View in browser

USF College of Behavioral & Community Sciences

January 3 - 9, 2021

 
Tribute to Dr. Kathy Hyer, School of Aging Studies
On January 1, 2021 we lost a dear colleague and friend, Dr. Kathy Hyer. Kathy was Professor and Associate Director in the School of Aging Studies, Director of the Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging, and recent President of the Gerontological Society of America.

Dr. Hyer's work in the USF School of Aging Studies was defined by passion and commitment to bettering the lives of older adults, especially vulnerable older adults. Throughout her career, she showed unwavering commitment to improving long-term care, whether in terms of quality of care, staffing levels, or patient culture; she was one of the most recognized advocates in the world with respect to disaster preparedness in long-term facilities. She worked tirelessly to promote geriatric education across health care disciplines such as medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and physical therapy.

Dr. Hyer's scientific work resulted in more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and was supported by grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health Resources and Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other agencies. In 2006, she was recognized as the "USF Million Dollar Researcher". Her advocacy regarding quality of long-term care disaster preparedness led to crucial testimonies to change policies surrounding the delivery of long-term care and ways to prepare long-term care facilities for natural disasters, including a testimony in front of the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging and the Florida House Select Committee on Hurricane Response and Preparedness.

Dr. Hyer was in the middle of working on an NIH funded grant called SAFEHAVEN to study disaster preparedness in long-term care facilities. This work has already uncovered crucial information about how to reduce morbidity and mortality of residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Dr. Hyer's work has established a solid platform on which this research can continue.

Dr. Hyer's national and international recognition as the top scholar in long-term care policy led to invitations to give guest and keynote lectures throughout the United States as well as in Europe and Asia. In 2019, her many scientific accomplishments helped her receive the prestigious Outstanding Research Achievement Award from USF. But the main result of all this effort has been a genuine difference in the quality of people's lives, particularly those living in long-term care facilities who tend to be particularly vulnerable. This will remain part of Kathy's unique legacy to all of us.

Dr. Hyer was a tremendous mentor and a passionate supporter of many students within and outside the USF School of Aging Studies. Dr. Hyer's impact on long-term care policies will be sustained for decades through the work of her many mentees.

Dr. Hyer was also the Director of the USF Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging. Under her leadership, the center continued to thrive and provide important information regarding long-term care policies to the state, nation, and international community.

Starting in Fall 2018, Dr. Hyer began her 3-year term in the leadership role for the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), the largest and most globally recognized organization centered around aging research, education, and practice.

Dr. Hyer will be missed greatly. And the School of Aging Studies is committed to carrying on Dr. Hyer's legacy to make the world a better place for older adults.
 
CARD Staff Recognized for Autism & Safety Efforts
Denise BarnesDenise Barnes, CARD Consultant since 2013, received the Member of the Year Superstar Award from the Suncoast Safe Kids Coalition during this month's virtual celebration. Denise serves as a Safe Kids member in 5 Counties and works with a variety of committees including water safety and bicycle/pedestrian safety. She works tirelessly to create and share safety resources with families, professionals and first responders. Denise, along with other CARD and USF staff and students, collaborated with community partners to provide virtual safety events in both English and Spanish this year reaching thousands of individuals.

Another CARD staff person was also recognized last week by Suncoast Safe Kids Coalition during their Member Monday feature on social media. Facebook post: Let me introduce YAZMIN CASTELLANO, Consultant with the Center for Autism & Related Disabilities- USF. Yazmin, joined Florida Safe Kids in Polk County and when she did we couldn't have been more excited. She is innovative and offers a fresh perspective for those in our community. She capitalizes on every opportunity to offer her skills and resources.

Assistant Program Director, Christine Rover, contributed to the article, It Only Takes a Second: The Importance of Water Safety for Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder in this month's issue of Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine. Check it out here.

Please visit CARD's website for additional safety resources: https://usf.to/CARDautismsafety.
 
Research Roundup
Laura Redwine & Marilyn SternLaura Redwine & Marilyn Stern (CFS/RMHC)
Social, Ethical, and Behavioral Implications (SEBI) Research on COVID-19 Testing among Rural Latino Migrants in Southwest Florida (MPI: Redwine and Stern). 3R34AT010661-02S1 Response to PA-20135
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
12/1/2019-11/30/2022
Amount: $906,807

Principal Investigators, Laura Redwine, PhD and Marilyn Stern, PhD received notification that their National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant application entitled, "Social, Ethical, and Behavioral Implications (SEBI) Research on COVID-19 Testing and Vaccine Uptake among Rural Latinx Migrants in Southwest Florida" was awarded on November 18th, 2020. The total amount of this award is $906,807, which is funded as part of the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics - Underserved Populations (RADx-UP), which is a consortium of 75 research groups across the USA. The RADx-UP initiative is funded through appropriations provided by the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, Public Law 116-139.

