Health and Human Services News

Archives for December 2020

Putting it all together

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It started after high school when he witnessed a fatal vehicle accident, which led him to become a volunteer firefighter in Taney County, Missouri in 2004.

The first piece fell into place when Meadows discovered that he loved being a firefighter and enrolled at Ozarks Technical Community College to earn an associate degree in fire science.

While still finishing this degree in 2009, Meadows was hired by Strafford Fire Department in Greene County, Missouri when they first became a full-time career department.

“It was a lot of fun and I got to be part of the department as they were defining themselves,” he said.

Soon, as Meadows realized that firefighters respond to more medical calls than to fires, he began to identify what he liked about this line of work.

“A lot of their response has transitioned into medical calls over the years as more people are needing medical care and buildings are being built better,” the 34-year-old said.

He earned an EMT license in 2009 and the next piece of the puzzle fell into place.

Switching careers

Kyle Meadows in paramedic training room.
Kyle Meadows made a career change in 2012, switching from firefighter to paramedic.

As much as he loved being a firefighter, he did not love the salary that came with working at a small fire department. Meadows also discovered he loved the medical side. So he began to seek a way to advance his professional career.

As pieces of his puzzle began to fit together, Meadows got married and started a family; he knew he wanted more lifelong earning potential. In 2012, he completed his fire science degree, left the fire department and enrolled in paramedic courses at OTC.

That same year, he started working on an ambulance at CoxHealth where his career began to define itself for him. He earned a paramedic license in 2013 and his associate paramedic degree in January of 2014.

“I had found my calling. This is what I really want to do. I want to advance my career in health care. I realized I could not elevate myself without a better academic resume. I started investigating what I could do for a bachelor’s degree,” Meadows said.

Getting his bachelor’s degree

Kyle Meadows talking with his coworkers at CoxHealth.
Kyle Meadows, left, is on track to complete his bachelor’s degree in spring 2021 and his master’s degree in 2022.

His investigation led him to Missouri State University’s health services degree in the department of public health and sports medicine.

The degree was attractive because it offered a clinical services option for students who were already allied health professionals with an allied health associate degree.

The health services program provides a foundation of knowledge in health care, health care systems, global health, legal issues, grant writing, leadership, and much more.

“The MSU program is focused on leadership and quality education. This degree will give me a lot of opportunities.”

“It allows you to use the allied health degree as your first two years as long as you have the Missouri general education requirements. It made me a junior when I started the program,” he said.

Meadows was also attracted to MSU for its cost and reputation. So he enrolled one last time at OTC to complete his Core 42, then transferred to Missouri State.

He loves the program.

“The curriculum is focused on what I do every day. That speaks a lot for that program. I tout it to everyone. I tell everyone in my field to take that path. It’s a fantastic program and I really enjoy the curriculum. I keep many of the PowerPoints from classes,” he said.

The online courses have made it feasible for Meadows to go to school and continue to work fulltime.

His next move

Meadows is the system educator for the paramedicine department at CoxHealth.

“We train about 5,000 first responders across Southwest Missouri: Police, Fire, SWAT, EMT’s, Paramedics, Nurses, and community members. We are also one of only four training centers in America for the U.S. Special Operations Combat Medic program based out of Fort Bragg, N.C. We have around 300 personnel and operate our own dispatch center,” he said.

The education aspect of his job excites Meadows and he will continue to further his career with that once he completes his bachelor’s degree in spring 2021.

While it took him a while to figure out exactly what he wanted to do, he chipped away at his goal — sometimes one course at a time.

“My first class was in 2004 and my last class in a master’s degree will be 2022,” he chuckled. “If I could go back and give myself some advice, I would not have finished the fire science degree. I would have gone straight to MSU. The MSU program is focused on leadership and quality education. This degree will give me a lot of opportunities.”

A Google search led him to Missouri State University

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Ben Hunt was always athletic.

So, it was no surprise when he majored in exercise science, with a goal of moving into a physical therapy program.

While finishing his undergraduate degree at Evangel University, he did an internship at a physical therapy clinic. it turned into a part-time job for another year where he gained valuable hands-on experience.

But something bothered him.

“Many of the injuries were simply the result of having lived a long-term unhealthy lifestyle and could have been prevented through better nutrition and physical activity. Many of the patients I helped recover, came back a year later with the same or similar injury due to the continued unhealthy habits,” he said.

