January 2021: Oaklawn hits COVID-19

~ Calhoun, health-care officials launch effort to vaccinate high-risk residents ~

A coordinated effort to vaccinate high-risk residents against COVID-19 is under way through partnerships among area medical organizations in coordination with Calhoun County and Michigan state officials. 

Approximately 200 health-care personnel from regional dental, chiropractic and optometrist offices and mental health providers received the coronavirus vaccine Jan. 16 at a clinic at Oaklawn Medical Group – Marshall Internal & Family Medicine, said Kerrie A. Mansfield, director of operations for Marshall-based Oaklawn. 

During the session, representatives of the City of Marshall Fire Department remained on hand to assist with any potential issues, Mansfield said. 

To help curb the coronavirus pandemic, the Calhoun County Public Health Department’s partnership with Oaklawn will continue as Michigan state officials handle distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to the general population. 

“Working together with Oaklawn will be vital these next few months as we vaccinate Calhoun County residents,” said Eric Pessell, the department’s health officer. Calhoun officials held their first vaccine clinic for individuals 65 and older on Jan. 14 in Battle Creek, vaccinating approximately 600 people. 

Pessell said the department has maintained persistent communication with the region’s health-care systems, including the staffs of Oaklawn, Bronson Healthcare, Grace Health and Henry Ford Allegiance Health. 

Additional clinics were to be held this week in Albion, Marshall and in Battle Creek, and the department will schedule more in subsequent weeks as vaccine becomes available, Pessell said.  

Calhoun County residents age 65 and older are being encouraged to call (269) 441-0912 to be placed on a waiting list to receive the vaccine. When the vaccine is available and clinics are scheduled, those on the list can expect to be called to set an appointment. 

“We need to continue to promote vaccine safety, share consistent messaging, and help one another as our vaccine clinics will continue to grow, as we open up to a larger population to receive the vaccine,” Passell said. 

The highest-risk groups have been designated as Category 1A – which including health-care personnel as well as home health aides, medical examiners, funeral workers and public health workers – and Category 1B, which generally includes frontline essential workers and individuals age 65 and older. 

“We hope to be moving on to tier 1B by the end of the month, as  vaccine supply allows,” Mansfield said. 

“We have worked thoroughly to identify all businesses that fit into Phase 1A. Outreach to the community will best be achieved when we all work together,” Pessell said, adding that community leaders should continue to promote precautions against the virus. 

“We will identify other specific 1A and 1B groups that have not been vaccinated by the health department and coordinate those immunizations,” said J. Summer Liston-Crandall, M.D., Oaklawn’s interim medical director and physician 

“When it comes to the ‘mass’ vaccination plan for county seniors and essential workers, we have offered assistance to the health department whether that be staff, volunteers or locations,” Liston-Crandall said. “It makes the most sense for us to team up on this effort so we can serve the community as a whole,” she added.

“The loss of life among the eldest, frailest group of our citizens living in communal settings has been disproportionate and tragic,” Liston-Crandall said. “While we are awaiting our next allotment of vaccine, those seniors living in nursing homes, foster care and other care facilities will be receiving their vaccinations.”

Health-care officials continue to stress that, until vaccines become more widely available, the spread of COVID-19 can be slowed by limiting gatherings with others, practicing social distancing, washing hands frequently and wearing masks in public. 

Two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are required for it to be effective. Updates are expected to be issued by state and local officials as additional vaccine doses become available for additional priority groups.

Liston-Crandall urged public patience as health officials work to obtain the vaccine and deliver it to the designated groups in a structured fashion. 

“This vaccination effort is unlike anything since the polio inoculations of the mid-20th century,” Liston-Crandall said. “We are heartened by the enthusiasm of community members for the COVID vaccine. That enthusiasm could drive impatience. We are asking that community leaders and members bear with us and the public health officials while we enact this enormous chore.”

Trustworthy information about COVID-19 vaccines and the vaccination effort is available online through the Calhoun health department’s website at www.calhouncountymi.gov/departments/public_health_department/covid_vaccine.php; the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services website at www.michigan.gov/coronavirus and the Centers for Disease Control website at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html. 

In addition, Michigan residents who wish to volunteer in the vaccination effort are being encouraged to register with the MI Volunteer Registry at www.mivolunteerregistry.org. The registry provides a centralized electronic environment for volunteers to obtain information about how to support a public health or medical emergency response. 

Theater: Great Escape, 2011-2019

~ A brief visual guide to Great Escape Stage Company! ~ 

Great Escape is a nonprofit theater company based in Marshall, Michigan, with which we've been honored to be involved as an actor, director, script adviser, special-effects consultant and board member. For several years, MysteryVisits Communications handled GESC's press releases and public relations. You can learn more about GESC at GreatEscapeStageCompany.com.

