Jennifer Siner
Jennifer Siner graduated in 2016 with her degree in public and community health from Murray State University. She currently works for the Tennessee Department of Health as a public health educator in Savannah, Tennessee where she educates people on behaviors that promote wellness, and implements strategies and policies to improve the health of those from her community.
“When I was offered this position, I knew it was the right fit for me,” said Siner. “I grew up in Savannah. The deep connection I have with my community allows me to plan health outcomes in strategic ways I might not have been able to in a community I knew little about.”
As a student, Siner served as a team leader in the Office of Multicultural Initiatives, Student Leadership & Inclusive Excellence, and was a student member of the Murray State chapter of the Kentucky Rural Health Association. She was also the community outreach and public relations chair for the Student Health Educators Association.
“Public health is a very broad sector of the healthcare industry. It’s always changing to keep up with the health demands of the world. You learn something new every day,” said Siner. “My fall internship with Murray-Calloway County Hospital, coupled with what I learned from my degree, helped prepare me as a health care professional by equipping me with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed.”
When asked what advice she would give to students, Siner said, “No matter what life throws at you, never stop believing in yourself. You owe it to yourself to become everything you’ve dreamed of being.”
In her spare time, Siner enjoys spending time with her family and friends, her dog Chace and spoiling her new goddaughter, Myah.
Becca Spraggs
Becca Spraggs graduated from Murray State University in 2016 with her bachelor’s in exercise science/pre-physical therapy, in 2019 with her doctorate in physical therapy from the University of Evansville, and passed her physical therapy licensure exam in July 2019. Spraggs moved back to Murray, Kentucky in August to start her career as a physical therapist at Parkview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Paducah, Kentucky.
As an undergraduate student at Murray State, Spraggs served as a manager for the football team, as well as vice president of member education, merchandise chair, senior vice president for the standards board, recruitment counselor, and Panhellenic secretary for her sorority, Kappa Delta. She also served as the secretary for the Exercise Science club and worked as a teaching assistant for an anatomy lab.
When asked how her degree helped her prepare for her doctoral program, Spraggs said, “Some of the things I learned in the exercise science program at Murray State were measuring body composition, taking range of motion, and general exercise principles, overlapped with what we learned early on in the doctoral of physical therapy program. The doctoral courses were much more in depth, but I did well because of the fundamentals I learned at Murray State. I noticed my fellow students with an exercise science background were more confident in these areas of study than students coming from other backgrounds.”
While working on her doctorate at the University of Evansville, Spraggs worked in the university’s academic coaching program. The program is designed to help freshman and sophomore students succeed in college by developing planning, time management and study skills. She also worked as the assistant care coordinator for Ace CARE, an organization that provides pro bono physical therapy services to the uninsured, underinsured and homeless populations in the Evansville community. During her time at Ace CARE, she attended and presented at a national pro bono student physical therapy conference.
When asked what advice she would give to fellow students, Spraggs said, “When applying for physical therapy school, they are going to look at your GPA, but they also want to see if you are well rounded. Get involved with as many organizations as you can while keeping your grades up. Make notes of the positions you hold and the dates. It will make filling out applications so much easier. It’s never too early to start getting your observation hours for your physical therapy school application. Keep a list of when, where, how long and with whom you observed, as well as their contact information. They want to see you have observed in a variety of settings.”
Spraggs is originally from Madisonville, Kentucky. In her free time, she enjoys completing triathlons. She has completed one indoor individual, one indoor relay, and two outdoor individual triathlons in the past two years. When not training for a triathlon, she enjoys biking, running, swimming, strength training and spending time with her new puppy. She also enjoys helping her boyfriend with his new business and is looking forward to getting involved with her sorority and the Murray State Exercise Science program as an alumna.
Health professions program
During the months of May and June, the Purchase Area Health Education Center (AHEC) sponsored the health professions program. This six-week program introduced three exercise science/pre-physical therapy students to the need for health and medical professionals in rural communities like their own. LuFei Harder from Harrodsburg, Kentucky, Michaela Faries from Carterville, Illinois, and Nathan Nolan from Evansville, Indiana were chosen as this year’s scholars.
“This was a great experience,” said Harder. “I learned so many new things and I am honored to have been chosen for the Health Professions program.”
Harder, Faries and Nolan shadowed at Baptist Health in the Rehab Department, attended county health coalition meetings and participated in a free health clinic sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense where they gave free postural exams, and were exposed to community and population-based health issues within rural communities. They also had the opportunity to tour the Western Kentucky University Doctor of Physical Therapy program in Bowling Green, KY. Each scholar was assigned to an outpatient clinic where they shadowed physical therapists at Physical Medicine Services in Murray, Kentucky, BioKinetics in Calvert City, Kentucky and Atlas Physical Therapy in Draffenville, Kentucky.
