Summer 2013 - Shepherd Center

Transcription

FIT for LIFE
Patients Learn Fitness and
Nutrition Strategies to Improve
Lifelong Wellness
ALSO INSIDE
FIT FOR LIFE + TIME BEHIND THE WHEEL + A HIGH ACHIEVER +
TRANSITION SUPPORT + NEW THERAPY FOR MS
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org | Summer 2013
Shepherd Center Magazine:
Spinal Column®
Summer 2013
Shepherd Center
2020 Peachtree Road, NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30309
404-352-2020
[email protected]
www.ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
Spinal Column®
A LETTER FROM JAMES SHEPHERD
Editor
Jane M. Sanders
Contributing Writers
Kate Barnes, Sara Baxter, John Christensen,
Amanda Crowe, Rachel Franco, Phillip
Jordan, Florina Newcomb, Cara Roxland,
Alex Seblatnigg, Scott Sikes, David Simpson,
Midge Tracy, Lauren Tucker, Matt Winkeljohn
Contributing Photographers
Joe Anziano, Jakob Crowder, Sabrina
Evans, Louie Favorite, James Fitts, Abby
Greenawalt, Donn Jones, Kelly Jordan,
Gary Meek, Meg Porter
Board of Directors
James H. Shepherd, Jr., Chairman
Gary Ulicny, Ph.D., President and CEO
Emory A. Schwall, Vice President
William C. Fowler, Treasurer
Stephen B. Goot, Corporate Secretary
Alana Shepherd, Recording Secretary
Members
Fred V. Alias, Gregory P. Anderson, David
F. Apple, Jr., M.D., C. Duncan Beard†, Brock
Bowman, M.D.*, Wilma Bunch*, James M.
Caswell, Jr., Sara S. Chapman, Clark Dean,
John S. Dryman, Mitchell J. Fillhaber*, David H.
Flint, Stephen B. Holleman*, Michael L. Jones,
Ph.D.*, Tammy King*, Donald Peck Leslie, M.D.,
Douglas Lindauer, Sarah Morrison*, Julian B.
Mohr, Charles T. Nunnally III, Sally D. Nunnally,
Clyde Shepherd III, J. Harold Shepherd, Scott
H. Sikes*, James E. Stephenson, James D.
Thompson, Goodloe H. Yancey III†
*
†
Ex Officio
Emeritus
Shepherd Center Magazine: Spinal Column
is published quarterly by Shepherd Center, a
private, not-for-profit hospital specializing in
the treatment of people with spinal cord injury,
brain injury and multiple sclerosis. E-mail
change of address information or request to
be removed from our mailing list to magazine@
shepherd.org, or by mail to Shepherd Center,
Attn: Shepherd Center Magazine Mailing List,
2020 Peachtree Road, NW, Atlanta, Georgia,
30309. Please include mailing label. Shepherd
Center Magazine accepts no advertising.
Spinal Column is a registered trademark of
Shepherd Center.
About the Cover: Mike Moberg of Nashville,
Tenn., rides a hand cycle as part of his
exercise routine. Mike followed an intense
fitness routine and healthy diet to lose half his
body weight following his rehabilitation for a
spinal cord injury. Photo by Donn Jones
Dear Friends,
As Shepherd Center increases its emphasis on injury prevention, we are looking
at the inherent risks in sports, especially at the high school level. In this issue, we
examine the issue of catastrophic care insurance for student-athletes (see page 12).
We urge schools and universities to provide this type of coverage for their
students participating in organized sports. We also urge parents to make
themselves aware of the coverage — or lack thereof — provided by the school, as
well as their personal health insurance policies. Many medical insurance plans have
a $25,000 limit, and much like homeowners are rarely insured against flood damage
to homes unless they have flood insurance, those medical plans often don’t provide
adequate coverage for the costly — and sometimes lifetime-long — care required to
treat catastrophic injuries, such as those to the brain or spinal cord. Parents should
consider purchasing a supplemental policy to cover these types of injuries.
Football injuries, especially those to the brain, have rightly gotten a lot of
attention in recent months because of controversy and policy changes regarding
concussions in NFL players. But football is certainly not the only sport in which
catastrophic injuries can occur. Take the case of University of Georgia baseball
player Johnathan “J.T.” Taylor, who completed rehabilitation at Shepherd Center.
He collided with another player in the outfield and sustained a cervical spinal cord
injury. Fortunately, a supplemental policy purchased by UGA, along with the NCAA’s
catastrophic care coverage will meet J.T.’s lifetime of care expenses.
Another consideration for schools and parents is the presence of emergency
medical services (i.e., an ambulance staffed with well-trained EMTs) at any
significant athletic event. Too often, this necessity is overlooked or dismissed as
unnecessary. Yet studies repeatedly show that getting excellent trauma care within
the “golden hour” following a catastrophic injury is one of the most important factors
in improving outcomes for patients.
Meanwhile, we are encouraged by signs that several states, including Georgia,
are recognizing the injury risks involved in organized sports. This past spring,
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed legislation known as The Return-to-Play Act of
2013. The law, which takes effect next January, will require schools and organized
athletic leagues to educate parents on the risks of concussions and develop policies
for young athletes who show signs of a concussion. Specifically, the law says
athletes must be removed from play if they show signs of a concussion and that a
healthcare provider must clear the athlete before they can return to play.
Beyond sports, Shepherd Center’s injury prevention efforts, which are an integral
part of our mission, are focusing on distracted driving (see teen driving story on
page 14) and diving because so many young people also face risks from these
activities, as well. Please don’t dive and don’t text while driving.
In summary, we urge you to prevent injuries whenever possible, prepare for injury
with adequate insurance coverage, persevere through recovery from injuries that do
occur and then return to a prosperous and healthy life.
Warm regards,
James H. Shepherd, Jr.
Chairman of the Board
PHOTO BY KELLY JORDAN
Design
Soloflight, Inc.
CONTENTS
Summer 2013 • Shepherd Center
DEPARTMENTS
2
4
21
22
24
26
40
SHORT
TAKES
MEDICAL STAFF PROFILE
Allan Peljovich, M.D., M.P.H.
RESEARCH
New Therapy for Secondary
Progressive MS
PATIENT PROFILE
5
6
12
Kevin Hillery
ALUMNI
PROFILES
FOUNDATION
FEATURES
HONORARIUMS
AND MEMORIALS
14
18
20
FEATURES
TRANSITION SUPPORT
Shepherd Center assists patients
and families after discharge.
FIT FOR LIFE
Patients learn fitness and nutrition
strategies for lifelong wellness.
CATASTROPHIC CARE FOR
HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES
Experts urge parents to
determine insurance coverage
for catastrophic injuries.
TIME BEHIND THE WHEEL
Prepare teen drivers well to
prevent tragic consequences.
RETURN TO WORK
Cindy Jones works hard to
make a quick return to work
following rehabilitation.
BY THE NUMBERS
Statistics show positive outcomes
for patients with paraplegia.
See ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
for exclusive online content.
Shepherd Center research helps
define the role of exercise for people
with SCI and MS.
Experts provide tips to prevent
sports injuries.
Gifts of Generosity
If you would like to make a gift to support the work you have read
about, please contact Scott H. Sikes at the Shepherd Center
Foundation at 404-350-7305 or visit shepherd.org.
Patient and his parents find their
way from Tasmania to Shepherd
Center for brain injury treatment.
Profiles of People with Paraplegia:
• Ashley Reeves
• John Payne
• Gary Linfoot
S
short
takes
Shepherd Center Launches Comprehensive
Educational Site
& WORLD REPORT
manual in eBook format for an enhanced
reading experience. This educational
website is an integral part of Shepherd
Center’s goal to promote healthy
living post-hospitalization and optimize
patient outcomes.
“Shepherd Center focuses on the
well-being of its patients, even after
they have discharged from the facility,”
Bowie adds. “Our aim is that this online
resource will help prevent complications
and help our patients avoid returning
to their acute care hospital due to
secondary complications.”
Congratulations to the Shepherd Smash quad rugby team for winning the Division II
National Championship over the University of Arizona 55-42 this past spring. The
championship was made possible in part by the involvement of Shepherd Center
volunteers and assistant coach Tom Horan and support staff member Lisa Ruger.
2 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
Shepherd Center
was again named
one of the top
10 rehabilitation
hospitals in the
U.S.News
nation in a U.S.
NATIONAL
REHABILITATION
News & World
2013–2014
Report survey.
The rankings are published online at
health.usnews.com/best-hospitals
and will be published in U.S. News’s
annual guidebook, Best Hospitals 2014,
which will be available on Aug. 27.
Shepherd ranked No. 10 among
dozens of hospitals that earned a
spot in the magazine’s survey of
rehabilitation hospitals. Shepherd
Center first appeared on the list in 2000.
Also, U.S. News & World Report
announced that Shepherd Center
ranked No. 2 in the Atlanta metro area
in the magazine’s “Best Hospitals”
metro area rankings for 2013-2014
and No. 3 in Georgia. These rankings
were released simultaneously with the
national rankings.
Rankings for rehabilitation hospitals
are based on nominations among
physicians. Physicians are asked to
name hospitals they consider the best
in their specialty, regardless of location
or expense.
America’s Best Hospitals guide
includes rankings of medical centers
nationwide in 16 specialties. The
ranked specialties are cancer, diabetes
and endocrinology, ear, nose and
throat, gastroenterology, geriatrics,
gynecology, heart and heart surgery,
kidney disorders, neurology and
neurosurgery, ophthalmology,
orthopedics, psychiatry, pulmonology,
rehabilitation, rheumatology and urology.
“All of these hospitals are the kinds of
medical centers that should be on your
list when you need the best care,” says
Avery Comarow, health rankings editor.
“They are where other hospitals send the
toughest cases.”
PHOTO BY MEG PORTER
This summer, Shepherd Center
launched a comprehensive
educational website for patients,
caregivers and professionals,
www.MyShepherdConnection.org.
This replaced Shepherd Center’s
online education portal,
www.MyVitalConnections.org.
The newly designed site
features a user-friendly experience
for seamless navigation. The
site includes sections on spinal
cord injury, brain injury/stroke
and multiple sclerosis from both
nursing and therapy perspectives.
“Shepherd Center is a trusted
source of neurological information for
many healthcare consumers,” says Larry
Bowie, director of marketing and public
relations for the hospital. “We’re pleased
to compile and streamline the information
collected at Shepherd Center into one
easy-to-access online location.”
The site also offers sections on
nutrition, respiratory health, home
modifications, general community
access and tips for healthy living with
new, “how-to” videos and graphics.
Also available are Shepherd Center’s
caregiver guides and personal care
Shepherd Center
Ranks Among Top 10
in U.S. News & World
Report’s Best Hospitals
Shepherd Center Shares New Personal Care
Manual and Caregiver Guides as Free eBooks
on iTunes
Four comprehensive guides covering
personal care issues and caregiver
basics for people with spinal cord
injury, stroke and brain injury, as well
as their loved ones, are now available
free of charge on iTunes (search:
Shepherd Center).
Shepherd Center created these
guides, which are required reading
for patients and their family members
and loved ones in the hospital’s Spinal
Cord Injury and Brain Injury programs.
The “Personal Care Manual” for
people with spinal cord injury (SCI)
is considered essential for family
members and caregivers to review
before discharge. The 181-page
manual contains a detailed overview
of SCI with topics including how to
manage your bowel
and bladder program,
skin care, respiratory
system and medications.
Subjects such as
emotional adjustment,
alcohol and drug issues,
assistive technology and
other special concerns
are also covered.
“Brain Injury: A Guide
for Caregivers” and “Spinal
Cord Injury: A Guide for
Caregivers” are of interest
to people with a loved one
or friend who has just
experienced a traumatic
brain or spinal cord injury. They include
tips and advice for the first few weeks
following the injury, as well as a
practical overview of the injury, a
glossary of new terms you may hear
and a list of resources that are
available to assist you.
The fourth eBook is called “Living
with Stroke” and provides strategies
for managing day-to-day activities
following a stroke.
The newly released eBooks
give healthcare consumers
unprecedented access to Shepherd
Center’s educational materials free
of charge.View in iBooks or go to
iTunes and search “Shepherd Center.”
Katie Malone
PHOTO BY JIM FITTS
SHEPHERD CENTER WINS HEALTHCARE ADVERTISING AWARDS
Shepherd Center’s Marketing and Public Relations Department, along with
Atlanta-based creative agency Frederick Swanston, was recently recognized
by the 30th Annual Healthcare Advertising Awards for excellence in several
healthcare communications projects.
Shepherd’s motivational posters won a Silver Award while a postcard and
video for the tradeshow exhibit titled “Innovation Cannot Be Paralyzed” each
won Merit Awards.
The Healthcare Advertising Awards program, sponsored by Healthcare
Marketing Report, is the oldest, largest and most widely respected healthcare
advertising awards competition. Participant entries are reviewed based on
creativity, quality, message effectiveness, consumer appeal, graphic design
and overall impact.
MS Institute
Undergoes Expansion
The Infusion Center at Shepherd
Center’s Andrew C. Carlos Multiple
Sclerosis Institute recently became
a little roomier, thanks to an overall
expansion of the Institute.
Some patients who have multiple
sclerosis (MS) must receive their
medication through infusion — that is,
intravenously through an IV or port.
Until this past spring, Shepherd Center
had only six chairs available at a time
for patients who needed an infusion,
which can take from 30 minutes to
several hours. Now, two rooms hold 16
chairs, allowing more patients to receive
medication at one time. Each chair is in
a space that has its own television and
curtain for privacy. The infusion rooms
also have wireless Internet service so
patients can use their laptop computers
or mobile devices.
In addition to a new infusion room,
the expansion of the MS Institute has
added four additional treatment rooms,
as well as new reception and checkout
areas. Growth in the number of patients
receiving treatment at the Institute
prompted the expansion. Now, more
than 2,000 individual patients are seen
each year in the clinic.
“We were starting to feel a little
confined,” says Emily Cade, M.S., CCM,
CRC, CLCP, program manager of the
Andrew C. Carlos MS Institute. “This will
make things easier on both the patients
and staff. It will give the patients more
convenience with scheduling, allow us
more flexibility and provide our patients
with a more comfortable environment.
We are excited about the expansion, and
the opportunity for continued growth it
affords.” Sara Baxter
Participating in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the
expansion of the Andrew C. Carlos MS Institute at
Shepherd Center are, left to right, Marci Bozeman,
John Carlos, Elaine Carlos, Angel of the Year Eula
Carlos, Helen A. Carlos and Kate Barnes.
Spinal Column® / Summer 2013 • 3
P
staff
profile
INTERESTING FACTS
ALLAN PELJOVICH, M.D., M.P.H.,
Orthopedic Surgeon, Shepherd Center
ALLAN PELJOVICH, M.D., M.P.H.,
ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON,
SHEPHERD CENTER
INTERVIEWED BY PHILLIP JORDAN
trouble with. As surgeons, it’s not our job
to see a patient and immediately begin
to figure out what surgery to do. That’s a
lesson I’ve never forgotten.
Q: You have an extra “Lab” assistant
when you visit your Shepherd Center
patients. What does he do?
FELLOWSHIP
Harvard Medical School;
Cleveland Metro Health Medical Center
RESIDENCY
Allan Peljovich, M.D., M.P.H., of the Hand
& Upper Extremity Center of Georgia, is
a consulting orthopedist at Shepherd
Center, where he specializes in hand and
upper-extremity surgery.
Case Western Reserve University
MEDICAL SCHOOL
University of Pennsylvania
School of Medicine
OTHER DEGREES
University of Pennsylvania
(undergraduate);
Emory University
(master’s in public health)
FUN FACTS
Dr. Peljovich also answers to
Coach P. He’s coached youth
baseball for 10 years.
A father of three, he’s been
married to Lori for 20 years.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT OF CHOICE
Bass guitar: “I grew up in the
‘70s and ‘80s, so punk rock is my
favorite. But I’ll play anything!”
Q: You perform tendon transfer
surgeries, which have the potential
to restore hand and arm function to
people with tetraplegia. Do those
surgeries still amaze you after doing
them for so long?
A: Oh yes, absolutely. I love doing them,
thinking about them. I love the positive
effect those surgeries can have for
people. It’s one thing I can do that truly
can change someone’s life.
What Shepherd Center does is amazing.
People go into Shepherd Center with
catastrophic injuries, and Shepherd’s
doctors and staff teach them that
life goes on. What they do is huge.
The little part we do at my clinic can
help some of those patients become
a little more independent, gain a little
more confidence.
