This Issue:

-          Member Spotlight:  Dr. Martin Ladwig

-          Elder and Sister Limburg perspective from Guatemala

-          Fall Conference Report

The newsletter contains news, information, member profiles and interesting articles and publications read or submitted by members.

 Member news submissions and nominations for spotlight/profiles are encouraged.  Send them to newsletter@collegiumaesculapium.org

NEXT ISSUE (NOVEMBER):

-      Another Missionary perspective from Guatemala     By Elder (Dr.) and Sister Limburg

-          Another membership profile

-          Collegium Aesculapium Chapters

Don’t forget to provide your 2009 CONFERENCE SURVEY opinion

Which Church History Location would you prefer for the 2009 Conference?  Respond at www.collegiumaesculapium.org

Employment Connection

This summer Collegium Aesculapium introduced an employment connection program to connect individuals seeking employment and employers seeking individuals.  We post all available individuals and positions.  Review at www.collegiumaesculapium.org/networking.html.

If you would like to include a posting, send an email to  employment@collegiumaesculapium.org

Events:

December 2, 2008 - Presentation to the Latter-day Saint Health Sciences Student Association (LDSHSSA) at the University of Utah. 

2009 Spring Meeting  Thurs-Fri. April 2-3

University Park Marriott Salt Lake City, Utah

Member Spotlight:     Dr. Martin L. Ladwig, MD, FACOG                                     

Dr. Ladwig has been a member of Collegium since 1984 when he joined the Student Chapter at BYU.  He received his medical education at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, MD graduating in 1990 with his wife, Diane, and three sons and daughter in tow.  He completed his OB/GYN residency training at Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, TX in 1994.  Their first duty assignment took them to Europe for three years.  That was when their family experienced their first deployment separation due to the Bosnian conflict.  Since then, Dr. Ladwig has provided military service in Italy, Germany and Washington before transitioning to Intermountain Health Care and private practice.

He was re-commissioned in January 2007 and stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado.  In Feb. 2008, Dr. Ladwig deployed to Baghdad, Iraq as the Battalion Surgeon for the 1-22 Infantry Battalion.  With a physician’s assistant, he provides primary care for nearly 800 soldiers.  He has found the work very rewarding, although, he would much rather be caring for expectant moms.  He has had limited opportunities to provide care to the Iraqi citizenry. (Right of picture  with other US and Iraqi medics in West Rashid) 

Sister Ladwig says, “We have discovered that this has been more like a mission than anything that we have experienced because of the huge need for support that young military families are presently experiencing with so many deployments right now.  We know families that are presently on their fourth deployment since the war in Iraq began, and this has taken its toll on them.   There is a great need for emotional and spiritual support for these families.  I have experienced a deployment before which was extremely difficult because the children were in their teenage years; a time when I feel strongly that their father is needed in their lives, so I understand what these families are going through.  Last spring I was called to start a support group for the military sisters in our ward here at Fort Carson.  Now I am teaching early morning seminary, which totally fills my cup with my husband gone.  It's a privilege to be with these young people in their spiritual journey right now.”

  Here is some of what Dr. Ladwig says about the experience.

“The Iraq Ministry of Health is trying to re-establish a health care system that has been ravaged by decades of war,” he says.  “Many of the well-trained physicians left the country years ago, and most clinics and hospitals have fallen into disrepair.  There is much work going on now to rebuild some of these facilities.  I had the opportunity to visit a hospital in Al Furat, a Baghdad neighborhood.  The people were grateful for this simple facility that would never be considered a suitable facility in American society.”

“I had the opportunity to participate in what we call a CME (Cooperative Medical Engagement) last spring.  This is where the Iraqi Army medics, under the supervision of an Iraqi military doc, will hold a sort of open air clinic and invite the local people to drop by.  We provide perimeter security and oversight (since we buy the meds they dispense).  There was a wide range of problems presenting from simple colds and dental problems, to uncontrolled diabetes or unresolved trauma care (a young man had an external fixation apparatus still in place after four months, but had not had any follow-up care or evaluation).  One of our translators that day was a young man who has completed medical school, but has not been able to start post-graduate training.  His sister is currently a dermatology residency.  There is an eager new generation of providers who would like to see the people have access to good care, so they stay, despite the uphill battle that they face.”

“When I have been out in the city, the thing that amazes me most is the resilience of the children.  They have the most beautiful and genuine smiles.  I know why the Savior loves the children, and it’s sad that they are exposed to all of the horrors that years of war have left them with.”

“I have made a particularly strong connection between the Nephite society from the latter part of the Book of Alma through Helaman, and the Muslim society here.  They are so infested with a Gadianton criminal element that only now is there beginning to be some hope that it might finally be rooted out.”

He asks that the Collegium membership keep the people of Iraq in their prayers, especially the peace loving citizens who suffer from all of the wickedness that has permeated their society.

