USC Recognizes Veterans Day
A Talk with Wounded Warrior and Medal of Honor Recipient and His Physician
WHAT: As part of its weeklong Veterans Day commemoration, the USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families at the USC School of Social Work and the USC Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy will co-host “A Wounded Warrior’s Experience and Physical Rehabilitation,” a colloquium with Medal of Honor Recipient Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry and his physician, Dr. James Ficke.
Petry, who lost his hand in a grenade attack in Afghanistan, and Ficke, the orthopedic surgeon whose treatment allowed Petry to return to duty as a U.S. Army Ranger, will share their experiences from injury to recovery and discuss the roles of patient and doctor in the rehabilitation process. A question-and-answer session will follow.
WHO: Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry lost his hand in 2008 during a firefight in Afghanistan, when he grabbed a grenade and tossed it away, saving the lives of two other soldiers. For this action, he received the Medal of Honor from President Obama in July 2011. He now wears a prosthetic right hand, which allowed him to deploy to Afghanistan in February 2011 for his eighth tour of duty to a combat zone.
Dr. James Ficke, a foot and ankle surgeon, who manages many lower extremity patients returning from combat zones, is the chairman of the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at Brooke Army Medical Center and the orthopedic surgery consultant to the U.S. Army Surgeon General. Ficke treated Petry after his injury in Afghanistan with a sophisticated prosthetic hand, which spotlights the advances in military medicine that are allowing more amputees to continue active-duty service.
WHEN: Noon to 1:15 p.m, Wednesday, November 2
WHERE: USC University Park Campus, Ronald Tutor Campus Center ballroom (Section A). RSVP for parking instructions.
ABOUT: The Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families at the USC School of Social Work bridges a critical gap in the needs of wounded warriors and their families through innovative education and training platforms, applied research, and strategic partnerships that improve the capacity and competency of behavioral healthcare providers.
The center is also collaborating with the USC Institute for Creative Technologies on a virtual reality module that will expand the ability of educators to train future military social workers. The virtual patient is an avatar-based simulation program designed to replicate the experiences of veterans exposed to combat stress and help prepare students to interact with real clients.
Contact: Megan Hazle at (213)743.2058 or hazle@usc.edu