A: Well, my daughter fell in love with
this Labradoodle that was trained as a
therapy/service dog. I knew then that
Murphy was going to join our family.
My one condition was that we put him
to work.
So my wife, Lori, now brings him to
Shepherd Center when I visit my patients
here. Murphy’s pretty funny when he
visits the hospital. He’s confident. He
acts like he lives at Shepherd Center.
And it obviously is a fun visit for my
patients. He is definitely loved when
he’s there.
Q: From your perspective, what
makes Shepherd Center unique?
A: It’s just an incredible mission — to
take in people who have been thrown
these terrible curveballs by life,
people who had their lives change
so dramatically, who are at a point that
the average person can’t fathom.
And Shepherd Center takes these
people who are broken physically — and
often mentally — and brings them back
to life. And not just to a life, but a real
quality of life. The hospital helps them
get involved in their communities again,
helps them find a purpose.
Q: What’s the most important thing
you learned in medical school?
More online at
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
A: To always make sure I pay attention
to what patients are actually coming in
for, and to listen to what they’re having
(Top left) Allen Peljovich, M.D., a consulting
orthopedic surgeon at Shepherd Center, sees
patient Jessie Smith of Pinehurst, Ga., in the
hospital’s outpatient clinic.
PHOTOS BY LOUIE FAVORITE
EXPERIENCE
Consulting Surgeon, Shepherd Center;
Orthopedic Surgeon, The Hand &
Upper Extremity Center of Georgia;
Medical Director, Hand and Upper
Extremity Program at Children’s
Healthcare of Atlanta
TRANSITION
SUPPORT
Shepherd Center
launches new program
to assist patients
and families
following discharge.
PHOTO BY JANE M. SANDERS
BY JANE M. SANDERS
Shepherd Center’s new Transition
Support Program is leading the
hospital’s mission to improve education,
guidance and support to patients and
their families upon discharge with the
goal of improving health outcomes and
increasing customer satisfaction.
Leading the new program is Ginger
Martin, M.Ed., CCC-SLP, CCM, a longtime member of Shepherd Center’s
former Marcus Community Bridge
Program, which ended last year. The
Transition Support Program emphasizes
patients’ medical, health and safety
issues following discharge.
“A major objective of the program
is to prevent rehospitalization,
which is emphasized in the federal
Affordable Care Act, and to keep our
patients healthy and safe at home,”
Martin says. The new program is being
funded through Shepherd Center
operational dollars.
Martin and her staff will seek grants
to expand program services in the future.
Also, the program will benefit from recent
funding Shepherd Center received
from the Patient-Centered Outcomes
Research Institute (PCORI) for the
project “A Patient-Centered Approach
to Successful Community Transition
After Catastrophic Injury.” This project is
evaluating the impact of several systems
changes aimed at minimizing hospital
readmissions and focuses on revising
Shepherd Center’s discharge planning
and post-discharge supports for patients
and families.
Giving it an edge already, the
Transition Support Program is staffed
with employees experienced in meeting
the needs of Shepherd’s patients as they
return to their homes and communities,
Martin notes.
Transition support coordinators
accomplish the program’s mission
through a combination of phone calls,
tele-health sessions and home visits
with patients. They work with patients
and their families to develop personcentered plans to manage disability and
medical issues. Topics they address
include medication management,
safety and fall prevention, physician
follow-up appointments, health record
management, and schedule and routine
management.
This part of the program serves
people referred by their Shepherd Center
treatment team and deemed at high risk
for rehospitalization and/or those who
face socioeconomic challenges and/or
limited family support.
Meanwhile, the Transition Support
Program’s peer support staff members
are reaching out to all Shepherd Center
inpatients. They are increasing peer
mentoring and education for inpatients
on both a one-on-one and classroom
basis. Classes focus on topics
including self-advocacy and disability
management. As funds become
available, peer supporters will develop
an online discussion forum where former
patients can offer insight to one another.
Also, the program’s vocational
services staff is helping patients who
are referred by their treatment team
because of their plans to return to
work or post-secondary education.
The Transition Support
Program, which is overseen by
Sarah Morrison, vice president of
clinical services, is working with
departments throughout the hospital
to accomplish its mission. For example,
staff members are collaborating with
spinal cord and brain injury educators
to develop training and educational
videos for use with inpatients, as well
as patients who have discharged
from the hospital. This information
will be housed on a new website at
www.MyShepherdConnection.org,
which launched this summer.
Ginger Martin, M.Ed., CCC-SLP, CCM, is manager of
Shepherd Center’s new Transition Support Program.
PHOTO BY DONN JONES
Mike Moberg of Nashville, Tenn., works out
frequently. Mike followed an intense fitness
routine and healthy diet to lose half his body
weight following his rehabilitation for a spinal
cord injury.
FIT
for
LIFE
Shepherd Center patients learn fitness and nutrition
strategies to improve their lifelong wellness.
MIKE
AUSTIN
PHOTOS BY DONN JONES, KELLY JORDAN AND LOUIE FAVORITE
BY DAVID SIMPSON
Mike Moberg wanted to lose weight to
make it easier to get in and out of his
wheelchair. Austin Vestal needed to
gain 50 pounds as he pursued a return
to distance running. And Treva Turner
turned to customized exercise to improve
her strength so she could continue
to work.
Exercise and diet figure prominently
into the treatment plans for every
Shepherd Center patient like Mike, who
sustained a spinal cord injury, Austin, a
brain injury, and Treva, who has MS.
“Every inpatient is assigned an
interdisciplinary team to tackle health
and wellness issues,” says physical
therapist Sarah Morrison, vice president
of clinical services. “We like to start
as soon as possible, and it is not
uncommon for our inpatients to attend
classes on nutrition and fitness so they
have a wellness regimen to follow when
they return home.”
Shepherd Center patients’ goals
can vary significantly, says clinical
nutritionist Kristy Prox. “Patients who
have paraplegia or tetraplegia are going
to lose a lot of muscle strength and
have decreased energy needs, whereas
some of our patients with a brain injury
are trying to heal their bodies so their
energy needs may be twice as much as
a person without an injury. Patients with
multiple sclerosis often struggle with
fatigue, so we work with them on trying
to have smaller meals or snacks more
often through the day and convenient
healthy foods like pre-cut vegetables.”
The stories of three patients with
very different needs show what proper
exercise and nutrition can mean for an
active lifestyle.
TREVA
Dramatic Weight Loss
Austin Vestal of Jacksonville,
Fla., proudly displays his Gate
River Run 2013 “Finisher”
badge. Austin sustained a
severe brain injury in summer
2012 and worked hard in
therapy to return to running.
MIKE MOBERG, 31, of Nashville, Tenn., figures he was
at his highest weight ever when he sustained a
T-10 to -11 spinal cord injury in an auto accident in
January 2009. He carried about 310 pounds on his
6-foot, 1-inch frame.
The ordeal of the injury and surgery at
Vanderbilt University Medical Center took off
about 10 pounds, but he knew early in his threemonth stay at Shepherd Center that he would
need to do more.
“As soon as I went from a power wheelchair
to a manual chair, I really realized that the less I
weigh, the easier it is for me to transfer in and out,”
Mike says.
His therapists had him push the chair through
the Shepherd parking garage. Back home in
Nashville, he found another garage to repeat
the training.
“I kept a log on my phone, how many times
I went around,” he says. “The pounds started to
come off. I also improved my diet.”
He stepped up his efforts dramatically in
summer 2012 when Shepherd awarded him a
scholarship for an intensive 12-week program in
Beyond Therapy®.
“It was really like a boot camp — a mixture of
exercise and therapy and using all the equipment,
three hours a day and three times a week,” Mike
explains. “It made a huge difference.”
“Huge” is not an understatement. Mike reduced
from 310 pounds to a range of 155 to 160.
“To lose half your body weight is a big change,”
he says. “Being in the chair is definitely a motivator.
Every time I do a transfer that I feel like is a little too
hard, that’s motivation.”
He continues to work out regularly, trying
to fit in three sessions each week around his
college classes.
Mike also has jumped into adaptive sports,
joining an Achilles International chapter in
Nashville. The runners’ group sponsors weekly
training sessions open to people of all abilities
and even provided a handcycle for Mike.
“I tend to enjoy that more than the gym
because I can be outside,” he says. Meanwhile,
he has set his sights on wheelchair racing. After
participating in 5K races in his “everyday chair,” he
received a grant this past spring from a California
foundation to get a racing wheelchair. Mike then
set his sights on participating in the Wheelchair
Division of the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta.
Later goals include downhill skiing on a chair fitted
onto a single ski.
“They told me early on at Shepherd to get
involved in a sport, but the first couple of years,
I wasn’t really open to it. Now, I’m really happy,”
Mike says.
Return to Running
Austin Vestal, 25, of Jacksonville, Fla., was in a
coma for 15 days after he sustained injuries to
his brain and leg in a car crash on June 2, 2012.
His mother, Sandy Vestal, says nurses at Shands
Jacksonville Medical Center noticed Austin’s left
leg and right arm — the only limbs with mobility —
thrashing every day around 5:30 p.m.
“The nurses asked, ‘What does he do at this
time of day?’” Sandy recalls. She knew the answer.
Austin’s mind was taking his daily three-mile run.
Austin started running when he was about 19.
From the time he regained consciousness after his
injury, Austin was determined to run again.
But first he had to regain the weight and
strength he lost during his coma. When he arrived
at Shepherd Center in early August 2012, “They
told me I had to gain 50 pounds,” Austin recalls.
“I was skin and bones. I’m about 205 pounds,
6-foot-2 and I had dropped to 155.”
In addition to getting lots of protein, Austin
worked with Shepherd therapists on exercise,
EXERCISE FOR LIFE
Austin Vestal of Jacksonville, Fla., proudly wears a T-shirt signed
with words of encouragement from family and friends. He wore it
as he participated in the Gate River Run 2013.
Shepherd’s Fitness Center Teaches and
Encourages Exercise for Lifelong Wellness
Shepherd Center’s ProMotion Fitness Center has a weight room,
indoor track, full-court gymnasium and swimming pool. It is the
people — clients and staff — who set it apart from the typical gym.
“Our center is open to the community, so we have a wide variety of
people with and without disabilities,” says Becky Washburn, Shepherd’s
manager for ProMotion and Beyond Therapy®. “It’s a very welcoming
environment. A lot of cross-awareness and integration to the community
happens in our gym.”
PHOTOS BY KELLY JORDAN AND GARY MEEK
Each client begins with a one-on-one session with a ProMotion staff
member to discuss the client’s goals. The staff then tailors a wellness
program to meet the specific needs and goals of the member.
which is challenging for a brain that has “forgotten”
how to move some muscles.
“It was pretty bad,” Austin says. “My left arm
was so immobile. It just didn’t want to move.”
Austin worked with occupational, physical
and speech therapists. About two weeks into his
Shepherd stay, he took his first steps, wearing a
T-shirt from the Gate River Run, a 15K race he ran
in Jacksonville in March 2012.
“I told the therapist, ‘I’m running the River Run
next year,’” Austin recalls.
By the time he and his mother moved into
a Shepherd Center apartment during Austin’s
participation in the Shepherd Pathways day
program, Austin was insisting on short runs on
the lawn.
When he returned to Jacksonville, he heeded
the advice to try adaptive sports. He joined a
rowing team, and his family took him on bowling
and pool outings on Friday nights.
By December 2012, he was running. His
mother accompanied him at first. “We would go
maybe a block, then another block,” she recalls.
“Then he got better, and I had to ride my bicycle.
Then he got better, and I had to get my car.”
In March 2013, as promised, Austin ran the
Gate River Run — accompanied by his mother and
sister, their boyfriends and two step-siblings.
After the family moves south to Boca Raton,
Fla., this summer, Austin plans to return to work
as a sales account manager, easing in part-time
at first to build a daily routine.
Running helps him focus on living well.
“When you finish, you’re like, ‘I got it!’ It’s a big
confidence booster.”
“We make sure the client knows exactly how to perform the exercise
program, including equipment setup, basic exercise prescription and
appropriate progression,” Washburn says.
Many clients will continue exercising at more traditional gyms closer to
their homes, so they get tips on making that transition.
“Some of the pieces in our gym are adaptable, but we have traditional
equipment, too,” Washburn says. “We do a lot of education to teach our
patients what they can do in a traditional gym and how to advocate for
themselves.”
Beyond Therapy® clients also are encouraged to get into adaptive sports,
like handcycling, which can become fun family activities.
“Maintaining wellness and physical fitness is important for all of us,
but for our patients, it is critical to being successful and strong in the
community,” Washburn says.
For more information on ProMotion, call 404-350-7789.
David Simpson
Shepherd Center’s ProMotion Fitness Center offers extensive work-out facilities for
people with and without disabilities.
Treva Turner of Atlanta works out in Shepherd Center’s
ProMotion Gym to maintain a strong fitness level to
help manage her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
“Shepherd Center not only
treats my MS, but it also
has other resources like
the MS Wellness Center
for my body and mind.”
NOURISH FOR LIFE
Steps to Wellness
PHOTO BY LOUIE FAVORITE
Treva Turner, 43, of Atlanta was, at first, frightened
by her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 2003,
but Ben Thrower, M.D., medical director of the
Andrew C. Carlos MS Institute at Shepherd Center,
immediately put her at ease, she says. And she
found she could continue to work full-time in sales
while managing her MS, including medication and
regular doctor visits.
“Then as my MS progressed over the years,
I noticed little things I wasn’t able to do as well
as I used to,” Treva says. “I was at the point
where I could only walk short distances before
I got really tired.”
She turned to exercise and was one of the first
patients to join Shepherd’s MS Wellness Center
when it opened in Summer 2012. The program
fills a need for patients who’ve completed medical
therapy up to their health insurance limits, says
Chris Manella, the center’s therapy manager.
“We wanted to have a way to continue wellness
with expert guidance for MS patients,” Manella
says. The solution was an enhanced membership
to Shepherd’s ProMotion wellness center. For $45
per month (the Georgia chapter of the National
MS Society offers some scholarships), patients get
access to the pool, ProMotion gym, six exercise
classes and two education classes per week.
The classes reflect the special needs of MS
patients with appropriate pacing and even cooling
vests to prevent overheating. Education topics
range from tips on staying mentally active to the
latest research on MS. The center tested a group
of patients when it opened. Rather than gradually
losing ground to MS, 90 percent of the patients
have shown actual improvement in metabolic rates
and strength, Manella says.
Treva started using the center to work on core
strength with Shepherd Center exercise specialist
Blake Burdett, who has helped her tremendously.
“He knows your limits,” Treva says. “But he doesn’t
allow you to use your MS as an excuse to not
exercise. It strengthened me in my endurance
and leg muscles, so now I am able to do more
for longer periods of time without having to rest,”
she says.
Treva started a new job as a program
coordinator at a local hospital recently. She
continues to use the wellness center as often
as possible.
“Shepherd Center not only treats my MS, but
it also has other resources like the MS Wellness
Center for my body and mind,” she says. “That
is amazing, and it makes for a quality of life that
I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”
Shepherd’s Clinical Nutritionist
Offers Simple Wellness Tips
Though Shepherd Center clinical
nutritionist Kristy Prox addresses
complicated dietary challenges for
patients, she says most people can
follow some simple, healthy nutrition
guidelines, such as filling half your
plate with fruits and vegetables.
Drink water. Drink five to eight glasses a
day. People often misinterpret thirst as hunger.
x8
Eat breakfast. A high-fiber, high-protein
breakfast is a great way to jumpstart your day.
But lighten up that coffee drink with fat-free milk
and sugar-free syrup.
Eat at home — with your family.
Cooking at home allows more control over
the amounts of fat and sodium in a dish.
Studies show eating together as a family
promotes healthier eating.
Be smart when eating out.
Order meals baked, broiled or steamed rather than fried or cooked in
heavy sauces. And don’t “upsize” your meals at fast-food restaurants.
Here are a few more recommendations from Prox:
• Eat three to six servings a day of whole-grain,
high-fiber breads and cereals.
• Eat five to nine servings a day of fruits and
vegetables. Choose a wide variety of colors
(green, white, red, yellow, orange and purple).
• If you eat meat, eat white meat at least four times
more often than red meat.
• C hoose a diet low in saturated fat and moderate in total fat.
Eat less animal fat.
• Avoid sugar and other refined carbohydrates.
Drink fewer high-sugar sodas. Eat less white
bread, junk food and candy. David Simpson
For more articles and videos, visit
T
BY MA
T WIN
KELJO
HN
PHOTOS BY GARY MEEK
10–
After making the catch, Arquevious
Crane began “fighting” for yards in a high
school JV football game near Atlanta in 2007.