The posters that appear below represent just a few of the stage productions with which John C. Sherwood was directly involved as a performer and/or director. The specialized magical programs were produced in conjunction with fellow members of Neil Foster Ring No. 89 of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, which meets at the American Museum of Magic, also based in Marshall, Michigan. John is a former member of the museum's board of directors.

Learn more about the magicians' organization by visiting the Facebook page "https://www.facebook.com/groups/390526717655426" and learn more about the magic museum at AmericanMuseumOfMagic.org.

April 2021: Aaron Brown joins Oaklawn

                                    

During April 2021, MysteryVisits Communications provided this press release on behalf of Oaklawn ... 

~ Physician Assistant Aaron Brown Joins Oaklawn's Gastroenterology Services ~ 

While he was growing up in the Michigan city of Portland, a career as a physician assistant almost always seemed to be just around the corner for Aaron Brown.

After all, he didn’t have far to look for inspiration.

“My paternal grandfather was the town doctor for 40 years, and I grew up watching him and seeing how medicine should be done,” Brown said, adding that he always believed medicine was in his future.

That belief turned out to come true, for Brown now has joined Oaklawn Medical Group – Gastroenterology, where he will work as a physician assistant alongside Urvish K. Shah, M.D., and Rajvinder Sidhu, M.D., in Suite 3A of the Wright Medical Building at 215 E. Mansion St., Marshall, Michigan. Appointments may be made by calling (269) 789-0025.

Before he even began to attend Portland High School, Brown had pretty much made up his mind where he was going to end up, considering the medical examples set by his grandfather and father, both of whom were general practitioners who made house calls, delivered babies and took care of families. In fact, Brown’s father still practices medicine in Portland.

“I saw how things were done and how you could help people who needed help,” Brown said. “There’s nothing more intimate than your health, and I saw that – if people trusted you with your health and you had the ability to help, I would do that,” he added.

“By the time I was in elementary school I was definitely thinking about it as a career,” he said. “By fourth or fifth grade, I was on track to go into medicine.”

In high school, Brown’s class schedule reflected that decision, and included courses in anatomy as well as advanced biology and chemistry.

“My family was very encouraging but they never pushed me in that direction,” Brown said. “It was my decision.”

Brown earned a bachelor of science degree in human biology from Michigan State University in 2012. He worked as a personal fitness trainer in Lansing, and from 2015 to 2018 as a medical assistant for Lansing Urgent Care.

Brown went on to obtain a master of science degree in physician assistant studies from Central Michigan University in 2020.

Brown is certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. He is additionally certified in basic life support, advanced cardiac life support, pediatric advanced life support and critical care support. Brown is a member of the Michigan Academy of Physician Assistants and the American Academy of Physician Assistants.

Brown and his wife of five years, Tess, are planning to move to Marshall later in the year. In the meantime, the couple live in Charlotte with their feline housemates, Cooper and Louie.

Brown enjoys listening and playing music, and said he “dabbles” in piano and guitar. He and his wife also enjoy world travel, having spent time in Greece, France, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Brown said he has been impressed by everyone with whom he has spoken at Oaklawn.

“Everyone I’ve met was really great,” he said. “They like being there. They all seem to genuinely enjoy what they’re doing and they like being there. It felt to me like a good, cohesive unit.”

Such mutual support among the medical staff is vital in the treatment of patients, he said.

“You don’t want to be a robot practicing medicine,” Brown said. “Your health is a really personal matter, and I want my patients to feel comfortable. We want a team that genuinely cares and helps the patient feel safe.”

April 2021: Pa-Nhia Yang joins Oaklawn

During April 2021, MysteryVisits Communications provided this press release on behalf of Marshall, Michigan-based Oaklawn ... 

~ Family Nurse Practitioner Pa-Nhia Yang Joins Oaklawn Primary Care - Coldwater ~ 

Even as a young child, Pa-Nhia Yang somehow seemed to know that she would be destined for a career in the healing arts.

“It was my academic inclination,” the Lansing native said. “From the age of 5 on, I always knew.”

Her instincts proved to be correct, for she is now a family nurse practitioner – and the latest addition to the staff at Oaklawn Primary Care – Coldwater, situated at 375 N. Willowbrook Road, Coldwater.

There, she will work alongside Jackalyn M. Govier, D.O., and Mindy White, FNP-BC. Appointments at the office may be made by calling (517) 924-1605.

When she was young and attending Lansing schools, Pa-Nhia – which is pronounced “Pa-nee-ah” – was “science minded.” She also was blessed with the additional influence of several aunts and uncles whose work was in the medical field.

