St. Francis Health medical technology students poised for graduation, careers

BEECH GROVE, Ind. – Five students are poised to graduate from the Franciscan St. Francis Health School of medical Technology.

Upon completion of the program, the students also are expected, or already have, received bachelor degrees from their respective schools. The 2011 graduates and field majors are:

Shannon Deal, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. She earned her degree in biology in 2010.

Amanda Didier, Indiana State University, majoring in medical technology (2011).

Annie Girdler, University of Indianapolis, majoring in medical technology (2011).

Daniel Shay Jones, Franklin College, earned his degree in biology in 2010.

Alison Simerlein, University of Miami (Ohio), majoring in microbiology and clinical laboratory science (2011).

Graduation is set for 1:30 p.m., Friday, May 20, at the auditorium at St. Francis-Beech Grove.

The St. Francis School of Medical Technology is affiliated with several colleges and universities across the Midwest. The school, which is a division of the hospital’s clinical laboratory, was established in 1967 and is dedicated to preparing professional medical technologists with the theoretical and practical training to serve as active members of the health care team in clinical laboratory science.

More than 330 students have graduated from the program since its inception.

St. Francis’ Beech Grove campus houses many of the educational opportunities and services. The school’s facilities include a student laboratory that features lecture and audiovisual facilities and an adjoining library.

The incoming 2011-12 class will graduate under a new name – the Franciscan St. Francis Health Clinical Laboratory Science Program. In March 2012, their training will switch to St. Francis’ Indianapolis campus on the city’s south side.

Medical technology involves conducting a wide range of laboratory tests for the detection, diagnosis, treatment and study of diseases. Medical technologists work closely with pathologists and other specialists to ensure the accuracy of diagnoses.

More information about the Franciscan St. Francis Health School of Medical Technology is at www.stfrancishospitals.org/Labs/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=1&tabid=25.

Texting, Drinking, Driving... Death

The Emergency Department staff at Franciscan St. Francis Health-Mooresville went on alert in a joint exercise drill with Morgan County first esponders and volunteer students from Monrovia High School. April 27.

The scene? A three-car "accident" near the high school, each vehicle carrying two students. One of the drivers had been drinking; another distracted by phone texting. The third driver was a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. They converged at curve near the high school.

The drill, coordinated by the Monroe Township Fire Department, included responders from Brown Township Fire Department, A&A Township Fire and Rescue and a medical crew from Stat Flight.

The victims, some of whom had to be extricated from vehicles, all sustained various degrees of injuries and were taken by ambulance to St. Francis. Another arrived by helicopter. Two of the volunteer students didn't make it to the hospital -- one was arrested for "drunk driving" and the othe was pronounced dead at the scene.

Nathan Lowder, R.N., manager of the Mooresville emergency department helped coordinate the drill, which included several of the department's nurses. Susan Perkins, R.N., disaster management coordinator for Franciscan St. Francis Health, also was on-site for the drill.

St. Francis Docs vs. Jocks vs. Drugs program set for final tipoff May 6

Manual High School’s Van Arsdales, others to participate in hoops finale

INDIANAPOLIS – Emmerich Manual High School is the setting for an annual charity basketball game, which has supported substance abuse awareness programs throughout central Indiana for 25 years.

Docs vs. Jocks vs. Drugs, founded and sponsored by

And when the final buzzer sounds, it will signal the end of a tradition originated in 1987 by Donald J. Kerner, M.D., former St. Francis chief medical officer and a Manual High School alumnus.

The annual game has visited 14 high school courts throughout south-central Indiana, raising funds to support drug, alcohol and tobacco prevention programs. Since its inception, more than $130,000 has been raised.

Similarly, proceeds from this year’s event will benefit Manual’s substance abuse programs.

