Tag Archives: Community and Family Medicine

Dr. Beth Rosemergey chosen as new chair of Community and Family Medicine

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The UMKC School of Medicine and University Health have announced the appointment of Beth Rosemergey, D.O., as the new chair of the Department of Community and Family Medicine. Her appointment takes effect Jan. 10, 2022.

Rosemergey, an associate professor of community and family medicine, currently serves as vice chair of the department. She is also medical director of the Bess Truman Family Medicine Center at University Health Lakewood Hospital and director of the Family Medicine residency program and will continue in those roles as well.

A 1988 graduate of the Kansas City University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine, now Kansas City University, Rosemergey completed her community and family medicine residency, including a year as chief resident, at UMKC before joining the School of Medicine faculty in 2016.

“I am honored to be appointed as chair of the Department of Community and Family Medicine and work with an amazing group of faculty, fellows and residents,” Rosemergey said. “I hope to partner with our patients, learners, healthcare system, medical school and community to develop innovative ways to serve our patients by expanding primary care access, educational endeavors and scholarship.”

Rosemergey is an active member of many committees and boards. She is on the Physician NTT Initial Academic Appointment and Promotion Committee, the Professional Development Committee, Graduate Medical Education Committee and Honor Council.  She is also a co-faculty advisor for the School of Medicine chapter of Gold Humanism Honor Society and a mentor in the Faculty Mentor Program. With University Health, she serves on the Physicians Board of Directors and Finance Committee. She is also a board member on the Kansas City and Missouri Academies of Family.

In 2020, the Independence Examiner honored Rosemergey with a Woman of Distinction Award. The award recognizes outstanding women of Eastern Jackson County, Missouri, in in the fields of business, government, education and non-profits based on their accomplishments and community involvement.

Stephen Griffith, M.D, professor and past chair of community and family medicine, has served as interim department and academic chair since April. Beginning Jan. 10, he will serve as vice chair for the department.

School of Medicine announces changes in Department of Community and Family Medicine

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O'Dell, Michael
Michael O’Dell, M.D.

Change is coming to the UMKC School of Medicine Department of Community and Family Medicine where Michael O’Dell, M.D., chair of the department, has announced his retirement after nearly 40 years in academic medicine.

The School of Medicine announced that R. Stephen Griffith, M.D, has been appointed interim department and academic chair while a search for a permanent chair is completed. The appointment is effective April 12. Griffith previously served nine years as chairman of the department.

“I am pleased to be asked to serve as interim chair during the time of transition from Dr. O’Dell’s leadership until a new permanent chair is named,” Griffith said. “As a previous chair, I know the challenges of the position and look forward to working with the outstanding faculty of the department to prepare for the next chapter in the department’s journey.”

Griffith, Robert Stephen
R. Stephen Griffith, M.D.

Griffith is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine and completed his Family Medicine residency at the University of Arizona. A faculty member in the UMKC Department of Community and Family Medicine and Truman Medical Centers medical staff member since 1984, he was chair of Community and Family Medicine from 2001 until 2010. He has also served as residency program director and as the school’s rural health director.

O’Dell announced his retirement effective July 1. He will take a 10-week personal and educational enrichment break beginning April 12.

During his appointment as chair of Community and Family Medicine starting in 2010, O’Dell furthered the department’s clinical, educational, and scholarly missions. He also significantly expanded the faculty.

Before coming to UMKC, he served on faculty and held leadership positions at the University of Kansas, the University of Texas Medical Branch, the University of Alabama Birmingham’s Huntsville Campus, and the North Mississippi Medical Center.

O’Dell is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Medicine and the University of Kansas Family Medicine residency program. He served on active duty as an officer in the U.S. Naval Reserves and retired holding the rank of captain. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and other awards during his Naval career and was deployed in the first Gulf War.

AAFP honors UMKC School of Medicine Family Medicine Interest Group

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Members of the UMKC School of Medicine Family Medicine Interest Group, Haley Kertz, Kyla Mahone, Morgan Dresvyannikov, Paige Charboneau, Michele Sun, and Aniesa Slack, M.D., faculty sponsor, with the American Academy of Family Physicians 2019 Program of Excellence Award

A productive year of sponsoring and participating in community services and professional development program has earned the UMKC School of Medicine’s Family Medicine Interest Group the 2019 Program of Excellence Award from the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).

The honor is given annually in recognition of outstanding performance in student involvement and retention, advocacy of family medicine, community outreach and patient advocacy. It was presented this summer to 19 medical school Family Medicine Interest Groups during the AAFP National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students in Kansas City.

These student-run organizations provide opportunities for students to learn about and experience family medicine outside of their medical school curricula. They also sponsor events, workshops, leadership development opportunities and community and clinical experiences.

