly Hispanic American, is disproportionately affected. This demographic faces clinical barriers due to a lack of cultural understanding, highlighting the need for culturally sensitive healthcare workers such as promotoras. This study aimed to …

The Home Visiting Referral Quality Improvement Initiative (Thrive) Change Package, Elizabeth Yakes Jimenez, Theresa Cruz, Rebecca Craig, Ivan De La Rosa

Population Health Research and Scholarship

Early childhood home visiting programs improve maternal and child health outcomes but remain underutilized. Healthcare providers are well-positioned to connect families to home visiting services; however, structural barriers in clinical settings limit consistent and effective referral practices. The Home Visiting Referral Quality Improvement Initiative (THRIVE) change package was developed to provide a starting point for addressing these challenges. The THRIVE change package outlines actionable improvement strategies to test, such as standardizing referral workflows, training clinical teams, and establishing relationships and feedback loops with home visiting programs. It offers a scalable approach to strengthening clinical–community linkages and improving family engagement with …

10-21-25 Bor Hsc Committee Notice Of Meeting Revised, Patricia Serna

HSC Committee (A subcommittee of the UNM Board of Regents)

10-21-25 BOR HSC Committee Notice of Meeting Revised

A Word From The Writing Team (October 2025), Pam Walter, Mfa, Laura Deloretta, Phd

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

• Publications Spotlight
• Wiley is Hosting Two Workshops
• Join us for the Launch Party of Evanescent Issue 6: Growing. Learning. Aging.
• Pam is Out of the Office until October 14^th!
• October 3rd is our First Friday Writing Retreat!

Circulation Of Respiratory Viruses From Air And Human Specimens In A Pre-Kindergarten-12th Grade School District In Kansas City, Mo, Nicole Neeley, Brian Lee, Brittney Fritschmann, Luke Gard, Nibha Sagar, Dithi Banerjee, Anjana Sasidharan, Rangaraj Selvarangan, Olivia Almendares, Hannah L. Kirking, Jennifer Goldman, Jennifer E. Schuster

Posters

Background: Air sampling with respiratory virus testing in community settings may be a potential non-invasive, scalable method to monitor respiratory viruses. We performed an ecological analysis to describe the correlation between respiratory virus detections in air and human samples across all schools to evaluate the potential for air sampling as a tool for community-level surveillance. Methods: Knowledge of Infectious Diseases in Schools (School KIDS) is a voluntary respiratory virus surveillance program in a pre-kindergarten-12th grade public school district in Kansas City, MO. In 10 schools, students and staff collected anterior nasal swabs while at school, with optional on-demand swabbing when …

Cannabis Improves Metabolic Dysfunction And Macrophage Signatures In Obese Mice, Brandon N. Vanderveen, Thomas D. Cardaci, Christian A. Unger, Mitchell M. Nesmith, Jeffrey C. Freeman, Arianna V. Bastian, Kasie Roark, Mansi Upadhyay, Andrew G. Levy, Brooke M. Bullard, Sierra J. Mcdonald, Kandy T. Velázquez, Reilly T. Enos, Jason L. Kubinak, Lorne J. Hofseth Ph.D., James Hébert Scd, Daping Fan, E. Angela Murphy

Faculty Publications

Obesity rates continue to rise, highlighting the need for new treatments that are effective, safe, and widely accessible. Aligned with the easing of restrictions on cannabis use, interest in its therapeutic potential is evolving. As such, we examined the effects of the cannabis plant with high cannabidiol (CBD) content or high Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content on metabolic and immune dysregulation in obese mice. Briefly, female C57BL/6 mice were randomized into four groups (n = 15/group): 1) lean, 2) obese placebo, 3) obese CBD, and 4) obese THC. Lean mice consumed a low-fat diet for the study …

Effect Of Sdf Application Versus Diode Laser Irradiation On Incipient Carious Lesion’S Progression In Primary Molars: A Randomize Clinical Trial, Islam Yehia, Noha Samir Kabil, Basma Gamal

Dentistry

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of two different preventive measures a) Silver diamine (SDF) application, b) Diode laser irradiation, on caries progression of incipient carious occlusal lesions in primary second molars. This clinical trial included two equal study groups of patients, for applying; Group I: SDF application, Group II: Diode laser irradiation, the included second primary molars for intervention were selected with incipient carious lesions graded by International Caries Detection & Assessment System (ICDAS)with scores (0,1,2). The involved molars were followed up for 3, 6, 12 months and ICDAS scores were graded to check for caries progression …

Effect Of Acid-Containing Drinks On Surface Roughness And Bacterial Accumulation Of Different Types Of Denture Base Materials, Sara Fikry Dr, Ayman Amin, Eman Khedr, Fatma Makkeya

Dentistry

No abstract provided.

Spatiotemporal Modeling Of Maternal Mortality In South Carolina 2018-2023, Leah Wood, Ray Bai, Emily Mann

Senior Theses

Maternal death serves as a public health indicator due to fact that it is considered preventable with the availability of modern biomedicine, however, it persists broadly throughout the United States. Current literature outlines national trends in maternal mortality with complicating, preexisting conditions, and structural upstream factors often cited as being the largest contributors to increased risk. This study utilizes publicly available, county-level data for maternal death in addition to demographic and descriptive data in order to estimate maternal mortality rates in each of South Carolina’s 46 counties from 2018 to 2023. In order to address sparsity in the outcome variable …