By the time she was attending classes at J.W. Sexton High School, her focus had turned to developing a career health care, a goal she advanced by enrolling in such science-based courses as biology, chemistry and physics, as well as pre-nursing courses for high-school students through Michigan State University.

“I realized that nursing is a culmination of many sciences and many principles of study that bring everything together,” she said, adding that she finds that synergistic combination fascinating.

“My family also let me know that this would be very fulfilling work because it would mean I was helping people,” she said.

Yang-Murray continued her studies at Michigan State University, earning a bachelor of science degree in nursing in 2008. For several years after graduation, she worked as a registered nurse in the Lansing area, then went on to obtain a master of science degree in nursing in 2019 through the university’s family nurse practitioner program.

Today, Yang-Murray is certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and is a member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, the Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioners and the Michigan Association of Nurses. She is certified to perform basic life support, advanced cardiac life support and pediatric life support.

Yang-Murray comes to Oaklawn’s Coldwater location from recent work as a family nurse practitioner in the Lansing area, where she and her husband continue to reside. Yang-Murray’s husband of five years, Nic Murray, works as a supply-chain specialist in the paint industry.

The couple enjoy floral gardening, cultivating their vegetable garden as a primary food source and playing with their pet chihuahua, Isadora.

Yang-Murray said she was pleased to find that Oaklawn’s medical approach provides “greater communication and personalized care,” because such qualities themselves can promote healing.

“I’ve found that basic care is much improved in an environment where your place of employment really supports you,” Yang-Murray said.

“Oaklawn has the reputation of giving its providers what they need to give their patients excellent quality care,” she said. “It has a more community-based feel, and the environment is more conducive to providing that kind of care. I’m looking forward to being part of that in Coldwater.”

February 2021: Timothy Kwiecien joins Oaklawn

During February 2021, MysteryVisits Communications provided this press release on behalf of Oaklawn ... 

~ Early interest in science led to career for Oaklawn physician Timothy Kwiecien ~ 

MARSHALL, Michigan – While Timothy Kwiecien was a middle-school student in the metropolitan Detroit area, it dawned on him that there was a branch of science that particularly fascinated him.

“Everything about biology, ecology, earth sciences, chemistry,” he said. “It was a conscious interest while I was in sixth or seventh grade.” By the time Kwiecien was 14, he was a member of his school’s youth leadership council focusing on medicine.

That focus grew intensely enough over the years to propel him into a medical career. Beginning this month, Kwiecien is tackling a full-time role as a physician with the Oaklawn Medical Group.

“My goal was to find a career in which to use that interest, to help people and make a difference,” he said. 

Kwiecien, who now sees patients at his office in Suite 2C of the Wright Medical Building at 215 Mansion St., actually is no stranger to Oaklawn. He served in a contract capacity for Oaklawn’s pain-management service line from mid-July 2020 until now.

Kwiecien grew up near the community of Canton and graduated from Plymouth High School. 

While an economics student at Wayne State University, Kwiecien had an experience that he describes as vital to further stimulating his interest in medicine.

“I witnessed a lot of real medicine at Detroit Receiving Hospital, including extensive trauma as well as other medical conditions,” he said. “These unfortunately presented themselves in an acute-care setting due to lack of access to routine medical care and the troubling socioeconomic disparities that exist within the community.”

Kwiecien said he looked on with curiosity and interest as medical staff ran to help and assist those in desperate need of medical attention.

“Seeing all that happen in real time – chaotic yet with a great deal of teamwork and people working together – that shaped my view of medicine and what it means to be a physician and the true privilege it is to care for patients.” 

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in economics in 2011 from Wayne State University, Kwiecien went on to receive his degree as a doctor of medicine in 2015 from the Wayne State University School of Medicine. During his medical residency, Kwiecien’s participated in a monthlong program at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, during which he worked to develop his skills in anesthesiology in 2018. 

Kwiecien is certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology, having received a degree in that field in 2019 from the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at the University of California in Los Angeles. Kwiecien also received a fellowship in multidisciplinary pain medicine from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in 2020. 

Kwiecien is the first member of his family to go on to college and become a physician, although a younger brother followed in his footsteps and now works as a nurse for a Livonia hospital. Their mother and father continue to live in Canton. 

Kwiecien particularly enjoys travel and has spent time in many of the capitals of Europe, including London, Paris and Amsterdam. His other travels include Taiwan, Mexico and the Caribbean. He also enjoys cycling and “anything Detroit sports.”

Clearly, Kwiecien said, his home state continued to have a special draw for him. 

