Bringing health to the state

By Kyle Hobstetter on February 18, 2020

As a Towson University nursing student knelt on the ground providing CPR to a testing mannequin, Maryland State Delegate Nino Mangione couldn’t help but be impressed.

Mangione graduated from TU in 2011 with a degree in political science, and admits that while on campus he didn’t experience a lot of the work being done by other colleges. 

On Tuesday morning, he and many of the state’s lawmakers got to experience first-hand what students from Towson University’s College of Health Professions (CHP) are learning as they visited the House of Delegates Building in Annapolis to provide free health tips and screenings.

“This was just amazing and it really makes me proud as an alumnus to see what our students are doing now,” Mangione says. “Health and health professions are only growing and it’s great to see TU play such a pivotal role.

“These are young, enthusiastic students who are learning to save lives, and it’s great to see and to know this is happening at Towson University.”

The day saw students from CHP’s different departments provide various activities and screenings to delegates, along with their aides and interns. This included: 

• Learning a healthy handshake and testing your grip strength with students from the occupational therapy department.

• Understanding heart health risks, along with a demonstration on hand-only CPR with students from the nursing department.

• Discovering how healthy your walk is, and timing your gait speed with the kinesiology department.

• Protecting your ears and improving your hearing with the speech-language pathology and audiology department

• Learning the importance of tourniquets and how to stop bleeding during an emergency with students in the physician assistant studies master’s program.

Delegates also met several members of the CHP faculty, along with Dean Lisa Plowfield Ph.D.

Plowfield sought to not only show the quality of work students are doing, but also how many students stay in Maryland. Towson University is the state’s largest provider of health care professionals with 85% of graduates staying in state to work.

But her job on Tuesday was easy because the students were ready to show those in the State Capital what CHP was all about. 

“Our faculty prepared them really well for the day and they were ready to go as soon as they arrived,” Plowfield says. “We’re doing a high quality, high caliber job of putting people out to improve health and wellness of those who live in Maryland. 

“Today has been an exciting experience, and our students did a great job of representing the College of Health Professions.” 

Maryland State Delegate Mark Chang made his way through the conference room meeting with the students and participated in the screenings. He worked with students from TU’s physician assistant master’s program to apply a tourniquet. 

As he was getting ready to leave, Chang had to remark to faculty members how impressed he was after meeting the students. 

“It’s great to see these young professionals here sharing what they know and providing their services here,” Chang says. “It’s great to see how TU is a leader in producing high quality students for the work force of the next generation.” 

One of the students who helped delegates learn how to stop bleeding was Lea Foster, a second-year graduate student from Pittsburgh, Pa. who is in the physician’s assistant master’s program.   

Foster jumped at the chance to not only provide information, but also to express her thanks to delegates who help Towson University. 

And while she was providing information herself, Foster came away impressed by her CHP peers and the work they were doing. 

“I’m incredibly impressed with how qualified everyone is and how intelligent they are,” Foster says. “I think today was a real testament to the diverse and expansive education you get at Towson University.” 

Currently Towson University is working towards building a new space for the College of Health Professions. By gaining an increased space, Towson University would be able to increase enrollment, and help with Maryland’s 23,000 unfilled health professions positions. 

As of right now, the new building is scheduled to start construction in 2022, with a completion date of 2024. 

Delegate Cathi Forbes, who is the delegate for the Towson University campus and was at the event on Tuesday, says she’s ready to see a new CHP building on campus. She has seen first-hand the impressive work being done at the corner of York Road and Bosley Avenue. 

“One of my top priorities is advocating for the new health professions building,” Forbes says. “People who live in the Towson community, and don’t get to campus, don’t see the amazing things that are happening at TU. We have some of the premier programs in the state.”

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel’s priorities for Towson University: TU Matters to Maryland.