People on the move 7/18/11

Nurses attend state summit

Southeast Hospital Emergency Services Department director Linda Brown, Emergency Services lead nurse practitioner Angela Selzer and SoutheastHEALTH College of Nursing and Health Sciences president Tonya Buttry were among 200 nurses attending the Missouri Teamwork Summit held recently in Columbia, Mo. The summit, led by the Missouri Nurses Association, the Missouri Health Advocacy Alliance and the Missouri League of Nursing, was a statewide response to a national level call to action to improve health care across the country through better use of nurses and nurse-led models of care.

Wadi receives recertification

Dr. Musa Wadi

Dr. Musa Wadi, a pulmonology and critical care physician, has been recertified in pulmonology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Wadi is a member of the SoutheastHEALTH Medical Staff and is affiliated with Southeast Pulmonology. He received his M.D. degree from the University of Jordan in Amman. He completed a residency at Gunderson Medical Foundation in La Crosse, Wis. He also completed a fellowship in pulmonology at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, Ill., and a fellowship in pulmonology and critical care at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky. Wadi is also board-certified in critical care and sleep medicine.

Nursing college adds to faculty

Nurse practitioner Rebecca "BJ" Whiffen has joined the faculty at SoutheastHEALTH's College of Nursing and Health Sciences. She is teaching courses in nursing skills and pharmacology, among others. Whiffen received her bachelor's degree in nursing from Southeast Missouri State University. Whiffen also holds a master's degree as a family nurse practitioner from the University of Tennessee at Memphis and recently graduated from the same institution with a doctorate in nursing practice. Before joining the college faculty full time, she worked with Southeast Health On Wheels, a mobile rural health clinic that is a partnership between SoutheastHEALTH and the College of Health and Human Services.

2 honored by caregiver group

Karon Schmidt of the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau received the Member of the Year Award from the National Association of Health Care Assistants. She was honored at the 17th annual "Key to Quality" awards banquet June 30 in Tulsa, Okla. Award recipients must exemplify the values and goals of the organization. Schmidt is a member of the organization's national steering commission. Becky Hoover, also of the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau, received the National Association of Health Care Assistants' Humanitarian Award. The award is given to a CNA or direct caregiver who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to assist a resident with lifesaving procedures, made observations that have enhanced the quality of life or provided additional care and attention to a resident during the dying process. Hoover has worked at the veterans home for 15 years.

Rebecca Whiffen

Two become Northwestern reps

Alex Armbruster and Jared Freese have been appointed financial representatives by Northwestern Mutual in Cape Girardeau. They will be associated with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network The Hahs Group. Armbruster is a native of Perryville, Mo., and a recent graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, where he received a bachelor's degree in business administration. Before joining Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, Freese was a salesman for Coad Toyota of Cape Girardeau. Freese is a native of Crystal City, Mo. He received a bachelor's degree in management with an emphasis in finance from Southeast.

Agent gets customer satisfaction award

Laurel Adkisson, an American Family Insurance agent in Cape Girardeau, has been recognized for customer satisfaction excellence under the J.D. Power and Associates Distinguished Insurance Agency Program. Adkisson has been an agent for American Family since December 1999. Her office is at 760 S. Kingshighway, Suite D, in Cape Girardeau. Adkisson has qualified for this award for seven years.

Jared Freese

-- From staff reports