AU News
- President Greg Weiner Announces 2023 Presidential Award WinnersPresident Greg Weiner Announces 2023 Presidential Award Winners oe.boudreau Wed, 11/22/2023 - 08:55 For the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Presidential Awards and Employee Appreciation Ceremony was held in the Tsotsis Family Academic Center Ballroom on November 16th. During the ceremony, four faculty and staff members were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the Assumption community. President Greg Weiner opened the ceremony with a speech recognizing not only the hard work of those four individuals who received awards, but also the efforts of all faculty and staff that help to make Assumption thrive. “We acknowledge today and express our appreciation for those who have dedicated their careers to advancing our university’s mission and to providing an excellent education to our students,” he said. “Each honoree recognized this afternoon has not only contributed their time, but has also invested passion, expertise, and energy for the betterment of our community.” The winners of the Presidential Awards for 2023 are as follows: Dr. Samantha Goldman, Associate Professor of Special Education, has received the Paul Ziegler Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarship. “Receiving this award is a huge honor, and it means so much to have my scholarly work recognized by the Assumption community,” said Goldman. “My research is focused on access to services for students with disabilities and their families, as well as teacher preparation/training. It is a great feeling to know that others also recognize and value the importance of this area of scholarship. I am extremely grateful to my colleagues in the Education department who nominated me, but also to all the students, families, and educators who have participated directly in my research.” Ms. Melanie Demarais, Associate Vice President of University Advancement, has received the Kathleen M. Murphy Presidential Award for Excellence in Contribution to the Mission. “I was very humbled when I got word that I was going to receive this award,” said Demarais. “I want to congratulate my fellow awardees, because I feel like I am in a very special class of individuals. I’d like to thank my nominators, and of course our University Advancement team. They are great. We are mighty, and we try to support this university as best we can. I want to thank the Assumptionist fathers, brothers, and religious sisters, and they are great friends of mine, and I do try to sparkle whenever I am with them.” Dr. Christian Williams, Assistant Professor of Human Services and Rehabilitation Studies, has received the Michael O’Shea Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching. “I am filled with gratitude and reflection as I think about my time at Assumption. My journey within the Assumption community began many years ago, not as an educator, but as a student. Today as I share this space with my former professors, my esteemed colleagues, and my students, the future of this great institution, I am filled with gratitude,” Williams said. “This award is not just a recognition of my work. It symbolizes the collective effort of our community, in nurturing minds and in shaping futures. I thank Assumption University for shaping me as a student, for inspiring me as an educator, and for allowing me to honor and contribute to the journeys of our students. The shared mission of fostering a lifelong journey of learning, passion and purpose is what makes this institution extraordinary.” Mr. Thomas Burke, Media Services Supervisor and Lecturer in Television Arts, has received the Presidential Award for Service. “It is an honor to be recognized with the 2023 Presidential Award for Excellence in Service,” said Burke. “I sincerely appreciate the nomination along with endorsements received from colleagues, students, alumni, and the Assumption University community. I am truly humbled by the outpouring of support.” Along with these four honorees, faculty and staff were also honored with years of service awards, ranging in five-year increments from five to 50 years of service. One faculty member, Kevin Hickey, Chair of the Global Studies minor, was recognized for 50 years of service and employment at Assumption University. MicrosoftTeams-image (8).pngDr. Samantha Goldman, Dr. Christian Williams, Ms. Melanie Demarais, Mr. Tom Burke, and President Greg Weiner at the Presidential Awards ceremony.General Olivia Boudreau
- Students Dante Bachini ’24 and Katy Cannistraro ’24 Present Research at Annual National Organization for Human Services ConferenceStudents Dante Bachini ’24 and Katy Cannistraro ’24 Present Research at Annual National Organization for Human Services Conference oe.boudreau Tue, 11/21/2023 - 14:22 The National Organization for Human Services (NOHS) Conference was held in Alexandria, Virginia, from November 10th through 13th, and Assumption students Katy Cannistraro ’24 and Dante Bachini ’24 both attended and presented their research relating to the field of human services. In addition, Katy Cannistraro ’24 was awarded the NOHS Outstanding Human Services Student Award. NOHS is an organization with members involved in the human services as educators, professionals, practitioners, and students. The conference is held in order to connect those involved in the field to resources and conversations that will enrich their work. Workshops at the conference include research presentations, workshops on human services pedagogy, and best practices in the field. Many of the Assumption University faculty in the Human Services department are involved in the NOHS, including helping with the planning of the conference, as editorial members of the organization’s academic journal, and sitting on the Board of Directors. “We have great participation in the NOHS. We are represented on the Board of Directors, as editorial staff on the Journal of Human Services, and at the conference itself,” said Cinzia Pica, Chair of the Human Services and Rehabilitation Studies department. “I am so proud of our students who are being highlighted at the national level. It speaks to their strengths as well as to the quality education and preparation they are engaged in both in our department and across our institution.” “The conference is where everyone comes together and tries to look forward five years,” said Dante Bachini, a health sciences major with a focus on patient advocacy. “We ask questions like, ‘what are we doing now?’, ‘What’s the new research?’, ‘As a profession, are we moving forward to not only support our patients and clients, but each other?’, ‘How are we trying to maintain the highest ethical standards for our patients?’” Bachini gave a presentation at the conference on the interviewing methods used by primary care physicians and their patients with chronic illness. “In the chronic disease world, providers are unable to really get all the knowledge about what’s going on,” he said. “What we’re seeing is