Sister Ladwig closes, “This deployment has served as a blessing to our marriage.  It has helped us to overcome some of our selfishness, and focus on the well-being of one another.  The technology of today astounds us, as we are able, at times (when he has a good internet service provider and there isn't too much demand for internet service) to webcam, or at least, instant message each other daily, unless he's on-call.  Wow!  That is an incredible blessing.  It has helped me because Marty can help me with the decisions that I have to make, and I can be there as a presence in his life, too.  When he was in Hungary, I just got crackly phone calls on occasion and letters from Marty, but now we are a part of each other's every day life.  What a blessing that is!  The greatest thing about this is that we are able to have family prayer together daily.  That has united us more than anything.”  Nominate a profile by emailing  newsletter@collegiumaesculapium.org

Fall Meeting Report

The fall conference of Collegium Aesculapium is always a great experience for those who attend and this Octobers visit to Philadelphia was no exception. Five of the CME lectures at the conference were given by Collegium members; Drs. Glen Morrell, Johnnie Cook, John Gardner, Susan Puls and Bruce Woolley. Guest lecturers from the Philadelphia area were Drs. James Clark and Alex Judkins. Another guest lecturer was Dr. Robert Hicks, the museum director of the Mutter Museum.  The spouses enjoyed lectures by Dr. Susan Puls and Dr. Ed Heyes and his wife Jill.

Our tour of Philadelphia began with our tour guide taking us to the Reading Terminal Market – the oldest farmer’s market in the country. For many of us a Philly cheese steak was a must for our lunch choice. The sandwich really lived up to its reputation and Dr. Jim Pingree said “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.” We next toured historic Philadelphia and visited the new Comcast building with its 2,100 sq ft video wall – fascinating. Then on to the Art Museum where all who so inclined had the opportunity of standing in “Rocky’s” footprints. We saw the historic, awe inspiring Liberty Bell, took many pictures and then enjoyed a fun-filled Duck Tour around old Town Philadelphia and then into the Delaware River ‘quacking all the way’….The Mutter Museum was a fascinating place for many of the physicians. Lots of bones, skeletons, and body parts – for example diseased body parts, gun shot body parts, small body parts, large body parts, strange body parts and some gruesome body parts. We ate lunch there and then listened to Dr Hicks lecture to us. Dr. Larry Noble thoroughly enjoyed the museum. He said he could have spent the whole day there….Our tour then took us to Christ’s’ Church and The Betsy Ross House. We learned that Betsy Ross was asked to make a flag using a 6 pointed star; but she only had a pattern for a 5 pointed star so that is what she used. The most inspiring places we visited were Congress Hall and Independence Hall; the places where the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution were written and signed. It was a great privilege to be in the same hall where our forefathers labored so feverishly to declare independence from England and then to write The Constitution of the United States of America.  Dinner that evening was at the City Tavern where John Adams, George Washington and Ben Franklin are said to have drunk ale and spent many hours discussing their concerns about the revolution.

Valley Forge is a beautiful 3,500-acre park located 22 miles northwest of Philadelphia. It was the site of the six month 1777-1778 winter encampment of the 12,000 man American Continental Army under the leadership of General George Washington. We enjoyed a visit to Washington’s headquarters and then saw a beautiful bronze statue at the Freedoms Foundation of George Washington kneeling in prayer. We wanted to spend more time at Valley Forge and learn of the struggles and sacrifices of these brave men but we had appointments in Lancaster County for a tour of an Amish farm and then for a delicious Amish lunch. We were then taken to Kitchen Kettle Village to soak in the ambiance of the Amish community.

Dr. Ed Heyes and his beautiful and charming wife Jill concluded our trip with a wonderful dinner/fireside. They recently returned from serving as medical advisor/hostess at the Jerusalem Center in Israel. They shared with us their experiences and journey to this beautiful land. We were very grateful to them for sharing their testimonies of the gospel plan and for a very spiritual, uplifting evening.

The value of renewed friendships, shared testimonies and learning together with colleagues you respect and admire at Collegium is priceless.  

Serving in Guatemala

Elder (Dr.) and Sister Limburg are serving a mission in Guatemala.  They work in the Chiquimula area where the CUNORI medical school resides.  Collegium has provided service, supplies and support to this school for many years.  Elder Limburg says, “Guatemala has only one public university, The University of San Carlos of Guatemala.  It has a large campus, and some twenty-five thousand students, in Guatemala City.  It is I believe, the third oldest university in the Western Hemisphere, dating to 1676.  Branches of San Carlos, or USAC, as it is known, are in several cities around Guatemala.  They are known as ‘university centers’, and there are eleven of them.  CUNORI is one of these.  The initials stand for Centro Universidad de Oriente, or University Center of the East.  It has 2,800 students, and they have eight or nine different courses of study leading to what we would consider degrees.  Each degree has its own curricula and year requirements.  The medical school program is six years – beginning out of high school. The students are bright and motivated, and seem to have a good fund of knowledge for where they are in their training.  The faculty members that we know are competent and very dedicated to their responsibilities of training future doctors.  However, the faculty is small.  Whereas in the US Pathology might be taught by and entire department, here it is taught by one pathologist.  Pharmacy is taught by one pharmacist, not a PhD pharmacologist.  The same is true throughout the medical school.  Over the past three or four years they have been building a new physical facility for the med school.  To us, it seems to move along at a snail’s pace.  When it’s finally completed it will be a three story structure with more adequate classroom facilities and laboratories, and also an outpatient ‘family clinic’.  For now the laboratory space is quite limited and the medical library is very inadequate.  There’s not a true teaching hospital associated with the school, but there is a medium-sized, general, charity hospital in Chiquimula and another public hospital about twenty-five minutes from here, Zacapa.  Much of the clinical teaching of the students takes place in these hospitals, plus a number of smaller, private hospitals here in Chiquimula.

I have come to realize that I have taken for granted the wonderful public school education that I received.  I am now much more grateful for it, and for the system that provides it and the prosperity that we have all enjoyed that make it available to everyone.   And I am now; more than ever, extremely grateful for the first-rate medical education I received at the University of Utah, also a public school.”