Family Practice Four Brothers, All Doctors
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SPRING 2014 A voice for aphasia Giving patients a chance to communicate again The sheer energy of Marilyn Sheerer The provost steps down Feeling the heat Can basketball compete in a tougher conference? Family practice Four brothers, all doctors. One mission. One medical school. Though their degrees were conferred on Friday the 13th, ECU’s most recent class of graduates knows they are lucky to be Pirates. More than 2,300 students received degrees at fall commencement, including about 1,600 bachelor degrees and 723 graduate degrees. Story, page 9 Photo by Cliff Hollis B East Family practice 18 Four Kornegay brothers, all graduates of ECU’s Brody School of Medicine, are living the Brody mission by practicing family medicine in eastern North Carolina—and becoming a vital part of the fabric of small-town life. A voice for aphasia 28 An ECU researcher’s work into communication in older adults is giving aphasia patients a chance to talk again. The sheer energy of Marilyn Sheerer 32 ECU’s indefatigable provost announces plans to step down after helping to lead the university through a pivotal era. Feeling the heat 36 As ECU prepares to move up to a tougher athletic conference on July 1, the team facing the greatest challenge isn’t football. It’s basketball, which suddenly will be competing against national powerhouse schools. Mattie Breault, 5, peers out at parents during a DanceAbility dress rehearsal at Eastern Elementary School. DanceAbility is an international program adopted by ECU four years ago to teach dance to children with cognitive or physical disabilities. “One of the things we like to do is really provide an opportunity for each child to go beyond what might be expected of them,” said Boni Boswell, program director from the College of Health and Human Performance’s Department of Kinesiology. Photo by Cliff Hollis 1 The Kornegay docs my house today: one to my a new issue comes out that How do I subscribe? husband, never an ECU student, directs you to the magazine ECU sends magazine to WINTER 2014 WINTER East If you really want to know what East Carolina’s Brody School and myself. John gets the website. If you’re happy reading magazines because he writes the magazine online and want friends and donors. To begin of Medicine is all about, just look at the Kornegay brothers. SPRING 2014 the checks or gifts to ECU on to stop your print magazine, receiving the magazine, mail VOLUME 12, NUMBER 3 behalf of myself and son Tyler, email Lisa Gurkin at gurkinl@ your check using the postage- Their story is our spotlight in this issue. It is a story of paid reply envelope inside. East is published three times a year by a senior at ECU. We should only ecu.edu. commitment to medicine, to community, and to the How much is up to you but East Carolina University. receive one magazine. Only mail we suggest a $25 minimum Brody mission. Fast-tracking one copy to an address even if THE ROCK STAR OF SNAKES workers for there are multiple graduates at contribution. jobs in the I just received my Winter The four sons of a Duplin County doctor came to ECU, new economy the home. It’s a great book. And The ECU Foundation supports EDITOR 2014 East magazine and was by the way, today ECU beat NC stayed for medical school, then chose to remain in eastern Steve Tuttle ’09 ’12 delighted to see that Dr. Sean many scholarships. Learn how State…at State! Go Pirates. North Carolina practicing primary care medicine. 252-328-2068 / [email protected] Bush has joined the ECU to help a student struggling —Rose W. Smith RN ’87, faculty. Dr. Bush is the rock star with finances at the foundation’s Winston-Salem Their story is testament to the impact of ECU’s medical ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER of snakes! Whenever Venom website, www.ecu.edu/ecuf. was on the television, I was Brent Burch Editor’s note: We already do ER Where is your money most school, which reaches a milestone this year. It’s the 40th usually in front of it, holding that when it’s clear that the needed? The colleges, schools my breath. I anniversary of when East Carolina first received state funding PHOTOGRAPHERS two donors at one address and programs within ECU Jay Clark, Cliff Hollis BSIT CHANGED MY LIFE hope Dr. Bush are husband and wife. have defined their funding for a four-year medical school. I received the latest edition and his family Then we mail just one copy priorities and posted them CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS of the magazine and will love the East addressed to “Joe and Sally here: www.ecu.edu/ecuf/ From the beginning, Brody has focused on taking bright Doug Boyd ’99, Forrest Croce, was excited to see the BSIT Carolinas