This month’s lecture will provide an interactive forum where participants can ask questions about mental health issues relating to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that has damaged the Gulf Coast.
Dr. Ronald Franks, vice president for health sciences and professor of psychiatry at the USA College of Medicine, along with Dr. Sandra Parker, vice-chair of the department of psychiatry at USA and chief medical officer of AltaPointe Health Systems, will lead the interactive forum.
“Although some people have been impacted by the oil spill more significantly than others, the entire community has felt the impact of stress and loss in some way,” Dr. Franks said. “It is important to understand how to effectively cope with this type of disaster and identify ways to manage stress and anxiety.”
According to Dr. Parker, the lecture will offer a potential starting point for those impacted by the disaster and will provide participants with encouragement and resources to seek additional help if needed.
Prior to his appointment at USA in 2007, Dr. Franks was vice president for health affairs and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at East Tennessee State University. He has also served as dean of medicine at East Tennessee State and at the University of Minnesota Duluth School of Medicine.
Dr. Parker has been a child psychiatrist with AltaPointe for 17 years. During the last 10 years, she has served as chief medical officer for the organization.
The Med School Café lecture is provided free of charge, but reservations are required. To make reservations or to submit questions for this lecture, please call Kim Barnes at (251) 460-7770 or e-mail kebarnes@usouthal.edu .