that the patient and provider are on separate thought processes and have different information understandings which create a large barrier to care.” Bachini’s work is focused on how an interdisciplinary approach between human services strategies and clinical strategies can be used in clinical spaces to promote patient wellness. “My research found that the human services field, though not focused on being a clinician, has key enduring strategies which promote the wellness of chronic disease patients,” he said. “These strategies include patients’ stories, their lived experience, and their knowledge into the picture. This informs the interventions the provider can use to create a better and more comprehensive care structure for their patients.” Katy Cannistraro, a human services and rehabilitation studies major, gave a presentation on the gender gap in mental health. “I started the research about a year ago in my psychiatric rehabilitation course,” she said. “I had noticed after looking at these mental illnesses that there was a recurring gap in the statistics between male and female prevalence rates. I wanted to figure out why this gap existed; my project looks at how gender roles affect our emotional expression and what we see as far as emotional disorders and help-seeking behaviors.” On top of presenting her research, Cannistraro was also presented with the NOHS Outstanding Human Services Student Award, which is presented to one student member of NOHS who has “demonstrated a significant contribution to the field of human services during the time of his or her degree completion,” according to the NOHS website. The student who receives this award also then serves as the student member of the NOHS Board of Directors.Katy Cannistraro '24 receives the NOHS Outstanding Human Services Student Award, with NOHS President James Stinchcomb and Professor Christian Williams. “By no means had I ever defined myself as an ‘outstanding student,’” she said. “Professor [Christian] Williams (of the Human Services department) helped me realize that it’s not necessarily about my GPA, but about all the other work I do outside of that. Oftentimes, we emphasize the importance of having a high GPA and I understand that, it’s super important, but I think there are so many different aspects to a person that make them, I guess, ‘outstanding’.” Along with her meaningful work on the gender gap in mental health services, Cannistraro is also a part of AU Allies, and has a large focus on advocating for students of the LGBTQ+ community on campus and has minors in both secondary education and women’s studies. Bachini and Cannistraro both highlighted how meaningful it is for them to be involved with the human services department at Assumption and how it has shaped them as individuals. “Not enough people know about the human services program,” said Cannistraro. “It has changed my life and the whole trajectory of what I want to pursue in the future. I am grateful for all of the professors…they’re extraordinary, and I don’t think they get recognized enough for all the hard work they do and their dedication to the students. It’s incredible.” “Our department makes you a unique candidate for grad school or the workforce because it blends together your strengths that you may not be aware of,” said Bachini. “It makes you want to reach out, makes you able to reach out, and I think that’s a really unique trait to our program and speaks volumes to the level and type of practitioner Assumption is creating.” Pica believes that the futures of the human services department at Assumption and the future of the field of human services itself are bright. “I’m thrilled because I see that we have several students who are both accomplished in terms of academics but also because of their service to our profession,” said Pica. “This emphasizes the quality of students and young, aspiring professionals that we have amongst our ranks.” NOHS-pic-katy-dante-large.jpgAssumption students Dante Bachini '24 and Katy Cannistraro '24 at the National Organization for Human Services Conference.General Olivia Boudreau
WHO News Updates
- Relationality in community engagement: its role in humanizing health and achieving quality integrated health servicesA new report, entitled “Relationality in community engagement: its role in humanizing healthcare and achieving quality integrated health Services” has been developed in collaboration with the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) and launched at the Seventh edition of the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) taking place in Doha on 13–14 November 2024. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, community engagement has further resurfaced as a necessary condition, and a shared responsibility within health systems, for emergency preparedness, response and recovery efforts in global public health. The new report introduces the background and current policy context for community engagement across different WHO regions. It presents an Integrated Change Framework (ICF) to embed and strengthen community engagement processes in health system functions and activities; explores eight selected country case studies, highlighting common success elements incorporated into the ICF; and concludes with recommendations for applying the ICF to improve health system performance. Relational community engagement emphasizes improving relationships among health and care workers, between them and with the people they care for. To enable this, governments are encouraged to focus on the following aspects. 1. Promote relational leadership, management, and governance Invest in adaptive, transformative leadership models to drive whole-system learning. Develop political commitment to adopt a relationship-focused approach to community engagement as an inherent way of working in health systems and across sectors. Engage the health and care workforce and civil service across sectors to develop a renewed vision for public sector values and ways of working. 2. Strengthen relationship-building capabilities in health systems Strengthen communication and collaboration in health systems, setting relational competency benchmarks and invest in local capacities of communities to address power imbalances. Develop participatory skills in multi-disciplinary teams and interprofessional practice. Integrate social and contextual data in health service design and delivery. 3. Invest in transdisciplinary research and practice development Fund research using the Integrated Change Framework (ICF) to foster collaboration across the sciences, technology, and the arts. Relationality in community engagement is critical for improving today's health systems, since it represents a powerful way of enhancing patient care; promoting collaboration, connection and belonging; addressing the social determinants of health; improving equity; and integrating lived experience and holistic knowledge systems through community-centred approaches to health and well-being.