Then, his life changed.
“It was a normal hit, front and back, just a
freakish accident,” says the young man who
goes by “Q.” “I was face down and about to
start panicking about not being able to breathe.
I wanted to turn over because I was eating a lot
of dirt.” Q couldn’t move. He had sustained a
C-5 to -6 spinal cord injury and was paralyzed
from the chest down.
As he began rehabilitation at Shepherd Center,
Barbara Crane, the grandmother who years earlier
adopted Q and his four younger siblings, was in a
daze. She didn’t know who would pay the medical
bills that could total millions of dollars.
Many medical insurance plans have a $25,000
limit, and much like homeowners are rarely insured
against flood damage to homes unless they have
flood insurance, those medical plans often don’t
provide adequate coverage for catastrophic
injuries like Q’s.
Barbara’s answer? In Georgia, high school
student-athletes are covered for life-altering injuries
sustained in sports by a $5 million catastrophic
insurance policy. The state’s governing bodies for
athletics — the Georgia High School Association
(GHSA) and Georgia Independent School
Association (GISA) — purchase the policy from
Mutual of Omaha.
The GHSA policy helps Q, now 21, with
disability benefits, college tuition, an assistant
who accompanies him to class, a power
wheelchair, an adapted van and more equipment
plus custodial home care.
Every high school student-athlete in Georgia
must have medical insurance to play, but few,
if any, medical or supplemental plans cover
expenses like Q’s. And some states do not require
schools to purchase catastrophic coverage.
In Illinois, estimates suggest that 5 percent
of the state’s student-athletes have catastrophic
insurance through their schools. Individual
catastrophic policies for young people are rare in
the United States.
A bill before the Illinois House of Representatives
that would have mandated catastrophic coverage
of $7.5 million or 15 years for athletes at every high
school failed to pass in fall 2012. A similar bill is
before the Illinois Senate this year.
Utah officials may begin charging $3 per
student-athlete to defray a rise in catastrophic
coverage premiums prompted by recent claims.
Meanwhile in Georgia, the GHSA’s policy is
funded by a portion of annual dues paid by each
of more than 500 member schools. High schools
seek to verify that student-athletes have medical
insurance through parents or guardians, or that
they buy a supplemental plan, before they can
participate in sports at school.
Yet few parents seek to understand their
insurance coverage limits, nor do they realize these
plans may be helpful for a broken ankle or a knee
injury, but are not likely to cover a catastrophic
spinal cord or brain injury.
Many parents have no idea if there is a
statewide, school system-wide or even a schoolspecific catastrophic insurance plan in place to
do that.
Why? They don’t ask. Who thinks a
catastrophic injury will ever happen to them?
Here are some experts’ suggestions for
parents of aspiring school athletes:
Determine the breadth and depth of
your primary insurance coverage and/or
supplemental policy.
“Health insurance coverage varies dramatically
from family to family,” says Scott Boatright, vice
president of BB&T Insurance Services, which
has handled the GHSA catastrophic policy for 20
years. “It is important to be aware of the benefits,
exclusions and limits within your policy.”
Marilyn Taylor, a Shepherd Center post-acute
case manager for spinal cord injury, says: “I spend
a lot of time explaining to clients, ‘Yes, you have
Blue Cross, but that does not mean you bought the
whole pie.’ They only have a piece. A lot of people
don’t realize they can call customer service and
discuss their benefits.”
Talk to a school official about insurance
coverage available through the school.
Find out if they cover ambulance service,
emergency room care, outpatient care and,
most importantly, whether the school provides
catastrophic coverage.
“Ask the school exactly what the policy
covers,” says Heddi Silon, director of workers
compensation at Shepherd Center. “How much
rehabilitation is included? What about durable
medical equipment (such as wheelchairs, etc.)?
What are the limits? Parents need to know whether
there is a policy that covers catastrophic injury.”
Taylor adds: “There are not a lot of (personal)
policies that provide catastrophic coverage.
Rehabilitation is usually expected to be short
term for injuries such as a broken limb or joint
replacement, but not injuries that require a
$30,000 wheelchair.
Realize that football is not the only sport
in which serious injuries occur. Brain and
spinal cord injuries can result from many
types of sports.
Mutual of Omaha vice president of special risk
Scott Hanson says the company has seen claims
for every sport.
Former Shepherd Center
patient Arquevious “Q” Crane
and his grandmother, Barbara
Crane, of metro Atlanta, are
thankful that Q’s high school
carried catastrophic injury
insurance, which has covered
many of the medical expenses
Q has had since he sustained
a spinal cord injury in a
school football game in 2007.
More online at
TIME BEHIND THE WHEEL
Shepherd Center patient Zach
Lindsey of Macon, Ga., participates
in driver rehabilitation training with
instructor Jim Kennedy.
BY SARA BAXTER
Parents worry about their teenagers driving — and with good reason. Automobile
accidents injure 250,000 teens a year and are the number one cause of death
among teenagers. At Shepherd Center, about a third of all car-crash patients are
between the ages of 14 and 19.
Alan Brown knows this fear all too well. On a rainy day in July 2003 in Cartersville,
Ga., his 17-year-old son Joshua drove his truck through standing water. The vehicle
hydroplaned and crashed into a tree. Joshua died nine days later.
Looking back, Brown expresses remorse about his son’s inexperience as a
driver. “Joshua didn’t take driver’s education,” he says. “We didn’t have access to
it, so all he got was what I taught him.”
Experience is the primary factor in producing good teen drivers, says Rob Foss,
Ph.D., director of the Center for the Study of Young Drivers at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Good drivers have a deeply ingrained understanding of
what driving is all about. They know what they need to be doing, and that knowledge
can only come from experience.”
In helping their teenagers gain that experience, parents can look to state drivers
licensing for the minimum requirements. But experts encourage parents to go much
further to help their teens get the experience they need to drive safely.
Most states require supervised driving for at least six months. Many also
mandate 50 documented hours of supervised experience and every state grants
driving privileges on a “graduated” basis, typically up to age 18. New drivers in
Georgia, for example, are prohibited from driving between midnight and 6 a.m.,
and in the first six months after a driver obtains a license, only immediate family
members may ride as passengers.
But Dr. Foss notes that studies show teens need a minimum of 120 hours of
driving experience before being licensed to drive independently and safely. Also, he
says new drivers should be prohibited from driving after 9 p.m. instead of midnight
during the graduated licensing period. That’s because 70 to 80 percent of nighttime
crashes among high school-aged drivers occur between 9 p.m. and midnight, and
about 85 percent of their nighttime trips occur during that window.
1
2
3
GOING THE EXTRA MILE
4
1.– 3. Teen-aged drivers receive defensive driving
instruction at an Accident Avoidance Workshop
in metro Atlanta. 4. Shepherd Center patient
Zach Lindsey of Macon, Ga., participates in driver
rehabilitation training with instructor Jim Kennedy.
2.
After the death of his son, Alan Brown
embarked on a mission to ensure that
Georgia teenagers gain experience
behind the wheel before receiving a
driver’s license.
In 2005, he was instrumental in
getting the Georgia General Assembly
to pass Joshua’s Law, which requires
every 16-year-old in the state to take
driver’s education and participate in 40
hours of supervised driving to qualify for
a license.
Even still, many experts — and
Brown, as well — recommend that
teenagers log more than the required
number of supervised hours behind
the wheel and that they go beyond
driver’s education classes to get more
hands-on experience.
“If you have completed the minimum
requirements in driver training, you are
a minimally trained driver,” says Homer
Stillwell, founder of Accident Avoidance
Workshops, a defensive driving program.
“At best, you have been trained in
‘normal’ driving conditions, which means
you know how to operate the vehicle
and what the lines and signs mean.
But there’s more to driving than that.”
The experts agree that the key
factor is supervising teen drivers in
the many varied conditions they will
experience as independent drivers. One
tool to help parents with this task is a
smartphone app called Time to Drive
(timetodriveapp.com). It records the total
amount of driving and driving in a variety
of conditions, keeps track of hard stops,
provides tips for parents, encourages
the parent-teen team to meet driving
goals and shows a map of past trips.
(See the apps sidebar for more ideas.)
And parents can lead by example.
“Kids start learning to drive the minute
you put them in a car,” Brown says. “If
you speed or text, they will think it’s OK.”
In preventing more teen driving
crashes, Shepherd Center is making
its own contribution. As part of its injury
prevention efforts, the hospital has
a launched a safe driving campaign
themed “Reasons — Big and Small.” It
presents a series of answers to a simple
question that matters to every driver:
“What’s your reason for wanting to arrive
at your destination safely?”
As part of the campaign, which
kicked off in April, Bridget Metzger,
Shepherd’s director of injury prevention
and education, is visiting high schools
and making community presentations.
“The number one thing kids should
know is that they are driving a potentially
lethal weapon and should pay attention,”
Metzger says. “I’ve worked with a lot
of injured teenagers here at Shepherd
Center. Their only wish is that they could
go back and turn it around. Most car
crashes are preventable.”
PHOTOS BY MEG PORTER AND LOUIE FAVORITE
THE PARENT AS COACH
“Graduated licenses help teenagers
build up their skills so they master them,”
Dr. Foss says. “This gradual experience
has helped prevent crashes.” To guide
their teenagers through the learning
process, he advises parents not try to
act as a driver’s education teacher but
as a coach during supervised driving.
“Don’t tell them what to do,” Rob
cautions. “If you tell them 20 things,
you’re wasting your breath on 19 of
them. Let them make a mistake if it’s
not dangerous. Speak calmly in a mild
tone and give helpful advice. Research
shows this is more effective.”
Jim Kennedy, a driver rehabilitation
specialist at Shepherd Center, suggests
that parents emphasize the following
process as they supervise their teen’s
driving — meanwhile realizing that these
actions become intuitive as drivers gain
more experience in various conditions:
1. Search the environment,
including a check of mirrors.
2. Identify hazards, conditions
and situations.
3. Predict what others will do.
4. Decide what to do.
5. Execute that decision.
“The reaction time for teens is quick,”
Kennedy says, “but their knowledge
base is limited, so they may not react
the right way.” Take the case of a car
veering off the road. “The instinct is to
yank the steering wheel the other way
and probably go too far in the other
direction,” he says, “but, of course, that
can have consequences.”
While you do not want the cell phone anywhere near your child as he or she drives, several
mobile applications and devices are available that actually help teens with the driving process,
whether it’s blocking cell phone use, acting as a coach, promoting safe driving or tracking
accidents. Here’s a list of applications that might help your teenager be a safer driver:
TIME TO DRIVE (www.timetodriveapp.com),
developed by the University of North Carolina
Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC) and the
Center for the Study of Young Drivers, this app
helps parents supervise their teen drivers during
the practice period. Time to Drive will record the
total time of driving and driving in a variety of
conditions, keep track of hard stops, provide tips
for parents, encourage the parent-teen team to
meet driving goals and show a map of past trips.
It also generates a log of trips you can provide to
the department of motor vehicles. It is available in
the iTunes store for $3.99.
DRIVE SCRIBE® (www.drivescribe.com) is a
free smart-phone application aimed at preventing
distracted driving. It leverages the phone’s GPS
system, mapping data and accelerometer to
monitor speed, traffic regulation compliance
and sudden movements, such as slamming on
the brakes or swerving. Drivers place the smart
phone in the car and listen to audio notifications
of upcoming stop signs and speed-limit excesses.
Aimed at teen drivers, DriveScribe also blocks
texts, emails and incoming phone calls. Parents
can even elect to receive texts and emails
generated from the application to let them know
of their teen’s progress.
WISEDRIVE (downloadable for $.99)
automatically detects drivers moving at high
speeds, disables audio text messaging
notifications and sends out an automated reply.
MY MAX SPEED uses the internal GPS to
log speed and location every five seconds and
downloads all data into a spreadsheet. The app
is available for Android smartphones for $4.99
on the Android Marketplace.
More online at
SAFE DRIVER monitors the location and driving
practices — such as a car’s top speed, excessive
acceleration, braking and turning — of drivers and
alerts others via email or text whenever the driver
exceeds a specific speed. (It even shows where
the infractions occurred.) The basic app is free,
and an upgraded version costs $4.99.
DANGERS OF DISTRACTED DRIVING
is a free app that discusses the consequences
of distracted driving, introduces the concepts
of feet-per-second and following too closely,
and provides visual scenarios to illustrate the
concepts discussed.
STEER CLEAR MOBILE®, a free app from
State Farm Insurance, consists of five modules:
self-assessment, driving logs, safe driving pledge,
video testimonials in which teens describe
accidents they were in and the mistakes that
caused them, and then a final self-assessment.
When completed, drivers are eligible for a State
Farm safe driving discount.
NEWLYLICENSED.COM sells car magnets
that identify new drivers in hopes that other drivers
will use caution, courtesy and patience on road
when they encounter young drivers. The hope is to
reduce teen accidents. Sara Baxter
1
RETURN
to
WORK
Cindy Jones loves her job and worked hard to
make a quick return to work following rehabilitation
at Shepherd Center.
“WHAT HAPPENED TO HER
CAN HAPPEN TO ANYBODY.
SHE HAS A DISABILITY,
BUT SHE’S NOT DISABLED.”
2
BY JOHN CHRISTENSEN
Not long after Cindy Jones, 42, returned to her
job at Mohawk Industries in Dalton, Ga., this past
January, a colleague told her he has a picture
of her as the screensaver on his computer. It’s a
photograph taken in the gym at Shepherd Center.
Cindy is suspended in the harness of a Lokomat
while the robotic device exercises her legs.
“He told me any time he’s having a bad
day, he looks at that picture, and it inspires him,”
Cindy says.
Cindy sustained a T-11 spinal cord injury on
Memorial Day 2012 in a Jet Ski accident. She
arrived at Shepherd Center a few days later
convinced that she would heal quickly and soon
be walking again.
“At Shepherd, they were conservative and
said, ‘Let’s see what heals and what’s damaged,’”
Cindy says. “I was shocked that you can map the
human genome, but the nervous system is such
a mystery.”
Cindy is, by her own admission, a workaholic
and “not the most patient person on the planet,”
and her rehabilitation has been frustrating at times.
But she was encouraged when she saw
improvement in other Shepherd Center patients
and grateful to be treated “like a person, not like
a patient.”
“Shepherd Center is incredible,” Cindy says.
“It’s like Disneyland. No matter what your issue,
you feel normal. But when you leave, you’re not
going to be surrounded by people whose bodies
work like yours does.”
When she realized that insurance wouldn’t
cover therapy on a certain piece of therapeutic,
robotic equipment at Shepherd, Cindy resolved
to pay for it herself.
“I decided I would use my savings,” Cindy
says. “It’s that important to me.”
Minna Hong, SCI peer support coordinator
at Shepherd Center, says: “I love that Cindy’s
very focused on what she needs to do to have
a fully realized life. What happened to her can
happen to anybody. She has a disability, but
she’s not disabled.”
In fall 2012, Cindy called her boss, Steve
Powers, Mohawk’s senior vice president of research
and development and quality assurance. “It looks
like I’ll be coming back to work before my legs
come back to me,” she told him. “And he said, ‘Of
course. What do you need? When do you need it?’”
Steve says, “If any of our employees go
through something as tragic as this and muster
the courage to come back to work, we want to
make them feel like they’re back home and as
comfortable as possible.”
Mohawk installed power doors on the building
where Cindy works, renovated the restrooms,
and provided covered parking near an elevator
for Cindy and another employee with a disability.
Cindy bought a condo five minutes from her
office and started back with a 20-hour work week.
Now working a full week, she rises at 5 a.m. so
she can complete her morning routine and be at
work on time.
It was especially important to her that she be
able to do everything her job required without
assistance and without disrupting the office routine.
“But sometimes, my boss still fusses at me,” she
says. “He says, ‘It’s OK to get some help.’”
Steve explains: “We wanted her to take her
time and come back on her schedule. I tried to
encourage her not to push things, to make sure.
I think she was worried about failing, but there is
no fail in that lady.”
Cindy loves her job. “I’m like a kid in a candy
store at work,” she says. “I’m always trying to find
out what new thing I can create.”
But there are some things she can no longer
do when she’s running trials on materials. It
particularly bothers her that she can no longer
climb on the catwalk of a giant extruder to check
the settings.
“I’m a hands-on person,” she says. “I never sat
before, so I just have to figure out how to adjust. I
have people working for me, and I have to rely on
them. I can’t be quite as hands-on as before, but it
allows me to empower other people. I’m not good
at delegating, but this forces me to let them do
more and develop themselves.”