“I was looking to get back to Michigan to be closer to my family,” he said. “I spent five years away, including four years in California, and I thought I’d never come back – but you gain perspective along the way.” 

His new position at Oaklawn puts him a short drive from his family in Canton, and offers a pleasant way to launch his own medical practice. 

“The best thing about Oaklawn is the people and the staff,” he said. “They’re great to work with. Everybody’s friendly. You can tell people like working for Oaklawn. It’s a culture, and I could see that quite evidently within the first week or two of being there. It’s a great place to be, and I look forward to getting my professional career going there.”

And Marshall itself?

“It’s a beautiful town with even better people,” he said. “I’m really excited to start my practice, and make a difference within the community.” 

Newest member of the Stake & Deerstalker Club ...

My Halloween costume Thursday evening, Oct. 31, 2019, will reflect the fact I’ve recently become a member of a small, fantastical club, although there are no meetings and perhaps only two other members (one already is deceased). 

I’ll be garbed as Abraham van Helsing to perform in “Dracula” at Great Escape Stage Company starting at 7 p.m. that night. I’ve dreamed for years of tackling the role. Tom Cummins, my friend of several decades, conspired with me for nearly a year so we might square off someday on stage, he as the bloodthirsty Count and I as his nemesis. 

We learned the classic 1920s script initially, then were told by director Randy Lake that he preferred Steven Dietz's 1990s version, a challenge to which we both agreed with gusto. 

Tom — who played the title role in “The Passion of Dracula” a few decades ago — has worked theatrically with me several times since 1973, most often in my series of original Sherlock Holmes Mystery Weekends at The Victorian Villa Inn in Union City, Michigan. That Sherlockian connection links me to this exclusive club, for I’m now among the handful of actors who’ve enjoyed portraying *both* Holmes and van Helsing — two deathless heroes of the Victorian age. 

I’ve no idea how many stage performers have basked in this honor, but as a group (if there is one) we share the distinction with two legendary screen actors, Christopher Plummer and the late Peter Cushing. Truth be told, Cushing gets full marks for having played both characters repeatedly and more precisely; Plummer played a van Helsing grandson in “Dracula 2000,” which isn’t anyone’s favorite version. 

I've experienced a touch of the aura of both Plummer and Cushing: Plummer and I briefly shared stone's-throw space (no chitchat, alas) at Stratford, Ontario, and one of my great Sherlockian friends, Ted M. Cowell, gifted me years ago with one of Cushing’s neckties, which I preserve proudly in a rarely opened box. With such a personal tie (!) to Cushing, I wonder whether he's smiling on me from his pedestal in Actors’ Heaven. I’d also like to believe there’s a special bench up there — someday long, long from now — for we three to sit and chat about Bram Stoker, Arthur Conan Doyle and their creations. 

Meanwhile, for the remaining chances to see this terrific show directed by the insightful and multitalented Randy Lake, please visit GreatEscapeStageCompany.com and join van Helsing on his vampire hunt!

Playing around with "Catch-22"

In May 1970, the Albion College Players had the privilege of staging the very first authorized dramatization of "Catch-22" permitted by the novel's author, Joseph Heller. 

Adapted and directed by Sam Grossman, our play version was a three-hour extravaganza of dark comedy and even darker drama. My friend Paul Wolf played Yossarian, and the rest of us had multiple roles. I got to play Poppinjay, Capt. Black and - my favorite - the insecure and ineffective Dobbs.

Under our deal with Heller, all the scripts had to be turned in, but I still have its poster on my wall. The Mike Nichols/Alan Arkin/Buck Henry film came out just a few months later and I was crushed to see Martin Sheen play an entirely rewritten version of Dobbs, although I thought the movie managed about 65 percent of the novel's tone and intent. 

Just now, I finished watching a new version of the story, a miniseries offered on Hulu, and have to say that it managed a completely different 65 percent. I also was crushed to see no version of Dobbs or Capt. Black appear whatsoever, although poor Poppinjay popped up (I still say "Read me back the last line" was the funniest line in the book and our play). 

The review you'll find at https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/ct-ent-catch-22-hulu-clooney-tv-review-0517-story.html closely matches my thoughts about the miniseries, especially in regard to its excess of nostalgia and entirely unHelleresque ending. I was unsatisfied by much but impressed by much - particularly the aerial combat sequences. 

The 1970 movie has its merits, especially its brevity, but it creaks a lot despite Arkin's wonderful performance. The miniseries sets aside much of the comedy to dwell on mopery, which Christopher Abbott apparently has mastered.  So ... why not read the book? It's crazy and brilliant, and gets its own ending right.

So ... why not read the book? It's crazy and brilliant, and gets its own ending right.