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HRSA's Valentine S. Liu shares a "Live Long and Prosper" moment with George Takei.
Lewis McIlwain, Inside HRSA reporter, interviews George Takei for this issue.
HRSA employee Dena Saunders greets George Takei at the presentation.
Joel Soodak scored 31,149 points in the Challenge.
Walking, housekeeping and yard work garnered the most points during HSB’s “HealthierFeds Physical Activity Challenge.” Special category winners included (from left to right): Judy Hyatt, Cheryl Lee, Joyce Somsak, Rebeca Sanchez-Barrett, Joel Soodak, Paul Murphy, Karen Williams (front).
At the Seattle Region X office (l to r, standing) Matthew Feist, George Bennett, Mary Gutierrez (front of George Bennett), Steve Smith, Carolyn Gleason, Diana deForest, Kenny Hill, Noel Savas & Lucina Siguenza. Sitting - Dr. Duke & Sharrion Jones.
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June 3: George Takei, known for his role as Mr. Sulu on the 1960’s television show “Star Trek,” visited the Parklawn building as a guest speaker for an event celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
A long-distance runner in high school, Takei stressed the importance of keeping fit. “I think that fitness is very important. Not only does it keep you healthy, but it clears the mind,” Takei told Inside HRSA reporter Lewis McIlwain, a summer intern, as Takei walked briskly to his car after the event.
As a former vice president of the American Public Transit Association, Takei also promotes public transportation. “People should use public transportation not only because of the high gas prices,” he said, but also because “it helps cut down on unnecessary pollution and traffic congestion in the area.”
Besides Star Trek, Takei has guest starred on several other hit television shows, including “Heroes,” and did voiceover work for the Disney film, “Mulan.”
May 29: The Healthcare Systems Bureau’s “HealthierFeds USA” contest came to a successful (and humorous) close during a Parklawn event that celebrated the individual and team accomplishments of the 26 employees — more than a third of the bureau — who participated in the six-week competition.
Three teams — “Team Healthy,” “Team Salubrious” and “Team Be Well” — competed online by tracking points that its team members received for exercising. Team Salubrious was the victor with 115,367 points, followed by Team Be Well with 96,358 points, and Team Healthy with 70,659 points.
Joel Soodak was the individual winner with 31,149 points, followed by HSB Associate Administrator Joyce Somsak with 27,084. Lori Roche came in third with 21,360 points. Some participants received special prizes for their unique accomplishments: Paul Murphy collected a “Most Consistent Activity” award and a can of foot powder for walking a lot; Soodak won the “Green Thumb Award” for the 27-plus hours he spent mowing and working on his lawn; and Somsak received the “Cleanliness Award,” since her household tasks were logged as exercise (and she now has the cleanest house on the block). After partaking of healthy (and not-so-healthy) snacks, the HSB participants set their sights on an upcoming HealthierFeds activity: a Healthy Recipes Cookbook.
May 20: HRSA Administrator Elizabeth Duke traveled to Spokane, Wash., for the Northwest Regional Primary Care Association Conference, where she gave the opening address and participated in meetings with Region X primary care organizations and associations the following day. Duke also visited the Spokane Falls Family Clinic, part of the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic in Spokane. On May 22, she visited the Harborview Medical Center, a Ryan White HIV/AIDS grantee in Seattle. While in Seattle, the administrator held an all-hands meeting with the Region X Office of Performance Review and visited the Washington Poison Control Center, another HRSA grantee.
May 19: Administrator Duke visited a Ryan White HIV/AIDS grantee, Cooper Health System, in Camden, N.J., and met with staff there. Later that afternoon, Dr. Duke delivered the keynote address for the 28th Convocation of the University of Medicine and Dentistry School of Osteopathic Medicine in Stratford, N.J.
May 19: New members were named to the Migrant Health Council, which receives staff support from HRSA.
May 19: HRSA’s annual “Thanks Mom!” Marrow Donor Drive was held in the Parklawn building to raise awareness about the critical need for marrow donors, especially among racial and ethnic minorities. The event is held every year in conjunction with Mother’s Day to encourage the public to give the gift of life through marrow donation.
Shelley Tims and Robyn Ashton of HRSA’s Division of Transplantation and NIH Donor Recruitment Coordinator Gina Boyd staffed the drive, which drew 50 federal employees. Of that number, 24 individuals took the simple test — four Q-tip swabs on the cheek — to join the national marrow registry.
The registry is managed by the National Marrow Donor Program under contract to HRSA. To learn more about joining the registry, contact Tims (stims@hrsa.gov) or Ashton (rashton@hrsa.gov).
May 15: HRSA’s second Retirement Awards Ceremony for U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Officers honored CAPT Ellen Hutchins and CAPT Margaret Lee.
CAPT Hutchins, a clinical social worker, worked with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau for 18 years; in 2005 she was transferred to the Office of Performance Review in the Region I office in Boston.
CAPT Lee began her Public Health Service career as a pediatrician in the National Health Service Corps at a clinic in New York City’s Chinatown. In 1987 she was assigned to MCHB in the Region II office in New York City.
Three other retiring officers were recognized but were unable to attend the ceremony: CAPT Victor Alos, CAPT Amy Barkin and CAPT Steven Geiermann. CAPT Alos, a dentist, was a Commissioned Corps Officer in Puerto Rico before he came to the U.S. mainland in 1985 to work in rural and urban dental sites. CAPT Barkin, a social worker, came to HRSA in 1982 and has worked in programs across the agency, including telemedicine, HIV/AIDS and primary health care. CAPT Geiermann has been a regional dental consultant for both the National Health Service Corps and HRSA, developing programs to recruit and retain dentists.
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Printer-friendly June 2008 Inside HRSA (PDF)
