ACOM Alumni Fundraiser 2024
We are excited to announce this alumni fundraiser and we hope that you will consider ordering a T-shirt to raise money to continue improving our alumni programming. This year, we will be offering 3 styles of t-shirts. Please feel free to share this fundraiser with family, friends, neighbors, mentors, etc. Orders can be made using the links on this page. Just click on a design to begin an order. This fundraiser will run through April 22nd, and you will be able to pick up your shirts during the Graduation Exit Conference at ACOM on May 9th. Thank you for supporting the ACOM Alumni Association.
ACOM AMSA chapter receives award
The ACOM AMSA chapter was recognized at the National Convention in D.C. on April 17th.
OMS II student Roselyn Olorunsogo, the outgoing president, attended the virtual event where the ACOM chapter was presented with the Paul R. Wright Chapter Success Award.
This annual honor is awarded to chapters that have promoted AMSA’s mission of inspiring future physicians through local events, innovative programming, leadership development or calls to action. The emphasis of this award is chapter commitment to improving member solidarity by increasing awareness, recruitment, and involvement in their chapters.
ACOM Students Represent at SOMA Summer House of Delegates
OMS-II students Melanie Weyers, President of the ACOM Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA), and Balpreet Sidhu, ACOM SOMA National Liaison Officer, served as voting delegates at the SOMA Summer House of Delegates.
The ACOM chapter submitted two resolutions to this year’s meeting;
S-20-26: SUPPORT THE BOLSTERING OF VETERAN HEALTH ADMINISTRATION RESOURCES THROUGH PROVIDER PAY REFORM
S-20-27: ADDRESSING SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH THROUGH DATA COLLECTION AND IMPROVED ACCESS TO SOCIAL SERVICES.
These resolutions were extracted on Saturday for discussion in the open forum meeting where they were approached with overwhelming support from many other SOMA chapters and SOMA National leaders.
After consideration by the National SOMA Resolutions Committee, both Resolution S-20-26 and S-20-27 were recommended to be approved as written.
On Sunday during the closed House of Delegates, both resolutions were voted unanimously to be approved as written in the consent agenda.
This is the first time in the history of the ACOM SOMA chapter that all resolutions submitted were approved as written on the consent agenda.
ACOM is excited for the impact our local chapter is having on the national level as our students continue to inspire change within Osteopathic medicine.
ACOM SOMA Chapter Participates in Advocacy Day
ACOM Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA) Chapter president Melanie Weyers, OMS-II, participated in Advocacy Day, hosted by the national SOMA organization and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), on Friday, July 24, 2020.
Weyers and two SOMA members from VCOM-Auburn were able to speak to five Alabama Senators and Representatives to advocate for three important items on the agenda. Those issues included increased funding and access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), accurate data collection to address health disparities highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic and student loan debt relief. The three students had the opportunity to speak with Sen. Richard Shelby, Sen. Doug Jones, Rep. Martha Roby, Rep. Mo Brooks and Rep. Terri Sewell.
“As a student at ACOM, I was excited that when I introduced myself to many of these legislators, they were already very familiar with ACOM,” Weyers said. “I appreciate the relationships and history that ACOM has with Alabama legislators as it has made it easier for SOMA and me to maintain these relationships and establish increased advocacy efforts. I look forward to continuing to build these relationships and continuing our advocacy efforts.”
The SOMA and AOA Advocacy Day took the place of DO Day on the Hill that was previously scheduled for March.
ACOM AMSA chapter receives award
The ACOM AMSA chapter was recognized at the National Convention in D.C. on April 17th.
OMS II student Roselyn Olorunsogo, the outgoing president, attended the virtual event where the ACOM chapter was presented with the Paul R. Wright Chapter Success Award.
This annual honor is awarded to chapters that have promoted AMSA’s mission of inspiring future physicians through local events, innovative programming, leadership development or calls to action. The emphasis of this award is chapter commitment to improving member solidarity by increasing awareness, recruitment, and involvement in their chapters.
Dr. Hovey named Medical Director of Ashford Clinic
DOTHAN, Ala. – Southeast Health and the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) are pleased to announce that Justin G. Hovey, MD, internal medicine and pediatrics, has been named medical director of their Ashford clinic.
