Missouri State University

Skip to content Skip to navigation
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Health and Human Services News

  • McQueary College of Health and Human Services

Transforming houses into homes

November 16, 2022 by Olivia R. Fowler

Community members gathered in support of PHP during a fundraising event

Larra Alford believes people deserve to be proud of where they call home.  

“Four white walls with nothing to help you feel dignified is a shelter, not a home,” Alford said. 

Alford is the CEO and founder of the Passion House Project (PHP), a nonprofit that provides household essentials to those in need.  

But they provide more than the bare minimum. PHP helps people turn their houses into homes. 

An uphill battle 

Alford’s journey through life inspired her to create PHP. 

After an unconventional experience with her primary education caused her to stop schooling at age 13, Alford obtained her GED at 28 years old.  

“I spent several years at Ozark Technical College because I had to learn the information everyone else was taught from sixth to 12th grade,” Alford said. 

Alford moved on to Missouri State University to pursue her bachelor’s in psychology with a personalized minor.  

While she was in school full time, she was a mom of three and worked 60+ hours a week. 

“Missouri State saved my life. Coming back to college played a massive role in my journey,” Alford said. 

The beginning of something new 

During her time at Missouri State, Alford worked as a volunteer and mentor for the Drew Lewis Foundation (DLF). She is now employed as a personal development coach, serving on the advisory board for the Northwest Project/RISE.  

“Upon joining [DLF], I was deeply moved to see the work they were doing to support our underserved community. It sparked my passion for working with people.” 

“I graduated from Missouri State in 2019 and now here I am in 2022 opening my own nonprofit,” Alford said. “Goals — big or small — are attainable.” 

PHP’s warehouse and most current inventory have been donated by the Springfield community.  

“Everything has just fallen into place,” Alford remarked. “We have the kindest community.” 

Vandalism that occurred during the break-in of the Passion House Project
Vandalism that occurred at the time of the break-in.

Unfortunately, a devastating break-in and robbery forced PHP to postpone their grand opening from July 2022 to 2023. 

“We won’t give up,” Alford said. “We can’t wait to help people transform their houses into homes.” 

How can you help? 

If you want to help the Passion House Project, you may donate items, time or funds. 

Donations should be new or gently used. In addition to furniture, PHP accepts:  

  • Kitchen supplies. 
  • Cleaning supplies. 
  • Bedding materials. 

PHP is always searching for partners and volunteers. 

Connect with the Passion House Project 

Growing onward and upward 

The current PHP team consists of Alford and wife, Tess Alford, along with their three children. 

“I’m a big dreamer and I want us to grow as quickly as possible,” Alford said.  

Alford wants to set up as many PHP locations throughout southwest Missouri as their resources allow. 

For those who are itching to start their own nonprofit, Alford offers sage advice: 

“Keep dreaming. Keep chasing. Follow your dream. One day soon, your goals will become reality.” 

Explore the psychology department 

Filed Under: MCHHS Alumni, Psychology Tagged With: Alumni, MCHHS, Psychology, Spotlights

How to achieve your goals

March 21, 2022 by Olivia R. Fowler

For nursing students, hospitals tend to become their home away from home. The best nursing students make hands-on work at the hospital their priority. 

Tregg Geren graduated with his Bachelor of Science in Nursing  from Missouri State University in 1992.  

“At that time, the focus of the program was very community-based, instead of giving students experience within hospitals,” Geren reflected. 

He went on to receive his nursing degree from St. John’s College of Nursing and Master of Business Administration from Webster University. 

In January  2022, Geren accepted the position of chief operating officer for Citizens Memorial Hospital District after enjoying his time serving as the chief nursing officer. 

Learning the ropes in a leadership position 

Headshot of Tregg GerenGeren’s new responsibilities include radiology and laboratory on the clinical side of things. He works mostly with support staff, which gives him a glimpse at the way other departments operate. 

“To see how things work behind the scenes and hear the way that the staff deal with situations is extremely different than how a clinical department would,” Geren said. “It has been quite interesting so far.” 

Geren recommends current nursing students or recent graduates obtain as much hands-on experience as possible. Eat, sleep and breathe all things hospital related. 

“Particularly if you don’t have any background in health care, it’s essential to apply for a position like a nursing assistant either before, during or after you’re in nursing school,” he urged. 

For Geren, his extensive experience is what has landed him several leadership positions within the medical field. 

“There’s such a valuable element that’s added because nursing students have done the grunt work and are much more well-rounded in their approach.”  

