ATSU is named to the President's Honor Roll with distinction.

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – A.T. Still University (ATSU) has been named to the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement.

The Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers the annual Honor Roll award, recognizes colleges and universities for their impact on issues from poverty and homelessness to environmental justice. On campuses across the country, thousands of students joined their faculty to develop innovative programs and projects to meet local needs using the skills gained in their classrooms.

“Congratulations to A.T. Still University and its students for their dedication to service and commitment to improving their local communities,” said Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “Our nation’s students are a critical part of the equation and vital to our efforts to tackle the most persistent challenges we face.”

ATSU was named to the Honor Roll based on a series of selection factors including the scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service, and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses.

In 2009, nearly 60 percent of ATSU’s student body spent more than 13,000 volunteer hours serving the University’s local communities near its two campuses in Kirksville, Mo., and Mesa, Ariz.

Students and faculty at ATSU’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine organized and participated in outreach projects including the Court Appointed Special Advocacy program, which advocates for abused and neglected children in the justice system. The program has been so successful that it has recently moved into adjacent counties to serve even more at-risk youth.

At ATSU’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ASDOH), the Give Kids a Smile® project provided free dental care to local underserved children. At the one-day event, more than 200 children received care with the cost of the donated treatment totaling more than $100,000.

ASDOH students and faculty also participated in the Special Smiles project, during which they provided oral health screenings, referrals, and education for Special Olympic athletes; the American Indian Oral Health & Dental Career Outreach project where they educated American Indian high school students about oral health and careers in dentistry; and the Project Challenge Oral Health & Drug Prevention program where they worked with troubled teens to raise awareness about methamphetamines’ effect on oral health and other issues relating to teenage oral health.

At ATSU’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, students and faculty provided full physical exams to underserved Hispanic children and adults.

“I am proud of our students, faculty, and staff who always come together in a common cause and contribute generously and often to serve the needs of others,” said ATSU President Jack Magruder.

The University partners with numerous organizations that support student community service activities. These organizations include local elementary schools, state universities, hospitals, Women Infant Children centers, Head Start centers, Special Olympics, Arizona Coalition for Tomorrow, county health departments, community centers, community health centers, senior centers, and nursing homes.

College students make a significant contribution to the volunteer sector; in 2009, 3.16 million students performed more than 300 million hours of service, according to the Volunteering in America study released by the Corporation. Each year, the Corporation invests more than $150 million in fostering a culture of service on college campuses through grants awarded by its programs; the education awards that AmeriCorps members receive at the conclusion of their term of service to pay for college; and through support of training, research, recognition, and other initiatives to spur college service.

The Corporation oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact and the American Council on Education.

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The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more five million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs, and leads President Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov.

MESA, Ariz. – At a time when healthcare reform will most likely propose wellness incentives and taking personal responsibility for health, A.T. Still University (ATSU) has already been leading the way in both its curriculum for medical school students and its employee health program.

ATSU’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA) is grounded in osteopathic medicine, which focuses on wellness, prevention, and the integration of mind, body, and spirit. Andrew Taylor Still, M.D., D.O., is the father of osteopathic medicine and founder of the first college of osteopathic medicine, now A.T. Still University-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM).

SOMA’s four-year curriculum includes clinical experience in patient settings beginning in the first year. As a reflection of osteopathic philosophy, the curriculum emphasizes preventive medicine and comprehensive patient care. Most medical schools do not enter clinical training until their third year, following two years of basic sciences and clinical text studies. SOMA students are unique in that they continue basic science and clinical curriculum studies while interacting with patients in community health centers (CHCs) throughout the United States.

“Our students work alongside CHC faculty and are able to diagnose, treat, and educate patients on disease and disease prevention,” said Douglas Wood, D.O., Ph.D., dean of SOMA. “We believe that we are the right medical school at the right time. Healthcare reform is now focusing on prevention and individuals at risk for chronic diseases, but prevention and wellness always have been our focus, and we are preparing tomorrow’s healthcare providers to advocate personal health responsibility and prevention. We are also serving a population of individuals who may be medically uninsured or underinsured.”

In addition, CHCs offer students the opportunity to learn about and participate in disease collaboratives. The National Center for Disease Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion put together collaboratives for treating chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma. The collaboratives—so named because CHCs nationwide participate in the protocols—are proving to be cost-effective and show a reduction in the frequency of hospital visits for patients with these chronic diseases. The collaboratives also allow outreach to populations who may be disproportionately affected by these diseases.

ATSU focuses on wellness and prevention among their employees as well. ATSU offers employees a chance to take personal responsibility for their health while also receiving a discount on their health insurance premium through the Still Healthy program. Still Healthy not only comprises a reduction in monthly premiums, but employees are also eligible for an annual reimbursement for participating in the program. All employees agree to attend four educational health programs per year, complete an online health assessment, and be a non-smoker or participate in a smoking cessation program. Additionally, all participants agree to a wellness exam paid 100 percent by ATSU.

“We understand that healthcare reform will probably advocate personal responsibility for being healthy, and we are already implementing wellness incentives for our employees to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors,” said Tonya Watson, assistant director, human resources at ATSU in Arizona.

The recent addition of the East Valley Family YMCA on ATSU’s Arizona campus provides students, staff, and faculty with an added opportunity to focus on disease prevention and wellness. The YMCA opened October 24 and will partner with ATSU on programs that improve the health of ATSU employees and YMCA members.