Change of course

Ben Hunt at flu shot clinic.
Ben Hunt, right, helping with campus flu shots.

Hunt came to the realization that instead of healing people, he’d rather prevent injuries by helping them live a healthier lifestyle.

So, he began a Google search for the next phase of his career.

Google led him to Missouri State’s health promotion and wellness management graduate program.

“I had never heard of it before, but I immediately knew that was where I needed to be,” the Bois D’Arc native said.

He enrolled in the program and particularly loved its management and coordination content which is applicable to wide array of careers.

“The program also did an excellent job of preparing me for the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam, which is a highly desirable certification that will set individuals apart from other job-seeking candidates,” he said.

Turning part-time into full-time

While a student, he interned with Jon Mooney, who was then wellness coordinator at Jordan Valley Community Hospital (Mooney is currently the assistant director of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department).

During the internship, Mooney encouraged Hunt to join a local collaboration called the Childhood Obesity Action Group (COAG), which consisted of several area organizations. “Among the COAG organizations was a nonprofit called the Healthy Living Alliance (HLA). As I neared the end of my internship, HLA approached me and offered to create a part-time job for me. I took this position, which then turned into a full-time position before I even graduated,” he said.

“The internship offered through Health Promotion and Wellness Management program was a critical piece that directly led to a pre-graduation full-time position, which ended up being a steppingstone to the position I’m in today.”

Hunt graduated in 2013 with a master’s degree in health promotion and wellness management.

But his position was grant-funded. When grand funding was about to run out, Hunt accepted a position as public health program representative, tackling a variety of community health programs in the Springfield area.

A year later, the employee wellness coordinator position for the City of Springfield became vacant.

He landed that job and was there for three years.

“I gained a tremendous amount of experience in workplace wellness programming,” Hunt said.

Coming back to MSU

While he loved his job with the city, the wellness program coordinator position opened at MSU and caught his eye.

He applied and got the job in 2016.

“My position manages and oversees all wellness programming for employees, spouses, dependents and retirees of the university. One of the things I love most about my position is that I get to be all over campus and interact with all employees, even at West Plains and Mountain Grove,” he said.

The wellness program provides support and encouragement to people to help them live a healthier lifestyle.

There are many aspects of wellbeing: physical, occupational, social, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and environmental.

The job has been very fulfilling.

“I’ve had several individuals express to me how our programs have helped influence them to make positive modifications to their lifestyles, which in return has had life-changing results,” Hunt said.

Explore the health promotion and wellness management program

New social work scholarship gives support to students working with specialized groups

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Anita Bridges Cruzan had a career worth celebrating.

Cruzan graduated from Missouri State with a bachelor’s in social work in 1978. She dedicated her life to social work among the elderly, HIV/AIDS patients and children with disabilities or special needs.

Now that she’s in retirement, Cruzan’s brother, Paul Bridges Jr., wanted to honor the compassion she showed during her career. So, he established the Anita Bridges Cruzan social work scholarship at MSU.

Helping a student with the same goals

The first recipient of the Anita Bridges Cruzan social work scholarship is Savannah Gray. Gray is a social work major graduating in spring 2021.

“The extra funding has been such a help to me, especially during COVID-19,” Gray said. “It’s a stress reliever to not have to worry about how I’m going to pay for school while I’m taking classes during this strange year. I’m honored to be the first recipient.”

MSU Annual Scholarship Application

When Bridges decided on criteria for the scholarship, she wanted the money to help a student who plans to serve the same communities she has.

“I was a State social worker for 33 years, and it’s important to me that people keep pursuing the kind of work I was doing,” she said. “It’s not easy, but it’s necessary, and it helps you put what’s important in perspective.”

Gray wants to work as a social worker in a children’s hospital, specifically with adolescents struggling with mental illness. Before she gets there, she plans to attend graduate school.

“I think Anita’s career is inspiring,” Gray said. “And knowing I have a scholarship in her name makes me proud and want to work harder as I pursue my career.”

About the scholarship

To be eligible for the scholarship, the recipient must be an undergraduate student majoring in social work, be a graduating senior and must have maintained a 3.0 minimum GPA.

Additionally, priority will be placed on applicants who have a minimum of 40 volunteer hours in the last 12 months with the elderly, HIV/AIDS patients or children with special health care needs.

If students are accepted into the Master of Social Work program, the scholarship can be renewed. Students must reapply.