Explore the nursing program at MSU 

Filed Under: MCHHS Alumni, Nursing Tagged With: MCHHS Spotlights, Nursing, School of Nursing

Associate professor, alumna lead nonprofit dedicated to increasing literacy

September 23, 2021 by Web Strategy and Development

If you’re able to read this, that means someone taught you the basics of language and literacy.

You learned the alphabet, and probably drew cute little letters (maybe with some parts backwards). You repeated the sounds each letter makes.

You moved into reading comprehension. That’s the ability to understand what letters mean when they make words, and what words mean when they make sentences.

You learned grammar and how to understand stories. You increased your vocabulary.

You probably don’t remember learning all of this. Now, you just read and write without thinking about it. You can easily interact with language as you move through the world. You may even read for fun.

That’s the feeling of empowered literacy.

It’s the feeling the MSU instructors, alumni and students behind Ujima Language and Literacy want to instill in children.

Growing from a poorly attended literacy fair to part of a community

Ujima Language and Literacy was conceived in 2014 by Dr. Shurita Thomas-Tate, MSU associate professor of communication sciences and disorders.

Ujima is a Swahili word that means “collective work and responsibility.” It’s one of the principals of the Kwanzaa holiday.

Ujima Language and Literacy seeks to increase skills in children ages birth to 11.

Support Ujima

“It began as an effort to provide my MSU graduate students an opportunity to gain practical experiences, working with students from diverse backgrounds,” she said.

Thomas-Tate came to Springfield in 2011 as an assistant professor who specialized in school-age language and literacy, as well as cultural and linguistic diversity.

Dr. Shurita Thomas-Tate, founder of Ujima Language and Literacy.

“I have always been interested in increasing literacy among the African-American population,” she said. “Children who read well have larger vocabularies, and children with larger vocabularies perform better on standardized tests.”

She was thinking about how to engage her MSU students in this arena.

“I teach school-age language and literacy to speech-language pathology graduate students,” she said. “They need 400 clinical hours for their degrees. They can get those at a clinic on campus, and off-site. But there were not many opportunities for them to engage with diverse populations.”

Those opportunities are important, she said.

“We want to send professionals out into the world who can work with children with many cultural and language backgrounds. We want our graduates to celebrate differences, not see them as disorders.”

In 2015, she, her students and community partners held a literacy fair at the Bartley-Decatur Neighborhood Center. It’s a property with a long history of serving Springfield’s Black community.

“We went door-to-door with fliers, and told people there would be pizza, ice cream and games,” she said. “We only had five kids turn up! But those five got a lot of student attention. And my students loved it.”

Seeing the small turnout, she knew she needed a deeper relationship with the community.

“We had to commit to this neighborhood long-term,” she said.

Attendees participate in a lesson at Ujima Language and Literacy camp.

In 2016, Ujima started a free literacy camp for children.

Next, they started family literacy nights, in which caregivers could eat with children, participate in language activities and take home a new book.

“Ujima means to build and maintain our community together. We make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems, and solve them together. That’s why it’s essential to get the whole family involved,” she said.

For its first two years, Ujima was a half-day event held at the Bartley-Decatur Neighborhood Center.

In the third year, Springfield Public Schools partnered with Ujima to make it a full-day summer program at Weller Elementary.

“We started thinking about becoming an organization, rather than just a program,” Thomas-Tate said.

The free literacy camp moved to north Springfield’s Turning Point Church, a partner to the program. The camp is now held for 15 days in July — three weeks of Monday through Friday.

The literacy programs originally targeted historically under-resourced and underserved students, and primarily low-income African-American students.

“That has now expanded to anyone, and any child,” Thomas-Tate said.

Ujima has an infant program that teaches caregivers how to maximize play time and verbal interactions with babies, including reading to them. Ujima also offers toddler and preschool activities.

In 2019, Ujima officially became a 501(c)(3), a nonprofit organization.

“That opened up new sources of funding, relationships with new stakeholders and more. The growth has been great.”

Alumna with a history of community involvement is now the board chair

With nonprofit status came the chance to have a board of directors. Alumna Monica Horton, ’15, is the board’s chair.

Horton’s family moved to Springfield in 2013 when her husband, Leonard B. Horton III, joined MSU’s department of media, journalism and film.

Five or six years ago, their daughter, Ari’el, attended Ujima’s camp.

“I always wanted her to have a love of reading. She got to choose her own books, with characters that reflected her,” Horton said. “She would dramatize them and read them out loud. It became a focal point of our family time at home.”

