For MGH Institute of Health Professions, a Day of 'Firsts' at 2016 Commencement

The first PhD graduates, honorary degree recipient, and Dean Emerita conferee highlighted the 2016 Commencement ceremonies of MGH Institute of Health Professions on May 9 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

Hannah Mercier (in photo, right), an occupational therapist, and Jarred Van Stan, a speech-language pathologist, each received a PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences, the first recipients of this highest degree to be awarded by the Institute following establishment of the program in 2012.

Dr. Matina S. Horner received a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, in recognition of her 27-year tenure as the longest-serving trustee in the school’s history.

Dr. Margery Chisholm, the inaugural dean of the Institute’s School of Nursing, became the first Dean Emerita.

A total of 20 Charlestown residents were among the 524 graduates who earned their degrees in nursing, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, health professions education, and rehabilitation sciences at the Charlestown Navy Yard school’s 36th Commencement ceremony.

The graduates are: Angela Akladiss, Siera Anderson, Karis Antokal, Claire Brooks-Schulke, Brittany Chartchaiganan, Jacqueline Eagan, Ashley Endicott, Jennifer Fox, Maha Guirguis, Courtney Halloran, Caryn Kazanjian, Jonathan Kentner, Katherine Lagucik, Kaitlyn Lang, Jamie Lim, Logan Poole, Kelley Sivits, David Soprano, Hannah Taylor, and Shannon Van Riper.

Honorary Trustee Ellen Zane, former president and CEO of Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children, gave the keynote address. Zane, who began her career as a speech-language pathologist, told the more than 2,000 graduates, family, and friends that it is a good time to be entering the health care profession.

“We live in a time when patients want to return from a serious illness to their jobs, their lives, and their homes. Your professions are at the epicenter of this quest, helping patients to meet these goals,” said Zane, who served from 1997 – 2007 as a trustee of the Institute. “You will enable patients to leave hospitals, long-term care facilities, and other more institutional settings to the one setting where every patient wants to be - home.”

A Day of Firsts

Creating a PhD program was a watershed mark in the Institute’s history. The school has long been recognized for its excellence in clinical education, but several years ago its leaders recognized that adding a PhD degree, along with hiring several full-time faculty researchers, would raise its research profile in a city that prides itself on producing ground-breaking results. Van Stan and Mercier were among the first five health professionals who decided to pursue a PhD focused on rehabilitation.

Granting honorary degrees is a new tradition for the Institute. According to board Chair Dr. George Thibault, choosing Horner as the first recipient was an easy one. “As our longest-standing trustee, she inspired countless others to believe in and serve the Institute,” said Dr. Thibault. “I am confident in saying that the students, alumni, faculty, senior leaders, and trustees of MGH Institute of Health Professions all have benefited from the dedication, philanthropy, and vision of Dr. Horner.”

Chisholm, who arrived at the Institute in 2003 as professor and director of the nursing program, became the inaugural Dean of the School of Nursing five years later. During her tenure, she successfully launched the Doctor of Nursing Practice and the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs before rejoining the faculty as professor prior to her 2012 retirement.

Alumni Recognized

The Institute also presented two alumni awards.

Roya Ghazinouri received the Bette Ann Harris Distinguished Alumni Award, the Institute’s highest alumni recognition. Ghazinouri, who received from the Institute her Master of Science in Physical Therapy in 1999 and her Doctor of Physical Therapy in 2007, currently serves as the strategic program manager for the Center for Healthcare Delivery Sciences, an academic research center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. In addition to this role, she is also the Chief Operating Officer and an advisory board member for Operation Walk Boston a surgical orthopedic mission. Since 2008, she has coordinated multidisciplinary teams of health care providers to perform more than 350 surgeries, as well as provide rehabilitation care, deliver medical education, and conduct research to patients in the Dominican Republic who otherwise would not have access to such care or be able to afford it.

Katie Baron, a 2008 Master of Science in Nursing graduate, received the Emerging Leader Award. Baron did not attend, due to her ongoing role as director of nursing in Sierra Leone for Partners In Health. Since December 2014, Baron has been the Boston-based non-profit’s lead clinician in the country hit hardest by the Ebola epidemic. Thanks in large part to her efforts, all clinical staff who worked to treat Ebola patients are now healthy, and the epidemic in Sierra Leone has abated.