- Lebanon: soaring needs for trauma treatment and rehabilitationThe ceasefire and the cessation of hostilities took effect on 27 November, offering temporary relief for the millions of civilians caught in the conflict in Lebanon. But Lebanon’s suffering did not end amid staggering unmet health needs. Bordering Syria and Israel, Lebanon’s overburdened health system is reeling from the impacts of an economic crisis, political deadlock, refugee crisis and now war. The country is host to 1.5 million Syrian refugees: inevitably, events in Syria impact Lebanon and WHO operations. Syrian nationals are entering Lebanon at the same time as Syrian refugees are returning to Syria from Lebanon. "An already decimated health system remarkably withstood this latest storm, but it has been further weakened. The challenges are complex and call for specialized, sustained support," said WHO Representative to Lebanon Dr Abdinasir Abubakar. A rocky road ahead The road ahead for Lebanon‘s health system is rocky and the future uncertain. Lebanon’s cumulative real GDP has shrunk by 38% since 2019, according to the World Bank, with the war being the latest of many blows. As of today, more than 1 million people displaced by hostilities have returned to southern Lebanon where the physical and health infrastructure is in tatters. Several health facilities remain closed and most hospitals are running below capacity due to financial restraints and shortages of staff, long-standing challenges in Lebanon. More than 530 health workers and patients have been killed or injured in attacks on health care and thousands of health workers have been displaced or have emigrated leaving the hospitals and the health centres grappling to meet the health needs of the populations. In order to keep hospitals running, the need for health workers is dire. Water and sanitation systems have been severely disrupted, compounding the risk of disease outbreaks. With nearly 7% of buildings in ruins in the two southern governorates that were hardest hit, thousands remain on the move and won’t be able to return home anytime soon. Those who have returned face the risks posed by explosive remnants of war, as well as greater overall health risks. Growing need for specialized trauma care Since 8 October 2023, more than 4000 people were killed and 17 000 injured in Lebanon alone. Since the ceasefire took hold and conflict-impacted areas have become more accessible, the death toll continued climbing as more bodies are found in the 16 000 buildings that have been partially or completely destroyed, leaving an estimated 8 million tonnes of debris. "The physical destruction is similar to what you see after an earthquake – and that has resulted in complex injuries, open wounds and fractures. And since the treatment provided during the war was often not optimal, the injured end up needing multiple surgeries to prevent complications and disabilities, " said Dr Ahmad Alchaikh Hassan, WHO Trauma Technical Officer. One in 4 people with life-changing injuries will need long-term rehabilitation and, in some cases, assistive technologies and prosthetics. Specialized support will be required as the technical capacities in Lebanon cannot cope with the increasing numbers of people in need for these services and commodities. "This need for specialized health care will persist for months and years to come. Lebanon needs reconstructive surgeons to treat the severely injured, eye doctors to treat the thousands of people injured in the pager attack, physiotherapists to start rehabilitating amputees and prosthetists to assist users of assistive devices," said WHO Representative Dr Abubakar. WHO’s response Ensuring a sufficient number of trained health workers with expertise in war-related trauma and plastic reconstructive surgery is a priority. Three weeks into an 8-week ceasefire, WHO and the Ministry of Public Health are working on replenishing medical supplies and restoring health services country-wide. "WHO and national health authorities have carried out several mass casualty management trainings across Lebanon – resulting in stronger, more life-saving assertive responses. Without these timely interventions, the outcomes would be unconscionable," said Dr Hassan, WHO's Trauma Technical Officer. The ongoing WHO operations include scaling up trauma care capacity, training surgeons on specialized trauma care in conflict areas, providing mental health trainings to health workers, capacity building for rehabilitation in post-conflict settings, replacing damaged equipment, identifying gaps in health coverage, and preparing for future scenarios and the subsequent health impact. WHO also provided 5000 contingency blood bags and reagents to blood banks and developed awareness material on unexploded ordinances and other health risks for first responders and civilians. WHO and the Ministry of Public Health run strong country-wide surveillance for disease outbreaks which pose a heightened risk in post-conflict settings. "The road to recovery will be long and windy. Our aim is to assist the health system to bounce back, and be resilient and prepared. We are grateful to our many partners who have supported this response but this is not the end of it. This is the start and the need for technical and financial support has never been greater," concluded WHO Representative Dr Abubakar.