College of Health Professions to Host 7th Annual Pediatric Healthcare Series Virtually

University of Findlay’s College of Health Professions will host the 7^th annual Pediatric Healthcare Series on Friday, Oct. 9 from 9 a.m. to noon via Zoom. The speakers will present “Motion Analysis in Orthopedics & Rehabilitation Applications” from 9-11 a.m., followed by an interprofessional education discussion amongst attendees.

This interprofessional education (IPE) offering presents different topics in pediatric healthcare led by experts in those respected fields from Shriners Hospitals.

Sue Mukherjee, M.D., FRCPC

Karen Kruger, Ph.D.

This year’s speakers include: Sue Mukherjee, M.D., FRCPC, a board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation physician and pediatric physiatrist; and Karen Kruger, Ph.D., the Motion Analysis Center (MAC) engineer at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Chicago, and research assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The annual event started in 2014 after Jerry Crouch approached Dr. Fell with an idea. Crouch, a nearly 20-year Shriner and 11-year Board of Governors member, is a clown who became involved with Shriners Hospitals by entertaining the children and doing transportation runs. In 2013, Crouch met two University of Findlay students who joined the Shrine and he took them to the Chicago hospital.

In those interactions, Crouch and the students discussed how it would be valuable for Findlay students and faculty to learn more about the specialty services that Shriners Hospital for Children provides. Since holding the first event in 2014, seminar topics have included burn management, bone health, and pediatric orthopedics.

Crouch said he is pleased with how much the series has grown over the years. In the first year, he said there were around 50 participants and at the last event there were over 200. He hopes it keeps growing, and thinks that the current situation with COVID-19 might make that possible.

“This year is going to be different because of COVID, but I think it’s going to be better in a way,” he said. “I think if we do this right, we might be able to reach more people. It’s hard to get everyone here on the date and time we have it, but the way we are doing it this year, it can be recorded and saved for later. So, we should be able to contact a lot more people.”

He also said that holding the event online will allow for the doctors to showcase their actual workspaces at the hospital, providing more insight into their specialties.

This year’s event is sponsored by Dowling Steel and Jerl Machine, Inc.

To register and learn more about the 2020 event visit the Pediatric Healthcare Series Event website.