“Through this program I attended local health coalitions as well as Paducah Rotary meetings,” said Nolan. “These experiences opened my eyes to the different aspects of health care that are important to the surrounding counties.”
The Health Professions program places special emphasis on the opioid crisis and how it affects the residents of western Kentucky. Harder, Faries and Nolan became SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) certified and were given NARCAN® training to help them prepare. They were also educated about the Choose Physical Therapy (#ChoosePT) campaign and the dangers of opioid addiction at the Department of Defense health screening in Ballard County, Kentucky.
Scholars are chosen based on their interest in rural health care through an application process. Preference is given to students from the Purchase counties of Ballard, Calloway, Carlisle, Crittenden, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Livingston, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken and Trigg.
Pictured Right: Murray State University Health Professions students at the Department of Defense health screening at Ballard County.
Pictured below are the 2019 Murray State University participants, from left to right: LuFei Harder, Michaela Faries, Nathan Nolan, and Dr. Amelia Dodd, assistant dean of the School of Nursing & Health Professions at Murray State.
Letters from Home celebration dinner
On April 30, Purchase Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) recognized seven Murray State University graduates with a celebration dinner in honor of their acceptance into medical school. Nick Bontrager (University of Kentucky College of Medicine [UKCOM]), Colby Canter (UKCOM), Caleb Coomes (UKCOM-Bowling Green), Hudson Elliott (Lincoln Memorial University DeBusk), Hayden Gerard (UKCOM), Autumn Graves (AT Still), and Jarrett Mauk (UKCOM) were recognized.
Dr. Eric Fleming, a Murray State graduate and current internal medicine doctor with the Hospital Group at Baptist Health Paducah, was the guest speaker. Dr. Ricky Cox, Anna S. Brown and Ruth B. Logan, endowed chair in pre-medicine, gave the students personalized well wishes. Mike Muscarella, AHEC board chair, emceed for the evening. The event was held in the Curris Center Ballroom and was attended by honored students, their guests, and AHEC board members and staff.
Pictured right: Dr. Eric Fleming, keynote speaker.
Pictured below from left to right: Anne Hess, AHEC health education coordinator; Dr. Robin Floyd, radiologist at Murray Calloway County Hospital and AHEC medical director; Shanna Burgess, AHEC outreach coordinator; Emily Wilson, Lourdes Hospital physician recruiter and AHEC board member; Nicholas Bontrager; Autumn Graves; Jarrett Mauk; Colby Canter; Dr. Ricky Cox; Anna S. Brown; Ruth B. Logan, endowed chair in pre-medicine; Hayden Gerard; Hudson Elliott; Caleb Coomes; Dr. Dana Todd, interim director of nursing for the Murray State School of Nursing and AHEC board member; Missy Stokes, AHEC center director; and Mike Muscarella executive director of ambulatory services, Baptist Health Paducah and AHEC board chairman.
Rural Community Health Scholars program
During the month of June, the Purchase Area Health Education Center (AHEC) sponsored the Rural Community Health Scholars program. Paige Barrett, Rhiannon Huffines, and Wyatt Nelson were chosen to participate in this year’s program. The four-week program introduced these pre-medical students to the need for health and medical professionals in rural communities like the ones they grew up in. Scholars were exposed to community and population-based health issues within rural communities.
Program activities included shadowing in rural hospitals in Crittenden, Trigg and Marshall counties in Kentucky; shadowing at Murray Calloway County Hospital, Mercy Health – Lourdes Hospital, and Baptist Health Paducah; participating in a free health clinic sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense; touring the schools of medicine in Kentucky, including the UK College of Medicine, UL School of Medicine, Pikeville KY College of Osteopathic Medicine, UL School of Medicine Trover Campus/Madisonville, and the University of Kentucky College of Medicine – Bowling Green Campus; and attending county health coalition meetings.
The program places special emphasis on the opioid crisis and how it affects residents of western Kentucky. For this part of the program scholars visited an in-patient drug treatment facility; toured four needle exchange programs across the state of Kentucky in Graves, Louisville Metro, Pike County and Fayette County/Lexington; heard from law enforcement officials regarding the opioid crisis; became SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) certified and NARCAN® trained; and learned about medical assisted treatment for opioid use disorder.
