ACOS Award Winners to be Honored at the 2015 Annual Clinical Assembly
Orel F. Martin Medal – Norman Rose, D.O., FACOS, FICS
The American College of Osteopathic Surgeons and its officers, governors, and members honor, Norman Rose, with the College’s highest award—the Orel F. Martin Medal—as a symbol of his outstanding career as an osteopathic surgeon, educator, and leader.
Dr. Rose graduated from Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1963. He then completed an internship and general surgery residency at Des Moines General Hospital, which offered one of the first general surgery residencies in the profession. During the residency, he was mentored and trained by two early leaders of the ACOS, John P. Schwartz, D.O., FACOS, a founder of the College who served as ACOS president in 1937 and was the first recipient of the Orel F. Martin Medal in 1956; and Howard A. Graney, D.O., FACOS, who was College president in 1959 and the recipient of the Orel F. Martin Medal in 1977. They instilled in Dr. Rose a commitment to teaching, mentoring, and service to the profession that he continues to this day and passes on to the next generation of osteopathic physicians and surgeons.
After completing training, Dr. Rose remained in Des Moines to practice surgery at Des Moines General Hospital and to teach at Des Moines University. His service to both institutions is notable, as are his contributions to the state of Iowa. He served at Des Moines General Hospital as chief of staff, chair of the department of surgery, chair of numerous committees, and director of the surgical residency program through which he trained more than 40 residents. Today, he remains involved in surgical residency training in the program that he started at Larkin Community Hospital in Miami, Florida, where he serves as academic director of the general surgery residency that currently has seven residents.
His dedication to the education of future osteopathic physicians and healthcare providers has played a major role in his life and career and continues to this day. He has served as chair of the department of surgery at Des Moines University and at Nova Southeastern University, actively teaching since 1967 and advancing the education of several thousand osteopathic physicians. His students have recognized his passion for education by awarding him with the “One of the Most Outstanding Professors Award” and dedicating their yearbook to him. Currently serving as clinical professor of surgery at Nova Southeastern University and adjunct professor of specialty medicine at Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine, he teach students at both institutions in the classroom and hospital settings. When Miami Dade College and the state of Florida approached about starting a physician assistant program for minority and English-second language students, he took the challenge and developed an accredited program that has consistently graduated classes with a majority of minority and English-second language students; he was recognized for this accomplishment with the establishment of the “Norman Rose, D.O. PA Scholarship Fund.”
During his time in Des Moines, Dr. Rose published more than 20 scientific papers, won several grand prizes for scientific exhibits at the Annual Clinical Assembly of Osteopathic Surgeons, and presented more than 100 lectures and papers at state and national meetings. The Iowa Osteopathic Medical Association has honored him with its “Physician of the Year” Award for achievements in the state which include the production of more than 250 hours of AOA approved continuing medical education, appointment to and service on the Iowa State Board of Medical Examiners, selection as recipient of the American Cancer Society Harold W. Morgan Outstanding Volunteer Award, and service as president of the Iowa Osteopathic Medical Association and as founder and editor of the association’s Hawkeye Osteopathic Journal.
He became a member of the AOA in 1967, a member of the ACOS in 1975, and an ACOS Fellow in 1981. Thus started his service to both organizations. During his AOA membership, he has conducted surgical residency inspections, reviewed Journal of the AOA (JAOA) articles, provided book reviews, and continues to serve as an inspector for the AOA Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. The AOA recognized his service to the profession by naming him a “Guardian of the Profession.” His service in the ACOS also has been extensive, having served on the College’s Board of Governors for 10 years, including as secretary-treasurer and as president in 1991. During his ACOS presidency, his active pursuit of AOA recognition of the unique membership of the specialty colleges led to ACOS representatives becoming voting members of the AOA House of Delegates. While serving as chair of the College’s Membership Committee, he developed and obtained Board approval of the point system used for bestowing the ACOS Fellow designation. He also was the first chair of the ACOS Website Committee and served in that position for 10 years. And, he is a Fellow of the International College of Surgeons.
Dr. Rose’s life and work for the profession as an osteopathic surgeon, educator, and leader embody the spirit and philosophy of the ACOS founding fathers when they developed the original concepts for awarding the Orel F. Martin Medal.
Humanitarian Award – Sharon A. Rooney-Gandy, D.O., FACOS, FACS
Dr. Sharon Rooney, of Sturgis, Michigan, has been selected to receive the ACOS Humanitarian Award that recognizes members’ outstanding voluntary service to their community or state, the nation, and/or the international community. She grew up in a family of D.O.s, including her father and his five brothers, and followed in their footsteps because of her father’s words of encouragement.
