WCU Hosts Free Oral Cancer Screening

Posted on by

Did you know that over 42,000 people are diagnosed each year with oral cancer, and that number is on the rise – even among young, non-smoking individuals? It’s an important message our community needs to hear. But perhaps even more important is the message that early detection can save lives. When found early, oral cancers have an 80% survival rate.

That message sounded loud and clear on Saturday, May 18th as 52 of West Coast University’s dental hygiene students, along with six faculty and four supervising dentists, held the second annual communitywide Oral Cancer Screening Event.

“Screening is the best hope of reducing the death rate from this silent killer,” said Professor Ashlynn Le. “With this annual clinic, we hope to prevent oral cancer by educating our community about the disease and using our detection technologies to conduct free screenings.”

With more than 120 patients screened for oral cancer in a single day, the event was a huge success. Because oral cancer is difficult to detect visually, every patient was given x-rays using one or more of three different technologies. Depending on the results of the x-rays, patients were given additional tests, referrals for follow up services, or an initial biopsy as needed. Of the 121 patients screened, 12 were referred for follow up and four required the biopsy.

This year’s event organizers made a special effort to reach underserved populations, working with organizations such as the Western Worker’s Association and homeless shelters to reach individuals who would not otherwise have access to oral care. “It was amazing to see everyone collaborating to make this event run smoothly,” said Professor Le.  “Even the patients assisted, bridging language barriers by translating important information to others who came after them.”

In addition to conducting the screenings, dental hygiene students taught participants the critical skills of how to detect signs of oral cancer, conduct self-examination at home, and overall oral health care.

Student Andrea Figueroa, who helped translate to Spanish-speaking patients said, “I found the whole experience rewarding. I was able to calm an anxious patient who has never been to a dentist,” she said. “The patients kept thanking me for helping them and so did the clinicians.” Another student, Linda Nguyen, said, “I was ecstatic to see the great turn out of patients that came. I assisted with patient education and orientation, and soon realized what a universal language brushing and flossing is – I will definitely be attending more of these events!”

For more information on WCU’s Dental Hygiene Clinic, please visit: http://westcoastuniversity.edu/about/dental-hygiene-clinic.html

J.R. Martinez Delivers Keynote Address to West Coast University Graduates

Posted on by

Irvine, CA (May 24, 2012) – J.R. Martinez, Iraq War Veteran, Purple Heart recipient, and 2011 Winner  of Dancing with the Stars, delivered the keynote address at the 2013 Commencement Ceremony of West Coast University.

In March of 2003, J.R. was deployed to Iraq, and on April 5, less than a month into his deployment, he was driving a Humvee in Karbala, when his left front tire hit a roadside bomb. The three other soldiers were ejected from the burning vehicle, but he was trapped inside and suffered smoke inhalation and severe burns to 34 percent of his body.

J.R. spent 34 months in recovery surgery at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio, Texas, and underwent 33 different surgeries including skin grafts and cosmetic surgery. During recovery, a nurse asked him to speak to a burn patient, who had just seen his body for the first time and had become withdrawn. After a 45-minute visit, the patient opened the curtain letting light in his room and his heart. J.R. then understood the impact he had on this patient and decided to use his experience to help others. He continued to visit patients sharing his story and listening to theirs. While J.R.’s experience was certainly life-changing, amazingly he claims this is actually a change for the better. “I discovered it is what is inside a person that matters most and I wouldn’t change anything…absolutely anything!” states J.R. “I do believe everything happens for a reason, and I’m extremely grateful for that day because it led me into this life!”

Mr. Martinez has become a highly sought after motivational speaker and he travels the country spreading his message of resilience and optimism. He devotes himself to showing others the true value of making the most of every situation. His commencement address to more than 650 graduating nurses, dental hygienists, and health care management scholars focused on the medical care he received during his grueling recovery, and the impact his nurse had on his specific efforts of rehabilitation. “We were honored to have Mr. Martinez join us for commencement, and to share his truly inspirational story. It was powerful for our graduates to hear, first-hand, the impact they will have on lives of so many throughout their careers,” stated Dr. Barry Ryan, President of West Coast University.

Commencement Ceremony Details
For over 100 years, West Coast University has celebrated the achievements and hard work of its graduates during a Commencement ceremony. On May 19, 2013, over 650 graduates celebrated their academic achievements and are now on their way to rewarding and satisfying careers in health care. As alumni, they will represent West Coast University and its mission as they work to improve their communities through their chosen professions.

The graduates received Master of Science in Health Care Management, Master of Science in Nursing, Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene and Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees. West Coast University’s programs are designed to ensure its students are prepared by equipping them with real-world clinical knowledge and simulated experience. West Coast University hopes that its graduates inspire innovation in their fields, achieve professional success, and contribute positively to the community.
Commencement was held at the Bren Events center in Irvine, California where more than 5,000 people attended to participate in celebrating the graduating class. Special recognition was given to five BSN students as recipients of the prestigious Jarvis Scholarship Award, named after distinguished alumnus, Greg Jarvis who gave his life to science. Mr. Jarvis was part of the 1986 Challenger shuttle crew who died during a tragic explosion upon liftoff.

WCU Tech Expert Named to International Certification Committee

Posted on by

Richard Viloria discovered his passion in childhood, not long after he started playing computer games.

“I played arcade and computer games a lot,” he recalls, laughing. “‘When the machines broke, I had to fix them.”

By the time he had finished high school, he had aced a class in computer programming and was on his way to Cal State L.A., to study electrical engineering. While working his way through college doing information technology jobs, however, he got pleasantly sidetracked–he was hired at American Career College to support its IT growth. As a member of the IT department, Viloria supported both American Career College and West Coast University.

Fourteen years later, Viloria is now supporting WCU’s simulation centers, and the expertise he has gathered has recently earned him a prestigious invitation: This month, he will join a small cadre of technology experts from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare to help develop the first worldwide certification exam for technicians and specialists in health care simulation.

In layman’s terms, those are the people who operate and maintain the high-tech mannequins and equipment that nursing and medical schools increasingly are using to train health care workers. Equipped with artificial organs and programmable responses, simulators allow students to practice and interact with life-like “patients” in a variety of clinical situations.

However, computerized health care simulators are complex and expensive, and so new to the field that standardized guidelines for their mastery are only now being developed.

“The field of simulation in health care is exploding,” says WCU Simulation Education and Management Director Terry Larsen, Ph.D., R.N. C.N.S., who recently helped devise the first certification exam for educators who use simulation. “But it’s only been in the last 10 or 15 years that we’ve had the technology to create mannequins with human-like responses. At the moment, the people who operate and maintain them are coming from a lot of different backgrounds, and we want to be able to start certifying their competence.”

It was Larsen who recommended Viloria to serve on the international committee that’s developing the certification exam in his field, in part because Viloria has been overseeing WCU’s simulation environment for the past three years. In that time, he says, he has used his IT know-how to assess software, integrate the simulators into WCU’s larger IT network, improve the workflow for educators using the mannequins and simplify videotaping for teachers and students.

“The Sim Center is like a recording studio,” says Larsen. “And when the simulation centers were being built, Richard integrated the technology. He manages all the IT here in our centers along with his IT team making videos of the simulations accessible to our faculty and making the mannequins work when there are problems. He’s done a wonderful job here. He was the perfect candidate.”