Steve says he, too, has a picture of Cindy on
his computer. “Cindy has a special place in my
heart and in our organization,” he says. “We wanted
to do everything we could to make it comfortable
for her.”
1. Cindy Jones, 42,
returned to her job as
senior director of fiber
and yarn research and
development at Mohawk
Industries in Dalton, Ga.,
in January 2013 following
rehabilitation at Shepherd
Center for a spinal cord
injury she sustained
in May 2012. 2. Cindy
returned to work with
support and encouragement
from her manager, Steve
Powers, Mohawk’s senior
vice president of research
and development and
quality assurance.
R
research
Cell-Based Therapy for Secondary
Progressive Type of MS
Shepherd Center investigates new therapy that uses a person’s own
immune system to help fight MS from the inside out.
BY AMANDA CROWE, MA, MPH
generate enough reactive T-cells to treat a patient
for one year (five doses). The myelin reactive
T-cells are thought to cause the inflammation
that is the hallmark sign of MS. During the final
dose preparation, the myelin reactive T-cells are
modified to make the cells unable to replicate. The
modified reactive T- cells are then reintroduced to
the patient via an injection, which should stimulate
the body’s immune system to reduce the number
reactive T-cells.
“We are essentially vaccinating them against
their own MS,” explains Ben Thrower, M.D.,
medical director of the Andrew C. Carlos Multiple
Sclerosis Institute at Shepherd Center. “The hope
is that the body will recognize these cells and
trigger an immune response.”
If this new therapy works, it would give patients
a customized therapy from the start.
“The immunology of MS is so different from
one person to the next, so it’s a little bit of trial and
error to find the right fit,” Dr. Thrower says.
Tcelna is also thought to have a lower risk of
side effects because, unlike many other therapies
used to treat this type of MS, it does not suppress
the immune system.
So far, six Shepherd Center patients have been
screened to take part. Participants must be able
to walk to some extent on their own with or without
an assistive device be between ages 18 and 60
and will need to stop taking any other treatments
to slow disease progression if they pursue the trial.
Patients are given five shots of the treatment or
placebo a year.
An initial analysis of the study results is
expected in 2016. For information, contact
Carlyn Kappy, RD, LD, CCRP, at 404-367-2620
or [email protected].
More online at
Linda Agnello, who teaches
music at an elementary
school in metro Atlanta, has
multiple sclerosis and is
hopeful about the results of a
new clinical trial under way at
Shepherd Center.
PHOTOS BY GARY MEEK
Linda Agnello, 56, recalls the days when she was
able to go for long walks with her beloved husband,
Steve, and golden retriever, Calleigh, and freely
take on projects at the school where she teaches
music. Now, she must first calculate how much
energy and time each activity will require and if her
body will cooperate. She — like many other people
living with multiple sclerosis (MS) — has had to
adjust her life to her condition. She has also had to
cope with side effects from existing medications.
People with MS urgently need new treatments
to halt the condition, and hope is on the horizon.
Shepherd Center is one of 30 sites in the United
States and Canada participating in a clinical trial
to study whether an investigational therapy using
a patient’s own immune cells can help stabilize
or stop the progression of secondary progressive
multiple sclerosis (SPMS). People with SPMS
have moved beyond the initial period of relapsingremitting MS, and their condition has begun to
worsen more steadily.
“This is a group of individuals with MS who
have not had many treatment options available, so
there is a lot of excitement about this study,” says
Carlyn Kappy, RD, LD, CCRP the study coordinator
at Shepherd.
Eligible study participants are being randomized
to receive either placebo or the investigational
T-cell immunotherapy called Tcelna™, which is
manufactured by Opexa Therapeutics, Inc.
Encouraging results from earlier Tcelna trials in
MS patients, including some with SPMS, prompted
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to grant it
fast-track designation for SPMS.
To develop the therapy, Opexa isolates the
“bad” T-cells (myelin reactive T-cells) from a
patient’s blood sample and expands them to
P
patient
profile
A HIGH ACHIEVER
Former patient enrolls in law school after graduating
from the U.S. Naval Academy.
BY DAVID SIMPSON
Kevin Hillery, 23, of
Medway, Mass., is a student
at the Georgetown University
School of Law. In 2012, he
became the first person with
paraplegia to graduate from
the U.S. Naval Academy.
PhotoS by Louie Favorite
and brian tipton
PHOTOS BY ABBY GREENAWALT
K
evin Hillery, 23, would rather not talk about himself, even if he understands why other people do.
“He’s a very high achiever,” Dr. Murray says.
“He works hard and he’s a goal-oriented type
person, or otherwise he wouldn’t have been in
Last year, he became the first person with
the Naval Academy. And I think that transferred
paraplegia to graduate from the U.S. Naval
over into his rehabilitation.”
Academy. He then entered Georgetown
Tina Raziano, military coordinator for Shepherd
University’s law school and landed on Forbes
Center’s SHARE Military Initiative, says Kevin’s
magazine’s “30 Under 30: Law and Policy” list.
humble attitude is common among military
Ask Kevin what advice he gives to people
service members. “Kevin is one of those who
facing adversity, and you’ll get a long pause.
has accomplished a lot and done tremendous
“Well, I don’t know if I have any coherent advice,”
work but is very modest and doesn’t like a lot of
he says. “I just think it’s important to take help
More online at
recognition,” she explains.
from the people who are close to you and who are
Raziano was among many who helped Kevin,
caring about you and willing to offer it. Just
his family and the Naval Academy deal with his
be grateful for any opportunity you have and keep
first-of-its-kind request to rejoin his classmates.
your mind on what’s important for you.”
“That was the most important part, just getting
Instead of talking about himself, he will tell you
back to all my good friends,” Kevin says. “I have
about the people who helped him along the way:
a close bond with my
Naval Academy buddies who reacted swiftly when
a tree fell on him in a wilderness competition; family company. I was with a
and Navy officials who worked to get him back into company of 40 kids
“He’s a very high achiever.
right from the start, and
the academy; and Shepherd Center professionals
He works hard and he’s a
I’m still friends with all of
who helped him start his rehabilitation.
them today.”
He came to Shepherd Center with one
goal-oriented type person, or
After additional
goal: “I was just hoping to get back to school at
otherwise he wouldn’t have
rehabilitation at the U.S.
the academy.”
Veterans Affairs Medical
Kevin, who had been a high school distance
been in the Naval Academy.
Center in West Roxbury,
runner in his hometown of Medway, Mass.,
And I think that transferred
Mass., Kevin went home
was part of an “adventure racing” team at the
to Medway, worked out at
Naval Academy. Teams navigate with a map
over into his rehabilitation.”
the YMCA and caught up
and compass through wilderness areas to hit
on his interrupted Naval
checkpoints while mountain biking, running, and
Academy semester, thanks in part to his family’s
kayaking or canoeing.
season tickets for Navy football.
On April 16, 2011, Kevin’s team was competing
Before each Saturday home game, he and his
in a storm in the Shenandoah Valley near Front
parents drove to Annapolis on Thursday so Kevin
Royal, Va.
could take a make-up final exam on Friday. He had
“I don’t actually remember the accident,” he
piled up extra credits before the accident, so he
says. “We were mountain biking down a hill, me
and three friends, and a big tree blew over. It hit me graduated with his company on May 29, 2012.
His injury precluded a Navy commission, so
on the bike helmet, then rolled down my back and
he decided on law school. He began classes at
landed on the tire, which stopped the bike. And
Georgetown in August 2012.
then I flew over the handlebars. After that, my three
He lives alone in an apartment near the
buddies took care of me.”
campus. He hangs out with friends on weekends
Two classmates used their coats to shelter him.
and smiles politely when people praise his
A third spotted a house where he could get an
accomplishments, even though he wishes they
address to guide an emergency airlift crew to their
would talk about something else. His wheelchair
location in the forest.
is a fact of life, but it’s nowhere near the most
A spinal cord injury in Kevin’s lower back
important thing about him.
required surgery at the University of Virginia
“I just try to live my life normally and don’t focus
Medical Center in Charlottesville. For rehabilitation,
on disability at all,” Kevin says. “Occasionally, you
he came to Shepherd Center in May 2011.
run into problems. Sometimes you can get around
“I just loved the people at Shepherd,” Kevin
them; other times you can’t. If you can’t get in one
says. “The nurses and therapists were great. It
restaurant, just go to a different one.”
was a happy place; everybody liked their jobs.
Kevin hasn’t settled on career goals and doesn’t
That trickled down to the patients and that made
worry about that. As he says in characteristically
it a lot easier for everybody.”
few words: “I am very happy where I am.”
Herndon Murray, M.D., Kevin’s physician at
Shepherd Center, remembers him as a great patient.
A
alumni
profiles
1
From Near
and Far
3
Former Shepherd Center
patients from across the
nation report on their
productive lives post-injury.
4
2
BY PHILLIP JORDAN
1
Mischa
Brady
BOISE,
IDAHO
Mischa Brady, 31, of Boise, Idaho,
served two tours of duty with the U.S.
Marines in Iraq in 2003 and 2004.
During his second tour, stationed near
the Syrian border in Iraq’s dangerous
Anbar region, an improvised explosive
device (IED) detonated and knocked
him unconscious. The improvisation in
this case was a 155mm artillery shell
packed with C-4 explosives.
“It was early on. Nobody thought
much about traumatic brain injuries,”
Mischa says. “I wasn’t bleeding, no
broken bones. I took some Motrin and
drank some water, and continued my
patrol. And I finished the rest of my
nine-month tour.”
Those months became blurred with
migraines, insomnia and abnormal anger.
“But when you’re in a pack of people that
all have the same problems, you don’t
really think twice about it,” he says.
Returning home revealed the depth
of Mischa’s problems. Eventually, he
found his way to Shepherd Center
and its SHARE Military Initiative, which
provides comprehensive rehabilitation
care for service members with traumatic
brain injuries and post-traumatic
stress disorder.
“I’d been avoiding a lot of things,
and I didn’t want to leave home, frankly,”
Mischa says. “But it turned out to be
exactly what I needed.”
He received help for physical
and mental health issues, and took
advantage of volunteer opportunities
set up by Shepherd Center, allowing
him to find new passions.
Shepherd Center also connected
Mischa to the Wounded Warrior
Project, another base of support in
his recovery. Last fall, Mischa received
an associate’s degree from the College
of Western Idaho. Now, he’s pursuing
a bachelor’s degree in history at Boise
State University, where he’s active in
a veterans group called the Wyakin
Warrior Foundation.
“My time at Shepherd really set the
stage for everything I’ve done since,”
Mischa says. “They got me out of my
comfort zone. That was really the only
way I was going to get better.”
2
3
4
Michael
Harris
Josh
Inglett
Debbie
Hochbaum
PANAMA CITY,
FLORIDA
AUGUSTA,
GEORGIA
ATLANTA,
GEORGIA
Michael Harris, 34, of Panama City, Fla.,
feels like he grew up outdoors. “I was
fortunate to have a dad who got me
outdoors, and it’s always been my love,”
he says.
About eight years ago, Michael
and his dad, Johnny, began volunteering
with a group that provided outdoor
adventures to people with terminal
illness or disability. Eventually, father
and son decided to start their own
nonprofit organization and expand on
the concept.
In 2008, the Harrises founded Seasons
of Hope (www.seasonsofhopeinc.org).
It offers personalized hunting, fishing,
camping and other outdoor opportunities
to people with terminal illness or
disability, as well as disadvantaged
children and wounded veterans.
Less than a year later, on March 30,
2009, Michael was lying under a stack of
23 sheets of plywood that had crashed
down on him. He’d been helping a
friend organize a warehouse when he
sustained a C-5 and C-7 spinal cord
injury in the accident. Michael spent
a month on a ventilator, in a medically
induced coma.
“It was a whole different world when
I finally arrived at Shepherd Center,” he
recalls. “It’s such a personal place. I can
go back there today, and doctors I had
will still say hello to me by name.”
At Shepherd, he steadily worked
to re-establish his independence. He
had a goal in mind: to get back outdoors
and continue helping others. Today,
he is busier than ever — finding new
sponsors and organizing outings for
Seasons of Hope.
“At first, the vision we had was just to
take kids out to hunt and fish, give them
a break,” Michael says. “But now we’re
moving more toward a full ministry. We
want to start a mentoring program. It’s
gone above and beyond what we ever
thought it would be.”
Josh Inglett, 19 of Augusta, Ga., had
sustained a T-9 spinal cord injury in a
car accident when he arrived at
Shepherd Center in November 2012.
Josh couldn’t sit up in bed, and a
fractured shoulder blade further slowed
his physical rehabilitation.
He credits Herndon Murray, M.D.,
medical director of Shepherd Center’s
Spinal Cord Injury Program, as his chief
inspiration. “Every time he came in your
room, he had you laughing the whole
time,” Josh says. “He kept everybody
laughing. And he listened. He paid
attention to what you needed.”
Josh gradually progressed from
sitting up to getting dressed to washing
his clothes, cooking and cleaning.
He participated in Shepherd Center
outings that strengthened his
independence. He went to a movie
and transferred from his wheelchair to
a seat. He went horseback riding.
Josh even became an artist. Sort of.
“I’m no artist,” he says with a laugh.
But if you enter Shepherd Center’s main
foyer, where its “Hall of Fame” busts are
located, you will see a sculpture by Josh.
“They have all those bronzed heads
in there, and one day I said, ‘Dang,
Dr. Murray’s been here since this place
started. Why doesn’t he have one?’”
His therapists challenged him to
correct the oversight. “They asked me,
‘Why don’t you make him one then?’”
Josh recalls.
So he did, crafting a bust of Dr.
Murray out of tinsel, clay and bronzecolored spray paint. “It’s crazy,” he says.
“That thing started with just a little ball of
tinsel. But they got me to do it. It ended
up helping my flexibility a lot, too.”
Josh returned to Shepherd Center
recently to pass his adapted driving
evaluation. On his way in, he passed his
bust of Dr. Murray, which still adorns the
entryway’s venerable “Hall of Fame.”
Debbie Hochbaum, 54, of Atlanta,
knows she has to be in good shape if
she wants to continue seeing ghosts.
Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in
1994, Debbie has not let her condition
inhibit her passion: She and her husband,
Tony, are professional ghost-hunters,
offering free paranormal investigations
of potentially haunted abodes across
Georgia and South Carolina.
“Tony had actually organized the
group before I ever met him,” Debbie
says. “I joined and started going to all the
events. Eventually, I started helping him
organize the outings. We were friends for
a year before he asked me out!”
Today, Debbie and Tony run the
Association of Paranormal Explorers
(APEX) as relative newlyweds. They
married just more than two years ago.
“This is just something we both love
to do,” she says with a laugh. “And I’m
really enjoying my life.”
Debbie credits her vibrant life to
good nutrition and physical exercise,
which she gets in weekly doses through
Shepherd Center’s MS Wellness Center.
She participates in cardio, meditation,
yoga and core exercise classes.
“I try to grab as many classes as I
can!” she says. “The cardio is my favorite
because it forces me to move my body
the way I need to. It keeps me moving.”
And that’s good. Because Debbie
is busy. In addition to her paranormal
research, she is a grandmother of eight,
teammates with her husband in a bowling
league and a new member of Shepherd
Center’s Consumer Advisory Board.
Beyond the physical benefits, Debbie
says her wellness classes provide her
with something else. “Everybody’s so
friendly and upbeat there,” she says. “I
don’t think I’ve ever seen an angry face.
And that’s important. I’m a social person,
and I need to be around positive people.
That reinforcement helps me as much as
anything else.”
CORPORATE GIVING
28
ANNUAL JOINT BOARD MEETING
30
DERBY DAY
32
VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION
36
SHEPHERD CENTER
AUXILIARY PRESENTATION
36
ANGEL LUNCHEON
37
LEGENDARY PARTY PREVIEW
38
PARTY IN THE PARK
39
HONORARIUMS
40
MEMORIALS
42
ROTARY GOLF TOURNAMENT
45
SHEPHERD CENTER CUP PREVIEW
45
NOTES FROM
scott h. sikes
Shepherd Center Foundation Executive Director
PHOTO BY HANNAH MARIE
Physical Fitness and Fiscal Fitness
This quarter’s Spinal Column magazine has articles and sidebars on nutrition,
exercise, healthy lifestyles and fitness. Many of Shepherd Center’s employees
have been participating this year in a healthy lifestyles class about nutrition
and exercise, and others have participated in various fun-fitness activities such
as lunchtime basketball and volleyball leagues. We need to keep healthy and
happy employees to provide the high level of research, care and training we
offer our patients and their families and loved ones.
