IN Greensburg Salem Fall 2017 | Page 46

LECOM’s M.A.S.H. is a Smash! The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) at Seton Hill hosted nearly 40 local high school juniors and seniors, including nine Greensburg Salem High School students, for its week-long Medical Applications of Science and Health (M.A.S.H.) program earlier this summer. The program, designed to teach aspiring youths about medical school and the medical profession, allowed students the opportunity to experience a small part of what is involved with becoming a physician. Throughout the week, students participated in lectures and problem- based learning experiences focused on topics such as anatomy, pharmacy, imaging and nutrition. In the hands-on labs, medical student mentors and LECOM professors taught students to use a sphygmomanometer to measure blood pressure, the proper knot-tying techniques for sutures, as well as the process for creating dental impressions. Abby Priolo and Maddie McMichael show Maddie McMichael, a junior off their dental impression skills. at Greensburg Salem, signed up for M.A.S.H. to learn more about the medical field and experience college life. “After attending LECOM for the week, I am considering becoming a physician’s assistant. I really liked the hands-on activities, especially suturing.” Pediatrics is an area of medicine Macey Ebersole is interested in pursuing. “Seeing the cadavers and actually holding a human heart and lungs in my hands was amazing!” stated Macey. Morgan O’Leary felt that spending a week as a med school student gave her a taste of a variety of areas of the medical field. “The student mentors were helpful because they shared their thoughts and first-hand experiences,” Morgan stated. “I am definitely considering going into medicine!” Coordinator of Secondary Education Dr. Ken Bissell stated, “M.A.S.H provided good exposure for kids to see opportunities, experiences, and expectations in a post-secondary environment that they normally wouldn’t be exposed to at the high school level.” While the M.A.S.H. program is not new to LECOM, the June session at Seton Hill was the first time it was offered at this campus. Program coordinators Dr. Kevin Thomas and Kathy Zboyovski hope to see growth in participation as other local schools learn of M.A.S.H.’s success. LECOM at Seton Hill will host a structured High School Open House on Saturday, September 30th at 1:00 to share information about LECOM’s Medical, Pharmacy and Dental schools. Please contact Kathy Zboyovski at 814-866-8456 or kzboyovski@ lecom.edu for more information or to reserve your spot at the Open House. Jake Oslosky learns suturing knots from LECOM student mentor. 44 | Greensburg-Salem BookStop Shares the Love of Reading! Greensburg Salem School District proudly partnered with the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania and UPS to collect thousands of books for children in local neighborhoods to encourage summer reading. The United Way’s BookStop is a free, pop-up book fair that offers free children’s books, kids entertainment and free community resources for families, including public library sign-ups. The project’s goal is to promote childhood literacy, strengthen partnerships between community members and get kids excited about school. The BookStop visited the Greensburg YMCA, Amos K. Hutchinson Elementary, Autumn Brook Apartments, Delmont Dairy Queen, Hawksworth Apartments and Lynch Field on June 26th, drawing over 250 children Adam H. of Greensburg smiles with throughout the Super Why! Character, Woofster. day. Volunteers from UPS, First Energy, the United Way, Greensburg Hempfield Area Library and Greensburg Salem caravanned from stop to stop, helping children choose a book they would enjoy for a fun summer read. Princess Presto and Woofster, characters from the PBS Kids show Super Why!, Children of all ages had plenty of were also on hand books to choose from thanks to to welcome young the Grable Foundation and book donations from businesses and the readers to the book community. fair. Thanks to funding from the Grable Foundation, over 250 books and the containers used to transport them were purchased, while additional books were generously donated by community members and local organizations. The Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill assisted the cause by stuffing hundreds of bags with informational items for parents. It takes a village to raise a reader, and the BookStop brought our community together for the love of reading! The next BookStop will be held on August 10, 2017. Please look for more information about the event at www.greensburgsalem.org.