Summer 2013 COM Outlook | NSU College of Osteopathic Medicine

Enjoying a moment of collegiality at the graduation festivities (from left) are: Irv Rosenbaum, D.P.A., Ed.D., M.P.A., HPD executive dean for administration; Jacqueline Travisano, M.B.A., CPA, NSU executive vice president and chief operating officer; and Dr. Fred Lippman. 4 COM Outlook . Summer 2013 HPD Chancellor’s Communiqué By Fred Lippman, R.Ph., Ed.D. What you have now is a U.S. population keenly attentive to the ongoing debates and discussions about the Affordable Care Act. As a result, people care about one central issue: “Who is going to take care of me?” People are living longer due to sci- ence, research, and technology. Similarly, their abil- ity to access medical information through the Inter- net and various social media platforms has made themmore aware of topics related to their health and well-being. As much as I’m an old-fashioned individual who still reads newspapers and books, the bottom line is the bulk of our community now receives information from a range of sources that were not available to earlier generations. As a result, people are becoming more acutely aware that they need health care pro- fessionals to help them maintain healthy and active lifestyles. With all due respect to the nu- merous nursing homes and assisted living facili- ties that exist, most people don’t even want to contemplate the idea of residing in a long-term care facility or being cared for by strangers. They simply want to be independent individuals living in their traditional environments. As many of you may already know, Florida is the epicenter for what I would call the new para- digm of life and culture continuance. The state has the largest percentage of residents over the age of 75 of any state in the union. However, if these individuals would look at their original lifespan tables when they first bought insurance when they were 20 years old, the charts predicted the average American would live to be about 62. But that’s certainly not the case anymore. Based on what I have just discussed, you can understand why I’m so prideful of our graduates, many of whom already re- ceived their hard-earned diplomas on May 19 at the HPD Commencement Ceremony held at the BB&T Center in Sunrise. We witnessed 216 qualified osteopathic medical students make the successful transition The conclusion of an- other academic year always brings my thoughts to graduation, which involves students from our seven Health Professions Division (HPD) colleges making their rites of passage as they con- fidently progress to the next phase of their careers. I think the graduation process has taken on a greater significance for me this year due to the public’s knowledge that the country is in the midst of a dramatic shortage of health care professionals. Although many articles, columns, and TV news programs have addressed the dilemma of a growing shortfall of physi- cians, nursing professionals, and pharmacists, it’s really the entire compendium of health care professionals we’re talking about. As the shortage grows, the general public increas- ingly will be seeking the availability and expertise of qualified health care profes- sionals to obtain the medical services needed to sustain and prolong life. In addition, patients are realizing that is- sues related to wellness and prevention need to be dealt with through discussions and interactions with qualified and educated professionals. from students to physicians, who will now build on their NSU education during their residency training experiences. We also graduated knowledgeable pharma- cists that are immediately impacting not only the distribution but the knowledge base of pharma- ceutical information and cooperation with the various health care professions. The same goes for our graduating optometrists, who are now the primary care interveners in eye care, and our highly skilled dental graduates, who will be mak- ing a positive impact on dental health care locally, nationally, and internationally. You’re also going to see many other qualified individuals, such as our physician assistant, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and audiology students, positively impact their future patients once they graduate in August. As I previously mentioned, graduation season always makes me feel very warm inside. I am proud that I have the honor to provide assistance to our deans as well as the faculty and staff mem- bers who provide exemplary education and able assistance to the students and graduates who will in turn provide their patients with compassionate and comprehensive medical care. When you think of it from a pure numbers perspective, NSU’s Health Professions Division is enhancing the quality of life for the people of Florida—and the nation—due to the large num- ber of health care professionals that have or soon will be receiving their diplomas.