Like so many of our employees, I participated in some of these activities
and over some months saw my own weight loss and improved fitness. Later,
when I had my annual physical examination with my doctor, he said, “Wow,
someone actually listened to his physician!”
In addition to an annual physical examination, many people also get an
annual “fiscal fitness” check-up with one or more of their financial advisors.
The fiscal fitness of the hospital is something our chief financial officer, Steve
Holleman, and I focus on each day. We constantly strive to be excellent
stewards of the funds you donate to us and work to stretch every dollar to help
as many patients and families in as many ways as possible.
Good stewards are proud to report on their work. To help us in providing
timely and good stewardship reports to our donors, we hired Kate Kelsey
Barnes from the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce. Kate has lots of
duties on her plate, but one of her key duties is to help us report sooner and
more thoroughly to all our donors and perhaps most critically to our named
endowment fund donors. Our endowment funds are considered by many to
be our savings accounts that in theory will help us to weather any economic
downturns that occur from time to time.
Shepherd Center Foundation’s chairman, McKee Nunnally, has a personal
interest in increasing our endowments during his two-year term of office. One
of the ways he is going to help us achieve “fiscal fitness” is to ask prospective
donors to consider remembering Shepherd Center Foundation in their estate
plans. A gift that comes to us after your death via your will, life insurance
policy, retirement plan, trust, etc., will make a big impact on others in the future.
When you are getting your own fiscal fitness check-up, please ask your
financial advisors how you might remember Shepherd Center Foundation
in your plans. For example, one quick and easy way to do this is to make
Shepherd Center Foundation a partial beneficiary of your existing retirement
plan or life insurance policy.
While we cannot and do not give legal or tax advice, my colleague Ty
Tippett and I can help your financial advisors and you as you simultaneously
help Shepherd Center’s future. Call or email us at (404) 350-7305 or
[email protected].
Corporate Giving
Georgia companies engage employees and support
Shepherd Center through employee giving programs.
Shepherd Center Foundation staff members
tour members of the Georgia Power Club
of Hearts board of directors through the
hospital’s facilities. The Club, which supports
Shepherd Center, is a unique employee-giving
program founded by employees.
Companies that give back seemingly
share a common characteristic —
a commitment to supporting the
communities in which they work.
They also share a desire to give their
employees a voice in the giving process.
These companies include Georgia
Power, ERB Industries and Troutman
Sanders, companies with a strong
Atlanta presence that enthusiastically
support local nonprofit organizations,
including Shepherd Center, through
corporate-level donations and employee
giving programs.
Georgia Power, for example, houses
the Club of Hearts initiative, a unique
employee-giving program founded by
employees in 1953 and incorporated
in 1954. Through Club of Hearts, Inc.,
Georgia Power (and Southern Company)
employees and retirees in metro Atlanta
contribute about $1 million annually
to local health and human services
organizations.
Whether through a personal
connection with Shepherd Center or
a general awareness of the Center’s
life-restoring work, Georgia Power
employees have proudly contributed
$140,472 to the hospital since 1978
and are on track to donate more than
$7,700 this year.
“At Georgia Power, we’re known
for being a citizen wherever we serve,”
says Donice Wood, project manager
at Club of Hearts, Inc. “Whether it’s
with your time or your dollars, we
think it’s important to give back to
our communities.”
Employees at safety products
company ERB Industries feel equally
as passionate about supporting
Shepherd Center — a passion largely
inspired by the company’s founder
and longtime Shepherd donor Bill
Erb. Ranging from factory workers to
executives, ERB employees contribute
to Shepherd through weekly or bi-weekly
payroll deductions.
Since 1998, employees have given
almost $450,000 to Shepherd — initially
to the injury prevention program and
now to the Dean Stroud Pain Institute,
which is named in memory of Bill
Erb’s grandson.
“Our employees like knowing their
money goes to Shepherd Center and
are excited that Shepherd gives hope to
those who’ve gone through incredible
adversity,” says Sheila Eads, president
and CEO of ERB Industries.
The law firm, Troutman Sanders,
has supported Shepherd in many
ways through the years, including
sponsorship of the Center’s annual golf
tournament and Derby Day fundraisers.
Wanting to find a fun way for its
employees to give back, however, the
Atlanta office launched its annual Jeans
Day fundraiser.
In exchange for a donation,
employees can wear jeans the last
Friday of each month. Employees enjoy
dressing casually in a traditionally formal
environment and helping organizations
like Shepherd Center, which they
supported in 2011 and 2012.
Sallie Adams Daniel, chief
development and diversity officer at
Troutman Sanders, says: “Shepherd
Center is the best facility of its kind
in the country. Our employees
find it rewarding to support a local
organization of this caliber.”
Dean Melcher, director of development operations at the Shepherd Center
Foundation, says that while Shepherd
appreciates all of its contributors, there is
something special about the support that
comes from individual employees.
“Having people choose to take
money out of their paychecks — money
that could make a real difference in their
lives — and donate it to Shepherd Center
helps demonstrate to us that every dollar
makes a difference.”
Companies interested in supporting
Shepherd Center through an employee
giving campaign should email Dean at
[email protected].
PHOTOS BY CAROLINE HARRELL
BY RACHEL FRANCO
Shepherd Center Foundation and Recreation
Therapy Department Co-Host “Thrills and Skills
for Life”
PHOTOS BY MEG PORTER
BY SARA BAXTER
Visitors to Shepherd Center on April 18 saw one
of the hospital’s biggest programs — Recreation
Therapy — in action.
The expo featured guest speaker and former
patient Duane Morrow sharing his personal story
of how Shepherd Center and specifically the
Recreation Therapy Program and the sports teams
impacted his life after his rugby injury.
The event offered live demonstrations on some
of the hospital’s sports and recreational activities,
including wheelchair rugby, hand cycling, riflery,
scuba diving and water skiing. Art therapy, golfing,
fencing and mono snow skiing exhibits were
also featured.
“We wanted to host an event that would
educate the community on a special program
that is an important part of Shepherd Center’s
continuum of care,” says Ansley Martin, major
and planned gifts officer for the Shepherd Center
Foundation. “This was a fun way to teach the
community about Recreation Therapy and how
vital it is to the recovery of our patients.”
Shepherd’s Recreation Therapy Program helps
patients get back into the community by taking
them on outings, teaching leisure skills and
developing other skills needed in everyday life.
With 24 recreational therapists on staff, it’s the
largest program of its kind in the country.
“We help them do things they did before,
but we also open their eyes to other opportunities
and perhaps expose them to things they may
never have done,” says Kelly Edens, manager
of recreation therapy. “We build their skills and
establish a routine before they leave the hospital.”
The Recreation Therapy Program costs
$1.6 million annually to operate and is one of the
Foundation’s top funding priorities for 2013. The
expo was a creative way to raise awareness and
hopefully donor support.
“This program goes beyond traditional
therapy,” Ansley says. “When patients participate
in Shepherd’s Recreation Therapy Program,
they realize they will return to an active and
fulfilling life.”
1
2
3
1. Shepherd Center
supporters and friends
watch a riflery demo during
Skills and Thrills for Life.
2. Attendees watch a scuba
diving demo in the hospital’s
pool during the recreation
therapy open house. 3.
Shepherd Center Foundation
Advisory Board Chairman Bill
Saling tries out the One Off
off-road handcycle.
Shepherd Center Board
Members Gather at Annual
Joint Board Meeting
BY KATE BARNES
Guests attend the annual Joint Board Meeting at
Shepherd Center on May 20.
On May 20, guests attended the annual
joint board meeting of the Shepherd
Center Board of Directors, the Shepherd
Center Foundation Board of Trustees
and the Advisory Board.
The program included a marketing
update by Mitch Fillhaber, Shepherd
Center’s senior vice president of
corporate development and managed
care, followed by a report on an
upcoming Shepherd Center metro
Atlanta advertising campaign led by
Larry Bowie, director of public relations
and marketing.
Also, Bridget Metzger, director of
injury prevention and education, shared
the importance of identifying distracted
driving and encouraged board members
to join the many Shepherd Center staff
members who have signed the hospital’s
Safe Driving Pledge.
In addition, Medical Director
Donald P. Leslie, M.D., gave an update
on Shepherd Center’s collaboration
with Vanderbilt University and Parker
Hannifin to develop Indego, a lightweight
exoskeleton designed to help individuals
with paraplegia stand and walk. Indego
clinical trials involve people with spinal
cord injury and stroke. Parker Hannifin
hopes to receive FDA approval for use
of the device in rehabilitation centers by
July 2014.
The meeting included a brief
overview of the Multiple Sclerosis
Health and Wellness Program led by
Chris Manella, therapy manager for
MS, and an introduction of Shepherd
Center patient Lindy Welch, who gave
a testimonial.
IN OTHER UPDATES:
The Shepherd Center Foundation
Board of Trustees announced:
New members are: Jim Butler,
Bob Cunningham, Don Howard
and John Rooker.
The Shepherd Center Advisory
Board announced:
New members of the Advisory
Board are: Maria Britt, Brian
“BB” Brown, Virginia Carron,
David Dubrof, Brad Hamilton,
Street Nalley, Cindy Voyles and
Susan White.
New Advisory Board ex officio
members are: Hunter Amos,
Crystal Baker, Heather Flint,
Catherine Skeen, Wesley Snapp
and Amy Trujillo.
New Members Join Foundation
Board of Trustees
BY LAUREN TUCKER
After serving Shepherd Center in a
variety of capacities, Jim Butler, Bob
Cunningham, Don Howard and John
Rooker each began their first term on
the Shepherd Center Foundation’s
Board of Trustees on April 1.
A graduate of the University of
Georgia’s School of Journalism and
School of Law, Jim is a founding partner
of the civil trial practice firm of Butler,
Wooten & Fryhofer. He began his legal
practice in Columbus, Ga., but he later
opened an additional office in Atlanta.
Jim is active in political and conservation
groups, with service on the Georgia
Board of Natural Resources, was a
founder of Flint Riverkeeper, Inc., of the
Chattahoochee River Warden and the
Chattahoochee Valley Land Trust. He is
also a founding member of the Board of
the Arch Foundation for the University
of Georgia and is a member of the
University of Georgia Foundation. At
Shepherd, Jim has a particular passion
for injury prevention efforts, with his firm
serving as one of the program’s partners.
Bob, a graduate of Marquette
University, is an accomplished
professional in the heating and air
conditioning business, most recently
founding Cunningham & Associates
Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc. His
civic involvement includes service on the
Board of Trustees at Trinity School, the
Brookhaven Rotary Club and Shepherd
Center’s Advisory Board. Through his
involvement with Brookhaven Rotary,
he helped to establish the “Service
above Self” invitational golf tournament
to benefit the SHARE Military Initiative.
Bob and his wife, Beth, are active
members at Trinity Presbyterian Church,
and they have two adult children.
Following his service in the U.S.
Army, Don graduated from Georgia
Southern University and resumed his
career path in the banking field. His
extensive career in banking led to his
appointment as chairman and chief
executive officer of Bank of North
Georgia. Active in the local community,
Don serves as member of the Board
of Trustees at Georgia Southern
University, secretary/treasurer of the
North Fulton Community Improvement
District, chairman of the board at the
Roswell Convention & Visitors Bureau,
advisory board member of the North
Metro Miracle League, and member of
the Roswell Rotary Club and Greater
North Fulton Chamber of Commerce.
Don encourages collaboration between
Bank of North Georgia and Shepherd,
specifically with the Recreation Therapy
Department’s annual Casino Night.
Don and his wife, Teri, have three adult
children and three grandchildren.
John has assumed a variety of
leadership responsibilities at Shepherd
Center, including service as a charter
member of Shepherd Center Society,
chair of the Shepherd Center Cup
Golf Tournament in 2010 and 2011,
and member of the Advisory Board.
Following his graduation from the
University of Georgia, John joined his
family’s business, ROOKER, a fullservice real estate development, design
and construction firm specializing in the
industrial segment. He serves as vice
president of the company, with previous
roles including project management, as
well as sales and leasing. In addition to
his leadership roles at Shepherd, John
also serves on Skyland Trail’s Advisory
Board and the Board of Visitors at the
University of Georgia. He and his wife,
April, have young children.
From top to bottom: Jim Butler, Bob Cunningham,
Don Howard and John Rooker
BY CARA ROXLAND
PHOTOS BY HENRI HOLLIS AND JAKOB CROWDER
The crowd cheers as they
watch the Run for the Roses.
1. The crowd gathers under the tent to
hear the winner of the raffle and enjoy
the live auction. 2. Junior Committee
members Jessica Hayes and Lindsey
Butler take a break and listen to The
Breakfast Club.
1
2
3. Former Junior Committee members
enjoy bidding on wonderful items in the
silent auction.
3
4
5
4. The Junior Committee 2012-2013 Executive Board members are: Front row,
left to right, Jackie Gibson and Catherine Skeen. Second row: Joe Mays, Matt
Moore, Wesley Snapp, Suzanne Pickens and Claire Bovat. Back row: Rob Hefley,
Joe Bricker, Todd Lindsey and Adam Diamond. Not pictured are Allison Dick and
Tricia Clineburg. 5. PictureU attended Derby Day and provided a tablet computer
that allowed photos to be instantly uploaded to the event’s Facebook page.
6. Derby Day guests and Junior Committee members enjoy the festivities.
Left to right are: Christina Scalera, Heather Park, Ashley French, Lauren Turner
and Mary Ella Orsburn.
