December 2021 Dean’s Message

Dear CHP alumni and donors, 

I want to first offer my gratitude for your continued support of the college. We appreciate your generosity on Giving Tuesday and throughout this year. We also appreciate you sharing your successes with us each month. As 2021 comes to a close, I hope you will join me in recognizing several faculty members retiring this year.

The following four faculty members have spent a combined 94 years educating health professions students at MUSC. I want to thank them all for their decades of service to MUSC, CHP, and their professions. From the Division of Physical Therapy, Dr. Sandy Brotherton, Dr. David Morrisette, and Dr. Holly Wise retire after 30, 33, and 22 years, respectively, at MUSC. Dr. Thomas McKee, professor in the Department of Healthcare Leadership & Management, is also retiring after 15 years at MUSC. Congratulations to you all on your retirement, and we wish you all the best in your next chapter!

Updates from CHP:

• The Department of Healthcare Leadership & Management is pleased to share that the Health Administration Alumni Network (HAAN) recently launched a new virtual educational series titled, “How I Got Here.” Each event focuses on a specific health care industry segment (e.g., behavioral health, public health, health systems) and features three MUSC DHA program graduates. The inaugural “How I Got Here” session (Sept. 23) focused on behavioral health, and the second session (Oct. 28) focused on hospitals and health systems. The following alumni participated in these sessions:  
  • Dr. Christopher Luis Zubiate, DHA ’18, president and CEO, Ever Well Health Systems, Stockton, California.
  • Dr. David Anthony Jordan, DHA ’05, president, Seven Hills Foundation, Worcester, Massachusetts. 
  • Dr. Margaret Ostafin, DHA ’18, Citywide High School nursing director, NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene/Dept. of Education, New York, New York. 
  • Dr. Mary Robbins Wylie, DHA ’13, vice president of operations, Baylor Scott and White Health, Dallas, Texas. 
  • Dr. Michael Onyemachi Ugwueke, DHA ’01, president and CEO, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Memphis, Tennessee.
  • Dr. Donna Michelle Neeves, DHA ’09, vice president of GME recruitment, HCA Physician Services, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
• The next session is scheduled for Feb. 10, 2022, and the topic will be information technology in health care. 
• The Division of Physical Therapy completed its yearlong CAPTE accreditation self-study and site visit. The Neurologic and Orthopedic Residency programs also completed their 10-year accreditation process in 2021.
• The Division of Occupational Therapy had a successful site visit by ACOTE in October.

I am so proud of all the continued accomplishments of our alumni, students, faculty, and staff. Thank you for your continued support of the college and I hope that you and your loved ones continue to stay well.  On behalf of the College of Health Professions, I wish you and your families a very happy holiday season!

Happy New Year!

Zoher F. Kapasi, PT, Ph.D., MBA, FAPTA
Dean and professor
College of Health Professions