The Southeast Health ACOM Ashford Clinic will be managed by the Southeast Health Medical Group with clinical support provided through the medical college. Dr. Hovey will be joined in the clinic by Robin S. Fischer, MSN, MEd, NP-C, as nurse practitioner. The clinic also allows third-year ACOM medical students a hands-on patient experience in a rural clinic setting, with opportunities for first- and second-year student experiences in the future.
Dr. Hovey, board certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, has been practicing in the Wiregrass for more than nine years. The Slocomb native has also been a clinical faculty preceptor for ACOM for more than five years where he has also served as a guest lecturer.
Dr. Hovey completed his residency and internship in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of South Alabama Hospital Systems in Mobile. He earned his medical degree from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine in Mobile. He received his Bachelor of Science in Biological Science and Microbiology from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Dr. Hovey is married to Danielle, and has one daughter, Mary Zetta. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, watching rugby and football, and grilling.
New Paved Pedestrian Trail Opens on East Highway 84
DOTHAN, Ala. – May 9, 2019 – Today, representatives from the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM), City of Dothan and Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting for the new paved pedestrian trail along east Highway 84. The trail, which connects the ACOM campus to the Ross Clark Circle, marks a significant milestone in the future development of the East 84 corridor.
“It’s one thing to envision what things can look like and be like. It’s another thing to bring them to fruition. It’s a great day to see part of a plan that is bringing and connecting downtown Dothan to 84 East. This is just one small piece of our whole plan,” said Mayor Mark Saliba.
Area leaders have been evaluating ways to enhance the east Highway 84 corridor for several years. Discussions to create a paved trail on the east side of Dothan began in 2016, with the goal of creating a designated walkway and biking path for residents. Dr. Craig Lenz, ACOM Dean, was instrumental in these discussions, as he underscored the need for a safer and healthier transportation alternative for medical students and others along the highway.
“The creation of this trail promotes the importance of wellness,” said Dr. Lenz. “There are so many cities that have grown up around traffic and people getting in cars rather than walking and biking to their destinations. That is something we have tried to instill in our medical community is the sense of wellness and how people can enjoy life more by being outside.”
In 2018, the City of Dothan secured a Transportation Alternatives Program grant from the Alabama Department of Transportation and provided matching funds to develop a shared pedestrian and biking trail along East Highway 84. The City of Dothan partnered with engineering firm Poly, Inc. to oversee the project and MidSouth Paving as contractor. Construction on the paved trail began in mid-2018 and was completed this spring. The trail starts near the ACOM campus on Cat Way and continues along Highway 84 toward the Ross Clark Circle. The opening of this trail demonstrates Dothan’s continued commitment to health and wellness initiatives across the area.
ACOM to open new rural health primary care clinic in Ashford
DOTHAN, Ala. – February 6, 2019 – The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) plans to open a new rural health primary care clinic in Ashford, Ala., within the year. The new clinic, which will be located approximately seven miles from the campus and adjacent to the existing Southeast Health FirstMed facility, will help increase access to primary care for citizens and would focus on education of ACOM students within a nurturing, patient-centered environment. Under the umbrella of Southeast Health, the existing FirstMed clinic will remain open, seeing patients and providing uninterrupted health care services, until the transition to ACOM can be successfully completed.
ACOM, the academic division of Southeast Health, has been working with the City of Ashford for several months to formalize a plan to open the new clinic. The college, in partnership with Ashford leaders, recognized the need to increase health care options in the rural community and identified an opportunity to expand the health care coverage provided by an existing Southeast Health family practice clinic. On Monday, the Ashford City Council voted unanimously to provide an additional plot of land to the college, paving the way to build a separate, brand-new, 4,000-square-foot facility. This new clinic will be state-of-the-art, providing increased capacity and access to care for patients.
“This clinic will be a win-win for everyone – for Ashford, for ACOM and for Southeast Health,” said Craig J. Lenz, Sr., DO, Dean of ACOM. “We are grateful to the City of Ashford for their support of this project that will provide increased patient care to the community and exciting training opportunities for our medical students.”
The new clinic will serve as an ideal environment to include first- and second-year ACOM students in patient care in a real-world setting, prior to entering their clinical rotations during the third and fourth years of medical school. Lenz says that this experience will further highlight the great opportunities for medical education in the Wiregrass and foster a greater understanding of the patients this area serves.