6
Spinal Column / Summer 2013 • 33
®
Derby Day 2013 Volunteers
Derby Day Co-Chairs
Catherine Skeen and
Wesley Snapp
Sponsorship Co-Chairs
Claire Bovat and Joe Mays
Auction Co-Chairs
Tricia Clineburg and Allison Dick
Membership Co-Chairs
Joe Bricker and Suzanne Pickens
Field Operations Co-Chairs
Adam Diamond, Chris Forenza
and Todd Lindsey
Food Co-Chairs
Jackie Gibson and Matt Moore
Beverages Co-Chairs
DuVall Brumby and Rob Hefley
Committee Co-Chairs
Band
Scooter Owes
Communications
Alysen Thompsen
Decorations
Ashley French, Emily Hampton
and Diana Prickett
Finance
Kate McWilliams and Ryan Wiita
Games
Chris Harney and Rick Wrenn
Hospitality
Midd Read and Caroline Tanner
Publicity and Public Relations
Laura Benson and Henri Hollis
Race Day Games
Chris McShane and Chas Duvall
Raffle
Hays Pickens and Megan Roper
T-shirts
Kalen Dalrymple and Sarah White
Tickets
Allison Jackson and
Elizabeth Shortridge
Transportation
Warren Mullis
Committee at Large
Evelyn Abels
Harry Aiken
Emily Aimone
Cecily Aleem
Rachael Austin
Josh Aycox
Frances Backus
Lindsay Bacon
Mary Lauren Bagwell
Elizabeth A. Bairstow
Connor Ball
Carrie Barfield
Rebecca Barnhill
Jessica Bartholomew
Kenson Bates
Emily Behrens
Mary Scott Bennett
Jason Berman
Colette Bernstein
Natalie Billas
Elizabeth Blackmon
Mims Bledsoe
Trey Bowling
Susanna Bramlett
Robert Bray
Kevin Breen
Jessica Brewer
Chandler Brown
Mary Katherine Brown
Stiles Brown
Meredith Bryant
Meagan Buffington
Lauren Burhans
Amanda Busse
Sean Butkus
Taylor Cain
Joshua Campbell
Lucy E. Capps
Jessica Casey
Caroline Cates
Seth Chadwell
Griffin M. Childs
Katie Choate
Alison Christenberry
Kaitlin Chritton
Matthew Clem
Daniel Clinton
William Coats
James Connell
Kyle Cook
Caroline Corrigan
Louise Corrigan
Ben Couch
Anna Cowart
Ben Cowart
Emily Cowart
Courtney Cozad
Lauren Cranston
Brianne Dabiero
Steven Dalla
Kerri Danas
Nicholas Danna
Nick Davies
Jason Deere
Katie Defer
Katelin Dennis
Eleni Dermatas
Monica Diaz
Brian Dieter
Andrew Donaldson
Margaret Dozier
Sarah Durham
Brandon Ernest
Dave Evans
Janet Evich
Chris Festa
Caroline Forbes
Alexandra Fuller
Lauren Fuller
Lauren E. Fylstra
Sadler Gay
Blair Gillespie
Julia E. Goode
Matt Goodson
Michael Greenfield
Rob Gregory
Meg Griffin
Rebecca Griffin
Katie Grover
Anne Marie Grubka
Blaine Haddington
Sarah Hampton
Jami Hanzman
Megan E. Harney
Christopher Harney
Erica Headlee
Kristin S. Heidemann
Terah Henderson
Anna Hensley
Kiley Hodgson
Lauren Hofmann
Russell Hofstetter
Kathryn J. Hoke
Ashley A. Hollan
Melissa Holtz
Emily Hovis
Jessica Hunter
Natalie Hunter
Catherine Hurley
Elizabeth Irwin
Cayce Jett
Emily Johns
Julie A. Kaufman
Natalie Keen
Paige Kelly
Jennie F. Kushner
Yona Kutler
Megan Lawler
Chris Lawrence
Shelby Lawrence
Davis Lukens
Sinead Lynch
Mary Catherine Mackey
Caroline Madden
Robert Mahar
Leigh Malamphy
Bobby Marston
Courtney Martin
Gabi Martinez-Esteve
Katie Matthews
Corey Mayes
Lindsay McDuff
Molly McGlynn
Mary Katherine McRae
Patrick McShane
Kristen McVitty
Kate McWilliams
Brad Mendel
Blake Meyrowitz
William C. Miller
Ryan Moffett
Jessica Monk
Alexandra Morgan
Mackenzie Morris
Chelsea Moss
Nick Murphy
Chris Myers
Jane Blair Myers
Catherine Nall
Coleman Nalley
Stephanie Nowling
Elizabeth Osborne
Christopher Owes
Dorothy Padgett
Lauren Page
William Parkey
Gina Pascale
Kathryn Patterson
Michael Patterson
Kara Pavkovich
Amanda Peeler
Samantha Perkins
Kate Phinney
Suzanne Pickens
Morgan Pierson
Rob Pierson
Mia Pilato
Emily Pilcher
Vlad Pop
Virginia Porter
Samuel Posnock
Barin Powell
Andrea Puckett
Miers Quigley
John M. Ramsey
Megan Ramsey
John Raymond
Alan Redding
David Redding
Amanda Reynolds
Nicole Richie
Michael Roberts
Courtney Roberts
Kathryn Rogers
Sarah C. Rollins
Orin Romain
Christa Rossell
Leisy Ruddock
Margaret Anne Ryburn
Peter Schiller
Jacqlyn Schmitt
Douglas Schwartz
Palmer Sherer
Casey Shuster
Mary Catherine Sikes
Matt Simmons
Tricia Sirmon
Miriam Skiles
Jenna B. Smith
Hampton Snapp
Ashley Staker
Macy Stewart
Cierra Szwed
Lauren Taylor
Rossi Theodore
Chelsea Thompson
Payne Thompson
Caroline Trammell
Emily Trenney
Caroline Tritschler
Brianna Tucker
Layne Umberger
Tim VanBenthuysen
Caroline Vollertsen
Daniel Walker
Amanda Wall
Catherine Wall
Eleanor Walling
Cody Watts
Colleen Weaver
Jenni Weaver
Lauren Wells
Merry Parker Whidby
Lindley Whipple
Nathan Wiita
Robert Wilburn
Brittany A. Wilson
Anne Temple Wise
Amber Wojcik
Melissa Wolbach
Alissa Wolter
Kathryn E. Wood
Marshall Wood
Sam Woodworth
Maggie Yancey
Christopher York
John Zaback
Laura Zanolli
Derby Day 2013 Sponsors
Winner’s Circle Sponsors
Cooper-Global Chauffeured
Transportation (5)
Resource Real Estate Marketing (6)
Triple Crown Sponsors
Choate Construction Company (10)
Diageo (5)
Gallagher Electric &
Engineering Company (18)
United Distributors, Inc. (11)
Platinum Sponsors
Bear Claw Condominiums (7)
Bradford World Renowned
Portraiture (2)
The London Trading Company
Picture U Promotions
Catherine B. and Charles Rice
Family Foundation
Satellite Shelters, Inc.
Snapper Industrial Products (9)
www.AnneLattimore.com (25)
PHOTOS BY HENRI HOLLIS AND JAKOB CROWDER
Blue Ribbon Sponsors
Avisos
DATAMATX (20)
Sylvia and Bruce Dick (2)
Genuine Parts Company
Proof of the Pudding (4)
Reece Tent Rental (18)
Schreeder, Wheeler & Flint, LLP (28)
Shared Vision Marketing LLC
Speaker Law Firm (13)
SunTrust Bank, Atlanta (28)
Van Epps and Associates
Yates Insurance Agency (27)
Gold Cup Sponsors
Aycock Properties
Bachelor & Kimball (6)
Bill and Jeane Bovat
Joan and Robert Berto (23)
Broyhill Family Foundation
Costco Brookhaven
Delta Air Lines (10)
Diversified Metal Fabricators (22)
Dr. Anna and Mr. Mike Elmers
E. R. Snell Contractor, Inc. (17)
Fieldale Farms Corp. (2)
Garden & Gun
Judy and Mike Harhai (19)
Carol and Rick Hoskinson (9)
Jackson Spalding
James Avery Jewelry
Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Jerden
Martha and Wilton Looney (2)
Lost Dog Tavern
Mainly Baskets (26)
Anna Muir, Independent Stylist —
Stella & Dot
Museum of Design Atlanta
Lisa Moore
National EMS
Elizabeth R. Pearce (16)
The Prince Foundation
Post Properties (2)
Neil and Rosemary Richie
Rogers Bridge Company, Inc. (16)
Shaw Industries Group, Inc (24)
Alana and Harold Shepherd (31)
Valerie and Scott Sikes (5)
Kelley and Bradlee Simoneaux
Margaret Staton
SunTrust Banks, Inc.
Urban Body Studios (2)
Chris and Jacqueline von Kuhn
Anne and Andrew Worrell (7)
The Dancy H. and Charles S. Wynne Fund at the North
Georgia Community
Foundation
Silver Cup Sponsors
Dr. and Mrs. David Apple (31)
Atlanta Kick/Operation
Bootcamp (11)
Blackhawk Fly Fishing
Butler, Wooten & Fryhofer, LLP (16)
Sara and Donnie Chapman (3)
Classic Weddings of Buckhead
Louise Hanlon and
Mora Hostetter (8)
Cobb Energy Performing
Arts Centre
Epps Aviation (17)
First Citizens Bank
Lora and Geoffrey Fishman (6)
Framers on Peachtree (25)
Full House Merch
Patty and Bob Fryer (6)
The Gables Antiques (28)
The Leonard & Jerry Greenbaum
Family Foundation (20)
Greenberg Traurig LLP
Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey P. Hall, Sr. (8)
Herman Miller, Inc.
Nick and Shannon Hinson
Homrich Berg
Huff Harrington Home
The InterContinental Hotel,
Buckhead & Southern Art
Jones Lang LaSalle (4)
Chris and Jan LeCraw (2)
Larry and Joyce Mays (2)
Elizabeth and Chris Morris (5)
Duane and Kim Morrow
Municipal Portfolio Managers, Inc.
Debbie Murphy
Aleks and Bill Myers
Juli and David Owens
Parramore & Quinn, Inc.
Perfect Circle Renewable
Energy, LLC
Pickens Inc., Jewelers (2)
Pittman Construction Company (29)
R. D. McCain Enterprises LLC
The Regal Group (3)
Peyton and Mary Robinson
John and Jill Seymour (2)
Linda and James Shepherd (31)
Ray and Val Sherer
Sinless Cocktails (3)
Boynton and Elizabeth Smith (17)
Tassels
Laryssa Temple
That Garrison Girl (6)
Topaz Gallery
Woo Cosmetics
Yacht Rock Revue
Patrons
Lisa and Jim Bacon
Debbie Brewer
Brown Claims Management Group
Josh Cooper
Josh Gess
Cory Gibson
Michael P. Holt, Sr.
Deborah Izzo
Cheryl and Jerry Nix
Mary Gilbreath Pope
Christine Posnock
Debbie and Warren Roper
Suzan and Gary Schumacher
Paul York
1. Another fabulous silent auction
item was a guitar autographed by
all members of the band Styx.
2. One of the exciting live auction
items was a NASCAR race package.
The prize included four reserved
seats for the Sept. 1 race at Atlanta
Motor Speedway, as well as a tour
of the pit with a representative
from Michael Waltrip Racing.
3. Despite the weather, Derby Day
guests enjoyed the food and drink.
Junior Patrons
Joe Revnes and Kara Claudy
Kirk Martin
Alfred and Donna Moore
Susi V. Patton
Ellen and Bruce Simmons
1
2
3
( ) denotes years of consecutive sponsorship
Shepherd Center Honors In-Hospital Volunteers
BY ALEX SEBLATNIGG, CAVS
2
1. Dr. Knox Kinlaw, Carol
Curtis and James Curtis
visit during the Volunteer
Appreciation Dinner.
2. Martin Isenberg, left, and
Neal Irby, right, congratulate
Spirit of Shepherd Award
winner Barry Phillips.
Shepherd’s success. James Curtis was recognized
for giving the most hours in a fiscal year.
VOLUNTEER HOURS MILESTONE AWARDS
100 Hours: Helene DeLoach, Ken
Hornbuckle, Lisa McAdams, RoseAnn
Olson and Allison Pixley
250 Hours: Bruce Allen, Chris Corrow, Bryan
Durio, Kelly Holder, Maura McCurdy, Mark
Pace, Jonathan Stammers, Pamela Tyndall
and Eric Wischhusen
500 Hours: Ellen Campbell, Fred Roberts
and Wes Varda
1,000 Hours: Tom Leahy, Ted Medlock,
Zach Wilson and Doug Worful
1,500 Hours: Fred Black, Ron Brody and
Barry Phillips
2,000 Hours: Brian Lucas and Doyle Mote
3,000 Hours: Charles Craig
7,500 Hours: Queen Noreiga
Most Hours in the Fiscal Year: James Curtis
Shepherd Center Auxiliary Donates $184,300
for Patient Programs
BY MIDGE TRACY
Celebrating the Shepherd
Center Auxiliary at the
group’s annual luncheon
were Rebecca McWalters,
Beth Sasso, Linda Morris,
and therapy dogs Frosty
and Bentley.
The Shepherd Center Auxiliary celebrated its
2012-2013 fundraising season with the presentation
of a check for $184,300 to Scott Sikes, executive
director of the Shepherd Center Foundation, at the
Auxiliary’s annual meeting and luncheon on April 18
in the hospital’s Callaway Auditorium.
Shepherd’s Recreation Therapy Department
received $135,000, and the hospital Assistive
Technology Center received $10,000. The funds
will benefit patients in each program. The money
will also fund the purchase of two quad rugby and
basketball chairs, an EasyGlider for Shepherd
Pathways, and a tilt table, which provides
effective patient mobilization at an early stage in
rehabilitation following a stroke, traumatic brain
injury or spinal cord injury.
Guests attending the event enjoyed a delicious
lunch catered by Carole Parks Catering. Hospitality
Committee Chairs Linda Morris and Maureen
Escott and their committee members made this a
very special affair.
Service hour awards were presented to Ann
Boriskie, Molly Lanier, Kris Lorenz, Libby Garrett,
Barbara McArdle, Chuck Nicolayson, Valerie
Sikes, Stephen Goot, Mitzi Richardson, Steve
Lore and Lois Puckett. James Curtis added an
additional 1,250 hours last year to take his total
volunteer hours to 6,500.
Former Shepherd Center patient Claudette
Hulme of Gallatin, Tenn., spoke about her
experience as a patient. She said she’d never
been in a hospital where the patients were
given so much hope and had so much fun at
the same time.
The Peggy Schwall Spirit of Excellence Award
was presented to Marla Bennett for her dedication
and exceptional support of the Auxiliary for the past
seven years. Emory Schwall received honorary life
board membership for his outstanding support of
the Pecans on Peachtree fundraiser.
The luncheon concluded with the installation
of the Auxiliary Officers for 2013-2014. They
are: Heather Flint, president; Carol Adams,
president-elect; Lynne Elander, treasurer; Lisa
Hardymon, recording secretary; and Marla Bennett,
corresponding secretary.
VOLUNTEER DINNER PHOTOS BY LYNNE ELANDER AND DEAN MELCHER | AUXILIARY LUNCHEON PHOTO BY ALEX SEBLATNIGG
1
Shepherd Center’s annual Volunteer Appreciation
Dinner, held this spring on April 25, offered a
chance to celebrate the hospital’s volunteers and
provided time for visiting with friends old and
new. Soiree Catering provided a delicious meal,
and each volunteer received a pocket notebook
imprinted with the words “Shepherd Center
Volunteer” as a small token of appreciation.
Scott Sikes, executive director of the Shepherd
Center Foundation, welcomed guests and thanked
volunteers for their tremendous gifts of time.
Following dinner, former patient and volunteer
Warren Cleary, now a staff member, shared
his personal story and reminded guests of the
importance of volunteers at Shepherd Center. A
brief slide show provided a look back on the past
year, showcasing many familiar faces.
Volunteer Barry Phillips was honored with the
Spirit of Shepherd Award, which recognizes a
volunteer who “demonstrates outstanding passion
and commitment and is instrumental to Shepherd
Center’s activities, programs and mission.” As a
breakfast feeder and locomotor therapy volunteer,
Barry’s dedication to Shepherd patients, staff
and the hospital’s work makes him a vital part of
Angel Luncheon 2013 Honors Shepherd Center Supporters
BY KATE BARNES
At the Shepherd Center Foundation’s
Angel Luncheon on May 15, more than
300 donors and volunteer fundraisers
were honored for their generosity and
dedication to Shepherd’s patients and
families. This special event is Shepherd
Center’s opportunity to acknowledge
and thank the faithful donors whose gifts
fund programs like recreation therapy,
the SHARE Military Initiative, housing
and transportation, animal-assisted
therapy, assistive technology and
multiple sclerosis research, as well as
hospital construction and renovation.
Several previous recipients of the
Angel of the Year award joined in this
year’s celebration. Attending were:
Beth Holder, Betty Hulse, Jennings
Watkins, Ruth Anthony, Lois Puckett,
1
Emory Schwall, Claire Smith and
Carol Goodman.
The Angel Luncheon also served
as an opportunity to recognize and
honor generous donors and supporters
from the past year. This year, Shepherd
Center honored lifelong friend Eula
Carlos as the 2013 Angel of the Year.
Eula is a Life Member of the Auxiliary,
first joining in 1986. Through the years,
she, along with the entire Carlos family,
has been instrumental in developing
the Andrew C. Carlos Multiple Sclerosis
Institute and the Andrew C. Carlos
Multiple Sclerosis Research Endowment
Fund. In 2007, the Eula and Andrew C.
Carlos Endowed Chair in MS Research
was created to offer permanent financial
support to underwrite MS research
centered on improving diagnoses and
treatment options for people living with
MS. Eula and her family hope to make a
significant impact in the quality of life of
people living with MS and, one day, help
find a cure for the condition.
As a special tribute to Shepherd
Center’s newly renovated MS Institute, a
ribbon-cutting ceremony was held just
before the Angel Luncheon recognizing
the generosity and contributions that
Eula Carlos and her entire family have
shared with Shepherd Center through
the years. The ribbon-cutting served as
a formal re-opening of the MS Institute’s
recent expansion. It was also the perfect
opportunity for the Carlos family to
gather, celebrate and honor Eula for her
tireless hard work.
3
4
PHOTOS BY JIM FITTS
2
1. Shepherd Angel of The Year, Eula Carlos, right,
with her daughter Helen Carlos. Attending the Angel
Luncheon were: 2. John Carlos, William Caras, Ron
Hilliard, Jimmy Carlos. 3. Beth Holder, Jimmy Carlos
and Helen S. Carlos. 4. Suzanne Dansby, Juli Owens
and Cyndae Arrendale
The Legendary Party 2013
Shepherd Center’s 25th anniversary of The Legendary Party
will present “The Future Is Now” to showcase assistive
therapy advances.
Chair-elect Cecilia Wright,
Honorees Sally and McKee
Nunnally, and Chairman
Karen Spiegel with Frosty,
one of Shepherd Center’s
therapy dogs.
Plans are developing for The Legendary
Party 2013, themed “The Future Is
Now,” which will showcase remarkable
advances in assistive technology in use
at Shepherd Center.
“Imagine the freedom provided by
voice-and-eye command computer
software that allows patients to activate
any electrical device — from door
openers and appliances to lights and
call systems in their homes or offices,”
says Party Chairman Karen Speigel,
who is amazed at the technologies
and developed the event’s theme to
highlight these advances. “Adaptive
driving systems, including joystick and
touchpad controls, enable independent
transportation. Greater mobility through
wheelchair innovations enhances quality
of life.”
