Recognition earned by YSU respiratory care program

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown State University’s respiratory-care program has been making headlines with one student and two faculty members winning accolades.

YSU senior Karissa Kuneli was awarded two scholarships, one from the American Respiratory Care Foundation and a second from the Ohio Society for Respiratory Care.

Kelly L. Colwell, a part-time faculty member in respiratory care, won a national Postgraduate Education Recognition Award from the ARCF; and Mary Yacovone, associate professor of health professions, was named Ohio’s Respiratory Care Education Practitioner of the Year by the OSRC.

“It’s obvious that the ‘culture of excellence’ is a long-standing tradition in the respiratory-care program,” said Joseph Mistovich, chairman of YSU’s Department of Health Professions. “It’s a theme that is passed along from class to class, from faculty to students and throughout both undergraduate and graduate programs.”

Kuneli, who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in respiratory care, was the sole recipient from a slate of candidates nationwide chosen for the William W. Burgin, Jr., M.D., and Robert M. Lawrence M.D. Education Recognition Award presented by the ARCF and the National Board for Respiratory Care.

The honor includes a cash award, a certificate of recognition, airfare, one night’s lodging, and registration for the American Association for Respiratory Care Congress 2015 in Tampa, Fla., where she will be recognized.

Kuneli was also awarded the OSRC’s statewide Charles Robinson Memorial Scholarship, which is the society’s highest monetary award.

Colwell graduated from YSU with a master’s degree in respiratory care and is pursuing a doctorate of education/education leadership, also at YSU. Besides teaching at YSU, he is employed by Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley, where he coordinates the neonatal/pediatric pulmonary diagnostic, patient and family education and research clinic.

He has been selected to receive the ARCF’s William F. Miller Postgraduate Education Recognition Award, presented annually to a respiratory therapist with at least a baccalaureate degree and a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA. Colwell was the sole recipient of this prestigious national award and will be honored at the AARC Congress.

Yacovone, a graduate of YSU’s respiratory-care program, joined YSU’s faculty in 2008 and serves as program director of the BS in respiratory care, BS in respiratory-care completion and master of respiratory-care programs. Before joining the faculty, she was employed as a respiratory therapist for Eastern Ohio Pulmonary Consultants Inc.

The Respiratory Care Education Practitioner of the Year Award she earned is presented annually to an Ohio therapist who exemplifies leadership, clinical expertise, team building, professionalism and community involvement in the field of respiratory care.