The UAB National Alumni Society has named six UAB School of Health Professions’ (SHP) alumni to the UAB Excellence in Business Top 25. The program was created to identify, recognize, and celebrate the success of the top 25 UAB alumni-owned or UAB alumni-managed businesses.

The UAB School of Health Professions has 16 people, including Dean Andrew J. Butler, Ph.D., named to the Birmingham Business Journal’s 2020 Who’s Who in Health Care.

When she joined the UAB Office of Interprofessional Simulation for Innovative Clinical Practice, Kelly Roszczynialski, M.D., as their simulation fellow, she was informed of UAB’s new M.S. in Healthcare Simulation program.

Derrick L. Miles, MSHA Class 34, was a wunderkind in the acute care world. By age 31, he was CEO in the Pavilion at Northwest Texas Healthcare System. However, his passion for his family, his drive for new opportunities and the unexpected loss of his cousin to sickle cell propelled Miles to pursue his dreams.

They say necessity is the mother of invention. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this came to life in order to provide UAB PT second-year students an opportunity to participate in providing physical therapy via telehealth.

Rocky and Amelia Barnes established the Barnes Family Endowed Scholarship. In a recent Q&A session, Rocky told us how he ended up at UAB, what advice he gives students today, and why he supports UAB PT: "I felt the need and obligation to give back to the program that has given so much to me."

"I want you to know that every day I think of you collectively and individually, as I know you are doing battle in the trenches every day and night without end. On the one hand, I feel proud because we know the stuff you are made of and we know your resilience, passion and dedication to your life’s work. On the other hand, I wish I could see and talk with you individually to assess your situation and provide whatever guidance and support I can.

The UAB School of Health Professions has five people on the 2019 Birmingham Business Journal Most Influential Executives list.

On August 17, 2019, Sister Almeda Golson, the first and only nun to graduate from the UAB School of Health Professions’ Master of Science in Health Administration program, passed away in Evansville, Indiana.

On Thursday, August 1, 2019, Sean Skelton, PT, DPT, a Physical Therapy Resident in UAB Medicine, became the first to finish the UAB Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency program. Skelton received a graduate certificate during a small ceremony at UAB Spain Rehabilitation Center.

Mercy Catholic Medical Center announces Christopher Cullom, FACHE, alumnus of the UAB School of Health Professions’ M.S. in Health Administration program (Class 42), as president effective August 12, 2019. He will oversee MCMC – Mercy Fitzgerald Campus and MCMC – Mercy Philadelphia Campus. Mercy Catholic Medical Center is part of Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic.

Faculty and alumni from the UAB Department of Physical Therapy, along with students from the UAB Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program, were joined by students from UAB’s Department of Occupational Therapy and School of Engineering, to adapt electric toy cars for Alabama children with disabilities as part of the nationwide GoBabyGo program.

Theresa Meadows, alumna of the UAB School of Health Professions’ M.S. in Health Informatics program (MSHI, 1998), has been named to Health Data Management’s (HDM) Most Powerful Women in Healthcare IT for the second straight year.

Jana Cason, DHS, OTR/L, FAOTA, alumna of UAB Occupational Therapy Class of 1998, is the 2019 American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Emerging and Innovative Practice Award.

Gigi Carter, MS, CN, CPT, alumna of the UAB School of Health Professions’ Master of Science in Nutrition Sciences, Lifestyle Management and Disease Prevention Track, published her first book, The Plant-Based Workplace: Add Profits, Engage Employees and Save the Planet, earlier this year.

Donna S. Martin, a 1977 graduate of what was then the UAB Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition/Dietetics program, is the UAB School of Health Professions’ 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award winner. Martin becomes only the 48^th person to earn the highest honor awarded to our alumni – a number that is even more impressive when you consider we have more than 18,000 graduates in our history.

After completing his master’s degree in just three semesters, Kevin Wang graduated Saturday, Aug. 12, as the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s first INTO UAB graduate.

The latest edition of Breakfast with Blazers features an alumnus from the UAB School of Health Professions’ Department of Physical Therapy.