The 25th annual Legendary Party,
scheduled for Nov. 2 at the Ritz-Carlton,
Buckhead, will welcome two special
guests. “Two special, four-footed guests,
Frosty and Bentley, will be present at
the ball, showing off the new Animal
Assisted Therapy programs that they
have been specially trained to do,”
Karen says. “These two, highly intelligent
blonde labs bring joy to patients, handle
household tasks and respond to 40
verbal commands. They will, of course,
be wearing special Shepherd black ties!”
The Legendary Party committee
chairmen and members, along with
Shepherd Center co-founders James,
Alana and Harold Shepherd and Medical
Director Donald Leslie, M.D. — named
recently to U.S. News & World Report
magazine’s Top Doctors — gathered
in Feburary at a kickoff luncheon at
the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead. Karen
and Chairman-elect Cecilia Wright
greeted more than 70 guests, including
Sally and McKee Nunnally, the 2013
event’s Honorary Chairmen. Their
Party in the
Park Planned
for November
BY FLORINA NEWCOMB
dedication to Shepherd Center has
been constant, with Sally active on the
Board of Directors for more than 20
years and McKee recently assuming
the chairmanship of the Shepherd
Center Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
Together, they are members of the
Shepherd Center’s Benefactors Society
and Bridge Builders Society.
Funds raised at this year’s gala will
support Shepherd Center’s Assistive
Technology Program, which is fully
donor-funded, adding to the significance
of supporting it through the ball.
For more information or to buy tickets
visit www.TheLegendaryParty.com
or contact Florina Newcomb at
[email protected] or
call 404-350-7302.
THE LEGENDARY PARTY 2013 COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Patron Chairmen:
Gayle and Jimmy Alston, Jack Sawyer and William Torres, M.D.
Patron Party Chairmen:
Kay Quigley and Sally Dorsey
Ladies and Gentlemen’s Committee Chairmen:
Cecilia and Allen Wright
Host Committee Chairmen:
Elizabeth and Carl Allen, Ruth and Tom Anthony, Susan Tucker, and Cindy
and Bill Voyles
This fall, it will be time for Junior
Committee and Shepherd Center
Society members and their guests to
dress up for a night on the town. The
second annual Party In The Park, a
cocktail evening for both young adult
groups and their friends, is scheduled
for 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, at Chastain
Horse Park.
Last year, more than 200 guests
put on their best attire to celebrate
the start of the holiday season, and
this year is expected to be just as
festive. Guests will enjoy a cocktail
buffet, open bar, casino games and
live music.
Tickets for 2013 Junior Committee
and Shepherd Center Society
members are $70 for individuals
and $125 for couples. Non-member
tickets are $80 for individuals and
$150 for couples. Tickets and
information will be available in October
2013 at www.derbyday.com and
www.scs-atl.com.
Fundraising Committee Members:
Cyndae Arrendale, Suzanne Dansby, Howard Feinsand, Bob Hagemeyer,
Della Hopkins, Donald Leslie, M.D., Doug Lindauer, Steve Lore, Faye and Lewis
Manderson, Debbie Neese, Mary Norwood, McKee Nunnally, Emory Schwall,
John Spiegel, Carol and Ramon Tomé and Valery Voyles
Committee-at-Large:
Carol Abreu, Terri and John Alston, Jane and David Apple, Lynn Caldwell-Shearer,
Eula Carlos, Elaine Carlos, Beth Cary, Peggy Clinkscales, Jeannie Cooper,
Sherri and Jesse Crawford, Faye Donaldson, Eileen DuBose, Ellen Feinsand,
Lisa Fuller, Angie Garde, Darlene Garr, Carol Goodman, Debbie Goot, LynnAnne Huck, Lou Brown Jewell, Barbara Joiner, Jessica Jones, Jennifer Kahn,
Kane Katz, Molly Lanier, Jayne Lipman, Debbie and Tommy Malone, Beverly
Mitchell, Dorothy Mitchell-Leef, M.D., Linda Morris, Elizabeth Morris, Juli Owens,
Rob Owen, Don Perry, Debby Pirrung, Mary Portman, Libby Prickett, Jenny
Pruitt, Lois Puckett, Kelly Regal, Georgia Ritchie, Vickie Scaljon, Laura Seydel,
Becca Shepherd, Alana and Harold Shepherd, James and Linda Shepherd,
Dana Shepherd, Scott Sikes, Mary Ann and Dell Sikes, Jane Skinner, Brenda
Smith, Claire Smith, Elizabeth Smith, Stephanie Davis Smith, Carol Thompson,
Sally Tomlinson, Gary and Jane Ulicny, Cindy Wall, June Weitnauer, Susan
White, Charity Whitney and Ann Woodruff
Guests enjoy Party in the Park 2012.
Favors Chairmen:
Caroline Leake and Debbie Neese
h
HONORARIUMS
Honorees are listed first in bold print followed by the
names of those making gifts in their honor. This list reflects
gifts made to Shepherd Center between Jan. 1, 2013 and
April 30, 2013.
Patty and Shaler Alias on the Birth of Hendee Hayes Alias
Mr. and Mrs. James H. Shepherd III
Evelyn and Bob Allen
Dr. and Mrs. Garrett W. Thornton, Jr.
Todd, Stacey and Tucker Anderson
Mr. Arthur M. Blank
Mr. and Mrs. Ben Hill
Mr. and Mrs. Tim Neher
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel T. Reeves
Emily and Brandon Ansley
on the Birth of Brandon Palmer Ansley, Jr.
Dr. David F. Apple, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Martin B. Freedland
Mr. and Mrs. Wilton D. Looney
Dr. David F. Apple, Jr.’s Birthday
Mr. and Mrs. Dell B. Sikes
Mr. and Mrs. John Stephenson
Cyndae A. Arrendale
Fieldale Farms Corp.
Brian S. “BB” Brown for his
contributions to Shepherd
Center over the years!
Mr. and Mrs. Gary M. Lane
Dylan Brown
Mr. and Mrs. John G. Watson
Edith Carmichael —
“Congratulations on the
Daisy Award.”
Caroline G. Hazel
Ms. Evelyn G. Crosby
Mr. and Mrs. Jun Ueda
Ms. Michiko Yamanoi
Joseph Lopez’s Recovery
Ms. Eugenia Quiroga-Lassepas
Caroline Hazel — Raleigh’s Run
Mr. John D. Barth
Mrs. Donna Herrity
Mr. and Mrs. James Lebow
Brian A. Lucas —
“Congratulations on your WXIA Community Service Award.”
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen B. Goot
Lynn Hilliard
Mr. and Mrs. Albert Van Helden
Thomas W. Malone
Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Ruis
Mr. Robert S. Windholz
Kimberly S. Harrison
Mr. Daniel J. Chase
E. Russell Holladay
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Caswell, Jr.
Elizabeth R. Holt
Mr. and Mrs. David G. Hunter II
George Carros
Mr. John L. Taylor
Keeton Humphries’ First Birthday
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew P. Worrell
Marcus Chapman
CentraArchy Restaurants
Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Jennings
Mr. and Mrs. Vernon C. Whitman
Fran Christian
Mr. and Mrs. John R. Miller, Jr.
Susan K. Johnson
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
Erin M. Cobb
Ms. Lillian R. Shirley
Alla Gershon and
Dr. Paul Colon’s Wedding
Mr. Emory A. Schwall
Greg Jones
Mr. Alexander D. Volk
Michael L. Jones’ 60th Birthday
Ms. Anna L. Johnson
Carol M. Curtis — “Thank you”
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Wells III
Tim Keel
Mr. Dwayne I. Gray
Noah Barbknecht
Mr. and Mrs. Jason W. Barbknecht
James A. Curtis
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Wells III
Parker S. King
Mr. Wilson C. King
Julia Barrett’s Continued Recovery
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Barrett
Gail DeAngelo
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph J. DeAngelo
Mary K. Kitchens
Mrs. Roy A. Martin
C. Duncan Beard
Mr. and Mrs. J. Thomas Vance
Erin E. Dichiara
Dr. and Mrs. Richard C. Prokesch
Jake Berryhill
Woodward Academy High School Student Body
Maryann DuBose
Ms. Carolyn D. Griggs
Nathan B. Klein
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred W. Klein
Mrs. Carol Klein and Mr. Michael Larter
Ms. Terri R. Klein and Mr. Daniel I. Gup
Darlene S. Bambrough’s Birthday
Beyond Therapy Staff and
Therapists — Franklin, Tenn.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Coats, Jr.
®
Dr. Gerald S. Bilsky
Mr. and Mrs. Ed Andre
Courtney K. Dye
Mrs. Suzanne Elizabeth Dansby
Mayra Elias
Mr. Javier Perez
Scott Elliott
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald H. Elliott
Patty McGill’s 70th Birthday
Ms. Ann T. Pratt
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Wood
Bill McKeand
Mr. Charles Whittington
Matthew Morrison
Mrs. Jeanette M. Lombardi
Melinda Morrison’s Recovery
Mr. and Mrs. Joel K. Isenberg
Bob Mortley
Dr. Herndon Murray
Mrs. Anne S. Florance
George Anne Nash
Ms. Callie Majors
Sally and McKee Nunnally
Mr. and Mrs. C.V. Nalley III
Deborah G. Krotenberg’s
40th Birthday
Dr. and Mrs. Sheldon H.
Feldman, M.D.
Sonya Pepper
Mr. and Mrs. John Knight
Joan Hope and René Latiolais
Mr. and Mrs. Mason H. Lampton
Donna D. Boldt
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Deeks
Alec Fraser
Mr. and Mrs. John M. Barge
Christopher Boshar
Ms. Lori H. Duchesne
William C. Gray
Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Bayne
Terry E. Lee
Ms. Joyce L. Harley
Gary Jeffords, DMD, PA
Hannah Boulware’s Recovery
Ms. Peggy H. Moore
Mr. and Mrs. Albert M. Wolff
Mr. and Mrs. Howard Green
Mr. and Mrs. Vernon C. Whitman
Stacey Leebern
Mr. and Mrs. Donald M. Leebern III
Dr. John Griffin — “Many thanks”
Coleman Lindsay
Theresa Lina
Lawrence G. Hailey’s Recovery
Mr. and Mrs. Alan Smith
Gladys G. Lippincott
Ms. Virginia Lippincott
Caroline Harrell
Mr. and Mrs. Richard B. Hemingway
Virginia Lippincott
Kimiyo Tsuruzoe
Shari McDowell — For Getting
her Doctorate Degree
Mrs. Carolyn McDowell
Amanda Parks’ Recovery
Mr. L. Keith Parks
Mandy Finger
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Toler
Margo Brazones
Mr. and Mrs. Patrick T. Hickey, Jr.
Bernice K. Mazo’s Birthday
Judge Phyllis Kravitch
Deborah Krotenberg
Dr. and Mrs. Stanley E. Bogaty
Dr. Gerald Bilsky — 15 years
of service
Mr. and Mrs. David P. White
Emily Bowman
Mr. and Mrs. John E. Yeargin
Michael D. Marchand
Ms. Barbara Richardson
Dr. Doris Lee — “Thanks for
your help.”
Barry Phillips, Jr.’s Volunteer Work
Mrs. Mary G. Phillips
Bill Posey
Corey Potts’ 29th Birthday
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Maguigan
James E. Prickett
Dr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Callahan
PT Assistants in the Third Floor Locomotor Program
Mr. and Mrs. William B. Phillips, Jr.
Toby Regal
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mattingly
Mr. and Mrs. Michael P. Plant
Mr. and Mrs. Reid M. Zeising
Cody Reyes
Mr. Ronald R. Reyes
Jamie Reynolds III
Mrs. Carolyn R. Parker
Marty Spiegelman
Dr. and Mrs. Bruce M. Beeber
Tyler Rollison
Mr. and Mrs. Paul C. Young
Michael W. Stephens
Mr. and Mrs. George J. Hauptfuhrer III
Cara and Jon Roxland’s Marriage
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew P. Worrell
Mike and Linda Stephens
Mr. and Mrs. Skip Foley
Jon Roxland
The Community Foundation for
Greater Atlanta
Kathleen Strauser —
“Congratulations on the
Daisy Award.”
Lisa A. Ruger’s Birthday
Dwayne Sanders’ Recovery
Mr. and Mrs. Barrett F. Sanders
Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Sapp
and Family
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Brown
Emory A. Schwall’s Birthday
Mrs. Charles H. Peterson
Alex Seblatnigg — “Congratulations
on your promotion.”
Steven T. Shaw
Mrs. Barbara B. Martin
Alana Shepherd
Mr. Herbert Cohen
Shepherd Center Staff
Ms. Maryann DuBose
Mr. and Mrs. James K. Walton
Shepherd Center — “Thank you
and God bless.”
Mr. David W. Herrington, Jr.
Shepherd Center ABI and
Everyone who Participated in
the Care of Michael Sumrall
Mr. Richard M. Sumrall
Shepherd Center Foundation Staff
Ms. Marnite B. Calder
Shepherd Center Recreation Therapy Department
Johnathan “JT” Taylor
Mr. and Mrs. Ronny L. Cone
Catherine Thurmond
Ms. Barbara E. Bishop
J. Tyler “Ty” Tippett
Buckhead Rotary Foundation, Inc.
Jack Trottier
Ms. Kelsey VanNostrand
Willie Tucker
Ms. Sherneda M. Tucker
Wesley A. Varda
Mr. M. Bruce Chadwick
Dr. and Mrs. William David
Varner, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Mason H. Lampton
Jordan Weise
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph B. DiCarlo
Isreal Wilen
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. Wilen
Elizabeth W. Willis
Mr. and Ms. Robert Jones
Mr. and Mrs. William E. Beringer
Jane Woodruff
Mr. and Mrs. Charles N. D’Huyvetter
Sam Zaitlin’s Recovery
Ms. Mollie Peddar
The Shepherd Stealers wheelchair basketball team played in
an exhibition game at Reese’s Final Four Atlanta pre-NCAA
tournament events at the Georgia Dome on April 5.
Harold Shepherd’s Birthday
Stephen B. Shepherd’s Friendship
Mr. John T. Bohlaye
Judge Marvin H. Shoob’s Birthday
Dr. and Mrs. Alan L. Kaplan
Dr. Arthur J. Simon
Ms. Patsy J. Whitcomb
Thomas Sloope’s Recovery
Mrs. Sarah Pilkington
Irene Smith
Mr. and Mrs. Lee P. Hopkins
Bradley and Richard Sosebee
on the Birth of Hamilton
James Sosebee
m
MEMORIALS
Joseph Connolly
Mr. Donald M. Sullivan
Joseph Evitts, Jr.
Mr. John P. Bradbury III
Deaver Cook
Mr. and Mrs. John I. Bell, Jr.
Michael Falck
Mr. and Mrs. Ben Arogeti
Rodney M. Cook
Mr. and Mrs. Brian S. Brown
Virginia S. Freeman
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth E. Hall
Manuel Cuevas
Mrs. Patricia Farley
David Funk
Mr. and Mrs. Steven Funk
Blondine Dean
Mr. and Mrs. Bill L. Garrett
Peter G. Gantsoudes
Ms. April N. Walstad
Wayne Aiken Burdell
Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Aldredge
Donald Diamond
Mr. and Mrs. Milton Jacobson
Uncle Gerald
Ms. Heidi Stuart
Mrs. Wilma Toomey
Jeffrey Tyler “Tyrannosaurus” Cannon
Ms. Margaret H. Brassard
George Kelly Dixon
Ms. Hope Hawkins
Mr. and Mrs. David W. Merier
Dana Carr
Mr. and Mrs. Rick Carr
Nancy Dodgson
Mrs. Martha T. Haymaker
Mary Louise Carter
Dr. and Mrs. Carter Smith, Jr.
Thomas Peter Doremus, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. William Lippincott
Nellie and Paul Cloys
Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Howard
Tom Duggan — On the second
anniversary of his passing
Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm Reynolds
Senator Hugh M. Gillis
Atlantic South Bank
Mr. and Mrs. John S. Clardy, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Carl M. Cowart
Mrs. Kate Felton
Mr. and Mrs. John R. Hawkins
Ms. Dorothy F. Mcgill
Mr. and Mrs. James F. Nelson, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Palmer
Mrs. Charles H. Peterson
Deceased friends of Shepherd Center are listed first in bold
print followed by the names of those making gifts in their
memory. This list reflects gifts made to Shepherd Center
between Jan. 1, 2013 and April 30, 2013.