The UMKC organization was selected for its wide-ranging series of programs such as performing sports physicals for more than 350 children, early exposure to health care professions through a middle school Medical Explorers Pipeline Project, participation in a diabetes prevention program, programs to bring local medical students and family physicians together to talk about family medicine, and a week-long series of events to promote Primary Care Week.

Throughout the year, members of the interest group also developed working relationships with other interest groups on campus such as the Simulation Interest Group, the Pediatric Interest Group, Wellness Council, and the free, student-run Sojourners Clinic.

Morgan Dresvyannikov, MS 6, and Kyla Mahone, MS 5, served the award-winning 2018-19 year as co-presidents of the School of Medicine group that has nearly 130 active members. Other leadership members included Alice Hwang, M.D., 19, and Emma Connelly, MS 5, co-vice presidents; Michele Sun, MS 6, treasurer; Paige Charboneau, MS 6, secretary; Andrea Pelate, MS 5, community Chair; and Claire Wolber, MS 5, public relations. Aniesa Slack, M.D., assistant professor of community and family medicine, serves a faculty sponsor.

“Making sure that medical students have an appreciation of family medicine is a key step to those students choosing family medicine for their career,” said Clif Knight, MD, senior vice president for education at the AAFP. “This year’s award winners have done outstanding work giving students the opportunity to activate the knowledge they’ve acquired in the classroom, develop leadership skills that will serve them in their future practices and communities, and better understand the vital role that family medicine plays in our health care system.”

This was the second time the School of Medicine organization has received the award. It also earned the recognition in 2011.

Sports medicine fellowship director travels with U.S. ski team to Norway

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Meg Gibson, M.D.
Meg Gibson, M.D., equipped with a medical bag, on the slopes in Hafjell, Norway.

Meg Gibson, M.D., director of the Sports Medicine fellowship program at the UMKC School of Medicine, served as the team physician for the United States at the World Junior Alpine Skiing Championships in Norway.

The competition took place in March at a ski resort near Lillehammer, site of the 1994 Winter Olympics. Prior to making the 10-day trip, Gibson, assistant professor of community and family medicine, traveled to Colorado to train in on-hill emergencies and other facets of working with a ski team in international competition.

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association selected a group of 16 athletes, male and female, ages 16 to 20, to compete at the event. Gibson, who trained in family medicine and completed a sports medicine fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, was expected to be able to treat the skiers’ basic medical concerns as well as muscoskeletal injuries. “I’m biased, but I think that what I do as a primary-care sports medicine doctor is ideal for their needs,” she said.

Health professionals who care for ski teams at competition sites need to know how to ski. A Michigan native, Gibson learned to ski as a child and continues to ski recreationally. The resort in Norway tested her abilities. She carried a medical bag on her back, and the course was conditioned to be hard and fast for racing events.

In addition to the challenges of working on a mountain, Gibson was practicing medicine in another country. A muscle relaxant commonly used in the U.S., she discovered while at the event, is not readily available in Norway.

Gibson provided care alongside an athletic trainer. “A big part of sports medicine is determining if it’s safe for your athlete to participate or not, and then if any modifications or recommendations can be made,” she said.

Gibson and the trainer modified the training schedule of one U.S. athlete. Otherwise, the team avoided sickness and injury during the competition.

Gibson said she enjoyed the experience of working with the athletes. “They seemed to be very appreciative of the care that they were receiving,” she said. “I hope it’s something I will be able to work out logistically again.”

Community and Family Medicine doc raising money for computers

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David Voran, M.D., is working to raise money to purchase computers for resident physicians in the Community and Family Medicine Residency program.
David Voran, M.D., is working to raise money to purchase computers for resident physicians in the Community and Family Medicine Residency program.

Residents in the School of Medicine’s Community and Family Medicine Residency program could be in line for an upgrade in technology with new computers if David Voran, M.D., assistant professor of community and family medicine, meets his goal with a Golfing for Computers fundraiser.

Voran plans to grab his golf clubs on June 25, and play 64 holes of golf, walking the Nicklaus Club at Lions Gate in an effort to raise $64,000 to purchase new computers for each of the 32 Community and Family Practice residents.

Voran said he believes it is critical for residents to have access to the best and most current technology while learning and hopes to raise enough money through donations to provide new computers for each one. Read his personal blog for more.

To contribute to the fundraising venture, donors can go to https://ecommerce.umkc.edu/giving, and type in “Nicholas Fund” in the “Other designations or details” area at the bottom of the page, or make out a check to the “Nicholas Fund” and turn in it at the pro shop at the Nicklaus Club at Lions Gate. Contributions to the fund are tax deductible.