Our investigation will assess attitudes, barriers and facilitators that predict the willingness of rural Latinx migrants and immigrants of Southwest Florida to obtain testing for COVID-19 and/or vaccination. Based on the results of these assessments, in collaboration with rural Latinx migrants and immigrant community members we will formulate strategies that focus on increasing COVID-19 testing and/or vaccination. We will leverage our longstanding, strong community partnership with the Hispanic Services Council for data collection and development of community-based prevention marketing strategies to promote testing and vaccinations in this underserved and vulnerable population.
Maria CarloMaria Carlo (CFS/Rightpath)
Effect of Bilingual vs Monolingual Methods of Explicit English Vocabulary Instruction on 4th Grade Spanish-Speaking English Learners (EL)
Sponsor: US Department of Education
7/1/2020-6/30/2024
Amount: $1,400,000

This four-year Exploration project will study different strategies for academic English vocabulary instruction and factors that impact academic language development among 4th grade Spanish-speaking English learners in Hillsborough County Public Schools. The study will test whether English vocabulary instruction methods that make strategic use of the child's first language are more effective than monolingual methods and will examine differences in rate of learning and retention.

Effects of Home and Classroom Practices on Language, Cognitive, and Social Development of Young Spanish-Speaking Dual Language Learners
Sponsor: The University of Texas Health Science Center
7/1/2020-6/30/2025
Amount: $ 3,299,993 (subcontract to USF $244,843)

Young English learners (ELs) living in poverty are at risk for later reading difficulties and are less likely than their peers to encounter the level of responsive, extended conversations in their homes and preschools needed for school readiness. Furthermore, many types of dual language programs in U.S. schools operate in ways that delay regular exposure to English until later grades, rather than systematically teaching in ways that build on students' knowledge of their home language to accelerate English proficiency. The proposed project will evaluate a dual-language approach that: a) maintains and improves the home language of DLLs who speak mostly Spanish in their homes via parent coaching, and b) simultaneously coaches teachers to use an explicit cross-language transfer approach in which sophisticated concepts are introduced in Spanish before English. The expected outcome of this project is increased understanding of effective classroom instruction and family engagement approaches for DLLs' at risk of later reading difficulties.
 
2021 Dean's Awards for Faculty and Students
Nominations are being accepted for the following awards
  • Faculty Awards
    • Outstanding Research Award
    • Outstanding Teaching Award
    • Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award
    • Outstanding Service Award
  • Student Awards
    • Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award
    • Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award
    • Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award

Please click on this link for further details and considering nominating deserving colleagues and students. Nominations are due to Devon Weist: dlweist@usf.edu by February 26th.

 
MHLP Faculty Article Highlighted by ASHA
Khary Rigg's recent article titled "Opioid-Induced Hearing Loss and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: Clinical Considerations for Audiologists and Recommendations for Future Research" was selected as a featured article by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Every month ASHA Journals select an article to highlight that is deemed to be important to the field of hearing healthcare. This particular article was selected for the practical guidance it provides audiologists to make more informed clinical decisions regarding patients with opioid-induced hearing loss and neonatal abstinence syndrome. Read Article
 
Baker Act Report Released
The Fiscal Year 2018/2019 Baker Act annual report has been approved by DCF and is now available on the Baker Act Reporting Center website: https://www.usf.edu/cbcs/baker-act/ There were 210,992 involuntary (Baker Act) examinations in Fiscal Year 2018/2019. Slightly more than 1 in 6 (18%) involuntary examinations were for children (< 18), with 7% for adults 65 and older. Read More
 
 
 
This is my Brave announcement
 
CBCS In The News

USF student videos foster awareness about communication differences, disorders
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Students in the University of South Florida's Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) program are raising awareness about speech and hearing difficulties through a new video series

The pandemic is hitting Florida families harder than those elsewhere. Food is scarce.
Miami Herald
but there had been progress in a lot of these areas before the pandemic," said NorĂ­n Dollard, Florida KIDS COUNT director and professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies at the University of South Florida.

 
Adding News/Events/Publications to the CBCS Website and Newsletter
If you have news/events, or recent/upcoming publications you would like posted on the CBCS website and/or newsletter, please send the details and any attachments to CBCS Marketing. (CBCSMarketing@usf.edu)

Be sure to include all pertinent information in the format you would like to have posted (title, date, times, location, event description and contact information). Please provide your information in editable digital text format.

Articles included in the CBCS Communique may be disseminated to USF Media outlets and/or beyond.