Scholars for the program are chosen based on their interest in rural health care through an application process. Preference is given to students from the Purchase counties of Ballard, Calloway, Carlisle, Crittenden, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Livingston, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken and Trigg.
Pictured on the right, from left to right, are the 2019 Rural Community Health Scholars (RCHS) participants Paige Barrett (junior, bio/pre-med from Indiana), Wyatt Nelson (senior, bio/pre-med from Carmi, Illinois) and Rhiannon Huffines (junior, bio/pre-med from Breckenridge County) on their tour of the University of Louisville School of Medicine.
Pictured below, RCHS participants visiting with Baptist Health Madisonville Chief Resident, Dr. Josh Scearce, in June. From left to right: Rhiannon Huffines, Dr. Scearce, Wyatt Nelson, and Paige Barrett. Dr. Scearce is a former AHEC rural community health scholar and as of August a family medicine doctor at Murray Medical Associates.
Dr. Nancy Armstrong and Stacie Owens
Please join us as we congratulate Dr. Nancy Armstrong, assistant professor, and Stacie Owens, Murray State University School of Nursing graduate, on their acceptance of the article "Perceptions of the Impact of Healthcare-Based Employment on Pre-Licensure Nursing Students" in the Kentucky Nurse (July/August/September, 2019; Volume 67, Issue 3).
Armstrong also had her poster presentation, “Three Commonalities of Rampage School Shooters,” accepted at the School Nurse Summer Symposium at Chateau on the Lake Resort and Spa, Branson, Missouri on July 30-31.
Armstrong is pictured left, Owens right.
Dr. Miranda Terry
On April 11, Dr. Miranda Terry received the Paul Mason Memorial Award at the Kentucky Public Health Association conference. This award honors a Kentuckian who has made a significant contribution to benefit our most vulnerable population – the indigent and uninsured. Terry's work to improve the rights and lives of people with disabilities, especially in regard to eliminating intimate partner violence among people with disabilities, embodies the ideals of this honor.
Photo is of Dr. Terry (left) receiving the Paul Mason Memorial Award.
Erica Brown
Help us in welcoming Erica Brown as she joins the Murray State University faculty this fall. Brown has worked with Murray State nursing students as an adjunct since 2017, assisting with adult health and obstetrics (OB) clinicals. This semester, she will be teaching adult health 2. Before coming to Murray State, Brown worked at Murray Calloway County Hospital starting in 2014 in labor and delivery. In 2017, she moved to Wellness Works, and became Murray Calloway County Hospital’s health promotions coordinator in 2018.
When asked about her favorite areas of nursing, Brown responded, “Labor and delivery have always been my passion, but as I have been given the opportunity to expand, I learned that I really enjoy community, leadership and education.”
Brown is a Murray State graduate, earning her bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2014. She also holds a master’s degree from Western Governors University, and is currently working toward her doctorate through Chamberlain University.
She has two children, Bella (14) and Maddox (9). In her free time, she enjoys baseball and horror movies. Brown is extremely competitive and is an avid mud runner, competing in events like Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash, and Rugged Maniac. She is currently training for a half marathon.
Josie Bryant
Please help us welcome Josie Bryant as she joins the Murray State University faculty for the fall 2019 semester. She has worked as an adjunct at Murray State since the fall of 2018. Bryant teaches courses in nutrition, community nutrition & health, meals management and medical nutrition therapy.
“Sharing and learning about nutrition are some of my favorite parts of teaching,” said Bryant. “I love when students feel empowered, especially when they can connect their interests with their career.”
Bryant is a registered dietitian licensed in the state of Kentucky, a yoga instructor and a licensed ServSafe instructor. She also has experience in a variety of settings including long-term care, food service, wellness and nutrition counseling, education, and clinical settings including acute, community and nutrition support.
“The love of food has kept me aware, engaged, and connected with so many people. People love food! Getting to talk with people about what they love and apply it to your professional life is something I do not take for granted,” said Bryant.
Bryant graduated in 2009 from Eastern Illinois University with a bachelor’s degree in family and consumer sciences with an emphasis on dietetics and a minor in chemistry; and in 2010 from Eastern Illinois University with her master’s degree in family and consumer sciences. She completed her dietetic internship in 2011 at Murray State University.
Bryant is married with two children. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, gardening, guiding yoga classes, being outside, enjoying family time including intense chalk-art, and of course, all things food.
School of Nursing & Health Professions
Website: http://www.murraystate.edu/sonhp
Location: 120 Mason Hall, Murray, KY 42071
Phone: 270-809-2193