as Jones.” But there are other funding-priorities.cfm. Rob Goldberg Jr., Michael Zirkle program highlighted. I can much as I students from North Carolina and training them as a special cases, like this one, where draw so many parallels to always have. Another way to support ECU kind of physician—doctors who understand the critical we have two seemingly CONTRIBUTING WRITERS those individuals mentioned I wish him is to join the East Carolina distinct donors sharing an importance of primary care medicine to the people of Crystal Baity, Jamitriss Bowden, in the article. I worked for well in his Alumni Association and address. Then we tend to Doug Boyd ’99, Harley Dartt, Lacey Gray, Honeywell Aerospace as a research on receive the magazine as eastern North Carolina. err on the side of caution Joy Holster, Jeannine Manning Hutson, machinist for 10 years when I copperheads, well as other benefits and ’09 ’12 and continue sending two, Kathryn Kennedy, Steve Tuttle decided to go back to college. and know that services. Minimum dues are Brody is consistently ranked tops in the nation by the unless asked to stop one I, too, transferred into ECU he will also find $35. Visit www.piratealumni. American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) for CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER subscription, which we’ve BSIT program in 1997 after much to study with our native com to learn how to remain Jay Clark done for the Smiths. We see producing primary care doctors. Brody sends 60 percent of its taking a few classes required rattlers and cottonmouths connected. this a lot with recent grads who to complete my associates as well. graduates into primary care residencies, and many remain here CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATOR move back home for a while from Wilson Community —Sarah White Casseday ’70, Contact us Mike Litwin ’01 before getting that first job and to practice medicine. That achieves a goal set by the General College. I continued to work n 252-328-2068 moving on. If you want to stop Chevy Chase, MD full time, and 9 1/2 years later— n [email protected] Assembly and is evidence that ECU is improving access to COPY EDITORS a second magazine, or change involving both on campus, n www.ecu.edu/east health care throughout the region. Jimmy Rostar ’94, Spaine Stephens your address, send an email to POISONOUS ISN’T VENOMOUS night classes and distant ed—I Lisa Gurkin at [email protected]. I enjoyed the article on Dr. Sean Customer Service “All of us here are committed to serving the citizens of ECU REPORT EDITOR had earned my undergraduate Bush very much. We are indeed To start or stop a subscrip- degree in manufacturing as tion, or to let us know North Carolina and in particular the East,” Brody School of Jeannine Manning Hutson HAPPY TO READ THE fortunate to have someone well as a master’s in industrial MAGAZINE ONLINE of the caliber of Dr. Venom about a change of address, Medicine Dean Paul Cunningham said after receiving the most CLASS NOTES EDITOR distribution. This opened I applaud your efforts to joining our community. Your please contact Lisa Gurkin, recent AAFP honor. “Our state-supported medical school is Joanne Kollar doors for me to move from reduce cost in the publication proofreaders, however, hit a [email protected] or an entry level machinist to [email protected] of the East magazine. May I nerve with me. Four times in the 252-328-9561. passionate about that purpose, and it is therefore no surprise product engineer, to lean suggest another way to reduce article there are references to Send letters to the editor to expert deploying Toyota when the results confirm the motive.” EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATION, cost is to allow alumni to opt “poisonous” snakes. The proper [email protected] or PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND MARKETING Production System, to my for email delivery or web-only term is venomous. You can eat Howard House Mary Schulken ’79 current role as customer “It’s easy for a lot of people to leave and never come back,” delivery. Imagine all the money a venomous copperhead and Mail Stop 107 quality engineer managing you could save by reducing it is not poisonous. A toadstool East Carolina University Jon Kornegay, the youngest, says in our story. “But for us, the quality improvement projects mailing and printing calls. Just may be poisonous but it is not Greenville, N.C. 27858-4353 experiences I had here in the community…helped lead to the for multiple Honeywell sites. an idea for you to consider. venomous as it can’t inject East Carolina University is a constituent institution of Send class notes to successes I was able to have in life.” —Andy Stephen Moore ’08, Keep up the excellent work.