She graduated in 1983 from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kansas City, Mo., and completed her internship and general surgery residency at Cleveland Clinic South Pointe Hospital in Warrensville Heights, Ohio. She was the first woman to finish South Pointe Hospital’s general surgery residency training program.
Certified in general surgery by the American Osteopathic Board of Surgery, Dr. Rooney currently practices in Sturgis with a strong emphasis on wound care. She spent the bulk of her career in solo private practice in Jackson, Mich., where she first learned of HELPS International and the Michigan HELPS medical team—a surgical mission group that provides basic surgical care for poor indigenous Mayan people in the highlands of Guatemala.
Her first mission trip to Guatemala with Michigan HELPS was in 1998, and she has been returning each year for the past decade bringing along high school and college volunteers to give them exposure to surgery and medicine and a Third World country. She also has recruited medical students from the Student Osteopathic Surgical Association to join in this experience. Her greatest joy has been working with general surgery residents in a true hands-on experience. She has watched Guatemala and its people change the lives of all who have gone on these missions, and she has witnessed how basic surgical care has changed the lives of Guatemalans.
She is most proud of a Guatemalan high school student named Claudia who served as her interpreter and proved to be a bright and inquisitive student. Guatemalan girls are not encouraged to become educated, but Dr. Rooney told Claudia there was no reason why she couldn’t do what Dr. Rooney does— echoing the words her father said to her years ago. Claudia is close to completing medical school in Guatemala City.
An active member of the ACOS, Dr. Rooney has served on the Membership Committee since 1999 and as committee chair since 2010. She became a Fellow of the ACOS in 1998 and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons in 2012. She also was active in the American Cancer Society and received the society’s “I Care Award.” She is married and has two sons who are “fine young men.”
Distinguished Osteopathic Surgeon Award – Allan M. Arkush, D.O., FACOS
Dr. Allan Arkush, of Indianapolis, Indiana, has been named the 2015 recipient of the ACOS Charles L. Ballinger Distinguished Osteopathic Surgeon Award for his outstanding accomplishments and leadership in the field of surgery.
A 1972 graduate of the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, he completed his internship and general surgery residency at Doctors Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He practiced general surgery in New Berlin, Wisconsin, until 1984, and then began practice at Community Westview Hospital in Indianapolis where he served as Chief of Staff and Chair of the Surgery Department. He currently is medical director of Westview’s Advanced Wound Care Center. He is certified in general surgery by the American Osteopathic Board of Surgery, for which he has served as a clinical and an oral examiner.
Passionate about teaching, Dr. Arkush has been named Postgraduate Trainer of the Year 12 times since 1984. He currently serves as clinical assistant professor of surgery at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, Pennsylvania, and at Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Indianapolis.
He is board certified in Quality Assurance/ Utilization Review. He is Vice President of Clinical Performance for Community Health Network’s West Region, and a member of the network’s Quality of Care Committee and Chair of the Disclosure Committee. He also chairs the Credentials Committee of Managed Health Services (Medicaid). He is chair of Westview Hospital’s Bylaws/ Credentials and Ethics Committees, and a member of Suburban Health Organization’s Credentials Committee and member of the Advisory Committee of the National College Surgical Tech program.
An ACOS member since 1980, Dr. Arkush has served on the Board of Governors and as College president in 2002–2003, and has chaired the Strategic Planning, Bylaws, and Public Relations Committees. Under his leadership, the Public Relations Committee developed the ACOS D.O. Advantage brochure. He received the first ACOS Presidential Award in 1991. He is vice chair of the Ethics Committee.
He has served on the board and as peer review committee chair for the Wisconsin and Indiana osteopathic associations; the IOA honored him in 2000 as the first non-primary care recipient of the J. B. Kinsinger Plaque. He also serves on the board and planning committee of the Mozel Sanders Foundation, which provides 40,000 Thanksgiving meals annually; he received the foundation’s Humanitarian Award in 2008.
Dr. Arkush has won many awards for photography and is an Advanced PADI certified scuba diver. He is happily married to Sharlee, a dedicated oncology nurse. He also is proud of his children Debbie, Julie, and David, and their spouses Bertrand, Adam, and Jody; and his grandchildren Rebecca, Evan, Rosie, and Sam.