"What began as an idea to raise funds for schools to help educate their students about the dangers of tobacco use and drug and alcohol abuse took on a life of its own," said Kerner. “Physicians so often only deal with these issues when they’ve become a crisis; St. Francis doctors have been proactive in their approach to help stop these problems before they impact to our youngsters."

This year’s game includes a free-throw shooting contest between St. Francis CEO Robert J. Brody and Eugene White, superintendent of Indianapolis public schools.

And two well-known Manual alumni and basketball stars also will compete from the charity stripe. Brothers Dick Van Arsdale and Tom Van Arsdale, who led Manual to the state basketball title game in 1961, went on to study and play basketball at Indiana University and NBA careers.

The Van Arsdales were inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988.

When it comes to basketball, Marvin Christie, M.D., knows a thing or two about the game. He has coached the St. Francis squad from the beginning. And this family practice physician showed his prowess on the court at IU 60 years ago under the legendary coach Branch McCracken. His teammates included such luminaries as the late governor Frank O’Bannon, Bill Garrett (the school’s first African-American player and former Indiana’s “Mr. Basketball”), and Lou Watson, who later would succeed McCracken as IU’s head coach.

St. Francis physicians who have suited up for all 25 games include Donald Rockey, Pat Enright, Bob Robinson, Phil Snyder, and Tom Wisler. More than 100 St. Francis-affiliated doctors have participated in the program over the years.

Tickets for this year’s game are $5 per person and are available at the door at Manual gym before tip-off. Children 6 years old and younger will be admitted free.

Emmerich Manual High School is located at

To read about and view photos from last year’s Docs vs. Jocks vs. Drugs event, go to http://stfrancisnews.blogspot.com/2010/04/docs-vsjocks-vs-drugs-april-16-2010.html.

2405 Madison Ave.

Franciscan St

. Francis Health, gets under way at 7 p.m., Friday, May 6 at Manual’s gymnasium. The game pits the hospital’s physicians against the school’s coaching and teaching staff.

Franciscan St. Francis Health appoints director for Emergency Services

INDIANAPOLIS – India J. Taylor Owens, R.N., has been selected as director Emergency Services at Franciscan St. Francis Health.

In that role, she is responsible for overall operations at the hospital’s emergency departments at Indianapolis, Beech Grove and Mooresville.

Owens most recently served as director for emergency services and emergency medical services operations at Indiana University Health West Medical Center in Avon. She has held related positions with hospitals in Hancock and Shelby counties, in addition to other nursing clinical specialties.

She received an associate’s degree in nursing at Indiana University (IU) and bachelor’s in nursing at Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU). Owens also earned a master’s of science in nursing administration at IU.

A resident of Fairland, she has been published in various professional journals.

Certified as a nurse executive and as an emergency nurse, she has held various academic appointments at the University of Indianapolis and currently is adjunct faculty at IWU. She also was the 2010 recipient of the Indianapolis Star Nurse of the Year Advancement of Nursing Award.

Owens has memberships in several professional organizations, including Sigma Theta Tau Alpha, Emergency Nurses Association (state and local chapters) and the Indiana State Nurses Association.

St. Francis Health employees receive training, program grants

INDIANAPOLIS – Funding made possible through Franciscan St. Francis Health will enable five hospital employees to receive additional training in their specialties.

The St. Francis Employee Education Fund provides financial support to non-physician employees for educational opportunities they otherwise could not afford to attend. The fund is intended for specific programs and seminars, not general tuition reimbursement or individual certifications.

Recipients of the 2011 program are registered nurses Laura Colgate, Stephanie Heckman, Melissa Lowder, Maria Smith and Kimberly Swisher.

In their applications, the recipients were required to show how the funding supports the hospital’s goals and mission; who ultimately benefits from the educational opportunity; and if the applicants demonstrate the ability to plan, coordinate or facilitate a quality educational event as a result of their training.

Program funding is administered through the St. Francis Healthcare Foundation. To learn more about the program and the foundation, go to www.stfrancishospitals.org/foundation.