Ujima also felt like “an affinity space for families of color,” Horton said.

When Ujima transitioned to a nonprofit, Horton knew she could use her skills to help the group flourish.

Monica Horton, ’15, is the chair of Ujima’s board of directors.

She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Tuskegee University, a master’s degree in music therapy from Florida State University and a Master of Public Administration degree from Missouri State.

She owns her own business, Lenica Consulting Group.

She taught music therapy courses at Drury University for four years, and now teaches Foundations in Equity and Inclusion there.

Her MSU master’s thesis looked at Springfield Public Schools’ leading indicators of student success, as well as achievement gaps.

“Merging higher education with community involvement has always been a focus for me,” Horton said.

“I am interested in telling stories with data. Numbers can show you disparities, risk factors and information about quality of life. How can you help organizations and leaders set priorities? You need baseline data and measurable goals to show where you want to go. The cherry on top of this research is that we are serving the community.”

Phonics, food and fun: What happens at Ujima Summer Experience

Early on a Monday morning, caregivers filled the parking lot of Turning Point Church.

They held the hands of children, many still blinking the sleep out of their eyes.

The children were kissed goodbye in a large basement room full of round tables.

The first order of business: Food. A table held cereal, yogurt, cheese sticks, fruit, milk and juice.

“Everyone at Ujima gets breakfast, lunch and snacks every day,” Thomas-Tate said.

After that, children broke into groups according to age.

Attendees participate in a lesson at Ujima Language and Literacy camp.

The free camp currently has room for 40 students to register, and, on average, 26 children attend each day.

Each group’s activities are led by MSU speech-language pathology graduate clinicians.

The MSU students are supervised by alumna Taylor Shields, ’17. She’s a speech-language pathologist who volunteered at the first Ujima literacy camps while she was earning her master’s degree.

“I loved it. I told Dr. Thomas-Tate I wanted to do my research project here,” Shields said. “After graduate school, I took what I learned at Ujima and applied it to my own practice.”

Learn more about the SLP graduate program

She works during the school year at Republic Elementary, and in the summer at Ujima.

“I help the MSU students plan their sessions — which books to read, which vocab to work on. During camp, I observe and give them feedback.”

Shields said Ujima is important to future professionals.

“This is the only time some of the MSU students work with children not one-on-one, and so they learn group dynamics here,” she said.

Each age range has different needs.

The youngest children focus on kindergarten readiness. They draw letters, make sounds and identify words.

They also learn skills such as sitting, taking turns, following directions and making friends. They practice breathing to calm down, and using their words if they need a break or want to take a walk around the room.

“Imagine how much more confident they are if they start school with these skills,” Thomas-Tate said.

On the day Missouri State magazine visited, every student drew a “g” on a chalkboard.

Attendees participate in a lesson at Ujima Language and Literacy camp.

“Good job, Alyssa! That looks great,” their graduate clinician said.

One student ran to Thomas-Tate.

“MY STOMACH DOESN’T HURT!” he told her.

That seemed to be good news, so we moved on to the 1st to 3rd grade classroom.

That group was focused on story elements, such as character, plot, setting and conflict resolution.

Graduate clinician Abi Felter was reading to the class. “Where does the story take place?” she asked.

“In the middle of a scorching hot desert!” a student told her.

That was why it was hard to grow crops, they agreed.

The oldest group ranges from some advanced 3rd graders to 5th graders. They were talking about vocabulary and grammar.

The conversation in the room was largely between the students, rather than the class monitors: “That’s a suffix, right?” “It has a prefix AND a suffix!”

After morning learning, it’s lunch time.

Next, members of the Springfield Regional Arts Council come in to do arts and crafts with the children for the rest of the day. Then, it’s time for snacks and pick-up.

“Art is another way of growing their interests and knowledge,” Thomas-Tate said. “It’s camp, and not school — we do everything we can to make it fun!”

What’s next for Ujima? Securing the future and hiring their first staff

Thomas-Tate and the board want to sustain and expand their start-up.

They are applying for grants and other sources of funding that would let them do more long-range planning.

Ujima recently earned a multiyear grant from the Musgrave Foundation’s Change for Children program, which supports charities in southwest Missouri.

They hope to hire an executive director, and then a program director.

The literacy camp will likely stay at Turning Point Church, which has the space to accommodate more children if the camp can offer more slots.

“We see so many opportunities to grow,” Thomas-Tate said. “Literacy is for everybody.”