Karl Anschutz’s Birthday
Mr. and Mrs. Werner Anschutz
Margaret Ann Bratton
Mr. and Mrs. David Wilder
Laura and Karl Anschutz
Ms. Esther L. Abisamra
Ms. Hope Abisamra
Richard R. Brazones
Mr. and Mrs. Patrick T. Hickey, Jr.
Albert Assa
Mr. and Mrs. Victor L. Cohen
William B. Astrop
Mrs. Joan Woodall
Betty Aycock
Mr. and Mrs. William C. Hatcher
Ms. Marilyn McQueen Webb
Carolyn B. Balog
Arthur S. Benton
Mr. and Mrs. John R. Miller
Thomas V. Bockman
Ms. Dorothy G. Evans
Harriet O. Boger
Mr. and Mrs. Griffin B. Bell, Jr.
Suzanne Bond
Harllee Branch, Jr.
Ms. Elizabeth L. Branch
A. Worley Brown
Mr. and Mrs. Tom O. Jewell
Jean W. Cobb
Joel “Most” Cohen
Dr. William Collins
Dr. and Mrs. David F. Apple, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. John I. Bell, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. J. Harold Shepherd
Fred Eisenberg
Mrs. Edna B. Eisenberg
Katharine Evans
Ms. Dorothy G. Evans
Mrs. William E. Grabbe
Leonard L. Evans, Jr.
Mr. Charles R. Nicolaysen
James P. “Jimmie” Glick
Ms. Carol S. Schwartz
Allene Massey Goldsmith
Mrs. Robert J. Howard
Pauline Constance Gooch
Mr. and Mrs. David Courington
Richard “Dick” Gosch
Ms. Deborah L. Murphy
PHOTOS BY SABRINA EVANS
Participants at Shepherd Center’s
annual Adventure Skills Workshop
participate in zip-lining, adapted
skiing, pool and wheelchair rugby.
Lois B. Gourdin
Mrs. Sadie Jackson
Richard J. Manley
Ms. Carole E. Manley
Frank Bradbury Halter
Patty Benton Matthews
Mrs. Frank C. Bowen, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Edwin E. Cowart
Lynda Kay Brown Handley
Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood M. Callahan
Mr. Lewis Casanave
Gary D. May
Peggy D. Hayes
Ms. Joanne Hayes
Wilson McClure
Bert “Bud” Hene, Jr.
Mrs. Bert Hene
Ruth D. McDonald
Mr. and Mrs. Peter M. Abreu
Apple Retail Store
Mr. and Mrs. R. K. Bray
Ms. Raye H. Coplin
Ms. Cheryl B. Espy
Mr. and Ms. Edward T. Floyd
Mrs. Milford B. Hatcher, Jr.
Mr. Robert H. Hogg III
Mrs. Leslie D. McLeod
Mr. Dean Melcher
Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Miller
Mr. and Mrs. John E. Montag
Mount Paran Woods Garden Club
Dr. and Mrs. David S. Owens
Mr. John R. Seydel
Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Smith
Kelly Nawrocki
Mr. and Mrs. Marc L. Pendley
Ms. Sheila Sanderson
Ms. Ruth I. Sowell
Stage Road Barber Shop
Mr. Samuel H. Tinkler
Mrs. Valery Voyles
Ms. Carolyn J. Wilson
Evan Hill
Dr. and Mrs. Giles Damron
Steven Gregory Hobson
Mr. and Mrs. William M. Black III
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen D. Cole
Robert Bowden, Inc.
Jane Hollis
Mr. and Mrs. M. Lamar Oglesby
Mrs. Joan Woodall
Frank W. “Billy” Hulse IV
Mr. Charles Brownlee
Mrs. Lucy T. Inman
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph D. Juliano
Mr. and Mrs. J. Hunter Lapelle
Ms. Sherry G. Popwell
Mr. Charles R. Simons, Jr.
William H. Izlar, Jr.
Mrs. William B. George
Cookie Jacobs
Mrs. Sam Arogeti
Tina M. Johnson
Ms. Cathy A. Bird
Wilma P. Johnson
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Z. Kay
Peter Kaszonyi
Ms. Mary Kay Kaszonyi
John C. Kranyecz, Jr.
Ms. Michelle Stulack
Sam L. Large
Mrs. Barbara Barton
Mr. and Mrs. Carl A. Diaz
Ms. Wendy L. Grant
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Pressler
Mrs. June Pressler
Mr. Charles Williams
Philip Launer
Alfred I. Leo, Sr.
Mrs. Casmira W. Leo
John R. “Rick” Leone III
Mr. Kenneth M. Sarkis
Pen Lybrook
Ms. Phyllis Brooks
Raymond C. Macaloney
Ms. Carol Cooney
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Winkle
1
2
Albert Miller
Ms. Myrna R. Hamilton
Caroline Quin Mitchell
Mr. and Mrs. Roy D. Mitchell, Jr.
3
4
1. Norah Wagoner and Mary Gilbreath
Pope enjoy cold watermelon on a hot
day. 2. Peach Corps volunteers Chase,
Tase, Alex and Peter Karamanolis get
ready for the crowd at Spring Fling.
3. Kathi Goddard, Sara Kate Hill and
Holly Hill make volunteering with
the Peach Corps a family affair. 4.
Dean and Gemma Mellon and “clown
around” at the Peach Corps cookout.
Ruth and Roy Mitchell
Sidney D. Mizell
Mrs. William Cromer
Frank M. Monger
Mr. Charles A. Johnston
Mark Rosenberg’s Mother
Mr. and Mrs. Max Diamond
Eugene Murphy
Mr. and Mrs. Steven Back
Ralph A. Murphy
Mrs. Ralph A. Murphy
Kevin Patrick O’Brien
Ms. Jacquelyn M. Downing
Matthew Olsen
Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Aldredge
Mrs. Joan Woodall
Karen Allen Osborne
Mr. and Mrs. Wilton G. Smith
Stephen Knezo from the Georgia Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve
(ESGR) present their Patriot Award to James Shepherd on behalf of Shepherd
Center’s work treating service members through the SHARE Military Initiative.
James Shepherd was nominated for the award by Shepherd Center employee
Genna Hudgins.
1
2
Frank C. “Cam” Owens III
Mr. and Mrs. J. Coleman Budd
Mr. and Mrs. Jarrett L. Davis III
Mr. and Mrs. M. Lamar Oglesby
Mrs. Joan Woodall
Frances Wiley Parish
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Engle
Paul Piet
Ms. Marilyn Thieneman
William A. Pope
Richard B. “Dick” Pretz
Jim Pridgen
Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Malcom
Jean and Langdon Quin
Michael L. Rae, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond B. Couture, Jr.
Virginia “Ginny” Rather
Mr. and Mrs. Irving M. Shlesinger
Mr. Spencer W. Smith, Sr.
Mrs. Joan Woodall
Julia M. Reddic
Mrs. Joan Woodall
Candace Taylor Costigan Reidy
Mrs. Lindsey Hopkins III
Danny Riels
LTC (R) Eugene G. Gatwood
Katrina Ripley
Dawn Robinson
Mrs. R. B. Lippincott, Jr.
3
William E. “Bill” Robinson
Mr. and Mrs. Keith A. Reichenbach
Ruth Roenberg
Mr. and Mrs. Don Engleberg
Ronnie Rudd
Ms. Cheryl Chatham
Mr. and Mrs. Keith M. Parmer
Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Williams
1. People lined up out the door for
Shepherd Center’s 2013 Spring
Fling. 2. Raffle Grand Prize winner
Guillermo Arce, right, celebrates with
Paralympian Rafael Ibarra. 3. SCI Peer
Support Spring Fling SCI Peer Support
Coordinator Minna Hong, center, visits
with Tulane University medical student
Woody Morgan and Masha Malikina,
a doctoral degree student at Georgia
State University and Masha’s friend.
4
4. Volunteers from the Bank of North
Georgia staffed Casino Night 2013
at Shepherd Center for patients and
their families.5. Patients enjoy playing
craps as Shari McDowell, program
director of Shepherd Center’s SCI
Rehabilitation Program and volunteers
from the Bank of North Georgia explain
the rules.
5
Mr. and Mrs. Justin Short
Mr. and Mrs. Chad Taylor
Mr. and Mrs. Zachary M. Wilson
Chris Stone
Mr. and Mrs. Lee D. Keller
Col. and Mrs. William H. Stubbs
Ms. Elizabeth L. Branch
Herta Andreae Schartle
Mrs. Christina R. Freeman
Janet K. Sunshine
The Shepherd Center Auxiliary
William J. Schwab, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Gary W. Schwab
Seymour Susman
Mr. and Mrs. Joel K. Isenber
John F. Sheehy
Mr. and Mrs. Frederick O. Reese
Dorothy T. Swint
Mr. and Mrs. William B. Hare, Jr.
Charlotte Smith
Mrs. Lindsey Hopkins III
Peter Paul Symanowski, Jr.
Bits & Bytes Farm
GA K9 NTC
New Covenant UMC
Ms. Sharon Rogers
Robert Hardy Smith
Mrs. Frank C. Bowen, Jr.
Marie Phillips Smythe
Earle Snell
Keith D. Spivey
Marian L. Taulman
Mrs. Mynel Yates DuBose
Randall “Shane” Thomas
Dr. and Mrs. Sam T. Drake
Glenn M. Thompson
Mrs. Lola M. Thompson
Robert Stanfield
Mrs. Joan Woodall
Clair H. Tift
Mr. and Mrs. J. Coleman Budd
Mildred Starr
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ulchak
Dora W. Voyles
Mr. and Mrs. William R. Brantley
Jon S. Stewart
Mr. Jeffrey T. Bickerton
Mr. and Mrs. James L. Dodson
Mr. John F. LaMarca
Mr. and Mrs. John J. Martin
Mr. and Mrs. Dean Melcher
Rotary Club of Brookhaven
Ed Voyles
Mr. and Mrs. William R. Brantley
Mrs. Leslie D. McLeod
Nicholas E. Wadley
Ms. Barbara A. Brown
David Glorgione
Mr. Ryan Michalski
Dr. Edward Warrick
Ms. Lark W. O’Neal
Charles H. Warwick III
Mrs. Joan Woodall
Michael Carson Waters
Mrs. and Mrs. Mario J. DeLaguardia
Dorothy E. Watkins
Mrs. Dorothy Tangren
Betty Lou Watson
Ms. Beverly P. Hamilton
David Webb
Mr. and Mrs. Dennis J. Webb
Caleb Whitaker
Mrs. Joan Woodall
Eva Wilcox
Mr. Charles R. Nicolaysen
Jeremy “Tony” Williams
Jay Woodruff
Mr. and Mrs. Roy Autry
Mr. and Mrs. William E. Beringer
Mr. and Mrs. Pierre M. Kimball III
Mrs. Bright Owens
Mr. and Mrs. Richard V. Saunders, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Kal Turkia
Ms. Elizabeth W. Willis
Mr. and Mrs. James W. Woodruff III
Mr. and Mrs. Miles Young
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Young
Milton H. “Jay” Woodside
Mr. and Mrs. M. H. Woodside, Jr.
Ida and Don Yancey
Mr. John A. Taylor
Edna L. Yarbrough
SPRING FLING PHOTOS BY JOE ANZIANO | CASINO NIGHT PHOTOS BY SABRINA EVANS
1
Tournament
Benefits SHARE
Military Initiative
The Rotary Club of Brookhaven
hosted its third annual “Service Above
Self Invitational” golf tournament to
benefit Shepherd Center’s SHARE
Military Initiative on May 13 in Atlanta.
In its first two years, the event
has raised more than $130,000, with
proceeds going directly to SHARE.
Magellan Health Services was the
headline sponsor for this year’s event
for the third consecutive year.
“Magellan Health Services was
proud to support the Rotary Club of
Brookhaven and the SHARE Military
Initiative,” says Gary M. Henschen,
M.D., Magellan’s chief medical officer
for behavioral health.
SHARE treats service members
who have sustained a mild to moderate
traumatic brain injury and PTSD from
the Afghanistan and Iraqi conflicts.
“SHARE is offered free of charge
to service members through the
generous support of donors,” says
Alana Shepherd, Shepherd Center
co-founder. “The support the Rotary
Club of Brookhaven has shown helps
enable us to provide the care and
assistance our service members need
to return to an active lifestyle.”
For more information, visit
www.sasinvitational.org, or contact
Jon Roxland at 404-350-7314 or
[email protected].
30th Annual Shepherd Center Cup
Set for October 7
Planning is well under way for Shepherd
Center’s annual golf tournament, The
Shepherd Center Cup. This year’s outing
will be the 30th consecutive fundraising
golf tournament for Shepherd Center,
and it is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 7,
at Cherokee Country Club in Atlanta.
Tournament Chairman Hunter Amos,
Chair-elect Street Nalley and the
tournament planning committee are
recruiting sponsors and golfers for the
outing and expect another sell-out year.
On Friday, Oct. 4, Shepherd Center
Foundation Trustee Elizabeth Allen and
her husband Carl will host the Tee-Off
Party in their lovely Buckhead home.
This casual-chic cocktail party features
live and silent auctions and is a vital part
of the tournament’s overall fundraising.
Sponsors, golfers and their guests will
be wined and dined as they bid on trips,
fine wines, sports memorabilia, jewelry,
home décor and much more. Nongolfers are welcome to purchase tickets
to the Tee-Off Party.
Proceeds from the Shepherd Center
Cup will support the Shepherd Center
Foundation’s Annual Fund, which
helps offset the costs of many vital
patient care programs that are not
funded by insurance. These include
the Center’s patient family housing
program, vocational therapy, transitional
support for post-discharge follow-up
care, recreation therapy and many more.
For information about the tournament
and Tee-Off Party, please visit
www.ShepherdCenterCup.com,
or contact Cara Roxland at
[email protected] or
404-350-7778.
SHEPHERD CENTER CUP CHAIRS,
PAST AND PRESENT
Shirley and John Shea (1984–1987)
Billi Marcus and Jim Groome (1988–1989)
Billi Marcus and Tommy Tillman (1990)
Billi Marcus and Jim Dockter (1991)
Billi Marcus and Julian Mohr (1992-2002)
Frank Spears (2003)
Gary Ulicny (2004)
David Flint (2005)
John Dryman (2006-2007)
Duncan Beard (2008)
Shaler Alias (2009)
John Rooker (2010-2011)
Hunter Amos (2012-2013)
2
1
3
The Rotary Club of Brookhaven held its golf
tournament to benefit Shepherd Center’s SHARE
Military Initiative. Speaking at the event was
Lt. Col. Carl Bergmann from Fort Benning, Ga.
1. Shepherd Center Cup 2012 Chairman Hunter
Amos addresses golfers at last year’s tournament.
2. From the Shepherd Center archives, gathered
at the 2003 Billi Marcus Classic are, left to right,
Bob Brourman, the late Janice Mathia, Caryl Paller
and Billi Marcus. 3. Shepherd Advisory Board
member Joe Ferrell practices on the putting green
at the Shepherd Center Cup 2012 before tee-off.
Non-Proﬁt Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Atlanta, GA
Permit No. 1703
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Scan this QR code with your smart phone or go to
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org to view more photos and content.
Top Athletes Compete in Atlanta’s Wheelchair Division of the
Peachtree Road Race
Thousands of spectators turned out to watch this year’s
Wheelchair Division of the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta.
The annual 10K race was held July 4 and drew 61 wheelchair
athletes from eight countries.
This year, Manuela Schar of Switzerland won the women’s
open division with a first-place finishing time of 24:42.39. In the
men’s open, Josh Cassidy of Canada took the crown to win
with a finishing time of 21:12.86.
The 6.2-mile competition began on Lenox Road in the heart
of Buckhead, Atlanta’s shopping district, and followed Peachtree
Road for six miles before slicing through the heart of Midtown to
the finish line at 10th Street and Piedmont Park. The race is the
one of the largest and fastest wheelchair 10Ks in the country.
The top finishers in each division received peach-shaped
crystalline trophies and cash prizes presented following a postrace brunch at Shepherd Center, which organizes the race.
Numerous Shepherd volunteers and staff members coordinated
race logistics, including reviewing applications, orchestrating the start and finish, monitoring the times and
overseeing the needs of the athletes.
Shepherd Center sponsored the event along with platinum sponsor Atlanta Track Club, gold sponsor BB&T,
silver sponsor MARTA, and donors InterContinental Buckhead Hotel and Global Flowers. Sponsors provided preand post-race brunches, defrayed travel and lodging expenses for racers, and awarded cash prizes to winners.
For complete race results, see http://bit.ly/17XsJfF.

Summer 2013 - Shepherd Center

Transcription

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