School of Medicine Professor Victoria Richards offers insight into FDA’s decision to lower age on Plan B pill

Victoria Richards, assistant professor of medical sciences in the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University, is available to discuss the FDA’s decision to lower the age for buyers of the Plan B pill to 15.

“Levonorgestrel is referred to as the “morning after” pill because it can prevent pregnancy about three days after unprotected intercourse or in the event of the failure of another contraceptive,” Richards said. “Levonorgestrel is not an abortifacient, an agent that induces an abortion, which I think helps fuel the controversy.”

To speak to Richards, please call John Morgan, associate vice president for public relations, at 203-206-4449.

Founding Dean Dr. Bruce M. Koeppen testifies before U.S. Senate subcommittee

Dr. Bruce M. Koeppen, founding dean of the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University, will testify before a subcommittee hearing on Successful Primary Care Programs: Creating the Workforce We Need on Tuesday, April 23 at 10 a.m. in Room SD-430 at the Dirksen Building, Constitution Avenue and 1st Street, NE, Washington, DC.

Dr. Koeppen was invited by Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders and Ranking Member Richard Burr to testify about the new medical school, which admits its first class this fall and was created with the mission to train primary care physicians, foster collaborative, team-based care and serve as a national model of interprofessional health professions education.  Dr. Koeppen will discuss the growing shortage of primary care physicians and efforts to restructure the health care system to provide high quality, cost-effective and patient-centered care to successfully create the primary care workforce this country so desperately needs.

Dr. Koeppen’s testimony will address reasons for the primary care physician shortage and its extent; his efforts to change the traditional care model where physicians are viewed as the captain of the ship to something akin to a NASCAR pit crew, where highly efficient and effective teams, comprised of individuals with unique knowledge and expertise are all focused on a single goal-the patient; changes in the new medical school’s curriculum; programs such as the Teaching Health Center program in the Affordable Care Act, which allows Community Health Centers to establish residency programs to train physicians; and how an expansion of federally funded residence positions could encourage more people to enter primary care.

View a full copy of Dr. Koeppen’ s testimony.

View a live stream of the senate subcommittee hearing.

To interview Dr. Koeppen, email John Morgan at john.morgan@quinnipiac.edu or call 203-206-4449.

Professor discusses effects of bear deterrent following discharge in Connecticut hotel

Victoria Richards, an assistant professor of medical sciences at the Frank H. Netter School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University, is available to discuss the effects of bear deterrent.

An intoxicated woman reportedly discharged a large canister inside of a Milford hotel Wednesday night, resulting in an evacuation.

“Anyone who uses pepper spray should undergo adequate training on proper use and storage,” Richards said. “Although these types of sprays are used for both self-protection and crowd control, this bear spray would probably contain a certain percentage of oleoresin capsicum to deter the animal long enough for a person to hopefully escape. Oleoresin capsicum is both a direct irritant but also can produce a local inflammatory response.  Exposure can cause respiratory symptoms, such as coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, a burning feeling in the throat, etc., and ocular symptoms, including corneal abrasion. Those exposed can also suffer from temporary panic and disorientation.”

Richards will teach pharmacology and toxicology.

To speak to Richards, please call John Morgan, associate vice president for public relations, at 203-206-4449.

Symposium on primary care and the law April 13

Dr. Andrew Morris-Singer, president and principal founder of Primary Care Progress, will deliver the keynote address at “Primary Care and the Law,” an interprofessional symposium that will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, in the Grand Courtroom of the School of Law Center at Quinnipiac University.

The symposium will bring together primary care practitioners, policymakers, attorneys and students to advance the conversation about the role of law in the delivery of high-quality primary care.

The “Quinnipiac Health Law Journal,” the Center for Interprofessional Healthcare Education at Quinnipiac and the Schools of Health Sciences, Law, Medicine and Nursing are presenting the symposium.

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Register online. For more information, please e-mail healthlaw@quinnipiac.edu.

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Panel discussion on ‘Health, Healing and Spirituality’ April 2

From left: Cynthia Barrere, Tami Reilly, and Anna-leila Williams

Three Quinnipiac University experts will take part in the panel discussion, “Health, Healing and Spirituality,” from 3-4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2, in the Mancheski Executive Seminar Room in the Lender School of Business Center on the Mount Carmel Campus.

The three presenters are: Cynthia Barrere, a professor in the School of Nursing, who will discuss “Spirituality & Meditative Interventions to Promote Health & Healing;” Anna-leila Williams, assistant professor of medical sciences in the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, who will talk about “Barriers to Meditation;” and Tami Reilly, associate director of fitness and wellness, who will discuss “Meditation and the Quinnipiac Student.”

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