 

Filed Under: Communication Sciences and Disorders, MCHHS Alumni, Spotlights Tagged With: Communication Sciences and Disorders, Shurita Thomas-Tate, speech-language pathology

He gained the tools he needed to succeed in corporate health

March 8, 2021 by Juliana Goodwin

Matt Hancock with spouse on commencement day.

Matt Hancock earned a bachelor’s in exercise science, became a personal trainer and managed a gym.

The Springfield native eyed MSU’s health promotion and wellness management graduate program because he wanted to make change on a larger scale.

“I really wanted to get into corporate health,” Hancock said. “It has been blowing up over the past couple of years. There’s a lot of opportunity. Companies are realizing healthier employees are more productive, too.”

Working while completing his degree

Missouri State’s program was attractive because it was flexible and offered a mix of seated and online courses. He worked full time at Mercy and was able to go to school part time and tackle his degree in chunks.

“I really liked the core classes because they let me learn a lot more about the direct areas I was going into, such as how to build up a program, how to look at a population health approach. My undergrad was more studying facts. My master’s was more applicable to everyday life and translating into a working situation,” Hancock said.

As part of a clinical requirement for his master’s, Hancock completed a 420-hour internship at Bass Pro working for the company’s wellbeing program.

He added on a certificate in health education because Hancock felt it would give him an edge in the job market and it did.

Shortly after graduating in spring 2019, Hancock left Mercy and joined Prime Inc., as Driver Health and Fitness Coordinator.

Matt Hancock giving presentation at work.
At Prime, Inc., Matt Hancock oversees programs that improve employee health.

Making a difference

At Prime, Hancock was able to use the knowledge he learned in his master’s courses to directly impact driver health.

He revamped the wellness program and reaches nearly 8,000 drivers.

“In the past, Prime focused on a 13-week weight loss program for drivers,” Hancock said. “We have evolved to focus on a whole person virtual approach now. When COVID entered our lives, we had to look at our health initiatives in a different way. In-person services were no longer an option, so in October 2020 we began designing our own online wellness platform using a learning management system called Learn Dash.”

“The master’s program really helped prepare me for my career by giving me the base of knowledge I needed. I didn’t know anything about corporate health when I started. I learned a lot to prepare for the position I am in now.”

Through this platform they created health risk assessments, collected health data and designed and evaluated programs more efficiently to suit drivers needs based on the health risks that are prevalent in the occupation, such as fatigue and back pain.

A holistic approach to employee health

The platform will allow them to offer fitness, nutrition and mental health programs around-the-clock to fit drivers’ unique schedules over the road.

“All aspects will be gamified so we can create an engaging, competitive atmosphere by offering points to our drivers for completing certain health-related activities and tasks,” Hancock said.

Drivers can access virtual personal training and nutritional counseling with their registered dietitian.

Taking a holistic approach, they also addressed:

  • Mental health, which is so important during the pandemic.
  • Created a tobacco cessation program since 60 percent of drivers use tobacco products, said Hancock.
  • Formed a healthy driver task force and put together exercises that drivers can do at truck stops or using equipment on the truck
  • Showed employees how to make healthier choices on the road.

“Not everyone is interested in losing weight or eating right, but if we have several initiatives they can focus on, then we can let them hone-in on one that helps them lead a healthier life,” Hancock said.  “It has gotten a lot of traction. We are starting to see improvement in employee health. It’s really a rewarding job. This is what I’ve been wanting to do for many years. I want to make a big impact on driver health, satisfaction, happiness and lifestyle.”

Explore a master’s degree in health promotion and wellness management

Filed Under: MCHHS Alumni, Public health and sports medicine, Spotlights Tagged With: Alumni, Health Promotion and Wellness Management, MCHHS, Public health and sports medicine, Spotlights

Next Page »

Categories

  • Anesthesia
  • Athletic training
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Communication Sciences and Disorders
  • Dietetics
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Health Queries Podcast
  • Kinesiology
  • MCHHS Alumni
  • MCHHS Clinics
  • MCHHS Events
  • MCHHS News
  • Nursing
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Physical Therapy
  • Physician Assistant
  • Psychology
  • Public health and sports medicine
  • Social Work
  • Spotlights
  • Student organization spotlight
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
Make your Missouri statementMake your Missouri statement
  • Last Modified: March 10, 2021
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Disclosures
  • EO/AA/M/F/Veterans/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity
  • © 2013 Board of Governors, Missouri State University
  • Contact Information
 

Loading Comments...