Western University of Health Sciences has created Care Cabinets on its Pomona, California and Lebanon, Oregon campuses to provide food and supplies to those who need it.

The Pomona Care Cabinet, located in the Health Professions Center (HPC) Student Commons, opened in November 2022 in response to an emergency initiative from WesternU leadership as a way to address food insecurity on campus.

Anyone on campus can take what they need, no questions asked. University Student Affairs (USA) will check the Care Cabinet regularly to ensure food has not expired and to restock it. Food donations should not be left at the Care Cabinet. USA is developing a procedure to donate items, which is expected to be in place after winter break. The Pomona Care Cabinet received a large donation of non-perishable food from the Rotary Club of Pomona (pictured above).

COMP-Northwest started a Care Cabinet in October 2021 as a way to support students.

“We wanted to create a food and nutrition resource for students, and we knew faculty and staff wanted to be part of the solution,” said Mirabelle Fernandes Paul, EdD, WesternU Oregon Assistant Vice President for University Student Affairs and COMP-Northwest Associate Dean of Student Affairs. “We initially called it a pantry, but realized we were not just addressing food insecurity. For example, we realized students who are parents need essentials like diapers, wipes and toiletries. ‘Care Cabinet’ covers food, hygiene products and other life-essentials.”

The Care Cabinet in the Student Center at COMP-Northwest is left unlocked and available to anyone who needs it. COMP-Northwest and CHS-Northwest students are invited to utilize the Care Cabinet, and WesternU Oregon Student Affairs has ordered a Care Cabinet for the CHS-Northwest building to be stocked after the winter break.

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Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific student Sevag Hamamah has been working in the laboratory of COMP Professor Mihai Covasa, PhD, for the past two years. He has published four peer-reviewed papers in high-impact-factor journals (all Q1) as first author.



“Overall, medicine is a rapidly changing field that involves consistent analysis of the growing research databases available to the public. Therefore, research serves an integral role in practicing evidence-based medicine to apply the most current treatments, procedures, and medications in day-to-day clinical practice,” Hamamah said. “By participating in my own research projects, I can not only contribute to these growing databases but also improve in my abilities to extract important information from studies and evaluate the significance of study findings in an efficient manner." 

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CGN Associate Dean and Professor Dr. Rod Hicks and his collaborators published: Hicks, R. W., Berg, J. A., & Roberts, M. E. (2022). Engaging in meaningful discussion: What nurse practitioners need to know about retirement and end-of-life planning. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 34(12), 1245-1248.

Matt Wedel, PhD, of COMP and CPM, published a paper with colleagues from Brazil on the structure of the vertebrae in the earliest dinosaurs: Aureliano, T., Ghilardi, A.M., Müller, R.T., Kerber, L., Pretto, F.A., Fernandes, M.A.,Ricardi-Branco, F., and Wedel, M.J. 2022. The absence of an invasive air sac system in the earliest dinosaurs suggests multiple origins of vertebral pneumaticity. Scientific Reports 12:20844.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-25067-8

Blog post link 

Video (by Tito Aureliano, the first author) 

As the primary author, Dr. Rachel Ryu and colleagues investigated the possible role of beta-blockers in patients receiving vasopressors and inotropes (V/I) for cardiogenic shock. The harmful effects associated with V/I, including mortality, have been attributed to the tachycardia and arrhythmias associated with the use of these agents. The hypothesis was that beta-blockers may reduce in-hospital mortality in patients receiving V/I for cardiogenic shock. In this retrospective cohort study, concurrent beta-blocker usage with a V/I was not associated with a reduction in in-hospital mortality, based on the multivariable logistic regression analysis. Their study sheds light on the importance of more carefully designed clinical studies to assess the impact of V/I, and strategies on how to minimize toxicities associated with such use, in this high-risk patient population.

PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36412905/ Journal website: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3271/10/4/64

Dr. Ryu’s paper was also selected as the cover for the upcoming quarterly issue (December 2022).

CHS-Northwest Assistant Professor Anu M. Räisänen, PT, PhD, published: Bullock GS, Sell TC, Zarega, R, Reiter C, King V, Wrona H, Mills N, Ganderton C, Duhig S, Räisänen A, Ledbetter L, Collins GS, Kvist J, Filbay S. Kinesiophobia, Knee Self-Efficacy, and Fear Avoidance Beliefs in People with ACL Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med 2022;52(12):3001-3019. doi: 10.1007/s40279-022-01739-3